April Moodboard

Hello again guys! Just a little disclaimer, none of these images are mine and I'm not pretending that they are in any way, shape or form! All of the images below were found through the power of Google image search, I used a variety of keywords and chose a variety of images that I really liked; for example Cambridge Satchel Company, Orla Kiely watch, Cath Kidston dress etc. This is how I found all of these images and if you do the same you'll find so many similar images available. The collages were made by me, to reflect the kinds of style and subjects that I'm loving at the moment. Many of these images are also viewable on other platforms such as instagram or Pinterest, I'm not using any of them for anything other than this appreciation post.

As soon as the season of Spring arrives, I like shopping around for pretty handbags and this year I've become obsessed with the across body sized Cambridge Satchels as they look so versatile, classic and lovely with any outfit, in any colour. One of the reasons why I love reading other blogs is gaining inspiration for my own looks and blog posts, I've definitely found the love of these bags from the blogging community, one of my favourite satchel looks comes from sophieetc and I adore every single one of the looks created by Rebecca on her blog aclotheshorse who I've featured at least twice in the range of collages below. One of my favourite ever brands is Cath Kidston and I've found so many beautiful vintage style designs on the blog featured on their website which suit all kinds of body shapes with their 1950s style flare cut. I definitely dress much more feminine in the warmer months, wearing dresses and accessorising much more than in the winter months. I'm looking forward to trying to make an effort and recording my outfit choices and posting them onto my blog as I enjoy seeing what others have worn on their blogs. 

 

 

 

 

A/W16 Must Haves!

 

Autumn and Winter is definitely a time for blanket scarves, parkas and boots for me. At the moment it's incredibly cold and almost constantly raining in the UK, to the point that it feels so difficult to make an effort to go out and look like you feel nice. During the winter months, I personally prefer to stay comfortable and as warm as possible, as opposed to looking amazingly stylish. That said, I'm never the most stylish person you'll ever see or meet out and about. I also tend to to stick to more neutral toned clothing when it's cold and overcast, wearing creams, greys, blacks and khaki greens.

This winter I've definitely found a range of places that fit into the comfortable and warm ideal of clothing. H&M have got lovely and toasty fleece leggings in a variety of colours; I bought black and grey, obviously haha. They're such a staple item, they go with literally everything and were so cheap at £7.99! (Buy here) However, I also love jeans from H&M; I'm very short, at just about 5ft tall so it's great that I can buy wider and shorter jeans as I'm a good size 12-14 by find that their jeans in size 12 are really comfy for me. I like the distressed black of these, and they're a bargain at £14.99, too. (Buy here). Alongside jeans and leggings, I also love a good chunky knits to layer underneath a coat to really keep me warm. I love cream or white jumpers to constrast with black or grey that have cable knits. (Buy here)

Moving on to outerwear, when it starts to get really cold I always forget about looking after my feet. I have naturally really dry skin that needs so much TLC it's a joke... the majority of my creams are for my feet. However, until recently I never really connected the cold weather with why the skin in my feet is so much more painful in the winter months (I'm so clever, obviously). As a result of this realisation, I decided to invest in some ugg boots. (Buy here) no exaggeration, they are so incredibly comfortable and I honestly have noticed such a difference not only in my skin, but also in the fact that I feel so much more warm in general now. I would recommend buying these to anyone, I love them!

 

That said, if I want more of a shoe that fits all outfits then I'll always go for a classic Chelsea boot. ASOS have some amazing options at the moment in different styles, shapes and colours. (Buy here) I have so many pairs in different colours, to the extent that even my boyfriend was saying I basically wear the same shoe all the time! But they're so comfortable and perfect for the autumn and winter months when you need a bit more protection on your feet. I like to wear them with chunky socks to make sure my feet keep warm as well as dry; at the moment I'm loving the Zoella lifestyle gift set (buy here) because I like the softness of the socks as well as the fact they're grey so with everything. Plus you get a nice candle which smells so nice and freshens up any room, too. I also have a bad habit of always buying a new scarf every year, to the point that I have literally such a collection now. My favourite one is actually from Hollister (buy here) and it's so soft and so warm and thick, it's perfect for the cold weather. I love blanket scarves because you can use the, in multiple ways; as a scarf or as a blanket and you just feel so wrapped up and ready for the cold.

Finally, I like to pair all of the above with a nice warm coat, and my preferred coat of choice is a parka (buy here) because a Sherpa lining and a thick hood are the perfect combinations to protect yourself against the cold weather. I also love how many pockets parkas have, because I'm the kind of person to put so many things in pockets, like an iPod, headphones or Oyster card. I do feel the cold a lot, so I find that a parka keeps the warmth in my body, especially paired with a blanket scarf. Everyone needs a good handbag, and I have literally had the same bag for four years, a Longchamp bag. (Buy here) although it was fairly pricey at £70, it's definitely worth every penny. I use it all the time and it's never failed me, it holds so much stuff and is completely waterproof. Plus I feel like it looks minimal and nice; I always use the navy one as the colour goes with any outfit and is appropriate for any occasion. What are your must haves for this time of year?

