Friend Friday #48: Locational Influences

Taken from the balcony of the apartment where I stayed with friends on a trip to Paris last Spring

This week's Friend Friday topic is all about how where we live has a lot to do with how we dress.

1. What part of the world do you blog from? (feel free to be as specific or as vague as you are comfortable with.)

Cardiff Bay: taken with my gorgeous vintage Olympus OM1

Cardiff. Wales. UK. Europe.

I mention all of these as each plays its own specific role in influencing how I dress.

2. If you had to describe the overall mode of dress for where you live what would you say?

There are two faces of Cardiff: the student face which is all about hoodies, jeans and flip flops. Mainly. And the WAG-wannabe face which is all about looking good on a night out - short dresses, high heels and a lot of make-up.

And then a third which is somewhere in between.

3. Do you fit in with the status quo around you or do you break the mold?

I'm somewhere in between. I used to be a student in Cardiff and so have favoured the hoody, jeans and flip flops look in years gone by. But then I graduated and started an office job and had to find my own sense of style. I guess my style fits in pretty much anywhere as I try to buy classic pieces that will last for a while rather than lots of on trend clothes that will last only a season.

4. If you have lived or traveled to another part of the country/world did your clothing choices evolve?

I've lived in Italy and in Brussels. I guess that by developing a style that is pretty much transferable wherever I am has been a result of this travelling in my early 20s.

Of course, in the age of globalisation and the internet, it is easy to be influenced by styles and trends from 100s of 1000s of miles away.

5. If you had to describe your style by naming a specific city, what would you be?

Paris in Autumn

I'd like to think, Paris. But that's probably wishful thinking.

All I know is, I feel completely inspired every time I go to Paris and last Autumn when I was in the French capital, it seemed that every second person was carrying a Longchamp Le Pliage bag - and now, as a result, I am the proud owner of one!

Do you find yourself influenced by the place in which you live? Or somewhere else? Maybe somewhere you wish you lived?

Remember to check out the other responses to think week's Friend Friday topic, over at ModlyChic. You can also find more information on how to get involved over on Katy's blog too.

Please nominate me in the "Established Fashion Blog" category

Haircut: help me to choose a style

Sources, clockwise from top left: Kate Moss; Freja Beha; Sarah Jessica Parker; Kate Moss; Carrie Bradshaw; and Alexa Chung.

No matter how long I put it off, there always comes a point where my hair simply becomes so unmanageable that a trip to the hairdressers is a necessity rather than a luxury. I love going to the hairdressers, it's just that finding the two hours needed and the money for the trip is not always so easy. But once I'm there, I relax completely.

So that time has come and with my appointment quickly approaching, I need your help. Do I go for an Alexa Chung chop or like Carrie Bradshaw's curly bob? And maybe add a fringe à la Kate Moss? Or do I keep the length and make like Sarah Jessica? And maybe add a fringe to that?

Let me know:

Please nominate me in the "Established Fashion Blog" category

#BloggersDoItBetter: Arm Party

I haven't participated in one Pretty Shiny Sparkly's #BloggersDoItBetter challenges yet but this week's played into something I've been toying with for so long that I couldn't pass up the opportunity. That, and I actually saw the challenge on time this time too!

So? The challenge?

"Ahhh…the arm party. Coined by one lovely Man Repeller, the trend has been around for longer than its name. Editrixes, models and fashion bloggers alike all sport a plethora of friendship bracelets, bangles, chains, watches, and more."

I've been collecting wrist-wear inspiration over on my Pinterest Style Pinboard for a while now:


Sources, clockwise from top left: eatsleepwear; eatsleepwear; My Style Pill; and Stockholm Street Style.


Here is my interpretation of an Arm Party, I like to think of it as a full-on rave!!

Bangles from various market stalls and Next; watch from Urban Outfitters; "Love" bracelet from Accessorize; and hoop bracelet from TIA by Made from Clothing at Tesco.

Do you like to stack your bracelets high or wear them a little more daintily?


Even this week's copy of Grazia has joined on the Arm Party:

If you fancy throwing your own Arm Party, here are some fabulous options to choose from:

BUY NOW: #1; #2; #3; #4; #5; and #6.

Please nominate me in the "Established Fashion Blog" category

What I Wore: Thanks to Coco

Whenever I want an easy and relaxed look, yet with added "chic factor", this image of Coco Chanel always comes to mind. Stripes, for me, epitomise the relaxed French style that I aspire to so much. So with this image in mind, I couldn't resist this Mango dress when I saw it on sale for £8.97 from £29.99!!

