My pick of the Oasis x ZSL collection

7.30am Tuesday: I heard the news that ZSL (the charity behind London Zoo) had teamed up with high street fashion store Oasis to launch a new clothing line. Two hours later, I was in the changing rooms trying it all on.

Dresses, skirts, t-shirts, shorts, tote bags and more all feature in the range, with tigers, zebras, giraffes, monkeys, butterflies, lemurs and more all making an appearance. It's a difficult decision to make, but I managed to whittle it down to a few favourites.

The Indiana Scarf (£16) is a beaut - one of those scarves that's light enough for summer, but warm enough for winter. Birds, butterflies and tigers are all involved - and snakes, which I'm far less keen on. Cute, though.

Image: Oasis

The Kissing Zebra Tee (£30). The same design is available in a tote bag (£20) which is disappointingly small in real life, and a clutch bag (£25) which wasn't available in the shop I visited. Alas, I don't need to add any more t-shirts to my already-oversized wardrobe.

Image: Oasis

Tiger Trainers (£26). These seem to be an online exclusive as they're not available in any store. BUT, I'm pleased to announce that a pair should be winging their way to me in the post as we speak, because really, who doesn't want trainers with tigers on? #Pleasebeasprettyasyoulookinthephotos

Image: Oasis

And finally, my pick of the lot; the ZSL Indiana Skater dress (£45). The same print is available in high-waisted shorts (which I also tried - very masculine) and a jumpsuit (are you kidding me? I barely reach 5ft). The dress was lovely, but it's definitely a sans-bra situation, which is not something I want to be part of, not even for monkeys and parrots and butterflies.

Image: Oasis

Disappointingly, I can't find mention anywhere of money raised from sales of the collection going to ZSL - it seems to be solely about raising awareness. I have tweeted ZSL to ask for clarification but haven't had a response.

ZSL: The Wildest Dream is in Oasis stores and online now.

Scribbling Lau is now on Facebook. You can also find me on Twitter and Instagram

The 5 best things about shopping in charity shops

In recent years, the very act of buying things in charity shops has done a complete about-turn, going from something you wouldn't admit to for fear of becoming a social pariah, to something quite fashionable. If you're not yet convinced that trawling around charity shops is for you, here are my five favourite things about buying things -- mainly clothes, sometimes books or DVDs -- from them.

1. It's cheap

Obviously. Cheap is good. Cheap is your friend. Cheap means you can buy that second-hand dress and afford to feed yourself for the rest of the month. Crucial. Or, you can buy two dresses instead of one. Sometimes that's crucial too.

2. It's for a good cause

Again, an obvious one. The clue's in the name, but you'll enjoy wearing your new jumper even more knowing that the money you spent has gone to helping the homeless/elderly/abandoned animals, rather than lining the pockets of a high street retail boss.

3. It make you stick to your own style

Walk into any high street clothes store and you'll be ambushed from all sides by whatever's in fashion at the moment; Animal print. Neon. Bodycon dresses. We've all done it -- bought something that we don't particularly like, or that doesn't suit us, just because it's on trend (or it's literally all that's in the shops at the moment).
Charity shops don't bow to trends. They're indifferent to fashion. Instead, their volunteers create displays out of whatever they have in stock (and most of the time, it has to be said, do a mighty fine job of it). This means you won't be seduced into buying that leopard print jumpsuit just because leopard print is everywhere. It forces you to look more closely at what you're buying, not to decide whether it's on trend, but to decide whether it's you.

The same goes for books. No more being tempted into shelling out for tomes that are top of the bestseller lists, purely because they're displayed beautifully at the entrance of the store. Take the time to read the blurb and see whether it appeals.

4. They're less busy

While the masses are doing battle with pushchairs, shopping trolleys and lord knows what else in Primark on a Saturday morning, in pursuit of their next cheap fashion hit, you can practically have the charity shop to yourself. Have a wander round, no need to queue for the fitting room, try on eight different things, go to the till and pay, have a chat with Mavis the volunteer, and you'll still be out of the shop and home with your new purchases before the Primark devotees have even reached the changing room.

