ClaireNovember 5, 2013

Outfit of the Day | Fluffy Jumper & Acid Wash Jeans

Good afternoon huns,

We had a very exciting morning: Claire bought a car last night and we drove to work (if by we, I mean she did) for the first time. WHOA WHOA WHOA. Her car is a beautiful Fiat 500 in pale pale blue and I think I may have become one of those strange humans that fancies automobiles.

In my role as supportive housemate, I chose my outfit very carefully this morning. It had to be something that said “hey, I’m here for you. If you need a mid-journey hug, I am a viable option”. Obviously, the only thing that would say this successfully was my new fluffy jumper from Forever 21. Which I did not just wear because it’s new and I love it. I wore it purely because my pal might need some fluffy delight during horrifying rush hour in Cov. Wink wink, nudgey nudge.

I paired my beautiful new fluffy jumper with my Topshop acid wash jeans (big surprise there), a Primark peach blouse, a Primark gold necklace and my tan brouges from New Look. My lipstick is Collection Mango Tango, which I reviewed here. This was the result:

Needless to say, I’m cosier than a cosy thing at work today. I’m not usually a big fan of Forever 21, but there are SO many nice things in the Birmingham store at the moment. If you’re based in the West Midlands, I thoroughly recommend popping in and checking out what they have in. I feel like a wooly mammoth, in a good way.

What do you think of my Tuesday outfit? I really want to start planning my day outfits a bit better and this is the start of looking a bit more put together (I hope…)

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ClaireOctober 17, 2013

Outfit of the Day: Winter Pastels & Leather Leggings

Jumper: c/o New Look | Leather-Look Leggings: River Island (old) | Shoes: Converse | Beanie: H&M | Jewellery: Primark

I face many, many challenges as we head into winter, including how to avoid slipping over on the ice when wearing heels and how to go about sneaking my slanket into work with me. The biggest one of all though, is trying to battle my natural instincts to wear nothing but chunky knitwear, leggings and Uggs. My penchant for dark colours also comes out most strongly during the colder months, so if left to my own devices I would most likely be constantly seen solely in big, dark jumpers, as if in mourning for, I dunno, my fashion sense?

I therefore decided that this mint jumper from New Look HAD to be mine if I wanted a fighting chance of keeping some sort of colour in my winter wardrobe. How nice is the colour?! It’s perfect for the winter pastel trend, which I decided to make the most of by also wearing my lilac Converse. The jumper’s an Angora blend, so feels very luxurious, if a tad itchy (it’s the itch of rich people though, so you have to love it). It’s actually quite a slim fitting jumper, so I bought this in a size 16 for a slouchy, oversized feel.

The beanie’s also a new addition to my wardrobe. I can never really decide if I suit hats; I have a weirdly massive head and I think sometimes they emphasize that while making my face look even smaller, like a pea. However, beanies are just too comfy to ignore this winter, and this one cost just £3.99 from H&M so is an absolute bargain. They’re also superb for hiding roots – er, not that that’s why I’m wearing mine… ahem.

I like the mixture of prettiness and grunge in this outfit. Did I just say grunge? Yes, I unfortunately did, let’s just move on with our lives. It’s also ludicrously comfortable and so could perhaps be the sort of outfit to pull me out of my boring routine this autumn/winter.

What do you all think of this outfit? What are your tips for staying stylish in the winter months?

ClaireOctober 7, 2013

Outfit of the Day: Winter Floral Swing Dress & Primark Brogues

Hola amigos and amigettes. We had a SUPER busy weekend here at Stylingo HQ; what with it being my birthday on Friday this of course meant that the celebrations had to carry on into the weekend. That’s what birthdays are basically about after all, isn’t it? Just stretching out for as long as possible the amount of time that people have to be nice to you and buy you food? Here is my OOTD from Saturday afternoon, when I went out for lunch with a friend. Nothing says ‘happy birthday Claire’ quite like free bubble tea and chicken fajitas. I was a happy egg.

Floral Swing Dress: Cameo Rose c/o New Look | Tights: Primark | Brogues: Primark | Bag: Marc B

Not to toot my own wardrobe’s horn too much, but I’m quite in love with this outfit (dishevelled left shoelace aside). I wasn’t sure whether swing dresses would be flattering on me or not due to their swampy nature, but I actually think it sits really nicely – and allows for chicken fajita bloat, which is an added bonus. I had to wear a bandeau underneath because it falls quite low at the back and I didn’t feel like flashing the world the back of my bra, but I think that’s mainly down to my lack of boobs making it fit a bit baggier on me.

