Internship: Styling for Stuff magazine

IT'S OUT!!!

Hello everyone! I am so excited to share this post with you! This is the October issue I helped out stylist Charlotte Adsett with during some work experience. Charlotte contacted me through the girls at Boudoir PR passing on my details to her. I helped Charlotte out for a few days in the big city and managed to assist her  on this shoot for Stuff magazine on my final day. I have never done any sort of styling work before so was really exciting to get to know a different part of the fashion industry. If you don't know Charlotte she does a lot of celebrity styling with the likes of Pixie Lott and Kelly Brook and can also be found at Stylist Pick as an A list stylist. 

After meeting over a scrummy lunch at Leon's down Baker Street I went about taking back returns before heading to a Press evening at Little Mistress. It was a great chance for me to meet everyone from Eden Can Can who held the event, get to know the brand (which I admit, I had never heard of before), meet other stylists and munch on some scrummy canapes and sip champagne! For those who don't know Little Mistress, the brand is known for it's glamourous occassion wear. The brand is for day or night wear, but is ideal for the party scene. I would compare the brand to Lipsy due to its prom style dresses and sparkly detail. Little Mistress have worked with the likes of the The Only Way is Essex girls; Billie and Sam Faires from TOWIE  who have their own collection with the brand called 'Little Mistress by Minnies'.

My final day (the whole point of this post) was assisting this shoot for Stuff magazine. My duties included prepping the clothes Charlotte had called in: hanging, steaming and packing it all away and the end of the shoot. It was set in a location house which someone actually lives in but rents it out for photo shoots or  likewise. I was told Stuff are trying to take a more fashion forward approach to their shoots, this one was based around the theme of block colour. It was great to see it all come together and to learn the impact lighting makes due to this being the focal point of the shoot. The photographer was David Venni, HMU, Emma White Turle, Art Director Alex Fanning and the clothes were from a variety of brands including Lipsy, American Apparel, Marc Jacobs and more. The model was Bruna from Nevs who was incredibly gorgeous! Definitely made me feel frumpy.

We were treated to a yummy lunch and everyone was very friendly. I wasn't a huge contributor to this shoot but it was a fantastic opportunity to learn a lot about how it all comes together. I was so excited when I saw this issue in the shops and to be able to go I WAS THERE. I DID THAT! I IRONED THOSE CLOTHES!  Ha ha you may be laughing at me but it does mean so much seeing something you helped with in national press in national shops!



























What do you think of the shoot? Has anyone had any internship luck recently? Any features or work to share? We all have to celebrate our achievements and stick together!

Katie xxx

Spending splurges: #4 Jewellery special

Yes, I am still rattling through some recent spending splurges despite currently being on a lock down. To be honest something quite miraculous has happened which makes the post just a tad more interesting. I have spent a hefty amount of my recent wages on jewellery. Yes I said it, jewellery. I am serious. For all those of you are a bit confused by this statement, staring at the screen doing an unimpressed 'yer and?' sort of look -this is big news. Let me explain.

I may have mentioned this before but I normally avoid parting with my cash on accessories due to the cost. I love necklaces, rings mostly and bracelets. I AM a magpie to all things shiny and sparkly but I just find the cost of it unjustifiable. I am a clothes junkie and would much rather that £15 go towards a new top than a sparkly chain or similar. Fact is I am being completely ignorant to fashion. We all know accessories can transform an outfit and this is a big lesson I have learnt recently. And I've gone crazy. Ok, so a little confession, all these purchases have been influenced by red sale stickers helping ease the pain but nevertheless, I have invested and my accessory hooks are bulging by the day. So take a look and let me know what you think. You may notice a few from my previous posts but I have put them all together to highlight my spending splurge. I am officially over the jewellery virgin label. Someone pass me a gold medal!

Dorothy Perkins - £1

Miss Selfridge/ Outfit

Outfit

Topshop

Dolly Bow Bow

Topshop

MissSelfridge/Outfit set of 4

Dorothy Perkins/ Outfit - set of  4

Topshop (this one tarnished after a couple of wears)

Next

River Island £5

  Dolly Bow Bow, Next.

