PARTYWEAR WITH FINERY LONDON

Finery London is one of those interesting British brands that I really like.  The appeal for me lies in exclusivity; there's an unlikelihood of clocking a fellow Finery-wearer on your daily travels.  

Sure, price points are little more premium than your standard high street stores, but then so is the quality. Cuts are flattering, fabrics are thoughtfully chosen, designs are original as opposed to catwalk carbon copies. I've shopped with Finery for a some time, so I was super happy when the PR team contacted me last month and kindly offered a couple of styles from their party edit. My choices - the silver lurex Finery Baird dress and the Crosslet plum jumpsuit are my kind of party pieces because they don't need much in the way of accessories. I am quite a minimalist dresser (read: lazy) so anything that makes a statement with limited effort is ideal. 

MY FINERY FAVOURITES:

9 OF THE BEST: TEDDY COATS

The big old trend in outerwear this winter is the Teddy Coat trend. For the uninitiated, teddy coats are fuzzy, cuddly and cosy, like your now-deceased childhood bear. I can see why this trend has legs; it’s as cosy and comforting, in essence the sartorial equivalent of a big hug. How to wear? The teddy coat references the seventies trend which is currently HUGE; blue denim and flared jeans are the perfect partners. The best news is that the Teddy Coat trend has infiltrated the high street, there’s a bear for every budget. Here are my favourites: 

Top row from L-R: Grey teddy coat, The Outnet. | Pink teddy coat, Warehouse. | Cream button detail teddy coat, American Vintage. Middle row from L-R: Cream 'Sasha' teddy coat, Weekday. 'Felice' navy teddy coat, Weekday.  Cream faux shearling lined teddy coat, Mango. Bottom row from L - R: Blush Orso teddy coat, Marella. Belted pink teddy coat, Marc Cain. Oversize brown boyfriend coat, Lavish Alice. 

WEAR IT WITH: 

GREY MATTERS: WHAT TO DO IF YOU START GOING GREY HAIR IN YOUR TWENTIES

What to do if you find a stray grey well ahead of pension pot? Reach for the bleach? Go au naturel? Or freak the hell out? That was a decision I faced aged 23. Genetically I haven't been blessed in the follicle department -  early onset greys run in the Green family and by 25 I had a handful of  stray greys that I could no longer ignore. 

Dealing with greys in your twenties is a very personal decision - I have utmost respect for any one who decides to the bypass the bleach and let nature take it's course. A couple of years ago I worked on a shoot with British Vogue Features Director Sarah Harris, who possesses an incredible, ethereal mane of white-grey hair. Combined with her innate sense of style, Sarah's stand-out hair has made her a regular in the fashion week street style round-ups. Turning grey at the tender age of 16,  she decided to embrace her silver shade, tiring of the frequent salon visits to conceal her roots (I really enjoyed reading her honest account in The Telegraph).  However, if you have 95% of your natural colour intact like myself, what's the best solution? 

I have to credit the magical team of colourists at Headmasters for coming to my rescue here. Having been a client for several years, I've received an education on how best to conceal through 'couture colour'. There's some really clever techniques and optical illusions that can be created without spending an absolute fortune / living in the salon. 

EVERYTHING I LEARNT ABOUT DATING IN 2017 (SO FAR)

Hi! Remember that time I wrote a blog about dating in January? Well in-between I went on some more dates, met some interesting characters - artists, bankers, reality TV rejects...it's been an anecdote aggregating exercise if nothing else. Having hit the six month milestone, here's all I have learnt in the dating-sphere of 2017:

WHAT TO BUY IN THE BAUKJEN SALE....

Once in a while you discover a brand that’s 100 percent ‘you’ – and that’s how I feel about Baukjen. 

I find it such an effort to follow fashion, letting most trends pass me by. Interested in clothes and style above fashion, put simply, I find the process of changing my wardrobe from season to season a real pain the ass (not to mention super-wasteful). Which is why the Baukjen aesthetic speaks volumes to me.

Beautiful, timeless investment pieces are Baukjen's speciality - a classic trench coat, real leather leggings, a good quality stripe t-shirt,  a good cotton shirt (add in some blue denim and that's basically my entire wardrobe.) 

On a side note, I also love the models Baukjen cast – woman that showcase an aspirational yet attainable type of beauty, not too young, not too thin, not too groomed (but super-gorgeous, all the same). 

Of course when you're buying quality clothing, price points are slightly higher than the high street. Which is why now is a great time to shop Baukjen as the end of season sale is currently underway - some of the final reductions are real bargains! This is a great time to buy the investment pieces you can wear for seasons to come. For some inspiration, I've put together a little edit below of my favourite buys: 

SHOP:

STYLING THE HOBBS SUMMER COLLECTION

Just a few words today - sometimes clothes do the talking for you and I think this is definitely the case with this Hobbs trench coat. I stopped by the Hobbs autumn/winter press day in April and I'm rather excited by what the brand has in store for next season. The cocktail dresses and events-dressing pieces were particularly lovely as were these jewel green velvety flat shoes.

