DESK, DUSK TO DISCO: MY BLOGGER WORKING WARDROBE

I wrote all about going full time as a freelance Blogger and Youtuber last week (read the blog here) so I wanted to follow on from that post with a little insight into the types of outfits I put together for my working day. As a full time blogger in London no 2 days are ever the same. I try and divide my week up into days when I am working from home, flitting between breakfast meetings and press appointments and then there are the wonderful dinners, fashion networking parties and champagne receptions to attend.

My working wardrobe needs to be super flexible, fashion-led and functional for many different occasions as my work takes me from early morning right through to when the clock strikes midnight.

Last month I went down to Bicester Village to top up my wardrobe for the New Year. I knew exactly the type of pieces I was after: a new handbag, some comfortable but chic leisure wear for my work-from-home days and a killer cocktail look for a few parties I have coming up over fashion week.

Like most, the older I get the more disposable income I can allocate to my wardrobe. Also with age, my taste for quality brands and investment pieces grows.

I cannot believe it was my first time going to Bicester Village. Tons of my friends make bi-annual pilgrimages to this designer discount heaven to top up their wardrobes with their favourite brands at a fraction of the cost. Armed with gift card and a thirst to shop I got on the 10am train from Marylebone and 1 hour later I stepped off the train in the heart of the village. Yes it has its own station!

DESK

I work from home anywhere between 1-3 days of the week. I have a routine that involves getting up, and putting on one of my many leisurewear looks. Last year I spent many a day not even getting out my pyjamas when I worked from home. This was a bad habit that made me less efficient and gave me a lazier mind set. I made a resolution this year that I would start making an effort to dress in the mornings on my days at home.

Cue my go-to “work from home” look. Most days this will involved a chic pair of joggers and a jumper. I have quite a collection of them now and I picked up a luxurious feeling pair of navy cashmere joggers from Sandro. They are comfortable and chic and don’t make me feel like a sloth. Whenever I reach down and touch the fabric I remember I am in cashmere and it’s fabulous.

A sweater is the perfect top for days like these. I wanted to update my sweater collection with something fun and went to Bicester with the aim of bagging myself a cool Kenzo jumper. I picked up the oriental inspired one. If you watch my social you already know I favour a crew neck cotton jumper in grey so this was the perfect “elevated” version, a bargain at £110. (PS. I love how they tell you the original price on the atg and then the Bicester price”).

Glasses by Miu Miu.

Scarf by Topshop.

DAY TO DUSK

On a day when I have lots of appointments, lunch meetings and day time events I try and make myself look as chic and presentable as possible whilst being comfortable. I learnt my lesson early on, a pair of heeled boots look great in the day but if I’m running around town I know I’ll be crippled by 3pm.

I made a beeline for Gucci as soon as I arrived at Bicester. I never thought I’d be able to afford a pair of Gucci loafers. They had 1 pair left in my size of these suede beauties so I snapped them up for a very reasonable £185! They literally go with everything and a loafer is not only comfortable but also so chic. Added kudos for them being a Gucci horse bit loafer too.

The rest of my look is actually pretty basic. A crisp white shirt with elongated cuffs and a pair of my fav girlfriend jeans. I’ve been obsessing over Furla’s box bags recently so I went into the Bicester store and ummed and ahhh’ed for ages. I settled on the red one because it was so lovely and bright. It’s perfect if I decide to go on to dinner also.

Jewellery by Mango.

Belt by New Look.

DISCO

One massive perk to my job is the invites I get to really lovely evening events. Cocktail and canapé events at hotels are common, industry events like awards ceremonies also happen occasionally. These are often black tie and involved a sit down dinner. Sometimes a brand will hire out a cool venue, stick a shit ton of champagne behind the bar and get a cool DJ in, just because.

I hadn’t planned on picking up a jumpsuit but when you find “the one” it’s hard to leave her behind. This Stella McCartney jumpsuit are what cocktail attire dreams are made of! I love the wide leg and quite masculine tailoring but the exposed décolletage and corseted bust area is really sexy and perfect for nighttime. The perfect balance between suited and sexy.

I initially posted this on Instagram in the changing room and you can see how long the trouser legs were. I had to get the dry cleanser to chop off 5 inches! My first ever designer dress was Stella McCartney for a very special occasion at 19. It was so nice to go in store a see so many beautiful pieces of clothing and know that almost a decade later I still love a bit of Stella!

After spending 6 hours shopping (honestly you could lose a week at Bicester village) I filled up on sushi from itsu and took my beautifully packaged goods home with me.

Shoes & Blazer by Topshop.

Lipstick by Chanel.

Have you made the Bicester pilgrimage before? What designer bargain goods did you score?

Useful links

Getting to Bicester 

Brands at Bicester 

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