Alice Porter 2/24/19 Alice Porter 2/24/19

Spring Style Inspiration

Some links in this post are affiliate links which means I earn a small amount of commission if you buy an item.

So it’s February and I'm already thinking about spring but with the UK weather as nice as it is, how can I not? I mean, I left the house wearing no layers other than a t-shirt and a cardigan the other day. I am loving it! The change in weather has come at the perfect time as I have been getting so bored of winter dressing and am ready to start changing things up. So, I thought I’d go through some of the trends/colours/patterns etc. I’m feeling inspired by for spring dressing. It’s a little different to my normal posts as there are no photos of me/taken by me but I hope you don't mind!

I’m not only writing this post because I’m excited about spring but also because I’m trying to think more consciously about the things that I’m buying, so laying everything out I’m feeling inspired by like this ensures I’m able to make more sensible shopping choices. With that, here’s some things that are inspiring me for spring…

Neutrals (Stick of Butter)

I know I’m not alone in saying that I’m feeling super inspired by neutral tones and colours, I mean, they’re everywhere. I’ve always been someone who likes to incorporate colour into my outfit but I am actually so on board with this trend. Wearing head-to-toe neutrals (in what Man Repeller would call ‘the stick of butter’) is one of the most bold and striking ways to dress in my opinion, even more so than wearing lots of colour. Plus, it looks so effortlessly chic.

Despite neutrals being on trend at the moment, they’re not really ever going to go out of style, so I’m definitely looking to invest in some neutral pieces, specifically a pair of tailored trousers and some trainers (I LOVE the pumps in this image).

Here are some other things on my neutrals wish list:

Pastel Checks (Dressing like a picnic blanket)

Image taken from @michellemdriscoll on Instagram.

I’m always into check/gingham whatever the season. But I am particularly excited about pastel checks, especially when they come in the form of a midi dress, for spring! I already have a baby blue check H&M blazer from last year that I’m planning on pulling out from hibernation but I would definitely like to invest in some more check print, like I said, particularly in the form of a midi dress. I absolutely adore the & Other Stories midi dress in this photo but it’s a little bit spendy so I might have to look for another option…

Here’s the link to that dress and some other checked beauties…

baby blue

Blue has always been one of my favourite colours to wear but I’m particularly loving baby blue for spring. It’s a colour that just feels like spring, plus, it looks great with neutrals. I’m 100% going to get the beautiful midi skirt pictured below when I can afford it and I’d also really like to get some baby blue knitwear. The Rixo dress pictured below is literally my dream but, alas, very much out of my budget. If anyone knows of a dupe please let me know!

feminine shoes

From slingbacks, to Mary Janes, to ballet pumps, I love how super feminine shoes look. My very wide feet don’t take to them as much as my taste in clothing does but I’m willing to suffer a little for a really good pair of shoes. I have some great slingbacks from Primark (their shoes are so great) that I picked up last year as well as some very old Mary Janes from ASOS that are falling apart but I still love.

I love how chunky heels look on a slingback but I don’t think I’d get very much wear out of them as I spend most of my time working at my desk or in lectures, but if I find a fairly affordable pair maybe I’ll pick them up for occasions when I actually do have the opportunity to dress up.

My favourite way to style a feminine shoe is with more of a masculine trouser/pair of jeans with a feminine blouse and a (faux) leather jacket. The contrast between masculine/feminine in an outfit like this always looks so cool and timeless.

Red is the ultimate feminine colour in my eyes so it feels only right to find a pair of ultra feminine shoes in this shade, even if they are a little bit ‘There’s no place like home’. Topshop brought out an incredible pair last year and I’ve always regretted not buying them so if I do find a pair this year I’m definitely going to take them home with me.

Here’s some feminine shoes I’ve found that you can shop now:

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post! Let me know in the comments if you’re into any of the same things for spring styling as I am or, if not, what you’re looking forward to wearing this spring.

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January 27, 2019

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October 21, 2018

Where I Find Style Inspiration

October 21, 2018

October 7, 2018

How to Follow Trends Without Losing Your Personal Style

October 7, 2018

Alice Porter 10/7/18 Alice Porter 10/7/18

How to Follow Trends Without Losing Your Personal Style

Photography by Ami Ford.

The content of this week's blog post is primarily style-based, which is a little bit unusual for me. However it seems very apt as I've been ridiculously excited about autumn/winter fashion recently and it's all I can think about/spend my money on. Even now I'm excited at the thought of getting dressed today so I can wear my new Topshop midi skirt. Anyway, we're one paragraph in and I'm off on a tangent. Lets get back to the point of this post, following trends without losing your personal style.

