August Wishlist

It seems like years since I’ve done a general wishlist. Don’t ask me why because I’ve fallen in love with just as many things as I do in other months. I guess I’ve just had other blogging inclinations recently.

Whatever the reason, that time has arrived once more. Cue dramatic silence. It’s time for my August wishlist! Cue exaggerated applause. 

Vita leather navy backpack - £45 La Moda UK // Gold and red faux septum ring - £14 La Moda UK // Running shorts - £15 Dark Pink London // Grid patter bag - £22.99 Newlook and purse price unknown // Candle in Afternoon Tea - £7.95 Busy Bee Candles // Triangle cup bra - £18 Topshop // 

I know, two backpacks is a little keen, isn't it? But I couldn't chose between them. Firstly we have this navy La Moda beauty which has just been released on their website. Its classic style makes it ridiculously versatile and it looks like it would be quite roomy too. You can't go wrong when something is gorgeous and practical. Perhaps a tad less sensible is the checked one from New Look which is considerably smaller but just as beautiful. 

La Moda also provided me with another wishlist opportunity in the form of their new range of Faux Septum rings. I actually prefer some of their other styles but they won't be restocked until next week which means I'm going to have to control myself!

I've been a fan of pastels this month as you can see. These Dark Pink London Shorts are so sweet (and on sale) it's hard to resist. Paired with a masculine, oversized t-shirt and some chunky white sliders they would be just perfect. Equally as sugary is this triangle bra. I have a bit of a soft spot for pretty undies and as soon as I saw this I needed it.

Finally, these Busy Bee Candles in Afternoon Tea - "Top notes of relaxing indulgent sweet tea with lemon zest, drops of honey nectar and the extra zing of cardamom spice. Gorgeous, complex fragrance perfect to relax with." Need I say more? 

Bethany Paige X

The problem of "smart casual"

I've never been a fan of dress codes. Turning up to an event in a ballgown with everybody else is in jeans, that I can handle. Being sent instructions stating that I should come to an event in clothes that are "smart" or (even worse) "smart casual", I'm not so good with. The problem I face is distinguishing what constitutes as smart casual. Because, let's be honest, leggings and a hoodie with a suit jacket would look pretty ridiculous. 

The wikipedia page for "smart casual" explains it quite aptly. It's an " ill-defined dress code that is generally a neat yet informal attire." Emphasis there on the "ill-defined". 

This exact problem is one that I've had to face recently since starting a week of work experience at the news desk of my local newspaper. As soon as I received conformation of my place I was also hit with those two words that I dread most when it comes to getting dressed - smart casual. Why can't people be more specific?

Putting my fashionable good Samaritan hat on though, I thought I'd put together a few outfit ideas as my take on the smart casual dress code to help those of you that are (like me a week ago) stuck on how to tackle the look.

Cigarette trousers - £42 Topshop // Shirt - £30 Topshop // 

Bag - Grafea $250 // Shoes - £16 Topshop // Nail varnish in Navy - £2.50 Barry M 

Black culottes - £17.99 New Look  // Ribbed vest - £6 Topshop// 

Longline blazer - £45 // Shoes - £40 ASOS // Nail Varnish in Alpine Snow - OPI //

Ring - £6.50 Topshop 

Midi skirt - £48 Topshop // Top - £26 Topshop // Shoes - £68 Topshop // 

Bag - £22.99 New Look // Nail varnish in Glitzerland - OPI

No need to thank me, 

Bethany Paige X

OOTD: Just add sunshine

I think it's safe to say that I'm more than a tad obsessed with my faux Birkenstocks. Since buying them a couple of weeks ago I've worn them at least a million times (or seven times if you want to be pernickety about it). Aside from being unbelievably comfortable, they have allowed me to dip my toe into one of the biggest, and least expected, trends of the summer. Hooray for shoes so ugly they become beautiful!

For this OOTD I paired the sliders with my favourite midi skirt - a white pleated affair - and my new pink crop top. Accessories wise I went for my white structured backpack, huge round sunglasses and a white bunny ear scrunchie. Just add sunshine. 

Sliders - Primark // Skirt - Thrifted // Bag - New Look // 

Top - Stradivarius // Sunglasses - Primark // Scrunchie - Primark

Have a lovely weekend,
Bethany Paige X

White jeans: From loathe to love

Until recently I was absolutely against the idea of white jeans. I can't really explain myself, I just felt as tough jeans should be black, blue or grey and nothing in between. There was no logic behind it I will admit but it did take an awful lot to make me entertain the idea of denim in different shades. I know, I'm so behind the times! As I said though, this is all in the past.

Thanks (as usual) to the internet I've gone from loathe to love on the white jeans front. High waisted wearing Tumblr folk have me creating outfits in my mind for a larger proportion of the day than I care to admit. At some point these mental images manifested themselves into something a bit more tangible in the form of outfit collages that have made me even more tempted to take the white denim plunge in the form of the American Apparel Easy Jeans.

 Crop top - £6 River Island at ASOS // Bag - Grafea £180 // 

Shoes - £35 La Moda UK // nail varnish - O.P.I £8 //

Shirt - £35 Topshop // Trainers - Nike £79 // Sunglasses - £16 Topshop

Kimono - £65 Topshop // Sliders - £12 La Moda UK //
Crop top - £12 Topshop // Bag - £15 Topshop

Now the only real question is, when will I get my hands on these beauties?

