Hi! it’s sale time again and I am totally ready for some bargains! So, without further ado, here is a pretty massive list of fabulous frocks that have previously been deemed worthy of the highly coveted Double Thumbs seal of approval but have now been deemed worthy enough to go in the sale. Enjoy!
If anything takes your fancy, just click the dress and it will take you to the website!
Happy shopping!
Jx
Hello hello! Welcome back to Double Thumbs Dresses, our roundup of the frocks we have deemed worthy of the highly coveted double thumbs seal of approval! Before we crack on, just a heads up, this particular Double Thumbs Dresses contains a sponsored link but please be assured we only feature the frocks we consider tip top! As you were…
Oh how I do love this super summer frock from Anthropologie! It’s such a pretty silhouette with a button up front, adorable collar and the all important waist-cinching tie belt. Love! Plus those multicolored spots you see before you are actually ice lollies! Good enough to eat.
I think we all know how much I love a bit of organza by now so this little number from Chicwish really caught my eye! It’s so floaty! I am seriously loving those big bold daisies too.
This bright floral skater dress from Quiz is ticking all my floral boxes. How gorgeous are those pinks and blues together? Just delightful and definitely one for twirling in!
I’m obviously in a floral mood as I am also really diggin’ this Oasis number, who are really impressing me with their SS16 offerings. Those sleeves are a total triumph.
I have been waiting for this River Island (also available at ASOS) to hit the website since February and am pleased as punch it is finally available. Those ruffles are everything to me! Get In My Wardrobe.
This pink lacey number from ASOS is majorly pretty. I love all the details including those dreamy ruffles (loving a ruffle atm apparently), button keyhole back and the little tie.
Last but not least we have this denim scorcher from French Connection. I am obsessed with that scalloped lace crochet detailing! Just wonderful and perfect for laid back Summer days, if they ever arrive.
Jx
Welcome back to another dress roundup courtesy of Double Thumbs Dresses #60! SIXTY! How did that happen, eh? But let’s not dwell on all the pounds we’ve (I’ve) no doubt collectively spent on frocks over the past couple of years and let’s crack on with the dresses we’ve deemed worthy of the highly coveted Double Thumbs seal of approval.
We start the week with this yellow and pink scalloped-lace wonderfrock from French Connection. I really think this dress is just perfection and will no doubt be furious when I wait for it to go in the sale and then it sells out immediately in my size. First World Problems indeed. That aside, how adorable is that little bow? SWOON.
I get to write about this pink Topshop beauty from the smug position of someone who already owns it. Hooray for me. It really is a little gem of a dress with a super lovely 70s floral print and beautiful ruffle details. I also enjoy that it’s chiffon so never needs an iron! I’m so rock and roll.
My never ending love affair with M&S continues with this white lace shirt dress. It’s basically a net curtain in dress form and I love it. Look at those little cuffs! Look at those sleeves! Look at those pockets! It also looks so gorgeous to wear. Go on, treat yourself to the little video of it on the website and tell me I’m wrong.
If your wardrobe is currently missing a cockatiel print dress then you’ll no doubt be relieved to discover that Joy have just the frock for you! I could parrot on all day about how lovely those cap sleeves are or how pretty the box pleat skirt is but I think I’ll just let the birds do the talking.
I think there’s something quite wonderful about this new apartment print from Yumi. There’s a lot going on behind those windows! This dress also comes in grey but I really like the slightly unusual combination of the blues and browns together. Perhaps this particular building block would look good paired with some skyscraper heels? (sorry).
I’m a big fan of this tropical print from Lindy Bop. I really like the simple style of the day dress but those big beautiful leaves are surely the star of the show. Who doesn’t love a discreet banana?
My lace love is back again with this floral print swing dress from ASOS. I already really love the style and shape of this frock but the embroidered lace inserts really make it something quite special. I really want to waft around with those flared sleeves!
Last but not least is this playful dress from Frome based Deadly is the Female. How charming is the flower cart print? So cute! I’m also a massive fan of the red straps, the green trim, and the yellow belt! There’s just so much to love.
Jx
What happens when you challenge two bloggers to have a swell day out on a £100 budget? They have a day full of macaroons, mulled wine and markets of course!
