STYLED: Floral Botanical

I remember the way that we touched I wish I didn’t like it so much
I get so emotional, baby
Every time I think of you
I get so emotional, baby
Ain’t it shocking what love can do

Location: Botanic Gardens Belfast

Suprise its me !

I am back with a new attitude, new look and new approach. Getting back into blogging and reinventing myself on my social medias really helped me get back to the core of why I began blogging and vlogging back in 2008/2009 and more recently I have really got happier in accepting my approach to the whole thing. I am here for me, I am here for fun and I am here because I feel like I still want to share my opinion and voice my thoughts and feelings.

A few recent physical changes are that after vowing not to dye my hair and to grow it out I cut off 2 inches, bleached it and coloured it neon pink and orange ( directions hairdye is the bomb.com) and I couldn’t be happier.

Also my obsession with Rupauls drag race is now probably blindingly obvious, I was team sasha from day one and SPOILER ALERT I was so happy that beauty be damned and monsters reign for this next year!

If you want to join the revolution: innovate, that’s my solution!

Rings- Topshop Finer range £3 each in Sale 

Even though I am trying to come back again with a new attitude I still cannot not use my favourite location of Botanic gardens. I knew that the rose garden would probaby be in bloom by now and I think Sashas lipsync was so strongly in my mind that I had to recreate it for the blog!

Details:

Distressed boyfriend denim jacket- Primark new season

Black shirt dress- Primark

Trainers- JD sports

Chub rub shorts- Evans

Glasses- Specsavers Horace frames ( from the mens section !)

 

PHOTOGRAPHY AS ALWAYS BY MY MUM 

BYTAYLORJAYNE

STYLED: In Disguise

“Some of the best things that have ever happened to us wouldn’t have happened to us, if it weren’t for some of the worst things that have ever happened to us.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

Location: Belvoir Forest

So its been a while…

I don’t really have a reason or excuse except for sometimes life just gets a bit busy. I am going to try to get back into the swing of things, so I am beginning with a series of images that I took about two months ago now. Belvior forest is only about 30 minutes from my own house but as I stated in the last post it is somewhere I always forget about. It is such a beautiful place and I would defiantly recommend it for an afternoon stroll.

So I bought this camouflage jacket about 6 or more years ago from the army surplus shop in Smithfield market in Belfast when camouflage was having its first big popular moment. I remember at the time the owner of the had a print out of a ASOS listing and he was so proud that he was offering the same jackets for a tenner. Now camo is having a second fling at being super popular and I have whipped it out again.

 

 

MAJOR DRUNK EYES ALERT 

Details:

Camo jacket- Army Surplus

Pinafore dress- New Look Curves

Shirt- Evans

Tights- Primark

Runners- Primark

BYTAYLORJAYNE 

STYLED: Weekend Vibes

“Few of us ever live in the present. We are forever anticipating what is to come or remembering what has gone.”
― Louis L’Amour

Location: Botanical gardens & The MAC gallery 

I definitely didn’t forget that I had this blog post ready to go… nope… not at all 

I decided to take a slightly different approach this weekends post and I am going to combine a couple of days together, this weekend has been so beautiful in terms of weather and the combination of this and not working alot has meant that I have been able to really chill out this weekend. The weather has been so beautiful and in the high teens for the last few days I have tried to spend as much time as I could enjoying the sun. We decided on Friday that we would check out the new MAC gallery exhibition after I have seen #superape all over instagram.

Details:

Denim shearling jacket- Primark

Checkered Shirt dress- Monki

Drop Hem dress- Evans ( Super old stock- like 3 years!)

Fishnet tights- Primark

Metallic Trainers- Primark

PART TWO 

The day after spending time at the MAC gallery the weather became practically tropical and mum and I decided to head up to botanic gardens to enjoy the weather. For Belfast anything above ten degrees is tropical which means that places like Botanic gardens always become super duper busy but you can always find a relaxed corner to chill in and enjoy the weather.

Details:

PJ shirt- Evans

Straight leg jeans- New Look Curves

Metallic ankle boots-Primark

Quay sunglasses- TKmaxx

White crossbody bag- Primark

Statement hoop earrings- Primark

BYTAYLORJAYNE

 

STYLED: Statement Jeans

“In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful. Alice Walker

Location: Belvoir Forest 

I think we can all become guilty of ignoring and not appreciating our surroundings, you forget how incredible your surroundings can be. I live only about 30 minutes away from Belvior forest but I could probably count on one hand how many times I have actually visited. However I changed that by dragging mum down for a brief stroll through after a gym session, there is something so therapeutic to just chill out and unwind with a good long walk anywhere.

