Necklace Crazy!

Hey again!

Can you believe how amazing the weather has been recently? I am astonished that it was consistently warm and sunny for a good 2 and a half weeks! This is the reason I have not posted more recently but I assume you were all out enjoying the sun too as much as you could :)

This time I have decided to do a post about one of my favourite trends in jewellery at the moment, as I just cannot get enough of finding new and exciting necklaces.

At the beginning of the year, I kept seeing all of these gorgeous necklaces in magazines and I just fell in love with the idea that such a bold piece of jewellery had the ability to brighten up a plain outfit. When I was younger the trend tended to be more in longer necklaces, but now the higher neck ones are much more popular. I was always a fan of wearing big earrings rather than necklaces, but after seeing the many variations of these stunning pieces I was converted.

I am now seeing them all the time in High Street shop jewellery sections and they are forever causing temptation, BUT I have to put my foot down sometimes because at the end of the day, yes I am a student. The really nice ones can also be very expensive, some starting at 15 or 20 pounds which I feel is a tad pricey for a necklace as you could get a top or maybe even a dress for the same amount. 

Below, I have found 6 really different and stunning pieces which most importantly are on budget...YAY! 

1) From Forever 21 (unsure on exact price, between £4-£8)

I love this one just because it is so versatile and goes with loads of outfits. It is simple yet really adds something more to an otherwise plain outfit. The design is also really classic and I hope to wear it until it is worn out. The price too was fantastic and I could not be more pleased.

 Forever 21 had a really wide range at the time I got it which was January this year but I have not visited recently. The last time I did go in May, the range was very disappointing and I struggled to find one necklace in this style. 

2) Primark- 3 years ago

I picked up this beauty a few years back and I am so glad that I did! As soon as I saw it I just thought it looked really pretty and never anticipated it to go with much... but I was wrong!

 At first I didn't wear it a lot but these past 2 years I have found it to go with more and more outfits! Above I am wearing it with just a simple cream H&M top and also H&M denim shorts. It was on a really hot day last week and this statement necklace really made the outfit a lot more interesting. 

Coral is my favourite summer shade and while I thought I could only wear it with dull colours like grey, black and white... I was wrong!

This cobalt blue and coral combination is a dream and I just cannot get enough of it. Definitely one of my new favourite outfits  to wear with jeans/leggings. 

Of course it was from Primark and I do not remember the price fully but it can't have been more than £5 which really is amazing value. I think with Primark you can find a really good piece once in while but just be careful that all the gems and stones are stuck down properly so you are not buying into something which will have a very short life!

3) Miss Selfridge (unsure on price as it was a present) 2013

It was a couple of weeks before my birthday and my friend asked me for some ideas on presents. One thing that was on the top of my want list at the time was a high necked necklace with a neon colour theme. I had gotten this idea from somewhere (probably a magazine or seeing an outfit where the neon necklace had sparked it up) so this is what I suggested.

Weeks later I was thrilled to open up my present to see this Miss Selfridge piece, and wow she had found one which was spot on! It is such a nice simple shape and the 4 different colours really look good against each other. It is my summer companion and great to wear with a top which picks out one of the colours. I picked out the yellow from it once and wore it with one of my favourite Forever 21 tops. 

 Neon is really hot at the moment and I keep seeing neon themed necklaces in most High Street stores so keep an eye out if that is what you are after to complete your summer look!

4) New Look 2011 (£5-£6)

The purpose of this purchase was to find a necklace which needed to match a dress I had. Ever since the day I bought it however, I have found it to go with lots of tops and add a nice splash of colour e.g. to this light grey top I am wearing in the photo as without the necklace it would look pretty plain.

 I am known by my friends to be a lover of orange clothing and accessories. I am just one of those people who adore bright shades such as coral, orange and yellow.

 I paired it up recently with a really nice basic New Look orange maxi skirt and a black crop top to wear for dinner with my friends, and I loved how it looked (will definitely be wearing this combination on many more occasions).

5) New Look (£4.99- May 2013)

I just could not resist picking up this simplistic but on trend piece. For £4.99 too (and of course student discount on top ;) ) it was a good bargain. Here I have teamed it up with a Topshop crop top, a coral cardigan and  some skinny jeans. I feel like this one is more suited for daytime wear however I have seen a few people wearing it on a night out and it does work if you are not going out somewhere too dressy. New Look also sell it in silver but I picked gold not only because it is my preferable choice out of the two but also as the gold was not too bright. I would definitely recommend this to anyone after a low budget, simple item of jewellery which is not too showy and very versatile.

