OUTFIT | #177

cardigan: H&M; top: Primark; skirt, boots: Topshop; watch: Casio

I'm not really buying much for myself currently because I'm in the throes of Christmas shopping for everyone else in my life. However, I did amble through Primark the other day and spot this black velvet crop top for £6. I've always been intrigued by velvet but never owned anyway, so it seemed like a good place to start. Plus it feels amazing. While wearing it, the temptation to constantly touch the fabric was pretty overwhelming so I sat rubbing my arms a lot. A little weird? Maybe. But it just feels so cool.

I'm just a big fan of textures in general, I think. Wearing all black a lot of the time can get a bit samey, obviously. Textures are a really simple way to break it up and make things look more interesting. I decided not to stop at just velvet and threw on my fluffy cardigan too. The fluffy knitwear look is something I'm also keen to dive into. Once all this Christmas shopping is out of the way, you bet I'm getting my hands on some ridiculously fuzzy new jumpers.

OUTFIT | #176

top, skirt, boots, necklace: Topshop; watch: Casio

It was all a bit touch and go here for a while. I broke one SD card for my camera, then lost the other, then my new SD cards took a bloody age to get here. So I'd wear great outfits and be all ready to blog them, then realise I couldn't. It's all good now though. The SD cards are here. Technical issues are a thing of the past. Let's get on with the show.

I have for you here a very basic, all-Topshop outfit. Which I feel isn't, in theory, that exciting. But I really like it because of the highlighter pink necklace I'm sporting. As a friend put it upon seeing me: 'That is some poppin' neck candy you've got go going on.' Quite. I can't wear lipstick at the moment because my lips are ridiculously dry, thank you winter weather. Usually I'd incorporate colour into an outfit through a bold lip but with that not an option currently, I dug out this necklace instead and I'm really into it.

OUTFIT | #175

jumper: American Apparel; shirt (underneath), jeans, boots: Topshop; scarf: Edinburgh Wool Mill

Long, stressful weeks call for comfy knitwear and a bright lip to fend off bad moods. The weather isn't helping either. It's rained basically every day for a week and I'm not cool with it. I can handle the cold but as soon as winter rains and dark evenings draw in, it really affects my mood. And my hair. Dear god, does all this moisture in the air ever screw with my hair. John Frieda's Moisture Barrier hairspray has been my godsend lately. If I can find the time to do a Recent Favourites post any time soon, you better believe that stuff is taking centre stage.

I've been living in a combination of collared shirts with various jumpers lately. All worn with jeans and trusty black boots, of course. Same old, same old It looks just made up enough that I don't look like I just rolled, reluctantly, out of my warm bed, while still being comfortable. The temptation to throw on a hoody and leggings and give no fucks was strong last week, but I refrained. Barely. It was one of those weeks. Let's hope the rain stops and things pick up, for my wardrobe's sake.

WISHLIST | Boyfriend Coat

l-r: Topshop; Zara; Monki, River Island

High on my winter wishlist is a new coat. Specifically a boyfriend coat. It seems like everyone and their gran has the perfect oversized boyfriend coat except me currently. I have serious coat envy. The issue is, apart from being terribly skint, narrowing down which coat I would get. I love them all. I have to stop myself from trying on every coat in any given shop I go into. To get a black one seems most sensible, since I do wear black 90% of the time. But then there are grey or tan options out there that I'm also lustily eyeing. In lieu of actually being able to afford to buy my dream coat, I'm just shopping around online at all the beautiful options that I'll probably never own. These are a few of my favourites. I particularly love the brown Zara coat I tried on a few weeks ago. But I'm not ready to fully commit to it as 'the one' yet. The search for my perfect winter coat continues.

OUTFIT | #174

jumper: Cheap Monday; camisole: Forever 21; skirt: H&M; shoes: Vans

The sheer look, with just a bra or simple camisole underneath, has been a favourite look of mine of late. It works especially well with this Cheap Monday jumper I've already recently blogged about. I wish I had some more interesting tops to put under it to experiment with. Definitely something I'll have to keep an eye out for. It is, admittedly, not the warmest of my knitwear. I always pair it with a fairly hefty jacket to fend off unwanted winter chills. I'm never one to suffer for clothes. Ain't nobody got time for that. 

The skirt is new, to me anyway. My sister had it for ages and never wore it because it didn't fit. Hence it got handed down to me. Circle skirts have a special place in my heart so I happily took it in. Polka dots are something I wore a lot in my mid-teens. This skirt isn't too busy though. I like that the circles are fairly large and bold. It's joining my already far too large skirt collection, although I may have to think of a new method of storage soon as wardrobe space is becoming rather limited.

OUTFIT | #173

blouse, boots: Topshop; skirt: H&M

I wore this during the day on Hallowe'en and someone asked me if I was wearing my costume already. Clearly, that person doesn't know me very well. I feel like I might even have posted this exact outfit, or a very, very similar rendition of it, on the blog before. There's nothing more 'me' than stripes and monochrome. Paired with my trusty black ankle boots. In fact, I love this blouse so much I have this sheer version of it and an opaque version, that is otherwise identical, that I found at Forever 21. 

Lately I've been neglecting my button-down blouses in favour of t-shirts. Mostly out of laziness because blouses require ironing, and t-shirts don't. Wearing this reminded me how much I like a good collared shirt. I had a bit more time to get ready in the morning so I didn't have to worry about throwing on something quick and easy. Hence the incredibly puffy just-blow-dried hair I'm sporting. It was a particularly 'large and in charge' hair day.

OUTFIT | #172

cardigan: H&M; t-shirt: Primark; jeans: Topshop; shoes: Converse; watch: Casio

I worked a lot of hours at work last week. Working in a bar means I often come home smelling like beer and Jagermeister, so I avoid wearing anything I would be upset if I ruined when on the job. Working most days in a week week meant ditching any nicer outfits I'd had planned for old jeans and trainers. I have one ancient pair of Hollister jeans in particular, leftover from my teen years, that I hang onto strictly to wear at work. I've learnt to always carry a spare shirt too so I just throw that on over my work jeans if I have anywhere else to go in-between shifts.

To be fair, this is something I'd wear even if I hadn't been off to work. These jeans always get forgotten in favour of other pairs but I really like them. They fit perfectly, and are so worn in that they're super comfy now. The Converse are my favourite pair of hi-tops that I own. I've never seen anyone else with the same pair and I got them for around $10 in a TJ Maxx in New Jersey when I was 14. They're still going strong, 7 years later. 

INSTAGRAM | #7

special guestin' on some student radio; graffiti on my walk to uni; one of many hungover fry-ups

 

spooky Hallowe'en party treats; I'm a mouse, duh

I've been back at uni for nearly 7 weeks now (how is that possible?) and I've forgotten to Instagram nearly anything of interest that happened. Of course. Being back here, I tend to get sucked into busy days and seeing friends and forget about anything else. Here are a few snippets of what I've been up to, including a lot of Hallowe'en pictures. We had a house party, complete with amazing homemade Hallowe'en treats. I went as Karen 'I'm a mouse, duh' from Mean Girls. Now I'm pretty bummed Hallowe'en's over now for another year. I guess there's always Christmas festivities though...

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