Barrister on a budget with a dress

This is the final instalment of our "Barrister on a budget series".

This post is about creating a great look with a dress, for less!  Dress's are the most versatile item of clothing to have in our work wardrobes. They can be so easily re-styled using accessories (necklaces, belts and cuffs) and alternative jackets and coats.

The Dress: Dorothy Perkins black textured dress £50
This dress flatters most figures and will work on any body shape. With its  ability to be dressed up to take you from day to dinner, it really is worth every penny.  You can also layer blouses underneath to give the look a little more excitement.

The jacket: H and M's Figure Fit Black Jacket £29.99

As a jacket is non negotiable in court, here we have found a longer length shape that will create a waist as well as a lean and professional silhouette. 

The belt: Dorothy Perkins gold cut out belt £7

This fab belt will add interest, sparkle and shaping to the waist, lifting the all black ensemble perfectly. Remember you can also add a belt with a pop of colour for an alternative look.

The coat: George at Asda Cobalt Formal Coat £28

You have told us many times you find all the greys, black and blues you have to wear dull and somewhat limiting, so make sure you inject some much needed colour into your outfit by investing in a bold, colourful coat.  This one is stunning and will really bring the black simplicity of the dress and jacket to life. At £28 the quality, cut and colour are unbeatable, it is also roomy enough to layer your suit jacket underneath! 

The necklace for evening: River Island Fluro short statement necklace £15

Now we know this won't fly during the day, but at night, when you're being called to a bar that serves cocktails rather than cases, a girl's got to style things up. Take the belt off (too much bling is never a good thing) and use this as a great trend piece that will make your whole look far more exciting. 

The shoes: George at Asda pointed toe courts £12

Style and price don't come much better than this. An elegant, chic court shoe with a perfect point to elongate those legs.

The Handbag: H and M Black Handbag £14.99

A fab bag to complete an elegant, ladylike day time look. Large enough to do the business, as well as having a flat bottom (not desirable for us but great for a bag) so it will sit happily on top of your trolley full of files!

Cost of outfit (minus the coat and statement necklace): £113.98

Cost of all items including investment coat: £156.98

We hope you've enjoyed the Barristers on a budget blogs. 

Give us a shout if you need any more advice on budget wardrobe pieces on twitter @waceystyle

For the guys: Barristers on a budget

We couldn't leave the boys out of this series. While there are obvious restrictions with your workwear, you can still try and be as creative as possible. We know decent suits aren't cheap, but there are some brands that offer a good cut and quality at a price that won't break the bank. Here are our suggestions:

The Three Piece Suit:
The three piece suit is stylistically considered to be the most contemporary and elegant look available on the high street. It is also incredibly flattering on all male body shapes if you get the sizing right. Debenhams brands consistently offer a superior cut and tailoring at the lower price point, and Red Herring is definitely worth looking into…….

The Jacket: Red Herring at Debenhams Navy Twill 2 button slim fit jacket £65

The trousers: Red Herring at Debenhams Navy Twill Trousers £34

The Waistcoat: Red Herring at Debenhams Navy Twill £35

Other great suiting destinations on budget are Marks and Spencer:

Grey wool mix 2 button suit £168.00 for all 3 pieces!

Or for the best quality and the lowest price do all of your suit shopping in the Sales!  House of Fraser run one of the best suiting sales and you can get it all under one roof!

Remember if you are buying a suit, make sure you get an extra pair if not two extra pairs of the trousers!  Rotating the trousers will give your suit much more longevity!

SHIRTS:

We know there are some elements of your wardrobe that you cannot cut corners on. Your shirts, tunics and collars are best bought from a legal clothing retailer who knows their stuff. T.M.Lewin are a great option for tunic shirt and do some great pieces to boot!

The shirt: T.M Lewin Tunic shirt £29.95 or £20 per shirt when you buy 5!  Bargain!

The collars: Ede and Ravenscroft Windsor Wing £7.25

The one you need in court……….

The tie: Next raspberry silk tie £12

Hallelujah for some colour! As with your fellow female barristers, colour is in short supply in your every day work wear, so make sure you show some personality with your tie selection. This is one of the only opportunities to make a small yet important statement about who you are, so keep away from dull, lifeless neutrals like grey and navy - give people something to notice about you!

Other colour options for those of you not as in touch with your PINK side!

Lilac tones against a Navy suit always looks chic and this £7.50 tie from Marks and Spencer is clean and simple (until you spill your coffee down it!  which reminds us.. always have a spare in your bag!)

Or this slightly more luxurious option £16.00 also from Marks and Spencer

The Cuff links: Debenhams Thomas Nash Jigsaw cufflinks £20

While adding a pair of cufflinks to your look will undoubtedly up your overall spend, it is another area where you can show a little personality. We don't mean run out and invest in a pair of "beer bottle" or "batman" types, rather go for something classy with a twist. These cufflinks from Thomas Nash do just that.

