Sunday Skates

Happy Sunday everyone! Have finally hung up my jeans and switched to tailored trousers for the rest of the season; this Zara pair are my favourite, super comfy with the elastic waistband and the perfect length too! Hope you're all enjoying the sun! Black crepe top by Zara Studio, grey tailored trousers by Zara TRF, bag and shoes by Celine.

THE OLD FLATS

I succumbed to the Birkenstock! The anti-fashion, old-school shoe has truly made its way into AW13 trends - notably British Vogue's September issue (remember the Miranda Kerr editorial with the effortless styling of coats and the shoes in question?) Well, that was enough to make me order my very first pair (post Primary school anyway) and work them into my wardrobe for the transeasonal period we're in right now! The truth is, yeah they're kind of ugly, but when have creepers or flatforms ever been pretty either? I'm all for the new (old) flats! What do you guys think? Will you be trying them this season or avoiding them like the plague?

I'm wearing a Joseph sweater, Topshop Boutique silk trousers and Birkenstocks. 

SUNDAY STUDS

It's a Bank Holiday weekend here in England, which means bye-bye work flats and hello pearly-queen Isabel Marant heels! I scored these in the Barney's New York final sale, having had my eye on them  since they hit the runway for SS13. I loved the Carol wooden heels too but these closed-toe Clemence pumps won in the end! What do guys think? Are studded accessories making their way into your wardrobe too?

My black wash effect jeans are from Zara, the silk oversized sweater is from Whistles, the black clutch is Céline and the heels are Isabel Marant.

IT'S NEVER TOO EARLY...

...to start planning your Fall/Winter wardrobe when it's still 31 degrees outside.

Thing's to start investing in for the new season:

1. The perfect oversized man coat. If you haven't already seen the September issue of Vogue UK with Miranda Kerr in the best selection of such attire out there, then get to your news agent ASAP and find out what i'm talking about. I'm not kidding, you will want every piece including these very basic old school are-they-really-back-in-fashion Birkenstocks that complete the outfits to a tea. 

2. Get some Birkenstocks. If the inspiration from Phoebe Philo wasn't enough last season you will find these are most certainly making a comeback (for real) for FW13.

3. Berlingot's! The latest from Céline's eponymous bag collection. Much larger in size than you think; on the runway they acted as the perfect alternative to the normal leather under-arm clutch. The checkered version is set to be the print you will need across your wardrobe for the coming season. 

4. Fine Jewellery; the delicate likes of Matchsticks and Monica Vinader are replacing the chunky neon statement pieces we have seen up until now; mix your silver, gold and rose gold in a selection of dainty jewellery. The Monica Vinader ring is 18ct Rose-gold plated with diamonds and is super affordable.

5. The perfect crew-neck cashmere sweater; I am always on the hunt to build my collection of these. This navy one from Whistles is exactly the type of layering piece you will need for a truly reasonable price; it will also be coming in Grey and Black late September too. 

Another great brand includes Equipment's Sloane Cashmere Sweater that comes in a multitude of colours, as well as THE OUTNET's own label Iris and Ink who similarly stock a variety of colours and at an extremely affordable price. Finally, J. Crew is always on my list to search for any type of cashmere sweater; if you're not a crew-neck fan these V-neck Boyfriend Cashmere Sweaters are incredibly soft and definitely worth the price tag.

6. The ripped jeans; season after season the distressed-denim trend has only grown, and now proves to be a wardrobe staple. These Zara distressed jeans are the best on the high street, although i still swear by my J Brand 811's (Colour; Salem Destructed), and Rag & Bone do a great selection of distressed skinny jeans too. If you're in London, check out Selfridges Denim Room and you really won't be short of choices.

7. Round-frames; swap your square-frames for round! A great selection at Asos, these are the Butterfly style from Céline.

8. Little white shorts; If one could wear shorts with the Margiela coat and cashmere jumper, that would be street-style perfection. I'm always baffled yet in awe of the array of street-style shots during Fashion Week that involve probably the most anti-weather outfits out there. Where are these women that they can wear such outfits without chancing a good dose of pneumonia, or simply over-heating? However they manage it, it means they are open to far cooler outfit choices like the shorts and coat combo.

