Always Elegant, Never Boring

I've always loved elegant fashion, although it didn't always have a name. I adore Instagram - I dread to think how many hours I spend each day, just scrolling - and have found so many wonderful accounts with a focus on elegant styling. I love a timeless look and elegance fits right into that. But how to keep your look simple and classic without meandering into that most dangerous of territories - how to avoid looking BORING?

COVER UP - AT LEAST A LITTLE.

Elegance is not all about being prim and proper. You can definitely show a bit of leg, or rock a plunge neckline. The key, though, is to choose one or the other. For the office in the cooler months, I often opt for a 1960s vibe, with a high-necked jumper, a mini skirt and tights. It's a classic look that feels true to my personal style, and you can make it extra-fun by really exaggerating the 60s theme, with smoky eyes, a nude lip and of course a towering bouffant.

STRIVE FOR TIMELESSNESS.

The beauty of the 60s look is that it's timeless. It's definitely my favourite era when it comes to fashion. I don't do the retro look every day but I do strive for timelessness in everything I wear. The catwalks may be filled with tiny crop tops that are basically bras, but in the street we always see practical yet stylish items like trenchcoats and jeans. Classic items in neutral colours are what I like to fill my wardrobe with - they never go out of style.

INVEST IN YOUR WARDROBE AND ONLY BUY PIECES YOU LOVE.

Timeless elegance does come with a pricetag. I like to buy clothes that I will wear a lot for many years to come, and these things are expensive - not always, but often. I do understand that not everyone can afford premium high street or designer, but rather than buying a dress you'll only wear once for a night out because 'it was only £9', why not put that £9 in a savings account and eventually treat yourself to something special, like my floral wrap dress below, which was around the £80 mark from Joules. Surely it's better to own 20 items you really love than 200 you only like.

KEEP UP WITH TRENDS - TO A DEGREE.

Building an elegant wardrobe doesn't mean buying the same thing over and over again and never taking part in any trends. Trends are an excellent way of keeping your classic wardrobe up-to-date and interesting. It's all about knowing which trends will slot in with your usual style, and only taking part if you really love the trend. For example, there's no point me wearing neon or underwear-as-outerwear just because it's in fashion, because this would never fit in with my personal style. Instead, I partake in trends like chain jewellery or puff sleeves, because these compliment the rest of my wardrobe while keeping it current.

BE CREATIVE.

Have a good think about the different ways you can style the specific items in your collection. Last week on Instagram, I talked about how I like to turn my summer dresses into maxi skirts by wearing jumpers or my Topshop cardigan over them. Have fun styling things up with different accessories - a floppy sunhat is chic and practical, and a pair of drop earrings will elongate your neck and glam up the most casual of outfits. I've got my eye on this feather pair from Pandora. They would be a funky, modern addition to any elegant outfit.

SIT ON THE FENCE.

A good rule of thumb is to stick to a neutral colour palette. That way, everything in your wardrobe can be paired with everything else, and you'll never be unsure of what to wear. This is good to bear in mind when starting to build your classic wardrobe, but once you've got a good collection of neutral pieces, if you don't add a pop of colour, you run the risk of looking like you're in uniform. To avoid this, allow yourself the odd frivolous purchase in a vibrant colour. Adding a splash of pistachio green or living coral to an outfit will freshen up your look and show that you know what's on trend.

YOUR FACE IS A CANVAS.

If you want to look elegant, it's not all about the clothes. Your hair, make-up and nails should be polished (pardon the pun) too. The world of beauty is an area where you can mix things up and experiment. There are so many imaginative YouTube tutorials available for you to follow at home and add an unexpected twist to your elegant attire.

LEARN HOW TO ACCESSORIZE YOUR ASSETS.

