Danielle Vanier: February 2016

29.2.16

London Fashion Week | My Outfit Roundup

My previous London Fashion Week post (here) focused on my Simply Be social media takeover and the street style I spotted throughout the week. As you may have noticed I am obsessed with fashion and honestly, I get so much joy from building my outfits.

Over the Christmas period I found myself in a bit of a lull in regards to my outfits. I felt very uninspired and I kept reaching for the same 4 outfits. As the new season has unfolded and the shops have started to stock new, spring ready attire; my passion for fashion...*vom* has returned!

Like most, when I have an important event to attend, I can panic and struggle to pick the perfect outfit. Things were different for me this LFW as I planned and put my three outfits together in a matter of hours.

Day One

Starting off LFW with a cool but casual outfit. It's freezing here in London at the moment and I knew I wanted to wear a statement coat and build the look around that. I picked this incredible coat from ASOS Curve and I can confirm; it kept me exceptionally warm! I just have to make sure I don't spill food down it when I next wear it... me + white clothing = potential nightmare.

1. Coat | 2. Shirt | 3. Trousers | 4. Trainers | 5. Bag similar here

Day Two

Can we talk about this *printed co-ord please? Finally we are starting to see plus size friendly co-ords and this one from Simply Be is an absolute dream. I love the William Morris esq print and the casual twist the bomber jacket adds to this set. I wanted to go for a preppy vibe with this outfit and the *pussy bow shirt and comfy lace up shoes were exactly what I needed for a long day on my feet.

1. Bomber Jacket | 2. Mini Skirt | 3. Pussy Bow Shirt | 4. Shoes

Day Three

Back to my 70s obsession with this look. I found this Look Magazine for Simply Be maxi dress whilst rooting around in my wardrobe and I realised I'd never worn it! I bundled on my *faux fur coat, used the neck tie from my pussy bow shirt to tie round my neck and I wore my platform tan boots to finish off this retro look.

*Denotes an item of clothing gifted to me by a brand

1. Dress old Look Magazine for Simply Be | 2. Faux Fur Coat | 3. Platform Boots | 4. Bag similar here

I normally like to take numerous shots of my outfits but on this occasion I was only able to get these singular ones. Next LFW I am going to make sure I drag my wonderful photographer around with me and get lots more snazzy shots.

I hope you like my three looks. Do you have a favourite? I'd love to know your thoughts in the comments below.

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28.2.16

Mother's Day with Molton Brown

Mother's Day is fast approaching Ladies, and if you are in the market for treating your Mum to a little gift may I point you in the direction of Molton Brown?

A firm favourite of mine, Molton Brown is really luxurious gift choice without the humongous price tag. I often give their gift sets to family and friends at Christmas and when I spotted these beauties at a recent MB blogger event I knew I wanted to show them to you.

~ Gift sets shown ~

Timeless Florals Hand Cream Gift Trio - Three beautifully scented hand creams including their new scent Dewy Lily of the Valley & Star Anise. Rhubarb and Rose is my favourite, you have to try it!

Timeless Florals Bath & Body Gift Set for Mum - This set offers three floral bath and shower gels and I personally love this set as the bottles are really big. I started using Molton Browns 'Pink Pepperpod Bath & Shower Gel' back in November and it's still going strong.

Dewy Lily of The Valley & Star Anise Fragrance Gift Set - The priciest of the three sets but it does include a bottle of Eu De Toilette. Dewy Lily of The Valley & Star Anise is their newest fragrance and I can confirm; it smells divine!

More Mother's Day Gift Options
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One of the best things about blogging is the fab things I get to experience. Last week I attended a Molton Brown blogger event and it was one of the nicest events I've ever been to. MB teamed up with The Flower Appreciation Society and to help celebrate the launch of their newest fragrance 'Dewy Lily of the Valley & Star Anise' we were given the chance to make our very own floral headbands.

