Boots I Covet

I want to start this post off with a disclaimer. On Monday (21st October) I'm going to New York and I'll be back on Saturday (26th). I will have my ipad and phone with me, which I can blog on but I don't know how good my wifi is and scheduling posts never works for me so I might be missing for a few days but as soon as i'm back i'll be right back on it. I still will be picking up most of my tweets, comments and emails! Now the boring part has been said lets start the post:

I had such a great response to my previous Coat post and I was requested to do a shoe wish-list/inspiration post! I'm such a shoe girl and thought this post would be so fun to write as it gives me an opportunity, and a reason, to spend (a long) time looking at shoes. Instead of doing my shoe wish-list with any shoes I like, i've decided to do a high-street alternative shoe wish-list. For those, like me, who don't want to spend the £££ money on shoes, I found some cheaper alternatives for the must have shoes for the season. Most of these shoes are from H&M, they have a great collection in at the moment! There is also a lovely Boohoo pair thrown in.

1,2,3,4,5,6

1) These Dr Marten inspired boots are so cute. My favourite is the beige, they also come with a wool lining! I've also featured the black velvet, which i'm a huge fan of. These are shockingly only £24.99, whereas the originals are minimum £60 more expensive (usually around £110). I love both of these, but they also come in black leather, burgundy and khaki camouflage. 

2) I think these H&M boots are so cool. I love the contrast colours, they also come in full blacks. I think they'd be a great addition into anyone's wardrobe. They look expensive but they're a bargain at £29.99! I really recommend these and they'd definitely keep your tootsies warm with their wool lining.

3) I'm in love with these super cute ankle booties. The gold detailing is really in-trend and they have a zip on the inside to help put on. The padding at the back makes them look so comfortable and I could definitely see myself wearing these, think with black jeans, black top and gold necklaces (maybe even a gold chain to release your inner rocker).

4) Similar to no.1, these shoes are definitely an edgy statement. The harsh leather and zip would definitely grunge up an outfit. I think you could dress these up and down and would make an outfit look so put together. I love the zip detailing. They look well made and have nice laces - I hate when biker boots have cheaply made laces, but is it just me who thinks these £29.99 shoes look a bit uncomfortable? I think it's worth it though.

5) Some of you might of already hopped on the Vagabond lifestyle in the summer, but it took me a bit longer to get use to the chunky heel and platform but now I cannot get enough. The original Vagabond Dioon shoes are £65. These are over half the price, only £29.99.

6) The only pair that are not H&M on this post are these lovely Boohoo shoes. The cutout chain shoes have been everywhere recently, the most popular being £80 in Office that come in three different colours (Black with gold/silver/rose gold). These are only £40 and even though they are not as long as the Office ones I love these. I love the gold detailing on the heel and the buckles. I think they're super cute.

What shoes are your favourite in this post? Comment down below! I try and respond to each of your comments and each on makes my day a little lot better. Any shoes you've spotted out and about that you love? If you have any recommendations of what I should pick up when I'm in New York comment below!

Disclaimer (again): This post is not sponsored. Neither companies have asked me to write this post and I did it on my own. None of the pictures are mine but are all sourced back to their websites.

Coats I Covet

You might not know this about me but I am an admitted coat hoarder! Autumn/Winter fashion is my favourite and so what could possibly suit me better than shopping for the winter staple of a coat or jacket? Chloe and I were tweeting the other day about wanting to find the perfect pink coat and that conversation has inspired me to do a coat wish list or inspiration post. As most of you Raindrops will know pink is this season's colour! A colour that scares away the fair girls out there - especially me, but I think the coats are so cute so I want one anyways! At London Fashion Weekend there was a whole runway show dedicated to pink. It can be worn in so many ways, from a cheeky pink accessory (Maybe a pink satchel? Or a cheeky pink heel?), to a dress suit and my favourite: the coat. Tweed is another trend that's in inspired by the current Victoriana A/W13 trend. Monochrome (or black and white in general) are two of my favourite styles and featured those too! 

