Still Too Early for Christmas Songs but....

Not Too Early for Clothes!!!

It's time to cover up and pull out that Winter wardrobe. I've spent the entire day cleaning out my room and getting super organised for one hell of a Christmas - I'll be finishing up my masters on the 20th December!!

Doing a big clean up is annoying and time consuming, but I found so much stuff I had tucked away. See the picture below for the perfect Christmas Day outfit - and it didn't cost a penny. I found my H&M tutu corset style dress from about 4 years ago, and I threw a black lace crop top I got off Boohoo over the top part of it!

If you are looking for some long sleeved, cosy Winter clothing  check out all of the popular fast-fashion websites for their latest Christmas clothes. I love how the online retailers customise a section of their websites to suit events or seasons. My favourite this year is boohoo's clever pun on Christmas with their #DRESSMAS section :)

I'd recommend to start ordering from sites like Boohoo, Asos, Topshop, and Misguided if you want your clothes delivered on time!!

Enjoy. 

It's Christmas!

Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, The Nutcracker... and The Theatre!

It doesn't exactly fit the trend, but I love this years Brown Thomas Christmas window. Eight different scenes capturing the "razz-ma-tazz" of theatre life, from backstage dressing rooms to front of house performances. It reminds me of  The Phantom of the Opera. 

Brown Thomas' idea this year, coupled with detailed designs certainly breaks the mold!! Here's a quick glimpse of what one of Grafton Streets famous windows looks like this year;

The Theatre Dressing Room

I love every detail, down to the last shoe. My favourite part is the lightbulb framing around the window, the kind you would typically find on a dressing-room mirror. Very clever! 

Go in yourself and check it out :) 

Last Minute Halloween Costume

For all of you who haven't had time to get a costume together, my advice is...take a simple idea and dress it up with accessories! You have plenty of time to do this :) 

Here is a Cat costume which I put together in an afternoon, enjoy!

Wig: Penneys (8 euro)

Cat ears: I made myself with black cardboard and an old hair band

Feline contact lenses: Pop up Halloween shop in Stillorgan (12 euro)

Use any ribbon around the neck to make it look like a collar 

And what I wore was.......

Any fur coat

Top: Black wet look peplum top from Penneys 

Leggings: Black disco pants (American Apparel) 

Shoes: Chunky converse from H&M 

Easy Peasy :) 

 

A Black Onesie

An Absolute Genius,

....Whoever Came Up With the Onesie! 

In recent hot trends we have seen it ALL; all-in-one pajamas, all-in-one swimsuits, all-in-one play suits - you name it, and I guarantee there is onesie out there for it! 

Recently though, as seen below on model Cara Delevingne, the onesie has taken an elegant turn and I have become obsessed with getting my hands on a stylish, classy, black one-suit. 

In both pictures she looks comfortable, glamorous and effortlessly beautiful!

Check out the two onesies I found  in Warehouse and on Asos;

Left: Warehouse €94.35                                                 Right: Asos €60.65

Today's.....

Today's look: Sophisticated Black Jumpsuit - perfect for the Winter wardrobe 

Saved by the Bell costume

Scrunchies, teen drama, big hair and 90's outfits....

How good was this show?

And for all those Halloween parties coming up in the next few weeks, the outfits worn by Kelly, Zack, Lisa, Screech, A.C Slater, and Jessie are perfect party ideas! They are easy to make, fun and there are loads of outfits to choose from.

I dressed up as Kelly 'The Max' waitress a couple of years ago and here is how I went about putting my costume together;

Left: Me (best picture I could find)                       Right: Kelly 'The Max' Waitress     

Hair: I left my hair in LOADS of small plaits over night to get that crimped look

Hairband: Big stripey bow, from H&M

Glasses: No lens, from Penneys

T-shirt: H&M which I cut at the body and at the neck

'The Max' on the t-shirt: I bought a white clothing marker in Nimble Fingers and drew 'The Max' design on

Leggings: Black 3/4 length leggings from H&M

Shoes: Nike old school runners that I bought in the Kildare Village Nike outlet

Props: Small black apron which I bought in Musgraves for €6, a few pens and a notepad!

Enjoy :)

Sports Style

We've all seen it in the movies, the Letterman jacket was a powerful piece of clothing - uniting sports teams, creating cliques, and defining relationships!

And recently the preppy, old school 'varsity' look has been made popular in the fashion realm. The industry very cleverly took something old and made it new.

But to be honest I was never really drawn to the style. I found it hard to match the big jacket, basketball jersey or baseball cap with my everyday wardrobe! Even when big celebrities like Rihanna, Miley Cyrus and Rita Ora took on the sports style, I still wasn't convinced. 

