SS14 Trends: Green with Envy

Every season there is a colour that dominates the catwalk, magazines and the high street. Over the next few posts I am going to talk you through these trends and how we can style each one to suit yourself.  This  time around it comes in the form of green. Brighter tones always show their sunny selves at the beginning of spring, primarily beginning with Fashion Week and progressively more so in the following weeks. SS14 forecasts include sorbet pastels, sophisticated sportswear and  monochrome madness but with traditional summer floral prints taking a tropical makeover we are seeing green everywhere.

What I enjoy most about this fresh approach to summer brightness is that is an upgrade from SS13 trends which were more bohemian (which I loved) but this approach brings pristine to our style in a way that "Gypset" didn't. Now, I wouldn't go throwing away our maxi skirts just yet but there are many ways to incorporate the "green" way of living without doing a style-over. Khaki green has been a prominent feature in summer style for the past number of years, but the difference this time is the exciting prints, think monochrome with green replacing black. Personally I think this colour will better suit blondes and my favorite way to incorporate this into my look is with a casual jumper. It is simple but yet allows you to stand out from the crowd. 

The great thing about opting for green for the coming season is that it translates right across the trend board, from fruity flora's to art graphics to smart tailoring. So if you tend to change your mind a lot about what "your style" is you still don't have to pigeon hole your self just yet. Investing in key pieces such as one good quality jumper, a tote bag or "barely-there" sandals in green could assist you through all your various looks this spring/summer. 

For the adventurous souls who wish to attempt this trend though the form of make up my advise is to be very careful. Obviously, the best form of experimentation is on the eyes. Taupe eye shadow best suit blondes with brown hair but brunettes could easily incorporate dark green in their normal smoky eye mix, it's all about the shading! For those of you who don't tend to go OTT on the eyes can always have the subtle approach in the form of a liner pencil.  Rimmel have s great range of shadow and pencil liners for you to discover the one that best suits your skin tone. 

Love C X 

& Other Stories

              

In a few weeks I am going to London for a few days and I have been doing a bit of research on different places that I want to visit while I'm there. I always try and visit as many different clothing stores as possible, particularly ones that are not around me usually. There has been lots of hype about & Other Stories recently largely due to their collaboration with H&M (another favorite of mine), so I have been glued to their website and I am hooked. Below are my must-haves which I am hoping to pick up while in London. 

               

Leather Trousers £245 

                

Square Frame Sunglasses £45

Brass Bangle Set £12 

Black leather trousers are  always a winner for me being both classic but trendy, and working with both a casual and smart style. Last year I bought a similar pair in River Island for 60 Euro but they have since began to loose their shape so it's that time to stock up on another pair and these could not fit the bill any more. 

              

Pocket Detail Jersey Dress £45 

               

Suede Platforms £69

I'm obsessed with anything grey at the minute, especially when it comes to knit wear and tops. I have scoured the internet for the perfect grey knit, that mix between wool and cotton that gives a soft, rich texture to the garment. I am still on the hunt. Once I saw this grey jersey dress on the website I instantly clicked into it, now I don't know yet if this is due to me being aware of the fact that I love grey or that I really love the dress but I'm sure we will find out when I finally try it on. Overall, my first impressions of &Other Stories is that the quality of the products looks amazing and the stock isn't too pricey where we can't afford! My next step is to go and buy these pieces and fall in love with the brand even more. If any of you have any advice on which &Other Stories shop is the best one to visit in the Central London area please let me know. 

                 

Double Compartment Handbag £145 

All about products are available from here. 

Love C X 

Shoeniverse

So I'm looking back on this past year in a slightly different way than traditional means, I am going to do it through shoes. 2013 was a different to most because it was the one year I found myself asking "Are those shoes too high??" and this made me feel old! My style transformed from college student to young adult and the great benefit from this is wearing heeled boots during the day. Now I did this at college as well but now it seems okay to wear the higher heeled boots. They also go with EVERYTHING! Seriously, try it, they really do. When heading on a night out with friends now we all seem to stick to a lower heeled boot in comparison to the sky scrapper heels which we lived in before. So are we coming of age with sensibility or is this a trend? 

My guess is that this is obviously fashion focused. Why would we just so happen to want to wear platform boots when the best collection just happens to arrive in the shop?



When it comes to footwear, particularly boots, I find myself drawn to black. I don't know know if this is due to the shade complimenting most of my clothes or that it is perfect for the "minimal" look which I loved in 2013. But either way, they were the clear winner for me during these past few months. Pull and Bears black booties which are featured int he shoeniverse image above in the left corner are my footwear crush at the minute. All the links to the boots featured in that image will be featured at the bottom of this post.

This year Christmas I asked for a pair of black (shocking) pair of boots from River Island. I've already checked that they are not going into sale so I won't feel cheated for buying at full price. If you follow me on instagram (@CiCiJewels) you will definitely get a look of these boots as I will be posting pictures of them.

Hope you all receive lovely shoes for Christmas .

