Stylist Shops Zara

Stylist Shops is back in the changing rooms bringing you the best - and potentially worst - of the current in-store haul. Let me take the hassle out of shopping by trying everything on for you so you can decide what you want from my awkward mirror selfies and simply buy it online.

Now first of let me warn you, it ain't pretty out there this close to christmas. Not only did I have to fight an aggressive Spaniard for the last pair of knitted culottes, I also had to sell my soul for an 8 item allowance in the Zara changing rooms, but it was worth it good people to help you find your perfect winter wardrobe. 

And so, to Zara...

So first up, here it is, the love-of-my-life knit. 

The soulmate I've been searching for all these years, the yin to my yang. 

What in the world could be better than a grey, oversized, super chunky knitted roll neck with voluminous sleeves (£45.99, Small)? What I ask you? 

NOTHING. 

And by jove it was in my wardrobe before you could say 'why bother trying on those boring grey trousers (£25.99, Small), couldn't you find anything more interesting to try on in the whole of Zara?'.

Next in line is the long-top-and-culotte-tonal-combo. Now I'm not gonna lie to you, I never do, this looked way more promising on the hanger.  The top (£59.99, Small) was great. A heavy duty wool mix tunic with a great slit at the side and the back - and how promising, I thought, with those mustard culottes (£39.99, Small) worn tonally underneath. But how wrong I was. They were slightly too long and slightly too cheapy-looking, creasing in places you really didn't want them to crease. 

This top would be a total winner instead paired back with cigarette pants or straight leg jeans and a nude strappy heel.

Next we have the little black dress, with a lacey overlay and a layer of guipure lace around the sleeves and hem (£39.99, Small). The dress fit perfectly but was super short so I would perhaps suggest sizing up for length and decorum. Not a particularly wintery item but one of those dresses that feels like it would become a year round staple and an especially great addition to any holiday wardrobe.

Nothing says A/W14 like a rollneck jumper, and this deliciously warm short sleeved knit (£45.99, Small) was overpriced yes, but it's one of those you won't want to take if off all winter long. Paired with this geometric print midi skirt (£59.99, Small) this is an outfit that would look totally professional for a day in the office with heels, and totally fun worn on the weekend with a pair of Stan Smiths. 

If November weather means all you want to wear is chunky knitwear, why stop at your top half? These knitted wide leg cropped trousers (£35.99, Small)  are the ultimate winter-warmers (aside from the whole cold ankle thing) and make a cool alternative to a pair of jeans. They fit slightly large, I rolled them up once at the waist to make them fit properly so you may want to size down. 

After falling for the jumper in the previous outfit I had to try it on in black too (£45.99, Small) and unsurprisingly it fit exactly the same but it was blacker, and maybe even more perfectly essential to my wardrobe. 

You can wear this outfit with heels as in the pictures below, but we all know that it's going to be worn with my Adidas Gazelles as soon as I get these items home. 

I'm not one for formal dressing so I always find it hard to find outfits to wear when I go out at night. This black, embroidered, fringed camisole (£29.99, Small) is the perfect solution for me. It still has a bohemian edge but it's sexy enough for a night out especially when paired with these faux leather trousers (£35.99, Small). The trousers are a real staple and will go with everything in your wardrobe, for both day (knitwear / denim shirts / roll necks) and night (silk shirts / camisoles / tunics). 

So, there we have it, a shop at Zara in 15 minutes without leaving your desk.

What did you like? What did you hate? Is there a shop you'd love me to tackle? A trend you want road tested? Let me know in the comments below.

Now go shop!

New Season Shopping : Laurence Dolige

There's a brand I've had my eye on for a while now, a brand so low key you'll be hard pushed to find a stockist, but so cool you'll buy the whole collection once you do. 

Parisian label Laurence Dolige is the discerning girl's Sandro or Maje, the insider's Isabel Marant, delivering cool classics with a twist in the way that only the French really can.

The Autumn Winter 2014 collection launches end of July and I have a sneak preview of what's in store for you - think chunky turtlenecks, suede coats, checks, sequins and stripes, worn all together. 

Browns, burgundies and greys are this fall/winter's key colours and Laurence Dolige hasn't missed a trick with a colour palette an aesthetically appealing mix of autumnal tones .  

Shop the Spring Summer collection still online here, and wait with baited breath until you can indulge in corduroy and tailoring from Fall Winter.

Stylist Shops : &OtherStories

While you were sitting in the park eating your Twisters this weekend, some of us were hard at work shopping the sweaty high street so you didn't have to get off your deck chair. 

That's right, this weekend I threw on my Supergas and hit up a relatively new high street store that is causing a buzz in the fashion industry right now, the questionably named '&OtherStories', sister to  Scandi brands H&M and COS. 

