5 Ways to Wear the Realisation Par Bianca Top

I recently bought the Réalisation Par Bianca blouse in summer loving blue after noticing it had been added to their clearance sale. I’d been admiring this top for years, but had never been sure of how much wear I would get out of it. Before buying it, I thought about how many different ways I could style and wear this piece – I wanted to get my money’s worth – and realised it has been designed to wear a multitude of ways and would therefore be a super addition to my wardrobe. Essentially, I didn’t buy just one top, I bought many (sort of), which makes it the best sort of investment.

In case you are still on the fence yourself (it is still pretty pricey, even in the sale) here are the five ways I have found to wear the Réalisation Par Bianca top so far.

First up is the ‘original’ way to wear this top, it is how it is most frequently styled on their website and in campaigns. It is pretty self explanatory, you just pull the ties together and tighten and voila, you have an extremely laid back (and slightly revealing) top. This is not bra friendly (most of these looks aren’t to be honest) and I would advise the use of tit tape. I bought this top in a size small and it is a tad loose on me, especially when styled like this – I don’t really have a chest that is likely to ‘pop out’ but the top gapes slightly when worn like this and did not feel very secure. Perhaps size down if this would be your preferred way to wear this top.

The second styling is my personal favourite and the reason I bit the bullet and finally purchased this top. It has been designed to wear as a wrap top, so there are small holes at the side of the garment to pull the ties through. It feels perfectly secure and more demure than the previous look – perhaps more day appropriate. This is likely how I will most often wear this top.

The third look is deceivingly similar to the second but slightly looser – you couldn’t wear it this way without tucking it in. To create this style is very simple, you just need to wrap the top over your front (as if creating the second look) but without tying it, instead securing it in place by tucking into your skirt/jeans/bottoms of choice. Tit tape may again be a good shout with this one.

The fourth option is again incredibly simple to style. You can just throw this top on and you basically have a jacket, but to create a smoother silhouette I loosely pulled the ties behind me so they weren’t dangling at the front which led to a nice drape at the front. Easy to pair with jeans for a relaxed look or you could even wear it as a beach cover-up, I think this is the easiest to style multiple ways.

The final look shows a lot more skin as it is cropped. I don’t normally like wearing cropped tops, I’ll be honest, but I felt surprisingly comfortable wearing the top in this way. To create this style you need to tie the two corners of the top close to your bust and then pull the ties around the back – I quite liked how this looked exposed, but you could hide the ties under the rest of the top’s fabric if you want a cleaner look. Whilst you can’t really get away with wearing a bra for this one, it did feel pretty secure because of how tight I was able to pull it to my chest.

So those are the five ways I was able to style the top, you can see them all in action here. It is a happy addition to my wardrobe as I think it is very versatile and I am currently eyeing up the other prints. Someone hide my credit card!

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My ‘If Money Were No Object’ Net-a-Porter Sales Picks

The bi-annual Net-a-Porter sale is in full swing, and in true shop-a-holic style I have had a little peruse. Now, if money were no object I would have done more than simply peruse, but money is an object, one not currently in my grasp, so I have had to make do with window shopping. To make this not seem so completely sad and pathetic, I thought I’d collect all such finds here as a wish-list of sorts – a hideously expensive wish-list, the sort you would have to have more money than sense to splurge on. And with how many gems I found, it seems if I were to have money, I’d have next to no sense…

Ah, shoes, forever my biggest weakness. Truth be told, I saw a lot more that I liked (with a whole heap of Instagram darlings By Far available, who can blame me for making a list as long as my arm?) but I whittled it down to this smattering of black and tan. My favourites are these Ganni slingbacks which I had been eyeing up even at full price. They are also the most affordable option (ha!) though weirdly the exact same pair are also listed for £30 more… I am baffled. I’m also quite enamoured with the glitter version because I am a magpie. Speaking of which, these sparkly By Far sandals are so shiny and impractical and very luckily for my wallet unavailable in my size.

I love the chocolate croc offerings from Staud and the boxy shape of this bag is so wonderfully retro. I never thought I would jump on to the ‘rope bag’ trend, but I’ve seen this Alienina one everywhere online and colour me converted – though a considerably cheaper option is currently available from Miss Selfridge, if you are not yet convinced. Finally for bags, I love this round golden offering from Cult Gaia, even though it is so style over substance, you can’t deny it looks like a piece of art.

