KNEE-HIGH BOOTS

"These boots are made for walking

                                                          And that's just what they'll do

One of these days these boots

Are gonna walk all over you"

The trend of the season a knee-high boot. From Lanvin to Zara, Saint Laurent to Topshop knee-high boots are everywhere! This trend happens to be a particular favorite of mine although i have not yet purchased any (having not made my mind up on which ones) this trend is perfect for winter and cold nights. However there is a fine line between looking like a lady of the night and stylish, a knee-high boot always looks great with a blue jean (see Cara D above for Topshop). A mini dress or skirt with a long overcoat looks great too, there is so much street style inspo to help with the styling of a boot you can hardly go wrong. Above is a little mood board I decided to put together pulling in the most influential looks, boots and inspiration to me. From Miranda Kerr street style to Cara Delevingne promotional campaign for Topshop and random street style shots these women look great in the knee-high!! I have narrowed down my inspiration/choice of knee-highs with three boots, top left: Lanvin at £825, opposite Lanvin: Topshop (modeled by Cara) at £150, finally at the bottom: Zara at £139. So guys take you pick be inspired and comment below your fave!!

Sarah X 

SHADE AND ILLUMINATE

Todays post is a little bit different as I decided to review some craved about beauty products. As we are all aware contouring the face is a huge trick within the beauty and cosmetic industry right now. It's all about sculpting the face and creating light and shadow in certain areas, in order to create a perception.

I have to admit i can be a bit of a sheep when it comes to following certain trends and contouring is definitely one trend i keep trying out.

The first product I used was Tom Ford's 'Shade and Illuminate,' which comes in two types of intensity. The product itself is packaged just as you would expect coming from Tom Ford, in a suede wallet and plastic casing attached with a mirror, (i'll probably use the case as a pocket mirror once used.) The whole design of the product is very appealing, however the product itself is not. 

The makeup is very sticky and doesn't apply very easily, I would use this product as a base and go over with more wearable makeup, for the price of £56 I personally feel there are better options, which is really disappointing as I LOVE Tom Ford.

Secondly I went to the other end of the price spectrum, after hearing good reviews and purchased the Sleek 'Face Contour Kit' for the small price of £6.49. After first glances of this product, it is more what I expected for a contour kit. Again, the kit comes in different shades for various skin tones and can be bought from most mainstream beauty retailers. The product is easy to apply being a powder and not too harsh on the skin, what I particularly like about the product is the powdered highlighter as it really brightens certain areas of the face. I will definitely be buying the sleek contour kit again, as it really is great value for money (especially for all you students.)

There are other options out on the market which I can't wait to try such as Smashbox and Nars ( another personal makeup favourite.)

Charlotte X

AZTEC AND FRINGE

Autumn Winter for me is the worst time of the year (no more sun), however my favourite fashion time of the year. Everyone for A/W needs something statement and for me it is my new statement jacket. I was instantly drawn to this jacket when I saw it as it fits in with my usual black an white colour scheme, however it is all about the print. Aztec is a print that always stands out and I particularly like this with the small studs and fringing for intricate details. The boxy fit also creates a more high-end of the market vibe and can be worn dressed down (shown with my OOTD above) or dressed up with leather and sheer blouses. After my recent post about Margiella's cowboy style runway, I feel like I have absorbed this with my new statement jacket.

Charlotte x

WINTER SHOPPING HAUL

So autumn is on its way and the cold air is slowly starting to filter in. The anual winter shop is such a fun time of year for me, we are able to walk out the house in a big chunky and comfy knit without looking like your grandma. Then there's the change from sandals to a more substantial shoe which can make your whole outfit look completely different. On Sunday I decided to go on a winter shop in Birmingham however I was not entirely impressed with the quality of stock within the stores. I did purchase a few items and shopped around for that perfect winter coat, however after Thursday hopefully I will have a bigger haul to show. Here below are the items I brought more to follow after Thursday!

Sarah x

 

From far left to right: Chunky Knit (MANGO) - £34.99, White Top (ZARA) - £35.99, Pink Trousers (TOPSHOP) - £40.00, Grey Crop (TOPSHOP) - £26.00. 

