Cuff a load of this!

This is just a quick short post that I'm writing via the blogger app! I thought I might as well try it out!
Anyway, today I was shopping in miss selfridge and came across this little beauty: a gold ear cuff with crosses. I can't wait to wear it on the opposite side of where I pull my hair over to one side. I think it will look great for my outfit tonight which is a plain black dress. This means it will stand out more and add glamour to the simplistic outfit!
There are quite a few around in topshop too so keep a look out, they're going to be big!

Eye Spy, a Vintage Buy!

If you read my blog frequently, you most probably know I can’t help but sing praises to Urban Outfitters already. Well this post is no different.

However, I am only talking about one section today and that is their vintage range. Lately, I myself just can’t get enough and can’t help but spend money I don’t really have in there. Now, you must have been living in a black hole for the last few years if you don’t own or know about the Levi cut off shorts they do. I recently purchased a pair after about a year (and I am not over exaggerating) of looking for the perfect pair. They were so popular they never had my size, but luckily, I stumbled across a pair a few weeks ago and snapped those bad boys right up! They are o of my favourite pieces and I can’t stress how much I think everyone should own a pair of denim shorts let alone a vintage Levis pair.

Which leads me on to why I love it; even though they are all denim shorts, every pair is different. That’s the beauty of vintage – it’s very rare to get the same thing twice. They have similar items, but none are exactly the same. Perfect! I can’t think of anything worse than having the same things as someone else – you need to embrace your own style not somebody else’s.

Please excuse the chinese takeaway menus!

Enough of me babbling now, the reason for this post was to show off my new cardigan: a vintage grey cardigan with the letter K on it. I already have a ‘Kate’ jumper, so I thought I might as well get a cardigan to add to the collection! I absolutely love it, it’s so preppy as well as vintage and I can’t wait to wear it with skinny jeans and a white tee.

Though, to be fair, I think it would be really easy to buy a letter in a haberdashery shop and iron it on yourself, but I was feeling lazy and can’t resist a bit of Urban Outfitters! I couldn’t be happier with it!

Collar Craze

It seems to me that everyone is going back to school and are on a craze for collars, don’t you agree? I can’t help but be part of this fashion revolution; as a top button girl myself I can’t resist a collar with a bit of attitude and think accessorizing them is a big thumbs up. However, it all depends on the type of collar (who knew a collar on a shirt could have so many different styles and names ay?)

First of all, if you have a Peter Pan collar, you don’t really have to do much to it. But ALWAYS have the top button done up, as it’s not as easy to pull off the open collar look with these. Although, if you want to jazz it up a bit maybe adding some studs to toughen the look could work wonders, as collars are quite feminine and preppy. Or, if you want to continue the trend, maybe try pearls, it’s not hard to do it yourself.

I think my all-time favourite collar is the standard turned-down collar. It works well in so many ways, and can be accessorised really well- which of course is what fashion is all about. A turned down collar on a crisp white shirt is always a winner, and I like to wear mine with either a bow tie or a crossed over piece of material. They are also easy to get away with having the top button loose but I personally choose not to. Another one of my favourites is my black sheer shirt with the studded collar from Zara, it couldn’t be more on trend.

I recently bought a shirt from Urban Outfitters and the collar is beautiful. Right at the point of the shirt it has metal bits which really add to the shirt. It makes it so much more different which I find Urban outfitters do quite a lot with their clothes, you should keep a look out for interesting collar designs.

Another collar that is making its way on to the catwalk is the sailor collar. Traditionally witnessed on sailor’s uniforms (hence the name) it consists of a deep V at the front. I have come across quite a few of these in Primark but haven’t seen one I would like to purchase yet.

One for the men out there is the granddad collar, which in fact is no collar at all, as seen on Olly Murs with his very tight trousers. He pulls it off really well but I think you need quite a relaxed style, and they need to be worn with skinny light jeans to be at their best.

Continuing with this collar debate, you can now wear collars without even wearing a shirt. If you haven’t come across them already you can now buy a collar by itself. I have been looking for one for ages, and have only found them in Miss Selfridges for about £16 but I still haven’t found ‘the one’. They look really good with a high neck jumper if you want the prim and proper look. Or to embrace the messy-cool look, wear it with a baggy top to juxtapose the styles. However, I feel studs would be more appropriate for the second look and pearls for the first.

Take it back to the school days, but this time do your top button up willingly. The more accessories the better and let’s just hope I actually find the collar I’ve desperately been looking for. This is not a trend to be missed!

Steal Molly King's Statement Jeans

Whoever said diamonds are a girl’s best friend clearly couldn’t find the right fitting jeans, as we all know that once you’ve found that pair, you wear them until their last thread. But for this season your best friend is getting a makeover- it’s all about the coloured jeans!

They’ve been in the fashion scene for a while now, and they’re not budging anytime soon. For winter, deep shades like navy, mustard, bottle green and red are perfect to team with a cosy jumper or cardigan; whereas for summer spring 2012 you could invest in a bright turquoise pair to keep on the fashion radar and are perfect for summer evenings with a cute vest top.

Take Molly King from The Saturdays as your muse; she’s the gorgeous po star every girl aspires to be, with her amazing expensive dresses on stage you can’t help but envy her look. But being the natural beauty she is, you can’t help but desire her look off stage too.

Her winter look can be fast-forwarded into spring with her plum coloured jeans which brighten up the outfit instantly. This is reinforced by her on-trend striped cardigan with short sleeves and casual vest top which is the perfect off stage cosy comfortable look, especially with her buckled sheep skin boots we can’t help but want.

In order to copy this look you can get her Firetrap Evelyn jeans for just £55, which is a steal! But to get the rest of her look for less try this beautiful cardigan that’s just like Molly’s from Newlook for just £14, along with a white vest top which is £6 from Topshop. Then slip on these fabulous brown fur trimmed boots which rival the singer’s and you’re nearly good to go.

However the look isn’t complete yet, you need a large bag like Molly’s and what more could you want but this beauty from www.bagsobeautiful.com; the ‘soft red leather bag with padlock’ is enough to finish any outfit and contrast with your bold jeans.

So be brave and make a statement in your jeans.

·         http://www.newlook.com/shop/womens/knitwear/aztec-knitted-kimono_237230909?icSort=-bestSellerScore

·         http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=0&viewAllFlag=&catalogId=33057&storeId=12556&productId=4437947&langId=-1&sort_field=Relevance&categoryId=230160&parent_categoryId=203984&pageSize=20

·         http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=0&viewAllFlag=&catalogId=33057&storeId=12556&productId=2588293&langId=-1&sort_field=Relevance&categoryId=208544&parent_categoryId=208492&pageSize=200

·         http://www.bagsobeautiful.com/Cat/Leather-Bags/Soft-Red-Leather-Bag-with-Padlock.aspx

NYE

As much of a celebration that it is meant to be NYE is a time of year I dread (as is my birthday – except the present part of course!). It’s a time where you try and get all your friends who aren’t even friends with each other, as well as family and partners under the same roof and intoxicated with alcohol. If only it was that simple!

Problem number one: you don’t know where to go. So and so doesn’t like this place or so and so is barred from that place just makes everything difficult. And affording tickets, I mean, why does everywhere have to have tickets?!

Second problem: who is coming? You want to invite your closest pals but they don’t all get on. And then they want to bring their other friend but no one likes her. And you want to spend it with your boyfriend but he wants to spend it with his mates so you’re stuck with no kiss at midnight. What a bummer!

Final and most important problem: what to wear. You’ve got a dress in mind and it’s perfect but you can’t find it anywhere - the story of my life I swear. You look in all your local shops, further away shops and even online but nope, the perfect dress is nowhere to be seen! Or even worse, you’ve found it and you’re holding on to it for dear life but it isn’t in your size! I always find it really difficult because with my birthday being only a week before NYE I have to find two perfect dresses and it’s hard enough finding one!

Every year I do the same thing by leaving it to the last minute, and although I always have a laugh, it’s so stressful! So to help prevent always plan a month ahead! That may just have to be my new year’s resolution!

The New Primary Colours

From being a little nipper you’re always told that red, yellow, and blue are the basic colours you need. However, this season has decided to shake it up and reinvent the primary colours we all grew up with.

To start with, instead of having the bright red we are used to, burgundy has taken over. Although I am a huge fan of red myself I can safely say that burgundy is one of my favourite colours now. Any item I buy I want it in burgundy to add to my collection. I have a vest top, skirt and leggings (which go really well with an oversized cream jumper) and I don’t think I will stop there. Now I have my eye on a dress and this one from Topshop is perfect; as it is a classic sleeveless shift with a nice textured finish and isn’t too long which I often find a problem.

 

Secondly, instead of bright yellow, which can look nice on those with dark hair and tanned skin (completely opposite to me), I much prefer mustard. Everywhere you look you see mustard in the shops and I can’t help but be tempted. My favourite piece is my mustard pencil skirt which I like to team with a navy top, black shirt or green jumper. It goes well with anything really which is more than you can say for yellow.

I went for the colour block theme by teaming the navy top and shoes with the mustard skirt and red bag.

And lastly, and possibly my favourite colour to wear ever; navy is the new blue. You name it, I have it in navy; heels, dresses, tops, shorts, skirts, it works as a really good replacement for black as it brightens up the outfit more, and works so much better with red and yellow so you can’t be mistaken for Dennis the Menace or a bumble bee. However, it’s really tricky to mix the two; you really need to get it right, which I think is to use minimal black with navy.

So change the way you view the primary colours, as burgundy, mustard and navy are the way forward and a great base to any outfit.



Aztec Obsession

Now I understand that Aztec had been a massive trend from summer through until winter, but lately I just can’t get enough of it.
                After Christmas shopping and looking in endless amounts of shops and finding the same jumper four times over in different shops, everything seems to become a clothing blur.
                For Christmas I really wanted some Aztec leggings and oversized cardigan, not to wear together but they can jazz up any outfit and it’s been such a massive trend for so long I don’t know why I haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet. But with all the prints you can’t help but get a headache and picking between two totally different patterns is so frustrating (the simple answer would be to get both but you don’t want to overdo it, I think one Aztec pair is enough for any wardrobe).
                However, this was all until I entered Newlook. Straight away I spotted the cardigan, hanging there in its cream, red and black print, waiting for me to pick it up. It’s just what I wanted. And I don’t know about you but I like mine quite baggy, oversized knits are always the way forward in winter when you want that extra warmth, just be sure that it fits under your coat! 

                Pretty impressed with my find I carried on looking around the store and found a whole array of Aztec leggings. Black and white ones, red ones, blue ones, and then I found THE ones; coloured Aztec print leggings. I liked all the others, I think black and white leggings work well with most outfits so if you want to try the trend but are scared, Newlook do a lovely pair to get you started. However, I fell in love with these ones, the colours mean I can wear a purple or orange top with them, and of course staple black and white as they go with anything; I just love how versatile they are.

                Therefore the only thing to do was pick them up and hand the cardigan and leggings over to the mother. I am pleasantly surprised with Newlook, they have all the trends under one roof so you’re sure to find what you’re looking for in there.
                The only bad thing is I have to wait until Christmas day to open them… I don’t think I can wait that long!