Been so busy (packing) travelling and work work working. Here's a sneak preview of Outfit No 95, my favourite of the weekend. #therosewithnonewclothes #theyearofnonewclothes #polkadot #black&gold #fashionblog #fashion #blog
Thursday, 27 June 2013
Friday, 14 June 2013
Packing Light...and dark
A fortnight ago I nipped home to Ireland for the weekend. It was only a quick Friday to Monday flit for an old (and very dear) friend's baby shower.
It was the first time I have had to pack a cabin sized bag since The Challenge began. As we discovered back in April, I am not great at packing (not economically anyway), mostly because I don't like to plan what I am going to wear.
I rarely plan my outfits (or much else for that matter) in advance. I always put them together in the morning, when I have a clear idea of how I feel AND how I want my clothes to MAKE me feel.
Caitlin hit the nail on the head. There is little that throws me off guard as much as wearing something I don't feel comfortable or like 'me' in, something that doesn't represent the me I WANT to BE that particular day.
So, I knew I needed to be organised and pick a selection of items that would give me options to suit every mood and potential unplanned rendezvous.
I opted for:
A couple of pairs of Primark Ultra Soft Skinny Jeans (I have lots of pairs of these and you can now buy them online(!) on ASOS)
- as I was on my holidays, I wanted to be very comfortable (a day or two off work is a rarity for me!) and I knew they could work as a base for any outfit, be it casual or dressy
A couple of pairs of Office ballerina bumps (1 nude and 1 black)
One great pair of heels
A series of dresses/smocks that could be worn over the jeans.
I found myself choosing from 2 very different palettes one of pale pastels and the other blackest black, that way I had both girlie and formidable moods covered.
Here's how I got on:
“When a woman says, ‘I have nothing to wear!’, what she really means is, ‘There’s nothing here for who I’m supposed to be today.” ― Caitlin Moran, How to Be a Woman
Caitlin hit the nail on the head. There is little that throws me off guard as much as wearing something I don't feel comfortable or like 'me' in, something that doesn't represent the me I WANT to BE that particular day.
So, I knew I needed to be organised and pick a selection of items that would give me options to suit every mood and potential unplanned rendezvous.
I opted for:
A couple of pairs of Primark Ultra Soft Skinny Jeans (I have lots of pairs of these and you can now buy them online(!) on ASOS)
- as I was on my holidays, I wanted to be very comfortable (a day or two off work is a rarity for me!) and I knew they could work as a base for any outfit, be it casual or dressy
A couple of pairs of Office ballerina bumps (1 nude and 1 black)
One great pair of heels
A series of dresses/smocks that could be worn over the jeans.
I found myself choosing from 2 very different palettes one of pale pastels and the other blackest black, that way I had both girlie and formidable moods covered.
Here's how I got on:
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| Fri 31st May - Outfit No 72 - The Minty Traveller Mint Sweater - Primark Mint Oversized Vest Dress - Dorothy Perkins Blazer - Northern Quarter, Manchester Brooch & Necklace - Vintage (Charity Shop Finds) |
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| Saturday 1st June - Baby Shower Dress - H&M Bag - La Lola, Portstewart |
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| Outfit No 74 - Saturday Night Cocktails - Accessories Love Snakeskin Black Lace Smock Top/Dress - Never Fully Dressed Snakeskin Slingbacks - Sacha Snakeskin Clutch - Fiorelli (Outfit blogged about here) |
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| Outfit No 75 - Sunday 2nd JuneSmock Dress - Kate Moss for Topshop (eBay) |
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| Outfit No 76 - Monday 3rd June - Back to London Dress - Picked up for a fiver in a thrift store... |
But it did feel pretty great to have such a light load (and a relief to get a break from the bursting-at-the-seams wardrobe situation) and surprisingly it did still feel like I had an element of choice. In fact, I HAD packed another lace black dress which I ended up not wearing but, had I been feeling differently one day, I might have appreciated it.
However, those wonderful wardrobe-detox-y feelings were rather short lived, thanks to my mum pointing out the LITERAL cracks creeping across the ceiling of her bedroom, and blaming the bags, upon boxes, upon piles of my stuff that is living in their attic...
My father drove me to the airport on the Monday morning and gave me a big hug goodbye.
His parting words were, 'Sort out that wardrobe, Maeve..."
I will, dad. I will...
Over & out
M x
Saturday, 8 June 2013
Expresssssssss Yourself
Fashion
fash·ion
/ˈfaSHən/
A popular trend, esp. in styles of dress, ornament, or behaviour.
Style
/stīl/
Noun
A way of speaking, writing, expressing oneself
As I'm sure you've gathered by now I am not a dedicated follower of fashion (but I am of The Kinks *total tune*). I prefer to do my own thing. If it is on trend; wonderful. If not; f**k it. I like it. I feel comfortable in it. I'll wear it! After all, clothes are a reflection of your personality, and why on earth would I want to let on I have the same personality as every Dawn, Nik and Carrie out there?
