FASHION || FEMME LUXE HAUL

*This post contains PR items from Femme Luxe.

Another day, another haul! Who remembers my Recent Buys & New News posts from back in the day haha? Well, today I have a little Femme Luxe haul to share with you all and I'm so excited to talk about some of these items.

FASHION || KATCH ME HAUL - LOUNGEWEAR

*This post contains PR items. 

So, it's not been too long since my last Katch Me haul but I feel that this one is even better than the last one as it includes my new favourite word = loungewear. 

FASHION || MY FAVOURITE ACCESSORIES FOR DRESSING UP

It's been a while since I got to dress up all fancy and be able to enjoy a normal night out where I can truly enjoy myself without any worries. But where those nights the best!! Over the years I have accumulated many accessories that never fail for when I'm looking for something to wear. Whether it's a lovely sunny day, or a dark cold evening these are my staples that can make my outfit go from a 7 to a 10 in minutes!

FASHION || KATCH ME HAUL AW20

 *AD - This post contains gifted items.

I was recently contacted by KatchMe to try some of their AW20 staples, so me being me obviously said yes because I'm always on the lookout to test out new brands!

FASHION || 5 SUSTAINABLE FASHION IDEAS FOR A GUILT-FREE WARDROBE

We all have a responsibility to prioritise sustainable items of clothing, including brands. I'm definitely pro thrifting and recycling old garments, but I do find myself shopping for new pieces to add into my wardrobe without a reason which is something I'm trying to move away from and make more sustainable choices. Eco-friendly alternatives are becoming a big part of our daily lives, and the fashion world should be no different. If you are looking to create a guilt-free wardrobe, then I hope some of these five sustainable fashion tips will help you as much as they've been helping me.

FASHION || FEMME LUXE HAUL - SUMMERTIME PASTELS, HOW TO STYLE PASTEL CLOTHES SS20

*This post contains gifted items by Femme Luxe Finery.

I love pastel clothes a lot for someone who doesn't actually own anything pastel-coloured in their wardrobe. So I thought I'd dedicate this post to styling my brand new pieces from Femme Luxe and show you what I picked up. 

I feel like the only colour missing from this haul is a pastel yellow top, which is something I will certainly pick up in my next order. As pastels are really trendy right now I decided to stick to a theme. The items that are mentioned in this post were gifted to me, however, all opinions are honest and my own. Now, let's get to the haul!

FASHION || TOP BASICS EVERY MIDSIZE WOMAN NEEDS IN HER WARDROBE

*These images were taken from the retailers' sites to create a collage for this post.

It took me a while to find the right items of clothing I wanted to keep in my wardrobe all year around. Now that I have found what works well for me (a midsize woman) I thought I'd share my picks with you so you can consider trying these out for yourself.

FASHION || TRYING OUT FEMME LUXE FINERY'S JUMPSUITS - FULL REVIEW & STYLING TIPS

I was recently approached by Femme Luxe Finery, asking if I'd like to try a few of their jumpsuits so of course, I said yes because I already work with the brand on a gifted basis and really enjoy trying out new clothes.

FASHION || HOW TO STYLE A BLAZER DRESS

A blazer is one of those staple items of clothing that everybody needs in their life. Got an interview? Wear a blazer. A Baby shower? - Blazer! Daytime drinks with your friends? - A BLAZER DRESS!
This is why my favourite item of clothing is a blazer, it automatically smartens up any outfit which you can then dress up or down however you like.

I bought this gorgeous blazer dress for my (cancelled) trip to Amsterdam as I thought it'll be perfect for a few games and after drinks at Glow Golf. Unfortunately, as the trip was cancelled, it also meant that I wasn't going to be able to wear my dress anywhere at this moment in time.

If you want to look extra bougie in this dress, then you can play around with different accessories that accentuate its classy cut and fabric - I would go for silver and gold mixed together. A well-chosen brooch can add a dash of culture, or you can shop for a pair of glasses that will make it the ultimate businesslike outfit. The only limit is your imagination, with an outfit that is this versatile!

