Somebody call a stylist

Sangria, sunburn, STDs... *shiver*... you can pick up a lot of things on holiday in Spain. Course, there was nothing of the sort in Cadaques, Northern Spain, where I was just content with a new sun dress. And, if we're keeping to an 'S' theme, my stylist, too. Kate and I had gone away to the little fishing village to sort out my post-break-up head, and as it turned out, my wardrobe too. I set her the challenge of choosing a dress from her Liverpool-based vintage shop, Little Red, that would both fit me and suit me, that I had to wear. I think she did pretty well. But then I don't call her my stylist for nothing... 

pale blue cotton sun dress with ruffles, nipped in by matching 

waist belt covered in cream satin flowers

An understated look for shopping at dusk, but also one that could carry you through til dawn (if like us, souvenir shopping leads to sea bass, which leads to a locals' lock-in and a very wobbly walk back up the mountain to the hotel at 4am.)

We were positively gawped at everywhere we went. This often happens on holidays: the locals wear plain t-shirts and flat tan sandals to saunter down the side streets, while, ahem, 'tourists' like Kate and I don our highest heels to strut our stuff. But heels weren't an option in such a hilly town as Cadaques, so maybe we over-compensated with our outfits...

Royal blue jumpsuit, TopShop. Gold bolero, Portabello Market, 

butterfly belt, Portabello Market, Flower, Mikey.

It was as if the more we were gawped at (and this was literally every single person who walked past us) the more fun we had with our outfits.

Considering Cadaques was home to Salvador Dali until his wife died in the early 1980s, you'd think the village people would be used to some surreal sights. Such as, the highest point of his house....

And the little friend we made in his garden...

Yet, we were gawped at everywhere we went! Kate's been talking about opening another branch of Little Red for some time. Forget Brighton, I think Cadaques is crying out for a vintage boutique. And if that means losing my stylist, then at least I'll get some holidays out of it.

Hope springs

When you're going through a really tough time, when food doesn't taste the same, music doesn't sound the same, and fashion doesn't feel the same, it's hard to get excited about anything. I'm not going to use my blog as a journal (despite how cathartic it can be) but I will just say one thing on the matter: there's no cure for heartbreak, but shopping can really help. 

It's not for everyone, obviously, but I just think throwing yourself into doing something you love can make the world of difference. I had my light at the end of the tunnel moment at the weekend, pottering around the vintage shops on Stoke Newington's Church Street followed by Brick Lane. 

I found this baby blue lace blouse/cardie/jacket (my favourite items of clothing are the ones that are difficult to define) in Rokit where I also picked up some new white peep toes (with a carved pattern in the heels). The lace perfectly complements the floral 1960s mini dress with ruffled sleeves from Little Red.  

This was the first time I had properly got dressed up and wore makeup in two weeks, for my friend's erm, World Cup BBQ. Because it's not easy doing that when you don't even feel like getting out of bed, (there's certainly nothing beautiful enough in the game to lift my head off a pillow) but now, after Saturday's Eureka moment, I'm going to do that every day. The perfect antidote to football. Give it a go.

The LGD (Little Green Dress)

It's that time of year again... When people are forced to go to pre-Christmas parties and 'mingle' with people they spend the rest of the year trying to avoid. When people drink too much and say far too much. When people feel guilty for spending extortionate amounts on dresses they wouldn't normally wear. This season, there are so many styles out there, we should be spared of the last one, at least.

Whether you go for draped or body con, maxi or mini, metallic or sequinned, ruffled or lace, there's enough there to blacklist the LBD, for gawd's sake. I'm adding a splash a colour with this little green dress I found in my favourite vintage shop, Little Red (based in Liverpool and owned by my friend Kate - I'll be dedicating many more entries to my purchases!). It's a little bit Ossie Clark, a little bit folky, a little bit lacy, and a little bit cute (Kate adjusts many items and made this one into a mini). And I won't be needing the dreaded Christmas party to show it off...