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

1) A Topshop pale pink boyfriend jacket and a lovely number for this season. It's not my favourite out of these 8 but I would still treasure it! I'm not sure if I would lash out and spend £89 (not including student discount) on it though as I think it might be too pale of a pink, leaning to more of a cream than pink, and I'm not crazy in love with the colour - I like it but i'd prefer more of one. 

2) River Island (sold on ASOS) has wowed me with this number! I originally saw it when I saw Ellis instagram (instagram @elrbx) it. I fell in love with it instantly and for only £65 I think it's a bargain and what can I say? I love fur collars! If the pink trend isn't for you, you can also pick up the coat in grey! 

3) I think this is my favourite of the pink coats. Another Topshop number this blush fluffy coat is perfect! For only £79 I think it's great. I love the collar and length of it and I think it is the perfect shade of pale pink. If pink isn't doing it for you again it also comes in blue, white ( I love), yellow and black! 

4) I love this coat! I have never owned a tweed coat and I think the contrast with the solid black makes it a lot more modern and in style than some others i've seen. As you have probably noticed I love my coat collars and the solid black one is so nice! I think it makes the coat more easy to style as you can wear more underneath it that comes up above the colour. The back of this coat is fully back and I love the shape it has. The coat has so much movement, it might not be as useful as a fur-lined parka for the English winters but fashion is pain right. The coat is pricey for what it is at £90 but it seems great quality and transitional! 

5) If you follow me on twitter you might already know how much I want a black fur coat. I originally nearly bought one by French Connection but realised it wasn't perfect, it had no collar and a low neckline and it was almost cropped, so I wasn't going to spend £80 on it. This however is the same price and I would definitely spend that amount on something this well made. You can tell by the photo how soft and comfy the coat would be. It has a nice length and collar and looks so warm. 

6) When I first saw a picture of this Topshop jacket I wasn't a huge fan, but then I saw it on the model and loved it. I like how voluminous the white fur collar is and the contrast it makes. Is it bad I want it because it looks a bit like my chihuahua? It seems so snuggly and great quality, and at £95 it should be. 

7) I don't know what not to say about this Minkpink (sold on ASOS) coat. It's amazing: fluffy, furry and monochrome and worth the £90.

8) I love this jacket so much. I think white in the winter looks so sleek and clean. The fur looks so soft and I think the jacket is just so fashionable. I love the slightly angled zip and the pockets on the front. Not only is this the last jacket i'm featuring, it's also the most expensive at £120 but I think I would splash out on this. It's not the most efficient coat for the price but definitely one of the cutest! 

Definitely check out Chloe's blog, it's linked in the intro of this post and follow her on twitter! Check out Ellis' too, her instagram and blog are both linked! They're both great and I definitely take inspiration  from their posts. Which coat trend is your favourite this season? Which one of my picks do you like the most? I think my favourite is number 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8. 

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored. All photos were sourced from a website and I did not take any of these photographs. These jackets were all found on Topshop and ASOS.  

Red Dress Festivities at New Look

With the upcoming festivities quickly approaching I bet we've all been scouring for the perfect dresses to get us sparkling throughout the holidays.

After searching the sites I have discovered New Look having a wide range of red dresses, varying from oranges to oxbloods in every range of style. I thought i'd share some of my most loved dresses!

Red Sequin 3/4 Sleeve Bodycon Dress - £39.99

You cannot get much more festive than this bright sequin number. The flattering neckline and 3/4 sleeves will definitely be spicy addition yo your wardrobe, the price is rather good for the quality and if the colour is not for you it also comes in a variety of others: blue, black, pink and gold.

Lattice Neck Skater Dress - £12.99

Definitely on the cheaper side of the spectrum but this casual burgundy dress, available in black, can easily be dressed up. The detailed neckline would look amazing accessorised with a coat, maybe a fur coat and some black stilettos. Or maybe your style is more grunge, team with edgy cut out boots and some statement bracelets.

AX Paris Burgundy Wet Look Sleeve Midi Dress - £25 

One of my favourite parts about autumn and winter fashion is the different textures you can mix from playing together velvet and furs or leather and floral you can do anything. The mix of the deep solid colour and the leather sleeves is an autumn staple! The midi length will keep you a lot warmer than shorter dress and you'd be able to accessorise with so many options. I'd wear it with a gold chain and a gold spike bracelets.

