#WearItPink

I wear: Topshop Bonded Trench Coat (similar here, here and here) | Zara Jumper (similar here) | Zara Skirt | H&M Boots | H&M Bag | Topshop Sunglasses (old- similar here)

As if I already needed an excuse to wear pink, Friday 24th just so happened to be Wear It Pink day.

From the significant rise of boob related things in the news, adverts and in stores, I'm sure most of you are all ware by now that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Every single year 50,000 women and 400 men (yes- guys can get it too!) are diagnosed with breast cancer, so if that isn't reason enough to start checking yours boobs (and his, for that matter), then I'm not quite sure what is. 1 in 3 people will get cancer, so there is always cause to raise more awareness and raise money to help discover a cure and give support to those living with cancer.

On the 24th October people throughout the country are encouraged to wear pink to raise awareness, and pledge a donation to help cancer research. Major landmarks across the UK turned pink to mark the event, but for this occasion, I teamed up with Carl Thompson, founder of Pin Collar Shirts, to do anything pink related that we could think of.

With fashion being our forte, it seemed only sensible to pull our favourite pink pieces out of the wardrobe. Cue the ultimate pink bonded trench coat from Topshop. This was followed by buying the best pink flowers that the local Tesco had to offer (because we're clearly very classy people), making pink cupcakes (definitely not my idea), and several bottles of Ros� (well, it was a Friday after all...)

Throughout October Pin Collar Shirts are donating 10% of all Pink shirt sales to Breast Cancer research. For the full details of what Carl's wearing check out his #WearItPink blog post.

If you didn't wear pink, hate pink, or only wear pink on Wednesdays, you can still help by texting PINK to 70660 to donate �3 to Breast Cancer Campaign. 

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Suit Up

Missguided Top* (similar sleeveless version here), Jacket* and Trousers* | Thomas Sabo Bracelet* and Enamel Heart Charm* | Zara Bag | Converse | ASOS Sunglasses

There's few outfits that look or feel more powerful than a suit. Is that a bit cliche?

For me, fashion has always been a sort of psychological escapism. Clothing has the power to transform you into whatever you really want to be. So cliche or not, I couldn't care less, because I always feel pretty badass when I'm wearing one.

Let's be real, but stereotypical: suits are a male dominated realm. If your face isn't pressed into someones armpit during the morning commute and you manage to get a glimpse around you, what do you see? Chances are you'll notice that it's mostly men doing the suit-wearing. But that's probably what makes wearing suits so much fun for us: it's something we're not that used to. Sure, most men might not get the same enjoyment when wearing a women's dress (apart from guys on stag do's dressed in drag) but that doesn't change anything. Slipping on a suit allows you to sink into a certain level of androgyny that so many designers can't seem to get enough of right now. It's dress up and it's fantasy, which is exactly what fashion should be.

As always with me, fashion and dressing is all about finding the right balance of pretty/ugly, masculine/feminine, sexy/casual. So rather than wear a full on shirt and suit combo (there's only so much androgyny a girl of my height and size can take before looking like a dumpy long-haired Charlie Chaplain) I decided to opt for something so quintessentially feminine and sexy: the low cut top.

Now I never wear low cut things. It leaves me feeling a little... exposed, and usually results in unwanted stares, glances, and whistles from builders and van men-classy. But when worn with a fundamentally masculine outfit you get the perfect contrast of mannishness and femininity (which surprising acts as a bit of a deterrent to these stares and whistles...) Cue a dainty heart charm bracelet from Thomas Sabo and a classic quilted handbag and you're almost good to go.

But the shoes? Well, it was always going to be classically cool converse. I love the ability trainers have to transform a pretty straightforward outfit into a slightly different dimension. The sexed up sheer panels and tailoring have to be dressed down somehow...

Autumn Hues

Zara Jumper | Choies Skirt * | DKNY Bag * | Zara Mules | ASOS Sunglasses

Autumn is my favourite time of year. Streets become littered with crisp leaves in colours of acidic yellows and burnt orange, and it's still warm enough to curl up in an oversized knit and mini skirt without the need for an extra cosy boyfriend coat and super thick woolly tights. With the fiery colours developing on the trees, what better colour to wear than a bright flaming orange-red jumper?

It's the kind of season where all of your romanticised fantasies of looking glamorous cosy knitwear, layered sweaters, mini skirts and over the knee boots really come to life, before it hits mid-November and we're plunged into four months of gail force winds and relentless rain, ensuring that our mohair-blend oversized coats go soggy like a disgruntled, rained on kitten. Make the most of it whilst you still can...

Tiny handbags are becoming one of my latest most impractical new loves. Their dinky little sizes mean you can only fit the essentials (mobile phone, oyster card, lipstick, and bank card) into them. This simple DKNY mini-bag was exactly what I had been after: teeny tiny, simple (just the classic DKNY logo and keychain) and black (my handbag and shoe collection is far more lacking in colour than my knitwear collection.) There's something a bit liberating about going all basic with the bare essentials, but if that's still just to small for you I suppose you can always stash the extra handbag contents under your oversized turtle neck jumper...

