I’m pretty excited about writing this because I don’t think I’ve ever written anything like this before. But, as mentioned in this post, I want to carve my own style without getting automatically brainwashed by social feeds and therefore am trying to be as methodical as possible about this season. It is also my ongoing goal to shop less and smarter – the hardest thing ever when one is in love with fashion and styling and loves putting outfits together more than anything! But yes, I’m trying to be wise and only buy items that I’m going to get a ton of use out of.

Naturally there’s a thought process behind all of this – for now – cautious shopping, and writing it out will probably help me out even more… Hopefully it can help other people too if they’re trying to figure out their likes and dislikes!

The Vibe

This word does make me cringe but forgive me for not coming up with a better expression as to what I’m feeling style wise for A/W’18, which is unsurprisingly a mix of things. But I’m going to go with the wonderful cliche that is vintage. The word that keeps on giving, a part of me will always be drawn to silhouettes and looks that could belong to another era – be that the cute, chic and oh so easy vibes from the fifties and sixties to the extravagance of the eighties. My style isn’t a replica of said decades (trust me, a part of me would love that), but my fondness for all things retro pops up especially in the form of accessories. I’ve come to truly love berets (pictured below is my little collection – one is missing), which are timeless but were definitely huge back in the day. I also want to get into wearing floppy hats again, which I feel were synonymous with the seventies but also remind me of Sienna Miller’s early flower-power rock chic style (those were the days). Not to mention chunky, 80’s inspired jewellery – huge for A/W’18 and a perennial signature within my jewellery box (these two posts here and here perfectly reflect my current jewellery loves, and the ones pictured below are my even more recent additions).

As well as emulating vintage, I want to get into vintage shopping again – and no, not because of documentaries like The True Cost and Fashion’s Dirty Secret that every fashion blogger is banging on about right now (which I’m all for), but because I went vintage window shopping with a friend a few weeks ago and it brought back so many good memories of trailing through Beyond Retro and charity shops… It’s sustainable, special and can make your style even more individual and fashionable. What more can you ask for?

The Colours

I’m going to be straight forward with this – pink and red. Both together and separately. I feel like myself the most when I wear these shades, and it’s been my favourite colour combo of 2018. But they’re not the only colours ruling my wardrobe, because over the past few weeks I’ve really got into green. Specifically, I’m enjoying forest and emerald green, there’s something very timeless about these hues. Mustard is having a bit of a moment this season too, and I’m not fully immune to it – but despite having been drawn to mustard in the past, I think I now prefer mainly mustard accessories, as to this day I’m still unsure about how mustard looks against my skin.

There’s one more colour combo I’m feeling super drawn to at the moment, and that’s pink and green. Back in the day I was obsessed with combining baby pink and mint – I guess you could say I’ve ‘matured’ into stronger, deeper hues of pink and green.

Coats

Faux fur baby. I mean I obviously didn’t need any more coats but this year I decided not to kid myself because I knew I’d be adding a new pair or two to my collection. Indeed, I’ve added two – and they’re both faux fur. I got this cutie from Daisy Street because it’s a dupe for a Jakke style that came out last year and which I never got because it was £150. But hello, pink and red hearts! It’s too nice. And then I got myself even more faux fur because apparently I’ve always wanted a rose pink coat and when I saw this one in Debenhams (which I NEVER shop at) that’s it, I was gone. I know it’s ridiculous I’ve got two pink faux-fur coats and it seems like the complete opposite of smart shopping, but I love them and know I will get lots of use out of them. I also look forward to pulling out my adored red Mango coat from last winter out of the closet again.

Dresses

Dresses are such a core part of my style that I hate not being able to wear them that much during autumn and winter, but there’s a solution to this problem. Pinafore dresses! It looks like they’re going to be huge this season (I’m kinda gutted I didn’t catch on to this when I wrote up my A/W’18 trends report), and this is a style I can proudly say I already have in my wardrobe. I have dug out (and already worn) my black and navy pinafores from my wardrobe, but have naughtily treated myself to this dress by Miss Selfridge. I can see it with both blouses and roll neck jumpers (the latter being my favourite style of jumper) – and yes, it’s corduroy. Yes, I caved in. I’m cringing at myself for this (I explained my hate for corduroy here), but also trying to make myself feel better because this dress is 100% cotton.

