A Summer Dress and Sandals

Summer arrived! Albeit briefly, but after a quick check of the weather forecast this morning, I thought I'd risk sandals and a dress and hope the rain stayed away for at least a day. It was gorgeous sunshine when I left my house this morning, unfortunately not so much at lunchtime when I nipped out of the office to take these pictures, but at least it was warm and dry.

A good friend of mine sent me a link to this Oasis dress a while ago when I was looking for a wedding outfit for my trip to South Africa. I saw it in store when I was shopping and tried it on, immediately falling in love with the print and the movement of the fabric. It's hard to see in these pictures, but the skirt of the dress hangs really nicely feels very floaty and summery with a light breeze. I've worn my old faithful leather gladiator sandals I picked up from Primark a couple of years ago. One of the straps is broken, which is sad as I love them so much. Hopefully I'll find a similar paid to replace them that will last just as long. My sunglasses are from H&M, bought a few weeks ago on an unprecedented sunny day. The thick plastic frames are really comfy and I love the shape, and subtle pink detail of the inside of the frames. 

I'm still on the lookout for new places to try and take pictures for my blog. I tend to go to the same spot every day, but today it was really busy and I get enough odd looks from passers by as it is! I found a couple of backstreets near my office to take today's pictures. The lighting's not ideal and I still have to avoid the cars, bicycles and people who frequent Kensington's roads of a lunchtime. The hunt for the perfect spot continues...

Dress: Oasis

Sandals: Primark (past season, similar here)

Bag: Carpe Diem @ Camden Lock

Sunglasses: H&M

When it's still winter in April

Every year in London people seem surprised by April's weather. I've lived here for 7 years now and I'm pretty sure it's always been utterly unpredictable. I've mentioned before that I'm a sun lover, and I'm looking forward to summer as much as anyone. I've been trying to wear summery clothes towards the end of April but yesterday's snow (yup, snow!) has pushed me back into the realms of black tights and wrapping up in layers.

I've been wearing this scarf from Camden Market on repeat all winter, and I've layered it over my old faithful black leather moto jacket from New Look. My dress is New Look too, the burgandy pattern bringing out the colours in my scarf.

I've added another wardrobe staple, my Collectif shrug for warmth and covered up with thick black tights and Asos ankle boots.

 I love mixing textures; here I've got leather, jersey, embroidery and faux fur.

My current handbag is this gorgeous olive Odilynch leather number, which I also picked up in my Camden Market haul back in January. Do you have 4 seasons in one day where you live? How do you dress for changeable weather?

Dress: New Look

Shrug: Collectif

Jacket: New Look

Scarf: Camden Market

Bag: Odilynch @ Camden Market

Boots: ASOS

Black, White and Leopard

I'm going to have a go at writing shorter blog posts. This is the fist, focusing on just one outfit. Nearly a year ago I wrote my first post on fashion and style, briefly musing about how some people seem to have developed a style that encapsulates their personality and makes even the simplest of outfits look unique and polished.

I'm still forever in search of this elusive style of my own, and until recently I didn't think there was anything definable about the clothes I wear, since I'm a fan of so many different eras and styles in general. I am learning a few things along the way, however, so hopefully I'll be able to build on what I'm discovering to create new looks for every day. One thing I've learnt is that I seem to be a big fan of black, white and leopard print, shown in this outfit I actually managed to snap on my lunch break.

There's quite a bit of retro inspired clothing here, with a pencil dress from Lindy Bop, and a shrug and coat from Collectif. I've worn them with my absolute favourite leopard print Bronx shoes to complete the leopard accents.

How did you work out your individual style? Are their certain items you always stick to or do you like to experiment? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Coat - Collectif
Shrug - Collectif
Dress - Lindy Bop
Shoes - Bronx (from ASOS)

Decades of style in one week

At some point I'll get back into posting more frequently about my adventures with fashion, but for now I'm more into following challenges and creating themes to write about.

A while ago, I posted about my go-to uniform for autumn / winter, where, left to my own devices, I basically live in boots, layers, hoodies and scarves. But one of things I love about fashion is being able to step out of your comfort zone and play with different looks. I'm still very much unsure of my own sense of style, but by setting little goals and writing about what I wear and how I put together an outfit, I feel like I'm learning a lot and being able to explore my own style in a really positive way.

