Blue is a colour which I never used to be drawn to, but clearly that has changed! This outfit, which I wore at the weekend, is entirely blue – I love this shirt from Primark (another great Primark piece which doesn’t look like it’s from Primark!), slightly cropped and tailored dark navy trousers from JW Anderson’s first collection for Topshop (which I got in the sale for £20), my super cosy vintage jumper from Retrograde* and of course my super cute Liberty print Free Run 2s, which were a birthday present from my boyfriend last year. You might remember I worked with Retrograde a while ago as a model, but the brand is still going strong and acquiring more and more great men’s and women’s vintage stock (including more cosy knitwear like this jumper) at totally reasonable prices, and with free UK delivery which is always a selling point for me – Topshop online would have a lot more of my money if they didn’t charge £4!
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Even before considering the fact that he is a Lancastrian like me (woo!), Henry Holland is consistently one of my favourite designers. His summer collections in particular always stand out to me and are often copied on the high street, and so once we have the worst of the winter months out of the way I believe we’ll be seeing pieces influenced by his quirky pastel, neon and metallic SS13 collection all over the place. As you might have realised from my post on winter warmers, I love a good beanie and was super excited by the blingtastic (yes, I did just use that word) ‘jewel’ encrusted hats on the House of Holland catwalk at LFW earlier this year. I did have one problem with them – I want to wear one now, not in summer! I decided to take matters into my own hands and create my own version for a fraction of the price to keep my little head warm this winter, and here’s how I did it.
You will need:
- A plain beanie – you can choose any colour you like but I chose to stick with the neutral tones of the House of Holland hats and bought this one in ‘camel’ for £2.85 inc. P&P from eBay.
- Plastic gems – you have free reign over colour, shape and size, but I chose to try to emulate House of Holland again by using clear, rectangular gems. I bought two packets of these larger gems and one packet of these smaller ones, both from eBay for a total of £5.55, but feel free to use more or less as you see fit!
- Needle and thread.
Glamorous have challenged us bloggers to create a wishlist of Glamorous products worth £200. As the queen of spending too much money and wanting new clothes all the time, this is perfect for me! I’ve created 2 outfits with the £200 budget, one daytime look and one for a party! I think that the leather jacket is a key piece and is interchangeable between the outfits, and the embellished jumper is gorgeous. What would you buy with £200 at Glamorous?
Coat – Darling* | Jumper – Primark | Jeans – Cheap Monday @ Urban Outfitters | Bag – Linea Weekend @ House of Fraser* | Boots – Topshop
Cold weather calls for knitwear and coats, and the ‘Hermoine Jacket‘ in burgundy from Darling is the perfect start to my winter collection of outerwear! I love the unique shape and collar, and the rich autumnal colour of the coat. Underneath I am wearing a new jumper which was just £12 from Primark and Cheap Monday Second Skin high waisted jeans which I got from Urban Outfitters while they had 20% off for students. The jeans are a really great (and cheaper – I paid £40 for this pair but RRP is £50) alternative to American Apparel’s Easy Jean (£64). I’m also wearing my cute Topshop boots which I bought last winter and gorgeous new brown leather Linea Weekend Tote which you can pick up on sale at House of Fraser now, and check out more handbags available at House of Fraser too.
Yesterday I arrived home to these beautiful shorts courtesy of Lavish Alice, and gorgeous stockings which were a gift from Tights Please! I decided to combine the elegant Charnos Marilyn Stockings with the statement shorts, as well as a loud, neon jumper (from Glamorous) and simple studded flats from Topshop to create an outfit of mixed textures which would be perfect for a casual evening out when the weather isn’t so warm. My shorts and jumper are both quite obnoxious pieces (in the best way possible, in my opinion!) so I kept accessories to a minim with dip dye earrings from Primark.
I’m really impressed with the Primark Spring 2012 range (click here to see it in full on the Look magazine website) and today I picked up this black and white polka dot sheer blouse for just £10. Apart from a few pretty dresses, cute accessories and this striking ‘burnt orange’ blazer, the blouses are the strongest pieces in the collection in my opinion. I’ve also got my eye on this floral blouse with black sleeves and this white blouse with pink accents.
I wasn’t overwhelmed by the Topshop sale this winter, however I did pick up this cute knitted jumper for £15 which will look great over any button-up blouse, especially on a cold but sunny spring day.
As about half my wardrobe is black, black being a constantly reoccurring timeless winter trend is extremely handy. I’m always buying new black things, and where better to get basics on a budget that Primark! It’s obvious that anything bought in Primark isn’t exactly a great ‘find’, but with such low prices there’s sometimes no better value alternative, and it’s much easier than spending hours trawling through vintage or charity shops to save only a few pounds. I paid a very quick visit to Primark this week, and if you can stand the mess and the crowds I’d advise you to do the same soon if you want to pick up these items! Here’s what I got: