Hello again everyone! It's been a while because I've finally got a job and have had a lot to sort out with uni and student finance etc. as well as organising a months travel round europe (which I'm planning to do a style diary for) but I'm finally writing a new blog post! I wanted to do a round up of shops that I've been loving lately because it's that time of year when I start updating my summer wardrobe, and this year I'm also having to buy clothes for the eastern European summer for whilst I'm travelling. So I thought I'd share with you my favourite high street store summer collections as well as my current favourite clothing items.
The first shop that I absolutely cannot get enough of this season is Free People. They have stores in the US, Canada and Japan only but they do international shipping online which is great for people in Europe. The shop is very boho, laid back, slouchy clothes that are just perfect for summer, think Coachella/lazy days at the beach. It's a little more expensive than the places I usually shop but it's great if you want a really good quality staple or investment piece. I love all their stuff but at the minute I'm obsessed with their bralettes, they look so good under a backless dress, a really slouchy vest or any sheer shirts/dresses that look a bit slutty with just a normal bra underneath. My favourites are the Intimately V-bra (below left, £58), I love it in white and black but it is also available in just black, and the Intimately Free People V-Wire Bra (below right, £28) in black/green or smoke however there are also 8 other colours to choose from.
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| Intimately V bra in white/black |
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| V-Wire Bra in green/black |
The next shop I've been loving is Miss Selfridge. I've always been a big fan of this shop and this summer it has once again lived up to my expectations. It is a UK store but again the website ships almost everywhere. The pricing in this store is very reasonable for the quality of the clothes and pretty cheap. At the minute I'm having a serious 90s phase and this store is doing gorgeous 90s neckline crop tops (below left, £8 block colour, £12 for print) that are so flattering and look amazing with anything high waisted. I'd recommend getting it in black as it's such a good staple item but they had a ton of other colours and prints as well. Envelope skirts are the fashion item of the moment in high street stores, I've tried on various versions in almost every high street store and the Miss Selfridge high waisted skort version (below right, £35) is by far my favorite. It has such a flattering fit and because it's a skort its much easier to wear, you don't have to worry about the whole world seeing your knickers! The skort comes in various colours but again my favourite is black. The two items actually go really well together as well!
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| Black 90s Square Crop Top |
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| Belted High Waist Skort in Black |
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| Cleopatra's Desire Headdress |
The third shop I'm going to talk about is Child of Wild which is actually an accessories store but I am so obsessed with it right now I wish I could buy everything they have. Again, it's a very boho look, quite tribal and vintage. As well as jewellery they do home-wear and bones. It's very expensive compared to my usual price range but it's great if you want to treat yourself (which I did with my first pay check!) or for presents. It is online only but ships anywhere although they are based in the US. My favourite piece by far is the Cleopatra's Desire Headdress (left, $125) which is imported from India and isn't for the shy! My other favourites are the Menefret Egyptian Anklet in gold ($28) and the Janissaries Hand of Glory which is an incredible slave bracelet imported from Turkey (below right, $46).
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| Janissaries Hand of Glory in Gol |
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| Paisley Print Sundress by Kate Moss |
The next place I've been loving is Topshop which I was personally surprised by as I usually find Topshop overpriced and just not that nice. Obviously I love their Kate Moss collection at the moment although I don't think I would buy any of it as it's all a little too rock star for my taste and doesn't really suit my style, it has a kind of 70s vibe about it with all the tassels and sequins. My favourite piece from the collection has to be the Paisley Print Sundress (right £65), I just love the colours and print, I think it's so cute and summery! I'm loving the 70s style running shorts that are super fashionable at the minute and I picked up the lemon print ones from Topshop (below left, £12) because I thought the print was so summery and they are so comfy they're just perfect for travel. They're also really good value for money and surprisingly cheap for Topshop! I also really like the playsuits/jumpsuits they have in store at the moment (I find their tall section fantastic when it comes to jumpsuits since I'm 5"11!). They have loads of super cute floral playsuits but my fave is this Tropical Palm Print Boilersuit (below right, £65).
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| Tropical Palm Print Boilersuit |
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| Lemon Print Runner Shorts |
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| The Disco Pant in Black |
The last thing I want to mention is American Apparel's Disco Pants. I really am not a fan at all of American Apparel, I think it's overpriced and the clothes are not particularly flattering or nice however, I had heard so much about their infamous Disco Pants that I just had to try them. The conclusion? They are AMAZING! they're so comfy, such good quality, so flattering and just look incredible. They suck in any wobbly bits in your legs and stomach and make you look so slim and the high waist is great for if you want to wear a cropped top or a loose baggy top, or pretty much anything! They are pretty expensive at £74 but they are definitely an investment piece and you do get what you pay for in this instance. They come in various colours but black is definitely the way to go in my opinion.
So that's it for my current favourites! I hope this has helped with any summer wardrobe updates you might be making! Please leave your comments below, I love to hear what you think!
Constance xx
Links:
Free People: http://www.freepeople.co.uk/
Miss Selfridge: http://www.missselfridge.com/
Child of Wild: http://www.childofwild.com/
Topshop: http://www.topshop.com/
American Apparel: http://store.americanapparel.co.uk/the-disco-pant_rsaah300
