The Culotte Jumpsuit

Topshop Culotte Jumpsuit

- Zara Mules - Zara Bag

"It is such a Sophie colour!" -

Sarah Nunn

couldn't be more right. I'm not sure what it is about this hue but I find it totally irresistible, so when strolling through Topshops Oxford Street store early last week it was absolutely no surprise I was drawn to this jumpsuit like a moth to a burning hot culotte jumpsuit shaped flame.

It's that difficult but mind blowing colour that simmers somewhere between a burnt orange and a poppy red, and boy does it look incredible against a tan! (Cue a trip to Superdrug to stock up on some

Cocoa Brown Extra Dark

...) 

I have reoccurring nightmares on a weekly basis that I have gone shopping and see something so perfect that gives you that panic-wave of materialistic excitement, only to discover that they have every other size but your own. Well on this shopping trip the nightmare became a reality. 

Naturally, they had a size 10, but nobody wants a bandeau style top drooping (sagging is never a pretty look) And of course then they had a size 6... But who was I kidding? Let's just say it was no surprise that a size 6 doesn't accommodate an E cup... But after a slight diva panic some superwoman working on the information desk came back with the last size 8 in the store. 

It's currently in stock in all sizes

on the website

- although I really don't think the image does the colour or the fit justice! (Not that I'm saying I'm a top model or anything...)

Topshop's jumpsuit

game has been on another level this season. Their boned, bandeau styles are complete investment pieces. The

black bandeau jumpsuit

+ a pair of

strappy black gladiators

+ natural smokey eye and nude lip is my signature first-date outfit. Believe me, works like a charm... Unless you've being taken to a cheap pub, in which case you're just going to look completely out of place... But then again, you shouldn't go on dates with guys that take you to cheap pubs anyway.

Happy Monday!

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High-Heel Revolution

The brush-stroke print strikes again (thank you once more, Celine.) This time it comes in the form of a gorgeous soft black and white day dress by French Connection. Those killer heels by Daniel are back again too! I know they are probably the least practical shoes for summer but when they look like that how can you resist a little bit of discomfort ? (Let's just say my feet were so hot it felt as though I had walked through burning hot coals... still totally worth it.)

The novelty of wearing flat shoes is beginning to wear off now. Don't get me wrong, I know

Birkenstocks look cool. And pool slides are awesome. Trainers are.. well trendy, I guess... But I actually feel way comfier wearing a nice pair of heels. I walk better, feel better, and legs look a thousand times better. My body has got so used to wearing heels that when I wear flats for too long my shin bones and ankles begin to feel uncomfortable and hurt. Pretty sure that's a worrying high-heel-side-effect... Is this how Victoria Beckham felt when she finally hung up her heels and began wearing flats? I'm just praying for a high-heel revolution right now.

 

What's So Good About Reflector Sunglasses?

I didn't like reflector sunglasses at first. They were a little bit too old-school flashy nineties for me. A totally classic tortoiseshell frame could be ruined by that horrifically holographic blue glare. 

But I've completely embraced them. Did you not know that the strong reflection lets you check out any man you want and they'll never know about it? All they will see is their reflection. Nothing else. It's pure genius. Plus these ones from Topshop have a minimal blue reflecting glare, so it's not too garish, just a slight bluebottle hint in the sunlight. This means two things:

1. Totally cool sunglasses that don't make you look too much like a shiny-eyed-fly
2. Unlimited perving potential

(Men of London, you've been warned) 

 

 

Shades of Cool

Shades of cool... I guess that's a little bit ironic considering that everyone has been baking/melting (delete as appropriate) in the heavy haze of heat that has engulfed the nation. Did you know that apparently it's been hotter here in London than in Barbados? Finally I'm beginning to feel a little bit better about the fact that I'm staying in London all summer.

I have a real issue with summer dressing: most of my clothes are black. There's that part in the process of hot-summer-day-dressing when you always kid yourself that no matter how hot it is. black will always always be effortlessly cool.

Wrong. So very wrong. And there you are, sitting there in a beer garden and it feels like the sunshine beating down on you is actually like a burning hot laser in a James Bond movie.

This dress by The Fifth has answered my prayers a little bit. Its oversized fit hangs perfectly off the body thanks to structural elements like small shoulder pads. Loose and swishy: ideal for burning hot days. Oh and it has a large keyhole cut out at the back, which is almost as good as air con. Almost...

Enjoy the sun while it lasts!

