Tag Archive: My Style

Jun 13 2013

Jewellery Loving: Astley Clarke More Than Just Bracelets

Jewellery, like handbags is my go-to luxury, I love buying new pieces, wearing hand-me-downs, finding a vintage gem as well as making my own, but most of all I love that each piece holds special memories, so much more than a piece of clothing.

I also love discovering fab brands to obsess over, make wish-lists about and generally plot my next purchase. My latest obsession has to be London-based jeweller Astley Clarke, founded by Bec Astley Clarke in 2006, which has fast become my go-to place to pick up treats for my arm parties, and it seems I am not alone as each time I post on Instagram and Pose everyone seems to love their bracelets.

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to visit the Astley Clarke showroom in London, located down the prettiest Mew, and was given free rein to check out the gorgeous collections of their famous friendship bracelets, make up my own stackable ring, and gush over their exquisite selection of fine jewellery, which includes gorgeous diamond rings nearly expensive as my new car!!!

I knew that Astley Clarke was more than just bracelets, but I didn’t realise how much more, maybe that is because I am obsessed by the brand’s Biography collection, I just love the variety of the friendship bracelets, not just in colours, but also because you can get one for all meanings whether love, fortune, clarity, or like my evil eye for protection.

I am also a huge fan of their stackable ranges, including enamel and gemstone stacking rings, which you can have fun with on their website putting together your favourite rings with their Ring Stacker app, and I think I want every single one of the enamel bangles. What I love about Astley Clarke are the options, buy one, buy three, they work on their own and stacked, plus I love finding things to collection.

What I didn’t realise was that Astley Clarke has an amazing collection of charms, I already have Thomas Sabo, Pandora, and Chamilia, and that I am currently lusting over Dodo, but Astley Clarke delightful collection pays homage to its British heritage, its love of colourful gemstones and charms for good fortune. As with the rings, there is an Charm Building app, which you can totally lose a few hours playing around with the options. I really did fall in love with the animal charms – especially this squirrel – so adorable.

But as the title states, Astley Clarke is so much more than just bracelets, the jeweller also has a great choice of delicate necklaces, exquisite diamond rings, and a wonderful curated selection of guest designers including Australian brand Stenmark designed by Susie Stenmark, I am in love with her Tanzanite Colourburst Pendant, but at £2,500 it is slightly out of my price range!!!

I also discovered and fell in love with the gorgeous Solange Azagury-Partridge collection, from the Love ring to the colourful Hotlips rings that have a touch of Lulu Guinness about them, and the adorable 18 carat enamel bee ring, if only I had £1,200 that beauty would be mine in a heartbeat.

If you aren’t familiar with the brand, do check out its website, get creative with its apps, or why not visit their London boutique at 6 Junction Mews, or check out their collections in Harrods, Selfridges and Liberty London – trust me you will become as obsesses as me.

Shop some of my favourite Astley Clarke pieces:

Tags: Astley Clarke, Bec Astley Clarke, Bracelets, Charms, Jewellery, My Style, Solange Azagury-Partridge, Stenmark, Susie Stenmark

2 comments

Jun 12 2013

My Style: My Perfect Black Summer Dress

Last week when the sun was still shining I ransacked my wardrobe for something suitably sunny, as to be honest with all the cold weather we have been having I haven’t actually bought any summer clothes. But when I found this beauty at the back of my closet, and I realised that it still fit, I couldn’t resist giving it another spin.

I know for summer you are suppose to wear bright clothes, striking prints, neon shades, and I do, but you can never really go wrong with a black dress and this beauty that I bought many, many years ago from George at Asda keeps on surprising me. Probably bought for less than £20, I can’t remember the actual price, this dress has seen me through probably five+ summers, as well as a few mild autumns paired with tights and it still looks in pretty good shape.

What I love about this dress is the fit, with its button-downed shirt-style paired with a flared skirt, which in the wind can be a little embarrassing, it is just flattering and wearing it made me feel good and comfortable in the heat, and was perfect for meetings and travelling across London.

With it being black, I was going to pair it with bright accessories, but I decided to keep my look minimal and tidy with a cute black swallow belt to nip in my waist, and gold accessories including my bunting-style necklace from New Look and my go-to friendship bracelets from Astley Clarke which I love.

But the main reason for the gold and minimal take was to show off my latest adorable New Look watch, you’ve seen the Panda, well let me introduce you to the Kitty, isn’t it cute, and for less than £10 it is such a quirk addition to my jewellery box, I have heard they also do a pink mouse one as well.

Do you have a go-to black summer dress?

