Summer Stripes

A Summer post today to counter-balance all the rain that has just fallen where I live (why can't it be Summer everyday?). 

These shorts are from Zara. I've been wanting to blog about them for a little while but wasn't quite sure about the perfect outfit combination until I saw this blog post here. Charissa teamed a stripy shirt with yellow shorts and I felt so inspired I had to do the same. This is such a lovely outfit for a summers day and I can't wait to wear it on holiday. I love the classic combination of royal blue and stripes, and stripes are one of my top trends this season! The cropped cami is from ASOS and I've teamed the outfit with my Zara mules. 

My backpack is another recent find that I'm excited to share. I've wanted a bag to carry my camera around in for a while now and this backpack from Urban Outfitters just screamed out to me. I've never thought of myself as a backpack person (I think they're a bit 90's personally!) but it's just so useful! I take it with me whenever I'm in London for the day and I don't have to worry about people nicking my camera and I always have my hands free so it's perfect for that. It also comes in black if that's more your colour and I definitely recommend it.

I hope you like this look, thanks to Charissa for the style inspo! 

Details:

Shorts & Shoes- ZARA | Top- ASOS | Backpack- Urban Outfitters (link) | Rings- Primark

AU REVOIR PARIS

Coat & Knee High Boots- ASOS | Cable Knit & Necklace- Topshop | Jeans & Earrings - River Island | Bag- Warehouse 

This is my first post on my new blog layout, I hope you like it. I have just returned from a weekend away in Paris (photos to follow!) which was lovely. The French are so chic but luckily I took this new coat with me so I didn't feel too underdressed.

There are some people who are amazing at finding hidden gems in the sales, season after season. I am categorically not one of those people. In fact, I would go as far as saying that I dislike the sales, especially when you have money from Christmas that you want to spend on the latest trends and all you can find is past season stock. This time however, was different. I've been following this coat on ASOS for sometime. I have a Winter coat, and normally (due to how expensive they can be) I tell myself that one is enough. It started life at £85 and I loved it then. It went into the sale at about £60 and I told myself that it was still too expensive, I mean, I had a coat already. Gradually the coat decreased in price and eventually it went right the way down to £29.50, still I restrained myself, until one day ASOS offered an extra 15% off sale purchases. It was still in stock, it was fate. And so that is the tale of how the coat became mine and I finally found myself a sale bargain at £25.

What I love about this coat is the Céline-esque look it has. I'm a little bit in love with Céline at the moment so I adore this coat. The purple tones work perfectly with my bag and the brushed effect is my new favourite texture. If you look on ASOS they still have this coat in stock in some sizes, trust me it's worth it. If I had known how much I would love it I would have bought it full price.

I paired it with a simple cable knit from Topshop which I wore around Paris, it's so snug and cosy. I also wore jeans and some knee high suede effect boots I got for Christmas. I love this outfit and I felt so nice in it whilst I was in Paris last week.

Photographs by Emma Dane

Walk on the Wild Side

Photographs by Emma Dane

Hello again! I'm starting to blog more regularly once more now that I have the help of my fabulous housemate so you should be seeing many more outfit posts soon! As you might have guessed from my previous post, I have a bit of a thing for hats. I love how they add something extra to your outfit and on a practical note, they keep your head warm too. As a Made in Chelsea addict I generally want to buy everything those girls wear and Fran Newman-Young happened to be wearing this hat in a picture on her Twitter so I had to buy it. It's a gorgeous burgundy fedora from New Look. It's slightly more structured than my Topshop fedora but I love it all the same. It has a gorgeous black bow detail to the side and matches my Warehouse bag perfectly. 

Today I went for quite a simple outfit and opted for my trusty leopard print skirt. I bought this from River Island last year and stopped wearing it for a while, but recently animal print has been making a comeback (when doesn't it?!) and I decided to wear it with my new fedora. I added a simple black, oversized fine knit jumper from H&M to give the outfit a relaxed feel. 

The boots are Zara from last year and I love them so much. I always get compliments on them as they are so unusual. Although ankle boots are very much my thing, I'm on the hunt for a good pair of over-the-knee black boots, is anyone else? I think it could be a little to do with my obsession with Millie Manderson's wardrobe and Style Diary (click here) as she wears them a lot.

I'm also wearing my favourite bracelet at the moment- a leather, black and rose gold cuff from Whistles. They sell these on ASOS and you can buy them in a variety of colours, including burgundy- which I think I might need!

I hope you like this simple post. Do any of you share my love of hats? I think I'm addicted, I want to buy a black floppy 70's style one next! I hope everyone has had a lovely weekend- look out for more outfit posts next week! 

Hat- New Look 

Jumper- H&M

Skirt- River Island

Boots- Zara

Bag- Warehouse (link)

Necklace- Topshop

Cuff- Whistles at ASOS (link)

Love Bracelet- River Island

Watch- River Island

Gold Bangle- Holiday Purchase

OOTD: Easy Like Sunday Morning

I couldn't post this without showing you the amazing breakfast I had this morning!

Today my flatmate Emma and I decided to go out for breakfast so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to show you all what I have been buying lately! 

These gorgeous tartan trousers are from the new Zara on Market Street in Manchester. If you're from the area you'll know that Zara has been shut for months now but it's finally reopened, and honestly, it's worth the wait! I really recommend you check it out, it's one of the best Zara stores I've been in and everything is displayed so well. I wanted it all but managed to restrain myself and only buy these trousers. They are quite muted which I like and the colours work well with my new handbag. They are made from a thick, warm fabric so are perfect for this chilly weather, especially in Manchester at the moment! 

I paired the trousers with my new ASOS jumper. It's a simple navy sweater with 3/4 sleeves and a pocket on the front. I love the classic, understated style of this piece and I can tell I will get a lot of wear out of it. I'm also wearing my new loafers which are New Look but I bought them from ASOS. They were reduced to £12 and are worth every penny. They are a nice alternative to slipper style shoes or brogues and really give this outfit a smart feel. I love the androgynous style of this look, it's effortless, yet classic which is a look I'm really enjoying at the moment. 

I'm excited to tell you all that I am also wearing my new Kate Spade bow bracelet!* It's honestly one of the nicest pieces of jewellery I've received in a long time, it's really simple yet looks absolutely gorgeous on and I can tell I'm going to wear it a lot! I've also been loving my new Kate Spade purse* at the moment as well. It really matches my style and looks so classic, I'm really enjoying using it. You can now buy Kate Spade from Selfridges and I highly recommend taking a look online or in-store because all the pieces are stunning and would make perfect gifts for Christmas. I have my eye on a few more things myself that I'm hoping might be under the tree for me this year! 

After taking these blog photos Emma and I went to breakfast so I had to include the obligatory picture of my Sunday morning fry-up (vegetarian of course!). I hope you like this look and this different setting. We shot these pictures on a road near our house and I'm really pleased with how they turned out. I hope everyone has had a lovely weekend, mine's been a busy one but a good one!

xxx

Trousers- Zara (link)

Jumper- ASOS (link)

Loafers- ASOS (link)

Bow Bracelet- Kate Spade at Selfridges 

Purse- Kate Spade at Selfridges 

(there are no links for the actual Kate Spade products I have but check out the range at Selfridges HERE and I'm sure they will be adding the purse and bracelet soon!)

Necklace- Topshop

Bag- Warehouse

All products marked with an * have been gifted to me but thoughts and opinions are my own

OOTD: Into the Blue

As you might remember from my last post, I'm loving smarter shorts at the moment. They make a perfect change from skirts and I just can't get enough of them! I bought these shorts not too long ago from Topshop after eyeing them up on the site. They were slightly on the pricey side at £40 but I'm in love with them. The shorts are a cream chiffon material over a more opaque short underneath. The embroidery is so pretty and the colours are modern and refreshing; I was so excited when I saw the hint of electric blue with them as I knew they would look amazing with my River Island blue court shoes! I bought this top from ASOS as I haven't been able to find a bright blue cami anywhere else and it's the perfect colour. It's a beautiful cami in a woven, almost silky looking fabric and hangs beautifully.

This is one of my all time favourite outfits. I've definitely been embracing more colour recently and I adore this deep electric blue shade. I'm going to take this outfit to Marbella as I can't wait to wear it on a night out, although, it would look equally lovely with a pair of flat sandals for during the day.

I can't recommend these shorts enough- you need them in your life! If you want them to fit highwaisted,  order a size down; however I decided to get my actual size in these as I wanted them a little longer. 

I hope you like this look as much as I do! I've been doing a fair bit of shopping lately so I've got lots more outfits in the pipeline to be photographed soon- so keep an eye out for them. Use the links below to follow me on Twitter, Bloglovin', Instagram and Pinterest or follow me on GFC in the sidebar so you don't miss out.

Top- ASOS Petite (link)

Shorts- Topshop (link)

Shoes- River Island (link)

Watch- River Island

Earrings- Miss Selfridge

Bloglovin' | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter 

OOTD: Coloured accents..