This dress is very oversized. I ordered a size 10 and it feels more like a 12-14 so I would suggest you size down for a more fitted look. A blazer dress looks great with a waist belt to really synch in on the waist to show off your body's curves. I love this chain waist belt with this dress as it really finishes off the outfit perfectly. I wore this dress to my back garden (a week before lockdown) and my sister came round to have a coffee with me - and to take outfit pics for me too. So, because I was in the comfort of my own house I decided to pair this dress up with a pair of white high-top converse. If I were going 'out out' then I would have worn heeled ankle boots and a pair of tights with this dress. I also wore my Moschino sunglasses which I got super cheap from TKMaxx for a fraction of the original price!

SHOP THIS LOOK:

How would you style a blazer dress? This is one of my current favourite looks!

*This post contains affiliate links.

Lots of love,

Maya xo

SS20 || BEST AFFORDABLE DRESSES YOU NEED THIS SPRING - SUMMER

It's so easy to decide on an outfit based on what the weather is like, but have you ever thought of a gorgeous outfit and then got annoyed when you couldn't find anything remotely similar in your wardrobe? I'm definitely one of those girls and try to really control my spending and up-cycle what I already own. In this post, I wanted to share with you my top picks of high-street dresses that are mainly under £35 (I tried to find the best and most affordable dresses across 8 different online retailers).

One of my favourite stores to shop for holiday/Summer outfits has to be River Island as they never fail to bring out gorgeous prints which I always keep in my Summer wardrobe ready for my next holiday. I particularly love this White Polka Dot Dress as you can wear it anywhere in the world either during the day or night and look super fabulous! For £36 I think it's a great bargain and that everyone should own a dress like this in their wardrobe.

I think that this White Leaf Print Beach Dress (also from River Island) is super cute and would be very flattering for all body shapes. The cut-out detail and the belt are nice additions to this dress, and for only £25 I think it's a great steal! It also comes in khaki.

I love H&M all year round, but I feel like they always up their game around Summertime. Neon has been a huge hit for the past couple of years, especially in the Summer, so it's not a surprise to see bright and colourful dresses making an appearance on the H&M website. This Smocked Mesh Dress is only £9.99 and is a part of a collaboration with the movie 'To All the Boys I've Loved Before Part 2'.

Another great bargain from H&M is this beautiful Polka Dot Lyocell Dress for only £19.99! This would make a great wedding guest or baby shower outfit.

Now, this dress is absolutely stunning. It's a gorgeous colour and a trendy print and style - what else could we ask for?! This Warehouse Satin Jacquard Midi Tea Dress is in the sale for only £25 and would make a great summer outfit.

Missguided is one of my go-to online stores for Summer clothing, and let me tell you when I say I found some amazing gems that I am not lying! For instance, this beautiful little White Satin Crochet Dress is currently in the sale for £17.60! It's everything you could ask for in a summer dress, especially for exciting cocktails with the girls once it's safe to go out!

I love this dress so much! It's super cute and flattering, and only £28! This Pink Floral Midi Dress is perfect to wear on a cold-ish Summer night and would look great paired up with little sandals.

So, these are my top dresses for this Summer and I really hope that we will all get a chance to have a proper Summer this year. This is a very difficult time that we are going through right now and I'm sending everyone my love and lots of positive thoughts.

*This post does not include affiliate links and is not sponsored. The images used for this post are not mine and have been saved from the retailers' websites.

Lots of love,

Maya xo

AW19 | FEMME LUXE CLOTHING REVIEW

How irritating is it when you’re trying to find the perfect outfit for a special occasion and feel like you’ll never find what you’re looking for?! I know exactly how it feels, hence why I’m so open to trying out different brands and online retailers to test out their quality of clothing (free clothes to test out are always great).

I was recently contacted by FemmeLuxe to become their ambassador and try out their clothing range. I have picked out 4 different items of clothing which I’m going to review and style for you in this post.