Edged With Lace

Forever 21 Jumper * | H&M Dress (similar shorts here) | H&M Shoes | Zara Bag | Miss Selfridge Hat (similar here)

Lace trims: there's something so fundamentally sexy about them. Underwear as outerwear has always been one of those odd trends that can be difficult to make work. Too little lace or bra flashing and it's simply too vanilla. Too much lace or bra flashing and it's all a little bit red-light district. Even in an unprovocative colour like Khaki (military chic is always cool, but never really sexy, despite numerous attempts by freshers trying to make "sexy army girl" a genuinely hot thing) there's still a flirtatious element of sex appeal when hems are edged with delicate eyelash lace.

Essentially, to make it work without looking like a baby prostitute you have to tone down the sexiness. Cue the beloved turtle-neck jumper. My wardrobe currently consists of so many heavy knits that I no longer seem to own any big-night-out-with-the-girls attire or I'm-a-total-babe date clothing. Instead, I turn up to these things looking more like a dishevelled librarian. But at least they come in handy for the de-sexification of a racy lace dress. Throw that on top of a lace trimmed dress or playsuit and you're good to go hitting the perfect balance of cosy, knitted seduction.

heidi klein: Puerto Rico Collection

The leaves have only just began to fall and we've finally been able to cosy up into our oversized knits and new season coats, but that doesn't mean I'm not dreaming about getting away for some Winter sunshine. 

Inspired by the crystal clear Caribbean sea against the fine sandy beaches, heidi klein's Puerto Rico collection plays with a simple palette of turquoise and teals against bright whites. 

My summer tan might be rapidly fading, but the white triangle rope bikini has me longing for a beach far far away. It's minimalistic, but still has an element of Bond-girl glamour that would look amazing against a deep tan at a yacht party (a girl can dream, right?)

When it comes to beachwear, I like things to be pretty understated: the white pin tuck tunic is simple and chic, almost like a man's oversized shirt (but with the obviously girly addition of a bow around the waist.) Slip it over the white rope bikini and you're on your way to ultimate relaxed beach glamour.

Adorned with golden embellished details, the teal Puerto Rico bikini reminds me just a little bit of something an Egyptian queen would wear (I can almost feel the breeze of some bronzed man-servant with a six-pack fanning me and feeding me grapes whilst I'm lounging on a beach cabana.) The gathered batwing dress is all-out beach glamour and could easily easily go from beach-to-bar just by adding some gold and bronze jewellery like the Aisha twisted bead cuff. 

No beachwear look is complete without some practical but chic accessories. Slightly nautical in appearance is the beach bag: it's rope handles have a rustic beachy feel. To top it off is the classic beach hat. I still adore the retro beach glamour of the fifties, and the heidi klein Havana hat takes me back to another era. 

Let's face it though, despite all of the beach glamour and bikinis, spending your time on the beach is all about the tan. The luxurious Ligne St Barthes SPF 4 tanning oil helps you achieve the perfect golden tan. 

What do you think of heidi klein's Puerto Rico collection? My favourite pieces come from the Nautical Chic collection. Full of sailor stripes and bow details, it's dream beachwear. Nicole Scherzinger has been seen rocking this collection in Ibiza lately. If that doesn't make you want to sack off your turtle neck knits then I don't know what will...

Get me to a beach, pronto!

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Autumn Outerwear and Knitwear

Turtleneck Jumper, Bomber Jacket, Faux Leather Skirt, Metallic Shoes, Bag (similar here) - All Forever 21 *

It's funny how Winter just appears out of nowhere. Up until yesterday the seasons had us thinking that we had skipped Autumn/Winter and fell straight back into June again. This week has been spent doing rather unseasonal activities such as walking around Clapham Common overheating in a mere sweater and skirt combo (sans tights), and sitting in the company of many cocktails in the outdoor area of my local bar until about midnight, trying to drink up the last dregs of this weird early October heatwave. I couldn't even bear to keep my arms in my jacket earlier this week when I shot these photographs (I caped this jacket out of practicality, not trendiness, I promise.)

But isn't it a different story today? I'm currently tucked up in bed choosing starvation over facing the cold to make myself some brunch. But in thinking positively, at least this means we all finally get to wear our oversized turtle-neck jumpers and woolly scarves without our less fashion-savvy friends asking "oh but aren't you completely boiling in that?" We no longer have to be in denial about it being knitwear season because it actually finally is knitwear season!

When you think of Forever 21, what do you really think of? I used to think of badly dressed American teenage girls. Forever 21 always felt like that American shop that only sells muffin-top inducing low-rise jeans/trousers/shorts/skirts, and sometimes nearly gets it right but thanks to a dipped hem here or a weird stripe there, it never quite made the grade.

But Forever 21 has come a long way since it first opened up shop in the UK. I'm not sure if opening stores in Britain led it to being infected by a London-esque fashion vibe, but everything felt a little less American teenager at a One Direction show, and a little bit more British girl chilling in an East London bar.

Their Autumn Winter collection is crawling with luxe faux-furs and smart tailoring. The knitwear department is overloaded with roll-necks in more colours than the English language has words for. For those outerwear addicts like myself, the collection has everything from vintage inspired oversized coats to strict structured masculine overcoats. And price-wise? On a scale of Primark to Topshop, it's definitely more along the Primark end, but with higher-quality pieces.

I think it's safe to say that I probably won't be wearing my jackets like capes anymore: it's time to roll out the tights and wrap up warm.