This is our first Outfit of the Day post and, true to form, we are doing it in a slightly askew way as it’s actually Outfits of the Weekend That We Were Too Lazy to Post at the Time (or #ootwtwwtltpatt for you Instagrammers out there).
The Young British Designers Event at RBH.
Yesterday, Claire and I (as well as our chauffeur, I mean boss, Gary) had the brilliant opportunity of heading over to RBH for the presentation event of Young British Designers. RBH is a creative agency based in the Midlands who have worked in connection with YBD since its launch in 2010. For those who don’t know (where have you been?!), YBD is all about championing the many talents of young designers in Britain and showing off collections from emerging British fashion designers.
And what a day we had! After sneakily re-applying makeup in the toilets at work and choking the office with Black XS, we were off with our really cool Perspex invites firmly in hand. Even though we didn’t win the YBD outfit competition, Claire’s loud ‘AH, GO ON THEN’ when we were offered a glass of champagne got the event of to a great start. We mooched about for a bit and met some lovely people before legging it upstairs to where the clothes were. I have about three words to say about this: beautiful neon bags.
![image[16]](http://www.vanityclaire.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/image16.jpg)
There was a great mix of stuff from last season as well as current spring/summer pieces. My personal favourites were the spring/summer collection of shoes and bags. OH MY GAHD, I nearly died with love for a pair of wedges that had neon straps. I may have spent slightly too long staring at them with love and adoration, stroking them and declaring that I will never love like this again. I didn’t actually stroke them; I’m not a mad person. I am a young professional who can behave in a classy and sophisticated way and not drop cupcakes on the floor. ANYWAY, Claire’s personal fave of the day was a blue box bag and had she bought it, I’d have stolen it and claimed that the stray cat we occasionally let into our house (fondly named Snoop Catt) must have eaten it. Unfortunately, we were too poor to make any purchases (darn you payday, how dare you come a day late) but Gary bought a lovely bag for his mum.
Shop the Young British Designers collections here
After having a browse of the collections, we headed to the cocktail bar for a mojito or five and had a play with the tweet mirror (which was AWESOME, by the way). There were a couple of talks as well, one by RBH’s Debra Hepburn and one by Beverley Nielson. Beverly heads up the Birmingham Made Me Expo, which is really awesome and you should all check out. She’s also worked at Vogue in New York so all in all, a very interesting person.
For those who are interested, I wore a snake print midi dress from Missguided, my trusty black leather jacket from Miss Selfridge and a pair of teal heels. Claire went for a navy midi dress from Topshop, a chunky gold necklace and Kurt Geiger heels.
It was a fabulous day and we’re very excited for what’s to come with YBD.
So, big thank you to RBH (and the green bow-tied mixologists, of course).
If I Was a Rich Girl: High Street Wish List
Writing a post like this is potentially one of the worst things I can possibly do to myself. I’ve just moved into a new house and am trying to come to terms with the fact that my wages now need to go on bills and rent rather than clothes – so the best idea was probably not to scour all of my favourite sites looking for things I would like the most. But hey, that’s blog dedication for you…
JuJu Jelly Shoes – Office
I’ve been fully embracing the 90s trend lately with crop tops, polo necks and dungarees – so of course the jelly shoes had to follow. I have to say I hadn’t heard of the brand JuJu before (researching jelly shoes wasn’t really top of my to-do list before…erm, today) but they’re a Northampton-based manufacturer of jelly shoes who have been in business for over 25 years (well done, JuJuians!)
These Vicky shoes are my favourite of their collection; I love the cutaway detailing, the selection of colours and – most importantly – the fact that they’re covered, meaning the public won’t be completely exposed to my vile toes. I think jelly shoes are a bit of an acquired taste – i.e. when I asked my boyfriend “Do you think these are hideous?” he spent no time trying to save my feelings and replied with a swift “Yes”. But la la la, I don’t care; I think they’re the perfect fun, summery shoe.
Adidas Originals T-Shirt – Adidas.co.uk
I’m not sure if I’m at all cool enough to pull off an Adidas Originals t-shirt (read: I know for a fact that I’m not) but I’m really tempted to try to incorporate it into my wardrobe. I have a vague intention of customising it into a crop, but then I remember my lack of success trying to sew a cushion cover in textiles class in school and think that maybe I’ll need adult supervision.
Acid Wash Denim Skater Skirt – Topshop
Who doesn’t love a skater skirt? They make you look all skinny at the waist yet allow you to devour a massive sandwich for your lunch and kindly hide the bloat for you. This acid wash denim-look skirt from Topshop is an on-trend update on the classic denim skirt (which I personally hope never rears its ugly denim head again).
Mesh Crop Top – Boohoo
I have far too many dresses that I’ve only worn once because they’re strictly ‘nightclub-only’, so it’s nice to find clothes that can be worn and re-worn in a variety of situations. I think this crop top will do just that. Night out with skater skirt and heels? Check. Trip to the pub with high-waisted jeans? Check? Daytime outfit layered over a longer top or dress? Check. Get your coat, Mesh Crop Top, you’re coming home with me.
Perspex Two-Piece Barrel Bag – Boohoo
Why would anybody want a see-through bag? I think this might be an example of me once again harking back to the 90s and thinking this bag is a reincarnation of my trusty Perspex pencil case in school. Because even though I know it’s kind of ridiculous, I really want one. The extra bag goes inside and hides all of the stuff you don’t want on display – expensive items, lady items and possibly weird items (I have been known to carry round boxes of Weetabix in my handbag) – which leaves you with the decision of what to leave on show in the transparent bit. I think I’d opt for a lipgloss and a Dostoyevsky novel, so that I looked like a well-rounded individual.
Sheer Panel Crop Vest – Topshop
Are you starting to notice how much I really like crop tops yet? Neon, sporty and cropped – this top deserves a good slap on the back for being so bangin’. I envisage myself wearing this with a black maxi skirt – and on that note, I am off to practice that theory where if you visualize something it will come to you. Ommmmmmm. It’s still not here.
The Varsity Trend
Howdy y’all. That’s my brilliant way of introducing this distinctly American-themed fashion trend; hope you all loved it (if you didn’t, then take it up with me on Jerry Springer where we can both wrestle dwarves, or whatever else it is that happens on that programme). View Full Post
Monochrome
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or possibly North Korea) for the past few months, you’ll be well aware that monochrome is pretty much a big deal right now. View Full Post
Ombre / Dip-Dye
One of the key trends for this summer is undoubtedly ombre.
Ombre (or dip-dye) first really burst onto the high street fashion scene in the form of dip-dyed hair. View Full Post