Charcoal Check

17 June 2014

Eldwick, Bingley, West Yorkshire BD16, UK
I have a bit of a habit for wearing darker clothes. I once heard the phrase, "I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker colour" which I couldn't agree more with as it seems to be my go-to colour without me even realising. Today's weather is quite cloudy so my current excuse is that I'm matching the sky. I have recently been obsessing over jackets. I don't know what it is, but a nice slouchy jacket or even a hoodie is one of my favourite styles. It's not only the comfort that appeals to me, I like a 'sloppy' look in general and I think there are so many different ways to style a jacket, from a blazer to a oversized swearshirt. There are also so many jackets on the high street that come in all sorts of styles, shapes and colours, they're out there. One thing I inherited from my mother's fashion sense is my love of pockets, which I know sounds unbelievably strange, but if I see an item of clothing with pockets in I'm at least 45% more likely to purchase it. Dresses with pockets are my weakness, but I really love pockets for their practicality, and they do no harm. 
Today I have resorted back to charcoal jeans, my denim preference because they match the tones of charcoal on the top half. I find colours like this really easy to style because they blend with so many other colours. Dark tones in general will always go together, and you can always brighten up an outfit with one statement accent piece, which changes the tone of the entire look.
Top - Next
Jacket - Next
Jeans - Topshop
Bag - TK Maxx
Shoes - Brantano

Working Girl

16 June 2014

Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK
Now that I am technically no longer a sixth form student, and I can't really sit until August to wait for my exam results, I have to work... full time. I'm very lucky to have a few years of working experience already to prepare me for the 'adult' world but I still have to get used to working full days. There is no set dress code where I work, in fact many of the employees wear very casual clothing as they're sewing all day and so have to be comfortable, in contrast to an office where presentation is incredibly important. I also work in the city centre so I love to do a spot of shopping during my lunch and after work, so my outfit is diverse in that aspect. A big wool coat is essential for me today as I'm freezing even though the sun is out. I am one of those people that will always say they are cold, no matter where I am, at one point during the day, I will be cold - so I have this oversized coat to wear when it gets chilly. I'm also wearing this knitted scarf that I discovered in my mother's closet and I love because it appears to be hand-knitted and is so incredibly soft. Wool can sometimes become quite itchy which then become uncomfortable, so my top tip would always be to look for wool coats with lining inside. It doesn't have to be thick lining but if you're allergic to wool like me, it can become irritable on the skin. My coat has lining, but there also elements of wool in the colour so this scarf is a great substitute liner. Two of my style icons, Mary-Kate and Ashley are infamous for their oversized so I'm channelling an aspect of the style duo with this huge leather and suede bag that even expands to a bigger size. On days where I need to carry folders or a lot of items my first resort is always an oversized bag as they're chic and strangely don't ever look overbearing - the ideal accessory.
Coat - Dorothy Perkins
Jumper - homemade
Scarf - old
Jeans - Topshop
Shoes - Dorothy Perkins
Bag - Next

Fancy Fry Up

15 June 2014

Eldwick, Bingley, West Yorkshire BD16, UK
In celebration of the warm weather, I'm heading to a large garden party/barbecue as that's the first thing most English people do when the sun shows. I know it's going to be quite warm later today so I'm wearing one of my favourite stripe dresses. I wore this dress to an engagement party in 2013, and it's really hard to wear a statement dress again, and to a different occasion; but I adore this dress because of it's very simple style and thin fabric to keep me cool. The dress actually came with a belt, but I chose to go without it as I think the pattern is broken by the change in direction without a blue belt. My wedges are some of my favourite heels because they're incredibly easy to walk in which is the first thing I look for, and the inside of them is almost cushioned so it's really like walking on air. This is always a bonus because heels can become can uncomfortable after an hour or so standing, so there are perfect for today because I can walk on grass and have the ability to walk around all day without getting irritated with pain.
My teeny tiny bag is one of my favourites for days out where I don't need many essentials, other than my phone, purse and throat sweets after the amount of shouting I did yesterday during England's frustrating game. I adore this bag because it is leather so it's tough and durable but it's very light, and has a strap long enough to wear as a shoulder bag and an across-the-body bag. I also love that the strap can be detached, so you get a much smaller bag with a cute handle to carry around on a warm day like today. 
Dress - Dorothy Perkins
Shoes - Next
Bag - Topshop

A Typical Yorkshire Summer

13 June 2014

High Eldwick, Bingley, West Yorkshire BD16, UK
I absolutely adore where I live. Every corner is a scenic landscape and being able to see the sunrise and sunset is a privilege I will never take for granted. However, West Yorkshire is in the North of England, not quite as North as Scotland, but it still gets very cold. We are halfway through June and this northern county has delivered as expected. The current weather is something I like to call a 'false' summer because the sun is there, and it is significantly brighter out, but this makes no difference to the overall temperature whatsoever. It's not humid, or very windy - just a still cold. It's quite strange actually. If I was living in London it's rare there would be days like this as it's either really hot or really cold in London. My bright blue coat is perfect for today because it's bright enough for the summer sun but contain wool to keep me warm because the temperature isn't very high at all. The clouds sit in the sky and hover around as the sun rays just about dodge them so it's really quite an odd climate. 
Coat - Dorothy Perkins
Scarf - thrifted
Jumper - TK Maxx
Jeans - Topshop
Shoes - Next
Bag - Spanish market

Shaking It Up

31 May 2014

Eldwick, Bingley, West Yorkshire BD16, UK
Rain rain go away, come again another day! It's Saturday, the last day of May, a revision-free, shopping day. As my style changes, my shopping habits do to. I used to just buy whatever I liked, but now I sometimes just look for the inspiration, and try to see what I already have. Having a mother who is a fashion design also comes in handy, as she is able to make me a lot of clothes to fit, the way I like. This blue dress is one experiment I am currently trying out. I chose the fabric myself because I adore the colour blue, and I find it really easy to style with my skin colour.The simple colour brightens up the outfit as my jacket, boots and gigantic bag are all black and the style of the dress is more of a straight style, or even a t-shirt style which is different to my usual fit-and-flare approach. I think the skater dress look is one of my biggest habits because it is so easy to pair with other pieces and these dresses are available in most clothing stores at a reasonable price. However, I do want to shake it up a little bit, so this dress was made for me, and so far I love it. I do want to make the hemline at the bottom narrower, because I think it's quite wide, but I do treasure the new addition to my wardrobe. 
Dress - homemade
Jacket - Miss Selfridge
Boots - Dorothy Perkins
Bag - Next
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