Your Fashion Foundations with Ann Summers

I'm a lingerie addict. At the sight of eyelash lace, a multitude of straps, or mesh detailing I'm willing to drop any sense of comfort, practicality and functionality in a second. Truthfully, I just think I've forgotten what it feels like to wear a decent functioning bra in favour of the "Oooh so pretty!" bras.

Let's face it, no matter how many times Kate Upton appears on the front cover of Vogue in a bikini, we all know big boobs aren't seen as the most fashionable thing. I always find myself putting on the flimsiest bra and making do with it, forgetting that my boobs actually exist.  

Ann Summers collection of everyday lingerie focusing on comfort, style and practicality. The simple, lacey range is all about choosing the right bra for the right outfit. 

Balconette, T-Shirt, Unlined and Plunge bras combine the best of pretty and practical, and actually make you remember that your boobs exist by bring them back into the fashion equation!

Top Left: T Shirt Bra / Top Right: Underwired Bra / Bottom Left: Plunge Bra / Bottom Right: Balconette Bra All Courtesy of Ann Summers

The T-Shirt Bra

What better to wear with a T-shirt bra than a T-shirt? My white tee collection is endless and for lack of a white bra, I'm forever sinning by wearing black bras with them. Well not any more! The white T-shirt bra has perfectly moulded cups and careful, graduated padding to add a cup size. Totally seamless under clothes, it gives a super sexy rounded shape. I felt like I was hiding melons under my top... 

The Balconette Bra

Balconette Bras are all about the lift and are perfect for wide, squarer necklines. So it seemed only natural to pair it with my old favourite Tea Dress by Topshop. The super wide, low cut neckline makes the most of the style of the balconette. Think a boob-aesthetic similar to wearing a corset, without the breathing issues. Or imagine resting your boobs on a shelf- it's all about the uplifting effect. 

The Underwired Bra

A black lace unlined bra peeking through a semi sheer oversized shirt oozes laid-back sex appeal. The shirt's manly proportions stop the outfit from being too revealing or sexy. Worn with skinny jeans or leather trousers, this is one of my favourite go-to outfits. The bra has a super natural uplift and despite being unlined, it is underwired so it still holds everything in place.

The Plunge Bra

Seriously, enhanced, cleavage - that's what plunge bras are all about. For those daring necklines and low cut tops when you want to make the best of your assets, you know exactly what you need. I threw on a simple crop top from Topshop with my New Look high-waisted skinny jeans. Worn with an open duster coat and Birkenstocks is the perfect combination of sexy-cool. 

Dorothy Perkins Style Essentials

Look One: Dorothy Perkins Jeans * - Dorothy Perkins Boots* - Dorothy Perkins Bag* - Forever 21 Tee - Topshop Sleeveless Jacket
Look Two: Dorothy Perkins Top* - Dorothy Perkins Culottes* - Dorothy Perkins Shoes* - Zara Bag
The perfect capsule wardrobe is something many women have strived towards creating since Gok Wan started throwing the concept in our faces a few years back on How To Look Good Naked.
Although I'm sure any fashion-obsessive on this earth still yearns for the walk in wardrobe, wall full of shoes, and closets full of designer gear, there's something still so refined and refreshing about having that perfect handful armful of clothes that are interchangeable and build the foundation of our wardrobes.
Cue Dorothy Perkins Style Essentials. Ten of our favourite wardrobe staples, from rolled up skinny jeans to the classic parka jacket. It covers all fashion bases.
Wearing the rolled up skinny with my beloved striped tee (there's actually a small hole in it now I've worn it so often...) I updated the look with a long black, sleeveless jacket.
For my second style essentials look I wanted something more classic with an emphasis on tailoring. Soft, ivory knitted textures are paired with sleek black culottes for a look inspired by all of the elegance of 40's tailoring.
Will you be investing in some style essentials this season?
Remember voting closes for the Cosmo Blog Awards in 5 days so make sure you vote for Fashion Slave as Best New Fashion Blog here!

Sunglasses Wardrobe *

The seasons may be starting to change but that doesn't mean we're no longer in need of beautiful sunglasses to shield our eyes from the rays on sunnier days and hide our faces when we've partied a little bit too hard the night before... 

As a huge sunglasses obsessive (you can never really have too many) I've worked with Glasses on Spec to bring a Sunglasses wardrobe of some of my favourite styles from Lulu Guinness and Ray-Ban. Here's how I would style my favourites up!

Moschino Slogan Tee |  Zara Bag | Topshop Duster Coat | H&M Shoes | H&M Jeans | Ray-Ban Aviator Sunglasses

Aviators and khaki seem a completely natural pairing with their subtle military influences. The outfit is kept more girly with loosely tailored silhouettes and with the addition of heels and an oversized handbag. And yeah, I am still lusting after a super cool Moschino slogan tee. It's my birthday in a couple of weeks... *hint hint*

Zara Coat | Silk Shorts | Acne Jumper | Alexander Wang Bag | Ray-Ban Wayfarer Sunglasses

If you follow my instagram then you'll have seen that I have a slight obsession with this coat. I'd keep the rest of the outfit completely simple and let the subtly printed Ray Bans do the talking. The sandy, natural colours of camel and tortoishell shades were simply made for each other.

Topshop Maxi Dress | Nelly Fringe Bag | Steve Madden Pool Slides | Lulu Guinness Sunglasses

I'm still dreaming of summers in the South of France or Ibiza wearing this poolside ensemble. Completely monochrome with oversized Lulu Guinness sunglasses gives a laid-back twist on poolside glamour. 

Velvet Grey Cotton Tee | Topshop Culottes | Alexander Wang Bag | Topshop Shoes | Ray-Ban Wayfarer Sunglasses

The muted tones of grey and black always look classic and chic, but the hint of red from behind the arms of these Ray Ban sunglasses gives this outfit a fiery flash. Definitely to be worn with bright, poppy-red lipstick.

Which are your favourites?

Illustrated

Fashion photography is great. It can capture a moment and burn it eternally onto film or onto a memory card (so long as you don't hit delete) with just a click of a button. But there's something a little magical about a scratchy hand-drawn fashion illustration.
They are a little like caricature's, but rather than focusing on and highlighting our most obviously mockable features (in my case this would definitely be my big front gravestone teeth, my Tyra-Banks-sized five-head, and the slight crook in my nose from when I got head-butted in a bouncy castle incident) fashion illustrations are endlessly flattering. I mean, look how skinny the illustrator Jessica Withey has drawn my legs? It's like this little cartoon of myself has become my own thinspiration... Naturally, I'm wearing my favourite coat, that gorgeous rose-blush coloured bonded trench coat by Topshop!
Check out Jess' amazing illustrations here. She also runs a fashion blog too!
Oh, and one last thing for this Sunday afternoon: voting for the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards closes in under two weeks now so make sure you vote for Fashion Slave here !

 

Style Essential: The Striped Top

Zara Top (old) | River Island Shorts | Zara Bag | Topshop Shoes

What is it about striped tops that always look so cool? Of all of my essential wardrobe staples, my most loyal, go-to piece is the classic stripe top. I have somewhat scatty tendencies so I like to keep my life as organised as I can, but one of the things that I must keep organised is my wardrobe. I'm talking serious colour and pattern coordination. If you were to open my wardrobe right now you'd see an entire section dedicated to striped things. 

Do I really need that many striped tops? Oh but of course! Well you certainly need a wide striped top, and a thin striped top... And a three-quarter sleeve, a short sleeve, a crop top, a Bardot neckline, a classic fisherman breton, a striped leotard, boat neck... I know you know what I mean. 

But why are they so popular? 

It's just so versatile. A striped breton top looks amazing from anything from jeans, denim cut offs, a tulle skirt (a-la-Carrie Bradshaw) or bold printed culottes. My go-to outfit in all fashion/last-minute/hungover/forgotten dates is always black skinny jeans, striped tee, and trench coat. It looks so classically parisian: who doesn't want a bit of french-girl chic in their wardrobes? 

Powder White

Missguided Jacket* | Top* and Skirt * | Warehouse Bag | Topshop Shoes | Topshop Sunglasses

With spaghetti straps and powder white body-con shapes, I couldn't help but feel pretty 90s in this all-white get-up. It almost feels a little bit wrong that I hadn't got my hair braided in suitable cornrows to match! In fact, I feel a little bit like a 90s girl band reject. Holding back on the cornrows, I decided matching simple black accessories for a hint of monochrome would be more of a 'Sophie' kind of look.
And yes, that is a black bra strap you see poking out in picture number one. But breaking one of the unwritten laws of fashion (thou shalt not wear black bras with white t-tops) doesn't really feel like such a sin when it's a delicate strap of an unlined mesh bra. Instead, it seems to pull together in an accidental sports-luxe vibe.

 

Playsuits like Pyjamas

Motel Playsuit * | Lavish Alice Blazer | Zara Mules | Primark Bag 

Don't you just love it when fashion and comfort come together? 

Three words: Soft. Jersey. Playsuit. 

None of that super tight corseted structure from the Topshop Bandeau Jumpsuit that feels like a boa constrictor has wrapped itself tightly around your body trying to restrict your air flow and squeeze out all of your air/blood/guts (although it looks super hot, so I can deal with the boa constrictor predicament at least until I pass out.) 

