The weather here in the UK has been pretty random over the last month with plenty of rain, flooding and dark grey skies.  This morning when I woke up, the sunshine was blaring through my window which was an extremely welcome sight.  I decided to wear something that was made of thinner fabric as it looked really warm outside.

Today's outfit of the day mainly consists of New Look.  I am a fan of their bodycon dresses because they are so reasonably priced.  This floral print bodycon dress is a beautiful colour - mainly based on a darker background with peach, pink and grey flowers. It's bang on trend for Spring and I absolutely love this colour combo!   At a price tag of £9.99 you really can't go wrong can you!

With my bodycon dress, I am wearing a pink mohair jacket. This too is from New Look and when I saw it the first time I absolutely fell in love.  I think it works really well with these types of dresses because it can keep you slightly warmer until it really warms up this summer.  This jacket also comes in two other colours, a mint green which I also adore and a cream/beige colour.  The pink is very feminine and I love wearing it.  The shoes I am wearing are slightly off colour compared to the jacket, but they pick out the peach colour in the dress. 

Accessories wise, this outfit doesn't need many.  There's no point in bracelets unless you plan to take off the jacket so I kept it simple.  This gorgeous statement necklace is actually going to be part of my new jewellery boutique online!  Stay posted for further details but it is something I have been working on for a while and let's just say I am extremely excited about it.  Within my boutique I will have pieces that I have sourced but also handmade jewellery made by myself.  

 

Floral Bodycon Dress: New Look, £9.99, Size 16, Pink Mohair Textured Coat: New Look, £54.99, Size 16 (slightly too small), Heels: Select, Necklace: My new boutique COMING SOON!

Okay... here goes!  I was extremely nervous about filming my first ever V-log but I knew it was something that I wanted to overcome so for my first ever V-log, I review two of Simply Be's Spring/Summer collection: the floral print woven front sweater and the peplum hem textured skirt.


My First V-Log - Review of Simply Be Spring/Summer 2014 from Felicity Hart on Vimeo.

Along with the V-log, I have also taken a couple of photos to show how these items look as a complete outfit, and as you can see, they are really lovely! Thank you Simply Be! :) 

 

Floral Print Woven Front Sweater*: Simply Be, Size 18, £35.00 available in sizes 12 - 32
Jeans: Select, size 18, £18, Ankle Boots: Tesco

Peplum Hem Textured Skirt*: Simply Be, Size 18 - £25, available in sizes 12-  28 (up to 32 currently out of stock), Top: Wallis, Size 18, Cardigan: Wallis, Size 16, Bracelets: ASOS Curve*

The second item that I was sent to review for new UK brand, Taking Shape was the "Bloom" tunic, which is available in a deep red or teal colour in limited availability.  Teal is one of my favourite colours so I was really excited about trying it on.

Tunics are something that I have never really worn before so I was a little nervous about how it would look on and I must say that I still am not 100% convinced by wearing something that doesn't have any shape.  It is a completely different experience to my usual fitted skirts, tight dresses and jeans.

The size I am wearing is a medium, and in hindsight, this tunic was slightly too big for me and I think I could have got away with a small or an extra-small which is the size shown on the model on the Taking Shape website.  I quite like the length of the tunic in the bigger size because it looks more like a dress and I'm sure that with a big belt under my bust, I would feel a lot more comfortable and be able to wear it on a day out shopping or a nice lunch with the girls.

For the purpose of this review, I decided not to wear it with a belt, to get myself out of my comfort zone and into something different.  Apart from the sizing being very generous (I have recently lost a bit of weight before my wedding which probably made a difference), this tunic is really well made. It has a gorgeous material, which has a slightly sheer property to it in certain parts.  Because of the sheer pattern, I wore a black slip underneath it and black tights.  The tunic is retailed at £50, which when you consider it is more like a dress isn't too expensive. At the moment it is on offer on the Taking Shape website and in stores for just £19. 

My first experiences of Taking Shape have overall been really positive and the damask print trousers have become a staple part of my wardrobe.  I am excited to see what the Spring/Summer 2014 collection brings and I'm not giving up on tunics, just yet! :) 

 

 

 

Bloom Tunic: £50, currently reduced to £19, Taking Shape - Medium,
Tights: Marks and Spencer, Shoes: George @ Asda.

Just after Christmas, a week before our wedding we took part in an engagement (pre wedding) photoshoot so that our wedding photographer, Charlie could get used to poses and the way which we work together in photos. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing and even Mr FH enjoyed himself too!  We spent an afternoon in a relaxed sculpture garden and I spent ages planning what I was going to wear! I wanted something quite colourful to stand out against the dreary January weather so I decided to choose my Rose Lace Print dress from Simply Be.  I ordered this just before Christmas because I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it on the website.  It has gorgeous sheer black lace arms and a beautiful red, cream and black rose pattern across the dress.  I ordered a size 18, however on reflection although the dress isn't stretchy I think a 16 would have been better because it's a little roomy and the lace arms aren't tight against my skin. On the day of the photoshoot, the sunshine glistened and we were very lucky to get some beautiful pictures.

The quality of the dress is outstanding and the length is a little more modest than some of my other dresses which made it a perfect choice for our engagement shoot.  This rose print dress is currently on offer on the Simply Be website for £31.50 which is very reasonable for such a stunning dress, however only limited sizes are left.  I am even tempted to order the size 16 and keep both!

I wore my dress with gorgeous red heels from New Look and a red coat which was also from New Look many years ago.  The coat is a little too small for me, but it looked lovely on even if I couldn't do it up!  My bracelets were also from New Look, and came in a set of 3. Anyway, let the pictures do the talking (and if anyone needs a wedding photographer, Charlie covers nationwide and also destination weddings, so if you need her details just ask me!)

 

Dress: Rose Lace Print Dress, Simply Be, Size 18, Currently £31.50.
Red Heels & Bracelets: New Look, Red Coat: New Look (size 12 - far too small!)

I would go as far as saying this is now my favourite dress. It makes you feel absolutely gorgeous and I hope you like a sneak peek of our engagement photos (wedding ones coming very soon!) Two thumbs up for Simply Be again! x