Holiday Packing

Tomorrow I leave for my summer holiday with my family. We are driving (brave parents- they have three teenage children) through France to Italy, where we are renting a house in Tuscany for a week. On the drive there, we are spending a night in Dijon, and the next by Lake Como. On the return journey, we are staying in the Alps and having a night in Paris. 

My challenge is: we are driving there, meaning everything we are taking has to fit in the boot of our car and that I am limited as to the amount of clothes and shoes I can take. 

From left to right: 

Topshop jacket, Jaeger shirt, Zara trousers, floral Topshop dress, black Dorothy Perkins dress, (another) floral Topshop dress, floral H&M dress, tie dye dress from Topshop, black dress (also) from Topshop and (yet another) floral dress (also) from Topshop.

From left to right: 

grey H&M t-shirt, black American apparel body, blue and white vest from Warehouse, striped tee from Gap, beige shorts from Zara and denim shorts from River Island. 

From left to right:

Office wedges, beloved converse, Office sandals, Havaiana flip-flops, Office pumps and espadrilles I bought a few years ago in Italy. 

I hope everyone is having a good summer. 

Flo x

Coat.

I know, I know, it's July. Summer has barely begun. Yet here I am, lusting over coats that I will be wearing come late September. For all my love of girly dresses, floaty skirts and heels, I love nothing more than a masculine coat for winter. Last year, my brother had to ban me from borrowing his coats - I wore them more than my own (sadly I don't have any pictures though - that would be evidence of my theft). 

This year, I decided that I would simply go Zara Mens, or River Island Man (where Bear got his coats from) and deal with the strange looks but now I don't have to. I was checking my emails and I opened one from Topshop, containing this beauty.

It's everything I look for in a coat - double breasted WITH pockets, long sleeves (none of this 3/4 nonsense that to deal with), big collar, and the perfect length to wear with dresses and trousers. The only downside I can see is that it is from Topshop, which means a lot of people may get it, and as I like my clothes to look as unique/different as possible, I may still go to the men's departments. My mother just reminded me about vintage and charity shops so I may try there as well. 

Flo x

Image via: (the new-but-not-improved) www.topshop.com 

Festival Fashion

The festival season is well under way, so I'm a little late in doing this post. 

I didn't have my camera while I was at Lounge On The Farm (I didn't want it to get stolen), so I couldn't take the outfit pictures I wanted to, and so I had to make do with my (new) iPhone instead.

The weekend was hot and sunny, so the main accessory was sunglasses: 

I'm wearing Lora's sunglasses, that she bought from a stall at the festival, and my Union Jack top is from Topshop. Lora is wearing my sunglasses from Topshop. 

Ashley (above) and Ani (below) in Ray Bans. 

A lot of people (myself included) wore band t shirts - mine used to belong to my brother, but it shrunk in the wash. I wore my River Island shorts all week - they have become one of the best buys I have ever made. Hannah's cardigan and slip are both from Zara.

Georgie (above) and Paris (below) also embraced the band-tee-and-sunglasses combo.

Nice hat.

I always find Topshop's t-shirts rather lacking - they can never make them simple - the one I'm wearing here comes from Topman (size XS). I'm wearing my River Island shorts and you can just see the top of my socks. I wore these boots from Office all weekend, with a pair of thick socks - they kept my feet relatively dust and dirt free.

 

On the last day, it was a little cooler, so I wore my ASOS top with the shorts, a watch that used to belong to my grandmother, and my trusty vintage bag. Lora is wearing a Jack Wills jumper and Topshop jeans. Oh, and a mask that we stole from someone's tent (sorry about that, whoever you are). 

Flo x

One exam left

I'm going to and do some outfit posts over the summer. 

I am going to begin with today's outfit, as there is less than 48 hours to go until my summer finally begins.

 

I'm wearing a Topshop crop-top that I cut the sleeves off because it was just TOO HOT, River Island shorts,  and Office pumps. That's it. Because of the heat, I am attempting to wear as few clothes as possible without actually wandering around in my underwear. 

A word about the shorts. They are the first item I have ever bought from River Island. I'm not a River Island girl, at all. But after being greatly disappointed by Topshop, H&M, and Zara (I even tried Cult), my desperation made me cross to the other side of the pedestrianised zone and enter River Island, a place where my friends and I fear to tread (I'm  not actually sure why...). And there these shorts were, hanging right by the door. 

Has anyone else had any miraculous discoveries like this? 

Flo x

Bag Lady

The one item I always have trouble buying are bags. With the limited funding of an A-Level student, I can only buy one decent bag per season, and I tend to make the mistake of buying a bag too early, or waiting for too long and not buying a bag in case something better comes along.

Here are my current favourite "It" bags that I would invest in, if I had the money: 

The Marc Jacobs "Stam" bag. The design has been around for ages, and there have been many high street spin-offs, but I love the zig-zag pattern on this version.

The classic Chanel 2.55 has been my ultimate bag for a long time. I have a Mark B copy, but it's not as good as the real thing, and has biro doodles drawn all over it from when I got bored once in a Psychology lesson. 

I have big love for this bag. I think it's gorgeous and combines everything I want in a bag - secure, can be worn on the shoulder and be carried on the arm AND I bet it has loads of pockets inside. I fear it will sell out before I gather the funds to get one, but there's always sample sales. I considered getting a Bayswater, but as someone just told me, everyone has one, and I shouldn't sell myself short.

Normally I hit Topshop, H&M or ASOS for my bags, because of price limitations, and they also have good designer copies. Normally, I don't like River Island's bags - I always think they are too gaudy or too patent, or just not quite right, so seeing this bag while in town with my friend, made me realise that sometimes they get it right.

  

It reminds me of a Chloe bag I saw on a blog (that sadly I can't remember the name of or find the link to). I really like the idea of nude snakeskin (great trend combination) and at £34.99, it is within my price range.

I may have to buy it when I make my trip to London this weekend.

Flo x