Fashion - Wardrobe Essential: The Blue Shirt

Just like a LBD, black tailored trousers, perfectly fitting jeans and a breton stripe, a classic blue button down cotton shirt should be part of every woman's capsule wardrobe.  They work brilliantly for the office tucked into tailored trousers or for evening worn with leather pants, a crystal earring and some strappy high heels. You can even pair the shirt with jeans, black, blue or white, styled with a rolled sleeve and trainers for the weekend. It's such a versatile and hard working wardrobe item. 

While I own a classic style from J Crew that I wear frequently, I recently found this blue shirt with a design twist from Zara. I love the cropped side waist detail coupled with the long front and back that at first glance could be mistaken for a shirt dress. Plus it's an incredible price point.

Shirt £22.99 Zara BUY HERE

Here are a few other blue shirts with a twist that I'm coveting.

Balenciaga from Matches Fashion £605 BUY HERE

Boden £79 BUY HERE

COS £55 BUY HERE

Images: Pinterest, COS, Boden, Matches Fashion

What I Wore

Here's a little round up of the outfits I've worn recently.

Shacket Topshop, Sweater Zoe Karssen, Skirt Mango, Boots Topshop

Heading out for a day of press days and appointments for a shoot rocking a bare leg, before the weather turned chilly and I had to dig out the opaque tights.

Coat COS, Sweater Gap, Jeans Topshop, Trainers Adidas

Going on a shoot requires comfortable clothing that I can move in as I'm often dashing around, bending over and kneeling on the floor, so skinny jeans and trainers are a must for me.

Top Gap, Skirt Vintage, Shoes Miu Miu, Bag LK Bennett

It was a dear friends' baby shower this weekend so I decided to get a little dressed up, any excuse to wear heels as I can't in my day to day job! I was gifted this gorgeous dotty clutch bag at the LK Bennett press day this week and couldn't wait to use it, so here I am clashing spots and stripes holding the nappy cake I made from scratch!

Hope you all have a great week.

Sx

What I Wore

As I'm a stylist I thought it was about time I shared what I wore as a regular feature on my blog. So here's a little round up of a few outfits from last week.

Top Topshop, Jeans ASOS, Trainers Adidas

A busy day of appointments in London prepping for a shoot called for comfort. My new jeans from ASOS are my best buy recently and I'll be devoting an entire post to them soon.

Jumper COS, Skirt and shoes Topshop

Date night with the boyfriend and I'm still refusing to admit that it's autumn by going bare legged, but paring with an oversized knit.

Hat COS, Jumper Gap, T-Shirt J. Crew, Trousers Topshop, Bag and Trainers Miu Miu

The first day of autumn calls for slouchy knits and cosy beanie hats. I can't wait to start wearing my coats, scarves and knits now that the weather is getting cooler.

Life Lately

Last week was filled with travel, sightseeing and cats. What could be more perfect! On the invite of a lovely new friend, we took ourselves to Berlin to explore the marvellous city, on which I will blog more later. 

Berlin's Victory Column

The Brandenburg Gate

While in Berlin we had to cat sit and since being home I've really missed the fur babies!

Jojo the cat, aka Jabba the Hutt

We then returned to London to play tourist for a few days, something I love to do as I tend to neglect this wonderful city I am fortunate to call home.

Dinosaur bones and little people at The Natural History Museum

We also went to see Gone Girl on the recommendation of many others. It's a good film but with a little too much artistic license at times. What did you think?

The villainous Rosamund Pike

I'm refusing to wear tights until the weather really gets cold, so am wearing socks, boots and cosy knits to compensate!

Jumper M&S, Skirt COS, Boots Topshop

I hope you have a lovely week.

Sx

What I Wore: Berlin

This week we hopped on a plane for a few days to play tourist in Berlin. The city is incredible and I will be writing a post shortly covering my top 10 things to do and see. But for now here is a little round up of what I wore.

I packed a wardrobe of comfy clothes, including only flat shoes, as I knew we would be spending hours walking around the city taking in the sights. The weather was unexpectedly dry and sunny so my new Cos cocoon coat in light grey wool came out to play.

COS coat, River Island sweater, Topshop trousers, Adidas trainers, Louis Vuitton bag, Miu Miu sunglasses

Acne Studios sweater, Topshop jeans, Miu Miu trainers

COS coat, Uniqlo jumper, Debenhams culottes, Adidas trainers, Louis Vuitton bag

In My Bag

I was so excited to do a little new season shopping last week. I prefer autumn clothes as I love the tones and textures. I managed to get a few basics to add to my wardrobe along with some new things for my home.

Skirt £59 COS

This navy skirt is in a thick cotton with front pleats and deep side pockets that create an interesting silhouette. I will be wearing mine now with a grey t-shirt or breton stripes and Birkenstocks and with tights, brogues and an oversized knit when the weather gets colder.

Shirt £34.95 Gap

Grey and navy and stripes! All my favourite things at once! I'll wear this shirt with some ripped up boyfriend jeans or tucked in a pair of tailored trousers, accessorized with a statement necklace.

Skirt £59.99 Mango

 I've been searching for a leather mini skirt for AGES and finally came across this ideal one in Mango. It's in buttery soft leather, short but not so short that I can't wear it with a chunky jumper during the day and it's very good value for money. I'm so happy with this purchase!

Plate £14 Holly Frean at Anthropologie

How cute are these plates? I like collecting individual crockery, I think it makes a dinner party or a solitary dinner more fun and these limited edition ones by Holly Frean from Anthropologie fit the bill. There are more designs to collect so I may have to pop back to store to add to my collection.

