Wills HQ

I headed down South this weekend for my best friend Ruby's birthday in Oxford, a bit of cheeky flat hunting in London, and a visit to Wills HQ in Shoreditch to browse the new collection (and pick up a few bargains at the Aubin & Wills Sample Sale).   I'd never ventured as far as East London before and I was pretty excited about this trip, so much so that I may have come back the next day..

The building's basement has been converted into the 'Aubin Cinema' - which has recieved rave reviews from friends who have visited (sadly I haven't - it's on my to-do list) - and the shop is located on the ground floor.   I'd only seen bits and pieces from the Autumn collection so far, so I was pretty excited to get stuck in with the whole thing.  Unfortunately there were still a few pieces missing, including the Damson Tweed Jacket I'm desperate to get my hands on, but I picked up a few pieces while I was there.

 

I particularly liked the button-down skirt (available in denim and cord) for a looser, grown-up look; paired with  oversized crew-neck jumpers and lightweight coats.  Colour pops were seen in light purple chinos and dainty coral camisoles, suggesting 2013's hottest summer colours are set to carry on through to Autumn, worn to offset the wintery khaki and navy shades.   I'm sad I didn't take a picture of the shoes, as a gorgeous pair of patent loafers caught my eye, and I'll be picking those up at a later date. 

For the boys..

I really liked the colour-palette contrast between the collections for men and women; while navy, damson and grey featured in the men's (like the backpack above) it was generally a lot lighter than the women''s.  Trousers, shirts and tees were neutral tones, designed to be layered with darker knits and crew jumpers underneath pale outerwear. 

I loved the warehouse-y East London feel; Jack Wills shops usually inhabit listed buildings, so the bare-bones look really allowed the collection to shine and reflected that you don't need to be a country bumpkin to rock the look.   I picked up a damson pleat blouse from the new collection and a cardigan with some pink chinos from the sale, and I intend to come back for this season's lace camisoles, floral t-shirt dress and either a pair of the Chelsea ankle boots or the patent loafers.    I'm really hoping they bring out another boyfriend-fit blazer, as oppose to the usual fitted style, as I'd love one in navy this season. 

Jack Wills are currently in the final reductions stage of their summer sale (with some epic bargains), and you can redeem a cheeky 15% off if you're a student on full-priced items.  I'll be doing a giveaway at the end of summer involving some JW items, so if you're a fan make sure you've subscribed via e-mail (see sidebar) or on bloglovin'!

Christmas Sales Shopping

Today is the day I finally emerged from my cocoon, fought my way through traffic and crowds with my best friend Rose, and searched for bargains!

I'm not a big sale shopper in all, but I had some lovely vouchers (and a few last-min additions to get) and I figured - why not?   My mother always advises that you shouldn't buy something in a sale you haven't considered at least 3 times before, that you should NEVER buy something that isn't your size just because you're in love/will consume your way into it/will diet your way into it/your friend loved it, and that 'YOLO' is not an acceptable term when planning your wardrobe.

We parked next to the Lace Market, so naturally our two first stops were the Wills family.  I've been lusting after a grey fox jumper in Aubin & Wills for ages - it's sold out online - but unfortunately they only had it in tan in the store, too!  Our trip to Jack Wills was far more fruitful, and myself & Rose emerged hands-full of goodies:

Let me introduce you to the Keynsham Dress, and the Campbell Knit hoodie.  This dress will be perfect for NYE - Jack Wills release a similar dress to this (differing prints, and features such as bows etc.) every season and I absolutely adore them.  I ordered the hoodie before the sale as a Christmas present to someone I won't be seeing until January, but I think I love it even more in real life than on the website and I might have to wear it myself...

We also tried on their fuzz-lined hoodies and furry headbands, and Rose left with a few of those. We were both really happy with our new purchases, excitedly planning social events to show them off when it occurred to us that we had no shoes!

"Off to House of Fraser!", we said

I'm a big believer in putting several outfits together with one piece, so naturally I had to buy a pair for day and a pair for parties..  I've loved the selection of black peep-toe pumps Dune has for years - I have their 'WAIVER' pair for winter, and was looking for something a little sleeker for summer - so there was really only one choice for me.

I'm not much of a shoe person, but I don't believe you can go wrong with a pair of simple, flattering, black suede peep-toe pumps.  Boring, I know, but there's really no room for improvement there!  Fortunately, Rose is super-exciting when it comes to heels, and she brightened up our shopping list with these pewter babies from Moda in Pelle!

It's a bit cheeky pretending I purchased my last pair today - really, I ordered them online on Saturday. They're navy, patent, super-cute, and you can either purchase them directly from Paul Smith or from Sarah Coggles in York (which is where I got mine from).

What have you bought from the sales so far?

xx