When Christmas comes to town...

Christmas is only a day away, can you believe it? Although I haven't been posting, I have certainly be
en celebrating and enjoying the build up. I have been watching all my favourite Christmas films: The Grinch, Home Alone, Nativity. I've been going to Christmas markets, listening to festive music, having festive dinners and get-togethers with my friends (uni and home friends), present shopping and today I did some last-minute-festive-cleaning, while dosing myself up on painkillers to get through another icky cold I seemed to have caught. What can I say, besides all of this I have been doing my work for University and handing in assignments. Above are pictures of The Bath Christmas Market and  The Cheltenham Christmas market (both a couple of weeks ago). Honestly, it is so lovely wandering around a market, sipping hot wine, eating hot cashew nuts and looking at things I wish I had money to buy. Seriously. Taking photos was fun. I rarely find the time to just get my camera out and focus on photography (no pun intended).

I will be posting more throughout the festive period, so keep an eye out guys!

Merry Christmas :)

Orange and green should always be seen.

I know guys. It's been ages. I can only say sorry again and make another promise to try and be a better blogger! Here is the outfit I am wearing today. It's pretty simple. I just love the different colours. I love green with my hair colour and I, strangely, love orange too. I think it works well on me. Also perfect for Autumn. I just teemed it with leggings, grey flats and a black cosy cardigan. Oh and my cross earrings of course. (Dress, cardigan and flats - Newlook, Scarf - Monsoon, Leggings - Next, Satchel - H! Henry Holland, Earrings - ASOS)

Not sure whether anyone else has read this, but a big trend in hair at the moment, is clipping your fringe to one side. I can be a little lazy with my hair so pull this trick quite often. What do you all think of it? Have you done it before?

So to catch you all up, Uni us going well. Deadlines are fast approaching as are the Christmas holidays.   It's cold and wet here. I have pretty fairy lights up. I bought the cutest novelty hair clips on Monday. We have a Christmas tree. Caught up?

Here are a few pics for y'all.

My study area. Where I write.

The tree. How pretty is it?

The hair clips!

Can't wait to hear/read your thoughts!

Jeepers Creepers, where d'ya get those sneakers!

On an impulse, I went shopping after lectures. On the same impulse, I bought myself these amazing shoes. I can't stop looking at them. As most of you will know, I freakin' LOVE galaxy print and have been searching for an inexpensive accessory to channel the Christopher Kane look. Well, it was worth the wait. So I'm guessing you will want to know where they are from. Newlook. You were thinking Topshop right? They cost £9.99 but with my student discount cost me only £8.99. Cannot wait to show you what I wear them with! The pictures above were taken in my Uni room with my camera, hence they boring backdrop. I thought the pictures were still pretty cool though? I hope you agree.

On a side note: I have been awful with blogging since I have been at Uni. For this I am truly sorry. I love my blog, my readers and your blogs. I just need to sort out my time management, but I will get there.

Life's a pumpkin!

Last weekend my parents and brother came up to Cheltenham to visit me at Uni. It was such a great weekend. For starters I loved my outfit and made sure I had a photo taken of it. The gilet is new, I bought it a month or two back. The denim dress featured in a lot of my summer outfit posts but is pretty versatile. I thought the colours (ox-blood and navy) and materials (denim) were strangely on trend for me. I also made the effort to straighten my hair and apply some make up. The gloves were bought on Sunday from Matalan, I've just been so cold here, I decided a scarf would cut it no longer. Back to my family, it was so nice getting to see them again. We explored the local area, visited Gloucester Cathedral, had some delicious meals out and visited the cutest farm shop. It was also great having the chance to take some photos again. I took a lot more but didn't want to overload you all!

I know I have been somewhat 'off the scene' over the last month but starting University has been a real work overload. I spend my time in lectures, writing for my lectures, reading for my lectures, sleeping and cooking. When I do have time to write, I rarely have any pictures to share with you all - how sad is that! Anyway, I have decided I will start photographing my outfits more often, try some make up tutorials and share any new purchases on here. Just give me a while to settle in and find a new routine.

Anyway, enough about me! I hope you are all well :) what have you been up to?

P.S I am heading up to London on Saturday to visit a beautiful Fashion and Art museum called the V&A for a friends 20th. Cannot wait to share the photos with you all! 

It's Autumn so grab your scarf!

Autumn is finally here guys! I mean, I guess it started a few weeks ago but only now is it really starting to get that chill in the air. I have already bought my winter coat as well. It is very chic. A black collared swing coat (a post to follow soon!) But my favourite accessory of every season, but particularly Autumn, are scarves. There are so many shapes, textures and colours to chose from. They are everywhere and you can range from £1-100! My favourite place to buy scarves from is Accessorize they are reasonably expensive but always create a statement and feel crazily luxurious.  I wanted to show you my three favourites that I will be living out of for the coming months - you may recognise these pictures because they have been featured in previous posts.

