Party Season : Lookbook

One of my favourite things about blogging is putting lookbooks together. I especially love this because I get to share some of my styling ideas with you guys. I also get to flex my styling brain and I find all kinds of gems in my wardrobe

So it's that time of the year again. Many people have a lot of functions to go to and are looking for ideas on what to wear. It's Party Season people :D

I will be sharing 3 looks I came up with. They are very easy and simple to recreate and I am sure you could find these pieces . You might even have them in your closet already.

My tips for this party season

• Look in your closet first. Play dress up and see what you come up with
• Glitter, sequins and bold lips you can't go wrong.
• Look in charity shops. During this time of the year most charity shops have a party section. You might just find something great. Both my dresses are from charity shops.
• You can't go wrong with a little black dress. I think this is simplest piece to style. Black dress, red lip, clutch bag , heels and you are ready to go.

The LBD.

The little black dress is a time less classic. Mine is an empire waist dress with a plunging neckline. The empire waist line draws attention to my bust area. It also sits on the right part of my body creating the illusion of a small waist. This dress is made from velvet material and also features gathering at the waist line which makes the dress skim over my figure .I love this dress as it's not short, it is sophisticated and chic.

I styled mine with gold accessories and a pearl choker. I went for a vampy look with the purple lips which I created using 3 different products. For a more sultry look I could have used a red lip colour or pink to go with my nail polish. This dress was a lucky find in a charity shop. It was only £4.50.

What I am wearing

Dress : Linear ( thirfted) // Shoes : Zara // Clutch : Accesorize // Choker : Primark

The knee Length body con dress

I love this dress because of it's multi-purpose use. This is the type of dress I would wear to work during the day ( with a camisole people no ta ta action at work and a black blazer). Come night time I would transform this dress into a sexy party dress by adding a choker , some sexy heels, a clutch , some sultry lip colour and lastly putting away that camisole and blazer. This is why women carry large bags people

This dress is from Jane Norman although I got it from a charity shop brand new for only £5.50.

Tiwi Lesson : Charity shops are a great place to find gems. You just have to check them regularly. It's a skill it requires patience and knowing what kind of pieces your local charity shop is known for. For instance my dresses are from the same charity shops. I've developed a map of all my local charity shops and I know where I can find the best pieces at a price I am willing to pay.

I added my favourite lion belt to add my personality to the outfit. The soft pink lips add a pop of colour and go with the pink theme.

What I am wearing

Dress : Jane Norman ( thrifted) // Shoes: Zara // Choker : Top shop // Belt : Vintage // Clutch : Accesorize

The Full Skirt and Crop Top

This last outfit is a more conservative outfit because of the full skirt ( no curve action here) but it's still daring because of the crop top bra combo. I could not find the right bra for this look so I created a new top using a bra and a crop top. The mesh paneling on the skirt also add to the daring factor. All around illusions.

I think this look is perfect for curvy girls. It highlights the assets , while hiding the problem areas and creating a waist. I would obviously add some kind of cover up to this outfit. Perhaps a cropped jacket to tie in with the crop top. This crop top has a lingerie feel to it with the velvet material and lace. I love it.

This look is another prefect example of taking what you already have in your closet and making it into a party worthy outfit.

What I am wearing:

Skirt: Top Shop// Crop top : Top Shop// Necklace : Primark // Shoes : Dune ( thrifted) 

So I'm sure you are wondering where I would wear these looks to. My answer is any party depending on my mood. The LBD is my safest bet as it is easy to style and requires minimal effort. 

Will you guys be going to any parties this season? It would be interesting to see what other people come up with.

On that note. Have a happy and productive week.

Love and light 

The wedding guest

Hello Tiwi's Closet lovers

Yes it has been more than a minute since I last blogged but the struggle was real people. I have just got back from visiting Swaziland. I had planned to blog but the struggle with internet was too much for me.

In the next few weeks I will be updating you on some of the things I did as well as the fabulous outfits I got to wore in Swaziland. One thing I love about visiting Swaziland is that I get to wear a lot of clothes and shoes I wouldn't usually wear in England.

In today's post I will be sharing how I dressed up for two weddings I attended. I will say that both my outfits where not your traditional wedding outfit but they were still wedding appropriate.


Wedding 1

I opted for a jumpsuit for this wedding because it was a garden wedding. To make my jumpsuit more wedding appropriate I chose white and gold accessories. I feel that this brought the look together. The white tuxedo jacket and over sized clutch with the white shoes add the crisp and chic finish. I like to be comfortable and stylish and this look definitely did it for me. 

What I am wearing:

Jumpsuit : Dorothy Perkins

Heels : Zara

Clutch bag : Tiwi's Closet

Jacket : Thrifted

Accessories : Dorothy Perkins, Primark,  House of Fraser. 

Wedding 2:

This was a church wedding so I wanted to wear something simple that wouldn't crease. Once again I recycled the white tuxedo jacket and over sized clutch. I can confidently say that these two pieces are now part of my staple pieces. I was bang on trend with the crop top and full skirt. For this look I opted for statement over sized pearl earrings and white sunnies. This look was more neutral with the pastel over sized flowers on the skirt and the nude strappy heeled sandals. This was the only day I wore my version of full make up during my holiday.

What I wore:

Jacket: thirfted

Shoes: Zara

Skirt: Top Shop

Crop top : Primark

Clutch : Tiwi's Closet

Sunglasses : Tiwi's Closet

Other accessories : H&M, River island 

As you can see from both my outfits. They started with simple pieces and I used my accessories, shoes , hair and makeup to create interesting wedding outfits. My first tip on dressing for weddings would be to start with a simple base.

Tiwi's ( non-traditional wedding outfit) tips:

• Don't wear a white dress. It's the bride's special day and white is her colour. However you can infuse your outfit with white accessories and shoes. 
• Do wear pastels. Pastel colours are great for weddings. They are soft and feminine and all so wedding appropriate. 
• Be comfortable. Please make sure that whatever you chose to wear to a wedding makes you comfortable. Being comfortable doesn't mean lazy and sloppy though. Make and effort and infuse a bit of your personal style into whatever you pick. I would advise you to carry a pair of flats in your bag as weddings can be lengthy.
• Another great tip is to know the theme of the wedding so that you can plan your outfit around that theme. For instance if you're going to a garden wedding like I was you can be a bit more adventurous with your outfit.  

Well I hope you enjoyed my first Swaziland installment.

Love and light

Tiwi

OOTD: walk about SKipton

Hello everybody

I know , I know I have been aol for 2 weeks.

I just wanted to stop by and share an outfit I wore to church. Very simple everyday look. I love my new found relationship with jeans :). When I can't be bothered to think to much. I just slip on some jeans and the rest happens. It was a bit too warm for the jumper but Skipton weather can be a bit tricky to dress for. Do you like my 'bangs'?

What I am wearing : 

Jumper : Primark

Shoes: Topshop

jeans: New look 

bag: new look

accessories : Riverisland, aldo and H&M.

My growing love for shoes

shoe wishlist by tiwiscloset featuring a lace-up high heel bootie

“Shoes transform your body language and attitude. 

They lift you physically and emotionally.”

—Christian Louboutin 

Hello lovelies it has been a hot minute. I was just going through a bit of a writers and fashion block in the last few weeks. Today however, I will be talking about my growing love for shoes. I will be sharing my shoe wish list, tips for uping your shoe game and a shoe haul ( yay).

I have never been a shoe-a-holic and I doubt that I'll ever be much of a shoe lady. In my opinion the right shoes can give your outfit that extra pop and the wrong shoes can do the opposite.  One thing I  noticed  when  putting  my outfits together was that my shoe game was putting a damper on my outfits.  So sometime last year  I did a shoe evaluation and I realised I had an appalling day time shoe collection with more heels than actual daytime shoes. This did not make sense to me so since last year I've been working on my day time shoe collection planning and buying the shoes I think will add to my closet. I am also setting myself a challenge to wear more heels ( at least 3 inch ones) in the day time. I mean what is the point of having an extensive heels collection and wearing the shoes once a year. Who cares if I am like 6 foot when I wear heels ( the highest ones lol). My new motto will be you buy it you wear it so I guess that will stop me from buying shoes I can't wear.

2014 will be filled with many such post where I introduce you guys to the changes I am making in my wardrobe. I am having an on going clear out, getting rid of a lot of my clothes as I want a fresh start. So far it's going great and I am getting excited because I can't wait for the next step in my fashion wardrobe.

Tips for uping your shoe game :
1) Plan , plan and plan some more. You want to imagine your outfits and the type of shoes that would go with your outfits. I would say go online and look at the many options that are out there for you. Fill gaps in your closet don't just buy a lot of shoes that are on sale that do nothing for your style.( been there done that).
2) Quality rather that quantity. You want quality shoes at a price you can afford. Quality doesn't mean breaking the bank. Sales are a great way to get quality shoes at the fraction of the original price. You can wait out for the sale or just buy the shoes if you really want them.
3) I think that you should do  a shoe evaluation to start of with. You need to know what you have, what you need to get rid of and what you need to buy. I guess this point goes with the planning point.
4) Know the look you are going for. By this I simple mean know what your personal style is so that you can know the type of shoes that will add to your style.

I thought I should mention that ASOS has been a great place for improving my daytime shoes with unique shoes.  My saved items on ASOS is has up to 50 items at any given time. A girl can dream can't she? Who knows...just in case I win the lottery or someone gives me loads of money ( hint hint). I know exactly what I will be buying.

shoes by tiwiscloset featuring lace up shoes

I thought I should start off with showing my day time shoe collection post new shoes:

This was literally it. I have gotten rid of some of the shoes above and I have added new ones. I believe that a good time collection should at least contain the following : some converse, brogues, loafers, sandals and some flat shoes with a bit of heel. You want to invest in your shoes rather than go for just anything that's on sale believe me. I have learnt my lesson.

Now for the fun part . I will provide as much information on where you can get these shoes as well.

 SHOE HAUL 

1.) Zara (sale) not available ( check eBay), 2. ASOS ( similar here) also available in silver  3.ASOS ( here) and in black (here) 4. Topshop (sale) not available ( check ebay) 5. Dune ( here) (here) 6. Dorothy Perkins (sale) not available 7. bank (sale) not available 8. ASOS ( sale) here  9. Newlook available here  10. Miss Selfridge ( sale) not available 11. Dune ( sale) here  11. atmosphere ( charity shop) not available 12. Vintage shoes ( charity shop) 13. Top shop ( sale) not available 14. ASOS available in black and green 14. Vintage loafers ( charity shop) 

You have seen these before in previous posts. Just thought I should add these 3 pairs as the name of this post is called 'My growing love for shoes' 

So far I could say I love the shoes I have bought. I'm a more confident shoe shopper and I know what shoes I want to buy and what clothes they go with.

I hope you find this post inspiring and helpful 

Love

Tiwi.