We recently accepted a challenge set by Huawei, who are celebrating the launch of the Ascend Y550 smartphone, to show what we consider to be an excellent day out in the UK. We both quickly agreed that a day trip to Bath would be just the ticket! Bath is one of our favourite places in the South West, especially at Christmas time when the city comes alive thanks to the sights and smells of the Bath Christmas Markets. Bath is truly buzzing, but this isn’t just due to the markets, oh no, there is so much more to see…
We started the day the only way we know how, coffee and cake (and smashed avocado on toast, obvs). Having only previously been to the recently opened Colonna and Hunter for a cheeky 1/3, we decided to pay them an early morning visit as we had heard wonderful things about their food. We planned our day over a couple of flat whites and, as you can see, with all that caffeine our ‘To Do’ list got a little bit ambitious! Although, apart from the cat cuddling, I think we managed to tick everything off! We apologise to all of the cats of Bath that didn’t get cuddles that day…our bad. We then went for a little stroll around the Royal Crescent to pick out our future estates and then, after at least 12 minutes of exercise, we were swiftly back into the other Colonna, Colonna and Small’s, for more caffeine. It’s a hard life.
One of the highlights of our bonza Bath day was the wonderful Bath Artisan Market, where we finally had chance to meet Amy Laws (there’s only one, after all), a lovely and super talented lady whose dresses we often feature on She and Hem! They are so blooming good! Unfortunately it was the last market of the year but, never fear, they start again in February and we would totally recommend that you pop along if you are ever browsing in Bath. We’ll be dreaming of those mincepie macaroons from Marilyn’s for a very long time to come (thankfully we bought quite a few to keep us going!) and Oscar the cat by Ben Rothery is now at the very top of our Christmas lists (see, we did cuddle a cat after all!). It was then time for a delicious roast and a mulled cider at the Bath Brew House before heading off in search of more festive frivolity!
We rounded off our day with a look around the lovely Bath Christmas Market, which had quietened down after a busy day of trading. Bath is such a picturesque city anyway but exploring the 170(ish, apparently) wooden chalets selling everything from local cheeses to wooden ties is a charming experience and, with a mulled wine in hand, a lovely way to spend a crisp December evening. We left laiden with goodies from Speckled Wood, My Bear Hands and some yummy blackcurrant rum liqueur from Friary Liqueurs. A merry Christmas indeed!
Do you think you could have a better time than we did for £100? I know it’s QUITE the ask but the very kind people at Huawei are feeling the Christmas spirit (or perhaps have just been drinking them) as they would like to offer one of you the chance to win your own super stylish Ascend Y550 4G smartphone and £100 if you share your itinerary in the comments below! Good luck everyone!
J&Vx
Jo wears a hat from Fox and Feather, scarf by Karen Mabon sent as part of Not Another Bill*, mustard jumper from Sugarhill Boutique, pink Eliza coat from Boden*, shoes from Debenhams, milk carton bag from Skinny Dip at ASOS and tights from ASOS. Victoria wears an Ingrid coat from Boden*, tights from UKtights*, silver glittery brogues from New Look at ASOS, a dress from Primark and a French Connection* bag.
Having grown up in a town that lies between Bristol and Bath, I can assure you that neither city was quite the shopping destination that they can now both claim to be. For myself and my friends it was either Topshop, Pilot and Claire’s in Bath or, errr, Topshop, Pilot and Claire’s in Bristol. Cheers, then. It was for that reason that we used to very often board the train to Swindon to visit their Designer Outlet where we would spend many a happy afternoon picking out our new knickers Kickers for school (showing my age terribly here) or buying the biggest, warmest GAP hoodie we could find.
It was a nice nostalgia filled surprise then, when an email landed in our inbox inviting us to come check out what’s new at the McArthurGlen owned centre. I probably hadn’t been back to the outlet since maybe 2004 and was instantly very curious to revisit this shopping haunt of my past. As it turns out, we’ve both been doing a lot of growing up!
The first thing I did on arrival was to appologise to Victoria for having never told her about the place. As she got massively overexcited at seeing a Cadbury factory shop and I lost my composure at the sight of a Ted Baker outlet, we both realised that despite having a lot of great shops on our doorstep, there’s always time for a good discount. We spent an embarrassing amount of time looking around all of the many (over 90!) stores on offer, only pausing for breath for a cheeky Wagamamas (soy happy). We left with so many bags we could barely carry them all!
We weren’t being completely self-indulgent though as we had in-fact been set the challenge of buying Christmas presents for three of our nearest and dearest for under £250…..as well something for ourselves for under £100. OK, that’s pretty darn indulgent but let’s go with it. So, without further ado, here are my results! Mum, if you’re reading this, STOP READING THIS.
