2014.

Happy New Year! 



New Year's resolutions are often an area of heated debate; are they worth doing? Do people really stick with them? Why is it something we only do at the beginning of the year? I do make resolutions, however I have learnt over the years to make realistic ones, goals that require hard work but are still within reach. This year I have made one resolution: To write more.  

In 2013 I was finding my footing in the blogosphere and I still have a lot to learn. 2014 is going to be the year where I write. I really want to develop this blog more and I do have some ideas up my sleeve (for now I am keeping quiet though!). I also want to do more creative writing and expand some of my other ideas. 

Carry on writing was one of the pieces of advice that was constantly given to me during my academic career. I didn't think much about it but since leaving uni and venturing into the adult world I now realise how important it is to keep up hobbies and how, the more you write, the more you are able to write. 

Let's go and make 2014 a brilliant year!

CLB x

Santa, Baby...

It's still November but I have not hesitated in whacking out the old Christmas songs (I did wait until Halloween, Guy Fawkes night and Remembrance Day had been and gone, so don't judge too harshly!) and thinking about what I want for Christmas this year. Here are a few things on my wish list...

Kick It!

These River Island and Boohoo boots are a dead ringer for Balenciaga and I have a real hankering for some cut out boots. The Missguided burgundy 'Sienna' cut out boots are a great alternative too. I'd pair them with skinny jeans and glittery socks and velvet dresses with ASOS cat tights.

Top row:

Balenciaga

Bottom Left:

River Island

Bottom Right:

Boohoo

For some more cut out boots be sure to check out my article for The Surrey Scholar, here.

Nailed it:

Nail art is a trend that has exploded and it ain't going nowhere. House of Holland's range of nail sets are amazing, from the 'Face Ache' one to the 'Tweed' set and every one in between, I'd be happy to wear any of them on my nails. The ones I am particularly after are the 'Heartbreaker' set. The right balance between quirky and classy, they are perfect for any occasion and at a mere £7.99 a set they're great value for money. Having tried and tested Topshop's Halloween themed nail wraps, I am far too excited to spy two Christmas themed nail wrap sets. Whether it's fairisle prints or reindeer and snowmen you are after, Topshop has you covered.

Tartan? Checked:

Tartan is 2013's winter print. Tartan can channel a Made In Chelsea, country retreat, vibe or a grungy, punk edge or even a softer vintage look; very versatile indeed! I love J'adore Vintage's update on the summer skort trend by doing them in tartan print. Lavish Alice has some brilliant tartan pieces, from playsuits to bodycon dresses, there is something for everyone (plus, hello free UK delivery!). Topshop's velvet tapered trousers is just the stuff of dreams and the grey check dress is a more casual style.

Tartan Skorts:

J'adore Vintage

Top Left:

Lavish Alice box crop tee

Top Right:

Lavish Alice contrast sleeve jumper

Bottom Left:

Topshop velvet tapered trousers

Bottom Right:

Topshop check smock dress

It's SO Fluuuuuufffffffy:

Besides from giving me an excuse to quote Despicable Me, fluffy jumpers are a cool way of keeping warm this autumn winter. Textures has become a significant feature in trends and the fluffy/eyelash material is super soft, not too thick so it's ideal for layering and it is a glorious throwback to Cher Horowitz. Jumpers often come in a variety of styles; New Look as a cropped t-shirt range as well as long sleeved version and River Island has soft pastel cardigans as well as jumpers.

Top Left:

River Island pink t-shirt

Top Right:

River Island navy jumper

Bottom Left:

Topshop glitter cropped tee

Bottom Right:

New Look electric blue cropped jumper

Tee-hee:

Slogan tops are all the rage at the moment; whether you are wearing the real deal or a witty high street reworking, they are a good wardrobe staple. H&M and River Island offer some brilliant tees and tops that I can imagine Cara Delevingne sporting. Nylonshop, borne from Nylon magazine, has an endless supply of sassy, sloganed tops that are adored by many. Dress up or down, you can never have too many tees, especially ones featuring sausage dogs.

Clockwise:

Haute tee, River Island

Vogue tee, River Island

Chanel doxie tee, Nylonshop

WTF top, H&M

Naughty Nice top, H&M

Meoow tee, H&M

And now, for the mother of all Christmas jumpers...

I mean, seriously, could Eleven Paris get any cooler?!!

Let's just hope Father Christmas has taken up reading fashion blogs!

CLB x

Happy Halloween!

It's that time of the year again! That's right, it's Halloween, without a doubt one of my favourite holidays and the very best reason to raid that dressing up box!

