Does Your Style Mature with You?

 Top: here (£19 in the sale!) Trousers: here. Shoes: (£21 in the sale!) here. Bag: here.

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Oh, wow, look at that. A bow blouse. How very original and experimental of me.

Clearly I'm kidding, but my current taste is nothing if not consistent. 

Following on from my last outfit post where things got very colourful and daring, I wanted to even things out a bit by featuring one of my failsafe, go-to outfits; tailored trousers, some form of interesting blouse, pointed shoes. When I think about it, I definitely used to be a bit more wild with my fashion choices when I was younger. Over the last few years, I've found myself gradually pulling back on the things that made my style a little bit more... eccentric, shall we say? I certainly wouldn't say my dress sense is boring, but I might say it's become slightly more 'mature' - whatever that even means. For example, my vast collection of huge, eye-catching statement necklaces and Pat Butcher earrings now sit unworn, replaced with simple pearls and studs. Sometimes I wonder why that is. Your style definitely changes with time, but does it specifically change with age? Have I simply grown out of them or has my style evolved as I've gotten older? 

What do you think? Has your style changed with time/age?

Photos by Paige Joanna.

Nautical (bargain) Dress and *The* Shoes of the Moment

Dress (only £27!): Wal G c/o Topshop. Shoes: c/o Topshop. Earrings: Dior. Sunglasses: Prada.

Alright, so I'll admit that the word 'bargain' doesn't always have terribly pleasant connotations. I certainly don't mean it in the 'bargain bin' sense. What I mean is, this dress was an absolute steal. I picked it up on my recent spree c/o Topshop, and whilst totting up the total of the things I'd chosen I was astonished to find that this dress was £27. TWENTY SEVEN POUNDS. Sure, it's not actually Topshop, it's Wal G - a concession sold in Topshop, and sure, it's also possible that I have a totally unrealistic idea of what a bargain actually is, but this is without a doubt my favourite piece I picked up on that day, so I'd have been willing (and was expecting) to pay more. It fits perfectly, the material is light enough to keep me cool on a warm day, but not flimsy enough to see through in the light or to blow up and flash everyone in the slightest breeze - I tested this theory by taking it for a spin (quite literally) around the rose garden in Hyde Park. So, thank you Topshop and Wal G for making it possible for me to meet my favourite new summer dress! (Oh and thank you to Becca for being my photographer!)
If you like this dress, you can take a look at it here, or click on the image below. (Oh as the dress comes in S/M/L rather than regular sizes, it might be helpful for me to tell you that I'm a UK size 10 and I'm wearing it in a size M!)

Monochrome Florals - A Tropical Day in Kensington (...and vast use of the word sausage)

Top: River Island (old - similar here). Shoes: c/o Topshop. (yes I forgot to take the label off the bottoms for these photos) Skirt: Zara. Sunglasses: Prada. Earrings: Dior. 

Yesterday, it was practically tropical in London and today, I'm genuinely sunburned. I kind of feel like I want to post a photo of my sunburn just to prove my twitter moaning (hashtag melting *insert fire emoji*) was justified, but I won't. Sunburn is hardly what you'd call 'instagrammable'. Despite that unfortunate side effect, I was overjoyed to hop back into my twirly midi skirts and get out into the sun - after all, I'd already done the whole spring/summer wardrobe swap over a month ago to no avail. 

I should also address the shoes - my new favourites. Last week, Topshop invited myself and and few other bloggers/YouTubers down to the Oxford Circus store to take part in their 'Playtime' activities. Essentially they sort of turned the store into a fun-house for a few days, complete with candy floss and arcade games. They also gave each of us a generously filled Topshop gift card to have a Topshop spree with. I'd seen this 'Ghillie' style of shoe spamming my instagram feed for a while and thought to myself 'best steer clear, they'll make your feet look like sausages wrapped in string' - so I wrote that particular trend off. (Interestingly, when I googled them I found that they're inspired by tongueless, lace-up, Scottish 'gillie' dancing shoes!) But - delirious with shopping spree euphoria I grabbed a pair and tried them on, preparing myself for a good old lol. As you can see, said lolling did not occur, and I didn't look too reminiscent of a stringed up sausage (in my humble opinion). In fact, I liked them a lot, AND they were incredibly comfortable. So from my sausage-themed paranoia I think we can all learn something; don't immediately write something off because of your own worries - if you like it, give it a go! Try it on. (Worst case scenario... you momentarily look like a sausage.)