Saturday Steal 012: Victoria Beckham Scallop Dress

It's that time again!

Today I've gone for some Victoria Beckham. If I'm honest I think the way she's worn this dress in the picture about is a bit horrific, those boots don't make her legs look nearly as long as if she were wearing a court shoe, but never the less I love the bright colour.

I tend to shy around from bright pinks, but it's edging closer and closer to Summer and salmon and coral colours are starting to seem a lot more appealing, even more so since this the Dorothy Perkins version is currently on sale for £25!

Saturday Steal 011: Drop Waist Dress

I personally love drop waist dresses.

I think they're perfect for those occasions where you need to look a bit smarter than usual, but don't want to go all out formal.

A few have been seen on the run ways and red carpets, with Victoria Beckham's versions as seen on Michelle Williams and the lady herself are two notable examples.

Dorothy Perkins recently added one in "Ink" to their site, with a cut out back detail, which is a more than adequate substitute for the £1,195 Chloe version.

Do you own any drop waist dresses?

Five of the best... Maxi Dresses

As Summer is quickly approaching, with a holiday imminent, I'm feeling the pressure to step out of my skinnies and into something a bit more fitting for the weather.

BUT, I have to admit, I don't own a maxi dress!

Shocking I know, but as I'm heading to Morocco, and not quite feeling short shorts for this year, a Maxi dress is looking like the most practical option.

1 // The Evening One // I like this one not only because of it's bright colour, but also because it's more of an evening dress than a day one. You'd definitely stand out it in, making it not quite suitable for a wallflower like me, but the black and nude version are gorgeous!

2 // The Optical Illusion One // One of the reasons I'm put off a jersey maxi dress is the fear that it'll cling to the parts of my body I don't really want to show off, namely the love handles and the stomach. But this clever one is not only black, but also has white sections at the side to create the illusion that the curves are in the right place. Perfect!

3 // The Floral(-ish) One // I love the Summery print of this one. Perfect for on the beach!

4 // The Leopard One // The combination of  lace and leopard on this one is perfect and very D&G. If it weren't strapless I'd definitely be tempted!

5 // The Colour Block One // A big block of coral, and the gold belt works well to keep everything in proportion. Another favourite.

Do you have any maxi dresses and what would you recommend for a maxi noob like myself?

Top of the Crops

Crop tops are meant to be this years Summer must have.

I'm a bit sceptical tbh, but having done some research I think there may be some potential for even those who most definitely DON'T have a wash board stomach!

I've put together a few looks with crop tops below, so if any of them take your fancy let me know in the comments!

Miss Selfridge Black Side Strap Bra Top // Dorothy Perkins Black Midi Pencil Skirt // Models Own Neon Brights Trio // Boohoo Hot Pink Super High Platform Heels // Boohoo Patent Neon Skinny Belt // ALDO Gallegoz Clutch Bag

Topshop Ice-Cream Crop Sweat // Miss Selfridge Indigo High Waist Super Skinny // Office Nifty Hi Top // Matalan Gold Double Finger Ring // Topshop Skull Cross Ear Cuff

Topshop Daffodil Bralet Top // Topshop Kristen High Waisted Kristen Hotpants // Topshop Toffee White Canvas Lace-Ups // Blue Inc Baseball Jacket

Have you brought any crop tops for your Summer wardrobe yet?

Colour Crush: Lemon

I haven't done a Colour Crush for a while, so though I'd come back with sickly sweet Lemon!

Yellow is usually a colour I'd shy away from, but as we get closer to Summer, and this things (hopefully) hotting up this week hopefully I'll be inspired to give it a go!

Do you have any lemon yellow in your wardrobe and how do you wear it?

Spring Summer Trend Guide Part 1: Dapper Flapper

As the dreggs of the Christmas sales have finally made their way out of the shops to make way for the shiney new Spring/Summer clothes, we at last get to see the trends from the cat walk be translated into affordable clothes we can wear!

In part one of my Spring Summer Trend Guide I've chosen the 1920s inspired looks which were seen on the cat walks of Gucci, Etro and Roberto Cavalli.

I love the glamour of this look, no doubt inspired by popular TV programmes at the moment including Boardwalk Empire and Downton Abbey. It might not involve feather boas and those long cigarette holders, but pleated midi length skirts, the odd bit of fringing, drop waist dresses, a looser silouette, and heavy embellishment are fairly prominent in the shops, so there's no excuse not to look to the 1920s for some Summer inspiration!

In terms of make up, heavy lipsticks, victory rolls and those tucked under curly up dos will suit this look perfectly, just make sure you don't go overboard and look like you're going to a fancy dress party!

Which element of the flapper look can you see yourself wearing this Summer?

 

1. Wallis Pink 1923 Embellished Dress £45 | 2. Accessorize Crystal Cascading Rose Bridal Alice Band £28 | 3. Topshop Bow Front Cloche £25 | 4. Topshop Cream Embellished Cami £36 | 5. TopshopMetallic Pleated Midi Skirt £36 | 6. Dorothy Perkins Black Flapper Style Dress £35 | 7. Office Karen's Peach Metallic £62 | 8. River Island Gold Tone Chain Chandelier Earrings £10 | 9. ASOS Shell Clutch £26

LBDs for NYE

We're in that awkward time of year when Christmas is over, yet the tree is still up and (some of us) aren't required to work for a few days. So what do we do? Well I browse the internet for New Years Eve inspiration. I'm not lucky enough to be on the guest list for any swanky, dressing-up occasions, but if I was below are the looks I might very well be adopting.

