Tag: clothes

Minimalistic Styling

I’m currently musing over minimalist styling and androgynous tailoring. I find everyday styling easier when I have a more restricted colour palette to choose from. It’s time for me to invest in more muted tones (something which I thought I’d never say) and focus more on building up a good collection of staple pieces. This is something I already started to do a few months ago and since then, although the amount of clothing I purchase has massively reduced, I feel that my style has actually somewhat improved.

There are still many tweaks I want to make with my wardrobe. The clear out appears to be never ending but at least I finally find myself gradually becoming able to let go of more and more ‘unnecessary’ items from within my wardrobe.

I aim for a wardrobe consisting of more mix and match pieces, focusing on quality rather than quantity, with a good selection of garments that I truly love to wear.

You can follow my musing on my Minimalist Styling board over on Pinterest here.

A selection of simple mix and match pieces.

What type of styles do you like to draw inspiration from? Do you have any style goals?

Samio x

January 25, 2016
French Style & Taste – Balsamik Launch at 63 Degrees

There is something about French style that is so simple yet chic and so when I was invited along to the UK launch of online French brand Balsamik, I was excited to go along and see what their new A/W collection had to offer.

For the event, myself and a few other bloggers were invited to 63 Degrees, French fine dining restaurant in Manchester. We were treated to a delicious two course meal (and plenty of wine), after being shown a few of the key pieces from Balsamik’s newest collection.

There was a lot of monochrome in the collection and staple pieces that you can build lots of different outfits with. I like this sort of thing as it reminds me of what I’m currently trying to do with my own wardrobe.

I really liked how the theme of the event ran right through with the food and I was pleased with my choices of starter and main. I went for the Organic poached quail egg to start, followed by the pan fried sea bass and mashed potatoes with basil.

I soon got chatting to a couple of lovely bloggers (L’Oréal on the left & Ellie in the middle) and after our meals we took the opportunity to try on some of the items from the collection.

I had instantly been drawn to this simple yet elegant wrap coat and so I had to try it on. I have to admit I was quite surprised by the garments when I saw them in person. From what I had seen online I felt that the brand represented a slightly older age range than myself. However, after having the chance to have real look at some of the garments, I could definitely see that a lot of these pieces could be worn by a wide range of ages, old and young.

It’s pieces like this coat which I feel are timeless in your wardrobe and could easily be worn by a 40 year old or a 20 year old as it really has no age limit, which is something I really liked about a lot of their pieces I looked at.

In terms of my own style, for the event I went for quite a simple yet chic outfit. I wore a white oversized shirt, black biker jacket, high waisted ripped skinny jeans and a pair of red suede heels for a masculine meets feminine look… It’s also quite coincidental how well the Balsamik wrap coat went with my outfit, I may have to invest! I’m currently trying to simplify my own style and so I definitely appreciated the French inspiration.

Shop my outfit:
White shirt – Gap (similar here)
Biker jacket – Zara (similar here)
Jeans- Topshop
Red suede heels – Aldo (similar here)

Balsamik items featured in this post:
Wrap coat
Monochrome jacquard cardigan
Ankle boots

Thanks to L’Oréal for the outfit snaps.

What are your thoughts on French style?

Samio x

September 21, 2015
Over Dress

Okay, so let’s talk about the over sized jersey. This is one of the pieces I picked up whilst in York (see York post here). I was on a day trip doing all the touristy stuff at the time, so shopping wasn’t really on the agenda but when I spotted this cool jersey number in the shop window, I knew it needed to be purchased.

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August 22, 2014
Secret Garden

One of my favourite parts of Barcelona has to be Montjuïc. Beautiful gardens, amazing views and the tranquility of being hidden away from the hustle and bustle of Barcelona’s busy centre… Okay so it’s a mean feat to climb this mountain like hill but once at the top, you’re generously rewarded with the most fabulous settings. This of course makes Montjuïc the perfect place to take pictures and for me to do a long over due blog update.

This was my third time up Montjuïc, (the first being in January last year) and although I knew the park was big I had no idea of the full scale of it until trekking up and around it in the blazing heat. My friend and I were some what inappropriately dressed for such an adventure (for which we received a few odd looks) but as a result I was more than satisfied with the shots from this post, as the settings were perfect!

What I wore: Top – Bershka, Necklace – H&M, Pants/Trousers – Zara, Sandals – River Island, Bag – Zara.

Samio x

July 5, 2014
Valentine’s Day Inspiration

I’m not usually an openly romantic person and the thought of being all soppy and seeing a mass amount of PDA kind of makes me feel sick. So as you can imagine, Valentines day isn’t the perfect occasion for me, however I can’t deny I do enjoy being treated and it can often be a good reminder to show your other half how much you appreciate and love them. So I’ve compiled a very small list of Valentine’s Day inspiration, either for the occasion or to buy as a gift.

LOVE Ice Cream Pink Pleated Cold Shoulder Dress

This dress is so cute. It would be perfect to wear for a Valentine’s date (if the weather permits) and it will be perfect to keep for summer too. It also comes in a darker pink as well as black which also look very chic.
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February 10, 2014
Lavish Alice Sample Sale

On Friday daytime I met up with LBD and we went to the Lavish Alice Sample Sale. I picked up a few items, including a tropical print blazer which I’d had my eye on ever since I saw LBD in it when she modelled their S/S 13 collection. I also got the shorts to match the blazer (it would have been rude not to). The shorts are a little big as they didn’t have my size left but as LBD suggested, I can take them up on my sewing machine to fit me perfectly. The 3rd item I got was a white jumper with snake skin print sleeves. Somehow I managed to try the jumper on in the roasting heat and although I was melting inside it looked great on! That will be an item that won’t be coming out of my wardrobe until the weather cools a bit though.

What I bought:

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July 21, 2013
What A Fabulous Day For Sunshine

Friday seemed to be the start of this fantastic heatwave we appear to be encountering. I took advantage of the heat by going out during the day for the first time (in what seemed like forever in England) with no jacket on! However I was travelling from one stop to the next lugging a mini suitcase and my weekend bag around, so needless to say I was still boiling in my choice of outfit but at least I felt fabulous.

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July 9, 2013