nike

Today’s “My Style“ post is slightly more editorial hence the slightly wider post and the ‘read more’ button for those of you on my homepage. I’m super happy with these photos, so here’s a big shout out to Papa Posh and all his hard work. He’s been my photographer since the beginning and he’s come such a long way. I won’t be talking too much in this post, so just appreciate the mini shoot… and also a little give-away at the end!

Accessories: Scotch R’Belle* ~ Dress: Spiritual Hippie ~ Trainers: Nike Leopard TR Fit 5.0 (JD Sports)*

DESERT REBELLE SOUNDTRACK:
Come (Jain) 🎶
Makeba (Jain) 🎶
Flashbulb Eyes – Dennis Bovell Remix (Arcade Fire) 🎶
Late Night in Kauai (Childish Gambino) 🎶

Not only is this actual shoot rather editorial, but the outfit itself is kinda’ high-fashion inspired in my opinion. It’s mainly inspired by the desert with my gorgeous new Scotch R’Belle cap which itself has a desert inspired print with camels and pyramids making an appearance. It’s also got those floaty, wind catching vibes with the dress (which is one of my favourite recent purchases).

It’s still not perfectly warm and sunny at the moment, so I have a pair of leggings underneath, topped off with my trusty Nike trainers to tie in all of the colours. It’s sporty, it’s simple, but it still has a lot of depth and texture going on throughout. My new favourite combination, I think!

Scotch R’Belle is actually the teen range of Scotch & Soda who also have Maison Scotch under their name; I’ve owned one of their blouses for a while now so to have some more specifically teen focused items in my wardrobe from them, makes me particularly happy. Everything’s such lovely quality too, and because of that, I’m going to give away a little something for you! Scroll on down for more details…

~ GIVE-AWAY ~
To win this leather iPhone 6 case, use the Rafflecopter below to enter! European only… all T&Cs below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms & Conditions: European only. The prize will be sent out by Tolly Dolly Posh but was gifted by Scotch R’Belle. The give-away ends on April 17th. Mandatory Rafflecopter entries must be completed for a chance of winning. If you are 13 years old or under, please make sure you have your parent/guardian’s permission as Tolly Dolly Posh will need your postal address. 

Good Luck! Let me know what you thought of this shoot in the comments and how you’d style up the cap and scarf yourself (that’s a give-away entry already!) I hope you liked this post as much as I did…

(This is not a sponsored post, although I was gifted a few samples from Scotch R’Belle. You can read my full disclaimer here.)

First of all, Happy New Year! This is officially my first blog post of 2016… which also means the first blog post for my 4th year of blogging… crazy! I still can’t quite believe 2015 is over, I think it genuinely was the most fast paced year of all time, I mean seriously, where did it go?

~ MMXVI ~

2015 was an odd year for me… a lot happened but it’s as if I didn’t really have the right sort of grip on it all. Like it just sort of blurred past me and then I was like, oh wait, that happened, didn’t it? (That probably makes no sense at all, but this is just going to be one of those updatey type posts so bear with people, bear with!) And that’s why I want 2016 to be different… I want to be able to actually grasp onto opportunities and realise exactly what’s happening.

I want to really just go for it, because quite frankly, I need to. Even if I start with small things, I think it might actually work this year. I’ve already taken a pretty big step in telling myself that after April, I will most definitely be dying my hair a washed out navy blue… the April part is rather specific as I’m going to be maid of honour at my sister’s wedding and I’m not quite sure I’m brave enough to walk down the aisle (um… sort of) with my new-do. But it will happen people! I will dye my hair and it will in some way help me to step up to bigger things. I can feel it.

WHAT I WORE: Faux Fur Coat (Jumble Sale) // Maison Scotch Blouse (Jumble Sale) // Good Morning Sweatshirt (Wildfox Kids)* // Ripped Flares (New Look Teens)* // Nike TR Fit 5.0 Trainers (JD Sports)* // Personalisable Necklace (Primark) // Sunglasses (SCOUT)

In terms of real goals… I’m not sure. I used to do real step by step goals but now it’s just sort of a general aim to get things going. I have a few plans for my blog example, including a new interview feature that I’ve been working on for a really long time and just the overall idea of extending my content to more intellectual and in-depth topics.

