Zafira Ahmed 11/25/21 Zafira Ahmed 11/25/21

The Coat Edit | Zafira

I’m back baby!

So, it’s been a while since my last post and I feel like I’ve started a lot of posts like that but life just gets in the way.

Anyway I’m back for good this time and for this post, I’ve compiled some of my favourite coats to wear since the temperature has dropped all of a sudden. As I’m writing this actually, it’s been snowing for the last couple of hours so I know this post is very apt for right now.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll have seen a few of these before but here are a few of my favourite coats to wear at the minute.

THE BIG FAT COSY ONE

It feels fitting to put this first because 1.it’s my most recent coat and purchase in general and 2. it’s probably the biggest coat I’ve ever owned.

I desperately needed something oversized and warm because the rest of my coats (as you’ll see) are lovely but in terms of practicality, they’re not the best for this time of year where we’re hit with wind storms and snow.

This is from M&S which I feel like in my head I’ve somehow classed as a middle aged lady store and the place I’d once go to buy my school uniform but recently, some stuff at M&S has topped things I’ve seen at places like Zara and H&M. The quality is amazing and the pricing too which shocked me a little because this coat was priced a lot cheaper than the Zara version of this that everyone seems to own.

This coat style is perfect because it’s in trend every year. I’ve been trying to buy things that I know I’ll wear for a long time and that I know will last and this coat definitely will.

You can buy this here.

THE LONG LEATHER TRENCH

This might just be my favourite coat ever … And I bought it for £9.99 at TK Maxx.

It’s from the brand JCL which I’ve never heard from but the RRP was around £80 so with it obviously being the deal of a lifetime, I picked up and I think it was my best purchase of 2020 or maybe of all time.

I get so many compliments wearing this and I just feel so amazing wearing it. It feels modestly sultry? And the way it blows in the wind when I’m walking is the ego boost I need everyday.

I love styling this with really feminine outfits such as a dress like the pictures above or doing an all black outfit also feels super cool.

It’s the best coat to add a little something to your outfits. I could just be wearing a pair of jeans and a plan white shirt and this coat would top the outfit off like a cherry on top of a sundae.

Also, this coat plus my Vagabond Edwina boots are a combination one could only dream about.

This coat isn’t available anymore but here are some extra cute alternatives:

PLT Oversized Faux Leather Trench

buy here

Misspap Missé Leather Look Longline Trench Coat

buy here

THE BASIC TRENCH

I don’t think you can say you have a decent coat collection without having at least one camel brown trench coat in it.

This is actually a very very old trench from Mango that I bought during my first year of uni and I love how slouchy and big it is. I’d like to say I dress quite modestly so when it comes to coats, I do like something that covers me up pretty well and this definitely does that.

If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you’ll know I just started painting a ridiculous amount of flowers all of this. My goal was to have it done by November but uni life got in the way (as always) and I’ve put it on the back burner for a bit. Hopefully, it’ll be done by spring if we’re lucky to get one in the UK and it will be the perfect spring trench.

Make sure you follow my Instagram to see the behind scenes of this coat and other projects.

This isn’t available anymore, but here are some very similar alternatives:

ASOS Noisy May Drop Shoulder Trench Coat

buy here

Stradivarius Long Flowing Trench Coat

buy here

THE smart ONE

I’m going to be honest, I forget this coat exists sometimes and I beat myself up anytime I rediscover it in my coat wardrobe again because it’s such a good coat.

This is a vintage Ralph Lauren Checkered wool-blend blazer coat that I picked up many years ago at the Thrift Shop near Piccadilly Gardens. I think it only cost around £12 which is so amazing for this style and quality of coat.

I remember it originally had shoulder pads so I knew this was old. I had to take those out though being a broad shoulder gal and then had it dry cleaned and then she was ready for the streets.

It’s a such a great formal coat, like for interviews and events. Sometimes it even makes me feel like a mom or a Julia Roberts character from the 80s or 90s and there’s something so uplifting about that.

Here are some great replicas/alternatives for this lovely coat:

ZARA Quilted Checkered Overshirt

buy here

Abercrombie & Fitch Wool Blend Blazer

buy here

ZARA Wool Blend Blazer with Elbow Patches

buy here

THE TWEED ONE

This might just be my most worn coat ever. It’s been through so much, it’s been washed a good 30 times in it’s short time with me but I love it so much. It’s become a sort of comfort blanket at this point and I adore it.

My mum however, hates this coat lol. It has so many pockets so whenever I’m running errands, those pockets are filled to the brim and she says I look so boxy and chubby but for me it’s so incredibly convenient to have that many pockets.

I love the colours, it has a bit of brown so it’s super ideal for this time of year and goes very well with these brown trousers I’ve been living in recently.

This was one of many lockdown purchases so it isn’t available anymore, but here’s some very similar coats:

That’s all the coats I have for you today but if you want to see anymore clothing edits please let me know.

Thanks for reading!

Zafira 12/15/18 Zafira 12/15/18

70's Inspired Winter Lookbook | Zafira

Hi!