Last year was the first time really statement jeans came back onto the scene and I immediately fell in love with these Alice and You beautys! I got them on ASOS last year and I remember they were in and around £39 although I do remember getting some sort of discount on them. £39 is alot for jeans for me personally but for the amount of wear I have gotten out of them they have definitely been worth the investment. I was rather shocked that something so statement has been surprisingly easy to style, usually I wear them with a simple raglan tee and trainers but they also work with a black shirt and metallic heels which is good as thats how I chose to style them today.

Details:

Bomber Jacket- H&M sale

Black pj style shirt- Evans Clothing

Alice and You statement jeans- ASOS

Fishnet tights- Primark

Silver block heels – New Look sale

Glasses- Specsavers men’s Tokyo frames

A massive shoutout to Sharon and Chloe in Pure Beaut Reflex for giving me the most incredible mermaid lilac ombre nails. I have gone to Sharon for all my nail needs for years and I am never ever dissapointed.

P.S

The reality of on location blogging is a tad less glamorous than you would think!

BYTAYLORJAYNE

Chapter 24

‘You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ Eleanor Roosevelt

Day One of being 23

welcome to chapter 24 of the book we call T-J.I have previously written posts on turning 22 and 23 so i thought I would keep up traditions and write a post about my thoughts and feelings about becoming 24.

Now that I am 24  I can officially say that I have been blogging, vlogging or putting myself online in some form or another for the last eight years which is mind-blowing really, I was an completely different person at sixteen than I am now. It is crazy to think it has been so long because the whole thing has been such a journey from somewhere where all my confidence was a show to now where I can say I am confident and truly happy.  It is so true when people say fake it till you make it because this is so true of my own confidence journey, maybe some would disagree but I would say that I have always tried to give off vibes of being super confident even on days when it is easier said than done.

It took me such a long time to be happy with my personal style, I spent far too long hiding behind all black outfits in an attempt to sink into the back ground but these days I am all about shorter dresses, fishnets and metallic everything. I don’t want to give the impression however that any of this is easy because trust and believe me when I said it is the hardest thing you can do however it is the most worthwhile thing. You are in your body for your entire life and the moment you make it a happy place to be is the moment you let more important decisions happen.

It is so easy to look back on your life and only focus on the negative, times where you allowed your mental illnesses to take hold and dictate your every move. Times when you surrounded yourself with s many “friends” because you thought it was a numbers game instead of quality over quantity,  times where the decisions you made where more to ensure that you kept others happy instead of taking your own feelings into consideration. Never EVER feel guilty or selfish for taking the me time that we all need, a walk by yourself, a solo coffee date or really just anything which makes you feel better. It is so important to take the me time call seriously.

23 was stressful, fulfilling, exciting, scary, happy, eventful and everything in between but for me it was the most me I have ever been and if I take one thing into chapter 24 it would be to never stop being 1000% me , flabby bits and all

BYTAYLORJAYNE

GingerSnapsCollege: Final Chapter

 

On Monday 9th November 2015 I Graduated with a 2:1 Bsc Hons Fashion Management. I decided to share my graduation photos with you guys as I used my blog for the last three years to document my degree. It was a tough three years and as much as I did enjoy the degree I am so relieved to say it is all behind me. Alot of sleepless nights, haribo and takeaways where the only thing to get me through the final part, it was difficult, not impossible and I did it. My family and friends were the greatest strength getting me through my degree and I was so happy to have my whole family with me on the day. 

I have to say a massive thank you to my little brother who turned photographer for the day and created some beautiful memories from the day, it may have been cold and damp all day but we still had a brilliant time. 

My brother

My mother

My father

My sister

Dress- Evans Last year

Bag- Primark

Boots- New Look last year

Glitter socks- Primark 

Until next time…T-J xo

#FatSabbath : Belfast’s First Plus-size Clothes Swap

 

DISCLAIMER: To give full credit to the organisers all of my images were taken after the initial rush at the beginning of the event. Therefore the tables look messy because at that point they were but at the beginning I was much too excited to take photos of just how lovely the set up was pre-swap. 

