River Island Tapestry

River Island is not somewhere I usually think about when I go shopping, but recently i've been noticing some really beautiful items by them on blogs and in magazines, and almost choked on my lunch when I spotted this dress on a friends Facebook today. I absolutely love tapestry, I think it's such a statement fabric the dark colours teamed with black panels on this range is perfect for Winter. 

I noticed the jacket first on ASOS and have been trying to decide for ages whether I should buy it? I really like it but i'm not sure how practical it is for how cold the weather currently is, I would really love to wear the jacket and the trousers together but i'm pretty sure I don't have £100 to fulfil this dream! Which is why I am so pleased River Island decided to extend this fabric out into a dress, something I will definitely wear several times and is not too expensive at £45. I think it's such a good idea when brands bring out a print in several different styles, there is nothing worse than falling in love with a print and then finding it only comes in a 'not me at all' super tight bodycon dress. 

I would really love to hear anyone who has bought any of this range or anyone who can recommend a jacket, trouser co-ord which is slightly lower priced! 

Blogger Of The Month: Coury Combs

 Last month I missed blogger of the month whilst I was having my little break but now i'm back with one of my new favourites; Coury Combs from Fancy Treehouse. I love it when bloggers have a list of their favourite blogs on a side bar and that is how I found Fancy Treehouse, I usually tend to look at UK blogs so it was great to discover an American one that I enjoyed reading so much. I really like Courys' style, it's a lot more girlie than my own but she has the most gorgeous hair and a great 60's Bardot/Marianne Faithfull look. Almost all of her clothes are vintage and she mixes prints, textures and layers in a really beautiful way that makes her look like she's just stepped off a Goldie Hawn film set.

One of the reasons I like reading Fancy Treehouse is it includes lots of stories about her lifestyle and is more of an online diary rather than just outfit posts. Coury lives in Nashville, TN with her husband and beautiful baby girl Goldie, and runs her own business Fancy Treehouse vintage clothing store.
Tennessee is the number one place I want to visit and it is definitely a dream of mine to have my own clothing/jewellery business, and as she is a few years older than me I find her quite inspiring.

If you haven't had a read through Fancy Treehouse yet then I would definitely recommend checking it out and i'd love to know if anyone else loves Courys' style as much as I do.

The Cloud

Hat - Fox & Feather

Jumper - Topshop

Playsuit (worn underneath) - River Island

Necklace - Vintage & Waiste

Bracelet - Vintage

Shoes - Dr Marten Copies

Before you say it, yes this jumper is the greatest thing I have ever bought! I love the fluffy jumper trend but as soon as I saw this one in Topshop I knew I wouldn't be able to find another one that would compare, plus it's called The Cloud! It was £40 and I bought it during the 20% student discount event (with my cousins discount, naughty!) plus I had a £10 gift card from my birthday, so it only cost me £22. I've teamed it with a floral playsuit from River Island which was a birthday present at the end of July, and of course this hat which I can't seem to stop wearing. I am also wearing a Waiste necklace here, I featured Sara Waiste as my blogger of the month in August and have since fallen hard for her vintage clothing label which you can find here. Waiste will be holding a pop up shop in London on 19th, which I wish I was going to but unfortunately I have work so please pop along if your in Dalston.

Ive been in Swanage this weekend with some friends and today is going to consist of a Sunday carvery and a band practice tonight, have a nice Sunday :) 

Hate The Taste

Hat - Fox & Feather

Roll Neck - Boohoo

Skirt - Louche at Fox & Feather

Necklace and Bracelet - Vintage

Shoes - eBay Creepers

Sorry for the rubbish quality of these photos, the lens has broken on my camera so i'm borrowing my Dad's and it was a really grey day yesterday when I took these! I am so in love with this skirt, it's from Louche which is a brand we sell in fox & feather and I love the 70's hippy print. It looks good with a lot of plain colours but here i've teamed it with my black roll neck top and a great necklace I picked up from a vintage fair in Bristol. I think you might be seeing a lot of this skirt because I keep finding more tops it looks great with so prepare yourself! 

I think i've finally accepted the reality of not getting Glastonbury tickets this year, I was in total shock for a few days but now i'm feeling better about it. I've been to four Glastonbury festivals and can honestly say it's the best i've ever been to, we've never had problems getting tickets before but out of 20 of us no one even got through to a booking form. It's a slight consolation that none of my friends got one, it would be a bit depressing if only a handful of us did, we have such an amazing time in a big group it just wouldn't be the same. I'm thinking of going to Bestival or somewhere smaller like Green Man instead and i'm definitely going to be leaving the country for the last weekend of June! 

