Oh look, it's another pencil dress/boots combo! Er, sorry, no points for originality right now. Anyway, I wanted to post this dress despite that as it's amazzzzzing! I got it from New Look for the grand sum of £15 about six weeks again, and find myself wearing it constantly right now. It's the perfect fitted dress for me, super fitted and yet still comfortable and easy to run about in.

Dress, New Look (available here)
Belt, Dorothy Perkins
Boots, Primark

This dress was kindly sent to me by the folks at Simply Be earlier this year. It's part of their collection with Anna Scholz - a range I've always wanted to try but which is also a little out of my price range normally. This is made out of a lovely jersey fabric, and I love the ruching down the front of the dress. The skirt isn't quite as tight fitting as I'd like, so I think it'll be altered before I wear it next.

This I wore it simply, with some heeled boots and a skinny belt - definitely one of my uniforms looks!

Dress, c/o Simply Be (available here)
Belt, Dorothy Perkins
Boots, Primark

 

So this Thursday I allowed myself a night off uni work so I could go see the wonderful Lauren  in Hamburger Queen at the RVT. It was an AMAZING night, full of laughing so hard my jaw ached and celebrating talented, unruly fat people. There's still two more heats to go and a final, and I'd recommend it to anyone who needs a burst of positivity or just some fun. 

Anyway, cycling shorts seemed appropriate attire for such an occasion. I got these custom made by Allihalla on etsy last year and they're marvelous. Good lazy spring attire (even though it's still bloody freezing). 

Denim waistcoat, altered jacket, New Look

Kitten t-shirt, eBay

Cycling shorts, Allihalla

Creepers, eBay

How to Wear: Spring (Bold Stripes)

The lovely folks at Voucher Codes approached me recently to take part in a series on how to wear Spring trends. I was given a few options, from which I chose bold stripes! I love stripey things, I'm sure long term readers will have realised this by now!

We were given £80 to go and find options from which we could make 3 outfits (using pieces from our own wardrobe where we wanted). I liked this challenge because it was budget friendly too - £80 is probably more than I'd spend otherwise for 3 items, but still a fairly reasonable amount. I found three items, and here's how I wore them:

Look 1: Casual

 Stripey jumper, Maine New England at Debenhams, £22.40 - available here
White button up shirt: Clothes swap
Jeans, ASOS, £16 - available here
Necklace, Topshop, £12.50 - available here
Dunlops, car boot sale, £2

This is a look I wear pretty frequently these days - it's comfortable, warm and still stylish (I think?!). The stripey jumper is a classic for me, though surprisingly I've not owned one in ages! I have lots of stripey tops though. The jumper is a generous sized 22, has lovely cable detailing and is thick. Definitely one I'll be wearing constantly until March gets nicer. The necklace is something I bought with a gift voucher over Christmas and have been wearing with lots of things. Feature necklaces are definitely something I'd like more of!

Look 2: Smart:

 

Chevron striped work dress, £32, Collection at Debenhams - available here

Cardigan, clothes swap

Chunky necklace, £2, Primark

Belt, £7, Dorothy Perkins

Tights, M&S

Shoes, ASOS, £30 - available here (for £16 now, gah)

I went for a more discretely striped item with my second choice - this chevron striped work dress from Debenhams (okay, there were other places selling striped things too....). You can't see but it has these cute red panels that I covered up with the cardigan and belt because I wanted to wear my pink flatforms! It's made out of ponte fabric which is my favourite fabric for workwear, though annoyingly it's also lined making it not stretchy at all! Thankfully it fits really well and the lining isn't constricting. The 22 is pretty generous so would fit size 24 too.

Look 3: smart casual. 

Jersey dress, Very, £16 - available here
Cardigan, c/o Curvissa - available here and customised with these patches
Tights, M&S
Boots, Primark
Necklace - Fable and Fury

My final look revolved around this cute long sleeved jersey skater dress I found on Very. £16! I got the tall version and it's about the right length for me. I thought it'd be cute clashed with my spotty cardigan from Curvissa, which I recently customised with some patches from eBay. A bit obnoxious but hopefully still nice.

Phew! Hope you enjoyed, and thanks to Voucher Codes for letting me take part!

This dress is one of my new favourite things! It's perfect to throw on with some flats when I'm feeling lazy. I've gotten more into separates over the past year that I've almost forgotten how effortless a good dress can be when you're in a rush to leave the house in the morning. I can see it looking fancified with a little more effort too! 

Dress, c/o Simply Be
Tights, M&S
Shoes, crocs, via eBay, £6
Belt, Dorothy Perkins, £7

Also, hey look it's been so long since I posted that I forgot I hadn't given you all a hair update! Yes, predictably enough it's all been chopped off again (I blame the inklings of Spring weather).