I started to do this towards the end of last year, but things got hectic with #MooiEnLiefbyTDP (oh yeah, I launched a collection last year, didn’t I?) and I ended up putting too much pressure on myself… hence my drop in blog posts. After running a site like this for so long, I suppose you set yourself up for expectations when really, the only expectations are in your head. I’m doing this for me after all, right? The added bonus is all of the opportunities and amazing readers on top.

  LOCATION: Sirolo, IT  🇮🇹

I’m forever grateful for what blogging has given me and I don’t regret a single bit of it. I hope 2016 brings even more to TDP, in whatever direction it takes. I’m thinking I might refresh things again too, so it might not be just my hair getting a change. If I do change things up, it won’t be anything too drastic… it’s just with my age, I’m always changing and I feel like I’ve already grown out of my 2014 update (two years is a long time for a teen, just sayin’)… so who knows. We’ll see!

As for you, I hope you stick around and that you all have an even better year than the last. You’re all awesome and I absolutely love being able to chat and converse about things we all love and enjoy. Who knows, maybe we’ll meet in person this year? There are endless possibilities waiting for us… I guess it’s just about going out and grabbing them.

Good luck you crafty jack rabbits… 100 brownie points if you can point out that reference. 100 brownie points if you can’t either, because you’re all equally awesome.

Hello there young chum! Today I have my second ASOS Saved Items wishlist! Sorry there was a delay with this post but I was very busy, so I’ve thrown in another 2 items for you! You lucky duckies! (What was in my list last time? See here.)

What’s in your ASOS Saved Items wishlist currently? Let me know in the comments!

PINEAPPLE BAG // NIKE BAG

Pineapple Bag: I’m having a bit of a fruit ‘thing’ at the moment. I have a lemon clutch, some fruity false nails, and I now really want this bag! It’s so darn cute! I’m stopping myself from buyin  – SOLD OUT! Booo! I waited and then… it’s gone! That’s the trouble with pre-writing posts….

Nike Bag: Not sure why I like this, but I do! I think it’s just the colour and the ditsy print. I think drawstring bags are a bit of a love it or hate it piece, but it’s in my Saved Items so it has to be shared! What do you think? Yay or nay?

NAIL DECALS // NIKE TRAINERS

Nail Decals: I’m also having a bit of a fast food ‘thing’, seeing as I have fast food socks and a french fries necklace… so obviously I need these too! They’re adorable though, right? Again, if these go to like £3.00, they will be mine. They will totally complete the awesome outfit I have in my head… think nautical stripes, denim and fast food… yum burgerrrr… speaking of burgers, have you seen Carrie from WishWishWish’s engagement ring box?! SO. CUTE. Congrats Carrie! 

Nike Trainers: Okay, I basically now need £100 to get these in my life. They are AMAZING. My House of Holland snapback would be absolutely perfect with these. The colours are 100% identical and just ooooh, purrrrty. Let’s just all hope these also go down in price by like… 70%…?!

PINEAPPLE SKIRT // SWEET SOCKS

Pineapple Skirt: I told you I was having a fruit ‘thing’! Look at this skirt though, it’s awesome 😀 I love the pink too, and the length and the style… I am so tempted…. maybe… maybe I shall purchase. I’m thinking it would look nice with a little crop top and a nice baggy cover up, or perhaps a kimono… oh yeah, I’m still on the hunt for a kimono! I can’t find any for under £15… 🙁 Booo!

Sweet Socks: These are cute, heh? Sweets all in pastel colours, on socks! The only problem is I have no shoes which would match that well as my black jelly sandals are getting too small! Darn you feet for deciding to grow even bigger… soon I’ll be size 7 and even some of Mama Posh’s shoes won’t fit me! Gahhh!

NECKLACE // SEQUIN BAG

Necklace: I love dainty necklaces, and this one is even more awesome than most because 1. It’s super duper dirt cheap and 2. It’s LONG. How I have wanted a long necklace for so long (haaa…. haaaa), and finally I have found one! I just think wearing it with nice dresses would add a sort of bohemian, summery vibe. I won’t be buying it though because I just spent a little bit (more than usual) on the Candy Glitter Dreams Necklace from ILoveCrafty… oops!

Sequin Bag: Another drawstring… oops! The only reason this is here is because it’s similar to the Ashish bags… sort of. I feel like this somehow looks more sporty than the Nike one, so I don’t think I will actually be buying it… I just thought the sparkles were cool.

MESH COVER-UP // FRUIT PRINT WATCH

Cover-Up: The first post had a cover-up, and so does the 2nd! I prefer this one though as I could probably work it as a normal dress (obviously with stuff underneath). I like the pastel colour too, and I’m a big fan of texture so it’s a win win… other than the £22 price tag which I don’t think I could stretch too just for this… would you?

Fruit Print Watch: Another fruit related item, Tolly, stop! I don’t really wear watches so again, this will probably sit in my Saved Items for no reason, but I love the colours and the sort of digital fruit print. It’s been in the sale twice now… it’s teasing me. Maybe I’ll treat myself to it when it’s really discounted… like most of these items really *empties pockets and nothing falls out*

Howdy! *waves* Today I have another different kinda’ post like my last one, and it’s all in support of Fashion Revolution as today is the day people! Are you wearing anything #InsideOut? If you are make sure you tweet @TollyDollyPosh and @Fash_Rev with what you are wearing! Anyway, back to the post… P.S There is still time to nominate my blog!

Whilst researching more about where our clothes come from, I found out that Nike had created an app for designers (or everyone in general) to help them make better decisions on what fabrics they use when doing their collections. The App is called ‘Making’ and you can download it free from the App Store here. It basically shows you what fabrics are best for certain aspects of the process, like power usage, water, waste and even the chemistry behind it. I decided I wanted to use the App to find out which of my favourite pieces of clothes, really should be my favourite.

How did I calculate it? On the App, it gives positions from 1st to around 35th, using these positions, I could make averages which could help me find out what pieces I should really appreciate the most. For a piece which is only made of 1 fabric, I looked at it’s positions in each category, added them up, and divided them by the total of categories (i.e an average/mean), and that gave me the average position for that 1 garment. For a piece which is made of more than 1 fabric, I made the averages for each fabric, then multiplied each average by the percentage. So if a piece was 25% Cotton, I would times it by 0.25, then I would do the same to the other fabric(s), and add the totals up! The totals I have, are positions which match to the Nike Making App, so the highest position, will be the best piece in my wardrobe!

NEON EMBROIDERED DRESS (ASOS): 95% COTTON + 5% POLYESTER – ESTIMATE

This is probably one of my favourite pieces in my wardrobe… well one of the newest ones at least. It was such a bargain in the ASOS sale, and I love it! Unfortunately though, the scores didn’t make me feel too good about it. For it to be so high on the amount of water it took to make it, and for it too use quite a lot of power, means it wasn’t such a great piece after all. Of course, I still love it, and I can’t do much about it now, but it’s a shame that it really did take such a toll on the environment. Overall Cotton comes in at 21st place (for the 95%) on average, with the Polyester (used for the orange thread) comes in at 1st, which isn’t too bad, but that is for just that 5% used.

COMPARING COTTON TO SILK

Power – Cotton uses 69% less Water – Cotton uses 103% more Waste – Cotton creates 6% more
Better option – I can’t decide! It’s probably 50/50 for this one.

NIKE FREE TR FIT 5.0* (JD SPORTS): 25% RUBBER + 25% EVA FOAM + 25% POLYESTER + 25% COTTON – ESTIMATE

Seeing as I used the Nike App, it would be wrong not to include my Nike Free’s. I honestly do love them, and they are super duper comfortable. You can read my full review on them here. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the fabric percentages for them, or get an answer quick enough, so I went with a rough amount of 25% for each fabric… Other than the Polyester and Cotton, they come up quite strongly. Rubber is actually the best fabric for shoes according to the App, which I think is awesome! We should all embrace our wellies and what ever other rubber made shoes are called… perhaps?! EVA Foam is the padding you find in some shoes, and especially Nikes, FYI!

COMPARING EVA FOAM TO LEATHER

Power –  EVA Foam uses 91% less Water – EVA Foam uses 22% less Waste – EVA Foam creates 12% more 
Better option – EVA Foam

PINK COAT* (ARK): 80% POLYESTER + 20% VISCOSE

When I received this, I fell in love, and I still love it even if it is covered in cat hairs… naughty Paloma! But… do I still love it after to looking at the results? For the Viscose I had to take it that it would be Rayon-Viscose ‘Wood’ rather than ‘Bamboo’, as that is what it usually is according to Wikipedia… In my opinion the results aren’t brilliant (aka, they are pretty darn terrible), but because I love it so so much, I think I can forgive it… maybe? It’s still awful to imagine that Viscose is actually that bad to the environment… and for the Polyester to be equally as bad too. It’s a shame really.

COMPARING POLYESTER TO WOOL

Power – Polyester uses 62% less Water – Polyester uses 40% less Waste – Polyester creates 15% more 
Better option – Polyester

LEATHER SHOES (JUMBLE SALE): 100% LEATHER – EXCLUDING LACES & WINGS

These shoes were quite the bargain for what they are. They’re vintage, and cost me less than £20 which is pretty darn good in my eyes, so I was really interested to see what Leather came up as… unfortunately it was 20th. I can’t really tell if my shoes came from grass fed cows (sorry veggies…), or corn fed, so I just went for grass… and the results were pretty shocking. 43rd in power? The waste isn’t too bad which is a good sign, but I think the rest of them show that really… it’s probably not the best to buy leather shoes. As you can see below, when compared to Polyester… Leather uses 518… yes, 518% more power.

COMPARING LEATHER TO POLYESTER

Power – Leather uses 518% more Water – Leather uses 17% less Waste – Leather creates 20% less
Better option – Polyester

So…. as you can tell… my Nikes came out on top! I officially can love them a tad bit more than any other piece in my wardrobe! YAY! Plus… they look incredible, they’re totally up my street! But I don’t think I can leave you here, we need to talk about all of this…

Is Cotton always best? Throughout this post, we can see that Cotton isn’t a very nice fabric. Are there alternatives? On the Nike Making App, in 3rd place for clothing, you have Polypropylene Fabric, which is commonly used in thermal underwear and base layers. It’s strong, heat resistant and good in water. It has better chemistry than Cotton, it uses 11% less power, 57% less water, and only creates 10% more waste, so how come we haven’t seen it being experimented on with other garments? Silk is also a good alternative, other than the fact it uses 226% more power… yikes!

Buying new vs Buying old… Whilst doing all of this, I have realised that the options we go for straight away, aren’t always the best, which leads me on to the question… should we buy new Cotton, polyester and other bad fabrics? If we buy new, we are putting more money into the specific industries, which means more of these fabrics will be made, and that means, more power and water will be used, and more waste will be created, where as, if we were to purchase second hand pieces, not only are we helping the people we buy from, but also we are avoiding pumping more dough into already unhealthy fabric industries. Even if Cotton is what we usually go for, if it is using so much energy up, why should we carry on funding it? Do ya’ get my flow here? Do ya’?

 Go and download the app, and create your best wardrobe. Find out which pieces were really worth the money. Leave a comment telling me what your results were! 

Hello! Well I hope you are enjoying your week! Today I have another My Style blog post! Papa Posh is still getting the hang of my new lens but it seems to be going well so far! There’s also a sneaky book review in this one, so if you like to read then this is the place to be! Enjoy me’ harties…

What I Wore: White & Orange Blouse with Drop Waist £11.00 (ASOS), Navy LOVE Jumper £12.00 (Peacocks)*, ‘Mom’ Jeans (Jumble Sale), Nike TR Fit 3.0 (JD Sports)* & Zebra Double Finger Ring £5.00 (Rings & Tings)*

This outfit is quickly becoming one of my favourites at the moment. It’s so comfortable, yet it has that little bit of something that makes it ‘chic’. I picked up the drop waist blouse in the ASOS sale (seriously, I picked up a great bargain), and as soon as I slipped it on, it was true love. It’s that sort of piece that can really do anything, whether it’s in the summer, or in the cold month of February. I think it looks absolutely gorgeous and cute with my lovely (I mean lovely) Peacocks jumper over the top. It’s that perfect mix of geek and chic. Seeing as it is still pretty nippy (well, not quite the 8 degrees of the UK… oh sorry did I boast a bit then? 😉 ), I have to pair it with my ‘mom’ jeans, which isn’t a problem really because I simply love them. Don’t forget my Nike trainers of course, one of my favourite pairs of shoes, EVER.

OMG. I broke the blogger rule of not putting your hands on your hips. I’m just terrible aren’t I? TERRIBLE (Sorry, I love a bit of sarcasm…). On fashion sides of things though, LOOK AT MY RING. ISN’T IT AWESOME?! IT’S A ZEBRA. I have no idea why but I like to think it’s an Australian Zebra. It just sounds good in an Australian accent. Hmm. I will be showing a few other pieces I got from Rings & Tings shortly, so watch out for that! Also on the jewellery front, I have exciting news… my parents have said that next time I go to the UK I can have my ears pierced. FINALLY. They always said that I have to wait until I’m about 14, but to be fair, being home schooled and all, does it really matter when?! YOLO as they say. YO to the LO. Having said that I now have to prepare myself. I’m going to be putting holes into my lobes. HAHAHA, sorry but that just sounds so weird.

What I Read: The Taming Of The Tights (Louise Rennison)*

I quite recently finished this book by the amazing Louise Rennison (the writer of Angus, Thongs & Perfect Snogging), and I thought I would tell you about it! It’s the last in the ‘Misadventures of Tallulah Casey’ series, and although I hadn’t read the previous, it is quite funny either way. It’s very relatable to all young teen girls out there, with Tallulah running into all sorts of boy and school troubles. She’s torn between this wild guy, Cain, and the nice chap, Charlie, and she takes us on her adventure. 1 of my favourite things about the book is Matilda (one of the character’s dog), because every time she does something, it made me giggle. I must say that the book gets better towards the end of the book which is annoying, but if you are looking for a chilled out, relaxing book (something you’d take on holiday), then I would definitely recommend this one!

When wondering through the world of Tumblr, I came across the wonderful people of, JUCO, also known as Julia Galdo and Cody Cloud. I instantly fell in love. Unfortunately ‘JUCO’ are very busy at the moment so couldn’t answer any questions for me, but I thought I would share their wonderful work with you anyway in this ‘fashion photography’ post. PLUS, you can get a discount for the Photography Show at the Birmingham NEC for just simply reading this post… so read on down if you want in! (Images via JUCO)

As a lover of colour and prints, I am so glad I found JUCO. Julia & Cody use colour in such a beautiful way and it just gives me a buzz when I see their shots. It actually makes me want to be the man on the Skittles advert where everything he touches turns into sweeties. It makes me feel so happy and just want to live in the sunshine all day everyday. JUCO have worked with people like Apple, Nike, Nylon, Teen Vogue and many more awesome people, and it makes me so motivated to try and find that one special thing in my fashion design that people will like and enjoy, just like people have with the talent that is JUCO.

The way they bring out the character in literally everything is so beautiful. They can do so so many styles and I love how you can see they experiment with their personal things (nudity warning if you take a look!) and really dive into places they feel passionate about. Ahhh, how cool would it be to like make everything just look so utterly perfect with the click of a button? That is why I think things like the Photography Show in Birmingham next month are such great opportunities. You can go and not only learn new tips and tricks, but just being inspired by the little things. Photography is such a great way of capturing life in a more artistic way, and their is never a bad picture because whatever you take will say something. With this code: FUTHND142014 you can get your tickets for £10 instead of £13! Just simply pop in the code when you’re paying and voila! So go treat the fam-a-lam to a day out and save yourself a few pennies! …don’t forget to take your camera!