My Style: Black dress, so old from George at Asda // Gladiator flats, F&F for Tescos // Evil eye friendship bracelet, Astley Clarke // Wisdom skinny bracelet, Astley Clarke (c/o) // Kitty cat watch, New Look // Swallow belt, New Look // Bunting necklace, New Look (c/o) // Glasses, Retro54 (c/0) // Shot with Canon 650d //

Tags: Astley Clarke, F&F at Tesco, George at Asda, My Style, New Look, OOTD, Retro 54, WIWT

1 comment

May 31 2013

Seaside Style: Bank Holiday Day Trip To Felixstowe

What are Bank Holidays for if not a trip to the seaside, especially when it is sunny, and a chance to top up on ice-cream, candy floss, make sandcastles and play in the arcades. My boyfriend and I like a day trip, and living near Cambridge means we have a lot of gorgeous coastline in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, which isn’t that far away in the car.

Over the years we have done a lot of the beaches in Norfolk including Hunstanton and Cromer so this Bank Holiday we thought we would give Suffolk a try and head on over to Felixstowe, a seaside town we both hadn’t been to before.

Quieter than say Blackpool and Brighton, there is a charm about Felixstowe with its colourful beach huts, sea front gardens and miles of beach to stroll down while eating an ice cream. And in the sunshine this was such a great day for testing out my new Canon 650d camera and having my style snaps taken by some palm trees makes it look somewhere tropical and warm.

What did you do this Bank Holiday?

My Style: Oh La La Tee, Zoe Karssen (similar one) // Hudson Jeans Bacara in Vancouver, Jeanography (c/o) // Straw bag, Cath Kidston, (similar one) // Gladiator flats, F&F for Tescos // Silver bracelet stack, New Look // Tiffany’s bracelet // Glasses, Retro54 // Orange wrap watch, Guess // shot with Canon 650d //

Tags: Canon 650d, Cath Kidston, Day Trip, F&F for Tesco, Felixstowe, GUESS, Hudson Jeans, My Style, Retro54, Staycation, Tiffany & Co, Travel, UK, Zoe Karssen

7 comments

May 14 2013

Bright New Things: Styled By Coast

Last week I attended a mini-styling session with Coast and a host of gorgeous bloggers including pals Sherin, Ree and Monica to check out the brand’s high summer collection and I got to try on some amazing dresses.

I have to be honest I haven’t shopped in Coast before and I have not got a reason why not after visiting their flagship store, which is not only decorated beautifully but the collections are incredible. If you are attending any weddings, garden parties, cocktail bashes, or even a night out at a fancy restaurant you need to check out Coast’s gorgeous dresses. Whether you are into florals, love embellishments, ethereal styles, or prefer something more dramatic, I think you will be surprised by the choice.

The event was a lot of fun, I got to wander around the store gushing over all the pieces I adored, I got my hair and make-up done, and the best bit was being styled by Coast’s Oxford Street stylist Marie, who picked out two gorgeous looks for me.

The first was a bright pink duchess satin ‘Chancey’ cocktail dress, which is super flattering thanks to the placement of the statement floral print, and it looked perfect styled with purple accessories including the ‘Lana’ shoe with its gorgeous one-sided bow and ruffled ‘Charlie’ clutch. What I love about this dress has to be the gorgeous detailing to the back – so different.

Keeping with the purple accessories, I changed into another floral dress, this time the elegant ‘Amelie’ print fit and flare style dress, which was teamed with a bright yellow skinny belt to cinch in my waist. More of a grown-up look, I really love the silhouette of this dress and I think it would work perfectly at a summer wedding.

Out of the two looks it is hard to choose my favourite, I loved both, mainly because they are two dresses that I wouldn’t normally wear because of the large floral prints. Also looking back on the look I really need to add more purple into my wardrobe as I really do love the contrast these accessories bring.

But as always at events like this I do love seeing what all the other bloggers wear and two looks I adore were Really Ree’s cool monochrome look and Hi Fashion Sherin’s pink textured ‘Edwina’ dress.

Have you checked out Coast’s latest collection? And do you like what the stylist dressed me in?

**Thanks to Sherin for the fab piccies, Bare Minerals for making me look pretty and Coast for inviting me**

Tags: Coast, My Style

1 comment

May 01 2013

My Style: The Swans Travel To France

So you might have noticed that my blog was a little quiet last week, I was in France visiting family and I forgot to put an out-of-blog on, to be honest I did plan to blog while I was away but I just decided to relax and take a mini break from my laptop.

Much like the weather here is was sunny and bright while we were away, well for the most of it, so I thought it was a great chance to wear my gorgeous Tory Burch swan printed wedges. These beauties have been in my shoe collection since last year when I got them in The Outnet sale and I have been praying for the sunshine so I could wear them, and it was worth nearly making my luggage over the allowed 10kg allowance on Ryan Air!!!

