OOTD; Faux Fur&Mango Nails

coat | topshop via. depop | £35.00

dress | asos sale

watch | olivia burton 

I never really used to wear a lot of black but recently I've been quite liking the idea of an all black outfit teamed with a patterned jacket or coat. I spotted this coat on Depop, I liked it when it was first released by Topshop (about a year ago now) so I'm extremely happy that I managed to get it for sure a reasonable price, I love how it has just a hint of leopard print too. 

Something that I still find amazing, is the idea of fragranced nail varnish! I'm one of these people that hates the idea of 'nail time' from taking old nail varnish off to the headache (mainly the smell) of reapplying a new one.. even though I hate painting them, I love how they look once done, so my realising this lovely orange coloured nail varnish actually smells like mangoes made my Sunday night (pretty sad, I know). This one is called Mango Madness by Revlon but I'm pretty sure they must have a whole line or at least a few more of these dreamy smelling varnishes..

Hope you're all well.

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OOTD; Leopard Print&Trainers

pastel leopard print top | tk maxx | £20.00

pvc skirt | asos | oldish 

bag | monki | £15.00

new balance trainers | asos | £70.00

This weekend me and my boyfriend headed to a trainer 'festival' which was on in Liverpool, I'm not usually one for trainers but I thought it sounded like something a bit different and actually turned out to be really good. Of course a trainer festival was the perfect place to wear my new trainers, they are the first pair I've bought since I was around thirteen, maybe even younger but I loved the pastel colours and knew I'd get quite a lot of wear out of them because I could style them with the clothes I already have. I went for the pastel leopard print as I thought it was quite nice with the pastel trainers and a simple white skirt to break it all up slightly.

Luckily it was a really beautiful day here in Liverpool on Saturday, and I can't believe how beautiful this wall was with all the illustrations on. After the trainer festival we headed down to the Albert Docks for some lunch, it was lovely with the sun shining. Lunch made me think how glad I was that I'd worn this PVC skirt after I got far to greedy eating a chocolate fondue, most of which ended up all over me.

I'm not sure if the Laces Out trainer festival was just a one off or if it's a regular thing but I really would recommend it, even if you just went for a little look around or for a treat for your boyfriend/ friend. Although they did have girls trainers for sale, the festival was aimed to males and had probably everything a boy could want on a sunny Saturday .. beer, a quirky barbers and a whole heap of trainers for sale and to swap, along with a DJ and a few independent stalls selling clothing too.

You can see the Facebook page here if you do fancy having a look.

I hope you're all well & enjoyed your weekend, whatever you got up to. 

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Never Say No; Expensive Inspiration

Recently I've been having one of those times were you want to dress like all the other people you see online, in the street, on blogs (etc.) rather than actually having to wear the clothes in your own wardrobe (all those ones you suddenly despise no matter how much they cost, even if they were bought just a few weeks ago). 

Now I'm not sure if this is just a phase that only I go through but I'm hoping not, anyway whenever I start doing this whole "I neeeeeeeed new clothes" routine, I like to create kind of mood boards // a source of inspiration that I can look at and think how can I adapt the clothes I already have to create my own take on these kind of outfits. 

I know that will probably sound like the most boring thing in the world to some of you but I find it quite fun (sad, I know) plus I also manage to save a bit of money by re-styling what I already have meaning I can buy a few new, maybe slightly more expensive items. 

Anyway I thought I'd share this mood board with you& what it has made me want to buy/ try to recreate with my current clothes.

ONE // A NEW PINK COAT

miu miu coat // here

lavin coat // here

shrimps // here & here

Coats are my downfall, I have a stupid amount of them although to be fair to myself I do get a lot of wear out of every single one, actually one in particular is my pastel pink topshop faux fur that I bought a year& a bit ago now. The coat isn't so much faux fur, just kind of 'a little bit fluffy' (great material description for a fashion student there). Anyway its safe to safe I've had my wear out of it for the £100 that I paid and there's only so many times that I can keep getting it dry cleaned, hoping some sort of miracle will happen in there and make it look just as new as I very first bought it. 

I'm going to start having a good look round into a new pink coat that I will get just as much wear out of, &can finally give my current one a little break / retirement. 

TWO // FEDORA HAT

burgundy&black // marks and spencers 

grey // whistles

I find that wearing a hat instantly makes you feel as if you've put a lot more effort into an outfit, kind of just finishes a whole look off properly.

