Tag: All

ALL IN THE ACCESSORIES

. THE FINISHING TOUCH TO EVERY LOOK .

When it comes to accessories, I like to keep things simple (and consistent), I wear the same two rings I always have since I was a teen, I have two simple charm bracelets that live on my wrist and don’t leave it & I rotate my DW collection on my other wrist. Beyond that my day to day accessorising tends to fall to a chic monochrome fedora & some designer leather over my shoulder. But in honour of QVC’s jewellery month (#qvcseptemberjewellerymonth), i’ve decided to freshen up my accessories with a little additional bling. Specifically a long line embellished necklace to add a little vavavoom to my outfit, i’ve been admiring the ‘long’ accessories trend, from tasseled drop earrings to long line necklaces, they’re everyday chic & add a little something extra to your standard outfit.

. ZARA CROPPED LEG TROUSER . ZARA WOOL COAT . TED BAKER FEDORA . QVC BELLA VITA GOLD PLATED PENDANT C/O. CELINE NANO .

I wore this look yesterday while Jase and I headed over to Nottinghill for a little brunch in Granger & Co, we took a drive back through Kensington and jumped out on this gorgeous white housed street to snap my outfit. West London has the perfect back drop to any photo, crisp white houses are all I want in life.

My outfit was a simple look featuring some new favourite AW15 purchases, my Zara burgundy cropped leg trousers & my Zara wool long line coat … not forgetting of course my touch of gold accessorising with this QVC necklace and Ted Baker gold rimmed fedora.

What are your favourite accessories and jewellery trends this season?

September 15, 2015
BACK TO BASICS

. BACK TO BASICS : AUTUMN STYLE .

Whilst I absolutely love getting dressed up, buying myself new & ‘on trend’ fashion garments, I do also (every now and then) just like taking things back to basics. Black skinny jeans, a classic shirt & simple accessorising. When it comes to everyday work wear, this look summarises my go to style pretty well.

. ASOS STRIPED SHIRT . ZARA RIPPED JEANS . CELINE NANO . ZARA LACE UP SANDALS .

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Whilst I absolutely love getting dressed up, buying myself new & ‘on trend’ fashion garments, I do also (every now and then) just like taking things back to basics. Black skinny jeans, a classic shirt & simple accessorising. When it comes to everyday work wear, this look summarises my go to style pretty well.

This next 10 days are going to be pretty crazy for me, with big projects coming to a head at work the pressure is on, late nights will roll into early mornings & days will pass by too fast as we near the big meeting itself! When work gets like this, comfort & simple clothing is all I need. There’s too much going on to overthink my work wear style and when you’re working 16 hour days the last thing you want is to be wearing something fussy & uncomfortable. So Whilst my blog will be full of my new exciting purchases & outfits over the next week or so, the reality will be straight back to basics! The only thing to make this even more sad is the fact that NYFW is kicking off over the pond … oh where i’d rather be :)

What’s your ‘back to basics’ style? Do you have any go to looks for ‘everyday’ occasions?

September 14, 2015
HOW TO DRESS FOR A WEDDING

. DRESSING FOR A WEDDING . STYLE 101 .

Dressing for a wedding is always an exciting occasion, it’s that excuse to treat yourself to a shiny new outfit, and a chance to get dressed up in a way that you don’t otherwise get to do (unless your a frequent ball attendee). But with the glamour & the excitement does come stress & pressure, not only to find the outfit you love, but to also dress appropriately … after all there are some cardinal wedding guest rules which must be obeyed. Number one, is of course no white!

This year i’ve attended a few weddings & have one more to go (although i’m bridesmaid so that makes things a little simpler) and a few super exciting engagements which means more weddings next year, so i’ve become well versed in dressing for the occasion. Today I thought i’d share my styling tips, general wedding guest rules, my favourite dress stores & some looks from the high street this season!

. HOW TO DRESS FOR A WEDDING: 5 STYLE TIPS FOR WEDDING GUESTS .

#1 NO WHITE

It wouldn’t be a wedding guest style feature if we didn’t discuss the main dress code rule, no white. And more than that, no colour matching with the bridesmaids either. It’s always worthwhile checking any dress code requirements with the bridal party before the day itself, some brides want to ensure guests don’t where similar colours to the parties, others are so relaxed it’s free reign on what you wear … regardless of the situation, it’s always best to check.

