One Dress, Two Ways

This dress was a complete bargain in Primark, I think I paid £13 for it and have since seen it on sale. Incredible. It's one of those great dresses that can be worn in so many different ways, layered over a shirt, with heels or just as it is. The canary yellow belt came with it but worn with a gold metal plated belt, the whole look would be a lot more luxe.

At first I paired it with my favourite sky blue brogues and because it was a cold day, chucked on my faux fur River Island coat. On reflection, there's a little too much going on with the primary colours to go with fur so I swapped the brogues for my studded boots instead.

Then I decided to try it with my fail-safe camel trench coat which I've been pretty much living in again this Winter. CanNOT believe it only cost me £30 last year in H&M and was a total leaving-the-shop-OMG-how-did-I-not-spot-this-before-get-back-in-the-queue-moment.

I prefer the second look, it just seems more 'right'. Thanks to the early evenings this was an attempt at getting successful photos indoors - I don't think I'll be trying it again...

I went with a top knot - do you plan your outfits around your hair or your hair around your outfit?

Black & White Skater Dress (with Yellow Belt) - Primark

Blue Brogues - ASOS

Necklace - Primark

Studded Boots - New Look

Faux Fur Coat - River Island

Camel Trench Coat - H&M

Lipstick - Inhibition at Topshop

The Home Alone Hat

 

I spied this hat in Primark a few weeks before Christmas. It instantly reminded me of Kevin's hat of Home Alone fame and knew it had to be a part of my life. I'm a secret stars fan, I love a good star pattern but I feel they're a little emo-tweeny at times. Every now and then something starry will sneak its way into my basket and this hat had it all going on. I like what hats can add to an outfit, this one is especially good for simple outfits or an all black look.

 



 

I've been living in this camo jacket since I bought it, back in August. I find, surprisingly, it's really easy to style. It adds an edge and I love the grunginess of it. I'm planning a 'How I Style: Camo Jacket' post and the photos have made me notice just how versatile it is.

 

These cream Vans are another recent addition to my shoe-drobe. I've pretty much lived in them since they arrived and I'd definitely recommend them for anyone on the hunt for a neutral, go-with-anything pair of trainers.

One of my biggest problems when it comes to outfit styling is wanting to wear too much at once. I don't mean like the time Joey put on all of Chandler's clothes but rather my accessories tend to be bold and I have to remind myself not to wear them all at once. When I'm rooting around my wardrobe I find neutral clothes really boring, yet when I see them styled on other people I like it.

What styling dilemmas do you have?

Bobble Hat - Primark

Coca-Cola Jumper - Primark

Denim Cut Off Shorts - DIY

Vans Originals - Amazon

Cambridge Satchel lookalike - Primark

Camouflage Jacket - Pull & Bear



Before it Got Really Cold

Rightfully these should have been uploaded at the same time the leaves looked like this.
This was before the icy cold weather set in, back when wearing a coat wouldn't mean saving your life.
I love a sweater. Boys have the best sweaters. When all you want is something big and lounge-able, a sweater is the answer. This one is from the Primark men's section a while back. It's still one of my faves.

Sweater - Primark Men's

Shorts - New Look

Beanie - New Look

Studded Bag - H&M

Converse

His & Hers Blue Trousers

With the weather being so much colder now, I find myself automatically reaching for jeans and a cosy jumper. It's the easiest option when the mornings are dark and I hate being cold, so in general jumpers always get a thumbs up from me.

Somehow we both ended up in blue trousers, although inadvertently. I love this shade for jeans and James' blue chinos are a nice change from jeans and a bigger surprise than burgundy or cream.

I styled up an otherwise plain outfit with the sequin collar shirt (well, Christmas is on it's way) and rolled up the cuffs on my jeans to show off the full beauty of the studded boots.

Jumpers are my go-to in the cold months, what's yours?

