OOTD // Pyjama chic

When you hear the words "pyjama chic", I'm talking silky two pieces which look like luxe sleepwear, and loose trousers which could easily pass for pyjama bottoms. Although not brave enough to wear the former out, as for the latter, I'm all about that comfy trouser life. Having had a pair for years now, they are officially the comfiest things ever. I wear them around the house and on plane journeys they are are a GODSEND. I usually get raised eyebrows from people when I wear them; hey you lazy sod, too lazy to bother getting dressed today. But au contraire, ladies and gents. These are proper legit trousers.

Up until now, I haven't felt very comfortable wearing them out for other events that don't include the airport or a quick dash for groceries, but the pjyama chic trend coming around makes me feel a little less timid to wear such a look out.

Camisole (thrifted) // YSL bag* //Trousers (old) // Shoes (gifted)

Because of their loose shape, I like to wear something a little more fitted on top to balance out the look. I usually go for strapless bandeau tops, or a delicate camisole like the one featured above. This top I've had for years (a hand me down from my aunt!) and is one of my favourites. It has scallop detailing on it too - meaning I was all about the scallops right from a young age!
And can we talk about the shoes? These were a recent gift from family who just came back from holiday and they are the comfiest things I have put on my feet in a very long time.

How you do feel about the pyjama trend?

*A huge thanks to Farfetch for introducing me to the bag of my dreams!

OOTD // Keeping things casual

When you see designer bags on Instagram and Pinterest, the owner of the insanely beautiful bag is usually all legs, wearing the most coveted of outfits and skyscraper heels, with the air of having just stepped off the catwalk, en route to their next Fashion Week show. You rarely see a designer bag in a casual context with straight-out-of-bed-hair. Until now that is.

Lazy weekends mean I want to be comfortable in what I'm wearing. My go to weekend staple has to be denim shorts and a tee and / or knitwear. This sort of outfit is great for lazying around the house in, or heading down the road to pick up groceries / going to the post office / other boring aspects of adult life. Simple but effective.

My favourite piece of knitwear I own has to be this sandy coloured number (just £13!). It's fairly light-weight compared to other knitwear which makes it a great transitional piece for spring / autumn / typical British weather and is great for layering with. It's also slightly over-sized which I love as it means it can hang off one shoulder all sassy like.

Jumper (Forever 21) //  YSL bag // Shorts (old)

Another personal favourite is this chunky khaki knit. It's not a colour I'd usually go for (it's not black, white or grey for starters!), but it's a lovely deep forest sort of green and looks ace worn with blue denim.

Khaki jumper (Forever 21 old)

Another F21 jumper... this post is starting to feel like it's sponsored by Forever 21! (it's not for the record!). I just genuinely love Forever 21 and I do pick up 90% of my knitwear from there.

So there you have it. Two looks with a designer bag in a more casual context. Next time I am taking casual to a whole other level, exploring if designer bags and 'pyjama chic' are a marriage made in heaven or not - so it will be interesting gauging your reactions on that one! Do you like designer bags styled in a more casual way? Or do you prefer a glossier look?

* A huge thanks to Farfetch for the bag of my dreams!

New Year bargains from Forever 21

With the January sales no longer strictly starting in January - most start in December and it seems to be earlier and earlier every year(!) - I never really find anything when Boxing Day swings around. To get the best bargains you need to start looking early. And according to this year's papers, some people were queuing for the sales from 7pm on Christmas day. This I just can't get my head around. Christmas is a day to be spent with your loved ones, indulging in enough cheese to sink a small battle ship... right?! I ventured out to the sales on 27th December but nothing decent was left. Online wasn't much better either. However Forever 21 was an absolute cracker. All the below, at those prices, you'd imagine to be in the sale. But I've got news for you: everything below is non sale and full price.

Boxy stripe tee - £6.50

I love a striped breton tee as much as the next person and for £6.50 you just can't go wrong! I love how it's been styled with a pleated skirt - I own one just like this and this whole look will look amazing with knee high socks.

Collared sweater - £15.00

I love collars. Peter Pan collars. Lace collars. Shirt collars, Those collars that you can just clip onto a jumper for the effect. This collar and sweater combo is a mere £15. Forever 21 does have the sweater in other colours, but I'm boring and I like black. How awesome are the tweed jacket and loafers?! This is definitely the sort of look I tend to gravitate towards.

           Wire collar necklace - £3.50                                              Blogger PJ set - £10.65

£3.50 for a necklace... Toppers, please can you take note?! I oddly like the fact that it doesn't go entirely around your neck - it reminds me a little of headphones. Subtle and delicate, it's exactly what I go for in jewellery. I've enthused about Forever 21 pyjamas before, and found these incredible blogging pyjamas! I fell in love with the shorts which have little coffee mugs and laptops on them, and are the perfect shade of blue.

