S T R E E T S T Y L E: SPRING LAYERS

I don't know about you, but I've been majorly facing that 'what an earth do I wear today?!' conundrum pretty much every day for the past month. With the main culprit for this dilemma being the great British weather. Unfortunately I'm not one of those girls that can step outside in next to nothing and pretend that I don't look ridiculous when caught mid torrential down pour. Being caught in hail stones with bare arms and legs is definitely not cool, however neither is wearing a hooded puffy down jacket in April.

Therefore instead of depressing myself further by pining over all the pretty high summer outfits that are gracing the shops and soon to be Coachella (BIG sigh), I thought I would hunt out some inspiration in the form of some of the best street style looks that are suitable for the milder European climates without compromising on style.

So how are the stylish street urchins warding off the Spring chill right now? It's all about the balance, 'covering up' with loose, light layers and mixing up staple classics for an on trend vibe; a loose trench layered over seventies denim, a shirt paired with dungarees and a silk scarf tied through belt loops.

My personal favourite must have piece for SS15 right now has to be the trench coat. I picked up THIS little beauty (in camel) last month after I came to terms with the fact that it is probably as close as I am going to get to a Burberry trench. It's a pretty good compromise if I do say so myself. I'm also loving THIS little number too, the colour and overall structure is so on point.

So there you have it, inspirational spring updates that are both on trend as well as weather appropiate. What styles for Spring are you loving right now?

Elle.x

All images via tumblr and whowhatwear

MAXED OUT.

Maxi lengths have been one style category that I usually avoid when shopping, however I flirted with the idea a few weeks ago when I walked past a clearance fixture in Zara that screamed '6.99'. Five minutes in the fitting room and one stripey maxi skirt later and I was hooked. I think it was the thigh high slit that sold it to me. I also thought that the light jersey material and navy and white stripes would make this a great transitional piece and the longer length is deal for cooler days.

My favourite way to wear the maxi right now is by throwing on an over sized jumper and slipping into my Stan Smiths for a simple yet super relaxed outfit that's just about warm enough for the spring chill. For high summer styles and holidays I would swap the jumper (obviously) for a loose cropped tee. I found that the jersey material of this particular skirt was too clingy when worn with tights underneath so this is definitely best worn bare legged. Hence Sunday was the perfect opportunity to finally let my legs breath and wear my new ray bans thanks to the sunshine gracing us at the weekend. I love how comfy and wearable this outfit is, I think I may have even found my new off duty equivalent to jeans and a tee. 

What are your favourite off duty pieces at the moment?

Elle.x

Jumper | TOPSHOP (old) similiar HERE

Skirt | ZARA (sale) similiar HERE

Ray Bans | HARVEY NICHOLS

Stan Smiths | FOOT ASYLUM (in store) similiar HERE

Bag | URBAN OUTFITTERS (sale) similiar HERE and HERE

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MARQUES ALMEIDA FRAYED DENIM

Jacket- MANGO (similiar) / stripe top- Zara/ skirt- marques almeida x topshop @ Netaporter

pony hair trainers- ASOS (similiar) / back pack- Urban Outfitters (similiar)

Even before denim took over the high street, I was eyeing up the Marques Almeida x TOPSHOP collection as soon as it dropped online in A/W 2014. So obviously when the entire collection was given a hefty discount during the Christmas sales, it was inevitable that I was going to purchase something and that something had to be the frayed denim skirt. Rewind a good few years ago, during the summer before I started sixth form, I pretty much lived in a denim skirt and white wife beater teamed with gladiator sandals (I thought I was the bees knees). Therefore as soon as I saw the return of the denim skirt, I couldn't help but get all nostalgic. And I sort of still have the legs for it so why not?! 

Right now I'm loving denim mixed with suede and leather, not only does it work well together, it's a good way to give your outfit a subtle nod to the seventies that is trending massively right now. Therefore my suede and leather mixed bomber jacket that I picked up last year, seemed like the most obvious outerwear option. I also enjoy pairing more than one staple piece together, as I think it makes for a good laid back casual vibe, therefore I reacquainted myself with the breton stripe top which sits nicely under the bomber. Once summer is officially here I would trade the bomber for a cotton boyfriend shirt half tucked in and teamed with lace up sandals.