As I was flicking through this weeks Sunday Times Style magazine I was so happy to see the U.S sport style being used in a more relate-able fashion. Here are some photos that featured in the magazine on Sunday;

They really took sportswear and made it their own, changing my opinion completely!

In the left photo - I love how they matched a plain Nike sports top with the patterned midi skirt and a colourful clutch creating the perfect stylish lunching outfit.

In the middle photo - A great day-to-day outfit worn to college or hanging out with friends. I like how the Adidas jersey is nicely highlighted by the plain black slimming skirt. You could also match this with a black leather satchel shoulder bag to carry all your bits and bobs!

And finally, I think the last image (on the right) is a picture-perfect Autumn/ Winter '13 style idea. My favourite part about this outfit is the subtle touch of sport.

Hope you like it!

Halloween Time: Gypsy Costume

What I like most about this idea is how you can use a lot of your own clothes/ jewelry to create the look.

All you need is:

Flat sandals, or little boots

                 

Long skirt (preferably puffy) 

                                          

Sarong (with/out jewels)

Off the shoulder gypsy style top (or any off the shoulder top)

Miss match jewelry (rings, hoop earnings, upper arm cuffs)

Scarf (either use as a veil or a head band)

Stick on face jewels (order off Amazon) 

Props: Tambourine, Crystal ball

Click on the video below for some inspiration!

Halloween Time

Finally! 

October is here and it's time to start planning those Halloween costumes. Start thinking of ideas, there is nothing worse than running around last minute trying to sort out a costume, although some of my best ideas have been very last minute....

..I found everything for that in my own house would you believe!

So I'm sure it's pretty obvious that I love to dress up :) Stay tuned, because over the next few weeks I'm going to pick some costume ideas and give tips on how to complete the look. 

Hope you like it!

Bringin Back the Scrunchy

The scrunchy has always... and will always be worn by girls, there is no denying that!

Jessie, Kelly, and Lisa : Saved by the Bell

......but what I wanna see is people going back to that 80's style and using the scrunchy to complete that casual dressed down look!

I can't remember a time I haven't loved wearing a scrunchy. There are so many different colours and patterns....they're cheap...and they're crucial in creating that 'messy bun' look! 

Lets see who's doing it already:

Super stylish Cressida Bonas, Prince Harry's girlfriend

Todays.....

Todays punk style queen: Alia Wang, Alexander Wang' three year old niece 

Todays style: Pippa Middleton - a perfectly put together outfit!  Love the leather trousers, dressed up with a cream, crisp blazer 

Todays style: Queen of the world - Miss Philippines. She looked stunning in this glittering pink gown! 

Todays style: New M&S innovative dress idea - guarantees a slimmer look. What caught my eye is the idea, but I also love the dress! My favourite aspect is The mesh material with the embellished collar

Punk

I Love it All - Ripped Clothes, Facial Piercings, Chunky Shoes, Leather Jackets....

You may have figured this out already but I like to get my outfit ideas from celebrities I admire or cool characters I see in movies. I watch a lot of movies and it wasn't until I saw Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo that I realised how much I liked that tough, edgy style. 

Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander

Now I don't have many piercings myself at the moment, only my ears! And I know that all of it together (the hair, the jewelry, the clothes) would not suit me! 

What I like most about her style are the dark colours, the many layers of ripped clothing, the grungy boots and of course.... the leather jacket. 

Stay tuned while I search for some Lisbeth Salander inspired items!

---

Here's what I picked up over the weekend to kick start my new look....

Black, chunky, converse style high tops: H&M €19.95

On Saturday I wore them with black leggings, and a 'washed' denim shirt! I'm kinda small, about 5'3, so you can imagine how happy I was to find these gems. Hope all of you slightly smaller people out there like them!

Leopard Print

I finally found my pair of leopard print pants...

Recently on holidays in Spain I spotted a man selling a load of harem-like trousers on the beach. It was the leopard print pair that caught my eye. I didn't bother buying them at the time because I was certain I'd come across him again, but no luck :(

Well thankfully I've been spoilt for choice since I got home.... Animal print is very much so 'in' this season and leopard is everywhere. Here is an outfit I put together with an amazing pair of leopard print pants I found in River Island...

Red Velvet Top: Misguided - €23.19

Leopard Print Trousers: River Island - approx €42

Ankle Strap High Heels: Boohoo - €38

I love this outfit for so many reasons. The red velvet top is perfect for the festive season, the shoes are classy, and the trousers are stylish, comfy and warm for the Winter months ahead. I just love the big belt giving the trousers an 80's punk style look! Hope you like it <3

Follow Me

Don't miss out on some of my favourite styles unleashed over the next few days...

What you can do:

- Submit your e-mail into the 'follow by e-mail' box

- Like the Facebook page

Cheap and Cheerful

Clothes....bags....shoes..anything, as long as their comfortable!

