Lust-have item of the day: Sophie Hulme cardigan

I saw it. I need it. I randomly saw this cardigan on the New! magazine website this morning and fell in love. It is from the Asos designer collaboration section (called, i believe The Hub) and is by British designer Sophie Hulme. Sophie Hulme is one of a handful of young, emerging designers who have been hand-picked to design an exclusive collection for the range

Her collection, inspired by all things British, includes teapots and kitsch caravan prints. Apparently it comes in at £65, which isn't exactly cheap, but I don't think it will break the bank either. However I can't find it - the asos site is loading unbelievably slow and I can't seem to locate this cardigan on it. Has it sold out? Does anyone know anything? I want to snuggle in this over Christmas. Help!!

Love, Tor xx

Wonderfully impressive stocking fillers for under £20

*If you are either of my sisters then please click away now!

I don't normally enjoy christmas gift guides, because I struggle to pen my loved ones into magazines pre subscribed boxes (if they're a boy look on this page, if they're sporty look on this page, etc) However I have very nearly finished my Christmas shopping (Martin Lewis the money expert would be proud, as I wanted to pay for my presents with October's salary leaving me November's for partying and December's for the January sales)

And whilst completing my shopping I have found (and bought!) some really pretty gifts that won't break the bank, so I thought I would share them with you. So here is the fabfrocks Christmas stocking gift guide. 6 great things to suit any under £20 budget and perfect for every single girl I know!

Next week i'll be bringing you another 6 items for those with a bigger budget; under £35. And if anyone is reading this looking for gifts for me then those gloves have particularly taken my fancy; I couldn't believe they were only £18!

Enjoy your Christmas shopping everyone!
Love, Tor xx

New competition: From brief to bra

I hate shopping for underwear - finding something pretty that I can wear smoothly under my clothes and that actually looks right is a nightmare, because I have a heavy chest but a narrow back. Wouldn't it be amazing if you could take the pattern from one bra, add it to the shape of another, and then embellish it to your own special requirements?

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Well thanks to this new competition from SimplyYours, you can!! Simply Yours, the plus size lingerie specialist (and producers of the genius Gok Wan shapewear) is running its first ever design competition "From Brief to Bra".

If men designed bras....

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They want to find out what you look for in a lingerie set - and what better way than to ask you to put your ideas to paper and submit a design? They want you to let your creativity flow and design a lingerie set perfect for curvalicious women. The winning design will feature in the Spring/Summer 2011 catalogue and be sold at SimplyYours.co.uk!
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The competition is being run through their Facebook page and I for one will be giving it a go; it would be easy to find the perfect bra if i'd designed it myself!!
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Love Tor
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PS - Don't forget to enter my fantastic Aussie competition - it ends on Friday!!

Daily wear: The new old dress

Hi guys,

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Two important things happened in the FabFrocks house this weekend; the first is that we put up our Christmas decorations (it's the first Sunday of Advent next Sunday and my whole family is coming round for a feast!)
They're looking so pretty, and are making me feel really festive! I've even started taunting Mike by leaving wrapped presents under the tree! The second exciting thing is that I fit into this dress:

A couple of months ago the boyfriend kindly ordered me this dress from ASOS. I loved it, especially the unusual panels. However I was devastated when it was too tight and it just didn't fit.
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Mike packed it all up to send it back, but I just liked it too much to let it go. So I resolved to lose a little bit of weight and have used it as a measuring stick because I don't like scales; and this weekend it fit!! I still want to shed a little more weight, especially off my upper arms and legs which are looking particularly chunky in my coloured tights experiment. But this pretty dress made my day, because it means i'm making steps in the right direction!

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Now i'm going to ruin it all by sitting in front of my Christmas tree and eating a mince pie!

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Love, Tor xx

What Aussie would look like if it were a frock!

Ok, so here are the things I know about Aussie: It smells really good. It makes my hair incredibly soft and shiny. It contains Australian ingredients. Did I mention it smells really good?