This amazing piece is The Madison Trench. Somewhere between a trench coat and duster jacket, the soft tencel fabric is very light and fluid, making it spot-on for summer. Of course the main event of this style is the intricately smocked back, which is crazy beautiful. I think it has a real Burberry feel, with a much lower price tag. I've styled it here with jeans (forever dressing with comfort in mind) but it’s also a good event dressing piece – you could throw it on over your dress at the races or a wedding and still feel dressed-up (there's nothing worse that hiding a fab outfit with an old coat, right?). Just one word of warning, this coat is long, so if you're petite it might swamp you (I'm a big-ish bird - 5'10). It's also in sale right now, so if you needed an excuse... 

SHOP THE LOOK / SIMILAR: 

FESTIVAL FASHION INSPO

When it comes to festival fashion, in the words of J-Lo - I like to cut loose. There’s no better time to experiment - sequins, trinkets, colour, glitter, tie-dye, star-prints... If you’re a fellow sequin fiend, look up London designer Ashish Gupta. I’ve been to several Ashish shows and they’re a riot of colour, fun and inspiration. On the high street, my go-to sequin supplier is Jaded London. I wore this amazing rainbow sequin bodysuit on New Year’s Eve and received so many compliments about it. 

It goes without saying, trinkets complete a festival outfit. I might be biased, but I think RUIFIER's Friends bracelets are the perfect festival accessories; layer up the colourful cords for rainbow wrists. Astley Clarke’s latest collections have also caught my eye – the affordable gemstone pieces will add colour and I am completely obsessed with the little globe motifs.

Festival beauty also offers an opportunity to embrace a fun aesthetic – I’ve just discovered a great beauty brand that is perfect for the season founded by Doe Deere - LimeCrime. Doe’s temporary ‘Unicorn Hair’ dyes are vegan and cruelty free, if I had bleached enough hair I’d be allover these (I’m so desperate to have pink hair, you can't imagine). The big make up trend this summer is glitter 'freckles' as seen at Dior Haute Couture. This is weirdly practical too, there's no prettier way to hide festival day-2 under eye bags! 

1. Biodegradable glitter, In Your Dreams. 2. Friends Happy Bracelet, RUIFIER. 3. Earth Biography pendant, Astley Clarke. 4. Unicorn Hair, LimeCrime. 5. Boyfriend shorts, Topshop. 6. The Goldie Star Struck dress - Realisation Par. 7. High-tops, Converse. 8. Mini Earth pendant, Astley Clarke. 9. Mini dress, Jaded London. 10. Star ear cuffs, Tada and Toy. 11. Trainers, Sophia Webster. 

JUMPIN' JUMPIN' (AKA I LOVE JUMPSUITS)

Let's talk about the SS17 jumpsuit trend. I shouldn’t admit this when I have a fashion blog – but I’m fairly hopeless when it comes to assembling outfits. I have to think long and hard about what goes with what, and even then, there’s usually an element that’s off-kilter (generally the bloody shoes. Why the f*** is it so tricky to find the right shoes?) 

Which is why I’m very in favour of an all-in-one. Jumpsuits / dungarees / playsuits / boilersuits; whichever your onesie of choice, they are a failsafe purchase if you’re rubbish at getting dressed like me. 

I'm wearing: Jumpsuit: Great Plains c/o [in the sale yassss] | Lace up sandals: Boden [in sale also!] | Sunglasses: Karen Walker | Chelsea Crossbody Bag: Loxley England

More all-in-ones to that I heart:

FEMINISM IS IN FASHION, BUT IS FASHION FEMINIST?

Feminism is in fashion - tangibly. With every high street shop selling t-shirts baring feminist slogans, Instagram is awash with influencers wearing their pro-female feels. It’s an interesting zeitgeist, given the fashion industry can receive a bad rap where feminism is concerned.

The Devil Wears Prada will have you believe fashion is a bitchy industry, built upon female-to-female competition. The relationship between protagonist Andy Sachs and her colleague Emily is fraught and wholly unsupportive, whilst Runway magazine editor Miranda Priestly shows only a small flicker of humanity as the book draws to a close.

The media will have you believe fashion is responsible for female body dysmorphia; fashion week wouldn't be fashion week without some tired criticism levelled at designers for sending gaunt girls down the catwalks. And the models are often stereotyped as half-starved characters with low IQ’s, exploited at the hands of the industry. The reality? In my experience, the above preconceptions couldn’t be more wrong.