The shoes: New Look Black pointed brogues £19.99

Shoes can be hugely expensive and end up eating significantly into your work wear budget. If you need to go for a cheaper option such as these great value and stylish to boot brogues from New Look, keep them looking the business with regular cleaning and polishing, kits start from as little as £4.99 from Pavers.

The bag: River Island Brown Satchel £30

While we know you love to throw your bags over your shoulder (and this one has a strap to help you do that), you need to give your shoulder (and your jacket) a break from time to time. This River Island bag has a great "worn in" texture and comes with a handle so you can carry it as a brief case when you need to. It should also be big enough to accommodate a large case load!

The Glasses:

If you are a spectacle wearer... NEVER underestimate the power of a great pair of glasses!  Strong dark frames are the ultimate fashion accessory at the moment BUT if you are fairer haired opt for a brown or tortoiseshell finish!

We hope you found this useful and let us know if you have any other menswear work wardrobe conundrums we can solve for you!

FEELING BLUE #LFW

We are still in full London Fashion Week (AW14) -swing but our initial thoughts are that Autumn Winter 14 is looking Blue and we are super excited!

Here is an insight into some of those strong Blue looks from the catwalk, but don't worry we will be doing some more in-depth catwalk reviews later in the week about the collections that felt fresh and exciting!

TOPSHOP UNIQUE, showed at the Turbine Hall of the TATE MODERN and they really put on a show and transformed the space!

The overall focus of the collection was layering and texture and they used some real hero pieces that our bank balances are going to hate but our wardrobes will love come September!

Temperley London, showed at the Savoy and the collection was mind blowing luxurious especially the coats, which we will discuss later in the week!  We are not sure if it is just our obsession with the winter Olympics at the moment, but the collection had an a slight Russian doll feel with all of the print and applique.

Richard Nicholl, went for vibrant bold blue's in clean lines and used textures within the same colour palettes to create interest!

Are you feeling that Blue?  We certainly are!!  More from #LFW to come later in the week.

Claire x

Bafta Beauties

OUR BEST DRESSED on the red carpet tonight at the BAFTA's:


The winner of best dressed is Lupita Nyong'o, this lady has been nailing the RED CARPET looks this award season and today's outfit, a Couture Dior dress in vibrant green did not disappoint!  In fact it has made us even more excited about what she will be wearing at the OSCARS!!!

We also have to mention Fearne Cotton, who was looking super sexy in a William Vintage dress a 1980 Scaasi Gown to present from the red carpet for E!  Fearne you looked smoking HOT!

Lilly Allen also blew us away in Vivienne Westwood, whats not to love the colour is high octane and the fit is just so Vivienne!!!!  Not 100% behind the head gear but if anyone can rock it, the lovely Lilly can!

Also on the red carpet was British You Tube make-up guru Tanya Burr, showing that you do NOT have to be head to toe designer to hit the mark on the RED CARPET.  Tanya's dress is from Coast, we are not sure why Tanya was at the Bafta's but we are sure we will get to find out more on her YOU TUBE channel very soon! 

Then we have to mention the most exciting outfits of the evening….. Being suckers for Jumpsuits and trouser suits,  we LOVED Ruth Wilson's  Antonio Berardi suit.  Lots of people hated this on the red carpet coverage but we think she looks fantastic, comfortable and sexy!

And Ruth was not alone opting for the trouser option… Angelina also wore an Yves Saint Laurent tux!  In fact so did Brad so they were really match match and it looked great.

Now to watch the actual prize giving bit and start our Oscar Outfit predictions!

London Fashion Week Kicks off today so in the spirit some Fashion Goodies for you to feast on!

Samantha Morris Fashion Goodies

We've loved this lady's work for a long time. Ever since Samantha Morris created her "Keep Glam and Rock on" spin on the old traditional British poster she's had a very special place in our hearts.

So we were really excited to see Samantha's latest fashion week related creations and wanted to share them with you all too. All the prints and notebooks are available to purchase directly through Samantha's website: www.samanthamorris.co.uk

Fashion Mews Print £28
How cool. We want one for our office!

The Little Black Fashion Scrap Book £7
We couldn't think of anything we'd rather be taking our LFW notes in. It even comes with its own stickers so we can have fun playing while we're watching the shows.

The Chanel Fund money box tin £15

OK, so penny by penny it will take some time to save for a genuine Chanel, but stick with it ladies....

Keep Glam and Rock On! Print £23

We couldn't go without sharing the old classic with you all. Still very much available in several striking colour ways.

Thank you Samantha - Happy Fashion Week to you from all of us here at CW-Style!

