[Craving] White Hot Pencil Skirts

At the weekend I went over to Westfield Stratford's Malibutique event for some much needed TLC.  ASOS were there and were debuting their new collection. For me, there was one stand out piece, a white pencil skirt. Simple, chic and (most importantly) a brilliant £40. It got me thinking, how would I wear this?

Pinterest / Carine Roitfeld via Harpers Bazaar

White is tricky - basically I'll get coffee over anything within 5 minutes, but for something like this I think it's totally worth it.  Pencil skirts are a new thing for me, I'd ruled myself out of the whole look as I assumed it was only meant for my leaner, taller friends. But no, my 5 foot 4 curvy self bought a gorgeous one from Zara a few months ago (on my Instagram here) and I've been hooked ever since.

Candace Lake via Pinterest / Hedvig of Northern Light via Harpers Bazaar

I browsed around Pinterest for some inspiration and well and truly got it.  The secret seems to be wearing something oversize on top to balance yourself out.  I love DKNY's take on the piece too, pairing it with a denim shirt (here). I've found a few on the market, here is my little edit (particularly love the River Island and Topshop one's with the mesh):

White Mesh Skirt, Topshop - £25 / Valentino @ Harvey Nichols, £760 / Winnie skirt, Reiss (was £195 now £58) / White Double Layered Skirt, River Island £25

[Outfit] Stumbling with Sparkle

The other week I was walking down Westbourne Grove when I spotted this new in 'pleather' skirt from Whistles.  I nearly spat out my coffee, I knew I needed to have it immediately.  And so it arrived.  Shiny and new and just everything a skirt should be. Considering it isn't real leather, the feel is amazing and I couldn't help but prance around the flat in it much to Lopez and Ben's annoyance.

Tee, Urban Outfitters £35 similar here / Necklace, J Crew (gift) similar here / Skirt, Whistles £95 / Shoes, Jimmy Choo £425 

Summer is still giving us it's all here in London, so I wore this for dinner the other night in our new neighbourhood.  Our flat is just next to the park in Battersea, and we're making full use of the location with walks around the river (Albert Bridge - prettiest bridge in the city - is about 3 mins from us), visits to local pubs and bars and strolls over to the Kings Road.

Tee, Urban Outfitters £35 similar here / Necklace, J Crew (gift) similar here / Skirt, Whistles £95 / Shoes, Jimmy Choo £425 

The tee was a purchase I made at Urban Outfitters in Westfield a few weeks ago whilst waiting for my sister to finish work (to meet for our obligatory bi-weekly skinny hot chocolates).  It's a bit of a family joke how much I cannot stand Celine Dion, so there is a whole world of irony in me wearing this... The necklace (just seen) was a gift from the lovely team at J Crew when I and some other bloggers met the team for lunch ahead of their London flagship opening in September last month. And the shoes... Choos. Of course.  They're extremely girly for me, but having seen Briony in the week she reminded me that sparkles really are a girls best friend.  Despite the stumbles, they're 100% worth it.

Shop the whole look here:

[Outfit] Rings And Things

Anyone who has read my blog for long enough (hi, Mum) will know I've had a love affair with jewellery designer Monica Vinader for quite some time.  Almost a year to the day I blogged about their gorgeous Siren rings (read the original post here) as gorgeous little accessory staples and after popping down to see Ella run an evening at their South Molton Street store (ahem, note the address) I fell in love with them all over again.

My friend Sarah decided she wanted some of their stackable rings for her birthday, which was a great excuse to get down to the shop again last week. She chose some amazing rose gold and black gemmed pieces, and the lovely team treated me to an engraving on a gold plated Siren Ring, so I had the letter B put on my new ring as a kind of 'Carrie' style mention to my better half. 

Despite the constant snapping of my hands on my Instagram account, rings and things are a relatively new concept for me.  I played the piano growing and dabbled with sports (read: attended PE lessons and smoked behind the bike sheds) so never had the chance to wear them.  My sister bought the rose gold Siren Stacking Ring from Monica earlier in the year, and knew I had to have one straight away.  It's become a bit of an addiction, I am now the proud owner of the not only the plated Siren, but my green onyx and lapis gold Siren Stacking Rings and (new addition) the same rose gold Siren Stacking Ring.  I love my little boho fingers now - I feel lost if I ever forget to wear them...!