Burgundy Crochet Waist Lace Skater Dress - £24.99

Maybe being a dress for the warmer months I still love it. It'd be cute for winter worn with a leather jacket, thick tights and biker boots. 

Which one is your favourite? Check out more on the red dress page on New Look's website, they have a whole page dedicated to red dresses! 

Toni and Guy at London Fashion Week

A long time overdue but this post is finally going up. After suffering complications with both my cameras used during my time at London Fashion Week i've had to postpone this post till now, my apologies to the amazing Toni and Guy team! 

Fashion week surged through London like a storm last month, from the 13th-17th. On the last day of the week, Tuesday 17th September, Toni and Guy invited me to come backstage with them. Toni and Guy were the official sponsors of London Fashion Week, creating a range called Label. M, click on the link to buy from the collection.

Everybody was lovely. A special thank you goes to the amazing Gary and Eliza, who were lovely to meet and talk to and were so helpful. Another shout-out goes to the lovely Indira Shauwecker, project manager for the last show of the season: FAD, who created an amazing hair look for the models.  

Throughout this post i'll talk you through the look, the experience and give you some great tips I picked up.

Here is what it looked like when I first arrived. There was a lot less hustle and stress than I thought there would be, it did get busier and more hectic but this was taken around 3pm for the 7.30pm show.

This was the finished look. Toni and Guy went for a modern look, a simple knot down the back of their hair. It gave a 60s feel, quite edgy yet soft. Indira wanted a texturised strong braid, minimal teasing with a natural parting, to show off the great looks the models wore.

Hair was simply blow-dried and brushed through as prep.

When creating the base of the 1 inch knot you had to make sure it was smooth and directly in the centre yet not too tight as movement was still wanted but has to be tight to not get loose and prickly. Hair was pulled back in line with the models' ears and the knot was started.

 

If you look closely you can see how all the hairdressers were doing it at different stages. In the background you can see one model's hair nearly finished, the hairdresser is in the middle of tying the bottom of the knot as it finished at the nape of the neck, letting a mane fall down the middle of your back.

Here you have one of the models after they have finished knotting the hair down to their nape. You might not be able to see clearly as these photos are rather unclear (a lack of ability in editing due to recent problems) but a piece of netting is placed over the braid. Hair spray was sprayed onto the hair whilst it was being blow dried into shape. Each model had a team of minimum two hair dressers and whilst one would blow-dry, the other would be squeezing and moulding the braid into a tight square shape.

Another model with almost ready hair.

Again the finished look. As you can see it varied on each model as some had longer or shorter hair. This hairstyle seems to photograph to be easy but I could tell it was a challenge to do, most of the hairdressers having to repeat it till they got it right. Indira didn't want too much teasing, preferably none, as it took away from the softness of the front of the hair. Once the hair had been finished being blow dried a glossy serum coated the hair to keep all of them smooth and at bay.

How amazing is this hair look?

A quick snap of the dress rehearsal of the FAD show, how cute are these designs?

I'm so grateful to of gone backstage with Toni & Guy, it was a pleasure and an amazing opportunity I one day hope to do again. I was backstage for around four hours running around and snapping photos so I wore an appropriate outfit: a black tee-shirt smock Motel sent me and all black converse, accessorised with a gold chain, gold spike bracelet, black Longchamp bag and obviously my statement red lipstick (Hazard by Topshop). The show I saw, FAD, was designed by under-18s in a contest who made the designs over summer. The clothes were amazing and all the models looked great. It was great to see The Body Shop UK doing all the makeup too, my favourite part was the use of the white eyeshadow, featured in a previous post of mine, and their use of highlighter. I was told this show had a much calmer backstage then many of the previous shows that week, something I was grateful to be apart of. I loved it so much and has definitely made me appreciate all my readers and viewers for making it possible because it is true that I would not of been able to do it without any of you.

Disclaimer: The photos are not great, as I mentioned earlier all photos were taken by me and I went through major complications. These are all my own photos.