Crochet Crush.

First things first....forgive the slightly lame post title, it's a Sunday morning and my head isn't fully in the game yet -it's days like today when I really wish that I liked coffee! I went for a couple of drinks with friends last night and as always, my poor time management skills meant that I was running around like a headless chicken by 8pm, screeching at my father to take photos as quickly as possible, so you'll just have to work with my slightly awkward posing for today. Given that I was running so late, I opted for quite a quirky dress that would do all the talking itself, detracting from my haphazardly slapped on make-up, so this little Rat and Boa number seemed like the perfect choice. Lightweight, summery and unique, it allowed the rest of my outfit to just fall into place fairly naturally - embracing my deeply hated natural curls (dubbed as the "wicked wave" by my father - cheers for that one, Dad!) which were touched up with a quick flick of my straighteners to tousle it all into place and cemented by the lifesaver which is Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray. All in all, I'm fairly happy with how this outfit panned out, although in hindsight, I'd probably team the dress with some chunky boots to toughen it up a little and add a little edge to it but that can be a post for another day!

Dress - Ratandboa.com

Gold cuff - New Look

Bangle & rings - Camden Market

Spiked necklace - River Island

Wishbone necklace - ASOS

Shoes - River Island

Bag - Primark

I think I've gushed about Rat and Boa in almost every one of my blogposts so far, but I really can't help it. For anyone that hasn't checked them out, I couldn't recommend them more. They have such lovely bohemian pieces which are often limited in stock figures, everything on the site sells out really quickly and they rarely restock the same items, so it's nice to be assured that you're spending your hard-earned cash on a really individualistic piece. It was just so lovely to go out last night and not have that recurring nightmare that often happens when you wear a River Island or Topshop dress for a night out....the dreaded realisation that somebody two tables across has the same dress on as you - it really is the worst! It's easy to change the look of a skirt just by wearing a slightly more unusual top with it, but a dress is often the statement piece in itself, that's why I enjoyed knowing that it was extremely unlikely to see somebody in the same dress as me last night, it was somewhat refreshing to stand out from the sea of bodycon dresses for a change. Could any of you recommend any slightly different shops to those on the high street? I'm always on the lookout for more ways to demolish my bank balance.

Curtains.

I have both good, and bad news. Let's start with the good news....I went to the hairdressers yesterday and she has reassured me that I am not going to go bald after my attempt at DIY ombre, apparently it didn't damage my hair at all and there were no split ends in sight. I'm not smug at all, honest. So, I'm now safe to give Loreal a big fat 5 star review. The bad news, you ask? Well, I embraced yet another hair change and opted to relive the haircut of my youth - the centre parting, AKA the "Martin with a centre parting" hairstyle as dubbed by my school back in the day. We were just so witty. The outcome? I won't lie, I feel like something out of a 90s boyband sporting some fetching curtains - I maintain that I could currently photoshop my head into an old photo of Boyzone and blend right in with those young heartthrobs. Don't get me wrong, my hairdresser did an admirable job as always, I just failed to take into account the ramifications of having a spectacularly large forehead. Oh well - you live and you learn, ey?
This is yet another quick outfit that I threw on, I swear at some point I will put together a more exciting outfit post. At least you can all see why my blog title contains the word "underdressed" now, though. I just love a casually thrown together outfit with a bohemian vibe to it - I've always felt that laid-back, understated looks are the most fascinating and inspirational of outfits. I opted for an oversized tee from Rat & Boa, teamed with some black skinny jeans with busted knees. Fun fact: this tee is supposedly a dress, but I'm not quite sure I'm ready to brave exposing that level of flesh. Maybe I'll risk it come festival season, when I'm more suitably armed with a bucket of St Tropez for my pasty limbs.

Top/Dress- Rat and Boa

Jeans - Topshop (rips - DIY)

Bag- Urban Outfitters

Sandals - Primark

Choker - Asos

Necklace - Empty Casket

Watch - Marc by Marc Jacobs

Bangles - Primark

Stacking Ring - Pandora

Oversized Ring - Primark

Midi Ring - Primark

A nod to the 90's.

Mesh Jumper - River Island (past season), Skirt - Topshop, Watch - Marc by Marc Jacobs, Midi Ring - Primark, Ring - Pandora, Bracelets - Primark, Clutch Bag, River Island, Choker - ASOS, Boots - Ebay (JC Lita Lookalikes)

So, I had a bit of a moment in work the other day and decided to finally buy into the ombre franchise that's been hanging around the fashion world for a good few years now. There's something about dip-dye that makes me somewhat nostalgic to summers gone by...maybe it's the memory of all the cool kids in primary school whose parents would religiously and relentlessly spray Sun-In to the hair of their offspring until they looked like something out of a GAP advert....I wasn't at all jealous of them, honest. Ahem. Damn my toddler-self for her long, stubborn brunette locks that wouldn't even hold a curl, let alone a colour. But yeah - back to the point. I bought the Loreal Preference Intense Ombre 104 which was £6.99 from Boots. It was pretty simple to follow, even for a hair colouring novice like me. I staggered my applications because I didn't want to end up with an obvious band of colour, I wanted it to be as gradual and natural looking as possible. I applied it in 3 stages: 40 minutes at the very bottom, 30 minutes for the next layer which I took a little higher, and finally 20 minutes for the rest, which I basically just brushed through at uneven lengths with the nifty little brush that came with the kit. The results? A fairly subtle tint of colour through my lengths which has freshened up my rather boring hairstyle. I won't lie -  my hair was a little dry (okay - frazzled is probably a more apt description) afterwards but to be fair, it was in desperate need of a trim anyway, I'm going to the hairdressers tomorrow so I'll give you her verdict on the damage - but for now, I'm happy with the finished product, and will most probably be buying another kit to take it a little lighter in a few weeks.
After my fun day of playing hairdresser, I went to watch my boyfriend's gig down the Brewhouse in Cardiff, which is a bit of a local gem in regard to discovering fresh and upcoming music from some of the local talent. It's free entry and they host an "originals" night every Sunday from 7pm, which is somewhat refreshing in comparison to the majority of venues which will only accommodate to cover bands - definitely worth a look if any of you are ever in the area. I wore a pretty basic outfit, which ended up having a fairly 90s vibe to it thanks to my new ASOS choker. I'm really enjoying the grunge vibe that ASOS are encapsulating into some of their pieces lately, I find this whole 90s revival utterly inspiring. This season's fashion has been one of the best for a while in my opinion. What do you all think?
Oh, and seems as I just randomly dropped the my-boyfriend-is-a-musician thing into this post, I should probably link his music in the hope that some rich and influential producer should happen to stumble across this post and give him a record deal, thus making me rich enough to afford a lovely new wardrobe. A girl can dream, right?

