The Life Story of the Suit

Before Christmas I purchased this suit from the charity shop. I'm sure to some the idea of wearing a second hand suit seems strange, but I love that I'm giving these pieces a new lease of life. It's a men's suit, but even though it fits like a glove. The jacket is a little oversized but that's just what I wanted and the trousers are high on the waist and finish just above the ankle, another perfect styling detail.
Buying this suit from the charity shop made me think about the life of this suit. Who has worn this suit? And where? Maybe to a wedding or job interview. I love knowing my suit has travelled and possibly made one individual a proud owner. On the other hand though maybe it was just a suit that sat in someones wardrobe for many years going unused. Who knows? Since I've owned it I've thoroughly enjoyed giving it a new lease of life by styling it in different ways. Wearing the trousers under floral tunic dresses with white pumps, with block heels and a shirt and here the full two piece with a raglan top, gold heels and bright pink earrings.
We are often too quick to buy new clothes when sometimes there are perfectly good second hand options available to us. Plus it's better for the environment and money is also going to a great cause. Dont' get me wrong some charity shops don't have the greatest sartorial offerings and you have to be ready to rummage. Sites like Depop and eBay are also worth scrolling through for reasonable priced high-street pieces. I've also recently discovered the Vestiarie Collective which sells amazing  vintage designers pieces - from Chanel bags to jimmy choos.

I am wearing a charity shop suit, Topshop top, Asos shoes and vintage earrings.

Leggings post the treadmill

I own two pairs of leggings, one for lounging around the house when hungover and a second pair for either running or visiting the gym. I have vowed never to wear either for any other reasons than the above. However the SS17 fashion shows have declared them as a trend and they are now apparently suitable for both casual wear and evening wear. But is this a trend we can all get on board with?

Lets be honest leggings are not the most flattering of sartorial items. They leave little to the imagination with regards to VPL, if too tight can cause 'camel toe' and if you purchase them from Primark (they sell a lot of them) they are more or less see through - so wearing a thong is probably out of the question. But what else do we expect from Lycra leggings that cost £8.00. 

The leggings that made it on to the catwalk for SS17 were of the more luxury kind (with no VPL in sight), scene at Maxmara, Balenciaga and Celine. They were chic, stylish and often garish but styled correctly with tailoring, soft fabrics and heels. They created an appeal even a non legging lover like myself could get on board with. We also can't ignore the off duty models  effortlessly sporting leggings with white trainers and t-shirts which is probably more practical for every day life. For great high-street options head to Sweaty Betty, Nike, Ivy Park.

ph credit: vogue.co.uk
top row: Balenciaga SS17. bottom row: Maxmara and Celine

Size Zero to Plus Size

Last week I heard one piece of interesting fashion news and one disturbing via my new favourite source, BBC Women's Hour.1) the model Victoire Dauxerre ate only 3 apples a day trying to stay slim to book modelling jobs and 2) a hand full of plus size models on the runway at New York Fashion Week is progress. 
For starters a handful of plus size models at NYFW is a drop in the ocean compared to the amount of models walking. Plus, if we're actually calling them plus sized isn't it defeating the object of having them on the runway? These girls basically replicate what real women look like and their size shouldn't even be referred too. These girls Candice Huffine, Ashley Graham and Iskra Lawrence to name a few are very beautiful and are in amazing shape. Shouldn’t these models be chosen to walk the shows on these ground? It’s fantastic to see models of different shapes and sizes on the catwalk but are some designers just choosing plus sized models as a means of adding diversity to their line-up? instead of choosing them for their shape and look. Until these girls are being referred to as regular models then in my opinion little progress has been made. It is however a step forward, but those that can make huge impacts are the designers. These are the individuals who chose to create catwalk designs in such small sizes. It only takes one individual to make the change and hopefully the rest of the fashion industry will follow. That stereotypical model image of being very slim needs to be shunned, it doesn't reflect reality of what regular women look like - unless you are a teenager with an extremely fast metabolism. Which actually many of these models are.
Back to my first story Victoire Dauxerre has revealed in her new book “Size Zero – My life as a disappearing model” that she survived on Pepsi Max and three apples a day to ensure she was picked to walk the shows during fashion week. Dauxerre did get chosen to walk in many major fashion shows including Alexander McQueen, Miu Miu, Dior, Chanel, Balenciaga and Céline. After eight months after first being spotted, Dauxerre became one of the 20 most in-demand models in the world. But instead of being happy, “I was devoid of feelings and thoughts. It was as if I were dead.”She writes. Before long Dauxerre developed an eating disorder which caused several health issues and ultimately she sunk in to a spiral of anorexia. She took laxatives every morning and enemas in the evening desperate to maintain her target weight of seven stone!! “I spent half my life in the toilet, my stomach hurt and I felt like vomiting all the time but at least I didn’t feel hungry anymore,” she writes. In her book Dauxerre claims that her model peers suffered from bulimia and anorexia. The more successful she became the more she despised the modelling world. Victoire is now 24 and has left the modelling industry to pursue a career is acting. Maybe Victoire’s story will start to have a positive impact on the modelling industry. If not, at least her story will inform others of what’s happening in the industry. 

Ph Credit. Tumblr 

Winter Bulking (with added knitwear)

Topshop Boots here and Jeans, H&M Jumper similar here and Matalan Slip

If your from anywhere in the north of England you will know that winter has come a little early this year. On Wednesday morning we awoke to snow, yes snow in November!! Not that I'm complaining I personally LOVE this colder weather. It means I can winter bulk and I don't mean with food. It's finally time for all the layers which means throwing on my favourite jumper, or all five of them (it's been freezing). There's just something about throwing on a woolly jumper that feels so comforting - which is probably why I own so many on them. White, Cream, Navy, Grey, Pink plus many more of this winter sartorial continue to take over my closet, so I'm very happy sweater season is upon us. 

