So you still want to dress like Rachel Berry? (Part II: dresses)

Okay, well, it's actually a little easier to understand nowadays since she's been wearing pretty vintage-inspired (and in some cases actually vintage) dresses, giving her an all together more sophisticated and put-together look. I'm approving of her shift from argyle to polka dots too! Good move Miss Berry - I hope this isn't a passing thing.

Let's start by looking at the possibilities from Rachel's favourite non-designer/affordable shops - Forever 21, Urban  Outfitters and H&M.

Rachel wears lots of Forever 21 -  dresses, sweaters, coats and tops. And the most recent sighting of her at Breadsticks has her in the 'silky diamond print' dress with its delicate print and sweet row of bows down the front

It was available online up until about three weeks ago in the colour Rachel wears but unfortunately is no longer, though you may still find it in stores. But you can currently buy the same dress online in a grey/tan colourway for $23

Also available right now are these pretty dresses which would fit nicely into Miss Rachel Berry's wardrobe

An Emma look a day: Day 24

Emma wears Tracy Reese cardigan with multi-layered bow. I love the deep jewel-tone purple/blue and what better colour for Emma to pair it with than yellow. And yes the black nail polish wasn't Emma's choice ... sorry, Em.

An Emma look a day: Day 23

Emma wears Milly 'annalise' dress. I think she'd especially like the pop of coral.

An Emma look a day: Day 22

Emma wears Milly 'amia' sailboat blouse. I love this print and the colour would be great on Emma.

And since I can't resist a nautical theme, we have a bonus look: Emma in the Milly sailboat cardi. If I had to guess I would say that if this cardi made it on to Glee it would be more likely to be worn by Miss Rachel Berry than Miss Pillsbury ... but I prefer making Emma dolls.

Oh and Emma could have some little sailboat cardi clips ... maybe some striped shoes and ... yeah, okay I'll stop ;)

Forever 21 Friday

I'm so excited about this bow front top, reminiscent as it is of the Kate Spade Cloey top. It comes in this charcoal colour which looks to have a bit of a metallic sheen

Bow front top $28.00

(ignore the hot pants, I know you'll want to pair it with a pencil skirt as Emma would)

It also comes in this very pretty pale apricoty cream colour which I think Emma would really like and would work so well as part of a tone on tone peachy monochromatic outfit a la Emma in Acafellas.

An Emma look a day: Day 21

Emma wears the ruffle 'danielle' dress by Milly.

Alice + Olivia + Emma

Now Alice + Olivia gave us Emma's Insane Yellow Blouse - an item of clothing that I can't now imagine Emma without. For me I think it might be the ultimate Emma item of clothing representing as it does her love of colour and bows and demonstrating her fearlessness in the face of bold fashion statements. Seeing as Alice + Olivia came up with this piece that embodies Emma's style so perfectly, you might think that their whole collection would be entirely suitable for her. But unlike Milly and Kate Spade, where the clothes that wouldn't suit Emma are much more the exception rather than the rule, an Emma-esque Alice + Olivia piece is not easy to find.

From the current collection these are the items that I think Emma could wear.

But nothing here screams Emma and there's certainly nothing I've seen to rival the IYB. Nevertheless there are some beautiful clothes and I will always be thankful for Alice + Olivia and the magnificence that is Emma's IYB.

So you still want to dress like Rachel Berry? (Part I: knitwear)

Oh okay I'm just kidding! Rachel has some great sweaters. And here are a few that I think she would like.

Knitted goodness for Miss Rachel Berry by shinyprettythings featuring a cotton cardigan

My favourites? Well the scottie dog and sailboat ones of course! And the ones with multiple bows :)

Here's the scottie dog sweater in a Berry-esque ensemble

The skirt is from Dorothy Perkins, the shoes from Oasis.

And four more Rachel looks because I guess I'm really missing her.

And half a dozen more sweaters I'm sure Rachel would approve of 

Clockwise from top left: Sophie Hulme for asos pigeon cardi, Jasmine Guiness 'queen of hearts' jumper from very.co.uk, Ted Baker intarsia bow jumper, coral and black heart jacquard jumper from asos, spot cardigan asos and Love Label fair isle cardigan.

Because I think the Ted Baker bow sweater is so Rachel I made my first Rachel Berry paper doll with it!

An Emma look a day: Day 20

Emma wears short sleeved trompe l'oeil bow knit from JC de Castelbajac (£85 from yoox.com). When I saw this top in this set on polyvore by Rachel/weeds430 I just knew I had to try it on Emma. I think she wears it well.

An Emma look a day: Day 19

Emma wears Kate Spade 'grace' ruffle print top. I like the red and teal together ... and yes I wouldn't really put pink with it either but Emma just so happened to be holding the clutch. I guess she loves it ;)

Be Jaymamazing in 2011!