5. No-one will be wearing the same as you

It's a Monday morning. You bought a new coat at the weekend. You're strolling along in it feeling pretty dandy... until you count no fewer than eight other people wearing the same coat before you've even reached your office. True story (shout out to everyone else who bought the M&S beige mac with black piping from the AW14 collection. You have excellent taste.).

Rarely do you get that when buying second hand. Even if the items you buy came from a chain store, they tend to be a few months, if not a few years, old by the time they've gone through the rigmarole of sitting at the back of someone's wardrobe for months, being turfed out to the charity shop, passing time in the charity shop stock room and finally making it out onto the shop floor. By then, everyone else who bought the same thing from Topshop has forgotten they even have it.

What's more, it somehow feels less sacrificial to edit a garment that's already been used for the purpose for which it was intended. There's something satisfying about giving a second-hand item a bit of a makeover -- and if you mess it up, hey at least you didn't pay full brand new price for that pair of jeans you've just cut a hole in.

Scribbling Lau is now on Facebook. You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram.

Fortnum & Mason's Alice in Wonderland themed windows

You're late, you're late, for a very important date! Ok, you're not really, but what you are missing is these lovely Alice in Wonderland themed windows at Fortnum & Mason.

I don't normally go for themed windows (the last one I actively sought out was Harrods' Gatsby-themed window display in 2013), but throw a shabby chic style teacup in and I'm anyone's.

Unfortunately, the reflection of the busy road and pavement didn't make for excellent photos, but the overall effect of the window was still enchanting. If any photographers reading this have any tips for eliminating such reflections, I'd be happy to hear them.

Large stopwatches, oversized hats and rotating picnic set-ups brought a touch of the magical to proceedings, while spinning mirrors and swinging pendulums add to the sense of confusion we've come to expect from Lewis Carroll's topsy-turvy world.

The windows are marking the release of new Disney film Alice Through The Looking Glass in a couple of weeks time.

Read more about the windows here. and more about Alice in Wonderland in London here.

Wishlist: Handbags

Ladies of London, you've been doing a sterling job on the handbag front recently. Barely a day goes by when I don't encounter handbag envy of some sort of my journey to or from work. This coupled with the fact that my bag broke spectacularly a couple of days ago has led to me looking for a new gear carrier.

Normally I go for a slouchy bag, perfect for my everything-including-the-kitchen-sink mentality, but at the moment I'm feeling the love for boxy and structured bags, as you can see from my selection below.

                       

The central bag. from New Look, is my absolute favourite (also available in black, directly below. although unusually for me, I prefer it in pink). I love how it's simple and elegant, but not completely boring.

Also unusual for me is the hot pink option at the top. Also from New Look, the thing that puts me off is the combination of black and brown; if the handles were black, this would be a definite contender, but as it stands, there's too much going on.

The Ted Baker option in the top left is divine, but is sadly now sold out (yeah, we're gonna pretend that's the reason I'm not buying it...nothing to do with the hefty TB price tag).

The other three options are all River Island.

My weekly* wishlist 24/04/2013

Over a year ago, I started a feature on this blog called My Weekly Wishlist, where I shared items I liked in the shops week-by-week. Sadly, weekly was a tad optimistic, my last post having been over a year ago, but I revive it occasionally when I stumble across products that particularly inspire me.

This week, it's the turn of this rather lovely tiger watch on ASOS. After a rather lengthy internal debate over whether it is tasteful or tacky, I resigned myself to the fact that I do like it, and have resigned myself to the fact that I will be ordering it as soon as I have the funds (*please don't sell out, ASOS*)

The bikini is more of a long term project, as I'm looking for one for a trip to Barcelona in July. At the moment this one from Animal is top of the list!

And now on to one of my recent purchases. I've been good recently, not really buying any clothes since Christmas, but when I saw these giraffe print trousers in New Look I had to get them! They are really light, so perfect for Barcelona. Roll on summer!

