ON A ROLL

JACKET - NASTY GAL, JUMPER & SKIRT - TOPSHOP, BOOTS - JIGSAW

 I'm loving the roll neck and mini skirt combination for this A/W. It's great for right now when it's a bit chilly but not quite time to dig your thermals out. It also feels very feminine and pulled together, both of which I rarely am in the colder months, when it's way more tempting to throw on jeans and a massive jumper and call it a day. It's got a little 60's Mod vibe with the mini skirt and Breton stripe too which I love. To toughen it up and in keeping with my personal style, I added my trusty biker jacket and my new found loves-of-my-life Jigsaw lace up boots.

WILD CATS

 

TOP & SANDALS - TOPSHOP, JEANS - RIVER ISLAND

 

I love when date night comes back around. Besides getting to feast on delicious food and spend some time with my gorgeous boyfriend for an evening, it's also always a good excuse to wear something nice. For my most recent evening out at Wagamamas with my other half, I chose to debut this fun cami top with my staple River Island jeggings (I live in these bad boys - if you have a big bum like myself then these will change your life) and sandals. I don't usually wear patterns or bold prints but I really fell for the unique tiger and leopard design on this top, and by teaming it with basic pieces from my wardrobe I was able to make it work with my personal style. I thought this top was the ideal loose shape and fit for going to dinner where I would most definitely be stuffing my face with delicious Japanese food and walking out with a very full stomach.

 

P.S. Next time you're at Waga, order the teriyaki beef soba. It's spicy, meaty, noodle-y goodness.

 

 

CON ARTIST

 

DRESS & BAG - ZARA, SHOES - NEW LOOK

 

 The other week my boyfriend and I went to Bluewater shopping centre where I was on the hunt for some summer wardrobe essentials. Coming from a town with few big brand clothes shops, I got very excited, especially by the massive Zara where I picked up this striped bodycon number. I couldn't believe that it was only thirteen pounds! A total bargain. It is a really simple daytime dress and a great staple wardrobe piece, so it only made sense to buy it in black and navy too. It's great if, like me, you love to show off your curves. I know that I'll be rotating between the three all summer as well as year after year. I wore this to have some lunch with my brother last week, where we sat in the glorious sunshine and my fragile Irish skin was properly exposed to the sun for the first time this year (which explains the lovely red glow).

BAD BLOOD

Taylor Swift's new music video for 'Bad Blood' is four minutes of incredible star-studded bad bitch action. The video is visually insane and so fucking cool, all that's left is for her to turn this thing into a movie - somewhere right in between Sin City and Sucker Punch. So much hype has been made about the level of great cameo's, such as Selena Gomez, Cara Delevingne, Lena Dunham, Hayley Williams and Jessica Alba (to name only a few), who are all recruited to make up Taylor's bad-ass female warrior army. Having so many strong female faces in this video only amplifies the song's tough girl power message.

MET GALA 2015

The Met Gala is without question the biggest night in fashion. Every year it brings out the most extravagant and lavish designer creations worn by the worlds biggest fashion players. This year the theme was 'China: Through the Looking Glass', inspiring stars to go for bold and beautiful looks. Below are just a few of my favourites.


The Showstoppers

These ladies got everyone talking the morning after. It's pretty resounding that Rihanna completely stole the night. Her and Lady Gaga really displayed full dedication to the theme in huge satin creations with stunning orient-inspired detailing. Beyoncé and Kim Kardashian had similar brainwaves in their sheer gowns covered in nothing but intricate, strategically placed beading and embellishment to create amazing diva-worthy looks. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are always a favourite of mine at any rare red-carpet appearance. Taking their own unique style as priority over this years theme, they brought serious vintage goth vibes.

Rihanna in Guo Pei

 

Kim Kardashian in Roberto Cavalli

 

 Beyoncé in Givenchy

 

Lady Gaga in Balenciaga

 

 

Kendall Jenner in Calvin Klein

 

Zoe Kravitz in Alexander Wang for Balengiaga

 

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen in vintage Galliano

 

The Class Acts

 

These ladies took a more understated approach (I mean if you can do 'understated' in couture), opting for really classic, elegant looks. Red was very much the colour of the evening, with Hailee Steinfeld and Banks both looking so incredible in their simple red gowns. Gigi Hadid particularly stood out for me, looking the classic blonde bombshell.

