Em & Nairn

Glasgow - House of Holland and Forever 21

I took a trip into Glasgow with my Mum yesterday, as I haven't been able to spend time with her much since I moved out. We were both excited to take to the shops and do what we both love! We would have originally ventured outside of the high street and taken a look at some of the amazing vintage shops that Glasgow has to offer, however unbeknownst to us there was a cycle race taking place in the city centre, which limited our exploring somewhat..

As a present for passing my university exams, my mum bought me this amazing House of Holland dress from the Urban Outfitters sale!

I love the 90s vibe and the unusual, vibrant colours - and it fits perfectly as a slick, body-con style at midi length. Usually I would be a little loath to spend £70 on a tie-dye dress when the technique is so easily done at home, but the quality of material and fit really sold this dress to me (and my Mum)!

After taking a break in a lovely little cafe/bar called Vroni's, we headed over to take a look at the new Forever 21 store on Buchanan Street. I've wanted to check it out for a while, to gauge the quality of the clothing and the design. I wasn't surprised with the lack of quality materials and in some cases slightly dated design, however I was pleasantly surprised with their jewellery and shoes, and their basics which are cheap yet have a good, clean, simple and even sometimes expensive-looking aesthetic.

After having a wander around the impressively well laid-out and attractive store, I came away with three purchases which will be useful for mixing and matching with different outfits.

This simple t-shirt hangs really nicely and is made in a lovely, soft synthetic material which is incredibly lightweight. I bought it for £8.40, which I thought was pretty reasonable. I love the little pocket detail too!

Lastly, I found this little black skinny faux-leather belt for £1, which will be eternally useful, and these awesome wire triangle earrings were an affordable £2.40.

I'm sure I'll feature all of these in future posts!

Emily x

OOTD - Monochromatic

Today has been a pretty lazy day so far, aside from our undertaking a flat-wide clean which was well overdue! Reflecting this, my outfit today is a relaxed, simple affair, pairing a drop-hem top I bought in the Topshop S/S'13 sale yesterday with some old leggings and flats.

I'd been hankering after this top for a while; I thought the simplicity of the cut was quite flattering and striking, so when I saw it had been marked down to £12 I was pretty happy! I'll share my other two purchases with you later on this week...

My leggings are (again) Topshop, although they were a second-hand find. I absolutely adore the antler pattern on them, and I've never really found anything similar ever since. I'm not a big fan of digitally printed leggings of the likes of Black Milk, so the more traditional-esque print of these really appealed to me. 

Speaking of antlers, Adam sent me a link to this amazing silver antler ring on Etsy, made by the shop AetherDesign. It's so pretty! Might have to start hinting around the time of my birthday...

My shoes were an absolute steal - £1! They're actually slippers, from the New Look sleepwear range, and they're also odd sizes... sometimes having odd feet can come in handy! It does feel a little cheeky sometimes wearing slippers outside as shoes, but I think I can pass them off. They're a lovely black velvet with fluffy insides and big bows on the toe - super cute!

Lastly; this ring is my most recent internet purchase, from the Urban Outfitters Summer sale preview that took place a couple of days ago. Despite my love for this ring (I've had my eye on it for ages) I do feel a little cheated by the store - they offered customers who were part of their mailing list the chance to shop a preview of their summer sale at 30% off the original price. With my usual naivety I assumed that when the actual sale started it would be the same idea; 30% off all items, however I discovered that if I had waited a couple of days until the actual sale had started I would have got 50% off the ring, which I don't feel is entirely fair, given the misleading advertising of the preview sale as being 'special' and 'exclusive'.

It still wasn't particularly expensive, but I definitely won't be falling for that trick again! Has anyone else been made to feel a little stupid by online shopping?

Emily x

Topshop Reclaim to Wear

While scrolling through the Elle website today (I'm ill AGAIN so had to take a day off work *sigh*) I came across an article detailing the launch of Topshop's second collaboration with the organisation Reclaim to Wear. I'd never heard of this concept, nor the brain behind it; the eco-fashion label From Somewhere, run by Orsola de Castro and Filippo Ricci. As a faithful second-hand shopper as well as a lover of high-street stores I was pretty excited to find a collection which combined the two. I love the idea of using surplus materials to fashion unique and interesting pieces, and in fact I'm surprised it hasn't been picked up by more brands.

I did a little digging and found details of last year's collab between Topshop and Reclaim to Wear, my favourites being the minimalist, block-coloured t-shirt and sculptural layered dress;

Had I known about this collection and in particular this dress last year, I definitely would have bought it! I love the whole design; the muted colours work together perfectly with the unusual shape and layering, it's pretty much my perfect dress.