Tray £9.99 H&M Home

This bargain gold tray is from H&M's home department. If you haven't visited yet, you NEED to. Filled with inexpensive, but well designed trinkets for the home I always end up buying something, be it a cushion cover or a candle holder. I originally purchased this tray to display my coffee table bits and bobs, but after dressing it with pillar candles it now sits proudly on my dinner table.

Oh Yeah Adidas

How completely and utterly cool does Phoebe Philo look?

Phoebe Philo single handedly reignited my love for Adidas with this image. When I was about 17 I had the best pair of navy and cream shell-toed, canvas and suede Adidas trainers from Slam City Skates. Sadly they are in land fill somewhere, so what better excuse to go and buy some more!

I began with grey suede Gazelles. They are super easy to wear and have replaced my loafers and slip on trainers, working easily with jeans, tailored trousers, midi skirts and dresses.

Dress by COS, Shirt by Gap, Gazelles by Adidas

Then a few weeks ago I purchased some Stan Smith's figuring they'd be as versatile as my Gazelle's. I eschewed the green style, instead going for navy seeing as half of my wardrobe is navy.

Jacket and Trousers by Topshop, T-shirt by J. Crew, Stan Smith's by Adidas

Recently Sarah Clarke, one of my favourite stylists and blogger of Little Spree, did the most incredible shoot for Red Magazine on how to wear the navy Stan's, making me even happier with my purchase. 

Sarah Clarke's perfectly styled shoot for Red Magazine

Fortunately/unfortunately the weather has been so good that I've been wearing sandals every day but I'm currently working in Sydney where it's winter, so the trainers will be making regular appearances.

And the purchasing may not stop at 2 pairs, how goddamn gorgeous are these by Raf Simons for Adidas?

And what about these paint splattered beauties?

Images: Pinterest, Uptherestore.com, SarahClarkeStylist.com

Think Pink

It all began with a mug. When in Heal's recently searching for kitchen inspiration my eyes fell upon a collection of pink things. I don't normally find myself drawn to this pretty hue, despite being a massive Barbie aficionado, but I had to have the mug.

Mug £10 Heal's

Then I discovered these gorgeous candle holders next to this pretty vase which I thought would look beautiful potted up with succulents.

Candle holder £42 Heal's, Vase £14 Heal's

Moving on from interiors, I fell in love with this furry coat by MSGM when I was prepping for a photo-shoot recently. I'd feel like a giant Care Bear wearing it, but I don't view that as a negative!

Coat £395 MSGM

So pink is having a moment. It's not a sickly or bright pink, but an understated, more subtle version. Here is a round up of some other pink items I've fallen for.

A simple muted pink pump with a wearable heel height from Zara. These would look so chic with a pair of cropped navy trousers.

Shoes £49.99 Zara

This dress is stunning and such a great price point. Perfect for a summer wedding or balmy evening cocktails. The simple white top tones down the flippy pink skirt making it more wearable.

Dress £65 & Other Stories

And if wearing a piece of pink clothing seems too scary why not integrate the trend into your outfit by wearing this necklace over a simple white or navy top.

Necklace £15 COS

And in a dream world this would be my perfect candy floss hued bag. Yummy!

Bag £1085 Balenciaga at Matches Fashion

Images: Net-A-Porter, COS, & Other Stories, Matches Fashion

Jean Jacket Joy

A little while ago I purchased this denim jacket from my high street favourite Gap and I've been pleasantly surprised by how much I wear it. It works brilliantly for day with skirts and dresses and equally well slung over my shoulders to dress down an evening look. I especially like this Gap jacket as the arms are fitted, the denim is a little distressed plus it's now in the sale so go forth and buy, you won't regret it.

Jacket Gap, Tshirt COS, Skirt H&M, Sandals Birkenstocks

Here are some other denim jackets catching my eye.

Topshop £45

My love affair with white continues with this oversized denim jacket from Topshop.

J. Crew £128

A very flattering cropped jacket from J. Crew.

Acne Studios £220 from Net-A-Porter

A light denim style from Acne Studios, perfect for summer.

Marques'Almeida £275 from Matches Fashion

I adore this offering from Marques'Almeida in dark denim with concealed buttons and frayed edges.

Images: J. Crew, Topshop, Net-A-Porter, Matches

Jump To It

I thought my days of wearing jumpsuits were over until I spied this little beauty in Topshop. I tried it on, still felt a little unsure but bought it anyway, then took the plunge and wore it the next day to a shoot. To my surprise I received more compliments and "where is it from?" comments than I have had in a very long time. The thick slinky fabric ensures flattering coverage over the derrière, it's navy so I automatically love it, the cuffed ankle and wrist are a great detail and it's super comfortable (allow a few extra minutes when going to the loo though). 

Jumpsuit Topshop, Bag Prada, Sandals Topshop

I wore mine with simple flat sandals, but I intend to wear it with a strappy high heel and a bright clutch bag for evening or a leather biker jacket and some slip on trainers in cooler weather. It's a versatile wardrobe essential that I will be wearing again and again in the coming months. Here is a round up of some other jumpsuits to entice you to add this versatile item to your wardrobe.

The perfect weekend jumpsuit, wear with trainers or tan sandals.

Zara £59.99

The perfect holiday jumpsuit (with boning for added support), just add a tan and long gold necklaces.

Topshop £60

The perfect wedding jumpsuit, pair with a blazer and metallic accessories.

 

Reiss £245

The perfect workwear jumpsuit, add brogues and simple graphic jewellery.

COS £135

The dream evening jumpsuit, wear with a metallic high heel and gold cuffs.

Stella McCartney at Net-A-Porter £1,435

Images: Topshop, Reiss, Zara, COS, Net-A-Porter,