JUMPIN' JUMPIN' (AKA I LOVE JUMPSUITS)

Let's talk about the SS17 jumpsuit trend. I shouldn’t admit this when I have a fashion blog – but I’m fairly hopeless when it comes to assembling outfits. I have to think long and hard about what goes with what, and even then, there’s usually an element that’s off-kilter (generally the bloody shoes. Why the f*** is it so tricky to find the right shoes?) 

Which is why I’m very in favour of an all-in-one. Jumpsuits / dungarees / playsuits / boilersuits; whichever your onesie of choice, they are a failsafe purchase if you’re rubbish at getting dressed like me. 

I'm wearing: Jumpsuit: Great Plains c/o [in the sale yassss] | Lace up sandals: Boden [in sale also!] | Sunglasses: Karen Walker | Chelsea Crossbody Bag: Loxley England

More all-in-ones to that I heart:

FEMINISM IS IN FASHION, BUT IS FASHION FEMINIST?

Feminism is in fashion - tangibly. With every high street shop selling t-shirts baring feminist slogans, Instagram is awash with influencers wearing their pro-female feels. It’s an interesting zeitgeist, given the fashion industry can receive a bad rap where feminism is concerned.

The Devil Wears Prada will have you believe fashion is a bitchy industry, built upon female-to-female competition. The relationship between protagonist Andy Sachs and her colleague Emily is fraught and wholly unsupportive, whilst Runway magazine editor Miranda Priestly shows only a small flicker of humanity as the book draws to a close.

The media will have you believe fashion is responsible for female body dysmorphia; fashion week wouldn't be fashion week without some tired criticism levelled at designers for sending gaunt girls down the catwalks. And the models are often stereotyped as half-starved characters with low IQ’s, exploited at the hands of the industry. The reality? In my experience, the above preconceptions couldn’t be more wrong.


I'm wearing: Skirt - Havren (old) similar | Crew neck jumper - WoolOvers c/o | Glasses: Bailey Nelson UK | Bag: Loxley England | Shoes: Topshop 

HOW TO LOOK AFTER YOUR SKIN IN YOUR LATE TWENTIES

Last month I entered the final year of my twenties with an outrageously camp pink birthday party. Now, I have never been one to freak out about birthdays and turning 30 is no biggie in my book. But what I will say is that recently I’ve noticed some of the physical changes that inevitably come with age. Nothing too major, just a few frown lines and an inability to look anything less than a complete troll with a hangover.  Consequently, I’ve changed up my beauty routine and introduced some new products and rituals that I can definitely see are having a positive effect. Here’s the five changes I’ve made and some of my the products I’ve discovered along the way: 

SHOP THE POST:

THE LONDON LIMBO: WHY LIVING IN THE CAPITAL ISN'T ALL IT'S CUT OUT TO BE

Are the streets of London really paved with gold? When I moved to the big smoke seven years ago I was full of expectation, with dreams to rival Dick Whittington’s.

The reality? Perhaps the streets of the City are where fortunes are found, but the rest of capital is more likely to bleed you dry than bolster your bank account (and on a Friday night you’ll find the streets of the City are paved with vomit, not cash money). 

9 OF THE BEST SLOGAN T-SHIRTS

Slogan tees are so much more than the some of their fabricated parts. Why? Well, I'm not a very cool person. In truth, I'm a granny pant-wearing, National Trust property-frequenting, chia seed-consuming all-out nerd. Which is why sometimes I rely on my outfit choices to conceal the geek that belies the fashion-referencing exterior. Now if there's one item of clothing that simply says 'I'm cool customer', it's a slogan t-shirt. Don't ask me why - it just does. So this season I'll be relying heavily on some wardrobe witticisms to transmit that sense of cool I'm a little lacking. And here's 9 of best slogan tees:

Top row from L-R: Formidable t-shirt: Zoe Karssen | Good Life t-shirt: Etre Cecile |  Middle row from L-R: Females of the future: Topshop | Cherry bomb t-shirt: Ganni | Be Good or be gone t-shirt: Zoe Karssen  Bottom row from L-R: God saw you do that t-shirt: PSC The Brand | Fit t-shirt: Into Dust | Popular t-shirt: Etre Cecile 

FINISH THE LOOK:

TIME TO DISCONNECT

Hello my name is Sophie and I am addicted to notifications. My story? From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep I’m pressing refresh on a plethora of platforms. And the addiction isn't limited to my spare time; working in the field of Communications, I’m constantly connected, constantly watching real-time analytics, constantly chasing the next Insta-high. I can trace the obsession back to the moment I acquired my first iPhone upon the break-up of a long-term relationship. The empty void in my bed was filled with virtual distraction and a collection of cookies, and the rest is (browsing) history. 

FIVE WORK OUT TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

The Bleep Test has a lot to answer for. Ask any millennial with an ineptitude for sport and they’ll probably cite it as the reason they skipped PE class for the next decade.  As a teen I always thought exercise wasn’t for me – it was something ‘other people did’. Then, in my early twenties, I moved to London and discovered I had unintentionally upped sticks to the sportiest area of the city - you can’t move for joggers and protein shakes in Clapham. And so the exercise bug infected me (albeit very slowly), but not without it’s teething problems. As a total novice, I was clueless about working out and made every mistake in the book (HI SPORTS INJURIES). So I thought I’d share the tips that I wish I’d had to guide me along the way: