The Pleated Midi Skirt - The perfect skirt for now..

4.29.2016







All images above via Pinterest

Style Theory: The perfect Spring skirt, the midi skirt can be styled with ankle or knee high boots now and in the summer wear with trainers or strappy tan sandals. So elegant, super stylish and a surprisingly easy skirt to wear, it looks just as good dressed up as it does dressed down. Here are the best on the high street now and a few ideas on how to style them...
Topshop Satin Pleat Skirt £45
I love this skirt, a beautiful shade of pink, you can wear now with a pale grey jumper (a grey cashmere hoody would be perfect) or this affordable cashmere sweater from H&M below.
H&M Cashmere Jumper £49.99
Such a brilliant price and the softest cashmere (I have this in pale pink) I would size up for a slouchy fit with the skirt, tuck a corner of the sweater in your skirt to create shape and add a pair of trainers or block heeled shoes for a cool, wearable look.
Or wear the pink skirt with a pink or cream shirt as I have done above, the perfect smart look for a summer event.
Topshop Skirt £49
The perfect metallic midi skirt, it would look great with a black, slightly slouchy poloneck (size up) and I love these shoes..the white and black version are stunning and would give this skirt a real edge (25% off at KG at the moment with the code kg25 )...
Kurt Geiger £180
Or love them in black with the gold heels..
Kurt Geiger £180
The gold heel will look great against the metallic skirt and these shoes will look equally good with ankle length jeans and a silk shirt or cold shoulder blouse.
Zara Fine Pleated Metallic Midi Skirt £39.99
A beautiful gold/silver shimmery skirt, wear now with black or grey, in the summer wear with tan sandals, a white tee shirt add a biker jacket to toughen up the look.
Asos reduced to £22
I have a similar skirt to this in grey and it looks fab in the day worn with a grey logo sweater and trainers..I have my eyes on these trainers at the moment (seem to be having a KG love in at the moment!)
KG Lille Trainers £99
Such cute trainers, they look fab on and the black elastic detail would look perfect with the black skirt. Again 25% off with the code kg25.
Mango £49.99
A beautiful deep green, this skirt would look gorgeous matched with shades of camel, grey, blues or pink, add a contrasting pop of colour with a mustard bag or wear green on green as above in the streetstyle image.

The midi skirt is the perfect item to shake it up a little in your wardrobe, it just makes a looks a little more interesting, different,

Do you have a midi skirt in your wardrobe bought from past seasons? Would you be brave enough and mix it up and little and wear it casually in the day? As always I would love to hear your thoughts and comments, until the next time Fran xxxx

A Fabulous, Affordable, Wedding Guest/Christening/Holy communion dress..


Style Theory: I tried this dress on today and wanted to share it with you. It is, in my mind, the perfect Wedding Guest/Christening/Holy Communion dress. It is from Warehouse and is a faux wrap dress with a zip at the back so less fiddly than a true wrap dress. It is really flattering, nipped me in at my non-existent waist and skimmed my lumps and bumps and is £45. Add a pair of tan high heeled sandals and tan bag, or you could pick out a colour in the print (the darkest tone of pink for example) and wear dark pink heels and a light khaki clutch bag (a sueded one would look fab). I would be tempted to throw a navy blazer over the top or toughen up with a biker jacket. Add a fine gold necklace for a finishing touch. This is a size 10, it came up true to size for me.
Warehouse Bird Print Wrap Dress £45
Such a good price for a dress that looks far more more expensive AND it has pockets, I love pockets makes awkward photograph posing less strained! 

Short and sweet from me this evening, lots more on the blog this week including the big move out of boots into the a selection of the best shoes on the high street...

Thanks for reading, until next time Fran xxx

Gingham Style

4.22.2016

images via Pinterest
Style Theory: Gingham was featured on the SS16 catwalks by Victoria Beckham, Stella McCartney and Celine to name but a few. It was re-worked for a more grown up look in tailored jackets, midi slip dresses and trousers. It is the perfect item to add to your wardrobe to give it a 'Fashion Lift' for this season..(apologies for the title, I couldn't resist!) 
Here are the best gingham pieces on the high street now and how to style..
New Look @Asos £22.99
A great way to dip your toe into the trend without investing too much money. This shirt will look fab with khaki cargo trousers and trainers or heels (as streetstyle image above) It will also look lovely in the summer with cut off denim shorts and tan or black flat sandals.
Denim and Supply Ralph Lauren @Asos £75
This 100% cotton shirt looks amazing, it is boho perfection with tailored edge. I love the thought of this on a summer's day with cut off 501 shorts and tan majorcan sandals, a few fine gold necklaces of different lengths and a tan slouchy boho leather bag..stunning.
Whistles @Asos £110
A boxy top, would look fab with skinny, kick flare blue jeans and flatform, white supergas.
Topshop Gingham Shorts £30
The cutest little gingham shorts, these would look great with a relaxed denim shirt and white supergas. 
Topshop £32
A fab 'cecile copenhagen' tribute, this slouchy viscose/cotton mix tee will look great over ankle length blue skinny jeans this Spring/summer. Add a pair of black leather, flat strappy sandals for a cool, laid back look.
Warehouse Dress £49
The perfect tailored gingham dress, the pencil skirt makes the print look grown up and it features this season's must have the 'cold shoulder'
Zara £25.99
I love the high front and low back of this dress, it would look fab styled as the streetstyle image above with a pair of stan smiths and add a red bag for a pop of colour.
Whistles £95
So not necessarily gingham but black and white and I am strangely obsessed with this knitted vest top. I love the idea of it again with levis cut offs and flat sandals in the summer, the perfect alternative to the basic vest top. Love the shoes as well but cannot track them down?!

