OOTD: Workwear Style

You may have noticed on Twitter that I recently completed two weeks work experience at Bloomsbury as I am looking to begin my career in publishing. I don't often talk about my studies or career plans on my blog (although if you'd be interested, please let me know!) but today I wanted to give you a peek into my internship wardrobe. Fashion bloggers don't seem to share their workwear style very often, so I wanted to share my office look:

Dress: Primark. Sleeveless waistcoat: New Look. Necklaces: Primark. Shoes: Primark. Earrings: Platform 9/4, King's Cross

I commuted into London for two weeks, which took at least an hour and a half each way, so I needed my wardrobe to be comfortable and versatile. My go-to was therefore loose shift dresses like this navy blue tshirt dress from Primark. I intentionally bought this a few sizes too big in a size 14 to ensure that it was properly oversized and a more appropriate length for the office. I love the simple style, with short sleeves and zip pocket details - although unfortunately the pockets aren't real! 

To smarten up the look, I added a sleeveless waistcoat. I must admit than I was unconvinced on this slightly odd trend but once I tried one on I realised how versatile they could be. Publishing as an arts industry isn't smart in the suits and heels sense, but I still like to look formal, especially during an internship when impressions count. I think this waistcoat adds a degree of smartness without looking overdressed, which was exactly what I was looking for. I love the grey colour and checked print to layer over plain dresses like this one, which adds some detail and warmth to the look.

I wore trainers for my walk from King's Cross to the Bloomsbury office but I always took a pair of ballet flats to change into once I was there. I love these pale blue pumps which I picked up from Primark, of course. The bright blue colour adds a pop of colour and I loved the shiny buckle detail. I matched this with gold necklaces and of course, I had to wear my Dobby earrings to work with Bloomsbury, the publishers of Harry Potter! 

Do you have any workwear style tips or posts to share? What do you think of my outfit? 

Jess

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Nokia Lumia 735 Review

I hate my current phone. My trusty Moto G finally died a few months ago and since then, I've been making the best of a Huawei Ascend Y550. It's fine and does the job, but I've ran out of storage space so I irritatingly can't download any more apps, even with a memory card. I've been getting fed up of making do so when Microsoft got in touch about me trialing a Nokia Lumia phone, I jumped at the chance:

I was sent the Nokia Lumia 735, as Lumia Voices thought it would be a great fit for me thanks to its 'Selfie Cam' and they judged me well! If you follow me on Instagram, you will know that I love a good selfie and I've been posting more than ever thanks to the Selfie Cam. The front camera is an impressive 5MP and the Lumia Selfie app automatically smooths everything, making your photos totally Instagram-worthy without any extra filters. I get seriously annoyed at the quality of my current phone's front camera so the Nokia Lumia 735 was a dream. I could flip my camera, snap a quick image and I was done - simple! 

The normal camera was also great and I made a lot of use of it; the photos above from my Instagram were taken with a mix of front and main camera. I particularly liked the self-timer and exposure settings; it meant that I could attach the phone to my selfie stick and set a timer to then take up to five photos on different exposures, which meant I was sure to get the right shot. Unfortunately, what really let the phone down in the whole was the lack of apps. The only version of Instagram was a BETA version, with far less filters and no ability to edit brightness, highlights or contrast. This was such a shame as for some photos which needed an extra boost, I ended up Bluetooth-ing the photos to my current phone in order to post them to Instagram., which slightly defeated the point!

My favourite app was definitely the pedometer. Thanks to my trips to London and Paris, I managed to rack up a decent number of steps and I quickly became addicted to tracking how far I'd walked each day. It's a great motivator to get off the sofa and an easy, free alternative to a FitBit, which I've been thinking of buying for a while but they are just so expensive! The records of how far you've walked and calories burnt were brilliant, and you can also personalise this by inputting your height and weight for more accurate readings. 

Overall, I was impressed with the Nokia 735; the bright green style is striking and modern, the selfie camera is a blogger's dream and there are some great inbuilt apps like the pedometer. However the lack of social media apps really let me down and I'm not sure I could transfer to a Nokia without my beloved Instagram! It must be said that for me Nokia phones still bring up images of the clunky bricks everyone owned at school and they have certainly come a long way since then - I'm pretty impressed!

Have you tried any Nokia phones? 

Jess

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Say It With Flowers

Who says romance is dead, but I've never been sent a bunch of flowers by an admirer. I also rarely buy them for myself but a beautiful bunch really brightens up a room, so when Debenhams Flowers got in touch to offer me a bouquet from their flower delivery Summer range, I had to say yes.

I originally ordered a bunch of sunflowers and green hydrangeas but when the bouquet arrived, the green hydrangeas were starting to brown at the edges and the sunflowers weren't fully open. I was a rather disappointed so I got in touch with Debenhams to describe the situation. I was so impressed with their response; I immediately got an email back apologising for the flowers and explaining that if this happened to any customer, their policy is to send another bunch alongside either a bottle of wine or some chocolates to apologise. 

I appreciate that fresh flowers, which are then transported across the country, can be tricky things so I was more than happy to accept Debenhams offer for a new bunch and a bottle of white wine. Next day delivery is available until 9pm on weekdays so the delivery was speedy and hassle free.

The bouquet of roses and pastel pink stocks I subsequently chose were just what I had been expecting the first time round. The peach coloured roses are gorgeous and the long pink stocks create a summery and fresh arrangement of flowers. I was really impressed with both the quality of the flowers by post and the excellent customer service. Sometimes all you need is a bunch of flowers to brighten up your day and this bunch looks lovely in my sitting room. 

Even better, Debenhams Flowers have given me an exclusive discount code to share with you. For 25% off your own bouquet of flowers, you just need to use the code DFBLOG25 (this excludes the flowers by post range). That's the next birthday or anniversary sorted!

Jess

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