Banks in H&M
 

Amanda Seyfried in Givenchy

Kate Hudson in Michael Kors

 

Selena Gomez in Vera Wang

 

Hailee Steinfeld in Michael Kors

 

 

Emma Roberts in Ralph Lauren

 

Gigi Hadid in Diane von Furstenberg

LISTEN

Links

Lykke Li - I Follow Rivers (The Magician remix) / Banks - Beggin For Thread (Gryffin & Hotel Garuda remix) / Destiny's Child - Say My Name (Cyril Hahn remix) / The Weeknd & Drake - Trust Issues / FKA twigs - Video Girl / Florence + the Machine - St. Jude

The past couple of months have been an intense time full of change for me, which meant putting the blog to one side for a few weeks to focus. I started working for Jigsaw which I'm loving more each day, and said goodbye to the pub family of customers and colleagues that gave me countless incredible memories. This eclectic mini playlist has been my go-to for nothing but chilled out vibes in the spare moments. Each song is perfect for zoning out and getting a second to yourself.

IT'S SO FLUFFY I'M GONNA DIE

 

COAT - OASIS, JUMPER - TOPSHOP, JEANS - RIVER ISLAND, BOOTS - NEW LOOK

 

A more suitable title for this post might have been something along the lines of 'Shades of Grey' but with a certain movie having just come out I figured it would almost definitely attract the wrong audience. Anyway, the new title brings me nicely to probably my favourite movie moment of all time (cue a totally appropriate excuse for a gif - if you haven't seen this movie then I don't understand). This cold weather calls for only the biggest, fluffiest coat there is. Within my own fashion book of rules (of which there are few) I never wear this coat with anything other than trousers, to avoid the whole 'hooker' vibe. For everyday I think it looks great with skinny jeans, while for a more dressed up occasion I'd pair it with some skinny leather trousers. I actually wore this something like two weeks ago at dinner with my boyfriend (to the forth best Indian restaurant in Eastbourne no less...;)) but being a total scatterbrain I only remembered it until now. Yup, bad blogger as usual.
 

NUDEY PANTS

 

Soz if you were expecting any saucy pics in this post, you perverts;) This is all about nail polish, with nude being my favourite shade at the moment. It's perfect for creating understated, classic beautiful nails. During winter and the festive period I always tend to wear lots of dark or metallic colours so this Rimmel London polish (in shade 513 Let's Get Nude) was such a refreshing change for me. I find that lots of nude polishes can be really translucent but after two coats this polish created a really solid, clean result. As well as this polish, other great nudes in my collection are Ciate polish (in shade Couture) and Londontown Lakur (in shade Tea Time).

THERE'S A SNAKE IN MY BOOT

Snakeskin is the print of 2015 without question, and this season there is only one way to wear it - on your feet. So many fashion houses' have used snakeskin prints in their most recent collections, with designers like Gucci, Stella McCartney, Givenchy and Gianvito Rossi in particular using the print to dominate their footwear.

 

All links to items here.

Luckily for the most of us with regular-sized bank accounts, the highstreet is bursting at the seams with incredible designer-inspired pieces. While shops like H&M, River Island and Zara are some of the best brands to find this trend, Topshop is the place to go to for total catwalk copycat pieces. They took direct influences from Gucci with their knee high boots covered in a bold python print, give a fun and colourful twist to Givenchy heeled sandals, and recreate black and white ankle boots which stand up pretty nicely against their £695 Jimmy Choo originals. Such a striking print could prove daunting to most people (I know for me the idea of wearing printed knee high boots fills me with nothing but fear), but worn as the main focus of the outfit with neutral tones like grey and camel is the perfect way to make subtle impact and create a retro glamour-inspired look.

ALL THAT GLITTERS

Scrolling through my blog a few weeks back, I noticed to my horror that it's been at least over a year since I last did a nail art-related post. I figured that as it was the festive period it was only appropriate to get back into the nail game in the most sparkly, glittery, over-the-top way I know how.

 

 (Links to nail products used below)

 

After applying an always-important layer of Sally Hansen Double Duty base coat to each nail, I applied two coats of Barry M Nail Paint in white for a solid base colour. With a small square of sponge (makeup sponge or even a standard cleaning sponge will do) I lightly dapped Ciate in Sand Dune gold onto the bottom half of each nail. I repeated this four times to create a nice solid gold colour, moving gradually up the nail to create an ombre effect. To add plenty of extra sparkle, I dabbed a few costs of Seventeen Glitter Nail Effects in gold to the bottom of each nail, again spreading it upwards. To give the nails plenty of shine and solidify the overall design, I finish with another coat of Sally Hansen. As nail art goes this was a really simple but pretty design. They worked so well of the holiday period too, being both festive as well as the perfect amount of glitz for the party season.