OOTD: Misguided

A fun little outfit from last Saturday. This crop and midi pencil skirt were from Nicole for Misguided, but they still stock many similar versions!

 Similar set from Misguided here and here.

For the hair I used Babyliss Curl Secret. I took small sections to create the curls in alternate directions. I then let them set for about half an hour while I did my makeup. After the curls had thoroughly cooled I brushed through them with my hands and a smoothing brush to loosen them and give them a lot more volume and movement.

OOTD: Baby shower in Chi Chi

I have purchased 2 dresses from Chi Chi this Summer and after the first one I posted was so well received I thought it would be a shame not to show you the second! I wore this Nessa high neck laser cut prom dress to my friend's baby shower (blue for boy) a few weeks ago and got so many lovely compliments on it. It's so girlie and fun and completely effortless to wear!

Dress: currently £65 on Chi Chi London and ASOS

 

This dress gives you a great shape as it nips in at the waist and flares out in all the right places. The lining is nude, but gives a slight v neck illusion, plus it has built in support so there is no need for a bra.

With the mummy to be!

 

Have you ever tried Chi Chi London? I can't wait to have an occasion that would give me the perfect excuse to order another one of their dresses! 

OOTD: Country Wedding

A few weeks ago the hubby and I attended a lovely country wedding to celebrate the union of our university friends! The wedding was very sweet with lots of homemade aspects and family members arranging flowers and baking cakes to make the newlyweds' special day unique and very personal.

Dress from Reiss (Marte in blue), bag from Chanel, fascinator from TK Maxx, shoes from Melissa.

I wouldn't normally choose jelly shoes for a wedding, but as there was a mile walk from the church to the reception in a marquee with a high likelihood of rain I decided to be very sensible (and waterproof)! They were also super comfy so I could dance into the early hours... and we did!

Being May the evening was very cold so I definitely brought lots of layers - cardigans, scarf and this pretty (also waterproof) laser cut cream trench coat from Warehouse.

 

Such a lovely day!

OOTD: Chelsea Ivy Garden

This weekend the hubby and I visited the Chelsea Ivy Garden for a spot of afternoon tea! In keeping with the garden theme I thought this would be the perfect time to dress up in my new floral number. The sunshine in London was glorious, but it did make photos a little bit of a challenge so I apologise in advance for my squinting.

 Dress: Chi Chi London Shauna (mine was from Asos)

Shoes: Roberto Cavalli

Bag: Chanel

Sunglasses: Tom Ford Celia

This dress is so much fun to wear. The off the shoulder cut of the top gives it a really vintage feel while the high low hem makes it fun and a little more modern. This kind of bandeau/ bardot neckline is so popular right now and while I think it looks lovely it is a little restrictive (especially if you have been working hard in the gym getting your arms toned). The fabric is quite stiff so it keeps its shape well and gives a lot of volume to the skirt!

We had a lovely champagne afternoon tea at the Chelsea Ivy Garden. The service wasn't the best, but the food was good and it's definitely a fun place for celeb spotting. The location is special for us as it's very close to the church we got married in so I am sure we will return for a Sunday post service brunch soon! :)

OOTD: Meeting Christian Louboutin

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a lecture by the fabulous Christian Louboutin as part of the Vogue festival. Christian is an amazing character with real vivacity and passion for life. He is incredibly charming, inspiring and his energy is just infectious! I would definitely recommend meeting him or attending any of his talks if you get the opportunity to do so as he is just wonderful and gave me all the more reason (as if I needed any more) to love the brand that he built through his talent and hard work.

Since my Saturday mornings are usually spent at the gym this was a rare chance for me to dress up so I decided to try something a little different! A little nod to the festival theme, despite being set in central London in the rain...

I paired a heavily beaded sheer tunic/ dress from Karen Millen (worn with a slip underneath) with some grey suede boots from Russell & Bromley. Sadly I couldn't wear any of my Louboutins as it was raining and I just couldn't bear to ruin any of my precious pairs! As beautiful as they are they do need a lot care!

I have had these R&B boots for years and honestly they are the most comfortable pair I have ever owned. Despite being suede they have lasted really well. I was running about in these from 10am till late, which I very rarely do in heels! I am currently lusting after their over the knee version as they have a very similar structure and look absolutely amazing! I need to start saving!

OOTD: Easter

 

 Dress: Whistles (on sale on Asos)

Shoes: Melissa

Bag: Chanel

Hair: curled in small sections using the Babyliss Curling Wand Pro

I hope you are all having a wonderful Easter break!

OOTD: Lace and Lime

While scrolling through the Topshop website recently I noticed a very familiar looking lace skirt, which is very similar to one I absolutely loved wearing on my honeymoon last Summer!

It's such a gorgeous, versatile piece that can easily take you from day to night. In the photo above I paired it with a simple green camisole, similar to this one from Oasis.

Topshop's latest offering is a lovely cream lace number that's perfect for Spring! You can find it on their website here for £75.

OOTD: Reiss

With the lovely weather we have been having in London on Friday I finally felt brave enough to hang up my Winter coat and take my new jacket (originally puchased in the Christmas sales) out of hibernation!

I love the light grey colour as my recent grey obsession continues. It's fitted really well, which makes it perfect for work, but it's thick enough to protect you from the City wind (and if you have stood next to the Walkie Talky building  you will know what I mean)!

The Porter fitted coat is currently on sale in Reiss for £95 here.

OOTD: A little Alexander McQueen...

Many of you have messaged me to request a few more OOTD posts in addition to the myriad of stream of consciousness photos I upload on my Instagram (@NatalyaFGM). So, I thought I would start with this fun one from last year on my Birthday! Since I'm not getting any younger I thought I would put together something a little more different to celebrate turning 25... again ;p.