I decided to create a little challenge for myself to complete over a 5 day working week, where every day I would put together an outfit inspired by a specific decade. I am quite a methodical person, so it made sense for me to start in the 50s and finish on the 90s. I'm not quite sure that the trends of 2000-2010 have yet become "vintage" enough to be iconic of that era, and I don't really have much in my wardrobe that predates the 50s in terms of shapes and styles, so this 50-year period seemed to fit quite nicely into my schedule. On a side note, I'm really curious to see how the naughties are represented as a fashion era in the future - what do you think will be the overall theme of this time period? Skinny jeans, ankle boots and leather jackets? I really don't know!

So anyway, back to the point. Here are my outfits of the week. I've tried to link to similar items where possible. Which is your favourite?

Day 1 - 1950's

A fair few of my friends are full time rockabillies, and I wish I had the dedication sometimes to commit to the style every day, but some days I'm just a jeans and a hoodie kind of girl.

No jeans or hoodie for my 50's inspired look though. I love these cigarette trousers from H&M, although the waist is a tiny bit low for a real 50's silhouette so I tried to cheat a bit with a belt. I've added a super old blouse and mac from Primark, some black pumps and my favourite faux fur collar shrug from Collectif to complete the look. For my make up I stuck with a simple winged eye and red lip for a retro feel.

Shirt - Primark. Similar here

Trousers - H&M. 

Cardigan - Collectif. Similar here.

Coat - Primark. Similar here

Shoes - New Look. Similar here

Belt - market. Similar here

Day 2 - 1960's

As someone who wears a lot of black, I tried to inject a bit of 60s vibrancy into this outfit with a bright green cord mini and patterned scarf which I've worn tied in a pussy bow over my poloneck top. I've tried to inject some vintage texture as well with grey suede knee high boots by Park Lane from ASOS over my dark green tights, adding a buttoned pea coat to finish the look. I amped up the drama with my eyeshadow to go with this look, with a smoky heavily lined lid and pale lips for a 60's feel.

Top - Primark. Similar here

Skirt - Next. Similar here

Tights - Marks and Spencer

Boots - ASOS. Similar here

Coat - H&M. Similar here

Scarf - no idea! Similar here

Day 3 - 1970's

There are elements of the 70's I like. Platforms, suede, psychedelic rock. It's an interesting decade for fashion in terms of the juxtaposition of shiny, glittery disco excess and the anarchic, shocking extremeism of the punk scene. But in all honesty it's not "my" era. I don't have the hight or slight bone structure to pull off a flared lurex catsuit and the full-on mohawked studded leather and ripped denim look is a little much for a day in the office. So I did what I could with some wide leg wool trousers, olive suede belt and wedges, a white linen top, flared sleeve crochet cardigan and a New Look suede jacket I've had for so long it may soon be considered vintage itself. I went heavy on the bronzer and opted for a subtle shimmery green eyeshadow to finish off this look.

Top - TK Maxx. Similar here

Cardigan - Pilot. Similar here

Trousers - H&M. Similar here

Belt - Oasis. Similar here

Coat - New Look. Similar here

Shoes - Faith. Similar here

Day 4 - 1980's

On to the 80's for look number 4, the decade of my early childhood. As I was doing a brief bit of research for this post, it was the 80's styles I was looking up that brought back real memories of my mum and her friends, rather than looks I've only seen in photos and films, or on the TV and internet. Google image search for 80's fashion seems to focus mainly on neon active wear, whereas I remember lots of batwing tops and enormous shoulder pads, bodycon dresses and straight cut jeans. I went for a tight fitting pencil skirt,  batwing top, white leather belt, black leather bomber jacket and these awesome red leopard print shoeboots which are surprisingly comfy for someone who rarely wears heels. I toned down the wattage, but went for a typically 80's blue eyeshadow and sugary pink lip to counter the more muted tones of my outfit.

