Tartan and Teddy Bears.

How awful is the weather today? It feels like it could be mid-April rather than late June. I got up really early to get some errands done before work and was not impressed by the drizzle at all. I had planned a really cutesy summery outfit for today, but that had to be rethought because I can't bring myself to go back to black tights.

So instead I went for a really dressed down, casual look that I still feel has a little bit of quirk about it. I'm a huge fan of tartan, always have been (I think it's my familial Scottish roots creeping in) and so when I saw these trousers on eBay I had to have them. I saw a girl at work wearing a very similar outfit to this and that gave me the idea of wearing my Air Force 1's with these for a really casual look. And I read an article the other day - possibly on Company mag's website - that trainers are the new cool, which is an added bonus because I was going more for comfort.

Top: American Apparel, Trousers: Topshop, Trainers: Nike Air Force 1

The lighting was also terrible, I think because it's so overcast outside, so I took a couple of pictures inside before deciding it wasn't going to work and braving the rain!

As you can see the picture quality is less than desirable! So I donned my beautiful Teddy Topshop coat and went outside to try and get some better snaps of today's look...

Granted this isn't particularly a 'special' look, it is very casual, but it works for me today. And to me that's the point of fashion and personal style, wear what works for you. Nobody likes to see someone trying to wade through mud in stilettos, or doing the grocery shop in a party dress - well, we might find it amusing but practicality is important too, at least for me.

I hope you lovelies all have brilliant weekends, I'm very jealous of any of you that are off to Glastonbury... I'll mainly be watching it on the TV wishing I was there. I'm working strange shifts this weekend so may not get to post as much as I'd like but normal service will be resumed ASAP. Let me know what you think to this outfit and what you have planned for your weekend. I love reading all of your comments.

Em xox

A nod to the 1960's

Last night I watched the new Dawn O'Porter series 'This Old Thing: The Vintage Clothes show' on channel 4. It's not very often that I watch TV anymore but once I'd read the write up I had to give it a view as I love vintage and thrifting. Half of my wardrobe came from eBay, and I'm not ashamed of that. It means I can play around with my style on a budget. Any of you vintage lovers who didn't catch the show last night, I'd strongly advise catching up online, the upcycling ideas were fabulous.

Today's post was partly inspired by the 1960's vibe given off by many of the vintage trends, and was also influenced by a new musician I've discovered whilst doing some research on the Edinburgh Fringe Festival - Adam Holmes. I've been listening to his 'Heirs and Graces' album non stop since last night, it sounds like the kind of music you'd hear in a cool coffee shop or a late-night bar. It's not often I plug music, but if you're into folk at all I would strongly recommend giving him a listen!

So today I built my outfit around my new-to-me top I received in the post yesterday from my recent eBay spree. It was originally from Boohoo, but I'm not sure when, but it has a real 60's feel to it. The pleather peter pan style collar and the A-Line shape are all reminiscent of what was arguably one of the most influential decades in fashion, so I decided to go with it.

Top: eBay (originally Boohoo), Trousers: Next, Boots: Topshop Premium

I had a lot of fun trying to persuade my hair to style this way, it was definitely not easy, I miss having longer hair a lot. But I wanted to try and make it as beehived as possible to compliment the overall look of the day. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

I chose my Zara city bag for today's outfit because the simple, yet chic style really does work with everything, I'm a firm believer in carrying all of my belongings around with me all of the time(!) and this bag definitely lends itself to that. The only problem I have is finding anything in the bag when I need it! And of course I've gone with the freebie Cosmo sunglasses. I've seen so many lovely pairs on other style blogs recently, but I'm a massive fan of these.

The trousers were a purchase last summer and I only wore them once as they are very, very bright. Originally I was worried they looked a little like wallpaper because they are patterned but I've grown to love them. They're a real statement piece, and I think they work well with the monochrome details of the rest of the outfit.

So that's me for today. I'm considering doing a payday wishlist post in the next few days, what do you lovelies think? Hope you all have a good afternoon/evening. I'll be kept entertained by very unexciting housework jobs for the rest of the afternoon, feel free to leave me some comments to break up the fun!

Em x

Mono Vibes featuring my Dolls Union #OOTD tee

I was really excited to receive my new #OOTD tee through the post yesterday from Dolls Union and spent a long time thinking about how best to style it to show it off in the way it deserves. Dolls Union have so much fab stuff at the minute, the Baby Pink Co-Ord set is definitely next on my must have list. A big thanks to the team there for the quick delivery.

