Wishful Wednesday (Topshop edition)

1. Horse print pencil skirt £28 | 2. Elephant print joggers £35 | 3. Floral printed shift dress £48 | 4. White mesh panel skirt £25 | 5. Orange joggers £40 TOPSHOP | 6. Zebra cut-out skater dress £45 | 7. Bold stripe crop top £14

1. This skirt has something about it which appeals to me, I've never worn something like this, ever, but there's just something.  I think maybe the colours?  Would look so good with a loose white t-shirt and some Converse, non?
2. I reeeeeeally want these because of the elephants.  That's it.  Y'know cat lovers buy everything which has a cat on it?  Well I'm the same, but with elephants instead.  They have the dungarees in the same print - swoooon! - but maybe they're a bit too expensive.  These are awesome.  I still can't afford them, but JUST STAY IN STOCK PLZ.
3. This dress really isn't my usual type of thing but I liked it straight away.  Please be mine for summer.
4. I'm really into the whole mesh panel trend since the Alexander Wang collection, so this skirt would be a perfect nod to that.  I'd like to wear lots of white this summer too.
5. The colour of these, and the fit!  Lush.  I'd wear these with a crop top and my loyal Chucks.
6. I think the thing I like most about this is the unusual triangle cut-outs, but it'd be the perfect dress for when it gets warmer.  Plus, if you look reeeeeeeally close, you can see the tiny little zebras.
7. I like monochrome stripes as they look awesome with some red lipstick, how great would this one look with the orange joggers?

Floral

Oversized floral poppy print t-shirt dress: TOPSHOP | Gold chunky necklace & white round sunglasses: ASOS | Blue boyfriend blazer coat: RIVER ISLAND | Shoes: CONVERSE

Today brings a relaxed, slouchy yet stylish outfit.  I haven't worn this dress in a while but my mum inspired me to wear it again after she said how she wore it with this blue coat, and I said 'Oh I bet they looked good together' and made a note to myself to try them together myself, and here we are.  This dress would have looked nowhere near as good with my bulky black coat as it does with this one, so I'm pretty sure splashing out on it has been justified now.  I'm glad we're all in agreement on that.
I bought the dress ages ago, I'm sure you would have seen it at some point as I've seen a few pictures of others wearing it.  As you can see I'm not one to shy away from bright, bold colours.  It was a mere £25, which is pretty damn cheap... Well, for Topshop.  It's like that alphabet top from Primark and everyone who has bought it is complaining about how expensive it is - it's £12.
I'll let you in on a little secret: this dress is actually an oversized t-shirt.  And they obviously really meant it when they described it as 'oversized' as here I am wearing it as a dress.  A short dress, but a dress all the same.  I bought it knowing this is how I would wear it, though, so it's not something which I'm complaining about.  Throw on some tights and a statement necklace and you're ready to go.  I'm looking forward to wearing this in the summer on its own, or maybe with a large denim jacket.
I got my back tattoos touched up today, hurt like a bitch, what you gonna do.  Good job I take pain like Batman, i.e. very well.  I didn't get another tattoo but I will be very soon, so I can't say I did well in resisting the temptation...  I've already visited the place four times in the last month, whoopsies.

Bang bang, gorilla

Floral playsuit: TOPSHOP | Watch: RIVER ISLAND | Shoes: CONVERSE

I'm doing that much shopping this month that only now am I getting round to showing you this playsuit.  I bought it a few weeks ago in the sales and it was reduced from £48 to £20.  BARGAIN.  I'd never seen it before I'd seen it in the sales, either that or I just hadn't noticed it.  I've said before that I'm aiming to buy pieces this year which I wouldn't usually go for, and this playsuit is definitely one.  In fact I didn't even own a playsuit before now, but this was actually one of my favourite sale items I bought out of the lot.  The fact that it was reduced by more than 50% helped a lot, too.
I like the colours a lot and the silk material is pretty fine.  It's not the easiest thing to go pee pee in but, hey, a girl's gotta do what she gotta do.
Something that's better than finding something which would go perfectly with your Converse, is finding something which wouldn't match your Converse but would create an awesome contrast - this playsuit is one of those things.  You wouldn't expect casual sneakers to match this glam piece of clothing, and they don't, but I like that.  I also adore how my tattoo looks against the feminine floral pattern too.
I suppose you could argue that this isn't easy to style.  It's more of an item you buy to go out for a night in and then never wear again.  Seeing as I don't go out though, when I buy things I always plan to be wearing them numerous times in the future.  After thinking about it I could easily pair a jumper with it (which I've already done, tick) or cover the bottom half with a skirt.  Or even a shirt underneath... Yeah, there's a lot of ideas and I won't be getting bored of it anytime soon.  Am so glad I bought this.
Am back home from uni now, yay!  Starting uni has made me appreciate being at home lots more and even though my mum's disappointed she didn't get rid of me when I moved to a different city (I joke) I'm always happy when at home, whether that's doing something or nothing.  Mum has the day off tomorrow - yay! - and I'm not sure what we're doing but it's always nice to spend time together anyway.  We want to go see Les Mis but haven't found the time yet, so maybe we'll do that.  I've heard lots of good things about it on Twitter, but it had me at Hugh Jackman's face, so...