The first glimpse of year's collection given by Elle, however, could not be more different; the collection is described as including 'elegant camisoles, oversized shirts and double-vented pencil skirts, all in colourful floral printed silks'. Here's a preview of one of the pieces;

Now; I'm all for summery, ditzy florals and boho styling, but to be honest I wasn't overly enthralled by the design of this dress. It feels to me like a massive step backwards in moving away from the 'hippy-dippy' stigma attached to eco-brands and collaborations. Upon first glance the floral pattern looks washed out and muted, and the design really isn't anything particularly innovative or unique. However - some of the other pieces described do sound lovely, and so I will be waiting with bated breath for their release on Topshop.com tomorrow!

I'd love to hear your views on the idea of up-cycling, and on the new collection.

Emily x

Wanderings

Adam and I went adventuring this week. 

OOTD - Bella Freud

Last year I had the pleasure of going to see the Elysium Concept Show at Oxford Fashion Week, which was an amazing experience; I had never been near to Oxford before and so getting to explore the city and also see some of the more avant-garde and experimental pieces on show during the Week was something special indeed. I also purchased this jumper while I was there, which was from a little pop-up Bella Freud boutique! 

I love the hand-stitched lettering and the quality feel of the wool, and the slogan design is one you just wouldn't see from any other designer. 

My skirt was a find at a vintage and handmade clothes fair in Edinburgh - Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair. I kind of grudged buying it a little as a skirt like this would be so easy to make myself; however I loved the pattern of the fabric and it wasn't too expensive... 

Lastly, my shoes (excuse the awful picture) are from Zara. They look absolutely terrifyingly difficult to walk in, but they're actually pretty easy, as long as you're on flat ground. The ankle straps give really good support and, as I mentioned in my OOTD 'Oriental' post, they really do lengthen the leg. Zara is one of favourite places on the high street for shoes - they're always so well made and classy yet reasonably priced, and never too embellished or overthought, just simple and good design. 

Emily x

Accesories Edit

I finally brought some accessories over to my flat from home, so I thought I'd select a few of my favourites and show them off!

These supercool sunglasses are from Topshop! The lovely delicate gold arms and bridge are contrasted with massive, tactile glittery frames which, according to my flatmate Em, are reminiscent of the Rocky Horror 'groupies'. I plan to wear them with some of my pretty floral dresses this Summer. 

The earrings were a gift from my good friend Lucy, who studies in Dundee and so has access to the amazing  fashion boutique Maggie's Farm. Every time I wear them people compliment their classy aesthetic, and then notice the skull detail, which adds just a little gothic edge. I love the juxtaposition of classic and modern style.

The spiked bracelet was another Topshop sale steal, however it's too big for me to wear as a bracelet (curse my tiny hands!) and so I've discovered it looks pretty awesome as an anklet. I'll be featuring it in some looks soon! 

My bird necklace from Accessorize is one of my favourite pieces of jewellery; I tend to wear it with most outfits, as it's simple and feminine yet unique.

I wore this geometric necklace from Urban Outfitters for work today, as I left in a bit of a rush and it makes even the simplest outfit look special! I wore it with a charcoal cashmere jumper (a charity shop find), my bleach blue Topshop 'Mom' jeans and my Topshop studded loafers.

If you want to get an idea of how my outfit turned out, I located some similar items online - just click on the images!

Emily x

More Edinburgh Shots & Wish List

I thought I'd post some more of the outfit shots that Louise and I took the other day in Edinburgh!

I was going to post them along with some other ideas for styling the key pieces - however due to my being still under the weather and also due to a myriad of problems which have arisen with our flat I'll have to undergo that project at a later date.

For now, though, here's some of the best shots we managed to get of myself (Louise will be posting hers on her own blog here) and also a little peek at my current wish list! If only my student budget would stretch just a little further... 

Blouse & Playsuit - TOPSHOP

Again with the Topshop blouse... I swear it appears in most of my outfits, it's just so effortlessly classy and wearable! Here I've paired it with a black pinafore playsuit which I nabbed in the sale, which I love, however the straps do fall down as they're a little long.

Shoes - DEENA & OZZY at URBAN OUTFITTERS

Dress - TOPSHOP, Shoes - AS BEFORE

This dress is again from Topshop; I've had it for a while and over the winter it was perfect styled underneath a jumper with some boots. Over the summer, it's so comfy and easy to wear by itself. 

Finally, continuing with the Topshop theme, here's my wish list of items I've pined over while at work:

Tailored Tapered Trousers - £40
WHATEVER Split Wedges - £60

Quilted Seam Skirt - £35

Floral Print Crop Trousers - £40

Portobello Print Calf Skater - £45

Happy window shopping! 

Emily x