FRIDAY STYLE: ANIMAL PRINT AND DUSKY PINK

Brace yourselves the bare legs are out. I haven’t done a post without either black tights or trousers in what feels like forever. The milder weather this week along with the sight of lambs and daffodils everywhere has me feeling like hiding away all the bulky jumpers and breaking out the “summer wardrobe”. Don’t worry, I’m not completely nuts, I know that an Irish “summer wardrobe” still requires plenty of knit wear and cover ups.

This is another top that I picked up in Vero Moda while they were having a 20% off promotion. You can see the other one here. I like animal print, especially in soft tones. This is actually a loose and long flowy style top, so it also looks good left out over trousers.

I think the colours of the animal print work well with this dusky pink blazer from Awear (sigh, I miss Awear). Actually pink in any form, soft baby pink, plum pink, or hot pink, look great with animal print.

The skirt is from Closet. Note the gold zips, which is the main reason why I bought it. I really shouldn’t buy anymore black skirts, but the peplum hem and the gold zips sucked me in.

Since it’s not often that I bear the legs, I choose nude courts. These ones have a wedge heel and they are from Oasis. My black pointed toe courts with the gold heels would work well with this outfit also.

I picked this necklace up while on holiday in Portugal. I figured the neckline needed a little something so I chose this.

What colours do you like to pair with animal print?

 

 

FRIDAY STYLE: ORANGE WINTER FLORAL

Guess what? It’s Friday! Woohoo! My birthday is on Monday but I am claiming this whole weekend as my birthday. Needless to say that I am giddy. I am being taking out for dinner and meeting some friends for a few drinks tomorrow night so watch out for that outfit post. Back to today’s outfit.

This top is from Awear. The Awear near me has been closed for a few weeks now and I have no idea what the story is but I hope they will reopen. Everything I take out of my wardrobe lately seems to be from Awear. I actually have a few of these tops from Awear; they have a pretty floral print on the front and the back is plain jersey t-shirt material. You can see two of them here and here.

I love the colours in this floral print so I didn’t see the need for a necklace. You could also wear this with lemon but if you wanted bring out some of the more subtle colours in the print you could pair it with purple or raspberry pink.

Since it is really birr at the moment I’m keeping the look casual with an orange cardigan from New Look and skinny jeans from Dorothy Perkins. It would look really good with a blazer and heels for a night out; the lace shoulders and sides glam it up. You could also wear it with dress trousers for work. I like how versatile these tops are. I have seen similar tops in other high street shops, if you can’t wait to find out what is happening with Awear.

These shoes are from the Amy Huberman range for Bourbon. I like to pair the rich cognac colour of the boots with anything with orange in it.

Have you bought any tops like this? How do you style it?

FRIDAY STYLE: MONOCHROME SMART CASUAL

Just so you know, lately I have been buying anything with stand out gold zips. Get used to it you will be seeing more gold zips. I think they add a bit of glam and an edge to a plain black item of clothing.

I picked this jumper up in Awear just before Christmas. I had intended it for casual wear because of its loose fit. I wore it a few times with a t-shirt underneath, but while doing the whole I have nothing to wear to work thing, a bit of inspiration hit and I decided to try it with a white shirt underneath. I’ve never really been one for seeking out the perfect, crisp white shirt to wear under everything, so this shirt is ages old. For a lot of women the white shirt under almost everything is their go to look but I hardly ever do it. I might try it more often because I like how this shirt and jumper look together; they look smart enough to wear to work. There is no real dress code in my office so I can wear jeans, but I only ever wear dark colour jeans in an effort to try and look smart and tidy. The black skinny jeans are super soft skinnies from Dorothy Perkins, which I love the fit of and find really comfortable.

These Sussit boots would have worked well with this outfit because of the gold hardware, which would tie in with the zips on the jumper.

However, these wedge heel ankle booties from the Amy Huberman range for Bourbon are new, they were a Christmas present. They are so comfortable and I like them so much that they are hardly ever off my feet.

So we know my gold zip obsession, what details are you drawn to? Do you have the perfect white shirt?