Since my little trip to Palma last month, mixed with tanned hands and a new nail varnish courtesy of a speedy manicure at the Nails Inc pop up at Westfield Stratford's Malibutique my rings are getting noticed more and more.  I love the price points, and I love the whole classic-cool air behind all of Monica's designs.  I'm sure I'll end up like one of the team there who said she wears up to 8 rings at a time!  Have a look at her whole collection here.

[Outfit] Back to Black with an old favourite

There are no two ways about it, it's effing hot at the moment here in London. Not to complain given the terrible weather we've had all year, but travelling to and from work on the sweaty tube is enough to make even the sanest of people strip off completely and suggest nudest carriages. To avoid that, I dug out one of my old favourites: a little black dress from Uniqlo. It comes out every year, I have it in a million different colours too. Light, breezy and easy to wear it's any lazy girls favourite. Anyone who follows me on Pinterest will know I'm mildly obsessed with LBDs, I have an entire board focussed on them...

dress (old) Uniqlo similar at ASOS here / clutch Whistles @ Atterley Road / sandals Style Snob @ Atterley Road £50 / dog not for sale

I'd never really thought about it before writing this post, but Uniqlo is where I've bought pretty much all of my staple plains (as in neutral colours tops, dresses and tees).  This dress is years old and still looks great, it also doesn't ever need ironing which suits my lazy self to a T.  It isn't available now but I did find two extremely similar ones for £10 here and here. Here is a dead ringer from ASOS here too. I also spotted this gorgeous denim tunic from them, which became my sneaky purchase of the week.

dress (old) Uniqlo / clutch Whistles @ Atterley Road / sandals Style Snob @ Atterley Road £50 / dog not for sale

When you're wearing something as plain as this, it's all about what you mix it up with.  I've recently discovered the e-tailer Atterley Road and have been shopping like a mad woman on it for summer essentials. I love my new Whistles clutch, and the sandals have been a surprising showstopper.  I've worn them constantly since they arrived and whenever I do, someone (be it via Instagram or in person) asks me where they are from. 

dress (old) Uniqlo / clutch Whistles @ Atterley Road / sandals Style Snob @ Atterley Road £50 / dog not for sale

Once again I was wrestling for the camera's attention with Lopez... But as he turned two at the weekend I guess we can excuse a birthday boy! So much has changed since I got him, but he's remained the constant. Although I have my moments (mainly when he insists on toileting in public places, barking at old dogs, or eating my shoes) Lopez is my little hero and I love him more than words.  Two years ago now I could fit him in my hand, he hadn't opened his eyes yet and his paw was smaller than my thumb. Happy birthday little man!

[Event] Westfield Stratford hosts London's Malibutique Event

Ladies, hope you are well on this ever so slightly cloudy Thursday morning! I very rarely go along to blog events, but when Malibu told me about their new pop up at Westfield Stratford I became intrigued.  Partnering with ASOS, Nails Inc and Toni and Guy, Malibu have created the perfect haven outside shopping centre. In my opinion if anyone is happy to feed me cocktails and make me look presentable at the same time, I'm in. Plus I am curious as to what Malibu has to offer these days, it was one of the first things I ever drank...

The Westfield Stratford boutique opens today and runs until the 14th of July, and will later be running in Birmingham and Manchester.  I'll be there tonight after work for my piece of the fun - tweet me if you're going too using the hashtag #Malibutique.  See you there!

[Outfit] Through the Mirrored Lenses

It's been a busy old few weeks in our house for the last few weeks, but I finally found some time to catch up properly with some blog photos on Sunday evening.  First time I've left the boy near the camera, and delighted to have our own garden again to spare me the trauma of having to stand and pose in the street (it will never come naturally to me).  Despite the fact I was constantly wrestling to get centre stage with Lopez, for a first time it went pretty well...

