fashion Archives - fashion food

The stain magnet

August 4, 2015 by ellied

URBAN OUTFITTERS clogs (here)
TOPSHOP shirt dress (similar here and here)

Within 10 minutes of putting on this shirt dress, I seem to attract spillages. Every single time. Water is 95% more likely to spray on me than if I were to be wearing any other garment. I can assure you, this fabric has no water-wicking properties whatsoever. I’m not one to care for minor stains, as an art student I’m used to a little mess and this old Topshop number and rather resembles an old painter’s shirt. But, where do you overstep the ‘laidback’ line? I seem to be fitting the wire-haired artist look with the scraped back hair but embrace the stains, become a painter.

Fringing on Friday

July 31, 2015 by ellied

FF – Fringe Fridays – do you reckon it’ll become a thing? Nothing says “it’s Friday!!!” like a little bit of fringe. I mean c’mon, it invites you to swing in celebration as you embrace Saturday with open arms and the tassels brush against your leg in the breeze. Apart from getting caught on door handles, in zips and other such impracticalities, I can find no major fault in the magnificent trim that allows you to feel like you’re about to go to a party. Oh, by the way, don’t ask why my legs were crossed in every single shot…I didn’t need to go to the toilet, no.

ZARA dress (here)
TOPSHOP sunglasses (similar here)
Greek sandals (similar here and here)

Spring Clean

April 1, 2015 by ellied

Happy 1st April! A little eager for summer, I’m welcoming Spring with a crisp white attire – which, a green smoothie, some turmeric and a couple of spoonfuls of peanut butter later, won’t be very white for long, I can assure you. Wearing white-on-white almost makes me feel as though I’m not wearing monochrome and feel a little less bad about avoiding colour…even though I very clearly am still wearing monochrome? I’m liking the contrast between the ragged, frayed jeans and the tailored look of the dress; definitely an easy way to dress down the open-back Zara number.

Maybe it’s vitamin D getting to my head from the brief appearance of the sun, but I’m feeling a little bit of spring ‘optimism and youth’ and re-living my childhood sartorial choices with the dress and jeans combo – a mix that has somewhat evolved from the days of floral Boden dress and pink corduroy trousers. Someone get the S Club 7 CD on quick.

ZARA dress
ASOS jacket + shoes
TOPSHOP jeans

Bold Stripes

January 11, 2015 by ellied

I don’t know what it is about this dress that makes me feel like I belong in the Sound of Music, but I love the Sound of Music so I can roll with that. I think it has something to do with the bold inset stripes around the collar that mirror the iconic uniforms of the von Trapp children, whilst the flouncy, slightly dipped hem skirt makes me want to spin uncontrollable like Maria von Trapp in the hills. However, I’m not a optimistic as Maria and I’ll spare you my rendition of The Hills are Alive.

Hanging unaccompanied on a rack in H&M, I thought it was best I gave this gorgeous dress a loving home. I had spotted a similar dress earlier on in the year whilst browsing the J Crew website (link above) and so was thrilled when I found this almost identical tunic. The sleek fit of the dress makes the drape comfortable and gives a slightly over-sized look, whilst the cut also fits the figure well. I look forward to wearing this in the summer, when I can finally ditch the Primark tights for a couple of months and take complete advantage of this full and floaty skirt. I have paired it with my beloved leather jacket to toughen this look up a bit and had intended to capture more shots of the jacket but camera issues took over.

H&M dress (similar here)
ASOS jacket
TOPSHOP shoes

I just wanted to briefly mention that I’m going to try to update the blog as regularly as possible, but at the moment school/Saturday job/lack of sunlight life seem to be getting in the way. I have a lot of ideas for recipe posts and other blog content whirling around in my head that I just put my words into action and get into swing of things!

New Year Inspiration

January 1, 2015 by ellied

c4672acb3fabf4294093ce7772025209 Caroline Issa

Since it’s the time for change, I’ve set myself a little resolution that I think I can manage this year. I’m going to take the very, very brave step in adding more colour into my wardrobe. Nothing too scary right? As much as the minimal approach to dressing is simple and classic, I’m having colour withdrawals and seeing as it’s the new year there’s no better time to re-evaluate my wardrobe choices. I don’t think I can quite justify putting on a red lip as the only means of brightening my monochrome outfits any more. I made a vow to myself at the start of December that I wasn’t allowed to purchase any item of clothing in the colour black, however, every piece I had bought since making the statement was in either black or white. So, instead I’m starting now.

I received the Refinery 29 ‘Style Stalking’ book for Christmas this year and on opening the first couple of pages, I was immediately met with a word that has subconsciously faded from my vocabulary – Brights. Don’t get me wrong, I love colour but there seems to be a compete lack of it on my rail. At first glance, I quickly flicked through the images of bold blue two pieces, vibrant winter coats and neon midi skirts spread across the opening pages. Hm, they look great, I thought, but just not very…me? Then I saw the Q&A section with Solange Knowles, the glowing goddess of colourful dressing, who said “sometimes looking like a Crayola box is more fun” and I think it’s time I took the advice of this fabulous lady. Speaking of the which, can I just mention the fact that I have still not quite fully recovered from the photographs from her wedding day. Ultimate goals.