I began with my other half who, as you might have already guessed, is a big kid. I knew the moment Victoria took me into the Hornby shop (more on that from her in part 2) that I wasn’t going to leave without some sort of train set for the railroad-tycoon-sorta-chap I married. It’s also, really, a present for my nephew (an actual child) as I know the two of them will be playing with it for years to come. I plumped for a Christmas themed set as a) it will look so cute around the bottom of our Christmas tree and b) I will only have to deal with tripping over train tracks once a year. SMART. On the hunt for another gift, I spotted the Cold Brew Bottle in Whittard and knew it would make the perfect addition to all of his tea and coffee related paraphernalia. I rounded things off with some chocolate from Lindt……..I am hopeful that I might get a few sneaky squares!
Next up for a bit of Christmas spoiling was my lovely Mum (WHO SHOULD NO LONGER BE READING THIS BY THE WAY). I knew before I arrived that I would be heading to Radley for her main gift as she is obsessed with that little dog and it’s not the sort of thing I would usually be able to afford for her! I spent quite a lot of time umming and ahhing over the range of bags and was so pleasantly surprised at the very heavy discounting on offer! I ended up paying under £50, which is a pretty good deal for a Radley! I had already picked her up some Lindt and decided a Christmasy Yankee Candle would finish things off nicely. Luckily for Mum (WHO HAD BETTER NOT BE READING THIS) I then spotted her beloved Origins GinZing eyecream in The Cosmetics Company Store for at least a fiver cheaper than it would be on the high street and threw that in for her too. What a nice daughter I am.
Finally it was the turn of my teenage cousin who also ended up with some goodies from The Cosmetics Company Store! The trio of Bobbi Brown goodies above set me back a cool £30 which is pretty insane value and I’ll admit I am very tempted to keep that lipstick for myself! I picked up the bow bag from M&S because I considered it to be well trendy and added a salted caramel Yankee Candle because everyone knows that it’s the absolute best.
It was then on to buying stuff for me! Hooray! I knew that I wanted to buy some sort of sparkly Christmas outfit and having narrowed down my options to about 34 different dresses I finally took the plunge in French Connection and bought the beauty you see above, along with a lovely gold bag to go with it. I had a little bit of money left over which went on another salted caramel candle for yours truly! It’s the best, remember? I buy myself the greatest presents!
What do you think of my choices? Will it be a very merry Christmas?
I will definitely be seeing you again soon Swindon Designer Outlet. Thanks for a great day! To see what Christmas goodies Victoria purchased, check out Part 2.
Jx
Hello hello! It’s time for another roundup of the dresses we have deemed worthy of the highly coveted Double Thumbs seal of approval. This week even includes two of your recommended seven a day. You are very welcome.
Fruity frock number one comes courtesy of TU at Sainsbury’s! I spotted this one over on A Million Dresses blog and quickly fell for its vintage charm and that pricetag. Hello! I then proceeded to have a slight dress meltdown when I discovered that you can no longer order TU items online (it’s 2014 Sainsbury’s. I expect to at least be able to click + collect) but I needn’t have worried as my lovely Mum (Hi Mum) came to my rescue and picked one up for me. Apparently they are running quite low on certain sizes so GO NOW. RIGHT NOW.
But, hey, if you can’t be bothered to go to Sainsbury’s or you simply don’t fancy being a right lemon, Louche are here with some delightful pineapples. Available from wonder store, Joy, this lovely dress is just begging to be worn in the sunshine. Perhaps whilst holding an outlandish cocktail.
I can’t afford this Alice in Wonderland (!!!) print Paul & Joe Sister dress but that hasn’t stopped me from adding it to my ASOS saved list in some ridiculous hope that one day it might be 75% off and I’ll have a discount code. A girl can dream.
The new French Connection collection is something to behold but I instantly fell for this super floaty fit and flare dress. What a hot mesh.
You might have already spotted this lovely daisy dress from Oasis on Taylor Swift as she was pictured wearing it whilst swanning around New York. It must have been high fives and back slaps ahoy at Oasis HQ this week, eh? Anyhoo, Old Swifto went for the navy version but I am personally rather partial to this peachy colour.
*Correction* Taylor was actually wearing this Oasis dress. They are pretty similar though.
I’ve got a lot of love for this ribbon detailed dress from Warehouse. it sort of reminds me of a May-pole! That’s a good thing. The colours are lovely too.
There are some lovely dresses on the Coast website at the moment but I was drawn to the beautiful scenic print featured on this Macie dress. I love those almost spooky looking trees! It’s all rather enchanting.
