The New York City Skirt

Posted in Daily Outfits, Fashion.

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In 9 weeks I’ll be heading back to my spiritual hometown, New York City. I’ve travelled to the Big Apple quite a lot over the last couple of years and it thrills me every time. That first glimpse of the skyline is like nothing else I’ve ever experienced.

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See? Totally breathtaking.

This time round I’m travelling to New York with two awesome girlfriends and I cannot wait to see a different side to the city. New York is a perfect place for couples and Rob and I had the time of our lives there. It’s also a great destination to visit by yourself – the city is so buzzing you never feel alone. I’ve done both these things, but I’m SO excited to experience the shopping/cocktails/dancing side of NYC.

And of course, for that I need new clothes. OBVIOUSLY.

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Skirt, Whistles | Denim shirt, Topshop | Leather jacket, ASOS | Boots, M&S | Earrings, c/o Anna Lou of London 

As soon as I spotted this Whistles skirt, it screamed NEW YORK!!!!! at me. Probably not literally – I think I may have been hungover at the time. But definitely in a sartorial sense.

It has all the pouffy drama of a Carrie Bradshaw ensemble, but the graphic print toughens it up and the pale pink shade is, like, so right now. Ugh, I love it.

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Teamed with leather accents and statement jewels, it’s my new go-to outfit for a New York Minute and I’ve already earmarked it for Old Fashioneds at Hotel Delmano in Williamsburg.

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See you soon, NYC! xoxo

The Pink Coat Club

Posted in Blogging, Daily Outfits, Fashion.

The pink coat trend didn’t really grab me last year – wearing pastels before Christmas seems somewhat sacrilegious, as ‘proper’ winter for me is about grey, black and navy.

There’s also something so glorious about shaking out a light, bright coat in the earliest months of the year, with the promise of warmer weather and the worst of winter behind us. So I tested my patience and saved my ubiquitous pink coat purchase for warmer (ish) days. 

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Coat, ASOS | Jeans, Topshop | Jumper, ASOS | Trainers, New Balance c/o Sarenza | Bag, Michael Kors at Sarenza (partially c/o) | Necklace, J.Crew | Sunglasses, Orla Kiely

Since The Blondening I’ve been on a massive pink kick and have been buying ALL the pink things. I literally cannot get enough.

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To avoid looking like an overgrown child at a princess party, I like to team my pink pieces with simple basics in classic colours. The dark grey Leigh jeans and navy MK bag offset the sweetness, while the New Balance trainers give the look a more casual edge. Anything to stop me looking like a sugared almond, really.

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All finished off with my trademark statement necklace and a pop of an old favourite lipstick, Topshop’s Brighton Rock. Such an easy look and one I’ve repeated many times over the past few weeks.

It feels so good to be in the Pink Coat Club! Will you be wearing some sugar this season?

Going Blonde with Great Lengths

Posted in Beauty.

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Hey there, blondie!

You may have spotted me looking distinctly lighter in recent posts – about a week ago I ditched the brunette and went blonde. Yahoo!

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Jumper, Topshop | Long-sleeve tee, Primark | Earrings, c/o Anna Lou of London | Lips, Topshop’s Rio Rio

Although it seems like a huge change, it’s not actually that big a deal for anyone who’s known me longer than 4 years, which is when I started colouring my naturally blonde hair brown. See? I loved being a brunette but I was struggling with the reverse-ombre regrowth and brassy golden tones that come with dying light hair darker. So, armed with a photo of Amanda Seyfried I headed off to Russell Eaton, my salon in Leeds, ready to brighten up my life.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a little while you’ll know my long locks are due to Great Lengths bonded extensions, which I wrote about here. My last set lasted an impressive 5 months before they were ready to come out, and after a consultation with my amazing hairdresser Jess we decided on a new shade.

I had two appointments – the first was to remove my brunette extensions, colour my own hair and match up my new blonde extensions. Jess chose three blonde shades to ensure a perfect, natural match to my own hair. At my second appointment, the new extensions were bonded to my hair and everything was chopped and styled.

