English Garden Summer Dress

There's nothing better than a really great new dress. Actually there is, when that dress has had £30 knocked off the price.

I spied this rose caressed beauty on Oasis a while back but I have a serious problem with spending any more than £25 on a dress so I sighed, closed the window and probably headed off to Primark. A sale however, will catch my eye and when it's the last one in my size and almost half price it's pretty much destiny.

Nobody can deny that Oasis dresses feel quality and this one is made from very thick material and fits really well. The print reminds me of an English garden on a summer's day, which is only like, my favourite thing. I also pictured myself skipping through New York, Carrie Bradshaw style, while wearing it - did I mention I'm going in August?

Eeeeeeep!

Rose Print Dress - Oasis

Studded Sandals - Primark

Mulberry Alexa Bag

Wedding Outfits: Boys & Girls

A few weekends back, James and I headed out to a wedding reception of some friends from school. The evening do was held in an old barn and courtyard complete with fire pit, cheese platters and a helluva lot of bunting.

The weather was really beautiful and we had a great time sneaking back and forth to our tent (yep, camping was our room for the night) to collect bottles of cider as if we were fifteen again. Call us cheapskates but we're currently saving towards going to New York in August (SO EXCITED) so cider stealthing was pretty essential.

Both myself and James love a good vintage outfit and you can really go to town at a wedding. James describes his look as Mumford & Sons meets Frank Sinatra (actually, I added the 'meets Frank' part) and mine is just classic cocktail dress meets box of Magners in shot.

James wore:

Shirt - Republic

Trousers - Matalan

Braces - H&M

Bow Tie - Debenhams

Brogues - Matalan

Hannah wore:

Halter Dress - Red Herring at Debenhams

Wedge Sandals - Primark

Red Lipstick - Stiletto by Sleek

Joni Jeans

I resisted Topshop jeans for years. Well, I say resisted, more like avoided them from the fear of never getting them over my gigantic calves. I find Topshop's sizing quite small but once upon a time in the sale, I dared try on a pair of Jamie jeans and was thrilled and a little shocked to find they fit.

So my eyes were opened to the world of Topshop denim and when on the hunt for some super high waisted jeans, I discovered Topshop Joni jeans.

On a trip to Bristol I was fully prepared to part with the £40 but they didn't have them in my size so instead I hit up eBay where, much to my delight, I discovered brand new ex-display Joni jeans for around half the price. These are now my go-to jeans for pretty much any jean-based outfit. Score!

Joni Jeans - Topshop

Pussybow Blouse - Vintage

Tweed Blazer - Primark

Converse

Studded Bag - Moroccan Souk

Lipstick - Touch of Magic by Barry M

Ethnic Summer

I bought this high neck top a while back since it seemed to be the top of the season but I made a fatal error. In my poor state at the time of buying I sent back the ASOS version in favour for the cheaper eBay one and now I am blighted with see through top. 

Schoolboy.

I do really love the style but next time, I won't be scrimping then maybe I'll keep my dignity.

Loving the maxi skirts when the weather is hot and these mirrored sunglasses are one of my favourite recent Primark finds. The ethnic necklace is from a souk in Marrakech. It took my very best haggling to get it to come home with me but how annoying is it when some of the little doo-dahs flip underneath? Very annoying.

Black Roll Neck Top - Ebay

Green Maxi Skirt - Primark

Flip Flops - Primark

Cardigan - Internacionale

Leather Satchel - Glastonbury Stall

Mirrored Sunglasses - Primark

Necklace - Moroccan Market

Lipstick - Stiletto by Sleek

Land Girl

Sometimes I like to go all out vintage, just for the hell of it. I'm not particularly fussed on being a die-hard vintage fashion girl but sometimes, it's nice to keep everything in your look retro.

This is one of those such very looks, it's what I call 'land girl' although I'm not entirely sure if jeans had hit the big time in the '40's (after a quick Wikipedia, it turns out jeans became popular in the 1950's. Fun fact.) Vintage looks usually come about when my hair needs washing, i.e. I twizzle it up into some kind of up-do like this and then build my outfit around it. Red lipstick just cements the war-time chic look.

I found the shirt in a charity shop and on adding it to my wardrobe I noticed I have a thing for blue shirts. Actually blue through to light blue to white... must try harder on the coloured shirt front.

Floral Shirt - Thrifted

High Waist Jeans - Joni Jeans at Topshop

Buckle Oxfords - Office

Flower Necklace - Accessorize

Satchel - Glastonbury

Sunglasses - Primark

Red Lipstick - Stiletto by Sleek

How I Style: Pastels

I'm going to go out there and say, I'm not much of a pastels person. It's not that I don't like them (mint green 4eva), I just don't naturally gravitate towards more than one pastel piece at a time. The thing is, pastels go together like strawberries and cream. Pastels are meant to be together. Pastels are the Romeo and Juliet of colour combinations.

I was inspired by Rihanna's style here (I probably shouldn't link to that, my legs will never forgive me) and I wanted to create a similar look from what I already had in my wardrobe but in a more casual way.

I think the lip colour and statement necklace is what makes this look work. I shy away from pastel overload normally because pale colours aren't as flattering. While these pale wash jeans are hardly the most flattering I own, I reckon I can just about get away with it and I surprised myself with how much I like this simple outfit.

Have you stepped out of your fashion comfort zone recently?

Cream Jumper - Internacionale

Stonewash Jeans - Primark

Converse

Studded Clutch Bag - Primark

Gold Boyfriend Watch - ASOS

Aztec Necklace - H&M

Pink Lipstick - Touch of Magic by Barry M

Vintage Levi Jacket

Back in April I went to Barcelona. On one of the wandering around little streets days, I came across a slightly musty smelling vintage shop where I found a selection of vintage denim Levi jackets. I'd been after a really oversized denim jacket for a while but didn't expect to end up with an XL (it's pretty roomy). I really love the wash of it though, so I can cope with a bit of largeness.

In my previous post I mentioned the second hand shop I found in Marbella called Utopia and this 'Miami' top was the other item I picked up. On reflection, I think I had gotten a little overexcited and I'm not sure I would normally have picked up a top like this. Hmmm will have to try some different styling, as you can see I allowed my 90s grunge tendencies to take hold here.

Levis Denim Jacket - Vintage

Denim Cut Off Shorts - DIY

Miami Top - Vintage

Converse

Studded bag - H&M

Rose Gold Chain Necklace - eBay

Mirrored Sunglasses - Primark