Pretty Little Thing review

I hope you have all had a great start to 2018. And if not, you have so many more days of opportunities to come your way.

Today, I thought I would do something a little bit different and give a review of a brand. With the sales season still amongst us (the sales have been killer this year) I made a little order from pretty little thing. With this brand, I had never even bothered browsing through because I knew things wouldn’t fit me the way I would want things to and I am not like the stick thin models they use to advertise their clothes.

But I recently discovered that they had launched a plus size selection. Although not that big, I did end up finding some really nice things that I liked the look of. I was initially sceptical because I wasn’t sure what the quality or the sizing would be like, but I went based off how the model looked in it as I had seen them on websites like ASOS.

This is the first and only sale item I actually purchased as I said, the collection isn’t big yet. But it’s a wet look faux leather tube skirt. When it came, it felt a lot cheaper than it did online and had less structure but was a really nice comfortable fit. However, this is probably my least favourite thing just because of how it feels

I then ordered a pair of trousers because I am still not loving jeans, but I loved that the stripe were horizontal/vertical (I never know which one) but they are the way that slim you and elongate your legs. I love this item and I think it will be a great all year-round piece which is a practical addition to my wardrobe

Finally, I got this self-love t shirt because self-love is important. I loved the Gucci vibes to it, not that that’s all I want from clothing, but it reminded me of a tiger t shirt I got from ASOS a while back. I loved that it was a little more muted than other designs I had seen and was a nice graphic t. Really thick quality t-shirt too. My only thing is I wish I had got it in a bigger size just because I like my things really oversized.

Overall, I am really happy with my order and would deffo do it again but as a seasonal thing just because I think that’s how I see the collection changing. Its very comparable to boohoo in that I think some of it can be a hit and miss, pricing is very similar and if you shop boohoo plus size, you will be the same size for PLT.

I hope you guys enjoyed the post and let me know if you have purchased things from PLT. I think this might be a new fave store of mine.

Top - http://shopstyle.it/l/sHos

Trousers - http://shopstyle.it/l/sHoh

Skirt - http://shopstyle.it/l/sHob

*this post includes use of affiliate links. check my disclaimer page for more info

Monday January 1st 2018

Its such a satisfying feeling that the first day of the new year is a Monday. It felt like it was meant to be. Believe it or not, I think 2017 has been one of the worst, hardest and most eye-opening years of my life. So much happened and so much I never want to happen again. But here we are at the start of the year, and I want to make a game plan. The idea of making resolutions has always felt like something I had to do because everyone else said so. Its become a massive marketing ploy to make u buy things and change your mindset for like two seconds without any lasting effects.

I want 2018 to be the year I find me again. My purpose, my sense of self, my physical, mental and financial stability, to find balance in all aspects of my life and to take each day as it comes.

I wanted to use this post to share some of the amazing things that happened this year. This was the one year I didn’t make a memory jar and I regret it because now I have nothing written to remind me that despite everything, some really amazing thigs have happened this year.

The only resolution I will be making this year is to Always keep trying. Now I do have a very long list of things I would like to do in 2018 but I am going to wait until 2019 to see how those go down. But sometimes there are those days that really get you down but you have to remember that you have survived all of your hardest days so far. My only blog resolution for the year is to create 52 posts as a minimum. Consistency is such an important thing in all aspects of life and I really want to indulge in quality over quantity.

Things to look forward too?...

Graduating from university

Moving back to London

Getting my own place

Getting a job that I love (god please I hope so)

My 21^st birthday

Whatever life has in store for me

I haven’t been the most consistent this year with blogging but thank you to the few for the continued support and interacting with me on twitter and Instagram. I hope you all have an amazing start to 2018 whatever you get up to. Lets all stand behind each other, treat each other with respect, kindness and let’s help restore humanity. Stay woke folks!

Much love

New to the wardrobe!

I have slowly come to realise that personal style is not a fixed things. Its such a flexible yet intangible thing and when trends come about, you just gravitate towards a variety of different things. I am constantly changing my wardrobe and falling in and out of love of different things or wanting to experiment with more than my jeans and a t shirt.

Today I thought I would share with you some new things I have added to my wardrobe from things I thought I was missing to some experimental pieces to some key pieces for winter.

Adidas campus trainers

I haven’t had just black and white trainers that I have wanted to wear in a long time and these just ticked all the boxes. Something that didn’t make my feet look bigger than they already are, comfort and work with both jeans, trousers and skirts and dresses; an all rounder shoe if you will.

Branded t shirt

I got this long sleeve north face t shirt and I contemplated returning it but since I got it, I haven’t stopped wearing it. It’s a really great layering piece as well as a basic to go with jeans and trousers. And because it is long sleeved, it is great for the winter months. I recommend this particularly if you are not the biggest fan of branding as most of it is at the back and with it being layering season, most people won’t see it

Trousers

You know what, jeans are really fucking uncomfortable. That’s right I said it. But I definitely go in phases with them. And when I bought these, I hated jeans with a passion. These maroon trousers were spurred on but the fact that I want a maroon 2-piece suit but I found these trousers at an M&S outlet and I couldn’t be happier. Really great quality and colouring and a dose of something other than black

I also bought those classic stripe down the side pair and I have been on the hunt for them for the longest time and I found the perfect ones from new look via ASOS. The perfect colouring, a little high waisted and fits like a peg leg style trouser.

A beret

I used to wear berets all the time. For some reason I don’t feel like this is working for me but as it was discounted, I wanted to give it a try. Plus, it is actually cold, so I need to start wrapping up a bit better. I have gotten into accessorising again and I thought this was a good trend piece to include. Now that I think about it, have berets really ever gone out of fashion?

The LBD

Oddly enough, I don’t have a basic black dress in my wardrobe. I must have thrown them out. As its time for me to start looking for jobs and going to interviews, this paired with a blazer was an essential. I picked this up in Zara for less than £20! Can you believe it?

Check it out

A don’t wear a lot of skirts but I saw this on Instagram and I knew I had to have it. I was sceptical because these things are just so darn short, but they had this one in the tall section and as I tried it on, I knew it was coming home with me. It just fit like a glove and hugged in all the right places. It also allowed me mobility as I hate skirts that are too tight. This one was from Topshop and with student discount, how could I say no?

Love is love

When I saw this on the Instagram page, I kind of kept going back to it but I rainbow strip fluted sleeve jumper. Need I say more? There was something about it that just said you need this. It’s a lovely medium knit (does that make sense?) jumper great not only for layering but tucking into a skirt or trousers.

Tell me some things you have added in to your wardrobe or things I should check out. 

stay woke my loves

A Catchup!

Either it really has been a while since I have done one of these or I have a crap memory but either way I thought it was time just to catch you all up. I don’t even know where to begin, I feel like so much has happened but I don’t think I’ve been the most productive person ever, you feel me?

Let me first state the obvious with the blogs new look. I’m sure this design is quite familiar to most of you and I have Pipdig to thank for that. It just got to the point where nothing was looking the way I wanted it to, it wasn’t easy to navigate the website and if I didn’t even want to go on my own blog, why should anyone else come? It was time for a long overdue tidy up of the layout so I hope you are finding it a lot easier to read latest content and to find any specific posts you may be looking for.

I don’t think I am alone in this when you have that love hate relationship with blogging. It can be hard to constantly stay creative and I should know, I study media. I figured out that I got to a point where I was writing posts because I knew I hadn’t uploaded anything in a while. I was writing posts I truly wasn’t passionate about and it meant I was leaving my blog for months on end just because I didn’t care as much. But blogging requires patience. Over the years, the market has become very saturated and it can be hard to keep creating content when you don’t see any engagement or as many views as normal. If I gave up every time this happened, I would not be writing this post write now. So, no official upload days, a girls gotta breathe. No specific content genres, just keeping it real, keeping it me and uploading the next post when it feels like the right time.

Instagram has become a platform that I have realised I really need to use a lot more. Another platform to engage with readers and a really good networking space. I am slowly working out how to have a good balance between Instagram and blogging content as I feel Instagram has just taken blogging and made the whole idea of fast fashion a whole lot faster. So, I have been using it more and making adjustments when necessary and drawing inspiration from another social media platform. I would love if you came over and gave me a follow. We have to support eachother out here, it’s hard trying to stay relevant in the blogging industry.

Overall, where have I been for the last year? I honestly couldn’t tell you. I mean I could but I don’t want to. Just yet. I’m not ready for that kind of exposure. I really just needed headspace, to find me again and my purpose and what I wanted to do with my next steps in my non- internet life. Sometimes you just have to go right back to the beginning and work your way up again just so you can see things a little bit clearer.

In other news I have a website. That isn’t this. This might be a little confusing so let me call it my portfolio. Working in the media industry, I needed an easy way to show off my work so I created my portfolio showcasing all of the work that I have done or am currently working on. This is linked right at the top of the blog so I would love it if you had a nosey. I focus mainly on photographer so if you are looking for one and like my work, hit me up.

