alas, i cannot swim: Topshop

Showing posts with label Topshop. Show all posts

Tuesday, 5 February 2013

Outfit post: studs and stripes

Going in with accessories today: studs on these black leggings add just the right amount of detail, and this monochrome striped topshop blouse works well alongside bold jewellery accessories and a cute hairclip used as a bow tie. Points if you spot the adventure time character!

Tuesday, 18 December 2012

What I'm Wearing

I've decided recently that I do actually have enough faith in my wardrobe and the ability to put an outfit together (!!! We'll see) to share with you what I'm wearing and possibly in the new year revive my long neglected lookbook account....
I'm not really one of these people that stays "on trend", even though I wish I could. I might buy one or two key pieces each season (my budget only ever stretching to Topshop, Zara or Asos) but primarily I stick with simple pieces that I know work for me, and charity shops!!
Some of my most important wardrobe staples have been purchased from a charity shop and rarely cost me more than £10. Take, for example, my Joop! handbag. It's a circular box shape which is why it caught my eye- really different from anything I'd seen on the high street, with 2 gold clasps and long shoulder straps. And it cost me £5! Granted, the clasps come undone rather a lot and I have to clip them back in, but it's a small price to pay to have such a unique, beautiful and cheap (yes! I said it!) bag.
The other thing I love about charity shops is the sporadity of them. Sometimes you can come away with whole new outfits, and other times nothing at all. I also find this nice in the sense that if something doesn't fit, it doesn't fit- there's no carrying on with sizes and fretting that in the last 15 minutes, you've suddenly grown 2 dress sizes since the last shop you tried on a pair on jeans in, resulting in you sobbing in a heap in the changing room floor of Topshop with a pair of size 8's around your ankles. I've got a weird body shape anyway (broad shoulders, small boobs, teeny waist, big hips, long legs) so often find myself of an evening sat with my mums sewing box making alterations.... And if it goes wrong, who cares?! I only spent £3!
So I'm hoping that even though my outfit choices aren't necessarily what you will find in the shops, that they will inspire you to try new combinations, dig through your wardrobe to reinvent long forgotten pieces, and look upon the weird granny shirt in your local charity shop with a new set of eyes. Enjoy!

This is the outfit I wore yesterday- I finished off my Christmas shopping in my local town, sat and had a coffee and begun reading David Mitchell's "Back Story", and then went to the pub for dinner and bingo with my girls Amy and Emily (I won a fiver!)

For all I've just been harping on about charity shops, it has just occurred to me that this isn't actually the best outfit to reflect that!! However, it was still put together on a shoestring budget, and I had a really good charity shop haul yesterday so I will soon make another outfit post about the items I purchased.

The skirt I am wearing I actually got from Topshop in the January sales at the beginning of the year. It only cost me £10 and I was so lucky, there was only 1 left and it was a size 10! The weird fluoro-mustard colour got a bit of getting used to at first, but it teams so well with neutrals, and the lace panel detail is so lovely and really makes it stand out.

I couldn't wear this with anything too busy so I popped into my brothers wardrobe and "borrowed" his denim shirt, which tucks in nicely to prove that I do actually have a waist, whilst also being satisfactorily oversized and androgynous at the same time. So with that in mind- and inspired by my recent Kiss Like Daisy post- I dug out a very old bow from my mums sewing kit and attached it to the collar, and for the sheer cheek of contrast teamed it with my beautiful DKNY watch that I got for my 21st birthday, and my battered old Dr Martens that I bought for £7 on eBay when I was 16. Done!

Saturday, 17 November 2012

Winter Wishlist

I think I must be the only person in the world who enjoys the weather turning colder. In a true homage to my Scottish roots, I am just not a creature of warm weather. To me, Autumn and Winter means beautiful colours, hot water bottles, and an excuse to drink a lot of delicious warm drinks (tea, coffee, hot chocolate, mulled wine....I'm not fussy.) Now that we have well and truly found ourselves in winter, I have created a wishlist to keep us warm in the frost, and to get us through those long winter nights. Enjoy!!

5. The new range of GORILLA PERFUMES at Lush

https://www.lush.co.uk/gorilla-perfume-home

Those of you who know me in real life will surely know about my absolute obsession for all things LUSH. Now that they have released their Emotional Brilliance makeup range, they are literally offering the full package as far as I'm concerned. I've always loved the perfumes that Lush has to offer, however I never found my "signature" scent amongst their range (In typical murphy's law fashion, my boyfriend has 3 "signature" scents from the original Gorilla perfume range- Dear John, The Smell of Freedom and Dirty).
Anyway, I digress...
I was waiting with bated breath for such a long time for these perfumes to come out, and when they did I was certainly not disappointed! It took me 3 days to decide which scent was for me, and eventually I decided on the beautifully subtle yet exotic "Sikkim Girls"- a jasmin based scent, but less heavy than "Lust", Lush's previous jasmin infused scent.
Close contenders were "The Voice of Reason", a tobacco-y scent inspired by the beat writers, "Devils Nightcap"which is a fresh, nippy scent, "Hellstone" which to me smelt like Patchouli despite having none in it, and "Furze", a feminine, flower-and-coconut perfume (I really want to get this for my mum for Christmas!)
Have you smelt the new Lush range? What is your scent? Let me know in comments below!!