I'm wearing: Skirt - Havren (old) similar | Crew neck jumper - WoolOvers c/o | Glasses: Bailey Nelson UK | Bag: Loxley England | Shoes: Topshop 

HOW TO LOOK AFTER YOUR SKIN IN YOUR LATE TWENTIES

Last month I entered the final year of my twenties with an outrageously camp pink birthday party. Now, I have never been one to freak out about birthdays and turning 30 is no biggie in my book. But what I will say is that recently I’ve noticed some of the physical changes that inevitably come with age. Nothing too major, just a few frown lines and an inability to look anything less than a complete troll with a hangover.  Consequently, I’ve changed up my beauty routine and introduced some new products and rituals that I can definitely see are having a positive effect. Here’s the five changes I’ve made and some of my the products I’ve discovered along the way: 

SHOP THE POST:

THE LONDON LIMBO: WHY LIVING IN THE CAPITAL ISN'T ALL IT'S CUT OUT TO BE

Are the streets of London really paved with gold? When I moved to the big smoke seven years ago I was full of expectation, with dreams to rival Dick Whittington’s.

The reality? Perhaps the streets of the City are where fortunes are found, but the rest of capital is more likely to bleed you dry than bolster your bank account (and on a Friday night you’ll find the streets of the City are paved with vomit, not cash money). 

9 OF THE BEST SLOGAN T-SHIRTS

Slogan tees are so much more than the some of their fabricated parts. Why? Well, I'm not a very cool person. In truth, I'm a granny pant-wearing, National Trust property-frequenting, chia seed-consuming all-out nerd. Which is why sometimes I rely on my outfit choices to conceal the geek that belies the fashion-referencing exterior. Now if there's one item of clothing that simply says 'I'm cool customer', it's a slogan t-shirt. Don't ask me why - it just does. So this season I'll be relying heavily on some wardrobe witticisms to transmit that sense of cool I'm a little lacking. And here's 9 of best slogan tees:

Top row from L-R: Formidable t-shirt: Zoe Karssen | Good Life t-shirt: Etre Cecile |  Middle row from L-R: Females of the future: Topshop | Cherry bomb t-shirt: Ganni | Be Good or be gone t-shirt: Zoe Karssen  Bottom row from L-R: God saw you do that t-shirt: PSC The Brand | Fit t-shirt: Into Dust | Popular t-shirt: Etre Cecile 

FINISH THE LOOK:

TIME TO DISCONNECT

Hello my name is Sophie and I am addicted to notifications. My story? From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep I’m pressing refresh on a plethora of platforms. And the addiction isn't limited to my spare time; working in the field of Communications, I’m constantly connected, constantly watching real-time analytics, constantly chasing the next Insta-high. I can trace the obsession back to the moment I acquired my first iPhone upon the break-up of a long-term relationship. The empty void in my bed was filled with virtual distraction and a collection of cookies, and the rest is (browsing) history. 

FIVE WORK OUT TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

The Bleep Test has a lot to answer for. Ask any millennial with an ineptitude for sport and they’ll probably cite it as the reason they skipped PE class for the next decade.  As a teen I always thought exercise wasn’t for me – it was something ‘other people did’. Then, in my early twenties, I moved to London and discovered I had unintentionally upped sticks to the sportiest area of the city - you can’t move for joggers and protein shakes in Clapham. And so the exercise bug infected me (albeit very slowly), but not without it’s teething problems. As a total novice, I was clueless about working out and made every mistake in the book (HI SPORTS INJURIES). So I thought I’d share the tips that I wish I’d had to guide me along the way: 

FIVE DATING MISTAKES I MADE IN 2016

My most read blog of 2016? August's dating post, by a mile. Post-publishing, several lovely things happened to me. I received a couple of job offers. I was sent some kind messages complimenting my writing (which meant the world, words have always been my passion). And - most encouraging of all - single acquaintances, some close, some distant, some male, some female, began to confide in me. When you're in a relationship, it's easy to forget that being single can be a lonely business, which is why opening the conversation, sharing advice, laughing at the disasters, are an important part of the process. 

I'm not sure where to begin when I review the 6 months of dating that followed my previous blog. It's been eventful, but rest assured my 'love life' (I'm using this term loosely) is as tragicomedy as ever. Dating in a small pool - (don't be deceived by square footage - London is an incestuous hotbed) delivers a plethora of comedic moments. In December alone I bumped into a grand total of three ghosts of my Tinder past - in the club, in the pub, at Sainsbury's self checkouts... if Dickens had been alive today it would have made a compelling narrative for Christmas Carol; The Sequel. 

And so to a new year and new chapter...although I already have a weird sense of dating deja vu - the characters are new, but the stories are the same. In an effort to impede groundhog day, I've put fingers to keyboard and typed up the dating mistakes I made in 2016 that I'm vowing not to repeat 2017. And if you're also single, hopefully you can learn from my mistakes, too!