Black Milk Clothing's All Killer No Filler campaign has provided an endless stream of brilliant Halloween costumes. From mogwai bodysuits to cartoon zombie two pieces to Corpse Bride leggings to bewitching lace, velvet and leather, these ladies have thought of everything! 

American Apparel has also excelled itself this year. Their Halloween lookbook covered all areas. There were toy soldiers, 80s spandex, paintbrushes, punks, comso girls, zombies, pirates. I could go on, American Apparel left no stone unturned!

However the rest of the high street gave as good as it got too; New Look provided adorable ghoulish knitwear, Topshop had amazing prints, Oh My Love nailed film character looks and Boohoo oozed gothic charm with velvet, lace and embellishment. So don't have a Karen 'I'm a mouse...DUH' moment this Halloween.

I thought I saw a pussy cat...

Black cats are always a simple but effective option. Whether you just want some cute accessories, like Topshop and Urban Outfitters' ears, or you want cat faces adorning every part of your body, a la Lazy Oaf, a black cat is a witch's best friend.

The Urban Outfitters 'RIP' and 'BOO' headbands are slightly different to the typical Halloween themed headbands, and they get the message across pretty well. I think the Lazy Oaf cat knee highs are so adorable, I'd wear them all year around! A good alternative to the Lazy Oaf cat clothing is Boohoo's Cassie cat crop top.

Be a doll, why don't you?

I love the idea of going as a doll for Halloween, it has so much scope. You can be a voodoo doll, just add a floral crown, draw on some stitches and voila! Channel the Corpse Bride and go as a wedding doll, complete with blue lips or be a sugary-sweet-but-a-bit-of-a-creep china doll. Add bows, hair clips and laceup shoes to add to the darkly innocent look. Tosphop's velvet hair accessories are perfect and Rock 'n' Rose for ASOS' headband contrasts well with the stiches and white face of a voodoo doll.

These Oh My Love dungarees are brilliant for a doll costume. Add Topshop's Halloween print shirt or New Look's textured jumper underneath it, don't forget some pigtails, a wide grin and rosie cheeks for added creepiness.

I always think Wednesday Addams is very doll like in her appearance and her costume is distinctive and yet incredibly easy! Oh My Love's Sarah Dress is perfect with its white collar and cuffs; Lavish Alice also has a wonderful Wednesday dress to offer.

NB: pigtails and cold stare are obligatory for this costume.

Bite Me!

Vampires are cool. And when I speak of vampires I mean the hot, dripping with attitude, impeccably dressed vampires of TV shows like True Blood with a dab of the gothic, Victoriana trend.

ASOS' mesh midi skirt and velvet pencil skirt are fantastic for portraying the undeniable sexiness of vampires. Pair the mesh midi with the Cut Work Skirt Waist Belt for a tiny waist and amazing silhouette. Missguided's Jadalina bodysuit is quirky and fun and Topshop's tea dress is dying to have some jewels adorning it. 

Boohoo has the baroque trend covered and the velvet suspender leggings are not only perfect for a hella hot vamp but for the rest of the winter months! The heavy, bejeweled necklaces are perfect for added gothic glamour.

I put a spell on you...

I love the whimsical patterns of ASOS' forest print dress and Cornershop's moon print tee. Witches aren't all about warts and cooking kids, oh no, now they are chic, with bat winged accessories and spiderweb details. 

I love the retro shape of the sunglasses, they are very Ridley Duchannes from Beautiful Creatures, and the winged ASOS clutch and loafers are just downright amazing! Boohoo's boho smock dress has a more traditional, pagan vibe, whereas Topshop's bat skirt is a modern twist on the classic print. 

Jump Your Bones

Skeletons are big this year; from the onesies to bodycon dress to bralets, skeleton prints are everywhere, eerie and yet oddly fashionable. 

Cartoonish bones from Boohoo, a neon skeleton from Topshop, a graphic bodysuit at Missguided and ASOS cheeky skeleton hands are striking enough that they speak for themselves! Although some skele-bling or nail art is fun and subtle way to nod this Halloween trend.

Whether you're a treat for the eyes or a trick on the eyes I hope your costumes and your Halloween are marvelous! 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

CLB x

Guess Who's Back?

I'm back, baby!

Summer Summary: Funglasses; Andy Murray's win; Channel Islands & France; Weymouth beach; Grad Ball; Sister's Graduation; Shots

Cor blimey, it's been a while hasn't it?! Unfortunately my MA dissertation took over my life during the summer (when I wasn't on the beach or shopping or hungover...) and after that the job hunt went full throttle. However, dissertation hand in day, or as I liked to call it D-Day, finally arrived and exactly a month after I landed a Christmas temp job with John Lewis. Could this be me finally getting my shit together? Watch this space...