Did you find any New Year bargains?

NEW IN // SLOGAN TEES

The other night I took my sister on a last minute shopping trip before she heads back to uni. One shop that continues to impress me is Forever 21. Primark I feel is ever increasing in price, but the quality remains low. Forever 21 on the other hand always offers good value for money - the clothing lasts longer, it's better quality and I would argue that the prices are lower than Primark's nowadays. Thoughts? My sister managed to pick up a whole basketful of things ready for her return to uni and it came to just over £30! The Oxford Street F21 is massive - three floors worth! - so we spent a good few hours there. I didn't buy much, but I did pick up these beauts:

This top made me laugh and I grabbed it straight away because I am very particular with language. Bad spelling, bad grammar and comic sans font are all life's little annoyances.  I was an English teacher for a year so I can be excused right?! Although a small (the smallest size they do it in), this t-shirt is very over-sized... but it's such a comfy fit, I can turn a blind eye to that! It came as a set with these alphabet / typeface shorts which are good around-the-house-type-shorts. The sort of thing you can pull on if the postman rings the doorbell helluva early in the morning so you don't give him an eyeful!

This is me to a tee (pardon the pun!). I'm just not myself if I'm hungry... but I'm sure I'm not alone! :) This tee is actually part of a PJ set, however the shorts were missing on all of them for some reason. The shop couldn't find them either. In the end they gave me some money off of them because they obviously weren't a complete set! I don't mind though - I'm planning on using it as an everyday top anyway...

This top was one of the most expensive items I found that day... but for a mere £18, it's still nothing! The gold embroidery detail is gorgeous and - in my opinion - really calls for hair to tied up to show it off. I have a friend's birthday this weekend and think this'll look perfect with some heels and an up do.

Big love for this pyjama set with the tea cup shorts! I don't usually wear anything to bed - plus I'm a bit unsure of the colour pink - so I left these behind. I'd love a phone case or a purse in that print though!

Thanks for reading!

New job, new wardrobe

As I revealed in my last post, I am moving to pastures anew and going forward will be working in the exciting world of radio. The dress code is meant to be pretty casual - so no big change to where I worked before. However the fact that it's a fresh start makes me want to start anew. So over the last week or so, I've been ordering a few pieces online to update my work wardrobe. Boohoo and Forever 21 have been absolute godsends for affordable fashion that won't have me out of pocket before I receive my first pay packet!

Boohoo

Berry long-line boyfriend blazer  //  Collared sweater  //  Scallop blazer  //   Long city shorts

Cold shoulder shift dress  //   Blazer with cuffs #1   //  Blazer with cuffs #2   //  White long-line boyfriend blazer

Forever 21

Red polka dot dress  //   Checked plaid dress  //  Shoulder bag & clutch set

You can never go wrong with a dress. Perfect for those days where you simply don't know what to wear. No worrying about matchy matchy trousers and the alike... just throw it on and be done. Can you tell I like collars? There's a bit of a theme going on here.... I spoke last time about my blazer epiphany and it hasn't stopped there. I added a few more to the collection including an exquisite berry long-line blazer, and a couple of simple black ones with cuffs (LOVE cuffs!) that will go with EVERYTHING. The scallop blazer caught my eye as it was a little bit different and such a statement piece. I needed a smarter looking bag and loved this one from Forever 21 as it reminded me a little of the Zara messenger bag - but for a fraction of the price. The city shorts were in the Boohoo sale and I oddly like them! They're a little more appropriate for the office than standard shorts and I'm dead set on making them work! 

Wardrobe must-have: the white blazer

It nearly didn't happen. You nearly weren't in my life. I was too full of uncertainty. I wasn't sure that you'd be a great fit. I just couldn't get my head around the concept of you and I.  But I took the gamble, and I'm so glad I did. Ladies and gentleman, I am talking about: the over-sized white blazer. Something I've since decided that everyone needs in their lives.

Mine was a sale piece from Forever 21. It was a standard fit blazer and love at first sight. Although it did present a bit of a dilemma: it was only available in "large". Medium would've been fine at a push. But large? Not so much.

I decided to give it a go. Because I am in no way sizist. Fast forward a few days and the blazer arrives chez moi. An off-white sort of colour, it wasn't what I was expecting. I notice how large it is and have reservations. But once on, I decide that I oddly like the fit. Rather than look-at-me-I-once-weighed-a-lot-more-than-I-do-now, it looked like I'd borrowed the blazer from a bloke - which is what all the cool kids do these days (or so I hear...).  But having said that, I did still have some reservations. You know that apprehension of wearing something new in public that you're not 100% sure about? So the blazer sat collecting dust for a little while.