I explained in last week's blog post how to dress when you have a larger bust and when creating a classic wardrobe, it's definitely important to know how to dress for your bodyshape. This is not a hard and fast rule but it's good to know which silhouettes flatter you, then those styles can become building blocks for your classic wardrobe which you can modernise at your leisure. For instance, I've always known that wrap dresses suit my hourglass figure, but I never would have thought to wear a maxi one until that trend appeared a year ago.

JUMP ON THE SUSTAINABILITY BANDWAGON.

If there's any trend we should all take part in, it's this one. The fashion industry is notoriously bad for the planet and also has a horrible history of animal cruelty and sweatshops, neither of which are yet shadows of the past. However, brands like H&M and Ted Baker have added conscious collections to their rails and the fashion industry does finally seem to be waking up. In Glamour's SS20 issue, they ran a piece on #onesmallchange several top designers have pledged to make.

One thing you can do to help avoid waste is to rent items rather than buy. The Catwalk Club are a company on Instagram, sadly closed at the moment due to COVID-19, but when they open up again you will be able to rent luxury handbags for a fraction of what it would cost to buy them. They even have a Chanel handbag available for rent. This is a fantastic way to rotate lots of designer items and enjoy that 'newness' feeling without adding to the environmental issue.

I hope you found my ideas useful. Next week, I'll be talking about the accessory many of us wear every single day and don't give a lot of thought to - our glasses! (For those of you who don't wear prescription lenses, never fear, I'll be talking about sunglasses too!)

How to Style... Big Boobs!

It's so true that you always want what you don't have. Like many big-breasted women before me, my boobs have often felt more like a burden than a blessing. At 5ft tall (or short) and a cartoonishly exaggerated hourglass figure, they sometimes make me feel positively dumpy.

Gok Wan told me to wear wrap dresses, so I wore wrap dresses. Trinny and Susannah said roll-neck jumpers would make my boobs look like an extension of my chin, so I shied away from those. I learnt very quickly the art of dressing for your bodyshape, which is a concept most fashionistas turn their noses up these days. It is true that no one should tell you What Not to Wear. It is true that, if you want to wear horizontal stripes, you should feel free to wear horizontal stripes. Nowadays, I don't think I own a single v-neck item (although I do have one wrap dress!). These traditional hourglass-friendly silhouettes can often make me look matronly rather than chic.

However I don't think that dressing with your particular figure in mind is a completely outdated attitude. We feel more comfortable wearing clothing we know suits us. These 'rules' that are so often sniffed at today can be very useful, especially for someone whose body is changing - perhaps you have had a baby, or lost a lot of weight, or have had to change your diet for medical reasons. I feel you need to know the rules in order to be able to bend them.

Gok, Trinny and Susannah would definitely all agree that the waist should always be the focus when dressing an hourglass figure, and I think this is such a flattering look on ANY bodyshape, but especially if you have big boobs. That contrast between your waist and boobs is so feminine and lovely. Gok would have achieved this with a waist belt, but these days I own a grand total of 1 waist belt and instead own numerous high-waisted skirts and trousers (which weren't so fashionable back in the Noughties!).

Now for your actual boobs - what are the best necklines to flatter them? Well, all of them! I had a lot of fun revisiting Trinny and Susannah clips on YouTube for this blog post, and they are absolutely appalled by the idea of a big-titted (their words, not mine!) woman wearing a crew-neck. I completely disagree, but I listened back then. What changed? Well, it was probably about 70% a shift in my attitude, and 30% a really, really good bra.

Until I found Bravissimo, I hated bra shopping, but now I look forward to it! The bra-fitting experience at Bravissimo is fabulous. There's not a tape measure in sight. They look at how the bras suit you and where they are and aren't fitting and keep bringing different shapes and sizes for you to try on until you find the perfect fit. I love love LOVE the Gossard Glossies bra - I own three of them in total! The plunge shape is smooth so I don't get that bulging '4-boob' effect that I so often got with balconette bras (it probably didn't help that I bought them from New Look and focused more on prettiness than practicality) and because it fits me so well, it has a slightly minimising effect which means I can wear them with higher-necked tops without looking 'lumpy'.