I am wearing: Mango dress and Topshop pumps.

What do you wear when you want to dress down and yet retain some element of chic too?

Style Inspiration from Kate Middleton's shoe rack!

So far during her visit to Canada with her husband, Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, has been seen sporting a pair of Sebago boat shoes on two different occasions. If you fancy getting your hands on her style, why not snap up a pair by the New England based brand for yourself?

These Felucca Lace shoes are very similar to those that Kate wore:

Or you could go for the more iconic Docksides:

If you prefer Kate's smarter side, why not try out her other favourite shoe brand, Nine West:

She's been spotted in their wedges at least twice already in Canada. Here are a couple of options:

These Lazar wedges are practical and, presumably, easy to walk in:

And these Sadock wedge court shoes are elegant and chic:

Which look do you like best of the Duchess?

PS. I have added a little poll in the top of the right hand column, if you have a spare second - please choose your response. Thank you.

How to... COLOUR BLOCK

Last month I was contacted by Claire of Filofax regarding a “blogger style off” to celebrate the launch of the brand new Filofax Apex, the personal organiser that aims to “put the fun into fashion”. Each of the bloggers involved chose one out of the four colour combinations and use the organiser as inspiration for our outfit. 

My choice of the pink and blue Filofax soon seemed a little ambitious when trying to put an outfit together but I didn’t let that put me off! Instead I decided to pull together a couple of mood boards.

The first is filled with the colours and confirmed that the combination is in fact everywhere and, in addition, a pretty summery combo too:



Source



Next, I decided that as obvious as it might be colour blocking was the obvious trend to try to work for this challenge. Colour blocking was a huge trend on the catwalks of numerous designers for Spring/Summer 2011 and has been featured on this blog previously, in this post and this post. So the second mood board is a collection of images from the runway of bold colour combinations:

Source: Style.com

My favourites from the above board were the simple Jil Sander looks, with the bright bold coloured maxi skirts teamed with the crisp white tees. These then provided the basis for the outfit that I have created and that will be unveiled later today, on the Filofax Facebook page (look out for Twitter updates) and will be unveiled here tomorrow. Now, comes the part that I loath and that is to ask that you might all lend a hand and “like” my look. If I win, I will receive a number of the Filofaxes to giveaway – so you will all have the chance to gain too! Win-win, no?!

Holiday Inspiration: Footwear

Source



Next month I am heading to Ibiza for the weekend to celebrate my birthday. I cannot wait. A little sun, a little partying: what's not to love? But before I get there, I need to sort out a summer wardrobe, something which I have had very little need of here for nearly a year! So I decided to do a little internet browsing and see what I came up with by way of inspiration. Of course, footwear is always the very first thing I consider when packing is concerned:

Last summer I discovered wedges. I seriously do not know how I survived summers without wedges: they are easy to walk in and add a little glamour to any outfit. So in my internet search, I found these little beauties:

Having found these wedges by Ravel, I decided to check out the rest of their summer collection and found these sandals:

I am a huge fan of embellished sandals which whilst being easy to wear, also translate easily from day-to-night.

Source

Of course, no summer holiday would be complete without a pair of flip flops and none look better than a pair of Havainas:

For a slightly more practical pair of flip flops and an added splash of neon colour, which let's face it is a requirement in Ibiza and bang on trend for Summer 2011, try these:

 Are you planning any get-aways in the sun? If so, watch out for more holiday inspiration posts in the next month, including beachwear and make up inspiration.

Weather To Wear: Cardiff Wed. 20/04/2011

At a recent event in London I met the lovely Kate - the girl behind i am not a celebrity. A couple of week's ago when reading Kate's blog, I discovered a new project she's become involved with, Weather To Wear: London. This new site offers daily outfit suggestions based on the weather forecast in London - such a fabulous idea, I thought! So I decided to have a go at producing my own outfit suggestion for the weather in my home town of Cardiff for tomorrow:

With the sunny weather continuing this week in the Welsh capital, I chose:

A Miss Selfridge playsuit - the perfect piece that takes you straight from work-to-beer garden;

Miss Selfridge sandals;

A straw clutch from Warehouse - don't know about you but straw bags are completely all I want to carry in the warm weather;

And, of course, the obligatory pair of huge designer sunnies like these by Gucci.

What do you think of the site? And my attempt at a similar post? Hope you're all enjoying the sunny weather and not too cooped up in an office (like me!).

