What to Wear to Royal Ascot

I haven't posted in a while. I know, bad blogger! I had a query from a lovely reader about what to wear to Ascot, in particular what headpiece to wear. I love hats and headpieces. The Royal Wedding was heaven to me! Royal Ascot takes dressing for the races to a new level. There are so many rules you have to abide by, we shall call them the Laws of Dressing, because they really need to be followed! Luckily the days when wearing the wrong coloured hat, bearing your legs or even being a divorcee would cause havoc are gone.

The main rules are;

• Only formal day dress with a hat or substantial fascinator will be acceptable
• Bare legs are frowned upon (tights or stockings required)
• Dresses or skirts must be no more than two inches above the knee
• Trousers can only be worn as part of a suit
• Spaghetti straps, off the shoulder dresses, halternecks or dresses with a strap less than one inch will not be tolerated.

Now my lovely readers query is what type of hat shall she wear with an almost cream dress. I would definitely take inspiration from the Royal Wedding. Our national treasure Mr Philip Treacy created these two beautiful headpieces. I imagine what Lady Kitty, below, is wearing would be considered a 'substantial fascinator'. It is also similar to how you have described your outfit. I think a neutral or nude colour would be best for your headpiece.

For those who don't have a Philip Treacy budget I recently paid a visit to Debenhams and I was pleasantly surprised by their hat selection. A lot of their hats are by the Designers at Debenhams so you can technically have a designer hat for a fraction of the cost. I personally love these Philip Treacy inspired saucer hats.

Festival Fashion...What to Wear to a Music Festival...Part 2...

Short Shorts

Who likes short shorts?? Shorts are a festival staple. They can be as cute or as crazy as you like. I picked out a few pairs from Topshop.

Spring Styling...Jumpsuits

The Jump Off

Jumpsuits or play suits have fast become a Spring/Summer staple. They first reappeared a few years back now and have been wholly embraced by us ever since. During summer I love to wear pretty dresses but the fear of a breeze blowing my lightweight dress up around my ears terrify's me. Thats why I love play suits, they often look like a dress but they are shorts and you have the comfort of knowing that you are not going to end up flashing your knickers or worse your lady-bits(unless you want them to of course!). Here are some of my faves. This hot pink one (above) is by Halston Heritage and I am absolutely mad about it! I can't stop thinking about it!

{TWENTY8TWELVE by s.miller}

{Rachel Pally}

{Da-Nang}

{Topshop}

{ASOS.com}

{Motel @ ASOS.com}

Festival Fashion...What to Wear to a Music Festival...Part 1...

With Coachella starting yesterday and Glastonbury and Oxegen coming up in a few months its time to start planning your festival wardrobe. Now is the best time to start looking for things to wear as all the high summer wear is coming into stores at the min. With Slane on next month you can give your festival outfit a test drive! There are some things that you just always need to bring to a festival or outdoor event ie a hat and wellies! Straw trilby's are generally the hat of choice, but this year I am loving the wide brim hats we are seeing at the min (check out my previous post on wide brimmed hats here). Maybe not too wide brimmed or you will not be popular with the person standing behind you! :)
Hunter wellies are the brand of welly to be seen in, made popular by Miss Moss and gang. Some people don't agree with splashing out big bucks on a pair of wellies but I would rather pay €80+ on one good pair of wellies that will last than buying a new pair of wellies at €20 a pop for each festival and then ditching them in a field afterwards. Not my style and not very environmentally friendly. Last year I bought these Hunter Carnaby Boa and I have been looking for excuses to wear them ever since!

I could totally feel the difference and you pay for quality. The previous year I bought a cheap pair of wellies for €20 in Dunnes and my lower back hurt so much I couldn't wait to get home. I actually made excuses to hang around my tent. But with the Hunters I didn't have any back pain and I actually came back with calf muscles like rocks:) Here are some more cute wellies I picked out.

I think combat boots are a cute option too if you don't fancy wearing wellies. If you are lucky enough to be going to a festival where it is actually going to be dry and not a mud-fest, here are some really pretty flats from Topshop you could wear.





Check back for Part 2!

Wedding Dresses...

So in the name of all things Royal Wedding and the fact that my previous wedding post is one of my most viewed posts ever I decided to do a post on wedding dresses. Now as girls we all dream of our wedding day and what dress we will wear. Which one is your fave??





Images from Netaporter.com

What to Wear to an Interview....

For those job hunters lucky enough to get called to interview it can be an absolute crisis trying to find something to wear. Below is a little Polyvore that I done up of pieces and outfits that I would wear to an interview. Obviously it depends on which industry you are going into, if I was going for a business interview and I wanted to be taken seriously I would wear a suit. But if I was going for a fashion industry interview I think it is okay to let your general style and personality come across. Dress the same way as you would dress every day at work.

Aoife_x

What to Wear to an Interview... by SequinsAndBangles featuring denim tops

pleated dress
$100 - zara.com
Pleated dresses »

polka-dot dress
$90 - zara.com
Polka dot dresses »

silk blouse
$80 - zara.com
Silk blouses »

Roll Sleeve Fitted Denim Shirt
$60 - topshop.com
Denim tops »

Javen Denim Shirt
35 GBP - fatface.com
Denim tops »

Red Slim Check Shirt
25 GBP - missselfridge.com
Cotton blouses »

H&M Shop Online
hm.com
H&M tops »

skinny trousers with zips
$80 - zara.com
Pants »

skinny cargo trousers
$40 - zara.com
Skinny cargo pants »

leopard ankle boot
$139 - zara.com
Leopard print booties »

suede ankle boot with heel and laces
$90 - zara.com
Suede ankle boots »

Forever21.com - Shoes - Dressy - 2058635573
31 EUR - forever21.com
Floral print heels »

Ankleboots hoch schwarz Wildleder
hm.com
Heeled boots »

Marc by Marc Jacobs Henry Chronograph Watch
$225 - shopbop.com
Chronograph watch »

H&M nagellakhttp://www.polyvore.com/cgi/app
hm.com

H&M Conscious Collection – Product Preview + Prices | nitrolicious.com
nitrolicious.com

Sometimes it is just easier (and less stressful) to pick a dress, but there are some rules to bear in mind. Rule number 1 being, nothing above your knee. Sitting on top of your knee is fine but girls mid thigh is just not a good daytime look! Number 2, I would go for a no cleavage approach and would probably wear 3/4 length sleeves too. Really this is just to keep it professional.

When it comes to shoes DO NOT wear open toe shoes. Closed toe are the only ones you should be wearing. Do not be tempted to wear your highest heels. A simple court shoe or ankle boot will generally suffice. If you normally wear flats then wear flats! I like these floral heels though because they do add a bit of personality to your outfit (fashion jobs only!).

I think it is okay to wear a fitted denim or check shirt to an interview, if you have a beautiful peachy well fitting blazer to go over 'em. Pair em up with black skinny trousers or some skinny cargo trousers and you have a cute, professional on-trend interview look!