I’ve also treated myself to this fuchsia pink dress from Topshop – I already have this cut in a different pattern and it simply works in a surprising amount of temperatures and seasons. I’ll be teaming it with a chunky cream cardigan, green earrings and ankle boots.

Knitwear

Ah, knitwear. That thing that probably the whole of the UK spend their lives in for six months a year (it’s probably eight or nine months). I myself have come to love it – a little too much, as it seems to take up about 90% of my wardrobe. In fact, I desperately need to do a jumper clear out, so it’s not great that I’ve so far bought four jumpers for A/W’18 (Hopefully no more? LOL – who am I kidding). The first one I bought was a few months ago, when J.W. Anderson‘s second (I think) collection came out for Uni Qlo. I fell for that seagull jumper straight away, which is hilarious ’cause I hate seagulls. I then got this Topshop jumper because pink and red is the colour combination that keeps on giving… I also got this jumper from Joanie Clothing (the queen site of cutsie, vintage pieces), because I love what it says and its subtle Bella Freud vibes are very pretty. The latest addition is this green roll neck jumper by Mango, so far the favourite because it’s sooo practical, soft and the perfect shade of green. I’m envisioning it with my pink pinafore dress, as well as many other separates. Also, I’m still all about my rainbow print – I know it’s pretty much been overdone but I love it, and look forward to restyling this jumper again.

Skirts

Midi pleated skirts are still very much my thing, and I don’t think I’ll be tiring of them any time soon. Recently I couldn’t resist grabbing this green leopard print one from Primark (Leopard print, green, pleated and midi? Too many things I like in just one piece), which I’ll be teaming with my roll necks and slogan tees come spring. I’m also pretty surprised at myself for saying this, but I’ve got my eye on a green velvet skirt from Next – I told you I was into green. The biggest surprise however, is this checked mini skirt from Topshop. I bought it over the summer but just didn’t feel brave or confident enough to keep it. And then a few weeks ago I found it reduced to £15 and thought “You know what? I’m going to make it work for winter.” Indeed, I am looking forward to wearing it with my green roll neck (good buy, I tell you), black tights and a pair of ankle boots.

Trousers

The biggest surprise this year for me has been finding myself falling for wide-legged cropped trousers, AKA culottes. A few years ago I would NEVER have worn culottes, and to this day I definitely don’t consider them a flattering piece as such for my small stature and curvy frame, but if there’s something I’ve learnt about my style is that I like bold prints, bright colours and interesting cuts. I’m always going to love tapered trousers but earlier this year I bought these trousers and wore them constantly, relying on them much more than I ever thought I would. Hence why this winter I’ve bought these two trousers. I’m pretty keen on the black and white ones (a buy inspired by this picture on Lily Melrose’s Instagram, plus they were only £12!), and as for the teal ones… up until a few days ago I was really unsure about them. I loooove the colour but they’re corduroy (can I handle having two items of corduroy in my wardrobe?!) and this is a silhouette I’m still a little intimidated by. But when my bf saw me wearing them for the first time over the weekend and said “It looks like you belong to another decade,” I was sold. I combined them with ankle boots – and for the first time in my life felt pretty delighted about outright emulating the seventies (what used to be my least favourite decade style wise, but that fact might have to change).

Shoes & Boots

There’s no change in the Autumn/Winter shoe department for moi – it’s going to be heeled ankle boots all the way for me. I always go back to them because they go with everything – skirts, dresses, and sometimes even jeans (not a look I would usually do myself, but I tried it here and I like it). Heck, I’ve even styled them with wide-legged trousers. One style I want to get back into is brogues – I have two oldish pairs that I need to get fixed, so hopefully I won’t be buying any new pairs.

Boot pictures from these posts: pink boots, silver boots, star boots and red boots.

So there we have it, a little dissection and kind of old school haul (old school in the sense that for the first few months of when I started my blog I only photographed my clothes and not myself in them) for A/W’2018. There are definitely a few surprises in there (corduroy, checks and culottes – the three C’s I never thought I’d come to love), but I do think I’ve so far made reasonable choices that I will get lots of use out of. I’m also getting myself in the habit of checking that a potential new piece will go with at least three items I already own (I should probably push that up to five, but baby steps for now).

This methodical kind of styling is also, hopefully, going to help me feel stylish when those temperatures drop – because there’s no need to shop like crazy and break the bank to stay warm and stylish!

xxx