My Style Pinboard

Tell me, do you have this problem? I have a folder on my computer (both at work and at home) that is entitled "inspiration" and is filled with photos that inspire me that I find every day as I stroll through the interweb. But then when I want to find one of these photos for a post or even just as inspiration for getting dressed in the morning, I can't. I'm at home and the photo is on my work computer, or I'm at work and I saved the photo to my laptop the other night when I was watching Lewis/Midsomer Murders/some other quaint English detective programme.

Now I have found a solution:

Pinterest has kind of been on my radar for a while now. So I went to check it out and it turns out that it is exactly what I have been looking for. Somewhere I can "pin" all of those photos that inspire me and that I can access from any computer. Perfect.

Have you tried Pinterest? If you have an account, let me know and I can follow you! (I think that's how it works!!)

Style Inspiration: Converse trainers

Sources (clockwise from top left): The Sartorialist; StockholmStreetStyle; StockholmStreetStyle; The Sartorialist; Vogue; and The Sartorialist.

All winter I have lived in my ankle boots but now, as the weather gets warmer I am faced with the problem of what to slip my feet into so that they are not boiling. And my answer? Converse trainers.

Recently all of the photos in my "inspiration" folder have been girls in dresses/skirts and Converse trainers. And you know what? I love the look. And I plan to incorporate it into my Spring wardrobe, just as soon as my new lilac Converse arrive.

If you fancy incorporating a pair into your Spring wardrobe, check out my top picks:

Converse All Star Seasonal Hi Tops

Converse All Star Slim Core Ox

Converse All Star Core Ox

How would you style up a pair of Converse? What shoes are you planning on adding to your wardrobe for the new season?

What Was I Wearing: colour blocking

There are two positive points to having finished the 30 for 30 Challange: first, I have everything else in my wardrobe to play with and second, I can shop again!! And shop, I did. I will explain more about my little "spree" in another post but let me just say, if you live near to a Gap store - go check out their current sale. For those who don't think Gap is really their style, think again. Gap isn't really about being one particular style, the key to shopping in Gap is realising that they sell well-made and reasonably priced basics which create the foundation of a wardrobe and provide the perfect pieces for layering.

Anywho, back to one of the very first outfits I put together after the 30 for 30 challenge and taking inspiration from the trend for colour blocking for Spring Summer 2011:

Source


When I saw this post over at Dear Winnie, I loved how Chelsea had pulled a simple and elegant outfit together with a bold and bright skirt. You all know by now, I am not a great one with bright colours and own far more black than is absolutely necessary. So when I spotted this skirt (below) in Gap last weekend for £9.99 I just had to have it! Unfortunately it was a size too big for me - it fits perfectly on my hips but not on my waist and I wanted it as a waisted skirt. So I took Chelsea's advice again - and hoisted it up with a belt. It has created a sort of paperbag-effect at the waistband which I like:

What do you think?

I am wearing: Gap tee (ancient - £9.99), Gap skirt (£9.99), Dorothy Perkins belt (£3) and Spartoo heels (£19).

Are you planning to colour block this Spring? Which show was your favourite for Spring Summer 2011 and what inspiration are you taking for the warmer weather? Where do you shop for basics on the high street?

Style Inspiration: belts

Sources (clockwise from top left): #1; #2; #3; #4; #5; and #6.

I have always loved the cardigan-belted-over-a-dress look (as my inspiration folder is testament to, above) and have a plethora of belts in my wardrobe to choose from but somewhere never quite know how to do it. So today I decided to throw caution to the wind and just "go for it":

What do you think?

I am wearing: Marks and Spencer cardigan (was £35, got on offer for £10!), Asos dress (£25) and Marks and Spencer belt (was £6, now £2!).

Style Inspiration: Christopher Kane's Spring neons

After seeing this post over on The Style Crusader, I realised that maybe I, too, could get in on the neon trend next season:


Source: style.com


I have also decided that in the spirit of "budget" dressing, I am going to take inspiration from Jazzabelle's Diary and begin to tell you just how much everything I wear costs (or least, everything I can remember!), to demonstrate how "easy" it is to look stylish on a limited budget.

This weekend I hit the Marks and Spencer's final reductions sale and grabbed a couple of proper bargains:

I am wearing: Marks and Spencer Autograph Weekend jumper (was £45, now £7!!), Marks and Spencer Limited Collection neon pink bra (was £14, now £7!), and Primark leggings (£3) = a relaxed on-trend weekend look for less than £20!!

What do you think of my bargainous take on the neon trend?

If you're like me and a little afraid of going all out on the neon trend, choose a neon accessory. Like this flower:

This Timex80 Rubber and plastic digital watch from The Outnet is the perfect way to update your look and a bargain to boot: