HOF Fashion Getaways Blogger Challenge

House of Fraser are running a competition to win some vouchers and to enter you needed to create a a key outfit, beauty look or room inspired by by one of the iconic fashion capitals: London, Paris, Milan, New York, or Tokyo.

I thought I'd give it a go, so here is a room inspired by one of those cities, can you guess which one?

"For me, this city is about life, it's about energy, colour, fun and being at the heart of technology."

My Chosen Items

I love these two beautiful pieces from the Living collection by Christiane Lemieux; the blackbird five drawer dresser and the blackbird bookcase. I usually like oriental patterns because of their floral and feminine designs, but this is understated which gives it a modern edge. I particularly like how unusual the design of the dresser is; almost fountain shaped!

The Linea 'Lennox' sofa and Linea 'Lennox' chair have a modern but fluid shape which I think captures the essence of this city. I love the contrast of the wooden feet within these pieces.

For me, this city has a cartoon association so I went with that and I just really love how unusual the Linea Speech bubbles wall art is. I think it would add a lot of fun to a room. Again, I've mentioned that this is a capital that thrives on technological advancement and I love Twitter, so I just had to include this hashtag ornament!

To add the fun of the city into the room, I thought I'd liven it up with some bright accessories: cushions (Winona cushion and bright clock design flocked cushion), a Linea pink magnolia floral arrangement, Linea Ikat stripe dark teal curtains and a Present Time rainbow numbers wall clock. I think they contrast but co-ordinate at the same and there's still some pink without the design being too feminine.

This capital is known for it's lights so I knew I had to include some form of amazing lighting and I chose this block table lamp because it's something that's very modern.And the hollow squares will allow more light to be absorbed into the room.

And... staying Savvy, House of Fraser's Blue Cross Sale has been extended until tonight.

-Naomi :)

Savvy Sales Clothing Round Up

Shopping the sales is a great way to get more for less, and there are always items that can be bought that you can wear all-year round.

I've put together a little list of some great sales happening now:

Jack Wills - Up to 70% Off Sale - Ends 7th August Midnight

Although a brand that's expensive to update your wardrobe with, I personally think you can feel the quality in their clothes, and saving money doesn't have to involve buying from cheaper shops, you can still buy the brands you love, but at a discount.

Chiara Fashion - Sale from £1

I've never purchased from Chiara Fashion before, but I am signed up to their emails because I do like some of their items and they always have great sales! There are t-shirts at around £3 to £5 each, and there are pages of dresses, jackets, and shoes all for under £10 each.

Martine Wester - Rings from £3 - Bracelets from £5 - Necklaces from £5

Martine Wester has a range of lovely costume jewellery, although I've found the quality is similar to the high street. They are worth their price on sale though, and if you like sparkles and shine, I can only recommend their rings!

TK Maxx - Final Clearance - Up to 80% off RRP - Kidswear from £2

A TX Maxx clearance sale always gets me excited, I've had some amazing bargains from their instore clearances (including some £1, and £3 finds), and I got some fab toy discounts online last year. There's womenswear from £4, menswear from £5, and kidswear from £2!

Get those Savvy savings!

-Naomi :)

Very Fashionable Festival Wear

I received a lovely email a couple of days ago asking if we'd like to get involved with promoting Very's festival capsule collection with a competition entry (the prize is V Festival tickets). It sounded like a fun opportunity because I love putting outfits together, so I've created my 'ideal outfit to wear to a British summer festival' and I'm just about to let you know all about it. (It also inspired our first topic yesterday of the financial benefits of a capsule wardrobe!).

Very will be at V Festival this year (August 18th and 19th) as the "Very-Official Fashion Partner Of V Festival", and to help get you kitted out for it, they've released a festival capsule collection that can be purchased at V Festival! For those of us not attending, we can still order them online (although they're going fast).

My outfit incorporates four products from their festival collection:

• Love Label Animal Print Pac a Mac (£29)

Although I usually hate animal print, I really like this Love Label mac! As it's waterproof and being that we're in the UK, there's always a chance of rain, so I think it would be perfect. It also has the ability to be folded into it's own pocket, which is hugely useful.

