missguided | Vanity Claire

ClaireSeptember 14, 2014

Outfit of the Day: Fluffy Bums

Coat: New Look | Crop Top: Missguided (similar) | Skirt: Primark | Boots: eBay | Bag: Primark

Aloha bitches! So in case you think this OOTD looks a bit familiar, I suppose it is a bit, er, exactly the same as Lauren’s from the other day (which you can see here). What can I say, all-black outfits jazzed up with a duster coat is just our thing now, okay? My new duster also comes from New Look, though mine is a a light crepe material, making it the perfect transitional piece. I’ve worn it nearly every day since I bought it, and like the way it updates any outfit.

Another difference between this outfit and Lauren’s is that my bum is made of fur. Oh yes, Primark have ventured into the world of fluffy skirts this year and I had to grab one as soon as I saw it (despite it still being a pretty sweaty August day at the time and getting a very weird look from the cashier). On the receipt it was listed as part of a 2-piece so I am PRAYING to the gods of ridiculous outfits that there is a matching fluffy jumper, preferably slightly cropped with cropped sleeves. If you’ve seen something resembling that in your local Primark then PLEASE let me know in the comments below because I won’t be happy until I can be head-to-toe fluffball.

The bag is also new, and also of course from Primark. With three different compartments it’s a pretty decent alternative to the Zara city bag, and at only £11 is much more purse friendly. Can I get a BOOYA?

What do you all think of this outfit?

ClaireSeptember 12, 2014

The 8-Piece Winter Wardrobe: Missguided A/W Wishlist

Today I’m sporting a vampy purple lip, the view from my office window is dismal at best, and my only plans for the weekend involve watching X Factor… oh yes, autumn is truly here. Which is actually a good thing, because it means that I get to force another batch of A/W14 goodies on you (go back and read my River Island collection review NOW) (…please). Today it’s the turn of Missguided, who, if you’ve read our blog for a while, you’ll know we love a ridiculous amount. Their latest drop is nothing short of amazing, and I’ve picked my favourite pieces from the collection. With a mix of monochrome knitwear, winter florals and versatile co-ords, there’s plenty of room for mixing and matching. I therefore think picking up just these 8 pieces could create a complete wardrobe re-vamp for the new season. A bold claim I know. But just LOOK…

Fluffy Cropped Jumper and Fluffy Skirt : £14.99 each / Grid Jumper: £17.99

Print Playsuit: £24.99 / Maxi Overlay Playsuit: £34.99

Cropped Ribbed Turtleneck: £17.99 / Floral Cigarette Trousers: £19.99

Aztec Trousers: £19.99 and Aztec Crop: £14.99 / Camel Coat: £39.99

What do you all think of the AW14 collection? Are you convinced my capsule wardrobe claims? Let us know in the comments below!

ClaireAugust 5, 2014

Outfit of the Day: Missguided and Vintage Denim

Missguided Swing Dress | Missguided Gold Chain Necklace | Cow Vintage Denim Jacket | Converse

Hey hottays,

I am happy to say that Claire is back in England and I no longer have to cry myself to sleep every night. I’m not really sure how I coped quite frankly.

In my state of unhappiness and woe, I had to go shopping to try and cheer myself up in Claire’s absence. It did help actually, especially since I found this absolutely fabulous denim jacket from Cow, a vintage shop based in Birmingham (although they have shops in Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield too!). If you’re ever in the Birmingham area, I thoroughly recommend a visit to Cow – they have some absolutely EXCELLENT vintage denim and also loads of bags/shoes/dresses/errrrrything. I was really tempted by a chain print blouse while I was there as well, but managed to not get too drawn in (how, I don’t know). They retail online as well, so go and have a nosey kids, this is their website. The Birmingham Cow is based in Digbeth.

Anywho, enough ramblings about how much I enjoy Cow. The denim jacket I got is from the men’s section, mainly because I couldn’t find a ladies one with the right level of acid wash. I wanted it pretty oversized anyway, so I’m MEGA pleased with it even if I am technically cross dressing.

I paired the jacket with a simple Missguided swing dress, a gold chain and my horribly battered converse. I’ve got Rimmel’s Apocolips in Big Bang on my face (no really, I managed to get it in my eyebrow this morning) and fashioned my hair into some french braids.

HUZZAH. I only slightly look like an alien in that little selfie OH WELL.

ClaireJuly 30, 2014

Outfit of the Day: Missguided Dogtooth Print Mini Dress

Hey homies,

As Claire is on holiday and I am tragically sitting at home and basically roasting in my room right now, I thought I’d take a couple of outfit snaps. I don’t know about all of you other grafters who do 9-5, but these last few weeks have been torture sitting at a desk crying about how hot it is and how there is no cider policy at work (e.g. cider is compulsory when it gets to 20+ degrees).