With a store on Regent Street and a simple-to-navigate online shop too, this is the ultimate go to for cool clothes, amazing shoes and leather accessories that look 50 times more expensive than they actually are. The jewellery and beauty selection isn't bad either. 

So lets see how I got on...

First up, the awkward-length-stripe-dress (£39, size 36). There is something really great about the skirt lengths in &OtherStories, they're often cut at an incredibly unsexy ankle height, yet they feel fresh and modern in spite, or possibly because of it. 

This dress would be just as good with leather sandals on holiday on a Greek island, as it would be for a day in the office in London. 

Next up this Lanvin-esq metallic pleated skirt (£65, size 36) which I had a blast trying on with its matching metallic top, energetically performing 'the robot', and then swiftly replacing it with this classic white tee (£12, size 36) before anyone saw me. 

The skirt would be perfect for a summer wedding if paired with a short and structured black top.

This next look, I call my Amish-Aesthetic. I'm having a love affair with off-the-shoulder this season, but not with sickly-salmon-pink and so I feel it my duty to tell you right here right now that this dress  (£55, size 36) does come in black. It was, however, too dark to photograph - so for you dear reader I have braved the piscatorial pink. 

I've never had to wear a suit to work, but I imagine if I did, this would be the type of thing I'd rock up in, Supergas and all. 

Then I'd probably be sent home to change into something more appropriate.

I love this stripey summer combo, perfect length shorts (£29, size 36)  - short but not slutty - and the cute boxy jacket (£79, size 36) which would probably go with everything in your wardrobe.

 

My final, angelic look, is this perfectly-puritan-peasant dress (£45, size 36).

This soft brushed cotton dress is crying out for a clunky tan leather sandal and a trip home into my wardrobe. 

In other news, &OtherStories have currently released a collaboration with celebrated Russian fashion designer and beloved of Miroslava Duma et al - Vika Gazinskaya. Her designs which sell for unpronounceable sums of money have been streamlined for &OtherStories and are dynamic, interesting and unique. 

Happy Shopping....

Stylist Shops : Urban Outfitters

Stylist Shops has officially moved to the hot new prime time spot of MONDAY shopping day because I felt a burning duty to brighten up your dreary Monday mornings with a dose of what's hot on the high street.

Today I am taking on Urban Outfitters, a brand so cool they get away with selling the clothes we gave to charity shops last year straight back to us as 'vintage renewal', and their store staff wear sunglasses indoors. But as we all know there is NOTHING I like more than a challenge and in the hope of some cool rubbing off on me, I begin....

Today's components:

Clockwise from top left: Black denim shorts, denim shirt, lace shorts, black dress, white dress, check shirt (plus a few extras we shall meet along the way) - all Urban Outfitters.

Ok Urban, bring it.

You have probably realised by now how much I love a denim shirt - and this baby (£30, one size) sits perfectly scrunched over these crochet shorts (£38, small) which I need to own for when I hit the beach this summer.

Next up, this Minkpink black camisole dress (£45, medium) which fit a little on the large side but throw a check shirt like this one (£40, small) around the waist and bob's your slimming-down uncle.

Vanessa Bruno designs dresses that do what dresses aught to do, swoosh around and make you feel like a real girl. I can't find this one on the website which is a shame, but it is in store and although a little on the pricer side (£290, size 36) it's the kind of dress you'll pull out every summer from now until you're too old to have your flabby arms out. 

As a fan of Urban's Levi's renewal denim shorts (£35, small) - see this post where I wore them pretty much all holiday - I know that these black babies will come in very useful all summer long, whether thrown on with this linen vest for the beach (£32, small) or the amazing white lace tshirt below for summer in the city. The tshirt isn't online (come on Urban, sync your stock) but trust me, it's worth making the trip into store for...

(Top, £48, Medium)

I spend my life buying LWDs (little white dresses) and this one (£115, medium) I can't really live without. It's the perfect summer throw-on for anything dress - pool party, bbq, work, picnic - you name it. The lace is reminiscent of a Dolce season gone by, and the soft sheer cotton has an Isabel Marant feel. 

Go get it too, then we can go matching. 

The 90's scares me. Mainly because it wasn't that long ago and I wore Tammy girl spaghetti strap crop tops and pedal pushers, but also because it wasn't that long ago and quite frankly I don't think you can pull that shit off second time around. 

This dress (£52, small) is a gentle approach to the 90's grunge trend - with it's shapeless shape and button down front. I've chosen not to pair it with a choker, but if you're under the age of 18, feel free to. But I think we've established, I'm just not cool enough.