Love C X 

MICHAEL Michael Kors platform booties

Boohoo platform boots

Topshop black ankle boots

Mango short boots

Pull&Bear black booties

Sperry Top-Sider low-heel boots

Dorothy Perkins high heel boots

H&M brown high heel boots

December Loves...

BB Dakota Jumpsuits, 81 Euro, karmaloop.com
Vila Black Romper, 44.96 Euro, vila.com
Warehouse Black Floral Jumpsuit, 40 Euro, johnlewis.com
Block Heel Sandals, $2,090, alexandermcqueen.com
Floral Clutch Bag, $1,715, ssense.com
Pink YSL Clutch, $890, ysl.com
Skull Ring, $550, eleonorabonucci.com
Marc by Marc Jacobs Black Watch, $175, forzieri.com
Gold Earrings, $270, monnierfreres.co.uk

Love C X 

Sweet Velvetine

There is something about this time of year that always makes me want to wear velvet, particularly burgundy velvet. I always have this image in my head of a specific dress; skater skirt, sleeves to the elbow, scoop neck, very simple. But yet I have not found it anywhere. This time I am determined that I am going to find it! 

Velvet is also appearing more and more frequently in high street shops in the form of mostly crop tops and skater skirts. Personally I am not a big fan of crop tops, but the later I love and will definitely pick them up in black and burgundy. I'm picturing a lace top teamed with a dark rose lip to give an overall Gothic feel for the Christmas. 

The biggest shake up in the reviving trend is the breakthrough of velvet boots. These can be bought in virtually any fashion outlet at the minute. My favourite (Christmas wish list!) are from River Island for 65Euro, and will go with everything, therefore completely worth the money. Urban Outfitters is another brand which have lots of velvet options in at the minute. To mic things up a little I've been spotting this Navy Overall Skirt which although is way more than I would pay for a skirt at $110 (roughly 81Euro), I just think that there is something quite special about it and I haven't seen anything like it on the high street. Is it worth the money??

 One of the most influential style sources of our generation, Vogue, has suggested that those who are not entirely comfortable sporting a velvet outfit (sometimes it can be quite unflattering) could subtly embrace the look with the aid of a velvet fedora/jewellery/bag. It doesn't have to be an in your face statement. Vogue recommend investing in the "Rabbit Felt and Velvet Hat" by Maison Michel for $950, which is ridiculous! Pop down to H&M and pick up a brilliant replica for £12.99.

Back in September I wrote a post called Turkish Delight and I spoke about my love for a particular bohemian lifestyle that resembled Turkish and Moroccan markets.I also think this post has something similar to offer in that velvet co-ordinates this style effectively. If you need any more encouraging on the effects refer back to the previous post (link above). 

Love C X 

November Loves .....

Chiffon Blouse, H&M, 18 Euro

Levi Acid Ripped Denims, Etsy, 34 Euro

Kookie Black Heel Platform, SPY LOVE BUY, 31 Euro

Double Triangle Necklace, Accessory Foundry, 27 Euro

Eastern Delight Rings, ASOS.com, 20 Euro

Floppy Brim Fedora, Rag & Bone, 130 Euro

BlissfulCASE Galaxy Pink Cover, Boticca, 22 Euro

60's Collection Lennon Glasses, 80's Purple, 6.69 Euro 

Heart of Flames Nail Polish, Etsy, 6.69 Euro 

Love C X 

Roll Up, Roll Up......

It's always this time of the year that I get obsessed with the weather. Autumn is without a doubt my favourite season. The dark evenings, crisp air and smothering fog, all contribute to my love for October. Another reason is the fact that I now get to break out some chunky knit! As much as I love warm summer evenings, maxi skirts and denim shorts, there is nothing quiet like the feeling of cosiness when you have a thick jumper on, sitting by the fire, drinking some tea and wathcing a movie (I have been doing this a lot lately). But today I am here to speak of my new craze which is over the knee knit socks. I have had a grey pair which have been sitting in my wardrobe for years, and it is only in the recent weeks that I have actually used them, and now I am hooked. 

Mine were bought in the River Island sale about two christmases ago, and thankfully the shop still stock them at this time of the year. Dark winter colours such as ruby, brown, black and olive green are all on my wishlist of styles to pick up. So far I have only managed to tick off grey, but this has increased my passion for socks in general (I never thought I would say that phrase!). Working in River Island means that I know alot of the stock like the back of my hand, and at the minute there are amazingly designed socks that I just cannot get enough of. These days I tend to wear boots all the time and my socks seem to poke out of the top of my shoes, so I may as well invest in nice ones. Thankfully, the socks from River Island are 3 pairs for 9euro.

All above socks are available from River Island 

The above "Over The Knee" Socks are avilable form River Island 

Topshop also have some great stocks available from what I could see online, but I am not too sure what stock is available in the shop. Although I am really just describing this as a lounge look for the house, I also really like the idea of wearing over tights, now that it is getting really cold as well. 

I am absolutely trying this look over the coming weeks and I'll make sure to instagram pictures (@cicijewels) so keep an eye out! 

Love C X