Monthly Favourites - September

 

1. iPhone 6s 64gb in Rose Gold

2. Starbucks Strawberries and Cream Frappuccino

3. MAC Retro Matte Lipstick in Ruby Woo

4. Daisy by Marc Jacobs

5. Cath Kidston Clocks Dress

6. Learn To Love Again - Lawson 

7. Dog walks

8. urBeats headphones in Rose Gold

9. iPad Air2 16gb in Gold

10. Look magazine

Top 10 Favourite Perfumes

 

1. Daisy Eau so Fresh - Marc Jacobs

2. Ricci Ricci - Nina Ricci

3. Flower Princess - Vera Wang

4. Daisy Dream - Marc Jacobs

5. Victoria - Victoria's Secret

6. Island Fantasy - Britney Spears

7. Dolce - Dolce and Gabbana

8. Summer For Her - John Paul Gaultier

9. Princess Night - Vera Wang

10. Amor Amor L'eau - Cacharel

I was never a perfume lover until I turned 21 when I was gifted a perfume by a family member... Since then I've literally got so many and I love them so much. I don't wear perfume every day, but whenever I want to feel better about myself or just lift my mood a little I spritz some on and feel amazing. My favourite scents for myself are quite feminine, floral scents with hints of vanilla, fairly summery scents actually. I adore the Marc Jacobs 'Daisy' and the Vera Wang 'Princess' ranges, I like the way the scents are similar but suit different moods and occasions... Plus they're such pretty bottles 😍

Favourite Blogs! - September

Hello again :)

It feels like literally every month I find more blogs to enjoy and this month I've already found several that I've found really enjoyable to read, to the extent that I've been going back over their old posts as well as new. All of the images belong to the blog owners below and were found using a simple google search.

 

palomaindisguise.com

I love her style so much, and knowing that the majority of her Wardbrobe is purchased from affordable charity shops such as Oxfam makes it even better as it makes me feel like I can afford to look that nice too! Definitely a niche fashion blogger, I really love her style and the way she photographs her outfits is really lovely as well. Like me, she's also an Instagram addict and her posts representing that are enjoyable to read as they're a recap of what she's done recently which I like.

 

aclotheshorse.co.uk

One of my more recent favourites, Rebecca's blog has become a fast favourite of mine; I literally adore everything about it... The style, her personal style and the photography is just amazing. 'An American living in Northern Ireland' is her tagline and sums up her blog entirely. As Autumn (my favourite season) is coming, her blog is great as the colours of her photographs and her personal style is very autumnal and so a fantastic inspiration for cooler weather dressing.

 

thelittleplum.co.uk

Another newer favourite of mine, Chloe often tackles some fairly unusual topics for bloggers, such as contraception, things that make you happy and that its ok to have no idea what to do with yourself or your life. She's really down to earth and relatable, as I enjoy reading about topics such as feminism and weight as they're things that many women struggle with. As a bonus, her blog looks so aesthetically pretty and her personal style posts are always interesting too.

 

daintydressdiaries.com

Catherine's blog leaves a lot to be desired; as a lover of all things pretty myself, I love her homeware hauls and room/house DIYs and renovations. I love her vintage country kitsch style and her love of cute tea dresses matches mine so her blog was obviously going to become a favourite! She's so crafty, and her little handmade teddy bears are the cutest. Alongside home and fashion, she does talk about lifestyle and working on happiness was an interesting read.

 

livingmystyle.co.uk

Laura's posts are very lifestyle orientated, with a clear interest in travel, beauty and personal style. As she lives in London (so do I) it's nice to see places that are familiar to me and see how her colourful outfits contrast against the grey buildings and streets. Her blog has an explorative feel, as though she is constantly on the lookout for new discoveries. Her most recent posts from Greece look so nice and really make you want to travel more.

Favourite instagrammers - July

Hello again, as a self-confessed Instagram addict, I thought it'd be nice to suggest some people to follow each month as I know when I read a blog I enjoy seeing who else they follow and I've often found that I then start reading their blogs too, so I guess you could apply the same principle here :) please note that all of the images below were taken from the usernames mentioned using a Google search.

 

theresalightthatnevergoesout

I have been following Megan for what feels like ages, and I love how she keeps it so personal with pictures of family and friends as well as the things she loves such as her favourite bands (The Smiths, for example) or her growing tattoo collection. As I previously studied art and photography at university I also enjoy seeing her architecturally based photographs of Northern England, makes me think I should visit one day even if I am a proud Londoner! Haha.

