Tag: what I wore

I Put Too Much Pressure On Myself & It’s Really Not That Deep

I was going to come at you today with a good old fashioned outfit post. By that I mean, in the old style of doing a blog post where I literally just share an outfit and ramble on a bit about it…but then something almost stopped me. I feel what sometimes deters me from posting more frequently is the feeling of not having anything very insightful or eloquently interesting to say.

As my blog has evolved (like many others), so has my writing style and the topics I like to discuss here in this space. Whilst I love my style content and sharing outfits, I now turn to my YouTube channel as a place to frequently share my outfits and styling ideas. It’s meant that over time, whilst I do continue to share style content visually here on my blog, the text has changed a lot, with the writing becoming slightly more topical and hopefully much more engaging too. With that being said, when I don’t feel I have anything very interesting or insightful to write, it puts me off writing at all. I think there’s a saying (I forget who said it), ‘you’re only as good as your last piece of work’. Whilst this can be a great quote to help motivate you to do your best and work harder, for me, I find it has the opposite effect. I often find this one niggling in the back of my mind as I sit down to write and then it puts me off sharing anything at all, if I don’t feel it lives up to what I put out previously.

It’s a silly dilemma to be in, I know. Like I often say about a lot of silly things that people get their knickers in a twist over, ‘it’s not that deep’. I’m well aware this is just a blog but for me this is the little space on the internet that is all mine, and because of that I tend to feel more particular about what I put out on it than on any other platform. However, one thing that I do say a lot is, ‘don’t strive for perfection, instead strive for consistency’. I should really practice what I preach here on my blog too, and remember that it’s okay to keep it simple. So sod my own silly standards that I’m unable to consistently live up to. The reason I started this blog in the first place was to do just that…blog. Be it long meaningful pieces, or just your bog standard light-hearted outfit post.

So I’m taking things back to basics. This space is just as much for me as it is for anyone else reading. When I first started this blog I’d happily type away to my hearts content when I didn’t think anyone was reading, so maybe now that’s what’s the problem (I now know that there is) and I just need to remember why I started blogging in the first place. I’ve always loved writing and sharing content here on my blog but I enjoy it so much more when I ease the pressure off just a bit. So this is just a reminder to myself that not every post has to include my most eloquent piece of writing and sometimes I should still just share the simple outfit posts with a bit of basic chatter, even if it is just for my own cathartic ramblings…and if you enjoy reading that, great, and if not, well, you can always just look at the pictures.

Samio x

Boots – Finery | Jeans – Weekday| Shirt – Gustuz (similar here) | Roll Neck (similar here) | Biker Jacket – Topshop | Bag – Pinko (similar here)

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March 19, 2018
Five Things #5 – Creating a Routine and Keeping Up With Content

Welcome back to another instalment of my Five Things series here on my blog and actually my first of 2018. If you didn’t know, this is basically just a post where I chat about five things as they pop into my head, so here goes…

One

I feel like I’m off to a good start this year. January is often a bit of weird one, it’s half filled with motivation and a fresh outlook and half filled with January blues and a desire to emigrate to somewhere with a warmer climate. I’m happy to say that I seem to have beat the January blues this year and whilst I still wouldn’t mind some slightly warmer weather right now, I’m still quite content and feeling really motivated whilst keeping busy with work.

Two

I’m feeling much more work focused this year. I feel like each year sort of falls into a personal theme. For me, last year’s theme was definitely that of travel, exploration and having fun, and whilst this year I still definitely want to enjoy myself (self confessed hedonist over here), I also want to priorities my blog and work a lot more. I’m feeling focused and organised which is a good way to start.

Three

One thing I’m really enjoying right now is my routine. Being self employed it’s often hard to to stick to a particular routine and you have to create your own kind of structure. I think I’m finding this slightly easier right now as it’s January. The party season is behind us and I haven’t had to venture too far for work just yet. So right now I’ve been able to create a routine for myself and I’m actually really enjoying it, not to mention it’s doing wonders for my productivity levels. Of course I know as we move further into the year, this is bound to change and be disrupted, as travel plans arise, events occur and the social calendar hots up once again. For the time being however, I’m fulling making the most out of it and I’m massively appreciating the early nights, productive work days and party-free weekends.

Four

I’m making more of an effort to keep up with my content over Winter this year. Usually my blog posts become somewhat sporadic over the Winter months and style related posts become less frequent. This is of course due to the awful weather we tend to get here in the UK over Winter. This year though I’m making no excuses. As you’ll know if you follow me on Instagram, I’ve got into the habit of shooting self portraits, which is something I’m really enjoying right now. Along with that I’m making more effort to shoot outdoors too, no matter how cold it is. Sharing my day to day outfits is something I miss and so I’m making a concious effort to start doing more of it again.

Five

I met up with Rosie last week and between catching up over coffee and lunch, we managed to take some shots for our blogs (you can check out Rosie’s blog here). At the time I really wasn’t in the mood to shoot my outfit but in the end I’m glad we did because like I said, I have missed snapping and sharing my day to day looks here on my blog. I think I just need to remember that even when I’m not quite in the mood to shoot (especially when it’s cold), I should always just get on with it because I’ll thank myself later.

Coat – Asos | Roll Neck – (similar here) | Cardigan – James Lakeland | Jeans – Asos | Boots – Office (similar here) | Bag – All Saints

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January 15, 2018
Shooting In An Ugly Space & The Golden Hour

Making The Most Out Of A Space

I remember before Damien and I moved into our house, I used to get frustrated with the space I had to work in. When it came to shooting content for my blog, I would often have ideas in mind of the images I wanted to create and that didn’t quite seem to fit with my surroundings. Obviously doing street style shots has always been an option and something that I still love to do today, but when the weather doesn’t permit (which can be more often than not here in England), shooting indoors becomes the only option.

In my last blog post I talked about how I’ve been getting back into shooting self portraits, in order to improve my photography and editing skills and it’s something that I have been well and truly getting stuck into. I’ve been shooting almost daily in fact, when I can fit in the time and it’s true what they say, that practice makes perfect. I’m seeing my skills improving with each shoot and edit.

The problem with constantly using my space to shoot in however, is the fact that I’m running out of it. The idea of this ‘accidental project’, let’s call it, is that I want to push myself creatively and improve my skills when it comes to shooting and editing images for my blog and so I don’t want to repeat the same type of image over and over.

Whilst our living room and kitchen space have been come together quite nicely, as we near the end of our house renovation, the rest of our house is still somewhat more of a work in progress. That being said, it actually occurred to me that it’s still possible to make the most out of any space. With this also being about me getting creating, working with the unfinished, or ‘ugly spaces’, pushes me to do just that.

I guess it’s easy to capture pretty or aesthetically pleasing shots, when the location does most of the hard work for you but when working in a space that is a down right shambles (like my current hallway situation for example), it forces you to get a bit more creative.

I really managed to utilise the golden hour for these shots and as the sun shone through into my hallway, the lighting was just beautiful. As I’m someone who is still very much practicing here, I’m not a pro when it comes to lighting and how best to capture it, but I know that as a simple rule, natural lighting is great and during the golden hour (just before the sun sets). It’s a prime time for that gorgeous golden lighting.

Tripod to the ready and I quickly set myself up ready to capture my shots in the brief window I had before the perfect sunlight finally set. Whilst capturing my outfit and working with the stairs, I also had to capture a few close up beauty shots because the lighting was just too juicy not to take advantage of. The way the lighting and shadows fell, it really framed the shots nicely and considering this is an ugly space, I’m really happy with how these shots turned out.

As for my outfit, because it would be rude not to talk a bit about it whilst I’m here (this is primarily a style blog after all), I’ve pretty much been living in the same old favourites recently. I guess that’s why they call them staple pieces, because they are the items in your wardrobe that bring all the pieces together and that you wear the most. Well this is an entire outfit of staple pieces right here. The roll neck I purchased last winter from Tesco. I was doing a food shop when I spotted it and it’s been a go to item in my winter wardrobe ever since. The jeans need no introduction because they are a pair of my most loved and most worn (frequently featured here on the blog), from & Other Stories…and Converse, well they need no explanation really do they.

