'Next stop, Charing Cross'

I got my hearing aids today which are apparently ‘digital’ hearing aids that have been controlled to my specific hearing needs and I must admit it feels very strange hearing new noises such as water from a tap and hearing an individual that is not even standing near me. I do think though they will take a while until I get use to them as the moulds do feel somewhat uncomfortable and hearing myself talk (which sounds obviously much louder than usual) - is going to take some getting use to.

After spending the morning at the hospital trying out my new, hi-tech hearing aids I decided to go to Covent Garden to have a mooch around and maybe buy something (I am a bit strapped for cash at the moment, so it was not going to be exactly heavy shopping for me). I do enjoy Covent Garden as I love to admire the unique street style of us fashionistas and also rummage around the vintage shops hoping to find something unique and outstanding!

But today, as I am strapped for cash, I went into the cheaper stores such as Topshop, Zara and H&M - only to find that these shops have a lot of clothes that I am really, really liking at the moment without having to spend over £50 on one item of clothing. I liked so many things in all these shops, that I decided to treat myself to a little something as long as it was £40 or under - plus it is an essential to update my winter wardrobe seeing as I have sold most of my clothing on eBay.

I am really into the 1960s ‘Twiggy’ look now - I am absolutely loving this trend and because I am tall I carry off the mini dresses rather well…even if I do say so myself! Topshop in Charing Cross tend to have a small selection because it is a small Topshop, but sometimes this is good because I have found that the majority of the time when I go to Topshop at Oxford Circus I don’t end up buying anything because I am so overwhelmed by all the clothes, shoes and accessories that they have for sale - and sometimes I end up spending much more time in there than I have anticipated. I am loving the shoes in Topshop at the moment, especially their flats and Topshop is great because they go up to a UK9 (42) - and like Jodie Kidd I take a size UK9 (sometimes a size UK8 but these are normally expensive designer shoes and they are not so tight with their material). I tried on a couple of pair of flats in Topshop (in a size UK8), I did particularly like these pair of blue patent pumps with a little clump of balls on the toe but even though they fitted me I couldn’t help but wonder if a size UK9 would be more uncomfortable - but they did not have this size in stock. I do find it embarrassing sometimes asking the shop assistant for such a large size in a lady’s shoe, but I guess a tall girl like me are not going to have a size UK5, eh?

My next stop was H&M and this shop is stocking some great stuff recently, especially when it comes to the 1960s style clothing - they are stocking everything from mini smock dresses to the usually tight mini mod dresses and mini skirts. I am loving this hounds tooth tulip coat that they have in stock at the moment but at £60 it is not something I can yet buy until I get a little more money in bank account (sad I know…but being a student and living in London is not cheap).

My next stop was Zara and once again this shop is stocking some beautiful 1960s dresses and after trying on a few I had to decided between two. The first one was a sleeveless silver sparkly 1960s mini dress with polka dots, a big pleat at the front and a button at the back and priced £25- and the second dress was a again a 1960s mini dress (priced £35) with a black and grey animal print, with a really cute collar.

There was only one left of the £25 dress, that I had being eyeing up in the shop whilst some old woman tried it against herself (jeez - what is it with older women trying to dress younger than their age?!) But the £25 dress was somewhat shorter than the £35 dress, plus the £35 dress is a lot more practical for wearing in the day (the £25 dress I suppose was more for evening). I had a vision in my head how the £35 dress will look grey with my grey baggy stocks (a bit like the Prada stockings) and my black patent shoes…so you guessed it, I bought the mini grey and black animal print 1960s dress at £35!

After I bought this dress I decided to have another quick look around H&M and received a telephone call from my sister on my mobile telling me how she has just bought a black smock dress from H&M and asking advice on how to wear it - I told her to wear it with a high waist belt under her breast to give it some shape with some high (very high, as she is only 5ft6”) chunky heels. Lets hope she takes my advice!