I've had the same fedora hat which I wear none stop for a good while now, although I have been on the hunt for a new one none seem to be the new 'the one', for example they are always to big for my head, they make my face look huge, not the right colour.. fussy I know but the fedora hunt goes on.

THREE // TEXTURES, PATTERNS AND PRINTS

This is something I want to try out a little bit more, usually with a patterned skirt I would wear a plain top, maybe with a texture however I want to start being a bit more adventurous, by adventurous I mean maybe the odd stripy top with a leopard skirt rather than a plain blouse.. nothing too wild.

Anyway, I hope this post is something a little bit different & that you are all doing well.

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OOTD; Barbara Hulanicki Dress

dress | Barbara Hulanicki bought from Depop | £50.00

hat | old 

shoes | new look | £10 in the sale

watch is Oliva Burton & necklace is Alex Monroe

I won't write to much about this dress as I have already said quite alot about in in my last post, ( which you can see here if you want to). I have wanted it for actual years though and finally have my hands on it. I've wore it so much already as its so simple to style yet still looks like you've put effort into your outfit. 

Just quickly too, I've set up an instagram account just for my Bird Bloom blog, (mainly so I can stop bombarding my friends with photographs of things I've bought) you can follow the blog instagram here or just search ; bird_bloom on the app. 

I hope you're all well. 

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Something A Bit New; February Favourites

I've been a fan of the whole monthly favourites/what people are loving that month for quite a while now (& kept telling myself it was something I could start to blog about on here) so here I am finally getting around to having a go of creating my own. 

I have included quite a lot of things, quite varied favourites too not just clothes. 

FIJI Water

I'm a tiny bit ashamed to admit this but I am one of these people who buys things with the whole 'I'll keep the bottle idea in my head when paying at the till' so I admit that I did initially buy this water for the bottle (&after seeing it all over instagram) however once I had actually drank the water I could taste how different it was, I think it tastes quite like evian, which is my favourite type of bottled water so its nice to have an alternative. Personally I have only managed to buy this water from Selfridge's however I'm sure you can buy it from other places, it costs around £1.50 so not to bad.

Charbonnel et Walker Champagne Truffles  

For a good few years now I have loved this brand of chocolate, however its only ever a treat. My nan used to always buy me a little box of the pink champagne ones for special occasions and even on the odd trip to the garden centre which stocked them. I keep every box once I've eaten the chocolates as they are great to put little trinkets and bits in. However when I spotted this bar version of the chocolate (which is the same as the truffles but in a chocolate bar shape), I thought I'd give it a go, although I do prefer the truffles it was nice to try something a little bit new and different. 

If you're interested in seeing all the choice of truffles (trust me, its worth a look) then you can have a little peek here.

LUSH Unicorn Horn

This is another 'I seen it on instagram&had to try for myself' thing, apparently the Unicorn Horn was only limited edition for Valentines Day so if you see one and want it, quickly grab it as once they are gone, they are gone. I got mine on Sunday so there are still some around, you'd just have to be quick. The unicorn horn is a bubble bar which I prefer as I get a few baths out of them, usually two or three smells quite like lavender/floral but still a bit sweet. 

I'm really happy that I managed to get my hands on this& can't wait to use it.

Bat Notebook

Stationary is my downfall so when I spotted this little notebook in IKEA last week I couldn't help but pop it in my basket (well IKEA plastic bag). 

The notebook was only £3 which I think is so cheap for a notebook which is quite high quality too. The pages aren't lined so you could write/draw any old things in it& if you aren't a fan of the little bat then there was also sausage dogs with blue pages and a vintage looking bike one too. 

ELLE Magazine

This months ELLE was a particular favourite, some of my favourite features were based on the stars of the ADVANCED STYLE blog including Linda Rodin and a peek into her wardrobe favourites.

This month also included a free benefit mascara (the roller lash)& I was seriously impressed with it, so much that I'm already on the look out to purchase it full size. 

£4.00 for a magazine and a travel size mascara is pretty cheap I believe.

DAZED Magazine

This was the first time I've actually purchased Dazed magazine and not just had a quick flick through of it then put it back on the shelf. I'm actually really glad that I picked it up as really loved quite a few of the photo shoots featured within the magazine and it gave me quite a lot of inspiration for my uni work. I think it will definitely be buying it again in the future, at around £4.50 I think its pretty well priced too.