Thankfully, we can wear what we like to work so I have been whipping out my pasty white legs in the hope that I kill off my colleagues with moon blindness and I can go home. No luck so far.

Anywho, I bought this Missguided dress last week because I was off to a wedding at the weekend – I was meeting my boyfriends work pals for the first time, so I didn’t want to look like a massive tramp. This dress was my Friday outfit, as we were there from Friday – Sunday and I had to pretend not to be a tramp for THREE WHOLE DAYS. I wuv it, pastels are my fave and its surprisingly flattering even though its relatively bodycon. I can’t seem to find it onsite anymore though, which is odd.

I wore it with a fedora, which I robbed from Claire ages ago and haven’t had the heart to give it back to her. Pale girls need hats, because we unfortunately get burnt noses and accidentally look like Rudolph in July.

I popped on my big, round New Look sunnies to shade my eyeballs from the sun and a gold chain because gold chains make me happy.

Shoes-wise I have this pair of heeled trainer-y type fandangoes on my feet. I got them in Birmingham at a shop that none of you will have heard of, but you can find similar on Asos here.

I must be off to go and try and not melt.

Goodbye.

ClaireJuly 27, 2014

July 2014 Haul: ASOS, Missguided & Primark

Do you ever have one of those months where you check your bank balance and actually consider alerting the authorities because you’re convinced SOMEONE must have swiped your card and gone on a spending spree? I did. As always though, I then looked in my wardrobe and realised that yes, a lunatic had indeed been on shopping spree… but that lunatic was me.

Non, je ne regrette rien.

Floral Shift Dress: River Island via ASOS / Sunflower Print Smock Dress: Motel Rocks*

I’ve been loving the ASOS sale this month, and this River Island dress was one of the beauties I picked up for my summer wardrobe for the mere price of £17 (down from £32). It comes quite long on me, so that teamed with the three-quarter sleeves and loose shift fit means that this is officially my new ‘grown up’ dress. Work meeting? I’ll wear this dress. Family meal? I’ll wear this dress. Want me to hang out with your nan? I’ll wear this dress (incidentally if anyone does want me to hang out with their nan then I genuinely will; I don’t have any grandparents left and really long for someone to do crosswords and bitch about young people with. Will bring my own Victoria sponge).

I was also lucky enough to WIN this beaut Motel dress last month from Yahoo Lifestyle‘s Twitter account, which I was super happy with. I don’t have the best luck with babydoll/smock dresses, but this one fits really nicely and isn’t as swampy as many that have come before it.

Layered Cami & Beach Cover Up: both Primark

I popped into Primark for some ‘holiday bits’ (yep that old excuse) recently and had to pick up this coral cami. I have the same style in a floral/jungle print and I absolutely love the way it sits so couldn’t resist this version too. For only £6 it’s fantastico value for money. I also found this crochet, tassled vest top which is perfect as a beach cover up (actually something holiday-related, huzzah!). This was only £10 and they also did it in black, so I’m considering sneaking back for that one before my holiday on Tuesday. Because… well, why wouldn’t you?!

I also picked up these 3 pairs of shoesies from Primark. Both of the sandals were £4 I believe, and the nude heels were a crazy good £13.

Watermelon Crop: New Look /Tropical Print Crop: Missguided

Like it or not, watermelons are sexy now thanks to Beyoncé. Fruit print is all over the joint this S/S so I couldn’t say no to this little crop tee in New Look, especially as it was a mere £5.99. As it’s summer, my crop top game is of course on, so this little palm print beauty also found its way into a recent Missguided order. It’s scuba material, obviously (rumour has it everything is made from scuba material at Missguided, even the staplers and the staff), so has a really nice, flattering fit.

The same Missguided order saw me pick up this scuba frill crop top and scuba midi skirt, which I featured in this recent pastel OOTD so I won’t waffle on about them anymore (on a side note, mmmm waffles).

Crop Tee: Brave Soul via ASOS /Floral Sweat: Pull&Bear via ASOS

ANOTHER trip to the ASOS sale saw me pick up these 2 sale babies. I like the Brave Soul top because of its exceptionally subtle nod towards wealth (nobody will ever know that I was only able to fill my petrol tank halfway because I was so broke before payday, shhhh) and the Pull&Bear one will be lovely as we head into slightly chillier months. These were £10 and £6 respectively.

Bardot Body: Motel Rocks via ASOS

And the final purchase of the ASOS sale, and the month, was this Motel body which was £25 down to £12. Surely the sheer amount of bargains I acquired this month make this all totally acceptable, right? And if we think about the amount of money I’ve saved in the sales then, er, this is all basically free. Ah, the warped logic of a lunatic/blogger.

What do you all think of this haul? And what have you been buying lately?

