Wishing you a great New Year's Eve

It's crazy how 2015 has flown by. As much as I am happy and excited to start a new year, I am also feeling a bit nostalgic about the fact that yet another one has passed. Many good things have happened this year to me as well as some sad things but everything was either a lesson or a joy! I've traveled to beautiful places, met lovely people and made memories.
I am looking forward to what 2016 has got in store for me!

I'm wishing you a great New Year's Eve and a fantastic start to 2016! May it be a good year with loads of wonderful moments and memories.
Hope you celebrate well and for those of you who are going out, have fun and be safe!
Happy New Year!
xx

Red vs Burgundy

Hope you have all recovered well from all the Christmas food, and are ready for the New Year's Eve parties!

Whilst I've been indulging with turkey, deserts, I've also ended up being sick the past few days. I obviously caught a cold during the most exciting period of the year...

In addition, I've traveled to Bournemouth to visit some family members and to celebrate the New Year together.

As red and glitter are the colours of the festive season, I've decided to mix two different tones and materials. A little faux fur fluff to keep me toasty during the cooler days, scored during the Black Friday discounts and a cozy knit that has an interesting detail on the sleeve straight from my favourite store in Cologne.

My plans for tonight include yet again eating, drinking, and playing some board games accompanied by a glass of wine, and of course lets not forget the countdown to the new year.

What are your plans for tonight?  xx

Glitter and shiny things !

This is probably the best time of the year to dress up and feel like a princess in all the beautiful long gowns, high heels and fancy decorations surrounding you.

The holiday season simply doesn't come without the glitter and the embellishments,...and all the food.
Are you also going to attend a couple of events in the coming weeks and haven't found the perfect dress or the perfect accessories, than I've got a few suggestions for you below.

It's all about having the most beautiful sprinkle of glitter and the perfect heels for dancing all night long.

Chloe & Over-the-knee boots

 

With all the sales and promo codes spreading round at the moment; the urge to splurge is inevitable. The sentence: "It's 30% off you should benefit from this / this is a great bargain!" keeps echoing in your mind... This is what happened to me on Black Friday when I grabbed these dark beige coloured over-the-knee boots from my all time favourite online store.

New to my closet, in addition to the boots, is this much lusted Chloe Georgia bag. I've had my eye on this one for quite a while now, constantly going back and forth on the colour.

Clicking my way through the Chloe website and looking up all the Chloe resellers and stores in Europe, I found my lucky in Strasbourg where my dear friend pick up the bag for me. According to the salesperson, the tricolour happens to be a limited edition.

How do you like the bag?

To keep up the lovely colour scheme going on here, I added a blush pink coat whilst keeping the rest in black. The use of subtle colours will make the key pieces stand out and speak for themselves.

Whilst this week was fairly quiet and filled with loads of studying, I still have a few interesting outfit posts in store for you as well as a few inspirational posts on what to wear for festivities and more!

In the mean time feel free to head to my Instagram (here) or Facebook page (here) to take part in the Christmas Giveaway! The contest is open to everyone living in Luxembourg or in Utrecht. GOOD LUCK!! (Winner announced on Monday 14th)

Christmas Gift Guide

The countdown until Christmas has started! If like me you are a little behind on finding the perfect gift for your loved one and you simply don't have the time for a present hunt, well then shopping straight from your couch seems the best option.

I've put together a gift guide form him & for her, that I hope you'll like.
If however my gift guide doesn't do it, don't forget to check back to my Facebook page (Arifashionthread) or Instagram (@arifashionthread) as there will be giveaway starting tomorrow! Who knows you might be a lucky winner and score a gift for yourself or a friend !  

Christmas Giveaway

Christmas is coming closer and whilst i'm still working on putting together a gift guide for you, which will be on the blog at the weekend, I've decided to do a giveaway.
You will be able to win 4 little gifts.
To make sure you don't miss out, follow me on Facebook (Arifashionthread) or on Instagram (@arifashionthread) where I will announce the giveaway in the coming days!
The contest is open to everyone living in Luxembourg and in Utrecht (Netherlands)!

You can win:
1) Tea infuser
2) Perfume diffuser (you can fill it up with the perfume of your choice)
3) A pair of earrings: perfect for the festivities!
4) A hand soap and a hand lotion : great to keep your hands hydrated during this cold season!

Have a great weekend loves! xx

Knitted cape

Capes,ponchos, a much loved item this season. From designer pieces to high-street fashion, you can find them in any colour, style or material to fit one's taste.

I got mine many years back in Zara. At the time, I was only starting to have an interest in fashion and I dreamt about owning this piece.

Today, I am glad to have such a cozy - somewhat timeless, piece in my closet! This being said, I did forget about my cape for a couple of years whilst it was gathering some closet dust. There was a point where I even considered selling it, whereas now I am glad I didn't.

Why are capes and ponchos so handy? Very simple: when you don't feel like wearing a winter jacket or a coat, you can just leave the house with a big knit and throw the poncho/cape over your shoulders. And voilà, ready to go!

Lately, I've been hiding under baggy clothes due to some weight gain. I no longer feel comfortable showing off my "curves" or my body shape. I will target this subject in an other post where I will share with you why this weight gain happened and how I am hoping&working on loosing a few kilos before the summer returns.

This is an outfit I can wear for a stroll through the city as well as for going to Uni. A pair of ripped jeans, a turtle neck sweater some boots and my beloved cape.

