Ready for the party season?

 Are you ready for the party season? The festive season is here once again therefore it's time to don our glad rags for whatever parties lay ahead. This year I plan on doing it a little different, instead of shedding loads of cash on new outfits (that will probably get dusty in the closet for the rest of the new year) -  I've purchased just a few accessories to uplift my old/current pieces. I've then been scouring street style articles and Pinterest for inspiration and ideas for how to style said pieces. I like to take casual, everyday sartorial and add sparkle or glam in anyway possible - glittery socks or sheer tights and sandals are a current favourite. I'm also loving heavy gold jewellery and textured blazers!

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.

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. 

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)

 

On Instagram

Summer has finally arrived! YAY!
So far I've enjoyed camping, cocktails and trips to both the coast and country. I've also discovered Boomerang, but if you follow on Instagram you'll already know that.

HAPPY SUMMER (and Sunday)!

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!

The jamie jean

Jeans | Topshop. Coat | ASOS. Trainers | Nike. Hoodie | Razors (Boyfriends)
Ask any man or women and I'm sure they will say jean shopping is probably the hardest shopping task (besides bra shopping - that's just a whole other ball game.) Whether you're tall, average or petite sized, there's something incredibly difficult about finding the right pair. Sometimes you can search the high street for hours and not find a jean that suits your height, shape and size. Come on retailers, its 2016 - Is it really that difficult to create that perfect pair of jeans that fit? Unfortunately it is and I'd say I currently only own one pair of jeans that fit, don't fall down when I walk and are not too short. Behold, the Black Jamie Jean from Topshop - (featured above.) These came to me on an after work shopping trip when I'd tried on everything in the shop and felt totally deflated and shit (we all have those shopping days). I thought they called it retail therapy- sometimes I leave needing therapy (slightly dramatic) or at least a glass of wine. But once you finally find a great pair of fitting jeans the fun really does begin, so far I've teamed these with heels and a blouse for dancing, trainers and hoodies for casual/lazy/hangover days and with anything else that creates that in-between look. I often wonder if I should have bought two pairs but then the high street has far too many other goodies to enjoy, don't you think?

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.)

EDITORIAL

I've been meaning to post this amazing piece of styling from The Sunday Times style magazine for some weeks now.

Miu Miu, clashing prints and luxurious textures - enough said!

P.S. Happy New Year's Eve and a big big thank you to all who have visited, read and commented on my blog this year, I am super grateful to every single one of you. Love Faye

All in the name of fashion

 Jeans | H&M. Boots | Topshop. Shirt | Vintage. Jumper | Primark.

 

Since I purchased this (what I think are an) amazing pair of over the knee boots last year I've been trying  to lower the cost per wear ratio drastically. This has been somewhat difficult, I've owned them over a year and have worn them possibly 9 times. You ask why? Well, they are a bloody pain in the arse, due to my unusually skinny ankles and calves they constantly fall down. 

I should have known better, before I purchased them I read about this on the reviews but ignored my instinct and went ahead anyway.  Since then I have been pulling them up everywhere which includes a week in Paris, shopping trips and nights out. If you see me wearing these you will no doubt have seen me bending down to pull them up!

This story does have a happy ending, however I am very embarrassed to admit this but I've succumbed to using extra strong double sided tape to hold them up. 

Although I love this quick fix it has confined me to wearing them with jeans (see above) and with tights and skirts. I'm not sure double sided tape on bare legs would make for a comfortable wear. 

I know I should probably just get rid of them but I just can't seem to do it - I love them and always will.

Moral of this story - I will do anything in the name of fashion - but don't we all, last Friday night I wore a beautiful pair of red shoes that made my toes numb for three days!!

Hopefully you will continue to see these boots on the blog as I gradually lower the cost per wear but remember it's only due to that amazing double sided sticky tape! 

P.S Happy Christmas, currently making my way through all the chocolate, cheese and red wine!!!

Knitwear and Loafers

Jumper and Shoes | Topshop. Jeans (old) | New Look. 

I've been pretty much living in this ensemble at the moment, winter has finally set in here up north (we were even greeted with snow this morning) and its all about Layers. 

Minus the ripped jeans this outfit keeps me pretty toasty and as for flats they have become a season must have and provide much more comfort than my favourite heels. However that has taken time - don't you just love how new shoes put your feet through hell. As for the jumper - which I'm sure will be making many more blog posts appearances, is just delightful for those not sure what to wear days. Not that you can tell in these photo's but it's in my favourite colour of the moment - NAVY BLUE. 

The Trans-seasonal Dress Code

By trans-seasonal, I mean it’s too warm for our bulky winter coats, but too cold to wonder the streets bare sleeved and I’m faced with this what to wear dilemma every Monday morning (at least until the frost sets in.)

My daily commute consist of a 35 minute bus journey, 20 minute – standing train ride (I almost never get a seat, think faced squashed against the train doors) and a 20 minute jaunt across the city centre. By this point I arrive at the office a flustered, sweaty mess. In four months I somehow haven’t mastered how to arrive the fresh faced employee I wish to be. 

That’s when it accrued to me I need a fool proof trans-seasonal dress code suitable for the office and my hectic commute. I’ve been so excited for autumn to arrive I’ve donned think tights, chunky knits and cosy scarves way too early.

I need an array of layers that are commute appropriate, i.e. easily taken off when squashed up against a stranger’s armpit whilst on the train. Also outfit planning the night before stops that 7am wardrobe battle. We’ve all been there, right? 

So here’s my list of must have pieces for perfect trans-seasonal dressing. 

Mules/Loafer (The flat is a must have this autumn) – much more foot coverage than sandals, but less than knee high boots.

Cotton Shirt – Light, comfortable and sleeves can be easily rolled up or down. (Try a men’s shirt from Gap or Topman)

Turtle Neck Sweater – Not a full on chunky knit but a thin ensemble does provide some warmth on those cooler autumn mornings. Dorothy Perkins have a great selection this season. 

Culottes – Worn bare legged with an ankle boot or add an ankle sock with those flats you love. 

Luxury T-Shirt – Plain or stripped the t-shirt is a must have during any season. I love Zara’s collection and there organic cotton V-neck tee starts at £12.99. 

A-line skirt – Easy to throw on and comfortable for the 9-5, plus they give that nod to the 60’s/70’s trend. Both Zara and Topshop offer these in an array of textures and prints.

Image Source - Zara