ClaireJuly 21, 2014

Prom Accessories with New Look #2

There is nothing better than a nice pair of heels and a fancy bag is there? In fact, I’ve been mooning over shoes and bags for the past FOUR DAYS trying to decide what to buy for a weekend away on Friday (no luck yet, boo). Anywho, so I was clearly hugely excited when New Look contacted me and Claire to have a little style up of some accessories from their prom accessories selection.

I was on my holibobs in South Africa when they did, so Claire picked these two beautiful bits out for me! I absolutely love them, and I’ve been hankering after a glittery bag for, I kid you not, years.

So, in Claire’s prom post, she chatted about her tragic prom outfits but I can tell you here and now, they were nothing on mine. At my GCSE prom, I thought it would be a nice idea to get my mum to make my dress. She used to be a wedding dress maker, so she knows what she’s doing around a sewing machine. Unfortunately, she was also making a couple of wedding dresses at the time and I basically forced her to make my dress like she was a poor sweat shop worker. I also chose the dress to be in some kind of horrific pale green satin (VOM AND VOM) and fancied myself something fit when I got some eyeshadow to match.

My sixth form prom was a little better, with a relatively normal monochrome chiffon skater dress. It had these cream applique roses on the top, but unfortunately I decided to match and got shoes with cream roses on too. There is such a thing as too much matching. It wasn’t matching in a cool co-rd way but rather a ‘I hunted through the Trafford Centre for these shoes that are the exact same colour and aren’t actually nice’ kind of way.

Shoes: New Look* | Bag: New Look* | Dress: Missguided | Hair Extensions: Dirty Looks*

P.S. WHY ARE MY LEGS SO PALE AND WIDE. I’M BLAMING THE ANGLE.

I wish I had worn something a bit more like this to my two proms! I may have looked less like an actual raving lunatic. I love the dress, which I bought from Missguided a few months ago. While I do love it with my whole tiny hear, unfortunately I never have any occasions to wear it to (hint, need a 17 year old boyfriend to take me to prom). It goes perfectly with the New Look bag and I think the shoes work pretty well too! While these are marketed as prom accessories by the folks at New Look, I think they’re pretty banging for night out wear and also for any fancy occasion you might be hauling your fine ass to.

Thanks again to the lovely folks at New Look for sending these goodies over, and I am very excited to sit in my room in my fancy dress for the next 30+ years BECAUSE I WILL NEVER HAVE A FANCY OCCASION TO GO TO EVER AGAIN.

What do you think of these New Look accessories?

ClaireJuly 7, 2014

Outfit of the Day: Missguided Pastels

Top: Missguided / Skirt: Missguided / Shoes: Garage / Bag: c/o New Look

HELLO SNUGGLEBUMS. It’s been a while since I’ve done an OOTD, not because I’ve been doing a Godiva and walking round Coventry in the nud, but because I’ve basically hated all of my clothes over the past few weeks. Payday came around and I was therefore forced to place a few online orders, one of which from Missguided included this little top and skirt combo that I wore to a party over the weekend.

I really love both pieces and think they make a really nice summery outfit together. They’ll both also work just as well separately and can be dressed up or down. The skirt may even be sneaked into my work wardrobe if I can manage not to throw tea all over myself (unlikely).

My Garage heels made another appearance and I also got chance to use my beaut new transparent clutch from New Look. I’d wanted a transparent bag for a while, but had obvious concerns over walking round with everything on show – I mean, I’m not too bothered about anyone wanting to steal my bashed up iPhone or life savings of £3.50, but I don’t think I can handle the shame of people seeing how dirty my makeup brush is. This bag has a little zipped up section though so you can stash away the stuff you don’t want on show, reeeeesult.

What do you all think of this outfit? Let me know in the comments below!

ClaireJuly 2, 2014

Style Inspo: Summer Wedding Outfit Ideas

Hello fellow idiots,

It seems that I have finally grown up into a grown woman. Pass me a Sunday afternoon of Agatha Christie’s Poirot, a glass of gin and a few cats (why lie, I always liked these things). But aside from my imminent old lady behaviour, I’m actually starting to go to weddings regularly in the summer. If that’s not a sign of being in your 20s, I don’t know what is.

While this is all very well and its nice to celebrate mates’ everlasting love and everything, I am very tired of deciding what to wear to the damn things.

I don’t know about you hunnys, but I am the type of girl who sells pretty much all of my clothes right after I’ve worn them (ever Insta’d in the same outfit twice, you get me) so I virtually NEVER have anything nice to wear ever. Which means I always have to buy new outfits, which also means that I have to plan these silly things. And wedding outfits are the worst to plan. You don’t want to look like a hoochie mama, but you also don’t want to look like a massive snore who has no mates. So with the couple of weddings I’ve got to drag myself to this summer, here are a few wedding outfit ideas for you (and me) to feast your eyes on.