 

Dress: Rare Opulance £105 | Shoes: Kurt Geiger C'est £175 | Bag: Accessorize £30 | Earings: Forever21 £4.90

 

Dress: Dorothy Perkins £42 | Shoes: Kurt Geiger Emma £75 | Bag: Acessorize £35 | Ring: Topshop £8.25

 

Dress: French Connection £140 |  Shoes: Kurt Geiger Grass £75 | Clutch: Forever21 £10.50 | Coat: House of Fraser £40

Which is your favourite and what are you plans for when the ball drops?

Deer Stalking Season is open...

Things have been feeling particularly autumninal recently. The nights are drawing in, the wind has a definite bite to it and my feet are never far from a good thermal sock.

Unless I am very much mistaken, it's time to whip out the Winter Warmers.

I'm the first to admit I'm a continually cold person, all of the time, cold, which is why the news that faux furs, knits chunkier than a pregnant Mariah Carey and fluffy ear muffs are vogue this year is something I am getting straight on!

The deer stalker is a staple for this season and the options are endless. River Island have a delectable selection of faux fur, knitted, pom poms and those with fluffy bits on. With one of these cuddly beasts on my head, my ears will definately be staying safe from frostbite this year!

My personal favourite is an offering from ASOS, for £25 you can get this adorable hat and never be cold again!

Are you wearing yours yet?

Deer Stalking Season is Open... by kayleya featuring animal hats

Image credit 1, 2, 3, 4

The Look Show- London Fashion Week 2010

In case you haven’t noticed, it’s London Fashion Week!

This basically means lots of flustered, chic fashion people running around London trying to get seats to the latest collections from the world’s biggest designers.

The Look Show is where you get to see the High Street fashion for this A/W, with the usual suspects, New Look, River Island, Next, M&S, Dorothy Perkins, Oasis, Monsoon as well as others all showing what we can expect to see in stores before much longer.

What was great about it is that it included Crystal Renn who was one of the plus sized models I blogged about ages ago who were featured in Glamour magazine, as well as Hayley Morley and Laura Catteral who caused that furore when they walked for Mark Fast a while back. So even if the high end catwalks aren’t taking plus sized shapes into account, at least the high street is embracing them!

Below I’ve picked out a few of my favourite pieces from the show, but it’s so hard to pick out just a few I recommend you head over to The Look Show micro-site where you can watch all of the catwalks and they have links for where you can buy some of the items, annoyingly lots are only available in store though, I always assumed everything went online but apparently not.

One thing I did notice though is that this A/W isn’t that different from last A/W. We were talking about leather (which there was loads of) in shorts and skirts and trousers and dresses last year, and they were prominent again this year. Stilettos and socks I blogged about earlier this year have made a welcome return, thigh high boots made a few appearances like they did last year, sequins are still about and so are fur coats. New trends however included the aviator jacket, camel and caramel hues, fur lined boots and shearling, the A/W maxi dress and a lot more loafers with a square heel as opposed to a stiletto, of which River Island have a very tempting pair of new in this week.




Marks and Spencer Limited Collection Crossover V-Neck Panel Dress £49.50

French Connection Samantha Sequins Dress £160

Dorothy Perkins Cream/black Bow Jumper £28

Next Stripe Shoulder Pad Top £32

Next Patterned Skirt £22

Next Brown Faux Sheepskin Aviator Jacket £75

Sex and the City: Carrie's Halston Heritage Asymmetric stretch-jersey dress

In Sex and the City 2 Carrie wears about 4 dresses by Halston Heritage, everyone seems to be talking about the white V-Neck one she wears in the opening scene but I much prefer the pink asymmetric Jersey one she wears whilst in Abu Dhabi which Kesha has also been spotted in.

Inevitably lots of high street version have cropped up which are far more affordable than the Halston one which costs £216 from net-a-porter, which I happen to think isn't that bad considering it's in one of the biggest films of the year where everyone's eyes were on the clothes.

Even so, it's well out of my budget which is why the Topshop and Lipsy versions are so handy! The Lipsy one is a rather obvious replica which is being promoted as a copy cat version, with a picture of Carrie next to it. Still, the colour's very summery and it's only £35. (Also available in black and purple.)

The Topshop one is my personal favourite though and is a more original take on Halston design. It comes in black and white (although white's out of stock) and I think it would look best teamed with some gold jewellery and shoes.

Like this:

Black and Gold by KayleyA featuring TopShop tops

Pleated One Shoulder Tunic
£40 - topshop.com
More TopShop tunics »

ardenb
£21.48 - ardenb.com
More Arden B shoes »

Earrings - Jewellery - Dorothy Perkins
£9 - dorothyperkins.com

Jewellery - Women's Jewellery - Designer Jewellery - ASOS.com
£6 - asos.com

Sequin Box Clutch
£18- newlook.com

Sequins

Yes, sequins appear to be everywhere at the moment. From the catwalks of Balmain and Gucci, on celebrities including Lindsay Lohan wearing a pair of Gryphon gold sequinned shorts and  Amber Le Bon modelling a pair of sequinned harem pants for River Island. Jessica Simpson's wearing a Gucci sequinned jacket on the cover of America's Glamour magazine, they're just EVERYWHERE!