Kimono in Rio

So in the space of one week, I went from Dubai to London and I am currently in the magnificent city of Rio, Brazil! See the bottom of the post to know why, in the meantime, here are some pictures of my outfit for my first stop - a visit to the famous Christ the Redeemer statue.
Outfit details: 
Kimono which has also doubled up as my swimsuit cover up - Primark (in store only)
Shorts - Topshop
Sandals - Primark (in store only)
Grey vest - Topshop

A lot has happened over the past month but the best part is that I am now a fully qualified lawyer in England, and even better, so are most of my friends! In celebration of more 8 years of steady grinding towards that purpose, my friends and I decided to take some time off to travel, explore and relax, after all, you have the rest of your life to work right? South America has always been on my bucket list so as soon as my friend Lucy asked if I wanted to do a mini tour, I said yes immediately! Our first stop is Brazil and of course Rio had to be our base.

I am so enamoured with this city, I'm not too sure where to start. It seems to be a city with everything from beaches with sand that dips luxuriously through your toes to lush rainforests right in the middle of the city! It might be a bit premature to say now, but Rio is very high up in my list of the top 5 cities I have been to across the world! Of course I cannot end this post without a picture of the famous statue! I didn't go all the way up the Corcovado mountain just to take 'outfit of the day' pictures, I promise! I will share all the deets in the next post, plus I have been vlogging too, and working on some more videos on this holiday so subscribe to my youtube channel - Allisbelle, to see more!

OOTD: Denim on Denim in Abu Dhabi

One of the things I love most about living in the UAE is the amount of public holidays we get. Last week, we got another one so my friend and I decided to head down to Abu Dhabi for a spa weekend at Jumeirah Etihad Towers. This was my getaway outfit - denim on denim, with my most comfortable pair of heels yet - (watch me sashay in motion in the video below)

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Thailand Diary: Explorer Style

This is my go to outfit for exploring a new city, travelling (paired with jeans instead of short shorts) and all round casual living - You really can't go wrong with a pair of denim shorts, baggy t-shirt, converses and a pashmina for when the chill creeps in!

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Park Life

The first place to find a Londoner when the sun is out - is a park. I am certainly not an exception. This is one a casual outfit I wore recently to spend a lazy sunday chilling in Victoria Park, one of the most beautiful parks in the east of Londres.

Outfit details:

Flower vest: A gift from a friend who knows I like anything flowery. The brand is an american one called Pink.Rose, I think it is stocked at Macy's

Mini - Topshop (similar version)

Sandals - My favorite pair from Zara

Sunglasses - H&M (similar version)

Newbies: Summer Sandals

I've been doing quite a bit of shopping recently since its summer sale season and the prices have been quite good. As usual Zara was one of the first stores I visited and I was really pleased to find the above sandals on sale! I bought them for my cousin as a birthday present and really wanted to get a pair for myself but couldn't justify it, but hey, a price reduction is as great a justification as any! hehe

I also picked up the mid heel sandals below from Topshop. I've been looking for day to day single strap sandals that are comfortable to wear for an extended period and aren't too high. I'm 5'10 so I don't usually wear high heels during the day, however the more I see fellow tall bloggers like Tuula vintage rocking heels at any time, the more I want to wear mine more frequently! The tan and black colour of the sandals goes with heels and the shoes are SUPER comfy.
  Have you picked up any bargains in the summer sales?

Evening Glamour: The Grecian Maxi Dress

There is something about a beautiful maxi dress that has a way of making one feel graceful and elegant, in my case this maxi dress from Topshop also makes me feel very sexy but in a classy way! I love that it has a cutout detail and the all important thigh high split. Importantly, it is also very comfortable! Which is why I chose it to wander round Ibiza's old town.

We had landed from Barcelona earlier that day and were completely shattered but still wanted to do something that night, I mean, who wastes a day in Ibiza? We decided to stroll through the town and explore the amazing D'alt Villa, a castle in the heart of Ibiza town. In honour of visiting a former royal abode, I actually did my eye makeup this time, a green, black and gold smokey eye! Ive been considering doing a tutorial on this look... what do you think? Paired with the green maxi, I looked quite grecian! With the girlies :-) The view from the castle at night was spectacular. you must check it out if you are ever in Ibiza!

Holiday Outfit: Paris in the day

I'm on HOLIDAY!

Woopie! 

Paris is my favorite city in the world but sadly I started off the day in a foul mood, which is clearly evident in my my outfit pictures. I was super stressed out, we almost didn't make it to Paris and it took a little while for me to snap out of my annoyance. Unusually for me, I wasn't even in the mood to pose for pictures or smile for anything! Imagine that!

Thankfully, I snapped out of it by the end of the evening and a grin was plastered on my face the whole time! :-D

Outfit details 

Tshirt: Zara 

Jeans: Topshop 

Scarf: Monki 

Jacket: Topshop 

Beret: No clue! Won it at an office event!

The shorts are finally out for SPRING!

Finally, the sun is here and we can really say it feels like spring in London. Sort of. Its warm enough to whip out the shorts but still so cold you really have to pair them with tights! At least the sun is out so for  that at least, I am thankful!

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Spring Lookbook : Monochrome

You can definitely feel spring in the air!

It's a lot brighter in the mornings and I'm looking forward to being properly able to ditch the tights and jackets. For now, as requested, I thought I'd show you how I plan to style the monochrome fashion trend this spring season. I also had to make some use of all the monochrome pieces I have been buying lately lol (haul video here).

The key thing for me with styling monochrome is not being afraid to accessorise with lots of bright colours, whether it be with your makeup (cant go wrong with a red lip) and/or accessories. Done nicely, it always looks good and adds a nice contrast to what could otherwise be a boring black and white palette.

I also think you can also mix things up with clashing black and white prints. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything appropriate in my wardrobe to demonstrate this but have a look at my video below for my styling in motion! You can tell I got a bit carried away making the video as it took me absolutely AGES to make as I was so busy and was being stupidly pedantic lol, so if you enjoy it please let me know and make my day!

Outfit details as described in the video:

The dressed up shirt dress:

Topshop stripe split side tee - I love that this is only £15 and so versatile!: (available here)

Topshop Pork Pie Hat - (here)

Zara red buckle sandals - (here) - I love these shoes so much I dedicated an entire post to them! (here)

High waist shorts: I got these ages ago but they are sold out now, but here are a similar pair.

The Pop of Colour 

Zara Striped Skirt: (here)

Topshop Basic skinny strap vest: sold out but Im pretty sure you can get similar from most stores.

Zara Blazer: Sold out :-( but Zara have a double breasted blazer I have been lusting over here. 

Zara block heel orange sandals: Sold out but I really like this pair for colour blocking.

Neon Contrast

Topshop Moto Acid Wash Leigh Jeans: here

Forever 21 vertical stripe chiffon shirt: (here)

Primark sandals: Primark dont have a website but Im pretty sure Ive seen this pair of heels in the store lately. I got them last year but Im quite certain they are still around. Only £12 too!

Work Chrome:

Checkered Blouse: Vintage - I got this top for only one euro the last time I was in Paris. I got loads of things from the vintage stores so you can check them out here if you want.

Basic Skirt: Forever 21

Zara Mid heel court shoes: These are the same ones in my last monochrome haul. I love the Mesh detailing against the suede, its more visible on the Zara site (here)

*Phew* 

That was a long post... thoughts? x

Mad about Monochrome - Fashion Haul Video

And the obsession with Monochrome continues...

I was looking at my recent purchases the other day and realised that most of the things I'd been buying fit in perfectly with Spring's latest fashion trend. I've already done posts on some of the items I purchased, like my fire engine red buckle Zara sandals (post here), but check out my video for more pieces.

They don't call it a fashion haul for nothing, my biceps seem to have amazing tone this week just from lugging all those shopping bags! Thankfully, most of the items I got were reasonably priced, so rest assured that pretty much anyone can afford shop the trend. 

Again, like I said in the video, this is a good time to shop for clothes that will last you through many seasons to come (depending on the quality of the clothes you purchase obviously) because the colour palette is so basic. I mean, you just cant go wrong with black or white and no one is going to tell you it is out of style next year, so if you like something, buy it! (as long as you can afford it though lol)

Let me know what you think about the clothes and accessories I got, especially if anything is a NAY!

xxx

Casual Outfit of the Day - Running round the Intercontinetal

I love it when my friends are in town! My friend came over from the states this weekend so this is what I wore to visit her at the Intercontinental. I don't know why I look so mad lol, I was very happy in fact! 

Anyway, my dress was one of my latest finds from Forever 21. I love how casual it is, it is a loose jersey material so feel free to pig out wearing one of these. I loved it so much I got it in black too - I hardly ever do that.

You can find the dress here - I couldn't find the grey or black one on the Forever 21 website but the Teal and Tomato would be nice for when the weather gets warmer

Boots - Oasis (sold out :-( )

Faux Fur Coat - Topshop - I think its out of stock now but you can have a look at Topshop's other jackets and coats here

I'm so ready for Spring to be here, I'm tired of wearing tights and coats... anyone else?