My favourite part of the dress is the print; it can be hard for florals to look winter-appropriate but I think the colours in this dress work perfectly. The orange in the dress also help the brogues (which appeared in my birthday haul post) to work with this outfit – I used to be a passionate hater of wearing brown with black, but I think when there are other colours thrown into the mix like with this outfit then all is fair in love and fashion.

I’m waffling now, I literally have no idea what I’m even talking about. But let me know what you think of this outfit!

ClaireOctober 5, 2013

Outfit of the Day: Birthday Marc B Bag!

Hey loves! As you may know from Lauren’s very kind Twitter proclamations, yesterday was my 23rd birthday. I’ll have a full birthday post including all the lovely goodies I’ve received coming soon, but for now I thought I would quickly share my OOTD, including one new very special piece of arm candy… MY NEW MARC B BABY.

Cardigan – Primark / Cami – Primark / Jeggings – Topshop / Frilly Socks – Primark / Ankle Boots – New Look / Necklace – Tiffanys / Bag – Marc B

I just had a very casual day for my birthday yesterday, which involved popping into town for some lunch and – of course – a bit of shopping, hence my very casual outfit. I don’t know about all of y’all, but making an effort to dress nice-ish for work each day (which we don’t have to, but ever since I accidentally ended up getting VIP tickets to Rihanna and had to go dressed like a tramp, I like to make more of an effort in case anything else is sprung on me) means that when I get a day off I just enjoy slouching around.

A huge thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday on Twitter! I’ve had a brilliant one so far, and the fun is continuing over into the weekend – HUZZAH. Maybe being 23 won’t be so boring after all.

ClaireSeptember 30, 2013

Outfit of the Day: ASOS Petite Midi Dress

Dress – ASOS Petite(sold out) / Shoes – New Look (old) / Bracelets & Ring: Primark

Bonjour and hola my wee lasses. Just a quick OOTD post for you today to show you what I wore to my sister’s fiance’s 30th on Saturday night. I know it’s a pretty boring outfit, but I was told the party was a ‘suave occasion’ involving champagne so it didn’t seem like the right place to try something creative with mesh and snapbacks (as I usually would, of course).

I know the printed midi has pretty much has its day now as far as evening wear goes, but it was for this reason that I managed to snap up this dress for only £11.50 so I wasn’t complaining. Because of the busy print I kept everything else simple, with a pair of trusy old suede heels from New Look, small silver jewellery and my new flowing locks curled and pinned to one side.

I also accessorised with a big massive CARB BELLY as the low back of the dress meant I couldn’t wear my fat pants. I suffered some serious baguette regret from my overly large lunch, I tell you.

ClaireSeptember 16, 2013

Outfit of the Day: Quilted Leather Skirt

Top: Topshop Petite (old) / Quilted Leather-Look Skirt – Primark / Tights – Primark / Boots – New Look / Necklace – Tiffanys / Bag – Topshop

You know when you buy something and then don’t wear it for weeks and weeks because you just can’t work out whether you like it or not? That is the situation I’ve found myself in lately with this skirt, which I featured in my August haul post last month. I knew it was a good Autumn piece, I knew it should theoretically go with a lot, but could I just put it on and be happy? No, I could not.

Eventually though, I manned the eff up and wore it to work one day last week. It wasn’t until I actually arrived in the office that it occurred to me that wearing a leather mini skirt to work might not be a toooootally normal thing to do, but hey ho. I decided to keep it simple and monochrome by teaming it with this lace-ish scoop-back Topshop top that I’ve had for yonks, thick black tights (winter is coming, as the Starks would say) and of course my cut-out boots, which might have to be surgically removed from my feet soon.

After months of wearing thick gold chains and heavy spikes, I’ve started to prefer more delicate pieces of jewellery again. In steps my Tiffanys necklace that my sister got me for my 21st. It’s basically the only nice piece of jewellery I own and I love it very very dearly – potentially as much as I love flapjacks, and that’s mega loads.

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ClaireSeptember 13, 2013

New Look’s A/W 2013 Denim Campaign

If in a few years time you’re asked to recall what major events happened in 2013, what will you say? That our future king was born? That the Pope quit? That Miley Cyrus became a full time hoochie? NO, you won’t say any of these things unless your priorities are completely out of whack. You will instead say that 2013 was the year of the denim revolution.

This summer, we saw denim enter our lives in ways which we might not have expected. I for one had a lifelong hope that denim skirts would NEVER make a comeback after the god-awful denim mini skirts of the early 00s (I think my sister actually had one with some sort of jewels on, though I’m hoping that was just a nightmare I had). But lo and behold, there I was in 2013 handing my money over to the fine people of Topshop in exchange for a denim skater skirt which I absolutely loved. Then when the 90s trend came along, dungarees came with it. Once again, I was left gobsmacked by the fact that people actually looked decent in them and not just like they were performing in a Dexy’s Midnight Runners tribute act, about to burst into a rousing chorus of ‘Come On Eileen’. Certainly, it was an exciting season for denim.

As we head into Autumn/Winter, our legs become chilly and thoughts inevitably start to turn to jeans. There was definitely a worry that the humble jeans could end up losing popularity now that we’ve experienced what life is like with their funkier denim cousins (if you didn’t have this worry then, again, you need to think about your priorities). Thankfully though, new Autumn/Winter denim ranges are starting to be released and BY JOVE, THEY’RE FUN.

New Look are one store who have just launched their new denim campaign. While they still have a range of denim shorts, jackets, dungarees and skirts to swoon over, it’s the jeans that have attracted my attention. In terms of fit and shape, there isn’t really anything revolutionary to report. The skinny jean is still king of all it surveys, with three variations hitting stores: the skinny, the highrise skinny and the super skinny. For those who like the skinny look but also want to feel like they can chow down on as many biscuits as they like (i.e. ME), jeggings are also featured strongly in the new campaign. And for those who just can’t get on with skinny denim, there’s the classic bootcut.

What’s really interesting about the new range, though, is what’s being done with texture and pattern. Coloured jeans seem to have taken a bit of a back seat this season. While there are still burgundy and electric blue hues around, pastels are firmly out (so sorry, lavender jeans, away you go). Instead it’s all about the finish of the jeans. Acid wash remains huge, but the new big cheese on the block (let’s all pretend that’s a real phrase please) is coated jeans. If you’re not quite brave enough for full leather trousers or disco pants, then coated jeans are the much more wearable take on the trend, and can be dressed up or down for effortless style.

As always, I’m SUPER impressed with New Look’s latest denim offerings. With leg lengths ranging from 28″-34″, they cater to all different shapes and sizes – even us teeny tiny hobbit girls. For a full look at their Autumm/Winter denim campaign, have a look at NL Daily.

What do you all think of the latest season’s denim trends?

ClaireSeptember 3, 2013

Autumn/Winter 2013 Mini Trend: Cut-Out Ankle Boots

Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to my new loves. I featured these boots in my recent haul post, but thought I’d write a bit more about them seeing as they’re ~~SEXY~~ definitely one of my key A/W pieces.

Cut-out ankle boots are something that bloggers have been loving for a while now, with the Topshop Arabel boots becoming almost a cult item. This winter though, cut-out boots are really coming into the mainstream and are ALL over the high street. I think they’re a really fun take on the winter staple that is the humble ankle boot, and easily add edge to any outfit.

Although the clunky, biker boot style is the real on-trend choice, I opted for this slightly more feminine version, deciding that the slight heel would give me a much-needed boost in the height stakes and also that I could get away with wearing these to work without attracting too many strange looks (which me and Lauren are quite used to). These are from New Look and, at £28, are definitely at the cheaper end of the scale which I was really happy with.

I think the key to these boots is what you wear under them. During autumn you can flash some ankle flesh through the cut-outs (though I definitely recommend wearing those footsie socks unless you want to become the sweatiest, most blistered girl about town), and then as the temperature drops there are a whole host of fun socks and tights options for you to frolic round in. I’ve bought six new pairs of frilly socks just to wear with these (excessive, meeee?), including two pairs of lace socks, the black version of which are pictured above. These were only £1.19 each from this eBay seller in China, and thankfully the shipping was amazingly fast and they arrived after only about 8 days. My sister said I looked like a creep Victorian porcelain doll in them, but I decided to take that as a positive.

I’m completely in love with these boots, and they’ve already received loads of compliments each time I’ve worn them. I’ve scoured the rest of the high street and web and tracked down a good range of alternatives, ranging in price, style and colours (though I still think trusty black is my fave).

River Island – £45 / Topshop – – £70 / Zara – £79.99 / Primark – £18 /

eBay – £19.99 / New Look Limited Edition – £59.99 / New Look – £27.99 / Office – £85

What do you all think of cut-out ankle boots?

ClaireAugust 24, 2013

August Haul: Primark and New Look

Today I did something I have never done before: walked out of my hairdresser’s house and burst into tears. It is honestly the most upset I’ve been about my hair, and this is coming from the girl who had to go to her Year 11 Leavers’ Ball looking like Honey Boo Boo.

After having my weave re-sewn in today, I asked my hairdresser to trim an inch or so off the ends as they were looking a bit ratty – so please imagine my shock when I looked in the mirror and saw that what were my 18 inch hair extensions had now been cut into a bizarre long bob which is only about an inch longer than my natural hair.

I did the typically British thing of smiling brightly, saying thank you and commenting how healthy it looked, and then fled. I admit crying might have been a bit dramatic, but it dawned on me that since having extensions, long hair has become a bit of a security blanket for me. Suddenly being out with natural-length hair made me feel like a big naked weirdo – and who wants to feel like one of those?

After ringing a friend and explaining that I would be hiding in my house for a month, I received strict instructions to pull myself together, head into town and indulge in a bit of retail therapy. And so VOILA – that is what brings me to this post.

Primark

I was very excited to see that Primark have started introducing their Autumn/Winter stock in store. I might have massively slated the collection in my Primark A/W 2013 post, but since then I’ve actually had a change of heart about a lot of the key trends this season and so am much more willing to give things a go. Also, the sight of lots of black clothing really matched my post-hairdresser mood, which might explain why there is not a bright colour to be seen.

Camis – both £5

People have been loving the Topshop camis lately, but to be honest I haven’t been very interested in them; I’m strangely broad shouldered for my petite frame, so thin-strapped camisoles have never been that flattering on me. But when I spied these Primark versions, I decided to try the black one on just to see. I was actually pleasantly surprised with how it looked, as well as the overall quality, so decided to snap up the plum colour too. They also had them in coral, nude and grey, and other stores might have other colours too. For almost a quarter of the price of the Topshop camis, these are brilliant value for money and I’m once again left scratching my head as to why people would choose the more expensive option when I see such little difference.

Leather Quilted Skirt – £10 / Leather-Sleeved Tee – £4

Primark are all over the A/W leather trend right now, so if you’re not sure about it still and want to try a few cheap pieces then I’d definitely recommend taking a look. This skirt stood out to me because of the quilted texture – texture is set to be really important this winter so it’s ticking a couple of boxes for only a tenner. I wasn’t sure about it when I tried it on, though. I don’t think a-line skirts are particularly the most flattering shape for me to begin with, and with this skirt I have the problem I have quite a lot of it being very fitted on my massive bootay and then a bit gapey at the back where my waist is smaller. I do think it will be a great staple piece though, plus on the mannequins it was paired with jumpers which would eliminate my gaping waist problem. I’m going to try it with a few things in my wardrobe and decide its fate later.

I’m also a big fan of leather sleeves at the moment. I think PU trim can look a little tacky (especially in Primark, so sorry to say this but it’s true) but sleeves are a nice way of bringing in a little leathery edge. Primark have leather-sleeved skater dresses, jumpers and t-shirts so whatever your needs, you can have a leathery sleeve to match. I decided on the tee, and bought it 2 sizes bigger than normal with the idea of wearing it as a dress.

Kimono – £7 / Cardigan – £10

Ah, be still my beating heart. I’ve been after a kimono for a while now so was extremely chuffed to find that one of the last couple of these in store was a size 10. NABBED. I love the colours and the oriental floral/bird print. They had a few other kimonos in in lighter colours, but as I have my eyes firmly set on Autumn I stuck to the dark version.

I saw this cardigan recently on one of Lily Melrose’s hauls and loved the way she styled it. In keeping with the textured trend, I think this fluffy dream will be great for adding a bit of variety to outfits during the transitional Autumn period. Plus I just have hella love for anything remotely fluffy or furry, and it is SO warm and cosy.

Frilly Socks – £1.50 each / Ring – £1.50 / Tights – £2.50

I’ve recently bought some cut-out ankle boots (see below if you simply can’t wait) and so have been after a couple more pairs of frilly ankle socks to wear with them. I think the different colours peeking through will be – I dunno, cute/fun/interesting(?) – I just want it to happen god dammit. I also need to bring more gold rings into my life as I love my gold chains but have hardly any other gold jewellery, and who isn’t always in need of an extra pair of tights?

New Look & eBay

Cut-Out Boots – £27.99 / Wood Heel Platform Boots – £14.99

Neither of these were bought today, but I thought I’d include them anyway. Shoes aren’t something I actually buy that often, but I’ve bought two new pairs recently. Cut-out boots are everywhere at the moment, and I opted for this New Look pair (bought via ASOS because I like to take maximum advantage of my free next-day delivery) as they’re a slightly more feminine and work-appropriate version compared to the clumpy biker boots. I plan to do a full post on these soon, included how to style them and where you can buy alternative versions!