I wouldn't really say that I've got my personal style down to a tee and if you asked me to summarise it, I wouldn't know how. But I know when I'm wearing something that feels like 'me' and I know when I'm wearing something that doesn't. I think that's essentially what personal style is. But something that can get in the way of your personal style is trend pieces, especially the ones that everyone on Instagram is going crazy for. Sometimes, when seeing a piece on your favourite blogger, it's difficult to tell whether it's the piece they're wearing that you like or if it's how it looks on them that draws you to it. I've wasted a fair amount of money in the past on trend pieces that just weren't for me and didn't align with my style, mostly because of the reason above and also because sometimes seeing something so much can actually make you think you like it.

Anyway, I styled this outfit based on some of this season's current trends while still maintaining a sense of my personal style. So, based on this outfit, I'm going to provide some tips on, in my opinion, the best ways to follow and style trends.

1. Style Your Trend Pieces with Your Staple Pieces

I think one way that people's personal style can become lost by trend pieces is when their entire outfit is made up from them. This is why I struggle to get on board with co-ords sometimes, such as leopard print co-ords or the matching flared pants and crop tops, because I feel like by wearing them I could lose my personal style. But if you pair your trend pieces with your staple pieces, there's always going to be an element of 'you' within your outfit. Here I've paired 3 trend items, the cargo pants, leopard print shoes and hair clips, with 3 staple items, a simple black cami, a simple gold necklace and a classic croc print shoulder bag. Part of this tip is also ensuring you have those staple pieces in your wardrobe (mine would probably be a white t-shirt, a pair of straight leg jeans, my Vans and a leather jacket) because they are always going to make your style feel like 'you'.

2. Think About It and Experiment

This tip relates back to my earlier point about seeing a trend piece on someone who's style you like and thinking you want it for yourself. Before following a direct link to buy the item, think about how it would fit into your wardrobe. Come up with at least 3 ways you would wear the item. If you can't do this, you shouldn't really be buying it in my opinion as it's inevitably going to be one of the items that sits in the back of your wardrobe. I wasn't sure how the hair clip trend was going to fit in with my personal style, as I tend to really enjoy wearing my hair loose and a little bit messy. But I thought about it for a couple of months and tried some different types of hair clips on in store before finally deciding to give it a go. I'm quite confident wearing hair clips now as I thought a lot about how I would wear them (and even dedicated a Pinterest board to them) before buying some. But I feel as though if I would have bought them as soon as seeing them on someone whose style I admire, this confidence wouldn't have been there.

FYI: I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with not liking a trend at first and eventually allowing it to grow on you, as long as this isn't just because you've seen it on so many people. Your style might have slightly changed from when you first saw it or you might have discovered new ways to style it. Just make sure you're consciously thinking about the reasons why your mind has changed to avoid wasting your money.

3. Pair Trendy Patterns with Staple Shapes or Trendy Shapes with Staple Patterns/Colours

This is a rule I try and stick to although, of course it's completely fine to try new shapes and patterns. However it is a good way of ensuring trend pieces you spend money on aren't too out there that you're going to be scared to wear them. What I mean by this tip is, for example, if you want to buy into the leopard print trend, choose a piece that is in a shape that you're comfortable wearing (such as an A-Line skirt or a blazer). Or, alternatively, if you're buying into a trend based on style or shape, such as the silk/satin midi skirt trend, choose one in a colour that you're comfortable wearing.

I wasn't 100% sure about the animal print trend (I'm still very skeptical of the snake print trend, I don't think it's for me) but I have eventually picked up some leopard print bits that I've definitely got wear out of, such as these Primark shoes. These shoes were only £6 so they weren't much of an investment piece anyway but, even so, I don't think that's a reason to buy things without thinking about them because firstly, little things add up and, secondly, I want to own things that I love not that I just feel indifferent towards. And I knew I was going to get so much wear out of these shoes because I have them in yellow and wore them to death during summer. So I knew they were going to be a really good trend-based update to my wardrobe for autumn/winter.

4. Know What The Trends Are

This might be the most important tip because if you don't know what this season's trends are you aren't going to be able to follow the previous tips. Also, most of the time it's important to think of trend items as such so you know not to invest your money in something that's only going to be around for a season or two. By being consciously aware of the trends, you can consider when you see something you like, if you like it because it's a popular item that lots of people have been wearing if you like it because it's something you'd personally feel great in. My favourite way to keep myself up to date with the season's trends is by reading articles and watching videos about them. Megan Ellaby does great videos every season on trend pieces, here is the link to her autumn edition. Karen also did a really great video on the same topic.

