Outfit | Basic Fashion Blogger

So, I know I said I’d be flooding the site with outfit photos, because I’m just SO! EXCITED! about spring, but actually, it turns out I’ve totally lost the will to live dress myself, thanks to the whole, “I’ve had paint in my hair for three days now,” situation, so here’s another flashback to what I wore in the days before I woke up in a building site every morning.

(I promise this will be the last time I’ll mention the kitchen in this post, at least. I mean, I”m going to be dedicating a WHOLE ENTIRE POST to it tomorrow, obviously, but for now, let’s try to stay somewhat on topic, shall we? I’m talking to myself here, obviously: YOU were already on topic, weren’t you? OK, moving on…)

Before I go any further, I’m just going to address the obvious: yes, I am totally carrying flowers in my handbag, like the basic fashion blogger I am. REAL people don’t actually do that, do they? Fashion bloggers do, though, because, here’s the thing: fashion bloggers don’t actually dress like “normal” people, do they? I think I’ve always been aware of that on some level, but it really came home to me a few weeks ago, when I was working on a new project which involved me spending a lot of time looking at outfit photos on Pinterest. More time than I usually spend doing that, I mean. The point of my “research” (And it actually WAS research, by the way, so I’ve no idea why I’ve put that in inverted commas. I guess because I STILL sometimes find it hard to process the fact that PINTEREST is part of my job now?) was to find outfits people would actually wear, but the problem with that is that most of the outfits you see on Pinterest are fashion bloggers, and while most of them are awesome, and I will pin the hell out of them, I kept finding myself having to reject them on the basis that “REAL” people wouldn’t actually dress like that.

You know the kind of thing I’m talking about here, don’t you? Bare legs in winter. Thin cotton dresses when you just KNOW it must have been below freezing when that photo was taken. Er, flowers in handbags. That kind of thing.

Don’t get me wrong here, by the way: I’m not criticising those bloggers – I do it too. Sometimes it’s a matter of necessity, because you’re collaborating with a brand who just released their spring/summer collection, but hey, it’s still January, and it’s snowing outside! Other times, though? Other times it’s because you’re getting dressed, and you find yourself thinking, “You know what would really make this outfit? A big bunch of roses!” Well, the solution to that one is obvious – if a little ridiculous – isn’t it? But this wasn’t AT ALL what I’d intended to talk about today. No, this post was supposed to be all about Oasis – which is where this gorgeous sweater is from. I’ll be honest: I’m completely obsessed with this brand right now. I generally like their stuff all year round, but because they’re so big on floral print, I think they really come into their own in springtime: which is why more than a few new pieces have found their way into my wardrobe lately.

This sweater is one of them, and I got tons of compliments when I wore it last week. One of the things I like most about Oasis is the way they’ll take a very basic item – like a grey sweater, for instance – and then make it that little bit more special: in this case, by adding the floral embroidery to it. It’s an easy way to make a simple outfit special, and it also helped me dress down this pink chiffon skirt just a little bit. Well, you know my rule of thumb: if you’re wearing a sweater, the outfit is automatically “casual,” isn’t it? Isn’t it?

WEARING:

H&M skirt (similar)

Oasis sweater*

Dune shoes

RED Valentino handbag*