Madolyn Thinks

The clocks have gone back, the Halloween parties have begun and the nights are getting darker. Autumn is officially here and I couldn’t be happier. It is my favourite time of the year by far, I love the cosy evenings, crisp walks outside and the fact that it is time to pull out all of the autumnal wardrobe pieces.

I recently placed an order through Femme Luxe and picked out some lovely autumnal staples. They have a fantastic range which you can order from online, perfect to see you through any occasion.

The first item I picked up are these black PVC trousers. I have seen these in shops over the last few weeks but absolutely fell in love with the way that Hello October has been styling them recently. I love her fashion sense and the way that she has created so many different looks with just one pair of trousers. She always looks so lovely with a casual yet classy style and when I saw this dupe on the Femme Luxe website I put them straight into my basket. 

For this casual look I have teamed them up with a soft knit and a lace bralette. I feel like this would be a really nice outfit to wear with Vans for a coffee date with a friend. I also like the idea of dressing the trousers up with a black body, heels and a clutch bag. Or with court shoes and a baggy jumper tucked in the front for a casual ‘date night’ look. 

The next piece I picked out was this cute little leopard print dress. I am obsessed with puff sleeves at the moment - you can see my picks from my last collaboration with Femme Luxe here. I think that this dress is so cute and great for this time of year. I wore it out last weekend when I went out for drinks with some girl friends. I wore it with over the knee boots and it was the perfect outfit to dance in without freezing on the way home. I also love the black and white effect of the leopard print, I feel like it gives it a slightly more subtle look whilst still remaining on trend. 

I also picked out a staple pair of blue jeans from Femme Luxe which are a gorgeous fit. They are really high-waisted which is great for me as I feel like it makes my legs look a little longer, and it means that they can be styled in a number of different ways. I really like the way they look teamed with this glittery body, also from Femme Luxe, as it really dresses up an otherwise casual pair of jeans. With heeled boots and a clutch I think this would make a great ‘cocktails with the girls’ outfit. 

I would also wear this lovely little body with the black PVC trousers. It would create a really classic look, especially with a pair of black court shoes and a little clutch bag, the perfect autumnal date night outfit. 

I love it when you find a wardrobe staple that can create multiple looks for a number of different occasions. Sometimes the more simple the piece, the easier it is to style. I am in love with this sparkly mini dress, which is a great number to have on the build up to winter to take me into Christmas and New Year. 

The Oversized Shirt 

I really like wearing shirts as cardigans by unbuttoning them all the way down. I enjoy the casualness of the open shirt mixed in contrast with the tighter fitting dress and love this cute white shirt with the see-through, spotted material at the top and the solid white body. I wore this combination with over the knee boots when I went out for cocktails last week.

The Puff-Sleeve Top 

Although this dress looks really cute on it’s own as an evening piece, I really like the way it looks as a skirt when paired with this ruched cropped top. I love the puffed sleeve style and think that this outfit would work really well with a clutch and a pair of over the knee boots for a fun, girly night out. 

The Slogan Tee

I am a huge fan of slogan tees and think that they are so universal. I think that this is a really nice way to down-play the dressy-ness of the dress. To complete the look I would probably team it with a pair of vans and a little back-pack, the perfect look for brunch with the girls. 

The Casual Knitwear

 Another way to dress-down this little number is with some cosy knitwear. I would again finish this outfit with a pair of trainers and I think that this would be a really nice look for a gentle autumnal stroll, or a cute little coffee date. 

One of my favourite things to do was blog. I loved the creativity, the planning, the organisation, the promotion, the interaction and the joy that it brought me. I had a regular upload schedule, I was growing a following on Instagram, my portfolio was expanding, I was networking and building up great relationships with brands that I believed in. 

However, just over a year ago I went through a pretty tough time emotionally and my relationship breakdown became my soul focus. My confidence hit an all time low and my whole reality revolved around self care and looking after myself. I couldn’t think about anything other than dealing with the raw emotion that I was faced with on a daily basis. 

I needed that time to heal, to reset my focus and to build myself back up. It has been a long and exhausting journey that has really made me grow as a person. There has been a lot of self love, reflection and rebuilding. It was not an easy process, and something that I could not have done without the help and support from my beautiful friends and family. 

Over the last few months however, I have given myself a focus and a goal, which was to move to London and start working on my blog again. I’m so, so happy and grateful to say that at the beginning of September I finally took the leap of faith, packed my bags and moved down to the capital. It was a little scary but this is something that I have dreamed of doing and I am so proud of myself for making that dream a reality. For a long time I have felt so lost and I don’t think I realised just how long I’ve been feeling that way until I finally moved down here. I really feel as though London is the place I am supposed to be.

So, now that I have ticked that London box, my focus and shifted to my next goal; to make blogging a priority again. It wasn’t that I wanted to stop, it was just that my priorities had changed and I couldn’t commit to the time and energy I wanted to put into Madolyn Thinks. 

I have posted a few collaborative posts over the last year or so, but I am so excited to finally feel that I am in a much more positive and focused mindset which I can apply to my blog. I appreciate that this post is a little bit of a ramble, but I guess I just wanted to spend the time to introduce a new phase of Madolyn Thinks. 

I think that people are constantly growing and I know that I am different from the person I was just over twelve months ago. With this in mind there may be a slight shift in content from what I wrote about before. There will still be beauty, fashion and lifestyle bits and pieces but I feel the notion of minimalism, living with intention and being mindful have become more of a priority for me. There will also be a lot more London based content here on Madolyn Thinks and I have a few ideas about different series and monthly updates that I am excited to share. 

So here’s to the next chapter, I have a feeling that it's going to be a good one… 

It’s October and the Autumnal season is well and truly upon us. I’m really looking forward to pulling out my chunky knits, little skirts and knee high books, to enjoy the crisp, cooler weather and drink piping hot soya lattes to my heart’s content. However, here in London, we are still experiencing intermittent glorious spouts of amazing weather and I’m not “quite” ready to say goodbye to my summer wardrobe just yet…

I have been working with Femme Luxe Finery for a while now and they are always brilliant at providing high quality items at a really affordable price. I have recently received a lovely selection of summer pieces which are so on-trend and universal that I’m pretty sure I will be wearing them well into the back end of this year. 

I absolutely adore this cute little white linen co-ord which fits like a dream. Although I might be a little adventurous to wear this two piece in the U.K. just now… I think that separately, I can get away with wearing these little summer pieces throughout autumn. For the top I’m thinking high-waisted black skinny jeans, ankle boots and a denim jacket. As for the shorts, worn with a chunky, over-sized knit tucked into the front with a pair of over the knee boots, and these will be transformed into an autumnal staple.