On Sunday 4th October the Black Box bar in Belfast hosted the first ever plus-size clothing swap. Fat Sabbath was something that a friend of mine linked me to on Facebook a couple of months back and when I read that they were planning a clothing swap day I got mega excited, I have heard of clothing swaps before and thought that they seemed like a great idea but to have one right here in Belfast that was aimed towards plus-size was a super exciting discovery!

One of the organisers was a good blogger friend of mine Claire from French for Cupcake who also provided Cupcakes for the event day which were amazing and all the money donate on the day for entry and for the cupcakes all went straight to the Rainbow Project charity.

So on the day the doors were opened at 12:30pm so that we could all donate our items receive our swap tokens and help set up the tables full of items, I attended with my mum and sister and together we had about 60 items including clothing, shoes and accessories. Once we had the items checked off everyone helped set up the tables full of items. It was all organised into sizing which made it super easy to find items which were going to work for you. What I loved most about the concept was that it was items that I was going to end up donating anyway and this way I was able to pick up things which I wouldn’t probably have picked up in the shops or items which I thought I could re-purpose for something else.

My favourite thing about the event, besides a whole new wardrobe of clothes, was just getting time to talk to girls who are more relatable to me. I actually spent most of my day chatting and laughing with the girls about all things fashion, some of you may be aware that six months ago I moved jobs to work for Evans Clothing as my interest in fashion had moved into focusing on the concept of working within plus-size fashion, so it was just lovely to spend time talking to women that are the same as me, have the same issues with clothing and most importantly were just a lovely bunch of ladies to spend a Sunday afternoon with.

I decided to focus my attention on looking for pieces which I would typically pick-up so I got alot of print, pattern, colour and sequins which I felt would be a great additions and pieces that would make me think more outside the box with my own fashion choices. I think alot of that mentality is down to Netflix releasing the Iris documentary which if you have watched you need to watch it and the Advanced Style documentaries ASAP! I am planning on showing you guys some of the pieces I got but I want to do it through creating a series of outfit posts which I am currently working on, which should be coming up in the next few weeks.

I just want to put a final HUGE thank you in her to the amazing girls including Claire and Amy ( I know there are others but I didn’t catch everyone’s names sorry) for making such an amazing event, the space was great for the event and I know everyone that I spoke to during the day was having an amazing time! I have heard rumours of the next event being organised for the new year so I am keeping hold of my left over tokens and cannot wait to see what the next was has in store!

I wish now I had got more pictures but I was too busy enjoying myself to be as snap happy as I would want to be

Again the Fat Sabbath Facebook page can be found HERE if you guys want to keep an eye out for when the next event will take place

Until next time…T-j xo

How to wear: That 70’s Trend

Image taken from her official instagram page you can find it HERE      [then edited by me]

The 70s look is back in a massive way for autumn winter 2015 and I for one and totally in love with the look. Now I can put my love of this trend down to one person and one person alone, Miss Florence Welch is the style guru for all things 60s 70s and bohemian. Her look is so well put together but so effortless constantly that I can’t help but be inspired by every single outfit I see from her. I mean really I should be calling this post ways in which I am stealing Florence Welch’s style but anyways back to my point. The 1970s look was all over the catwalk and has exploded onto the high street in a big way this season with nearly every store including it in some shape or form with the A/W offerings.

I have had a look around some of the high-street plus-size retailers and put together some pieces which I think really encompass the trend, So starting with simply be who actually have a brilliant 70s edit page HERE on their website.

The coat is my stand out piece from their collection and I think really well priced at £65 however due to the nature of the weather in Northern Ireland i.e constant rain I don’t think I could possibly get the wear from it but layering it over any sort of outfit will just give that slightly more subtle nod to the 70s look, I can really see it working well over skinny jeans and a loose top. The bag and shoes are also both more statement pieces, I feel that if you are not 100% sure about rocking the 70s look head to toe then they are a perfect way to dip your toes into a trend to see if you can make it work with your own style.

A couple of my favorite pieces from New Look ( see the site HERE) include this amazing fringed waistcoat which comes in at just under £20 although they seem to be adding more pieces into their sale on a daily basis so keep an eye. I actually picked up something really similar to this in Primark last week for a night out I was having last weekend and I just loved how easy it was to throw on and it instantly changed what was just a plain black dress into a more 70s look. I also love this little suede skirt and I think alongside a light turtle neck jumper would make a great day time outfit.

If Florence says an all suede outfit is ok then I am totally all for it!