Photo diary: Classic Car Boot Sale at Southbank

A couple of weekends ago, I found myself at the Classic Car Boot Sale on Southbank, having written a preview of the event for Londonist. I'm the first to admit, I know next to nothing about cars. If anyone asks me about my car, my standard response its "it's blue". But I do think there's a certain aesthetic pleasure to some of the old VWs and Cadillacs. Combine that with the fact that it was essentially an upmarket car boot sale - bargains galore - and I was there.

 

This VW Camper Van was greeting people at the entrance. It was a lovely, sunny day, which made the scene all the more photogenic. I can just see myself now, driving down the California coastline now, a surfboard in the back of the van, a soundtrack of Jack Johnson....sorry, where was I?

Thunderbirds are go! (Yes, pedants, I know that was a Rolls Royce)

Naturally, I soon found my way to the food area. Even that had a vintage vehicle theme. with many street food vendors selling from caravans, camper vans, and even an old fire truck.

Retro cake stall

The quintessential vintage photo, no?

Autumn 2013 High Street picks

So, kiddiwinks, summer has retreated faster than a misbehaving kid at the mention of Santa, and Autumn is finally upon us. Autumn is my favourite time of year for many reasons, and I love watching changing fashions enter the shops.

My first glimpse of Autumn wear this year was the Cath Kidston bird jumper (centre) which featured in the Metro a few weeks ago. At £64 it'a way out of my price range, but it is adorable and got me looking round for other jumpers.

Thankfully, there aren't that many winter warmers around on the High Street yet (let us enjoy what remains of the summer first!). But I managed to find a few lovelies to warm my cockles until payday:

Autumn 2013 by scribbling-lau featuring a checkered blazer

Birthday accessories

My birthday continued yesterday as I went out for a belated meal with some friends and received some more presents. The earrings on the blue and cream card are all from the very talented Emma, who made them all herself.

The eager-eyed among you might recognise the bucket necklace from my weekly wishlist - Amy, who was with me when I saw it, remembered it from all those months ago!

Finally, the pink flower and pearl hair clips are ones that I chose myself from New Look - they match perfectly with a ring I bought from Accessorize a few months ago.

I also got this perfume from (a different) Emma. It's Summer Heat from Next, and, like all perfumes that I take a liking to, is limited edition. I've never recovered from the loss of the extremely limited edition Forever and Ever by Dior.

A naughty extravagance

I did something really naughty recently - something which I almost never do. An extravagance in which I should not have indulged. In my defence, Mother Goose thought it was a good idea and she really, really never does this.

 I bought the same dress in two different colours.

In my defence, it's quite a versatile little number, as seen below. It can be worn casually, for a trip to the seaside (it conjures up images of deckchairs and lashings of ginger beer), and in my head is a classic British piece. However, it is not from Boden or Whistles, but from our trusty friend *hushed tones* Primark.

It can also be dressed up for office wear, or a more formal occasion, with a blazer. With belt, without belt, flat shoes, wedges.....the possibilities are endless. And at only £13 each, how could I not?!

I also indulged and bought the jumper which I was harping on about in my weekly wishlist a couple of weeks ago. Although a bit of a splurge at £38, I knew I'd regret it if I resisted.

That's my funds exhausted for a couple of months!

My weekly wishlist 02/02/2013

I'm feeling quite monochromous (monochromy? Either way I just invented a new word) this week. Fashion seems to be at one end of the colour scale or the other at the moment with spring pastels fighting an ongoing battle with black and white.

Untitled #2 by scribbling-lau featuring leather hats

This sixties style dress is an absolute bargain from Peacocks (£22), and would be a great addition to any work wear wardrobe. Although it may seem a bit premature to be looking for light summery dresses, the heavy fabric ensures that it can be worn all year round, and the versatile colour scheme lends itself well to a marriage with black tights, until the summer is really here.

Peter Pan style collars are everywhere at the moment, and fortunately this is one trend that doesn't require an expensive wardrobe revamp. Most high street stores are selling stand-alone collars, allowing you to jazz up your pre-existing clobber. From pearls to lace, dainty to chunky, there is something for every style, but my personal favourite is the pearl beaded collar from New Look (£7.99).