What happened to the beloved hair accessory of the noughties?

This Friday I finished my year long placement which now means final year is about to commence but also means I have some time on my hands to watch re-runs of my favourite early millennial shows. These have included Sex and the City and of course Friends, but what I love the most is the fashion and one thing that graced my screen twice in one day was the bandana!!
In 2001 I was 14 and loved the bandana as did Julia Stiles in Save the Last Dance (a guilty pleasure) but what happened to it? Over the past decade so many trends have re-visited our wardrobes (most recently flares) but that beloved cotton hair accessory somehow never made it back. I think my Boyfriend is glad, since when I saw Rachel from Friends wearing one I commented I owned one once and I was inevitably mocked.
But this brought to mind all the other fashion trends I loved that never returned some I'm more glad about than others. Coin belts, the denim mini skirt, ugg boots, tube top/boob tube, long pearl necklaces, white denim jackets, Burberry check, halter necks, cowl necks, Scholl cloggs, Gucci belt bags, Fendi baguette bags, matching shoes and bags, kitten heels (these made a short return a few seasons ago) and so many more.
Since it is SS17 fashion week in London right now you never know what those designers have in store, fingers crossed for the return of the bandana and fingers crossed those coin belts never ever return.

Image Source: Pinterest

Do my shoulders look broad in this?

Topshop Dress (here) and Shoes (similar here)

It's taken me 29 years to learn how to dress for my size and shape - yes nearly 3 decades! Over that 29 years my size has changed but I'm sure if you're a female over the age of 25 you will know that  entering your early twenties causes weight to creep on easier and becomes much harder to shift. 

Although I have gained a few pounds, I don't think that my body shape has changed that much - I'm rather big boned and maybe somewhat broad and it's only really dawned on me in the last few months what actually flatters my figure and shape. I've noticed that broad shoulders and bigger boobs require much more thoughtful dressing.

I love fashion and clothing but I've come to understand that not all pieces suit my figure. I own so many oversized clothes that I love, but I've recently noticed they make me look broad. 

It took a striped long sleeve T-shirt (that I have been wearing regularly for months) to make me realize that oversized sartorial doesn't always suit me.  

So I've now got a new fashion rule which is working so far and that's buying tops, dresses and jackets that cut at the shoulder. At last I've found the cure to a top heavy body! and what's even better is this actually gives me a much more slimline look. 

This is such a simple idea which has affected the way I've been buying clothes over the last few months. However, the high-street has left me with little choice when it comes to garments that cut at the shoulder. Due to this not being something I've ever thought about I've never noticed how many items are oversized and cut off the shoulder. So far I've purchased this amazing leopard print dress (and a denim jacket and black ruffled top) - please note this is the first ever piece of leopard print I've ever owned and leopard is now my new floral.

With such little offerings on the high-street I'm wondering if I'm the only broad shouldered gal on this planet?!

Day Glow Trainers for Autumn?

SS16 has seen copious amounts of fashionistas, basic bitches and Kendal Jenner groupies walking around town in white trainers - so I thought to hell with it I'm bucking the trend and going day glow ORANGE.  
I'm being somewhat hypocritical here as I have and still do own a few pairs of white trainers, but this season I've decided  it's time for a change. I'm forever trying to evolve my style and would describe it as sometimes simple but with daring prints and coloured accessories thrown in for good measure.

Thankfully our friends at Nike ( or Adidas, Superga, Converse etc) are now offering us the chance to glow brightly whilst running for the bus. Hot colours for the AW16 season are yellow and green which I love but these Orange Nike Cortez grabbed my eye and off to the till I ran - just as Forest did!

Zara Dress (Old), Topshop Jeans (customized) and Nike Trainers (Office)

 

You can wear ruffles without looking like a flamenco dancer.

top (here) | Zara. jeans (here) and scarf | Topshop

Ruffles are everywhere this fast approaching SS16 season. Way back in September when the spring/summer shows took place the likes of Mary Katrantzou (a long term favourite of mine), Marques Almeida and Roberto Cavalli all created amazing pieces with ruffles at the heart of their collections. Fast forward a few months and ruffles are all over the high street, letting us all show our love for the trend no matter what our budget.  Back to the catwalk though - because let's face it the originals always do it the best! Marquez Amelda went for dramatic, shredded ruffles while Mary Katrantzou went for a more laid back minimal look with structured layers. 

And here is my (off the catwalk/ on the street) version, not looking too much like a flamenco dancer because come on that's what we imagine when we think Ruffles, either that or 1980's wedding dresses!

Five t-shirts and three dresses later

Dress, Coat and Boots | Topshop

It was only yesterday when my sister proceeded to ask me if I have bought anything new that I realised in the last two weeks I added two new striped pieces to my wardrobe. One being this striped dress that has me slightly resembling the Hamburgular from 1990s McDonald's ads and the other being a frilled number from Zara, which I'm sure will be making an appearance on the blog in the near future. 

This Friday in the office was named French Friday. We donned stripes and berets and enjoyed cossaints, jam and Brie. I instantly knew dressing for these newly named Fridays would be easy (last Friday was pleather Friday) due to the amount of striped t-shirts I own (5 to be precise and this doesn't include the 3 dresses hanging in my closet) 

There's just something that draws me to stripes. Most of my wardrobe is devoid of any other prints - I prefer plains. I'm guessing stripes just add a side to my plainer pieces, kinda like adding garlic bread to pasta (yes I'm all about the carbs - in moderation of course.)