challenge accepted

i do love a good challenge. in most aspects of my life, i enjoy making myself as terrified as possible. applying for jobs out of my league, asking difficult questions, putting myself on the line...i'm very much a believer in that those who don't ask, don't get. that combined with my parent's very italian mantra of "being shy is natural; not dealing with it is laziness" has meant i'm usually the one to push things a little. except, not always with my wardrobe. i feel like i found what i was good at - ie, constantly looking like i'm on my way to a summer wedding - and stuck at it since i was about thirteen. so when the guys at vouchercodes.co.uk asked me to take part in a challenge that involved shopping, it seemed like a good time to push my style boundaries, too. all i had to do was road-test the online sales, play around with the sites and see which were easiest to use. i usually jump right into the sales with the same enthusiasm reserved for the birth of a new member of the family, but quickly tire of all the noise and whinging (so still sort of like having a newborn, then.) online sale shopping gives a bit of remove from the frenzy in store, where people jump on things as if they were about to lock in for some sort of sequin apocalypse. i ended up just buying from warehouse, who i'd shopped with only once before. the site is great, really easy to use and displays items clearly, and in-store, service is always cheery and helpful. but their customer care? not so much. i forked out for next day delivery...which i didn't receive. nor did i receive an apology or explanation. i re-booked the delivery for a day i knew i'd be, had it confirmed, and then was woken the next morning by the delivery man. three days early. i'm yet to get my delivery costs back, and the only way to get in touch with their team is through an online form that means you don't get a response 'til midnight. warehouse's clothes are so great, and their staff in-store so bubbly, but this is pretty poor. anyway, i snapped up these trousers and top. when the trousers arrived, i thought the print looked familiar. turns out, i liked that print so much, i'd previously bought the matching crop top. i can now kit myself out like a kind of hippie athlete! which is definitely what this summer is all about.

thoughts? can i actually wear this, or is best confined to the blogosphere and runways in milan, like the phrase "totes"? my skirt below is from H&M, and my shoes are kurt geiger. it has a pretty laser-cut detail, and it's real leather, with a sheer back. anyhow, vouchercodes is a pretty sweet site for finding things on the cheap, so if you're a keen bargain hunter, it's one to bookmark.

thank you to the lovely christine for being very patient and taking these for me!