I wore this Reiss dress to a couple of wedding this year, because of the blush colour tone i’ve been sure to run it by the bride first, to check she’s happy with me wearing it. So far, so good!

#2 SHOP SAVVY

When it comes to buying yourself a new outfit for a wedding, it’s always worth remembering that whatever you wear, comfort is the most important factor. I don’t just mean comfort as in material & fit, I also mean how comfortable you feel in the outfit, how confident it makes you feel, how ‘you’ it looks & ultimately how much wear you’ll get from it. When it comes to dressing for special occasions, those that feel comfortable in their outfit are the ones that shine out of the crowd. The last thing you want to be doing is tugging down a dress so as to not showcase your derrière, constantly feel like you need to breathe in, or non stop having to hoik your boobs into place. Whilst the dress of your dreams might look great on the hanger, if you don’t feel comfy in it, then it’s not ‘the one’!

A few things to think of when you’re dress shopping: Length, food room, appropriateness, dancing potential, colour & the ‘lust’ factor. If you’re ticking those boxes then you’ve got yourself a winner! A good dress won’t just last you that one wedding occasion, a classic style can be worn over and over without going out of fashion!

#3 DANCING SHOES

Shoes are another essential wedding outfit item, and another item where comfort is an absolute must. There’s no point wearing your most glamorous and beautiful stilettos if you can’t walk, dance or last all night in them. When it comes to wedding shoes, I always tend to go for a block heel as I find it far comfier to wear & I can dance all night without a single whelp of pain!

At the last wedding I went to I wore my Jimmy Choo stilettos for the 30 minute ceremony and then swapped into these block heeled sandals. It was the best style swap I could have made … I was dancing until they chucked us out!

Shoes aren’t the only accessory to consider, a classic, timeless & quality clutch is always a worthwhile investment too!

#4 ‘GO TO’ STORES

I have a few ‘go to’ stores which I always find 100% reliable when you’re looking for an event dress, not only do these stores have a brilliant collection of wedding guest suitable dresses, they’re mostly classic styles that will last forever, quality material so you’ll look chic & the dress will get good wear, but they’re also not over saturated … you might find a few people with the same dress, but never at the same wedding event. I would recommend checking out Reiss, French Connection and Self Portrait, they’re my favourite brands for special occasion dresses.

#5 RECYCLE

If you’ve shopped savvy, then your dress (or outfit) will last you years & years, and do for tons of occasions. In fact, the sign of a good purchase is that you get more than one wear out of it, and more than that, it will be the perfect dress for multiple weddings where the attendee list is different.

The key to recycling is a) shopping well, but b) looking after your dress too. I always keep my investment dresses hanging in a dress bag & get them dry cleaned post a wedding so that it’s like brand new for the next occasion!

. SHOP MY FAVOURITE WEDDING GUEST LOOKS .

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Have you been to any weddings this year, what’s your wedding style?

September 13, 2015
5 TIPS TO HELP YOU SPRING CLEAN YOUR WARDROBE

. SPRING CLEAN YOUR WARDROBE, READY FOR AW 15 .

Today I went on a rather spontaneous, and unbelievably fruitful shopping spree. It was an unplanned venture out, but I ended up picking up some amazing Autumn Winter purchases, and some real classic gems that i’ll get so much wear out of this season, and seasons to come I’m sure. Whenever I have a little spree like this, I always end up getting home & feel ashamed at the state of my wardrobe … too much jammed in, too many clothes I never wear & just generally a bit of a jumble sale. It’s not a place I want to put my shiny new clothes …

So tonight I got in, and I spring cleaned my wardrobe. It took a good few hours (hence why my post is so late) but It felt so good to sort through everything, clear out clothes I don’t wear, and make space for my new purchases, organise myself & give my wardrobe a good (and very well needed) spring clean! Not only has it transformed my wardrobe, it also inspired me to write todays post & share my top tips for spring cleaning YOUR wardrobe.

. 5 TIPS TO HELP YOU SPRING CLEAN YOUR WARDROBE .

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” William Morris

#1 START A FRESH

When it comes to sorting out your wardrobe, your best to start totally from scratch, in my opinion there’s no point dipping in and out & clearing through things bit by bit, if you’re going to clear out your wardrobe your best doing it all at once … getting everything out and starting a fresh. Just make sure you give yourself enough time so you can start and finish the job in one go!