Wishful Wednesday

1. Black contrast hem skirt £35 TOPSHOP |
2. Floral printed organza prom dress £55 MISS SELFRIDGE |
3. Black tassle loafers £32 TOPSHOP | 4. Charcoal midi dress £14.99 ARK |
5. Yellow knit beanie hat £3.99 H&M | 6. Glitter print bodycon dress £45 WAREHOUSE |
7. Berry velvet blazer £20 RIVER ISLAND | 8. Skeleton tee £20 TOPSHOP |

1. This skirt is such a versatile piece, especially for autumn/winter time.  The contrast in textures gives it that little something to stop it being just a boring, black item.
2. This dress is so beautiful, I can't even stand it.  The print, the shape, the colours... everything.  Please, Father Christmas, I've been awfully good...
3. Everyone needs a pair of old man shoes, right?  Quite a far step away from my usual Converse, but teaming these with a grungy band tee would be so damn perfect.
4. I really want to own a midi dress so I can wear it with hi-tops to give it a cool, sporty twist.  Then add a bomber jacket and a gold, chunky chain necklace and you're ready to go.
5. What better way to inject some colour into your winter wardrobe than with a bright beanie hat?  I really like this colour, and the green one they have, too.
6. Quite a formal piece, but I'd dress it down.  I really like the subtle sparkle which this dress has.
7. I was browsing the River Island sale when I came across this.  Velvet is always a big hit in the colder months, this would look great simply thrown over a little black dress.
8. I have a thing for cool, printed tees, and this one would be such a great addition to my collection.

We're beautiful like diamonds in the sky

Poppy floral oversized tee & black coated bowling bag: TOPSHOP | Rib beanie hat & chunky chain necklace: ASOS | Shoes: CONVERSE

I showed you yesterday the things which I've been buying over the past month, and the first thing I purchased was this floral print tee (which I'm wearing as a dress, obviously).  I featured it on one of my 'Wishful Wednesday' post some weeks ago, when I wasn't actually meant to be spending any money, but you know when you just see something and you think 'I'm gonna pretend, for now, that I'm not gonna buy it, but I know I will end up getting it anyway'?  Well that's what I did with this.  There's something about the colours (and the very reasonable price, for Topshop) which makes it too hard to resist, even more so when it's in the store staring at you, in all of its floral glory.
I think the large print and the black base immediately makes it appropriate for winter and suitable for pairing it with tights, as well as going without them in the summer.  Don't you just love it when you find an item which you can wear all year round?  Before I buy something I always consider whether it will work for all the seasons or not.  The bold, colourful print was practically asking me to pair it with my green beanie hat, immediately creating a contrast which I love.  Because the length is quite short I could also wear it under a skirt, and it looks great with my red Converse, as well as with my blue ones.  I think my bowler hat would be a perfect alternative to my beanie, too.  I can't wait to wear this in lots of different ways!
So university life is going okay.  I live with four other people who seem really nice, and there's lots of lovely, fashionable girls on my course.  Seeing other people with a great sense of style is kind of a big deal to me, as Burnley is full of leggings and, well, that's it, so Manchester is definitely a nice change in that respect.  The weather has been absolutely rubbish with non-stop rain for the past couple of days, but it's finally brightening up today and it feels like I haven't seen dry ground in about a week.  I think I'm going home this weekend again, but I'll be sleeping on the sofa as my lovely brother has pinched my room.
The bloody cheek of it.
Oh, and have you heard Rihanna's new single 'Diamonds'?  I've been waiting for its release ever since I heard she was releasing a new album, and I can safely say after the first ten seconds of listening to it I knew I was going to love it.  I have had it on repeat since yesterday, and the lyrics are beautiful.  God, I hope I get to see her on tour next year!