Lastly, I really liked Faithful The Brand’s spring prints this year but especially like this red mini dress – it really is the quintessential summer dress in my opinion. I’m also really drawn to this Ganni cropped top and am already imagining pairing it with the Re/Done denim skirt (only in my dreams…)

Now if someone could please hide my purse from me!

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My Favourite Pieces From The Warehouse x Shrimps Collection

If you follow any fashion bloggers on Instagram, you’ll no doubt have seen this now iconic beaded bag crop up on your feed at some point. The pearlescent purse from the faux fur designer Shrimps has now reached cult status, if you haven’t already parted ways with your hard-earned £400 for it, chances are you’ve been considering whether to sell one of your kidneys in order to make the splurge. All of that is to say, Shrimps is very much an ‘it’ brand, but unattainable for most of us. So when it was announced at the beginning of the month that Shrimps had teamed up with Warehouse to bring some of their quirky designs to the high street, it is fair to say I was excited. The following collaboration features retro summer pieces in gingham, denim and white embroidery at price points that don’t make my eyes water. The 40 piece collection is so well-curated in my opinion, but below I have selected my stand-out items.

As a big fan of gingham for summer, I was instantly drawn to the green gingham offerings on site – it is such a fresh pop of colour and a nice spin on an old favourite. I love the cut of the bikini, the top half is very vintage-inspired but paired with the bottoms it still looks modern, so I think it is a great option if you love the print but were terrified of this throwback swimsuit they also released. Similarly, the maxi dress in the same print looks like the perfect summer holiday dress, I think it would look great thrown on with some white wedge espadrilles for a more put-together look. The white daisy blouse is also very cute, with the puffed sleeves it would definitely add a bit of whimsy into a wardrobe.

The blue blouse immediately caught my eye as I was perusing the site – it has a sort of Hawaiian shirt vibe but with a more refined print and feminine shape with the same puffed sleeves as the daisy blouse. I love how it has been styled over the white swimming costume as well, for the ultimate poolside look. This swimsuit is also my favourite of the four swimwear offerings, the cut looks quite flattering, especially on the bust, but the merman print stops it from looking too dated. I like the look of the crochet top as well (it even has matching trousers!) and suspect this one could become a blogger favourite as it has a cool-french-girl feel to it. I have to say, I think it is expensive for what it is though, I think a lot of this collection is fairly priced and matches Warehouse’s general price range, but £56 for a top you could probably find in a charity shop seems extortionate.

I like the denim offerings in the collection as well – the espadrilles look super comfortable and though they come in two other colour-ways, I think the denim pair is far more versatile. I am also head over heels for the denim midi dress, as not only does it have pockets (as all dresses should), it also has the sweetest daisy buttons running down the front. I also really love the white daisy version of this dress, it is very me, but I actually think this denim one is more unique because of that button detail. The straw hat is also seriously tempting me as a fair-skinned gal – sun protection never looked so cool! To be honest, I’m torn between the daisy print and the gingham version, as I think the white would go with more than the green, but I am an absolute sucker for gingham…

My eyes have been firmly on the accessories since seeing pictures of all the items styled together, the diamanté daisies are some of the true stand-outs in my opinion. I may have to buy these drop earrings, they’ll look so good styled both smart or casually and can be used to add a bit of interest to a plain outfit. I love all of the jewellery pieces but I also like the circle earrings for the same reason. I have to say that I am a bit disappointed by the bag offerings, as I think Shrimps is most well-known now for their bag designs and they have on this occasion left me wanting. However the straw bag with the same diamanté daisies is a great spring/summer bag, and one worth picking up if you don’t already own any straw bags. And finally, the raffia belt looks perfect to add to any summer look. It looks like it is adjustable so you may be able to wear it both on your waist and on your hips, meaning there are plenty of styling options.

So those are my 12 favourite pieces! I love the collection (apart from the bucket hats, I can’t wait for this trend to die) but I do think some of the pricing seems a little inconsistent. There is something at every price point though so I think anyone who wants to own a little bit of Shrimps whimsy can. A little tip, if you were thinking of buying, is to consider signing up for the Warehouse newsletter as you can get a 10% off code that way, which is valid on this collection – it isn’t a huge saving, but it is still something!

You can shop the whole collection here. Are you planning on picking anything up?

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