Switching to Autumn/Winter - Some Outfit Inspiration

Style Theory: The transition from one season to another can sometimes leave me a little lost...what to wear, what style to go for, what is cool this season? I always turn to Pinterest to the streetstylers for some inspiration, so here are a selection of my favourite, mainly classic looks, for this Autumn/Winter that will work for a few years to come...

For me this year it is all about over sized knitwear, skinny jeans, or leather/suede look trousers, trainers, slouchy boots, tailored coats or jackets and a healthy dose of lurex thrown in to add much needed Autumn sparkle. I am of to hunt down my key items from the high street, I will report back...

Images above via Pinterest

MY STYLE:

A couple of my winter looks so far...

Sweater: River Island Design Forum £65
Jeans: Topshop Baxter £40
Boots: Vivienne Westwood Pirate Boots via EbayUK
Bag: Topshop (old season)

Coat: Zara (old season) similar here
Dungarees: H&M similar here
Blouse: John Lewis similar here
Trainers: Adidas £79.99
Bag: Kipling UK

What is your Autumn/Winter dream look, where do you find your outfit inspiration? As always I would love to hear your thoughts and comments, until next time Frances xxxx

Spotlight on Hush

Style Theory: Sometimes a brochure drops through your letterbox and it inspires you and encapsulates many of your dream pieces of the season. Yesterday the Hush Top Summer 40 mini magazine arrived on my doorstep and I fell for almost every item!

Here are my top 10 pieces from Hush 

Pinstripe Shirt Dress £55

Perfect for throwing over a bikini to take you from beach to bar. 100% cotton so will be so cool for hotter weather. Add a wide brimmed black straw hat (this one) and flat black leather strappy sandals (these) and an oversize basket bag for a glamorous look..

Halter Bikini Top £35
Fold Over Bikini Bottom £30

I love the aqua shade of this bikini, it would look fabulous against sunkissed skin with fine gold jewellery. The halter neck top has removeable pads which are always useful and suit any bust. The fold over bikini bottoms are the type I always buy, they allow you to wear the bottoms as high or low on your tummy as is flattering for your shape, I wear them a little higher to keep my out of shape tummy a little hidden! 

Palm Beach top £40
Denim Shorts £45

Adoring all of this look. I simply live in black camisole tops and denim shorts on holiday. Easy to stick on whilst dashing out the house with the kids to the beach after spending hours getting them ready, slathering them in suntan lotion and finding their hats, buckets, spades change of pants etc always leaves me with exactly 2 minutes so thank goodness for outfits like this and Piz Buin Once suntan lotion my summer saviours! The shorts are the perfect pale blue color, with just the right amount of distressing. And I love the black swing cami with crochet detail, practical and flattering, would look fab with blue skinny ankle length jeans and Next flat tan strappy sandals too.

Star Jumper £69.50

This is a super lightweight sweater in a bamboo knit. Perfect for wearing on holiday in the evenings or wear over the aqua bikini top with denim shorts for a cool look.

Bondi Beach Dress £55

This dress is perfectly boho, again I would pair with my Next tan strappy sandals and a large basket bag (here) for a cool beachy look. On the schoolrun I would wear this dress over my pale blue skinny jeans with sandals.

3 Star Stud Earrings £39.95

These will trend up your jewellery collection, slightly edgy these star earrings are perfect for bringing your look into summer 2015. Gold plated silver or sterling silver these are beautiful.

Pom Pom Clutch Bag £50

This clutch bag is perfectly oversized so you can actually fit your purse, make up keys etc in it. The monochrome with orange pom pom and zip would look fab with Hush denim shorts and black top above or with a black summer dress (see my last post for ideas) 

Pomegranate and Peppercorn Candle £12

I always take a little candle away with me when I go on holiday as I love having a glass of wine in the evening on the terrace with a lovely smelling candle burning, a little bit of holiday heaven! This one has great reviews and I have been assured the smell is divine. Hush you have pretty much got my dream summer wardrobe all wrapped up in one brochure, thanks for the inspiration with free delivery and returns (code: HOLIDAY15)..now what to order first *scrambles upstairs to look for old summer clothes to ebay*!! 

What has been inspiring you this summer, which brand has caught your eye. Have you bought any Hush items, which are your favourites? As always I would love to hear your thoughts and comments, have a great weekend, until next time, Frances xx

The Long and Short of it...

Style Theory: Shorts..incredibly practical, a key item in any Summer wardrobe and when styled right they can look pretty cool....

ph via Pinterest

Here are a selection of the best shorts from the high street that will be endlessly useful throughout the summer..

