#MCM: Man Crush Mondays with New Look

kit-harington-wonderland-magazine-se-oct-2013-2-excited-for-the-next-dose-of-game-of-thrones-nudityWell, isn’t this a FINE start to a Monday morning?!

As you may know, Lauren and I are both perverts keen appreciators of male beauty, so when New Look asked if we would be interested in taking part in their new Man Crush Mondays campaign, we didn’t need much convincing. A chance to get a photo of the delectable Kit Harington on our blog? Yes please, sign us up at once.

New Look have just re-launched their men’s collection and to celebrate, they want to see how we would style up our man crushes. Of course, we could say that we would prefer to see Kit wearing, er, nothing… but that would be vulgar and sexist so GET YOUR MINDS OUT OF THE GUTTERS, PLEASE, HE IS A HUMAN MAN AND NOT A PIECE OF MEAT. With that in mind, we would like to dress this smokin’ hot piece of meat in the following ensemble…

Screen Shot 2014-09-15 at 11.34.29White Rose T-Shirt  | Black Bomber Jacket | Black Slim Fit JeansBlack Hi-Tops

If you ever stalk photos of Kit out and about in his daily life (which I recommend you do, often…) then you’ll see he’s generally quite a casual dresser. I suppose when you have a face that beautiful, chucking on a t-shirt is basically all it takes. I therefore picked out this uber-casual but quite sleek look, which primarily comes from New Look’s monochrome trend range but incorporates elements of sports luxe too. Of course, being New Look, the prices are all extremely reasonable, so if you fancied picking up a similar outfit for the hunk in your life (did I just say hunk? Sorry) then it won’t break the bank – leaving more money for you to spend on yourself, huzzah.

Overall I definitely recommend taking a peek at the new AW14 menswear collection from New Look; the pieces are all very versatile and can be mixed and matched to create an endless array of on-trend looks. I also recommend locking at more pictures of Kit Harington. Seriously.

What do you all think of this look? And who is your #MCM? Let us know below or on Twitter using the hashtag!

Outfit of the Day: Fluffy Bums

OOTD 9th Sep collage 1Coat: New Look | Crop Top: Missguided (similar) | Skirt: Primark | Boots: eBay | Bag: Primark

Aloha bitches! So in case you think this OOTD looks a bit familiar, I suppose it is a bit, er, exactly the same as Lauren’s from the other day (which you can see here). What can I say, all-black outfits jazzed up with a duster coat is just our thing now, okay? My new duster also comes from New Look, though mine is a a light crepe material, making it the perfect transitional piece. I’ve worn it nearly every day since I bought it, and like the way it updates any outfit.

OOTD-9th-Sep-collage-3Another difference between this outfit and Lauren’s is that my bum is made of fur. Oh yes, Primark have ventured into the world of fluffy skirts this year and I had to grab one as soon as I saw it (despite it still being a pretty sweaty August day at the time and getting a very weird look from the cashier). On the receipt it was listed as part of a 2-piece so I am PRAYING to the gods of ridiculous outfits that there is a matching fluffy jumper, preferably slightly cropped with cropped sleeves. If you’ve seen something resembling that in your local Primark then PLEASE let me know in the comments below because I won’t be happy until I can be head-to-toe fluffball.

OOTD 9th Sep collage 2The bag is also new, and also of course from Primark. With three different compartments it’s a pretty decent alternative to the Zara city bag, and at only £11 is much more purse friendly. Can I get a BOOYA?

What do you all think of this outfit? 