#2 SECTION BY SECTION

Once you’ve cleared out your wardrobe(s), work through your clothes section by section, working on a specific section (like tops, dresses, jackets, shoes etc) it’ll help give you a better idea of all the things you have and help you prioritise items to keep versus those you’ll get rid of.

It also means you can start organising your wardrobe into clothing sections, which will make things far more organised and easier to navigate each day.

#3 HAVE YOU WORN IT

I have a few tests which help me decide whether or not to keep an item or donate it to friends, family or charity, but the main one of course is ‘have I worn it recently’. Given i’m a massive hoarder, my test is have I worn it in the last 2 years, if I haven’t then I seriously debate keeping it or not. If I don’t ABSOLUTELY love it, then i’ll most likely put it in a pile to review at the end & ultimately give away!

#4 QUALITY OVER QUANTITY

The main thing to bear in mind when you’re working through your wardrobe & giving it a little tidy and spring clean is ‘quality over quantity’ … there’s no point having tons of clothes, and tons of similar clothes when you’re only going to wear a few items in reality. So when it comes to prioritising, pick those items which are classic, timeless, and of good quality. Those are the items that will work the hardest for you, that you’ll get the most wear from & of course get the best CPW (cost per wear) for.

#5 TIDY & ORGANISED

And the final tip, is of course once you’ve sorted through your piles and piles of clothes, organised things into keep, review & charity, you then need to start putting things back int your wardrobe & drawers systematically, not only so things look nice and neat and tidy, but also so that your wardrobe is easily navigated. I’d suggest keeping dresses together, tops, jumpers & jackets in one place, and organising your trousers and skirts into a section too. You can always take it one step further and organise by colour, length, sleeve style too.

With the clothes you’ve chosen not to keep, be sure to donate them to another loving home, just because they’re not for you, it doesn’t mean that someone else wouldn’t love them! If you don’t want these clothes in your wardrobe, but still want to keep them until you find the time to give them a new home, maybe opt to put them in vacuum packed bags and keep them in storage.

I always give my clothes to my friends and family … it’s an annual ‘help yourself’ party & everyone leaves with a happy face. If you’re feeling savvy then of course Ebay is another option, you can earn a few pennies to help buy some new season, quality, classic purchases.

Do you regularly clear out your wardrobe? What are your tips & tidying processes?

September 12, 2015
THE PERFECT SUMMER PICNIC

. A SUMMER PICNIC AT KEW GARDENS WITH GALLO FAMILY VINEYARDS .

One of my favourite things about living in West London, is that Kew Gardens is quite literally my back garden. If you’ve followed my blog for a while you’ll probably notice a few of my outfit posts have been taken outside the glorious Victoria Gates, that lead you into the magical gardens behind. But aside from skirting the walled sanctuary, I frequently try and go inside too, Jase and I have a membership & find it’s the perfect summer (or winters) day out and the ideal location for a hearty picnic. Which is exactly what we did the other weekend …

. THE ULTIMATE PICNIC INGREDIENTS .

When the sun graced us last weekend, we made the most of the occasion by whipping together a fabulous picnic (even if I do say so myself), a few bottles of fruity summer spritz (more to come on this), and headed into the gardens to make a little den for ourselves.

We found a perfect spot under a big oak tree, and spent the next couple of hours indulging in melon & Palma ham, avocado and rocket salad, babaganoush & a fresh mozzarella, basil and tomato salad (thanks to yours truly), and some seriously tasty new drinks from Gallo Family Vineyards. My personal favourite was the Raspberry and Lime flavour which went perfectly with our fresh and fruity picnic, it was the ultimate refreshing summer spritz (and an ideal picnic companion I have to say).

. FRENCH CONNECTION MAXI SKIRT . WHISTLES SLOGAN TEE . ASOS FEDORA . MISSGUIDED SANDALS . CELINE NANO .

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We finished our summer picnic with a stroll around the gardens, including a little visit to my favourite greenhouse, the Palm House. It’s like being in a rainforest and the perfect escape from the usual city hustle & bustle. Jase took a few snaps of my outfit too … a French Connection maxi skirt, my Whistles slogan tee & my ever faithful ASOS fedora (you can shop the look above). It was the perfect Sunday outing, so a big thanks to Gallo Family Vineyards for spurring on the outing!

Have you tried the new Gallo Family Vineyards Spritz collection, which is your favourite flavour? If you haven’t been to Kew Gardens I definitely recommend heading there for a little day out.

September 11, 2015
THE FASHION SEARCH

. FASHION SEARCH x FASHIOLA .

