khaki+aFURtrim

I've had mine since I was 13, my mum made me buy it like two sizes to big so it would 'last' and so my blazer would fit underneath it... My two housemates have also invested in them... I've seen countless high street versions, furless, big and baggy, sleek and fitted... Yes, I'm talking about the Parka coat. 

(images via lookbook)

Lookbook girls all over the world are wearing the Parka's with all different outfits; patterned trousers, jeans, wedges, stripes, chunky cardigans and snuggy scarves. I love wearing mine with skinny jeans, a knitted jumper, cute little pixie boots & my satchel. Do you own a parka? Whats your standard outfit?

Prices vary on the parkas, I've chosen a few of my favourites: River Island, Topshop, ASOS, Boohoo, H&M,  New Look, (New Look have the biggest variety!)

Happy Monday girls, I hope its been a lovely day. I think I'm coming down with tonsillitis, boo. Should be getting some mo-honey tomorrow (payday woo) so I may be visiting West Quay (shopping centre in southampton) Some new clothes for moi. Mwhahahahahaha. 

xoxo AVS

www: 26/01/11

I don't know if you'd yet picked up on my love for the US of A? Well if you hadn't let me recap for you:

aged 8- Florida, aged 13- Florida, aged 16- California, aged 17- California, aged 18- California, aged 20 (this year!)- California

Ok there is no pattern there but my love for America has been brewing up in side me for the past 12 years! In the last 4 years I have been visiting and staying with family in California, they live about 45 minutes outside of Los Angeles in a place called Thousand Oaks (Will Smith has a huuuuuge house nearby), but this year I'm going to be staying actually in LA with my cousin who's just got her own place.... ANYWAY back to the post Alana... 

However sad this sounds, the first time I ever saw this necklace I fell in love. 

This necklace is by Maya Brenner Designs. It currently costs $300 in 14K Gold or $160 for sterling silver. The diamond is optional, but the cute thing about it is that you can have it moved to anywhere around the state line, which I think is a nice touch! 

Do you have any ties to the USA? Would you ever buy one of these gorgeous necklaces? If so, which state would you get? If you can't decide between New York and California there's even a bi-coastal one!

xoxo AVS 

if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it...

With January is nearly at an end the sales are getting worse and worse, all the reject items that didn't sell at 25% off are now going at 75% off, and all the items that didn't even sell with 75% off are going for a few quid. But, a few quid can get you far if you're looking to invest in some eye candy for your fingers. 

Miss Selfridges 'Diva' jewellery section is my favourite place to grab a bling bargain, they have sales all year round on their stuff and this January was no exception! 

 

miss selfridge: was £10- i paid something ridiculous like £3/4 (so sorry i lost the receipt!) 

miss selfridge: was £12- i paid something like £5...

primark: £2- if you thought it was going to be discounted, its already cheap enough- you cheapskate :P

accessorize: was £12- i picked it up for a sweet £4, my friend wanted it for ages when it was full price and was gutted when i told her i only got it for four squid. mwahahaha. 

Handbags used to be my 'thing' if you get what I'm talking about; that type of item you have to buy in every different brand, colour, variety, even if its similar but a teeny bit different to one you already have... But now jewellery, mainly rings is what I'm swaying to, although I haven't quite perfected the art of wearing many different rings at a time haha. I tend to look like a child in their mums dressing up box with too many on, when I try it! What's your thing? necklaces, nail varnishes, shoes, etc?? 

Today I was sitting in my 'comms in practice' lecture and during the 5 minute break, the topic of blogs came up, and freakishly enough a fellow closet blogger popped out of the woodworks :) I'll link you to her once I've had a proper scout of her blog and know a little more about her!  

Hope you're all well, 

xoxo AVS

♥

With this award comes some RULES:

♥ Thank the person who gave you the award

♥ Share 7 facts about yourself

♥ Give this award to 7 other bloggers

Thank you to Ray & Hermine for this award, two lovely bloggers (whom I consider as friendlings) with two lovely blogs, enjoy girls! 