MAGNOLIA BEACH

The heat is on! Summer has finally arrived in London.. Although i'm seemingly distracted by all the AW13 new season pieces landing in-store and online that are naturally less suited to this tropical heatwave we're having. Here are some wardrobe essentials i've been eyeing up over the last couple of weeks; some heatwave appropriate and some definitely not, but certain to come in handy when the weather cools down. The most coveted shoe brand this week has to be Aquazarra; these nude lace up heels are perfect for day-to-night dressing and look great with boyfriend jeans and dresses. And, although Hedi Slimane's takeover at Saint Laurent stirred a number of discussions in the industry, I have to say the accessories are subtle, chic and timeless. The Lulu bag is my favourite and this version in White really keeps a simple outfit of jeans and tee's on trend. More on bags.. My Olympia-le-Tan wishlist continues to grow, and the 'Mystery of Magnolia Beach' clutch seemed too weather-appropriate to leave out. 

Final tip! Try my favourite body balm by Aesop, keeps you super hydrated and smells tropical!

Saint Laurent White Lulu Medium Bag (SSense.com) / Topshop Boutique Navy Ribbed Sweater

Aquazarra Nude Lace-up Heels (Mytheresa.com) / Topshop White Shirt Dress / Aesop Rind Concentrate Body Balm / Delfina Delterrez Bee and Pearl Earring (MatchesFashion.com) /

Asos Nude Round Sunglasses / Olympia Le Tan Clutch (Net-a-Porter.com) / Whistles Libby Boyfriend Jeans / Zara White Boat-Neck Shirt

THE SWEATSHIRT THREE WAYS

You may have noticed my obsession with grey sweaters; lets discuss. a) They are unarguarbly comfortable and toasty. b) They tone down a look when any scary busy print of the trend variety is involved. c) You can pretty much wear it with anything, and take it from the day into the night, with little changing or accessorising involved.

I've picked this Topman 'NYC' sweater (see my previous post) as an example to show you how to team it with a number of pieces, but also to encourage you to raid your boyfriends wardrobe and see just how well certain pieces can work. I can confirm this originally did not go down too well; "No really please, that's my favourite sweatshirt", to eventually, "Ok it does look better on you". 

Success! Let's look further. See all the looks after the jump.

Look 1: Motif sweater and Ripped jeans sounds like it could be disastrously untidy, but add statement heels and it immediately makes it work-appropriate.
Wearing Zara Ripped Jeans (get similar here), Isabel Marant Heels, Proenza Schouler Bag.

Look 2: Sweater and Skort (an amusing new word invented by Zara that apparently is the answer to when shorts look like skirts). Break up wearing light colours together by adding black accessories; these cut out shoes are the answer to everything! I'd team them with Look 1 too.
Wearing Zara White Skort, Alexander Wang Liya Pumps, Celine Box Bag.

Look 3: The most realistic and weather-appropriate outfit for right now; jeans beanie and sneakers. Because lets face it, its freezing outside and this whole 'off-duty' everyday look will keep you toasty warm, guaranteed.
Wearing Topshop Grey Leigh Jeans, Isabel Marant Bekket Sneakers, Celine Luggage Tote, Cos Cashmere Beanie

Which look would you most likely wear the most? You can follow me at @thecovetcase for more pics too!

NAVY LAYERS & THE TRAPEZE

Taking the term January Blue's far too literally here with a Cos navy crew neck sweater, Cos navy cashmere scarf (I had to remove the All Saints navy coat in order to prevent an absolute navy overload) with Whistles green printed silk trousers that were one of my only sale purchases and easily the best sale-buy ever (from £125 to £35! Get your Whistles sale goodness here) and Isabel Marant Bobby sneakers. Also finally sharing with you my latest bag-affair with Celine, the Tri-Colour Trapeze!

NYE

Happy New Year everyone! I apologise that my wishes are a week late... mainly because of the copious amounts of work I have due in!  Hope you all had a great night, here's what I wore to see in 2013 in London!