Here are two of my favourite pictures from the blistering year that was 2010. If you did get Glastonbury tickets and it will be your first time then prepare yourself for the greatest weekend of your life <3 

Witching Hour

Hat - Fox & Feather

Dress - Boohoo

Kimono - Motel Rocks

Necklaces - Both Vintage

Bracelets - Portugese Markets

Rings - Biba & Bristol Silver Shops

Shoes - eBay Creepers

I managed to get this pansy kimono from the Motel Rocks sample sale, I really love the shape of these soft jackets and even though it's starting to get a bit colder they're quite nice to have on underneath a big Winter coat. I've teamed it with a plain black swing dress from Boohoo, which i've been wearing loads and my new favourite accessory; the perfect big black hat!

This weekend i'm going away for the night with some friends and am also planning some nights out in Liverpool, Manchester and Cardiff for November whilst my boyfriends band are touring. If any of you lovely bloggers live in any of those cities and like new music or fancy a mini blogger meet up then let me know!

Missguided AW 2013 Preview

Just wanted to share with you guys the Missguided AW 2013 collection featuring model of the moment Anja Konstantinova. I have fallen for the red kimono in the bottom picture as well as the green dress and burnt black kimono over the red velvet dress. 

What's everyones thoughts? ♡ ☯

Bleach London Collection

What i'm about to say is not going to shock you but...I am a self confessed hair dye addict! I've dyed my hair continuously since I was 14 - not telling how many years ago that was -  and have been every colour from jet black to silver white, with pink, red, orange and many more in between. Lets be honest I don't even know what my natural hair colour is anymore!

The one colour i've always been drawn to though is the silver, it's pretty much a blank canvas so if I feel like dying it pink for a night out I can, and it will only last a couple of weeks. The thing about the silver is firstly it goes with everything, you don't have to worry about not being able to wear certain coloured clothes or lipsticks because what doesn't go with white/silver? The other thing I love about the silver is it's such a statement, when I had brown hair to be honest I felt too 'normal' I like to have hair that stands out and I love it when people think i'm mental because my hair is bright blue.

I've always wanted my hair dyed at Bleach London, ever since I first discovered their salon in Topshop Oxford Circus a few years ago, but i've just never been able to afford it. I follow them on Instagram and am constantly dreaming over their beautiful pictures, so I can't quite express to you my excitement when I discovered they were going to be stocking a range of home dye kits in Boots! Honestly i've planned my colours for the next year with the amount i've fallen in love with.

I wanted to share with you guys my current hair lust list and would love to know if any of you are planning on a Bleach dying session anytime soon? All products are available from Boots website and are an absolute bargain with everything in the range under £7!

My first purchase this silver shampoo will keep my silver locks bright !
£5 available from Boots!

These are my current three favourite colours, pink and lilac are old favourites but I think Sea Punk will be the first one I try, I haven't had green hair before and this looks like the perfect pastel shade for me.

I change my mind a lot when it comes to hair so this is the answer to my prayers, when your fed up of your colour wash it out with this and try something else!

One Of Those Weeks...

All items available from Motel Rocks, use the code 'sophiepalms' for 20% off!

This week has in fact been 'one of those weeks' you know the ones that you feel really good about but everything and I mean everything goes wrong and it just seems impossible to stay positive? I won't bore you with all the details but the week has consisted of losing my favourite bracelet, spending around two hours each day in traffic, dropping the lens of my camera and breaking a light on my car! I now need to buy a new lens for my Canon 1000D so if anyone has any tips for where to pick up a cheap one then hit me up!

On the plus side I changed my blog name; let me introduce you to my new blog Opal Wren! I've wanted to change my blog name for quite a while, I love Across The Universe but as you know it's a Beatles song and I wanted a name that was totally original, something I could call my own. I did lots of research into names and styles and picked two words which I feel reflect my style, blog, life everything really. I hope you guys like it and thank you for all the positive feedback I have had so far on twitter.

I had a beauty post planned for this evening but my camera problems have made that pretty impossible so instead I leave you with this new print from Motel Rocks which I am in LOVE with, and remember you can get 20% discount when you use the code 'sophiepalms' at the till!