I am definitely going to buy into the gingham trend, it can look so chic and elegant paired with the right look. What do you think of gingham, do you already have some gingham items in your wardrobe? As always I would love to hear your thoughts and comments, until next time, Fran xxx

It's all about Tailoring...

4.19.2016







Style Theory: When clothes are tailored well they are so flattering, skimming your lumps and bumps and making you look slimmer and just a little taller (I need help with both). I fell in love with Me+Em tailoring a couple of years ago when I bought a swing dress for Christmas Day, it hung perfectly, was made of beautiful fabric and was incredibly flattering..I was smitten. So here is my edit above and below of my favourite Me+Em pieces....

I am slightly obsessed with the stripe trousers above, they fit the 'sports luxe' trend perfectly and are so flattering. They are made from beautiful fabric that hangs perfectly, I have a tummy and they amazingly disguise this. The perfect work to weekend trousers, they can be worn with heels or trainers, they will work hard for you. The silk blouse is pure indulgence, the bow makes a statement and the colour is subtle and calm. Both the blouse and the trousers are a size 10 (my normal size), I sized down on the Alexa M&S blazer to a size 8 as it is pretty oversized.





Camo Jacket - Primark (old season)

This dress is currently in the Me+Em sale, it is made of silk crepe de chine, hangs beautifully and does not crush. It can be worn during the day, styled with a casual jacket (I went for my camo jacket) and sneakers or in the evening wear with tan high sandals and a contrasting bag for the perfect wedding outfit. I sized down on this as it does come up a little big, this is a size 8.




Lace Blouse - &Other Stories (in store in sale)
Bag - Zara (in store) 

The perfect pink sweater, in a swing shape so keep bottoms tight and fitted. It is the most beautiful shade of pink, it is a fine knit so can be tucked into the front of jeans (perfect for hiding a tummy like mine) I will be wearing it with my cut off denim shorts and flat tan sandals in the summer and dressing it up wearing it with my stripe trousers above and heels for a smarter look.

This season tailoring is working for me, good tailoring is always a little more expensive in which case I make it 'work' hard for me, dressing it up with heels or dressing it down with a pair of trainers, a tee and a khaki/camo 'shackett'. I really believe in not keeping best clothes for 'best', I wear the items again and again from random trips to the park to press events, I need to get value and time goes too quickly to keep something to only wear once (apart from at home where I live in PJ bottoms!). 

What are you tailored must-have's? Do you tend to keep nice clothing aside for special occasions or do you wear them whenever? As always I would love to hear your thoughts and comments, until next time Fran xxxx

Spotlight on Warehouse

Streetstyle photos via Pinterest
Style Theory: I had not been into Warehouse for a while but whilst I was in London last week I popped in and was excited to see so many beautiful items, from dresses to cool blouses, their new collection looked good.

Here are my favourite pieces with a little inspiration on how to style..

The Gingham Shirt
Gingham Blouson Blouse £39
A gorgeous blouson blouse, in this season's gingham. It has a tighter, almost belt like section at the bottom that makes it perfectly blouson. I tried in on (below) this is my normal size but I would be tempted to size up as it was slightly tight across the bottom. It is lovely!

How to style..

Style with 'Mom' jeans, a belt - belts are back in (love the Gucci one above but it is too spendy!) Throw on a trench and a pair of loafers..perfect.

The Dress
Silk Floral Bird Print Dress £95
Oriental Floral Midi £59
Floral midi dresses are having a moment. Perfect to wear during the day with trainers and a biker or denim jacket. Or for a wedding or formal event wear with a pair of bright coloured heels (pick out one of the colours in the print to match) add a contrasting, unusual bag (again one or a couple of the colours in the print) 

Love the strappy shoes, fun clutch and matching sunglasses, a perfect look.

The Shirt
Ticking Stripe Grandad Blouse £35
A good basic shirt, perfect for work with blue chinos and flat gold pointed shoes, for the weekend pair with jeans and trainers and in the summer with shorts..see inspiration looks below..



Loving it with the long shorts..

The Denim Shirt
Denim Ruffle Denim Shirt £45
A twist on the basic denim shirt, I like the victoriana style neck, it looks a little different and will look great under a maxi dress or pair of dungarees.

The Ruffle Blouse
Jacquard Ruffle Front Blouse £25
It is all about ruffles this year, this is such a good prices, a way to dip your toe in the trend without speeding too much.

The Sweater 
Woven ruffle sleeve jumper £45
I would size up on this sweater and wear a little on the large side. It will look fab with black skinny jeans and Stan Smith trainers for a cool laid back Spring look.

The Metallic Skirt
Metallic Leather Skirt £195
This is super expensive but I had to include it as it is pretty amazing. Metallics continue to reign supreme, this skirt ticks all the boxes, metallic, leather, a-line - very cool. Perfect to dress down with a grey sweater and trainers for an edgy daytime look.

The Shoes
Suede Buckled Heel Shoe £55
I have bought similar sandals to these the last few summers, the straps are super flattering on and they look great with a blouse, oversized boyfriend jeans with a turn up.

I love a plain top, baggy jeans and a coloured shoe, it looks so eye catching and nonchalantly dressy.

So there are a few pieces that caught my eye but have a look through the 'Tops' section on the website there are loads of fab blouses and shirts.

Are you a fan of Warehouse, have you checked them out recently? Until next time Frances xxx

*this is not a sponsored post, was just walking by and popped in!