Wishing you a great week! xx

Cape: Zara (similar here)

Jeans: Zara (similar here)

Top: H&M

Shoes: Zara (similar here)

Bag: Céline

Black Friday

Only a few hours left until the official Black Friday sale starts (27th of November). To make sure you do not miss out on anything, I've put together the best deals available out there, for you.
If you're still looking for the perfect X-mas gift or whether it's to treat yourself to a little shopping, then Black Friday and Cyber Monday are ideal for you.
Stay tuned as I will make sure to update the list little by little all throughout the day on Friday.
Have fun shopping xx

Allsaints - 30% off with the code CYBER here

Amazon - great deals here

Anthropologie - 20% off on everything here

ASOS - 20% off everything with the code CYBER here

Barneys New York - 40% off on a selection of clothes, shoes, accessories and home here

Bohoo - Up to 50% off here

Chiara Ferragni shoes - 30% off on the F/W collection with the code SECRETSALES30 here

Chicwish - 10% Off on orders over 80$ with the code BLK10 here
15% off on orders over 150$ with the code BLK15
20% off on orders over 250$ with the code BLK20

Farfetch -  Up to 50% off + an extra 10% off on sale items with the code bf15 here

Forzieri - 20% off on orders over 225$ with the code BF20 here
25% off on orders over 425$ with the code BF25
30% off on orders over 750$ with the code BF30

Gasmy - 25% off on everything with the code BLACK25 here (valid until 29.11)

Labellamafia - Up to 60% off here

Luisaviaroma - 20% off on sale items with the code BFR20 here (valid until 30.11)

Lookbookstore - Up to 70% off here

Mango - 30% off on everything except "new in" items with the code 5MANGO here

Monnier Frères - 25% off everything on a purchase over 250£ with the code BF25WW here

Nialaya - Up to 50% off here

Rebecca Minkoff - 20% off on all orders here

Reformation - Up to 30% off here

Revolve clothing - Up to 80% off + 20% off on sale items with the code BLACKFRIDAYNOW here

Same Swim - 20% off with the code BLACKFRIDAY20 here

SSENSE -  Up to 50% off here

Sophia Webster - 10% off with the code SWBLACKFRI here (valid until 29.11) 

ThePeachBox - 30% off with the code black-friday-30 here (valid until 29.11)

Topshop - Up to 50% off on selected items here

Zara - 20% off on selected items here

ZeroUV - 40% off on everything with the code 40FORADAY here

The perfect overknee boots

After showing you a selection of my favourite overknee boots in this post; I've put together this outfit for you.
Having found my perfect pair of overknee boots at Zara, I chose to do a little review about them.

First of all, as most of the Zara footwear, they run true to size. This is probably the first time that I buy boots from Zara that cover my calfs. I must say when I tried them on I was extremely disappointed when it comes to proportions. The part of the boots which covers the calfs and the knee are extremely tight. I am still fairly skinny but still I cannot wear them with a pair of jeans - only tights/leggings will do.
I think boots should be made to fit as many legs as possible and for this pair it's definitely not the case. The reason why I ended up purchasing them is very simple… I thought if I wear them a little I can break them in and they might become wider. As a matter of a fact they did expand a bit despite to what you would expect since they weren't real leather.

I opted for a black and white look this time round, never the less, I have to admit that it was freezing.
Stay tuned as I will be putting together a list of my favourite items that are worth keeping an eye on for this upcoming BLACK FRIDAY sale! x

Dress: Asos

Vest: Zara (similar here)

Boots: Zara (similar here)

Bracelet: Valentino

Bag: Chanel

Bags of the moment

Every season there are a few bags that just have to belong in a fashionista's closet. For this fall/winter season the must-have pieces are definitely among this selection of bags.
From Chloe to Valentino, they all did a great job!
As many of you know, the Chloe "Drew" bag as well as the "Faye" are extremely popular, however there are 2 other styles such as the "Georgia", followed by the "Hudson", that are on the rise.
Another crush of mine is the adorable "mini peekaboo" by Fendi. I mean, how cute is that bag?
Next, I am also loving the Miu Miu Leo patterned bag as seen on many other famous bloggers such as the beloved Chiara Ferragni.
By the way, how do you like the new Gucci collection? I adore it, especially the Gucci "Dionysus" is triggering a major weakness in me...!

I'm sure there are a couple more bags that one shouldn't miss-out on but these are my absolute "faves" and I am a 100% sure that you will rock the streets with these beauties!

Which bag is your favourite or currently on your wish-list? let me know, I'm curious!

HM x Balmain

What should I say... you are probably saturated with these Balmain by H&M looks but I just have to show you these gorgeous velvet patterned trousers. I love them!

To be honest, I wasn't a fan of the collection up until the night before everything was out in stores. Getting up at 5am the next day to stand in a queue knowing that I worked until 12pm, didn't really appeal to me - I was shattered. Plus, did I want to go through the whole craziness and chaos again like last year for the Alexander Wang by H&M collection? It was a tricky decision for me - I thus ended up setting an alarm on 5th of november to ring at 4:30am. You would expect me to get up… well guess what… I stayed in bed and just decided to get my beauty sleep instead of injuring myself and my wallet.

Upon this decision, I chose to go to our local H&M store the following day and still found my luck. I scored these gorgeous velvet trousers.

Today, looking back I am glad I didn't go, because after speaking to some friends and reading the news, people were apparently going crazy and some even came out with scratches on their faces. People turned into animals for this collection.

For this look I paired the velvet trousers with a turtle neck top, a loose blazer and I added my adorable Chanel Boy bag. This season is all about velvet!!

"The more velvet, the better! "

Blazer: H&M

Top: H&M

Trousers: H&M x Balmain

Shoes: Zara (similar here)

Bag: Chanel