Topshop New-in Picks + Buys

Today I woke up at 5:30am. This is very bad because I am getting very ill and so could do with the sleep however it is very good because it means I have more time in my day to do things like sit and stare out my window or at the pile of work I should be doing for uni.

Topshop at 10am is eerily quiet and creepy so I spent my time hiding behind the jewellery counters picking up some (a lot of) discounted rings. I also came across a glorious wall of clothing I could only joyously presume was the new-in section and so I ran home to compile this list of my favourite picks. 

I decided to pick up just two items because I don't get paid until tomorrow so...

I love shirts, I love anything un-fitted, especially when tucked into a pair of skinny's because the shirt goes all poofy and pirate-like (nice technical lingo). The detail in the sleeves and the way the blue and red colours are woven together is also so lovely. I worship anything geo.

Now because I'm a size 10/12 I usually go on guess work, a lot of 'ummm'-ing and 'ahhh'ing goes on because I'm too lazy to queue up for the changing rooms. Today I was feeling a little optimistic because I picked up a 10 and oh boy is it tight. Some hard graft went into zipping this bad boy up I'm tellin' ya. I only intended on picking up the skirt actually but the two geo prints are so clashing I thought they'd go perfect together so I gave in to the little devil perched on my shoulder and got both. I'm really obsessed with a-line skirts and the wool is so thick and comfortable. I also enjoy that the zip comes all the way down and I'm able to just wrap the skirt around me instead of standing into it. 

With valentines day just around the corner a lot of the new pieces are very bright and pattern-clad. I'm never a fan of anything too bright so my own picks are rather dulled down I'm afraid however you can check out all new-in items here on their website.

Here is a compilation of all the new-in items I'll most-likely end up owning in the coming months:

xxrachelhelen

Purchases:

Casual Mix Stripe Shirt / Stripe Wool A-Line Skirt 

Wishlist:

Shiny Rust MA1 Bomber

Blouson Sleeve Jumper

Tall Moto Smokey Jamie Jeans

Boutique Ultimate Biker Jacket

Colour Block Rib Jumper

Roll Neck Jumper

Suede Sock Boots

Skinny Sandals

Patent Elastic Boot

Striped Cropped Knit

Kimono Wrap Dress

Sloane Aviator Jacket

Boxing Day Buys x Topshop / Calvin Klein

It seems to me that every Boxing Day I jump out of bed at 8am sharp ready to hit the stores for 9am like it's some kind of New Year requirement. I suppose it is of sorts.

Much like the rest of the population of the UK, I hit the Boxing Day sales hard, not too hard, but just firm enough so that my bank balance didn't go screaming too far into my overdraft. 

This years smartest decision was by far choosing to attack the Topshop sales rack before 11am. Most of my sizes are usually long gone and sent off into someone else's closet before I get a chance to even take my first sip of coffee that morning. So on the 26th of December 2015, I threw my mild latte over my left shoulder, jumped into Georgia's Suzuki Swift and managed to hunt out quite a small yet amazingly select handful of bargains.

- Floral Jumpsuit - £15 - 

When I saw the price of this Jumpsuit as I prized it away from one of the racks I nearly cried with joy. Much like a heck of a lot of people, I dream of looking like someone you could only come to describe as a '70's wet dream'. You know, floral prints, big platform boots and flowing trousers galore (never forget a great hat, with a nice huge brim, to finish it off), so naturally i gravitated towards this beauty. It's perfectly slouchy and although not at all weather appropriate, I've been living in it for the past week and refuse to part with it. Disregarding that old ketchup stain on the left leg. The tied-waist and open back scream 'comfort' for me, inside and out. I can't wait for summer to arrive so I can pair this with a nice pair of Birks. My Vans are doing the job for now.

- Sequin Long-sleeved Dress - £60 -

So I told a little porky and it turns out this item wasn't actually a sale piece per-se however it is the most christmassy dress I've ever clapped my eyes on and it sort of bullied me into buying it. I wore this on New Years and it went down an absolute treat. I'm never one for bodycons because I have rather a gut on me but this dress doesn't cling to me at all in the way cotton would. It is extremely short which was fun dealing with at 5 foot 10 however due to a lack of cleavage (I have a severe distaste for padded bras) I think this balanced out very well. The inside of the sleeves are mesh which is such a gorgeous detail also and I love the way the green is very muted.

