Widen your Shopping Horizons *guest post*

Widen your shopping horizons – No matter what your income


The British high street offers quality, style and affordability and makes those on- trend looks available to all. Those not wanting to part with their favourite brands, but with an eye on their finances, can also benefit from our high street shops. Mixing key luxury items with more affordable high street pieces is a great way to add to your wardrobe this season without breaking the bank! High street go-tos like Topshop are always reliable.

One of the best investment purchases you can make is a designer bag. A high quality handbag will last throughout changing seasons and still look hot despite the coming and going of trends. The selection of bags at Avenue 32 is a great starting point, and offers distinct styles from a number of designers. Black leather and gold detailing are timeless handbag features and are showcased to great effect in this oversized calfskin tote by 3.1 Phillip Lim. The industrial side zips and panel fastening add interest, though are not trend-specific, making this an enduring and transitional piece.

Your taste in colour may change over time, so tan leather is another safe option when designer bag shopping. A tan bag works well with laid back and casual outfits from Avenue 32 clothing and often becomes an integral part of your daily look! A satchel style works best in brown tone, such as this Proenza Schouler number, available in chestnut leather. The short handle also makes this a briefcase-esque workwear option, whilst attaching the longer handle will exude a back-to-school charm.

Both of these options work well for the office, and if you’re thinking of updating your wardrobe, consider the high street for complementing and affordable pieces. Oasis offers a fabulous range of office-appropriate attire, such as this Katie jacket. The single button fastening creates a sleek silhouette and the simple pocket detail avoids looking over-fussy. The natural, nude tone is also a lighter alternative to traditional black, which can leave you looking drab in the winter months. Why not team it with this Bonnie blouse by Reiss, which features a similar natural tone, and contrasting darks in its artsy print. Crafted from silk, this purse-friendly buy will still feel ultra-luxe.

A designer coat may seem an extravagance, but again, choosing high quality and timeless style means a piece of branded outerwear will last for many seasons. There are few more iconic coats than the Burberry trench. The lightweight gabardine versions from their London collection may not be warm enough for the winter weather, but this cotton tweed number is sure to keep you cosy. Traditional gabardine still features, but is broken up with tweed panels, referencing British heritage style.

Keep with the Great British theme by sourcing other outfit essentials from high street stores like Aubin and Wills, which offer that traditional ‘weekend in the countryside’ look without the hefty price tag. Wrap up warm in this Nevilleton jumper, made from 100% merino wool. The longer length will look gorgeous teamed with thick leggings and chunky ankle boots.

Buying key investment pieces makes designer fashion available to all. Combining stand-out items with complementing essentials from the high street makes it easy to create a luxe winter look for less.

sailor-ish

Another day where I’ve thrown caution to the wind and banned the crutches from photos, our relationship is rocky and the less I see of them the better; I am becoming quite adept at hopping!
I wore this on Sunday when I went to watch Ellie and her dog do an agility class which kind of made me want a dog…why don’t they do agility classes for cats? Mae would be champion.
The outfit consists of a really old top from A-wear that always makes me feel a bit nautical, my ever faithful Zara skirt that has probably seen better days, some h&m tights that I forgot I had and my silver sparkly TOMS because I’m sick and tired of the black ones!

I didn’t get up to anything for Halloween in the end, we didn’t even get any trick or treaters which is a great shame as for all of two minutes Mae let me dress her up. She’s a blogger at heart, she posed for the photos and then changed in to something more comfortable!

How was your Halloween?

xxx

What Phase Eight did next…Blenheim

I’ve gone from barely acknowledging Phase Eight to being on constant alert for their latest e-mails arriving in my inbox.
The latest transitional collection has well and truly captivated me…
(that along with their Christmas collection and some truly special shoes)
Blenheim, a transitional story which draws upon the casual aesthetic of the heritage trend.  The collection works just as well for lazy weekends in the countryside,
as it does for the office, fusing desk-to-dinner dressing with smart daywear pieces.  Intarsia knits and draped jersey dresses in a palette of soft grey, cornflower blue
and taupe sit against digital floral prints in crushed raspberry and basic black.

Every piece in the collection is stunning but these three dresses I’ve shown above are truly special. The top dress is called “Belle” and costs £99. In the middle we have my absolute favourite, “Heart Prints Dress” costing £79 and last but not least the “Harlequin” at a middling price of £85.

Well, that’s my little mid-week love post complete. Which of these dresses is your favourite? Which brands have you rediscovered lately?

xxx

Sixties Chic

Matalan dress (last year), C&A top, Yull Chelsea boots.

I haven’t worn this dress in ages as up until now it hung off of me in a shapeless sack like fashion and I had forgotten just how much I loved it! This is the first outfit I have worn in a while that I’ve felt ok in, I hate this transitional stage but it is only temporary and everything else going on in my life right now is making it worthwhile (foot injury aside!)
Again I have ditched the crutches for these photos, I have some impressive bruising to my arms and I’m counting down the days until I can get rid of them!

Happy Halloween folks; who has spooky plans? It’s all quiet here, I’ve never really done much for the day apart from a party once upon a time. I’m at work this morning, on the early start no less. I’m doing a phlebotomy clinic and am taking in some monster chocolates to make it more fun for my patients and this afternoon I am going to my friend Ellie’s to carve pumpkins, but that’s as far as it goes.

How sweet does Mae look in this photo? Looks are properly deceiving as she is being a little monster lately but with a face like that all is forgiven.

xxx

Blue (Inc)

Cat: truly one of a kind, Jumper c/o Blue Inc, Jeans; Oasis, Shoes; TOMS

I’m so in love with this new jumper kindly sent to me by Blue Inc. I’d never shopped with them before but had browsed the website which sells everything from men’s chinos to women’s t-shirts. At the moment they have some truly covetable knits and wonderfully low prices so come payday I think my visits to the site will become even more frequent.

I wore this outfit on Saturday for a lazy day. There was minor trauma when I put these jeans on and realised how much more snug they are these days, but that’s the aim of the game right now and I need to get my head around it and get used to it. I’m just under half way on the weight gain front and can’t afford to replace my entire wardrobe just yet..I do intend to do some serious shopping once I’m there though!

((Sorry to bang on, I’m trying to rationalise and come to terms with things))

You might have noticed the lack of crutches in these photos…I’m sick of the bloody things so decided to do some one legged posing instead, haa. I seriously cannot believe I ever thought those things could be fun!

Anyway,
back to the subject in hand…you’d do well to check out Blue Inc’s footwear too…I’ve spied some amazing ankle boots at a price too good to pass up!
Have you shopped there before? What’s made it on to your wish list?

Don’t forget there’s only a day left to enter the giveaway

xxx

P.S. is my blog layout looking off to anyone else? I’m not sure what’s going on!