If you haven’t heard of Femme Luxe before it is an online clothing brand which focuses on influencer inspired fashion based in Manchester. The brand states that ’Femme Luxe is a bold, forward thinking, influencer inspired fashion brand based in the cutting-edge city of Manchester. We aim to deliver the most on trend pieces that will really make you stand out, no matter what the occasion. With everything from off-duty looks to a glam girl’s night out dress, cute co-ords and bangin’ blazer dresses, to luxe loungewear and stand out wardrobe staples, our trend led #luxegal’s know how to style any piece.’

Outfit Number 1:

I loved the look of this Pink Oversized Shirt Dress, I thought it was so classy yet stylish and the colour is perfect for all Mean Girls fans. Everyone should own a shirt dress in their wardrobe as it's an effortless staple outfit for any occasion. Drinks with workmates? Date night? Christening? There's a shirt dress for all occasions and I believe that this one is one of them. I picked the powder pink dress as I thought it would compliment my skin tone well (it is a little bit too light for me unless I fake tan). The material is very lightweight, so you won't get hot in the summer, but do make sure that you wear nude underwear with it as you don't want anything showing through. As I am only 5ft3 I thought the length of the dress was perfect for me, however, I would recommend sizing up for more length or wearing this as a shirt with a pair of faux leather leggings/trousers.

Outfit Number 2:

This outfit is so adorable that it'll even make an 'Insta-Baddie' look sweet. I am in love with this Mesh Puffy Sleeve Top, I think it'll be a great all-rounder this season. It can be so difficult to try and find a nice top to go with any skirts, jeans or trousers but I think that this is one of those that looks great paired up with anything, especially these super cute Rose Vinyl Leggings. Now, I don't usually wear vinyl material clothes, but I really liked the way the leggings synched in on my waist and the fact I could just wear them out paired up with pretty much any top. If you’ve never worn vinyl clothes before then beware of the sound they make as you walk haha, I thought it sounded hilarious so it’s probably not the best choice to wear to the library, but it’ll be great for a night out! Next time I might go for a quieter alternative and try out a pair of faux leather leggings.

Outfit Number 3:

I was really excited for this to arrive as when I'm not at work I'm always at home in either loungewear or pyjamas because comfort is everything when you're at the ripe age of 23 (don't even ask). This Boxy Loungewear Set is something I never knew I needed until it arrived. I usually wear mismatched pyjamas or old leggings with oversized t-shirts, but this set is sort of glam which means I can comfortably wear it outdoors to different events just by accessorising slightly. This time I paired the co-rod with my nude boots from River Island and camel coat from Topshop. My only issue with this set is that the trousers don’t have a proper drawstring belt - it only has two tassels sewn onto the seam where the belt would usually be, which means that they don’t sit on my wait as well as I had hoped.

Overall, I found that the clothes came up a little bit small in size so I would suggest to size up a size or two when you order from Femme Luxe, but also take into consideration the lack of larger sizes as they only come up to size 12-14. I really enjoyed working with Femme Luxe and can't wait for any future collaborations.

*This post includes gifted items; however all my opinions are honest.

Have you shopped with Femme Luxe before? Which outfits do you like best? How would you style these outfits?

Lots of love,

Maya xo

SS19 || HOW TO STYLE A MIDI SKIRT THIS SEASON

Throughout my childhood, I always thought that midi skirts were for Grannies as my beautiful Great-Grandmother (bless her soul) always wore them with a T-shirt and a big chunk cardigan. One family member, in particular, kept telling me to wear either full length or short skirts to make my legs look longer - being 5ft3 clearly has its downs, but now I'm embracing my height and rocking the midi skirt trend (if I do say so myself)!

I now own 5 (I think) midi skirts which I have collected over the past year and I can't wait to get more wear out of them this season. This particular snake-print one is my new favourite as it is the softest thing I have ever touched and looks amazing on. It's from H&M and is only £12.99 - I managed to get mine for only £7.99 as I'm a member of the H&M club and had a £5 reward to use up (it is free for anyone to join and you get unlimited free delivery with no minimum spend).
In this picture, I'm wearing it with a cute 'You Glow Girl' slogan tee (similar here), and these gorgeous croc style burgundy boots from Topshop.

