The Royal Wedding!



Kate and Will

 What a fantastic wedding dress! Although this post is a bit delayed I think it's still extremely relevant to talk about the fashion up's and down's at the Royal Wedding. Kate looked stunning, her dress was elegant, stylish and beautiful. The neck line was my favourite part along with the lace sleeves although her veil kept sticking to her face in the wind and that must of been annoying!




Pippa Middleton

   And then there was her sister Pippa's dress, maybe the best bridesmaids dress I have ever seen! She could have got married in her bridesmaids dress it was so gorgeous, but of course there was still no question of who was the bride.




Beatrice and Eugenie

 
And then we move on to the guests... What can I say, Beatrice and Eugenie's outfits were..well...interesting. Not particularly flattering but they certainly drew attention to themselves with two of the most absurd hats ever.



Victoria and David





Victoria Beckham's outfit was surprisingly simple but was similarly wearing an outlandish hat, surely it must have annoyed her sitting on her forehead like that?! David Beckham looked handsome as always, nicely tailored coat and top hat, very dignified and a royal side sweep for the hair.



Carole, The Queen and Camilla



Zara Phillips

 The Queen, Camilla and Kate's Mum Carole again looked very elegant as expected. No fashion slip up's there luckily, however, for Princess Anne the curse of bad hats came knocking again, and unfortunately it was the same for Princess Anne's daughter Zara Phillips who's hat looked a tad dangerous considering the size.




Princess Anne

 



Lady Amelia, Lady Eliza and Lady Kitty





 The list of interesting hat choices gets longer and longer... Tara Palmer-Tomkinson looked slighlty sci-fi in her royal blue dress and pointed forehead hat whereas the late Diana, Princess of Wales' neices Lady Amelia, Lady Eliza and Lady Kitty also sported head gear but in a much more stylish way.




Prince Harry and Kate's sister Pippa





Tara Palmer-Tomkinson

 



 Prince Harry probably wowed me the most, he looked great in that jacket! Overall, the fashion angle of the wedding was extremely successful and once again Kate looked stunning!

My favourite Fashionistas

There are many celebrities who I think dress fabulously, but only a few who I actually steal looks from. Of course it's much easier for a celeb to look fantastic with their entourage of stylists, hair dressers, make-up artists and personal trainers, but these ladies still manage to maintain an individual style.

1. Olivia Palermo- This lady certainly knows how to dress, she's very elegant but at the same time manages to keep an edgy and original style. She tends to stick to neutral make-up and classic hair styles and still looks bang on trend all the time!

2. Don't get me wrong, Nicola Roberts did go through a bad patch in the beginning of Girls Aloud with fake tan disasters etc, however, she's wowed us all with her innate sense of style and utter uniqueness. Her hair, make-up and clothes go together effortlessly to let her natural beauty shine!

3. Another celeb who has had some extreme fashion disasters in the past; Nicole Richie. However, now she has found her true bohemian style she looks fantastic. One thing I love about her is no matter if she's dressed for a casual or sophisticated event, she still makes her boho style obvious!

4. Debbie Harry- Has anybody ever done double denim better? (maybe Twiggy?) She is just the opitome of cool, even if you don't like her music, there is no denying that she is a rock and roll fashion icon!

5. And finally, another woman who's rock and roll sense of style has added to her fame. Not only can she pull off boho, rock and roll and elegant but she still greats in her comfies!

Wardrobe Staples

Staple items are a must have! Having a few key itmes that suit your shape and style is crucial. These items can be dressed up or down and you never have to worry about buying something new when you can't afford...
The staple list:

1. A pair of comfortable and stylish skinny jeans, can be worn with flip flops, boots or heels for every kind of occasion.

2. A shift dress, for work wear with heels and your hair in a smart up do. For the evening wear with ballet pumps and your hair down and styled.

3. A pencil skirt is great, once again it can be worn for work, or a casual or sophisticated day out.

4. A trench coat is great for all seasons. It looks fantastic belted or open and can be teamed with scarves, jewellery and belts for different occasions. (Make sure you buy a big enough size to fit a jumper underneath)


5. Leggings, bit of an obvious one but sooo comfy. Just make sure the top you're wearing with them is long enough!

6. A long woolly cardigan; for those inbetween seasons where a coat is too warm but a jacket too cold.


7. A jersey basic vest top, can be worn with anything! Linen trousers, skirts, jeans.....

8. The fitted smart jacket, another item that can be dressed up or down very easily and will add shape and style.

9. Wide leg trousers. Even if they're not at the height of fashion when you wear them, you're still going to look great!

10. White t-shirts! In any style, short sleeved, sleeveless, cropped, a white t-shirt will not only look great but is a must have.

Fashion Hair



Frankie Sandford
Short, edgey crop



Cheryl Cole
Cleopatra style, blunt fringe













                                                      

 

           

Gillian Zinser
Long, boho style

Alexa Chung
Middle parting, retro look





Fashion is not always defined by what you wear... Your hair also says a lot about your style. For instance, long wavy cuts portray a bohomian style, short crops imply an edgier side to a persons style. Not only does your hair cut and colour say a lot about you, but it can also enhance your best features and change a face shape completely.

Choosing a style depends greatly on the shape of your face:





Eva Mendes





Oval : The luckiest shape in terms of hairstyles, oval faces can pull off almost anything. Avoid covering your features with hair, as this will add weight.

Drew Barrymore

Round : Long wispy fringes look great on a round face. Avoid chin length styles as this will add weight to your face, and keep the fullest part of your hair either at the roots or length, not cheekbone level.



Gwyneth Paltrow







Long : Blunt fringes divert attention away from the length of your face on to your features, as do inverted cuts. Avoid long styles as theses can highlight the length of your face.



Katie Holmes





Square : Wispy, light and layered styles will soften a square jaw. Avoid lengths that end at your jaw and long, straight styles as these will highlight harsh lines.





Sophie Dahl






Heart : Volume is best kept to the length of your hair and soft layers will look fantastic. Avoid short layers as they will add volume to the top of your head and emphasize your upper face.

Wide Leg Trousers

As the spring/summer time approaches, I'm excited to say the fashion world is, like me, appreciating a key item of clothing as a statement peice for the forthcoming season; the wide leg.

Elegant, sophiticated and effortlessly chic, almost anyone can pull off wide leg trousers, it's just knowing how to wear them for your shape and size that's important. A wide leg can conceal a pair of killer heels perfectly for those who wish to add a bit of height, or fool onlookers into thinking you're wearing heels when actually you're strutting around in a pair of flip-flops. They can add shape to a shapeless figure, or balance out a curvy silhouette. A fantastic summer must have!

I bought two pairs of wide leg trousers, the first from Topshop, rust coloured, silky material and extremely comfortable but still stylish... the second from Primark for £12! I will definately be adding a third pair to my summer wardrobe!

Colour Block!



'Fashion fades, only style remains the same' - Coco Chanel.

This is a statement I live by, I see many girls wearing the most up to date trends and who look absolutely horrific doing so! I see style as being able to put together an outfit where each item compliments the other, not just throwing together the latest things to come into Topshop and hoping for the best. The colour block trend is a difficult one to pull off, certainly relevant for the spring/summer season bright colours are to be worn together instead of avoided. It's a fun trend that will surely lift anyones mood just by wearing bright colours. However this could potentially end in catastrophe for a lot of people so there are a few simple pointers to remember...

1. Although the most obvious part of the outfit will be bright colours, don't forget to work with your shape i.e. a bright waist belt for an hour glass shape to excentuate a small waist or wide leg trousers with a bright shirt for a pear shape to balance your bottom half.

2. Not every item of clothing has to be a bright colour to follow the fashion, bright block colours will look just as good with a neutral colour such as black or nude breaking them up.

