Passion For Fashion 2.

In the winter I took part in moneysupermarket.com's #PassionForFashion competition. I loved taking part (you can see my entry here) and it was really interesting to see what on-trend pieces you could get from the high street for super affordable prices. I was super excited when I received an email inviting me to participate in Passion For Fashion 2 with a focus on SS13 trends. The competition involves creating (a more manageable) three looks including Casual, Party and Holiday with a budget of £200 per outfit. There will be a winner for each outfit category with a prize of £200 to spend on their outfit and an overall winner who could win £1000 to spend on goodies! So here's my entry with some on-trend pieces and looks. Enjoy! 

T-shirt; Dress; Trainers; Sunglasses; Bag. 

I wanted to go a bit out of my comfort zone for this outfit. In the summer, a casual outfit for me is usually a pretty girly dress, a cardigan and some pumps. Pretty boring, right? So I thought I'd channel the All American/sporty trend with the denim dungaree type dress and high-tops. I much prefer the word dweeb to geek so I went for this cropped t-shirt to wear under the denim dress. I chose to keep the outfit fairly plain and bleached so that I could team it with pastel pink accessories. I love this bag- I think it looks really soft and as it's so large it'd be super practical. I love high-top trainers as they're so comfy but they can be difficult to wear in a girly way, but I think I've just about got the balance right her. It's not gym-chic it's sports luxe! 

Dress; Jacket; Shoes; Bag. 

Another trend that I'm already wearing this Spring/Summer is candy colours. I thought for my party outfit I'd mix and match different ice-cream shades for a vintage house-wife look. I love lace and I love skater dresses and this mint one is simply stunning. I think this pale yellow tweed biker jacket from River Island is a real statement piece that ticks so many SS13 trend boxes. I think it would toughen up the rest of the outfit whilst still being in-keeping with the look. Shoes are oh-so pointy this SS, so I thought I'd jump on the trend-wagon and add these lilac suede heels to my outfit. Finally, this duck-egg blue vintage shaped handbag completes the outfit- I think I may have to get myself this as it is so delicious in so many ways!

Bikini top; Bikini Bottoms; T-shirt Dress; Sandals; Hat; Sunglasses; Bag.

I think this has to be my favourite outfit of the three. Here I went for a sixties glamour look whilst trying to remain practical. I thought the title Holiday was a bit vague so I went for a beach look but it is pretty multi-functional with the cover-up being involved. Now I went for the dreaded bikini- I am in no way a ripped, slim beach goddess (I couldn't be further from it); what I am is small up top and large everywhere else. I love this cropped crochet bikini top as it has a super vintage feel to it and I think it would make me look a bit more well-endowed. I love these high wasted black bikini bottoms as I think they'd give me a bit of support in the tummy area whilst still being super stylish. In keeping with the monochrome theme, I chose a striped t-shirt dress as a much-needed cover-up. I love these pearl detail cat eyes sunglasses, I think they're very Audrey Hepburn! To make the look a bit more 2013, I've gone for a hat with stud detail and studded black sandals- it also makes the look a bit more me. 

I hope you've enjoyed my post! You should all get involved in the Passion For Fashion competition and if you do, please leave me a link below so I can check out your posts! The closing date is Monday 8th April so get your skates on! 

Passion For Fashion.

I've decided to enter the moneysupermarket.com Passion For Fashion competition, somewhat last minute as it closes this evening at midnight! The idea of the competition is for bloggers to create five looks costing no more than £200 each with items from your fave high street stores. The looks are office, outdoor, casual, first date and party. I've spent yesterday and today putting together my outfits- I wanted to challenge myself to try different looks and create outfits that combine great bargains with more expensive pieces that will span the seasons. I've really enjoyed doing this competition as I love putting together wishlists and outfits. Here's my entry...

Coat; Necklace; Treggings; T-shirt; Rings; Bag; Boots.