- Blue Velvet Crop-Top - £15 - 

How To Be a Parisian taught me that there are two things you can do that you should never: wear crop tops and drink from a straw. Apparently it is very childish to do either however I am not Parisian (no matter how hard I practice) so I broke one of these rules. I think it is acceptable given the circumstances. I adore this crop top and I love the fact that it fits me so perfectly. It isn't tight which is great and, again, the lack of cleavage ensures comfort. I don't know what it is with my sudden obsession with v-necks either.

Sadly my eyes are not bluer than velvet.

- Pin-Stripe Shirt - £20 - 

This has to be one of my favourite things I've ever, ever, EVER bought. I often love dressing as unfeminine as possible so I bought this in a size 16 because I just hate the way women's shirts fit in at the waist. The fact that this piece has two, very large, breast pockets is both aesthetically pleasing and practical in that I now have at least two that can fit my phone. I've been pairing this with my grey trousers from Topshop (similar linked here and pictured below) both tucked and untucked. Again, comfort is key.The only problem being is it creases far too easily and I am too lazy to even go near an iron.

- Calvin Klein Crop Top/Knickers - £28/£18 - 

I used to dream every night about owning a pair of Calvin's. Now that dream has become a reality and they really do fail to disappoint. I don't know if it's me saying this or the branded tagline but it really is the comfiest cotton ever to grace my butt-cheeks. There is literally nothing more to say about this pair other than I am an incredibly materialistic human-being who receives more student discount than sense. 

- Pointed Lace-Ups - £10 - 

I want to be Alexa Chung and because of this it means I am currently on the hunt for any all pointed-toe ballet flats that look anything like this. I now own three pairs and they all look identical but it's all good (baby baby). I adore pointed lace-ups. I pair them with skinny jeans mostly but their versatility is incredible. I was even so close to wearing these out on New Years Eve. I believe you could be wearing a plastic bin bag and still look fabulous as long as you're simultaneously walking along wearing a pair of pointed-toe flats. 

It would be greatly appreciated if everybody could ignore my make-up in all of these pictures. It's so extreme; I'd just been modelling for my sisters media project and my only explanation is that she was in charge of make-up at 10am in a very dully-lit room. 

I hope you enjoyed this post as it's been a while since a post like this, or any post at all really, so I hope this makes up for my absence.

xxrachelhelen

FOREVER 21 - New-In Monochromes Wishlist

I don't know if any of you have noticed the new-in pieces Forever 21 have, quite recently, added to their site BUT......Forever 21 have added some new-in pieces to their site and they're all bloody brilliant. I love F21 for many reasons amongst which include their amazing range of items as well as affordability. Scrolling through their new-in selection is like suddenly being redirected to Zara or some higher quality apparel site. The pieces look so well made, so simplistic and effortless and so I put together a selection of items that are definitely at the top of my current 'to-buy' list! - 

Longline Cardigan / Pocket Hoodie / Ant Applique Tee / Tapered Trousers / Cut-out Jumpsut / Cut-out Dress / Zipper Sweatshirt / Striped Crew Neck  / Shift Dress / T-shirt Dress / Cut-out Sweater / Terry Sweatpants

xxrachelen

KENDALL + KYLIE X TOPSHOP COLLECTION - thoughts

So I don't think there is a person in the world who doesn't recognise the names of Kendall or Kylie Jenner. Their faces are practically engraved into my memory for all eternity given how often they pop up on my Tumblr dashboard or I read some article discussing their wishes to trademark the "Kendall and Kylie" tagline (there will only ever be one Kylie, soz). 

Topshop is essentially the field commander of the high-street marching band with an aptly fitting title so it was no surprise to me that they collided with K+K to create their new exclusive clothing collection which will surely appeal to groups of impressionable young girls simply only purchasing for the Jenner trademark.

I can't say what I really expected from the pieces as I'm not a super serious, religious follower of the Jenner siblings so I just sort of headed over to the site early this morning to check it out. There are thirteen pieces in total with a variety of garments from palazzo pants to shorts and co-ord blouses. The collection is described as a "simple and vintage-inspired way to do LA style", it really is very simple featuring a basic vintagey looking floral print on most of the pieces alongside flowy materials and distressed denim, perfect for the upcoming summer months and surely inspired by their home state.

It isn't that I dislike the collection or that it doesn't contain some variety (because it certainly does, uh hello, palazzo pants and baseball tees) but it's just nothing that I haven't seen before. The pieces are extremely pretty and I'm super interested myself in the Embroidered Wrap Top (pictured) and the Floral Playsuit. I enjoy how the floral print is applied to multiple pieces so that people have the option to mix'n'match though I kind of would have expected a print that's a little more than something that's been plastered over every high-street store since time began. The items don't look like anything I couldn't find a dupe of somewhere else, essentially. That being said, perhaps I'm just a little cynical, the pieces are very pretty and maybe this basic style is what they were striving for in the hope that it would appeal to a wider demographic. 

