POKETO
Do you ever stumble upon a website and enter a black hole of clicking through every product listed? You start drooling, and pin every other item you come across in a board that only you and you mom can see that's full of ideas for future presents? That happened to me with Poketo.
The offerings are design led but not in that over done everyone-has-already-posted-it-to-Instagram sort of way.
It's unique. It's different. It's what you've been looking for.
There are plenty of perfect pieces to gift yourself or to book mark for your besties upcoming birthday. My favorites include the gold minimalist jewelry, black-on-black watch, pink clay mask and an artsy phone case which has me wanting to cover my phone for the first time in years. I also love their stationary, which is quirky and isn't overpriced. If you aren't familiar with the brand yet then go check them out. They are rather glorious and I promise you will get hooked.
Gap ss15
Sometimes I go into Gap and don't see anything I like. Other times I walk in and find myself entering the dressing room with an arm overflowing with pieces.
At the moment, Gap is pulling at my heart strings. They have so many simple basics that would make it much easier to get dressed this summer. Below I've picked out a few of my favourite items that are in at the moment.
They include a little black dress that is near on perfection, a denim button up that looks like it ought to cost much more than it actually does, and a bucket bag that is the doppelgänger of the, now much sought after, Mansur Gavriel one. There is also a little striped tee (can you ever have too many?) and a pair of distressed boyfriend jeans that look heavenly. I think it's time I pay a visit to the mall and try some of these bad boys on.
Instead of Packing
Instead of packing a suitcase full of clothes for my trip to England tomorrow, I ordered a range of basics from the Zara sale and had them sent to the place where I'll be staying. I'm bringing my carry on half empty so that I can fit all the new pieces in. I'm pretty sure this is the best idea ever because I'm thinking it will be super nice to receive a new little mini wardrobe upon arriving at my destination.
Instead of packing a suitcase full of clothes for my trip to England tomorrow, I ordered a range of basics from the Zara sale and had them sent to the place where I'll be staying.
I'm bringing my carry on half empty so that I can fit all the new pieces in. I'm pretty sure this is the best idea ever because I'm thinking it will be super nice to receive a new little mini wardrobe upon arriving at my destination.
As soon as the Zara sale began I was on their website scrolling through the hundreds of items that had been discounted. There was so much to pick from but in the end I settled on a few tank tops, a grey skirt and a striped dress. Perfect little additions to my wardrobe!
Photos via Zara
Knitwear dropping
We have barely made our start with June, yet, when I started browsing the Acne new arrivals section on the brand's site I was bombarded with a vast array of fluffy knitwear. These mohair and wool blend sweaters aren't the sort of thing you're likely to wear this summer. Why then are they dropping in shops now?
We have barely made our start with June, yet, when I started browsing the Acne new arrivals section on the brand's site I was bombarded with a vast array of fluffy knitwear.
These mohair and wool blend sweaters aren't the sort of thing you're likely to wear this summer. Why then are they dropping in shops now? Surely pre-fall isn't supposed to hit the shelves until after we've at least made our start with summer. I don't like this new development. Summer clothes should come in the form of barely there dresses and soft t-shirts. Acne, I'm disappointed with you. Put away the mohair until September please.
On a side note: despite the fact that these jumpers shouldn't be in store at the moment, I'm massively in love with how soft and delicious they look. The ultra long sleeves and oversized shapes have got my heart melting.
Photos via Acne.
Zara, I'm coming for you
You might already know, I have a serious love/hate relationship with Zara. Love: because it looks like a little slice of heaven on the website. Hate: because in reality it's often quite crap.
You might already know, I have a serious love/hate relationship with Zara. Love: because it looks like a little slice of heaven on the website. Hate: because in reality it's often quite crap.
Every season I do the same thing. I troll the website repeatedly and make a mental wish list of all the things I want to buy. Then, I finally go into the store and accept the reality that we aren't meant to be together. I feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff in the shop, get put off by the length of the line to get into a fitting room and always always dump my pile of clothes on a table and walk out with nothing.
Well, it just so happens that I'll be staying in a hotel that is a five minute walk from Zara this week and so I'm making it my goal to go into the shop and have a proper look at what's on offer. I really want the little navy dress with the belted waist, the pink chunky knit and the holy jeans. Oh, and the mules. I don't know why I've just been overcome by the desire to wear mules. Talk me out of it if you think that's necessary. Okay, I will keep you updated on what happens. Expect some frantic Instagram shots from the changing room.
Photos via Zara.
Atea
When I clicked over to the Atea website one afternoon last week I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Ten minutes in, I scrolled through all the contents of their stock and made a mental wish list that tallied up to the multi-thousand pound mark. Oops.
When I clicked over to the Atea website one afternoon last week I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Ten minutes in, I scrolled through all the contents of their stock and made a mental wish list that tallied up to the multi-thousand pound mark. Oops.
This is really saying something because there isn't that much to wade through on the site, the collection is small but (be warned) it packs a mighty punch. It's made up of basics in navy, white and grey with a few stripes thrown in for good measure.
Need I even say that this is my formula for no-fuss everyday dressing?
Atea provides the building blocks necessary to create the perfect wardrobe. From their simple wide-legged trousers to round necked grey sweatshirts, the collection is full of the sort of items you'd reach for day-after-day for countless seasons to come. This is what I love about the brand so much. You won't find any fancy logos or explicit branding, instead they just provide well-cut good quality pieces that can be mixed and matched to create a slew of classic looks. My absolute favorite piece is the navy striped racer dress. There's something sort of nineties inspired about the neckline and I love that it has darts at the bust that create the perfect fitted shape. Here's to hoping I can avoid the high street and instead save my pennies for some of the luxury essentials that Atea have to offer.
Images via Atea.
GET YOUR NIKE ON...
Forget about sky high heels, this season at London Fashion Week the fashionable crowd were all sporting Nike trainers. I'm rubbish when it comes to heels. I'd much rather wear a pair of bright tennis shoes any day. The only problem is choosing which pair to go for. Nike has so many options and they are all customizable. You can choose the colour you want for every part of the shoe. With that much choice I'm left a bit clueless for what to pick. I do know one thing for sure though, this is a trend I can definitely get behind.
NATALIE JOOS
There are a handful of women in the fashion industry that I admire. Among them are the epic mothers of fashion journalism, Suzy Menkes and Hilary Alexander, as well as more recent greats like Tamu McPherson and Caroline Issa. Each woman is carving their individual place in the fashion industry and retaining great amounts of integrity and class while doing it. I like that.
One person who has recently landed on my fashion radar is the multi-talented Natalie Joos. She's a casting agent, author, photographer and consultant - a woman of many talents, no doubt. She also has a kick butt blog that I love. It's called Tales of Endearment and it chronicles all her adventures and has beautiful photos. Natalie is one of the stand out subjects of street style during fashion week thanks to her bold outfits and infectious smile. She always looks so upbeat and positive - an excellent reminder that fashion should always be fun.