The Jumpsuit Game

At a pint-sized 5"3 I've often shied away from trousers and long-length clothing because most (all) of the time I have to either roll the legs up or get the hem altered to make them fit. However, after purchasing my first jumpsuit earlier this year, I'm a full on trouser fiend. To me, ASOS currently have the best offerings by a mile. 

When Queen Chung wore this navy utility jumpsuit on The Great British Bake Off for Comic Relief, I knew I had to find a similar outfit. (Mary and Alexa in the same photo! It's too much!) 

(Source: Comic Relief)

I personally favor a more slinky alternative to a chunkier cotton boiler suit, these are both beautiful.

Vila (via. ASOS) £28

Whistles (via. ASOS) £225

ASOS have also fully immersed themselves in the wide leg trouser and brought them into jumpsuits. I particularly like all the cut out detailing which I think counteracts the wide legs to make for a more flattering silhouette. This black number is my favourite...  

ASOS, £50 

The wide leg culotte is not something I will be embracing myself but I think they look amazing on the taller ladies out there and admire those who are giving them a test drive- how gorgeous is this denim all in one?

ASOS, £50

ASOS, £25

The Great Indoors... The Bedroom

So, as I mentioned in my last post, I've been busily lusting over home ware items online and filling up bookmarks folders to share some of them with you. I didn't realise quite how many gorgeous things were out there so today I thought I'd focus on bedrooms. With it being so chilly it seems like staying  indoors is the much better alternative to braving the ice and snow, so why not do it surrounded by pretty things?

BEDDING

Personally, I'm a fan of keeping things simple when it comes to bedding and usually opt for crisp white cotton sheets but whilst searching I found some white bedding with a twist and have been converted!

ZARA- I am completely in love with this set with the luxurious rippling silk trim. 

MATALAN- I was pleasantly surprised to find that Matalan had loads of choice when it came to bedding and at such affordable pricing. I love this set with the black satin trim and this reversible stripey set with piping on the edges. 

CUSHIONS

ZARA- As always, Zara Home offers amazing quality products, look at these beauties! The first one  would go amazingly well with the white bedding above. 

H&M- These cushions are definitely on my 'must buy' list, I love mixing up textures with cushions and this grey velvet cushion will be a cosy addition to my bed. The yellow chevron print cushion is a no-brainer, yellow is my favourite colour and this is too cute to resist. 

MATALAN- Along with their Alphabet charity scarves, Matalan also stocks a range of monogrammed goods in their home ware selections, I think this cushion is nice and simple to add to any bedroom (and would go with my L mug!) 

RUGS

H&M- I love the African feel to this printed rug, this would look great in a stripped back room with white or varnished wood flooring. 

IKEA- Ikea has some quirky offerings in terms of floor coverings and I think this folk print would look lovely in a white-walled room. That texture on the grey rug looks pretty unique and would look great in any room. 

STORAGE

H&M- Everyone needs some storage baskets round their room whether it's for electronics (ahem, my many hair straightening, curling, waving, tools), records, magazines or just plain junk! H&M has loads of wire options in a few different colours and this gold bucket shape basket is my favourite. 

IKEA- I love the zig-zag print on this hand woven basket, another 'must-buy' for me.

ZARA- I adore these blue and white hat boxes, and again, I'm showing you my devotion to zig-zag chevron print with this cute wooden box. 

DECORATIONS

H&M- H&M really does have some of the best selection of  affordable home ware around and particularly excels in the 'knick- knacks'  department. As I mentioned in the previous post, I love brass ware at the moment and that goes for any kind of metal home additions, this twisted copper coloured hook is perfect for keys or the back of your door. I had to include the swan pot because we used to have one exactly like it in my family home! I also love this copper coloured glass photoframe and have included this green glass bottle which I think always contrasts nicely with metals.

MATALAN- This mantle clock is so cute! Again, the copper will look  great amongst some other trinkets on a mantle piece or bedside table.

Charity Shop Finds- Home Edition

A friend and I are moving into our flat in Manchester, and although things have been delayed it’s meant that I've been able to snoop around and find some amazing homeware items to take with me. I’ve seen a lot of vintage brassware around at the moment, I think little touches of shined up brass can look amazing amongst other trinkets. Here’s a couple of photos featuring gorgeous brassware that I pinned on Pinterest recently…

So as you can imagine, I was thrilled to find this little engraved brass vase for just 50p. This will look perfect on my dressing table holding some flowers next to some candles. I also picked up this glass box in an orange/amber colour which will be great to put jewellery in or to even use as a candle holder with the lid off, this was £1.25.

If you can't tell, I'll buy anything candle related, and also found these holders which look so effective with tealights inside them for just 50p for all four. They’ll look great grouped together in the corner of the bath or on a bedside table.

This corked cut glass bottle was another lovely find at just £1.50 which will be great for the kitchen. I also picked up this decanter and shot glass set which was £3 and will be perfect for that first housewarming party. I was sure to use sterilising tablets in each of the bottles before using them which I would recommend doing with glass bottles if you are using them to hold food or drink. 