Australian Brands You Need to Know: The Fifth

If somebody asks you what Australia does well, you're most likely going to say food (barbecues and lots of meat pies- yum), Neighbours, big scary spiders, beaches, Hugh Jackman, the Hemsworth brothers, and seriously hot men with surfboards. 

Fashion, on the other hand, doesn't really spring to mind. 

There are few widely known designers from Australia, but when it comes to smaller labels and brands, they have it completely covered.

Minkpink, Triangl swimwear and underwear, Finders Keepers are just a teaser of some of the smaller but incredibly talented labels pushing out fun and playful collections with an alternative edge to what you can find on the British high street. 

Take The Fifth: their incredibly cool street aesthetic is created from finest cut quality fabrics. It's all about clean lines, original prints, and a fresh colour palette of tonal monochrome and bold zesty oranges and lagoon blues.

Streetwear isn't usually my kind of thing (can't you tell with the cliche addition of graffiti? So street, so edgy, I know...) But the brand seems to find the perfect balance between streetwear with a strong feminine vibe- just wait until my next post and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about! 

(Clues: blue, oversized, and adorable)

 

Boxy Tops and Curves

Acne Jumper

- Topshop Blurry Check Skirt - Zara Bag -

Topshop Shoes

-

ASOS Sunglasses

Acne

. Their cool, simplistic, scandinavian aesthetic always pushes boundaries with unusual colours, androgynous silhouettes and cutting edge textiles. Ever experimenting with new origami- like shapes, sharp tailoring and ballooning proportions, they never fail to deliver something new and exciting with each collection. 

One problem: everything at Acne seems to have been designed for the tall skinny girl. So what's a short curvy girl like me to do? Believe me, I've tried to pretend like it doesn't matter by trying on that gorgeous poppy-red mid length

red shift dress

, only to look like a more like a cheap quality street chocolate that melted a little bit in someones pocket. 

Simple, boxy, knit. That's the answer. Effortlessly cool in clinical white. Sure, it's a pretty well known fact that when girls with above average size boobs wear something of the floaty/baggy variety it can often look like a big maternity top hiding a 7 month baby bump. But it can definitely work if you play with the proportions of your other clothes right (skinny jeans, mini skirts and short shorts are the answer.) 

Fashion Slave for Fashionchick.

In other fashionable related news, you may have seen splattered all over my twitter and instagram feeds my recent trip to Amsterdam to join the

Fashionchick

team. I'm now the

London based events and editorial writer

for

Fashionchick UK

, so that means darting all around London attending press days, events, and parties to take photos and report back on all of the latest on the website, so look out for me at events and if I take a snap of you it could well end up featured on the

Fashionchick

site!

Vote for 

Fashion Slave

 to win Best New Fashion Blog in the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2014 

here

! 

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The "I forgot to set my alarm" Dress Code

AKA Clothing Shirt *

-

ASOS Jeans

-

Sabrina Tach Backpack @ Boticca

-

Topshop Hat

-

ASOS Sunglasses

-

Topshop Shoes

You wake up late. There's no time to shower. Your hair is a mess. And your laptop is still at the bottom of the bed replaying the same episode of Gossip Girl that you fell asleep watching last night. 

The secret weapon for those 'I forgot to set my alarm' days? The big, baggy shirt. Eternally cool paired with skinny jeans and Birkenstocks, thrown over a pair of runner shorts or worn open over a lace slip dress. 

AKA nail

it with their

Saltro shirt.

Seriously smooth and silky, it feels like it's made from a soft vintage scarf you picked up from a thrift store or nicked off your nan. There's a strong 90's feel in the strikingly manic monochrome print that resonates with the urban Manchester roots of the brand. It reminds me of staring through sharp, 

spindly branches in a forest at a stark, grey February morning sky

.

Effortlessly cool streetwear in intricate, hand-designed black and white prints is

AKA'

s signature and both their

mens

and

women's

collections are worth checking out if you want something that little bit different (they do a

skirt

and

top

co-ord in this exact print which epitomises the edgy take on the often-too-girly skirt suits.) 

Of course, you've still woken up too late, and no matter how big, baggy and boyfriendy the shirt is, it won't fix the issue with your hair and face... 

Cue big floppy hat and sunglasses combo: hides greasy hair and the fact you're still wearing last night's makeup, and

somehow

manages to make you look incredibly glamorous all in one go (although let's face it, you'll probably look like a bit of a diva on the tube.) 

If only everyone that walked by you on the street knew what lay beneath the disguise...

Vote for

Fashion Slave

to win Best New Fashion Blog in the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2014 

here

! 

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