Oasis: Fitzwilliam Woven Knit

Oasis have collaborated with the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge to create The At One With Nature  collection is based upon gorgeous antique botanical prints taken from the Fitzwilliam Museum which is the University of Cambridge's art and antiquities museum.

I chose the Fitzwilliam Woven Knit which is £40 and currently available in sizes XS-L.  All other sizes are out of stock.   In the description it says the print is botanical, featuring flowers taken from the reference books but in reality the print is much more than that as it includes tiny butterflies and birds as well.  The print is placed on an oversized short sleeved  pale green knit top which ties loosely at the back. The top has a vintage, summery boho feel and look to it and as it is a lightweight knit it goes great with either a floaty skirt for those elusive warm spring days or can be paired with denim on chillier days!

 I'm 4ft 8" and a size 6-8.

The top is machine washable and is 100% polyester, 17% polyamide and 83% Woven viscose.
Available online and selected stores:
Oasis Website 

Anna Sui Beauty Tray A

The very first product I purchased from Anna Sui was the  beauty tray with butterflies embossed upon each side.  It is still available on some websites, BeautyBay still have it in stock (£10.75) but I think it had been discontinued. I now have several lined up on my bathroom window sill and I use them to store beauty products, medication, bathroom cleaning items  and the spare key to the window.  They look like are made from black lacquer but are, in fact, plastic which makes them easy to clean.  They are also are quite wide and roomy so it easy to fit lots of oddly shaped items in them.

Anna Sui has brought out a new  butterfly Tray  for Summer 2018.  It is £13 and it is Beauty Tray A.  It looks as though it is made from black lacquer but is made from a substantial thick black plastic so it is easy to keep clean and won't get damaged or chipped if you store glass bottles etc in it and happen to knock/drop them against the side. Measuring 86.4mm(H)x161.9mm(W)x109.4mm(L). the base does not rest on the floor as does the original, instead the Tray stands on elegant legs which adds a further vintage feel to the design. The Tray fits into the gothic, victoriana aesthetic favoured by and associated with Anna Sui, complimenting the other mirrors, boxes and accessories, some of which I have already reviewed.  She has upgraded one of my favourite and most used beauty accessories by adding legs and making the sides of the Tray curve in with the shape of the butterfly wings she has made the Tray even more elegant and eye catching in design.  "Anna Sui" is embossed on the front of the Tray between the two butterflies.  It is a multifunctional storage item, it could be used to store all the items listed above or used to store jewellery, special trinkets on a dressing table but shoul definitely be out on display, not hidden away somewhere.  This Tray would not only be a great gift for collectors of Anna Sui items but would also be a good thoughtful present for people who like butterflies.

I purchased the item myself and the views expressed in this blog are my own.
Available: BeautyBay.com

Restyle Your Walking Stick

I have now had to use a walking stick for several years and what strikes me most is the lack of choice. Yes,  there are thousands for sale on Amazon UK but the majority are very similar (floral) in style. I started off with the heavy silver NHS one, then wanted one that was more me. I remember going on the Switch Sticks Facebook page when they were asking for ideas and the answer was generally fun, cute graphics with examples of paperchase prints and cute animals. They came out with a line of sticks with colourful swirls, which were okay but not what their potential customers wanted or were asking for.

There are lots of floral walking sticks about but I don't always want that particular graphic. Classic Canes have got a cute fish walking stick that looks a bit like Nemo, a parrot  and a horse walking stick whilst Charles Buyers has a gorgeous British Birds walking stick, but they are the few that I could find.
I decided to restyle a walking stick so it suited me. I bought these 2 walking sticks. The leaves one is from walkingsticksonline.co.uk, the purple and black ones are from the stick and cane shop.
 I bought several packs of cute stickers from eBay and Amazon UK and some book backing plastic.
I placed  them where I wanted on my sticks.I cut the plastic backing into smaller squares and placed them over the stickers to prevent them peeling off or me picking them off. I think they turned out quite well.  Obviously they don't look as professionally done as if they had been created by Classic Canes etc but they are fun, different and fit my personality!

   Woodland stick:
Floral Garden Party Derby Cane 
Woodland creature stickers 

The Snowman walking Stick
Handbag folding stick - black
The snowman and the Snowdog foiled stickers 

Metallic bird walking stick
Handbag walking stick - black 
Birds and flowers 

Butterfly walking stick
Handbag sized metallic purple walking stick
Butterfly glitter stickers 
Metallic butterfly stickers


Backing film for books