Tag Archives: Autumn

Affordable Autumn Fashion with Everything5Pounds

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Autumn is my ultimate fave. So are clothes, and bargains, and also chocolate, but that won’t be featured in this post. Soz.

So I came across Everything5Pounds.com, and my little autumn/clothes/bargain-loving brain went into overdrive. I spent a good hour or two adding 50 or 60 pieces to my wishlist, and then trying to resist the urge to buy all of them. I narrowed it down to some key pieces.

Just to let y’all know, I did a big order before working with the brand, and I can safely say I would have paid at LEAST double for every item I received! The products are really amazing quality, and feel sturdier and more well-made than some of my more expensive pieces.

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I picked up this bag for work – I needed something durable and structured that would hold all of my bizarre work paraphernalia (life of a drama teacher – currently this bag is holding 100 mini plastic balls, a mini bowling set, 50 copies of the lyrics to ‘Naughty’ from Matilda the Musical and an orange kitkat bar in case I get peckish). This bag is simple enough to pair with anything – and who doesn’t love a bit of crocodile print for detail?!

The bag even has little gold feet at the bottom so you can put it on the floor without having to panic about ruining your new lil baby. Perfect! Find this bag here: Textured Panel Front Shopper Bag.

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You know when you have a scarf that looks absolutely BEAUT but is actually a demon itchy creation sent from the depths of Hell to ruin your life? Yeah, buy this scarf instead. It’s seriously SO soft – no neck rashes here. Just me that gets a rash off itchy scarves? Sorry for oversharing.

The Aztec pattern is already promising to take me all the way through Autumn and keep me super cuddly in Winter. Pick one up here – Aztec Panel Scarf  and be my scarf twin!

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Teeshirt-style dresses are just the ultimate casual dress, aren’t they? I picked up this cross-detail black number (and was a bit pessimistic about sizing; ordered a Large and was pleasantly surprised when, although it was a bit big, it draped nicely and looked deliberately oversized. Score!). The sleeves are long enough to not reveal any accidental “I forgot to shave my armpits because it’s nearly Winter” embarrassment…

You can literally wear this dress however you like – go for a smaller size if you want a tight fit that’ll look absolutely #GirlBoss with a pair of black tights & high heeled ankle boots, or a larger size like mine that’s perfect for running errands or staring out of the window of the bus imagining you’re in an indie film. You can find this teeshirt dress here: Cotton Blend Mini Dress.

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I’ve always loved wearing big boots. For someone so little (who used to have little stick legs before she started eating excessive amounts of cheese and then running 5k on the treadmill), I just like how it looks – a little tiny body with some kick-ass boots on the bottom. Perfect.

I picked these bad boys – Black Patent Chunky Sole Boots – and they’re honestly so comfortable. Pair them with thick socks and kick people in the shins to your heart’s content. You better believe I picked up another pair of these in navy blue which haven’t been off my feet in days. Apart from, y’know, when I’m in the bath or something.

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Okay, so this Pink Boyfriend Coat the stuff of ACTUAL DREAMS. The colour is so beautiful – more dusky pink than it appears on my photo (shout out to my mum who became quite the proficient camerawoman when I needed outfit photos taken…). I was inspired by Natasha’s blog post at love-laughter-fashion where she showcased this coat (and stalked her social media til I found out where it was from… oops). Head over there and tell her how pretty she is.

Special appearance from my rabbit Paul who decided he wanted to be a model for the day. And left fur all over my coat. Nightmare.

There you go! Have you ever bought anything from Everything5Pounds.com? Will you now you’ve seen how naturally I pose in the clothes?! I kid. Speak soon!

How I Wear A/W: Grey Skater Dress

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I picked up this gorgeous little flippy-skirted skater dress in the Topshop sale for £5. I love the little drawstring and the light colour, as well as the whole ‘simpleness’ of it – it’s not too long, not too short, and the neckline is nice and high.

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I’m a big dress-wearer, and weirdly, tend to gravitate towards dresses in Winter rather than leggings or jeans. On the first picture you can (just) see that my shoes are little black flats which don’t stand out too much against my black tights. On the second picture are my newest shoes, grey, leathery-looking knock off Uggs from Primark (£8). I think Ugg-style boots and skater dresses look really cute in the Winter, and let’s face it – they’re flipping comfy.

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This dress is versatile – it’s a plain block colour, which allows for a lot of texture with my other clothes. My tartan scarf (Zara, last year, £15 – and SO worth it!) is a go-to everyday scarf; and it’s so massive and thick that it doubles up as a blanket if you get chilly during the day. I like to hide in it when I’m on the bus. It’s also double-sided (the other side is black and white houndstooth), so it’s like two scarves and a blanket in one.