Headband: Homemade, Tee: Dolls Union, Skirt: F&F @ Tesco, Shoes: Topshop

I'm really pleased with the way this outfit turned out. Whilst I'm still not totally comfortable with the whole being photographed element of this yet, I love putting the outfits together, and a mono tee calls for a mono outfit in my opinion. I've been looking for something else to wear this gorgeous skirt with and it's a total steal at only £30. It's so versatile and could be made to look really feminine if that's your thing. Unfortunately for me it's not my thing at all!

I was thinking along the lines of festival fashion when styling this and whilst I would probably change the footwear choice to something like some DMs, the floral headband and OTT dangly earrings feel really suited to an outdoorsy music event. I just wish I was lucky enough to be heading off to a festival this year, although it's definitely on next year's to-do-list!

Back to the tee though, it fits perfectly, its really comfortable and I think it speaks for itself. It's such a statement item it's no wonder it's had so much publicity - TOWIE's Lauren Pope wore the exact tee recently.

#OOTD Slogan Tee in Black on sale for £8 at Dolls Union

Back to the skirt for now though. If you've never had a browse of the F&F collection I really would recommend it. There's a lot of really luxurious looking stuff that's half the price of a lot of high street brands, the collections keep getting better and better and I'm not at all ashamed to say that I picked up this beauty of a skirt whilst doing the grocery shopping!

Skirt: Available from F&F @ Tesco, £30

Then I thought about what other accessories I would use if I were out and about in this outfit, and came up with what I thought was the perfect solution. My trusty Love Moschino red handbag. Whilst it is a break from the mono look, it's such a statement bag that I don't feel like it really matters, instead I think it really compliments the outfit further. LOVE this bag.

That concludes my ramblings for the day. I hope you've enjoyed the read. Feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you think of today's outfit and how you would have styled it.

x

A weeks worth of #OOTDs

So, it's been a weird week. The weather doesn't seem to be able to make up it's mind regarding the whole sun/rain issue does it. Which presents challenges when planning outfits... Do you be optimistic and dress for sunshine? Or be realistic and decide it will probably rain? I've had a week of doing a bit of both.

First up, Monday's outfit for a walk around the local lake... I find what I decide to wear is often influenced by the music I've been listening to, and First Aid Kit's new album 'Stay Gold' is one that's constantly on my playlist at the minute. So this was kind of inspired by that...

Shirt & Jeans - River Island, Vest - Warehouse, Shoes - Dr Martens

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Tuesday morning I didn't really have much planned so I decided to take advantage of the warmer weather and dig out my favourite All Saints top and my disco pant style leggings. Topping it off with the aforementioned Urban Outfitters hat of course, hats make the whole thing look planned... Which of course, it wasn't.

Top - All Saints Spitalfields, Leggings - BDG Generation @ Urban Outfitters, Hat - Urban Outfitters

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Later on Tuesday I went to meet a friend for a coffee, by which time the weather had decided to be less than seasonal (read, raining). So I put on my favourite jeans, a Breton style jumper and some red lippy. I'm a serious lipstick convert, I never used to wear any and now I rarely leave the house without it!

Jumper - Primark, Cami (worn under) - H&M, Mom Jeans and Boots - Topshop, DKNY watch, Michael Kors and Magnolia Silver rings. Lipstick - Illamasqua Glamore in Soaked.

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Wednesday. I hate Wednesdays. So I decided to make an effort and wear something that isn't necessarily inside my comfort zone. Skirts definitely fit the bill, I'm much more comfortable in jeans than anything else! I teemed the midi prom style skirt with another Breton top and then added my Topshop Arcade boots with some frilly socks to jazz things up a bit. Sandals would have felt too girly!

Top & Boots - Topshop, Skirt - F&F @ Tesco

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So, Thursday's outfit probably had much more to do with the fact I watched 'The Breakfast Club' last night than I'd like to admit (if you haven't seen it you're missing out, it's such an 80's classic!). I found these jeans in a suitcase bound for eBay and decided to salvage them. Paired with socks and jelly sandals and a denim jacket I feel like all I needed here to turn me into an actual character from St Elmo's Fire or the likes was a pair of hoop earrings. If you follow me on Instagram you'll already have seen that I have full credit for this outfit to the 1980's. Sorry, not sorry.

Denim jacket - Moto @ Topshop, Jeans - Primark, Jelly Sandals - JuJu @ Urban Outfitters, Cami - Warehouse, Necklace - Topshop.

Right lovelies, that concludes my ramblings for the week - unless of course I manage to get a snap out tonight's outfit for the work night out. I've only left myself an hour to get ready... Ooops. 

X