The minimal Monki sweat

There's something extremely endearing about a simple sweat. I think it's all in the minimalism and the fact that a monochrome one seems to have the ability to make any outfit look effortlessly sleek. Recently I've been especially lusting over Monki's "Lexi Sweat". And by "lusting" I mean "absolutely obsessing". Ever since I first set eyes upon it on one of my internet rambles, I haven't been able to stop thinking about how perfect it would look in my wardrobe!

Obviously I adore the colour combination (how could you not?) but the transparent birchbark style detail is what makes this sweat so perfect.

Lexi Sweat - £20 Monki // Midi silk swing dress - £65 Topshop // 

Jessi black cleated sole platform - £36.99 

Public Desire // Vita white leather backpack - £44.99 La Moda // 

Multi row bar silver necklace - £14.50 Topshop // Flat front ring kit - £12.50 Topshop 

MOTO black Mom jeans - £40 Topshop // Coco Black platform sole shoe - £27.99 

La Moda // Pepper rucksack - £165 Grafea // Cami top - £6 Topshop // 

Nail varnish in Alpine Snow - £7 OPI

Sporty Mensy trousers - £90 Topshop // White slouch clutch - accessoryo.com £22 // 

Alexa white shoe - £28 La Moda // Cat eye glasses - £10 ASOS

I can almost guarantee that by the end of the evening this will have been ordered. I won't lie and say that I'm sorry. 

Bethany Paige X

OOTD: Triple Grey

It was inevitable the minute I saw this jacket that it would eventually find its way into my wardrobe. It's grey, leather and has gold details. Basically this jacket is everything I love in clothes condensed into one single item.

For its first outing this weekend (and the last time I think I'll be able to go bare legged this year) I thought I'd try something a little bit different - Triple grey. Now, we all know I have undying devotion to the colour but I've never worn it on my skirt, top and jacket all at once. To be honest though, if I had grey boots I would probably have worn them too! There's something kind of glorious about wearing essentially one shade all over.

Top - Primark // Skirt - Primark // Jacket - Primark // Boots - River Island 

// Ring - Newlook

I hope you all have an amazing week,
Bethany Paige X

In the navy

I think there are two underrated colours in the world of fashion. Firstly, grey (and we all know that grey is my absolute favourite colour). Secondly, Navy. 

The thing about navy is that it's been sanctioned to the realms of ill fitting skirt suits, when not found aboard ships, and has never fully made it back out again. The style stigma has unfortunately stuck. My recent obsession with minimal clothes though has allowed me to see past that. So now I can branch out and wear not only black, white and grey but navy too! That counts as colourful, right?

Heavy dress coat - £85 Topshop // Hybrid pleat pencil skirt - £90 Topshop // Boutique premium roll neck - £50 Topshop // Navy pinstripe bralet - £28 River Island // Navy linen zip front midi skirt - £20 River Island // 3/4 sleeve top - £30 River Island // Portland backpack - £295 Whistles // Clean funnel neck sweat - £55 Topshop // Nail Lacquer in Royal Navy - £12 Butter London

Happy Friday! 

Bethany Paige X

Dirty Hippie by Miley Cyrus

"To some people, it was just me gluing some things together, to me, it made me not a f*cking pop star dumbass. And that’s my goal in my life: to not die a pop pop dumb dumb," - The ever eloquent words of a certain Miss Cyrus regarding her recent designing début with Jeremy Scott at NYFW. 

Not quite content with causing controversy in the worlds of film, music and general celebrity stardom, Miley decided to take a crack at fashion designing too with her art instillation "Dirty Hippie". Whilst her sculptures also had their moment at New York Fashion week, it was her necklaces and hair pieces that had the spotlight, being paired with Jeremy Scott's SS15 collection. And if her aim was to cause controversy, she was undeniably successful. If it was to design pieces of gorgeous jewellery... well, her success is debatable. 

Frankly, it's ridiculous.

The mix of air fresheners, fake petals and pompoms is hardly vintage Chanel. Or modern day Chanel, for that matter. To be honest, it's not even Topshop. And as much as I believe in free expression, I don't like the fact that Miley got a free pass into the highly competitive world that is fashion design just because of her reputation. People work for years to get that kind of break. People work for years and most don't even make it within a mile of fashion week. Yet Miley Cyrus admits to spending just two months on her art and ends up getting dragged onto the catwalk by Jeremy Scott at the end of his show. It all just seems a little unjust. 

Image source

Still, I can't fault Miley's thought process behind it - 'I had a bunch of f*cing junk and sh*t, and so instead of letting it be junk and sh*t, I turned it into something that made me happy.'

I think that's the kind of positive idea we should all embrace! Although for me it will involve much less plastic... 

Bethany Paige X

Wishlist: My least favourite season

Autumn is a weird time of year. It's three months of that awkward in-between weather that causes clothing based conundrums for everyone involved. It officially marks the start of the period in time when us girls have to wake up and ask ourselves the same question - Is it a tights day? It's the start of coats that by mid-day will probably be hooked over an arm and not actually on and scarves that in the morning frost seem like the best idea going but end up making our bags bulge.

I'm not generally a pessimistic person but autumn is probably my least favourite fashion month. But hey, at least the dawn of a new season has given me the opportunity to lust over autumn pieces! Like that pink coat...