This means that when putting together an Aussie outfit it has to be sweet (but not sugary sweet!) lightweight (i've never seen a picture of anyone in Australia wearing a far coat) and full of lots of different textures, like all the different hair textures the brand looks after.

There are lots of different Aussie girls (from goths to glamour models) but i've decided to style the outfit to what would suit me because a) i'm an Aussie girl and I use their products and b) i'm constantly at my own disposal! So here it is:


The outfit is a party outfit because I reckon the Aussie girl is a party girl: so first off she gets killer heels. Office £50.
Then i've used the feather skirt I tried on last week because the colour reminds me of the colour of the Aussie conditioner I use (could I be more literal!?) Topshop £75
I've teamed it with wet look leggings (wet like my hair after a shampoo, you could say!) Topshop £20.
Then i've added a simple rock-chick top from River Island £34.99, and a sparkly clutch from New Look.
For jewellery I went simple with earrings (to draw attention to the hair of course!) from New Look as well.
Oh, and dont forget the obligatory kangaroo and pint of Fosters: I couldn't do an Aussie outfit without it!

This was fun! Think you can do better? Then enter my competition here to try this yourself!

Love, Tor xx

Aussie Competition: Enter now, you know you want to!

Being an Aussie Angel has been so much fun, and i'm so glad they asked me to get involved! The best thing is the little suprises, like this biscuit tin that arrived in the post this morning.

In it was a Tim Tam (which I am munching on as I type!) and a personalised card inviting me, and all of you guys, to take part in a competition!

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I think this could well be one of the most fun competitions I have run on this here blog, because it involves us all getting creative! Here is the blurb, from the Australian horses mouth itself:

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"We know you're really a clothes horse (not a hair horse) and we want to know what Aussie really means to you. What beyond the Mmmmm, the Aaaaah? What if Aussie were an outfit? What would it look like? What would the care label say? Show us what an Aussie tailor would produce. Ask your community (that's you guys!) to do the same. Revel in your collective awesomeness"

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So there you have it! All you have to do is be a follower and let me know what an Aussie outfit would look like in the comments. You can either describe it in words or upload a link to a picture; i'm working on mine now and will reveal all this afternoon. I think this could be a whole lot of fun!

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In the usual Aussie cryptic way, I have no idea what the prizes are, but they're sure to be awesome! The competition closes on the 30th November, so get creative now!

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Love, Tor xx

UPDATE: Most prizes will be UK based "experiences", BUT further to a bit of discussion, International readers are invited to join and if they are chosen as the winner, we'd be able to substitute the "experience" prize with a gift we could send in the post.

Shoes that are good for the Sole

Although expensive (so expensive I don't actually own a pair!) French Sole pumps are the most comfortable, prettiest shoes I have ever had on my feet. Because I am more of a flats than a heels kind of girl (comfort is king!) I have lusted after a pair for a very long time- and in Tor world lusting means frequently trying on! I was thinking about them because of this gorgeous pair I saw in Look magazine today:These ones however say "I love you" across the heart, where the ones in the magazine simply say "French Sole". Perhaps they're too new to be on the website yet?
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I really am trying to have more investment pieces and less Primark in my wardrobe (although I still love Primark very much!) But I am trying to have Primark for my trend-led buys that I don't expect to last more than a season or two (sequinned party dresses for example) and spend a little more on 'the classics' that I know I will wear over and over. Like new pumps. The problem is I am always drawn the crazy colours and patterns rather than the cute patent black pair that I could actually talk myself into buying as an investment piece.

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Here are the ones I fancy:

Maybe this means that i'm just not ready to be sensible and buy investment pieces yet. I still fancy a pair of these pumps though - here's hoping the January sales will be kind to me!

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That's definitely what I will be looking for in the sales: decent shoes are always a sensible investment even if I never go for the sensible pattern! It's a discussion I have everytime another pair of Primark pumps has to be thrown away. "I could have had a really nice pair of pumps the amount i've spent on these over and over again". The problem is, of course, that you can find the fiver needed to replace the above mentioned shoes, but finding £100 all at the same time for the nice pair is more difficult.

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Love, Tor xx