I’ve always been a shopaholic, it’s 90% of the reason I started my blog in the first place, a guilt free place to share my new purchases and sartorial lustings without judgement, to like minded people who in turn had their own beauty, fashion & travel addictions.

My shopping habits have changed a lot since I launched my blog 4 years ago, not only do I probably spend far more on clothes than ever before (blogging is the perfect excuse) but I also do a lot more shopping online! This is for a few reasons, i’m time poor and online shopping offers the perfect retail therapy break without an hours hack to Oxford Street, I love the postal delivery concept (it’s like Christmas) & actually I find the whole process far easier … easier to find what I want, easier to explore multiple brands & shops and easier just to discover new things, new brands, new trends & seek new inspirations.

. MISS SELFRIDGE SUEDE COAT . WHISTLES JEANS . COS SWEATER . SENSO HEELS . ASOS FEDORA .

The concept of the department store is for me what the internet offers … a choice of anything & everything under one roof (kinda)! Just a click & search away! Although with the plethora of sites & brands available online, and the sheer volume of websites to browse, often online shopping can turn into a marathon browsing affair (or if I can’t be bothered I simply end up sticking to the same sites, which is a shame when theres so much more out there), but that’s where Fashiola.co.uk comes into play.

Making that search for new purchases, my favourite trends or a specific style i’m trying to hunt down, just so much more simple (and enjoyable). Plus of course I’ve discovered tons of new international brands in the process, not just through my searching but also through their daily fashion blog too. Browsing one site, for everything you need is the perfect online shopping solution … it’s like a fashion only google. What more could I need (aside from a pay rise)!

Have you used Fashiola.co.uk before? I really recommend checking it out, especially if you have an item or style of garment in mind, and want to browse the web for the best option! I found this skirt through Fashiola & absolutely love it!

September 10, 2015
TURN YOUR BLOG INTO A BUSINESS: PART 2

. MAKE YOUR BLOG A BUSINESS: PART 2 .

Last week I kicked off my new blogging tips series, all about turning your blog into a business, and everything you need to know and prepare for on that journey.

I started off with defining your brand, knowing what your product is, and letting your consumers know in turn. You can check out part 1 in the series here. But today it’s onto the slightly less fluffy task of creating a business plan. To turn your blog into a business you must have a plan … A plan of what you need to achieve and how you will get there. The plan will include big things, like hitting financial goals, to small tactics like networking and sharing your content.

Today i wanted to share my advice on how to create your own business plan, and things to be thinking about as part of developing it.

. HOW TO CREATE A BUSINESS PLAN FOR YOUR BLOG .

A business plan shouldn’t be created and left to gather dust, it should be ever evolving and adapting based on the journey your blog is taking. Having a monthly check in and update is a good idea to keep pushing yourself forward … But to get started here’s what you need to do;

#1 SET OBJECTIVES

First things first is you need to have something that you’re working toward, what is it that you want to achieve. You may have a few objectives that you’re keen on achieving, but as with anything don’t overload yourself. Your objectives should push you hard, but still be achievable.

An objective could be anything from giving yourself a financial target to a blog traffic growth figure or even something like content quality and frequency.

Aim to have around 3 objectives. These should be the big things that you need to deliver on for your business to succeed.

#2 BREAK IT DOWN INTO GOALS

Naturally those lofty objectives may feel a little scary and far away, so it’s important that you break them each down into little goals, for example breaking down an annual salary target into a monthly revenue you need to try and hit to sustain living. Or if your objective is about content, perhaps your goals define how many times a week you’ll post, what sort of features you want to write (at a top line level).

Think of it as the 4 or 5 smaller goals you need to deliver on, to overall help you hit that big end objective.

#3 CREATE SOME TACTICS

Taking it one step further, for each objective and each goal you set yourself, you then should set some tactics for what you’ll do to achieve them. These are the more everyday actions that will help you deliver on your goals.

For example, posting regularly on instagram to build your following, sharing your blog features across X, Y, Z channels each day, sending a PR email each week, creating a media pack, developing a weekly blog schedule, planning shoots etc.

These are the ‘small’ actions you can act on everyday, or every week to help deliver on your overall ambition & plans … everything should ladder back up to your overall objectives you’ve set!

#4 DEFINE YOUR SUCCESS MEASURES

How will you know if you’re succeeding? You must measure your work, your success and your progress. For every objective or goal you set, think SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely), and ensure that every goal has a clear KPI for you to measure against.

