Leigh Mayhew: Autumn Update

It seems like forever since I virtually put 'pen to paper'. It's been a hectic few months having been away in Ibiza which meant that anything productive was completly impossible for good while afterwards and work has been absolutely manic as well as other every-day issues we all experience from time to time. But now with summer a distant memory I am hoping I can get back into my normal routine and by that I hope to be blogging weekly again.

I have been inspired by the new weather recently and with this I decided to organise my wardrobe and store away anything summer related until next year. Going through my wardrobe I realised just how many clothes I had. After sorting through my collection 4 bags of unwanted clothes made their way to my local charitable recycling centre and I vowed that instead of buying a whole new wardrobe, which I tend to do most new season, I would use clothes that I have already and buy a few new key pieces in order to mix and match new and old favourites.

Every autumn outfit begins with the perfect pair of jeans for me and although the flares seem to be making a comeback with the 70s trend I definitely am a 'skinnies' girls. I try to have one 'good' pair of black and one pair of blue jeans at all times and my favourites are usually the Molly jeans from River Island (a high waist skinny with sketch) however, I recently purchased a pair of jeans from F+F at Tesco and even at a snippet of the price they are almost exactly the same. I've selected a few of my favourites below that you may use as a key staple in your Autumn/ Winter outfit:

River Island Molly jegging- £40

F+F Super Skinny Stretch jeans- £14

Topshop ripped Joni jeans- £38

Fashion during the colder months for me is all about texture. I enjoy creating texture using mostly faux leather, suede and faux fur. Everything from a leather jacket to a faux fur detailing on handbag creates a texture element to an outfit. I have gathered a few of my favourite pieces below:

River Island leather look jacket- £65

Avon faux leather waterfall jacket- £30

Mango leather look trousers- £34.99

Missguided faux leather midi skirt- £25

Missguided Mongolian faux fur gilet- £55

ASOS longline faux fur gilet- £55

Missguided faux suede biker- £40

I have simplified my autumn winter wardrobe by keeping with a very neutral palette of black, grey, creams, browns and greens. In order to mix and match outfits I purchased basics in all of the above colours in roll neck jumpers, long and short sleeved t-shirts mostly all from Primark. By having a good variety of basics you can create new looks by just changing one element of your outfit. Everywhere from Zara to Primark seem to have a good selection of basics at the moment.

No Autumn wardrobe is complete without a couple of pairs of boots. Everything from over-the-knee to ankle boots are already available online and in store and I have selected a few of my favourites so far below:

Missguided faux suede fringed Ankle Boots- £45