Top - Topshop. Similar here

Skirt - Primark. Similar here

Belt - Accessorize. Similar here

Shoes - ASOS. Similar here

Jacket - Oasis. Similar here

Day 5 - 1990's

The 90's - the decade of my youth! The grunge era of layers, plaid, denim and baggy clothes, with a dollop of checked skirts and crop tops on the side. I was so glad to don a beaten pair of Doc Martens after tottering around in heels for the past couple of days. I even had an instagram comment to say this look was very "Liv Tyler from Empire Records" which is awesome because that was pretty much the exact look I was going for. It wasn't really the weather for a bare midriff so I'm really glad I chose this mega cosy Warehouse jumper to throw over my bare skin and keep me warm. I no longer own the infamous Rimmel "Heather Shimmer" lipstick but I did my best to recreate the colour for this look, with natural make up for the rest of my face. 

Jumper - Warehouse. Similar here

Top - H&M Similar here

Skirt - New Look. Similar here

Boots - DM

Jacket - Primark. Similar here

So there you have it. 50 years of fashion inspiration in one week. I really loved trying out these different looks,  and I learnt a few things in the process. 

1) Iconic styles of the past seem to focus a lot on a waist. With the exception of the 60's look, I had some focus on my waist each day. Today's diet shows a propensity for a rounder midriff; the result of too many processed carbs and not enough activity leading to storage of visceral fat and a move away from a more classic hourglass figure. That's a post for another time perhaps, but this week has reminded me of the changing shape of women in recent years, probably to the detriment of our health, and encouraged me to look at my lifestyle and try to be a bit healthier.

2) I really like make up. I tend to go with the same look every day - a flick of black eyeliner, some shaping to my brows and a bit of lip balm. It was so fun trying to take inspiration from the colours and textures of previous decades. I kept it all quite subtle for work, but digging through my make up collection for different coloured eyeshadow, blush and lipsticks was really fun and something I'm definitely going to try and keep up for at least a day or two every week.

3) Putting an outfit together is so much easier with a goal in mind. It's something I've mentioned before but often seem to forget when I'm trying to work out what to wear each day. Thinking about what pieces I had in my wardrobe I could put together to create something specific was far less difficult than opening my closet and just trying to pick something. I'm not going to try and emulate a particular era with my outfit every day, but I might try and work out a particular theme before I wildly start pulling things off hangers and throwing them on my bed in despair!

What's your favourite look? Do you have particular style rules you follow? Leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you!

Whowhatwear.com 30 day wardrobe challenge

This is a post about a 30 day outfit challenge I stumbled upon whilst perusing the web for fashion inspiration. But since this is my first post about fashion, I thought I'd wax lyrical for a bit as a sort of mini introduction to my love of clothes and style.

Style. It's obviously a very subjective concept, but something that many of us hope to exude in our daily lives. There are celebrities who are generally heralded as having great style - Kate Moss, Olivia Palermo, Clemence Posey, Emma Watson, to name but a few. Of more interest to me personally though, are those mere mortals who have their own unique style. Those people who breeze past you on their way to work who exude confidence and self assurance, who just look "right". You know the ones I mean. I admire people who look effortlessly put together every day. But how do they do it? I have a few theories...

1) They have a personal stylist. This obviously only applies to a minute percentage of privileged society. See aforementioned celebrity icons.

2) They spend hours each evening painstakingly putting together the next day's outfit. I say hours, because I'm anticipating 12 outfit changes and at least one full make up application and removal.

3) Witchcraft

4) The one I don't like to admit to myself.  They have a 'natural' sense of style. Or probably more accurately, a practiced and developed sense of style. Which leads me back to my own quest for the ability to look at my overflowing wardrobe and pull together a daily outfit I'm happy with, as opposed to the far more common occurrence of staring blindly at the mass of fabrics and declaring I've nothing to wear.

When developing any skill, guidance is invaluable. And boy do I need some guidance on my fashion sense. So I began looking at more online fashion articles, reading blogs and following Instagram and Pinterest for outfit inspiration. It was during this research phase that I discovered Whowhatwear.com, a fashion and style website, by following a link to this post. Each day for 30 days, it gives you a specific requirement for your outfit. Broad enough to apply to most people's lifestyle, but particular enough to give some direction, a starting point to make you think about your outfit and sometimes push you out of your comfort zone.

So without further ado, here is my exploration into my first ever 30 day outfit challenge. Click on each image for a link to the day. Since most of my clothes are really old, I've linked to similar items for each look. Let me know if you find a better match!