And don’t forget to think outside the box … you can measure anything from income & collaborations, to traffic, bounce rate and shares to sentiment, engagement & comments. Utilise google analytics, your own blog interface and don’t forget to consider your social channels too. These are all part of your overall brand.

But most importantly, agree up front what you’ll be measuring, how you’ll measure it, when you’ll be reviewing progress & what overall timings you’ll be working to. Be as specific as possible.

#5 KEEP INNOVATING

And don’t forget to use your insights & learnings to keep improving things moving forward.

On a monthly basis, review your progress, monitor the successes and failures and adapt your business plan accordingly. Make changes, learn from mistakes, maximise the tactics that work the hardest for you, continuously pushing & building your progression plan is key.

The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.

And one last thought for you: Live less out of habit and more out of intent.

I’d love to know if you found part 2 helpful? If you like my tips posts then make sure you check out my other blog & career tips here, and my photography tutorials here.

September 9, 2015
BACK TO THE 70’S

. BACK TO THE 70’s x THE CROPPED JUMPSUIT .

As much as the 70’s trend scares me, in particular the concept of flares (fitted thighs & baggy ankles – that’s a recipe for disaster in my current non gym bod state), I have found myself drawn to other 70’s styles … the cropped leg being one of them.

I shared my Whistles cropped culottes with you yesterday, but as I mentioned, they were only the beginning of my adventure into cropped leg pantaloons, and since those (unflattering apparently) culottes joined my wardrobe, so have a few more. Including this rather 70’s inspired emerald green cropped leg open back jumpsuit.

On paper I appreciate that the description above doesn’t sound to fabulous, but hopefully from the photos you can see that in fact it actually can look rather splendid. Styled up (like this) or dressed down for an everyday look like todays post.

. ZARA CROPPED JUMPSUIT . ZARA LACE UP HEELS . EDWIN BOYFRIEND DENIM JACKET . ASOS FEDORA .

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I actually wore this jumpsuit at the weekend for my friends hen do, we were Somerset for the weekend celebrating her soon to be wedding, and the Saturday night we surprised her with a pamper afternoon followed by a catered dinner in our barn we had hired, It was the perfect excuse to get dressed up, but nothing too OTT … the jumpsuit ticked the job perfectly.

Have you embraced this 70s renaissance yet? What are your favourite looks?

September 8, 2015
CULOTTES & A BLOG REFRESH

. CROPPED LEG, LOOSE FIT, HIGH WAIST .

I’m not sure what the reason behind it is, but i’ve become quite obsessed with ‘quirky’ trousers, my wardrobe is currently brimming with cropped leg, loose fit and high waist trousers. Replaced are my cigarette trouser collection, replaced with a whole new style. These Whistles culottes were the first of the bunch, and set the trend for things to come. They were a spontaneous purchase a month or so ago (you may remember seeing them here), and I have to say they were definitely trigger to me falling in love with the trend, and purchasing a whole variety of other cropped leg pantaloons (check out the collection here, here & here).

. WHISTLES CUlOTTES . WHISTLES WHITE TEE . ZARA LACE HEELS . ASOS FEDORA .

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Culottes aren’t the only new thing in my life right now, i’ve also added a little newness to my blog too. I spent a lot of work redesigning and effectively relaunching my blog back in January, and it’s been WIP ever since. The shift to self hosted wordpress from blogger wasn’t that smooth for me, and being a perfectionist getting the blog to work properly & look perfect has also taken some serious months of work & tweaking. But whilst I am happy with the new look, the focus on imagery (theres on distortion of image quality anymore) & the simple navigation & snazzy category pages (which I really wanted as part of my re-design), there were still a few things I wanted to adapt to make the blog feel a little more ‘me’.

I was really keen on a monochrome vibe (to let my imagery do the talking), but after having such a colourful blog before, I realised i was missing a little warmth & colour. So voila … i’ve given my blog another little refresh, added a little colour & just given things even more of a personal touch. Next up is sorting my tablet site (which sadly doesn’t work properly – although the great news is I now have an APP you can download, switzswooo) and a new logo hopefully too.

Anyway, after a 9 month blog relaunch process (it feels like it anyway), hopefully ‘now’ you can get a good feel for how things have changed & moved in since my old blogger blog. Are you a fan of the new look and feel? I’d love to hear your thoughts?

September 7, 2015