I hope this post has been helpful and will inform any shopping you're planing on doing over the next couple of months. I've definitely bought into a few of this seasons' trends such as satin midi skirts, cardigans and leopard print but I'm always conscious of which pieces are going to last me a long time and which pieces aren't and I try and spend my money accordingly. Let me know in the comments or over on social media what your favourite trend of the season is!

Top- Urban Outfitters (old, similar here)

Trousers- New Look via ASOS

Bag- ASOS (sold out, similar here)

Shoes- Primark

Hairclips- Accesorize

Necklace- ASOS

Alice Porter 6/20/18 Alice Porter 6/20/18

Copying VS. Inspiration

Today I want to talk a little bit about the difference between copying and inspiration because there's definitely a fine line between the two. This fine line can often be the reason why people are scared to take inspiration from people, especially in the age of social media where everyone is free to scrutinise and criticise your actions from behind the protection of their computer screen. I often see bloggers and vloggers with a bigger following complain about people copying their ideas and I can imagine that this is so infuriating. If I were to create a series on YouTube, for example, and put hard work into the logistics behind it for someone else to totally steal the idea without any acknowledgement of it being mine, I can't even imagine how I'd feel. But that is straight-up copying. You can't really view it any other way. But if, continuing with this example, said copier was to acknowledge that they took the idea from me (this is totally hypothetical by the way, I don't even make YouTube videos), would that be taking inspiration rather than copying? See what I said about the fine line?

The photos included with this post are actually what gave me the idea for the topic of discussion because I was very much inspired to create this outfit by the blogger, Samantha Maria, someone who I always find myself taking inspiration from as I have spoken about before in my post on styling red and pink. I saw her wear a similar outfit during her trip to Dubai- you can see how she styled the outfit here. Because I put together this outfit based on the inspiration I took from Sammi and because the outfits are similar, I thought this would be an interesting sort of 'case study' to dissect the differences between taking inspiration and copying stylistically.

Comparing my outfit to Sammi's, they look extremely similar. You might be surprised that I'm actually wearing totally different pieces by different brands to Sammi. But I think even if I was wearing the exact top and skirt as her, this still wouldn't necessarily be a case of copying. I think that's because I've styled the outfit to make it my own.

Sammi's outfit very much gives me 'summer in the city' vibes, whereas mine, I think, is much more 'summer on the beach'. This, in part is to do with the locations that we both wore these outfits in but it was also a conscious decision on my behalf to wear this outfit on holiday so I could change it up from hers a little bit. I also think the colour schemes of the outfit are significantly different considering we're both wearing black and white polka dots and denim. Sammi has gone for a monochrome colour scheme whereas I have added some colour into my outfit. I mainly did so because monochrome isn't really my style. Another way in which I made my outfit my own is by using a natural brown coloured straw bag rather than a black one, as Sammi did. Again, this was to ensure it had those summer holiday vibes and to change up the colours of the outfit a little bit. Styling my hair in a loose bun rather than in a messy ponytail and hoop earrings also changed the outfit to one that is a little bit more relaxed and holiday appropriate.

'Making it your own' is probably the second most important thing in order to cross the line from copying to taking inspiration, the first most important thing being acknowledging the original source of inspiration. Acknowledging that you've taken inspiration from someone removes any tension from the situation and, usually, is flattering for the person who has inspired you. People who copy usually are trying to make something that is someone else's look like their own, so by acknowledging that this thing, whether it's an outfit idea or anything else, isn't your own, you remove yourself from that category, in my opinion.

Taking inspiration is such an important thing for me creatively whether that's for my blog design, photography or, usually, my style. I've recently got very into Pinterest and it has been providing me with so much inspiration that hopefully will help to improve my blog content! I have boards for inspiration for each season of the year, a moodboard, a board of imagery that I love and one for photography inspiration (that mostly consists of Francessca Woodman's photos after seeing an exhibition on her work at the weekend). So far, it's been really positive for me creatively and is also a really good way of pinpointing (see what I did there?) where I'm taking inspiration from so I can go back there for more. If you're interested in seeing what's inspiring me, you can take a look at my Pinterest page here!

I hope this post has showed you how beneficial taking inspiration from others can be and maybe helped you to figure out how to do so in a positive way for everyone involved! Sammi actually shared a photo of this outfit from Instagram on her stories as part of her #sammisstylediaries which was really nice because it kind of proves that you can be directly and obviously inspired by someone without causing offence and maybe even flatter them in the process.

I really recommend following Sammi (I mean, if you aren't already) because she is killing it this year, especially on YouTube! Here are some links to her different platforms:

Sammi's Blog

Sammi's Instagram

Sammi's Youtube