3. The brightly couloured item does not have to be clothing, it could be a handbag, belt or scarf.

4. If you're not confident trying this trend then don't! It's not a necessity you follow every fashion idea!

5. Think outside the box, bright nail varnishes and lip sticks are fantastic ways of incorporating bright colours into an outfit.





ASOS

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ASOS

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BLOCK ACCESSORIES

ASOS
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Topshop

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Fashionable Music Videos

Music videos can have a huge influence on fashion, they are used as a way to showcase an artists style. Florence Welch (Florence and the Machine) has an amazing sense of style!



Gwen Stefani is also a fashion inspiration, she wears some outrageous things but always looks amazing!




Although I dont always like what Lady Gaga wears there is no denying that her indivuality is expressed through not only her music but the oufits she wears!

Careful planning...



 Succeeding the failure of the Challenge the next test comes in the form of resistance. Resistance in a lesser sense to not purchasing at all, but in this case not purchasing until a target date. As stated in my previous blog my first target date is March 21st. This has an advantage however because it gives me time to plan or at least think about what I want to buy, therefore there will hopefully be no regrets once I've purchased! There also needs to be some sort of limit to the amount of pennies I spend when I'm finally allowed to shop! Consequently I thought I'd share with you some of the oh so pretty things I've been looking at... And would greatly appreciate thoughts on which item to buy!



Office

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As soon as I saw these shoes I started trying to think of upcoming events that I could wear them to... My only uncertainty is how long I'd actually be able to wear them for before falling into a crumpled heap on the floor and having to crawl home. Hmmm some serious consideration is needed me thinks! 











Miss Selfridge

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This top is absolutely stunning and would look gorgeous in the summer, adding a bit of glitz to a pair of denim shorts maybe... However it is beaded and therefore I don't know how comfortable it would actually be when the weather really perks up. The question is 'Do I really care about comfort when I can buy something this pretty'?





ASOS

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Probably... Ok definitely, the most practical item out of the three, this bag is a stunning colour and considering the 'colour block' trend is 'in' this season, if anything it would be an investment. It doesn't excite me quite as much as the other items, although it would be much easier to justify the reasons why it was the right choice to buy. And in all fairness there is no question of comfort involved... Dilemma!!!













New start...

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The Challenge is apparently impossible for me to complete so instead I've decided to limit my shopping to a certain amount, rather than stop it completely.

Yesterday I went shopping with my friend Sam (not for myself but to help her) and did considerably well if I may say so myself! However Sam had a big part in restricting my purchasing, basically refusing to let me buy apart from a pair of wide leg floral trousers which came to a grand total of £12... She bought a few gorgeous things, one of them being a jumper from Republic which you can wear in two ways, either as a waterfall type front or by crossing the material over.

I have set myself a target of the 21st of March until I'm allowed to shop again and I will not be allowed to purchase more than one item then anyway. I'm hoping this will be much easier to stick to as it is only two weeks away! And if I can't do that I'm an embarrassment to myself!



I'm a Failure...

Saturday and Sunday went well, unfortunately Monday did not. Having spent the morning with my boyfriend he decided that it would be fun to go to Telford shopping centre, this was hardly fair, he isn't trying to resist the urge to shop, I am! 


Any how what happened as soon as I walked in? That's right, straight into H&M and before I knew it I'd spent £120, woops!!! And I know what you're thinking but it really does happen that quickly! I didn't try anything on, I just wizzed up and down the aisles and by the time I got to the till I had an arm full of playsuits, cardigans, skirts, tops and jackets. 


But don't be fooled into thinking it stops there.. oh no! Apparently as soon as I start to shop the shopping bug stays with me all day, when we got back to Stoke, Boyfriend wanted to nip to festival park, a retail park that includes a huge Newlook AND a huge Outfit (Miss Selfridge, Topshop and Warehouse)! 


Another £127 down and I have failed my Challenge misersably! Sorry!!! The only thing to do now is to start again, all of the clothes I bought are suitable for Spring/Summer which means I do not need to shop again until Autumn!