The Winter-Spring Transition

The funniest thing is the transition between Winter and Spring or Summer and Autumn. The one I find the most irritating is the one from Winter to Spring - ie. right now. Why buy jumpers when it's about to get warm? How many layers do you really need when you leave the house? Do you need your big coat or just a normal one? Two pairs of tights? The list goes on. So, these are my top things for this weird transition. Funnily enough most of it is grey/black. How spring-like.

Stripes, flat boots, cape cardigans that go perfect over long sleeved tops for layers, mom jeans (a nice change from skinny jeans) and a tartan scarf that adds a bit of colour. Nude lip, or a bold - I'm partial to a little bit of both, a rich body butter because the change in weather seems to just make my whole body super dry and finally a little lift for your roots. Simple and easy to layer up or dress down.

I find this time of year a little tricky. The sun never stays long enough to make a difference or warm you up, it rains a lot, there's sometimes a little snow storm and while it's getting lighter in the evenings, it's just miserable that it's pitch black at 5/5;30pm when really it's been kind-of-dark all day. I think the light and the sunshine has a strong influence on my work ethic as well. At this time of year my motivation seems to take a nose dive - not preferable when mocks are next week and exams are not actually that far away. 

Do you suffer from this too? A struggle with clothes and motivation. Girls, eh?

Styling: Nike Air Force 1s

Hello! For Christmas I got white Nike Air Force 1s which have featured in many of my wish lists over 2014. I have never been one to wear trainers so I have been thinking of ways to style them and I thought I would share my thoughts with you all.

First of all, pairing a big coat or a leather jacket with any outfit really brings it together, but to make your outfit a bit more smart-casual pair it with NAF1s. A stripe top or a grey jumper sticks with the lovely monochrome theme that I am in love with at the moment. These are so easy to make your outfit fresh an  bright, especially if it's black-heavy (although I would never  object to a black outfit from head to toe!) If it's a bit warmer then this scallop-edged skirt is another  lovely contrast to NAF1S. If you want something a bit softer in colour and lightweight, then this tshirt dress would be a great way to achieve an effortless but seemingly-put-together look. Finally the trousers more appropriate for the freezing cold weather in England recently! I recently bought these mom jeans from topshop and I love them with my NAF1s as it makes for a great outfit to throw on but you can still dress it up a little with a white shirt. Finally, I bought some leather-look biker leggings from Bershka which I love and these look so great with them. Add a big coat and NAF1s and you're away!

So this is how I will be styling my Nike Air Force 1s, but is there a way that you would style them differently? 

Day to Night with Cosmopolitan Las Vegas #cosmopolitanchic

Hello! I was emailed by Cosmopolitan Las Vegas and they told me about their Vegas Day to Night outfit posts which lots of bloggers have been participating in recently so I thought I would give it a go. You can check out their website here http://www.vegas.com/resorts/cosmopolitan/ for yourself to get ideas to create your own! I really enjoyed piecing together Vegas-style outfits on Polyvore which I use a lot anyway to create looks so try it for yourself and tweet it to @VEGAScom!

I chose a bold blazer that would work in a few situations and kept the theme black and gold. 

For day I chose something that would happily take you to a bar and out for lunch. The blazer is very bold and this specific one is rather expensive but you could pick any gold blazer. I think it adds some richness to the outfit which screams Vegas. I didn't want to go heavy with detail on the top so I picked this simple but interesting top so that if you took off the blazer you were still left with some detail on your top half. I went with jeans so that it wasn't too much for the daytime but paired it with black and gold heel-boots to dress it up - don't do it by halves in Vegas! I accessorized this with a gold watch, bangle and dainty ring but avoided a necklace as there's a lot on the top half with the blazer and the pattern on the top. Bag wise I chose a simple clutch so that you aren't carrying too much about. You can add the strap onto the bag so that you can keep your hands free but in big cities and crowded places I would always ensure that it closes properly. For nails I would go for black nails with a gold accent nail which has a gold sophistication to it but isn't too much for the day or too little for the evening - perfect transition. If you're chilling by the pool you can ditch the blazer for a light outfit and when you're heading out while it's still light just slip it back on again!

So you've popped back to the hotel after a bit of time by the pool, a shopping trip, lunch and a drink in a bar in order to get ready for some dinner, another trip to another bar and a nightclub or two. When you have this beautiful statement blazer that can be really dressed up you don't need to ditch it for the evening. For going out I ditched the jeans and pretty top for some leather trousers and a simple black shirt to enhance your blazer. I paired these with even more gold studded heels to add some detail to your bottom half. I kept my nails the same and accessorized heavily with gold. I kept the watch the same and added lots of simple gold rings as well as a detailed cage ring and a lion ring. I kept a clutch as you can keep it close to you when you're out so you won't lose it or have it taken. Just pop in your room key, phone and your lipstick incase you need a top up and head out the door. 

There we have my day to night outfit which features this beautiful gold blazer that you can dress up or down. Let me know what you think or what you would wear and check out the #cosmpolitanchic tag on Twitter to see other people's ideas and create your own!