4. Christmas drinks at Starbucks!

Like the Coca-Cola advert and seeing Christmas decorations come out in department stores, you know the festive season is well and truly here when Starbucks start selling their Christmas special coffees. I can't wait to try the praline mocha this year, and I'm very happy to see the return of last years favorite, the toffee nut latte :) Which is your favorite?

3. Winter Colours
In all honestly, I don't need an excuse for wearing a darker makeup palette, no matter what the season. Give me a wine lip and burgundy nail colour any day. BUT! I do love seeing all my favorite brands getting on board with autumnal/winter colours. Topshop have not disappointed on this front- in fact, I have been singing the praises of their makeup range ever since it was released in 2010 (fun collections and cruelty-free testing? gimme!!)
Here are a few of my favorites:

Topshop Nails in "Ruthless"

Topshop Lips in "Beguiled"

and it's not just Topshop....

(of course it would be Lush...but I TOLD YOU!! EMOTIONAL BRILLIANCE IS INCREDIBLE!! Patent plum lipstick...yes please)

2. onesie+hot water bottle combo. yeah, i'm guilty, don't even care. next!

1. KISS LIKE DAISY

SO, a lovely old friend of mine Katy Louise Dyer has just opened up her very own online boutique, Kiss Like Daisy. And I am IN LOVE.

The staple Daisy piece is the bow, which can be bought as a necklace, hairpiece, incorporated into a clutch bag or even as a stylish travel pillow. But Daisy is so much more than this. Each hand crafted item comes straight from the creative mind of Katy herself, who has found a unique gap in the market to create beautiful high fashion accessories at high street prices.

If Daisy sounds like your kind of girl, start shopping at http://www.kisslikedaisy.co.uk/# and come back soon to find out more about Daisy- I will shortly be publishing an interview with Katy, revealing more about Daisy, the concept and the creative mind behind the business.

Much love!

Sian

Friday, 3 August 2012

Favourite Fashions at Lovebox

Whilst we were at Lovebox, I decided to document some of the amazing outfits we were seeing there. From vintage to high street and everything in between, I had to show you some of the best outfits of the weekend....

Lets start with my lovely girl Amy who made up 1/3 of our Lovebox team. She teamed Hunter wellies with jean shorts, a "wild thornberrys" rucksack from Topshop, and a wicked Aztec-style vintage top. I won't include the National Trust raincoat she also sported for the first day... :)

The lovely Emily worked a complete Topshop outfit, finished up with a sturdy pair of Dr Martens to give the look a rough edge and to protect from the mud and rain of day one. Fashionable and practical, this is definitely a winner in my book.

We found Holly working alongside Melissa (see below) at Bumble Hog, a wonderful pre-loved and vintage clothing outlet owned by the girls. Doing the festival circuit with their business themselves (and obviously knowing their stuff), I fell in love with the outfits the girls were wearing. Holly can be seen here teaming pattered tights with every girls must have- a chunky cardi- and an amazing pair of striped dungarees from fellow vintage stall Headlock Vintage. Finished with a slick of statement red lippie, and there you have it- the perfect festival outfit!

Here we have Melissa, co-owner of Bumble Hog Vintage. Her outfit was compiled entirely from Bumble hog itself! A simply detailed yet beautiful lace mesh top over another staple- the denim jean short, wonderful striped tights and Peter Pan shoes resulted in another winning outfit from the Bumble Hog girls!!

Leona's outfit really caught my eye. Her neon yellow skirt is bang on trend for the summer- and although neon hasn't been one of my favorite trends, she managed to rock it! Her Aztec crop top had just the right amount of neon to compliment the shirt, whilst her patent Dr Martens, and leather jacket and (studded!!) bum bag levelled out the brights with a biker chic. Plus- I'm SO happy that bum bags are coming back into fashion. Again, style+practicality = win win!

This is Savannah- gorgeous outfit, great name, and as you can see, loads of fun! I absolutely adored her studded denim jacket (I think I have a bit of an affliction with studs at the moment, I just want to stud EVERYTHING) Savannah described her Urban Outfitters dress as "throw over", which I thought was really perfect. That teamed with stocking detail tights and Doctor Martens made for an effortlessly stylish festival outfit.

I absolutely fell in love with Spasena's tassled body suit (wow, studs and tassles seem to be really getting me going at the moment...Dolly Parton where art thou?!). Of course, this had to be a one-off vintage find so I can't just nip out and grab one for myself! This in itself had enough detail to make an incredibly grunge-chic outfit when teamed only with denim shorts, and Dr Martens. (These two items seem to be staple for a lot of girls at the moment!) Her wayfarer sunglasses and wild curls really completed the look.

So, there you have it- my favorite Lovebox Looks! Do let me know if you enjoyed this post, I've been considering doing more street style and outfit blog entries. If this was a hit, let me know and you will be seeing more :)

Love as always,

Sian x