Sugar Sugar

Halloween/Dia de los Muertos might have been a few weeks ago, but that hasn't stopped me from rocking the scary look since. I'd been ogling ASOS' Halloween collection for a while, all fashion led items with a twist this year (I still want to get my hands on the Pumpkin beanie and gloves, and a pair of skeleton gloves) and absolutely love that it's all year-round wearable, providing you're a bit of an oddball I guess...

Anyway, I wore this outfit to a Roller Derby birthday dinner on Friday night and got quite a few compliments on my prized jumper too! I wore my H&M leather-look jacket over the top.

Skeleton knit jumper - ASOS. This is super-fine thin knit, so it's all silky-feeling to wear. Not really warm enough to wear out on it's own but great for layering. I bought it in a size too big in retrospect, maybe if there's a sale I'll be able to grab a smaller one.

Scalloped collar shirt - ASOS. This was a sale steal a few months ago, it's really sheer material so I really only wear it layered with jumpers, but I like the contrast of the girly with the bones.

Jeans - ASOS. Black acid-wash high waisted.

Clutch bag - ASOS. Quilted black faux leather with bat wings. Yep, you heard me, bat wings! I am in love with this, it's freakin adorable. From a distance it's a nice plain clutch (with a surprising amount of space in it actually) and a gold zipper, up close the little quilted bat wings are a touch of something fun and I have had so many people ask where it's from already.

Boots - H&M. These have a giant chunky heel and tread, a ribbed section on the front/tongue and double silver zips. They're quite high, but ridiculously comfy to wear, and they really give me a confidence boost when I've got them on. I don't know why, maybe they're a bit vampy, a bit naughty. 

Accessories:

Spike collar necklace - Primark.

Snowflake pendant necklace - Links of London (a gift from my father last Christmas)

Nail polish - Barry M

We're contagious.

Monochrome. It's everywhere. It's going to continue to trend through A/W. I love it. It's classic, it's sleek and it's pretty difficult to get wrong.

This outfit was worn to my big Sisters' 40th Birthday dinner, so I wanted something nice but not crazy formal. I'm totally channeling Wednesday Addams here, if only I had black hair and a sickly pallor...

Shirt/blouse - Primark. I got this in a size smaller than normal, I think the next one up was a bit baggy. Black light material (not chiffon-y or see-through, but light almost silky) with white cuffs and collar. It's kind of ruched a little bit in the chest area, which gives it some shape instead of being flat - nice.

Jeans - ASOS. Black acid wash high-waisted skinny jeans, I love these. So comfy and I always feel more confident with the high-waist under shirts.

Shoes - Primark. Black cut-out flats with buckle. Love that Primark have got on the cut-out trend as for some maddening reason, everywhere else that's jumped on the bandwagon seems to have priced theirs at double the cost of normal shoes! Anyway, I actually had to size down to a 5 in these as the 6 was ginormous, even with socks on. They're comfy and halfway between a sandal and a shoe, so kind of formal but cheeky. So pleased with them!

Accessories:

Hat - Ebay. Roll brim felt bowler, black. Ebay sellers are totally winning the war for me with hats, priced at anything between £15 and £50 in the highstreet shops, I'll be continuing to purchase mine for around the £3 mark from Hong Kong.

Chain necklace - H&M. Chunky rose/brassy chain. This comes up almost like a choker so it's perfect for sitting right under collars. I love the colour, I shy away from the big gold chains I've seen other bloggers rocking - I just feel a bit too Mr. T. in them... I might give silver a go at some point, but for now I'm wearing this with EVERYTHING. Should still be in H&M if you want to grab your own!

Key necklace - Primark. Just an ornate brassy key on a long necklace. It's heavy not flimsy, and well, you know how I love keys.

Rings - ASOS. Not a very good picture but they're fine gold bands with tiny symbols on them, one is a cloud with raindrops, one is a lightning bolt and one is an umbrella, so adorable! Had lots of comments on these, but I think they may be sold out on the site now.

Here's a close-up of the shoes for you shoeaholics like me...

Winter is coming...

