Overcome with Joy

Hi everyone, how are we all? I've been a bit stressed of late moving house (and realising I own far too much crap) but everything has settled down now and I am becoming accustomed to the new place.

Unfortunately, the swap-over between old and new house meant that Kev and I were essentially homeless for the weekend, but luckily my delightful friend Charlotte put us up at hers! However, with all our possessions in storage, we were at a bit of a loose end in terms of entertainment all weekend, so decided to treat ourselves to a bit of window shopping in Leeds.

Anyone from the West Yorkshire area will know that Leeds town centre has been undergoing a bit of a rejuvenation the past few months, with Leeds Trinity Shopping centre a new fixture boasting a massive food court, huge Urban Outfitters and in the coming months, a Primark of a size that will rival even Manchesters. Not bad for bargain lovers like me!

But what really excited me about my trip to Leeds was the discovery of an even newer shop, called Joy. According to their website bio, they are a London brand, but I had never heard of them before, which I realised was a crying shame the second I stepped inside. Imagine Urban Outfitters having an older, more demure sister, and you can pretty much imagine what Joy stock. Gorgeous, sophisticated patterns without any annoying cut outs (a massive pet hate of mine) or booby bits, all of joys dresses, blouses and knitwear were quirky and fun, but still of a high enough quality and subtlety that you wouldn't feel weird wearing them in lectures or the workplace.

With principal label Louche providing most of the stock, in which women can 'indulge sartorial fantasies with exclusive style and vintage flair.', there is certainly an upmarket high street feel about Joy, the same sense of timelessness you get from Next, Monsoon or Debenhams. Luckily, the price tags are more than reasonable, with a fantastic sale on this month.

Alas, my self-imposed 'clothes spending ban unless absolutely necessary or from ebay' (jenessa trademark) stopped me from purchasing anything myself, so I thought I would live vicariously by assembling some outfit posts. Enjoy, and check out Joy's stock for yourself at joythestore.com!