My next brassiere-themed tip is this: I adore wearing boring bras. Lacy, embellished bras are stunning but let's face it - most of spend our days with our underwear covered up. A lacy bra may look beautiful when you take your layers off but underneath a lovely cashmere jumper, it will create lumps and bumps that completely ruin the effect. Boring bras make for a smooth base that you can wear anything over - and they don't itch either.

Bras can't do all the work for you - good posture is key. This is something I always forget, and then I'm sharply reminded of it when I look at my outfit photos later! It's a really difficult thing to get into the habit of, since I've been slouching my entire life - if only I'd listened to my mum when I was young! In my defence, I think those of us who are larger in the bust area are more prone to poor posture because, let's face it, our boobs are heavy!

Like I said, you can wear pretty much any neckline if you've invested in a good bra and you feel great in the outfit. However bardot necklines are becoming a firm favourite of mine. The traditional "rules" of those Noughties styling programmes will tell you that if you have big boobs, you should show them off, but we don't always want to! A bardot neckline covers the boobs without necessarily trying to hide them, and displays the underrated shoulder area instead. Since adding more and more bardot styles to my wardrobe, I've decided that the collarbone is one of the sexiest part of a woman's body. Again, if you put your shoulders back, you can accentuate the area beautifully.

Next is the dreaded plunge neckline. Many of us DD+ ladies avoid these like the plague, terrified of "falling out" or looking too "tarty". Since discovering my Gossard bra, which is also a plunge style, I've found that plunge necklines can actually look very sophisticated. My navy floral Joules dress is the perfect example of this. Again, it highlights that elegant decolletage but, because my bra fits me properly, my cleavage isn't stealing the show.

The number one so-called "rule" for styling big boobs? Wear what you love. Don't scroll past every turtleneck and shift dress because you think they won't suit you. Try things on. Experiment. You might be surprised.

How to Have a Fashionable Birthday in Quarantine

Those of us born in Spring are feeling a little blue. We want to go for a nice birthday meal, Boris! But of course we must adhere to the social distancing rules put in place for our own safety, and many of us have already found ways to maintain normality in our homes, whether it's a candlelit 3-course anniversary meal lovingly made for your partner or an alcohol-fuelled Zoom call with your best and oldest friends.

I'm pretty sure on my birthday last year, my big exciting plan was to... Have a takeaway. So I guess this year wasn't all that different! I made sure I still had a girly, glamorous day. If you want tips on how to do this, read on, and don't forget to read my previous blog post, How To Keep it Glam at Home.

The first thing we do every Saturday morning is our daily exercise. For us, this means walking our miniature dachshund! I always try to look stylish as well as practical on dog walks, which you'll know if you follow me on Instagram (@emma_does_fashion) because that's when I take all my photos!

For my birthday walk, I wore my pink floral cut-out dress from Sisters of the Tribe, which is a brand sold at ASOS. It's a maxi dress so looks elegant without really trying, and even though I got it last year it's still on-trend for SS20. I paired the dress with my comfortable yet stylish Dune sandals and of course a big floppy sunhat. I also curled my hair and did my makeup nicely before we went out, because it's not just any dog walk, it's my birthday dog walk!

When someone asks what I'd like for my birthday I nearly always say vouchers. Ted Baker and ASOS are usually top of my list, but this year I asked my fiancé for a Holland Cooper Clothing voucher. This of course meant that I was doing some online shopping the morning of my birthday, and to be honest I've not stopped since! Once everything's arrived from all the retailers, I'll be showing you a haul of what I got - hopefully on YouTube if we are in our new house by then! Follow me on Instagram to see when it's ready.

When I got home it was lunchtime, so at this point it didn't really matter what I was wearing because CAAAAAAAAAAKE. We ate a decadent chocolate cake from Marks & Spencers and shortly afterwards, the most divine bunch of flowers arrived at my door! My mum sent me an enormous bouquet, the scent of which travels all the way through the house and just smells wonderful.

