Ah, so the long Easter weekend is now over and it's back to work/education for us all! I spent the last day of holiday styling a menswear photoshoot…. just a test out and about in Shoreditch with quite a cool, urban feel. I also went to the Hoxton Bar & Kitchen near Old Street station for a late lunch, we had cocktails and mexican food, yum!

JUMPER FROM TOPSHOP

JACKET FROM WAREHOUSE

JEANS FROM ASOS 

DR MARTENS SHOES

GLASSES FROM SWAG & STARE

BAG FROM H&M

What an odd start to the year. After coming back from Norfolk, (where Matt and I ended our Christmas holiday), I've really struggled to get back into the swing of things. It's an odd feeling when normally I'm a bit of a workaholic; this year though... not feeling it. I've felt lazy, uninspired and all I want to do is sit on the sofa watching films and eating crisps. The fact that most of the work I've done so far has been from home doesn't help... I did venture into central London yesterday for the first time in what felt like months! Apart from that I've pretty much been working and chilling at mine. Maybe this is just how January feels.

I've also been thinking a lot about in-house VS. freelance work. I've had a few opportunities to go full-time but nothing has felt quite right yet. I do love the idea of focusing on one brand; I often feel so stretched that I have a complete mind meltdown at least once a month. But I also love the spontaneity of how my life is now and I like meeting new people and working with different brands... lets hope I find something thats a good mix of the two this year! Lets also hope that I just bloody man up, (sorry for using a pretty sexist term there); but seriously I need to just get on with my life and stop overthinking EVERYTHING. It's exhausting. Enough about my fickle thoughts any way, happy belated 2016, I'm really looking forward to another year with you all!

I cannot believe that yet another year has passed. My Dad once told me that as you get older time passes quicker and now I completely understand what he meant. 2014 has been a complete roller-coaster of love, happiness, creativity, progress, stress, sadness, confusion and pride; needless to say I've been so consumed by life that this last year has whizzed by!

I began 2014 recovering from months of run down illness that just didn't want to shift - it took a long Christmas break to fix me. I was in a dead-end job, which was making me grumpy, insecure and depressed. To make matters worse I didn't have any money to spend outside of work so I was bored and restless too. I filled my weekends with Matt, photography tests and blogging to keep sane. I feel very proud of everything we managed to achieve on those weekends.


It wasn't until late summer that I finally had the guts to move on and try my luck at freelancing. It was really, really tough coming from an in house job with little industry experience and putting myself out there to find work. Although it was stressful and I'm now worse off financially than I was before, taking that leap of faith was the best thing I've ever done. I spent four or so months outside of suppressing office walls focusing on myself and my career, meeting new people and seeing a side of London I'd never seen before; my eyes were opened up to a completely new way of life.  

Most importantly, all of the above has now lead to an amazing job opportunity, which I'm very excited about and starting next week! I'll tell you about it in more detail in the new year I promise! For now though I'm just about to pop into central London to brave the January sales. First point of call, Cos, of course - and I guess I'll also be checking out my other high street favourites for a few bargains, Topshop, Forever 21, you know the sorts. I hope you've all had an amazing 2014 and here's to an even more wonderful 2015 ahead!  

PINK COAT BY SOPHIE CULL-CANDY

As many of you already know, I recently left my full time job and decided to go freelance as a stylist/styling assistant. This means that I now spend a lot of time running around London with bagfuls of samples or crouched down on my knees tying model's shoelaces... it took no time at all to work out that my wardrobe isn't particularly "stylist friendly". I'm in desperate need of more pairs of practical trousers, trainers and plain t-shirts and have come to the conclusion that simplicity and practicality are key, alongside comfort of course.

Footwear. Reliable shoes are so important when you're going to be on your feet all day. I tend to live in my knackered old Dr Martens because they're comfortable, kinda waterproof, and I can't really trash them any more than I already have whilst bent down in awkward positions or carrying heavy equipment. My wonderful boyfriend Matt bought me a new pair in cherry red for my birthday so i'll probably switch to wearing those soon. What I don't have however is a comfy pair of trainers, which are great for running around in! I've seen a lot of creatives wearing Converse and I wouldn't mind a pair of Adidas Stan Smiths because they'd be waterproof too!