Oh and if you’re interested, this is a hair and makeup look I’ve been wearing a lot recently (mainly to protect my hair during the Winter months) and I’ve just done a get ready with me video on it, which you can watch here. Anyway, that’s all for today. Ciao for now!

Samio x

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Check out the hashtag #SamiosSelfPortraits on Instagram to see more of my recent self portraits. 🙂

December 13, 2017
A Minimal 70’s Vibe

Nothing New

I’ve been feeling rather uninspired by my wardrobe over the past week or so. I think it comes down to the swift change in seasons and me not being quite ready for this colder Autumnal weather. I often find myself getting into this little rut around this time of year, which in part I feel comes down to my outfit focus shifting mainly towards practicality (and more so than usual). I find myself wearing the same outer layers and opting for that one trusty roll neck (seriously I have one roll neck that is trusty as heck) that I know will keep me warm.

I hate being cold, so layering is a must but I will admit that when pulling out my autumn/winter staples from previous seasons I do easily fall into the habit of wearing the same go to combinations (queue the trusty roll neck).

The other day I pulled out some of my favourite pieces, both from this summer and last winter and decided to mix and match a few items to see how different combinations could work. I don’t always find something new to be the solution for how I’m feeling about my outfits but instead I often just need to try something different with what I already have.

The first look I threw on – and I literally mean, I didn’t give it much thought at all – was this combination. Initially I’d thrown the blazer over the shoulders and thought it looked cool and effortless but when walking around today I put it on properly because lets face it, this is real life and nobody actually walks around with a jacket on their shoulders (do they?). Styling alterations aside, I felt pretty happy throwing this outfit on again to head out today. There’s nothing new in this outfit combination but there is definitely a different vibe to my usual combinations. I’m not a huge trend follower but I must admit I’ve surprised myself with how much I’ve been into the 70s vibes lately. These & Other Stories cropped flared jeans were a go to for a good part of the summer and it looks like that will continue into autumn and winter.

I feel I’ve found a combination that I love which is sort of minimal 70’s. I’m not sure if that’s a thing but that’s what I’m going with, so I guess it is now.

Speaking of changing things up, I’ve been doing so with some of my content too. As I mentioned I tried on a few different outfits the other day and after doing so I decided to style them up in a short lookbook video. Again I wanted the vibe to be different than my usual lookbooks and as I was at home alone at the time, I decided to do a self filmed lookbook which I then had a lot of fun getting creative with whilst editing. The video is at the bottom of the post if you’d like to check it out.

And last but not least, the shots. Onyi and I had a coffee shop working day today, which was great because I’m always left feeling super inspired when we hang out. She suggested that I take a more candid approach to today’s outfit pictures and I really loved the idea. Rather than standing in one spot and taking multiple images all at once, we causally just took a few shots here and there throughout the day and the results are something I really love. So I guess this post is a bit of a photo diary of my day as well as an outfit post and a waffling essay about clothes.

That’s my queue to wrap things up here. Thanks for stopping by. Ciao for now!

Samio x

Boots – Office (similar here) | Jeans – & Other Stories | Jumper – Samsøe & Samsøe (similar here) | Blazer – Topshop (similar here) | Backpack – River Island (similar here)

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November 1, 2017
Learning To Go With The Flow

Going With The Flow

The idea of going with the flow sounds like something easy breezy but the reality is, it can often be quite the opposite. Going with the flow has the connotation of allowing yourself to bob along with the current of the river, which sounds simple…but then what if that current is going in the complete opposite direction to which you had planned.

We’ve likely all had times when going with the flow has led us to something fun or exciting, be it heading out for an evening with friends or throwing ourselves into a new work role with no real plan of what’s in store. Sometimes however we can find ourselves feeling forced to go with a flow that we aren’t quite as optimistic about. I think this is when the idea of what it really means to go with the flow is put into place. It’s not necessarily letting the flow completely take control of you and whisk you on down that river (right direction or not) but rather learning to ride the current so that even if things are taking you in a different direction than you’d planned, you are still able to work with it and prevent yourself from getting swept under.

Metaphors aside, I think the point I’m trying to make here is that even the most detailed life plan is bound to change, as the flow and direction of our lives are ever evolving. It’s normal to be faced with challenges or feel that we aren’t moving in the right direction from time to time. What’s important is that we allow ourselves to adapt with it and understand that no flow is continuously going to be a smooth one but if we allow ourselves to learn and grow from it, then that is the true art of going with the flow.

Samio x

Boots – Topshop (old, similar here) | Skirt – Next (UK) | Shirt – Enlist (similar here) | Biker Jacket – Topshop | Bag – All Saints | Watch – Thomas Sabo

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October 9, 2017
Jeans For Every Day of The Week

Finding A New Fit

When I was in Hamburg back in June (it’s crazy that it now feels like forever ago) I bought a pair of jeans whilst in browsing in Weekday. Now if you’re a regular to my blog or Youtube channel, you’ll know that at the start of the summer, I made a concious effort to move away from wearing jeans quite so much. I started incorporating more trousers into my wardrobe to create more styling alternatives.

Now don’t get me wrong I’ve totally loved getting more experimental and stepping out of my usual style routine by playing around with trousers, but, I must admit that there are times when you just can’t beat a good of pair of denim jeans.

I’d relied on my favourite Asos Farleigh slim fit mom jeans for such a long time and I finally decided it was time to try something different. I have to say right now, that I absolutely loathe jeans shopping – nothing ever seems to fit right and it makes me hate everything. So when I tried on these Ami style jeans and immediately loved the fit, it was a no brainer to me that I make the purchase.

Since then I have been getting so much wear out of these jeans that dare I say it, they seem to have even knocked my favourite Farleigh jeans off of top spot! The mid rise waist on the Ami jeans make a nice change to the super high waisted styles that I usually go for and I love the cropped straight leg on these too.

Just as I thought I’d discovered a whole new style of jeans that work for me, I realised that I actually have these exact same jeans in oatmeal that I’d bought from Weekday last year. Now it’s not that I have a great abundance of denim and don’t know where I’m up to, but I’d presumed that they were a different fit because they look completely different in the oatmeal shade (or at least they did to me). It was only out of curiosity the other day that I decided to check the fit by reading the label on my oatmeal coloured ones and discovered that they are the Ami style too. It seems to have only helped rekindle my love for my oatmeal ones and so now I have two pairs of jeans in my new (not really new) favourite style.

Anyway that’s enough rambling about one (actually two) pair of jeans for one post. I’m sure you’ll be seeing lots more of these on my blog, if you haven’t seen them already plastered all over my Instagram, as they have fast become a day to day favourite. I’ll let the blog pics do the rest of the talking and you can see two recent ways I’ve worn my new Weekday Ami jeans, whilst out and about.

Samio x

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OUTFIT 1: Jeans – Weekday (in darker blue, here) | Shoes – River Island | Shirt – Y.A.S (old, similar here) | Lace Bralet – Topshop | Bag – Pinko (similar here) | Earrings – Alona

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OUTFIT 2: Jeans – Weekday (in a lighter blue, here) | Heels – Whistles (in grey, here) | Top – River Island | Skinny Scarf (old, similar here) | Bag – (old, similar here)

August 4, 2017
Classy, Casual & A ‘New’ Pinko Love Bag

Oh hello there. I’m kicking off a new week with a new outfit post, which actually consist of nothing ‘new’ as such, but a bunch of pieces I’m loving all the same.

I say nothing new but I actually think I’m yet to introduce my newest Pinko edition here on the blog, which is this black and silver Love Bag with gold hard wear. If you follow me on Instagram you’ll already have seen that I’ve been using this bag a lot! I feel it’s a great alternative to my ‘Love Me Tender’ canvas Pinko Love Bag, which is great for more neutral toned outfits, where is this one is perfect for when I want to go for my more monochromatic looks, like with today’s outfit.

Talking about things I’ve been loving, the weather has been making me so happy recently, (I type this as it’s currently raining outside but the forecast says the sun will be back again later in the week thankfully). It’s been so nice not having to worry about jackets or layering for once and I’ve been making the most of every opportunity to go out without a jacket when the weather has been glorious.

I actually shot this outfit a few weekends ago when Damien and I were on our way to Castlefield to meet up with a friend for afternoon drinks and I’m glad to say we’ve had a good run of sunny Saturdays since, which has meant I’ve been able to wear lots of my favourite summer pieces.

I often like to combine an element of classy and casual into my looks when possible and I feel with this outfit I was able to do just that. I practically live in my Converse, which I think worked quite well with this look, but equally if you wanted to glam this outfit up for an evening you’d just need to pop on some heels and you’d be good to go.

Anyway, that’s enough outfit ramble. It mostly speaks for itself but I just fancied a natter and I don’t have much else interesting to chat to you about in today’s post but I’ll be back later in the week with a new post and another little catch up. Ciao for now…

Have a wonderful week!

Samio x

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July 10, 2017
#FAMYWAY – Casual Summer Vibes

Hello! Something a bit different from me in today’s post as I’m taking things super casual (even more so than usual) with today’s look. If you’re a regular to my blog/Youtube then you’ll know by now that I love a good style challenge, so when Footasylum women’s came to me with the opportunity to style some of their pieces to create my own look, I of course jumped at the chance. I like being taken out of my comfort zone and trying new things but still in a very ‘me’ way, so versatility of items and colour palettes are always things that I like to think about when picking out new pieces.

Starting with the shoes up. These Puma trainers are the first part I chose for my look. I’ve eyed these up in the past and played it safe opting for my usual Converse instead so it was a no brainer that I started my outfit with these. I’m glad to say that they are true to size and very comfortable. The fact that they are all white makes them easy stylers, so I’m sure you’ll be seeing plenty of these worn with future outfits too.

Next we’ve got the jeans. I of course love a good Mom jean and whilst I saw lots of sporty pants which looked like the comfiest things ever, I couldn’t resist a bit of denim, especially as I’ve been opting for non-denim pants a lot lately too.

The crop top just drew me in with the bight colours. I know, that’s something I rarely say but I felt this otherwise monochrome look was instantly made a bit more fun with this pop of colour. This is also a crop top that will look super cute with skirts and shorts in summer and as it’s rainbow it will go with so much.

The final part to this look is the hoodie. I like to keep things practical here and going out in the UK (even during Spring/Summer) without any form of layering is very often a no go. Even when it’s hot you’re always best to take a layer out with you for when it gets chilly later on. Okay, so enough of me sounding like someone’s Mum…I like that this hoodie is cropped, which helps to keep the look youthful and fun and works well with the crop top underneath, whilst also being a practical layer which you can tie round your waist when it’s warm.

All in all that’s a bunch of pretty versatile pieces which I’ve styled my way to create my own Footasylum look…Now it’s your turn to create your own Footasylum look and if you do you can be in with a chance to win £250 to spend at Footasylum along with a snazzy pair of trainers of your choice too. Head over to Footasylum women’s Instagram account for details on how to enter here. Good Luck! 😀

Also you can check out my feature on the Footasylum blog, The Lowdown, here.

Samio x

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Trainers – Puma | Jeans – Glamorous | Crop Top – Motel | Hoodie – Sixth June

*This post was sponsored by Footasylum Womens, however this does not affect my opinions – check out my disclaimer for further information.

July 6, 2017
What I Wore In Eindhoven

interchangeable pieces

I’m coming at you with a bit of an epic outfit post today, as I’m sharing not one but four outfits in today’s post. I’ve been a bit awol over the past couple of weeks here on my blog but if you follow my instagram you’ll know it’s because I’ve been super busy, as last week I was abroad twice: At the start of the week shooting for a job in Portugal and at the end of the week/over the weekend in Eindhoven for a bit of a different city break. A photo heavy travel guide on Eindhoven will be coming very soon but I thought that first I would share what I actually wore on my trip to the city.

Damien and I were in Eindhoven from Friday to Monday and I seem to have mastered the art of travelling light, as once again we managed to take one carry on case between us – the joys of having an interchangeable wardrobe means that you don’t actually take up that much luggage space.