LFW

London fashion week I believe is the only fashion week that allows new/creative and inspirational desingers to flourish, with New York, Milan and Paris showcasing desingers whom already have a name for them selves. Simone Rocha is a fairly new desinger however within her short career she has shown what talent she has. This collection was pretty and elegant with design techniques ranging from aplliquied flowers, scalloped edges, lots of tulle and sheer fabrics. Black, white and pink ruled the coloured scheme apart from the crazy appliqué florals. Below are some of my favourite looks from the collection however the sheer fabrics are beautiful but very daring!!

Sarah x

NYFW

I have three words to describe the best of NYFW… Maison Martin Margiela. 

Margiela's New York show in my opinion was by far the best collection shown at NYFW. Cowboy style icons, denim, suede, silky layering and platforms can sum up what the new collection holds and I just love it. When hearing of the two contrasting themes in the collection, I thought no no no, how is that going to work, however how I was proven wrong on sight, I can only applaud Margiela.

Charlotte x

LULU GUINNESS

With the recent frenzy of LFW, I have noticed a sudden revived interest in certain brand names. My personal favourite is Lulu Guinness (I have dreamt of a lips clutch bag for so long.) Lulu Guinness as all us 'fashionistas' know has been influential in the creation of unique handbags since the 1990's and has been credited with this throughout her designing years.
Over the many years Lulu's handbags and suitcases have been craved by the celebrity world, however I feel the craze was starting to decline, until this years LFW began. My highlight of fashion weeks (apart from the collections,) is seeing what different celebrities decide to wear and this year numerous 'celebrities' such as Millie Mackintosh finished their look with a Lulu Guinness clutch.
Why not go look at Lulu's new collections and see how infectious her quirky designs really are?

Charlotte X

TOTNES TRAVELLING

So this past week I have been touring around south devon whilst staying at our family holiday home, on one of the days I decided to explore the town of Totnes. The small town is a hippie central with the long high street covering all different kinds of shops from well being to interiors. Although there were a lot of holiday makers about town there was also still the quirky residents which give the town it's hippy vibe. It was interesting to see the a huge variety in style and clothing around the town, from what it looked like many residents wore relaxed laid back clothing made from rich cottons and pure fabrics. Many items of clothing to me looked homemade which made me and my outfit choice stand out a little; I chose to wear dogtooth printed shorts with an embroided blouse, sport style sneakers and a long relaxed blazer. I would definitely travel back to Totnes in the future for the amount of homemade tea shops and individual boutiques. 

Outfit details: Shorts - Matalan, Blouse, Blazer & Shoes - Topshop, Sunglasses - Prada. 

CANDIDLY NICOLE

If you have not seen 'Candidly Nicole', you must go watch it now. We can all admit we used to watch The Simple Life with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie and when it ended wondered how we would pass hours of our day, well...Nicole is back.

Recently, one of my friends told me about Nicole Richie's new tv program and I knew I had to watch it. each episode is 20 minutes long and follows Nicole around her life as she really mocks herself (her height, her lack of being able to drive) and her life. The whole thing may sound pretty tedious, but trust me, it is must, it had me in fits of hysterics and reminded me just how amazing Nicole Richie really is. 

Due to my love of 'Candidly Nicole', I decided to pay homage to her impeccable style throughout the show, every outfit reflects her personality and her incredible sense of style.

#CandidlyNicole

Charlotte X

BOILER SUIT

         

   

 

So today has been a vile day in terms of weather for August. This morning I was unsure of what to wear due to the severe thundering, rain and lightening which was occurring, it felt asif you had to dig out the winter wardrobe once again. I have a slight obsession with jumpsuits as the garment itself can be dressed up or down very easily but also it is perfect for a wet/humid day. I had also recently purchased some new loafer faux snakeskin type shoes from Topshop which I thought would compliment the jumpsuit well edging for a sport luxe style. Paired with a statement watch and handbag  this look is simple and easy going, however I am always concerned that wearing this I do look like some kind of mechanic... Post again soon, Sarah X 

Outfit details: jumpsuit - topshop, shoes - topshop, watch - Michael Kors, handbag - Prada. 

