March Wishlist.

MARCH WISHLIST.

This month I want soft tones, luxe fabrics and tied up everything with military accents. This weather has got me thinking about Spring and a welcome break from black skinny jeans! It's really about time, mine have gone grey from over wear this season and I ripped them bashing my shin on a stupid unnecessary wall outside my house. Why couldn't I have smacked my knee, and then the rip would at least look intentional? #fashiongirlproblems

Sadly Slytherin.

SADLY SLYTHERIN.

On Saturday I went to Harry Potter World as part of my birthday present, and oh it was SO GOOOOOD. Most people have probably already gone but if you haven't I can't recommend it enough. The title of this post is purely down to the fact that APPARENTLY (according to my friends) I would be in Slytherin. Some friends hey. I'm hoping it's because I'm blonde and have a tendency to speak before I think (making me look like a bit of a dickhead) more than that people genuinely think I'm evil. Awkward. My boyfriend even forced me to get a Slytherin glass from the gift shop, while he refused to get one as he won't accept that he's a Ravenclaw rather than a Gryffindor. Honestly. We can't all be Harry's.

Anyway moving swiftly on..keen to get into the theme I wanted to wear my Hogwarts robes but the owl carrying my acceptance letter must have got lost on the way to my house. So I wore my shiny new trench and had a lovely time swishing around like Snape McGonagall. 

Wearing: French Connection trench, Mary Katrantzou x Topshop blouse (old), Topshop Jamie jeans, Next boots, Michael Kors watch.

BrandAlley French Connection Clearance Sale.

BRANDALLEY UK - FRENCH CONNECTION 

This is just a quick post to highlight the French Connection clearance sale that is on BrandAlley at the moment, it's absolutely amazing! I got the two coats below for £78. THAT'S RIGHT, £78 FOR THE PAIR!! They retail at nearly £400 for both..so I'd feel a bit selfish not spreading the word about the sale. 

Unfortunately (for you, tee hee) I got the last of the trench coat, but there's still some absolute bargains, so shop away kids, it ends tonight and there's up to 90% off! Find it here. You will have to sign up and become a member, but it's well worth it as they have amazing flash sales of gorgeous designer brands like Nicole Farhi, Jaegar, Whistles, and I hear on good authority that there's a huge Mango sale coming up too! 

H&M Studio AW15.

H&M STUDIO AW15

IT'S HEREE. The sneaky tidbits on Twitter have been driving me mental! 

My views..bit of a weird collection overall I'd say. Really mix of products but there were some beautiful pieces and I want absolutely everything in that green chevron print. I know maxi skirts aren't appropriate for winter but that one is top of my list..let's hope it hits stores early? Below are my favourite looks, what did you reckon about the collection?

Style Lessons from Gossip Girl.

STYLE LESSONS FROM THE QUEENS OF THE UPPER EAST SIDE.

and..um, Brooklyn.

I recently decided to start watching Gossip Girl again as something easy to "pop on" in the evenings while I got dinner ready and stuff..and obviously I got really obsessed with it again and watched all of it back to back, much to the annoyance of my poor boyfriend. 

I mean even though it annoys me that *SPOILER ALERT* stupid Dan Humphrey is Gossip Girl and they're all instantly ok with it (and ignore the fact that he reacts to posts when he's alone) it's still just so good, and the fashion is bloody GREAT. I think I love it more every time I watch. They've made everyone have such individual style, while all the outfits tie together so well.

So in the spirit of making more of an effort (because half of the outfits they wear to bed are nicer than my best clothes) I thought I'd put together a post of lessons we can learn from them.

BLAIR WALDORF

Ohhh QUEEN B (the original, sorry Bey) Now I know this might be controversial, as Serena is generally deemed the queen of fashion, and hair, and pouting, and everything else really, but Blair was always my favourite and I'm so inspired by her wardrobe (headbands aside). The "dictator of taste" mixes colours and prints perfectly, and always hits just the right level of clashing co-ordination. When I'm wondering if a combination is a bit too "out there" I often find myself thinking WWBWD. 

And I mean..let's bow down to the Elie Saab Couture wedding dress. And don't forget that TIGHTS ARE NOT PANTS.

LILY VAN DER WOODSEN/BASS/HUMPHREY/BASS (the woman can't control herself)

This is a woman that knows how to ACCESSORISE. The rules that you shouldn't wear necklaces with earrings, or with busy tops, or any other jewellery rules you think you know? Throw them out the window. Layer like Lily.