 I am a fan of the arrows and triangles at the moment and my current project is to find some nice triangular stud earrings similar to the ones on this necklace!

6) New Look (again)- July 2013 £6.99

link here

This is my most recent addition and as soon as I saw it I fell in love. I am a big fan of the whole tribal look and this incorporated a blend of red, blue and white woven threads in a gold plate with spikes then coming down from it. For me it just stood out amongst all the others, and many people around me at the time were eyeing it up. So if you are a lover I recommend that you go and snap it up quickly to avoid the disappointment of it not being there or out of stock.

I wore it on a night out with my friends as shown here with a very plain outfit and the necklace really sparked it up. Before my love for necklaces it would be about buying a new outfit for a night out, but in this instance I did not even need to do that as the necklace did all of the work for me (plus it probably worked out a lot cheaper than a new top/dress). Another good thing about buying jewellery is I never feel as bad as when I buy clothes, this is probably not the right mentality to go by but it does complete one of those unsuccessful shopping trips by buying a nice piece of High Street jewellery.

So there they all are! My six favourite (and only) high necklaces. There are many more styles which I am after so I am sure the obsession is yet to continue and my eyes will still be looking out for another eye catching piece. 

There was one particular one which I saw when watching this years Wimbledon which my eyes clamped onto immediately!

This is the wife of the Ukranian tennis player, Sergiy Stakhovsky who had an outstanding win against Federer in this years champioships.

 I really love how this necklace incorporates the gorgeous colour of Anfisa's blazer and stands out! The colours of the necklace remind me of the colours of a parrot so it gives out very exotic vibes. We shall see if I can find something similar in terms of the colour scheme and style displayed by Anfisa, but meanwhile I will adore her version with much jealousy!

Well I hope you enjoyed this post and I wish you all good luck to finding your own statement necklaces to complete endless amounts of outfits and add a very glamorous touch!

Jaina...Xx

A Sunny Day at Cardiff Bay

Sorry it has been a while! Summer becomes so hectic at times with everything going on and it has been hard to find some time to actually write.

I thought I would write this post about my weekend in Cardiff to visit a university friend. The weather over the past couple of days has been so lovely and warm and we were so lucky to have such beautiful weather over the weekend.

As everyone had really busy schedules we only really got to spend one full day in Cardiff but that one day was definitely worth it!

By the time we had gotten ready and out of the house, it was already one o clock so we only spent an hour or so in the city centre. I really loved the city centre for shopping because of the spacious environment with lots of choices in terms of the shops. While shopping we even managed to catch a few minutes of the women's Wimbledon final on the big screen outside where there was a really lively atmosphere amongst the locals in the long awaited summer weather. 

After a brief shopping trip (which did involve some new purchases) we spent the rest of the day admiring the beauty of Cardiff bay in the gorgeous sunlight!

 My outfit

Skirt: Miss Selfridge (2013)

Top: River Island

Cardigan: Topshop

Here I am looking out onto the view from a tasty ice cream place called Cadwalader's, a chain cafe with many of the cafe's being situated within Wales. A sunny day out is incomplete without an ice cream, and after an early dinner we headed towards the busy cafe. As I was still quite full up I wanted to go for something refreshing and light, so I chose the sorbet, which was a great choice! It was a tango sorbet (like the drink) which is very different, but was so mouth watering and very fruity. It was exactly the kind of choice I was going for, so I couldn't be more pleased.

I loved it so much that I was sad when it was gone!

 My friends both went for the coffee and walnut which they also both loved! 

The spot we were sitting in was so relaxing and we loved the view so much that we decided to take some more summery snaps while we were there!

A calm moment gazing out into the distance.

To finish the day off, we took a nice stroll along the harbour before heading back. The cool breeze was perfect and it was such a beautiful evening around the bay. 

A classic group photo to end our day at the bay. (Shame about the shopping bags in the way but it does represent the day)

Throughout the day the bay had been full of people but in the evening it became even more vibrant with live music playing while people sat outside with food and drinks. It was such a lively atmosphere and for a moment it really felt like I was on a summer holiday in somewhere like Spain or Italy. 

As we walked home the sun was starting to set and it was looking so beautiful that I could not resist taking one more snap of the road back to my friends house.

It was definitely a day to remember and I recommend it to all of you. If you have no plans this year for a big holiday then take a trip to Cardiff and if you are as lucky as me to get such amazing weather, I guarantee you will fall in love with the city! 

The next day came and we didn't want to leave but come midday we had to say goodbye to the welsh city and head on back into London where soon after we reached we were very happy to find that Andy Murray had won the Wimbledon final which really was the cherry on top to a really lovely summer weekend away!

Jaina...Xx