It is the year of the snake, don't you know? And snakeskin is EVERYWHERE at the moment.
All over the catwalks:
And in the magazines:
Look at how my ladies of the street (how you chose to interpret that says more about you than it does about me..) are wearing their snakeskin/print accessories:
My purse is also snakeskin, and this time it's the real deal...
Real ladies wearing snakeprint:
fash·ion
/ˈfaSHən/
A popular trend, esp. in styles of dress, ornament, or behaviour.
Style
/stīl/
Noun
A way of speaking, writing, expressing oneself
As I'm sure you've gathered by now I am not a dedicated follower of fashion (but I am of The Kinks *total tune*). I prefer to do my own thing. If it is on trend; wonderful. If not; f**k it. I like it. I feel comfortable in it. I'll wear it! After all, clothes are a reflection of your personality, and why on earth would I want to let on I have the same personality as every Dawn, Nik and Carrie out there?
If anything, I find it annoying when I find a look that I like, get comfortable and used to wearing, and allow to feel very 'me', only for it to become all 'trendy', and start popping up in all the shops and on everyone's back. The kimono jacket obsession is a case in point (FYI, I still haven't managed a final tally but we are currently sitting on about 10 and still counting...).
I feel like walking around with a wee sign on my head saying "I'VE ACTUALLY HAD THIS FOR YEARS! THIS IS MY STYLE. I AM NOT JUST FOLLOWING THAT TREND." But that would be petty. And embarrassing. (And not very trendy.)
I love the fashion industry and obviously I am influenced by it. How could I not be? It completely impacts what is out there and available to buy. I just don't want to be a slave to it and certainly don't blindly follow trends.
I think personal style is about finding a way for your clothes to express your personality; finding a look that suits you, your figure and your mood.
I have always loved flicking through fashion magazines (had plenty of piles of Vogue and Elle serve as bedside tables over the years), and more recently, Pinterest and fashion and personal style blogs for inspiration.
What I REALLY love about fashion magazines nowadays is that, although they are of course, still trend orientated, they seems to be much more influenced by 'street style', and by that I don't mean trainers and combat trousers (although, the way things are trending at the moment, I probably could) but rather the individual personal style of the of real women on the street.
I think personal style is about finding a way for your clothes to express your personality; finding a look that suits you, your figure and your mood.
I have always loved flicking through fashion magazines (had plenty of piles of Vogue and Elle serve as bedside tables over the years), and more recently, Pinterest and fashion and personal style blogs for inspiration.
What I REALLY love about fashion magazines nowadays is that, although they are of course, still trend orientated, they seems to be much more influenced by 'street style', and by that I don't mean trainers and combat trousers (although, the way things are trending at the moment, I probably could) but rather the individual personal style of the of real women on the street.
I always rush to those street style features. You know the ones? Those pages that are full of people who were photographed whilst out and about, going about their daily business and wearing whatever they chose to don that morning, when they hadn't slightest notion that they were going to end up on the pages of some glossy?
I am a total style creep on the tube too. It's just so interesting to see what people choose to put together and how. That's where I get most of my inspiration. There have been so many times recently when I have wanted to take a sneaky picture (I have never actually done this...that's full on creepy) or accost some poor unsuspecting commuter to ask her where she got her socks (they were really cute). Call me nosey (I am) but these ladies are far more exciting than some airbrushed model wearing shoes you KNOW she can't walk in.
Anyway, trend bashing aside, as I guess this is a bit of a trend orientated post! Last Saturday night I sort of accidentally rocked one of springs hottest trends: Snakeskin.
|
| Outfit No 74 - Saturday Night Cocktails Accessories Love Snakeskin Black Lace Smock Top/Dress - Never Fully Dressed Skinny Jeans - Primark Snakeskin Slingbacks - Sacha Snakeskin Clutch - Fiorelli |
All over the catwalks:
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| Collage from cocosteaparty.com I think Valentino and Gucci do it best. |
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| Valentino |
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| Valentino |
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| Valentino |
Gucci
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| Kerry Washington Rocking a Gucci Dress. I LOVE this! |
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| Reed Krakoff |
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| Loving the nails! |
Accessories are LOVING it:
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| Alejandro Inglemo |
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| Christian Louboutin |
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| Valentino |
Even Toms! I'd so buy these if I could...
amazing!
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| Good old Kate has to been thrown in there for good measure |
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| And Stella because her bag is so lovely |
Great shoes!
I LOVE it. It brings a real sexy attitude to an outfit, I think. Thankfully, despite not being able to buy any of the lovely things that are out there at the moment, I have enough of it (in my accessory arsenal, at least) to embrace the trend if I want to.
The Sacha sling backs above are old faithfuls. I've had them for 4 or 5 years. I picked them up for next to nothing in TK Maax and made a saving of over £100 (yeeeeeoow)! They are super comfortable, despite a 4 and 1/2 inch heel and thanks to a delicate platform and the fact that they are very well made. I used to wear them around the library back in my pencil skirt wearing librarian days. Last Sat was the first time I had worn them in years. I sort of got out of the way of wearing heels when I moved to London, which is a shame but I have more than my fair share of them. I really want to start wearing them again. Very pleased to have rediscovered the love for these babies!
