“ stylist shops: river island
Showing posts with label river island. Show all posts
Showing posts with label river island. Show all posts

Thursday, 16 October 2014

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.











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.










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.









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).







Additional images: lacooletchic

Sunday, 13 April 2014

Stylist Shops River Island

ITS SHOPPING SUNDAY!!
And today I'm checking out River Island, a high street shop full of bold, trend led pieces.
In the last couple of years, the brand has gone from strength to strength - and its press preview is one of the ones I look forward to the most as they always have such great stuff on show.
So, lets see how I got on in their Oxford Street store...







Ok River Island, we're on.....





First up, when life gives you lemons, what do you do? Put them on dungarees of course and add a matching jacket for good measure. These lemon print denim dungarees (£40, size 10) and jacket (£55, size 10) are verging close to the line of ridiculous, but close enough to make them just bloody perfect.




My second River Island outfit is the Geisha-Gal kimono-esq wrap around skirt/skirts combo (£30, size 10). That's right, the SKORT is back, and it ain't bad. 
I've paired it with this excellent black silky vest (£20, size 12 so that it fits oversized) which I would suggest buying in every colour for summer.




Now folks, you know how much I love a matching outfit, it must stem from my childhood spent in shell suits, so this shorts (£30, size 10) and coat (£75, size 10) combo slightly rocks my world. 
Obviously worn with the ubiquitous silky vest (£20, size 12) in white - told you it was worth a purchase.
The coat will also look freaking awesome with rolled up ripped skinny jeans and Birkenstocks this summer...




Head to toe white is my favourite sartorial challenge - the challenge being not getting myself filthy within the first ten minutes of leaving the house. If you can master that, this is probably my favourite look... 
The brushed cotton jumper (£28, size M) wasn't the best quality (you can see bits of material fluffing off on my arm and my hair) - although it was soft, comfortable and lightweight enough for British summer. The bleached denim shorts (£28, size 12) are meant to fit high waisted but I tried them in a bigger size so they would ride low on the hips like a gangsta, rather than high on the bum cheeks like a 16 year old. 
And yes I fell for them folks. 
Madly. Deeply. 
They came home with me.




Finally, the patterned silk trench - something I've seen a lot of brands doing for summer. It's the new summer kimono, chuck it on over shorts and a tee - or even over a bikini round the pool. This one (£65, size 10) is both graphic and floral and totally and utterly great.

So - what do you think? What do you love? Hate? What will you be adding to your summer wardrobe from River Island?
Answers on a postcard.
(Or the comments box below)

Thursday, 3 April 2014

Practice What You Preach...






A few of you have mentioned that I wear a lot of trousers on the blog, so I thought it was time to put on a 'nice skirt' as Grandma Joyce would say, and get the pasty pins out.  
As I always practice what I preach, here is the River Island skirt I lusted over last week, worn with a Zara leather crop top and old Kurt Geiger boots. 
Tidy.

Thursday, 20 March 2014

New Season Shopping...







Mini skirts are soooooo last season darling.
This summer is all about the high waist midi skirt, paired with a crop top and worn with ATTITUDE.
 Or in my case a little roll of fat poking out the gap.
This one from River Island is the ultimate midi skirt purchase - reminiscent of Mary Katranzou's postage stamp prints, it is bold, bright and beautiful, and only £35. 
Oh how I spoil you.


Tuesday, 11 March 2014

New Season Shopping










As I mentioned in yesterday's post, flats are the shoes of the season. Which is a dream for me because my chronically low pain threshold and severe hypochondria have crippled me to the point that I can't walk more than three steps in anything with a high heel, and thus I am an avid championer of the flat shoe and all it stands (comfortably) for. 


Now, yesterday we covered the pointy flat, so today is the UGLY FLAT's turn - and what better than 5 shop-able pairs'a'shoes to keep you full of joy on a Tuesday morning...



Sandals, £40, ASOS


Sandals, £582, Marni



Sandals, £48, Urban Outfitters 


Sandals, £372, Marni


Sandals, £45, River Island (out April)


Thursday, 27 February 2014

New Season Shopping



This morning I visited my favourite breakfast location in London - Berner's Tavern at the London Edition Hotel. From the beautiful ornate plasterwork on the ceilings, to the amazing art adorning the walls, this is a must visit for anyone in the area. (Plus they do a mean avocado and poached eggs on toast!)





Post breakfast I had a meeting in Selfridges and obviously had to pay a visit to the shoe room on my way in. As a flat shoe obsessive I snapped some of my favourite slip on trainers - dream new season purchases from Givenchy and Mother Of Pearl.  DOTS WIN HANDS DOWN.







AND then back to the office to get on with my day prepping for June and July GLAMOUR. I'm shooting loads next week so am busy calling in fashion samples to put on my pages. In the process of calling in I was blinded by love for the below fluffy clutch bags from River Island. Affordable new season purchases! HASHTAG WINNING.