I am really getting into the 'cross' trend and have about 3 cross rings in total now. I have been wearing the Outfit multi cross chain quite a lot, I love the turquoise and white crosses that have been added to the typical gold chain and the funnel shape is really flattering on plain tops. My biggest disappointment was the layered wire Topshop ring. Ok, so its a cheapy but I was still shocked with it tarnishing after just a few wears.  I think I can just about get away with wearing it and maybe flog it as a new jewellery colour? 

Whats your favourite from my collection? Any jewellery magpies out there?

Katie xxx

Spending splurges III

After reading Emmerliejays post on her new Topshop ankle boots and spotting a few people in London, I have been toying friviously with the idea of purchasing a pair of ankle boots. I loved the edgy look they were giving peoples outfits, it instantly attracting my grungy side. The cheaper alternative Emmerliejay came up with (here) which really fitted the bill for my tight budget type of spending, so I decided to do a bit more research into my upcoming investment.

I decided to play around with some outfit ideas which you will find in my post here to really make sure this wasn't going to be another pair left in the back of the cupboard. I have only ever had one pair of boots I have loved. My military, or JLS boots (nickname created from many HILARIOUS unfashionably educated men, cough - bitter? no.) from River Island have literally seen better days after the fit felt like Cinderellas glittery slipper. The look was also perfect for rocking up some of my looks and of course they were ideal for saving my tiny toes from the winter cold. (However, it must me noted there was NO grip on the sole which didn't save my humiliation on a few slips and slides.)

But I took the plunge and went straight in and brought the Topshop alternatives Emmerliejay recommended. I really did love these and with a cheeky bit of student discount they really are a steal. I decided to keep in the bag for a few days however in case I found something else I liked after looking online. I cant really explain it more than a fashion sixth sense and it obviously meant something as I came across these and just fell in love. PERFECTION.

These are from Next at £65. They are a little more pricey but with my discount only came more expensive to the Topshop pair by £5. The heel is a little higher and combined with the cut around the ankle makes my legs look a lot slimmer, or so I feel. The studs and the silver plating on the ankle make them a bit more unique and as I always say....will  help 'rock up' my outfits a bit. I love them, litterally LOVE, I am so happy I waited out. They are actually pretty much identical to Emmerliejays Amelie Topshop boots apart from a slightly higher heel ( I think). I didn't really realise untill I wrote up this post so I hope she doesn't mind - I obviously just loved the ones she chose! A happy shopper indeed :)

K xx

Outfit post: Let the sun shine

It was sunny this morning when I got up so I thought I'd embrace the sunshine in attempt to keep it around. I am quite looking forward to winter to be honest after spotting all the new season stock in shops but today, I felt celebrating the last of the sunshine. Excuse the bathroom backdrop, this isn't my attempt at a location shoot I promise, my photographer just wasn't around today. It's pretty hard to do a full shot by yourself especially when I am without a tripod so I hope this still gives the idea. (Yes, you guessed it, my tripod is on my 'I need' list) These shorts are so comfy I love wearing them and I felt the longer sleeves on this top prevented me from the 'beach look' as well as keeping me a tad warmer. I matched it with my grey ballerina pumps but I think if the weather had been just a tad warmer I could have got away with my tan wedges or greek style sandals.  Has anyone else been in denial of the winter weather?

Katie xx

Top, Next. Necklace, Asos. Shorts Missselfridge.

Thank you gifts

Hello, sorry for the 10 day delay in posting. How are we all? I have recently been offered a new contract at work so I have been busy trying to balance this with CV writing and job applications. Anyone else still struggling with the career ladder? I'd love some reassurance during this time. My days seem to be full of writing CVs, thinking about CVs or writing a to do list of CV writing...oh and dreaming about CVs!! All with the over consumption of chocolate to comfort my unemployement fears. This irrational behaviour meant a break was definitely in order....back to blogging! :)

This post is one I meant to do a while ago after finishing my internship at B public relations. I've been doing some serious blog catching up so apologies for it not coming sooner.

