Festival Fashions

It's that time of year, the summer festivals are starting in a matter of weeks and that leaves you with the all important decision: what to wear?!

Obviously, you want to look as summery as possible. But sometimes (read: all the time) the British sun fails to shine - if this is the case then you need to be prepared for all weathers, rain or shine.

My festival theme this year is all things bright and beautiful (oh so cheesy, I didn't even mean that one). I went for clashing colours, lots of bracelets and of course: a pair of denim cut offs.

(Clockwise from left) 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 (now sold out but similar here) - 9

The colours on the top allow the bright backpack and the purple wellies to contrast together nicely, but after all - you do want to stand out in the crowd with an array of bright colours. This seasons' nails and lips have gone orange and coral, and wearing a matching colour on both also help the summery colours to shine through. Although it's likely the sunglasses and straw trilby hat will not be needed as an aid of sun protection, it's nice to wear them and pretend you're in sunny Spain and not a cold wet field in England.

And of course, not festival outfit would be complete without stacks of jewellery hanging on each wrist. Mix and match bracelets from different shops and with different colours in to get that festival look quick and easy.

The most important part of the outfit is the backpack, and more importantly what it contains. In there you'll need a jacket, preferably waterproof and lightweight, suncream (just incase), some body spray, definitely some tissues, even more definitely hand sanitizer after a trip to the loo!

What are your festival necessities?

Olly M Jewellery

 

So this morning, I got a lovely little package from Olly M jewellery. Inside was a gorgeous friendship bracelet in hot pink looped together with a butterfly charm.

 

It looks absolutely lovely on, and the colour is really vibrant, perfect for the apparent summer that we may have soon! The cord is really strong and is definitely worth that little bit extra, it's not some measly bit of string that will snap as soon as you move a muscle.

The little butterfly charm is just the cutest and has the 925 hologram imprinted on it, real good stuff you're getting here!

Also on the website they have some stunning gold and silver beaded bracelets with the option to get an letter charm to represent an initial. The perfect gift for a friend, or even something lovely to treat yourself too.

Olly M Sterling Silver Butterfly Bracelet - £19*

What The Shoe?!

Now, shoes are definitely a small weakness of mine. There's just something about them that I must have, I know that i've got something similar but this pair is just SO different and will completely benefit my life in a positive way. Completely.

But when I saw this shoe by Julien Hakes my mind was utterly confused. For one point, it looks like some sort of kitchen utensil. Am I supposed to flip my pancakes with it or squeeze my foot in and hope there is no puddles?

Celebrities like Lady Gaga and Nikki Minaj have challenged and encouraged the fashion world to be as bold, outrageous and as daring as they please. Nothing wrong with that, but when you take a step back and look at these new shoe designs emerging you have to question their practicality for anything other than sitting down and not moving a muscle for fear or breaking a leg.

The famous Alexander McQueen shoes worn by Lady Gaga

Julien Hakes is where the Mojito shoe first began, something I would not be drinking while wearing them. Imagine that, rather tipsy and relying on a strip of twisted plastic to support your unsteady self?

While I admire the creativity and unique-ness of them, I have many questions like: Why? How? And what for?

After looking on his website I found a couple more pairs, with a proper sewn in sole and a bit more plastic they look so much more elegant and yes, I'm feeling that weakness in my knees. I'd love to try a pair on but I know they would be more of a ornament in my home than anything else.

Heres a couple of other pairs of shoes I found while scrolling through the internets library of shoes. One pair looks like she's wearing bridges on her feet and another looks like the shoe has been bent in half. Whatever floats your boat I guess but I think I'll be sticking to the traditional shoe that I can trust to support my weight and keep my bones strain-free after a few mojitos and what not!

Holidays Are Coming!

Whether the typical British weather likes it or not, I will be taking myself to somewhere where the sun is hot enough to strip down to a bikini and lay out on a sunbed listening to some party tunes and reading some of those real-life magazine that I only seem to buy for holiday! 

This year I'll be jetting off to none other than Magaluf and after having a fabulous time there last year I decided it was quite necessary to pay another visit. 

With summer holidays comes sun (hopefully) and with sun comes....bikinis! My favourite sort of shopping. This is my shopping list for summer this year, a selection of swimwear, cover ups, sandals and sunglasses. Other than a beach bag roomy enough for all poolside necessities I've pretty much got it covered!