The 8-Piece Winter Wardrobe: Missguided A/W Wishlist

Today I’m sporting a vampy purple lip, the view from my office window is dismal at best, and my only plans for the weekend involve watching X Factor… oh yes, autumn is truly here. Which is actually a good thing, because it means that I get to force another batch of A/W14 goodies on you (go back and read my River Island collection review NOW) (…please). Today it’s the turn of Missguided, who, if you’ve read our blog for a while, you’ll know we love a ridiculous amount. Their latest drop is nothing short of amazing, and I’ve picked my favourite pieces from the collection. With a mix of monochrome knitwear, winter florals and versatile co-ords, there’s plenty of room for mixing and matching. I therefore think picking up just these 8 pieces could create a complete wardrobe re-vamp for the new season. A bold claim I know. But just LOOK…

Missguided AW 1Fluffy Cropped Jumper and Fluffy Skirt : £14.99 each / Grid Jumper: £17.99

Missguided AW 2Print Playsuit: £24.99 / Maxi Overlay Playsuit: £34.99

Missguided AW 3Cropped Ribbed Turtleneck: £17.99 / Floral Cigarette Trousers: £19.99

Missguided AW 4Aztec Trousers: £19.99 and Aztec Crop: £14.99 / Camel Coat: £39.99

What do you all think of the AW14 collection? Are you convinced my capsule wardrobe claims? Let us know in the comments below!

Outfit of the Day: New Look Duster Coat & ASOS Platforms

New Look Duster Coat 1

Big up to my homegirl Claire for this outfit of the day post, because she has basically influenced it. I’m not sure if I mentioned in my last post where I was wearing these shoes, but Claire and my dear Coventry friends got me these beautiful ASOS dreamboat shoes for my birthday just gone. I have literally not removed them from my feet since then, I love them SO much and they are perfect in every way.

As well as having my back on the shoe front, Claire also introduced me to the wonderful autumn/winter trend that is the duster coat. I’ve well and truly fallen in love, and I invested in my first one this season last weekend. It was actually quite awkward when we both turned up to work on Monday wearing duster coats from New Look, because she had the same idea and got one in dusty pale pink from New Look too! Which, as you may have guessed, is where mine is from. CAN I RAVE ABOUT THIS COAT ANY MORE? No. I absolutely love it, with the fiery passion of a girl who loves duster coats. I really really recommend you go and check their frankly brilliant coat selection out, because you will not be disappointed in any way, shape or form.

New Look Duster Coat 3

I bought this checked wonder for £29.99, which is the biggest bargain of the century. It’s not too thick, so a perfect transitional piece for these weirdly chilly late summer days. I’m enjoying my darker hair with darker colours, so I feel like I can swan about like a bit of a goth in this and feel fabulous. HUZZAH.

I paired it with a leather look tee from F&F, a REALLY old faux-denim skirt from H&M, some faaaaabulous tights sent to me by Luxury Legs (I cannot rave enough about them, they are absolutely brilliant) and my beautiful River Island tote bag (they’re not retailing this badboy online yet as far as I can see).

River Island Black and Gold Bag

Will you be donning the duster coat this A/W?

River Island AW14 Collection: Best Of

It’s terrifying to think it’s been almost 6 months since we shared our favourite pieces from River Island’s SS14 collection; but believe it or not the seasons have changed, the sales have been and gone, and we’re all just one step closer to old age and death…

On that cheery note, there is a BRAND. SPANKING. NEW. collection of River Island clothes to lust after for the coming season, and of course I feel the need to show you all my favey bits. I really feel like RI have upped their game over the last couple of years, going from being – dare I say it? Yes, I dare – a bit trashy (remember when they used to put unnecessary zips on everything?) to now nailing it pretty much every season. The trends page on the RI website has outlined their key collections for AW14, but there are 3 that stand out for me. Without further ado, here is they:

Ri 1Preppy Crew
I remember when preppy fashion used to send me to the brink of nausea (evidently I’m just too street), but then the whole 90s Clueless revival thing happened and suddenly I want to be ‘ugh, as if‘-ing all over the place.This collection is mainly made up of classic basics featuring a lot of neutrals, but materials like leather and the odd bit of fur give it a bit of an edge. Tartan also seems to be sticking around again this winter, though the checks are more oversized.