I had a takeaway for dinner (of course) and by this time I was in my pyjamas, but of course I made sure they were my absolute favourite pair! I wore my satin floral Ted Baker pyjamas which are so glamorous and yet so comfortable. I had another slice of cake (why not eh?) and congratulated myself - I celebrated my lockdown birthday in the most fabulous, fashionable way!

6 Classic Items I'm Saving Up For

My blog hasn't been going for very long (this is only my 3rd ever post!) but something you should expect to hear a lot from me is this: buy clothes you love. For me, that means buying clothes that are good quality, that look and feel divine, and that are classic and will go with everything else in my wardrobe. Unfortunately that often means I have to save up my pennies for a long time before I can buy the thing I really want!

So today, I'm sharing a list of the items that I've had on my wishlist for absolutely ages - as well as one item that I love but don't think I could ever bring myself to spend that amount of money on.

I am always on the lookout for the perfect trenchcoat. It's a timeless staple, perfect for transitional seasons, and goes with nearly all my outfits. I used to have a beautiful Tommy Hiliger trench which I wore TO DEATH and sadly had to part with. Since then, I've been hunting down a replacement. My Tommy Hilfiger coat was not only stylish but waterproof too, so very practical for rainy days and boat trips. Sadly most online retailer don't make it clear whether their coats are waterproof, but I did find this belted camel trenchcoat from Marks & Spencers. The coat pictured above is also from Tommy Hilfiger and I am absolutely lusting over this one and squirrelling away pennies for it!

Aspinal of London make beautiful bags. They are expensive but they do also go into the sale more often than you would expect. Pre-owned options are also rife. I'm in love with the black trunk bag with travel label patches, which is the sort of thing I adore - timeless with a twist. I like my pieces to have a touch of the unexpected, like the suitcase-style patches and the unique silhouette, while the colour keeps it classic. My understanding is that you can fit a fair amount in these bags too, and I also love a cross-body strap - so comfortable and practical, especially for days out.

I've been saving up for a cashmere jumper for a long time. You can get quite affordable cashmere jumpers, but I just haven't gotten around to picking one up yet! I want several cashmere jumpers in an array of neutral colours. Numpty over here actually found a baby pink one in a vintage store last year for an amazing £20 and I am still so annoyed with myself for walking out of that store empty-handed! I will definitely scour charity shops and vintage shops to see if I can score a bargain, but on the high street I've seen some lovely potentials in Marks & Spencers, Reiss and John Lewis.

When I have cash to splash, the first luxury item I'm going to buy - you heard it here first! - is a Burberry scarf. I've adored these for years. They are the perfect finishing touch to an autumnal outfit and never fail to turn my head. I of course want the cashmere version (what's the point of spending all that money on lambswool?) and this is probably the only luxury item I would ever seriously consider purchasing, because I know I would wear it pretty much every day throughout the colder months.

I did actually buy a pre-owned Burberry scarf recently but sent it back because it was darker than I expected. It was also vintage, which I don't mind, but because this is something I've wanted for so long, I think I need that just-out-of-the-box feeling when I put it on.

The most expensive item on this list is the Mulberry Bayswater handbag in black. I don't know if I could ever bring myself to spend £1000+ on an accessory, no matter how much I expect to wear it, and at £995 the Bayswater comes pretty close to that limit. However, I've been looking for the perfect work handbag. In our office, we hot-desk, so I have to carry my laptop and papers around with me all day. It's been difficult finding a bag on the high street that's strong enough to carry all my things and will also keep them safe from rainwater (why do so many handbags not do up?!). Mulberry handbags are leather so I'd expect them to look good as new for a long time and it's honestly the only bag I've found that's the right size for my purposes.