Hannah

Burgundy Jumper - New Look

Sequinned Collar Shirt - New Look

Blue Jeans - New Look

Black Studded Ankle Boots - New Look

James

Grey Jacket - H&M

Gingham Shirt - H&M

Blue Chinos - H&M

Brown Boots - Clarks

90s Grunge

When the 90s grunge trend reared it's head at the end of the summer, for some reason I found myself really attracted to it. Perhaps it's the nostalgia of growing up in the 90s or, more than likely, I liked the laidback kind of thrown togetherness of it.

Like all fashion, my personal take on 90s grunge has evolved from Nirvana t-shirts and ripped jeans but I think the basic idea is still the same.

These three looks I styled without really trying to adhere to the grunge rules but they all came out with that sort of look. The camo jacket, acid wash shorts, studs, denim and retro Nike trainers are all throwbacks to the 90s, I just chose not to incorporate the terrible hair.

First Outfit

Camo Jacket - Pull & Bear

Grey Hoody - Primark Men's

Pinstripe Denim Shorts - New Look

Washed out Sweater - H&M

Nike Hi-tops

Second Outfit

Stonewash Denim Shirt - Primark

Flower Top - H&M

Cut off Denim Shorts - Primark DIY

Nike Hi-tops

Third Outfit

Purple Hoody - Primark Men's

Frankie Says Relax Vest - Ebay

Acid Wash Shorts - Primark

Studded Bag - H&M

Converse Lookalikes - New Look

Nordic

 The cold weather has well and truly set in since my last outfit post so out come the winter coats and boots.

My parka coat is a necessity in the winter. I found it on sale in River Island after Christmas last year. It's really roomy which is perfect if you've got lots of layers on and I find myself throwing it on over most outfits.

Of course, this coat isn't gonna cut it when I want to look presentable but for the times when I want to look like a stylish hobo and for the times when I cannot be arsed to rifle through the coat cupboard, it's a saviour.

This look was going for a Nordic, Scandinavian vibe. I like the fairisle knit with the chambray denim dress and the boots keep it feeling quite 'countryside'.

Khaki Parka - River Island

Fairisle Cardigan - Primark

Denim Chambray Dress - Primark

Tan Chelsea Boots - Peacocks

Cream Beanie - H&M

The Look Show

Twitter is amazing. Only a week ago I entered a competition stating my favourite AW12 trends to win tickets to the Look show and I won! Have a read of my day.

Getting to London meant a very early bus ride to meet my little sister, Amy. Luckily, after a misty start, the weather was beautiful.

I located Amy somewhere near Shoreditch and after a huge amount of faffing on Amy's part our planned morning trip to Spitalfields was cut short. Fortunately I had time to grab some quick breakfast/lunch.

The show was held at the Royal Courts of Justice. What a building!

This is what I wore.

Dress - Primark | Camo Jacket - Pull & Bear

 Bonjour Belt - ASOS | Studded Bag - H&M

 Studded Buckle Boots - New Look

Inside the event there was lots of waiters dressed in black scurrying between a mass of people, Smashbox cosmetics tables giving people make overs, a number of photo booths and plenty of champagne which led to around 20 of these photo booth prints. We got a little carried away.

The runway was held in this pretty magnificent hallway. Good job Royal Courts of Justice architects.

My camera spent most of the time proving it's useless in movement situations but here are a few shots that almost work.

The show ended with, quite literally, a bang and red foil rained down upon us.

After guzzling a few more glasses of champagne and a rogue mojito we decided it was high time for some Oxford Street shopping.

Needless to say I lugged home a very full brown paper bag plus a couple of new Topshop lipsticks.

After a long day of being fashionable and trawling Primark's rails we headed off to Soho for a gourmet burger of epic proportions. I had The Frenchie.

I waved goodbye to my sister on the Tottenham Court Road tube platform at around 10.45 and headed off to Victoria. After a very sleepy coach ride I arrived back in the Shire at 3am and promptly fell asleep.

In the morning I took a peek at my goody bag swag. Not a bad haul! 

The Look Show was a lovely day out and to all the people who organised it, you did a fantastic job. Thank you New Look for the tickets!