But that super soft jersey fabric that glides across the skin? It could easily be pyjamas. In a good way. In the I'm-so-comfortable-I-could-just-fall-asleep-right-here kind of way. I suppose they're a little bit like onesies- but the cuter, younger, but more sophisticated sister. 

One last thing, Fashion Slave has been shortlisted to win Best New Fashion Blog at Cosmopolitan's Blog Awards 2014, so if you haven't already it would be amazing if you could vote for me here! (Fashion Slave is on the fourth page!) 

High School Memories

Front Row Shop Shirt * | Topshop Boutique Silk Shorts | Primark Slip ons | Zara Bag

When I left high school I swore to myself that I'd never wear this colour blue ever again. It was always sure to bring back memories of its companion, the knee-length navy blue skirt (obviously rolled up at least five times), worn with the top button done up (although if I did this now it wouldn't be complete social suicide like it was back in the day) and with a striped tie that would only ever be worn if it was tied into a short, stocky, two-stripe long stub (why was that ever cool? They looked like cravats!)

But when slipping on this Front Row Shop oversized shirt it didn't feel like I had put on my big sisters hand-me-down that I hadn't quite grown into. I felt swarmed by a haze of old-school memories from my early teen years that made me pine a little bit for easier days when the biggest drama you could face was being labelled 'square' because you hadn't snogged anyone yet. 

Being at a small, catholic school with a convent on site, it was only natural that we tried to rebel as much as a bunch of soft-core catholic-school 11-14 year olds could. So I've compiled a list of my favourite secondary school memories.

• Defying the lunch time supervisors by rolling down the big hill over and over and over
• Placing pieces of rotten food in peoples pencil cases during food tech class 
• Begging the boys to let us play football or rugby with them. We were genuinely really interested in the sport, not just getting to maybe bump into the boy we fancied. Promise!
• Starting a band and thinking you're complete rock and roll royalty of the school
• Spending every night on MSN debating talking to the boy you fancy (you know the time was right when he changed (L) Sarah (L) to just (F) Sarah (F)... screw you Sarah!)
• Being 'bushed' (the act of being pushed in the bush by someone else on the way to maths class)
• Melting rulers in chemistry class. The sweet smell of burning plastic... ahhhh
• Drama class - because we were all misfits that wanted to pretend to be someone else for an hour
• Eating a minimum of 3 iced buns for your dinner and it wouldn't go straight to your thighs. Oh! And don't forget Turkey Twizzlers. Damn. 
• Bacardi Breezers. What ever happened to them? I miss them. 
• Letting some of the girls borrow my lip plumping gloss and getting into trouble because the teacher thought we all had an allergic reaction.
• Walking around school all day with your skirt tucked into your knickers. Awks. 
• Refusing to take off your makeup because you are 'allergic to baby wipes'.
• Writing obscenities such as 'you smell' onto someones backpack. Then being chased around school because of it
• Accidentally calling the teacher 'Dad'. Nobody can come back from that level of embarrassment.

Sure, I was a total misfit suffering from the unholy trinity of acne, glasses, AND braces, but my years in secondary school were some of the best. Funnily enough though, you won't be seeing me wearing this shirt with a navy pleated skirt and a tie anytime soon...

What are your favourite memories of secondary school?

The White Tailored Suit

Lavish Alice White Tailored Suit (Jacket

&Skort) - Zara Bag - Topshop Crepe Top

- Zara Mules - Topshop Sunglasses

Make no mistake, I'm no angel. 

White is almost always seen as pure and innocent, but in the form of a white tailored suit all of that has been transformed into something strong, powerful, and basically pretty damn badass.

This

Lavish Alice suit

couldn't be further from angelic. It's all in the interplay between sharp tailoring and crisp white colouring: the strict, structural lines demand attention (until you spill some coffee on it, then it just demands the wrong kind of attention. You slob.) 

You can't ignore the 90s vibe either. I feel like I should be strolling around some palm-tree lined Miami boulevard in 1991 rather than prancing about some derelict graffiti-blasted canal car park. It's a hard life. But at least I got the chance to indulge in a little pretend Miami luxury when I wore this suit to the ASOS Fashion Finder Awards Brunch in association with Urban Outfitters at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditch. Cue rooftop brunch, palm trees (okay fine, they were more life roof-garden potted plants) and an epic view over London. 

Have you noticed my addiction for co-ords and two-pieces is still going strong? I have a confession: I think it's down to laziness more than anything. What's better than not having to think about what top to pair with your shorts when you know it already has the perfectly matching identical counterpart? Sure, creativity is great sometimes, but somedays you just need an easy outfit. 

I'm guilty. So very guilty.