Oh Mickey, You’re So Fine

I swear every year I say I want to do more outfit posts, and then either I don’t have someone to take the photos, or I’m not feeling confident enough to do it, or whatever excuse I tell myself at the time, and then my good intentions go downhill a little and I get to the end of the year realising that I’ve done only maybe 2 and I end up wishing things had been different, then the cycle repeats..

Confidence has been a big thing for me lately. I seem to either have an abundance of it, or none at all, and it can go from one to the other in half a second with no real reason. This shoot, for example, took two attempts; Matthew and I had wandered over to Barton Square from the main part of the Trafford Centre, when I decided that this was going to be the perfect location to shoot the outfit I was wearing, but for some reason as soon as it came to standing in front of the pretty stone pillars and posing for the camera, I just couldn’t do it. I blamed the sun, saying that the lighting just wasn’t right, and there were quite a few people around and as I always do when this sort of thing happened, I talked myself out of it and walked away disappointed.

Matthew, on the other hand, is becoming quite used to me having these little wobbles, and suggested that we came back in the morning when it was nice and quiet, and bright, and although I hate admitting these things, he was right. Although it was VERY cold (I mean, it was 2C and I stripped down to a t-shirt for some photos), when we went back the next morning I was in the right mood, and felt totally comfortable posing in my entirely Mickey themed outfit despite early shoppers appearing behind me every now and then!

So pretty much this entire outfit is H&M, with the exception of my well-loved Converses, trusty coat (Pretty Little Thing but years ago) and the adorable Alex and Ani Mickey bangle from Walt Disney World. The beanie I actually picked up a few years ago now but I keep seeing it pop back up in stores and I’m pretty sure its around the £7.99 mark price-wise! The t-shirt was one I saw several people on Twitter and Instagram share, and I knew straight away I had to have it – I don’t think you can tell from the photos but the rainbow part is actually glittery too! – its a size S, but has quite a lot of room in it so if you prefer a tighter fit then you may want to size down from what you would normally go for. The jeans are a different story.. These are the jeans that I’ve been ranting about both on Twitter and in Saturday’s blog post – having ordered a size 12 originally (a size larger than I am), I went to exchange them in store and could actually only fit into a size 16 (well, I could just manage the 14 but only if I had no plans to eat or breathe whilst wearing them), so if you do fall in love with them like I did, I suggest going to try them on in a store, and just prepare yourself for not fitting into your usual size, and maybe not even the next size up. They are, however, my first pair of mom jeans, and I do love feeling a bit 90s in them!

Oh, and the hoodie is from the kids section, I’m wearing a 14+ years but its still got plenty of room in it!

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Working Wardrobe Dreams – The Skirt

The Skirt

 

Ok, so I had every intention on making this month’s WWD specific to pencil skirts, but as you can see, upon searching for skirts to feature, I fell in love with pleats and A-lines instead!

First up, and adding a bit of colour to the selection is this stripy number from New Look, just because I think so many people seem to think colour doesn’t scream ‘professional’, and I think that’s a bunch of rubbish!

Then we’ve got three different pleated beauties; the single pleat, wide pleats and narrow pleats, all of which I think can be really flattering, and I love the ‘classic’ style of all of them, especially with the length! The grey midi is from Alexa Chung’s new collection at M&S! Last up, a simple yet eye-catching a-line from H&M!

Do you prefer a pencil skirt, or are you smitten with my selection?

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Working Wardrobe Dreams – The Little Black Dress

Believe it or not, I actually applied for an office job a few weeks ago.. But the interviews were last week and they didn’t even send me a polite rejection so that ends that one.

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Left to right: T-Shirt Dress from Asos, Ribbed Dress with Lacing from h&m, Square Neck Skater Dress from Missguided, Cheryl Skater Dress from Boohoo, Black Frilly Mini Dress from River Island

But you can never go wrong with a little black dress, right?

Who would argue with Coco Chanel, eh? Ask any fashion designer, writer, blogger or quite frankly female what they think is the ultimate wardrobe staple is, and I think you’ll find the answer is pretty unanimous. Its stylish, effortless (or at least looks it!) and its versatile. With minor tinkering – a change of shoes or bag, some killer jewellery etc – you can go from office chic to cocktails with the girls without batting an eyelid.

Tights and pumps make any of these dresses a cute and comfortable office-worthy outfit, but ditch the flats for some fancy heels and a pretty clutch and you’re ready for an evening of networking, whether it be professional or social! I’m not sure I can pick a favourite of these five, but as they’re all under £40, I don’t see any reason why I’d have to choose, ha!

How do you style up your LBD?

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January Sale Homeware Haul

Being away for the first half of January, I was a little late to the sale shopping game but totally ready to make up for lost time!

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The first bargains I stumbled upon were these amazing cushion covers from h&m, which I’d actually been eyeing up back in December when they were full price. Yes, ok, the text ones are Christmas themed, but I just love white and gold and they were £2(!!!) and the star print was £4, plus isn’t the point of January sales to buy cheap Christmas stuff?!

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I totally blame Kayleigh for my next set of purchases. I am a self-confessed stationery addict, so when she posted her pretty new planner on Instagram, I figured it was time for me to make a purchase. I looked around and decided on Kikki-K, a company I’ve been a little bit obsessed with for a while now, and guess what – they were having a sale! While I can be a sucker for pastels at times, yellow is my one true love, so of course seeing that most of the sale items were yellow just proved it was meant to be! As well as a planner, I got a set of 3 A5 notebooks, some of the cutest little notepads and – non-sale – a happy healthy habits box, which I’ll be reviewing separately once I’ve given it a go! Its all just too cute, I can’t wait to use it!

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Last, but definitely by no means least, on Friday 29th I set my alarm for 6.45am in order to be awake for the elusive Nikki McWilliams biscuit sale. Psst.. go look at Nikki McWilliams and you’ll fall in love! In the biscuit sale, products with minor defects are sold off at low, low prices, along with discontinued bits and bobs, and stock flies out in minutes! For example, in the time it took me to add everything I wanted to my basket, three things had already sold out, waa! I did, however, still get some great bargains (and the two cushions I bought haven’t arrived yet) and I look forward to the next!

Did you hit the sales in January?

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Working Wardrobe Dreams – The Coat

Ok, so this is a new little series for 2016, and it pretty much centres around the little part of me that secretly wishes I had a ‘boring’ office-based job that meant I could dress in super cute work outfits, rather than my current retail uniform. Bleurgh. Each month I’ll be focusing on a different wardrobe staple in a business girls arsenal, and today, given this chilly winter weather, its the coat!

coats

Left to right: Classic Mac from Asos, Textured Weave Jacket from h&m, Denim Waterfall Coat from Topshop, Belted Cape from River Island, Oversized Coat in pastel pink from Asos

Now I know that a coat isn’t exactly something you’d wear around the workplace, but in many cases its the first impression you could make on someone, whether you’re walking into their building or meeting over coffee, so its a perfect excuse to make sure yours is not just professional but also adorable!

Personally, I’m finding myself obsessed with the blue waterfall coat from Topshop; it just seems to hang so effortlessly! I’m also a real sucker for a classic mac, hence featuring Asos’s offering, and I love the wintery vibes from the RI belted cape.

Which is your favourite?