• Love Label Ombre Studded Denim Shirt (£25)

I personally find shirts really comfortable to wear, and I think a shirt (that fits) always looks good. I really like the ombre design and I think this would look great at a festival, especially during the evening, because the studs would twinkle like stars with the stage lights!

• Love Label White Denim Shorts (£17)

I think the white shorts compliment the shirt really well by continuing with the ombre pattern. I think shorts to a festival is a great idea to keep you cool and comfortable. To be honest these shorts would probably be too short for me, but if the mac's worn loosely over the top, that would add more length.

• South Oliver Glow in the Dark Wellington Boots (£20)

I simply had to choose these fab wellies after owning a pair of Ju Ju branded glow in the dark ones (we've actually reviewed these here), because I think they'd work in the same way. I think they'd be great for a festival, because they'd protect your feet from the weather, they'd add a lot of fun to the outfit (with the pop of colour), and when it gets dark, all eyes are on you!

If you want to buy any of these products or want to see Very's festival capsule collection, you can do so here: http://www.very.co.uk/festival-capsule-wardrobe/e/promo/22300037.end

P.S. This isn't a sponsored post (and I don't want to win), I just thought it would be fun to get involved with and as always, I'm being honest about it. Hope you found it interesting!

-Naomi :)

The Financial Benefits of a Capsule Wardrobe

We've seen it on TV shows, we've even admitted that it sounds like a great idea, but will the long-term financial benefits of creating a capsule wardrobe entice us into giving it a try?

I have more than two wardrobes full of clothes (I'm a teeny bit of a clothes hoarder) and I really can't help thinking of how much money I would have saved by planning what items I actually needed to buy. Sure my clothes can create outfits, but there's an awful lot that don't really co-ordinate with anything other than jeans, and that's meant that at least half of my wardrobe gets abandoned.

Capsule Wardrobe Tips

I'm sure I'm not the only one in this position, so here are my ideas for creating a capsule wardrobe:

• Make a list of your clothing essentials

Think about what items of clothing you wear all the time; at home and at work. My essentials would be blazers, shirts, jeans, fitted trousers and tops.

• Consider the outfit potential of your chosen basics 

So lets say you have shirts, trousers, t-shirts, and jumpers in your list, how many ways can these be worn together? In fact, there are five different outfit looks with just four items: shirt and trousers, jumper, shirt and trousers, a shirt open over a t-shirt and trousers, a jumper and trousers, and a t-shirt and trousers! Now think how much this increases just by doubling the number of items!

What you need to do is think about layering and versatility, what ways can I wear a shirt, t-shirt, jumper and a pair of trousers? Can my suit jacket compliment a t-shirt and jeans? Can those cigarette pants be dressed up for the office?

• Find clothes that fit and suit you. 

 Now that you have what items you need and an idea of how many of each you're looking for, make sure you buy clothes that fit you well! And, just because something is all over the high-street, if it doesn't suit you, don't buy it; personal style will last you longer than fashion fads.

• Opt for quality at an affordable price

Although better quality clothing is usually more expensive, it's likely to last longer and you're more likely to get more wear out of them. Although to save money, only pay a price that's affordable for you, and hit the sales!

• Accessorise!

Ladies, put a red belt over a pencil skirt and white blouse, and look at the instant transformation; accessories can have a huge impact on the outfit potential of your pieces of clothing. And men, I haven't forgotten about you, the same above principles apply for your capsule wardrobes and I'm not promoting the 'man bag' here; but you can easily change the look of an outfit with different belts, and the shoes you wear.

In Action

Here's a quick example of how a capsule wardrobe of seven items (totalling £127) can create four outfits:

Aiming for monochrome and neutral shades for the main items increase their outfit potential and these can then easily be adapted to different colour schemes with accessories! This can be done for a lot less as all the clothing items were each under £20, it was the accessories that were expensive, totaling £79, but you could easily half that by shopping around.

Hope you've found this useful! If you've ever embodied the savings behind a capsule wardrobe we'd love to know!

-Naomi :)