I will always have a soft spot for Primark and their extremely reasonably priced garments. Year after year I have been saying that they have been continually stepping up their game to content with high-street giants such as Topshop, H&M, River Island etc., and this autumn/winter is no exception. Look Magazine uploaded 75 of their Primark AW12 picks (you can see the full list here), and below I’ve selected a few of my favourites and some pieces which I will 100% be adding to my winter wardrobe. Primark is not available online, however you can purchase these pieces in store now or in the coming weeks.
It might sound mundane to write this post from the ‘every girl needs a good LBD’ angle, but there is no other way to go about it because that statement is so true! This particular dress, which I received courtesy of AX Paris, is perfect: its use of faux leather panels and mesh make it an interesting and slightly different take on a classic LBD, whilst the figure hugging fabrics make it super flattering too. Here I decided to accessorise the black only with silver, including heels from Topshop, a simple clutch bag from Primark and these amazing embellished tights by Pretty Polly, which I received courtesy of Tights Please.
Click here to check out the dress over at AX Paris, now on sale for £19.99, and click here to view the Pretty Polly tights @ Tights Please which are £12.49 with free UK delivery.
I recently received this gorgeous belted trench coat with faux leather sleeves courtesy of the wonderful Jovonna London and couldn’t wait to wear it! The ‘Deborah Trench‘ is reminiscent of the highly sought-after leather sleeved trench worn by the likes of Emma Watson, but at £85 is only a fraction of the price and is still just as chic. Worn buttoned and belted or open, its clean-cut shape and classic colours and textures mean that the Deborah Trench instantly adds class and elegance to any outfit. Here I’m wearing it with another new addition to my wardrobe: an American Apparel oversized chiffon shirt in a super bright neon shade which I bought with a 30% discount code and my faux leather pleated skirt from Primark. I finished off the look with heels with stud detailing from Dorothy Perkins and a Céline look-a-like bag from VJ Style.
This week I received this beautiful satin off the shoulder dress courtesy of LOVE, and these amazing glittery spiked shoes which I used my Romwe blogger freebies towards! I absolutely love both pieces, the fit and the print of the dress is gorgeous (I plan to wear it to my college prom / leaver’s party so expect more photos next month!) and the shoes speak for themselves. You can get the LOVE dress on sale for just £18 here, and the Romwe shoes here.
Here, I paired my two new items with my Topshop leather biker and a pale skinny belt from Next.
Today I attended an open day at the University of Manchester to learn about my future course (if all goes to plan when it comes to my exams.) I wore my ASOS neon pencil skirt with a black sheer shirt (Urban Outfitters), leather biker jacket (Topshop), my Topshop studded slipper flats and a Primark skull print scarf.
And on an unrelated note I got a new backpack for college, the Jansport Right Pack:
Topshop Unique once again did not fail to impress with their London Fashion Week offering as their Autumn Winter 2012 collection wowed bloggers, critics and front row celebrities alike.
The Topshop Unique design team took inspiration from ‘uniform in all its guises, so military came to the fore, but also urban uniform dressing, like peaked caps, exposed zips and boots made for stomping’ (quoted from insideout.topshop.com) and after months of work produced this very mature, sophisticated selection of garments. The collection relies heavily on strong outerwear pieces, featuring oversized, masculine silhouettes and sleeveless layered jackets, as well as all important details like exposed zips and oversized roll up cuffs. These coats and jackets paired with the tough ankle boots which Unique also offered up make for a dream autumn/winter combination.
The autumnal shades of burgundy and olive green were seen in abundance across the catwalk along with burnt orange and navy blue, all of which often accentuated by contrasting black leather panelling and detailing. Unique also updated the extremely trendy midi length skirt by slashing it right up to the thigh.
A repeat cross motif was featured on many pieces throughout the collection, and prints on tops and bottoms were matched to channel ‘pyjama dressing’, as dubbed by the Topshop bloggers.
Evening wear ranged from super wearable black and gold sparkling mini dresses to much more adventurous loose-fit trousers, dungarees and jumpsuits.
All in all a phenomenal collection in my opinion, I can’t wait to see it hit the shelves! Check out some images below take from insideout.topshop.com and a short video summary of the show itself via Rightster.
I couldn’t resist this rottweiler print t-shirt by Worn By in Urban Outfitters after lusting over the various rottweiler inspired Givenchy pieces for so long. Despite its £28 price tag (or rather £25.20 with student discount), for me it was worth every penny!
The shiny ‘scarf print’ bomber jacket is also a recent addition to my ever expanding wardrobe, which I got here from an Ebay store – it also comes in green and gold colourways and at £19.99 it’s the perfect way to own this trend afforably.
Today my new tartan skater dress arrived which I ordered from Ebay last week, I love it! There are similar things available everywhere, I chose this one because firstly McQueen is out of my budget and secondly I prefer the tartan pattern with a yellow stripe running through it too rather than the more simple red and black designs you can buy. At £14.99 plus postage this was the cheapest I could find online, you can get it here.
For the day time I will dress this down with black tights and creepers or black ankle boots as well as a hoodie underneath my leather biker and a thick woolly scarf whilst it’s still cold!
Metallics seem to be constantly in nowadays, which reminded me about this black and gold striped top I bought in a vintage shop in Harrogate years ago! Today I’ve paired it with my new pleated pleather skirt from Primark, and some gold glitter tights to match. I could wear this outfit out in an evening with a leather jacket or blazer and wedges, or dress it down with some little black booties for the daytime (which is what I’m wearing today).
Top – Vintage
Skirt – Primark
Tights – Topshop
Wedges – Topshop
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: