Midi Style

These last days of sunshine on holiday meant a final foray into bare legs and Birkenstocks until next spring. What better to pair with these famously ugly sandals than the prettiest of skirts I've found on the high street - this guipure lace skirt from River Island. 

Top H&M, Skirt River Island, Shoes Senso, Bracelets Dana Levy, Sunglasses Bottega Veneta. 

Falling for Fringing

Currently craving anything fringed, and the high street has taken this trend to heart with some amazing pieces available for under the £60 mark. See my picks below - although I couldn't resist breaking the £60 budget by throwing in this perfect blue suede skirt from TheOutnet....

From top left: Skirt H&M, Jacket H&M, Dress Topshop, Shoes Zara, Bag ASOS, Skirt H&M, Skirt Topshop, Bag H&M, Coat H&M, Skirt Tamara Mellon at The Outnet.

What you should be buying NOW...

...Like right now, go on, go get your credit card and I'm gonna sort you out before it's too late.

You see it's suddenly winter and although we may not want to admit it, those Asos duster kimono coats just ain't going to cut it against the November chill. We need layers and we need them pronto. So lemme break it down for you, here are the 5 key pieces you need in your wardrobe today...

1. The Coat

The catwalks were littered with calf length coats this winter and the high street has followed suit accordingly. For the taller amongst us I'd suggest something oversized and flowing - pure drama, and for those with a smaller frame go belted for definition, shape and less swampy-ness.

From Left: Brown River Island, Grey John Lewis, Grey Asos, Tan Asos, Blue Zara, Grey Asos, Tan Mango.

2. The Knit

Quite frankly it's gonna have to have a rollneck if you want to be taken seriously this season. Personally I'd invest in a couple of more luxy knits if budget allows because I find the high street ones tend to bobble and lose their shape so quickly and you're going to want to wear this over and again all winter long. TheOutnet is an amazing haven for luxurious staples without the depressing price tags. Having said all of that, the below one from Asos is also fantastic quality and you can't go wrong with some Uniqlo cashmere...

From the top: Stripe Marni, Blue River Island, Camel H&M, Navy Velvet by Graham&Spencer, Light Blue Stella McCartney at TheOutnet,  White and Black Toga Pulla, Grey Uniqlo, Blue Vanessa Bruno Athe, White Acne, Model shot ASOS.

3. The Shirt

Yeah I know, it ain't rocket science, the shirt has been a seasonal staple since the cavemen were getting theirs tailored at Thomas Pink, but for some reason this season the shirt feels cooler than ever. Wear yours open with sleeves rolled up, wear it as a dress, get one that crosses over at the front or ties round the waist or leave it untucked and wear it with culottes or tailored trousers. The DKNY blue shirt dress is my personal favourite - I've been wearing mine with Adidas Superstars all summer long.

From top left: Blue Dress DKNY, Black Denim Mango, Blue Mango, White Leather Marques Almeida at Topshop, Stripe Elizabeth and James, Embellished Check By Malene Birger, Black and White Check H&M, Blue Dress Atterley Road, Blue Iris and Ink TheOutnet, White Atlantique Ascoli.

4. The Skirt

If you hadn't guessed by now, Summer's midi length skirts are here to stay for winter. Picture those floaty calf grazers in heavier fabrics and bulkier shapes, paired with a chunky knit (as above) and a knee high boot (as below). This may seem like a tricky trend but as someone who has loved a shorter hemline for far too long to be deemed respectable, I recently tried the midi trend and now anything above the knee just doesn't feel quite as current.

From Left: Fringed H&M, White Mango, Nude Topshop, Black H&M, Yellow Topshop Unique, Burgundy Warehouse, Silver ASOS, Stripe Joseph.

5. The Shoe 

Or boot to be precise. Now don't worry, the ankle boot isn't going anywhere, you can still wear your bikers and western boots with much pride this winter. However, if there's one shoe you should be investing in, it has got to be the KHB (knee high boot). Think 70s, chunky heel, in tan, brown or black suede or leather, worn under your midi length dresses and skirts. The KHB's big brother, the OTKB (over-the-knee boot) serves a similar purpose and can look just as fabulous, perhaps more of an evening alternative to the KHB. Just tread carefully with hemlines when working this trend or you risk looking like a BOAS (bit of a slut).

From Left: Black Mango, Brown Croc H&M, Black Suede Office, Brown H&M, Dark Brown Aldo, Navy Leather Gianvito Rossi, Brown Suede Topshop, Black Suede Zara.

Additional images: lacooletchic

GUESS WHO'S BACK?

Yeha! That's right! It's me!

I'm back from the abyss of moving house and life and world, with more bang-for-your-buck content to keep you occupied between 11 and 11.15 on a Tuesday morning when you've finished your coffee, emptied your inbox and haven't all that much else to do.

It's been a crazy summer for me, having bought a house last year that looked like THIS:

And turning it into THIS:

That stuff ain't easy I tell you, hours of walking round with tiles and painted bits of wood looking at them in different lights and mumbling things like 'oh yes a terribly cold colour in a North facing room' because that's what you're supposed to do when you renovate a house dontcha know.

So, although still only partially furnished (one table, one sofa, one bed, lots of echoing) the house is pretty much done and I can get back to focusing on what's really important in life - WHAT TO BUY FOR WINTER?! (and world peace blah blah blah).

I will of course be doing the usual Stylist Shops rounds of the high street now the new season has started to drop, but until I do, here is my current shopping list for you to peruse at your leisure....

Black Skirt Vanessa Bruno, Grey Marl Rollneck H&M, Black Tee Marc by Marc Jacobs, Black Sneakers Adidas, Grey Trousers Mango, Black Skirt Lot 78

Silver Dress H&M, Grey Coat Mango, Silver Sneakers ACNE, Grey Wool Trousers Zara, Black And Blue Skirt Topshop

Finally, the ultimate evening dress, the one that's gonna solve everyone's what-do-I-wear-for-a-winter-wedding crisis - this casually non casual, fringed fantastical slice of perfection from Net-a-Porter's 'Finds' collection.

Hot'n'Cold

This weather is freaking me and my wardrobe out big time. One minute hot, one minute cold. I'm scared to leave the house un-prepared for every eventuality. 

Today I've thrown on my enormous knit to brave the wet outdoors along with this clutch I found on ASOS recently and fell madly in love with. Celine on a budget, don't mind if I do...

Clutch bag £60 (currently down to £33) Asos.

My love for check has extended to these dream items too...

Shoes, Senso

Trousers, Isabel Marant Etoile

Shirt dress, Thakoon 

Wedding Dressing

On Sunday I had my first wedding of the year, a beautiful black-tie ceremony in Brighton. 

As a very casual (scruffy) dresser, I always find wedding dressing a little tricky, I tend to look like a boy in a frock, which is never really what I'm going for. 

This Sunday night I wore an H&M dress, Prada bag and Jimmy Choo patent heels. 

It's taken me years to work out my 'wedding style' - including having my own wedding - so here are a few of my lessons learned on summer wedding dressing...

1. If you are not the kind of person who gets a blow-dry, for heavens sakes don't get a blow-dry. I have learnt this the hard way (4 separate occasions looking like a cross between KMid and a poodle). Tame unruly hair with Moroccan Oil Shine Spray for a quick fix - and run over any mad curls with the GHDs. 

2. Acne tends to be my best bet for evening-wear as it still has a casual, cool and uncontrived feel.  Invest in something simple and wearable - and don't be afraid to do colour. 

Dresses : Acne

3. Wear comfortable heels - and take flats. You're on your feet all day so you need to be able to walk. I once wore a pair of Louboutin heels to a wedding and put them straight on ebay the next day because I was so angry with them for ruining my day. Jimmy Choo are simply the most comfortable heels - worth investing in as you can actually wear them for the full day. Plus I always take a little pair of simple Bloch ballet pumps for when the dancing really gets going - flats are essential for my centre of gravity when throwing serious shapes on the dance floor.

Shoes: Jimmy Choo

More wedding dressing to come later this summer...

Here's What I Wore...

...On a Wednesday in March.

An H&M Shirt, ASOS trousers and my trusty Penelope Chilvers velvet boots for a heavy-duty day in the office.

Whata-ya-got H&M?

IT'S SHOPPING SUNDAY! 

And time for me to take on a new shop and see what they have in store for us.

So, today, H&M the high fashion high street shop which even has it's own show at PARIS FASHION WEEK is my shopping target... lets see how I got on!

First up the knit'n'shorts combo. I love a knit and shorts but am always confused as to which season one is meant to wear this? If it's cold enough for that knit, it's sure as hell too cold to wear those shorts.

ANYWAY I digress, These shorts are a WINNER on all accounts. Bottle green, suede, boxing shorts (size 12, £59.99) - I mean do I even need to say anything else? Well, apart from the fact that I liked them a size bigger to feel boxier. They are a true gem of a high street find and will probably disappear off the racks pretty quick. so GO!

The jumper (size 8, £39.99) was a perfect knit, not too tight on the neck, not the softest of materials but at least it wasn't itchy.... 

I then refused to take the shorts off ever again (they came home with me) so threw this shirt (size 10, £29.99) and bomber (size 10, £29.99) on for another way to wear them.  

Oh AND this coat. Which was also a total winner. This denim, oversized trench (size 10, £59.99) which looks totally ACNE and super cool with a rolled up sleeve, would go with absolutely everything in your wardrobe.

Once I'd managed to pry the suede shorts from my nether-regions I threw on this amazing embellished sweatshirt (size 10, £39.99) with pinstripe wool trousers (size 8, £34.99) which came up pretty high waisted - too high for my comfort factor, but fit pretty well on the leg. They are a good cropped length so would be perfect with a pair of brogues or slippers once 'tis ankle bearing season again. 

So, curve ball time, the mid length, strange old auntie dress (size 10, £29.99). This one confused me so much on the hanger I had to have a go. I'm not sure I can pull it off - feel free to let me know - but I felt it had to go with a pair of trainers (size 39, totally true to size, £24.99) to have any sort of chance of being cool and modern. 

And finally, this mid-blue number (size 10, £39.99) which is a little more on the casual wedding side and would look totally marvellous styled up for the day with a cute rollneck or silk tshirt underneath. VERSATILE HEY?