I pretty much live in casual clothes so I'm not gonna lie, I found this outfit pretty easy to put together! I am officially inlove with this coat- the combination of tartan, leather sleeves and faux fur is just me in a coat! It's a little on the pricey side at £85 but I think it's totally worth it as it'll go with everything and would be a perfect everyday coat. These treggings are kind of American Apparel Disco Pant dupes (clearly not shiny ones) but the combination of legging material and trouser design mean that I could wear them with t-shirts without worrying about my bum being on show! I love those lil felines so I had to go with this slouchy t-shirt from Topshop. I've mentioned these creeper boots before and for me, these have got to be the ultimate AW12 shoes. This bag is perfect for everyday use as I can fit all my rubbish in it that I insist on carrying around. I thought I'd stick with fairly simple jewellery. To me, this outfit shows just how much you can get for £200 on the high street- even with the expensive coat. 

Dress; Shoes; Collar; Bag; Cardigan.

I'm not gonna lie, this outfit made me the most nervous. My last first date was a good few years ago with my current boyfriend and in hindsight, I must have looked crazy- I wore a black jumper dress with leopard print tights and black boots. I must have done something right though! I don't really wear a lot of colour (as you can probably tell) but I fell in love with the blush tone of this dress. I didn't want to go too dressy, because I don't want my imaginary date to think I'm desperate (or worse) so I thought I'd go for something a bit classic with a modern twist. I think this pearly collar will layer beautifully over the t-shirt top of the dress and this cardigan just looks so snuggly and cosy. These shoes mean business; I love the classic shape with the massive heel and platform- I don't know where I'm going on this date but I hope it's not far! I topped this outfit off with this lovely River Island bag with the multi-tonal grey and nude shades with an art-deco feel to it. 

Coat; Shoes; Tights; Dress; Bag. 

I wanted to do a monochrome androgynous style outfit for the office look as it's something different for me. I found this dress which I think would really suit my shape whilst still nodding to the masculine look, being a play on the classic white shirt. I know the dress and coat are on the expensive side but I think this proves how bargain accessories can work well with expensive clothing. I fell inlove with this boyfriend coatigan as it could be dressed up or down; I also think it'd look nice belted up. I didn't add any jewellery to this outfit as sometimes it can make a work outfit look too casual or blingy. I lovelovelove this moc-croc Topshop satchel style bag- I wanted something size appropriate that could fit my diary and glasses etc in as well as being super stylish. I also love these shoes as they nod to the animal print trend and the teddy-boy trend as they remind me of creepers whilst being work-appropriate. I also think these shoes would be ridiculously comfy. 

Shirt; Shorts; Wellies; Coat; Socks; Mittens.

I truly love this outfit! You can't do outdoor without a bit of lumberjack check now can you? I like this shirt because you could always layer a black knit jumper over it or wear it with jeans for a casual look but it also works really well with these super cute shorts for outdoor gamblings! As I'm on the curvier side of things, I sometimes struggle to get into wellies as they are most unforgiving. I've chose these cute polka dot ones from Marisota as they come in different leg widths for extra comfort. Another slouchy furry coat, but can you blame me? I love me a parker and this one looks super warm and cosy. I went with these seudey mittens in case it's super cold on my Sunday walk in the forest. 

Dress; Shoes; Bag; Earrings. 

I found the party look the most challenging from a budget point of view- most high street party dresses are around the £150 price mark but are often ridiculously 'out there' so you could probably only get away with wearing them once, and to me, that's a waste of money. So I instead splurged on these g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s Jeffrey Campbell studded shoes which will never go out of style in my books and are super versatile. I think this dress is really pretty with the baby pink lace design and floaty skirt; it'll really compliment my shape too and hide all the lumps and bumps around my hips. I love the mother of pearl effect on this box bag- it's not the most practical of bags but the muted colour means I'd be able to use it again. But what more do you need than your phone and some lippy at a party really? I just went for some cute lil stud earrings with this outfit as I wanted the dress and shoes to do all the talking. I wanted to keep my neck area open as I think the embellishment on the top of the dress should be the focus. 

I've soooooooooooooo enjoyed putting together these outfits and it's been an eye-opener to see what else is out there on the high-street other than what I might normally go for. It's also been good to see what you can get for £200 and it's true that you can mix bargains with more pricey pieces. I would challenge you guys to do this but time is running out as the competition closes at midnight tonight! Let me know what you think of my outfit choices and which one is your favourite!