1.

lets start off with something basic... i'm a lefty... it's freaking annoying and i can't even use left-handed scissors.  (FYI Barack Obama is left handed) 

 2.

i've lived in the same house for 20 years, pretty much my entire life (minus 2 months), when i left for uni last year it was the first time i've ever moved, and it freaked me out! 

3.

girl crush: mischa barton- the O.C signified the beginning of an eternal love for this british beauty. amaziing fashion sense, oh how i'd love to be her BFF haha. 

man crush: wentworth miller- this great piece of man hunk i've heard is apparently gay, but i don't care. he's beautiful, prison break wouldn't be half the show it was without such great eye candy! 

 4.

i've had soooo many jobs and i'm only 20! i've waitressed, bartended, been a shop assistant, hair washed in a salon, and currently doing promo work. when i'm finished at uni i want to be a publicist ;)

5.

i have this tattoo on my persons. i thought it was kinda poetic... symbolises new starts and the ability 'to take flight- physically, mentally and emotionally' 

6.

since i was 4, my muma has worked hard and saved up her pennies to take me on holiday every single year. seeing the world and experience different cultures is one of my favourite things now. i've been to four different continents and australasia is my next hit. 

7.

last but not least (probably my most favourite fact!) 

i'm heading off to the City of Angeles in May this year for at least 6 weeks, i'll be staying with my cousin Adrian, and her roommate in the centre of L.A, whilst i do work experience at a Boutique Public Relations company. excitement is an understatement my friends! 

hope you enjoyed my 7 things! i pass this blogger award onto all of my readers, for the simple fact that i want to learn more about you girls! blogging can be such an anonymous thing [that works for me if its your unique selling point- ray ;)] but one thing bloggers constantly say is blogging is a great way to make friends...[if you do complete this award then write in my comment box so i can check it out!!]

xoxo AVS

[all images are via weheartit♥]

friday: FOLLOW

Seeing as its Friday and the general consensus is to do a follow friday, I NEED you to follow this blog. It's my favourite tumblr out there, I check it every day without fail, for inspiration, fabulous clothes, jewellery, shoes, everything you need for a good life! 

So lovers of all things fabulous, I give to you:

DirtyLittleStyleWhore

Check it out, follow, etc etc. She also has a personal blog aswell that you should check it, this girl owns some fabulous things! 

xoxo AVS

power-to-the-max

I'm visiting home this weekend and you know what that means, hugs with Max Power- to the max! I wonder how many times I'm going to say Max or Power in this post?  I made a little photo roll of all my favourites of my little man, I hope they make you smile as much as they make me! 

Daily routine of Max- Sleep, eat, sleep, poop, sleep, explore, sleep, eat, sleep, poop, sleep. BOOM. OH to live the life of a cat.  

Have a very happy weekend! 

xoxo AVS

models mine.

I had no idea what the hype was about, but suddenly it has all become clear to me! Models Own ROCKS MY SOCKS! This nail varnish is one of the best I've used in quite some time. After applying two coats the varnish lasted for nearly a week with only one of two minor chips, I'm SO impressed. 

These three are my house mate Beth's, she got them three for £10 in Boots. I shall definitely be investing in my own Models Own. 

And yes I am aware of the fact that I have granny hands! EW so wrinkly LOL! 

Hope you are all wellllllll! 

xoxo AVS

her-style.

Insipration comes from all around us; a large chunk of my inspiration comes from my housemate Beth. I know I talk about her all the time but Beth has one of the most incredible wardrobes I've ever seen,  (don't even get me started on her jewellery box!) and I just thought you should know, and check out her new blog where she'll be posting pics of her incred outfits! 

Got a little promo job around the area of bars near to where I live so I'm off to start that tonight :) Going to be so cold and I left my warm coat at home after christmas BOO, so I may be a tad chilly! 