Neon flash.

I'm a bit late putting this post up, given that this was an outfit I wore two weeks ago, but better late than never, ey? There's been a massive white out trend in the fashion world lately, and I've wanted to get on board with it for a while - but my love affair with fake tan left me a little concerned after ruining more than the occasional white top with even the softest brush of an orange limb. Alas, when my eyes fell over this white dress across the exotic shores of my local River Island, I knew it was to mark the greatest (and most dangerous) love affair of our generation. Okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration but you get the gist of it....fake tan lover + white outfit = complete disaster. Anyway, I couldn't leave it there, ignoring the desperate begging of my mother, I strode to the till point and opened my purse without thinking of the catastrophic effect this could have come next laundry day. I teamed the dress with two gold cuffs and spiked gold peep-toe shoes....I suppose this was something akin to battle armour to survive a boozy bank holiday night out.

 

Dress - River Island, Clutch bag - River Island, Gold cuffs - New Look, Shoes - Carvella.

Oh, and for the record -  the dress did manage to remain pretty much unscathed and survived a vodka fuelled night out with only a few battle injuries....which thankfully did come out in the wash. So, there you have it, white isn't just a colour for the most innocent and pure amongst us...providing you have a mother with a good knowledge of stain removal. Cheers Ma!

Kate Moss x Topshop

"Who's your ultimate style icon?"....it's a common question that most girls often find themselves answering, yet the answer is also unsurprisingly, universally common: Kate Moss. The captivating, Croydon born beauty with those perfectly tousled blonde locks....Yes, that's right, I have something of a flame for old Mossy. Now, for me, the reason that Kate is the No.1 style icon for the majority of women is not due to a lack of imagination on our part...it's simply because her style is so versatile and easy to relate to; she just nails that bohemian/grunge vibe in a way that nobody else quite can...I suppose that enigmatic charisma is why she has had a career which has spanned over the majority of my lifespan, though. My infatuation with Kate has been ongoing since I was around 16, I remember most magazines at the time were insistent upon breaking my teenage heart by suggesting that my beloved skinny jeans were a thing of the past, with a focus on the revival of the bootleg. Enter Kate - ever the hero - championing the skinny jean every time she was snapped in public. I guess that one memory pretty much sums up why I love Kate so much - her refusal to conform to the big trends. Kate always stays true to her own personal bohemian style - always adding her own 90's grunge spin to it, but pulling it all together with some immaculate and enviable tailoring. So, when I learned that her latest collection for Topshop was to be unveiled this summer, my heart almost stopped. It's been a long and agonising wait, but now that we're mere hours away from her collection going live online, I thought I'd share some of my favourite looks with you.

Splice Skirt Maxi Dress £350

Fringed Leather Jacket £190

Beaded Fringe Dress £250

In all honesty, the entire campaign is utterly jaw-dropping - particularly the pieces which are inspired by her most iconic looks over the years - but sadly, it's not quite purse friendly enough for me to justify buying all of it, so I will just be investing in the one piece...which is, of course, going to be that leather jacket.

You can shop the Kate Moss x Topshop collection in all participating stores as of 30/04/14

Sheer Lizard.

Hi guys - just a quick introduction seems as this is my first post. I'm Rhian, a 23 year old English Literature graduate from South Wales. I've dabbled with fashion writing for a couple of years (including a work placement on the fashion desk for Closer magazine), but I wanted to create my own personal online space to showcase my own day-to-day outfits and to bore you all with the details of life in the sleepy Welsh valleys. You can find out more about me on my About Me page, or via my personal twitter/instagram pages which are linked in my sidebar. But anyway, let's get back to the point....

Kimono - Ratandboa.com, Jeans - Topshop (rips- DIY) , Sandals - Primark, Bag - Urban Outfitters

I had a day off work today, so I popped out to do a bit of shopping in Cardiff and this is what I wore. I do tend to wear alot of black, so this sheer, floor length kimono from Rat and Boa seemed a little bit daunting at first, but I like how it works layered over an otherwise boring outfit, it adds a bit of an edge whilst still encapsulating the laid back vibe which I like my outfits to have. I've always loved Rat and Boa's casual yet vibrant and edgy style, especially their summer lookbooks - they are my favourite brand when it comes to festival styling. Speaking of summer, I swear there was a brief appearance of sun in Wales today...before the heavens opened right back up and left my choice of footwear looking somewhat questionable to the other shoppers with their feet cosily tucked away in boots. Cold toes are surely a small price to pay in order to show off the absolute bargain that is these Primark sandals though, right? Let me know what you think of this kimono, and what your go-to festival shops are.