The prices range from £28 for their "Golden State of Mind" tee to £80 for their White Duster Coat, so nothing too out of budget for regular, returning Topshop customers. Looking at the site now actually their Best Coast West Coast baseball  tee has been taken down so I'm pretty sure that's a sign that this collection is going to be flying from the site into the hands of hungry KK Jenner followers.

I guess I better stop being a little cynical piece of shit and get my hands on that floral playsuit asap....

Shop the collection on Topshop's site HERE

xxrachelhelen

◊ April-so-far Haul ◊

So far during the Easter holidays I've received my student loan and therefore gone crazy on spending, as I do at the beginning of every term. 

I'm going on holiday to RHODES in July (July 8th) so I clearly need to stock up on supplies for that trip and I may be going ahead with it a little early but my excitement is cancelling out any thought for caring. I gave up on the list making as I left all my holiday lists in my flat in Liverpool whilst I visit home but I sort of have a mental list down. 

The following stuff is just a collective of things I've been buying so far in April, it doesn't look like a lot but along with all the Starbucks pit-stops, it really adds up. 

So as I'm sure many other people so too, I often look to Youtubers and often find myself itching to buy whatever they swear buy. This was one of those times. So I don't really have any toiletries bags big enough to cart around all the hair products and sun block that holidays require. I also needed a little baggy to put my 100ml hand-luggage products in. SO I popped into Superdrug and hunted down this three set of clear wash-bags. Perfect for cleaning, perfect for finding what you're looking for if you have a lot of junk and also I heard Zoella and Sprinkleofglitter raving about them in various travel-themed videos....

Now, I would call the reason for purchasing this next product peer pressure but some would call it Rachel-being-weak-willed. With the bags I got an offer at the till to get this L'Oreal mascara for only £6.99 and I actually need a new mascara so how could I refuse? It's actually a bit of a faff having to use a two ended mascara and takes twice as long but it has bloody good staying power.

The second item is this eyeliner from Soap & Glory. I'm actually a bit obsessed by their products and i don't know if it's 'cause of the packaging or what. I was perusing the isles of Boots and I noted that this was the only liner left so I had to nab it. I wore it yesterday and again has great staying power. I've never been a fan of pen-liners because I always found the fluid never comes out too great but this one is PERFECT. So easy to apply and it's a lot easier to apply a thinner line of liner than it is with a liquid. 

Popped into Primark a couple of days ago in Glasgow and found this lil cute bag just hanging around on a hanger it shouldn't have been hanging on. I'm a massive fan of bags but I find all the ones I currently have are either too big or too small but this is a perfect medium size that has just enough space to fit everything you need. It has a small zipper at the front where I like to pop my tissues, pens and lip-balms etc. Then two bigger pockets either side of the bag. In one I like to pop my purse, wordsearch book (yes, I carry a book full of wordsearches...) and my body spray, things like that. Then in the back pocket I just pop my keys in there and stuff I won't constantly be grabbing for when out shopping. The only bad thing is that where the strap attaches, I do think that will break quite easily (and pretty soon) but what can ya expect with Primark prices. 

Now, I've gone all practical regarding clothes. These shorts were bought in prep for my holiday and I just think they are beaaautttifull!! they have this kind of speckled effect on them which you can see far better in real life. The fabric is also loose and they aren't tight so I won't get all sweaty and uncomfortable! I love H&M basics and these are exactly the reason why.

Ok so before this dress I had never ordered anything from Missguided before and after the polava that I experienced ordering it, I'm dead apprehensive about going back, even though I do adore their stuff. I ordered this dress (with my hols in mind) on Friday night before 8pm which made me eligible for next day delivery for £1.99, even though std delivery was available for free. I waited on Saturday yet no delivery came. I thought "oh it is Easter weekend so maybe delivery is slow" but also I kinda expected it to come too. I waited all day Monday for it to come, yet it didn't. I demanded my delivery fee back and although the dress didn't come til Thursday evening, I am very very happy with it. 

It's a sort of flowy material with this lovely leafy print on it and a sporty neckline. I love the juxtaposition of the neckline and the patten and I also love the scoopy shoulder-holes (nice technical language). 

