New Month New You

With September looming I cannot think of a better excuse to go shopping and get your next season wardrobe sorted. I used to be a lover of Spring, with the warm air bringing the chance to wear flimsy dresses but also a cool breeze ensuring you always wore a jacket. Now Autumn is seducing me, and I cannot wait to start wearing jumpers and leather, lots of leather.

Here are the top key pieces from the high street for next season and how I would style them for day and night:

Night Outfit:

From left: Top from Topshop £14, Necklace from New Look £12.99, Trousers from Topshop £70, Bomber Jacket from Zara £39.99 and Shoes from Office £45

I love these sequin trousers from Topshop, I think they are a great alternative from the disco pant and this colour will  be the 'must-have' of the season. Embracing the berry shades will be a essential. I really like this simple top too as it will look great with all the statement necklaces currently on the high street like this New Look one. The store is currently doing a promotion of buy one get one free so you can stock up on some beautiful necklaces to jazz up your outfits. To finish the look I have added this bomber jacket, a wonderful addition to your wardrobe that you can dress up or down. Finally I could not resist these toe capped heels which are a great height and prevent the outfit looking too gothic.

Day Outfit:

From Left: Dress from Urban Outfitters £50, Trousers from River Island £20, Trainer from Miss Selfridge £45, Jacket from Topshop £30and Necklace (£29.99) & Bracelet (£14.99) from Mango. 

In all the magazines layering appears to be a key trend for next season. I even saw some dresses over trousers, which I normally would never consider but can see it working with this dress from Urban. I like how it is asymmetrical so that you would only get a hint of these fabulous tartan trousers. I love all the boucle jackets on the high street so this Topshop one is a definite buy. I added some of these high tops purely for comfort and the fact I like mixing up casual pieces. This jewellery from Mango is so luxurious, and definitely worth a purchase.

What do you think everyone? What are you buying ready for September?

How to Style a Football Shirt with High Street Fashion

This was, without a smudge of doubt, my hardest challenge. Football shirts are just a shapeless mass. How on earth was I going to make this semi-cool and fashion forward? On Saturday I am going to see my team (!) for the first time. I have supported Aston Villa since I was about nine, I think in an attempt to look cool in front of my older brother. Even though they hardly ever win (sorry guys) I have never wavered my support. But on Saturday I will be damned if I cant show my support and look nice. So after much thought all week I finally attempted to style the shirt. 

Here I am wearing: H&M dungarees sale £10, Aston Villa football shirt Ebay £5.00, necklace Topshop sale £4, shoes Topshop sale £12, socks M&S

After my post about dungarees (see here) I realised I needed to get myself a pair! By complete luck I found these in H&M for a mere £10 in the sale, hanging on the rail alone. I absolutely love it when that happens; when the high street offers exactly what you need. They are slightly large but luckily it does not matter with dungarees as you can wear them baggy. 

I had tried a denim skirt with the football shirt but it just looked too much, and I did not want to go for the safe option and just add jeans. Dungarees were the perfect alternative. At first I thought a statement necklace would make the shirt look better but soon realised I just looked OTT. I loved my new shoes with white socks though so decided to keep them in the look. Here is my final attempt: 

H&M dungarees, Topshop shoes, M&S socks as before but added a Zara padded jacket sale £29.99 and Forever 21 necklace (old)

By adding a jacket and taking away the statement necklace I am finally happy with the styling. I like how the jacket hides a bit of the dungarees so it is a bit more subtle and ties in nicely with my white socks. This Forever 21 necklace is perfect for adding fun to my outfit and does not distract completely from the shirt. Even though the shoes do clash, I surprisingly still love them as I think it brightens up the outfit.

What do you think? Have I managed to style a football shirt?!

Bare Face & Lots of Lace

For some random reason I decided to take pictures today without any make-up. Normally I would make sure I had some blush and powder at least, but I thought it would be nice to blog completely natural. I have read a lot of outfit posts through the past year and always wondered whether they actually leave the house completely made up and wearing such extravagant clothes as we see. 

Well, this is what I look like today. I love these trousers from Dorothy Perkins as they are so comfy but still make me feel presentable. I always wear this lace shirt from Primark with them as I love the lace inserts mixed with the flower print. Finally I added these collar clips as I did not fancy piling on the jewellery today. I most probably won't leave the house as I have so many things to do. Hence the bare face! Whenever I know I'm staying in I always try to let my face breathe. 

I have also changed my make-up routine as I was getting tired of my skin breaking out due to an overload of foundation. I took the plunge a few weeks ago and tried No.7 BB cream and it has worked wonders. My skin is looking healthier already! 

Here I am wearing trousers by Dorothy Perkins which were in the sale at £9, then lace top from Primark at £7. I got the collar clips on Ebay for a couple of pounds :) 

Sorry for the quick post, but I need to write my next instalment for The Muse.tv on my blogging adventures and pack for a mini break tomorrow! Please let me know if you always make sure you look your best for your outfit posts, or sometimes like me, you just want to bare all! 

Dungarees? How to Style this late Summer Trend

Although in my title I have hinted that this is a late trend this summer it has actually been on the minds of celebs since May 2012. It however has only been brought to my attention through Rita Ora. Yesterday she performed at the V Festival wearing a pair of bright red dungarees.

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Since she became popular this year I have always envied her ability to throw together various garments and look effortless cool. My style is much more co-ordinated and however much I try I never feel comfortable clashing prints or colour. But I was a bit stumped by this outfit. Did she really need to add those Timberland boots?

But I didn't hate the dungarees. In fact with the whole one strap look it did actually look okay. I have had only one previous experience with this trend, aged about thirteen and swore never to go there again.

Rita may have taken the plunge yesterday but through some research I discovered that this summer many other celebs have been donning their 'rees.

Alexa Chung and Rachel Bilson

Here Alexa has kept the look simple by just adding some statement accessories, I especially love the cute ties on her shoes. Rachel Bilson looks equally as casual as she teams her baggy dungarees with a simple white t-shirt. Unfortunately I think this looks a little sloppy compared with her normal chic outfits.

If you still remained unconvinced by this trend, take some advice from Rihanna. She pulls of the look by adding a graphic t-shirt and rolling down the straps so that it only hints to the trend rather than embracing it completely.

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Here are my top picks for how to get this look on the high street at a great price:

Make a statement like Rita in these 'rees. From left: New Look sale £11 and Republic £35

Keep it cute in this dress like Alexa from River Island sale at £15 

Or choose the boyfriend fit like RiRi and Rachel. From left: Urban Outfitters £38 and Topshop £38

Has this changed your mind about this trend? Will you embrace it now? Please comment below :)

The Evolution of Etam

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The other day I was thinking how much my local high street had changed. There have been some positive additions with a whole new shopping area, but also some more negative changes. The original high street that my Mum and I would wander down every Saturday is unrecognisable with M&S the only store that has not shifted. One of my favourite shops when I was just getting into fashion, probably at the age of ten or so, was Tammy. One of my first fashion memories is begging my Mum to buy me a pair of baggy jeans. This was also one of my first fashion disasters! Tammy then brought me onto thinking about Etam.

Where did this brand suddenly disappear to? I cannot remember the last time I saw a store in the UK. After a quick search I found that Etam had turned into a lingerie shop and was very popular in the rest of Europe. This made sense seeing as originally the brand was French. But in 2005 Arcadia brought Tammy and Etam and placed it in its BHS stores.

However, although Etam appears to have lost its popularity in the UK it is still going from strength to strength. You just need to see who they have to front their campaign, supermodel Natalia Vodianova, for proof.

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Their Autumn/Winter 12/13 lingerie lookbook appears to hit all the boxes with its sexy but cute designs in a variety of styles. My favourite is the high waisted powder blue set.

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The website explains that Etam is coming back to the UK with an online store opening soon. Hopefully this will mean they will open some new shops in our high street too. But in the meantime you can visit their website and purchase the underwear from Etam.com.

Do you think it is a good thing Etam is back? Will you choose their underwear over brands like LaSenza and M&S? Please let me know below :)

My Outfit of the Week #1

Here I am wearing: A necklace by Topshop, dip dye tank top from Label Lab in House of Fraser , trousers by United Colours of Benetton and wedged trainers from TKMAXX. 

I've decided, as of today, that every Friday I will post the latest outfit which I have purchased. I am trying not to make this blog just pictures of what I wear as let's be honest, I am not model and my standard camera is just not cutting it.

But I know everyone loves to see a bit of personal style so every Friday you will get just that! Today I have opted for a really casual look as my day consists of mooching about the house and then meeting up with my friends for a Lord of the Rings marathon. I just realised how incredibly geeky that sounds. Well, at least I look stylish whilst I'm watching my favourite Hobbit..

This is one of my best bargain outfits as I managed to get these trousers for a mere £5 instead of £49.95! They are incredibly comfy and would look great with a blouse too for a night out. I love the silver stripe down the side as it hints to the sports luxe trend that is still about for Autumn. This top was a bit of an impulse buy at £15 in the sale but I could not resist the dip dye effect. I also knew it would brighten up these trousers nicely. I wanted to keep the sporty theme running (ahem excuse the pun) so added some wedge trainers. The Topshop necklace adds a quirky edge and hopefully prevents the look from becoming too 'at the gym'. 

What do you think? 

The Disco Pant & Me

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A few weeks ago I finally caved. I recently purchased a pair of the black Disco Pant dupe by Glamorous but had to send them back due to an indecent hole. However because of their fantastic service (I was refunded the whole amount including postage, something which never happens with online sites), I decided to give them another try. If you are a regular reader of my blog you will know I have been lusting after a pair of the original Disco Pants from American Apparel ever since I spotted them on one of my favourite bloggers: http://www.littlebirdfashion.com/

When they arrived in the post I was so excited. This time I had opted for the navy which I immediately preferred as the colour was so striking. I also decided to go a size up...hopefully this would prevent any more holes. They were a better fit as they fit well around my waist but did not feel uncomfortable. The moment I put them on I felt confident and was ready for a night on the town.

Here are my pants! I teamed them with a silk blouse from Warehouse, grey wedges from Clarks and stud bag from Topshop. I decided to keep accessories to minimal with just some silver cross earrings from Miss Selfridge. 

I cannot rave about this trousers enough. They are priced at £29.99 so are a steal compared to the price tag on the Apparel ones. I normally strictly only feature high street products on this blog but could not resist writing about this find. The only difference is they are slightly thinner than the originals but I didn't notice much difference between the dupes and the American Apparel pants. ( I had to do some research into this trend so made sure I tried on the originals in the store before repurchasing these dupes).

I had such a fun night wearing them as you can tell from the below picture. Much to the amusement of my friends however I did manage to gain another unsightly hole by the end of the night... I would not let this put you off though. I believe Glamorous would not have intended them to be worn by someone pretending to be on the Olympic gymnastic team... Plus, after a quick stitch they are ready to be worn once more.

Let me know if you have purchased a pair of disco pants, whether they are the real deal or not! Have you seen a great high street copy?

Jewellery Reload through H&M

Since the sales hit a few months ago I have been waiting for my favourite custom jewellery to drop to ridiculous prices. Remember when Topshop used to drop their necklaces to £1 and make it buy one get one free!? Unfortunately those times have changed and nowadays you are lucky to pick up something for under a fiver.

For my style accessories are key. When I don't have time to throw an outfit together with great precision I find a statement necklace can make all the difference. Today I rifled through H&M and found these two beauties waiting for me. They were buy one get one free (my favourite kind of offer) so at £7.99 for both I was pretty chuffed.

My camera has gone AWOL, so Instagram has saved me! 

This perspex necklace as been something I have debated buying for a few weeks now. I know what you are thinking, what drove me to purchase something that looks like a tacky pub golf visor? But I think its quirky and will totally make the most uninteresting outfit, well, interesting.

