web analytics
7 In fashion

No gape skinnies and a note on ‘smart casual’

Girl wearing long beige coat standing on platform at train station Manchester England.

Oh HI THERE side eye.  Totally unintentionally shade being thrown here I promise.  Ain’t nobody got any need for that on a Friday morning.  Far more need for coffee and the like.

Anyway, gone are the days of the good old ‘here’s what I wore today’ outfit post and most of us just share when we wore something fan dabby dozy… but realistically how often do most of us wear those outfits?  Time for the boring but oh so good and oh so affordable ones to get some attention too me thinks.  Starting with whaddya know, the jeans and white top aka most classic combo to ever grace the Earth.  The failsafe, ‘smart casual’ combo.  Find some holy grail jeans that hug you in all the right places and you, my friend, are sorted.

So we’ll start with the jeans, and I do hope you’ll be as impressed as I was to learn that this dear pair hail from none other than good old Primark.  Tbh I’ve had mixed success with Primark jeans before – one pair fit OK but I don’t think suited me brilliantly, and one pair fall down all. the. time – but these are definitely a success.  Finally Primark have brought out different leg lengths and boy do I appreciate it.  I love high rise styles, but ‘high rise’ anything is very rarely actually high rise on me.  Long body problems.  Brands usually add length to the leg and forget that bodies come in different lengths too.  These are in the length 34 – I don’t actually need all that length in the leg but it’s a novelty to have it!  I’ll take the rolled up hems if it means they’re actually high in the rise too.  Not sure if there’s a decent sounding way to say they have a nice deep crotch but hey, that’s what I mean.  I’ll be honest that I don’t hold out high hopes for them keeping their shape for ages given that they cost a whole £8, but so far so good.

As for component 2 of my failsafe boring outfit… well I could waffle ’til the cows come home about the wonders of the white shirt.  I’m a very happy bunny to see shirts on trend this year and I’ve spotted about 453 variations on a basic shirt on the high street already – good news for Lil.  Not that I’m one to be a slave to trends, but still.  Gimme all the shirts.  For someone who never sets foot in an office I have quite the collection/obsession, although I regularly wear them at home when I feel like I need a hand in getting my shit together.  We all know outfit correlates to brain functionality.   My faves include the wide sleeve one, the tie waist one, and the hot air balloon print one, but – this particular soft drapey one from Forever21 has been probably the most worn of them all.  It’s been worn with bikinis, jeans, jumpers, the lot.  What a winner.

Maybe wearing shirts all the time is a tad too smart but tbh I’m almost always overdressed so oh well.  Simple styles feel best for me – baggy, grungy, clashy clothes just aren’t the one at all!  Fair play if that’s your style (you work it) but I just feel like an idiot.  I mean, I also feel like an idiot when I turn up in my crisp white shirts and proceed to spill (inevitably bright red) food down it, but I’m gonna feel like a plonker for one reason or another so there’s no avoiding it.  Dressing smart/classic/preppy feels very ‘me’, and I think that’s enough analysis gone into two items of clothing for one day!

If you’re wondering when I developed a chronic case of Resting Bitch Face, we were just playing around with different photography styles and locations on this test shoot!  And by ‘playing around with locations’ I mean taking photos in public places until security told us off.  Was fun regardless!  Photos by the lovely Katie Hill Photography.

lily kate x

follow me on bloglovin | twitter | instagram | youtube | facebook | linkedIn | email me

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

7 Comments

  • Reply
    Demilade
    18th March 2017 at 3:50 pm

    Haha I love this post.I haven’t had a lot of luck with Primark jeans in the past unfortunately. In my opinion, the best outfits are the simple but chic ones. White shirt and jeans will forever be a stylish combo! xx

    Coco Bella Blog

    • Reply
      lily kate
      2nd April 2017 at 9:09 pm

      Thanks so much Demilade! Maybe one of the new Primark styles will work for you, who knows 🙂
      I wear a white shirt and jeans so much it’s ridiculous – can’t beat it!
      Thanks for stopping by 🙂

  • Reply
    Sarah Docker
    19th March 2017 at 11:14 pm

    Eeeee! You look so amazing Lily. I need a white shirt like that! Seen a couple of gals wearing ones similar lately and it’s so simple yet beautiful. I love mixing smart pieces with more casual, but the best is when an outfit is comfortable and has style (rare, haha). You pull off these clothes so well. Can’t believe the jeans are from Primark!

    Sarah / http://www.scarletstate.co.uk

    • Reply
      lily kate
      2nd April 2017 at 9:13 pm

      Thank you SO much Sarah! These jeans are actually pretty comfy too which is a goddamn miracle haha. Your style always looks so fab!

  • Reply
    no gape skinny jeans (that actually fit well!)
    2nd April 2017 at 12:40 pm

    […] my updated 2017 post for no gape skinny jeans […]

  • Reply
    Connecting with creative people | Manchester Photographer
    7th April 2017 at 10:03 am

    […] bonus to not get kicked out by security this time too, as has become a running theme with test shoots.  All the places we asked in the Northern Quarter were happy for us to mess about taking photos […]

  • Reply
    For the love of pink and all things girly | Feminine clothes that make me feel good
    1st May 2017 at 11:27 am

    […] me a frilly sleeve or collar any day.  And yes yes yes to shirts having a moment.  All about that smart casual […]

  • Leave a Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.