Also Ray gave me a shout out on her blog today- Thank you so much honey! 

xoxo AVS

red+green, never to be seen?

shirt & green jeans, both primark; jacket and fur stole, both h&M; shoes, new look; bag, lipsy. 

im currently SO stressed with my uni work i needed a teeny break. this is my outfit i wore yesterday to go out and take some photos for my uni project. 

in brighter news, i may have just hooked myself up with some BANGING work experience with a PR company in EL-AY. you know, the city of angels. so this summer is all about the west coast baaaaaby! 

i hope your monday is going great. this time tomorrow and hopefully i wont be half as stressed as i am right now! 

lots of love you stylish girls! 

xoxo AVS

a journey of hair discovery

Yesterday I went from Southampton to London to meet my best friend Sindy to go and get hair extensions. Before this was possible though, I had to strip my hair of its colour build up- reds, purples, blacks. Stripped of all this, my hair went a big ginge, I have to say I kinda liked it, and it wasn't for the fact I didn't think extennys would match I would have kept it. 

(please excuse me in my dressing gown! haha!)

I then put a medium brown colour on my hair which I think resembled my natural 'do. It's only a stupid weave, but 18 inches of someone else's hair now makes my locks look luscious.  

Me and Laura in Yates last night... 

Also got my nails did. £10 acrylics. Nice bit. 

Infills cost more than that in Southampton its a joke! Just another excuse to go to London again with my girly. 

To round up this week: It's been a rocky ride had a lot of uni work to do, a lot of self discovery, a lot of applications for work placements for summer, a lot of alcohol consumed, a lot of fakery (hair and nails), a lot of love as well. 

Hows the second week of 2011 been for you? It's shaping up to be a good'un! 

Finishing up this 3500 word essay today! Should be lots of fun, I'm not leaving my room unless its for a toilet break until it's done. Have a lovely weekend girlies. 

xoxo AVS

needles+pain

had my conch pierced a few days ago, this is a pic of it straight after. 

are you guys into piercings? i find them quite addictive, i have my conch, normal holes and tragus done now. 

happy wednesday! its in nearly friday hurrah! tomorrow i'm off to london to meet my girly sindy after she finishes uni (she goes to LCC) might hit up toppyshop, see what its saying! 

xoxo AVS

c'est freak le chic

Hola girlies! A quick post of my outfit today, bought these shoes/booties from Primarni on sunday they were £15 woo, matched my christmas (warehouse) satchel pretty well so I thought why not. Wearing Beth's fur coat again ;) and the geek glasses!  Oh and not forgetting the bru as well haha. 

Talking of Beth, she has started up her own blog, showcasing her gorgeous outfits and photography work and random ramblings. Take a look! 

Seeing as I've now presented my three presentations, and only have a 3500 word essay due in for next week I'm treating myself by going out tonight (again) for a few drinkies! Not sure at all what to wear but I'll be sure to take a pic for here! 

Happy tuesday lovelies,

xoxo AVS

stylequeen of my heart.

~this post is a little out of date, however with the news of another little Beckham on the way I wanted to celebrate Mrs B~

You may or may not have heard me mention in the past my love for a certain Mrs Beckham. The amount of love I have for this lady is immense! I've never been one of those types to have massive lifelong loves or monthly crushes on fit actors or handsome singers, my one true love is Victoria Beckham.

 Ever since Spice girls the movie, "Which dress shall I wear? The little black Gucci dress or the little black Gucci dress?" I fell in love. Yeah Baby spice was loved and adored by everyone and wore a lot of pink, but Posh was classy and mysterious (and didn't wear those hideously clumpy boots that Baby+Scary wore!!)

Victoria has been on a style journey in the past 10 years; she went from the little black Gucci dress, to reavealling WAG appropriate Roberto Cavalli and back to a simple little black dress. Her name is huge in fashion industry right now, she was even nominated for the Best Designer Brand award at the British Fashion Awards 2010. 

This month Victoria has graced the cover of British Vogue for a third time, (solo this is her second cover). What a massive achievement. Not only does Victoria have her January issue to celebrate she is also 3 months pregnant with her 4th little Beckham, a massive congratulations to her and the hubby. 