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I went for a very subtle ombre effect that’s darker at the roots and lighten on the ends, which should minimise regrowth and keep my hair looking natural. I absolutely adore the colour – so creamy and flattering on my pale skin. I also went for slightly longer extensions this time round and love the thicker, fuller look. As always, I’m majorly impressed by the quality and ease of Great Lengths extensions, particularly for a dramatic colour change. They add so much life and oomph to my fine hair – I don’t think I could ever be without them!

Life as a blonde so far is great – I’ve rediscovered my love of orange-red lipstick and bright yellow clothing, and I’m channeling Gwen Stefani with cat-eye liner and 40s waves. Going back to a more natural colour is definitely more flattering… give me a few more weeks and I’ll let you know if blondes really do have more fun!

What do you think – is the new hair a winner?

I received 20% off my hair extensions thanks to the lovely folk at the fabulous Great Lengths

Mimi Fasi AW14

Posted in Fashion.

mimi fasi AW14 london fashion week

My last AW14 show was also one of my favourites. Mimi Fasi isn’t a designer I’ve heard much about but as I sat down in the packed show space, I was excited to see what would come sashaying down the catwalk.

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And sashay it did! A delicious array of sugar-sweet pastels, eye-popping prints and silky accessories made its way past my front row seat – it was the least autumnal collection I think I’ve ever seen but it was gloriously girly and very wearable.

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There was a definite 60s vibe and I loved the huge beehives and psychedelic patterns. The palette featured lots of pink in varying degrees of intensity, splashed over natty fitted jackets and sexy pencil skirts.

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The coats were particular favourites of mine – I love a good trench and these two really hit the spot with gentle tailoring and splashes of colour. Is it appropriate to wear a flippy lilac mac in what’s bound to be a freezing cold autumn/winter season here in the UK? Probably not, but I’m seriously considering it.

And so my London Fashion Week coverage draws to an end… I hope you enjoyed my short-but-sweet account of the year’s most fashionable frolics. Hopefully I’ll be back in September with all the goss from the SS15 catwalks!

All images taken with the Panasonic LumixGM1.

London Fashion Week AW14 – Day 3

Posted in Fashion.

vita gottlieb AW14 fashion scout

Sunday was actually my last day down in London for Fashion Week frolics – I’m now writing this on Monday, back at my desk in Leeds. It’s kinda surreal to think this time yesterday I was FROWing it up at Freemason’s Hall… so before the experience is lost among the daily grind of gas bills and pasta bakes, I’ll commit it to blog memory and share it here with you. Here we go…

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Skirt, H&M | Roll neck, Zara | Boots, M&S | Bag, c/o Brit-Stitch | Belt, Forever 21 | Necklace, Whistles

My last day outfit was the result of a desperate search through my wardrobe for anything remotely ‘fashiony’, at 11.30pm the day before I headed down to London. I absolutely DESPISE travelling without every conceivable outfit option to hand (which is why I’m so often charged for overweight luggage), but the prospect of dragging half my clothing collection across London (dear Kings Cross, please invest in more escalators and lifts. Yours, Jen’s Separated Shoulder Blades) was too much to bear. So after exhausting my carefully planned outfits on days one and two, this is what I was left with. BLACK!

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Coat, French Connection

I also wore my coat in that dickhead way I usually ridicule on others. Lovely Clare, who took this photo for me, and I had a giggle over the ‘coat cape’, its impracticality and how we’d be ripped a new one if we went back up north making such poor use of our outdoor garments.

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After a nice wander around Somerset House and some free breakfast at a presentation for… someone (I spotted the cheese and tomato croissants from 50 paces and no one stopped me eating, ahem, three) I headed back over to Freemason’s Hall for the day’s shows.

We kicked things off with Vita Gottlieb, who presented a beautiful if slightly unremarkable collection of printed dresses, leather pencil skirts and punky sequins. I loved the floaty yellow silks – such a gorgeous mustard colour.

My second show of the day was Veronica Basharatyan, which was all futuristic leather, blonde bowl cuts and glittery blue lipstick. My inner Yorkshirewoman was scoffing but the new, wears-coat-without-sleeves Jen quite liked it, actually.

My final show was Mimi Fasi which I loved – full review of that tomorrow.

All images taken with the Panasonic LumixGM1.