I took my one of my besties, Scarlet with me as I knew this would be right up her street and it was such a lovely afternoon. We made headbands from scratch, ate beautiful nibbles and got the chance to try out some of their best selling fragrances.

Thank you to Molton Brown for a wonderful day and for always having the most amazing beauty products!

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25.2.16

London Fashion Week | Social Takeover with Simply Be

After five days, jam packed with shows, parties, frows and street style; London is returning to normal. That's right folks, London Fashion Week is over for another season and as per usual; it didn't disappoint!

LFW AW16 was awash with the usual non-conformist, eccentric, boundary-pushing fashion and this was visible not only on the catwalks but also on the streets. I have attended LFW for a few seasons now and my favourite part of the whole experience is people watching, style stalking and sucking up all that fashion inspiration like a big fat sponge.

On Day 2 of the five day extravaganza I headed into town in charge of Simply Be's social media platforms. I spent the day snapping street style, attending shows and bringing you updates on all things LFW via their twitter & Instagram pages. It was by far my favourite day of this season (even if I did break my camera by dropping it on the floor...yikes!)

Here's a look at my favourite street style fashionistas from the day (recreate some of their looks using Simply Be products) as well as some other eye catching babes from my time at LFW.

It's all in the detail...

I also wanted to pay close attention to some of the plus size babes I spotted at LFW this season. With the help of Simply Be myself & a number of other bloggers attended LFW and it was great to be there and to represent. I spent the weekend hunting for plus size fashionistas and although I spotted a few; I WANT TO SEE MORE!

Bloggers: Top right: Sam | Bottom right: Stephanie | Bottom centre: Lottie | Bottom left: Callie

We have a very long way to go until we become more visible in the media and at events like this but I urge you, if you're sat there and you have a love for fashion but you don't think you'll fit in... please understand that you CAN and you WILL. Keep up to date with LFW and when September comes round for LFW SS17, make sure you put your glad rags on, head to Soho and soak up some of the amazing vibe. You don't need to go to any shows to be part of LFW - I just need to see more of us there! We have just as much right to be involved with this incredible event as anyone else does.

Thank you to Simply Be for my social media takeover and I hope you have all enjoyed following me during LFW aw16! Until next time...

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10.2.16

Gant Fragrance | Valentines Day Gifting

In my previous Valentines Day post (here) I compiled a wish list - perfect for helping you pick up some treats for yourself this Valentines Day. Now that the love-filled weekend is drawing even closer I thought I'd put together this post showing you a great last minute gift option that'll be perfect for the man in your life.

Although this *Gant Fragrance is predominantly directed towards the male customer; there's nothing to stop you buying it for yourself! I am very similar to my Mum in the fact that I often prefer male scents over female scents!

I was very kindly sent this fragrance to try it out and I am very impressed! I know a certain guy in my life who might just enjoy it as well! The smell of this scent is very powerful and when I tested it out I smelt woody tones, lemon and an almost smokey smell - it's really nice! It's got great sticking power as well; I put it on this morning and I can still smell it hours later. There's two sizes of this fragrance available, the 50ml bottle (shown below) and the larger 100ml. You can buy it online or in stores so if you need a last minute present idea; give this eau de toilette a go!

*PR sample sent for review

Have you bought your partner anything for Valentines Day?

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8.2.16

To the moon and back

Right, hands up if you ever wear an outfit that you feel sh*t hot in and then when you see pictures of yourself wearing said outfit; you become disheartened? This was the case when I recently shot this look. I've been wearing this outfit a lot recently and, I love it. Wearing a maxi dress is quite a new thing for me but I have a few in rotation at the moment and I love pairing them with a biker jacket [ This gorgeous biker is on sale at Elvi for a bargain £40!]

For me, I love when I can get out and about in London to shoot my looks and I think the backdrop plays a key part in the whole feel of the outfit shoot. When my Fibromyalgia is particularly bad and I'm really tired; shooting near my home is my safest bet. Sadly the streets around my house aren't that inspiring and I think this can sometimes reflect in my final shots. I know that you'll all be sat there thinking 'who cares? it's the outfit that I'm interested in!' but I love producing the best imagery I can for my blog and I think that on this occasion I wasn't feeling it; so the outfit doesn't come across as well as it could have.