Sandro Zip Detail Dress, Proenza Schouler Pouch, Valentino Rockstud Pumps

Bracelets by Aamaya by Priyanka and Monica Vinader

THE EVERYDAY EDIT

A selection of things from this season to inspire the everyday outfit!
(British weather/commuting appropriate, not so much.)

Most mornings I wake up extremely confused as to what to wear. I'm not (or very rarely) one of those people who can throw something together  last minute, which does indeed make me an outfit planner. This however puts me in a rather fickle situation each morning when it is around 0 degrees, raining, and grey skies when I wake up, which could easily turn in to 18 degrees sun, thunderstorms, or snow by mid-day. A slight exaggeration, but that is generally the joy of British weather, it will inevitably mess up any hopes you have of putting together the perfect everyday outfit because it will probably be the wrong  one by lunch time. 

With this in mind, I am just going to assume the weather will be perfectly consistent and put together a list of great everyday pieces for this season! 

This JW Anderson X Topshop White Oxford shirt is perfect with printed trousers or jeans, to be worn under the JW Anderson X Topshop Trench Coat; shoe options include the Isabel Marant Suede Boots or the Gianvito Rossi Nude Shoes. The trench and boots would look great with a casual shirt like this checkered one by MiH Jeans. The Kenzo T-shirt has some great colours which would team really well with metallic shoes, like these silver Margiela trainers, and (if you're not in the UK and can still wear shorts at this time of year, or you're just really brave...) these Topshop Boutique silk shorts would look great instead of jeans for a casual look. To top it off, the Givenchy Rottweiler iPad case is by far the coolest tech accessory i've seen, and is the perfect everyday statement piece to use with any of the pieces above.

You can shop the whole look! Just click the links.

SEQUIN MAZE

 

Left: 3.1 Phillip Lim Maze Sequin Tshirt £390 (here) 

Right: Topshop Crystal Maze Tshirt  £45 (here)

I was having a little flick through Liberty Online today (who, by the way, are having 15% off until Sunday) and came across this sequin 3.1 Phillip Lim number, and thought hold on! I've seen this somewhere... Lucky for you 3.1 fans you can get the look for less from Topshop (of course!)

If you have any designer pieces you've seen but don't want to fork out the thousands for it, email me at l-bd@live.co.uk or ask me on twitter @ericaewright and I'll do my best to find you the next best thing!

OLYMPIC GEAR

The London Olympics have finally begun! It's actually so exciting; the city is really buzzing from it and it's great to see all the support for Team GB playing in their home country. I managed to get a glimpse of the women's cycling in Knightsbridge yesterday (it really was a glimpse.. you don't realise how fast they're actually going!!) And despite the rain people still came to cheer them on, umbrellas-et-all, love it! Here are some of my favourite pieces right now, all of course inspired by the current events! Which is your favourite look? You can shop them all below!

First Row: Isabel Marant Beckett Sneakers in Anthracite, Topman Jamaica Sweatshirt, Proenza Schouler PS1 Bag, Current Elliott Star Jeans.

Second Row: Ashish Games T-shirt, Proenza Schouler PS11 Bag, Topshop Leigh Jeans in Grey-Blue, Converse Leather Chucks.

Third Row: Ashish Flag Sweatshirt, Topshop Leigh Jeans in Dark Grey, Isabel Marant Betty Sneakers, 3.1 Phillip Lim Tote.

PYJAMAS PLEASE

Pyjamas! Headed into central today (after finally getting over the flu -cabin fever!) to enjoy one day off out before we're back to work tomorrow. Love this co-ordinating set from Zara; comfy day wear for the summer months; and even more so for an English summer where long-sleeves and layering is usually the norm. Hope you all had a great long weekend, only two days until it's Friday again. Woo!

 Trousers, Blouse and Shoes, all Zara. Bag and Sunglasses by Céline.

SNEAK PEEK

Preview of tomorrow's post; thank you Stella McCartney for your genius take on tailored day-time pyjamas, total outfit inspiration!