Saint Laurent 'Style Is Eternal' - Farfetch.com

When I think of Saint Laurent as a brand, I immediately think of monochrome and timeless pieces that can be transitioned season after season, and that is exactly what the new Yves Saint Laurent: Style is Eternal exhibition is all about. Luxury fashion site Farfetch.com are challenging bloggers like myself to put together a Saint Laurent look centred around the iconic Le Smoking Tuxedo jacket that could be worn for eternity without ever going out of fashion. 

Now as soon as I found out bout this competition I knew I wanted to do an all-monochrome look but move away slightly from the classic tuxedo jacket and tailored trousers option so I opted for these zip detailed leather trousers to give it an overall edgier feel, while still being timeless. I paired these with a classic white shirt with a twist by choosing this ruffled pussy bow style and a rather statement (but still timeless) studded chain bag that I personally have had my eye on for some time. 

To finish off the look I decided to give two shoe options, a smart tasselled loafer for the day and a classic pair of strapped sandals for the night. Both could be switched depending on your lifestyle of course! For the finishing touches I'd add a pair of black sunglasses and a slight pop of colour (most cliche statement ever) with this rather fabulous red lipstick pin. 

I absolutely love this look and it would definitely be something I'd wear both during the day and in the evening. I like mixing up the smarter tuxedo jacket and shirt with the leather trousers and studded bag to give it a bit of edge and I can see this look being something that could be worn for years and years. This outfit is for sure eternal in my opinion...

Iconic Smoking Jacket

Ruffled Blouse

Zipped Detail Trousers

Tasselled Loafers

'Jane' Sandals

Classic Monogram Satchel 

Classic '51' Sunglasses

Lipstick Pin

My Travel Bucket List | Transun

Now I don't know about you but I for one definitely have a bucket list as long as my arm of things I want to do and places I want to visit in my lifetime. With that in mind, Transun are offering one lucky winner (and a friend) the chance to win an all-expenses paid trip to see the Northern Lights within the Arctic Circle. More information can be found here. 

Now when it comes to places I'd like to visit there are several that are high up the list and I dream of someday being lucky enough to visit them all. I have however, narrowed it down to the top three places I'd like to visit the most and I thought I'd throw in an outfit choice for each just in case you yourself are planning on going! So let's get right to it...

#NextLFWModel Competition

cape, shirt, dress, shoes, bracelet, tights

If you're a part of the Next Blogger Network they you may have seen that they are running a really great LFW-inspired competition. The prize if you win is a nights stay in London for two and £200 worth of clothes from Next - pretty amazing prize if you ask me! All you have to do to win is choose your favourite model and style up an outfit for them with clothes from Next and upload it to the network before 29th September, making sure to tweet your entry with the hashtag #NextLFWModel.  

I decided to choose Suki Waterhouse as I absolutely love everything she wears, her style is so effortlessly fabulous and I felt I could create an outfit she'd definitely look great in using clothes from Next. Suki has quite a mixed style opting for casual jeans and a t-shirt some days, while other days she'll bring out her Burberry cape and cigarette pants. I decided to go for a slightly more dressed up, smarter outfit with this check cape - very Suki - over a clean white shirt and dress combination. To finish off the look I thought these gemstone loafers worked great and the dainty star bracelet seems to suit Suki's style far more than a statement piece would. I feel that this look is definitely something Suki would look great wearing.

AMSTERDAM FASHION WEEK - #FCFINDYOURLOOK

jacket & tee - river island | trousers - topshop | shoes & rings - new look |  bag - cambridge satchels | watch - marc jacobs

skort, sunglasses & bag - topshop | tee - river island | shoes - asos | rings - new look

Amsterdam Fashion Week is just around the corner and Fashion Chick are giving one lucky blogger the chance to win an amazing two night trip to Amsterdam to experience it. This time around it is the summer edition (#FCFindYourLook) and all you have to do is create a look of what you would wear for Fashion Week. All the details of the competition can be found here.  

I've decided to mix it up a little and create two outfits; one for each day I would be at Fashion Week. The first outfit is one for those slightly colder summer days and it gives you the option of putting on a jacket if it gets a bit chilly. Jacket aside, I opted for a pair of monochrome, tropical print trousers because I personally love wearing black and white all year round (if there was a darker colour than black I'd probably wear that too!), tropical print is also very on trend for the s/s14 season so I felt I'd fit in nicely at MBFWA wearing these. Then I went for a plain black tee as this should be a staple in everyones wardrobe, paired with a pair of black chunky sandals. I'm not really a heel person, so I thought sandals would be the next best thing, especially in the summer to give a casual, laid back look. 

