Wednesday 26 February 2014

LFW Street Style

Charlotte Fisher from thingsidothinkandbuy.com

As promised here are some of my favourite street style photos that Emiley and I photographed at Somerset House last week. Just a quick disclaimer, these photos are my sister Emiley's. As a photographer I would hate to discredit somebody for their work so she gets full credit. I essentially got the same shots on a film camera, but the digital ones were easier to work with and much better quality.

I didn't know any of the girls we photographed, we just picked people whose outfits we liked. You can tell we prefer the more 'normal' dressed girls over the ones who like to peacock and wear the completely bizarre outfits. I think it definitely inspired me to make more of an effort and be a little more adventurous with my style. I'm particularly in love with Charlotte's outfit in the last photo, I pinpointed the co-ord and the blazer to Topshop and I'm so tempted to try the whole outfit one when I'm in London this weekend.

I've managed to find a few of the girl's blogs, but if you recognise any others then please let me know.


Sunday 23 February 2014

The Sunday Post: A Day in London

Anyone who knows me knows I'll run off to London any chance I get. These chances don't crop up as often as I'd like but when they do, oh boy do we have fun! My little sister has been on half term this week so we headed down on Monday and jumped straight on the tube towards Somerset House. I had to shoot a film of street style for a university project and my sister was taking the same photos on her DSLR. I was going to put these all in the same post but I think I'm going to do a separate post for my favourite street style that we photographed that day.

After that we headed up to Oxford Street paying a visit to the usual, Topshop, H&M, Primark. I decided H&M Oxford Circus is what I'm aiming towards. It's such a gorgeous store now that it's all finished and the decor in store is perfect. Definitely my favourite, and that's where I want to be a visual merchandiser.

I also took my sister for a little stroll down Carnaby Street. She liked it. I knew she would. It's so quant and pretty just tucked away off the main bustle. We stumbled upon Liberty which we failed to find on our last visit and couldn't resist a peek inside, let's just say we felt right out of place, everything was so beautiful - and pricey! But we did bump into Helen George from Call the Midwife. I was a bit unsure whether to approach since she was out shopping, but alas, I did. She was so lovely and thanked me for watching the show (I'm a new fan this season) and believe me she is stunning!

Our last stop was Five Guys, which after a trip to Covent Garden then to Angel we finally got to taste their wondrous burgers. Oh sweet Mary they were good! And the novelty of the drinks machine with it's 100+ options will take a while to wear off. I'm back for the weekend with Dan so I'll definitely be treating him to one.

Hope you've all had a lovely week!

Friday 21 February 2014

#HMLoves

Kimono: £14.99 (available in store)
Fluffy cardigan: £19.99 (available in store)
stripy crop: £9.99 (available in store)
Boxy handbag: £34.99 (available instore and online)

Remember the day when you used to get told off for taking photos in shops? I do, I was one of those annoying teenagers who used to an armful of items into the fitting room and not buy any of them, I think maybe that's where this whole love affair with fashion started. Well anyway, your allowed to take photos now, in H&M anyway. I don't know how other stores feel about it so don't go snapping away like the paparazzi else the staff might get offended.

H&M have thought up their own app (HMLoves) which anyone can use to share your favourite things and outfits on Twitter, but mainly Instagram. There's also a competition running for the most stylish outfit to win £250 to spend in store. Who wouldn't want to win that? I'm not sure when the closing date is so I'd get in there quick if I were you.

I picked out some of my favourite bits from Divided at the moment. I've since bought the floral kimono and a black dress which came in after I photographed these. The black cardigan is going to be perfect for spring, when it's maybe a little too cold to go bare on my arms but warm enough not for a coat (I can't wait for those days!). I've tried the stripy crop top on since and I'm not so keen on it, it's not as cropped as I thought and the arms are really tight. Finally, how could I not include THE blue bag. I've got the black one and it's just perfect!

Wednesday 19 February 2014

Another blogger: Obvious Leigh

Zara shirt
Zara sweatpants
Missguided shoes
Matalan coat
Primark necklace
Ebay bag

DESCRIBE YOUR BLOG IN THREE WORDS. Fashion, Personal, Photography

DESCRIBE THE LOOK This is an outfit based on the transition from winter to spring. I have kept it lightweight with a sheer blouse & sweat pants but with the practicality of a warm winters coat. I enjoy focusing on the finer detailing within outfits, garments which are pretty simply until you get closer - It’s all about depth and textures.

HOW DID IT ALL BEGIN? I have read blogs for around 5-6 years; studying fashion at college & university I used blogs and magazines for daily inspiration. And then one day I thought it would be a pretty cool idea to write a personal log of my own outfits. That way whenever I am stuck for what to wear I can go back to my blog and find inspiration. It has evolved so much from when I first started and I like the idea of it being my little diary which people read and enjoy.