Sticking with the monochrome theme, I've had a hankering for a wide brim black fedora hat all winter - a side effect from an autumnal overdose of Made in Chelsea, I believe- and although this beauty from Topshop is my ideal purchase, it'll be a while before I can justify spending £32 on a hat.

Last but by no means least is the gorgeous Eiffel Tower, an absolute bargain at £3.10 from Forever 21, my new favourite store, It doesn't work too well with the monochrome backdrop, but a girl needs a little colour in her life, and with Valentine's Day fast approaching, what could be cuter?

My Weekly Wishlist 26/01/2013

My latest shopping trip has left me with a short but expensive wishlist. Top of the list is the candy pink jumper with built-in Peter Pan collar from Topshop. Cute on it's own but OH-SO-PERFECT with the white lace dress, also from Topshop, creating a perfect summery office outfit. Although a bit summery for the current weather, the dress is a versatile little number, and the layering look when the jumper was added made it bang on trend. It could also be worn with a cardigan, blazer, leather jacket....

My other Topshop fave was the "Raver" jumper - so many colours, I was instantly drawn to it. 

I also fell a little in love with the cute bucket necklace from Accessorize. I have a habit of collecting necklaces featuring mundane household objects, and think this bucket would go perfectly with my already existing collection of a chair, a bicycle and a sewing machine.

Wishlist by scribbling-lau featuring topshop

Red Carpet fashion round-up: NTAs

I'm not usually a fan of red carpet fashion, but working at Bliss magazine must have rubbed off on me, as I've just spent a good couple of hours checking out the red carpet frocks from last nights NTAs!

Looks I'm loving

I'm not sure it's what I'd choose for a red carpet appearance (a girl can dream), but as a lover of all things sixties, I love Samia Ghadie's block colour bodycon in yellow and pink.

Michelle Heaton oozed classic red carpet glamour in her sequin drenched floor length gown, and managed to stay just on the right side of the disco-ball look.

Jennie McAlpine seemed to channelling Adele with her large hair and classic lace dress, and it paid off!

Laura Whitmore made a brave choice in yellow but I think it paid off, as the dress she chose made her legs go on FOR.EV.ER. Loving the gold accessories too!

But one of my favourite outfits of the night was Ashleigh Butler's black and white paisley print number, which she accessorized perfectly elegant look. Of course, the fluffy accessory going by the name of Pudsey helped too.

I am loving Caroline Flack's new hair-do - she's looking like she's taken a leaf out of Kate Middleton's style book. Apparently the 'do was so new that she managed to sneak past most of the press undetected on the NTA red carpet!

Honorary mentions

Normally I'm a massive fan of Ella Henderson's fashion choices - for her age, it's impressive that she's got her style so sussed already- but I'm not so sure about last night's choice. I think it's a lovely dress, but with her impressive height, she could have worn something a little more figure-flattering. However, fairplay to her for sticking to the high street end of the budget spectrum (Heat Magazine identified her dress as £95 from ASOS) and not letting her newly found fame and fortune get to her head.

Thrift shop buzz #3

So a combination of January wardrobe blues and a lack of dinero has seen me reverting back to my old stomping ground recently- the charity shops. I wasn't after anything in particular - I usually find I come across more bargains when shopping with an open mind rather than a ready made shopping list. Happily though, I stumbled across a few items to liven up the wardrobe.

First purchase was this orange silk-esque top. Pretty basic, but something to add a bit of colour to the winter  drudgery. Perfect for wearing casually with jeans (add heels and a blazer to take it up a notch) or smart enough to rock as office wear. I got it for a bargain £2.99, and it's originally from George @ Asda. 

A close up of the ruffly neckline:

 Next up was this charcoal grey jumper. Admittedly it does nothing to bring colour to my life, but it's warm and cosy. I added the white top for warmth  in these bitter climes (although will be searching for one with a lower neckline to wear with it), but it can just as easily be worn without the layers. Again, it can be worn smart or casual, but colourful accessorising is a must! A bargain at £3.

My last recent purchase was this slightly more wild dressy top. This picture doesn't quite do the colour justice- it's more of a Dairy Milk purchase in real life. I wasn't sure about the silver detail -it's a little too far into Jane Norman territory for my liking - but have worn it already. Skinny jeans + black heels + black blazer + this top = perfect outfit for a meal with friends.

