Multi-Way: The Bodycon Dress

When I was about 7 to 9 years old I used to turn t shirts into skirts and wear layers of vests in order to experiment with my wardrobe. Obviously this was no a great look, but I look back and love how oblivious I was to what was "acceptable" and just wore what I wanted and tried to find new ways of wearing different clothes. Of course I've grown out of the blush-worthy t-shirt skirt, but I've also grown out of trying new things and mixing it up. Since the beginning of my teens I've had this ideal that something could only be worn one way, which just isn't what fashion and style is about.

Luckily before a concert the other week, my best friend Carys reminded me that there are so many things you can do to just one piece of clothing, and that you don't need to go by the book. This inspired me to create a new series called "Multi-way" to come up with new ways of styling an item of clothing which in long term will save lots of money and lots of what-do-I-wear panic.

The first item is a black, knee-length, bodycon dress. I got mine in the summer last year, but I have found an alternatives that will work here, although any black bodycon dress with a light material of your choice works. So here's three ways to style a bodycon.

The first unorthodox way to wear this bodycon is like a bodysuit under skirts for a night out, because of the lovely racer back of this dress, it adds some dimension to the outfit and ensures that it brushes your skin like a bodysuit would. I paired it with a scuba, box-pleated skirt and some blush pink heels to keep the look simple but stylish.

Or to make the look slightly comfier, I slapped on a pair of trainers that make the look more on the "urban" side

The second look is the flip side of the first as the dress is being used as just a plain bodycon skirt (inspired by Carys) and the velour crop top adds a new texture making the look more interesting and dynamic, perfect for keeping you a bit warmer on a night out. The caged heels are quite 'out-there' in the context of this outfit I think, but it's easily adjustable with a pair of classic stillettos

The next way is basically the same as the first, bodysuit way, but I've styled it in more of a casual way for summer (optimistic) and I think the casual feel of the denim contrasting with the formality of black makes the outfit wearable for all occasions. The racer back hand-in-hand with the Vans also gives the look a sporty feel.

 I hope this inspired you to find new ways to wear a bodycon dress, or any other soon-to-be versatile piece in your wardrobe. Keep and eye out for another installment of this series.

Happy Mother's Day!


Items;

Scuba skirt - Urban Outfitters (similar here)

Velvet Crop Top - old (similar here)

Blush heels - Missguided (in blue here) (updated version here)

Caged sandals - Miss Selfridge (alernative here)

Denim Skirt - Urban Outfitters

Handbag - Kate Spade

Vans - This year's equivalent

Rings - mixture of Topshop and Vintage

Modern Classics

Happy Sunday everyone, today's post is an outfit one which incorporates a mixture of old classics and modern essentials in one, creating a great transitional outfit into Spring, touching on the 90's minimalism trend of SS16.

Firstly I added a crisp classic white shirt to a fairly plain outfit of a sleeveless polo neck and a denim skirt. However rather than wear the shirt the traditional way, my best friend had previously styled me with this shirt tied and I feel it gives a modern twist to an old love.

Due to the frost that would form on my shins during Winter I added plain black tights, which could easily be removed during the warmer months. To add to the modern twist I slipped on my New Balance 373 to keep the look current and casual, and most importantly comfy. Sunglasses are always a staple for any outfit of mine, especially these black ones that are like a classic in my collection.

I was feeling more adventurous and after being inspired by an editorial spread in ELLE magazine a couple of months back, I decided to add a denim shirt in replacement of the white shirt. Although more 'out there' denim is still a classic piece and I love the combination of both denims together, especially with this shirt being buttoned up almost completely and tied rather than open. The polo neck still peeps through the top, giving a slightly industrial look. 

Grey Polo - H&M

Skirt - Urban Outfitters

Denim Shirt - Vintage (similar in SALE)

White shirt - Old but very similar here

Sunnies - Old (similar here)

The Boyfriend Coat

Hi everyone, hope you're all well. Firstly I'd like to apologise for not blogging in so long, the amount of work mixed with lack of inspiration made it hard to come up with outfits and put together a blog post. But I'm back and will continue to blog, sticking to a schedule of posting every Sunday evening.

Today's post is an outfit one where I styled (literally) my boyfriend's coat with a relaxed '1980's Goalkeeper' sweatshirt to make a comfy and casual outfit. The over-sized trend has been re-incarnated from the 90's for the past few years now and as you can tell from my previous posts, I've never actually followed that trend. I think that's because I've been afraid of looking like a boy because of my not-so broad shoulders and hips. However I've learnt that there are definitely ways around making baggy look shapely.

Firstly, the coat. it's a really lovely quality coat from ASOS that probably looks best on men but also creates the over-sized, relaxed look that I wanted for the walk. The buttons down the front allow you to choose a smarter, more polished(ish) appearance or you could wear it undone for added casualness

Some people like to wear baggy with baggy which I think looks really cool, and if it works for you then go for it but it's never looked good on me personally, so instead of ripped boyfriend jeans, I've chosen the black Jamie jeans from Topshop which are super skinny (but sadly out of stock - click here or here for alternative). These show the shape of your legs, hips and bum in the right way, showing more shape to your body to contrast with the baggy top.

Because the outfit was styled for a walk, I had to wear my new comfy trainers by New Balance. I love the black and grey together because it mutes down the obviousness of the brand's symbol 'N', and of course these colours come from the Parisian Chic palette - love.

I accessorised with sunglasses which was just totally inappropriate for February but there was a thin ray of sunshine through the clouds so any excuse, and also some rings that were from Topshop (similar here).

Yes so that's the entire outfit that I wore on my adventure to buy creme eggs and hot cross buns - yum.

(finding the creme egg)

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Pastel on Pastel

Back to fashion this week, and here's an outfit post for you. Instead of colour blocking I thought I'd try a softer approach by pairing a blue shift dress from Toshop (old but the white version is in the SALE) with pastel pink pumps from Missguided (in the SALE for only £11!).

I've always loved the feminine pastels with clean and sophisticated lines like this dress and the studs of the shoes introduce a contrast of elegance and edge. 

Now, the bag. I don't know how to explain why I paired it with the outfit because in theory it probably makes no sense. However there seems to be something stylish about the sudden odd and bold clash of the patent red with all the colours mixing and matching by Vivienne Westwood that it just works. 

I hope you enjoyed today's post and that you like the outfit and that your week is going well.

Cerys♥ 

Back to the Future

You may be puzzled as to how a fashion blog links to science fiction? Well, truthfully, there is no real link here other than the fact that science surrounds us, as does fashion. This is one of my favourite outfits and fortunately the clothes were all bough fairly recently and are still available for you to buy.

If we start from the top down; this beautiful 70's blouse is from Miss Selfridge and is just so elegant yet very boho and dilettante (although not very festival appropriate as it's white and I think we all know British festivals don't welcome this colour with open arms). This is a gorgeous piece that I feel I'll get a lot of wear out of and if you're lucky to be tall enough or happen to look fabulous in floral flares, this would be a great accompaniment to hit the trend.

I decided to pair it with the timeless Denim Skirt from Urban Outfitters which although timeless certainly has a 60's influence to it with its A-Line fit. I love the fit of this as it widens my hips a little which I like to do. If you don't want to emphasise or widen your hips then I suggest choosing a skater style skirt to help slim your hips if that's what you wish.

To contrast with the reverse of fashion, I chose to wear these modernistic Holographic Heeled Sandals from ASOS. They're comfy and are a very quick way to dress up and outfit. Despite this, as they are a subtle holographic shoe in the 'Barely There' style, these look great with jeans rolled up for a more casual vibe. The heel is very low, almost a kitten heel which I know a lot of people dislike so if you'd prefer a higher heel here's a similar pair.

The flower crown I'm wearing at the top of this post was from Primark a year ago, but here's a similar one (that's ON SALE!)

I hope you enjoyed today's post and that the mix of classic and current is to your taste. Keep your eyes peeled for the next post on Tuesday!

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Bye Bye Guess Shorts!

No, I am not selling or giving away my favourite shorts - no need to worry! This is the last addition to the Guess Series on my blog. With Summer coming to an end, especially here in the UK with the Autumnal weather well on its way, I thought I would add one more outfit to the collection!

I paired the shorts with this cute crop top that I got from republic a few years ago, my New Backpack and my 'Birkenstocks' look-a-like sandals to give a relaxed, effortless feel to this outfit! I can't forget the sunglasses from Urban Outfitters which always complete any of my Summer outfits!

This outfit has been recurring this Summer for me as it's so easy and the accessorizing is very minimal making this look easy to dress up or down. I hope you enjoyed the Guess Series, let me know which outfit was your favourite (I'll link them all below) and thank you for reading!

Introduction                              

Cute but Casual

    

Summery Day Out