The pashmina

The fair-isle knit

The chunky snood

What is your favourite Autumn/ Winter accessory? 
Which is your favourite type of scarf? The snood, the knit or the pashmina?

Let me know your thoughts! Thank you for reading,

University life and fashion.

Honestly, I have been busy compared to life before University. I still have a few spare hours in each of my days but I keep finding stuff to do like writing for my course and watching Downton Abbey! I thought I would share a few pics with you and make a promise to continue posting. I love this blog and have worked so hard for the last two years, I don't want to give up on it now!

So yes, I only have three pictures to share!

My room #1

My room #2

Me dressed as a rubbish Nancy Drew...I did have a notebook and a pen:)

Hold tight, I will be posting my the end of the week! This is to let you know that I have abandoned Hailes Hearts Fashion. 

Happy Autumn!

so I started uni...

(taken from Google - my uni campus)

So on Sunday I moved to my University, The University of Gloucestershire. I guess I could say yesterday rather than Sunday but it feels like I have been here for weeks, not hours or 1 day. I have had no time to take any photos, nor do I have anything exciting to share with you all so this is purely to let you all know that I am alive! I have moved to a large town in the west of England called Cheltenham which is a good few hours from my family, friends and where I grew up. I would be lying if I said it has been easy. I have already found it so hard but there are elements that I really enjoy and a lot of things I am looking forward to! I have my own (rather large) room and bathroom, but share the kitchen with 5 others. I have met so many new people, forgotten all of their names and have asked 'what course are you studying?' possibly 100 times. What, it's a good conversation starter?!

Anyway, I will take some photos of the area, of the shops, fashion and hopefully a few sneaky outfit posts to share with you all. Also - I cannot wait to catch up on your blogs and all the things I must have missed!

How to dress like Blair Waldorf

A variety of photos taken from Google

"Whoever said that money doesn't buy happiness didn't know where to shop." Blair Waldorf

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you will know that I am a big fan of Gossip Girl. I love how the two main characters, Blair and Serena dress, both being two of my favourite style icons. The fashion from Gossip Girl is so diverse and has so many stylish and inspiring characters - it is definitely worth checking out. If you didn't see my post last year, Gossip Girl: Serena V.S Blair, click here to catch up and have a read.

Blair loves hair accessories, in particular bows and headbands. Her style is sweet, clean and preppy. You will often catch her in a cute skirt or dress with fancy detailing or a stand out accessory. She is always feminine which creates a natural sexiness, her look exuding old Hollywood glamour and elegance. Blair has such a niche style (sometimes that can be boring but with Blair it really isn't) that is pretty simple to recreate. Throughout all of the seasons, her style has gradually evolved but hasn't changed. Wanna dress like Blair Waldorf - try these 5 steps...

1) Add a cutesy hair accessory

Bows, hair bands, hair ties, clips, scarves. Add any of these to your hair to give you an instant Blair look. Remember to keep it stylish and feminine. She would never wear a hairband with a banana on it, or skull hair clips. Blair has been known to wear a beret when Autumn and Winter comes around. I guess you could say it replaces the cute bow hair band that she so often wears during Spring and Summer.

2) Not every look has to be 'toughened up'

It's a popular thing in fashion to add a leather biker jacket to a floral ensemble because it 'toughens it up' or a pair of boots to a lace dress for a similar effect. I'm sure you have read this before whether it be on blogs or in magazines. Blair however, keeps her look very pretty to the point of preppy. She loves her blouses, bows, skirts and pumps. Her look is polished, so don't be afraid to add a blazer or cardigan.

3) Big volume Blair hair 

Blair loves curls. Her hair is never flat but most importantly never ever frizzy. Keep your curls defined for Blair hair. When she wears her hair straight it usually has shape to it and movement. Throughout Gossip Girl, she is often seen prancing along a street on the Upper East Side with her hair bouncing onto her stylish shoulders.

4) Clear skin, framed eyes and pouty lips

Her make-up is usually very natural for her everyday look. Dewy skin, lightly flushed cheeks, defined eyes and a soft pout of either a sparkly lip-gloss or a stand out lipstick (make-up tutorial to follow).

5) Ditch the trousers

I can't remember seeing B in trousers, jeans or anything of the sort. I have a vague memory of her in a pair of shorts but for the majority of the show she wears cute skirt whether it be puffball, school girl, pencil or body con. She loves tailored dresses but also wears soft floaty numbers. Ditch the trousers if you want to try your hand at Blair Waldorf style, save jeans for a Serena inspired look (possible future post?!)

Here is my Blair Waldorf inspired hair and make-up look:

What do you think of Blair's style? 

Do you have any other tips to getting the Blair Waldorf look?

Blue jeans.