By some catastrophic omission on my part, I never blogged about these beauties; I picked them up in a charity shop in Camden over the summer en-route to work one particularly sunny day for £6.95. Sadly, the sun went in soon afterwards and has yet to return, so they haven't been worn yet, but I'm hoping they'll get some air time this coming summer.

Check out my past bargains:

Thrift shop buzz #2
Thrift shop buzz #1

Mince pies out the way- it's sale time!

For me, the post-Christmas sales are as much of a tradition as turkey and a tree. The sales left me disappointed last year, and after a few months of financial restraint, I was looking forward to grabbing a few bargains and revitalising my wardrobe in the cheap this year.

However, once again I was left disappointed. By the time my grand old trip to Stratford City Westfield came round, most of the shops were bereft of sale rails entirely. 

My main target this year was office wear (I feel so grown up typing that!) and I managed to catch a couple of bargains.

The above grey skirt was £7 in the H&M sale. Venturing into the store was a mission and a half - one glance at my friend cowering under a rail as violent shoppers ripped items off the rail, mere millimetres from her ears, was a particular highlight. Back to the skirt - it's a versatile office staple- heels, flats, jumpers, blouses, vest tops, pretty much any colour- it all goes, making it perfect for wearing year round.

My second purchase was this plum coloured skirt from Primark. I'd gone in with the intention of hunting down a black dip-hem skirt I'd seen on a mannequin a couple of weeks ago but not had time to try on. Said skirt was disappointing fit, but I went away with this one, another office staple.

Disappointingly, my favourite stores (New Look, I'm looking at you) had very little in the way of sale gear- most of the shop floor was still dedicated to full price current season items. Forever 21 was also disappointing - they only had a couple of sale rails in their whole three-floor store, and as far as we could tell, most reduced items were faulty - ripped, stained or damaged in some way.

The Christmas 2012 fashion haul

So, the big day has been and gone, the man in the red suit has trundled his way back to Lapland and some crazy fools were queuing outside Bluewater at 1am (yep, you read that right) for the sales to start.

But before we all head back to the rat race and forget that Christmas ever happened, I thought I'd give you a quick run through of the fashion-centric gifts I received (before I skip off to the sales and stock up on a few more bits and bobs).

First up is my main present, a black leather jacket. If you're thinking what wonderful taste the person who bought it for me has, I feel now is the time to enlighten you to the fact that I chose it myself. I've been semi-consciously looking for a leather jacket for a couple of years, but it's one of those wardrobe staples that has to be completely right. Luckily for me, leather jackets have been prevalent on the high street this A/W, and I loved the shape and style of this one. The fur collar is detachable, and I think I'll be leaving it off for most of the time.

Next up is this penguin hoodie. You'd have to understand my love of penguins to get this one, but I'm pretty chuffed with it.

This bag is perfect for me! I'm not one for small handbags, being the sort of person to throw everything in, so this is perfect for a night out. Hopefully it's big enough for a pair of flat shoes as well.






And last but not least is this Rimmel nail polish in "Black Cherries", a perfect Christmas shade.

Candy Kittens Mk 2: Still no candy

A few months ago, you may remember that I paid a little visit to the Candy Kittens pop-up store in Chelsea, and was left extremely disappointed. Although the concept was good, the journey there was traumatic, and the result was disappointing, with not so much as a sniff of the promised candy. I later learned that the Chelsea shop finished its' pop-up run a couple of weeks after our ill-fated pilgrimage, so I resigned myself to giving it the benefit of the doubt, assuming that the sweets had all been sold and that was that.

However, I had high hopes for the Christmas pop-up store. "What Christmas pop-up store?" I hear you cry, "for I know nothing of this promised wonder!". Well, you wouldn't really, as the Candy Kittens website hasn't actually been updated, and still contains that unspeakable map which caused so many problems the last time. In fact the only way I knew about the new store was from Jamie Laing's Twitter feed.  It was only by googling "Candy Kittens Carnaby Street" that I landed on this website which, very usefully, provided the address of the Carnaby Street store. 

