Qatar Part Two

So, I'm finally back from my holiday and I couldn't be happier. It is cold in London, but it feels good to be back! You can read about the first part of my Qatar trip here, but I thought I'd round up what I did on my last couple of days as well.

We went to a small beach town, in the early afternoon, on the last day and the weather was amazing. As my mum's family joined us for the last week, we went in two cars and had a lot of fun playing in the water and soaking up the sun.

And here's proof that I really do take my Vans everywhere!

We also had a stopover in Dubai for a few hours on the way back to London. My uncle lives there, so we had a nice brunch then played with his awesome cars: a Hummer and a Porsche. I need to get me a Hummer.

Sherin xx

La Redoute

With winter already here, it's time to start looking for pretty winter clothes. I always love dressing for this time of the year as there are so many cute jeans, skirts, boots and jumpers out there, all for the taking.

This year, I've been hooked on getting the perfect winter coats and jackets, and have found a gorgeous selection from La Redoute, and they're all pretty affordable too. In recent years, I've stuck to the normal black or grey coats, but my mission is to get some unique and colourful ones for this year.

Here are my 5 favourites from the website:

It's always good to have at least one warm, classic coat, that can be worn time after time, no matter the occasion. I love this slightly tailored coat that will come in handy in the coldest months, as well as look timeless with whatever you pair it with.

This suede coat was one of my favourites from the website. It looks really warm and so comfortable, making it a true must have. I love the faux fur on it as well as it gives it an extra special touch. This would be a great coat that you could wear to make a statement and snuggle up in.

I love the check pattern on this high collar coat. It's a coat that will take you all the way from early Autumn, straight to early Spring, making is a versatile and practical coat.

I need this colourful take on the classic trench coat. Trenches are a staple for most girls, but a coloured one will be amazing to have. I love this bright colour and the coat is sure to make you stand out and brighten up any dark winters days.

This is another colourful option, but would be a lot easier to wear on a day to day basis. It's such a pretty colour and the short length means that you'd be able to wear it with anything you want, from a pair of jeans, to a cute skirt.

Which of these coats has caught your eye?

Sherin xx

P.S. This post was written on behalf of La Redoute.

Emma Forbes: Life and Soul

I've recently been in a bit of a party throwing mood, especially since I pulled off Susie's Leaving Party. I'd love to be one of those people who can throw an amazing party for any occasion, that gets people talking.

I was recently sent Emma Forbes' 'Life & Soul' book and this is exactly what needs to be on my bookshelf. Alongside some amazing recipes, it has some fantastics tip for throwing a whole range of parties, from beach picnics to more sophisticated Black & White or Christmas Parties. While reading the book, you can tell that Forbes is really passionate about throwing parties and absolutely loves what she does.

Photo Credit

Kicking the book off with some great tips, it really does cover everything about throwing a party from start to finish. There are tips on who to invite and how to get a good blend of people, followed by priorities of any party: invites, food and flowers. She says invites don't have to be boring, and gives ideas of creative ones throughout the book.
There were also great guest and host Do's and Don'ts (such as DON'T turn up empty handed, which is one that I've learnt from my mum), as well as useful websites for any party extras.

The book contains an amazing mix of relaxed, special occasion and family parties, with relevant help on them all.

I particularly loved the relaxed party ideas, such as a beach picnic, and a brunch, both which I will be trying. For the beach party, there were great ideas from filling candle holders with pebbles and how to make a salad basket. And the brunch party has great advice on how to get a great relaxed environment and a delicious recipe for Honey Cake. My favourite recipe for this section was garlic bread for a No Hassle Dinner. I actually managed to try it and it came out delicious.

There were also chapters for more special occasions such as Christmas and Fireworks nights, and how to make them extra special. I loved the interesting decoration ideas, especially for Fireworks night (lit up torches in a basket) and there was a delicious flapjack recipe.

There was also an amazing section on Vintage style parties, that would be so much fun to host. There was afternoon tea and a sophisticated Black & White party. The afternoon tea party was simple and really classic, making it easy to host. I loved how the invite idea was to connect the invite to a tea bag, and there was also some great food features, such as open sandwiches, lemon squares and scones.

The family type parties section looked really fun as well, especially the baby shower, which was unashamedly fun and girly, with a great recipe for oatmeal and raison cookies.
The book also touched on all sorts of other parties such as Halloween, a Garden Party and a Big Chill Autumn Party (perfect for right now.)

