...without going on the plain side.

I have had a bit of a struggle looking for pieces to go with a big bold statement clothes like bright coloured jeans, a blazer, or printed pieces without the boring Plain-Jane white tee that most people seem to resort to.

I have put together statement pieces to show you that it's not only about the plain white tee but that you can mix and match prints or wild colours with something just as exciting.

Outfit One: Sunday Brunch (Statement Piece: Tribal Print Skort)



The tribal print skort is the centre of attention in this outfit so I wanted to choose pieces that would really compliment and challenge it at the same time. The top isn't a plain white tank, it has subtle aztec prints on it. Here I am clashing prints but in a safe way but if you're feeling daring you could go for brighter clashing prints. I added light purple bamboo wedges to go with my breezy relaxed look adding a bit of glamour.



White Aztec Print Tank.



Even with the cream on the skort you can still get away with the white.



What I absolutely love about these wedges is not only the bamboo wedge detail giving it a summery and tropical feel but also the gold hardware at the back. It just adds uniqueness to them.

Tank Vest (Primark £6), Skort (River Island £20), Cork Wedges (River Island £55), Nude Polka Dot Tote (Topshop £16)

Outfit Two: Floral Fever (Statement Piece: Coloured Jeans)



I always see coloured jeans with a plain top or more conventionally a plain white t-shirt. It does take  careful consideration on what prints and patterns would suit coloured jeans. You could go for subtle prints like the tank in my Sunday Brunch outfit or take on this loud floral blouse.

Simple accessories with an outfit like this and little to no jewellery would put the attention on the jeans and blouse. I would add casual ballet flats and a black across-body bag to finish the look giving all the attention to the jeans and the blouse.

Floral Blouse (River Island £25), Purple Jeans (Topshop £40)

Outfit Three: Pink Tribe (Statement Piece: Bright Coloured Jeans)



This outfit is very similar to Outfit 2 since we are concentrating on the coloured jeans. These jeans are bright, so to play it cool I added neutral flats and a white cross-body bag. Again, we have something printed, a tribal print top. There are a few pinks in there so throwing this over the jeans would look like they were meant to be.

Tribal Top (Primark £4), Bright Pink Jeans (Topshop £40), Bag (New Look)

Outfit Four: Uptown Chic (Statement Piece: Bold Blazer)



I purposely made this outfit plain looking with the light-washed jeans and the white vest. The plain ballet flats go along with the nude bag.






What I really love about this blazer is that you can make the mint cuffs disappear whenever you need them to...



Light Pink Blazer (River Island £40), Vest (River Island £6), RI Nude Bag (River Island £16)

Outfit Five: Back to School (Statement Pieces: Denim Shirt + Floral Leggings)



Instead of wearing my denim shirt with plain leggings or jeggings, I thought of mixing it with floral ones and plus a backpack with heart print to mix it up even more.

Denim Shirt (River Island £30), Floral Leggings (New Look), Heart print Back-Pack (Primark £9)

I wanted to try something more simple, cute and literally light, so when I noticed ladybugs on Alexa Chung's twitter photo I had to try them out. Nail art always weighs down my fingertips because of the amount of coats needed for the design but this is lighter and also more natural looking in a way since I haven't done a coloured background. I have actually been trying to think of ways to keep my nail clear coated but with a more minimalistic design. I really like the shape and tips of my nails naturally.

I did my ladybugs at an angle and almost at the tip of my nail to create the effect of them crawling.

To keep it looking natural I decided to use a clear coat as the base, I used No7's So Bright Nail Brightener which instantly brightens up your nails, making it look more lighter brighter and healthier.



What else I used:

Barry M Matt White, Rimmel London Lycra Pro Coral Romance and Barry M Black.  I particularly like Rimmel's Coral Romance as a red, it's so bright and orangy red (simply coral really).

You'll notice the background effect when the ladybird clashes against it.

Step 1: Apply Nail Brightener or any other base, it could even be a coloured base.

Step 2: Use your nail paint brush to create an oval shape, don't worry about it being absolutely perfect, it isn't noticeable when you add the finishing touches. TIP: To make sure it isn't all blobby go over it with a hair grip removing any excess nail paint.



Step 3: With a nail art brush (dip the brush into your chosen colour, black) draw in the antennas, again, you don't have to worry about perfection, this was a surprisingly easy step.





Step 4: Add the black dots (as many or as little as you like) with a hair grip end by dabbing the end into the nail paint bottle careful not to take up too much. Dot it onto your ladybirds. Note: Application is easier when you pull the hair grip apart as shown in many of my nail art posts.



You may want to do smaller black dots as legs on their sides, but it doesn't really matter a you can't see their legs when you look down on an actual ladybug.

Step 5: Give your ladybug some eyes with the same method as you did the black dots.



Step 6: Once dry go over with a clear top coat for protection.

Finally...



A closer look...