Fast forward a while and I found myself outside the new Candy Kittens store within a few days of its' opening, or so I thought. On arriving, I wasn't entirely sure that the shop was open, despite it being a busy Wednesday afternoon a couple of weeks before Christmas. The door was open at a 45 degree angle, and the interior appeared to be bare, both of stock and decoration, as if it was still being set up. 

I walked past a couple of times, giving the place a once over and no doubt arousing suspicion in the patrons of the nearby cafe, who probably thought I was casing the joint in readiness for the preppiest burglary ever carried out. Eventually I summoned up the courage to walk in and find out whether it was in fact open. It was, but it seemed that the minimalist look was what they were going for; there was barely any stock (these photos show the more generously filled side of the shop).

As for what was there, it was mainly Jack Wills-esque fashion; oversized hoodies, logo t-shirts and beanie hats, all folded perfectly a la Abercrombie. A few other items were dotted around, such as notebooks and Christmas baubles (the cheapest, and pinkest, items I came across, at £5 each). Yet still there was no evidence of the candy part of the title, except a few old-fashioned humbug-style jars dotted around. At least the Chelsea shop had the saving grace of a milkshake bar, even if they had sold out of most of the flavours.

Oh biscuity Jamie, I love you so, but I don't think retail is for you. Or sweets. And definitely not marketing. Stick to biscuits and looking pretty, eh?

Chelsea boots and dogtooth

For me, there are two staples to the high street this winter, which will be making their way into my wardrobe just as soon as some money makes its way into my pocket.

First up, dogs tooth. With an uncharacteristic dose of fashion foresight, I've been loving dogtooth ("houndstooth") for the past few winters. There's something about it that is so metropolitan, that somehow screams "high-flying career girl". Just me? I've probably been watching too many New York based Rom-coms again. I digress.

With dogtooth, there is a thin line between getting it right, and getting it so, so wrong. Generally, the larger the print, the riskier the look. However, even subtle dogtooth is not a good look when done head to toe. And wearing clashing prints is a definite no-no unless you want to risk being mistaken for Cher Lloyd (trust me, you don't).

Back to basics

The good news is that traditional black and white dogtooth makes a great base for a monochrome look, rendering it perfect for that highly coveted day-to-night look, heading straight from the office to a Christmas party. Case in point is this dogtooth bodycon dress - chuck a black blazer over it for daytime, but let the pattern flow free when the sun goes down .

The softer approach

However, it does not have to be about bold, harsh patterns, as demonstrated by this mocha oversized jumper (£42, Topshop), great for wrapping up on chilly winter days.

To carry the dogtooth look into the summer, this sleeveless dogtooth shirt would look great dressed down with skinny jeans and black pumps, or glitzed up with black leggings, heels and oodles of eyeliner.

Accessorise it!

If an outfit of dogtooth is too bold for you, take a basic outfit and accessorise it! This snood (£7.99, New Look) is great for a casual weekend look. For the office, pair these dogtooth court shoes with an a-line dress or pencil skirt (black, naturally).

Jazz up your classic LBD look this Christmas with the dogtooth clutch (£10, River Island). For a more modern look, go for a coloured base - emerald green and wine red are both prevalent at the moment, and relatively easy to pull off.

But for me, the ultimate dogstooth item on the high street is this dogtooth mini skirt (£22.99, Mango- although it is also available on the Mango website, I prefer the ensemble on ASOS)


Chelsea boots are my other wardrobe staple this winter. Perfect for wearing with a knee length skirt and winter woolly tights, or tucking skinny jeans into, Although they are two-a-penny on the high street, the perfect pair proved to be very elusive- once I had an idea in my mind of what I wanted (black, leather/waterproof, slight heel, minimal embelishments...), the ideal pair proved very hard to find. Suede is plentiful, and although it's cute, I wasn't budging on the waterproof criteria (my mother's practicality seems to have rubbed off on me more than I realised). After talking myself out of a few practically perfect but wildly over-budget options, I settled for these little beauties.

Miraculously they were only £20, from an independent trader in Bluewater. I just can't help thinking how good they'd look paired with the Mango dogtooth skirt!

The classic dream wardrobe

Now I'm the first to admit, fashion is not my strong point, not by a long way, but that hasn't stopped me creating, developing and perfecting my perfect wardrobe over the years. I say "perfect", I mean "dream" - the prices are enough to ensure that this wardrobe will never be a real option for me. Still, a girl can dream

First up is the classic Burberry trench - elegant, sophisticated, timeless. Looks great dressed up with office wear (particular if you happen to have the fortune to work in Vogue House) or casual with skinny jeans and a classy jumper or shapely shirt. My one reservation is the length - unless you've got lengthy pins, there is the potential to give the drowning-in-Burberry vibe.

Next up is the bag, the ultimate accessory for every look. Personally I have two all time favourites - a day option and an evening option. The Mulberry Bayswater is a classic must have, and although my hypothetical choice of colour fluctuates on a daily basis, depending on mood, season and general whim,   I've whittled it down to browns and reds (at least until I can afford one in each colour!)

For evening wear, the Mulberry goes and the classic Chanel quilted bag takes over - in black, naturally.

The best Christmas jumpers of 2012

The traditional Christmas jumper. Previously an annual joke akin to lewd photocopies at the office Christmas party, it's come into it's own in recent years as a staple fashion item for the festive season. There seem to be more than ever available on the high street this year, from stylish knits to absolute clangers.

Peacocks seems to be ruling the budget end of the roost, with everything from the classic red Rudolph (£16), perfect for Bridget Jones style family gatherings, to the more stylish patterned jumper dress (£18), suitable for work as well as play. For a more feminine twist on the all-out-party jumper, try this red and white snowflake special (£16), which will look great with indigo jeans, or for more sparkle, pair this Ho ho ho jumper dress (£20 -bargain!) with skinny jeans and a chunky scarf.

Topshop seem to have based their designs largely on black this year; pick from  a slightly off-colour robin (£50), a candy cane (£50),  or the slightly more lively polar bear snow scene (£50) - that's one thoughtful looking bear. Fortunately there is light at the end of the tunnel with this cream, holly-patterned jumper (£50), just be careful where you throw your Christmas day gravy!

If girly kitsch is more up your street this sequin Christmas tree design (£27.99, New Look) is a great way to show your fun side. For a soft yet edgy look, this charcoal snow scene (£27.99, New Look)

Snuggle up at home with this aztec style jumper dress  (Dorothy Perkins, £28), perfect for snowy afternoons in front of the fire.

If you want a motif jumper that will last all year, this slouch-style hanging cats jumper or this Alice in Wonderland style heart print jumper are both great for casual wear, and the latter is great for office wear too.

Party people: Nelly Shoes at Whisky Mist

The well-heeled fashionistas of London dusted off their party shoes last night, and despite the weather turned out in style to celebrate the launch of Nelly shoes in the UK.

The event was the culmination of a nationwide tour which saw Nelly shoes taking in the cobbled streets of Bristol, the seaside party town of Brighton and the spires of Oxford, among others.

The location was Whisky Mist, one of Mayfair's more indulgent hotspots, where the social elite come to wile away their time and part with their hard earned bucks. On this occasion though, it was less about the booze, all about the shoes.

Many were excited to see this highly coveted Swedish brand finally land in the UK, others were lured there by the promise of free shoes. Walking down the steps and into the venue, the cabinets of shoes on display told us we were in the right place; set up strategically ensuring a fine balance between luring us in far enough to want the shoes, but not handing them over then and there, leaving us wanting more.

 The result was a combination of excited shoe lovers, working themselves into a frenzy over which pair to opt for, and the calmer, more calculated attendees, who treated the choice of shoe so seriously, an onlooker could be forgiven for thinking the life of their first born child lay on the line. These were serious shoe addicts.

Attendees were also given well-received fashion goody bags, and a rather delicious strawberry cocktail, which served to get the social cogs turning and the conversation flowing, resulting in a successful event all round.

Welcome to the UK, Nelly. We're happy to have you.

Images courtesy of Felicity Main (@felicitymain)