 

heldtogetherbypins

I have no idea how I started following Paige, but I don't regret it. Not only does she have a blog (the url is the same as her username), she also posts a variety of different make up looks and DIYs alongside personal style posts. However I would say she's not an atypical fashion instagrammer, because her account has a lot of personal posts as well, such as photos with friends and recently some of her birthday.

 

oliviabynature

Olivia is very much a style blogger/instagrammer (her blog url is the same username). Very much a hipster, vintage styled fashionista; her love of denim and stripes definitely shines through about 80% of her outfits, aha! She's definitely the epitome of London cool complete with sunglasses, Polaroid camera and a bicycle. Another reason that I really like her posts is she's based in a similar area of London to me and so I recognise some of the streets she photographs.

 

emmmasometimes

I really enjoy Emma's happy go lucky posts and appreciative views of nature mixed in with fashion and lifestyle; laden with food posts about cake or chocolate, baking is definitely one of her passions. She has a massive love for cats and her overall style is very classically feminine and cute with lots of skater dresses and this is in line with her photographic style; a little quirky and a little adventurous.

 

elliecp_

An obvious lover of vintage clothing, Ellie has the quirkiest personal style that I've ever seen, mixed in alongside travel post, art and disposable photography. Her posts are littered with collages and sketches of fashions that she's seen and liked, as well as some more random enjoyable moments with friends. She's probably best described as a chameleon as her make-up, hair and accessories are matched to every outfit. 

Jo and Liam get hitched! ● Part One

[WARNING: IMAGE HEAVY POST!]

Hi everyone! I'm doing my best to keep up with my blog - I don't think I'm doing too badly, seeing as yesterday I was a bridesmaid for two of my friends. Liam and Jo married on 13/08/2014 in Stratford, London and it was an incredible service and it was a struggle not to tear up, particularly when the bride started crying…

The theme was a rainbow one, hence the bridesmaids, initially I was pretty skeptical, but in reality with us all out in full force it looked pretty good, especially considering it was in orange. It was extra special as my lovely godson came with his parents all the way from Perth, Scotland to attend! I have to give thanks to the varieties of guests who used my camera to take the majority of these photographs. The bride&groom looked stunning as when together the atmosphere was electric, you could feel the love in the air.

The Bride had a huge wooden rose bouquet which she then inserted the lucky thistle that my godson gifted her, and each bridesmaid had a little mini wooden rose bouquet too, which we got to keep too, which was a bonus as they are adorable. I have to say I loved every minute, even when she wiped her lipstick off his lips and then wiped it on her dress, she was as classy as ever [ahem!] Having my little one there made it all even better, I miss him so much when he's in Scotland.

Each bridesmaid got a little gift during the brides speech [these two aren't very traditional haha] with a little gift bag as did the parents/families of the bride and groom, which was lovely but a surprise. Inside they both wrote a little piece in a card, and I'll never get rid of mine, its such a cute thing to do, as were the little love heart wedding favours. I thought that the vintage style food and table layouts worked really well too as the reception was held in the Church hall. The first dance was super emotional, just like the speech was, but the bouquet throwing was literally terrifying as the bouquet was so heavy as it was wooden... oops! Stay tuned for Part Two!

See you soon, Rach x x x

Outfit of the Week! ~ 1960s wannabe!

Hey sweeties! This is this weeks outfit of the week, apologies again for the bad picture quality as I didn't use my DSLR like I had planned, which was silly of me. However I'm super proud of the look overall, especially the hair as it's the first time that I've ever done a hairstyle like that! I used a small donut from Primark and pushed my hair along over it before securing it with 4 kirby grips at the back of my head just behind it. Voilà!   The lighting was pretty bad on the day though, it was really overcast which didn't help the overall photos either, boo.

I wanted to create a 1960's style outfit, but it was created on a budget, it cost £38 altogether and yet I felt pretty sophisticated and glamourous, mostly due to the hairstyle, hah! The make-up was pale skin and lips with a large, sweeping flicked liquid eyeliner and perfectly groomed brows. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this dress, the appliquéd lace bodice is simply beautiful, and the blush colour really works against any skin tone. My legs aren't my favourite feature, so it's a little short for my liking, but I can put up with that for the nice cut and flow of the organza skirt.

The shoes were a complete bargain from Primark, and a whim purchase but I'm really excited that I found them, as they go with almost every outfit being that lovely warm tan colour. Tan shoes and bags are a big weakness of mine, as you'll see as the year goes on and I blog more and more regularly. Let me know what you think of this week's outfit! Rach x x x

[Shoes - Primark; Cardigan - H&M; Dress - ASOS; Tights - Primark; Bracelets - Pandora; Rings - Pandora, Greenwich Market, The Jewellery Channel, eBay, family; Kirby Grips and Hair Donut - Primark]