Then came the job interview. I was recommended for a role elsewhere by an ex colleague of mine and I needed to dress to impress. I knew I had pencil skirts and suits hanging in my wardrobe back from where I used to work for a bank, but suits have always made me feel a bit uncomfortable. And I must stress the importance of feeling comfortable in an interview.

As the role was within media still, I didn't want to be TOO formal. "Smart casual" would be fine. I pulled on some skinny jeans and deliberated over the white blazer. Which as luck would have it, worked really well. Had the blazer been fitted, I may have appeared too "corporate". The good news? They offered me the job that very day! Although skills, experience, and how you answer your interview questions are largely key to your success, I really believe that feeling at ease with what you wear forms a big part of it too.

Now the blazer has done me proud, I have been browsing LookBook for inspiration of how I could incorporate it into my wardrobe:

And if you're curious... this is the Forever 21 blazer in question. The perfect light-weight summer cover up.

So next time the sales / Primark / wherever lack your usual size... take a chance. You just never know!

#6 Life as we know it

This week I have been...

• Wearing white lace - this Topshop dress I found in the sales - with Models Own "Champagne" nails and a Forever 21 statement ring

• Eating salmon and prawns from cute little shells

• Treating my sis to cake - yes, this is really a cupcake!

• Back to my favourite cafe for chorizo hash browns on my day off

• Out for the most delicious surf 'n' turf

• Having some lovely - and cider filled - nights out

• Bacon cures everything the morning after

• Today I have been out in the garden in the sun building furniture - a table, two chairs, and a sofa to be exact. Although I can be quite the girly girl at times, I also like to get my hands dirty and make things!

• Tonight we're staying in with cans of Stella Artois cidre and watching episode after episode of Breaking Bad - sounds perfect! :)

What have you been up to lately?

The power of a blog. Discuss.

I sometimes think that we under-estimate the power of a blog. What we may see as our own materialistic ramblings with a sprinkling of outfit posts can be oh so much more. Blogs are having an increasing influence on High Street collections and the pages of fashion magazines. Items that bloggers feature can quickly become hot property and fly off the shelves like no one's business. We are not solely lusting over new clothing we think we need - we are also being inspired and shown different ways of styling our existing wardrobe staples. Your follower count is irrelevant - you can still inspire whether you are a big time blogger or a lesser known one like myself. There does seem to be a bit of a blogger "look" developing  Think Litas and Litas look-a-likes, disco pants, and rose gold jewellery. Blogs clearly have a great influence on deciding up-and-coming trends. But are they also turning us into an army of clones?

A question to all fellow bloggers: How do you feel knowing you've influenced someone to wear or buy something? 

Flattered? Or is it a little annoying? I imagine that for those of you on the negative side of the fence, you may see eye-to-eye with the aforementioned clone comment. But on the other hand, I guess it's probably quite touching if a stranger takes the time to contact you saying they like your style. 

Another thing to remember... no matter how popular the blog, bloggers are not celebrities. And most are certainly not living on a celebrity budget. Who are they? They are students / in full-time employment / struggling to make their cash last until the end of the month / fellow shopaholics... just like you and me. Their body type / complexion / hair more closely matching your own than that of air-brushed models you see in magazines. I find that blogger style is usually something that is very easy to relate to.

With this logic, it's hardly surprising that we are taking more and more inspiration from blogs and every day street style in lieu of high end fashion magazines and campaigns. With bloggers like you and me, blogger fashion is less "out there" and often a a great deal more practical for every day life. Those stacked Prada heels you saw in Vogue? Gorgeous, but hardly suitable for me to run for the train in each morning.

So where did this all stem from you ask?

Well, I realised the other day just how much I am influenced by other blogs. It was only the other week that one of my favourite bloggers Sarah featured the most exquisite piece of jewellery on her blog. My eyes lit up at the price (only £7.40.... no joke!) and fully aware that F21 do some amazing statement pieces, I promptly headed on over to their website to see what other necklaces they had on offer. In no time at all, the number of items in my basket started to multiple. In the end, I ordered a dress... a blouse....

..... and cheekily snapped up the necklace that Sarah featured. How could I not? It's too beautiful. 

And if you want any further evidence of the power of a blog, know this.... that necklace came in two different colours - plain or a peach sort of colour. The plain one that Sarah featured has sold out. The peach one has not. High praise indeed. Which leads me on nicely to my recent Miss Selfridge order....

Typical blogger basket much? Skater skirts being yet another blog regular. And the kimono? I'd been eyeing it up for ages but some how resisted temptation. Then I saw Lily rocking it and I was powerless to resist. 

I am weak.