Outfit post: Summer Ball

Skirt: Anthropologie
Vest: Primark
Shoes: New Look

Summer signals many things: sunshine walks, holidays abroad and plentiful gatherings with friends and family. The end of finals at University has meant that pretty much all I have been doing is partying! Well, this and also getting a new job that I will talk about in a later post.

This is an outfit I wore to my University’s Summer Ball. The event is the biggest on our social calendar, hosted in our beautiful Victorian Founder’s Building that takes place from 8pm until 6am the next morning. With this in mind, I wanted to dress comfortably but also take myself out of my comfort zone instead of wearing a usual dress.

Let’s just discuss this skirt for a minute. I am officially in love. As previously discussed in my other outfit posts, I find it really difficult to shop for my height and frame, so when I went for a lazy morning shop to Anthropologie on Regent Street I headed straight to their petite section. I selected a few things from there to try on but I wasn’t convinced by them. On a second hunt through the store, I came across the floral skirt, not in petite. Despite this, it fits beautifully on my waist and paired with heels it is the perfect length. It is by Fleur Wood, an Australian designer known for her delicate pieces and vintage inspiration using imported fabrics from India. I teamed it with a simple white vest that I’ve had for ages and some wedged New Look heels, that got me through the night without blisters!

What do you think of the outfit?

K. x

Kate Moss for Topshop – Embroidered Smock Blouse

The new Kate Moss collection for Topshop is everything I could ever want in a collaboration. A lot of my friends have expressed their disappointment at the collection. However, I think it is a dream. I only wanted to buy one item from the collection so I browsed for a long time really thinking about what I wanted. I chose an item that hasn’t been featured on other blogs or magazine favourite picks: the Embroidered Smock Blouse, shown below. Costing £60, I think the price is justified when considering how iconic Kate is, and the collection is truly unique. I am very fortunate to have a brother who works for Arcadia, so I managed to get my hands on it for £45. When you buy in-store they wrap it in tissue paper and you get a free tote bag (which will become my new book bag for Uni), a special touch to the customer experience.

Being a fan of anything that sparkles, this was an instant winner for me. I will be able to pair this top with many items in my wardrobe. With skinny jeans, mom jeans, boots and flats. In the summer it will look perfect with shorts. The festival inspired, boho cut makes you wish that summer would arrive very soon, and the fact that I am actually going on holiday this year makes me adore it even more! For the time being, I will wear it out to drinks with my friends and a few gigs that I have lined up.

K.

 

 

Friday = I’ve been naughty…

Uh oh…It’s happened, again. There I was, strolling through town and my purse just miraculously opened and the next thing I knew I found myself carrying 5 bags of clothes. I thought this had stopped, until I went to London yesterday and bought more clothes. However, my good friend Ellie reminded me that this is the only time in my life I will be able to use government money i.e my student loan on clothes, and that was enough justification for me! Here is what I purchased…

Floral Printed Chinos – Zara – £29.99

I love these chinos! Despite being very bold, I thought I would buy something that will inject a bit of spring into my wardrobe and, surprisingly, I own a lot of things that I can pair with these!

Printed Dress – Forever 21 – £19.75

It is literally impossible to go into the Oxford Street store of Forever 21 without spending any money! I particularly like this dress because I can wear with tights now and I know I will still be wearing in on summer evenings in the months to come. It comes with a tie belt, perfect for me as I’m a petite 5”1 and need to define my waist most of the time.

Basic Top – Zara – £17.99

A basic top made more interesting by the sheer detailing. Perfect for wearing with jeans and skirts.

Pastel Blue Sheer Blouse – Zara – £25.99

Pretty pastel blue. My friends always comment on how smartly I dress. At Uni I like to feel like I’ve made an effort- definitely not one of those people who turns up to lectures in trackies! This looks really nice with the following shoes.

Black Patent Brogues – Topshop – £30.00 (but I got them for £22.00 because of my brother’s discount-yippee!)

So smart, so chic. And will go with everything I own. Now I just need a pretty black bowler hat to match…

‘Fairly Traded Honey’ shampoo – Lush – £14.45
‘Happy Happy Go Go’ conditioning hair perfume – Lush – £9.25

Because I like to smell nice! I have been using Lush shampoo for about 6 months now, and they are so good I will never buy your typical Herbal Essences ever again! They last for ages, improve the look and feel of my hair and make me smell good when I forget to wear perfume.

London Fashion Weekend

Last Friday myself and good friend went to London’s best shopping and catwalk event that concludes fashion week. Held in the same venue that many of the top designers hold their catwalk shows during LFW, Somerset House, this event is more relaxed and accessible compared with the super-exclusive nature of Fashion Week.

We got the ‘Shop & The Lot’ ticket which includes entry to the amazing pop-up shops many of which are designers with up to 40% discount (hello guilty spending) as well as a show bag complete with amazing freebies and of course access to the trend catwalk show. The show bag included coffee (YAY!), Maybelline make-up and Label M hair products as well as various discount vouchers.

The show itself was exciting and I loved the buzz in the room when the spotlights welcomed the models and pumping music. The trend show presented 4 key looks: Pretty in Pink, Shape Up, Back to Nature and my personal favourite, Victoriana. One of the best things about London Fashion Week is that they showcase the trends that are on the shop floors of the high street right now and not trends that we will be donning in 6 months time! I particularly loved the Victoriana trend; delicate sleeves, wispy collars with injections of punk to add a special twist to 19th century features.