A Trip to London

As you probably all know  over the last two weeks it has been pretty busy in the fashion world with London Fashion Week and London Fashion Weekend, which as Fashion Management students at Robert Gordon University we were lucky enough to attend! After getting up at 3am for the flight, mastering the tube and locating the hotel, we got to experience everything London had to offer including the night life a bit of sightseeing and a fashion show at Somerset House. It was definitely a worth while trip! 

For anyone who is not familiar with London Fashion Weekend it's basically a massive fashion showcase featuring designer shopping, pop-up shops, hair and beauty, expert advice sessions and a fashion show which focused on upcoming trends (see below), all within the beautiful setting of Somerset House. This was a great opportunity for us to experience the atmosphere of a catwalk show (and a free goodie bag is always a plus!). 

Trends Featured in the Catwalk

To the catwalk show I decided to wear some of my new purchases from back in Aberdeen which can be seen below. 

Jacket - Marks & Spencer
Shorts - Miss Selfridge
Boots - Internationale
*I actually wore a shirt on the day which
you can see in the previous photo
which is from Asos...if anyone is interested.

After a random trip through Marks & Spencer I spotted this jacket, even though I hardly ever buy things from here I loved the pattern, the tailored fit and the asymmetric zip detailing. I also loved these shorts from Miss Selfridge that I think add a nice pop of colour as we move towards Spring. 

Overall, our trip to London was a success and I will definitely be looking into plans to go back in the Summer. Check out my next post for some of my purchases from London!

Julia

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New Year, New Trends.

It's still Winter, and unfortunately it's still cold, but to cheer myself up I am already looking towards the Spring trends of 2014. Since I'm a student and I have a slight shopping addiction (major understatement) I try to make smart purchases which I know I can style in different ways or can fit in with various trends around at the moment. In this post I thought it would be cool to show you my latest purchases and why I think they will be perfect for the emerging 2014 trends! 

Bomber Jackets & Florals

Bowler Hat - Forever 21
Jacket - Mango
Mom Jeans - Pretty Little Thing
Crop Top - Asos
Necklace - River Island
Brogues - New Look

As I'm too lazy to face the boxing day sales I usually just have a quick scan of the shops online, one of my purchases being this lovely bomber jacket from Mango. Luckily I noticed that bomber jackets are emerging as a trend for Spring 2014, as the perfect light jacket when it hopefully begins to get a bit warmer. The pattern also fits in with the bold floral trend appearing this season!

Long Skirts & Sheer 

Top - Topshop
Skirt - Boohoo
Shoes - Fashion Union
Bag - Bershka
Necklace - River Island

One of my favourite looks that I've seen recently is the use of sheer, which is basically see-through areas of fabric on tops, skirts and so on. I actually purchased this top before Christmas but I've gradually seen this similar idea popping up in various shops and I love it! The shape of this top is also interesting as 'shift blouses' are going to be big this season where the sleeves tend to be slightly longer and almost like a boxy shape. I've worn this with a long skirt as this is again an emerging look for Spring - this is more of a maxi skirt with a split because it's the only type I can get off with being so short - but the long skirt trend tends to be more pleated skirts.

For more information and images of Spring trends you can visit my pinterest page through the link below!

http://www.pinterest.com/julsb94/trends-2014/

Julia

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Dressmas

Feels weird saying this...but welcome to my first post of 2014! Been really busy over the festive period so haven't been blogging for a while. Although, I thought that the start of a new year is always a good time to get back into it. 

Leading up to the Christmas period it's always a stress trying to find a dress for festive parties or for New Year. This year I managed to find mine quite far in advance but got tempted into other purchases after receiving vouchers and money for Christmas. Below are two dresses I want to share that I bought over Christmas!

Dress - Miss Selfridge
Shoes - Asos
Necklace - Hot Diamonds

This first dress was purchased from Miss Selfridge for a New Year party. I love the heavy use of embellishment and sparkle - perfect for the Christmas period! I don't normally wear dresses with more floaty skirts but I wanted to dress up a bit since it was New Year. I've just worn this with plain black heels and a subtle silver necklace (can hardly see this in the photo) since the top section of the dress is quite eye-catching. 

Dress - Asos
Shoes - Asos

This second dress is a bit of an impulse purchase from Asos. Even though it's still freezing outside, its the start of the new year and I'm already looking towards spring/summer trends. I noticed that boxy sleeves have been cropping up quite a lot which you can kind of see in this dress and I also like the bold, unusual pattern which will be nice in the lead up to Spring/Summer. I've just worn this with black heels because again, the dress is quite eye-catching. 