(Before we begin let me start by saying they are not my nipples they are the pointy bits of fabric you get on the front of bras sometimes.............just saying)

Lastly, I have these two crop-tops from Topshop. The first is a beautiful green and white pattern that makes me want to say crochet but it isn't crochet and it looks kinda Greek but it isn't Greek at all.

The second is just a plain white, and a little shorter, crop top.

I love the necklines on both of these yet I don't really know the name for them, just high neck I think? But I think they are super flattering on all people even though these pictures don't suggest it (I am a lil flatter-chested than they make out...).

I hope you enjoyed this lil haul I did for you. It took me absolutely forever to get round to photographing the items because I can't find anywhere in my house with lighting good enough or a wall plain enough so this will have to do for now. I have work later at 2pm so I'm probably going to hang around til then and I hope you have a cool weekend.

xxo

Boxing day buys + December Haul

Today was the third year of mine and Laura's annual Boxing Day sales shop. And just as last year, Topshop let me down greatly and I didn't spend a single penny in the sale at all....I did however purchase a small amount of other items:

The above are all my Boxing Day buys and I opted for an array of tops and shirts as I'm pretty lacking in that [articular department. 

I was seriously iffy about the first purchase, a loose halter-neck tee from Topshop, £27, size 12. I bought this purely because it was a little out of my comfort zone due to the very open back (which you can't see) but if I really don't like it, returns it always an option. 

The second is a super seemingly boring grey tee from H&M but i'm in need of the basics, this was £8, size 12. I also bought this super cute light-pink bra from their sale for £7.

The last tee is very much sticking to the Christmas/New Year theme. I've been eyeing up a few glittery tees from Topshop for a while but this deep night-sky-blue is so lovely. This was £22 and a size 12.

The last Topshop purchase is this ring which I bought solely because I've been needing a lot more silver jewellery in my life. This was £2.50

I'm so in love with my new Pony-hair slip-ons from Topshop. I bought these last week for £20. The pony-hair just adds a little texture and perfectly balanced out todays very top-heavy outfit.

This cable knit I also received from my Mum for Christmas and i's so cosy and warm and has also been hanging around my wishlist for quite a while, this was £20 I think from H&M.

Rachelxo

Home for Christmas

With first semester over I've moved back home for a couple of weeks for lots of food eating, sitting by the fire and watching hours of Netflix on my huuuuuge t.v (which makes a massive difference from my teeny tiny laptop screen). 

I have a tiny suitcase that i have to try and fit all of my junk in every time i come back home and three weeks is difficult to pack for, believe me. The above picture is everything I brought with me and is probably a very accurate representation of my current style/winter essentials so I thought I'd share.

1. I chose four pairs of shoes; my black and white vans, ox-blood Docs, Black ASOS boots and (you can't see them but) my burgundy brogues. I needed enough so that I wouldn't get bored easy and, besides, I could just stuff tees into them to maximise suitcase space.
2. I have three pairs of pants, two pairs of black skinnies and my pair of navy trousers from ASOS just to be safe. I also threw in my navy cord skirt from Urban Outfitters. I find that I can only wear my pats and skirts on specific days, when I've really eaten a lot, they're too big for me and i'm really taking my time going to get them taken in (money probs).
3. My playsuit (left) is perfect for autumn/wintry colours and feels just like jammy's when I wear them.
4. I brought a couple of tees, one being my staple-stripy top from H&M, my grey strappy crop from Topshop and my Bombay Bicycle Tee that I got from their gig last Monday. Along with my White American Apparel Turtleneck and my Cream H&M shirt. Obviously there is a black and white theme forming, mixed in with a little deep blue and burgundy, my style-subconscious is doing some good things right now. 
5. I only packed one sweater, my fave vintage blue one from some store i can't remember the name of, and my Levi's plaid shirt as a back-up. It's getting cold.
6. My three dresses consist of: my florally peach number, my white lace dress and white feather-hem dress (all three from Topshop). My peach PU jacket and Black full-length kimono accompany them.

Of course I also brought my big black fluffy biker jacket from Topshop with me, as alwaysand my trust Primark bag.

Summary: black, white, peach and little specks of navy and burgundy are what's summing my winter wardrobe up at the minute. 

(Left: White feather-hem Topshop dress, Topshop black suede boots and H&M necklaces.)

(Right: ASOS black skinnies with zipped ankles, American Apparel white turtleneck, ASOS mohair boots, H&M cardigan)

Hope everybody is having a jolly December so far xxx