What I Wore: Stripes

Couldn't decide whether or not I wanted to wear vertical or horizontal stripes, so I wore both, justified by this outfit Carrie Bradshaw wore in the final episode of Sex and the City. I got my skirt from ASOS about three months ago, and it's still available online. I wore it with a Zara top, Ray Ban sunglasses, Toms and H&M bag. 

Happy Birthday Hattie

One of my best and oldest friends, Hattie, turned 18 last week. We celebrated by going out to Fabric in London. 

The birthday girl.

Hattie and I got MAC make-overs before we went out. I hadn't had one before, and I wasn't sure what to expect. My only vague direction was "a sort-of dramatic smoky eye", and now I wish I had been a little more specific - I felt it was more than a little over the top. I did get a nice lipstick though. 

In Fabric with Fiona and Sean. 

Hattie wore a black dress from Topshop, and I wore an American Apparel leotard and ASOS skirt.

And a little blast from the past, taken on another birthday:

Flo x

What I Wore: On Holiday

Taken after a day in the car, where we had driven from France, through Switzerland (where this picture was taken) to Italy. 

I'm wearing an ASOS tee, Zara shorts and belt with my trusty Converse. 

We spent a night in a hotel that sat in the mountains above Lake Como. This photo was taken at 8:30am and it was already a good 25 degrees.

The dress and jacket I'm wearing are from Topshop, the belt is from Zara and the flip-flops are Havaianas.

My brother is wearing Ray Bans, a free t-shirt, H&M shorts and Vans.

 

We visited Volterra and it was a little cooler, so I was able to cover up a little (I really didn't want to get any sun burn). The shirt I'm wearing used to belong to my mother and comes from Jaeger, and the shorts are Zara. 

To brighten up the outfit I wore my favourite sandals from Office. 

My brother wore his Vans with Lyle and Scott shorts and t-shirt, and a very touristy looking camera.

In Pomerance, the Lyle and Scott devotee wore a polo and chinos with his Vans (you would think he didn't bring any other shoes away with him) and I wore a Dorothy Perkins dress with my Office sandals.

The swimsuit I'm wearing is from Speedo and I bought it a couple of years ago when I was still part of a swimming club. However, the head instructor told me that it was "inappropriate" because it was a "fashion swimsuit". It's from Speedo. Honestly. So now, I don't wear it unless I'm on holiday.

I wore the black Dorothy Perkins dress (with my espadrilles and vintage bag) again in Paris because it's cool, comfortable and rather chic. 

 Flo x

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

What I Wore To: Buy A Tent

On Friday, my younger brother, my friends and I are going to Lounge On The Farm music festival, and my brother needs a tent. I wore my new jacket I got from the Topshop sale, striped ASOS top, Zara belt and trousers and Havaiana flip-flops. I wouldn't normally wear my flip-flops with this outfit but I injured my foot, so I can't wear my pumps. 

Flo x

7 days to go

My school leaver's ball is a week today. To say that I'm excited would be an understatement.
This is the only big, dress-up event I will ever attend in relation to my school, and as a result, I started thinking about my dress early. Some people are saying that they aren't going to make much of an effort "I'll just get a dress from town that I can wear again because it's just a school thing/I don't want to spend too much money/I don't really care", and that's their choice, there's nothing wrong with that - I just think that this ball is about celebrating the end of our (secondary) school careers and the time we have spent together. But then again, I love any excuse to dress up.

I thought I had found the perfect dress in a vintage shop in Covent Garden. It was floor length pink silk covered by a layer of black net, with some minimal bead detailing on the bust, but sadly, it was made in the 1920s, when women were considerably more flat chested than I am, so I was left to look elsewhere. 

I then considered ASOS Black, especially this dress:

However, I really didn't want to be wearing the same dress as anyone else. 

Which means that I, or rather, my mother, would be making the dress. And that's exactly what we did. 

The dress comes from a Vintage Vogue pattern, and is in pink silk and black net, like the dress I tried on. 

I wanted it to be a combination of the dress Grace Kelly wears in Rear Window, the dress Carrie Bradshaw wears in Paris in the last episode of Sex and the City, when she meets Big and a Dior dress I saw in an old issue of Vogue. 

Only six people have seen the dress - I'm really keeping it hidden until the ball itself - I don't understand why people post pictures of themselves in the dress on Facebook - it ruins the wonderful surprise. 

Flo x

All images via: Google images

Lazing on a sunny afternoon

I was ready at least 20 minutes before my family, for once. I'm wearing Bear's old Gap Kids denim jacket and a Gap striped tee (via ASOS).

The best way to spend a sunny afternoon is to sit in the garden with friends eating cake and drinking champagne. Lovely.

Above: Victoria sponge and chocolate fingers.

Below: Blueberry clafoutis (left) and lemon drizzle cake (right).

All from the Farmer's Market.

Lil' sis.

It rained on and off all day and created this amazing light.

Flo x

Printed trousers: LOVE

I don't wear trousers (unless they're slim black Audrey Hepburn style ones) and I rarely wear jeans. 

However, I am very intrigued by printed/patterned trousers. They've got all the excitement of a printed dress or skirt, but easier to wear. I tend to stick to wearing darker colours so these brighter trousers seem like a risk, but one I'm willing to take. 

ASOS has got some really good ones at the moment: 

These ones are my favourite. They're silk and they're lovely and I have big love for the print.

If I had lots of money, I would buy these rather more expensive trousers:

Chloe

Sass & Bide

Temperley 

The Chloe ones are my favourite. They're a great shape. I love the way the pattern looks like leopard print but the shapes are ever so slightly different, which would look really interesting when they're being worn. 

Flo x

First three photos via: asos.com

Last three photos via: net-a-porter.com