I'v always loved a bargain! And there's nothing better than spotting a good fake. I'm 22, about half way through my masters degree and this year I've felt that everything I look at has been out of my price range! I'm all about good value and low prices. So in this section of my blog I hope to let everyone know about any gems I find!

In light of that Gwen Stefani tom boy style I spoke about earlier I found a replica of the popular 'creepers' black shoes in one of my favourite stores, Penneys. The only difference I noticed was that the Penneys version is lighter in comparison to the real thing.

'Creepers' are roughly €90 in stores, and they're only €15 in Penneys. Great price. And I can assure you great quality - I brought them with me to Electric Picnic and they're still in good nick! I took a picture of them and I couldn't believe how similar they were to the real thing.....

Can you guess which one is the imitation?  

Lookin' Like Gwen Stefani

Here are some of the different Gwen Stefani inspired outfits I put together from Asos, Topshop, Misguided and Boohoo....

Blue Denim Shirt: Asos - €52.05

Black Leigh Jeans: Topshop - €48

Tartan Shoes: Boohoo - €30        

Red Velvet Mini Skirt: Misguided - €15.46

Check Crop Shirt: Topshop - approx €40   

Tartan Backpack: Asos - €36.44

Black Velvet Mini Skirt: Misguided - €15.46

Tartan Studded Jacket: Misguided (50% off) - €19.33

Black Jersey Midi Skirt: Asos - €23.42

Check Crop Shirt: Topshop - approx €40

Platforms: Asos €58.56

Hope you like them!

Gwen Stefani Style

Like most celebs, Gwen Stefani has experimented with many interesting styles.....

When No Doubt first hit the music scene Gwen Stefani was rarely seen without two things, red lipstick and a Indian style bindi on her forehead. She experimented with many different hair colours as seen in the first two pictures below, and I also think her hair was entirely blue at one point!

When it came to clothing she had what I would describe as a bohemian style - everyone remembers the mid length polka dot tea dress she wore with no shoes on in the 'Don't Speak' video! (pictured below)

1996/ 1997

But in 2003 Gwen Stefani broke away from her boy band mates to pursue her solo career and with that the star transformed her image to a more glamorous look, yet still maintaining her trademark tom boy style!

2001/ 2004/ 2007

Recently, she joined back up with the boys but this time her style change was a bit more subtle than before. Her wardrobe choices today are, I think, somewhere in between her grungy 90's style and glam noughties look.

2012/ 2013

But whether or not Gwen is trying to look a bit more glamorous or a bit grungy, she has always been a fan of Tartan.... and it is everywhere right now!

There are so many different Tartan pieces around at the moment, from scarves, bags, and hair clips to shirts, trousers and skirts. Adding one item of Tartan clothing to your wardrobe is the perfect way to achieve that tom boy Gwen Stefani look!

Black Dress - Midi

Black mid-length dress - Comfortable, This Season, and Not too Pricey

....just some of the reasons why I decided to go on a hunt this morning for a black midi dress. And thanks to Asos, Misguided and New Look I found some really nice stuff!

The Dresses:

       Asos: €39.04                                            Misguided: €25.77

What I like most about this Asos dress pictured above is the mesh material which dresses it up nicely. An all black cotton long sleeve dress can be quite harsh looking and a little boring!

My only concern about the second dress is that it appears to be a little bit see through. But thankfully that can be fixed. Penneys offer a wide range of reasonably priced stretchy under garments. I love spaghetti straps. They're sleek and simple, and give any dress a sophisticated look. In the last year they have made quite a comeback. It was in the hit 90's film Clueless that I first fell in love with the spaghetti strap style dresses. Cher wears a white Calvin Klien dress in one of the scenes and only this year the same dress was worn by Rihanna in red as seen below. Dresses like these have been seen throughout her River Island collection.

The Shoes:

New Look: €29.99

My favourite part of the shoes, which I'm sure you can guess, is the gold metal piece across the strap. I'm not a huge fan of wearing jewellery so these shoes are perfect in completing the outfit.

Two handy outfits for the Autumn/ Winter season costing a total of €94.80. Hope you like it!

The Reason I'm Blogging

I was watching the final episodes of Sex and the City the other day and I couldn't believe I had forgotten all about Carrie's style in it. I know I loved it at the time, and I would have thought that the clothes had made a big enough impression on me to remember them. At the time, I definitely imagined myself every Christmas looking a little something like this..........

Slightly delusional? Maybe, but the point I'm making is that it's so easy to forget about clothes and styles from a couple years back. I thought that blogging would be a great way to remind myself and those who have a similar taste about some of the really nice styles out there, both old and new. Hope you like it!