Last year, I found the most beautiful black leather jacket with rose gold hardware in Ted Baker. It was stunning. Sadly I couldn't buy it at the time and now I can't find it anywhere online. I'm therefore on the hunt for a similar leather jacket and I'm a fusspot about the style - I don't want a biker jacket because they don't suit my style or my figure. It needs to be quite a tailored leather jacket, rather than a bulky one, because I know that will look best on my hourglass shape. Wish me luck in finding one!

Finally we come to the item on my list that I would love to have in my wardrobe, but don't know if I could ever actually buy: a pair of Valentino Rockstud shoes. I've heard wonderful things about how comfortable they are and both the sandals and the stilettos are gorgeous. I just don't know if I could ever part with that amount of money, especially for a pair of shoes which I know I will wear out immediately (no shade towards the quality of Valentino shoes, I just wear out my shoes ridiculously fast!).

I currently own a dupe of the stilettos from Dorothy Perkins, which are very comfortable and I love how they look. I've also recently bought a pair of sandals heavily inspired by the Valentino version, from Daniel Footwear. I think both these pairs will satisfy me until I'm in a position to consider spending silly amounts of money on luxury footwear.

So, dear reader, please let me know in the comments which item you think I should prioritise, and which items are on your 'when I've got the money' wishlist?

How to Keep it Glam at Home

Why bother staying stylish at home? Well, it does wonders for your mood. When quarantine first reared its unglamorous head, I found myself staying in my pyjamas for FAR TOO LONG. I won't lie, it's nice to do this every now and then, but it makes me feel rubbish if I do it too much. Save your PJs for bed and dress yourself each morning as if nothing has changed. Lockdown? What lockdown?

On that note, upgrade your #WFH outfit and step away from loungewear! When working from home, most of my outfits are the same as I would wear to the office. That's because I buy my clothes with style and comfort in mind (and I've always had somewhat corporate tastes!). My red floral jumpsuit from Quiz is a firm favourite as it seems like I've made a proper effort but essentially I'm wearing a fancy onesie!

Instead of leggings or tracksuit bottoms (I jest - I don't own tracksuit bottoms!), I wear midi skirts, culottes and statement dresses in materials like cotton or chiffon. IMO these are more comfortable and less restrictive than jeans or leggings. I've got my eye on this Reiss ombre midi skirt and this gorgeous coral dress from Ted Baker - both are practical for working from home and also office-appropriate for when we finally return to the real world.

You might find this next tip distasteful, but trust me, it's worth it - iron all of your clothes. I iron pyjamas, pants and even socks. The process is therapeutic and the end result is a crisp, clean outfit every single day. If you're not as keen on ironing as I am, why not try a handheld steamer?

Once work is over, I like to change something about my appearance to signify that the working day has ended and me-time has begun. Usually I just put my hair up and switch out my jewellery. It's a small change but it makes me feel good. Other times, I'll pop on my sports bra from Bravissimo and some high-waisted leggings and do some of my favourite YouTube work-outs, such as a gentle yoga routine.

I love pyjamas (especially freshly ironed ones) and think we all should own at least one extra-special pair. I adore my Ted Baker pyjamas pictured above; every time I wear them, I truly feel that spark of joy. I've always been obsessed with delicate nightwear - when I was a teenager I used to wear satin chemises to sleepovers! My friends laughed at me but I felt so glamorous and a luxurious pair of PJs still makes my night! And to be honest, my friends still make fun of me for always being over-dressed.

That lockdown life is all about self-care for me. This is a great time to really focus on your skincare, and a good pamper could also boost your mental health. I try to treat myself to a red-hot bath and a face mask at least once a week. Your skin will reap the benefits and you will be fresh-faced and gorgeous without the need for makeup!

If you're finding it hard to motivate yourself to dress up for your home office, or home school, why not make it fun and take a picture of your #ootd each morning? You don't need to post it anywhere, but if you do, please tag me so I can see! My Instagram account is @emma_does_fashion. Thank you for reading, my lovelies!