Go west | Festival look book

With V festival arriving at the end of the week, I've been thinking about the perfect outfit to wear. The western theme is really in this summer and is perfect for a festival. I'm thinking denim shorts, with a crop top or bralet underneath and a checked shirt, double buckle western belt and some boots to start. A hat, some sunnies and effortless wavy hair, maybe some gold stick on tattoos to finish.

I've put together this look with all day festival partying in mind - it is perfect for day to night.

Go west - festival look

Checked shirt - River Island
Western hat - ASOS
Crop top - Miss Selfridge
Western double buckle belt - Topshop
Denim shirts - River Island
Western bucket bag - ASOS
Gold tattoos - ASOS
Authentic peacock cowgirl boots - King Ranch Saddle Shop

These pieces are all great individually too, you can't go wrong with a crop top, denim shorts and a checked shirt at any time of year. The boots are a bit of a spending splurge, but how great would it be to have authentic Texan cowgirl boots that would last for years? And for all the men out there; boyfriends, man friends, best friends etc. you can get them some to match too.

What will you be wearing to V festival this week?

River Island try on haul

River Island just had a 25% off code in Grazia magazine so I couldn't resist buying a chunk of my wish list at such a good price. I'm loving their stuff at the moment, I could happily just shop there and no where else.

I thought I'd show you what I bought...

Embellished Cold Shoulder Blouse

I'm still majorly into the 'cold shoulder' trend this season and my collection is growing. I love this blouse (which they also do in pink). Perfect for a date night, or drinks out with friends.

It is currently out of stock on the RI website, but they still have it on ASOS if you hurry and maybe in store.

Blue cold shoulder mesh top

This blue cold shoulder mesh top is perfect for summer. It would look great paired with some white jeans or denim shorts.

White bardot top

I saw the classic white bardot top on Amelia Liana's YouTube channel and immediately added it to my wishlist. The flowy chiffon material is perfect for giving your outfit an instant feminine flare.

Khaki frilly bodysuit and boyfriend denim shorts

The khaki frilly bodysuit is another summer appropriate piece, but the colour will allow you to also take it into the early stages of autumn when paired with a nice black cardigan or jacket. 

These denim boyfriend shorts also come in a light wash and as the perfect casual day time shorts, I'm kind of wishing I had bought them too.

Black daisy lace overlay bardot top and Amelie light wash ripped jeans

My previous pair of light wash ripped jeans made their way to the charity shop a couple of weeks ago as they seemed to have stretched and become too baggy for me. As soon as I saw the light wash ripped Amelie super skinny jeans, I knew they'd be the perfect replacement.

The black daisy lace overlay bardot top is another versatile piece that can be dressed up or down. I actually wore it to work today with a grey pencil skirt and it made a cute, smart outfit.

Now after this lot, someone really needs to take my debit card away from me. :)

Chilly shoulders

My obsession for the cold shoulder look is growing. I saw this blouse when I popped in to River Island on Saturday, just wasting a bit of time before my optician appointment. The second I spotted it hanging on the rail, it was unexplainable love at first site. It is not even the kind of print I'd normally wear and I don't think I've ever spent this much on one top before, but something about it just struck me and drew me in. I thought it was beautiful and I had to have it.

I wore it for work today, paired with some ASOS black cropped skinny trousers and New Look tassel loafers. It will also look great tucked in to a black pencil skirt, or paired with jeans for a more casual look.

One of my cheeky year 8 boys asked me at work today what I was wearing?! He obviously doesn't know a single thing about fashion!

For me, as I said; it is love at first sight.

You can find it online here.

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?

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

Holiday outfits

This time last week I was sunning myself in 5* Egyptian luxury. Right now I can hear the bass from V festival a couple of miles away and it's almost raining. *sigh*

Nevertheless, we had a lovely holiday and feel very refreshed. I thought I'd share some of my evening outfits with you. Unfortnuately, I didn't manange to photograph them all.

Top: Cameo Rose @ New Look, Shorts: River Island, Pumps: Primark

Dress: Missguided

Dress: Parisian @ New Look, Shoes: Crystal customised New Look courts

I also wore these coral shorts from Missguided with a white crop top, but didn't get a piccy

I wore an outfit almost identical to this, with this River Island aztec skirt from ASOS and a black crop top from New Look

The end of the holiday is bitter sweet. It is so good to go home and see Alfie, but I still wish I was in the 40 degree sun relaxing by the pool. Fingers crossed for some more sun here in Essex over the next few days, although the weather people don't seem very hopeful.

Floral peg trousers (SS14)

A Spring/Summer 2014 trend seems to be brightly coloured, florally peg trousers. River Island retweeted this picture the other day of @sosueme and I fell for the look.

So much so, that I took myself in to town the next day and headed to River Island in search of 'those' trousers.

Anddddd, I got them!

I wore them out for a meal last night, paired with a black vest top, blazer and platform wedge sandals.

I will definitely invest in some more as they are so comfy and light for the warmer weather.