Bold Blazer | Outfit

Hello! On a trip to Lakeside for some back to school shopping, I spotted a little beauty in Primark. I don't find that Primark always has much to offer me, but every once in a while I find something I really love. The best part is that because it's Primark it isn't always horribly expensive and for something that I will get a lot of wear out of both inside and out of school I got a pretty good deal.

Blazer/Jacket - Primark, £17

Yes, just £17! It's made from quite a thick and good quality material which has meant it has been a little bit too hot since I've gone back to school to actually wear. However, I do plan to pair this with some black suit trousers, a skirt or a dress just to add a bit of something. I can also wear this out to dinner or to other such occasions outside of school just to make myself look a bit more smart. I love that there are two different patterns that sort of clash but pair together well at the same time! I picked mine up in a size 12 as it's meant to be cropped and I wanted it to be a bit longer and have room on the arms so that I would be able to put a jumper under it when it starts to get a bit more chilly. It still fits me well though so I didn't have to compromise length for the fit of it! 

SCALLOPED MONOCHROME

Hello! Recently school and clothes have been on my mind. In sixth form at my school we have to wear suits and this year they're letting us wear unmatching suits so with that in mind I purchased a pair of trousers I am in love with to go with my black blazer. Also, for someone who wears a lot of white, I feel I don't quite have enough white tops and for some reason continue to buy more. I love a good white top though!

Scalloped White Top - Topshop | Monochrome Trousers - Phase Eight @ John Lewis

I did mention these trousers in my last Wishlist and I snatched them up to match with a black blazer, a white top and some black boots or flats for school in September (sigh!) I have nothing scalloped?! I love the simple detail of scalloped tops but have never bought one. I'm so glad this doesn't come up cropped on me because everything at the moment seems to be cropped? It's alright to own crop tops, but sometimes I just want a normal length top! I have to wear a cami top under this as it is a bit see through, although it could be tackled with a skin colour bra. New Look do a similar style that isn't see through, but it's the kind of material that makes me sweat before I'm even out the door so I avoided that one! This outfit is very sadly the only thing that makes me look forward to going back to school! 

Do you have uniform rules similar to mine? What do you wear to school?

Paisley Blue

Hello! I purchased some things with my birthday money and tonight I'm dressing them up for dinner!

Kimono & Cami - New Look | Jeans - Forever 21 | Heels - Topshop

I saw this kimono in store after my brother called it 'so ugly' and I loved it. It's something you can dress up with jeans and heels for dinner or chuck over a bikini for a beach cover up. I pictured this for the latter but I can't wait for when I finally get to see some sunshine. I also really wanted a simple white cami with a bit of flow to it and I picked this up at the same time as the kimono. These jeans are one of the best fitting pairs I own and these heels were from Topshop last year, although I'll find you a similar pair!

Double Floral Neon

Hello! Tonight I'm heading out for the last night before exams. I'm off to fellow blogger Katy's (therawrdrobe) to celebrate her 18th with some drinks and a boogie. The beginning of May brings promise of hotter days and evenings (supposedly) and brighter clothes. I have wanted a co-ord for ages and spotted this beauty on missguided. Albeit, it was not as neon in the photographs online which surprised me but I actually love it more. It enhances my tan and brightens up my life. And I've paired it with my sparkly jellies which I purchased last year. People laughed at me for buying them but what seems to be all the rage this year? A solid pair of jellies. Just call me Mystic Meg...

wearing - co-ord - missguided | jellie shoes - ebay | rayban clubmaster sunglasses - vision express

nails - barry m gelly hi-shine in papaya

face - garnier miracle skin cream | collection concealer | dior rosy glow blush | bourjois chocolate bronzer | maybelline brow drama | maybelline the rocket | naked 2 (bootycall, tease, chopper, snakebite) | rimmel exaggerate liquid liner | revlon colourburst lip butter in lollipop | tanya burr gloss in chic

This co-ord is made of lovely thin jacquard material. I think it looks amazing together and I think I will get loads of wear out of it this summer! I can also wear each part separately if I'm not going all out! Tonight I might have to slip on a pair of tights, get a coat on and ditch the glasses... it's a tad chilly!

OOTD: Lunch With Gemma Sheppard

Hello! Back in September, I won a competition, along with 4 others to have lunch with Gemma Sheppard, a celebrity stylist who works with Vision Express and a charity I am very close with called CHECT. I will explain details in another post once I have gathered photos from the day but I wanted to show you what I wore! My very first outfit post...

Top - Topshop

Treggings - Marks & Spencer

Coat - Zara

Shoes - Next (similar)

Sunglasses - Topshop

Bag - Pull & Bear

Thank you so much to Gemma, CHECT and Vision Express for our lunch! We had a lovely chat based on confidence and how it can be improved, fashion, beauty and I feel really lucky to have had the opportunity to meet her! I will be posting more about this next week, so keep an eye out for more to come!