Summer Summary: London Round One, cocktails, Regent Street, vintage markets; Tickled Ivory; London Round Two, V&A and the Science Museum; Procrasti-nail art; Vintage Chanel; Selfie; Sunset; A friend's wedding

What you have to look forward to:

Halloween is my favourite holiday and I think it totally deserves its time to shine before Christmas gets the spotlight so I shall be giving you the complete run down of Halloween costumes. 

I am really hoping to the develop a feature on my personal style (hashtag ootd). Since officially moving back in with the parents my clothes, shoes, hats, bags, etc are a disorganised pile in my room, but at least they are all in the same place, so I have no excuses now!

There are a lot of inspirational people out there and I am really hoping I'll be able to wrangle some interviews with said people. I'm keeping schtum for now but fingers crossed this idea will become a reality!

Summer Summary: Wedding; Bestival;Dissertation hand-in; Pink hair don't care; Guildford; Meeting Tinie Tempah; Pub lunch; Funglasses; Saturday night reading; Midori

Follow me on instagram if you want, I use it more than is sociably acceptable: hellotherecuteness

CLB x

The Surrey Scholar.

The Surrey Scholar is an online publication with a variety of different topics for you to choose from. Whether is literature, sports or politics that interest you, I can guarantee you'll find something to tickle your fancy. I write for the fashion section and have a number of articles you can read up on, if you so wish! Here's a brief summary of some of the latest articles I have written. Be sure to check out the rest of the fashion section, they're such a talented bunch!



The Cat's Pyjamas:

Cats haven't just taken over the internet, they've taken over the, aptly named, catwalks too! It's not all about the big cats anymore, their smaller, fluffier counterparts are proving to be just as fashionable.

Read more here to find out how you can purrrrfect the trend!



Punk Goes Pretty: 

The theme of the Met Gala this year was nothing short of brilliant! Those celebrities who really embraced the theme provided the rest of us with some great fashion and beauty inspiration. Think darkly romantic, vampy, rebellious and punky drama.

Be sure to check out the rest of the article here, there's even more beauty tips and information as well as a lotta punk perfect accessories.



Festival De Cannes:

So many lustworthy outfits on the red carpet! With style profiles on the likes of Rooney Mara and Carey Mulligan as well the dapper James Franco, Leonardo DiCaprio et al. don't miss out on my report of Cannes fashion.

Feeling Blue:

Blue eye makeup is having a moment right now. From the catwalks to the high street, the look is so wearable and looks a bit more fresh than the traditional black.

Read the rest of the article, here, to find out which high street products to go for, as well as how to complete the look with the rest of your makeup.

Happy reading!

CLB x

Summertime Madness.

The sun is shining and the beauty and fashion trends are as bright as the skies! Check out some of the most playful summer collections.


Nasty Gal x Lazy Oaf

Inspired by "candy packaging and sticker albums", the Nastygal Gal and Lazy Oaf collection is colourful, playful and totally 90s-tastic. It is perfect for the summer season and will carry you from festival to festival. I love the kitsch fruit prints, the quirky leggings and fun motifs. Peruse the collection here.

Suede by Sophia Webster 

The wonderfully talented shoe designer, Sophia Webster, has collaborated with Revlon for a collection of shoes inspired by the makeup brand's new Colourstay Ultimate Suede Lipsticks. As you can imagine, the exclusive collection is heavenly. Shoes smothered with kisses, lip motifs and in berry, coral and popping pink shades, coordinating your shoes to your lipstick became a whole lot easier! 

Now, whilst I want to make the most of the glorious sunshine and soak up as many summer vibes as possible, it would be a crime to ignore some of the Autumn/Winter campaigns that have been released. 

Givenchy

Featuring Amanda Seyfried and mother 'n' daughter duo, Carine Roitfeld and Julia Restoin Roitfeld, the black and white campaign oozes luxury cool. I absolutely love the Bambi motif, I can see this being particularly popular. Carine Roitfeld was already seen wearing the Bambi motif and polka dot Givenchy number at this year's Met Gala. The clashing check and floral prints is fun but ageless, as proven by Carine and Julia.

Saint Laurent

Cara Delvingne is in high demand and I can see why, judging from the latest Saint Laurent campaign. Having controversially dropped the 'Yves' from the brand name and producing a number campaigns with a variety of celebrities (I have to say, I actually really liked the Marilyn Manson one!), Saint Laurent has given itself a bit of rebellious edge. The A/W '13 campaign is full of youthful drama with some grungy, punk added to the mix. The star and diamond print knitwear is incredible and don't even get me started on the awesome, embellished hosiery. 

CLB x