Sale through the new year!

Happy New Year dear readers! I hope your 2011 has started well,  diets have not yet been broken, sobriety still seems achievable and you've bagged a few sale bargains.

If you haven't managed the latter however, Miss Magpie is on hand to show you the top sale bargains to be found:

Sequin leggings, Was £1,385, Now £831, Isabel Marant at Net-a-Porter

Everyone wants a piece of Marant at the mo, so bag these sparkle-tastic trews for the ultimate statement.

Strapless gown, Was £1,150, Now £460, Temperley London at Browns

When don't you need a full-length evening gown? With the level of this discount, it's not even worth sparing a thought. Buy it now!

Shearling jacket, Was £1,560, Now £780, Acne at My-Wardrobe

I love this take on this season's popular shearling jacket. I know it's still over £700 but it is leather and lamb's wool, so it's a piece of luxury at a snip of the original price!

Glimmer dress, Was £3,478, Now £698, Thakoon at Matches

An 80% discount - you don't see that much these days, plus it's a glam day dress that everyone's wardrobe could squeeze in. Sold.

Sequin dress, Was £120, Now £36, Asos.com

This dress is a piece of old school glamour - I can just imagine standing in a smoky jazz bar posing in this number. Buy it!

Court shoes, Was £355, Now £215, Viktor & Rolf at Selfridges

A sensible pair of heels!! At last! There's no way you'll fall over in any snow with those grips - plus they are sparkly, so Miss Magpie can give them the real thumbs up.

Taffeta dress, Was £175, Now £70, Jaeger

A cute little party dress that'll carry you through the whole year. Wear with tights now and go solo come summer. A wardrobe staple for sure!

Happy New Year Shopping....

Welcoming Mr and Mrs Kirk!

Round three of Miss Magpie's wedding marathon took place last Friday and what a way to round it off!

Wedding No.3: Dan marries Shelley

Miss Magpie is becoming some what of a wedding expert - what with my own wedding in the works and having now been to countless big days - and I have to say that Dan and Shelley's big day was just gorgeous.

Let's start with the beautiful, blushing bride, Shelley. The moment a bride walks into the room is the make or break moment. When Shelley arrived at the end of the aisle, clutching her proud father's arm, the tears started flowing. She looked utterly breath taking and just so happy:

Shelley opted for a full lace, bustier gown. I've never considered wearing a lace wedding dress before, but Shelley really worked it. Not only is lace so current, but this dress also has the religious-sexy ratio nailed.

And every single detail of this gown was just so cute. Look at the buttons that run the full length of the back of the dress. Look at how delicate the lace is. Look at how beautiful Shelley's shoulders look through the sheer veil. Perfection.

I, however, did not have such a carefully thought-out outfit. Two days before the big day, I realised that I had absolutely nothing to wear. A frantic search of the internet and lunchtime dash to the shops later, this is what I opted for:

Asos.com came to my rescue (and prior to last week, I was an Asos virgin) with this tomato red half bat-winged mini-dress from Aqua. For a very purse friendly £80 I was very happy indeed. I teamed it with my glittery Louboutins and some statement jewellery. Simples!

With no hairdresser to sort out my 'do' for the wedding, I had to resort to a home-made jobbie. Several rollers, grips, clips and hairspray later, this is what I created. Add a Marc by Marc Jacobs gem clip and I was good to go. Who needs a professional, eh?!

Finally take a look at these pics for a real feel of the wedding. A blue and white colour scheme (not a scheme I have ever thought of, but actually looked gorgeous), lots of bottles of Taittinger (yum-yum!) and the sort of minimal simplicity that is oh-so chic.

 

Cheers to Dan and Shelley and their happily ever after!

A day in the life... Part 2

Once I got over the adrenaline rush of the Louboutin sample sale, it was time to head over to a little art gallery in the back streets of W1 for a party dedicated to sunglasses. How fab is that?! Miss Magpie loves a good pair of shades and an evening of wine and playing dress up with tonnes of different sunglasses styles is right up her street.

First came Australian brand, Le Specs. With a reasonable price point - between £30 and £60 - these glasses are young, fun, trendy and friendly on the old purse strings.

These are my absolute faves:

Angular Symphony

I would have showed you them on me, but the model is way hotter...in fact the whole look book and collection has that whole Aussie blonde bombshell, beach babe thing going on, making these sunnies a surefire hit this season.

The other brand on show (in little bird cages - how cute) was Karen Walker. This collection has to be the best yet and my lust-list is far too long for this blog, so here are my top 3 styles:

 Number One

Loving the retro vibe of these sunnies. I'm a sucker for tortoise shell and I love the modern twist on an old shape.

 The Village

How perfect are these for all those summer festivals coming up? The orange frames are really flattering - trust me on this one - and will have you at the centre of attention where ever you go. Shrinking violets need not apply (Miss Magpie is certainly not one of those).

 Rover

A round pair of sunnies = a must for every girl. Fullstop.

All we need now is for the sun to come back!

Karen Walker is available from Urban Outfitters, Asos.com, My Sugarland, Goodhood Boutique.

Le Specs is available at Urban Outfitters, Asos.com, Topshop, My Sugarland Boutique, Pop-Store at Whiteleys.