As we were just pottering around the garden, checking out neighbouring villages and getting very jealous over the gorgeous châteauxs **she below my dream house/castle**, I decided to team the swans with my Hudson crop jeans, which have become my new favourite and a slouchy tee from New Look, oh and lots of cute jewellery pieces.

As well as giving my new wedges a run out I also decided to try out how to work a tuck, well I have seen numerous celebs and some of my fav style bloggers so I though I would give it ago, also I was inspired by a piece in People Style that I read on the plane over.

I went for the loose front tuck, a kind of relaxed look where you loosely tuck in the front and let the sides and back hang out. I am not sure I fully mastered it – but hey I gave it a go – and I liked it.

**Coming soon – the side tuck, the full tuck and the smart front tuck – only joking, well sort of!!!**

My Style: Swan-print wedges, Tory Burch via The Outnet // Hudson Jeans Bacara in Vancouver, Jeanography (c/o) // Red t-shirt, New Look // Panda watch, New Look // Evil eye friendship bracelet, Astley Clarke // Wisdom skinny bracelet, Astley Clarke (c/o) // Beaded bracelets, Accessorize // Silver wrap ring, New Look (c/o) // Heart ring, designed by me with Stephen Einhorn & HTC (c/o) // PDS ring, stole for the day off my boyfriend // Glasses, Retro54 //

Tags: Accessorize, Arm Candy, Arm Party, Astley Clarke, France, HTC, Hudson Jeans, My Style, New Look, OOTD, Stephen Einhorn, Tory Burch

2 comments

Apr 22 2013

My Style: The Kooky Cat

I like black, I like colour too, but black has to me go-to wardrobe staple, I think it is because in my head it is slimming, and to be honest I need all the help I can get. But to jazz up an all-black look I like to either add bright accessories, normally a bracelet stack, a colour-pop handbag, or in this case a quirky top.

I have already shared my love for Lulu Guinness’ collaboration with Uniqlo a number of times, and I have to say that this second collection is better than the first and it is all to-do with the summer-feeling sleeveless tops. My favourite being the updated Kooky Cat, you might remember the grey t-shirt version last year, well this is the revamped style featuring a cute dotty Peter Pan collar.

When the weather is warmer I plan on wearing this without the cardigan, but to be honest even though the sun is shining at the moment it is still pretty chilly, but it works perfectly teamed with my Topshop skater skirt and ankle boots. I really think that this a versatile piece, you could pair with slouchy jeans and wedges, a denim skirt and kitty flats, or how about just showing off that fab collar under a bright jumper – there is so much you can do with this top and priced at only £12.90 it really is a bargain.

My Style: Lulu Guinness for Uniqlo Kooky Cat top, Uniqlo // Skater skirt, Topshop // Long cardigan, AllSaints // Ankle boots, Topshop // Panda watch, New Look // Glasses, Retro54 // Skinny belt, Primark //

Have you checked out Lulu Guinness’ latest collaboration for Uniqlo? Which pieces are your favourite?

Tags: AllSaints, Lulu Guinness, Lulu Guinness for Uniqlo, My Style, OOTD, Topshop, Uniqlo

1 comment

Apr 16 2013

My Style: When Hudson Met Lulu

This weekend actually felt like spring, it was sunny, it was warm, and it meant that I could finally wear something that wasn’t layered up – cue the crop jeans, the statement tee and a colourful pair of trainers!!!

A couple of years ago I am not so sure I would have got my ankles out for a pair of jeans, that was because I hadn’t been introduced to the boyfriend style of denim, since I got my Gap pair I have been a little obsessed in finding a pair that was a little longer in length that would be perfect with trainers, and then Jeanography came along and recommend these Hudson Jeans and I think I can safely say they are going to be my spring/summer staple.

As we had friends over this weekend we took full advantage of the sunny weather and took in the sights, shops, and gorgeous parks of St Albans, a market town that I haven’t been to in a while and it is so pretty. As we were doing a bit of walking around I decided to wear my new Onitsuka Tiger trainers, so, so comfortable and I am in love with the gorgeous pink colour, which works so well with blue denim.

To complete my look of first time wears, which wasn’t intentional I just realised while writing this post, was my Lulu Guinness for Uniqlo doll face tee. You may remember I was a big fan of Lulu’s first collaboration with the Japanese fashion brand, I have the Kooky Cat and the original doll face, so when the collection came out earlier this month I couldn’t resist updating my wardrobe with the new style and at under £15 this tee is a bargain.

If the sunny weather keeps up like this I think you will be seeing a lot more of these jeans, these shoes and an array of statement tees!!!

Do you have a go-to sunny Sunday afternoon attire?