Thursday 31 May 2012

BRIGHTS: DAY SEVEN



DAY SEVEN: Neon yellow beaded necklace, H&M

Apologies for the lack of posting yesterday, I was manically prepping a shoot that's required quite a bit of production that I'm shooting today. By the time you read this, I will be winging my way to Windsor for a day of fringing, tie dye and far too many tents for my liking.

Back to the matter at hand though, it seems you all like my necklace. A lot. And would you believe it, its another £9.99 jobby from H&M. They are seriously hitting the nail on the sartorial head at the moment. I was out shooting some street style the other night and one of my subjects was wearing it. I didn't want to come over all fan girl on her so I didn't dare ask where it was from - after I'd finished, I thought I'd pop in to H&M for a quick evening browse to see what there was and lo, there was the necklace!

I'll be honest, its fairly distracting. Not only because of the colour but also the sheer size and swingy-ness of it. When I have to semi-run for a bus or walk quickly, it swings around quite a lot - there have been several incidents where I've come very close to smacking myself in the face with the Mardi Gras style beads. At least when I do, I can add it to my list of fashion-related injuries. Good times

Worn with: Tee, Matches 4 LFW; sunglasses, Valentino.

Tuesday 29 May 2012

BRIGHTS: DAY SIX


DAY SIX: Tropical print trousers, George at Asda

We all know how much I love a statement trouser, so when I clapped eyes on these a few months ago at the George press day, I made it my mission to get my hands on a pair for the summer. Much like my River Island pair, they're lightweight, super comfortable and about as close as wearing my PJs to the office as I can get. They're also great in this heat and the best bit? They're only £14. You can pick up a pair online [here].

Worn with: grey tee and neon necklace, both H&M; leopard print sandals, Birkenstocks; sunglasses, Valentino.

Monday 28 May 2012

BRIGHTS: DAY FIVE


DAY FIVE: Green chino shorts, Dorothy Perkins

On Friday, I popped to town super early to hit up the Links of London clearance sale and on my way back to the station, with a few minutes spare I thought I would pop into good old DP for a quick nosy as I was having one of those outfit fail days. I'd been thinking about brightly coloured shorts as a summer staple for a while so when I clapped eyes on these bright green numbers, I knew I was onto a winner.

I'm much more of a shorts than skirt kinda girl as I like to be able to roll around (sometimes literally) on the floor of the fashion cupboard without feeling like I'm going to traumatise the work experience girls by flashing things that I shouldn't, ditto for riding on the tube in the ridiculous heat, so shorts are my go-to item each and every time it gets hot.

The bonus of these is that they're also not bum skimmers. There is no way I could walk through the newsroom unscathed if I had a buttcheek or two hanging out - the slightly longer style means that when paired with the right kind of top like this shirt, I can just about get away with these in a work environment.

Saying that, I've been sitting at my desk all day so deepest apologies for my rumpled state in this photo. Must steam myself next time before I get my photo taken! Must also lose at least a stone if my knees are going to carry on insisting that they're made of dough.

You can buy these green wonders [here] for a very reasonable £18, I've also got my eyes on the multitude of other colours that they come in - peach, lemon, navy and purple. Summer staple number one, officially in the bag!

Worn with: skull button shirt, Zara; belt, Gap; studded sunglasses, Valentino.

Friday 25 May 2012

BRIGHTS: DAY FOUR


DAY FOUR: Neon striped tote, Marks & Spencer

Another hot, hot day in London and I figured it was finally time to bust out my Marni at H&M dress I bought a few months ago [here]. About bloody time too. With all of the heat and colour, I figured it was time to finally change bags from my little black satchel to something that allows me to carry a big bottle of water in it on my commute plus was a little more summery, so I grabbed this tote from good old M&S that's been hanging around on my bag rack for a while. It's a great size for everyday lugging and the bag itself is very light, although it does mean that it's tempting to fill it to the brim with stuff that I really don't need to carry.

Another plus is that I like the way that the stripes clash with the spots of my dress for a bit of a print mashup. You can pick up this bag for a very reasonable £22.50 [here] or a slightly more subdued pink version [here].

Worn with: Silk spotty dress, Marni at H&M.

Wednesday 23 May 2012

BRIGHTS: DAY THREE


DAY THREE: Neon pink tee, H&M

I have become somewhat obsessed with H&M recently, I blame the necklaces from day one. I keep on trolling every time I'm in town, hoping for a new colour combination to drop in. Of course, while I'm in there I have to have a little look around (it'd be rude not to) and inevitably, I end up buying something.

About six years ago, I purchased the perfect soft dark grey marl tee from H&M. Years later, it's still going strong but despite hanging out in the basics section, I have never seen its soft, perfect cut replicated. Until recently. On another failed necklace troll, I casually sauntered over to the basics section, expecting to be disappointed once more in my search for another perfect grey tee.

Oh, how wrong I was. Not only did I find a round neck slightly lighter shade of grey version of the perfect tee but I also found this blinding neon version. It is so blinding that I daren't post it on here in all of its brightness for fear of damaging your retinas. The boyfriend says that when I wear it, I'm like the sun - you can't look directly at me.  All for £4.99. Excellent, I might need to buy a second, just in case.

Worn with: grey skinnies, Topshop; studded biker, Versace x H&M; sunglasses, Valentino.

Tuesday 22 May 2012

BRIGHTS: DAY TWO


DAY TWO: Mesh ballet pumps, Nelly

Heatwave - YEAY! New shoes - DOUBLE YEAY! First up, apologies for the lack of posts over the weekend, our ever delightful internet connection decided to up sticks and piss off on holiday, meaning that I was at the mercy of my 3G connection which does nothing for my laptop. I spent the whole weekend trying to do things on the rest of my Mac stack to no avail. Coupled with a ridiculous workload, I have been incommunicado from most of the internet world. And the real world for that matter.

But let's talk about shoes, yes? I love shoes. Behold the newest addition to a shoe collection that means that I will very soon need an extra room just for footwear. They are from Nelly.com, which is kind of like a Swedish ASOS and has just launched in the UK to massive fanfare and an awesome party not long ago at one of my favourite venues, Aqua London.

I picked up these particular shoes for three very specific reasons:

1) I have had orange ballet pumps on my mind for quite some time now. They have seeped into my consciousness like a bad smell and I could not get rid of the thought. I think this is a run-on from my obsession with orange at the beginning of the year, but on a more manageable and less look-like-a-plague-victim level.

2) The mesh. Thanks to my dodgy grandma knees, I have to wear insoles in my shoes at all times or risk the wrath of my joints. This means that most styles of sandals are out of the question when this plus my freaky toe-post hating toes factor into the equation, meaning I spend most of summer in ballet pumps and with stinking feet. I bet you wanted to know that, right? Well, the mesh on these means that my feet can breeeathe this summer. Hurrah!

3) They are only £14.95. Amazing.

They are so amazing in fact, that I am giving serious thought to buying them in every colour combination that they come in. You can buy this particular fetching orange and blue combination [here], blue and pink [here] and my next purchase, neon yellow and green [here].

Worn with: grey skinnies, Topshop

Thursday 17 May 2012

BRIGHTS: DAY ONE





DAY ONE: Neon and diamanté necklaces, H&M


I seem to spend 90 per cent of my time on this blog apologising for the lack of blogging, so let me do it again: SORRY. The day job has been pretty hectic with millions of press days and plenty to shoot, as you'll know if you read my inane ramblings on twitter [@adulescent].


During my Transition stint, I found myself wearing a lot more colour than I had previously and after a couple of requests on twitter, I thought it might be fun to do brights this time. I know it's kind of cheating after I did colour last summer and I did debate doing neon but I wasn't sure if my colleagues were ready to be blinded on a daily basis, especially my editor who I sit opposite to. If I'm honest, I think they still find it strange when I wear anything other than black or grey.


But I digress. Brights. Where/wear to start? I bought these necklaces in H&M about a fortnight ago. Well, actually I bought one and then went back the following day to buy a second after deciding that one was not enough and WOAH were they selling fast - the  first day I went in, there were four or five racks of them, each holding about 15-20, the following day I got two of the last five necklaces. Mental. But then, they were a rather bargainous £10 each and at the H&M press day today I was informed that they sold out ridiculously quickly and are now selling on eBay for a small fortune. Sure enough, I checked when I got home and they're selling like hot cakes for anywhere between £30 and £70. Say what?


I picked these up as I love the combination of giant diamanté stones and neon, a la Tom Binns. Unfortunately, my salary won't stretch to anything remotely near Tom Binns but H&M, that I can do. Except, apparently, at eBay prices, you crazy people.


Every time I wear one or both of these necklaces, I get stopped all day. It's ridiculous but I love watching peoples' faces when they ask where they're from and I say H&M. Total Kodak moment.


Worn with: striped top, Day Birger et Mikkelson; Wayfarers, Ray-Ban.

Friday 11 May 2012

TRANSITION: DAY THIRTY




DAY THIRTY: Snake print slippers, Jones Bootmaker

At long last, the final installment of Transition. Apologies for the delay but what with the monsoon-like rain, winds and generally grey skies, I've been stuck back in my winter clothes and Converse for the last few days and I don't like lying to you all or being totally ridiculous like 'oh yeah, its pissing rain but here I am in some silky trousers and some sunglasses!'

I've been hoarding several new pairs of shoes for a few weeks now, just waiting for the weather to get better so that I could finally start wearing them. Waking up to some sunshine today but still not feeling confident enough for mesh or open toes, these slippers from Jones Bootmaker felt like the perfect compromise.

The other week, I went along to ogle their Autumn/Winter wares (and oh, how lovely they are) and while I was there, I got to pick a pair from their current collection. I've been avoiding slipper-type shoes all season on the belief that they made my cankles look worse but these don't seem to do that as they're cut a little higher on the top of the foot so they don't look as flat and non-existent as a lot of other styles.

You can get them [here] in the snake/taupe colour or in black suede [here].

Worn with: Grey skinnies, Topshop