Paisley Print Cut Out Mini Dress | Hampshire Heeled Sandals | Patent Pink Clutch | Diamante Statement Necklace | Rectangular Stone Ring

Floral Print Jumpsuit | Gold Statement Necklace | White Metal Bar Clutch Bag | Chanel Lipstick in Camella | White Sandal Heels

Midi Skater Dress | Cleated Platform Sandals | Gold & Blue Statement Necklace | Pale Blue Cleated Clutch Bag

What do you think gals?

I would greatly appreciate your input, because I seriously need some bangin’ outfits to wear this summer! If you have any wedding outfit ideas posts too, then please leave them in the comments below so that I can have a massive perv and probably steal your ideas.

ClaireJune 11, 2014

SS14 Highstreet Wishlist: Topshop, Pretty Little Thing & More

Topshop La Vie Boheme Crop Top | Missguided Strawberry Print Strappy Crop | Topshop Lip Bullet in Covet | ASOS Huntington Heeled Sandals | Pretty Little Thing Holographic Platforms

Pretty Little Thing Cloud Print Co-ord | ASOS Pink Flatform Trainers | Sleek Au Natural Eyeshadow Palette | Topshop Gold Collar | Bleach London Reincarnation Mask

Even though I am SUPER poor at the moment, I have been shopping more than I care to admit. There’s just so many amazing things on the highstreet at the moment and it’s virtually impossible to resist. I’m not entirely sure what the shops are playing at to be honest, WHY YOU STOCK NICE THINGS?

These are just a few of the bits and bobs I’ve got my eye on at the moment. I don’t know about you stunners, but I always put things on my wish list that I know aren’t going to suit me but I love anyway. Those ASOS Huntington heeled sandals are one of those. My giant plank feet would look genuinely ridiculous in them, but how amazing? I need some kind of perspex heel in my life. NOW.

I also really want to try that Bleach London Reincarnation Mask – You might have read my recent Bleach London Awkward Peach review, but I’m big into Bleach London products at the moment. This hair mask is supposed to repair and moisturise damaged hair, and BLOODY HELL the packaging is so cute.

When I own these, I will be the fanciest person in the world.

ClaireJune 3, 2014

Highstreet Beef: Things I don’t Love

At the moment, I am slightly consumed by rage. I’m not too sure what my problem is, but I have just been an angry, angry person recently. In fact, when Claire and I drove home today, I flipped someone off. Granted, they did cut us off BUT still. There was no real need.

So, in the interest of channelling my inner rage into something positive (kind of), I have decided to create a post of current highstreet bits and bobs that I think are downright silly. Now, I’m the type of girl who is happy to embrace even the stupidest of trends (see jelly shoes), but there is a strong, fashiony line for me. And here are the highstreet nonsense items that I just plain don’t like.

Drop Waist Dresses

Topshop Drop Waist Jersey Tunic | ASOS Gingham Drop Waist Dress | Topshop Bonded Drop Waist Tunic

Drop waist dresses are a huge bug bear of mine. In theory, I should like them. They’re a close cousin to the skater dress, which I love with the fiery passion of an ice skating goddess. But, they’re just so wrong in so many ways. Unless you are a willowy beautiful person, they will look lovely on you. But if you are a short, slightly dumpy person like I am, they will more than make you look like a potato. NO THANK YOU. Also, the word drop waist makes me think of some kind of accidental toilet problem in your trousers.

Culottes

Another stressful garment on the highstreet that causes me deep amounts of pain. Like drop waisted dresses, they look lovely on tall willowy ladies, but bloody stupid on me. In fact, they make me look at least 10 times worse than a certain Game of Thrones character who got his head violently squashed. I just don’t really understand how long, billowy shorts are supposed to look normal on a 5ft girl. At all. And I’m very unsure about what shoes anyone would wear with them.

ASOS Culottes | Topshop Palm Print Culottes | Boohoo Butterfly Print Culottes

Knee Length Gladiator Sandals

Boohoo Cage Leg Gladiators | Missguided Cage Gladiator Sandals | Carvela Tall Gladiator Sandals

MORE SHORT GIRL PROBLEMS. I say that these are knee length, but on me they would basically be thigh length. And they would genuinely make me look like the most ridiculous person in the whole entire world. In fact, I can’t think of anything less flattering on my ham legs. Frankly, these would be an absolute disaster. I hate them. Although that’s mostly because I can’t pull them off. I have seen many a beautiful fashion bloggers wearing them and looking fierce. But not me. Plus, Claire just made the valid point that they look a little bit like when you by a joint of string wrapped beef.

So anywho, these are my LEAST favourite things on the highstreet at the moment. Reading back, I think most of my issues with them are actually because I am short, rather than because they are horrible. But ya know. That’s that.