I thought I'd show you one of the outfits I've been enjoying wearing to my internship! I've been loving sheer detailing at the moment so this top from Zara really caught my eye! It's sleeveless, slightly longer at the back and has beautiful sheer panels which really make it stand out. I've paired it with black jeans (a firm favourite of mine!) and these amazing blue heels from River Island. I'd been wanting some electric blue courts for a while and these really hit the mark; they're sling-back so super comfortable too.

The boucle jacket is from ASOS and I think it really brightens up the outfit! I get so many compliments on it and it was only £35. I added pistachio green nails and a pink cocktail ring from Primark. I love how the bright blue and oranges compliment the softer pink of the ring and green on my nails- I am wearing this colour combination non-stop at the moment!

This is the perfect outfit to wear to a fashion internship (in my opinion!). It's a fairly safe outfit but looks stunning with these colourful accents. 

Top- Zara

Jeans- Topshop

Jacket- ASOS

Shoes- River Island

Pink Ring- Primark

Plain Band Rings- Topshop

Nails- 'Venus Flytrap' Topshop

Bloglovin' | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter 

The Perfect Peplum

What makes the perfect peplum top? I had been wondering this myself for some time. This new trend can be unforgiving and unflattering but I knew there must be a perfect peplum top out there, and I think this is it. I tried on an awful peplum top in River Island which was stiff, too short and the peplum stuck out at a weird angle. It would probably look good on some people but it would have been hard to pull off. 

Why is this the perfect peplum top then?

1. It's made of a soft, jersey material which makes it flattering and comfortable.

2. The peplum doesn't start too low down (many of them do and it's not a good look!)

3. It is exactly the right length and has the right sort of sleeve on it. Personally I think it needs this short sleeve for balance, I'm not a fan of the sleeveless peplum look!

So there it is. Reasons why this is the best, and trust me, no one paid me to write this, I just wanted to share it with everyone. I bought this online the other day from Topshop but they don't have it in stock anymore. I'm sure it will come back soon though, because I check the website every morning and this sold out in one day! The popular items usually reappear so it will hopefully be available for you all again soon!

The rest of my outfit is pretty self explanatory, I wanted to focus on the top. My new 'bling' rings in the pictures above are from ASOS and I love them. They're really different and not too expensive at £8, plus they come in a cute ASOS presentation box (I'm not sure if all ASOS jewellery does! I hope so!) so they could make a nice present.

N.B I ordered a new bag from Zara but it hasn't come. When it does I think I'm going to do a 'What's in my bag' post for you all :) 

If you don't already, then please follow my Twitter, whilst I have exams I won't be able to blog as much, but I'll still be tweeting! My Twitter name is @thatssoPhoebe!


I'm off to go and revise some more now, I have two exams this week!

xxx

Top- Topshop (£24)

Leigh Jeans- Topshop

Shoes- Miss Selfridge

Clutch- River Island

Rings trio- ASOS (link!)

Lipstick- Topshop Infared

Colour Block Top

Just a quick post to show you my new top that I'm loving right now! I bought this after watching Corrie's November 2011 haul video (watch it here) and I'm so glad I did. If you haven't already heard of her blog (which I'm sure you have!) it's Dizzybrunette3, she's one of my favourite bloggers/ youtubers! :)

I love the peter pan collar on this top and how it contrasts with the cream. This colour combination is so classy and elegant- very Coco Chanel! I often find myself reaching for black or cream pieces but I think they suit me, perhaps I'll try and inject some colour into my wardrobe soon, we'll see! This top would look perfect during the day or for a night out. It's quite thick material so although it only has short sleeves it works really well for Autumn/ Winter. At £22 it's very reasonably priced and feels lovely quality! The only thing I will say is that it's quite short! I tried to photograph this to show you but it's hard to see. This is fine for me as I'm only 5ft 4, but taller people should bear that in mind. It does however look great with high waisted skirts and shorts which is my favourite way to wear it anyway. Other than that, this is a gorgeous top, very on trend with the peter pan collar and colour block detail, it would look lovely on everyone. 

Sorry I haven't posted for a while, I got so caught up with Sixth Form work and didn't get time to photograph any of my outfits or recent beauty purchases but I've got some ideas for more posts now so I will try and get those uploaded soon!

xxx

Top- ASOS (Click Here!)

Skirt- Primark

Nails- Barry M Nail Effects 'Silver Foil' with Mac 'Unconditionally Fabulous' layered on top