Here is a run through of VB's covers for your viewing pleasure :) 

Her first cover in 1998, from the Spice Girls days makes me laugh, all the other girls are smiling away and there's Victoria pouting away! I love the April 2008 cover, I remember being at college and my best friend brought her copy in and just envying Victoria, she looks amazing. I'm not too keen on the fact that May 2010 was so similar in pose... Could they not think of another one?

Out of these final four, my least favourite is the Feb 2009 cover, simply for the fact you can't see her eyes, yeah you can tell it's her, but if you didn't know it was her would that draw you to the magazine (if you didn't usually buy Vogue that is) I do love her eyebrows in the May 2010 cover though, she looks incredible. 

Having graced British, Turkish, Spanish, Russian and Indian Vogue, all that is left is American! Then world domination! ~ Long live the StyleQueen!  

Mega envious of her (potential) little girl. Think about the wardrobe she'll inherit. 

xoxo AVS

red lips+leopard spots.

leopard print blazer- h&m, body con dress- topshop, bag- marc b! booties- topshop! 

(and BTW, i'm not a hoe- i didn't wear my dress this high all night, i had quickly hopped up to have this pic taken!) 

bonjour you beautiful girlies! 

as promised here is a picture of my thursday night outfit, although if you read the previous post, you'd know i planned on wearing a sheer shirt... this is no sheer shirt! i brought this gorgeous leopard print blazer on my birthday when i went shopping in brighton, it was only £15 (non-sale!)

i'm addicted to leopard print- its my thing. i could make an entire outfit out of leopard print items twice over, i just love how its a classic print and can be worn all year round, season after season. 

also, as you can see i have some gorgeous new booties!!!! they are from toppyshoppy and i got them £40 on sale (down from £80). my housemate, Katie, had them for like a year in navy blue and she's a tiny size 4 feet, my flippers wouldn't have fit in them, so when i saw these in my size, i jumped at the chance of purchasing them! 

incase you're wondering why i didn't wear the sheer shirt, i wanted to wear it with grey jeans and my new booties, but i don't didn't own any! after a tip of from RAY, i went to primarni and picked up a pair of super skinnies for £8! woooo! so next time i go out i'm sorted! 

anyway loverrsss, i'm off to finish my presentation then watch take me out with my housemates! muchos loveeeeeee, 

xoxo AVS 

birthdayblues

l-r: me: dress- H&M £10 in the sale! katie: dress- Bank 

girlies, it was my birthday last week, and now i'm officially old (20! not a teen anymore, boo hoo) nothing has obviously changed physically but maybe this is a time to grow up and accept some responsibility in 2011? well i've taken my New Years Resolutions seriously (last night I chose to stay in and do work over hitting up Kaos), gonna start running with my housemate Beth (she has a new blog- check it!)

i'm going out for a few cheeky glasses of wine tonight with the girls, i know i know i said i wasn't going out but i can't help it, what can i say, i'm a social butterfly! 

(one is aware of how many times one said the term 'i' in that sentence! one is so self absorbed!) 

tonight i'm planning on rocking a sheer h&m shirt that i brought the other day, what shall i wear on my lower half? i'd love to wear grey skinnies but alas i don't own any! (i'll post a pic of what i eventually decide tomorrow!) 

lots of love!!!!!!!!! eeeek! 

xoxo AVS

blur+specs

specs & trousers- new look, leather jacket & scarf- h&m, bag- lipsy

Happy New Year girlies, I hope 2011 has been treating you well so far, and you've snapped up lots and lots of goodies in the sales? I've been looking at some of your posts with your purchases in and I'm very jealous about some of them! I've seen some right bargains on your blogs! 

I highly suspect that this picture would have been alright if it had not been blurring and missed out my shoes (but thank you for taking it Beth!). I rocked this look a few days ago, and I've come to discover that I love wearing trousers. These New Look trousers are oh so comfortable, I adore the colour as its very versatile and they were very reasonably priced! 

Uni is very hectic for me at the moment, I have 3 presentations, a 3,500 word essay and a magazine layout+workbook to do before the 18th! Wish me luck! 2011 will hopefully calm down soon! 

xoxo AVS