I was extremely flattered to be given a bag of goodies when I left Boudoir (now B public relations) and was so excited to be able to experiment with a few brands I havn’t ever brought into.

Firstly these 5 pots of Ciate nail varnishes were a big love. I have seen the brand featured on quite a few blogs recently so have been interested in investing in some shades – I am so thankful I got them for free! A double bonus was when I spotted I had been given a croc embossed effect set in gold and purple. I have been wanting to try the crack effect out since last winter, I just had not got round to updating my nail varnish set. This look will be perfect for this Christmas and the party nights ahead. The purple is really wintery and warm with the gold adding a bit of glamour. This single pots are also ideal colours for me. The plain berry colour ‘guest list’ 042 is a mega heart as I adore deep palette paints to edge up an outfit. The grey ‘cream soda’ will be great in pushing me to experiment with my shades and the brighter ‘cabaret pink’ 046 adds a wicked paint to make the three a dynamic trio. I am not really a baby pink or pastel nail varnish girl, I like to keep my nails dark and grungy so these are PERFECT! 

Also included in my goodie bag were some Nourish products; a cleanser, toner and a face mousteriser. First of all I have to say, I have never used a cleanser or toner before in this sort of a trio. I normally either just moisturize, sometimes use a black head face scrub or a moisturizing make up remover for my daily beauty routine – well, when I can be bothered. Because of this I don't feel I can really review the Toner as I don't have much to compare it to and don't know anything about toners in general. To me they seem a bit of random product with not much purpose. I would love some advice and tips on this so I can really understand their purpose. 

The cleanser was a thin gel rather than the cream I expected ( I don't know why I expected this just assumptions!). I didn't need much to cover my face and to be honest, I used little due to being concious of the zingy scent. The orange and mandarin is really powerful in this product and having sensitive skin which has suffered from rashes with orange based products in the past, I am always weary. It really feels like you have squeezed oranges onto your face which is a bit odd. This will be either a love or hate for many. My favourite was the moisturizer. Having dry skin  I have a lot more experience in this area. Again the scent of this product is quiet strong but held more of a musky scent than the other two products. Not much is needed and it is a bit heavier with a creamy sort of base rather than some gel ones I have used. I felt a bit of tinglyness if I am honest, now that might be my paranoia but other than that my skin feels really soft and I would use it again. Has anyone else used any Nourish products? I am going to continue using this trio for a while to see if this improves my skin at all so if anything else changes, I will let you know.

I was then given a wonderful card full of messages from the girls. It was so lovely to read all the comments and to hear my time at the office was appreciated and worth while to them. I am going to miss the girls and can’t thank them enough for my lovely gifts!

Has anyone else been lucky enough to be given any goodies from any work placements? Work experience may be tiring when all you want to do is succeed but honestly, it is worth it. You just got to push through the storm to see the rainbow. :). Internships are becoming  my forte at the moment (another sleep, eat breath syndrome) so I would be really interested to hear on anyone elses experiences - leave me a comment and we can natter!

Katie xx

How to wear ankle boots

I thought I would try a styling post in between my forever on going 'Spending Splurges' posts. I always have a lot more courage when I am at home on my laptop to try different styles and mixing them together. I find I notice new styles too online instead of heading straight to the obvious pieces that I do in the shops. Now, I am not claiming anything CRAZY or EXCENTRIC here just some outfits that maybe I wouldn't always pick up on a normal shopping trip. I decided to focus on ankle boots after deliberating for a while to invest in some. I had been doing a lot of research online and had been trying to think what I could wear them with and then thought - hey! This would make a worth while post! What do you think? Are you falling for the new ankle boot craze?

As much as I love these Jeffery Campbells, I think they will sadly be on my 'I want' list for a long time to come. These office ankle boots however are definitely going to make their way into my wardrobe. £70 seems like a lot to me as a I rarely spend over £40 quid on clothes unless its extra special but actually for real leather winter boots I can't complain!

Much love. Katie xx

How to wear ankle boots - day time rock by katie-constable featuring a rucksack bag