Have you purchased some statement accessories recently? Please let me know if you have found any bargains too!

Kardashian Kollection for Dorothy Perkins this Christmas 2012

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The news that the reality stars from Keeping up with the Kardashians would be launching their fashion line in Dorothy Perkins this Christmas took Twitter by storm yesterday. It was revealed through Kim's tweets and then confirmed.

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Kim, Kourtney and Khloe will be bringing the line, which they currently stock in Sears, to the UK. Philip Green reportedly agreed to the idea himself after already having successful celeb/high street collaborations in his Arcadia empire. Who could forget Kate Moss and her collections for Topshop, whilst recently his daughter Chloe Green has had great success with her green soled shoe line.

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The Kardashian Kollection (it hurts my brain to spell it that way) will involve Kim's glamorous look, Kourtney's boho and Khloe's edgy style. I am intrigued to see this collection in Dorothy Perkins as this description sounds a bit jumbled. Can one line really hit all those styles?

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Keeping up the with Kardashians has recently been my guilty pleasure this summer and I find the sisters hilarious. But in the back of my mind I cannot help but worry that this fashion line may not work with Dorothy Perkins shoppers. It might have been more suited to the younger crowd in New Look after the popularity of Kelly Brook's designs.

What do you think about this news? Will you be wearing a design by the Kardashians?

The Kardashian Kollection currently stocked in Sears

Zara solves Olympic blues

The past two weeks have flown. Can you believe that the Olympics is over? All that build up, then the excitement and finally the tears when we won all those medals. (It is will be not surprise to you that I caught the Olympic fever).

So if you have sitting at home wondering what to do with yourself luckily Zara has the answer. Mourn the proudest two weeks in British history by wearing some of their new designs for autumn/winter 2012/13. It is all about black, black and more black.

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This is definitely my favourite look. I cannot wait for the cooler weather where I can pull on this chunky knit and leather skater skirt. Effortlessly chic.

Tricky Trend: Satin Lace PJ Shorts

T-shirt  and lace shorts from Urban Outfitters, bag from Topshop, flower flip flops from Office and necklace from Dorothy Perkins 

I woke up this morning and thought, today I'm going to wear those lace shorts I brought in the sale but thought I would never wear. Suddenly I was inspired to tackle this tricky trend. We all know that the pyjama pant has been all over the high street and looks greats with a loose vest and blazer. A trouser that looks incredibly chic. But these shorts were slightly trickier to style. I only decided to buy them because they were Urban and a steal at £9 (could you have resisted?). They were also incredibly comfy and I had visions of adding some thick tights and a top for a cheeky night out.

But today I've simply worn my favourite t-shirt and added accessories to try and prevent the outfit looking like it's bedtime. What do you think? Have I managed to pull off this look?

The London Olympics: What I wore

Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of watching Team GB at Earls Court. It was for the women's Volleyball and I had an amazing day, witnessing an atmosphere unlike any other. There was music, cheerleaders and a continuous Mexican wave. Before the match I managed to buy a huge union jack scarf from Next that was great for waving in support. At £14 it was a bargain too!

My Next scarf and great flag too at £14

Here I am wearing a River Island jacket and camisole, Oasis Jeans and Office brogues. 

On Friday I jumped on the tube to Stratford and entered the Olympic park. For miles all I could see were swarms for people as they milled between the different venues. The architectural was incredible, the atmosphere spectacular. This time I would be seeing Men's hockey but unfortunately our session would not contain team GB. This did nothing to prevent me wearing patriotic colours however! Before we left for the park I managed to take these quick photos with my tripod.

This is an old denim waistcoat that I customised with some studs to update it, from Miss Selfridge. I am also wearing a Wallis necklace that I recently brought in the sale at £2

Here I teamed one of my best bargains (pleated H&M skirt at £3) with a French Connection striped top and a hint of red in my nail varnish.

Men's Hockey with Belgium vs South Korea

Tomorrow, I am at the Excel to watch the Boxing. I better start planning my outfit now..