JENNY HUMPHREY

Now our Little J is a bit of what not to do, in my eyes. Sure, she teaches us to show off our assets (when did those legs appear?) and that you should keep your style no matter what the occasion, but she also looks like she needs a good wash, and the less said about those extensions the better. I almost have to skip the scenes where she appears because they (and her bratty attitude) make my head hurt. I was relieved she got banished to Hudson, not only because she nearly destroyed my favourite fake couple ever.

VANESSA ABRAHAMS

Couldn't really find many of her outfits that I liked to be honest..let's say she teaches us to stick to our heritage and what we know.

GEORGINA SPARKS

Not only does she let us know that it's ok to be pale, she manages to not looks boring in a wardrobe of mainly black and grey, down to some sparkle and killer accessories. And was it just me that was really pleased that she ended up with Jack Bass? Sort of happy for them even though they're both sick in the head?

*DRUMROLL PLEASE..*

SERENA VAN DER WOODSEN

HERE SHE IS. What can I even say? She knows exactly how to make the most of her figure (not hard, with a figure like that) and has the most unbelievable array of STUNNING party dresses, most of which are probably nicer than my wedding dress will be. She also knows the power a great jacket has to change an outfit, and that you can get away with most things if your hair looks great.

And then because I felt SO INSPIREDD I put together some outfits with our gals in mind, if they were still going strong today.  

Rules to live by seem to be clash your prints and textures, don't be afraid of colour, be brave and ALWAYS WEAR HEELS (because who doesn't look better in heels?)

Toss up for my favourite outfit is between the one with the leopard print top, and the sequin midi skirt. I wish both of them were in my wardrobe!

Who was your favourite style icon when you watched it? Are there any style tips you take from them?

Bloggers Photoshopping Their Images.

BLOGGERS PHOTOSHOPPING THEIR IMAGES.

Ok controversial topic, I've just got to address all the outrage about bloggers photoshopping their pictures.

Of course they do.

Who isn't guilty of pulling in a bulge, straightening out a line or getting rid of a spot (or in my case, a nose bump) before making an image public? I'm honestly really impressed if you can resist doing that, you're a better person than me. I don't have control of my nose bump in real life, but hell if I'm going to let it ruin a picture that I really like without it. Because it seems that sort of the point of the internet is to present the best, most shiny parts of yourself and your life. I'm not saying that's ideal, but it's the way it is. No one posts pictures when they've had a shit day, taken off their makeup and their underwear and are sitting at home feeling lonely and sad and binge eating biscuits in toothpaste stained pyjamas. So of course you want to make the bits you do show look the best you can. Hell, it's why the filters were even invented.

I'm not condoning people making themselves look four stone thinner (Danielle from WeWoreWhat has a tendency to take it a bit too far) and it is obviously bad that people feel that in order to be popular and successful they have to be a certain size or weight. But come on, these girls are known for their images, and are under constant scrutiny. It's understandable that they want to look their best, as this is what makes their blogs and brands more successful. 

If you're preparing a post about a lovely new top you've bought, and in all the pictures it's bulged out funny at the side, why wouldn't you tuck it in a bit? If your arm looked fat and (in your eyes, at least) it ruined the overall picture and took attention away from the focus (the clothes, this is probably a fashion blog after all) wouldn't you slim it down a bit? If you had a following of 150,000 people waiting to analyse your every inch, and had experienced how vicious people on the internet can be, it's understandable that you'd preempt the nasty comments by fixing the image a bit. It only takes one thigh bulge for the bile to start rolling in. Everyone has seen Heat's "Circle of Shame" and the internet is riddled with countless articles gleefully posting pictures of celebrities looking terrible without makeup. Is the next step that a magazine cover appears and there's loads of articles about it because the star is wearing make-up? Or Spanx? Or false eyelashes?

It's the same as all fashion shoots and imagery, there's backlash because this cover or that spread has been photoshopped (coughJustinBeiber/KimKardashian), but in a way I feel like the publications are almost reassuring us. It's sort of like "Not even the models are good enough, no one looks like this in real life so everyone needs help to create the perfect image that we want to represent our brand." They're relatively open about the fact that images are photoshopped, and I'm not entirely sure why everyone always seems so surprised by it! Almost every image we see these days is Photoshopped, and I'm pretty used to it by now.

Just take it all with a pinch of salt, and if you don't have a blog yourself to be photographed for, a helping of biscuits.

What are your opinions? Is it just me that thinks this?