Wishful Wednesday

1. Floral shirt £19.99 H&M |
2. Cut-out shoulder tunic £28 TRULY MADLY DEEPLY via URBAN OUTFITTERS |
3. Paisley print shirt £40 ASOS | 4. Ribcage burnout tee £22 PROJECT SOCIAL T via TOPSHOP |
5. Indigo acid high-rise cigarette jeans £50 BDG via URBAN OUTFITTERS |
6. Batman print shoes £53 CONVERSE

1.   I've seen this shirt worn by a few girls on their blogs now, and I really like it, the colours are so priddyyy.  In typical H&M style it's much cheaper than you think it would be, too.  Bonus.
2. I really like cut-out shoulders but am yet still to add a top with them to my wardrobe, I like how this one's casual and would look great teamed simply with a pair of skinnies and some Chucks.
3. Paisley's huge this season.  Mixing prints is even bigger.  This shirt does both.
4. Who can resist a cool tee?  I mean, really.
5. I love me some grunge, so these jeans would be perfect.  They would create a really nice contrast with a crisp, white shirt.
6. Converse & Batman combined?  COUNT ME IN.  (Watch out for a post tomorrow, if you like these, you need to see what I've bought today!)

Three ways to wear... A floral shirt

Floral shirt: RIVER ISLAND

... With bright coloured skinny jeans: Sometimes with strong prints people tend to try to tone them down with more neutral items.  I, however, am going the complete other way with this outfit and really bringing out all the colours of the shirt with these neon pink jeans.  I did de-girlie the outfit though, with this casual pair of Converse.
... Under a skater dress: If you own a button-up shirt and a dress, I suggest you try combining them both together.  I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the outcome.  Finding a different way to wear a dress should always be welcomed, as they're not as versatile as separates can be.
... With a short skirt & faux fur: I gothed it up a bit in this look, but I think teaming the shirt with black makes the colours in the shirt pop just as much as the neon jeans do.  If I have my legs on show I usually button the shirt to the top and don't roll the sleeves up, to balance it out.  I'd definitely recommend investing in a faux fur gilet, as it is such a great layering piece.

But girl tonight you look so pretty

Green cable knit jumper: ZARA | Gold chunky chain necklace: ASOS |
Red daisy print dress, black bowler hat & black bowling bag: TOPSHOP |
Shoes: CONVERSE | Orange neon nail polish: AMERICAN APPAREL

As you can probably tell from this outfit and my last one, winter is quickly approaching, and my outfits are happy to adapt.  I've already purchased a couple of new chunky knit jumpers, including this one, and I can't wait to add more to my collection, in a variety of colours.  I have mentioned this jumper on the blog before when I included it in one of my 'Wishful Wednesday' posts a few weeks ago.  I think dark green is my favourite colour to wear in the A/W months, and this knit was only twenty pounds (whaaat?), so it was only a matter of time before I added it to my online shopping basket.  Thankfully I bought the biggest size available (a 'large') as the arms are quite fitted and on the medium they would have been too short.  I am so pleased with it, I was expecting quite thin material because of how much I paid, but it is quite thick and you definitely get your money's worth.  I have worn it numerous times already - with a black skirt or shorts - but today I decided to take another route and wear it over a red dress.  Now I usually avoid wearing dark green and red together because together it's a very Christmassy combination, but thankfully I think the daisy print pulled it out of this territory, so I just went for it.  I wasn't sure about this dress the last time I wore it as I wasn't sure there's many ways one could wear it, so I was happy to throw a jumper over it, giving me another way to wear this dress.  I think it would look amazing with the bright, yellow jumper which I wore in my last outfit post, too.
The accessories today are pretty much the same as the other day - the hat, the bag and my new favourite, statement necklace.  I can't get enough of this hat, I've been wearing my beanie quite a lot lately which is more of a grungy item, so it's great to take my style in another direction with this bowler hat.  I'm not much a bag kinda' girl, don't get me wrong I appreciate all different kind of handbags, but I'd rather spend my money on clothes and shoes whilst just having one bag.  Hence why my new one is PERFECT.  It's just like my last bag except in a black colour, and hello, black goes with everything in winter.  I am definitely over the whole pastels thing now and happily embracing the darker colours, so you'll be seeing this in pretty much every outfit post from now on.
Don't you just love my new neon nail varnish?  It has a bit more of a yellow tone to it in these pictures, but in person it's like WOW.  I've been lusting after the neon varnishes from American Apparel for a few months now, and finally I purchased them in this colour, the bright yellow and the pink/coral shade.  As I said the other day, the yellow's staying time is absolutely rubbish and how it applies is nasty (still an AWESOME colour, let me add), but I've had none of these issues with the other two.  I think they add the perfect pop of bright colour to any outfit, so I will be sporting these for the next few weeks, until the novelty wears off (if ever).
Hope you all have a nice weekend!  After two hours on buses yesterday night I am home for the weekend, my brother has already claimed my bedroom as his own (naturally), but it's nice to be back for a while!  Even if I have been gone for less than a week...