Brrr-freakin-rrrrr! Autumn has definitely arrived with a bitter edge, even sunny days have me reaching for a scarf now, I love it! So, I was ridiculously excited to receive this awesome package from Hi-Tec... it's a pair of their St. Anton 200 Snow Boots in a lovely grey (black/graphite) colour! Woohoo! They also come in a really nice chocolate/taupe colour, so maybe one to think about if you wear a lot of brown or autumnal colours. I have a heap of grey accessories in my wardrobe so it was an easy choice for me.

On top of being super-cute and easy to style, these boots have a ton of amazing features to get you through the Winter months, like strong but soft leather uppers (instant comfort, no 'wearing in' needed with these) and the all important waterproof element of course! I can't wait to test these out in the snow, but I can tell you from a bit of a splash in some puddles these certainly did keep my tootsies dry.

They also come padded with crazy-warm 200g Thinsulate (saviour of hikers/campers/festival goers everywhere) so I did actually stay warm with just a pair of regular socks on. Now, I'm a cold-footed sort and usually pop on a couple of pairs of socks or some thick walking ones with boots, but they always give me sweaty (but not warmer) feet. So pleased I can wear normal socks in these AND they're moisture wicking, so that solves that problem too!

 

The adorable fuzzy-furry bit is really soft/pliable too, so you can wear the boots loose like I have them, or ruch them and tie them tight with the laces for a snug fit. I've got fairly narrow feet and these fit like a glove, so if you have wide feet they may take a bit of moulding, but there's so much lovely padding inside it'll be easy peasy. 

My number one favourite bit of all? The grip. Seriously, these are built like tank-treads - proper chunky grippy wonderfulness, I know these will be great for tramping about on snow, ice, mud, whatever! So often have I got a pair of boots I really love for A/W (cute... waterproof... cosy.... etc.) but they have rubbish traction on slippy surfaces, these Hi-Tec St. Anton's are the full package and I will be rocking them with EVERYTHING, as they're quick to put on too. Swap out your Uggs people, these are properly Winter friendly!
 
You can snap up your own pair here, let me know which ones you like better, grey or chocolate??

Rest of my outfit:

Hat - Grey pom pom, ASOS

Tshirt - Snowbombing

Skirt - Grey cable-knit, Primark

Leggings - Jack Wills

Mini bag - Fair Isle with grey fur, Primark kids section 

Snood - Grey rib knit, ASOS

Sunglasses - Wayfarer style, Primark

 
This sample product was gifted from HI-TEC. Opinions expressed here are my own.

A-Team

Firstly I'd like to apologise, as this post is now a couple of weeks old :/ Been having a manic old time lately and haven't uploaded (but have been taking photos!), I'm sure I'll get a few in this week to make up for it.

This outfit is from our Anniversary dinner (6 years for Al and I, that's pretty good innings, haha!) and we went over to Birmingham Arcadian to Miyako Teppanyaki for lovely sushi and a night out to celebrate, it was great! I'm channeling 80's music videos with this look...

Dress - Black thin knit with a crochet collar, H&M. I think I've worn this in a previous post, it was bought last A/W

Jacket - M&S Outlet at McArthur Glen. I bought this 5 minutes before the store was closing on a whim, but totally love it! It has 3/4 ruched sleeves and black piping on beige, and a single clip at the end of the lapels. It's comfy, and has retro shoulder-pads for added oomph. 

Leggings - Jack Wills

Boots - ASOS. These black leather biker style boots have a small heel and are just awesome with everything (skinny jeans, dresses, you name it). They were bought with vouchers that the Outlaws got me for my Birthday, hooray!

Accessories:

Quilted purse - ebay. This is a faux leather clip frame box purse and it was under a fiver! Thank you ebay HK!

Mint bracelet - H&M, it has flat silver studs, cute!

All that sparkles

The last couple of months have been crazy busy, but I wanted to do a quick collection post of the things I've been magpie-ing, little bits here and there. Mostly jewellery really, but I thought some closeups would be nice to look at when I use them in outfit posts, as I'll probably forget to include them there. So, here we go...

Silver block collar necklace - Primark. I have this in brushed gold/bronze colour already and it looks amazing under shirt collars and over tshirts. It's got hollowed out backs so it's not too heavy, but feels nice and chunky.

