Autumn Style Picks

In what seems like a blink of an eye, summer has decided to make its way out. Yes, we might still have some sunshine, but instead of hot lunch breaks spent in the park, there's now a definite autumnal chill in the air.

Instead of mourning the loss of summer 2014 by mid-August, it means its officially OK to start planning, getting excited about and even purchasing some new autumn style essentials. Summer ending doesn't seem so bad now does it?

Here are a few items I'm lusting after for the approaching chilly months...

Parka - £70, Pull & Bear

Source: pullandbear.com

Personally I think the outfit the parka has been styled with in this picture kind of spoils it (fash ignorance maybe, but black socks with that skirt - really?), but believe me it is SO gorgeous. I tried it on in store on a recent trip to Westfield and the way the faux fur hood hugs your neck is just heavenly. Parkas are a timeless staple and at £70 a really reasonably priced investment. I can't wait to wear it.

Black ripped JAMIE jeans - £42, Topshop

Source: topshop.com

I can just hear my mum (and boyfriend!) shouting in my ear 'your knees will get cold!', but I'm all for a bit of impracticality when jeans look this good. Ripped jeans are massively 'in' for autumn, and I rarely buy them from anywhere other than Topshop, as they're great quality and fit my shape in a way a lot of other jeans don't. These ones are super tight but flattering, and have a bit of stretch in them which, let's face it, all of us need after one of mum's roast dinners! Teamed with some chunky boots and a big coat, these will take you from autumn through to winter.

Chunky heeled boots - £30, Boohoo.com

Source: boohoo.com

Just the sort of boots I'd be teaming with those ripped skinnies! Although they look quite high, the arch on these isn't too big, so would hopefully be comfortable for every day wear. Everyone enjoys having a bit of extra height, and at £30 it's confidence with only a small dent to your wallet.

Leather Jacket - £119.99, Mango

Source: mango.com

The price tag makes me wince a bit, but every girl needs a decent leather jacket. I lost my beloved Miss Selfridge faux leather number in a bar a couple of months back and have been on the hunt for a new one ever since. I'd never experienced love at first sight before, but with this Mango jacket, I think I now have. The leather is so soft and fits perfectly, I've now convinced myself that I NEED this jacket. It'll improve my life infinitely... right?

Paisley boyfriend shirt - £22.99, Missguided.co.uk

Source: missguided.co.uk

A vintage style, paisley print shirt livens up what is otherwise a fairly dark autumn wardrobe colour palette. Tucked into a pair of jeans paired with chunky boots, this works as gorgeous smart casual outfit both in and out of the office. And in a relaxed boyfriend style, it's perfect for lazy days and thrown over a pair of leggings.

Hope you enjoyed my picks, let me know if there's anything you're looking forward to wearing for autumn - I can't wait to wear all these!

-PB 

How to: make the most of a small room

I recently moved in to a new house with eight of my friends (I know, crazy, but I like company) and after drawing straws to decide who had which of the rooms, I ended drawing the shortest straw there was...

I moved in and my room was/is rather small. It still only had a bed in it with a desk supposedly still left to come. There was no way a desk was going to fit unless I wanted zero floor space so I decided to do without.

Instead of sulking about my matchbox compared to the spacious rooms downstairs, I picked up my heels and decided I just had to make the best of it. There had to be some way of making the room a nice place to be for the rest of my tenancy!

The first place I went for 'bedroom inspiration' (which also drew up some rather dodgy results, presumably for middle aged married couples looking to 'spice' things up) was Instagram of course. But after a few minutes it became apparent that most of the bedrooms in the search results were considerably bigger than mine is. If I couldn't rely on Instagram, I had to get a bit creative myself

A month or so later, here's what it looks like. It's still not exactly how I want it, and definitely not going to inspire much on Insta, but I thought I'd share a few tips for how to make the best of a small room, should you end up with one :-)

Tip number one: Smart storage

Cheap and cheerful plastic boxes available from Ikea, Wilko, Tesco etc.

Under-bed boxes and other mediums of storage now excite me far more than they should. A couple of boxes under your bed to keep toiletries, spare clothes, bed linen and any other odd bits frees up space in your wardrobe, which is pretty vital if you've got too many clothes/shoes like me!

Another investment that completely maximised my wardrobe space was this hanging clothes organiser from Ikea and matching collapsable boxes. Not only do they match my colour scheme, they also mean I can use the bottom shelves of my wardrobe for shoes, and putting my underwear & socks in the boxes instead of my bedside drawer means I've now got space for make up and other essentials.

Unfortunately I've never been one for folding things neatly...!

Sneak peek of my unimpressive underwear drawer - oo er

Tip number two: Choose a colour scheme

Several months ago if you'd said the phrase 'colour scheme' to me, a vision of a bored Stepford Wife agonising over a lampshade that didn't quite match the fuschia and orange bedspread would have sprung to mind. But picking one or two colours and sticking to them makes a small room far more pleasing to the eye than a big one that's paid no attention to the colour and decor. I chose pink and white (as you've probably already guessed), so most of the additions to my room (the laundry basket, bedside table, lamp and flower decoration) are all either white or pink and makes it feel much more unified.

Tip number three: Create a sense of space

The last thing you want in a tiny room is loads of clutter taking up valuable space, so keeping the room as tidy as possible makes it a much nicer to place to be (thank god for smart storage!).
As well as not cluttering the floors, keeping the decoration on the walls and other places to a minimum will makes the room seem much more spacious, especially if the walls are white. I'm quite lucky to be in an attic room with a velux window and lots of light, but I've currently only got one bit of wall decoration up (which I still need to mount, oops!). I've also bought a shelf from Ikea that I'm going to put on the wall nearest my bed when I get around to buying the right screws, which should hopefully make it a little less bare.

Hope you enjoyed this post! All of the furniture and little decorative additions are from Ikea, Wilkinson's or other supermarkets so all totally affordable if you're a student. Let me know if you have any tips yourself for making the most of a small room - I'd love to hear them.

-PB