Hey Sweeties,
If you saw my recent haul post earlier this week (here), you’ll have seen that I have purchased a new handbag from Mango, which I am just in love with. I have only done a what’s in my handbag type post once before (here) which was ages ago now, so I figured this would be an excellent opportunity to take a closer look at my new purchase, and some of the essential things I carry around with me, particularly over the summer. Here goes –
I thought we’d begin with a summer haul.
Even though much of my summer wardrobe is simply revived pieces from the year(s) previous, I do still feel the need to update and introduce some new clothing and accessories into the regular mix of items. And let’s be honest, there’s always room for a bit more when a shopping urge takes over!
I have made the following purchases across the last month or two, and a couple of the items you have already seen in recent posts on here and/or Instagram. But I thought you would still be interested in seeing a collective summer haul of everything I have recently purchased.
Girls on Film blouse in tropical print with lace trim – I wore this to the recent Bloggers Hangout Summer event because it seemed to fit the ‘summer garden chic’ outfit brief. It rests about hip height which is a tad too short for me because I don’t like exposing my midriff, so I wear a long vest top underneath which adds that additional cover I need. This tropical lace blouse is a total summertime hit.
Only Aztec print shirt – I love pattern, particularly in the workplace as it’s an easy way to add a level of interest to an otherwise fairly plain look. This shirt caught my eye as a piece that will do well throughout the year.
I have a category dedicated to dressing for work if you want to see more content around work wear, which you can access under ‘fashion’ on the main navigation bar above. I’ll style this piece up for you soon!
ASOS Swing cardigan with suede look star elbow patches – I seem to never have enough cardigans, (or jumpers for that matter) but I seem to really struggle in spending a lot for them. When I saw this one in the sale, it was exactly the style I like and I love the star patches on the elbows; I have no doubt this will be worn for years to come.
ASOS Seersucker button through beach dress – You’ll remember I wore this dress to the British Grand Prix recently and aside from being an incredibly light, maybe-not-British-weather-practical fabric (hence it being a ‘beach dress’), I love it! It can be worn on its own, over the top of leggings, with cardigans, jumpers…
Cream cotton dungaree pinafore dress – This was a bit of a scary purchase and I half expected that I would end up taking it back because I doubted if the look would be a bit young for me, or whether I could simply pull it off.
As it happened it’s turned into a really fun piece, particularly because I don’t buy into a lot of the core fashion trends. Dungarees definitely don’t suit everybody and this is why I’ve gone for a dungarees dress instead of shorts or trousers. I have no doubt I’ll continue to wear them throughout the coming months.
White animal print bomber jacket – For the same reason I purchased my other patterned bomber jacket earlier in the year, is the same reason why I purchased this one… and also to reiterate my point about how much I love animal print!
Animal print long sleeved blouse – Need I explain why I purchased this blouse? I don’t think so!
Necklace – My jewellery collection needs a huge update, particularly for statement pieces so adding this piece to my haul was easy; I love the pop of yellow with the gold.
Zebra print leather bag – Because Zebra! Check out my latest what’s in my bag post so you can see it in more detail.
What are your favourite things about summer? Have you recently done a summer haul?
Until next time x
Hey Sweeties,
One of my favourite things about going to a wedding, is seeing how much the day reflects the couple; from the venue, the attire, the decoration and so on. Last weekend, my husband and I were invited to a rural summer wedding reception of two friends and from the invite, we knew it would have a very relaxed vibe to it. For starters, it was buried within a valley and therefore heels were strongly advised against, and when we eventually made it to the location, we were greeted by picnic tables with jars of fresh flowers, and a large open-sided tent situated in the middle of the field. With the sun shining (thank goodness), the place couldn’t have been more reflective of the couple; it was beautiful.
What I wore:
I bought this dress a few months ago from ASOS and I am just so in love with it. I love the peach colour and the lace panelling; it screams summer wedding! As it was high necked, I didn’t need a necklace so I accessorised the look with gold coloured sandals, a light pinky-peach coloured clutch from Head over Heels, and a floral crown (which I think I purchased from H&M a summer or two ago) which was a huge hit with other guests. The only thing I didn’t think about was pairing my outfit with a pashmina for when the night got cold, but I did fortunately have a jumper with me to use as by that time of night, everyone adopted warmth over style.
Makeup
Considering the rural vibe of the wedding as well as taking into consideration my outfit, I wanted to create a look using a palette of pinks and peach tones. For my base I used the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation which I really love for summer, before seizing the opportunity to try out my new Sleek cream contour palette which I purchased in a recent haul (here), that I applied over the top. I have a formal review of the palette coming to the blog very soon so I won’t go into any more detail for now.