Rive I 21

Fades of Grey
I don’t know if a colour counts as trend as such, but I’m still loving the amount of grey and silver that River Island are stocking. As a huge monochrome fan who could quite happily exist only in black and white, this at least will break my wardrobe up a bit and stop me looking too much like Beetlejuice. To take full advantage of the colour’s clean, chic vibe, RI are recommending wearing fully grey outfits with only varieties in shade. When I was a young child (okay, I was 14) I one day decided it would be funny to dress fully in grey and jump in front of my mum while she was hoovering and shout “I AM DUST, HOOVER ME!.. so I’m pretty happy about that idea. I might try to same ‘joke’ 10 years on and see if she finds it as unfunny as she did back then..

River Island 3Zenista
Peculiar trend name aside, this is basically all about continuing with our love affair with pastel. This season there seems to be a strong lean towards cool lilacs and blues over the minty shades we saw everywhere last year, and again it’s all about textures. Fluff, fur and leather ahoy.

What do you all think about River Island’s Autumn/Winter collection? Let us know in the comments below!

AW14 Mini-Trend: The Duster Coat

Dusters 3

Buckets full of soz for everyone still clinging onto the dream of summer, but we must face facts that autumn is nearly upon us. Thankfully though, this means we can start getting prepared with autumn/winter shopping and some of next season’s trends are so exciting that we’re sure even the most stubborn sun-worshipping winter hater will look forward to them. Enter mini-trend of the season number 1: the duster coat.

Duster coats are apparently so called because back in the day people wore these long coats when they were riding either on horseback or in carriages, where they would get all dusty from the road. As an olden-days woman I would have been FUMING if my nicely chosen winter outfit had been ruined by dust, so I can understand why dusters were such a biggie. Nowadays, we’re lucky enough to have things like tarmac and car doors to keep us relatively dust-free on our journeys, but that hasn’t stopped duster coats coming back into fashion. Due to their lightweight material, they’ve been spotted out and about during the summer evenings already – but this A/W they’re going to be very big news.

We haven’t actually tried any on yet so we can’t vouch for how the oversized, longer-length jackets are going to look on petite girls. We kind of predict they’re not going to be the most flattering things, but before we see this for ourselves and ruin the dream, we thought we’d share with you some of our fave dusters from the high street. Some of these are already available NOW (so err, what are you waiting for?!) whereas others are due to drop in the next couple of weeks. Duster 1

 

Topshop Checked Duster / River Island Red Duster Jacket / New Look Mint Green Duster Coat

I always used to hate coats because I saw them as total outfit-ruiners, but these fresh, contemporary dusters from Topshop, River Island and New Look respectively show that they can be as much a part of your outfit as what you wear underneath. Both the Topshop check and the River Island bright are statement pieces that are sure to brighten up any outfit, while it’s nice to see pastels sticking around for another winter. The New Look one, which is available in 2 weeks, is also a polyester/wool mix and so will be much warmer than the lightweight dusters we’ve seen so far this S/S.

Duster 2Miss Selfridge Jacquard Duster / New Look Crepe Duster Coat / Topshop Khaki Duster

These three jackets are from the more classic end of the spectrum and so perfect for people who like their coats a bit more neutral. Jacquard is always a popular texture in the winter and the monochrome of this Miss Selfridge coat will mean it goes with everything. New Look and Topshop provide another two corkers; the pale pink New Look coat proves the oversized shape doesn’t need to make the duster masculine, while the Toppers one looks very authentic – I imagine it’d take a dusty road very well indeed.

ASOS also stock a few nice ones and I’ve seen on Instagram that people are snapping up some BEAUTIES from Primark too, so we would definitely recommend checking those out as well. Come payday I plan to launch my own duster coat mission, so I’ll report back on whether it makes us short girls look chic and androgynous, or like a massive sack of potatoes…

What do you all think of the duster coat trend?