things i love about autumn

[Jeans & satchel - Asos, Pumps - Evans, Jumper - Simply Be, Scarf - Forever 21]

Bonfire night 

It's finally soup season

Fluffy socks

Jumper weather

Every outfit requires a scarf

Pumpkins and gourds galore

Instagram becomes overloaded with autumn snaps

Every path is sprinkled with a confetti of leaves

The air smells cold and fresh and smokey

Seasonal drinks (gingerbread lattes, praline flat whites and orange hot chocolates..ughhh)

Time to dig out my ankle boots

My black cherry Revlon lipstick (see above)

my body; my fashion

The last few months have been busy. I've been working a lot (in a where-the-hell-are-all-the-post-grad-jobs job which has been...well yeah you get the drift) and, also, my sister came home from Australia for five weeks (and flew back last week) so we've been hanging out and going out shopping and drinking coffee and baking so it hasn't been all bad, but despite doing lots of lovely things I haven't updated my blog which I don't feel too good about.  The truth is, I've felt uninspired. Despite having money to buy myself a beautiful autumn wardrobe and feeling very inspired with my style etc, I've not known what to post about on here. I think my brain has just been a bit cloudy the last few months.

I decided the solution was to start a new blog. Get a fresh start and put all my spare time and energy into it but, when it came to posting on my new blog I realised it wasn't the solution and that like before, I still had nothing to write. I felt like this blog had a lot of issues and I wanted a chance to leave those issues behind however, this blog has been a big journey so far. Since starting it in 2010 my style has developed so much, as has my confidence (not just in what I wear but in how I view myself). When my blog first started out, I only posted photos of my face, having always avoided photos that showed my body and now I post full length photos, wear things I never would have worn and I don't give a crap about what people think. My body; my fashion.

Anyway, this is just a welcome back to my blog and I can't wait to show you all the beautiful Autumn pieces I have bought so far.

[leather - new look, skirt - simply be, scarf and crop top - forever 21, shoes - evans]

dressing appropriately

Although I write about a variety of different things on my blog, this post is a little more personal than usual and is, somewhat, mixed in subject matter. It is 50% about my holiday and 50% about how I dress for things which sounds vague and a little pointless but, stay with me and all will become clear...

When I was younger, and a lot less confident than I am now (mainly during the latter of my teenage years 15-19), I struggled to dress for occasions. By this, I mean, I had a set few items of clothes I limited myself to and that I felt comfortable in and unfortunately it became a one-outfit-fits-all-occasions kind of situation. I mostly wore leggings, a dress of a certain length, a cardigan and ballet pumps because that is how I thought I looked best. When summer came I didn't lose the cardigan or the leggings so I was crazily hot. A terribly embarrassing example of this occurred while I was away on holiday one year in Spain. I must have been about about 15 and we were spending the day on the beach. I remember being sat under an umbrella in a maxi dress with a cardigan on and under my maxi dress I had on a pair of leggings! It was the middle of August and the weather must've been 30 degrees Celsius (or more) and I was feeling so hot, I almost felt sick. I wanted to be in my swimwear like everyone else and go and swim in the sea but I didn't have the confidence so instead I just put up with the heat and it was a miserable day and needless to say, I must've looked ridiculous. Looking back on this makes me feel annoyed and sorry for my old self but also happy to be in a better place. 

Things weren't much different when the winter came, I hated how boots made my legs look short so, once again, I used to wear pumps and freeze my feet off (even when it was practically snowing I didn't let up). Autumn and Spring were easier months because they were less radical but throughout the rest of year, I always felt fed up with how I looked and felt. In scenarios where casual clothes (jeans, t-shirt, trainers etc) were appropriate I would stand out and when things were more dressed up, I could make my outfit a little more dressy but still, I felt bored by it.  

I've loved fashion since I can remember so restricting myself so much was frustrating and pretty crappy. Then I reached an age where things seemed to change and I gained a better perspective of things. This change probably began when I first read Gabi Gregg's blog Gabi Fresh (which was then called Young, Fat and Fabulous). I began wearing season/weather/situation appropriate clothing and from this, I started enjoying things a little more.

As I said at the start of this post, the point of this wasn't just about my confidence in the past, it was also, somewhat, about the holiday I just got back from (which actually prompted me to write this). Whilst I was away this Easter in the French Alps, I realised that I was actually wearing appropriate clothing that I felt happy in. I found it funny when I thought back to how I would've dressed had my 16 year old self come instead of my 22 year old self. It just felt like a bit of progress that for some reason, I decided I wanted to share! Although I didn't get any decent photos of my outfits on my DSLR I got some pretty good ones on my phone that I shared on Instagram (follow me @hheartsfashion) so I decided to share them on here as well. Don't get me wrong, my outfits aren't amazing and my make-up and hair were low key but that's the whole point, I guess. 

Anyway, if you made this far, thanks. This was a slightly longer post than usual but hopefully it was worth the read!

Please let me know your thoughts and feel free to share any similar experiences or comment about the craziness of me wearing leggings on a beach!

that 70s style

The 70s are a massive trend this s/s and was even quite prominent during the a/w except swap deep hues for colourful floral and paisley patterns. I am really into this trend and plan to mix it up with a bit of worn distressed denim (I don't think I could pull off flares!). I love outfits that take inspiration from certain era trends but I'm not a fan of outfits that look more like costumes, cause there's a difference, right?

Think

 floppy over-sized hats 

+

dainty flowers woven into braids

+

 hair scarves tied into messy up-dos

+

chunky platforms

+ 

floaty bell sleeves

+

messy waves and low ponytails

+

earthy eye-shadows

+

dewy skin

+

layered up jewellery 

(rings, bracelets, necklaces, chokers, earrings, ear cuffs etc)

+

everything and anything that has fringing

Happy Spring!

purple jeans

Two posts in one week. Who knew I had it in me.

I decided to make the most out of being home, having a photographer and, for a change, actually having some new additions to my wardrobe to show you. In these pictures are the jeans I mentioned in my last post. They are purple acid wash they have a big rip in one of the knees and are the comfiest jeans I've owned. Because I am not particularly tall, everything from ASOS is usually too long so I have to roll these jeans up but I like the length of ankle grazers on me so it works out quite well. Yesterday I decided to team them with a tucked in cami vest and my long grey cardigan that is perfect for the in between seasons. Spring has started to appear in the last week or so and in a couple of weeks, I will hopefully be ditching my coat in favour of cardigans, jumpers and the odd scarf. As much as I've loved my parka, I am ready to put it away for a bit. 

In these pictures I am holding my ASOS magazine, This isn't sponsored by them (I wish!), I just happen to be a little in love. The magazine is great for upcoming trends, inspiration and is actually a good read. The cover girl is usually a bit out there compared to other more popular fashion magazines and I love how the fashion varies. Also, they include a lot of fashion bloggers which I think is great cause it gives me the chance to find new blogs to read. I also included the magazine cause I'm  wearing a fair bit of ASOS in this post. My jeans are from the ASOS January sale, my vest is from last summer and my bag is brand new. I've been looking for a plain black day bag with gold detailing for a few weeks now. I wanted one that was a good size, sits on my shoulder/across my body and isn't too expensive. After searching around the high-street (Newlook, River Island, H&M) I found this bag online. I wasn't sure if I'd like it but surprisingly, it ticked every box (the gold has a lovely rosey colouring!) and will now accompany me to uni, to town, on train journeys, in outfit posts - you name it?

 

Jeans, cami vest, bag ASOS

Cardigan and flats Newlook

Watch Olivia Burton

Sunglasses Dorothy Perkins

Lipstick (Lady Danger) MAC

any old day

I am alive! Yes, despite the absence of activity on my blog I am very much alive. I just happened to be busy and the more I thought about my blog, and my lack of posts, the more I had no idea how to bring it back. Despite this, I have, in fact, been updating my Instagram (follow me @hheartsfashion) a lot so if you follow me on there, my aliveness wont be much of a shock to you. 

Anyway, I decided to finally do a post. Catch you up. What have I been doing with my time? I hear you ask. Working on assignments and reading for lectures, being a bit ill on and off, day dreaming, watching a lot of Doctor Who and doing research into my post-uni life. I've excitingly had a few revelations this week and have decided to really start working towards getting a good job afterward. I know I want to write and I'd love combine that with fashion. If I only got paid for my blog! But, anyway, onto my outfit...

Recently I have been loving jeans. I bought two pairs over Christmas in the ASOS sale and both pairs fit me really well and also came to about £35. I've only just got around to wearing the blue pair in these photos but the other pair (purple acid wash ripped jeans) I have somewhat lived out of.  They are really comfortable but more importantly they are different for me. It's strange because I seem to go through small spurts of evolution with my style. Once upon a time, I lived only out of leggings, dresses and I always wore a cardigan and now, well I don't. I still wear leggings a lot but not because I have to. It's usually because they are so comfortable and I'm all about the comfort. 

The outfit in this post is standard for me. Something I'd wear any old day. The kind of thing I go to uni in or  meet a friend for coffee or catch a train in. Jeans, top, jumper, pumps and rucksack. The only different is that I haven't been wearing lipstick casually recently and also, I curled my hair this morning which rarely happens. Strangely it went well and seems to be holding however, I usually just wear my hair natural/messy in a bun, high pony or just down but other than that, this is me on a very normal day.

Jeans Newlook (from ASOS)

Cami vest ASOS

Jumper H&M

Pumps and rucksack Newlook

Watch Olivia Burton

Lipstick MAC (Lady Danger)

how i'd redo my prom look

The other day I found myself looking through some old photos and I came across the pictures from my year eleven prom. I cannot believe that it was over five years ago now. I remember being at secondary school and somewhat counting down the years to my prom after seeing my big sister go to hers. It's crazy how quickly time goes.