The Khaki Short

Hush Marseille Shorts £40

H&M £14.99

Khaki is a neutral that you can throw on with any colour top. I particularly like khaki with bright oranges and denim. These shorts would look stunning with a lightweight denim shirt and a pair of tan strappy sandals.

The Denim Short

Levis 501 Cut Off Shorts £45

Fat Face Short £38

Denim shorts, year after year these are the perfect item to wear on hot sunny days, perfect for walking down to the beach with a boho top and a pair of black sliders. I have the Fat Face shorts, they are a supersoft denim and actually slightly longer on than in the image (see photo in My Style below) so they are perfect for wearing day to day in the UK, I tend to feel more comfortable in the shorter shorts on holiday!

The Patterned Short

Zara High Waisted Print Shorts £29.99

H&M £14.99

A dressed up version of the short, taking you seamlessly through from day to night. During the day pair them with a neutral grey t-shirt, in the evening wear with a loose, soft cream blouse tucked in and again I would pair with flat tan strappy sandals.

The Skort

Topshop Textured Wrap Skort £36

Topshop PU Asymmetric Wrap Skorts £36

These are really flattering as the front section hits further down the leg and the points elongate the legs. These are great when chasing after the kids in the evening on holiday, they create the effect of a skirt without the exposure when bending down to pick up a child!

The Longer City/Boyfriend Short

Asos Linen City Shorts £18

Gap Boyfriend Short £24.99

I have long been a fan of the long short (see streetstyle Pinterest photo above top middle of Pandora Sykes) the styling is perfect. I love these with an oversize striped shirt and flat black pointed shoes. I wore these when I was in my 20s constantly and I really feel the need to bring back this styling as it is super flattering and such a cool look.

Shorts are definitely worth their weight in gold for me in the summer, so easy to throw on, so comfortable and look good. My advice, as usual, is to try, try lots of different styles on, length is really important so they hit your leg at the correct, most flattering point. To flatten a tummy avoid pleated fronts and go for a flat fronted short. 

MY STYLE 

Coat: H&M similar here
Top: Zara similar here
Shorts: c/o Fat Face £38
Bag: Spain Boutique
Sandals: Mango £19.95

Are you a fan of shorts, do you wear them constantly in the summer, or am I just getting older and loving the idea of them?! 

As always I would love to hear your thoughts and comments, until next time Frances xxx

The Khaki Summer Saviour...

Style Theory: The Khaki Jacket...the ideal layering item to throw over your vest tops and denim shorts on cooler summer evenings and days.

The khaki jacket is a cool alternative to a denim jacket, it looks as good over a casual denim dress as a smarter midi dress. It dresses down a dressed up outfit perfectly. Here are some styling ideas:

With leather shorts and a floaty top

Add a touch of glamour and colour with a beautiful bright statement necklace and beaded clutch.

The khaki jacket looks fab with skorts and a breton, dressed up with a beautiful pearl statement necklace.

Slung over a black maxi dress...note how fabulous a red bag looks with the khaki coloured jacket.

Just love everything about this look..especially the dress. 

All images above from Pinterest

If you have a khaki jacket in your wardrobe, pull it out to wear over your summer dresses, if not here are a selection of the best on the high street:

Topshop Lightweight Shirt Jacket £42

Zara Unstructured Jacket £69.99

Maison Scotch Jacket £68

Noa Noa Jacket £99

Asos Festival Drape Parka £65

Next Waterfall jacket £35

Tommy Hilfiger Camo Jacket now £70

New Look Khaki Check Lined Hooded Parka

Try a little festival chic and throw a khaki jacket over your shorts this summer for a cool and practical look.

MY STYLE:

Practising what I preach with my camo jacket over my Diesel frilled dress:

Camo Jacket: Primark
Dress: Diesel
Sandals: H&M
Bag: Topshop

For a picnic out at our local Nation Trust Park, possibly the calmest, most tranquil place near me, even with three boys tearing around it seemed really peaceful...

Top: H&M
Shorts: Gap
Sandals: Primark
Backpack: Jack Wills

For one of our very best friend's wedding blessing, it was a beautiful sunny day with a blessing at church then a lovely party in their back garden...

Lace Top: H&M
Skirt: Asos
Shoes:M&S

Finally for a day running around after the kids I wore my new Topshop dress that I picked up in the sales. I had tried it on full price and then bought my maxi dress instead, so when I saw it had been reduced to half price I could not resist!

Dress: Topshop
Bag: Topshop
Shoes: Russell and Bromley

So there is my round up of how to look cool on summer evening with a khaki jacket and a few of my summer outfits. What have you found to be your best throw on on cool summer eves?

Next time the Summer Little Black Dress (although I am sure there may be some Maxi dresses in the too!) Frances xx