I've totally been inspied to plan more parties and the book has helped me get over my fear of cooking and hosting, as the recipes and planning sound so easy. I want to throw more parties now especially brunch (friends look out), and I'm definitely going to cook and bake more.
I was also surprised that I had a lot of food for most of the recipes at home. The book makes it look easy and fun and how hosting shouldn't be a chore. I definitely believe that life needs parties like these so why not have fun and celebrate lifes little occasions. This book is definitely worth getting if you like hosting as there are som great tips in there, or even if you just like cooking because the recipes look easy and delicious.

Do you like throwing parties?

Sherin xx

An update from Qatar

I've been loving my holiday so far, and am sad to be coming home, to the cold, this weekend (although, I do have a visit from Susie to look forward to). It's been a great couple of days, just relaxing in the sun and eating lots of ice creams.

I'm not going to go too much into what Qatar is like as I've written about it before, a lot (here, here, here and here), but I thought I'd do an update. The weather is absolutely amazing. It's really hot here, and you can't really do much before 4pm, but in the evening, there's a perfect light breeze.

We went shopping, which is always fun. We bought some silver jewellery in a small shop and just as we were about to leave, the guy told us to wait and quickly made this gorgeous pendant for me. It's silver, with rubies, and has an amber stone at the bottom. And the best bit: he didn't charge! How cool is that!?

We also have a gorgeous cat here, that's been keeping me busy for hours on end. We've named her Archie (she has an arched back) and is the most adorable thing ever. Because it was so hot and sunny, she sits behind my legs, in the shade, which is so sweet. Although, the neighbours all have cats too, so at any given time, there could be up to 6 cats in the garden, all sitting in the shade.

And an outfit because this is a fashion blog after all:

This is pretty much what I've been wearing. I've mentioned before that's it's a traditional country, so I'm trying not to expose too much skin while out and about. Here I'm wearing an A Wear t-shirt, River Island cropped jeans and my Tommy Hilfiger boat shoes. My sunglasses are RayBans and I love them. I got a lot of compliments on these sunglasses in my last post as well.

What have all of you been up to lately?

Sherin xx

Jan Ahlgren

A few weeks ago, amid all the Press Days, I was invited to check out a collection from Scandinavian designer, Jan Ahlgren and it was definitely one of my favourites. I was met by the model-turned-designer while there and he was lovely. He was clearly very passionate about his collection and that's what I love in a designer.

The collection was amazing.  All the clothes were very wearable and could be dressed down as well as worn out. It was very sophisticated and stylish, and they were all pieces I could see myself wearing. I particularly loved the use of colour.

There were a few yellow pieces, but it was the red dresses that caught my eye. Red is normally a difficult colour to wear, but not these dresses. They seemed so easy to wear anywhere and were all absolutely stunning. Definitely pieces that you would pick out for an extra special occasion.

This red dress was probably my favourite from the whole collection. Everything about it is so perfect, and I loved the back as well. It's one of those dresses that will be amazing to wear during the Christmas season, or to any party all year round.

And, along with the red, there were also some gorgeous Black and White pieces. This first dress is so pretty and how amazing would it look with a black belt around the waist?

Hopefully you guys are as in love with the collection as I am. Alongside the fact that they're so pretty, they're also really well made and amazing quality. One of these dresses will last you forever, and you'll be able to wear it to special occasions for years.

What do you think of the collection?

Sherin xx

Debenhams skin coloured tights

In the winter, tights become one of my most essential items. I like black, opaque ones and have many different denier ones, depending on the weather.
Nude tights are a great go-to in the colder months as no one can tell you're wearing tights and you're being kept warm. I would love to wear nude tights but I've always had one major problem: all the nude tights are for much fairer skin, so when I wear them, it looks like I have weird, inhuman coloured legs, so despite wanting to wear them, I've never been able to.

Then a little gem from Debenhams landing in my inbox. Debenhams have recently launched a hosiery line that suits all skin tones. The invisible skin tone tights come in all shades for women with fair, medium and dark skin, and cost just £3.50. As soon as I saw this I new had to try them out myself, and I got a package from the Debenhams PR team the next day with 2 pairs of tights, one in Olive and one in Bronze. A full range of colours available are: Olive, Bronze, Coffee, Beige and Honey.

As you can tell, the tights look really natural and match my skin tone perfectly. The bronze ones were a bit dark, but the olive ones really are invisible on me and pretty perfect. I paired them with a Henry Holland for Debenhams dress and Tesco flats.