DATE NIGHT TOMORROW? OR ANTI VALENTINES DRINKS? we have the venues!

We have some great little spots in London that we think you should hit!

They are some of TEAM Waceystyle's favourite haunts...  so we hope you like them too!

First up is The Punch Room at The Edition Hotel...  we first hit this joint back in December and have returned far too many times for my bank balance to be HAPPY.

The ambiance is fantastic with velvet banquets, a large roaring fire and leather cosy chairs... it is great for girlie gatherings as well as a romantic get together!


It also helps that PUNCH A LA ROMAINE, A L'EDITION is the best punch EVER..

It was was supposedly served on the Titanic and goes down just as easily as the Ship, served with gargantuan blocks of ICE this drink itself is worth making the visit for!  You also get a complimentary glass of House Punch on arrival, what is not to LOVE!

NEXT - UP is Mothers ruin!  THE LONDON GIN CLUB - down an un-assuming street off Soho's Wardour Street, is this little den of all things GIN or what I like to think of as HOME!  

I love all things GIN and this place is just another to add on the list!  It has a french cafe feel to it and has NO bells and whistles, which we LOVE.. just good company and excellent Gin! 

If you are going for a DATE!  We recommend the Blind tasting.. it will keep the conversation going and add to the excitement!  Be warned this is not a place you can just pop in, as it is usually rammed.. book a table for pre-show drinks or for after dinner fun times!

Sometimes it is nice to share and who doesn't LOVE a bit of TAPAS time...

Central and Co are not specifically about Tapas, but they do some fantastic sharing plates!  The sticky chilli squid is OUT of this world..  Not to mention a great wine list and fantastic date atmosphere!

Other great Tapas joints in London:

The Opera Tavern - pricey but well worth a visit if your feeling FLUSH

Meson donna Felipe on the CUT - they even have a guy sat on a raised platform playing classical guitar (not about atmosphere in this joint though)

All time favourite DATE destination.....  

J Sheekey's - I am going to be in trouble for sharing this one as it is mine and my Hubby's favourite place to go!  But I say SHARE THE LOVE!!!

If you Love seafood and champagne in equal measures.. this is the place for you (and can I come too).  I always eat in the bar side rather than the restaurant side as it is prettier and more fun, I always order Oyster's, champagne and Croquettes, but can also highly recommend the razor clams and the lobster burger (yes the lobster burger).  If you go here.. please take pics and tweet them to me @waceystyle it is a tradition recently started with friends... but one I love!

Other places in London that do similar food and are on Waceystyle date night rolodex:

Scott's on Mount Street (same owners as sheekey's and a bit more formal)

The Wright Brothers - they have 3 spots dotted around London so take your pick!

What will I be up to tomorrow night?  

Hopefully the Hubby has booked somewhere new and exciting... if not you can bet your lucky starts I will be curled up on the sofa with a glass of bubbles and one of these cupcakes from my favourite bakery Konditor and Cook!

Have a fabulous evening everyone! 

x

Valentines Outfits

If you are lucky enough to be heading out on a date this Friday then hopefully this little blog with 2 outfit options will come in handy to inspire your look!

If it is going to be a High Octaine Romantic evening then it HAS TO BE a DRESS!  DIVA is a brand that does sexy dresses with stretch in fabulous cut and colours!  For the style savy out there you may have seen Nigella wearing a lot of this brand in 'The TASTE'

The Opal dress in Scarlet Red £115 (as opposed to the pink in the image)

                     

Add in a fur stole to give it real GLAMOUR this one is in the ZARA Sale £9.99

SHOES to add extra Va Va Voom to your look..... Astro courts form Kurt Geiger £120.00

If you are having more of a relaxed date night then try this great Smart Casual option:

For me a great SC outfit starts with a strong colour and this Ted Baker Alisya jacket £165, does not disappoint on wow factor.

Turn back the sleeve and layer this Sheer panel top from  Zara £29.99, underneath!  The sheer panels give it a sexy edge but the overall shape is casual and not over the top!

To this I would dress down the bottom half with these distressed jeans worn rolled up £46.98 GAP

The wow factor with this look comes from the way you bring it together with accessories!  First off try stacking up several rings and midi rings Topshop and Accessorize have great selections.

Then add in a contrast pop of colour with one of these great Olivia Burton Watches £55 (yes I am slightly obsessed with these at the moment)

 Wearing all these great accessories will be highlighted when everyone's attention is drawn to a statement clutch bag, this ASOS Blurred Lines clutch is £25 and will tie the look together!

And now the finishing touch!

Invest in a shoe that will be super sexy, but also useful for the Spring Summer season ahead.  This Yellow ALDO shoe £60  is just the ticket!

Have an AMAZING VALENTINES...

Tomorrow we discuss the best bars and restaurants for those of you who have not yet booked!