"Snuggle in coat" in pink - fashionprescription.org £40 // The Envy backpack - Grafea 

£180 // Faux gold septum ring - £10 La Moda UK // Riley grey ankle boot - £29.99 Public Desire // Flora Bra in Blanc - £26 ohsolovelyhandmade.bigcartel.com // My favourite designer t-shirt - £12 Boohoo //  White peg leg trousers - £40 Topshop // Scarf - £14.99 New Look 

Stay strong my loves, it's nearly the weekend! 

Bethany Paige X

Some kind of calm

I reached a personal epiphany this week: As my life gets more hectic, my clothes do the opposite.

My work load grows and my days get longer whilst my wardrobe gets simpler in attempts to bring some kind of calm to life. Subconsciously I've switched to black, white and grey clothes over the past week since resuming A-Levels, embracing clean lines and minimal cuts. Patterns, on their rare appearances, have been monochrome. Black running trainers have been the shoe of choice. My white pleather bag officially has a place in my life as that which carries my plethora of folders and books. The lack of colour and basic fabrics seem to balance out the potential stress of essays and deadlines.

Happy Friday, 

Bethany Paige X

OOTD: School uniform

I can't imagine going to a sixth form with a smart dress code. The idea of having to wear a skirt suit every day makes me feel a little bit unwell. Especially considering that I work at the weekends so would literally have no chance to wear casual clothes! Luckily for me though, my school have a very loose dress code that basically only prohibits shorts and crop tops. 

It certainly makes getting ready for a day of lessons a lot more interesting. I think going back to school after the summer holidays has made me even more grateful that I didn't have to go from crop tops to blazers! Instead, for my first day back I went for a long line black and white kimono. Basic trainers, an oversized top and my high waisted jeans acted as the base of the outfit with me only having to add my white school bag and several gold rings to finish off the look. The simple black and white palette of this OOTD is something I'm obsessed with at the moment and that I plan on continuing throughout the year.

 

Trainers - Primark // Jeans - New Look // Top - Primark // Kimono - Primark // 

Bag - Primark // Thin gold and midi rings - Primark // Thick ring - New Look

I hope you're all having wonderful weeks, 

Bethany Paige X

August Favourites

Since I've been a blogger for more than two years now, it's pretty crazy to think that I've never done a "favourites" post before. There's no time like the present though, so I thought I would take this opportunity to get straight into it with one for August!

Forbidden by Victoria Secret 

I'm insanely loyal when it comes to my everyday scent. Once I've found a perfume that I love, I stick by it! Ralph by Ralph Lauren has had a solid place in my life for two years now and I had no plans to change that fact. Then I came across Forbidden by Victoria's Secret a week ago, bought it and haven't touched Ralph since. It's a gorgeous mix of "exotic pear, jasmine and amber wood" - you have to go and smell it. Not that I want to be too hasty, but I think this is serious, not just a perfume fling. 

 Bourjois Nail Polish Remover

I don't think I ever realised how annoying and time consuming removing nail varnish was until I finally gave into the hype and bought this Bourjois Paris Magic Nail Polish Remover. It is so worth every penny. Not only does it take off nail varnish ridiculously well (even black which has a tendency to leave me looking like I haven't washed in a week with normal remover) but it smells like red fruit and vanilla! If that doesn't make it worthy of a place in my August favourites, I don't know what does.

Kiko Eye Palette

Kiko palette in Harmonic Swing

I've been obsessed with neutral eye looks recently and this Kiko palette which I bought while in Spain is perfect. Even though the colours are relatively neutral they have a beautiful shimmer to them, without being so glittery that they can't work in the day time. The white shimmer is perfect as a brow bone highlight and the purple is my current favourite for the crease.

The Falsies 

The Falsies mascara by Maybelline

Okay, we've all heard of this mascara. Tanya Burr absolutely raves about it! So I finally gave in and bought The Falsies by Maybelline. I could talk about it for hours but all I need to say is that it does exactly what it claims. I curl my lashes, put this on and I'm sorted.

Coral cheeks

Rimmel London in Shade 012 Coral Blush

These pictures don't do this blusher/bronzer justice at all. It's the most stunning coral colour which I pair with a BB Cream on days when I don't feel like wearing a full face of makeup. I apply it with my The Body Shop blusher brush and that's all it takes for a gorgeously pigmented cheek colour.

Bubblemint Gum

I've never been a gum chewer. Fake mint flavours usually give me a headache so I tend to avoid them. But I'm also obsessed with my teeth feeling clean and having fresh breath. This is the first gum I've had that doesn't make me feel unwell after a few minutes of chewing and as random as this favourite may seem, it has been my saviour this month! Plus, who doesn't love the flavour of bubble gum?

Round Sunglasses

 Primark Sunglasses

These round sunglasses have the ability to turn any outfit into a chic ensemble. Seriously, I could wear these with a tracksuit and be LFW ready. Okay maybe not quite, but they've still been amazing this summer.

Straight hair

Toni&Guy straighteners 

I usually leave my hair in its naturally curly state but over the past month I've been straightening my hair at least twice a week. I don't know that I'll carry on with it but for the time being my Toni & Guy straighteners are doing the job brilliantly.

 Striped and jeans

White Tee - New Look // Blue Tee - Primark // Jeans - New Look

My last favourite is a fashion pairing. I am beyond obsessed with wearing my black high waisted jeans with baggy stripped T-Shirts. It's such an effortless style that I can just throw on whenever I want. Plus, these jeans are the softest things in existence! You'll probably see a striped tee and jeans OOTD very soon. 

What have you been loving in the month of August? 

Bethany Paige X