Maxi Dress Giveaway!

After I made my short cut out dress, I had a lot of requests to make a maxi version so here it is! I added a rhinestone detail to the neckline to make the dress look slightly more elegant and less formal. It could even be worn to a matric dance (prom or senior formal for any non-South Africans).

The best part about this dress is that I'm giving it away! Size small/medium. Follow the steps below and you could win it.

-Follow my blog

-Follow me on Instagram @peachyandpretty

-Regram my Instagram post about the giveaway using the hashtag #peachyandpretty

-Comment on this post saying why you want this dress.

Competition ends next Wednesday, good luck!

The Cat's Meow

So by some miracle, today was another sunny day in Cape Town. To celebrate, I wore this super fun skater dress without any tights. Daring, I know. It was actually 25 Celsius today so it wasn't really that daring. This skater dress really is one of my absolute favourites, I wear it all the time in summer. It's quite a simple cut, but flattering. The cat head on the bust keeps it from being too plain and makes it a cute and trendy staple. The black is also a great background to show off my new lighter hair tips! While I bought this dress from Love Culture while I was in the US over Christmas (on sale for only $15!), I found a similar one from TopShop that I've linked below.

I paired it with these teal accented Coach lace ups. The teal adds a bit of colour and the shoes are casual yet classic. I'm also wearing a gold chain necklace that I got while in the UK (for only $4). These chain necklaces are so popular right now, and my one is the perfect length to accent the neckline of the dress.

Get the look:
Cat skater dress (similar)
Coach shoes (same shoe, different colour)
Gold chain necklace (smilar)

OOTD and Highlights!

Today was one of those gem days of sunshine and warm weather that come with the Cape winter. A bit like the calm before the storm, they generally indicate that a cold front full of rain is coming in the next day or two. So I decided to break out the crop tops while I could and enjoy the warmth! Here I wear a loose white crop top from The Lot- a trendy South African brand. I really like the little swallows detail, as it makes it so much more fun and interesting. For pants, I wore this blue palm tree patterned jeggings from Pimkie that I bought in Spain. They're very comfortable and stretchy, and go with almost anything. They are definitely one of my favourite pairs of pants. Because it is technically still winter, I wore this with a classic black fabric blazer from Kelso. I quite like wearing blazers on an every day basis. They make even super casual outfits like this one just a bit more classy. Finally, I threw on my absolute favourite pair of boots. They are real leather black ankle boots, a slightly "combat" or "military"style boot. Mine have little flat studs around the heel that make them special. They are so so comfy and I wear them almost every day.

Because it was sunny today, I also decided to try to ombre my hair a bit. My hair is naturally lighter at the tips, but I wanted to make it a little more extreme. I mixed three tablespoons of lemon juice with a bit of olive oil and applied to the tips of my hair. I sat in the sun for an hour, then went and took a shower to wash it out of my hair. When my hair dried, I couldn't really see a difference, but I can't be entirely sure. It may have helped a bit, but wasn't as dramatic as I was planning. I might try this again with more lemon juice on the next sunny day we have to try to get better results. Do you see a difference? Let me know!

DIY- Galaxy Style

Hi guys! So I know this DIY galaxy shoe post was supposed to come earlier, but I decided to make a galaxy theme of it and make a galaxy crop top too! A fairly easy DIY, although I must admit that it does take a while so requires patience. You will need: navy blue, dark red, white, and purple acrylic or fabric paint, wedge sponges, a thin paintbrush, tape, a toothbrush, some old white shoes, and a white top.

First, tape the soles of the shoes as shown below in order to minimize paint spillage onto the soles. This will make cleaning up the edges a lot easier once you're done.

 Take one sponge and dip it into the blue paint. Apply to the shoe in sections about two inches wide, making around 5 patches of blue across the shoe. In the remaining white areas, do the same with the violet paint, leaving about 3 small patches of white for the red. Fill in those patches with the red paint and blend. Take the sponge and kind of tap at the boundaries of where the patches of paint meet each other to soften the edges and give it a continuous flow. Next, use the paintbrush and white paint to dot the shoe with "stars". Make a few small "x"s with the white paint so that these starts shine brighter than the rest. To finish it off, dip the bristles of the toothbrush into the white paint. With the toothbrush over the shoe, flick your thumb over the bristles so the pain lightly splatters the shoe. Do this all around the shoe. Take off the tape, re-thread the laces, and you're all done! With some fabric paints you may have to heat treat the shoe.

For the top, I used the exact same method, except that I used the tape to outline the X so the shape would be clean. I used the toothbrush splatter method on the rest of the shirt too with the different colours. Once done painting, cut the top to a waist high length and cut tassels about half an inch wide into the fabric, as long as you like. I tied knots in the end of each tassel to give it a more finished look but you don't have to. Pull each of the tassels to make the fabric roll and make it look less raw.

And there you go! Some awesome galaxy stuff to give you that "hipster" look. I wore mine with a crushed black velvet skirt and a maroon beanie from Primark, but it would also look awesome with high waisted shorts or destroyed denim jeans.

Cut Out Dress

If you follow me on Instagram, you would know that I promised I would put up my DIY galaxy shoes today. If you don't, why the heck not? Go check it out: @peachyandpretty. While I was intending my next post to be the shoes, I finished this dress last night and fell in love with it. Its so simple and cute, and super versatile. Here I've styled it three different ways: going out, casual summer, and casual winter.

This first look is the "going out" or night look. The cut out dress becomes your essential LBD here. With heels and a statement necklace, an otherwise simple dress becomes chic and trendy.The cut outs show just the right amount of skin, without giving off a trashy vibe as the dress isn't tight. Which brings me to my next point: this dress is so flattering. The cut outs are positioned to show a part of your body that isn't generally fatty. The dress sits loosely and hides any stomach bumps and lumps. 

I paired my dress with an amazing pair of Steve Madden champagne coloured glittery heels. They're a nice contrast to the black and super comfortable. Next I threw on my new statement necklace from Fashion Express (I'm sure I'll do another post on statement necklaces because I love them so much!). The nude necklace really stands out against the black and livens up the neckline. Finally, I grabbed a red suede clutch for some colour. 

I tied my hair into a super high pony and teased it out a bit, both stylish and playful. I chose a pony to show off the cut offs, I didn't want them obscured by my long hair. 

The second look I styled was a summer casual look. This dress is also great for everyday wear. I dressed it down with white studded gladiator sandals from Aldo and a turquoise necklace from Accessorize for that bit of colour. I feel this could work for a summer's day or night out to dinner with friends with a light jacket. The dress could even be worn more casually as a beach coverup over a bikini. The possibilities are endless!

For this look, I tied my hair in a messy bun to give an even more relaxed look. I pulled out strands to frame my face and look effortless. A "I woke up like this" vibe.

The last look I threw together was a winter casual look. Here I've paired the dress with a white Hollister knit cardigan, patterned tights, lace top polka dot socks from Pimkie, and studded black leather boots. I'm actually wearing this exact look today and I have had quite a few people eyeing my outfit. The dark colour makes it as much of a winter dress as a summer one. Would also work with a "grunge" type look- oversized jacket, Doc Martins, and a beanie. 

Here I tied my hair into a half knot and let the rest down. As it's winter, you cover up a bit more and it's okay if your hair hides a bit of the cut out effect.