The Fiorelli clutch I got at Christmas time. I just couldn't resist it. Really enjoyed clashing the prints here.
These aren't my wardrobe's only snakeskin offerings. I also have these Miss Selfridge Stolen Mid Heel Courts which I insisted on buying before starting The Challenge and have yet to wear... I really like them so must make an effort to give them an outing soon!
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| Miss Selfridge Stolen Mid Heel Courts |
Also found these bad boys lurking around:
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| A very old TK Maax purchase. Couldnt tell you the brand. |
My purse is also snakeskin, and this time it's the real deal...
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| Real Snakeskin Purse (Similar here) |
I've had it for years. It's vintage. I bought it at Bullet in Liverpool (great little shop) when I was at uni there. Unfortunately the purse I had been using when The Challenge began broke just 3 days in (probably due to being over loaded by last minute panic buy receipts ..) so I resurrected this one. You can see that everyday wear and tear is taking its toll on the delicate snakeskin so I may have to switch to another soon...
As you can see I'm pretty much sorted for snakeskin accessories (I also have a lovely pair of boots but I'll wait until winter to show you those) but what about all that lovely snake print fabric that is all the rage at the moment and taunting me from all the window displays? A lot of it really is rather covetable:
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| Shirt, £24.99, H&M (Pic fabulousmag.co.uk) |
 | ||
| trousers, £34.99, Mango trainers, £80, Supra (Pic fabulousmag.co.uk) |
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| Shirt, £49, Never Fully Dressed (Pic fabulousmag.co.uk) |
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| Dress, £100, Georgia Hardinge at River Island (Pic fabulousmag.co.uk)
|
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| Courtney Cox's dress is beautiful! |
Isn't all the snake print fabric...fab?!
Having stumbled upon this pic of Vanessa Hudgens' fab clashing snake print ensemble, I went to bed on Thursday night lamenting the fact that I didn't have any snake print clothing at all!
Then I suddenly remembered that I do(!) and hopped out of bed to find this skirt:
Having stumbled upon this pic of Vanessa Hudgens' fab clashing snake print ensemble, I went to bed on Thursday night lamenting the fact that I didn't have any snake print clothing at all!
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| Vanessa Clashing Snake Prints |
Then I suddenly remembered that I do(!) and hopped out of bed to find this skirt:
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| Outfit No 81 - Neon Snakeskin Sheer Bat Wing Tee (knotted) - eBay Skirt - Villa (about 12 years ago!) 'Happy Sandals' - Topshop |
And its neon - look at me managing to hit 2 trends at the same time and entirely unintentionally! I bought this skirt about 12 years ago! It's one of those things that keeps working its way out of bags destined for charity shops. Something always stops me from getting rid of it. I'm not even sure if I like it? Anyway, I give it a go yesterday. What do you think?
Whether I like this skirt or not, it is not doing anything to stifle my desire to get my hands on a dress and kimono jacket like Vanessa's. I've found myself googling snake print fabric. I am allowed to make stuff remember...
Over & out
M x
Tuesday, 4 June 2013
Leather Love
Just over 2 months ago I started The Challenge and 3 days in I tortured myself by going for a wander around the shops with my mother. It feels weird looking back on that day now: the horrible, sweaty rising sensation of panic when I saw something I liked, the thoughts of 'Oh my God, I can't buy ANYTHING for a WHOLE YEAR!' and 'If I could I would buy that!...and that! ...and that!'
Of course, everything looks beautiful when you can't have it and slowly over the past few weeks my reaction to seeing items I like and might have bought has calmed and dulled. It is all starting to look a little less rose tinted (sorry) and I really haven't come across many things that I've been devastated about not being able to buy. Instead I have been getting excited about what I already have, which is wonderful (and plentiful)!
But on that first day of window shopping, back at the start of April, I did suffer my first and only true challenge-induced-heartbreak, over this gorgeous leather red leather satchel:
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| My Love |
So I tried my best to move on. I came back London and got on with my life and tried to tear my oft wandering mind away from thoughts of My Love. It was just too hard to think about. Too painful. I had always planned on writing a post about it... but could never bring myself to. Until now...
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| Reunited with My Love |
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| It is made from the most delicious leather... |
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It doesn't seem to have any branding, I know only that it was made in Italy, but the mystery and intrigue only makes our love affair all the more exciting... I do love the Cambridge Satchels but have never really bought into mass brand trends and prefer the more rustic, rough and ready look of this one.
I introduced My Love to my girlfriends the next day:
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| Outfit No 73 Saturday 1st June 2013 - Baby Shower :) Two Months In! Dress - H&M Skinny Jeans - Primark Pumps - Office |
Over & out
M x
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