WHY YOU SHOULD INVEST IN A CALVIN KLEIN BRA

I'm pretty sure we have all seen the endless pictures of Kendall Jenner accompanied by #mycalvins and either openly or secretly wished we owned a pair to flaunt in the way she does. I was lucky enough to get a white Calvin Klein bra 'crop top' for my birthday and 2 weeks later I'm here to persuade you all to buy one for yourselves.

1. The comfort
Because this is kind of like a sports bra cut, forget the underwire, overly tight straps and hook and eye closures that cannot be undone with one hand, it is potentially the most comfortable thing I have worn. Of course it doesn't give as much support as a regular bra, but just don't wear this for the days you are marching round town doing Christmas shopping.

2. You can wear it literally anywhere
I have never been a person to wear a bra while sleeping (I know there is argument about whether you should, or shouldn't and what is best for you, but I just cannot be dealing with that discomfort when I'm trying to sleep), but this is one that is somewhat acceptable to wear in bed because of the comfort. I won't lie, it is pretty liberating to be wearing this and a pair of shorts in bed. I will wear this around the house aswell, and the days it is in the wash are sad ones.

3. It still looks good no matter how, or where you wear it (plus you feel bloody brilliant in it)
For me, this stands as my favourite bra now, forget the fancy lace numbers with all the enhancements - this is bra I feel the best in by a mile. For my age, and petite size I have quite large boobs, and I don't really enjoy the way they look most the time (of course those with a smaller pair will say the opposite and wish for them), but in this bra that isn't the case. This white one is a little on the sheer side in certain lighting (something to bear in mind if you are wearing it out), but it doesn't stop me rocking it on the daily.

If I haven't sold you these enough, take the fact that I am putting aside a chunk of my next paycheck to treat myself to both the grey and the black versions as your final hint...

UNIQUE JEWELLERY STORAGE

 URBAN OUTFITTERS WHITE ANTELOPE TRINKET HOLDER 

I'm constantly looking for ways to both store and display my rather extensive jewellery collection (H&M is my favourite place for jewellery - both inexpensive and very pretty) and I hit the jackpot recently in Urban Outfitters with this white ceramic dish with an antelope head to hang things from. I tried to get a link for you all because I got this in the sale for a couple of pounds, but it has sold out. But, on the plus side they have multiple other variations of these 'trinket holders'.

I really like this to just sit on top of my IKEA Alex unit which holds all my beauty and makeup bits, and it just looks really clean and chic I guess. Although not the biggest of storage methods, it definitely makes an impact and is unique to anything I have. I like the fact that you can lay things in the base and then hang rings or small necklaces from the ears and horns (are they called horns?! Don't quote me on that...). I just generally like the aesthetics of this holder, it is so simple, and ugh, there are just no words. 

This purchase has definitely made me want to branch out a bit more with my storage - perhaps I'll turn to Pinterest for some inspiration.

THE WHITE DENIM DRESS

DRESS: NEW LOOK // SUNGLASSES: PRIMARK

Denim is having a bit of a thing in my mind at the moment - and lustings for dungarees, cutoffs, mom jeans and dresses are becoming more than frequent, and I guess we should just thank my bank balance for not allowing such purchases to get out of hand. I spotted this dress in New Look the other day and instantly fell in love. The best part? It was only £12 in the sale. 

I picked this up thinking it wouldn't fit, being a UK size 8 (I'm generally a 10) - but I tried this on and it fit so well - nice and fitting at the top and looser at the skirt, made slightly more casual by the two large pockets on the front. It's quite a shift dress kind of style, however because of how it fits me the skirt looks a little more a-line which I like. 

The V Neck caught my attention as I like that style on me, but perhaps the most grabbing part of this dress for me was the raw hem - it seemed to give a really grungy and casual vibe to the piece, and that secured my want to purchase this. Being denim too, it feels like it has a good quality weight to it which I really enjoy, especially as it was so affordable. I cannot wait to start finding ways to style this both casually and slightly smarter. 

DAILY GRUNGE - THE OUTFIT

Flannel - H&M  /  Vest - TkMaxx  /  Bag - H&M  /  Jeans - Primark  /  Shoes - New Balance 410

The majority of my wardrobe consists of monochrome so for me it's not difficult to create grungy, dingy looks, but today I think the combination was worthy of a post itself. A black and white flannel shirt seems to make any outfit that little bit more edgy and it just seemed to pair really well with the sort of acid wash grey loose vest. I actually found it in TkMaxx for £8 the other day and instantly imagined this outfit, and it's lovely quality too. 

I think some ripped jeans would have tied this outfit together that little bit more, however they were in the wash so standard, slightly looser jeans were on the cards. I've also got a corresponding makeup look too with quite a warm red smokey eye and some cool toned lips that'll be going up at some point soon, so look forward to that one. 

A MONOCHROME MANICURE

As a change from the festive reds, glitters and just coloured manicures in general, I recently decided to experiment with monochrome nails; greys, blacks and whites. Almost my entire wardrobe consists of monochrome garments so why not incorporate that obsession into a manicure?

The first offering is Ciaté Cream Soda, a pale, cool toned grey that looks effortless and chic on it's own and slightly more edgy when layered with a glitter like the Next Confetti Effect Polish in New Tricks; a clear base jam packed with odd geometric shaped glitter and small circular flecks. I really like the look of this one on the nails, although I would recommend using two layers of topcoat as the glitters do curl up slightly and catch on things.

The two classic black and white polishes are from Mint London, a brand I decided to try at the Clothes Show Live, as they were running a 4 for £5 offer alongside a large goody bag too. I've only used the black - Cirque Le Soir so far, and it was extremely glossy and opaque in 2 coats, although I could have gotten away with one thicker coat. My only complaint is the drying time, as it is quite a thick polish but I used my Ciaté Speed Coat over it and they were touch dry in a couple of minutes. The white is called Dogtown and I am tempted to use this one soon, as I do think white nails have such a crisp look... until you get a smear of ink on a nail in the school day.

Have you ventured into the monochrome manicure world yet?

ALL MONOCHROME EVERYTHING

PLAID SHIRT: NEXT £16 (SALE)

FELINE MEOW TEE: EBAY £7.99 

DISCO PANTS: PRIMARK £16

CHUNKY SANDALS: NEW LOOK £24.99 
CHAIN NECKLACE: OLD

PHOTOS: THE BEAUTY PIER

Today marks the day in which I will be putting up an outfit post and what should be an ongoing theme most weekends if you enjoy this one (let me know in the comments).
I am a lover of monochrome and so putting this outfit together was no chore, and I feel like the Next Plain/Flannel shirt really made the outfit come together - so a thanks to Megan for letting me borrow hers, I am not on the hunt for one of my own.

The chunky sandals with the turned up disco pants seem to add a bit more 'glam' if you will to the casual upper half of the outfit, and I honestly think the balance is just right with this outfit.

Do let me know if you enjoyed this post, I plan for them to be quite concise when I put them up, as a nice end to the week of posts here on the blog.