WHAT’S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’VE BEEN GIVEN? My mum is always the first port of call for advice and the one that has helped me out the most is ‘never loose sight of your end goal’ I keep this in mind whenever I feel in a rut etc.

WHO ARE YOUR STYLE ICONS? I love Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen

WHAT BRANDS DO YOU LOVE? My favourite brands are probably Zara, H&M & Monki.

TELL ME SOMETHING UNEXPECTED ABOUT YOU. I want to get a motorbike license.

BEST PLACE TO FIND A BARGAIN? I am a sucker for an eBay bargain - the majority of sunglasses I own are from there, if you dig deep you can usually find some great treasures.

FAVOURITE ITEM OF CLOTHING YOU OWN. If you read my blog you could easily pin point my favourite item at the moment and it would be my oversized boyfriend coat.

PLANS FOR YOUR BLOG THIS YEAR? I haven’t got any set in goals for my blog, just to keep evolving it and gain long term readers who enjoy coming back to read.

WHAT BRANDS DO YOU LOVE? My favourite brands are probably Zara, H&M & Monki.

FAVOURITE ITEM OF CLOTHING YOU OWN. If you read my blog you could easily pin point my favourite item at the moment and it would be my oversized boyfriend coat.

IF YOU COULD TAKEOVER ANY BLOG FOR A DAY WHAT ONE WOULD IT BE AND WHY? I read on a daily basis www.abeautifulmess.com by Elise & Emma. Its such an amazing blog with lots of food & cocktail recipes, amazing DIY’s and great photography. I can imagine they are two amazing, creative, exuberant women that get together to try lots of new cocktails and food just because they can.

Check out Leigh's blog over at www.obviousleigh.co.uk

Sunday 16 February 2014

The Sunday Post: Valentines night in

Valentines Day came around and I was greeted to a beautiful bouquet of red roses that Boulle is convinced taste better than they look. Dan has arranged a surprise that is no longer a surprise visit to London the first weekend in March so we decided to stay in for Valentines and make pizzas from scratch instead. It was lovely, homemade pizza's endless carbs and Captain Phillips, which if you haven't seen yet I seriously recommend you pick up a copy and curl up on the sofa for a couple of hours. Tom Hanks has never really been someone I took much notice of, but seriously his performance was incredible.

So our weekend in London is still yet to come around and we're constantly looking for places to eat and drink and things to do. We're staying just off Picadilly Circus in the most gorgeous, modern double studio room so if you have any recommendations let me know! 

I hope you had a lovely Valentines, single or loved up.

Friday 14 February 2014

Payday Beauty Treat: Benefit Porefessional

Benefit Porefessional*

So whilst everyone else spends their Valentines Friday in the courtyard of Somerset House, I'm watching the live stream from the comfort of my own home. Sure, I'd love to be there for real but for now, this suits me just fine. I've not long ago finished watching the Fyodor Golan show which was gorgeous, so many hot pinks and metallics and I'm also looking forward to Meadham Kirchhoff at 16.30 today.

Anyway, I picked up Porefessional since I've been wanting to try it for so long. I've heard great reviews about it and thought add it to my collection. I have about four different primers that I switch between so maybe another one wasn't really necessary, but hey I couldn't stop myself, especially since I had a gift card to use which made it all the more justifiable.

I've swatched it on the back of my hand and it's so smooth and soft, I literally cannot wait to use it on my face. I'm curious though because I always assumed it was a primer, but in the little leaflet it says you can pat it on over your make up. How do you use it?

Monday 10 February 2014

Early morning, longer nights

Primark jumper
H&M shorts
H&M bag
H&M necklace
ASOS boots

I seriously thought when I photographed these that I was going to end up loosing my boots to the mud. I think we've had enough rain now, I'm sick of it and i'm not even one of those poor people whose houses have flooded.

During todays down pour I met up with Leigh from Obviousleigh to get some snaps of her outfit for my final major project at university. I haven't seen Leigh in I don't know how many years, since we were in school together so it was so nice to have a catch up and a good old gossip about blogging. She photographed so well and I can't wait to do it again, I think I preferred doing that to photographing my own outfits. I'm definitely on to something here...

I love these little lace shorts from H&M. I've had them a few years and they're kind of running short style but oh so short. Perfect for summer, but somewhat questionable in winter. Paired with my quilted jumper though I think I managed to pull them off. And whilst you're here, let's all just take a moment to appreciate my bag. Isn't it just a beauty?! I popped into H&M after I left Leigh and a new one had arrived in today in a duck egg blue colour. I popped a photo on Instagram if you're intrigued (elegantcha0s), seriously it's something else.