Bethany Paige X

Holiday finds

I have a motto when it comes to holidays - If abroad, buy it! You can't pass up the opportunity to buy whatever "it" is because once you're on that plane back to Britain you've missed your opportunity. As soon as you've touched down at Gatwick, your chance has faded quicker than your tan. And if your "holiday treat" just so happens to be three pairs of shorts, two new bralets and some shoes, then so be it! 

Maybe I'm kidding myself, but whilst on holiday I generally follow this motto the whole time and my recent trip to Spain saw me implementing it almost perfectly. If I had less baggage restrictions for the flight then it's entirely likely I would've come home with a vast array of wardrobe additions, but I still managed to pick up some absolutely gorgeous pieces.

I thought it was only right to show my favourite finds of the week.

These light blue palazzo pants saved my life whilst in Spain. They provided me with the opportunity of creating outfits that were slightly more dressy whilst also remaining cool in the evenings when it was still surprisingly warm outside. When paired with a basic crop top or a bikini top, they transform seamlessly into the kind of thing you can wear around the pool. Plus, anything that prevents burnt legs and mosquito bites has to be a good thing, right?

I think all of my fellow fashion bloggers will be fairly well acquainted with this style of crop top. The likes of Topshop and Miss Selfridge stock them but at just $5.99 mine certainly had a smaller price tag! As you can see, here I've paired the top with my American Apparel inspired tennis skirt. Basically though, anything that isn't too heavily printed will work like a dream. I plan on buying a pair of high waisted white skinny jeans as quickly as humanly possible!

Markets in spain are like a treasure chest. Once you've made your way past the spices and the battery stalls you can find the most beautiful one off pieces at shockingly low prices. I was lucky enough to stumble on this hand tie dyed crop top which can be worn in a few different ways as shown above. It's already become a summer staple of mine with simple denim shorts and huge sunglasses. Not too bad for €2!

No doubt you'll be seeing more of these pieces in up coming OOTDs.

Bethany Paige X

Five Spanish OOTDs

I've been home less than twenty-four hours and I already feel like crying about the fact that I'm no longer in Spain. For one thing, Spanish yogurt is quite frankly a million times tastier than that in England, and I don't think I can face my morning Activia in the same way again. More to the fashion point though, I hear through the grapevine (ITV Weather reports) that this week anticipates "heavy showers", meaning it's time to wave adiós to my holiday wardrobe. Floaty culottes, crop tops and sandals are somewhat dampened when paired with a pack-a-mac, even if not in the literal sense*. 

Still, I can't really complain since I had the opportunity of completely stress free, hot weather dressing for eight whole days. So even if my clothing choices are a lot more weather dependant since I landed and I won't be eating ice cream every three hours any more, I can at least immerse myself in the photos and the memories whenever I want. And it has given me a lot of blogging material! To start with, I thought I'd share with you five of the outfits I wore whilst I was away. 

Shoes - La Moda UK // Palazzo pants - Borrowed from a friend // 

Crop Top - Bought in Spain // Bag - thrifted // Sunglasses (on head) - Primark

Shoes - La Moda UK // Shorts - thrifted // Top - thrifted // 

Bikini (just seen) - Sainsbury's

Shoes - La Moda UK // Palazzo pants - Bought in Spain // Vest - Primark // 

Bralet vest - Bought in Spain // Bag - Thrifted // Sunglasses (on head) - Pimark

Sliders - Primark // Skirt - Primark // Crop top - Bought in Spain // 

Sunglasses (on head) - Primark

Sliders - Primark // Culottes - Primark // Vest - Primark // 

Sunglasses - Primark

I hope you've all had an equally lovely week to me and didn't miss me too much while I wasn't blogging...

Bethany Paige X

*I solemnly swear I would never wear a pack a mac. Ever.

Travel packing: Outfit plans

Suitcase weight restrictions are the bane of my life. Seriously, if I could just take my whole wardrobe on my imminent trip to Spain my stress levels would considerably drop and be back into what is probably considered healthy. You never know when you might need a pair of thick woollen tights in 40 degree heat. Or a roll neck sweater. Yet here I am, expected to fit a whole week’s worth of clothes into one tiny suitcase.

On the plus side, I suppose being forced to intricately plan holiday outfits does save time in the morning once you’re actually there, which in turn means more time on the beach! It also gives me an excuse to write a blog post, not that I ever really need one!

It seems only right to show you a few of my outfit plans before I jet off.

All clothes pictured - Primark

Dress - Primark // Shoes - La Moda UK // Bag - Primark // 

Sunglasses - Primark

Bag - Thrifted // Bikini top - Sainbury's // Skirt - Primark // 

Shoes - La Moda UK // Sunglasses - Primark

Shorts - Uniqlo // Bag - Primark // Shoes - Primark // 

Sunglasses - Primark // Bikini top - Sainsbury's

Vest - Thrifted // Shorts - Thrifted // Bag - Thrifted // 

Shoes - La Moda UK // Sunglasses - Primark

Bag - Primark // Shoes - Primark // Bikini - Sainsbury's // 

Button up top - Primark

Since tomorrow will be spent doing last minute bits and bobs in preparation for my holiday, this is most probably the last post I'll do before I come back next Monday! Of course, you'll hear all about it when I return.

So until then, have a lovely week and keep smiling!
Bethany Paige X