Beauty and the Beats: Style challenge

Monday, 16 July 2012

ASOS £100 Style Challenge

To celebrate hitting 1000 followers on Twitter, Discount Coder (@DiscountCoder) are running a competition to win a £100 ASOS voucher. All you have to do is style an outfit made up of items from ASOS for a maximum of £100.

I've seen the competition on a couple of blogs so thought I'd give it a try myself... I have to say this was a lot harder than I thought, as despite there being a lot of bargains on ASOS at the moment, £100 doesn't get you very far when you have a full outfit including accessories to style.

Anyway here is my look...

ASOS T-Shirt with Quilted Section £18.00

ASOS Mini Skirt in Leather Look £25.00

ASOS DENY Wedge High Top Trainers With Suede Detail £45.00

ASOS Skull and Floral Scarf £12.00

Total Cost = £100

Here is a full length photo of the scarf so you can see how it would complement the outfit:

I've opted for some key sports luxe features (you can see my post about sports luxe here) - the wedge high top trainers are bang on trend and set to stay for A/W 2012 (I've seen a sneak preview of a gorgeous pair in the New Look collection on Instagram). I've teamed them with a panelled leather look skirt, again this item will be great right through to next season with the gothic trend all over the catwalk.

The scarf will also be perfect into autumn (gothic trend and weather!) and I like the floral twist on the ever popular skull print, also adding some girliness to the sporty look. I've gone for a short hemline and textured layers with the quilting and scarf to help balance out the chunky wedge trainers.

I'm really happy with this outfit and its definitely something I would like to wear... you never know, if I win the competition I might just treat myself to these exact items! I think they come together well but individually are great capsule wardrobe pieces that will carry through to next year.

If you'd like to enter the competition yourself, visit Discount Coder's website here.

What do you think of the outfit? Would you wear wedge trainers?

Lindsey

Tuesday, 7 February 2012

Elle Style Awards 2012 - NEXT Red Carpet Challenge

One of the most prestigious events in the fashion calendar takes place next Monday, with Next proudly sponsoring this year's Elle Style Awards in London.

To celebrate the build up, Next has set a challenge to recreate a favourite look from last year's red carpet using only pieces from their current collection, with two lucky winners receiving tickets for the awards and afterparty.

Not one to turn down a challenge or the opportunity for a party I had to give this a go!

Corinne Bailey Rae @ Elle Style Awards 2011

I love Corinne's look - this its young, fun and easy to wear with a silk print dress teamed with a black blazer. I could definitely see myself wearing this outfit! Here's how I would recreate the look with Next clothing:

1. Black Jersey Blazer - £45

2. Lipsy Bandeau Lotus Dress - £60

3. Patent Island Platform Court Shoes - £26

4. Snake Effect Panel Clutch Bag - £15

5.Nude Slice Necklace - £10 and Nude Expander Bracelet - £12

Total Red Carpet Look - £168

For more classic, red carpet skimming glamour I would go for Thandie Newton's gorgeous blue dress with flower print. Check out the amazing plunge neckline and thigh high slit. See below for how I would recreate this look from Next's current collection:

Thandie Newton at Elle Style Awards 2011

Thandie kept the outfit very simple with no accessories other than the gold clutch bag however I would definitely add the bracelet and drop earrings to complete the look. The earrings really pull together the dress and the bag with the gold and pink tones.