ASOS Saxby jeans £38 / Rayban 5000 sunglasses / Whistles Slammer Sandals at ASOS, now £100 / Kenzo T-Shirt, Vestiaire Collective / Zara White Blazer, £60

I'm wearing some of my favourite buys of the year; my Zara white tuxedo blazer has been worn to death since I bought it in March.  The Kenzo tee was something I'd been after for months, I set up an alert on the site at work and as soon as it arrived it was mine. I hadn't seen the colour before so was thrilled when it arrived.

ASOS Saxby jeans £38 / Rayban 5000 sunglasses / Whistles Slammer Sandals at ASOS, now £100 / Kenzo T-Shirt, Vestiaire Collective / Zara White Blazer, £60

The jeans are my first venture into the world of boyfriend jeans. Having seen Alex's high street jeans challenge a few months ago I decided to give these ASOS Saxbys a try.  At £35 you really cannot go wrong, they're amazing.  If you do buy them, buy your size (not a size bigger as sometimes recommended for the style) as they do stretch. 

ASOS Saxby jeans £38 / Rayban 5000 sunglasses / Whistles Slammer Sandals at ASOS, now £100 / Kenzo T-Shirt, Vestiaire Collective / Zara White Blazer, £60

Not to forget the shoes, an absolute steal in the Whistles sale - these Slammer sandals are pretty much the only heels I can wear all day and not feel like my toes are going to fall off. Extremely easy to walk it too.  They're flaming hard to track down these days, but I have just found a new batch over at ASOS for £100 - bargain!

ASOS Saxby jeans £38 / Rayban 5000 sunglasses / Whistles Slammer Sandals at ASOS, now £100 / Kenzo T-Shirt, Vestiaire Collective / Zara White Blazer, £60

Last but by NO means least are my new Rayban 5000 sunglasses from Sunglasses Shop, without a doubt my favourite new thing for the year so far... I wanted a pair of mirrored lenses ever since Charlotte started wearing them, but was a little apprehensive.  Subtle they are not, but awesome they are. I get so many compliments on them.

Sunglasses Shop are giving away a pair of them (mega yay) to a lucky South Molton St Style reader - simply follow South Molton St Style and Sunglasses Shop on Facebook and post 'I'd like to win a pair of Raybans from South Molton St Style' on their page. Easy!  Entries close on Sunday the 14th of July.

Shop the look!

[Update] All change! July is here!

It's finally happening! After months, and months of rumours Google Reader / Google Friend Connect is going.  I'm actually feeling a bit sad about it - perhaps it's the nostalgia - GFC was how I read all of my first blogs before I started South Molton St Style.  If you are following me via Google please hop over to Bloglovin and follow me there instead, here.

Apologies for the silent treatment, but we've been a little bit manic for the last few weeks. We moved at the weekend to Battersea, managed to escape to Majorca for a long weekend (2nd attempt first flights were cancelled), spent a lot of time with our families, Lopez has had a bug, been unwell (pollen count + asthma = disaster), I have a lot of exciting things happening over at Vestiaire (not to mention the sale omfg), been to Paris a few times with work, had one of my long lost best friends staying with me last week... 

a few instagram shots from annaelerihart

In a nutshell, I've been busy.  I'm going a bit cray with the Instagram at the moment if you fancy daily updates about my dog and how many times I can get away with wearing the same jeans without washing them... What can I say, I've been busy.  Managed to squeeze in teeny bit of sale shopping though, here are my best finds of the sale period (and an amazing pair of jeans from new name Noisy May, outfit post on its way):

ASOS White Embroidered Shorts, now £16 / Whistles Tia Dress, now £95 / Noisy May Boyfriend Jeans, £50 / Topshop Ditzy Skirt, now £20 / Star Mela Kaftan Dress @ Vestiaire Collective, now £24.50 / Maison Scotch Scarf @ Atterley Road, now £45 / Accessorise Clutch, £35 / Reiss Paula shoes, now £95

Thanks for sticking with me, promise to be back on-it with the blog ASAP!