It's surely something we all should aim for. And what better way to start than dressing like her?

Remember the black and white sleeveless Paule Ka dress Jayma wore to the GQ Men of the Year party back in November? Well when I saw this one with its similarly raw edged layers I thought it would be excellent for recreating that look.

Sophie Ombre dress £140

More Covetable Kate Spade

Okay, so technically I covet all things Kate Spade but I especially love all things bow-bedecked making these sweet bow earrings and bangles high on my list. And I'd need them in every colour ... surely Emma would agree?

And I need Emma needs these brushstroke bow 'anabel' tote bags too ... to match the cardis that she should certainly have

I love Kate Spade's book of the month clutches and for me this one is a must have. Now I know some of you are going to say it's just a coincidence that this one just happens to be the Jane Austen novel sharing the name of our favourite guidance counsellor ... but I don't agree, I think this one was made just for Emma.

An Emma look a day: Day 18

Emma wears Kate Spade 'josie' jacquard dress with 'moon river' pearl and bow necklace.

Me and Tracy Reese

From the first time I met Emma I knew we liked a lot of the same things - bows, shoes, colour, cardigans. Really it looked like a match made in tv heaven and I've certainly tried to keep it that way. It's mostly not difficult ... Emma likes Marc Jacobs, I like Marc Jacobs, Emma loves Kate Spade, I love (love love love) Kate Spade. I've even started shopping at J Crew and I love their footwear with the zeal of any convert. Yes, if Emma likes something, I try to like it too - new-to-me designers even the Carl (I've tried I swear). Fortunately, Tracy Reese has been a lot easier to like. In fact it's the complete opposite to the Carl. Whereas I hated the Carl before I'd even met him or knew anything about him (like he's really the Stamos) with Tracy Reese, I loved her before I'd even heard the name (from the moment I saw Emma in the sweater with the bow chain to be precise). And since I love her, I thought I should get to know Tracy Reese a little better ... well the clothes at least.

So let's start with some Emma-worthy dresses

Left and centre: Tracy Reese pre--spring 2011 collection, Right: frock! spring 2011

I'd love to see Emma in the 'crimson dots prim shirt dress' because, let's see, it's red, it has polka dots, a bow at the waist and it's casual enough, yet smart enough and prim and I think would be well suited to a day at McKinley. Emma could wear the navy floral version - I like navy and white and I like florals but I like polka dots more. I like the 'edith' dress from the frock spring 2011 collection. I think the colours would work well on Emma, even more so because the blue and green combination is slightly unusual, and I think the retro styling would suit her too. It would be even better if the bang swoosh would return (please let the bang swoosh return, please).

Tracy Reese frock spring 2011 collection

I like the orange and white print 'madison' dress. The solid edging details, the neat buttons and, again, the retro styling are all things that I think would work for Emma. The green 'thea' dress with the ruffled neckline, belt and central panel of embellishments has definite elements of Emma. I like the neckline of the button-through 'myrtle' dress in poppy and the full skirt. It also comes in a vibrant shade of blue that I think Emma would really like.

Tracy Reese Plenty spring and pre-spring 2011 collections

The 'basketweave' shift dress uses a particularly Pillsbury combination of colours and the silhouette would work well for Emma though I'm not so sure about the v-neck. The 'black with butter' border print skirt would look great on Emma with a yellow top as seen on the model. Emma would substitute a cardi or sweater or buttoned-up blouse I'm sure. I really like the 'sapphire' lace empire dress but it's possibly the great colour that appeals to me most for Emma.

Left: Tracy Reese pre-spring 2011 Centre and right: Plenty spring 2011

The 'maine interrupted' blouse seems Emma-propriate with its print and tie-neck and the vibrant floral print of the 'harvest floral' shirt might be something Emma would consider but the one I love is the blue and white open cardigan with contrast edging and a bow. Oh my goodness I need to see Emma wear this.

An Emma look a day: Day 17

Emma wears Milly 'giuliana' dress. Ya, I just couldn't wait to see Emma wear this ladybug print dress ... oh, she could wear her ladybug necklace or bracelet with it! I really want to see that :)

Emma shops the British high street (Part II)

Emma wears clothes from Kate Spade ... and from Forever 21. So it seems perfectly fitting that one day I'm looking at Milly clothes for Emma and the next I'm hunting through the rails of Dorothy Perkins. That's the next stop on our tour of the British high street and I really think Emma would be just fine with it.

In the way of knitwear there are Emma wardrobe staples like a crewneck coral cardi, a periwinkle short sleeved turtleneck and a purple cardi with sweet bow buttons but the top I like most for Emma is probably the short sleeved blue and white stripe sweater with bow adorned pockets. I think Emma might like the oatmeal spot cardi, floral cardi and blush cardi with pearls too though. The seahorse and dragonfly sweaters might be a little more Rachel.

