Anna Scholz sample sale joy!

What a fantastic day I've had so far! How can I describe walking into the Anna Scholz sample sale today? The doors to her studio opened and it was like walking into Narnia, but better because there were more pretty dresses and less fauns & beavers! I knew I would spend lots of money, but you only live once right?! There wasn't a huge amount of size 22 pieces when I got there, but this being a sample sale I have come out with lots of different sizes so I'll do my best to describe the fit of each. Sorry my pictures are all from a bit of a high angle today, the dresses are not as long as they may look in these snaps! Lots of these are still available on Anna's website and are on sale.

This picture is a bit poo, but the dress is lovely. It's super soft jersey, double layered & ruched on the skirt. I always liked this pattern and it was on about 4 dresses (this colours palette as well as grey) but I never knew which to get. I decided this was best as it's a really good work dress and I'll get lots of wear out of it. This is a 24, which is great because I think the 22 might have been a bit tighter on the bust than I'd like for this high neck style. Super stretch though so it' would depend on your body shape! It's knee length on me.

Sorry I look bloody manic - I've had a bit too much sugar today and I'm over excited! This is my first ever double silk dress from Anna. I've never really known what 'double silk' with stretch would feel like because I've never seen or felt it until today. It's quite thin fabric, but feels amazing, and I imagine that it wont all start to fray at the seams as pure silk does. The pattern is heavenly (and available in a few different style dresses) and comes to just above my knees. It's so fun. this one is a size 22 (my normal size from Anna Scholz) and fits perfectly, even across the bust thanks to the stretch. Now I look at the picture it occurs to me that I have some florescent leather heels from clarks originals that would look awesome with this - a good enough reason to buy it I think!

Me and this print? We were meant to be! I bloody loved this crayon print when I first saw it on the website, and I bought the dress as soon as it went on sale. Sadly when it arrived the cut just didn't suit me - the neckline was a bit too high, the sleeves were too short, the dress was too long and there was a band in the middle that clung to my belly. This little beauty though is clearly a sample that Anna didn't go for in the end. It has no branding or labels in it, and despite it hanging on the size 18 rack I caught a glimpse of it from the corner of my eye and thought 'I'm fucking HAVING that, no matter what the size!". Totally delicious!

This is another dress that I'd always wanted, love the print, and I always thought the the model on the website looked smoking hot in it. I feel sexy in this, but also super girly because of the flowers. And what great colours! This is a size 24. In an ideal world I would have got it in my usual size 22 because I like this shape to be quite body-con, but it's still a good fit. I suppose the bonus of having the slightly larger size is that the neck line is a bit lower than the 22 would have been , and I wanted this to be a bit of a booby dress! Fabulous soft stretchy jersey, so comfortable. Knee length.

I really wanted the other dress with this print on because I thought it was super sexy. Sadly there were no size 22 or 24's to be found so I was scuppered. I thought I'd try this one instead, because after all the print is amazing. I could only find a 20 so I thought it was worth a try. I got it on without a problem, but it was too fitted and the style didn't suit the tightness. The ladies in the dressing room were cooing over the dress while I sadly told them that it was too tight, and then a wonderful lady handed me the size 24 (which for some insane reason she didn't want to buy - thank goodness!) and I tried it and was in love. You know I think even if the 22 had been there I would have gone for the bigger size, because it seems to somehow work better when looser. Comfortable too. slightly below the knee on me. This is now my second double silk dress!

JOY! I have a coat at last! To think I nearly spent £90 on an ASOS coat! If you have been keeping up with my blog you'll know that I've been trying many coats on trying to find a black one. This coat is just.... I have no words! I have broken every rule I have about what I want in a coat with this - It doesn't have a collar, the sleeves aren't full length and it has POPPERS! But the way I look it is this - I broke every rule I had about men with my boyfriend and he is 100% the love of my life, so sometimes rules need to be broken! I can wear long gloves and big scarves so who cares anyway?! I got it for cheap because there is a little bit of damage on the arm. I really love it. It's actually a size 20, but it's a really good fit, and the fabric is so soft and warm. It is so cute and I am totally in love!

Now I'll tell you about some of the items I tried but didn't buy - I couldn't take changing room shots because it was so busy and there was no room! This top / tunic / dress was nice, but I didn't get it as I wasn't mad for the fabric, and it was a bit see-through so my bra showed through. I tried it in a 22, but I would size up with this becuase it was tighter than the style needs really.

This dress is really sexy on - I have a few dresses in the same style (ruched on one side) as well as many black dresses so I didn't buy it. I tried the 22, and I would advise you to size down, because I think this dress needs to be quite tight to work, and it was a bit saggy on me in my own size!

If I hadn't got the shift version of this pattern I would have gone for this maxi. I tried the 24, but I think I could easily have worn it in a 22 or 20. It's kind of tented then the waist comes from the tie belt. It's a lovely jersey fabric and is nice and long (longer than the maxi I have from Anna Scholz). I can't imagine that there would be anyone who wouldn't look awesome in this dress!

Same pattern, different dress! I nearly ordered this from Anna's site when it went on sale, but I'm not really a fan of georgette fabric. I tried it today in a 22 and it was far too tight across my boobs and completely flattened them. The waist and skirt was perfect though, and I loved the pockets. Not a style for busty ladies, but if your hips are bigger than your boobs then this dress would be perfect!

Oh man I so wanted this dress! Sadly they only had a size 20 and it was way too tight for me. In fact I think I probably would have needed this dress in a 24. Double silk deliciousness!

I tried this dress in a 24 and the fit was really nice (the 22 would have fit too I think), the fabric was heavy and fell nicely. The colour just didn't work on me though. Good work dress if your skin can cope with the pink / nude shade!

This dress is really nice on. It's kind of classic and lady-like - typically I went for the sexified version of this print instead, but this was my second choice! I tried the 20 and the fit was pretty much perfect. I don't think I would have liked it so much in the 22 as it would have been a bit loose on the waist.

The sample sale was really fun, not just because I got lots of clothes but because there was such a lovely atmosphere there. Anna's staff were lovely and helpful, her dog was so cute I wanted to steal her, and all the customers were so excited and friendly. I tried on some things that were too big or small, then passed them on to other ladies I saw eyeing them up, and they did the same for me. We all gave each other our opinions on how the clothes looked / fitted, and suggested what would look good on each other. There was a communal changing room, and I loved how unabashed all the ladies were about getting changed in front of each other. I've always been a naked person, I've never been embarrassed about getting semi-naked (or even totally naked) in front of other women, despite the fact that we can be so judgemental about each others bodies. Interestingly though, many of my slim friends (size 10 / 12 / 14) are really uncomfortable getting changed in front of other people. How refreshing to see so many big, happy, proud ladies today!

I'm off now to eat, drink and be merry while watching some awesome fireworks!