Barbara Hulanicki Dress

I have been trying to get my hands on this Barbara Hulanicki dress which was designed for Topshop a good few years ago now, for actual months. Its been one of those items which you just constantly think about until you finally get your hands on it. Whenever I've been on eBay looking for it, it was either only available in a really small size, or priced at over £100. Although I have been tempted to just click the Buy it Now on many occasions (trust me, I've been pretty close way to many times) I was just never sure if it would be worth it or in very good condition & for £100 I'd like to actually get one that I could get some wear out of at least a few times.

This is were the Depop app made my Barbara Hulanicki dress of dreams come true& I manage to purchase this for just £50 off the most lovely girl too. She wrapped the dress up so perfectly in tissue paper and I could tell straight away that the dress had been well looked after. 

I've had it on none stop since buying the dress& can tell its going to be a firm favourite in my wardrobe for a long time.

Elvis / Quirky Packaging 

My last favourtie is abit of a random one but I thought I'd include it anyway. As you have probably guessed already I'm a big fan of how things a packed and branded, anyway earlier in the month I stayed in a hotel in Birmingham& couldn't help but be a huge fan of the free toiletries (well the branding atleast). This soap as you can see from the images had a quirky touch as well as the coolest illustration of Elvis on. I loved it so much I brought the empty box home just to blog about it.

What more could you want from a soap than it to smell nice & have Elvis on..

I hope this post has been a bit of a change (hopefully a good one too) &that you're all well.

Is there anything you've been really liking this month?

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OOTD; Valentines Day

mac | zara sale | £40.00

clutch bag | dorothy perkins | £20ish

shoes | asos | a gift

For valentines I headed up to Birmingham to see my boyfriend, we had a really lovely weekend& even got to have lunch on the 25th floor at Marco Pierre White's restaurant.

 I haven't got a photograph of the dress I wore underneath this jacket but you can see it here online.

It's from Oh My Love with the cross front style, &also in the sale now so if you fancy a sneaky bargain then I really would recommend the dress. I think the only problem I had was I probably wore it to the wrong occasion, its maybe more of a night out dress than an afternoon/lunch time meal.

Speaking of bargains, I wanted to share this emerald green mac I picked up for the ZARA sale last weekend, I didn't think I'd be able to wear it quite as much as I already have but actually found it really easy to style. 

I think it was such a steal for just £40 &believe it was originally £100, it's already becoming my 'go to' coat after just one week of having it.

I hope you're all well & enjoyed the weekend no matter what you got up to ♡♡

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I'm Not Usually One For Trainers..

As you can probably tell by the title of this post it's something a little bit different for me. I've never been a fan of trainers, well apart from when I was a full blown tomboy about 11 years old or so, (not my best look) but recently I've been finding myself looking at quite a lot of trainers& thinking how I could style them/fit them into my wardrobe as it currently is. 

I don't want to start wearing joggers&jumpers or anything like that, (although I did buy some recently for the very very rare occasion I make it to the gym/swimming) but more with the likes of a midi skirt &oversized coat. 

I thought I'd put a few looks together that could inspire me& maybe even some of you..

look ONE

trainers | here | £90

I liked the idea of a patterned/printed trainer with a quirky looking garment to keep an outfit quite playful& fun, nothing to plain.

This skirt is Moschino so a little bit pricey however I love the whole cartooned skirt idea.

look TWO 

trainers | Dolce & Gabbanna | £££

As this outfit is a little more plain, I've added some different layers& length's to make it something that could become a quite statement look. 

I think the midi style would be nice with the trainers as is would show 'just enough' leg for these cold days, also the turban/hat adds just a slight bit of pattern to the outfit.

look THREE

trainers | adidas | £70

I fell in love with these adidas trainers when I very first saw them but I didn't end up buying them as I'm still not sure if I'd get my wear out of them, they are still a maybe though.

I would wear them with something similar to how I've shown above, I liked the idea of a really oversized duster/boyfriend coat and visible ankles. 

At the moment I think the whole trainer buying situation is still an on going do I/don't I idea but we'll see..

The past few weeks I have bought quite a few new bits, things I've wanted for awhile& a few bargains from the sales too (mainly ASOS), so I have quite a lot of outfits which I want to blog about soon. Now my deadlines in uni are starting to ease off I will have a bit more free time to create posts, so hopefully get back into a few post per week. 

I hope you're all well.

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all images via. Polyvore