SUMMER DAYS

Todays look is very casual, I always struggle on deciding what to wear on such hot days when going out. Today me and my family visited Chatsworth estate (which I highly recommend anyone to go and visit on a sunny day, its where parts of the film 'The Duchess' were filmed.) I wanted a to create an outfit that was weather appropriate and easy to move in the outdoors and gardens. After much debating I went for casual denim shorts, paired with a linen shirt.
Recently, I have seen numerous 'celebrities' wearing casual shirts; patterned and plain, however their outfits still look very well thought out. So I recreated my own version, as you can never go wrong with a plain white linen shirt. This look is perfect for these hot summer days.

Sandals/necklace- Zara, Shorts/Shirt- H&M, Bags- Local Boutique

PALM TREE PRINT

So today's ootd is a Missguided palm tree print which I purchased recently online. I love this a-line printed dress as it can be quite easily dressed up or down, I wore this outfit to an evening meal and paired it with a long line blazer/cardigan. I find that Missguided is great for affordable (student priced) fashion with many clothing items matching high street designs for a fraction of the price. The fabric of the dress is a type of neoprene fabric which is great for those who are unable to iron (including myself) the print also gives off a summery Miami inspired vibe. At an affordable price of £24.99 you can't seem to go wrong, to dress this outfit up some more i would pair with kitten heels and statement clutch. Sarah X 

Dress - Missguided, Blazer/Cardigan - Topshop, Shoes - Zara. 

PARTY PANTS

 Its been my mums 60th birthday this weekend so of course we had a party. I wanted to wear something I wouldn't usually wear, however still look smart (bright colours and culottes.) 

Top- Missguided, Pants- Zara (sale), Shoes- Zara

LEATHER IS STILL ALIVE

 Leather last season was a huge hit, however I feel it should never be dismissed, pulling off leather is a difficult thing to do. Pleather (plastic leather) never really appealed to me, however as we all know too well real leather is not cheap, so when I spotted this real looking leather skirt in H&M i had to have it. My outfit idea I must admit I got from Rosie Fortesque who teamed a leather skater skirt up with a blouse and bright coloured trainers. I loved the look and feel I replicated it with my own style fairly well, with a sheer shirt paired with matching coloured snakeskin pump shoes (which I love.) I then obviously had to team it with a statement handbag which never leaves my side.

Skirt- H&M, Bag- Celine, Shoes- Topshop, Shirt- Matalan

THE CONTADICTORY CULOTTE

The trend of the trouser culoette for spring 2014 is HUGE, the new must have pant was all over fashion week. The high street and desinger market both offer basic/sophisticated or wild, bright pant types. Proenza Schouler is a particular desinger that nailed this trend for me, with the sophisticated and sharp tailored pant. This could be seen again on the high street with Zara selling a similar garment for a fraction of the price. I find a culoette quite hard to pull off with being quite short in height however if matched with pair of strappy heels for the evening this look could be exquisite. Victoria Beckham pulls off a culotte very well with her pointed court shoes, however for a daytime look I thought the culotte worked well with a strappy sandal. The bright white culoette pant featured today is from Zara brought recently in the sale! They are a pure/bright white colour so I have to be extra careful with them, teamed with a basic grey tee and a statement necklace I peronsally thought this look worked quite well together. 

                                                                        Sarah, X

GIRLS ON FILM

All the Kardashian/Jenner fans out there will have noticed Kylie Jenner's mini films on Instagram lately, all we can say is that we are obsessed with the faded filters and relaxing music. Since finding out the app, all we've done is been making videos on our iPhones, so we decided to make a change on our blog and create our own mini outfit movie.
We are somewhat amateurs with the app but we already hooked. We hope you all like this change and hopefully we will be making a few more. Keep checking out our blog and instagrams for OOTD's.

Charlotte and Sarah X

DARKNESS

Todays look I didn't really plan well according to the weather. Recently I got a job at H&M, so yesterday I decided to take advantage of the staff discount. If you know me well you'll know i'm a huge fan of statement necklaces and a few months ago I saw this necklace in H&M and finally I decided to get it, so I had to test it out straight away. It goes great with a slack look of jeans and a t-shirt (seen above), I paired my outfit with some healed boots which seemed to be everywhere A/W13 and a plain sleeveless blazer (I adore these for summer.) My outfit was casual and comfy and in my opinion can be worn in the day with a swap of smarter trousers for the night.

Necklace: H&M £14.99, Top: H&M 3.99, Blazer: M&S 49.99, Jeans: Topshop £38.00 (ripped myself), Boots: H&M £24.99

LIVERPOOL SHOPPING

So this weekend me and a friend decided to head to Liverpool for a well needed shopping break. I was so pleased with the town centre, shopping facilities and Liverpool one. Previous to this I had not been to Liverpool before and was unsure on what to expect, after a stressful train journey (branch falling on train) we finally arrived. The outfit that I chose to wear was casual and comfy great for a busy shopping day, the linen blouse was recently purchased from Topshop, it is very light and loose fitting which wild be perfect for a summers day. The embroidery on the bottom of the shirt is what drew me to buy it initially, I completed the outfit with a statement necklace from zara, 3/4 length rolled up jeans and statement handbag. These boots are featured in most of my photos just purely because they are so comfy to walk in and I love the edgy/rock style they give. Thanks for reading, Sarah X 

Outfit details: Linen Blouse - Topshop, 3/4 Jeans - Topshop, Necklace - Zara, Boots - Topshop, Bag - Prada, Watch - Michael Kors. 

ULTIMATE STYLE ICON

Everyone has their own ultimate style icon. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is mine, the two images which are included below show why she is my style icon. Her casual off duty model style still has ounces of glamour and sophistication, you always see Rosie carrying a statement bag (which I love!). No one can go wrong with carrying either a statement Celine or Givenchy, which Rosie has. The studed leather jacket teamed with the black jeans is a perfect look for the airport. Teamed with pointed flats and a suede Celine alongside the cat eye sunglasses add the extra glamour to this look. Rosie seems to be a fan of cat eye sunglasses something of which we have in common. The black jumpsuit teamed with the khaki trench gives a nod to seventies style. The Givenchy handbag seems to complete this look along with the colourful heeled sandal adding a touch of brightness. I have never seen an outfit on Rosie that does not look good, she has ounces of style and will forever be my style icon. 

Who is your style icon, let me know by commenting below!!

Sarah X 

SIMPLE LEATHER

Hi guys, so this is one of my first posts back after being away for a short time. I decided to showcase a simple outfit which happens to be the most comfortable within my wardrobe! This leather dress was purchased from Topshop quite some time ago but has lasted the test of time and durability being one of my most worn garments. Leather was a huge hit for spring 2013 with most designers showcasing some kind of leather into their work/designs. Personally I am huge fan on leather on the basis of that the trend can either be dressed up or down, the white shirt I have on underneath the leather dress just sets the base for the heavy jewellery on top. I chose the white as I did not want an overpowering garment to take attention away from the beautiful piece of jewellery. I recently purchased this necklace from Zara (see shopping haul) and it surprisingly goes with so many items in my wardrobe! The boots I am wearing are also from Topshop giving an edgy/rocky look to the outfit making it look less preppy. This outfit was perfect for a cool day and does not appear to be too overdressed. I hope that you liked this post, more to come! Sarah X

BOLD PRINTS

Finally, my last holiday post and we end on bold prints. Bold prints fade in and out of trend, however I feel you can always wear a print and look stylish. My first outfit, is based around the tropical print vest top, its perfect for summer weather being floaty however has a ring neck top made of elastic creating a sports luxe look. I paired the top with a white peplum skirt, I love these skirts as they suit every body shape and are really on trend at the moment, they have been seen all over the designer and high street (seen in scuba material in Zara and H&M.) I also teamed the outfit with a statement clutch bag, covered in gold studs. 

My second outfit is perfect for the summer holidays. Firstly, the colour and prints are striking and unusual, they create a real summery feel especially on a floaty Grecian dress. I personally bought the dress as I am a big fan of Keeping Up with the Kardashians and remember that Kourtney had a similar dress, teaming it up with orange lipstick. However, I paired mine up with a bold bag and leather gladiator sandals.

Hope you enjoyed my post.

Charlotte X

Outfit 1: Top- H&M £24.99, Skirt- H&M £14.99, Watch- Marc Jacobs, Sandals- Zara £19.99, Bag- Zara £24.99.

Outfit 2: Dress- H&M £19.99, Bag- Kurt Geiger £24.99, Sandals- Zara £19.99