Day for a Hat

While considering what I should wear to a friends wedding in February, I looked up photos of outfits I wore to previous weddings. Suddenly I realized I forgot to show you this dress I wore a few months back before Autumn kicked in. I hadn't worn a hat before so thought it would be fun to wear one. I want my look to be different for the wedding next month. Time to play dress up I think. No better time than the weekend.

Dress; Warehouse, Shawl; H&M, Shoes; Zara (currently on sale), Clutch; Accessorize, Necklace; Oasis, Hat; M&S.

Reunited for a while

I know everyone was probably rocking the fur all winter but mine was tucked away in my old wardrobe in my parents. In truth, I just can't fit all my clothes in my apartment and coats and jackets seem to take up a lot of room due to their bulky nature. As a result, I tend to keep half of them in my old room at the family home and every so often, swap them out bringing old ones over when I feel like a change. So glad to be reunited with my faux fur jacket.  Makes me wonder though, is anyone else like this with clothes storing them in their family home? 

 

Keep on smiling.x

Faux Fur; River Island, Dress; Miss Selfridge, Bag; Zara, Shoes; Aldo

Cosy in Neutrals

I really wanted to be cosy the day I wore this outfit so flats,a knit and a very warm coat were the ideal choice. You may recognise the coat from this post. I got the jumper just recently. I wanted a jumper that was fun, that screamed winter and yet wasn't a Christmas jumper and when I saw this one, I went straight for it. The polo bear on it actually reminds me of the Coca Cola Christmas advertisement. Do you know the one I'm thinking of? Speaking of Christmas advertisements, have you seen the one for John Lewis one this year? y heart just melted when I saw it. If you haven't seen it, I advise you to check it out. 

Jumper; Next, jeans; H&M, boots and gloves; M&S, coat; Dunnes Stores, 

bag; Warehouse, Beanie and necklace; TopShop, faux fur scarf; Accessorize.

Finished with a Bow

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. Hard to believe we are nearly into a new year. Quickest year ever. I recently had the opportunity to wear  a dress that has been sitting in the back of my wardrobe. You may remember it from this post. It's very dressy, a little too dressy for an average weekend so when I was invited to a winter wedding I thought it was the ideal opportunity. I think my favourite feature is the giant bow at the back. It just makes it extra girly and gives it that finishing touch. Unfortunately, disaster struck for me that day. After carefully styling my hair, I had the short journey of walking to and from my car in the stormiest of weather which left my hair looking neither straight or with wavey curls but what could only be described as utterly wind swept. Upon reaching the venue   and booking into our room, I had a whole 5 minutes to fix my hair. The man friends hair remained the same as before he left home. I guess that's all part of the joys of being a girl. Also, I went a little darker with my hair recently. At first, it was a bit of a shock as I'm not particularly adventurous with my hair but I've gotten used to it. It's probably the closest I could get to my natural colour. 

 

Dress; Karen Millen, Shoes; Bertie, 

Bag; Warehouse, Necklace; Accessorize

Beanie's Time to Shine

Finally, the beanie is getting it's time in the lime light. So simple, so cheap and just the accessory to be on trend this season. I don't know why, it's not like I need one, but every winter I tend to buy a new beanie. I seem to be accumulating quite the collection. This little one in the pictures below I fell for not only for the colour but for the giant bobble on top. Seriously, it's bigger than usual so hard not to notice. It made me feel like a kid when I first tried it on as I had the funniest urge to move my head to make the bobble shake. We all need to keep a little of the kid inside of us alive right!?

On another note, the cold has really kicked in the last week so it was time to bundle up. With camel and grey everywhere this season, I really wanted to get a warm polo neck in either colour. Found this one I'm wearing in h&m last week. They have it in several colours. It's so snug and the neck falls nicely. As I added it to my wardrobe, I realised I only had one other polo neck in my wardrobe. I think I need to stock up.

Jeans; Miss Selfridge, Boots & Beanie; both M&S (AU13), 

Polo neck; H&M (AU13), Bag; Michael Kors

Steph xx

Tailored on Top

Just a quick hello and hope you're week is off to a good start. The sun was shining here last weekend so I took advantage and got out in the fresh air out at Dollymount Strand where there was a kite surfing festival on. I'll keep this post short and sweet today with my look for dinner with friends Saturday evening. I went for a clean and crisp summer look with a mint green top with collar detail, a simple white blazer and a pair of leather look black jeans to keep it casual. I'm also getting plenty of use out of my new bag as you can see.

Blazer & top; Zara, Leather look jeans; Topshop, Bag & wedges; M&S

Thanks for reading.x

Orange Zest

These photos were taken when I popped home to see my parents. After some play time with my dog (who never gets tired), I brought him for a walk to pick up some bits in the DIY store for some home improvements. I was wearing my brightest blazer. I'm loving orange at the moment, it's just screams summertime don't you think? I also couldn't help but admire the bursts of red among the flowerbeds along the way....slightly mad to think this when looking at flowers but I really want a something in my wardrobe in that vibrant red colour. By the way, these are the most comfortable flats for lots of walking. Let's face it, as cute as some flats are, sometimes really flat shoes hurt your feet right!?