Two-tone chain necklace - Primark. This is almost a choker collar as it sits really high up, and the two colours mean it can be worn with pretty much any other type/colour jewellery. It's pretty heavy, but I usually wear a heap of chains and necklaces so it probably weighs less over all!

Mint green bracelet - H&M. Love the mint green, love the studs. Nuff said.

Long key necklace - Primark. Yes yes, I know I have a million keys, but I do like to layer and this is a nice substantial one. I like when they feel like real keys, not orrible tinny ones that are just for show.

 Now, I've been having a bit of an affair with midi-rings and stack packs recently and have come across quite a variety. Here's a quick peek at my favourites above. 

Silver midi rings (top left) - ASOS. These are rounded so they're comfy, but I find they do slip off a bit, I've already lost one!

Brushed/Mottled silver (top right) - H&M. This stack pack has different width rings in it, and I love the sparkle of the brushed flat ones.

Mixed colour midi rings (bottom left) - Primark. These have featured in a lot of other blogs recently and have been a big hit, so I was surprised to find them (although they were behind some other stuff and only a few packs left). They come in 4 colours, Pewter, Gold, Silver and Rose Gold and there's one sleek band and one turned or 'braided' type band of each. They're lightweight and fit nicely.

Fine gold rings (middle) - Ebay seller. These are super-fine and look quite nice stacked together as well as apart as midi's.

Mixed colour midi rings (bottom right) - Ebay seller. These are another mix of braid style rings, but unfortunately these do turn your fingers a bit green after a while... oh well, they were 99p!

Stegosaurus two-finger ring - H&M. I bloody love dinosaurs. This ring is totally weird and I love it. I had to open out the ring section a bit because it was a bit snug, but it's fun to wear. I'll probably end up savaging someone with it by accident though, he's quite spiny!

Silver cage ring - Primark. These cage rings have been seen all over bloggerville in the last few months, but I never found one I really liked. This one fits nicely (and doesn't stop me using my hand, crucially) and is good and chunky. I'm really impressed with the Primark jewellery of late - it all feels decent!

Hair bows - H&M. Faux leather with tiny skulls, adorable! I think I'll use these for pigtails under my skate helmet.

Quilted travel purse - Primark. This was £1 in the sale, I just liked the style of it for use as a purse, but it is meant to be a kind of travel document wallet really.

Raccoon hat - Primark. Soooooo soft and cosy. I love it's fluffy pompom ears! It's knitted and has button eyes.

Trio sock pack - Primark. Unicorns, stars and more unicorns! Yeah yeah I know *everyone* loves unicorns. I just thought these socks were cute.

Jewel socks - Primark. Oh my gosh I do just think these are brilliant. Photographic jewel print, they remind me of Nanna's jewellery box, or my Mum's Christmas grotto, all shiny and treasure-y. I think they'll be really fun to wear with my see-through converse!

Hearts pillowcases - Primark. Just two pillowcases covered in teeny pink and red hearts.

Moustache Tote - Primark. They have loads of these now in different prints, and they're decent quality. I always carry foldable bags around with me and my last Primark one was a moustache one too!

Rings as before. So that's a little sneak peek at some of the stuff I'll be wearing in upcoming posts, keep an eye out for them! Have you had any good jewellery finds lately? Let me know in comments below! I'm crushing on a few more things from H&M at the moment, their A/W collection is lovely...

HAnna Solo

Alllrighty then! Here's an interesting little ensemble I wore a few weeks ago (yes I know I've been rubbish with posting, but I've been preparing for/at Bestival! woop!) to go to the Vintage Fair in Whitby.

Kimono jacket - I am in love with this jacket. It's from the H&M A/W collection and was selling like hotcakes in my local store. They only had two left, neither were in my size but I tried one two sizes down from my norm and lo and behold it fit perfectly! I later tried on my actual size in another store and it was waaaay too big, so if you're looking at ordering it online, they are seriously huge - I'd size down unless you want to look like you're wearing a bin bag. It's sheer and has a lovely maroon and white pattern on a black background, a tapered back and batwing sleeves.

Star Wars tee - Primark men's section last year, I just cut the sleeves to cap and cut out the neckline to make it bigger. Great print, distressed and cut right from the movie poster. I think it was about £4 as well, bargain. Star Wars gear will never get less cool. Quote me on it.

Lace slip skirt - River Island, it has an elasticated waist and a 'visable zip' on the back. It's sort of silky with a lace trim. Really comfy but needs something over the top I think, because it's really long otherwise.

Black leggings - Jack Wills

Trainers - Burgundy Vans

Accessories:

Bandana - Black, ebay
Hair clips - Bought at festivals
Light leather wristband (left hand) - Timberland
Dark leather wrapped wristband (left hand) - H&M
Heraldic shield bracelet (left hand) - ASOS
Rose gold coloured key necklace - Pieces at ASOS
Key bunch necklace - Present from Mum
Owl 'books' necklace - Present from Sister
Stag watch (right hand) - ASOS
Bug ring (right hand) - Topshop
Fake rose pearls - Primark

I'm channeling rock and roll now Autumn is well and truly on it's way, as I said in my last post - dark colours, punky looks and leather are making a big impact on A/W trends and it's right up my street. I think I need to experiment with some more colours though, maybe a bit more dark green in the palette? I love burgundy but I feel I might overdose on some outfits, I must curb my enthusiasm!
 

Atomic Blonde

Mega excited to show you this post as it's a little toe-dip into A/W styling, based around a fabulous tshirt from Atomic Threads! Atomic Threads do loads of printed tshirts that you wouldn't find anywhere else, slogans and stuff too but my real favourite is the B-Movie collection - how freakin awesome are these? There are some proper classics in there too, like Godzilla, Revenge of the Dead, Eraserhead and Creature from the Black Lagoon.

I chose this amazing Zombie Rave tshirt, in oversized men's so that it would come up like a dress (I'm going to take the sleeves off or make it into a cold-shoulder cut out, just have to put my thinking cap on so I can do it justice! It's really good quality so I want to make a decent job of it). I love the print on the front, it's kinda distressed/faded so isn't too bold a statement if you're looking for a casual style outfit. 

It's going to fit in so well to my A/W wardrobe as upcoming trends are all sort of grungy/punky/hard edged (I love Moschino's punk catwalk looks) lots of leather, studs, tartan and boots - my heaven. I think I might be picking up a few more of these B-Movie tees, as I'm sure I'll be getting a lot of use out of this one!

So here's the lowdown on what I've styled it with...

Jacket - Faux leather biker style, H&M - this is part of their new season collection and I've been looking for a leather-look jacket for ages. I've tried on hundreds, I kid you not. They always seem to fit weird or if they're proper leather, they're suuuuper heavy to wear. This is nice and light, fits well and seems to be a decent sort of material.

Leggings - Grey crop with little hearts on, White Stuff. Got these at their outlet store, they're a little big (they only had a couple of sizes) but it doesn't matter too much, especially if I'm wearing them with shorts at festivals.

Trainers - Clear and black Converse. I just LOVE these shoes, they're so unusual. I've got black and white check socks on underneath but they look awesome with a pop of colour too. I think I got them from Footlocker online a few years ago.

Bag - Clear and black satchel, ebay. So pleased to have gotten hold of this, it's a Cambridge Satchel Co. dupe which was a considerably cheaper option. It matches the trainers so perfectly and I love being able to show off some of my cute purses inside.

Accessories:

Sunglasses - clear-rimmed, mirrored from ebay - again to match the clear theme
Moustache mini purse - Black and white, Primark
Moustache big purse - Brown, Loungefly (I use this as a sunglasses case)
Totoro mini purse - ebay
Mixed bracelets - stud and chain, Primark
Rings - Skulls from Alchemy Gothic, Chain from H&M, Mid-finger bands from ASOS, Claw from ebay
Big spike bib necklace - silver colour, Primark
Mini spike necklace - silver colour, Primark
Keys chain necklace - present from Mum

I'd like to thank Atomic Threads for giving me a head-start on A/W right on trend, if you want to grab yourself a tee or three, head over to www.atomicthreads.co.uk and take a look!
 

This sample product was gifted from Atomic Threads. Opinions expressed here are my own.