All About the Shoes

Last week I gave you 4 easy ways to elevate any outfit (Er, place don’t hate me for using the word “elevate” here, like the basic blogger I am…), and this week I’d like to add two more:

01.

Red shoes

In my last post on this subject, I talked about how high heels have the magical ability to make any outfit look that little bit more special, but you know what’s even better than high heels? RED high heels. Or, actually, ANY kind of red shoe, really: I’m wearing stilettos here, obviously, but this outfit would have worked just as well with red flats, and I generally find that, if I’m having myself a bit of a ‘meh’ day, outfit wise, red shoes are often the answer to it: I just love the way the colour pops against jeans (or dresses, or trousers, or whatever it is you’re wearing), and while there are some colour combos I avoid, red is a lot more versatile than you might think, which is one more reason to love it.

These shoes are by Steve Madden at House of Fraser, and I’ve already planned another 6,765 outfits around them*, so don’t say I didn’t warn you…

(*Slight exaggeration. Only slight, though.)

Which brings me to my second item:

02.

A slogan sweater

So, I am obsessed with slogan sweaters right now. OBSESSED. Honestly, I don’t even care what they say at this point: obviously some random French phrase would be the ultimate slogan sweater achievement, but ‘Adore’ works just fine for me too – although, honestly, this sweater could probably have said, “Hi, I’m Amber, and I’ll wear anything with a slogan on it,” and I’d STILL have wanted it, so, yeah, I’m possibly not the best judge of slogans, really.

Still, I do love them, and for the same reason I love red shoes, classic trenchcoats and great accessories: because they have the power to make a basic “jeans and sweater” outfit just a tiny bit more interesting – and given that jeans and sweaters are pretty much all I ever wear right now, I need all the help I can get in that department.

Oh, and speaking of classic trench coats, I have a new one of those, too:

This one’s by Oasis at House of Fraser, and yes, I know it might LOOK a lot like all of the other trench coats I’ve shown you, but it’s actually totally different. No, really, it is! See, my other beige trenchcoat is a waterproof one, so, as much as I love it, and wear the hell out of it, I’ve always been just a little bit frustrated by the fact that it doesn’t really drape all that well. I spotted this one a couple of weeks ago while I was out shopping with Max, though, and I’ve been obsessing about it ever since, so I’d like to thank House of Fraser for making my beige trench coat dreams come true.

And seriously: it IS a TOTALLY different shade of beige from my last one, I swear…

This post is sponsored by House of Fraser.

I’m wearing:

Steve Madden shoes

Oasis trench, jeans and shirt

Mint Velvet sweater