Jumper & jeans; Topshop, shoes & bag; M&S, Sunglasses; Gucci.

Glimpses of Amsterdam

Here I share some snaps of my trip to Amsterdam I took with my oldest friend Orla. I had such a wonderful time exploring the city. This first picture I was wearing an outfit that was to bring me from day to night as we were literally out all day. I paired this recently purchased skirt with a sporty look top and wore it along with some black tights and black ankle boots.

Everywhere was so picturesque. Many of you will think I'm mad to say this but I even loved the lampposts - they are just so much more appealing to the eye than many of ours back home.

I never thought I'd be cycling in heels. More to the point, I didn't think I could but after our impromtu decision to rent bicycles, I mastered cycling in wedges pretty quickly. These jeans have a pastel pattern to them that didn't show up well in this photo so I will show you them more clearly again soon. My sunglasses very conveniently broke in my bag that very morning so I was blinded for the day as it was quite sunny. Oh well, at least I have an excuse to buy a new pair.

 Baskets were a must for our bags. Note to self for future trips; must buy a rucksack.

I saw so many dogs sitting in baskets over there but usually they were going by too quickly for me to capture with my camera. On my last day, I saw this little cutie waiting patiently outside a shop for it's owner. How adorable is he. The owner came out mid photoshoot and was smiling - I'm convinced she was amused at how adorable I found this site.

First Look: skirt; Zara SP13, Top; H&M SP13.

Second Look: jeans ; Zara SP13, Wedges; M&S, Jacket; Miss Selfridge

Forgotten Gems

Have you ever looked forward to something, planned the outfit in your head and then after all that bother, the night you had planned never happened? This dress was initially bought for New Years Eve but I had come down with a bad flu and I never even got to go out in the end. Then I half forgot about this dress until recently so even though I bought it a few months back, it still felt brand new when I finally wore it. I wore it for my house warming as I had moved moved just recently. The lace was beautiful but what really caught by eye was the shape and fully beaded detail at the neckline. Have you any hidden gems you forgot you had?

 I added some red lippy for a pop of colour.

My recent purchase from H&M as my other black clutch didn't hold much.

All ready for the night ahead and as you can see, I really had that new dress feeling.

Hope you had a lovely weekend.x

Dress; Zara AU13, Shoes; M&S, Clutch; H&M

Mustard & Sparkle

I'm dying to pair this new necklace with a dress on a night out but it the meantime, it adds a nice bit of sparkle to this casual look. I bought this scarf on a whim. I wasn't entirely sure at first if I liked the colour or not but it got my attention. In the end, I decided I liked it - I figured it was a breath of fresh air compared to the dark colour palettes I'm seeing in the shops at the moment. Are you adding any sparkle to your otherwise casual winter looks?

Scarf; Dunnes Stores, Necklace; Accessorize, 

Jumper; Zara, Boots & Bag; M&S, Navy Knitted Blazer; Next.

Bundled Up

I'll definitely be bundling up for the next week since we're having a cold snap. Now I'm so glad I invested in this winter coat from Zara. It's so unbelievably warm. It even kept me warm while standing on the side lines watching my boyfriends match recently on a cold winters evening - now that was the ultimate test of keeping me warm. I'm loving the quilted look at the moment too. Here's me bundled up again to keep warm while on an outing to the dog park with Ollie and Louis. Ollie ablsolutely loves the leaves. He see's them and darts towards them, running through them and chasing any blowing in the wind. It's hilarious to look at. As you can see, they got very mucky which meant it was bath time as soon as I got home!

I've been wearing these boots to death the last month. 

They're just so great for running around in.

I'm convinced Ollie blends in with the leaves!

This bag below has been my favourite side kick recently. 

It fits so much and goes with most outfits.

Wearing my new stars & stripes hat. 

Jacket; Zara, jeans; Topshop, boots,

 bag and cashmere scarf ; all M&S, hat; River Island.

Hope you're having a good week.x

Festive Flapper Fun

Walking down Grafton Street the other day admiring all the christmas lights when these glitzy window displays in Brown Thomas brought me to a halt. I absolutely love their window displays all year round but especially at christmas time. Each year, they never fail to impress me. You can see how much hard work, imagination and detail goes into them. The flapper theme works fantastically and really builds on the anticipation for the upcoming movie release of The Great Gatsby. I really am dying to see the costumes in that film. Here's some quick shots I captured of the windows. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. 

You can check out Brown Thomas' christmas window displays from last year on my Festive Fairytale Feeling post. If you've seen any great christmas displays, please drop me the link as I'd love to check them out.

I hope you're getting in the festive spirit. How can you not with displays like these right? x