I finished off today's look with my super comfy pony hair sneakers and a leather back pack to add to the super casual vibe. Both items have been hidden in my wardrobe as of late. Rain and pony hair are a recipe for disaster so I've been patiently biding my time until British summer time gets its act together and finally it looks like it has hurrah.The back pack was picked up way back in the January sales, however the lack of compartments inside compared to my other bags had put me off using it. I've gotten over that now as sometimes beauty outweighs practicality.It's super similar to the KARA bags that I have been lusting over and happened to be genuine leather so that purchase was a no brainer really. I love how minimal it is and the lack of compartments has actually forced me to pack only the bare essentials.

What staple/denim pieces have you been enjoying recently?

Elle.x

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THE HIGH STREET SS15: DENIM EDIT.

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9

Yeah so you might have heard that denim is set to be one of the biggies for SS15 (old news I know). Which is fine by me as I've been after a frayed denim top for absolutely ages and now the hunt is not so difficult anymore, seeing as denim everything is absolutely everywhere at present. So I thought I'd make it a little easier for you and narrow down the selection to a few of my fave pieces right now.

I am seriously in love with the Whistles denim jacket and back pack with frayed edging, they would definitely be my go to pieces right now as I think these items have got a bit more individuality in comparison to some of the offerings from fast fashion retailers at the moment.Which isn't always a bad thing I guess, because today I found an exact copy of the Miss Selfridge denim dress that was a dead ringer for Alexa Chung's ACxAG popper dress and obviously sold out instantly. However never fear, Topshop are here with their own take on the denim shirt dress and it happens to be an absolute steal at £40.

I thought I'd also bring your attention to some super cool denim coordinates for those of you who are wondering how the heck to pull off double denim- well Zara and Urban outfitters have made it easy.

What denim pieces have you got your eye on at the moment?

Elle.x

THE SIXTIES SHIFT.

Dress- YUMI, Shoes- ZARA (sale)

So in my last post I mentioned that I had ventured up to Scotland for a few days the other week. Grant's Mum and partner moved into the most idyllic house situated on the Scottish borders, just over a couple of years ago. It's almost as if someone decided to plonk a decent sized one floor house/cottage with 2 acres of back garden, literally in the middle of one massive stretch of windy country road. Also there is pretty much no signal within a 5 mile radius so it's pretty much bliss for the few days that we get to stay there for.

On the last day of our stay, it was super sunny outside, the sky was clear blue and as always I got excited and dug out a new dress from under the piles of jumpers in my overnight bag. I'd bought it a couple of days ago as part of my work uniform, but wanted an excuse to wear it. Obviously it was bloody freezing outside so didn't go bare legged for too long. Hence why these pictures were taken in the 'gym room'. As the ceiling was pretty low, I somehow look giant in comparison and because of the overall styling of the room and what I'm wearing I almost look like i'm in a doll house. Do you like my fellow companion btw?! Obviously Kale heard what we were up to from the next room and wanted a piece of the action. Who can blame her though, she's more photogenic than I am.

Anyway once Spring finally rears it's pretty head, I think this dress would be perfect bare legged and paired with some flats for work and for a more off duty style I'd wear a fedora, suede jacket, ankle boots and a fringed bag. At the moment I've been wearing it with tights and my COS jumper over the top to ward off the cold while in work.

I think the vintage style ditsy print and overall darker colour way make this dress a great transitional piece and the cute collar gives off a slight sixties vibe. Here I have just pared it with my fave flats which I picked up towards the end of the Zara sale for a mere £30 which I think is pretty good going for real leather and I absolutely adore the stud details. I've not been able to wear them as much as I'd like though, as they have proved to be seriously hard work when breaking them in as you can probably tell by the state of my ankles. Does anyone else have a hard time breaking in new flats? I hope it's not just me...might revert back to trainers next time!

P.S.apologies for awful hair, I didn't have access to a hairdryer so had to towel dry...boohoo.

Elle.x

ZEBRA.

