From Santa to Sequins...

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you'll have seen the photos from the weekend. It was a busy one which started with a girls night out on Friday night and culminated in the Gospel Choir concert on Sunday night...an event I'd been prepping for all last week.

But first up, Friday night and in my searches for the French Connection dress I wanted for the choir concert, I kept coming across this dress. On a whim, I bid at the last minute and got it for £25, postage included. I'd no idea if it would fit as there was no size - the seller had estimated it as a size S and thankfully it fitted perfectly. Especially love the padding at the shoulder which gives it a lovely shape - good for pear shapes as it balances out the proportions.

Dress - French Connection via eBay

Tights & Shoes - M&S (past season)

It was a wild night as storm Desmond battered Ireland but I stuck the heels on and braved the weather for a great night out with the girls. With the concert looming, I volunteered as designated driver so although it was a late one, it wasn't messy. Lots of fun driving 6 girls home too - kudos to the two ladies who squeezed into my 6th and 7th seat on the mummy bus...usually reserved for kids only!

Saturday was a prep day - starting with a spray tan at Vita Liberata in House of Fraser (will do a separate post on this as it was my first time!), a blow dry and an early night and then everything kicked off on Sunday with my make-up appointment at Bliss Beauty Room on Great Victoria Street. Alicia has been doing my nails for years but I've never had my make-up done with her before. I was honestly blown away - it took hardly any time at all and looked amazing. Most importantly, it still looked amazing 12 hours later when I took it off!

Then, I headed over to the Waterfront for our sound check, followed by dress-up time! The first half remit was cheesy Christmas...

I got this knitted dress in Primark last week and there was an elf version also. Mine is the size S. It was perfect for the concert as it wasn't too inappropriate for a gospel choir and it was super comfy to wear. I might even wear it on Christmas Day!

The first half was epic - it was full of fun and some surprises for both the singers and the audience. We raced off at the interval and it was on with the sparkle! I've never dressed up so fast in my life - thank goodness for hair and make up behaving themselves. I got a few rushed photos in the corridor and it was back on stage for the second half.

Dress - French Connection via eBay
Bracelet & Necklace - Dorothy Perkins (not online)
Metallic Sandals - New Look

The dress was one I'd spotted online on someone else a while back and when I knew I needed a formal dress for this concert, I immediately went on eBay to try to find it. I wanted a dress that I could wear a bra with - that wasn't backless and that had sparkles all over. This ticked all the boxes! I got it in 'new with tags' condition from a private seller and it was expensive but still less than half the original RRP of £230.
It was a JOY to wear - not too heavy (with plenty of ventilation as it's warm up on stage!) and fitted like a glove but with enough stretch to be comfortable too.

Before I knew it, we were singing our final song and it was all over much too fast....but determined not to take our frocks off immediately, a few of us went for a post-concert drink, which we had more than earned. A lovely way to end the night.

If you'd like to see a few snippets of the concert, there's a lovely montage created by our video guy Aaron on this link.

So it's back to porridge this week with no sparkles in sight. Here's what I wore yesterday:

Coat - Esprit (past season - similar here)
Jeans - Tesco Performance Stretch (size 10)
Cream Quilted Top - Hush Laura (Size 12)
Boots - Seven Boot Lane (past season - similar here)
Necklace - SGS shop (sold out but similar here)

and today...

Wool Mix Roll Neck Jumper - Gerry Weber c/o Menarys
Denim Shirt - The White Company (past season - similar here)
Black Jeans - Joni from Topshop
Boots - as before
Handbag - Nica c/o Menarys

I've had a few requests about the boots I'm wearing above which are past season so I'm going to look out some similar ones and put them in a dedicated blog post around neutral/grey ankle boots. It's a great colour to have as they work all year round!

Hope you're having a good week so far,

Ax