It then got me thinking though, what would I wear to my prom now? When I look back at the pictures, I still love my dress but it is completely different to what I'd choose now. Both long prom dresses and short prom dresses have positives. For me, I always loved the elegance of a longer dress and really, how many times does the average girl get to wear a full gown? On the other hand, I love the edge of shorter dresses and think they can look really cute and young. Below are some looks I love.

I really love the vampyness of this look. The dark purple teemed with the off metallic gold seems young but also chic. I think that when I was younger, I was a little scared of overly bright colours that weren't green or blue. Having ginger hair, it's been drilled into me that I can only wear those two colours but as I've got older I wear every colour there is (apart from beige because beige is ugly)

Out of all the dresses I've picked, this is my favourite. I love the detail on it and the possibility of all the different ways you could accessorise it. I also think it's great for an outfit to be quite textured so adding this hologram style bag would make it seem somewhat more youthful. Like the look above, it has a real vampy look. In reality, I would definitely wear this look with tights unless it was a little longer. But for someone with lovely legs this dress would look great with bare legs!

This look has more of a spring/ summer vibe than the previous but that's mainly because I love dark colours throughout the year. They seem more chic to me. However it's great to mix things up and I think this look would seem quite elegant. Much like black, white and all the wonderful shades in between do not date so there is no chance you could look back and regret wearing one of them. Either way, all these looks seem to make some kind of statement! I think that's important when dressing for big events like proms or balls (do people still go to balls...)

Which is your favourite look?
What would you wear if you could redo your prom look?*

the parka

After much deliberation and online orders, I finally found myself a coat. Originally I wanted a boxy boyfriend style coat or a nice on trend long pastel coat but every one I tried on didn't suit me. In fact, they all looked dreadful. Some were too big on my shoulders, some too small on my chest and the rest were just underwhelming. On the models they look so stylish but on me they just looked baggy and meh. Eventually I decided that I would have to go into actual physical shops and try on real life coats in the flesh which is what I did when I tried on the parka above. I'm pretty sure I said to my mum, as I tried it on, this is gonna look crap on me. Well the end of my fascinating story is that I bought this parka (see here) and am actually surprisingly happy with it! I'm even more happy with the fact that my student discount and the offer New Look were running, brought the price of the coat down from £55 to £36!

 It's funny though, cause I always have such grand ideas of mixing up my style and being a little more sophisticated and put together.  You know when you see those girls, the ones who's hair stays in place, their make up lasts all day, their clothes sit perfectly and they just look so effortless sophisticated? Well I'm not that girl. I'm the scruffy type with messy hair, chipped nails and simple make up. It doesn't matter what I do I can never seem to look just right, but maybe those girls feel the same. Who knows! Anyway, I think at the end of the day, you can't change what comes naturally to you. I'd certainly rather have my own style and be myself than just another carbon copy, so I've given up trying to do the whole 'perfect' thing and I'm just embracing being a mess.

Parka & leggings & boots New Look
Dress Dorothy Perkins
Necklace Accessorize

Happy Autumn!

autumn colour blocking

Autumn colour blocking. Yeah it's a thing. I don't care that colour blocking's an old spring summer trend cause I think I prefer it for this time of year. Also, I like the way these shades (mustard, burnt orange, winter red and navy) somehow seem to clash but also compliment each other more. I'm not a fan of neon or overly bright colouring blocking, it just seems garish and a little indecisive to me.  But yeah, I love autumn hues and will find any excuse to wear all my favourite colours in one outfit! I also love the preppy vibe this look has. I think the buttoned up cardigan, tartan skirt and satchel really create it. It seems to be the kind of style I'm channelling at the moment but that probably has something to do with being at uni and trying to make the most out of being a student. In six months time, I will be free from education. No more essays or assignments or dissertations to write. But leaving the student world also means I'm forced out into the scary big wide world. I guess at that point I might drop the preppy college student look and try something a bit different. Maybe I'll start dressing like an adult instead (whatever dressing like an adult means...)

On side note: I've also returned back home for a few days (hence the outfit post!) and I decided not to bring my DSLR but just make do with my iPhone's camera. The effort of carrying a weeks worth of clothes, a laptop (and charger), books, notebooks and then a big fancy camera was way too much. I chose to leave it safely at home and travel a little lighter :) So what I'm trying to say is, please excuse the naff quality of these photos!

Tartan skirt & leggings & boots New Look

Vest Next

Bag & cardigan Dorothy Perkins

Scarf Accessorize

Oh and Happy Autumn!

tartan {autumn wishlist}

1/2/3/4/5

For me, one of the very best things about autumn and winter is tartan. It always looks so festive and cosy. Above are a few tartany things I'm after. All of them are wonderfully casual and perfect for wrapping up warm in this chilly weather. I also thought it'd be fun to include a few pics from previous outfit posts where I'm wearing tartan. All of these were taken in the last year and are things I wear a lot. In fact, I'm                                            currently wearing the red tartan skirt pictured below!

Anyway I'd love to know what you think of my picks and also what you guys are lusting after for autumn and winter?

Happy Friday!