Now that its a little cooler, stretchy skinny jeans are probably my go to item cos I love how they look with oversized, slouchy shirts and jumpers. I have an old pair that I've been wearing for years but I'd love some from the Urban Outfitters range cos they have great high waisted styles. I'm also desperate for a bag to keep my styling kit in; at the moment everything is just rattling around at the bottom of my handbag! I've seen a lot of Kanken bags around and am thinking of getting one of the classic designs in navy or ox red to use for my styling kit. I'm going to buy a Nicce lightweight jacket to keep in there too so I always have a waterproof jacket with me!

Do you have any favourite items of clothing that you like to wear or need to wear for work?

With Spring only 23 days away, (I looked it up), I've found myself thinking about what I'll be wearing in the warmer months to come. More than anything I'm looking forward to bare-leg days in high waisted shorts and tucked in tees... but I'm also a fan of simple loose dresses thrown on with socks and sandals in summertime. Thoughts of late night BBQs in a dress and snuggly roll neck and barefoot picnics in the park are already dancing before my eyes! But hey, summer seems years away so let's get back to reality.

The other week I treated myself to this adorable pair of Office t-bar shoes thinking they'd look good in Spring/Summer with ankle socks... I can't wait to wear them with my dungarees! I was also recently given this dress by Lavish Alice*; I love the scalloped edge detail and it's a beautiful blue... I'm sure it'll be getting lots of wear when the weather FINALLY peaks!      

Over the past few years I've found shopping for clothing very difficult. Not only have I had to worry more about paying rent than owning the latest trends, (London living is not cheap), but my taste has changed too and I've become a little confused in the transition. Whilst at Uni I opted for a rather boutique"y" look wearing mainly vintage and cute dresses, I now prefer a more sophisticated look featuring darker shades and sleeker silhouettes. I think growing my hair long has effected what I like wearing somehow too.

As you can imagine then, my wardrobe is now an eclectic mix of patterned blouses I never wear but can't seem to bring myself to part with alongside a cleaner, darker selection of Cos and The Whitepepper. This makes dressing in the morning very confusing.... "Who do I want to be today?"

Last weekend I put all of my ugly blouses, checked man blazers and vintage ditsy print dresses in a huge suitcase and I've hidden them under the stairs out of my life! Of course I've kept a few patterns and colours in my wardrobe; the electric pink, purple and green sheer checked blouse I picked up for £14 in a vintage store in Southampton for example, and a loud pair of high waisted 80s style shorts I've worn once but swear I will make more use of this summer.... I've also started some boards on Pinterest; Fashion Week and Style, which I pin inspiring outfits on to help refine both my personal style and styling aesthetic.    

I thought I'd given up on shopping - I always felt confused and disoriented and I'd always go home empty handed feeling a bit dead inside due to my loss of retail love. But then last Wednesday I paid a spontaneous visit to Topshop on my way home from work and found myself feeling not awkward, lost and overwhelmed but calm, collected and focussed. I scanned the sale rails, picking up a few bits here and there, before finding a really cute Sister Jane dress in the sale for £25. I tried everything on, you have to really, and ended up leaving with the dress and a simple ribbed funnel neck in navy, which I thought would look good under pinafores. I also picked up some new underwear, I love the knickers in the three for £10 section and always buy black so everything matches!

I'm not sure if my love of shopping has completely returned yet but I certainly seem better at it at least... finally! My main focus now is to refine my wardrobe and overall style so that I can literally get out of bed in the morning, throw something on and walk out the door looking effortless... I plan to do this by treating myself to a couple of new pieces each month, and I'd like to buy more investment pieces that I know will last. Dr Martens shoes, Cos coats, things like that.