WITH LOVE, FROM PARIS

Photos - Katrina Porter

Paris, the city of love. Such a beautiful city with lots to see, and a lot for free if you are under the age of 26. Thankfully we went a couple of months before my 26th birthday. Even on the Euro star, I was classed as a youth at the grand age of 25. We got free entry to things such as museums including the Louvre, however I did have to pay for an adult ticket to visit the Eiffel Tower. But I made it all the way to the top finally after many failed attempts in the past!  It was another busy day with lots of walking, so again I wanted to wear a nice but practical outfit. As you can see from the photos, it wasn't a clear day. Thankfully it didn't rain. I am the type of girl that packs about 37 different outfits for a weekend away. Come rain, snow, sunshine, the apocalypse ... I am prepared! As well as a few 'just in case' outfits.

I love spring style as I am obsessed with pastel colours. You can mix and match with different colours and it will never look over-powering. My faux fur (always faux, never real!) coat is from Depop. It's a great way to sell unwanted clothes and buy ones for a fraction of the original price. You can recycle clothes and save / earn pennies in the process. My mauve knitted body con dress is defiantly the comfiest dress I own. You can wear it both dressy or casual. Due to the vast amount of walking, I of course went for flat shoes. My feet were still recovering from Disney the previous day so there was no chance of me opting for anything else. Finally I added a statement yellow bag to break up all the pinks and purples while sticking to the light colour scheme. 

COAT - Depop / DRESS - Miss Guided / SHOES - New Look / BAG - River Island

BY THE SEASIDE

The one thing I love about living by the seaside is that when summer hits, I only have to step out of my front door and I'm by the beach. It doesn't matter how chaotic life gets, looking out to sea always gives this sense of calmness. With the weather being warm, I was able to just throw on a shirt dress and added heels to dress it up. The shirt dress that I am wearing in this post is from In The Style, a website that I'm officially addicted to right now. They have many great celebrity collaborations including Charlotte Crosby, Binky, Billie Faiers and most recently fashion blogger Sarah Ashcroft. This shirt dress is part of Charlotte Crosby's collection. I love her style as it is girly with a little bit of edginess to it.

This outfit is simple, so is great if you're ever in a rush to go out. Shirt dress, heels and go! Having dark brown hair, I very into camouflage type colours such as khaki, grey and camel. I feel these tones compliment my hair colour quite well. This dress has a baggy fit to it, which is handy when we are feeling a bit bloated. I added a pair of grey boots as I always like to be dressed up for every occasion. I've always been told "It's better to be over-dressed than under-dressed." I think this dress would look great in a pair of sandles or to put on while on holiday. It can go from day to night so easily.

DRESS - In The Style / BOOTS - Quiz / BAG - Primark / BAG ACCESSORIES - Dash

MIRINA FAMOUS COLLECTIONS

Firstly, thank you Mirina Collections for choosing me as a Brand Ambassador for you beautiful jewellery. This stunning statement piece is great to use both day and night and can brighten up any outfit. The gems within this necklace change colour depending on what light you are in at the time. This means your outfit will be ever changing which will keep it looking fresh and exciting.

As my statement piece is so colourful, I decided to stick to a simple little black dress and boots. This allows the accessory to stand out even more. Wearing boots instead of heels makes this a great outfit if you need it to go from day to night. If it's still abit cold out, throw over a fabulous faux fur coat to finish the look off. I chose a pastel grey colour coat which I found on Depop to match the colours and silver frame of the necklace.

Get your exclusive 20% discount using code 'mirinagirls' at the checkout at www.mirinacollections.com.

NECKLACE - Mirina Collections / COAT - Depop / DRESS - Miss Guided / BOOTS - Quiz

LONDON FASHION WEEKEND SEPT 16

So it's that time of year again, London Fashion Week, Unfortunately I wasn't quite invited to the frows of shows like Julian MacDonald and Sophia Webster (maybe next February), but at least I got to see a piece of the action at London Fashion Weekend. It was held at the beautiful Saatchi Gallery in the Chelsea area unlike previous years at Somerset House. I was rubbing shoulders with many big names from world famous designers like Jimmy Choo to reality stars such as Paisley Billings of Tattoo Fixers. You could tell it was a star studded event from the stunning architecture of the building to the many rooms fulled with designer clothes.

I must admit, most of the clothes were slightly out of my price range as they reached hundreds of pounds but hey, who doesn't like window shopping?! Being the last day of London Fashion Weekend, most of the clothes in my size had gone during the previous days. Being 5 foot 1, size 4 on top and 6 on the bottom, XS is the only size I can really fit into. It was a blessing in disguise though as I wasn't tempted to blow a weeks wages on an item of clothing.

It was time for the catwalk and it was focused on the latest trends for A/W16. We sat on the second row so we had a great view. On top of this, three gorgeous male models sat in front of us on the frow so I had two great views. The three major trends for this season include lace, velvet and winter florals. The models wore items of clothing that can be purchased on Avenue 32 which means we can get our hands on the latest trends right now! You can already see essences of these trends in high street shops with many garments now featuring embroidered florals and lace inserts. I'm so excited for these trends and I can't wait to see what items the high street stores will bring out over the next coming weeks.

After a full day of window shopping and catwalk watching, we made a quick dash to Zara across the road. So in the end, I didn't leave Chelsea empty handed after all! 

DRESS - Quiz / BOOTS - Quiz / BAG - New Look / BAG ACCESSORY - Dash

SUMMER FLOWERS

 

 One of the things that I love about the summer months is that you can still dress up for the day time. If you're just going to work or seeing friends, there is no reason that you can't wear a dress and look pretty. This dress that is featured in this post is from Quiz, and is currently in their end of summer sale. Bargin! Floral patterns will always be the height of spring/summer fashion, and as this is a simple skater dress you know it will always be in fashion year in year out. There's nothing worst than buying a garment that goes out of fashion as quick as it came in. When I go shopping for a new outfit, I always think it's worth your while going for something a little simpler so you know you will get your money's worth out of it. 

This gorgeous dress is also perfect to transfer from day to night. All is needed is a simple shoe swap. Comfy ballet flats (as seen in the pictures above) that can be changed with some white, nude or pink heels. Every day-time outfit needs a handbag to store all your daily necessities. This cute little pastel bag is from River Island, and although it does look small, there are numerous compartments to fit everything in. It's your typical Mary Poppins bag.  Due to the floral pattern on the garment, you won't need to add many (if not none) accessories to this outfit. Here I am just wearing my simple Pandora bracelet and rings and I feel that is all that I personally need. I love the fact that you can't look over dressed for the day time in this dress, therefore this is a definite go-to outfit what ever the occasion. If you have that first date or a family BBQ, you are dressing to impress effortlessly.

DRESS - Quiz / SHOES - New Look / BAG - River Island / JEWELRY - Pandora