Hope you all had an amazing Christmas/New Year and continue to read my blog through 2014!

Julia

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A Zest for Zara

Bowler Hat - Forever 21
T-Shirt - Zara
Shorts - Zara
Boots - Primark
Necklace - New Look

If I step into Zara and I don't buy anything, or at least want something, there is something seriously wrong! Due to Zara delivering new products to their stores twice a week, I constantly find myself in there at least once a week - definitely a shopaholic... 

Yesterday, while waiting for a train, I popped into Zara and made a few impulse buys in the form of some lovely lace shorts and the 'something very addictive' t-shirt you see in the pictures above. I kind of bought these separately but when I got home and tried them on I thought they actually looked really nice together. I've styled this with my bowler hat that I purchased last month in Glasgow and my black and gold boots from Primark. I'll probably need to wear some tights though since it's freezing here in Scotland!

Also loving how I look pretty tanned in these photos!

Free free to comment as always.

Julia

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A Velvet Crush

Leggings - Asos
Tartan Shirt - Zara
Crop Top - Topshop
Frilly Socks - Topshop
Converse - JD Sports
Chain - River Island
Ring - Primark
Scrunchie - Unsure...had this for years!

Another week, another impulse buy! Once again I gave in to a tempting Asos sale item in the form of these black crush velvet leggings. You might have already noticed, velvet has made a revival, fitting in with the baroque trend which has emerged this Autumn/Winter and especially in the lead up to Christmas as we begin to see velvet dresses - perfect for a party outfit!

I decided to go for a more sensible option, opting for some leggings to keep myself cosy - a bargain price of £17.50 helped persuaded me even more. If you're looking for something which is a bit different, I would suggest adding some velvet as the change in texture can make something as simple as a pair of leggings that little bit more interesting. Here I've gone for a kind of 90's/grunge theme with a scrunchie, a baggy crop top and a tartan shirt. 

Julia

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How To Wear: Forest Green

Dress - Topshop
Shoes - Oh My Love
Bracelet - Primark

As my final post of my 'How To Wear' themed coursework for university, I've decided to embrace the fact that it's getting closer and closer to Christmas by showing you my latest purchase which will be making an appearance at work/Christmas nights out. 

Recently I read a trend report for the colour 'Forest Green', which is set to be a growing colour trend in the lead up to Christmas. It's no surprise that Topshop have caught on to this quick, tempting me into my latest purchase.

What I love about this dress is that it's really unusual! It's not only the colour that stands out but the different layers on the dress make it quite eye-catching and unique. It sort of looks like a separate crop top and skirt which is joined together by a black mesh, exposed at the back as the fabric splits in two showing the gold zip. 

Due to the high neck and lace fabric, I've kept the jewellery to a minimum with a simple gold bracelet as the dress is already quite intricate and detailed. I've added simple black platforms and worn my hair up as I think this shows the neckline and detailing of the dress better. 

Hope you've enjoyed reading my 'How To Wear' themed project and haven't been too bored of my constant posts! 

Julia

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How To Wear: Customised

Camouflage Jacket - Blue Rinse
White Top - Asos
Jeans - River Island
Chain - River Island
Converse - JD Sports
Shirt Dress - Clothes Show Live
Cardigan - Tesco
Socks - New Look

Since the majority of my clothes are from high street stores or well known websites it's hard to find something unique that nobody else already has, or that nobody else can go and buy. However, with vintage clothes and customisation becoming more popular, this is a great way to find an interesting one-off piece of clothing. 

The camouflage jacket is an item that I have had for a long time now - I bought this when camouflage first made it's comeback this year - but it's something that I don't think I will ever throw out, or not for a long time anyway. I bought it from the company 'Blue Rinse', who sell vintage clothing but they also take existing garments and cut them up, re-working them into a totally different item, which is what they have done with this camouflage jacket, adding studs and zip details. I love the fact I am the only person who has this item!

Similarly, I visited the Clothes Show Live last year as part of my university course. It's basically an event featuring lots of different clothes, make-up and other fashion related stalls. What I loved about the event was that there was a mixture of typical high street stores but also smaller vintage companies who were selling really interesting and unique items of clothing. This is where I purchased my shirt dress, which had been customised, so again there was only one of each kind. Not really sure why I chose the one with the Kendall Racing logo, it just stood out to me! 

Would definitely encourage looking at vintage and customised clothing if you're looking for something a bit unusual!

Julia

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