It all started with the dress! I spotted this Alexander McQueen envelope dress in an outlet mall near Florence of all places. Despite it being heavily discounted I needed some convincing as I didn't think it was particularly flattering (there are about 600 folds of fabric at the waist, enough to make a tent), but in the end I decided that it was a piece of art worth investing in!

A few months later I still hadn't found an occasion to wear my first Alexander McQueen purchase. It was a little too short and eye catching for a wedding and the UK was getting colder by the second!

In the meantime I had come across these fabulous Carvela Kurt Geiger Gylda lace ups that I like to think of as a grown up gladiator. With their sharp high heel and cut outs the hubby instantly got excited and offered to purchase them for my Birthday. He rarely has any opinion on shoes, other than ranting that I have far too many (which is true), but given his enthusiasm I knew these must be pretty special.

So when my Birthday finally came around at the end of October I decided that it was time to try out the two most adventurous items in my wardrobe... despite the cold and rain! As Miley so wisely put it... it's our party and we can do what we want!

OOTD: Rehearsal Dinner

Today's post is a little outfit of the day from my rehearsal dinner. I had about 15 mins to get ready after our church rehearsal so I quickly tonged my hair with the Babyliss conical wand and refreshed my makeup using the Urban Decay Naked palette and a slick of The Body Shop gloss over MAC's Costa Chic lipstick.

 

I picked up this bright mint gradient/ dip dye maxi dress in the Ted Baker sale and think it works perfectly with my tan by James Harknett.

 The secret is out... I have a twin!

Apologies for the deer in headlights expression... but I was unashamedly nervous/ exhausted/ excited/ apprehensive/ happy!

It's a Nice Day for a...

This weekend I travelled north to attend a wedding of a school friend. Since the fiancé was hard at work on night shifts at hospital I was flying solo, but it was so much fun to spend some time with the girlies!

Since we stayed in a nearby hotel we were able to indulge in a little beautifying in the morning, which obviously some us enjoyed more than others... I used the Babyliss Pro Curling Wand to create voluminous curls on myself and a side sweep finger curl wave on my friend.

With a long day ahead I decided to keep my makeup mostly neutral, with just a hint of purple to reflect my dress. Over the past few weeks I have also started using Lilash (about 3/4 times per week) and was surprised to see that with a good coat of Max Factor's False Lash mascara I didn't even have to apply falsies as my lashes have really grown.

For my outfit I chose a breezy, 50's style one shouldered dress from the vintage line at Oasis. I love the soft raw silk, the ruched detailing and the built in net slip to give the skirt lots of volume and movement. I paired it with nude strappy Mary Janes and a nude leather jacket from All Saint's as it was quite a chilly (and unfortunately rainy) day.

The wedding was absolutely lovely, just the way an English country wedding should be! I am very much looking forward to the beginning of wedding season and also planning my own special day :).

I hope you all had a great weekend my lovelies! xxx

Sandie Khoo: Part 2

Unfortunately it's almost exam time again so early mornings and late nights with the books have been keeping me pretty busy. However, I have missed blogging so much and just wanted to do a quick update to follow up on my previous Sandie Khoo post.

I wore this super cute key hole jumper a few days ago and absolutely loved it. The cashmere is not only ridiculously soft, it also keeps you really warm without feeling heavy or impractical.

The pearl buttons and bright colour are the perfect combination of modern and traditional. I paired mine with a classic black skirt and lace camisole to keep the palette simple, while adding a little texture.

The Sandie Khoo Cardigan comes in 3 different colours and can be found here.

Are you still clinging to the comforts of winter? It certainly does not feel like Spring is on its way to London any time soon! xxx

Work It Out: Lace

On Friday my fiance and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary! Since I had to go straight from work to play (pre-theatre dinner at The Balcon followed by Viva Forever) I did make a little bit of effort to make my outfit less boardroom boring, while still being office appropriate. I decided to pair a a feminine, form fitting lace dress with a more formal structured peplum jacket.

 Lace dress: French Connection, Peplum jacket: LK Bennett.

I also blow dried my hair using the Babyliss Big Hair in a side swoop, giving my hair a little more volume and bounce.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend! xxx

OOTD: Leather Peplum

Although the peplum trend is now somewhat overdone I still have a few pieces that I am very hesitant to move to the back of the wardrobe. For a curvy girl peplums are just so flattering, while they give athletic figures a feminine shape, making them easy to wear and extremely versatile.

I love the leather pleating of this peplum jacket as it creates volume, while accentuating your waist. I paired mine with a midi tube dress from ASOS to play up the proportions.

There are so many ways of wearing peplum, and I can't think of a bigger fan than Miss Kardashian...

Are you a fan of peplum? How do you wear yours? xxx

OOTD: Vivix

Last season's love of the midi dress has stayed with me this Autumn. I just love the long, lean and sophisticated silhouette that a midi paired with heels creates.

Dress and Belt: Ted Baker (£169 here). Kurt Geiger patent shoe boots (similar here).

This dress is one of my favourite recent purchases, so much so that I chose to wear it for a celebratory brunch with the in laws-to-be. The soft cowl neck draping creates some beautiful curves to an otherwise well structured dress. I also love the contrast of the angular double buckle belt against the fluid colour palette.

Are you a fan of the midi trend? What have been your favourite pieces this Autumn? xxx

OOTD: LK Bennett Cranley

This little spotty number from LK Bennett is one of my absolute favourites for that illusive day to night transition, especially as it can be worn in two ways! During the day it can be teamed with a fitted jacket and worn with the straight neckline at the front, while in the evening I usually reverse it with the v-neck and draping at the front to create more shape (as in the photos).

 

 Dress: LK Bennett (on sale for £60 here), Shoes: Kurt Geiger (on sale for £35 here).

What are your favourite pieces to take you from day to night? xxx