I feel like a cute slogan tee will always look really good with a midi skirt, however, I also like to style them with an oversized jumper tucked it. At first, I felt really silly wearing a long skirt with a big knitted jumper but I received so many compliments when I wore that outfit that now I'm kicking myself for not taking any pictures to share with you!  But I do have a couple of pictures of a different skirt and t-shirt combo that I thought you'd appreciate:

The 'Honey' t-shirt is from New Look which I bought a while ago (similar here) and the Burberry style skirt is from H&M (similar here, here and here). I absolutely love this combo and it upsets me that both original items are sold out so you can't get your hands on them anymore, but if I were you I'd definitely look up the skirt on eBay as someone might be selling one!

As you can probably tell, I really like to wear my midi skirts with t-shirts, but as I previously mentioned they also go great with oversized knitted jumpers or even sweatshirt style jumper! I'm definitely down for this trend this season and you should be too!

What are some of the trends you're loving this season? 

*This post contains affiliate links.

Lots of love,

Maya xo

TOPS PICKS FROM THE H&M X MOSCHINO COLLECTION

Every single year I look forward to H&M's designer collaboration and get annoyed with myself for not being able to afford every single piece from the collection. Last year I really wanted a pair of Erdem's kitten heels and they had sold out within 5 mins - literally. But over the years I have managed to collect a few pieces since the Balmain collab and forever wish I started sooner because their Alexander Wang collection was amazing!

This year I have my eyes set on a few pieces and wanted to share with you my top picks and what I think will sell out first. The pictures used throughout this post are all from Vogue's article on the collection. You can shop the HM x Moschino collection here.

The main theme running through Moschino's new collection is actually one of my most favourite things in the world - Disney. For those of you that don't know, I used to work for Disney for nearly 3 years so I'm pretty much obsessed with it haha. Anyway, here are my top picks + prices:

Do I need to say anything other than that I am obsessed with this T-shirt? It retails at £29.99 and comes in a few different colours and designs (there's a Mickey and Minnie one which I am DYING to get my hands on!). I think the sliders are also very cool and an SS19 must-have, they retail at £59.99 which is a bit on the pricey side for a pair of sliders but a lot cheaper compared to other designers.

This faux fur coat (£149.99) will definitely be the first item to sell out! The colour is beautiful and the chains on it add that Moschino look to it. The knee-highs (£14.99) will make a great stocking filler for anyone that's into fashion.

Another one of my personal favourites is the leather sleep mask and earring that the model above is wearing. I wouldn't wear the sleep mask (£29.99) because I'd be scared to get it caught on my bed and pull a thread but I'd love to get my hands on those earrings (£29.99), they are absolutely gorgeous and I'm pretty sure will sell out very quickly.

I wanted to save the best til last - even though this is the same image as the one at the top of this post, but I can't get over this beautiful jumper dress (£79.99)! Jumper dresses are a big hit for this A/W - you can read my post on what's hot in AW18 here - and I really love the colour of it too. Can you just imagine it with chunky cable-knit tights and over the knee boots? Erm yes, please! The model is also rocking my new favourite earrings and the sleep mask. Love, love, LOVE.

What are your top picks from this collection? Will you be picking up any? I can't wait to share with you what I manage to get my hands on! Follow me on Instagram for the latest updates - MissMayaSx.

*Disclaimer - the images used throughout this post are not mine and were taken from Vogue's latest article on the H&M x Moschino collection.

Lots of love,

Maya xo

2018 || WHAT'S HOT THIS SPRING/SUMMER - WHAT TO WEAR & NEW TRENDS

In my previous post, I had mentioned that I was recently gifted with a few goodies from Tobi. This outfit includes 2 out of 3 items I was sent and I cannot stress enough to you that the quality of these clothes is absolutely phenomenal. I wasn’t expecting them to be as true to size either as usually I find that some 10’s are either too tight in certain places and too loose in others. 