Emma-worthy knitwear from Dorothy Perkins by shinyprettythings featuring a 3 4 cardigan

An Emma look a day: Day 16

Emma wears Forever 21 Victorian button-down and rose print pencil skirt in ochre by Nougat. I really like this blouse and the puff sleeves, beaded placket and peter pan collar make it very Emma. Maybe it will turn out to be one of the gems that she's discovered while shopping at Forever 21 ... who knows?

p.s. sorry I didn't find a proper coordinating bracelet, Em ... I just kinda scribbled one on ... sorry

More Milly

Oh look more Milly clothes! And there's even a ladybug print dress ... I do like to think that they are designing for Emma ... I just hope she gets to wear it.

And there's this colourful 'bethany' sheath dress

An Emma look a day: Day 15

Emma wears Milly tab cardigan with pleated party skirt. Even though I think it's unlikely Emma would borrow a whole look from a designer instead of styling it her own way, I think this is an outfit she could wear as is.

Quinntessentially Pretty

I love Quinn's clothes. Her wardrobe is probably my favourite, after Emma's that is. And I just wish Lou could get her out of that infernal cheerleader's uniform so that we'd have more pretty clothes to admire. But as that seems to be a long way off I thought I'd just look for some Quinn inspired dresses instead.

One of my favourite Quinn dresses is the lovely Juicy Couture eyelet shift that Quinn wore with a yellow belt to sell cupcakes.

 I love the pleats and the slight puff sleeves and I just love that she wore white to sell cupcakes with highly coloured frosting. Anyway here are some more eyelet options:

An Emma look a day: Day 14

Emma wears Kate Spade 'raya' dress with leopard print bow belt.

An Emma look a day: Day 13

Emma wears Darling Sasha cardigan. I think she'd like the lace bow and the embellishment that  looks like strands of pearls ... and I like dressing Emma in my clothes. It's easier than buying hers :)

p.s. sorry for not matching your skin in very well, Em ... I'll work on that okay?

Emma shops the British high street (Part I)

I often like to imagine what Emma would pick out from the stores I frequently shop at. Let's pretend we put Emma down in the middle of a typical British high street ... um, no, maybe not ... I'm not sure she'd fare too well shopping on our average high street. Let's find her a nice shiny new shopping centre ... perhaps mid-morning on a Tuesday so it's super quiet. Now what might catch her eye? First stop Oasis.

Emma-esque at Oasis by shinyprettythings featuring a crocheted cardigan

There's a great basic tie neck sweater - it comes in yellow, pale pink and taupe as well as the pale blue, a gold metallic cardi with a bow - perfect for a light layer over a date night dress, a cap sleeved sweater and cardigan embellished with crochet flowers on the shoulders - both come in pink and black and a light chiffon top decorated with pleats and corsages - available in burgundy as well as pale pink. There are some Victorian influenced tops - a simple pale taupe colour one with sheer polka dot panels and a series of pleats on the sleeves, the other more elaborate with sequins embellishing the lace, a high neck and long sleeves. I think Emma would find a place in her wardrobe for the ivory blouse with double ruffle cap sleeves and a decorative pleat detail neck with ribbon tie. The shell tops with pleated ruffles dramatically circling the neck and arms would I think catch Emma's eye - I like both the blue and black and white polka dot versions. The plentiful ruffles of the Chinese print blouse would also surely get Emma's attention. And if it weren't for the fact that Emma prefers to buy her pencil skirts from J Crew I think she'd be interested in this tucked taupe pencil skirt with a bow at the waist. There are even matching bow adorned courts to complete the look.

More Emma-esque tops from Oasis by shinyprettythings featuring bow tops

We have a pretty print blouse with an enchanted castle/fairytale print - perfect for our storybook guidance counsellor, a t-shirt with a draped bow that is I think the t-shirt Emma should wear if she ever does, a navy and white striped cardi and twinset top for that perfectly neat put-together look and another Victorian inspired top - this time in indigo and with embroidered flowers. I love the white top with black polka dots and a pleated neckline with corsage detail but  my favourite is the pale blue (they say green but, um, it looks blue to me!?) with the contrast bow and edging. It also comes in black and white and I like it so much I've made three outfits with it that I hope would be worthy of Emma.

Black, white and blue three ways by shinyprettythings featuring a wrap ring

Okay so I got a little sidetracked there but I do think Emma would like the coral boatneck sweater with bows on the shoulders, the parasol print blouse with ruffles, the pintucked and frilled shell and the blouse with ruffled placket and sleeves too. And who doesn't need another pussybow blouse?

And in the way of dresses there are a few that Emma might look at.

The red, grey and black for the colour blocking and pleats and the blue/green shift dress for the tailoring and great colour - worn with a contrasting belt it would be very Emma. The red dress has some Emma potential with its peter pan collar and the taupe sleeveless dress with tucked bodice and bow on the shoulder would suit Miss Pillsbury very well.