And below is a picture of me without the tights. As you can see, there's no massive difference in leg colour. I would definitely recommend these to any girls as the range of colours means that there's a perfect colour out for you, no matter your skin tone.

The weather in Qatar, as you can see in the pictures, is amazing. It's absolutely scorching here and I've been sitting by the pool, just relaxing. (Although, it is a tad too hot to actually go out before 4pm!) These pictures were taken in the garden of my dads new house, and it's perfect for outfit shots.

Do you, or would you, wear nude tights? Have you had the same problem as me?

Sherin xx

The Revival Tour at Lee

The Gaslight Anthem are probably one of my all time favourite bands and I absolutely love Brian Fallon. He's one of my musical heroes and his voice always sounds amazing. I've been really in to both his side projects, The Horrible Crowes and The Revival Tour recently as well, so I'm pretty hooked.

The Revival Tour consists of some absolute legends including Chuck Ragen and Dan Andriano (Alkaline Trio), so it's awesomeness all round really. It's an acoustic collaboration featuring a lot of folky stuff as well, which is just what I'm loving right now. I've been listening to the album and the songs are pretty mellow and really well sung. The songs are sung by Brian Fallon, Dave Hause, Dan Andriano and Chuck Ragen, and each one of them has a powerful voice that draws you in.

They've been out and about on tour for a while and managed to sneak in a quick set at the Lee store in Carnaby Street last week, which I happened to make it to (and by that, I mean stood in the queue for 2 hours outside, as they were only letting 100 people in and it was first come first serve).

It was definitely worth waiting in the cold for as the set, despite being no more than half an hour long, was fantastic and out of this world. I'll be honest, Brian Fallon was my main reason for going, but the other guys were great as well. Chuck Ragen was amazing live.

Fallon lived up to ALL my expectations of seeing him live. He was flawless and listening to him live surrounded by amazing denim has been one of my favourite live experiences (and we know how much I love live music). I love it when music and fashion collide like this as it really is a collaboration of my two favourite things. 

They were absolutely amazing live, and the highlight was when Brian Fallon did one of The Gaslight Anthem songs, The 59 Sound, which is off my favourite album. It was such a great atmosphere in store and there couldn't have been more than 100 people there due to space, which made the who experience that much more special.

It's always amazing when one of your heroes lives up to all expectations and I'm a much bigger fan now. I know I've heard stories about people seeing their favourite bands and them not living up to expectations, so I'm gad these guys did such a beautiful set.

They ended their set with a beautiful song, which only had one guitar, but had everyone singing. That is the mark of a real musician, and it's great to know that real, non-manufactured music still exists. I'll save my rant about rubbish reality 'music' shows for another day, but I'll say that I recommend real music where the musicians have worked hard and are really passionate about what they do. For them it's about the music, which is written from real emotion, and getting it out there. There are no gimmicks or PR helping them, it's pure talent and passion that gets them to where they are and they really deserve it.

We Are Augustines is another band I'm really loving these days. They've had it rough (the lead singer's brother and mother both commit suicide from drug abuse) and the lyrics really reflect what he feels. They're a band who really deserve the success that comes their way.

What's been your best live music experience? What are your thoughts on the current state of the music world?

Sherin xx

Take 10 Challenge 16: Next Coat

As winter hits, it seems that all you see is a sea of blacks and greys as everyone switches in to their winter mode. Alongside the dark mornings and dreary weather, everything can seem a bit too miserable, which is why bright coats are the way forward. They add a bit of light to everything and can be really cheery.

I've wanted a red coat for a while now, so was very excited when Next offered, once again, to sponsor our latest Take10 Challenge with a coat.

The coat is really lovely and is one that I will probably wear throughout the winter, with a pair of boots. I love how vibrant the colour is and the fitting was really good as well. Next still isn't really one of my 'go-to' stores for essentials but this coat is changing my mind. I really liked it.

So, a huge thumbs up for the coat. It's warm and cosy, as well as fun and stylish! I know some of the other girls had mixed feelings about the coat, but I loved it.

And how the rest of the girls styled their coats:

Jen from A Little Bird Told Me
MJ from Dreaming Spires & Old Car Tyres
Sherin from HiFashion
Vicki from Magpie Girl
Paula of Pinkbow 
Ellie of Pretty Much Penniless
Sabine from Psynopsis
Susie from TakeOut in Couture
Sarah from We Shop Therefore We Are
Harriet from Where is Harriet 

What coat do will you be wearing this season?