The eBay shoes are quite possibly my favourite things ever. Brilliant dupes for the Jeffrey Campbell classics, they cost just £14.99 from this eBay seller and are some of the comfiest but highest shoes I own. I think these will be brilliant for so many different occasions and basically I just love them mega loads.

So, that concludes today’s haul post. I hope your bank holidays are all off to a better start than mine – if anybody needs me over the coming weeks, then as stated I shall now be hibernating until I can afford a new set of extensions. Cheerio.

ClaireAugust 23, 2013

New Look Festival Wishlist

There are 3 things that I think us Brits do well in the summer: endless enthusiasm for barbecues, dodgy sunburn marks, and music festivals. With V last weekend and Reading and Leeds this weekend, festival season is well and truly in full swing. So when the lovely people at New Look contacted us to see if we’d like to write a post around festival fashion, we couldn’t say no – firstly, who doesn’t love New Look?! We’ve been mega keen for their Evolution of Festival Fashion infographic (check it out if you haven’t seen it yet!) too. And secondly, we’ve been too poor to make it to any fezzies this year so have been creating up dream outfits in our minds almost daily anyway (is that sad? Probably. Do we care? NEIN).

Claire

Floral Kimono / White Crop Top / Acid Wash Denim Hotpants / Across Body Double Zip Bag / Chunky Chain Necklace

I love all of the kimonos around at the moment, so decided to base my outfit around this sexual floral number. We all know that you don’t really feel the cold at festivals due to the ever-so-handy ‘cider jacket’ that you develop after several over-priced pints of orange fluid, but a cover-up’s still a good idea as the night wears on. Denim shorts are also a festival favourite, and OF COURSE I would team this outfit with a little white cropped tee – have I been wearing anything else this summer?

Bags at festivals need to be 100% practical to avoid any mishaps with pickpocket – or worse, portaloos. I’m sure we all remember the story of the girl who got her head stuck in the portaloo at Leeds Festival in 2009 after trying to retrieve her dropped bag, don’t we? DON’T WE?! (If you don’t, then here’s a reminder.) An across-the-boy bag with more zips than you think you can possibly need is therefore top of the essentials list – unless you too fancy earning yourself the name of ‘Poo Girl’ in the national press.

I’d finish this look with some chunky jewellery, a floral crown and a decent pair of wellies. Oh, and heaps of dry shampoo. I think I mainly love festivals because they give me a chance to be the unhygienic tramp I secretly long to be in my everyday life.

Lauren

Ah, festivals make me infinitely happy and I was lucky enough to pop to Wireless for the day earlier in the summer. While it was AMAHZING, it didn’t quite have the same excitement for me than a four day extravaganza getting muddy and looking crap. My past festival outfits have been beyond tragic and I really should have been a bit better at planning them at the time (they usually involved throwing things into a backpack an hour before we had to leave and wondering if there was still space for vodka). So, without further ado – here is what I’d have worn if I wasn’t ~~a homeless girl living under a bridge~~ a bit too poor to afford a fezzie this year.

Skirts are a must for me when dancing about like a prat in a field. I was considering putting a playsuit onto the list but then thought about the portaloo horror and decided against it. Skirts mean that there are no unpleasant mishaps vis-a-vis getting stuck in your clothes and having to call strangers for help.

Glastonbury a few years ago was unbearably hot (an Irish man saved the day when I got sunstroke and bought me a bottle of water. I LOVE YOU, WHERE ARE YOU?!) and I didn’t even laugh with scorn at a girl walking around in her bra and pants. With this in mind, you should always be prepared to keep as cool as possible in the event that a Mexican heatwave attacks you like a half-crazed Mariachi band. Bandeaus are a good idea because it’s LIKE wearing a bra but ensures that nobody thinks you are a prostitute.

BUT, you don’t want to look like an actual prostitute. Cover up with a trusty denim jacket, you slut (…joking hunnays).

Wellies are a must and these New Look babies are GORGEY. I also love the backpack. BACKPACK?! I hear you saying. It’s not as impractical as you think, this naughty little number has draw strings that you can tie with complicated knots to ward off pickpockets.

Floral crowns are brilliant and I’m still sad that I don’t own one (it’s a bit late to get on that wagon now). If you’re a bit tired of seeing floral crowns everywhere though, this gold leaf headband is a beyyyooootiful alternative.

What do you all think about New Look’s festival fashion? And what are your essentials? And how would you feel if you too were branded ‘Poo Girl’?

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