With Valentine’s day on the horizon here’s the only ‘pink to make the boys (or girls) wink’ you’ll need. Ok so initially if it hadn’t been on the sale rail, I probably wouldn’t have tried this top on. As a consequence of my pale complexion as well as being a blonde I’ve always been slightly scared of the colour pink but now I can’t wait to inject more into my wardrobe! Sparkling my way through an evening, with the puff shoulder adding a sprinkle of flirtation but the square neck claiming back secrecy, it’s the perfect date night top.
I would say my classic trainer obsession began when I was around 14, it quickly became apparent to me that the novelty of a new shoe would wear off at a much quicker rate if it was 1. uncomfortable 2. An un-unbearbale 'awkward teenage phase' colour or 3. Something that required a lot of thought to be wearable. My love for an iconic trainer stems from the tomboyish years in my early teens, each pair of shoes was loved until the rubber had split at either side of the toe cap, the fabric and leathers drowning in wrinkles and an identifiable foot print was embedded in the sole. Each trainer I've ever purchased has undergone the same strenuous process to meet every crucial criteria allowing it to qualify for my shoe rack, it can take me weeks to buy shoes I really do have to fall in love with them before swiping my card. As I got older I struggled with the idea that trainers could look anything other than 'boyish' and lazy, until I discovered Alexa Chung who I would comfortably call the queen of the classic trainer and perfect jean. Many street style Pinterest boards later I found a new love for cropped trousers with a slice of ankle and a classic trainer, I suppose you could consider it a kind of cheesecake structure. It soon occurred to me that the choice of shoe becomes irrelevant if there is no real grounding to the outfit. Pair some adidas with a matching full body tracksuit and its difficult not to look like a mannequin in JD. HOWEVER, take those same adidas and style them with something tailored or cropped and you immediately look sleek and put together. Feeling stylistically confident can be the best or the worst thing, you have to occasionally ask yourself whether your confidence is coming from the comfort zone and if so, are you relying on that routine of feeling good as a fail safe to feel nothing other than good? sounds stupid right? But should life not be a consistent push out of comfort zones, especially if it results in getting comfortable? So the latest addition to my classic collection are these white Reebok classics which are currently in the process of being worn to death. As for the jumper balloon sleeves are becoming that thing that I'm drawn to in every shop, you can guarantee that if I spy a tight cuff I'm checking the label and stroking the sleeve. To escape the inevitable autumn monotones the leopard jacket is out in full force, I understand its a marmite piece, but personally I think if Kate Moss did it it's worth of a try.
Jumper- H&M (last season) Faux fur- charity shop Trousers- Tesco (hand tailored) Shoes- Reebok classics Although Its a different experience for everyone, dressing ourselves can sometimes be the most tedious of jobs and can cause an unfixable frustration that has the potential to ruin a perfectly manageable day. A lot of the time we rely on the confidence of believing we look good in order to feel good, and its only recently I've queried why we consider a funk to be ugly. My clothes take on the role of communicating the aspects of what I would describe as my best self visually before they are verbally apparent. If you are familiar with that electrifying feeling you receive when wearing that new piece of clothing, you know those jeans that fit you like a glove that you feel f*cking amazing in? Well what happens when those jeans are on their 2nd outing, do they still elevate you like the first time? (we're not talking like butt lift kind of elevation either). What about the 3rd or the 4th, do they wrinkle at the knees yet? My point is the prospect of wearing something fresh is bound to run out, no matter what detergent you use all of our clothes lose that fresh feeling both physically and metaphorically eventually . In a similar way to how our once beloved clothes gather dust, sometimes our ideas become part of the furniture too. It is equally as frustrating yet harder to solve as unfortunately Asos don't sell blog content or an unconditional offer to your first choice university. Equally you can't pay £5.95 to order an idea for next day delivery. What I've learnt over the past few months is hugely dedicated to the rut that has dried up my river of creative juices into a desert (not an innuendo I promise), but nevertheless in true spirit of Will Byres I have found the door and climbed out of the upside down. An easy pick me up and solid fall back when the creativity is at rock bottom is always a novelty outfit. A personal favourite of mine is the pig jumper, hideous yet f*cking fabulous and has only ever gone one occasion without a compliment since it graced my wardrobe. Its a quick fix but you can bet once I'm in the shower wearing nothing but my skin I'm back to contemplating every decision, every strategy and every deadline to go with it. Anyone can appear like a girl boss, its easy to dress like you've got your shit together right? A strategic shoe choice, something fitted and boom, your life is magically as tailored as your suit trousers, well, at least thats the way it appears to everyone else. I think its crucial to realise that sometimes as humans we are able to get stuck in a rut. I feel compelled to write about how normal it is to feel like you're the only person who doesn't have that brilliant idea, the perfect portfolio or that your progress is stuck in traffic. I personally struggle to find the escape route once I begin to worry about it, its stupid to say out loud (or on a blog) but I feel as though I immediately give into the stress and anxiety without fail every single time. The whole thing often grinds me to a halt and forces me to completely submerge myself in something I enjoy, or something relaxing or to just 'do nothing' for a while and It always does me a world of good. Inevitably the initial stress is an absolute nightmare but the results from releasing all of that negativity and rationalising your choices by choosing to accept creative defeat for a day or two is simply wonderful. Its ok to be in a funk, along as you come out of it feeling funky! Groove on sisters, you got this x So after spending a couple of days in London and staying in an apartment down Bricklane I am beyond excited to share this blog with you. Bricklane is notorious for its vintage markets, street art and curry houses- all of which appeal to me. Fully knowing our first day would be dedicated to vintage markets and aesthetically pleasing coffee shops I was keen to dress rather curiously, I wanted to look well and truly effortlessly disorganised whilst looking 100% put together, so this is what I came up with. I would like to begin by introducing one of the ugliest jumpers I have ever seen, however I must confess its sheer granny's closet vibe is what caught my eye. When tucked into a pair of white jeans and styled with red loafers it is more than capable of carrying a chic French vintage look and I adore it. I can completely understand its not for everyone but thats crucial to its beauty because I'm not sure you'll find another one like it anywhere! Yep you guessed it, this hideously fabulous jumper is another charity shop gem. lurking beneath the 100% woollen hideousness is a plain red t-shirt and a vintage silk scarf. On my bottom half I stuck with my trusty light wash Levi's and on my feet sit my leopard newbies just for pure clash of colours and print. I grabbed these boots in the Topshop sale and I am totally in love with them. I had been after the perfect pair of statement studded boots for a while and as soon as I saw these online reduced from £90 to £30 and only left in my size I felt extremely smug and almost like it would be rude not to buy them! They deliver the Alexa Chung vibe perfectly and I can see them carrying me through autumn and winter with a simple pair of denim jeans and a cosy jumper, an ugly one of course. These beautifully elegant and super funky sunnies I picked up from Spitalfields market, after recently purchasing some red cat eye sunglasses from ASOS I really didn't need these but it was love at first sight. I adore the bland yellow colour that makes them look so 70's granny style which is perfect considering Granny chic is becoming a running theme throughout my wardrobe (slightly concerning when you're almost 18 not almost 80). Never the less I felt vey content in this
Side note: My bag in the photos is from H&M and is a fab dupe for the Stella McCartney black chain bag! Thanks for reading huns, see you tomorrow for day two and the links to this weekends wardrobe, stay groovy x |