#52

AW12-OUTERWEAR

Every year I seem to forget just how cold our British winters are! I am most certainly never, ever prepared for the colder months. That said, yesterday I had my first Starbucks hazelnut hot chocolate of AW12 and thoroughly enjoyed it-HURRAH! On top of that, I've enjoyed indulging in some new clothes and shoes for winter (yet I still don't own a winter coat...) which I hope to show you over the course of the weekend.

So this week my friend has asked me to track down a winter coat for her after giving me a few specifics of what she was after, which got me thinking about this years winter coats in general. I quickly realised there was a huge emptiness within my blog just itching to be filled with a post, this post in fact, all about the outerwear of AW12-the title gave it away didn't it?

I am loving so many trends regarding outerwear this year it's making it impossible for me to choose one for myself, and I emailed about 17 options to my previously mentioned friend! There's the long, thick coats with the designer vibe and the near designer prices (most seen at Topshop, Zara and Mango), the khaki parkas which you're never really sure will keep you warm, the always trendy duffel coats and recently, I've been seeing more of probably one of my favourite outerwear themes ever, shearling!

Here's a short-list of my favourites anyway at a range of styles and prices, with the links below!

x

P.s.I found some pretty good bargains on boohoo.com and am in love with this fearn coat by Dahlia, but their images are unusable!

Topshop

Topshop

River Island

Miss Selfridge

Urban Outfitters

ASOS

ASOS

#51

Today has just been one of those days. Let me talk you through my tale of woe...

I woke up happy, I'd had an okay-ish night sleep but was enjoying a lie in because I didn't have any lessons before break. So off I trotted at about 9am to get the public bus, the bus usually arrives at about 7 minutes past (I got there at about 9.03) anyway, I waited until 9.15 and it still didn't come. On top of that, the short walk had allowed me to notice that my jeans don't fit me any more and they would not stay how I put them and that my shoe lace would not stay done up; so essentially my well thought out outfit wasn't looking so well thought out after all. I was also becoming increasingly more self-conscious about a spot that had developed on my face which I would compare to the grand canyon-don't ask. 

Anyway I went home and spilt chicken soup on my top, so had to change. Watched a bit of Jeremy Kyle and 'towie' (SOUL DESTROYING STUFF) and went off to get the next bus. If I'd been able to get this bus I'd have only missed one lesson, however it turned out to not even be going to where I needed to so I went home...again with zero transport options left. This resulted in me missing another business and politics lesson (I missed two last week because I was off ill) and an English lesson, as well as a much needed catch up with my friends. 

Because I have Friday's off, when I have a day off I end up only doing three days a week, which always results in me feeling like a bum! I always work at home on my days off but my cats being super needy at the moment; you try revising with a kitten trying to get as close to your face as humanly (or felinely) possible!

Wow it sounds even more pathetic now I've written it down. Apologies to the people who have had genuinely bad days today, you are probably finding me infuriating. I can't actually complain too much anyway, I got some work done, have the time to blog and a day inside is probably better for my on-going cold/flu anyway. 

I'm going to stop rambling now. I am not sure how I wrote four paragraphs about my incredibly boring day...probably all the cat company making me a little crazy.

I did come here with a purpose...oh yes, ASOS's new curve collection! I've read many an article where women who aren't thin/slim have stated that they simply avoid fashion. I once even read "I thought that fashion wasn't for people like me", which I think is really sad because fashion is for everyone! Fashion is in all areas of culture and life, not just clothes. Everyone experiences a form of fashion every day in one way or another even if they don't realise it. 

On top of this, no matter what shape or size you are, there are certain items women have to avoid. There are loads of things I can't wear because I'm too short to pull them off. On top of this, I am grateful for being naturally slim but I have often received judgement and criticism for my size, and often wish I had a different figure. My point being, no matter what size you are, you can make fashion work for you and no matter what size you are, there will be times when you hate it and feel as though it's 'wrong'. I believe that as long as you're healthy, weight and size do not matter at all.

Enough of my philosophical outlooks on life though, check out the collection here: ASOS CURVE COLLECTION and see my favourites below.

x

P.s. If the sizes are a little too big for you, but you'd still describe yourself as a curvy girl, simply take note of the styles, cuts and shapes used as they have all been chosen in order to flatter curvaceous women!

#50

Hello everyone :-)

I hope you're all enjoying the wet, cold and windy disaster that is this week! The weather has made me uncomfortably aware of how few warm jumpers I own, although I inherited one just a few moments ago from my brother, who I managed to convince that he looked a little bit 'unmanly' in it due to it's small sizing. I mean, I didn't lie just to get a new jumper...that would be mean. It was for his own good, okay? 

On top of that, I should be getting £30 back from Zara.com over the next week so maybe I'll invest in something warm and cosy with that. Every cloud and all that. 

So basically you may or may not be aware that I have been awaiting a delivery from Zara for the last 5 days (when they say standard delivery, they really do mean standard don't they?). To buy these clothes, I had to make debit card changes just to fit their website, paid nearly £60, waited for 5 days and then guess what? Only one of the items was okay to keep. The clothes are absolutely beautiful, the packaging divine and the return system wonderfully simple, but the XS trousers I ordered were definitely not extra small! They must have been at least a size 10, if not a 12, and I don't mean to sound snobby at all but that's more 'small' than 'extra small' no?

The only thing that made the order a pleasant experience was my beautiful new shirt, which I honestly had to force myself out of after trying it on to make sure it fitted. It's ridiculously silky and is an absolute delight to wear, although, the stitching was not exactly perfect and their were a few threads that needed chopping off.

None the less, I adore it. So, when the clothes look that good, are delivered wrapped up and in a perfect box, and cost the amount they do, is it just bad luck that made my Zara.com experience a bad one?

I definitely won't be ordering trousers from them again, but I'm interested to know if anyone else has ordered from them and what their experience of it was like?

I better head off as the season finale of New Girl is on shortly (so sad) and I want to try and get some work done before then. I'm not quite sure what I'll do without my weekly doses of Jess and the gang now! I hope you all have a lovely rest of the week! Ciao 

x

#49

It's Friiiiiday! The end of the working week. Time for heels and fine glassware (then time for pyjamas and slippers that can only be described as criminal). Now I know LFW has been, gone and flown to Milan, but 11.22 on Friday 21St September seems as good a time as any to pick out my favourite snaps from the wonderful, blissful, mesmerizing week that was, London Fashion Week 2012. 

With front rows made up of established fashionistas (to say the least), successful (again, to say the least) sports men and women and a few surprising faces (not naming any names...Harry Styles), the pictures obtained from the week are set to impress. I chose these photos based on who was in them, what they wore or the sheer LFW vibe they exuded, so enjoy!

x

disclaimer: all photos are not my own.

#48

OOTD:

A quick post with a selection of a few photos of my outfit-of-the-day today, admittedly of very bad quality as I was in a bit of a hurry to make myself a decaf cuppa and take my make up off-I am straight into slob mode after sixth form, despite only having double business and English Lit today!

I hope you're all having a lovely week :-)

x

p.s. All my Polyvore creations are posted on blogger automatically, which is why the layout may be a little all over the place. However, I hope you enjoy looking at them and gathering inspiration from them as much as I do when creating them!

cropped mohair jumper: Topshop
PU biker: Miss Selfridge
Lace Playsuit: Lipsy
Leather Chelsea Boots: mum's (I may or may not have pinched them for my regular use)
Sunglasses: h&m

think vintage

think vintage by chloe-elise featuring costume jewelry

Carven lace dress, $1,120 / Wool coat / Dorothy Perkins oxford shoes / A|Wear clutch purse, $32 / Costume jewelry / Christian Dior eyeshadow / Christian Dior lipstick / Christian Dior mascara

#47

London Fashion Week Summary So Far

Hello, hello, hello! Although I'm spending the day in my pyjamas feeling sorry myself (instead of going to Bournemouth as was planned) I thought I should make the most of the day. There was absolutely no way I could not do a LFW themed post so now I've found the time; here it is! Remembering that fashion is forecasted two seasons ahead, and that the highstreet is completely taken and created from the more extravagant and 'artsy' world of designer, high-end fashion, here are my favourites so far as well as a quick summary of what they show us about spring 2013!

Preen

James Long

Moschino

Emilia Wickstead

Issa

John Rocha

Todd Lynn

Holly Fulton

Dion Lee

Clements Ribeiro

Fashion East

Summary

Combining all of these designs I would predict that spring 2013 will be full of print and florals, but not in the same style as we saw this year. Florals are taking a harsher, bolder turn in fashion now so forget pastels and dainty detail and start thinking big, bright and beautiful. Print-on-print is a definite yes and a very fun look to embrace, clashing colours are no longer a 'do not' of fashion.

The peplum trend will still be going strong which is very good news for me, but it looks like it'll also give way to softer, feminine shaping in tops and dresses mainly. Cut-out, leather and grunge pieces will still be 'in' although I expect the grunge trend will fade out over the next 6 months as the weather (hopefully) and mood of the country changes. Other themes include sports luxe and of course, my favourite, the trouser suit. Harsh lines and shapes, animal prints, sheer and shirts are all sticking around for the foreseeable future too. 

Holly Fulton styled the majority of her looks with round sunglasses and espadrilles and to my absolute delight, Clements Ribeiro used jelly shoes!

Hopefully you're all feeling inspired for spring 2013 and enjoying London Fashion Week from the comfort of your homes as much as I am!

x