Evans Clothing ( find them HERE) also have a great selection of pieces, from tailored waistcoats to bell sleeves. The waistcoat pictured comes in a variety of on trend colours and prints as well as a staple black version all starting at £35, I recently picked up the berry colour for myself and already I have found a million ways to wear it. I think tailoring pieces can also work for the 70s look as they give a more night out feel to an outfit. The bootcut jeggings are a great update for Autumn is the are a great nod to the very popular flare without being overly flared if you are not sure about how the trend will work on you. I think the key point is that if you want to try the trend but are not sure whether or not it will work for you try it out using accessorys and shoes. You can pick up great pieces really inexpensively from the likes of Primark which is how I have worked the trends into my own wardrobe without investing too much money into pieces which probably wont be as on trend in Spring Summer.

ASOS curve is probably my favourite in terms of getting the trends right at the minute, just looking at the images of the gorgeous Gabby Gregg in the Curve campaign shoot you can totally tell just how inspired they were by the 70s trend. Full of suedes and knitted layers I definitely recommend you check out their site even to just inspire new outfit combinations.

So as I previously mentioned I have being try to incorporate the 70s look into my own wardrobe in the last few weeks as the weather has began to transition to cooler days and chilly nights. The outfit on the left is a new go to for me, the black dress is one I have had for about a year now from Evans which is probably my favourite LBD. The waistcoat is from Primark for £14, the necklace is also Primark at £5 and I think together they provide a great 70s update to any outfit for under £20. The Waistcoat on the right is also Evans clothing and I think that with this pussy-bow blouse ( also Evans but really old) they together become a great 1970s dressy look.

I hope this post is helpful to you guys , until next time…T-j xx

WOW launch event: Was I WOWed?

Something which I feel that I haven’t openly spoken about on my blog is my change in diet since leaving university. I think anyone who has gone through the final year of a degree will sympathise to a certain extent but in the final months I literally was only focusing on staying up for as long as I could to finish as much work as I could, this lead to my diet becoming incredibly poor and full of high sugar, high calorie, high fat and just generally not what I should have been eating. Since finishing my degree however I have tried to undo this by really switching my diet and exercise routine to actual include an exercise routine into my weeks. So when I got an email telling me about a new range of low fat, high protein, gluten free products that were coming to stores I became really interested to find out more. Karen Daly and her husband are the brains behind WOW ( which stands for War On Weight) after her own weight-loss journey Karen has devoted her life to spreading the word that good food can taste great and you can loss weight without feeling like you have to give up all of your favourite meals.

One point I want to make before going into more detail of the event etc I want to make it clear that I am not trying to make this post advocating weight loss. I spoke at the beginning of the year about being in a good place with my body however finishing my degree was tougher than I could have ever imagined and upon completing all of my work I came out of that post university haze realising that the toll taken on me during the final few months and the rubbish I had consumed had affected my mental health alot more than I was probably willing to admit at the time. Please read my post from the start of the year to fully understand my feelings HERE I still fully stand up everything in that post but I want to make it clear that I needed to make the changes for me and how my relationship with my body has changed in the last few months and the place that I hope to be with my body within the next few months. 

I brought my mum along to the event with me because we are on our journey together and we were both really interested to here if Karen gave any tips or tricks which would help our own personal journeys along. On arrival we were given some “skinny” mojitos which were delicious and a great accompaniment to the food later on. The event was held at Cast and Crew Belfast which is situated nearly opposite the Titanic Museum. Now anyone who knows the area will know that the Belfast Met campus which I studied at is right beside Cast and Crew, I really wish it had been around when I was studying because it is a lovely little cafe with a cool edgy look and if last night was anything to go buy I can imagine the food is probably great to! After we had the cocktail welcome we waited for the BBQ to heat up so we could try out some of the products from the range.

We got to try the steak burgers as well as a sausage with garlic and sweet chilli, both of which were delicious and really filling despite being so low in fat. This was all accompanied by a lovely fresh side salad and the option of a feta cheese salad. Mum and I both couldn’t get over just how lovely the food was and that we definitely wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference between these and a higher fat option. One thing I have noticed in recent months is how when you get a meal which is either lower fat or slimming that the flavors don’t tend to be as strong, now this is not the case with everything but I was really WOWed by just how nice the food was.