And we finish on this fantastic denim bow back dress from ASOS. It looks like it might give you some serious underwear dilemmas but crikey, look at it. It’s got a massive bow on the back! Yes please.
Jx
PS If you love reading Double Thumbs Dresses then do please consider nominating us for the Company Style Blogger Awards 2014 in the Best Duo category. Imagine how big my double thumbs will be if we get shortlisted. PRETTY BIG is the answer.
Floody hell it’s cold…and wet…and really really grim outside. I’ve decided that the best thing to do is hibernate and look at pretty coats on the Internet (and eat my body weight in chocolate but that’s by the by). Here are my current coat crushes.
PINK COAT! PINK COAT! Remember ages ago when we were all shoving each other over in the street in order to get hold of a pink coat? Well, so do F&F who have cunningly brought out this stunning fit and flare number. It has lots of lovely details, such as that vintage inspired Peter Pan collar, and the price is very nice too.
This is my current top coat crush and comes courtesy of the ever bank balance raiding, Topshop. My only concern is that it won’t be fitted enough but, hey, after all that chocolate I’m eating perhaps it’ll do me a few favours.
As with most French Connection coats this one leaves me dribbling over my keyboard. How cute is this? I love everything about it and if it – by some miracle – comes under the £100 mark, might cause me some spending issues.
Pull & Bear is a brand that’s fairly new to me but I’m constantly impressed by the quality and affordability of their pieces. This coat is lovely and would go with pretty much anything. It also has huge pockets. Absolutely huge. Continue reading Putting the Win in Winter: Coats
Well hello there, readers! I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas! But enough about the festivities, it’s sale time and I, for one, am ready for some bargains! I decided to have a cheeky look through our previous Double Thumbs Dresses posts in the hope of finding some tasty reductions. It turns out that LOADS of them are now on offer so it seemed only fair to share this glorious news with you. So, without further ado, here is a list of frocks that have previously been deemed worthy of the highly coveted Double Thumbs seal of approval but have now been deemed worthy enough to go in the sale. Enjoy!
Continue reading All Hail the Sale: Double Thumbs Dresses Special
Well, it’s Monday again (boo) but that means it’s time for Double Thumbs Dresses (yay!). That’s right, I’m back once again with a round-up of dresses considered worthy enough to receive the highly coveted She and Hem Double Thumbs seal of approval. It really is highly coveted, you know. This week is a bit of an odd one in that I seem to have been attracted to very similar dresses. We begin with three rosy numbers, continue with three sparkly affairs and finish off with something completely different. Just to keep you on your toes…
Rosy frock #1 comes courtesy of Ark. It’s a gorgeous smock shape with beautifully detailed roses, which I find rather Alice in Wonderlandesque. Off with her head! As always, I’m a big fan of the Peter-Pan collar and those lovely short sleeves.
Rosy frock #2 is this dapper 50s number from Peacocks, who have consistently been producing wonderful dresses in this shape for a while now.I bought this one from Double Thumbs #13 and it gets no end of compliments whenever I wear it. Thumbs firmly in the upward trajectory.
And rosy dress #3 is this twirly wonder from People Tree. A bit more expensive than the other two but surely a dress worthy of a special occasion. Plus, it has a big bow. I’ll spend anything on a big bow.
Time to glisten now with sparkly dress #1 Continue reading Double Thumbs Dresses #19
PINK COAT PINK COAT PINK COAT. All people keep banging on about at the moment is pink coats. And now, well, so am I….because hubba bubba aren’t they lovely? I have now officially spent the better part of my Tuesday wondering how I’ve ever lived without one before! So thank you, internet, for your pink pandering has resulted in some serious style crushing on a number of sickeningly sweet candy coloured creations. I have, therefore, put together my favourite sugar coat-ed offerings for your reading pleasure.
This ASOS coat has been highly anticipated by the general coat buying public since it first appeared in their magazine a while back. It finally arrived online this week which sparked an internet frenzy, no really, which has resulted in a lot of the sizes going straight out of stock! In fairness it does look lovely and I am sure those nice folks at ASOS will be replenishing sizes so don’t be too down-hearted if it looks as though you’ve missed out.
Another pink coat getting a lot of attention is this pretty Marks & Spencers affair. So much attention in fact, that it also sold out the second it hit stores at the start of the month. Fear not though, pink lovers, as they restocked it today.
Another pretty effort, this time from Zara who have gone for a lovely soft, shorter number. This one is unmistakably baby pink but could definitely be toughened up with some dark accessories. Maybe even some leather if you’re game. Continue reading Putting the Win in Winter: Coats *Pink Special*