I promise you I am going to shut up right after this nice Segway into asking you guys for help. My final year photography project is fast approaching and me being me, I want to create extra work form myself. Even if this isn’t the final thing I really want to do a piece on personal style. A collection of images and some footage chatting with the person behind the images and their thoughts on personal style and their style inspirations. I will eventually make a whole post on this but for now I just want to get the ball rolling. I am still working the ins and outs of it all but I would love for you guys to be apart of this. I can only do Brighton/Sussex area and north London and depending on finances I may be able to stretch it a bit further but if you are interested, send me a tweet, leave a comment with your email address so I can see how much initial interest I have for this.

That’s it, I am done, I promise. I hope now you feel like you get where I am at with this whole adulting situation. Tryna succeed at that hopefully. I am off because I have reading for tomorrows seminar and it’s like a lot of pages and its already midnight. #whatevenissleep.

Shop my Instagram

So recently, I have been attempting (that being the key word here) to use my Instagram a lot more, showing daily outfits and eventually progressing on to showing you outfit inspo, my favourite picks from shops and all that jazz. But hey one thing at a time, I still need to pass uni this year. I thought if I could attempt to do a monthly one of these, I would be a direct source of where you could get and shop instantly any of the items that I show if they are still available

Outfit one

I was deffo an outfit repeater with this but I loved bringing back some of the past trends for my return back to the UK. As we are moving into the autumnal months, layering will be your best friend and this hits that understated 90’s trend on the nail whilst adding a little more dimension to a mostly black outfit

White t shirt – H&M: http://shopstyle.it/l/jXqs

Strap top (Old Marks and Spencer – SIMILAR LINKED): http://shopstyle.it/l/jXtY

Trousers – New Look: http://www.newlook.com/uk/womens/clothing/trousers/black-tie-waist-trousers-/p/506704001?comp=Search

Outfit two

This outfit really became one where I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do that day. Baseball style t shirts are a great versatile piece that work through all the seasons just with a variation of sleeve length. I paired this with some jeans because they are a staple in my wardrobe and my long love Zara city bag just to tie a quite casual outfit together

Top- ASOS (linked is from men’s section): http://shopstyle.it/l/jXvT

Jeans – ASOS Ridley: http://shopstyle.it/l/jXwq

Bag – Zara: style no longer available but they are killing it in the bag department

Outfit three

With this outfit, I just wasn’t ready to let go of the off the shoulder trend. I still think you can get away with this style now, but just choose your outerwear correctly I’d say. I think the pinstriping can make it seem quite formal but the off the shoulder style made it more wearable for every day.

Top- New Look: not online but take your pick from the similar items: http://www.newlook.com/uk/womens/clothing/tops/bardot-tops/c/uk-womens-clothing-tops-bardot-tops#/?q=:relevance:colourGroupCode:40&page=1&sort=relevance&content=false

Jeans – ASOS Ridley: http://shopstyle.it/l/jXwq

Outfit four

Finally, the only slogan top you will ever need. I was never crazy about the slogan tee trend. Some of them were rather nonsensical sayings and the looked cute on the hanger but I just didn’t see a right fit for them in my wardrobe. That’s not to say I am not guilty of buying 2 from Topshop, but they are not my most worn items. But this one from monki changed the game. Something with a powerful statement and I think I loved it more because I bought it in china and…that’s all I have to say about that.

Top – Monki: http://www.monki.com/gb/Archive/Statement_tee/7228429-28531735.1

Culottes – New Look: best to shop local store

Hopefully I can somewhat keep to my word and try and do this on an almost monthly basis. I do like to intermix some beauty, lifestyle, travel and food stuff on my Instagram so have a browse over there and your support with a follow would mean a lot.

For now brb, I have some chocolate cake waiting for me. mmmhhh.

*disclaimer- some affiliate links have been used within this post. If you want to know more about these, please check my “PR/Disclaimer” tab at the top of the page

Realising not every trend is for me

Every season we are just thrown a bunch of different trends. Not only can it be hard to decipher through what ones you want to go forth with, it can be hard to resist the urge to just buy it all. I used to be in such a bad habit of seeing a trend on other people, falling head over heels for it buying it and leaving it till after the return date to realise that it’s not for me or I don’t like it. A waste of money and space in my wardrobe.

In the past year or so, I have learnt that it can’t all work for you and if all the trends worked for everyone, where would people see essence of personal style be? With the introduction of autumnal weather and autumnal trends, the ones I’ve really been keeping an eye on is the prince of wales check print, red and corduroy materials.