After we had chance to have our food event host Cathy Martin and WOW founder Karen Daly  talked us through the whole range which at the minute consists of eight products, which include 4 meal options for example stir frys and meatballs and 4 meat options including both of the items we sampled on the night. Karen also talked us through the benefits of the products and how they can work into your diet. It was a very interesting night and mum and I both left feeling like we had learnt some interesting facts that we want to incorporate into our own diet.

A massive thank you to team WOW and CMPR for letting us walk away with some of the products to try for ourselves at home, I know we are looking forward to dinner for the next few nights!

If you want to find out any more information on the products check out their site HERE and their Facebook HERE

Hope you guys find this interesting, until next time… T-J xo

One Week in my Wardrobe /// Part One

 

Now that I am officially finished my degree I am pretty much working full time. I left my old job at the end of March and started working for Evans Clothing which is pretty much my dream retail post. I get to work with customers on a more personal level now that I am becoming an in-store personal stylist which is really exciting. Now that I am pretty much working full time I am making more of an effort with how I dress, finishing a degree was a blur of leggings and oversized jumpers so now with the weather supposedly getting better and summer being around the corner ( although in Northern Ireland I dont even think we have had a proper Spring yet!) I am trying to dress a it more summery.

If you are on my Instagram, INSERT SHAMELESS PLUG HERE then you will know that these outfits are not technically one week in my wardrobe but they do represent my current go to looks. I am favouring dresses at the minute which is something I never ever though I would say but after discovering the smock dress shape I have been hooked. I am trying to make a promise to myself to shop my closet more than I shop the high-street because I have a tonne of clothes that never get to see the light of day which is so wasteful. Because I am working long days I find it really important that I am comfortable so I am still loving layering dresses with leggings.

Monday

 

This New Look Dress was a sale bargain that I picked up for a fiver a few weeks ago and it and quickly become my favourite wardrobe staple. It has a mesh panel at the bust and is cut beautifully and really flattering on my shape. The coat was a mega bargain £2 in Primark it is a mesh material and the shape is great. The boots again are a New Look sale bargain from last January, real leather for £6 ! Total outfit costing only £16 ( minus my undies!)

Tuesday

Tuesday is another Bargain day, I am a rather savvy shopper and can usually find alot of bargains when I go shopping again this Neoprene Trench was £2 in Primark, the dress is very old New Look sale and I think it cost me about £6 or £7. The shoes are new season Evans and they are called the Fern sandal, they are slightly plat-formed and have a brown strap and a black strap making them great for going with pretty much any outfit. and despite the picture I am not quite at the point of total leg exposure just yet!

Wednesday

A more casual outfit typical of what I wear on my days off, the amazing sporty bomber jacket was a total bargain at £7.50 from one of my favourite Vintage Shops, The Rusty Zip  which was rumoured to be closing but luckily is staying open. The jeggings and black shirt are both New Look, can you spot a trend in my shopping habits 🙂 The trainers are the Woven Roshe Runs from Nike aka my comfy unicorn shoes, I also have them in grey and literally live in them.

Thursday

One of my braver looks is my matching two piece from Evans last year, this outfit featured heavily in their spring summer 14 campaign and I decided it was going to be my brave girl piece. I am wearing it for the purposes of travelling to work in my Grey Roshe Runs but in work I wore it with my chunky white flatform sandals, I feel like this look needs strong slightly higher shoe to take it out of pyjama chic territory.

Friday

One of my all time favourite wardrobe staples is this monochrome checked smock dress from the Evans sale last year, it is the right shape for my body and I love the vintage vibes it gives when its mixed with my new ASOS specs. The TUK creepers give it a more grungey edge which we all know it my favourite style.

Saturday

no your eyes are not playing tricks with you I loved the smock dress so much I bought both colour options. Please tell me I am not the only one who does this I think about 40% of my wardrobe is duplicates in different colours, I find that if I like one style I will buy all the options I can find. The amazing jelly wedges are a recent Primark Pick up and I am totally obsessed with them, they are high and comfortable and I am trying to base my graduation outfit around them

Sunday

Another wardrobe favourite of mine is this mega oversized ASOS curve cold shoulder smock number, I picked it up on ebay for about £4 all in. I though it was actually 3 sizes smaller when I bought it, teaches me for not wearing my specs, but I instantly fell in love with its oversized ness when it arrived. Just styled very simply with a mesh grey top, just to add sleeves, fishnet socks and my New balance trainers.

I hope you guys like this type of post I am hoping to do it more regularly as I try to take my outfit pic at least a couple of times a week weather permitting

Until next time…. T-J xo