Shop Your Closet: Wardrobe Basics Cluster

Hey lovelies I'm back with another edition of Shop Your Closet.  

These are just  just a few basic items I have pulled from my closet in an attempt to create a cluster.  (Ria Don't kill me, I tried. lol) 

Even though they are basics, they mix and match really well to create various outfits.

 If you have similar items in your closet, perhaps you could give making a cluster a shot.

From left to right Jeans - Zara, Shirt- GAP, Sweater - H & M, Bag - Dune, Trench - GAP ( I also have this in NAVY, Blazer - Zara - I also have this in Black, Shirt - T. M Lewin, Dress - Dorothy Perkins ( I also have this in Green), Green shoes - Office, Black Patent flats - Miss KG, Monochrome Flats - Miss KG. 

Classic Trench 

 Navy Blazer 

 Blue Denim Jeans

White shirt ( This is from the men's sections at the GAP,
 great for a casual, dressed down look)

White shirt ( I wear this to work, on nights out etc.)

The shift dress 

Cross body Bag

Flats 

Even though these are basics, don not count them out. 

The foundation of any great wardrobe starts with the basics. 

Basics are great for complimenting those jewel toned/ embellished pieces you are pulling out to attend the Christmas parties.

From year to year, season to season the shapes might change. 

But the basic element of the garment is the same.  

A plain black flat is a plain black flat and a crisp white shirt is a crisp white shirt. 

Happy Holidays 

xx

Shop Your Closet: White Shirt and Bright Skirt

Day/ Office 

This is a little outfit remix. 

I love shopping my closet as well as my makeup and beauty stash! 

One thing which gives me pleasure, is being able to use clothing which I already own. Then mixing/ matching/clustering  it with other pieces to create new outfits for different social occasions. 

 As a rule, if I cannot think of 5 events where I can were an item of clothing (5 things in my closets I can pair the item with) I do not buy it. 

It keeps the clothes on the shelves of the store and my ££ in my pocket. 

I would much rather own clothing  which I have worn over and over for 10 years, not spend 10 years buying clothes over and over. 

Night

I hope you all have a great Monday. 

Shirt - TM Lewin

Knit Top - Primark

Skirt - Gap

Flats - Miss KG

Heels - Jasper Conran

Cross Body Bag - Zara

Tote Bag - Zara 

P.S. This is the shirt I won last summer in the T.M. Lewin "Summer in the City" competition. Thank you to everyone who voted for me. 

xx

Outfit Of The Day Pink, White and Silk

This is just a quick rundown of what I wore to work today.

Since it is spring and all, this morning I decided to step out of the darkness and inject a little colour into my outfit. Excuse me if I look a bit ragged, this is me at the end of the workday. 

Scarf: Zara

Shirt: GAP Bowery Supersoft Tee

Skirt: Matalan

Mackintosh/Trench Coat: GAP A/W 2013

Tights:TESCO (don't knock it they are surprisingly durable)

Flats: Miss KG by Kurt Geiger.

I told you guys I have a love for gap. lol 

have a great evening, my lovelies. 

Rest up, being fabulous is hard work.

xx

The best of the after Christmas sales

I like a good bargain like anyone, but I am not one for standing outside a store at dawn or facing the madness of Boxing Day shoppers. These are just a few things I managed to find after the frenzy had died down. 

My lil stahs of goodies 

Kurt Gieger Mabel flats 

Laura Mercier Mini Eyeliners 

        

Soap and glory Eyeliners

Laura Mercier Mini glosses 

I did not get much but I picked up a few good things. 

The Kurt Gieger flats are super comfy,

 the Laura Mercier glosses are moisturizing with 

great colour payoff plus they are travel sized, lol. 

I love coloured eyeliner, that is just my thing. 

This year I did not pick up any of the urban decay eyeliner sets, 

but these two are more than making up for it. 

Have a great day my lovelies.

xx

The Flat Shoe Is Making a Power Play

Miss KG flats

The flat shoe has been the ugly step sibling of fashionable footwear everywhere for years. They have long been loathed by the fashionable women in society. Skyscraper heels, wedges, sandals and various stiletto beauties have always taken up the forefront of  fashion magazines, advertising and even tv shows. However the flat shoe is fighting back, not content to just sit in the corner. The tides are slowly turning and the arena for fashionable flat footwear is drawing more and more spectators. Flat shoes now are not only limited to the Clarks ballet flats I wore for 2 years, though comfortable they were in no way comparable to their fashionable counterparts now taking up the runways. Top brands such as Charlotte Olympia, Mulberry, Miu Miu, Gucci, Tory Burch  and Marc Jacobs are increasing their efforts in relation to flat and near flat footwear for women. Forget the "Power Heel," for 2013 it has been all about the "Power Flat." 