Sherin xx

P.S. There is actually no need for a coat in Qatar, hehe. I'm melting is the glorious heat.

Keeping it Casual

I actually wore this outfit quite a while ago, and have only just got round to posting it. I wore it on the first proper cold day of the year, and my word was it cold!! This was definitely not enough to keep me warm. I've since learned my lesson and have dug out all my warm coats and jumpers.

I decided to wear my favourite hat, which I always spot celebrities in. The first time I wore it (the day I bought it), we saw Nick Cave. The second time I saw the drummer of my favourite band, third time I saw Marina from Marina and the Diamonds. And the fifth time I wore it, I saw Brian Fallon (although, to be fair, he was preforming, but that still counts!)

I wore my A Wear Jeans, a black Dorothy Perkins t-shirt and my favourite Tommy Hilfiger shoes. I also wore my new cardigan, which I bought from the Emma Watson range at People Tree. I'd had my eye on it for ages (I really can't justify like £40 for a cardigan) and it finally went on sale, so I snapped it up, then bought another one in a different colour.

And here's an arty shot from Susie:

Sherin xx

I'm off!!

I'm off on holiday for a few weeks to visit my dad in the Middle East, so as you read this, I'm probably on a plane, craming in as many movies as possible.

Internet access will be good though, so I won't be completely MIA, and will be posting regularly. I've been really busy, running around like frantic these last few months, so I'm really looking forward to spending some time in the sun, by the pool and just chilling out.

I'll most likely be wearing these Tommy Hilfiger shoes throughout as they're perfect for a sunny holiday! I should probably also mention that the cigarette butt isn't mine. It was just bad positioning!!

In the mean time though, I thought I'd mention this cool piece of information which made it to my inbox a few days ago.

Lingerie Experts Rigby & Peller are doing a great Recycle Your Bra Campaign right now. In honour of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Rigby & Pellar are asking women to bring in their old bras, in store, to receive £10 off a new purchase. This is going to run from 4th - 31st October, so get recycling! And for every 10 bras coming in, £1 will also be donated to Breast Cancer Care.


Sherin xx

Thanks Susie for the picture.

Gant and Farlows

I had a few more press days on Thursday: Gant and Farlows. Although completely different, both brands focused on classic pieces that can be worn year after year, so I had a good time comparing them both.

Gant is a company I've really started to fall in love with recently. I was at their Press Day last season and loved how preppy and simple the collection was, and this season, they're paired their timeless pieces with a bit more glamour.

There were a lot of the preppy, classic pieces that wouldn't look out of place at a country club and the layout of the Press Day definitely made me feel like I was at one. There were lawn chairs and even croquet pieces. There were a lot of things like stripes shirts, blazers and simple dress: pieces that are nice and easy to wear and can be worn year after year.

This dress below was probably my favourite from the collection. I will definitely be buying it when it hits stores.

There was also a lot of colour to make the collection a lot brighter and fun as well as some interesting prints, such as rackets and sea horses (on a bikini, which was really fitting).

There was also an American In Morocco collection, inspired by Hollywood movies and their view of Romantic Africa. The materials were light, such as linin and the colours were perfect for the environment: greens, khaki etc.

My second stop of the evening was Farlows, which honestly isn't a brand I'd heard of before, but I'm glad I discovered it.
As oppossed to the American Prep look, Farlows has a much more 'Country Manor' feel to it and caters to the needs of people who live in the country and do outdoorsy stuff, such as fishing and hunting. And it was clear to see that from the displays. There were a lot of fishes and fishing rods dotted around the store, as well as hunting accessories.

The women's collection was pretty impressive. There was a lot of tweed (hats, jackets, skirts) as well as some amazing boots.

Farlows gave us full reign of the store and asked each of us to pick an outfit fit for a manor. It was so much fun picking an outfit that I never thought I'd be able to wear, and I think I pulled it off pretty well.

(Photo's taken by the photographer that was on hand for the evening)

I decided to go head to toe in tweed, which I had so much fun wearing. The cap was my favourite part of the whole look. I am definitely going to buy a real tweed cap like that at some point.

Farlows also shared some countryside fashion tips with us, such as Old is the new black and the importance of real tweed.

As ever, there are a ton more pictures from both these events, as well as all the other Press Events I've been to this last week on my Facebook Page.

Have a great weekend!

Sherin xx