Browsing through bright street style images on Pinterest, I noticed one colour that really stood out for me. I have always loved the colour red, and I don’t know if it’s because of the festive time of year but I think it’s one colour that just looks fantastic and gorgeous on anyone. Move over “All White Everything”, it’s all about those All Red outfits now.

I have featured below a few of red looks that are particularly inspiring. I love the red ensemble worn by Pandora Sykes, which looks great paired with a contrasting leopard print clutch. The eye catching two-piece suits also look great, a versatile addition to the wardrobe for an easy daytime look or a formal evening garment. As always, Leandra gets it right with the split mini, lace and monochrome brogues – which I would definitely work for a laid back, yet stunning, option for a prom or event. I ~~want~~ need those shoes in my life.

Happy 2015, I hope you all had wonderful NYE celebrations and have a healthy, happy (and bright) year ahead.

18a4de87127090a9d37731db9778a588 Leandra Medine – The Man Repeller

360cde95166f03b906d236451c60e38e Image via WhoWhatWear

37587df1d3e5a3678f30243884c028f5 Alexa Chung

Caroline Issa

Pandora Sykes

ba82d9c3ea0f678af58b84c93c80bcad Poppy Delevingne

Gary Pepper Girl

Leandra Medine – Man Repeller

via Vogue

Knee highs

December 28, 2014 by ellied

UNIQLO jumper
ALL SAINTS skirt
H&M socks and bracelet
TOPSHOP boots

Having been absent from my life since about Year Nine, over-the-knee socks have made a very warm welcome back into my life and my chest of draws. I feel like I’m channelling my inner Britney ~ Hit Me Baby One More Time ~ swapping the polyester grey school skirt, for a little chic-er leather All Saints mini. Someone pass the pink fluffy scrunchies.

Black and blue

November 30, 2014 by ellied

BACKROOM jacket
UNIQLO jumper
H&M trousers (similar)
ASOS shoes (similar)

A very navy and black themed outfit today, styling this great sleeveless jacket from lovely people at Backroom. Certain I’d miss coat sleeves, paired with this thick wool Uniqlo turtleneck, I was actually pretty cosy on this chilly last Sunday of November (where has the year gone?!). I love how easy and versatile this sleeveless coat is – which would also be ideal thrown over an easy dress for an evening out, or paired with some skinny jeans and a pair of chunky boots for an very effortless look. I don’t know if I went a teeny bit overboard with the co-ordination but I liked the matching of the jacket’s navy panels and the trousers, and of course, went for a faux pony skin bag and pointy loafer combo too. My love for pointy shoes is continuously growing and I was super excited waiting for these beauties to arrive – probably the last purchase I’ll be making on myself for the rest of the year as Christmas shopping and saving for next summer is key right now. Attempting to fight the urge to make a purchase with Asos’ 20% off promotion…who’s with me?

Hola Coat Season

October 4, 2014 by ellied

GAP coat (similar here), MANGO shirt, H&M skirt and necklace, DUNE shoes.

There’s a great feeling you get when wearing a coat with bare legs; it’s like a big coat and sunglasses combo, you just feel good. Unfortunately, this may be the only bare-leg-coat outing I’ll be braving this season as the weather will probably be dropping to -12842°C; this country doesn’t seem to recognise transitional-autumnal weather and just plummets straight into the icy depths of winter. A slight exaggeration perhaps, but the constants rainy, grey, dreary weather is pretty grim.

This camel coat from Gap has returned for another year, being an utter life-saver last winter. It was picked up on a whim in the Gap sale just before Christmas, and was not taken of ever since being excitingly flung out of the box. Unfortunately, living in this coat has taken it’s toll and I’m not sure this jacket will make it through winter ’14/15 too. The buttons just can’t bring themselves to stay attached, even with multiple attempts at re-sewing, and re-sewing, and re-sewing. I don’t know if it’s that my sewing skills aren’t quite up to scratch, but being an A Level textiles student I’d like to think that wasn’t the case. The classic shape and amazing colour of this camel coat will be hard to replace and with that, the boring, yearly winter coat hunt begins. Boring because I can never find the ‘right’ and reasonably priced one, not because of the coats – I love coats.

The boyfriend shirt was another sale purchase, a bargain picked up in Mango. I love the over-sized and thick, soft quality of the cotton, and this style is great for layering in the winter, as well as being teamed with a pair of comfy tailored shorts in the summer, and accessorizing with a good ol’ statement necklace for a feminine touch. This h&m necklace does the trick, but a triplet of dainty necklaces is equally as flattering – basically, I just adore gold necklaces.

Keeping on the topic of wearing items to death, I couldn’t not mention my favourite pair of shoes from Dune. Pointy, monochrome, beautiful – I needn’t say any more – I will be wearing them until the day my pinkies poke through the edge.