And so,  it looks as though the blazer is sticking around for another season. Whereas a classic blazer is undoubtedly a must have in every wardrobe, this seasons school boy blazer trend is a great and easy way to incorporate the staple suit piece into your outfits.

Look to the catwalks for inspiration.

My absolute favourite designer for tailoring is Stella McCartney. Her  slouchy, slightly oversized tailoring captivates and completely inspires me, and has caught on in a big way. 

The longer boyfriend jacket with the strong shoulder and the pushed-up sleeves that she showed in her Spring Summer  2009 collection,  worn over little cocktail dresses or with cropped pants has become a big trend.

Not advisable in these credit crunching times…

but worth a peek at what £1,025 will get you.

If you don’t have enough stashed away for this incredible Stella Original, then fear not. There are plenty of High Street alternatives.

First stop, Ebay. To be honest, there are a lot of boyfriend blazers on there, especially vintage, but due to obvious high demand and popularity now, prices aren’t as barginous as expected.

OVERSIZE BLAZER DRESS JACKET TOP  £39.90

Next stop, Asos. 

They have a good selection Jackets, not a cheap as I would have liked, but worth a look.

ASOS Jersey Boyfriend Blazer £40

ASOS Boyfriend Blazer £48.94

If it helps you a little bit more… 

Free delivery on all ASOS orders over £50 using code APRILDELIVER

(during April only)

Newlook are considerably cheaper, but I find they don’t always fit as well.

Boyfriend Blazer £30.00

My favourite for nailing the  boyfriend blazer trend is loyal Topshop. Completely overpriced but a great match for Stella McCartney

Jersey Boyfriend Blazer £50

I recently dug deep and pulled out of my wardrobe a blazer I’d purchased about 5 years ago.  All it’s taken is a quick dust off  and a roll up of the sleeves, and teamed  with a pair of leggings or layered over a dress and I’m all set for the season ahead…

It sounds so obvious, but properly looking after your clothes, shoes and bags is a lost art.

• Stuff your Shoes: And not just when it rains.  Placing crumpled-up newspaper inside helps them to keep their shape in between wears. And also recycles your daily London Metro.Bonus!

• Learn to iron properly:  Invest in a bottle of  Spray Starch. Clothes can often appear old and floppy looking. This little miracle in a bottle can stiffen clothes back up again in minutes so they regain their jauntiness. (The best place to buy this is definitely Ebay) Advice for ironing those silky numbers, is to iron when still slightly  damp.

• Use a clothes brush: Not only does giving your winter coat a good brush combat fluff, it also keeps the fibres perky, making it look less flat and brand new for a lot longer. (check out Ebay for a cheap clothes brush)

• Replace your Zip: Any local haberdashery will fix them for you at a very cheap price. Or better still, learn to fix them yourself. I’ll write a post on how to do this for you soon, because its honestly an invaluable skill.

• Use moth balls: Honestly, even if you don’t have any right now, those little bastards always find a way in and will deffinately destroy your entire wardrobe.

• Use a good deodorant:… no seriously…  Some of the more aggressive brands out there can literally eat away at the fabric under your armpits… sexy! The unscented deodorants are the best to use.

• Weather proof your leather and Suede: For Obvious reasons. And use specialist cleaner on these special fabrics also. You will increase the items life dramatically.

• Shave off bobbles: Cheap wool produces millions of little bobbles, so shave them off regularly.     

• LEARN TO HANDWASH: This will save the life of your garments! Because I work in the industry, I know that we stick ‘DRY CLEAN’ on the labels to pretty much cover our own backs against shrinkage and possibilty of the colours running. In actual fact, you can pretty much get away with hand washing nearly everything. So here’s the truth for you…

• Any label that says ‘DRY CLEAN’ can be hand washed.
• Any label that says ‘DRY CLEAN ONLY’ can probably be hand washed, but proceed with caution.
• Any label that says ‘DRY CLEAN ONLY’ and has the dirtiest mother of all stains ever, only then goes to the dry cleaners. Purely because seriously stain removing at home can be pretty risky for the untrained.

HOW TO HAND WASH AT HOME

To have a go at home, I highly recommend Hagerty Dry-Cleaning Kit £8.80.  It cleans up to 16 garments  – anything from a silk tie to a coat. That’s as little as 56p per garment. It basically turns your tumble dryer into a ‘virtual dry cleaners’ . BRILLIANT!

For those with a bit more guts….

• ” Get some very mild soap, dissolve in hot water, then add cold so that the water is tepid.
• Rub dirty spots and marks VERY GENTLY (with one finger, using a stroking motion). Swirl the clothes around the sink and leave them sitting there in the warm soapy water for a bit, NEVER WRING, TWIST OR SCRUB!
• Let out the soapy water and replace with clean. Swirl your clothes around until they are rinsed, changing the water as appropriate.
• Press out the water – DO NOT WRING- put the garments to dry on a piles of towels and leave until dry

Lastly, NEVER stick anything you’ve just hand washed into the tumble dryer. It will shrink to death

And there you go…. now there’s no excuses!

It all started a few months ago with an MC Hammer inspired Jumpsuit. I needed no convincing with the £15 Primark wonder, and have since been obsessed with the must have Spring trend!

Take full advantage of the Harem style Jumpsuits. Confidence is definitely key to carrying off the look , but once mastered you’re good to go.

First stop is ASOS. They seem to have a good  range of  Jumpsuits in all styles, shapes, lengths and colours. They have a few goodies for under £15 in the sale which are worth a look… Along with a useful 20% off discount they are offering. (type ASOSLOOK at the checkout)

A good start is this subtle Plunge Neck Jumspuit £24.50 (£19.60 with discount)

This casual Jersey Harem Jumpsuit is a a great way to brake into the harem trend.  £29.50 (23.60 with discount)

Definitely my  favourite of the ASOS bunch. This Vero Moda Losse Shirt Jumpsuit is a little pricey at £34.50… but worth considering with the discount at £27.60.

If I’m honest, the High Street appears slightly pricey for their versions of the popular trend. If you type  ‘Retro/ Vintage Jumpsuits’ into Ebay, you’ll certainly find a few hidden tresures there from £5/£10.

Boohoo.com surprised me with their  ‘Fayre Jersey Jumpsuit’, on sale at £20!

All in all, I’ve found the cheaper of the bunch tend to be the more casual looking Jumpsuits. But bare in mind this nothing that a good pair of shoes, and piece of statement jewellery cant fix.

with love xx