Fashion and Styling tips Part 1.

I have always wanted to do a stylist course, and especially now more than ever. I am always conscious of saying that I am a "fashion blogger" however I have no documentation to back that up,  only that I have worked in retail for 9 years and I have a complete passion for it. I don't, and never would claim to be a fashionista of any kind, on most days I look like a complete wreck. But working in retail and for numerous high street stores over the last few years has taught me a thing or two. So I would love share some of these tips and tricks with you all, and it would be great if you could share yours back so we can all learn together.

1. If in doubt always keep it simple, for example a little black dress. Style it with bright accessories such as shoes, bags and jewellery to make an outfit pop. Recently I saw Just Jordan at an event, all dressed in black, with bright yellow heels and earrings and she looked absolutely divine

2. Did you know that the secret formula for formfitting t-shirts is 95% cotton and 5% Lycra, and for jeans to hold their shape they need at least 2% Lycra. Sometimes it can be worth going down a size in denim because they always loosen and nobody, I mean nobody wants a baggy bum.

3. Always check the label, if your anything like me do not buy hand wash or dry clean only. Because frankly I will never take care of it and I always end up ruining it. Its not so great if you lead anyway of a hectic lifestyle, and I once washed and dried a jumper that now wouldn't even fit my 7 year old

4. If you are shopping for a special occasion, don't just assume that the dress will look better when you get home and pop on the spandex and make up. Go prepared, bring your spandex with you so you get a true idea of how the dress fits.

5. Spend you money on good basics, a black and a blue pair of denims, a white shirt or t-shirt, nude shoes, a black smart jacket and so on. You will get so much wear out of them, they are also so versatile and suit everybody and body shape if worn the right way.

6. Don't over accessorise, you don't always have to wear a watch, bracelets, rings, necklace and earrings all at once. Sometimes less is more and in the words of CoCo Chanel

7. Have an emergency kit for those mis-haps, I have often been at a wedding or event where my zip burst or seam split and once where my dress was too low and I was so conscious all night. So its demo worth having a little emergency kit with some double sided tape, safety pins, baby wipes for stains etc.

8. A scarf can totally transform a boring outfit and is great if your not a big print fan but want to add interest. I have often been having a bad outfit day and popped on a scarf and its instantly felt like a totally different outfit.

9. I heard this recently and its a great one "dress for your body, not for your age".  Just because you are 35/40 doesn't mean you have to dress like a mammy. After I had my first I went through a stage were I didn't know how to dress myself. If you've got it flaunt it, beauty knows no age.

10. Go with your gut, if you like it wear it, if it makes you feel like a million dollars than your confidence will shine through. Fashion is subjective, we all have different styles that suit our personality. Do not be drawn in by TRENDS.....

So I hope you found some of this helpful, maybe you have heard these already, or maybe you don't agree with some. In part 2 I was going to focus on body shapes, do you think that is something you would like to read about. Please feel free to comment and share your tips and tricks. As always thanks for taking the time out to read

Luv Lisa xx

I'll be there for you

We all have different kinds of friends in our lives, some from childhood (if we are lucky), others we have met through work, social media, hobbies, even friends of friends. Some we have known for a long time and then there are others that have come and gone. As we get older our lives and personalities change and so do that of our friends, sadly we drift apart from some that were once our closest, mostly due to circumstance, making way for the ones that are here to stay.  

I've been friends now with my best friend for over 8 years, we didn't start off like this, we were more work acquaintances, we socialised as part of a group for many years, but I wouldn't say that we're very close. In fact we even fell out for some time, which is sad now when I think about the circumstances surrounding it. However it made us stronger and we actually became the best of friends from it. We have a mutual love of socialising, prosecco, all things girly, lazy Sundays and straight up having the lols. If someone was to listen to one of our conversations, they would have a right ould laugh, because we talk complete and utter nonsense most of the time. Dreams versus reality are often blured when we get together, because we come up with the most ridiculous ideas For example, we have always said for my hen we would have a "boats and hoes" cruise up the Shannon, because we both love Step Brothers the movie. When we went to New York on holidays, we decided that we would open up our own bar called "who-are's" (basically whores said in an Irish slang), a traditional Irish bar, with middle aged bar women wearing blue eye shadow and push up bras. Oh we had the whole thing planned, all written out on a napkin, if we win the lotto, watch this space :) Alot of it is silly but sometimes you need silly in your life, and we for sure don't take ourselves too serious. But aside from all the fun, I honestly couldn't function without this girl in my life. She has seen me in every emotion possible, angry, upset, happy, at my worst, and at my best. She is not only my friend, she is my family. 

It good to have positive people surrounding you but equally as important to have people that are also very honest with you. Friends share huge moments of your life, they also know alot of your deepest, darkest thoughts and fears. For me I know that I can be 100% myself around my best friend without having to second guess what I say, or how I act. Even when I know I'm being totally ridiculous about something she knows exactly how to make me see the light without making me feel like I'm a terrible person. We all have our "moments" and when we do it's important to have someone to keep us grounded. 

Someone once said to me, "if you were stuck at the side of the road, who would you call?" Think about it, I bet there isn't that many people you could rely on. But I know that this girl would drive me to the moon and back if I needed her to.

Make sure that the important people in your life feel, and know just how important they are.

With luv to my bestie Emma xx