big ben big apple: July 2014

Tuesday 29 July 2014

Summer Sale Edit '14: River Island

Keeping with the monochromatic palette that I've been loving recently, here is a list of sale items I've been lusting over from River Island, most of which are black and white. Thinking ahead to the Autumn, I've included a couple of coats which can be thrown over jeans and skirts to protect us from unfavourable weather, without having to worry about being fashionable. I also have included a couple of splashes of blue and pink, which compliment the other items harmoniously.

Black check oversized jacket

(£30 down from £65)

White perforated panel leather jacket

(£75 down from £150)

Navy diamond jacquard oversized coat

(£30 down from £65)

Light pink polka dot shirt

(£15 down from £38)

Black and white geometric print skirt

(£17 down from £28)

Turquoise leather pony skin cross body bag

(£35 down from £65)

Black and white floral print cigarette pants

(£20 down from £38)

Aqua rolled brim bowler hat

(£5 down from £20)

I really like the idea of a completely monochrome outfit, for example the cigarette trousers with a white shirt, with the pop of colour of the blue hat.

Which is your favourite? Would you wear any of the items together?

Talia xxx

Monday 28 July 2014

Summer Sale Edit '14: ZARA

Zara used to be a simple brand- essentially, it emulated an iconic capsule collection consisting of a few key shapes, styles and items which were re-released each season. The way they kept it fresh and relevant was simply to change the colour and pattern of these pieces, depending on trends forecasted from the international bi-annual catwalks. Recently (and by recently I mean in the past three or four years), Zara has become a lot more mainstream, and a consequence of this is that the quality of their products has unfortunately decreased. For the same price to the consumer, what was once leather and silk has now been swapped for polyurethane and polyester. Zara became no different to any other mass-produced high street chain.

On the other hand, I can still see the appeal of this popular brand. The people behind Zara always seem to keep on top of current fashion trends- many of their cult items are regularly sold out, and re-sold on eBay for a much higher price, sometimes for up to 800% the original RRP. It is also a store praised for its designer 'dupes', making luxury high-end fashion accessible for all. Here I have picked a few items from their summer sale which I think are key winners- pieces that are wearable and timeless, and that are valid for the remaining summer months and that can transition into the Autumn too.