(L-R) Cover Ups: River Island - Topshop -  Miss Selfridge -  Topshop -  River Island - River Island

Sunglasses: Asos - River Island

Bikinis: Topshop -  River Island - River Island - Topshop - Miss Selfridge

Sandals: Topshop - Miss Selfridge - Topshop

Coral is definitely my favourite colour this season, and with a glowing tan I'm sure it would look lovely. The orangey-ditsy printed playsuit from River Island is gorgeous, and I can see myself wearing it a lot more than just by the pool, it's something versatile that can be worn out during the day as a casual outfit and can also be dressed up for the evening with a pair of killer heels and some accessories.

My favourite bikini is probably the blue vintage-cut printed one, also from River Island but although I love it, I know I'd be weary of dodgy tan lines. I'd even be tempted to wear the crop top out with a pair of shorts! However, the Topshop floral piece is just as nice and includes a nice mix of summery colours.

During the day and around the pool I prefer to wear a plain pair of those rubbery-foamy flip flops because I don't mind getting them wet and they are easy to pull on and run when in desperate need of more ice cream! But for the night time, I really don't like wearing heels on holiday so a nice pair of  sandals are perfect. Those red Topshop ones are lovely and come in black too if you don't feel as daring as a fiery pair.

What's on your shopping list for summer? Wooly jumpers and umbrellas if the weather carries on no doubt!

Lily Belle Jewellery

The sun should be on it's way soon and we all know what that means: less layers, more flesh! As sleeves get shorter I'd say it's important to accessorise and make the most of those bare arms. And what better way to show of your glowing tan (albeit, probably from the bottle) than with a gorgeous friendship bracelet in a bright, summery colour from Lily Belle!

With a choice of eight colours and the option to add up to six charms including letters and meaningful symbols such as angel wings and a horse shoe I'd say these friendship bracelets are beyond cute.

Perfect as a gift for a friend or as a treat for yourself, because let's face it: you deserve it.

They'd look great stacked up or just fine on their own glistening away as the sunshine reflects off the little silver beads and charms. The bracelets are set on strong, waxed cord which won't show signs or wear and tear like those flimsy string based friendship bracelets. 

My favourites are definitely 'hibiscus pink' and 'coral orange', together I think the colours are a great combination would compliment each other against a lovely tanned arm.

I have to say too, while I was looking at their stock I found the most beautiful personalised jewellery. They have everything from beaded and leather bracelets to pendant necklaces and even keyrings! Don't forget, they also do mens and unisex items, so next time you've got a friends or a relatives birthday coming up you've got no excuse of not knowing what to buy.

You can check out the entire range here

Day At The Races

With the Grand National last weekend it's safe to say I don't have a clue about horses, betting and anything inbetween. 66-1? What does this even mean? Is it maths? 66-1=65 no? Or maybe, even better it's some sort of sale: the pair of shoes I've been lusting after have been reduced '66 to 1 (pound)'? If only. Apparantley it means the odds, and the chances of a horse winning, but even then that doesn't make the phrase any clearer to me.

However, there has been one thing that I was keeping a close eye on about the races - Ladies Day and the fashion worn by the spectators. Some outrageous, some stunning and some plain weird. What goes through some peoples minds when they open their wardrobe door baffles me. Who thinks that looking like you've applied your fake tan with a paint roller is good? And since when were eyelashes meant to tickle your forehead?

However, amongst the sea of ridiculous outfits, too many frills and one too many layers of matted hair extensions, I managed to find a fair few outfits who won some style points in my book. And I put together a little collage of what I would think was the perfect outfit for the occasion.

Cool, smart and elegant I would say. None of this fluff, fur and frills that I saw plenty of! The red blazer is used to bring a bit of a 'colour' pop to the outfit and paired with the same shade on the nails. The rest of the outfit is a cool monochrome and the design of the midi is the perfect dress to illusionally slim a few inches. So don't put down the pies yet and be sure to grab yourself an extra slice of cake because why should you do it properly when it's easier to pretend? I'm just going to take a minute to appreciate those Topshop platforms so scroll on down for some outfits that are hot, and some that are not!

These photos were found on Marie Claire's Grand National street style

It's nice to see some people made an effort without making wearing half of a bird on their head or reels of frilly things wrapped around their bodies! Don't restore faith in humanity just yet though, I'll leave you with these two. If anybody has any idea what happened here then I am just as intrigued to find out. Seriously?

It's a shame because I love her lacy white outfit and that coral dress drowned by the pompoms is probably my favourite colour! Leave the pink for the flamingos and the skyline for the city. Please.