River Island Bordeaux Flat

Ballet flats are out!!! They have been banished from the workplace, offices and boardrooms. Instead they have been replaced with exquisite textiles and embellishments added to other classic shapes such as smoking slippers, loafers, brogues, to create truly fashionable flat master pieces.  Not to say that the Ballet Flat does not have its place. Where as in the 90's tv show Sex & the City had  droves of women queuing up to purchase Manolo Blahniks Offerings. Tory Burch has built a cult like following around her Reva Ballet flat, google the Reva Ballet flats and you will generate pages of suggested blog posts and you tube videos.

River Island Navy Flat

 Why the rebellion on the heeled shoe? There are several reason: Health  - as I have mentioned before the appropriate heel height for a heeled shoe which will be worn over a long period of time is 3 inches. Wearing heeled shoes over 3 inches high for a prolonged period of time (years) causes strain on your pelvic muscles which could lead to a prolapsed uterus.  The constant need to balance on the thin stiletto heel (the preference of the power set) causes strain and sprain on your ankles, bunions could form and also displacement of the bones on your feet.

Time - wearing high heels slow you down. There was no fancy way to explain that.

Options - as I said before footwear options of the flat variety have increased tremendously. There is something for everyone and for every occasion. Flat shoes are no longer limited to the extremely casual events which occur in a woman's life.

 "Long stuck in stuck in the purgatory of casual wear, flats are suddenly being promoted for polished occasions. Flats sleek enough to dress shoes were paired with the tailored suits and even with evening wear on the spring runways from Marc Jacobs to Giorgio Armani." - WSJ

I am a Black Girl in the Ring and I wear flat shoes. YOU should too. 

River Island Black Loafer

Twitter  Facebook

This was an original piece which first appeared in Black Girl in the Ring Magazine

The Little Black Dress Look Book

"One is never under-dressed or over dressed in a Little Black Dress."
 - Karl Largerfeld

Little Black Dress ft the Classics 

Little Black Dress ft the Black Blazer 

Little Black Dress ft the Sequinned Jacket

Little Black Dress ft the Navy Blazer 

Little Black Dress ft the White Cardigan 

Little Black Dress ft the Black Jacket

Little Black Dress ft the Blue Cardigan

Little Black Dress ft the Navy Cardigan

Little Black Dress- Dorothy Perkins

Sequinned Jacket - Mango 

Navy Blazer - Zara 

Black Blazer - Zara

Black Jacket - H&M

Macintosh - GAP

White Cardigan - Primark 

Blue Cardigan - Primark

Navy Cardigan - H&M

Bag - Longchamp

Flats - Kurt Geiger

Black pumps - Duner

Heels - Office 

There you are my lovelies my

 "Little Black Dress" look book.

Happy viewing.

xx

Little Black Dress ft The White Cardigan

 Rock a peep toe.

Little Black dress featuring the white cardigan, classic monochrome outfit suitable for work,  lunch with friends, church, or travelling. (shoes optional)  

Rock a flat.

Yes the little black dress will give you superpowers and allow you to fly. 

Dress - Dorothy Perkins

Shoes - Heels - Office, Flats - Kurt Gieger

Cardigan - Primark 

Stack - Thomas Sabo, Links of London, Ernest Jones 

"Fashion fades but Style is eternal." - Yves Saint Laurent

stay stylish my lovelies

xx

February Favourites 2013

Avon Advances Techniques 360 Nourishment Hair Care Range Shampoo/Conditioner/Deep Treatment

Emporio Armani Sunglasses

Converse Clite Ox Colbalt

Kleenex Tissues (got to love the 4 ply)

Kurt Geiger Ballet Flats

Dune - for their after sale shoe service

Zara Rose EDT 

Soap and Glory Mist you Madly Body Spray

ORS Deep Moisturizing Hair Lotion

The Richest man in Babylon - by George Clayson  I cannot even tell you how good this book is.

Cod Liver oil Tablets

Mac Studio Fix + Powder

Almond Oil

My woolly hat (it has been freezing cold)

xx