It’s so hard to find a denim skirt that will fit all body shapes. I struggle with finding one that fits nicely around my waist but isn’t too big on my hips as I do prefer a tight fit. This cute That Thing You Do denim skirt is very stretchy and has enough room for me to feel comfortable even after having a big meal (I'll have 2 pizzas and 4 doughnuts pls). I know for a fact that I’ll get a lot of wear out of it this spring & summer, and I seriously think that I need it in other colours too… This skirt can be dressed up with a button shirt and a pair of strappy heels or dressed down with an oversized t-shirt and a pair of trainers.

This Same Old Love off-the-shoulders lace crop top is very in season right now. You’ve probably been seeing them everywhere since last year but this time you definitely need one in your wardrobe. As you can see, this is a different style of a Bardot top as it has 3/4 sleeves which are very flattering for top-heavy gals like me. I don’t really like to have my arms out much but because this top covers up the bits I dislike, it makes it easier for me to feel more confident while wearing off-the-shoulder tops.

This top can be worn with a pair of high waisted jeans for a dressed down look or a midi skirt and kitten heels for a special occasion. I would also pair it up with a cute round shoulder bag and maybe even a flowery headband if I was going to a festival or on a holiday.

You can shop these items here: Top & Skirt. I'm wearing size 10/M and still have a little more room for food ;)

*I was sent some clothes by Tobi in exchange for an honest review. This is not a sponsored post but does include some affiliate links. All opinions are honest and my own. The photographs were kindly taken by my talented sister.

Lots of love,

Maya xo

2018 || WHAT TO WEAR TO A PROM/GRADUATION/FORMAL BALL THIS SPRING/SUMMER

I often find it very difficult to find the right outfit for a formal event. This summer I will be graduating from university and I couldn't be more excited and proud of myself. I remember how long it took me to find my prom dress and it wasn't even my first choice but I had to pick something, right? So now I am more prepared for my formal event this time and have picked around 5 different outfits to choose from (you will see the 'chosen' one in an upcoming graduation post).

In this post, I will share with you my top pick from an online brand that I think would make a great outfit for a formal event this spring/summer. I'm a huge fan of dresses at the moment which is a massive change for me as I am more of a jeans-and-tshirt kind of gal, but I can't say that I'm not loving it!

After a thorough research, I found that lace, mauve and lilac are very stylish colours and material to wear this year. I was kindly gifted with a gorgeous dress by Tobi which is an online clothing brand based in the US and has something for everybody.

I was really excited to receive my parcel from Tobi as I haven't previously shopped from there but have wanted to for a while now. It was difficult to choose the outfits I liked the most, but once I did and they arrived I couldn't be happier. One of the items that caught my eye straight away was this beautiful Kinsley Lace Ruffle Skater Dress.

The quality of this dress is absolutely exquisite and I couldn't fault it at all. It is very comfortable and true to size, I was worried it'll be see-through as I wore it without a bra but it really isn't! It looks great on and is very flattering on my figure - we're not all blessed with a tiny waist(!).
If you did want to wear a bra for extra support, then I would suggest wearing a strapless or stick-on bra as then you won't be able to see it, but do make sure it isn't a balconette bra but more of a low-cut style one like this one here.

The off-the-shoulder lace sleeves are very flattering for people with broad shoulders. I don't particularly have very wide shoulders but I feel like this dress looks quite nice on my arms and makes them look more toned than they are, which is always a plus! The length is also perfect as it isn't too short but not too long either, making this dress a great outfit to wear in the summer - (bear in mind that I had these pictures taken when it was 3 degrees outside).

What drew me to this dress the most was probably the neckline detail. I have always been a huge fan of drawstring type of tops and to see it on a classy dress is always a positive. The strings are adjustable so you can show as little or as much cleavage as you like, but it's also great for gals who are a different size in their top half to the bottom half as you can really adjust the way it looks and sits on your figure.

Now I really want to get it in the other colours too! You can shop this gorgeous dress here (BTW IT'S IN THE SALE, GO GO GO!)

*I was sent some clothes by Tobi in exchange for an honest review. This is not a sponsored post but does include some affiliate links. All opinions are honest and my own. The photographs were kindly taken by my talented sister.

Lots of love,

Maya xo