Yellow Summer Dress & Heels

Outfit

Dress - Urban Outfitters

Shoes - Zara

Clutch bag - Dorothy Perkins

Necklace - H&M

Rings - LBD Gems

Hello my lovely people! This beautiful weather we are currently having in Birmingham has really put me in a good mood, and has made me pull out my cheery yellow summer dress. Although the weather may be short lived I thought why not make the most of it!

This gorgeous yellow dress was an absoloute bargain from Urban Outfitters at £10. It has a great summer vibe about it, and its mid length makes it suitable for both day and night events such as a christening, lunch with friends or even a dinner date.

I particularly like the floral jacquard print and the V design detail at the centre front of the dress which adds a little bit of drama.

For a splash of colour I opted for this gorgeous £10 clutch bag from Dorothy Perkins which doubles up as a shoulder bag, which again makes it great for transitioning from day to night.

I kept everything very simple in terms of styling this week, and continued that theme through to the accessories. I usually wear large statement rings on my fingers, but these wire wrapped gem rings by LBD Gems compliment the dress in a very delicate and sophisticated way.

Last but not least, my babies - My Shoes of course! Aren't they just divine *sighs in admiration*. These by far are my favourite pair of shoes that I have purchased this year. Obviously from Zara, these shoes at £59.99 were worth every penny, they are real statement shoes that grab your attention and finish off the outfit perfectly.

Shara - Designing for BBC Radio Presenter Shay Grewal - The 'Asian Awards' 2015

I am literally bursting with pride and been grinning from ear to ear all weekend. I Shara Johnson am proud to present BBC radio presenter Shay Grewal wearing a custom made 'Shara' dress to the 'Asian Awards' 2015! My first red carpet dress and I am immensely proud. I challenged myself, even when I was nervous, I rose to the occasion and I did it!

 I decided to do a mini behind the scenes video of the making process and meetings with Shay in the run up to the awards - Enjoy!

BBC Presenter - Shay Grewal

Designer: Shara (Me)

MUA: @chardae_official

Image credit: Terry Scott

I have to say I have thoroughly enjoyed the whole design process from doing initial designs, through to pattern cutting, sampling, fitting and finishing. In my uni years I have interned for high profile luxury fashion houses, but nothing compares to going through the process of when you are designing a piece that is ultimately a representation of yourself and design aesthetic.

Me doing design work & looking over my final fabrics & trims

BBC Radio Presenters - Sunny & Shay

Photo credit: Karwai Tang

I think the biggest compliment of all for me was when the legendary Mens wear designer Ozwald Boateng said he liked my design -eek! As a designer who looks up to him this meant a lot. I love his slick tailoring and the way he likes to play with colour, so that compliment made me feel honoured.

Shay photographed with Menswear designer Ozwald Boateng

 I would like to thank BBC radio presenters Sunny and Shay for this opportunity.

Photo credit: Terry Scott

This has certainly given me a boost of confidence in my work and I cannot wait to see what the future holds. Yayyyyyy mmmeee! :)

Contrast jacket & Cold shoulder top

Outfit

Cold Shoulder Top: Top Shop

Jacket: Shara (made by me)

Jeans: H&M

Accessories: LBD Gems

Shoes: Top Shop

Bag: Zara (similar here)

Today was actually warm-ish for a change, but still a little nippy for me to wear a light jacket. In future blog posts I will be wearing a lot more of my own designs and showing you how I style them with items that I already have in my wardrobe. This jacket I’m wearing I actually made a while ago and it has been sitting in my wardrobe, and today I thought YES! Bring out the yellow and green! Watch the video below if you want to see the outfit in motion.

I love this jacket and made it while in my second year of uni, I’m a fiend for contrasting colours and wanted to really play with the positioning of where I placed the panels of colour. My family are Jamaican so you could say that the yellow and green is very fitting.

I often roll up the sleeves of this jacket to create more texture in the outfit.

Honestly guys these jeans are the most comfortable jeans I’ve worn in a long time, they fit both my hips and my waist very well. These are great if you need to just wear a causal outfit to run your errands in and they literally go with anything.

This bottle green shopper bag from Zara I literally rely on all the time, I carry my life in this bag lol. Its so spacious in there, is great as a shoulder bag, but double up with a long strap to switch it up.

This cold shoulder top from Top Shop is a lovely casual top, I don't usually wear a lot of grey but with all the colour I had going in the jacket, I wanted to break it up a bit. The top is the perfect back drop for this handmade LBD necklace made from genuine gemstones - love that brand!

My outfit would be lost without my ever faith jewel enamel rings by the jewellery brand  LBD Gems that just pull everything together.

A moment of silence for my shoes – these were such a bargain, originally from Top Shop but bought from Ebay for - wait for it -£4! Yes girls! I get those good bargains, stick with me, in the future I will be doing a video on where to get good bargain buys. They spruce up my casual outfit and are probably my most comfortable pair of heels.

Spring Mid Season Wardrobe Haul!

So spring has sprung and the mid season sales are underway! Which means I had an excuse to go shopping! I picked up some bits and pieces to transition me into spring, and with sales up to 75% off admittedly I went a bit crazy. I love colour and prints and picked up some real statement pieces and wardrobe staples to balance it out – and of course my favourite thing ever – MY SHOES! J

Watch and enjoy J

Some of the products I bought include a bralet for £20 from Urban Outfitters, a £10 grey cold shoulder top from Top Shop , a £48 crotchet play suit from Urban Outfitters and more, be sure to watch the video to see what else I bought. I can't wait to do 'Outfit of the day' in these - eek! :)