I’ve worn blazers as a casual outerwear piece for as long as I can remember but the grey blazer I feel has really changed the game. It’s a really nice combination of menswear/workwear chic and adds a great touch of sophistication and put-together-ness to an outfit. The oversized look of this one was just right up my street with the little touch of red thread running through it, making it more everyday appropriate.

Red really has become the colour of the season, making the successful transition from summer to autumn. I am not one for statement pieces but rather adding pops of colour here and there because let’s be real, I have to be true to my black clothes. This red crop top I bought in a shop in china which has questionable drawings of clowns on it (don’t question it or you will just be questioning it forever) but its defoo not hard to come by some red items these days.

The corduroy trend is something I have been toying in my mind with. Because of the texture of it and it being mostly bottoms out of that material, I questioned whether it was the right fit for me. But I “invested” in the miniskirts from Primark and I have fallen head over heels with the trend. I love the different texture especially because its black. I tend to feel a little less guilty about wearing all black when I combine different textures.

THIS COAT IS WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF I AM TELLING YOU NOW. Thinking about cost per wear, I could have just bought the Zara OG version last year but I am so happy that my babes Primark made a version because I saved so much money and I think it is really good quality. Its classic style means I can carry it through multiple seasons with me and just, you know when you have wanted something for like over a year and now you own it because it’s finally within your budget? I’m feeling that right now

With any trend that I chose to do a little more research into, I find the place I can get it the cheapest but also of a decent quality. Because it is a trend item, you just don’t know how long it’s going to be around and when you have to adult but look fashionable whilst doing so, you just don’t want to break the bank. As most of these items are from Primark, I’ve never had an issue with their items lasting me but shop where you see fit. More expensive doesn’t always mean better and vice versa.

Tell me about some of the trends you have dabbled into below, I would love to know 

Friday Favourites #2

Hello and welcome back to another Friday’s favourites post. I really enjoyed creating the last one and I think it makes me really aware (every so often) of the things that I just keep going back to or have added to making my life that little bit easier.

Favourite items

Firstly, is my iPad. This might seem like an unusual item to put on such a pedestal but as being more of a Samsung person over an apple one, the ipad is the most recent addition to my gadgets collection and not only did it save me when I had no internet in china (that was a real rough patch with 90% of things being blocked) it’s great for watching videos in the morning, getting work done on train journeys and even for the occasional lectures. Never thought I needed something like this in my life untill now but it has proved to be a great asset.

My panda headband is another recent edition from my trip to china but after years of getting face cream in my hair and getting kinks in it with hairbands, I resorted to a somewhat cute headband to get me going with my daily routine. Not the cutest panda faces I have ever seen but if it does the job, it’s a keeper.

What I’m watching

Netflix is pretty much my regular tv app of choice and I have been really getting into a few of the new releases. The first is The Good Place with Ted Danson and Kristin Bell, dispelling the perceived ideas about heaven and hell and putting those already dead through the works. Only one season and a bit in, I am excited to see where the episodes go and what twists happen next.

Having taken a break from American horror story with hotel being the least of my favourite ones, Roanoak is what I had secretly been holding out for. The style it is filmed in is definitely unconventional but from a critic’s point of view, a style with potential and gives the series a new lease of life. Some of your old favourites are back with a few new faces thrown in there and it deffo one I think you should give a go…even if AHS isn’t your favourite thing.

How could I forget the confession tapes? If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know I love murder mystery programmes and cases so as soon as this came through, I clicked on it straight away. It went into a little more depth about some of the cases I already had prior knowledge and even if it’s not your genre, it’s really interesting just to see how these are used or thrown out within the justice system.

Let’s eat

Bringing in a little home cooking this week as I am trying to keep my weekly expenses to a minimum, this is one of my many bulk dishes that I make and it’s a lentil and sweet potato curry. I use a recipe from online which I will link here but it’s always good to add your own little touch to it

I like to add some spinach to the mix as well as serving it with some wholegrain rice with quinoa. I uses ones out of the packet as I am not that great of a cook but in general, I have just loved taking recipes and adding my own little spin to it. This dish also works great if you have a busy week and need a few quick easy meals for even on the go.

Fashion favourites

I am loving Primark’s clothing range at the moment and I am going to do a new in haul very soon so you will see it all there but Primark’s Instagram page is just giving me all of the feels right now. Just look and tell me you don’t want it all.

Something to think about

“what you are feeling matters”

Every emotion and feeling that you have is valid. And you should allow yourself to feel it. Feel like crying for an hour? Go and go it, let it out of your body and if necessary, let those around you see it. Only once you let go can you give yourself the strength to keep going.

I hope you all have a great weekend and I’ll see you very soon with a new post