Oh Hey There April

Tiffany earrings | Topshop hat | Nars duo eyeshadow | Forever New coat | Current/Elliott jeans | Stuart Weitzman boots | Valentino bag 

Tips & Trends: Over the Knee Boots

Over the knee boots are one of the biggest trends this season, especially in suede. They've been seen adorning the feet of fashionistas around the globe and have been prominent on the AW14 runway too. 

                                          Donna Karen                                                                                               Topshop Unique

But are they worth investing in? Over the knee boots are quite expensive in comparison to ankle boots. They were on trend a few years ago and chances are they'll be back again in the future, so the good news is that if you choose to buy a pair you can always pull them out again periodically. 

For now they're not going anywhere though, but finding a pair that won't break the bank is a whole different story. Check out some of my favourites.

                        Gianvito Rossi                                                          Loriblu                                                            Stuart Weitzman

But woah, let's be honest, these won't be in my price range anytime soon!  Despite not having a spare $1,000 lying around, it's definitely not worth spending in excess of $500 on a trend-based item. However, in this case it's probably worth spending a decent amount still on OTK boots to avoid looking somewhat like a lady of the night. 

I love this pair from Siren Shoes ($259.95). The lace up detailing at the back is gorgeous plus they're the perfect heel height. 

Siren Shoes

If I was going to buy a pair, this would be my first pick. But here are some other options.

                River Island ($110.50)                                     Steve Madden ($193.35)                                    Tony Bianco ($349.95)

How to wear...

Pair your OTK boots with items like jeans, a knit jumper, a loose/flared dress, or a pleated/trumpet skirt. You can play around with how you style them, just be sure to avoid anything too tight fitting! 

                  They All Hate Us                                                  Wendy's Lookbook                                                  Song Of Style

Tips & Trends: Saving Money This Winter

I've been doing some thinking about my blog lately and I've decided to introduce some more informative and almost instructional type posts. As autumn/winter is fast approaching I thought it would be a good idea to crack some of the dos and don'ts when it comes to new season dressing. I was initially just going to cover everything in one post but as I thought more about it I realised it's actually very important and should be dealt with in much more detail. Hence, I'll be creating posts aimed at answering questions about trends, how to shop and save, which key items to invest in and lots of other things that are worth touching on.

So, first things first, spending saving money this winter:

This is probably the most important advice when it comes to fashion, especially in winter when items tend to be more expensive. This is because the items are made with better fabrics (knits, leather, etc) and you have to buy more of them (layers). The biggest mistake I usually make is impulse buying when I'm at the shops. There's nothing I love more than passing shop windows filled with new season stock, luring me into the store where those captivating 'new arrivals' racks call my name. I love flicking through everything, looking at all the pretty new things on offer, justifying to myself why I need almost every item. Ok maybe not every item, but this is a prime example of how impulse purchasing can occur. 

So what's the best way to save this winter? Online, my friend. Australia is on the other side of the world to almost every other fashion conscious country, so conveniently as their autumn/winter ends ours begins. Now is the best time to jump online and grab a bargain. I normally hit up stores like Asos, Shopbop, Revolve Clothing, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Nasty Gal. Or to make things easier for myself and to avoid wasting time searching sites, I  head to Polyvore or Shopstyle Australia. These sites let me search for specific items, locating them online so I can find what I'm looking for and compare prices. 

Here are some of the basic winter items you might buy this season. I've compared the prices found online to what you'd pay in Australia.

                                          Online - overseas                                                                                           Australia

                                   Asos skinny jeans ($63.38)                                                RES Denim skinny jeans via The Iconic ($119.95)

                 London Rebel ankle boots via Asos ($75.26)                                Tony Bianco boots via The Iconic ($189.95)

                         Miss Selfridge biker jacket ($96)                                                                   Bardot biker jacket ($159.95)

                                       Nasty Gal knit ($56.06)                                                  Don't Ask Amanda knit via General Pants ($79.95)

As you can see shopping online can have the potential to save you quite a lot of money. These are just some basic examples but by searching online and comparing prices, it's not too difficult to find some good deals. I hope this helps when it comes to saving some of your hard earned cash. Stay tuned for more tips and trends on the blog!

Ladies of the World

I absolutely love following the who's who of fashion throughout the fashion week circuit. My favourite is NY Fashion Week, but I love following the many visual diaries (aka Instagram feeds) of those amazing and incredibly fashionable humans who get to travel from country to country to view runway shows and immerse themselves in the wonderful world of fashion. 

I mainly follow bloggers such as Song of Style (Aimee Song), The Blonde Salad (Chiara Ferragni) and Shine By Three (Margaret Zhang) as well as many others, but then there's those whose lives and style I can only dream of having such as Olivia Palermo and Miroslava Duma. And who can forget the behind the scenes/inside scoop from magazines such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar and the street style snaps from Tommy Ton. Not to mention style.com covers pretty much anything and everything you want or need to know about Fashion Week. 

There's something magical about Fashion Week that makes me wish I could travel to an amazing city and lose myself in the aura of a fashion obsessed society, where women are fleetingly treated like princesses and extravagant, over the top dressing is not only encouraged but required because, naturally, the outfit is everything. One day I wish I could holiday in NY during this iconic week and feel what it's like to be a part of the buzz. That's probably as close to Fashion Week as I'll ever get but I can't imagine a more exciting and perfect time to visit my ultimate holiday destination. 

Meanwhile, here's some serious Fashion Week street style inspiration via Tommy Ton (style.com):

Winter Inspiration

I'll be travelling overseas next week to Spain and Germany for some diving competitions. I looked up the weather today and it's a chilly 2 degrees in Madrid and -7 degrees in Rostock! As much as I prefer the warmer months, there's always an upside to cold weather...layers. And layering means shopping! 

My plan of attack is to pack a few warm garments that I already have and hopefully snap up some winter bargains whilst in Madrid. Zara will probably be my go to, but shopping in Madrid is amazing and quite reasonably priced so who knows where I'll end up. The hardest part then will just be convincing my coach to let me go out. 

In the meantime there's plenty of winter inspiration going around from the other side of the world. Here are some of my favourite looks from my favourite bloggers:

Images via Wendy's Lookbook | Sincerely Jules | Song of Style | Lovely Pepa by Alexandra | Tuula