THE STYLE COLONY: April 2015

28.4.15

TREND REPORT // SS15

There's nothing more frustrating than being inspired by amazing street style, thinking 'I NEED THAT NOW' but left feeling rather dejected after realising that it's pretty much ALL designer, and waaaaaay outside of your budget. Most of us can't afford the beauties featured in high-end magazines, so for the benefit of those of us with lighter wallets, these posts will only feature affordable pieces that we can finally lust over and actually purchase for ourselves, yay!

I'm not a believer in following trends for the sake of it. But let's face it, trends are everywhere! If it's what's in this season, all the high street shops are gonna have it, and it's inevitable to follow the trends sometimes (especially when they're as gorge as the Spring/Summer '15 ones). But think of it this way: trends are there for a bit of fun; something we shouldn't take too seriously and should only serve a purpose of enhancing our already-individual personal styles. I love incorporating trends into looks and making them my own, as opposed to creating purely trend-led looks.

So, with all of that in mind, I've created a short list of my favourites trends for SS15, along with looks for some ideas and inspiration! Enjoy!

1| 70s Vibe | This season we're seeing a huge 70's revival hitting the high-street! For Spring and Summer, it's all about clashing florals, funky flares, all things fringe and gorgeous crochet.

--------------------

2| Suede | Yep, definitely part of the 70s trend, but also an entire trend in its own right. This season it's all about suede.

--------------------

3| Gladiator Sandals | HOORAY. One of my favourites, for sure!

--------------------

4| Denim | and a lot of it! The SS15 runway shows featured a ton of denim; from dresses to jackets, oversized t-shirt dresses, and wide legged jeans!

--------------------

And below, I've featured another interesting take on the denim trend; the pinafore dress!

--------------------

5| Disco platforms | Yet another branch of the 70's surge, but what's more fun than a funky disco platform to spice up an outfit?

--------------------

6| Utility Girl | A world away from 70's boho, and a great excuse to put a simple colour palette and simplicity before complex prints and florals. It definitely flirts with military, but is far more feminine.

--------------------

7| Tulle | Strange one ey? Usually this material is reserved for the couture collections, but this season, tulle will be totally wearable, as we saw on the Burberry catwalk.

--------------------

So there we have it - 7 of my favourite trends taking over the high-street this season! Keep your eyes peeled for more trend report looks coming soon!

Which are your favourite trends? Comment below!

*Disclaimer: This blog post is for the purposes of my final assessment at the London College of Style*

23.4.15

SPORTY AND GIRLY

Dress: The Ragged Priest | Sweatshirt: SheInside | Trainers: Converse | Bag: H&M

-----------------------------

I haven't worn this snakeskin-print t-shirt dress in ages, but I decided to dig it out of my wardrobe to try and give it a new edge with a juxtaposition of girly and sporty. I'd never really thought of layering my Mickey jumper over it, but I think that combination, paired with my old school Converse, compliment each other perfectly. Plus, this is a great option for the sunny-but-chilly days we're having in London at the moment!

Thanks for reading!

19.4.15

SLIGHTLY SEVENTIES

------------------------------

It's all about the 70s this season and I'm looooving it! I've always been a huge fan of chilled out and pretty bohemian styles, but it's never come particularly naturally to me. This pinafore dress I featured a couple of posts back (here) is such a great versatile piece - just add a flowy paisley/porcelain print shirt and a tassel bag, and voilà, you have yourself a seventies inspired look!

Thanks for checking out my blog!

Feel free to follow me on:

Bloglovin'

Tumblr

Instagram

Lookbook

Polyvore

13.4.15

AISLE STYLE

Very recently, one of my closest childhood friends got engaged to her boyfriend of three years :) Kinda crazy; it seems like just yesterday that we were little kids, being driven to ballet lessons together! We're all getting to that age where invitations to engagement parties, baby showers and weddings are starting to slowly creep into our lives; exciting times ahead for sure! But all these grown-upy events also mean another thing...NEW DRESSES! Yay! We all have those gorgeous dresses that we've bought and have absolutely nowhere and nothing to wear them for! Or in my case, the ones that I've lusted over for yonks but haven't been able to buy!

So with all of this on the horizon, I've recently taken to browsing for wedding-related dresses and accessories, be it on Pinterest or new sites I've discovered along the way; it's become one of my favourites hobbies for sure!

Aislestyle.co.uk is a fantastic site, catering to pretty much everything relating to special occasions; from weddings dresses and bridesmaids dresses to evening dresses, prom dresses and even accessories, you name it, they have it! And even better still, the prices won't break the bank, which, unfortunately, is very often the case with these pricey occasions. They also offer the ability to request custom measurements, which I'm sure would be super handy for a great number of women!

Check out some of my favourites below:

Click here

These are just a few of my personal favourites, but as you can see, they have all sorts of gorgeous dresses for all skin types and occasions! They also have dresses for junior bridesmaids and flower girls :) Check out the website by clicking below:

http://www.aislestyle.co.uk/

Thanks for reading my blog!

Feel free to follow me on:

Bloglovin'

Tumblr

Instagram

Lookbook

Polyvore

*Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post*

10.4.15

BOOHOO WEDDING

Last week, I flew back home to Gibraltar for my cousin's wedding! The weather was absolutely incredible, and in anticipation of that being a likely possibility, I was on the hunt for a dress with a great transitional vibe; nothing too Summery, but bright enough to reflect the gorgeous Spring weather back home. I really didn't have anything appropriate in my wardrobe; it was all too fiesta-fiesta or formal; bearing in my mind that the dress code for this wedding wasn't as formal as your average one.

I must say that I had never purchased anything from Boohoo before, but I've always been very aware of the great diversity in their pieces, as well as their affordable prices. I had a cheeky browse on the site and came across this tribal print skater dress, which was exactly the sort of thing I was looking for! I was in luck too, as it was reduced from a very reasonable £18 to an even better £12 (and still is) I added a black leather waist belt to cinch it all in slightly, and paired it with my lace-up heels!

------------------------------

Boohoo dress // Aldo heels // Mum's clutch // Topshop belt // Bijou Brigitte bangle // ASOS arm cuff // Elegant Touch false nails

Thanks for reading!

Feel free to follow me on:

Bloglovin'

Tumblr

Instagram

Lookbook

Polyvore

8.4.15

PINAFORE DRESS TREND

Bershka pinafore dress // Whistles cropped tee // Topshop choker // H&M long cardigan // ALDO sunglasses // Converse trainers // Mango leather jacket

---------------------------------------

This season we're seeing a huge denim revival with a surge of 70's and 90's trends hitting the shops for Spring and Summer! Dungarees have been on trend for ages, but a new take on that trend is the pinafore. Be it denim, tartan, leather or even suede, I love how you can style the pinafore dress in so many different ways for great summery looks. Here I've created a sporty/girly outfit with a Bershka denim pinafore dress, pink cropped tee and blue Converse!

In the two images below, I've ditched the blue for some black high-top Converse and a leather jacket for a slightly grungier and tougher look!