I also added a knitted jumper over the top, so that the bottom half of the dress looks like a pleated skater skirt. I love layering dresses with jumpers because it’s getting pretty cold over here in the UK. My cream knitted jumper was originally from Primark, but I picked it up in a charity shop for £3. My navy gilet (or “bodywarmer” if you’re from the North) from Primark last year is perfect to chuck on over basically anything, and the tartan and fur in the hood adds a bit extra to what would be a very basic outfit. I’m a great wearer of bodywarmers; I think they’re really practical and comfy.

You might have been thinking “Sally, what on Earth is that on the top of your head?” and I’ll tell you now, it’s a ribbon scrunchie. I love these things – they remind me of the 90s, which was obviously the best decade as I popped out into it.
Here’s a more detailed view of my hair.

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I like to do a half-up half-down hairstyle on the days where I don’t have a topknot – it hides the horrendous block fringe which I mistakenly had cut in a couple of months ago. I liked the idea of the fringe, but the hairdresser cut it reaaally high and lopsided and I cried. Awkward. Also, the little white dots are the end of my hairgrip. It looks like I have tiny eggs in my hair. I don’t. Just to clarify.

I take a little piece of hair (and scrape back my so-called ‘fringe’) and push it up on the top of my head to create a bit of volume before I secure it with my New Look scrunchie. The ribbon pieces have metal inside so you can adjust them. I usually have them sticking straight up so I look like a demented 10 year old. I think on a subconscious level it’s because it gives me a couple of extra centimeters in height, which can’t be a bad thing.

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I painted my nails in “Hanover Square”, which is a Nails Inc. product that I got free with this month’s GLAMOUR magazine. I actually love the colour – halfway between plum and dark red with a creamy finish, it’s perfect for jazzing up basic Autumn/Winter outfits like mine.

I hope you enjoyed seeing how uncomfortably I pose for photographs. Trust me, there were some pretty hideous ones.

Autumn Winter Wishlist – Primark

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Primark is definitely my favourite high street store. Their clothes are cheap, and more importantly there’s a lot of variety to suit a range of styles, tastes and sizes.

I like to get a mixture of basics and statement pieces from Primark – their chunky shoes and structured handbags are my current favourites.

Here’s a couple of gorgeous pieces I’ve got my eyes on, and will be snapping up when they reach my local store!

The Knitted Crop Top

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Image from: http://www.instyle.co.uk/fashion/editors-picks/primark-the-new-collection/primark-autumn-winter-2014-collection-41

This cream crop mixes my two favourite A/W textures – cable knit and fluff! I prefer creams to whites in Winter as they don’t look so harsh – I like my outfits to blend together comfortably. I’m already seeing this paired with grey high-waisted jeans, a tartan blanket scarf and black heeled boots.

Pleather Skirt

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Image from: http://www.instyle.co.uk/fashion/editors-picks/primark-the-new-collection/primark-autumn-winter-2014-collection-35

I’m already in love with this skirt – the colour reminds me of a red pepper. In fact I’m calling it the “red pepper skirt” from now on. I want to mix this with a lot of black with gold jewellery to make the gorgeous orangey-red stand out.

The Camera Bag

Image from: http://www.instyle.co.uk/fashion/editors-picks/primark-the-new-collection/primark-autumn-winter-2014-collection-113

Image from: http://www.instyle.co.uk/fashion/editors-picks/primark-the-new-collection/primark-autumn-winter-2014-collection-113

I love the colour and structure of this bag – the light grey fits in with my A/W colour palette (black, grey, more black, possible pop of colour), bringing softness but not too much attention. It’s a good everyday bag, and we all know how many useful little pockets Primark give us in our bags!

The Tennis Skirt

yellow skirt Primark

Image from: http://www.instyle.co.uk/fashion/editors-picks/primark-the-new-collection/primark-autumn-winter-2014-collection-22

Reminiscent of the American Apparel tennis skirt, I’m excited to see what this skirt looks like on. I feel like it’s either going to look amazing… or awful. Either way, I can’t wait to try it on – styling it up with neutral greys to accentuate the sunny yellow.

So, there you go, my top picks for A/W from Primark – along with a couple of packs of their velvet-lined black tights because come on – Winter may as well be renamed “Primark Velvet-Lined Black Tights Season”. Not very catchy, but they’re just… so… comfy…