The second outfit screams summer and would be perfect for a really hot day, as apposed to the first, which would be better if there was a breeze or rain spell. For the second I decided to move away from my usual black items and choose a more pastel and white themed look instead. I opted for a patterned skort in blues and pinks with an embellished white tee to make it slightly more interesting. To match the colours in the skirt I went for this backpack that will be great for carrying FW essentials in and also is really on trend at the moment. To finish this look, I chose a pair of white chunky sandals, white sunglasses and a subtle silver chain. 

I hope you like my two entries. Let me know what you think of them and which of the looks you would wear!

Summer Style Savers Challenge | MyVoucherCodes

A while back I was contacted by Sina from MyVoucherCodes about a competition they are running called the Summer Style Saver challenge. The challenge is to create one summer outfit for under £100 and the prizes are to win the chance to buy your summer outfit with; 1st: £300, 2nd: £200 and 3rd: £100. To see the full rules and requirements of the competition just click here, but for now, here is my entry for a summer picnic look...

dress | shoes | bag | headband | lip cream 

This look that I've put together in my eyes is the perfect summer outfit and would work perfectly for my scenario of a picnic, but also for any other summer day occasion! I opted for this slightly structured denim dress from H&M, which is both feminine and perfect for summertime. As the dress is a full denim piece, I wanted to keep everything else quite simple so I chose a pair of white brogues, but found these from New Look with a cut-out and buckle detail that makes them a little more special than your ordinary brogue. 

For accessories I went for a floral crown, very festival, very summery and very on trend at the moment, as well as a small coral satchel as for me, coral is the most perfect, on trend colour this year for summer.  Finally, what look would be complete without a lip product, and for this I chose a coral lip cream by Topshop which will be light on the lips and a lot less dramatic than a lipstick would be. 

What do you think of my summer look for under £100? Would this be something you would wear? 

SPRING/SUMMER OUTFITS | #PASSIONFORFASHION2

So technically we're now in Spring and although here in the UK it still looks like winter *cough* go away snow *cough*, everyone is more than definitely planning their spring and summer outfits. Moneysupermarket.com are once again holding a #passionforfashion competition but this time the challenge is to find three outfits, each under £200, for the categories casual, party and holiday. I'm going to give this competition a shot again but if anything, this is a good chance to search the web for some bargain items. 

blouse | skirt | sandals | watch | bag

For the casual outfit I decided to lean slightly more to summer than spring and went with a denim skirt and a very feminine, creme shirt which I just love! I found some white sandals with really nice gold studded detailing on the heal and matched these with a creme and gold watch. To finish off the look I chose a pink floral satchel to add a little bit of spring/summer colour. 

swimsuit | dress | sunglasses | sandals | bag

I absolutely love the monochrome trend and as soon as I saw this swimsuit I knew exactly what my holiday/beach outfit would be. I'd pair the statement swimsuit with a plain black maxi dress which is nice and cool for on holiday and perfect for by the beach/pool. I paired this with some black jelly sandals, a pair of sunglasses (any!) and a bright neon yellow bag to contrast with the black and also to be big enough to carry towels, magazines and anything else you fancy taking with you!

dress | shoes | bag | bracelet

For my party option I went for a neon skater dress with cut-out detailing around the neck, which makes it slightly more interesting and the neon pink odour is great for this season. I paired it with black platforms with matching neon pink ankle straps and a black studded clutch along with a simple silver bracelet. 

So these are my three spring/summer looks for casual, beach/holiday and party. I really enjoyed putting these together and even managed to keep two of the looks below £100! 

Emma xo

I ACTUALLY WON SOMETHING?

So, if you remember a week or so ago, I posted my entry on this here blog for the Money Supermarket #PassionForFashion competition. There was five categories: casual, office, outdoors, party and first date and the aim was to create five different outfit looks for each of these categories for under the budget of £200. The winner of each category would receive £200 and the overall winner would receive £1000 and an iPad. 

Now onto the exciting part. Yesterday on my way to class, I opened my emails only to find that I head been chosen as the overall winner! I was and still am so overwhelmed. I was that surprised that I even phoned my dad and Money Supermarket themselves to check it wasn't just a span email - I mean, I don't know about you but I get a tonne of spam each day! Anyway, it wasn't spam after all and a little while later they announced it properly - actually over the moon! 

I've also been given this lovely badge to display on my blog sidebar which is just a little reminder to myself I suppose...

Emma xo

my entry | passion for fashion webpage

follow me on TWITTER and instagram at iamemmawilde

AUTUMN/WINTER OUTFITS | #PASSIONFORFASHION

Autumn has officially arrived here in the UK. Now although the sun does shine on that rare occasion still, its definitely getting colder and colder meaning an extra layer or two is certainly needed! Moneysupermarket.com are an online price comparison site who are currently running the #passionforfashion competition, in the hope to get everyone ready for the colder autumn/winter months whilst saving money! I've jumped aboard this competition and have searched high and low on high street online websites to find the best pieces for these seasons at hopefully, the best prices...

Contrast Sleeve Army Jacket | Black Boots | Slouchy Knit Jumper | Tube Scarf | Black Skinny Jeans

 This has got to be my ideal outdoor autumn/winter outfit, it's just perfect for both comfort and warmth. It combines a lot of my favourite things at the moment what with the Topshop khaki/leather jacket which I know are available from so many different stores now; this one being one of my favourites. Also the boots are very Dr Martens-esque but to be honest, I prefer this pair from from River Island because of the military, slouchy look they have - they are much less structured which I like. I just went with black skinny jeans because everyone needs these in their wardrobe, they are just a staple piece that go with everything. This whole outfit came to £177.99 which for a complete look, including a jacket and a staple pieces, isn't all that bad! 

Black Boyfriend Cardigan | Casio Watch | Skinny Jeans | Graphic Tee | Hi-Top Trainers

When I think casual, I think comfort and with that in mind I think an oversized boyfriend cardigan is a must. I found this black cardigan from Miss Selfridge which is the perfect chunky knit and long length to layer over a basic/graphic tee like this one from Topshop. I then thought a loose fitting pair of skinny light wash jeans would be perfect, maybe turned up at the bottom, paired with some hi-top trainers and a Casio watch. This outfit came to £159.99 and for that price I don't really think you can go wrong for a look that you'll keep coming back to. 

Black Platforms | Triangle Earrings | Gold Cuffs | Envelope Clutch | Baroque Mesh Insert Dress 

Under £100 for a full party outfit isn't half bad really. Baroque is a big trend this season and so I chose the New Look dress which embodies this trend so much and the mesh insert just breaks up the print perfectly. I based this entire look around the dress matching it with simple, but statement pieces of jewellery like two gold cuffs, black platforms and a black clutch - keep the accessories simple if the dress has a lot going on!

 Owl Print T-Shirt Dress | Black Flats | Tights | Quilted Biker Jacket

I think that for a first date it's really about making an impression but also being yourself and showing your own personal style. I chose a dress to add a feminine touch; a graphic dress at that to tie in with the t-shirt trend, with a slight high\low cut at the bottom. Then I paired this with black tights ad flats because you want to be comfortable as well as looking good. Then in case you go outside I chose a leather-look biker jacket from Topshop (which I own myself and love!) with a fur collar to again, add a more feminine feel to what could be a masculine piece. 

Floral Print Trousers | Wedge Flatforms | Triangle Necklace | Black Plaited Shopper | Zip Front Vest

This is the most expensive outfit of all of them and obviously, when choosing an office look, it really does depend on the dress code/how strict your office place is. So for this look I grid to keep it smart and simple with one key statement piece being these Topshop floral trousers. Now because the trousers are so out there, I went with mostly black for the rest of the look with a basic vest with zip detailing that could be tucked into the trousers, and then a pair of slight wedged flatforms (contradiction much?) which are very much a staple on-trend piece this season. What really made this outfit the most expensive is the Zara shopper which is perfect for any job and can fit a laptop, books, papers etc etc. 

So there we have it, my five outfits for five different occasions all for under £200. This was such a fun little thing to do, finding all these pieces from high street stores and putting them together; it really does make you realise though just how much an entire outfit costs! 

Have you entered the #passionforfashion competition? Which is your favourite of the five looks I've put together? 

****

Emma xo

follow me on TWITTER and instagram at iamemmawilde