I hadn’t expect Eindhoven to be quite the little shopping destination it was, with a few stores that were right up my street, including Hotspot which is now a new found favourite and I only wish they had one of these in Manchester!

Being one to keep my shopping to a minimal, I only purchased a couple of things whilst browsing round the shops, which included the stripe T-shirt featured further down in the post (which I bought at Hotspot) and the polka dot trousers (also in this post) from Monki.

As I steer away from wearing jeans quite so much I’m constantly finding myself on the look out for trouser alternatives. I spotted the polka dot trousers in Monki and had to try them on right away and I have to say that I am in love with them, so much so that I’ve barely stopped wearing them and am in fact currently wearing them as I write this post.

Anyway, I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking before I risk waffling on too much, so scroll down to see what I wore last weekend whilst in Eindhoven.

Samio x

Outfit 1

Trainers – Converse | Jeans – Asos | T-shirt – Cos | Biker Jacket – Zara, old (similar here) | Jewellery – Pernille Corydon | Bag – Kate Spade | Watch – Kartel

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Outfit 2

Trainers – Pinko | Trousers – Monki | Top – Topshop | Biker Jacket – Zara, old (similar here) | Jewellery – Pernille Corydon | Bag – Kate Spade

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Outfit 3

Trainers – Pinko | Trousers – Topshop | T-shirt – Selected Cotton | Denim Jacket – Old (similar here) | Jewellery – Pernille Corydon | Bag – Kate Spade | Watch – Kartel

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Outfit 4

Trainers – Converse | Trousers – Monki | T-shirt – Rock On Ruby | Denim Jacket – Old (similar here) | Belt – Asos (similar here) | Jewellery – Pernille Corydon | Bag – Kate Spade | Watch – Kartel

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May 19, 2017
What To Wear In Lisbon

Today I’m sharing the final look from my Lisbon trip, which I feel is long overdue, considering the trip was almost a month ago and now my next trip is in less than a week!

Anyway I’m still excited to share this look, as it was my favourite outfit of the trip and in this spot we found the perfect setting, with the blue tiled walls in the back, which complimented what I was wearing perfectly.

Before our travels I’d wondered what to wear in Lisbon, and more so, what to wear in Lisbon during the winter? I knew the weather was going to be milder than in England around this time and I was also aware that a lot of European cities tend to keep it pretty casual, which of course was fine by me.

I did pack heeled boots for the trip, just incase I wanted to step things up a notch in the evenings, however I found myself repeatedly reaching for my trusty Converse. In fact my friend L’Oréal and I both didn’t stop wearing our Converse and found ourselves ‘twinning it’ for the majority of the trip. We even wore our Converse for a night out, which was just as well, as we ended up dancing away until the early hours of the morning, which made it sheer bliss being heel-free.

Although we mostly kept it casual, that isn’t to say that we didn’t put some effort into our dressing. Being able to ditch several layers due to slightly better weather, got me excited to re-work some of my outfit favourites. You will see me repeatedly rocking my Mint Velvet 3 in 1 coat back home but it had been a while since I’d be able to wear it sleeveless. It worked perfectly with this Topshop shirt. Although I’ve been wearing this shirt quite frequently, I haven’t had much chance to show off the wonderful sleeves on it whilst out and about, as they are usually covered up by the sleeves of my coat. I felt the two pieces worked perfectly together and I can’t wait to team them together agin when the weather starts to warm up a little at home.

Finally, a quick note about the jeans. They are of course my favourite go to Farleigh style from Asos (which I wear repeatedly) but you may have noticed the slightly lighter shade of denim. That is of course because I decided to add a third pair to my wardrobe, which I actually featured here. However I since decided to cut the hem off the bottom, which I’m very glad I did because I think it changed them up a little bit.

Anyway, that’s all for now. It’s surprising how much you can waffle on about one outfit but if you’d like to hear more about my Lisbon trip you can check out my travel guide here.

Samio x

Shirt – Topshop | Jeans – Asos | Coat – Mint Velvet | Bag – Kate Spade | Trainers – Converse

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February 8, 2017