Hmmmm ... now where shall I take Emma shopping next?

Note: if you try to click through from Polyvore and get an out of stock message, ignore it as they're often wrong

Untitled by shinyprettythings featuring fleur jewelry

An Emma look a day: Day 12

To celebrate Glee's wins tonight I've dressed Emma for the Golden Globes. Emma's wearing an Oscar de la Renta gown and all Kate Spade accessories. I do love the dress but with the polka dots and bows I feel like it's something only Emma and my inner twelve year old could wear.

More Emma-esque clothing from Jesire

I often think Jesire suits Emma's style so I'm extra pleased that the clothes are being modelled here by a redhead.

Jesire by shinyprettythings on Polyvore.com

There are lots of tops I'd like for Emma - the black and white trompe l'oeil sweater, the navy and white striped sweater with tie neck (I'm annoyed by the model's pose in this one - it would look so much more Emma with good posture),  the black sweater with spotted pussybow and cuffs - the pattern is actually messy ink blots but I think that would be nicely ironic for Emma, the red sweater with lace shirt insert and the grey sweater with ruffled insert - this one would be perfect for adding a bow sweater clip to,  the striped cardi and the striped and spotted cardi - this might be a little more Rachel but it's pretty, the grey linen jacket with bows on the pockets and ruffle trim and a white shirt with pleated bib and ruffles.

The grey skirt with bow detail at the waistband and red pencil skirt with a sweet series of pleats at the back would both be great Emma skirts. I'm not sure how adventurous Emma is about world cuisines but she might still like this skirt with its pretty bowl and chopstick print and I like the double belt detail too.

On the left we have a white and navy combo dress - i love the pleated skirt and the red buttons. In the middle is the ink blot dress - I don't know if Emma could take this much of this print but I love it. And on the right is a navy and white combo dress with very Emma-esque bow top.

An Emma look a day: Day 11

Emma wears Milly 'biana' inverted pleat dress. I love the print and I think the pleated bodice, neckline and a-line skirt would look great on Emma.

Looking for show choir costumes? Then you'll need Betsey

There's no doubt Betsey Johnson is the designer to go to for your show choir needs - New Directions and Vocal Adrenaline both do after all. But even if you don't have a glee club to dress, if you like Betsey's style you might want to check out the better than half price selection of dresses, shoes, bags and jewellery on offer for the next couple of days from RueLaLa. Click here if you need an invite There are sunglasses too - just to be sure you look cool.

A new look for the new year

Yes, that's right my blog now has cardi clips of its own - and not just any cardi clips but owl ones, which I think we all know are the best kind.  The sweet and talented and just generally fabulous Melissa of Silly Bee's Chickadees made it for me - if you check out her blog it'll be no surprise how it turned out so pretty and you really should because she has all kinds of wonderful ideas. This is the girl who came up with the all-time-awesome idea of an Emma Pillsbury themed birthday party after all.

An Emma look a day: Day 10

Emma wears Marc Jacobs silk shirt with printed collar and Hobbs NW3 holly pocket skirt. She adds a Marc by Marc Jacobs Hillier Hobo bag for good measure.

Pretty Pillsbury-worthy tops

To balance out all the lovely Milly clothing I thought I should look for some Emma-appropriate clothes that won't break the bank. So here we have some nonetheless pretty but a lot less expensive tops from shopruche.com.

Emma-worthy tops by shinyprettythings featuring ruffle tops

I love all the pale tops - the 'just so sweet' dusky pink blouse with its rows of little bows, the 'sweet nectar' top with its multitude of fabric flowers, the 'parting is such sweet sorrow' blouse with tiered ruffles and corsage detail, the 'clouds of opportunity' top with pintucks and ruffled collar and sleeves and the 'flirtatiously ruffled' top with its high ruffled neck and ruffled bib.

The 'blue moon' top is perfectly prim with its pussy bow and pleated neckline and sleeves. I love the collar and the blue colour of the 'sail through the skies' top, the frilled sleeves and asymmetric ruffled placket of the 'study date' plaid button up and the ruffled lace bib of the 'softer side of you' navy tank.

I adore the rich red of the 'ruffles in rosey hues' tank and I like the unusual colours and print of the 'finding the right angles' top. The 'filigree fest' minty green tank has such a pretty decorated yoke and the 'roses for my love' blouse has such a sweet vintage inspired print and is perfectly finished with crochet trim on the collar.

I always like a top with contrast collar and sleeves such as this 'classy and fabulous coco blouse'. The 'simply pearls' cardigan also has so much to like with the pearl embellished peter pan collar, ruffled placket and bow adorned pockets. And the 'delightfully delicious biscuit blazer top' is unusual with its large, ruffled and button decorated collar.