Feminin sweatshirt- WHISTLES / white blouse- H&M / Ashby jeans- old season ALL SAINTS

Adidas zebra Stan Smith trainers- FOOT ASYLUM (in store)

Firstly huge apologies for the lack of posts of late- as if it's been just over a month since I last posted?! I put it down to the January blues catching up with me, catching flu for the THIRD time in 5 month period and just general lack of inspiration regarding anything fashion. Sometimes I get stuck in that transitional period of wanting to buy new things that are no way near appropriate for the current weather, so can't as I hate buying clothes hat I can't get use out of straight away. Anyone else get what I mean...?!

However never fear, with fashion week in full swing and Zara finally dropping their full stock package online (seriously lusting after everythang right now) I am starting to feel majorly inspired again by all things fashion. Hurrah,

For the time being though my most recent purchases have either been on super sale finds or shoes, like these amazinggg Stan Smiths that I am wearing above, which feature a zebra print on the back of the heel. It was love at first sight. I got them the other week when I went birthday shopping with the Madre. A  couple of days later (last Wednesday) me and the boy ventured up to Scotland for a few days and knew they would be perfect for the 4 hour car journey a head. Although it was super windy in Manchester that day as you can probably tell by the photos (and lack of), I was just happy that I was able to venture outside for a couple of minutes without having to wear a coat while we stopped off at the Trafford Centre en route.

I teamed my zebra stans with a Whistles sweatshirt which was a complete steal in the boxing day sales; pairing a cute peter pan collar underneath and throwing on fave comfy jeans for a super casual vibe. Btw how cute are these dino socks??! Whilst shopping with the Madre, my apparent lack of socks was pointed out (I didn't wear any that day, my bad) therefore these were a necessity and I got them on a 3 for £8 promotion so not too shabby.

Hope you're all having a good week and I promise that my next post will be here before the month is up!

Elle.x

WINTER WONDERLAND.

 fedora-TOPSHOP // cream knitted jumper- YUMI // ashby jeans (aw 13)- ALLSAINTS //

black wellies- HUNTER @ HOUSE OF FRASER //bag (ss 14)- ZARA // coat- MANGO

The phrase 'lazy Sundays' is frequently used between me and the other half, especially during the dark and colder days of the year, when we love nothing more than hibernating on the sofa, watching Sheldon Cooper and eating ourselves into a food coma.  For a change though, today the boyfriend and I decided to shake off some cob webs and venture out for a winter walk around one of our favourite local haunts- Alderly Edge woods. On an average summer's day by British standards, this particular spot is pretty magical to walk through- covered in pure white snow, even more so. Now usually I am not one of those people that gets overly excited by the sight of snow, as snow plus me results in bambi on ice. 

However today's little walk around the woods was more like something out of Narnia and thanks to my Hunter's in 'original gloss', my feet stayed firmly on the ground. As well as my sensible choice of foot wear, I changed out of my denim skirt into jeans at the last minute, while still keeping my pair of tights and two pairs of socks on underneath. Now this is not something I intended to pair together, I was just being lazy by keeping the tights and socks on, however I would highly recommend it. Considering it was minus one degrees, I managed a good 40 minutes before my feet started to feel sever coldness, which I think is pretty good going! I also wrapped up warm on top pairing a pink pure lambswool fine knit jumper underneath my cream thick knitted bobble jumper from YUMI, which I purchased from work the other day. Initially I had told myself that I was to refrain from buying anymore wintry garms in the sale, however I was in desperate need of a new jumper for work due to a problem with the pipes which has resulted in a major lack of heating. This one is perfect as although plain in colour, consists of a chunky knit and is adorned with bobbles and lace for added texture and interest. Also I have always had a massive thing for cream and white knits paired with light denim washes. I think it makes an ideal pairing for cosy and casual off duty style.  

Of course my favourite coat was thrown on top along with my trusty Zara bag- I do own more than one bag btw, it's just too much effort for me to keep transferring all my day stuff from one bag to another! As I didn't opt for my hooded coat today, I made sure I popped my topshop fedora on, to try to ward off the chill. I think the only thing that I was missing today was gloves. I am still yet to find the perfect pair of gloves that are not to restrictive or too long (I have very dainty hands). I don't want to have to take them off every time I need to brush my hair of my face or I need to get into my hand bag- surely that would be defeating the point right?! So any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Happy Sunday!

Elle.x