Anyway, enough of this negative chat! I do still love this look and I managed to pull a few shots I don't mind and have continued to wear it post-photo shoot. I still feel great in it so that's all that matters I guess! The moon and star print is so lovely and I actually wear this maxi dress back to front as I prefer the v-neck and I prefer the slits in the skirt to be at the back as apposed to the front.

Photographs by Catalinababsphotos

1. Maxi Dress | 2. Biker Jacket | 3. Pink Handbag | 4. Tassel earrings | 5. Black Boots similar here

Click to shop

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3.2.16

H&M Homeware & Accessories haul

Now that I have my own house and I've been able to furnish it in exactly the way I like; I have become obsessed with homeware and interiors.

I used to LIVE in H&M, quite literally! I trained as a Print Designer back in the day and my first commercial job was to work out in Sweden, designing for H&M. There was an H&M store on every street corner in Stockholm and I spent 9-5 working for them and then most of my free time shopping in their stores! I moved back to London after a year and a half of living out there and it pretty much took me years to go back into an H&M store! I just felt like I needed my time away from it all but now I've had my space; I'm regularly back in there.

I ventured onto their site last week and remembered how much I loved their homeware - it's SO affordable! I could have gone berserk but I was pretty tame. I did manage to snap up a few homeware treats as well as some accessories and I thought I'd let you all see what I picked up.

Statement !? Earrings

Aren't these fantastic!?

Striped Cotton Rug

I needed a thin rug to run beside my side of the bed. I was getting fed up of getting out of bed and standing on a cold, wood floor. This rug is perfect and comes in lots of colours.

Banana Leaf Tray & Banana Leaf Candles

This is my favourite print! One day I will cover an entire wall in my lounge with this print!

Candles

I am addicted to candles and I cannot express how much I love all of these. They smell so, so amazing and the packaging for all of them are to die for! Please take my word for it; they are amazing and you must give them a try.

Tassel Earrings

I actually bought these for my Mum as I think she'll love them! I like them so much I might have to buy myself a pair now!

Fold Over Clutch Bag - similar here

I have a few clutches in this style but I've been searching for a plain black one for ages! So happy with this bargain.

Striped Cushion Cover

H&M have so many cushion covers! I have a collection on my sofa at home and I've wanted a grey & white striped one for ages! H&M to the rescue.

Do you shop at H&M for homeware?

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1.2.16

Orange you glad to see me?

In my previous post I talked about the importance of owning classic items that you can always rely on. A denim jacket is one of those items and I've finally found a super cute plus size denim jacket (sadly this was in the sale but this one is also cute!)

Asos Curve never fail to come up with the goods; always giving us plus size girls exactly what we want when it comes to fashion. Any one else addicted to trawling their site and placing cheeky orders at 11pm at night? My name is Danielle and I have a serious addiction to ASOS! Nothing makes me happier than when an order arrives and everything fits perfectly! I threw this denim jobby on and fell in love straight away. I've been trying to find the perfect denim jacket as I've been building up a very large collection of iron-on patches. Before I customise this jacket I thought I'd show you how I've been wearing it recently.

My monthly Monki scavaging session lead me to this amazing orange printed shirt dress. Monki go up to a uk size 18 and I most definilty am not a size 18! I am currently a 22 in most shops and as you can see a size 'L' in this dress is perfect. I love the colour next to my hair and I think it sits really nicely under my denim jacket.

I finished this look off with my new Orla Kiely watch - which I got for Christmas and my chunky Vagabond boots which you can see have been splattered with rain - it is so hard when the weather is so bad to take outfit pictures! Let's hope it starts to clear up soon so us fashion bloggers don't freeze our butts off when we are outside shooting!