As you may or may not know, I never ever ever wear jeans. I always try them on and talk myself out of it. Today however, I dug out a pair from last year and decided to give myself a challenge. I have also never really worn this top so thought I would try it all at once. That is the main reason I horde clothes. A year down the line I start wearing things again so I get scared about chucking things out. I actually really like this outfit for two reasons. One: It's bright and bold (yes, that is only one reason) and two: it is different. After reading a post yesterday on one of my favourite blogs, Fashion Hayley, she said how she got fed up with always wearing leggings and it really inspired me to have a bit of confidence and push myself out from my comfort zone. You see, I don't want to make out that I am 100% confident with my appearance. I think people expect me to wear frumpy tops and baggy joggers just because I'm not a size 10 but I started my blog to prove that fashion comes in all shapes, colours and sizes. This is the shape, colour and size I came in today...

[Jeans - Evans, Earrings - ASOS,  Sheer top - Matalan, Bolero - homemade (knitted) by my Nan, Pumps - Newloook]

[thought I should share the inspiration for the title of this post. It's a great tune]

Are there any items of clothing you hate to wear, or that takes a lot of persuading?

I can't wait to hear what you think of my outfit :) - so let me know your thoughts!!

P.s if you missed out on my last post about trends for Autumn/Winter 2012 click here to read!!

Autumn/Winter Trend Report 2012

I love reporting on upcoming trends for the season, Autumn and Winter being my favourite. I'm sure you must be sick of me talking about how great Autumn is, whilst frequently dropping words such as texture and boots in every other sentence! However, instead of treating you all to an essay on why I love the upcoming season I will try and cover a larger amount of trends. There are so many versatile looks to inspire you from rich regal colours to edgy leather. I am aware that some people don't like to follow trends and I get this entirely. Trends inspire me and informs me/ prepares me for what the shops are going to be flooded with. If you aren't a trend follower to any degree, maybe you could share your favourite look for Autumn or which trend you like best (shown below).

From the ASOS website

                                                                    
Trend 1 Ox-blood

Ox-blood is apparently the colour we are going to be sick of hearing about by 2013. Think nail polish, lipstick, leather pencil skirts, scarves, skinny jeans, brogues - you name it! I think this will be a very interesting trend adding a new dimension to the Autumn colour palette as we get so used to seeing the same burnt and berry hues. This colour creates a real grunge style but transforms it into a rather more elegant look. Everywhere is doing it, you don't have too look far!

Try a quick flash of colour on your nails to liven up your look or to make a real statement, wear a cute skater dress in ox-blood teamed with some elaborate jewellery.

Taken from the Christopher Kane catwalk

Trend 2 Purple Haze

Purple is everywhere this season. We are used to seeing those berry purples that sway towards pink and red, but this year we are experiencing purple in it's purest form. There are a lot of beautiful bright purple pleated skirts, soft lilac dresses and a variety of shades of nail varnished on the high-street.

Christopher Kane show cased a beautiful collection of vivid purples at London Fashion Week A/W 2012. To find out more about this collection click here.

Try a bright purple dress with a jewelled purple necklace (it's all about the necklaces!). This trend has a real fantasy quality so don't be scared to mix in some different shades of P and be very creative with your make-up. (Other jewelled colours are also in for A/W 2012).

From the Topshop website

Trend 3 Studs

I love studs because not only are they effortlessly cool, but also ridiculously easy to get hold of. Everyone seems to be D.I.Ying old pairs of boots by attaching studs. If you are not the customising type you can find reasonably priced studded clothing and accessories right across the high-street so really, no matter what your skill or budget is, this trend can work for you. I have really struggled to find studs in any local craft shops but they can be found online and are most affordable through eBay.

Studded accessories are chic. Team a pair of studded boots (like the ones opposite) with a floral dress or denim shirt to toughen up your outfit. Alternatively, a studded clutch bag will add instant style and edge for an evening do. 

Me with my Cross earrings - ASOS

Trend 4 Crosses

Every high-street shop I have been in, in the last few weeks, have been swamped with crosses. Every other piece on the jewellery rack is fashioning a cross. Cross earrings, rings, necklaces, bracelets all in a variety of silver, gun metal, gold and bronze. Similarly, there is an influx of t-shirts, leggings and jumpers branding the the cross motif. Topshop resembled a church more than a fashion outlet the last time I went in there. I mean, it's cool but I think sometimes more is less.

A pair of silver cross earrings toughens up and adds a strong fashion statement to the simplest of evening outfits. Cross nail art will definitely add some originality to your look and be experimental by incorporating the two biggest colours of the coming season (Oxblood and purple) in your look.  

From Newlook website

Trend 5 Leather Look

Think leather: skater skirts, paneled leggings, shorts and jackets (of course!). This is such a versatile trend which makes it interesting. I am certainly not brave enough to try leather shorts but will definitely be investing into a leather skater skirt and already have my trusty leather jacket from two seasons ago.

Slick black leather nails is such a cute take on this trend that will look great with any ensemble. Remember, you don't have to just wear black, leather in ox-blood has flooded the world of fashion so will shortly be filtering down to the high-street. Grey leather is also another great variant.

What is your favourite trend for Autumn/Winter 2012?

Let me know your thoughts! and as always, thank you for reading.

P.s this is the first post from my very own laptop.