Red and black, a perfect valentines match

Last week, I was browsing around Miss Selfridge in Outfit at my local retail park and spotted this gorgeous bucket bag hanging in a corner. What first caught my eye, was the flash of red on black which reminded me of a pair of Louboutins.

I told myself I didn't need another bag (having recently invested in a Kate Spade Byrdie) and reluctantly walked away after admiring it for far too long. 

This week, I was browsing through my personal emails one morning after arriving at work early and saw a sale email from Miss Selfridge. I followed the link to the site and there was the bag with 30% off. At that point, I just couldn't say no any longer and virtually threw it into my basket. The rest is history as they say!

 

Perfect for a valentines date too. Click here for the bag.

A day at the office | Work OOTD

I've been dying to wear this outfit since I bought it during the summer holidays, but the weather has been too nice to wear trousers up until now (very rare for this country!). So, today with a cloudy forecast looming, it seemed like the right time for its first outing.

I think I've mentioned before that being a teacher, I often find it hard to find decent work wear. The shops have some great clothes, but sometimes for one reason or another they just aren't appropriate for school. 

The blouse for me was love at first site. Such a lovely material; really soft and luxurious feeling, sleeveless, just off white with a smart black tie. It was a complete bargain from H&M at only £14.99.

I decided to style the blouse with some black wide leg trousers which are going to be huge during AW16. This pair are from Miss Selfridge, they cost £30, but I think I had a 20% off email code from them. (I thoroughly recommend that you sign up to the Miss Selfridge mailing list as they regularly send out discount codes.)

Picture from ASOS

Finally for the shoes. I'm on my feet a lot during the day and I also walk to work, so comfortable shoes are a must. I do have some nice loafers, but sometimes you just want some height. These are the ASOS Shaken heels which are currently on sale for £24 (RRP £32). The heel height is perfect but they are hurting my big toes, so I may have to send them back if I can't stretch them out.

What is your favourite place to shop for work wear?

Trend alert: Body suits

I'm currently loving body suits or "body's". They look great with jeans, trousers, skirts or leggings and I prefer them to wearing a top tucked in that always shifts and ends hanging out during the day or bulks out around the waist.

There are lots of great styles on the high street right now, so I'd thought I'd share with you some of my favorites.

First off, ones I own:

Pictures from New Look

The newest addition to my collection is this grey high neck sleeveless number from New Look. At only £9.99 it's an absolute bargain. Great for wearing with jeans for a casual day look, or under some smart trousers/skirt for work.

Pictures from River Island

Another high neck number, but from River Island this time and with these cute cap sleeves for £25. At time of posting stock is low on the River Island webpage, but it can also be found on ASOS or maybe in store. Again this is great for work, it looks really smart with a grey pencil skirt or it can be dressed up for the evening with a nice pair of skinny jeans and some heels.

Pictures from Boohoo

This Victoria chiffon vest style body suit from Boohoo is perfect with a high wasted skirt. I have this one in both black and white, but coral, navy and lilac are also available. For only £14, it is a bargain. It has a second layer under the chiffon that clings to your body like a traditional body suit which also helps to keep your bra hidden.

Now for my wanted list:

Picture from Miss Selfridge

Last year bardot tops and dresses were huge and they continue to be a staple in 2016. However, if you invested in a bardot top it is more than likely that you experienced it rising up over your shoulders and spent a lot of time walking around trying not to move your arms too much for fear of it sliding up. The bardot body should, in theory, be the end of the sliding up bardot as it will be held nicely in place by the poppers around your nether regions. This one from Miss Selfridge looks like a great buy.

Pictures from Missguided

A lace up front is very in now and most of the stores are doing lace up bodysuits, like these above from Missguided. I've yet to try these as I am not very gifted in the chest department and some of them plunge very low. But I like the stripy one above on the second row for £18 because that doesn't seem to come too low and the navy and cream stripes are a great look for summer.

Have you joined the body suit brigade yet? What other ones do I need in my wardrobe?

Denim skirt SS15

I love that denim never goes out of fashion and that it is so easy to wear and style. One of my favourite pieces for summer 2015 is the denim skirt. 

The skirt pictured came from New Look last week. I picked it up in their sale section for £11. It's a light acid wash pencil skirt. It's a stretchy material and sits on your hips.

As it's light, it helps accentuate a tan and you can pair it with either a dark or light top.

The pictures show how I've styled it on two occasions.

Both times I've worn it with my "moschino" belt (£10 from eBay shh). The first time with a black crop top from Miss Selfridge, Topshop necklace and black wedge sandals from Primark.

The second time I chose this white off the shoulder crop top from Topshop and some New Look wedges. If you look really carefully you can also see Alfie rolling around in the background. :)

I really want a denim shirt now, so that might be a purchase in the not so distant future as that will do well for autumn with some leggings.

Back to work look book

Back to work for me shortly, after a lovely (almost) six week break. Being a teacher, I sometimes struggle with shopping as a lot of things on the high street are not necessarily school-appropriate. I have to make sure that dresses and skirts aren't too short, and that tops aren't see through or flashing too much flesh. I also have the challenge of finding some comfortable black heels that look stylish but aren't so high that I end up in angony by morning break.

I thought I'd share with you my recent finds...

Miss Selfridge
Mini check pencil skirt
Black lace insert crop top

New Look
Black textured pencil skirt
White gem embellished crop top

River Island
Purple swing dress

Florence & Fred at Tesco
Patent gold trim penny loafers

Next
Black asymmetric buckle shoe boots

Although I have a couple of crop tops, when worn with a high waisted skirt, no flesh is flashing!

The Next shoes are proabably (not probably Emma, they are!) way too high, but I'll keep the Florence & Fred loafers under my desk for a little shoe change when walking around. 

All items were available to buy at time of writing. 20/08/2014