SATURDAY’S OUTFIT AND EYE LOOK

Well the festivities were in full swing this weekend and are all set to continue for the coming few weeks. Saturday was all go for me. I was at a christening for my new baby niece during the day and then met up with some friends in the evening who were on the 12 pubs of Christmas. I started out the day looking classy in monochrome with gold accents and finished it a bit worse for wear in a Christmas jumper.

The blazer with gold zips is from Penneys. This cream lace top is from H & M. The lace skirt is from Awear and you can see it here and here in previous posts. These gold studded pumps are from New Look and I bought the necklace in Portugal.

The eye look:

Products used:

Crease: Max Factor, Ferocious Black
Lid and Crease: Max Factor Feral Brown (over the black to soften it)
Lid: Lancôme Fil D’ Or (over the brown, which adds warmth to the yellowness of the gold)
Liner: Rimmel Scandaleyes in Bronze
Mascara: Lancôme Virtuous

I love black and gold for Christmas nights out, what’s your go to party look?

Sorry the pictures aren’t great because I was a bit rushed.

FRIDAY STYLE: PLUM AND LACE

It’s the perfect time of the year for rich jewel tones. Emerald, sapphire, ruby, and amethyst tones are all beautiful for festive nights out. What else goes perfectly with rich tones and looks great this time of year? Lace of course; lace party wear is everywhere at the moment and it’s a good investment because it’s chic every year. If you are looking for an alternative to the little black dress, try a top and skirt combo. If you want the safety of slimming black, you can still wear it on the half you are most concerned about, it’s the bottom for me.

This top is from New Look. The pleating and lace shoulders are simple details that work beautifully with the deep purple colour. (sorry but the pictures just aren’t doing the colour justice) I also like the covered buttons at the back so it looks good with an up do.

The lace skirt is from Awear and you may have seen it in this previous post. The detail in the lace is really pretty and feels expensive considering it was an inexpensive skirt. I’m trying to resist buying the same skirt in emerald green.

The shoes are also from New Look. How could I pass purple suede(ish). The block heel and platform give me that all important height but they are also comfortable.

I bought my statement necklace while on holiday in Portugal.

What are you wearing for festive nights out?

FRIDAY STYLE: DUSKY PINK AND GREY

Hope you all have that Friday feeling and are looking forward to the weekend. It may be winter but it’s still fairly mild in comparison to previous years, so I can still brave the odd day with just a blazer. The best thing about this outfit is it can easily go from day to night, which may come in handy during the upcoming party season when heading out with colleagues after work.

You may think a dusky pink blazer should only be worn during the summer, but I think it’s perfect for this time of year when paired with blacks and greys. The colour adds soft warmth to these cooler days. This blazer is from Awear (lets all hope Awear is saved).

This beautiful grey blouse is from Vero Moda. The lace detail on the shoulders and down the sides is gorgeous and glams it up. You can’t see the lace under a blazer so you could wear it to work but then if you are heading out later, when you take the blazer off the top is dressy enough for a night out. There is also a cute bow tie. The black skinny jeans are from Dorothy Perkins.

The ankle booties are Redz.

What’s your go to outfit for going from day to night?

FRIDAY STYLE: FOREST GREEN SKINNIES

Brightly coloured skinnies may have had their moment in the summer but since I am a bit paranoid about my lower half, I was waiting for the change in season to wear darker coloured jeans. I had to have these forest green skinny jeans the moment I saw them but once I had them home couldn’t decide how to style them. I don’t want to wear them with other neutral colours and end up looking like G.I. Jane but if I go mad with the colours I could end up looking like a hippy. So in the end I played it safe with greys.

These forest green skinny jeans are the Wonder Jeggings from Vero Moda. They come in loads of colours (I also have them in a deep red and a plum purple).

The plain grey t-shirt is from Penneys. This chunky grey cardigan is also from Vero Moda. Coloured jeans are a great way to de-frump chunky knits. I think coloured skinny jeans really freshen up knit wear, giving the outfit a more modern take more so than normal blue and black jeans.

The necklace is from Awear. A plain t-shirt needs a statement necklace and this one works perfectly with the jeans.
The ankle booties are Redz.

How do you feel about coloured skinny jeans? How do you style them?

FRIDAY STYLE: LEATHER TRIM AND WINTER FLORAL

Let’s pretend you hadn’t been keeping up to date on fashion lately. If someone gave you the task of wandering around a few high street shops and then reporting back on what is in style for this autumn winter season what do you think would be the key trends you would have spotted? Let’s start with the usual suspects that appear this time, more or less, every year. First up are the textures like, tartan, herringbone, tweed and houndstooth. This year tartan is coming out on top but the others are still managing to hold their space on the rails. Then there is leather (or PU of faux leather), last year was more about full leather garments but this year we are seeing a lot of leather panelling and trims. Choose your leather pieces wisely and you’ll get years out of them. A leather trim is always a good option; it trendy when leather is on trend but because it just a trim its still works when leather is not on trend. As for another trend we are seeing at the moment, we have skirts in every shape, which is great because it’s been all about dresses for so long now.

I actually have had this skirt for years. Its herringbone with a leather trim, which means it is on trend pretty much every winter. I’m sure you will see similar skirts to this in many high street shops this season.

This top falls under another current trend, winter florals. This t-shirt is from Awear.

These shoes are from Dune. Blue suede courts with a pointed toe are something that I’ve noticed in a lot of magazines lately. Vibrant blue courts look particularly great when paired with a full volume or skater style skirt in a contrasting colour like red, orange or green.

I bought this necklace while on holiday in Portugal.

What winter trends will you be investing in this year?

FRIDAY STYLE: THE PAISLEY PRINT DRESS

I can’t believe that it’s the Friday of a bank holiday; I so haven’t got the giddy feeling yet. Maybe it’s because we are so busy at work and I have a stupid head cold. Anyway back to the outfit. I’m never really sure where I stand on paisley print. I take it on a case by case basis. What sold this dress to me is the green, as usual. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with having a favourite colour, but you do need to try and mix it up and embrace other colours as well.

The other great thing about this dress is the mock wrap style; a wrap style dress is one of the most flattering shapes you can get. The dress is Apricot from New Look. This blazer has featured on the blog loads of times before in an array of different colours. It’s Cutie from iclothing.ie.

Blazers are not everyone’s thing so here it is with a waterfall style cardigan from Penneys. You can still look nice while being warm and cosy. I think the waterfall style takes away the frump normally associated with cardigans.

This necklace is from Awear. It’s quite the statement piece with all the gold bling but it looks just as good with a busy print as it does with a plain t-shirt.

These slouchy faux suede boots are from Penneys. If you have been following the blog then you will know all about how much I love these boots.
Where do you stand on paisley print, love it, or is it for ties and curtains only?

FRIDAY STYLE: GREEN LEOPARD PRINT

We all know how much I love the colour green and I really like subtle leopard prints lately so this top was always going to be mine. Here I am all ready to go for a night out with a few friends.

This gorgeous top is a beautiful and vibrant green with a hint of blue in the print. The brand name is Glamorous and I bought it in Awear.

I decided to team it with my skater skirt; it hasn’t been getting enough wear since I bought it. This skirt is from boohoo.com. I added the black and gold belt to give a little more definition to my waist. The belt is from Penneys/Primark.

This necklace was a holiday purchase from Portugal. Any excuse to wear it and it ties in with the belt.

 It was decisions, decisions when it came to the shoes. The black shoes are from New Look and the blue ones are Dune. On the one hand the blue ties in with the hint of blue in the print, which isn’t really showing up in the pictures, and they are gorgeous shoes, that are begging to be worn. On the other the gold detail on the heels of the black shoes works with the belt and necklace. I went with the black because the heel is shorter making them the more comfortable option. What can I tell you, comfort is winning out as I age. I may have to look into the possibility of getting the heel of the blue shoes reduced. Please do let me know if you have any experience with this.