Keep your eyes peeled for my next post on my favourite homeware items in store at the moment. 

Little Blue Dress- Chung Style

I like to think that having a few 'Little Dresses' that never fail to make you feel a million bucks will set you up for most occasions that life will throw at you....Little Black Dresses are perfect for any occasion, particularly for a special evening.... A Little White Dress for elegant summer days...And finally I have found a new addition to my reliable collection, The Little Blue Dress. After seeing the Alexa Chung for AG Jeans collection I absolutely loved the blue denim dresses that are featured. However, for my tight purse strings an ACxAG dress was always set to remain a dream. 

(Images from www.net-a-porter.com)

I then found this blue chambray oversized dress for £6 in a charity shop. I always think of chambray as a lighter alternative to denim, it's a lighter material and better suited to the Spring (yes, I'm already counting down the days 'til Spring!) I altered this dress to suit my shape a little more as when I originally bought it was near ankle length and very oversized which I personally find to be a bit swamping. I did the alterations by taking it in a few inches at the sides on the sewing machine and then hemming it to a mini length. I think this item mirrors 'The Julie' by Chung with the sweet pintucked detailing to the front and back which adds a bit more interest to a simple button down. 

(Sorry for the poor quality images here, dark rainy days and no laptop at the moment! The iPhone has had to suffice here) 

The Best Of... Suede Skirts

I’ve been absolutely loving the 70s accents in collections for the upcoming season and at the moment a gorgeous suede skirt is at the top of my list.

ASOS has the best selection in loads of colours- I want them all! They have versions in an A-line style or a mini style- the only problem is deciding on which one you want! A-line zip up is £65, Mini is £50.

MINKPINK has a dark brown patchwork option, £45.

TOPSHOP is vibing the 70s with this button down number; it’s toned down a little by the colour making it very versatile, £75.

H&M has this faux suede, faux leather combination skirt if you would rather not go all out; it’s the most affordable out of these options at just £14.99.

How are you styling the 70s this Spring?

Winter Skincare

I’ve never been huge on skincare but now that I’ve turned 22 I’ve decided that you can never be too soon in beginning to care for your skin and preventing wrinkles, particularly during the winter months.

I’ve been using a Nivea moisturiser for a while now and it really makes a difference to dryness, I tend to have fairly oily skin with a few dry patches and this solves everything without making my face extra shiny. I’ve combined this with a Vitamin E oil from Superdrug which I put over particularly dry areas which really does work miracles and brighten the skin. This year I've also decided to banish the face wipes in favour of this Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water which was everywhere last year. It's really light on the skin and you don't need to scrub at your skin to get rid of stubborn eyeliner. 

I’m also thinking of investing in a good eye cream or serum to add to my skincare routine- so if you have any suggestions please let me know!

Hand cream is also a big one and I’ve been trying to make a habit of putting it on, especially during the winter. This Palmer's cocoa butter hand and foot cream is great for elbows and knees too. It’s really thick and so is long lasting on the skin and relieves any dryness.

I also suffer from chapped lips in the cold and love to wear lipstick so this can be a real problem. I got given this Santa lip scrub from Lush for Christmas and aside from tasting amazing it helps buff away chapped skin. I also got this Queen Bee honey flavoured Vaseline which smells great and I LOVE the gold stripey tin. 

Top Sales Picks

As we near the end of January the sales are for the most part over and so I thought a top sales picks round up was in order. Although, there are further reductions in most stores so you might be able to snap up even more bargains in the coming weeks.

My best advice for bargain hunting is to go out with an idea in mind of what you want to find, this avoids impulse buys when you are faced with hundreds of items on the rails (or webpage). Try and think about things that you have loved in store that were a little too pricey at the time, or things that you genuinely need in your wardrobe or basics that could do with replacing.

My favourite items that I picked in the sales are as follows:

TOPSHOP

Topshop ended up being the best store for sales this year. I had my eye on this black velvet jumpsuit before it went into the sale so at just £20 it went straight into my basket!

This berry coloured teddy nightie was something that I hadn’t spotted before. It’s got some gorgeous lace detailing and a lovely low back in a woven material that’s perfect for sleeping in. It’s a great replacement for constantly sleeping in my boyfriend’s PJ bottoms and old uni tshirts.

I also ordered a simple black bikini which I need for my holiday next month which I can mix and match with other items. (I’m still trying to build up a new collection of bikinis after leaving them in a hotel room a couple of years ago! Always check your drawers before leaving the hotel, guys).

ASOS

I ordered these Ridley skinny jeans with a ripped knee as I’d been looking for some ripped knee jeans for a while and these went down to £16. The only problem with these was that after I wore them a few times, they were a bit baggier and I should have sized down which is what I would recommend with these jeans.

KURT GEIGER

These were some of my pricier buys but they are great quality and I needed both black boots and black flats after mine had started falling apart.

I got these Slice boots that I had been admiring for a while which were down to £69.99 from £150. They are gorgeously soft leather and are worth every penny for the quality.

These flats were down to £25 from £50, they’re a great shape and the patent finish adds a little more interest to the shoes.

Those are my main sale picks- have you found any gems in the sales?