W E E K L Y I N S P O: OFF DUTY STYLE

All images via TUMBLR

Trying to make my 'weekly inspo' post an actual weekly feature is at the moment proving to be alot harder than I originally thought, due to being so busy and caught up with work during this particularly tiresome festive season! Finally have a few hours to myself this eve though (I'm working all weekend- boo hoo), so get the chance to share my latest inspirational theme with you. This week my thoughts turned to 'off duty' style. 

If like me you have to conform to some type of work related attire 5 out of 7 days a week, on those rare days you actually get to wear all your latest purchases, sometimes deciding what to wear first as well as what with, can actually pose as a real head scratching moment. As all our favourite brands and stores get ready to go into sale and new season collections are slowly trickling onto shop floors in preparation for spring/summer 15, sometimes it can be so easy to automatically convince yourself that you must buy something because it's either in the sale or because you are fed up of sale/stock that you've seen around for the past 2 months and 'need' some newness. Sound familiar? This is definitely a thought process I have found myself giving into during the twice yearly transitional period. Most of the time though I already have a great outfit in my wardrobe, I just haven't got as far as working out how to actually piece it together. 

So I have collated some of my 'off duty' style inspiration, which I'm sure will be food for thought for some of you lucky people that have some time off work during Christmas and need some help deciding what to pack for your visit home. I have covered all the style staples that have been street style favourite's for a while now and I'm sure that most of you have somewhere in the depths of your wardrobes : over sized coat, check. slogan sweatshirt, check. pinstripes, check. old school trainers, check. And of course, grey, navy and camel, check. The last image is more of a directional thought towards the upcoming season. I am seriously in love with the military details of the skirt and also an avid fan of getting my pins out- yes I am already getting fed up of having to wear tights. Anyway hope you enjoy and happy holidays!

Elle.x

S H A D E S O F B L U E.

Coat- MANGO, Jumper- Topshop (old), Skirt- Zara similiar HERE, Boots- TOPSHOP, Bag- Zara similiar HERE.

Every year when autumn/winter creeps upon us, I subconsciously go into auto pilot in the bid of finding the perfect winter coat and boots. This time round I got pretty lucky to come across both items so early on in the season. Usually I am that critical as to what deems as the 'ideal' compromise of quality and the right price; that by the time I make my mind up I have either run out of funds or the wanted item has sold out. Which is basically what happened to me during the Alexander Wang/H&M frenzy that was yesterday- a topic that we will just try to forget about for now.

The coat in question has pretty much been swaddling me ever since I purchased it a few weeks back when MANGO had a 30% off coats and knitwear promotion and since I had already lusted after it when the Market Street store had just reopened I immediately had to snap it up! I will of course be featuring it again in upcoming posts in more detail. As for the boots, they were a very recent pay day purchase that I spotted online the day before and mainly bought them on impulse. However they are literally so comfy, have the ideal heel height for all day wear and feature the right amount of point that i had been looking for, so I am super happy with my purchase. So much so I now want them in the patent black option now as well!

So on Wednesday, armed with my new coat and boots and faced with a super sunny winter's day, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to test drive my new babies. I'm really enjoying blue hues as an alternative to black at the moment and as my coat is the most gorgeous shade of blue-grey, I opted for my jacquard Zara skirt and impulsively teamed it with a super old Topshop jumper that I wore back to front as an experiment and love the combination so much so, that I am no longer going to sell this forgotten gem on depop- well for now anyway. To finish the look off I grabbed my trusted Zara leather chain bag and popped on some black tights last minute as I know how deceiving winter sun can be especially in Manchester- it was bladdy freezing btw! I had so much fun on our little walk around a nearby park though, even more so when the sunshine was beaming down on me. It has to be said that the new booties were probably not the most sensible choice of footwear, especially when it came to walking over planks of wood covered in nails; in spite of this minor error in judgement, they did shelter my feet from the chill and they do look ahhh-mazing on.
Anyone else managed to find the perfect coat and boots for A/W'14 yet?!

Elle.x