As I said Julia & Cody have worked with some pretty awesome people as you can see. I just love looking through all of their work, it’s all so darn pretty! Like on Despicable Me… ‘IT’S SO PRETTY!’ Hahah, aww. They really do know to capture the spirit of the shot though don’t they? Yup! That Factory magazine cover has given me my new favourite quote, ‘Dressed to Express’. Too much nice-ness I cannot handle it. TOO MUCH GUYS. IT’S TOO MUCH.

One of my favourite pieces they have done is their personal shoot of ‘painted backgrounds’. They are honestly just so pleasing to the eye. I really want to do something like this for my blog one day, it would be just so fun to create! Julia & Cody hand painted it all themselves which makes it 100 x cooler on the cool scale. I would totally ask JUCO to shoot all my fashion campaigns, hands down, because they are just the kinda’ thing I like. (I would say period now but I’m not American and it kinda’ makes me think of… well you know… so yah’. #AwkwardTurtle)

Don’t forget the code FUTHND142014 because you will save your self quite a few pennies especially if you are wanting to go in a group! GO GO GO! Go for me because I can’t and Rankin is there and that’s the SECOND time I have missed being able to see him. WHY. NOT FAIR. BOOO!(BIES)

(This post is not sponsored by The Photography Show or JUCO. I had the opportunity to get free tickets for a small feature which I had to give away as I will not be able to attend. I was happy to give you guys a discount though!)

I’m writing this, or ‘was writing’ this late at night before bed, because I realised I had nothing to post today. I don’t really know where this post is going, but something is better than nothing I guess. This is the first spontaneous post I have done in a while. It feels normal again. I have nothing ‘I have to publish’ at the moment. I like it. Thank goodness!

The White Pepper Tulle Skirt £28.00 (ASOS), The White Pepper Chiffon Midi Dress with Sheer Top £28.50 (ASOS), GEL-Noosa Tri 8 (Asics), Nike Air Vortex Hyper Blue Trainers £65.00 (ASOS) & Nike Free Run 2 Ext Trainers £80.00 (ASOS).

My obsession with Tulle Dresses & Neon Trainers together started when I saw Susie Bubble instagram a picture of her at her £1 Yard Sale (It started at 11am, it ended at 11.10am. Yup, everything sold in the space of 10 minutes!!!), and I literally fell in love. 2 things which should be so wrong together, look some how… absolutely stunning? I’m not the hugest of Susie Bubble fans (sorry…), but I do like her style, especially the outfit she wore on that day.

Not only is tulle such an interesting fabric to look at and feel, the trainers add a touch of ‘hipster’ (ergh, what an awful word), and an awful lot of comfort for your feet. I’ve had quite a few Nikes (Is it Nike-ys or Nikes? So controversial… I told you I had know idea where this post was going!) over the years at school, and not only did I think they made my legs look quite ‘athletic’, they were super duper snug. I still have my size 4 pair in the shoe basket which don’t fit at all, yet I still hope that one day my feet will shrink… um, nat’ gonna’ happen. I give you permission to call me Tolly Big Feet.

To make my love for neon trainers even bigger, and my long for the perfect pair at a reasonable price even harder to bare, the owner of a restaurant we had a drink in the other day, was wearing the beauties above (similar are linked with the other trainers). I don’t know why but french men seem to have good taste in footwear… aren’t they amazing?! I loved them so much I wrote down the brand and googled them when I got home, to my dismay, they are men’s only (I could so rock them though couldn’t I?), and were £100+, or should I say dollars. *Curse you American brands for only stocking things in America, even thought that makes perfect sense* I am now on the hunt for a cheap pair of neon trainers which are super duper comfy and will last me forever and ever, AND a tulle dress in a pretty bright colour. Thanks Susie.

To celebrate my new blog banner, I’m holding a give-away! To be in a chance with winning, make sure to click HERE and answer the 1 obligatory question! Good Luck!