In addition to my base I used the Revlon shimmer brick which I am totally loving at the moment for that perfect light pink flush and highlight; a combination of shades from the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette for my eyes; Bobbi Brown gel liner which I lightly smudged; and my favourite Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara in intense black. I also used the Hi Impact Brows palette. For a hot day it was a lot of makeup to wear but I loved the completed look and it lasted me well into the night.
As the sun went down, the fairy lights came on, the beats started to drop and the drink flow. The night ended with a large camp fire before we all retired to our tents.
What has been your favourite wedding to attend?
Until next time x
Hey Sweeties,
Following my recent weekend camping at The British Grand Prix (review here), I thought I would create a post taking a closer look at the outfits I wore throughout the weekend I was there.
It’s always impossible to plan for outfits when you can’t predict the weather, but I took the plunge and decided I would dress for summer, but take a few extra bits such as leggings, to layer up for the evenings and during the day if it got too cold. As it happened, we had a real mixture of weather going from sunshine, to wind, to heavy sporadic showers but during the day I found I could go bare legged.
My black jacket seen throughout is from Sol Cal but I can’t remember which store I purchased it from? I have had the jacket for years and it’s such a wet weather staple. Also, everything worn except for the ASOS dress on day 2, is at least a season or two old; sorry for this but so many of my summer pieces can be revived during these months. Hopefully however the post might give you some summer style inspiration that you can recreate using your existing summer clothes, or what you might find currently on the high street.
Day 1 –
Red and white stripey dress from Jasmine/Outfit | Grey jumper from River Island.
It rained quite heavily overnight and in the early hours of the morning so I made the decision to wear wellington boots during the day; fortunately, my feet didn’t get too sweaty but I was pleased to get them off when we returned in the evening back at camp.
Day 2 –
Blue seersucker button through beach dress from ASOS | white pumps from Asda.
You can’t tell in the picture, but underneath the dress I am wearing a lemon print pair of shorts. The lemon detail is irrelevant but being a ‘beach dress’, the material is very light and with the weather being quite windy, for my own dignity and sparing others of a shocking sight, I wore a pair of shorts. I do absolutely love this dress though, really pleased I purchased it recently from ASOS and I have no doubt I’ll be wearing it throughout the summer.
Day 3 –
Skirt from Lily White/TK MAXX | Jumper from Warehouse |Khaki coloured jacket from Dorothy Perkins | Sunglasses from Warehouse | Pumps as before
As above, again under the skirt I am wearing my pair of shorts just so I don’t flash other F1 spectators, lol!
Do you guys enjoy camping? How do you pack for a trip away?
Until next time x
Hey Sweeties,
A couple of weeks ago, I posted about my love for floral patterned trousers (here) as over the summer months I really enjoy wearing a statement patterned piece of clothing. This tropical print blouse with lace detailing from ASOS, is quite possibly my favourite purchase of the year so far, I am just in love with it!
When I got the invite through for the recent Bloggers Hangout event I attended (here), the dress code said ‘Summer Garden Chic‘ and it wasn’t immediately obvious what I had in my wardrobe that could fulfil the brief. It was convenient thus that my good pal ASOS were having a sale and I took to the site in pursuit of some new summer pieces.
It’s not immediately obvious from the photographs, but the blouse is about 3/4 length and therefore sits just above my hips, it also buttons down the front. I personally prefer tops to come down lower on me, so I’ve worn a long vest top underneath this blouse to overcome this. I also usually prefer clothing to be more fitted however, the wide (square) fit works really well and I actually much prefer it this way, particularly as the Bloggers Hangout event venue turned out to be so blimmin’ hot, I really appreciated the looser fit.
Tropical Shirt: Girls on Film at ASOS | Skirt: New Look | Boots: New Look
In the same way as I style other patterned pieces, I really like how I’ve paired this blouse with a black mini skirt and light brown coloured ankle boots. In an ideal world I would’ve worn sandals on the day but as we all know, sandals are not ideal footwear on days a lot of walking (around London) is taking place, but hopefully you can still vision the look with alternative footwear. Owing to the wide sleeves, I’m not sure how well this shirt would sit underneath a jumper but it is something I will try so I can hopefully take this blouse into autumn; I think the collar will lend itself well to being layered with something.
Do you guys like wearing pattern? What are your summer style staples?
Until next time x