New bag, new shoes

I've had a new black 'everyday' bag on my wish list for some time, so I choose a new Marc by Marc Jacobs tote for Christmas. It's a whole lot lighter than my Mulberry, and is perfect for travelling with its additional long strap. The Italian leather is butter soft, making it comfortable to wear.

A pair of leopard print loafers have also been on my wish list since I spied these Steve Madden loafers on Geneva from A Pair & a Spare's Instagram. Steve Madden have stores all over Australia, so I snapped them up when I was back in Melbourne. They were only $70 and I wish I bought two pairs! They are so comfortable and didn't need breaking in.

Do you like the loafer trend? It took me awhile to come around to it but they perfectly cover my tattoo (that's in the process of being removed) so I had to give them a try! NHG x

See my Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Too Hot To Handle' bag here.

Outfit details: Oxblood coat, Topshop; gold/black wool scarf, Mimco; coated black skinny leg jeans and burgundy wool jumper, both COS; tote bag, Marc by Marc Jacobs at mywardrobe.com; leopard print loafers, Steve Madden.

 

Shop the look - Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Too hot to handle' tote

Style Diary: The Outnet

I've spied a lot of New Year's Resolutions from bloggers vowing to not spend anything in January. I, however, am not one of these bloggers...in fact, I've been doing the opposite! Oops.

The reason for my spending is in fact savings. Savings of the sale kind. In the past 4 weeks, I've purchased four items with an average of 70% off from The Outnet that *need* to live in my spring/summer wardrobe.

At the moment I'm looking for purchases that are less trend-driven and have wardrobe longevity as those are the pieces that last in my wardrobe for years and don't end up in my Ebay pile!

Do you shop on The Outnet? What has been your best purchase? NHG x

Visit theoutnet.com here

Clockwise below: Sonia by Sonia Rykiel cotton dress, Vanessa Bruno silk dress, Antipodium silk 'dreamtime' print skirt and Equipment lace blouse. All purchased from The Outnet.

NHG's Wedding: Engagement ring guide

A few months ago I posted this on my engagement ring inspiration. It's been a few months since I collected my ring, but the lessons I learnt still remain burned into my memory. My experience is based on designing my own ring, which I've always wanted to do. I appreciate many brides-to-be are surprised by their partners and will not go through this!

1. Agree on a budget with your partner 
Not the easiest discussions (and there is no formula to this), especially when generally men have NO clue how expensive diamonds are. Also FYI, the whole '3 months salary' thing was originally a marketing ploy by De Beers. The consensus with my friends is generally around 1 month. This is obviously different for everyone so just decide what works for you (and avoid advice from De Beers sales staff like the plague).

2. Gather design inspiration.
I used Pinterest to put together a mood board of inspiration. The problem is that rings look different on different people. It's all about personal taste, but also the size and shape of your hands. I recommend trying on as many styles as possible. Go into Tiffany & Co et al and try on to your heart desires as they have a huge selection. You can always copy something if you really love it.

3. Gather quotes and meet Jewellers
This sounds easy, but it's not straight forward if you are designing your own ring. If you manage to buy something in a store, then brilliant! But you could probably have saved 50% buying it wholesale.

To give you an example of the difference in price between jewellers, the below is the original design of my ring (I changed my mind). I met with a bespoke jeweller who had a lovely home in the countryside, BMWs in the driveway and a studio attached to the house that featured examples of their work. They quoted me £6,200 for this ring.

I then proceeded to gather together more quotes for the exact same design and diamond quality. Most of the quotes I received back ranged from £3,000 to £4,000. That's half price for THE EXACT SAME RING! I even received quotes from Australia to see if the price varied to the UK - it didn't.

Don't be afraid of going wholesale - sure, the process may not involve the 'in store experience', but it will save you so much you won't care. Wholesale Diamond Dealers generally work from small offices/studios without any advertising outside so you are best to get a recommendation or do a lot of research. This is the secret society stuff I told you about here. 

NHG's Big Fat Melbourne Wedding

While I was back in Melbourne over the Christmas/New Year period, I slowly started to plan our wedding. We've decided on January 2014 (2 years away - summer in Melbourne) so there really is no excuse for stress, panic or most importantly in Mr Porter's eyes: Bridezilla behaviour. My Aussie dad's favourite saying is "stress less" so I'm glad we've all agreed on that one!

As it gets closer, I will start to feature more of my ideas and inspiration. The big surprise to me initially is the cost - why do "wedding flowers" cost x 1000 times more than normal flowers? It's like a big secret society where no one really discusses the reality of your big day until you're in the wedding club! I clearly remember when my friend started to educate me on the cost of her wedding. Conversation went something like this: "Are you joking?", "You can't be serious", "Whaaaaat?!".

From choosing the ring (which believe me is a mindfield in itself) to saving costs on the dress, flowers and styling, I hope I can share my learnings with you in the coming months. Warning: It's going to be frank. NHG x

P.S You can see a sneak peak of my plans on my Pinterest here 

Image source

Sass & Bide - Life is a Highway dress

Sass & Bide can do no wrong in my eyes - they are the queens of Australian fashion. I've had their Life is A Highway dress on my net-a-porter wish list for a little while now so I was excited to snap it up in Melbourne for around 40% off the UK price.

Unfortunately we were running late for dinner in St Kilda with friends so this is the only photo I have (you probably don't need to see the after party photos either...).

New Year's Eve this year was one of my favourites in recent years.  I don't know about you, but it feels like there is so much pressure for this one evening a year to be a great one! We booked a dinner for 10 friends in St Kilda followed by a house party in nearby Elwood (both seaside suburbs of Melbourne). Mr Porter and I booked a room at Urban Hotel so we could simply walk home at 3am by the sea, enjoying the fact that it was still around 25c after an extremely hot day.

It was kinda perfect...NHG x

Outfit details: Sass & Bide Life is A Highway dress, sunglasses, Chanel; Bag, Marc by Marc Jacobs (big to fit in flip flops etc to walk home!), hot pink bra, Elle MacPherson; nail polish, neon pink by Orly. 

See more images of Sass & Bide's Life is A Highway dress on net-a-porter here

See Australia

The savvy Digital Marketing folk over at Tourism Australia have a fabulous Instagram showcasing the best photos from around Australia. To see them simply select the hashtag #seeaustralia. You can visit their Facebook page here for more information.

Below are the photos I took on my iPhone 4 while back home in Melbourne. My gosh it was a brilliant trip - I practically had to drag myself back to London. You can follow me on Instagram @nottinghillgirl. NHG x

An Australian Christmas

Why hello, long time no see! I've just returned from a wonderful two weeks in my hometown of Melbourne and after a little break from blogging at the end of 2011 (due to overwhelming work commitments) I'm finally back!

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you may have heard of my new favourite neon yellow dress that I was wearing non-stop on my holiday. I bought it from asos.com back in October and now plan to buy the pink version too!

In Australia there are no real Christmas food traditions - I know families who eat turkey and vegetables, others opt for a seafood feast, while mine went for a simple Australian BBQ with salads up in country Victoria (yes, that's an Australian hills hoist in the background!). The day was a hot 32c followed by a tornado, golf ball sized hail stones that dented every car in sight, and winds that ripped the roof off people's houses. You know, just your typical Christmas...my friends and family were luckily spared from any serious damage.

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Here's to a fabulous 2012! NHG x

You can see details of my dress on asos.com here

Outfit details: Flower necklace, Mimco; wedges, Zara; sunglasses, Chanel; neon yellow dress, asos.com