There's something about the 70s that just makes me fall in love over and over again. I love so many things about it but most importantly, I love love

love

the sense of style and fashion around that time. So much in fact that it's heavily inspired my winter wardrobe for this year.

Dressing for winter can be quite the struggle. The weather is ever changing and unpredictable, it's freezing outside but then heaters are being blasted indoors so finding a balance between all of those factors can be difficult whilst still looking semi presentable to face the world.

I feel like I get stuck into this loop of wearing jumpers and jeans but I've tried really hard this time round to get out of it.

Here are some outfits that I've been wearing a lot this winter and some tips to help you keep warm!

**1. THE MIDI SKIRT (that's too long because I'm short)**

You know what I've realised? Midi skirts are actually quite intimidating and kind of scary. You have to be quite careful with how you style them or else you can end up looking a bit like a 90 year old librarian which personally, isn't quite my style. I was determined to find one from a thrift or charity shop but I couldn't find any that looked as flattering as this Zara one.

It fits perfectly around the waist and I can get away with tucking a cheeky jumper in there without it looking frumpy. I love the pleating and it's actually a decent length considering it is a bit too long. I'll either wear a turtle neck, a slighting oversized jumper or just a velvet t-shirt with the skirt. I also love wearing this skirt with these cute heeled boots that are from Zara too.

I feel like midi skirts are a very 'mom' thing from the 70s but when styled perfectly, you can totally be that cool mom every kid wanted.

Because it's freezing, a coat is necessity. If you follow me on Instagram you've probably seen this leopard print coat a thousand times by now. It's such a nice and long and it keeps me warm.

Jewellery is something I'm trying to get myself back into. As a child and even a young teen, I loved jewellery and felt the need to be blinged out no matter what the occasion was. As I've gotten older, I find myself more into the minimal jewellery side of things which you can see here.

I'm wearing a simple dainty diamond necklace that I've had forever and some small hoops from Primark. I'm also wearing my Hugo Boss watch that you can see further down.

Here's a few links to similar versions of my leopard print coat:

I wear these boots everyday they are actually life changing.

2. FLARED PANTS

Ever since the summer, I've been completely in love with various shades of blue/green. Right now, this Tiffany blue colour makes my heart skip a beat. These flared pants are from Zara and are amazing. They are super pretty on windy days.

This shade of blue is what I associate with the 70s a lot and flared pants too. Maybe not as flared as these but I guess this is kind of a modern and more flattering update on the iconic flared pants of the 70s.

I like to wear this with a black turtle neck on extremely cold days but if it isn't -20 degrees where you live then it also looks really great with a graphic t-shirt. Again I'm wearing my leopard print coat and my Zara boots.

You're probably thinking that these are too thin for the winter but pants like this are the perfect layering tool. I can get away with wearing pretty much anything under these, a pair of jeans, my pyjama pants or if I'm feeling a bit more mature, then a pair of thick thermal leggings. Because of my how flowy they are, you can't even tell it's great.

If I'm feeling super adventurous, then I'll even wear matching blue eye shadow.

3. CASUAL YELLOW

This outfit is a bit more dressed down and good for a very low-key day. Yellow is very bright. I would never think that it would be a colour that I would ever wear but here I am in a vibrant yellow cardigan that I can't seem to ever take off.

The printed high neck top is actually an old play suit from Motel Rocks but since I'm not much of a play suit wearer, I like to wear it as a top. It's an amazing layering piece (except from when you need to use the toilet and have to completely strip). It screams the 70s to me. It had flared sleeves too but I took them off since it was a bit too much and got in the way a lot whenever I was doing anything involving my arms (literally everything i was doing).

The cardigan ,which has been one of my favourite items in my wardrobe this year, is from Monki.

. It's so so so thick and it coordinates with the play suit perfectly. I bought this in a large so it's massively oversized but it just makes it feel so much cosier.

I'm trying to channel my inner Blair Waldorf and I've decided that headbands need to make a return in my life so I've paired one with this outfit. This one is from Primark.

I usually like to wear this outfit with my black pleated culottes which I'm sure a lot of you own. Like the blue flared pants, they're a pretty good layering piece. But I also like to wear this outfit with my blue and thick black belt.

For shoes, you could get away with wearing anything really, a pair of vans or converses to dress down or a pair of cute boots.

Thanks for reading and let me know if you want to see more this type of blog post on here!

FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO STAY UPDATED:

Zafira 1/20/16 Zafira 1/20/16

Winter is Here! | Zafira

WINTER IS HERE!

The temperature has dipped and it's started to get a little more chilly here in Manchester. I was not at all expecting any snow this year, at least not until around March/April time but one gloomy Saturday morning, little white flakes fell from the clouds and covered little old Manchester in a white blanket of pretty snow. Even though I'm a summer baby, I adore the winter time. Especially when it snows! There's something quite admirable about frosty mornings and darker days. Also it means sweater weather! I live in sweaters or jumpers as we call them here. I took a couple of pictures around where I live as well as up in Derbyshire where the snow was a lot thicker and the weather was absolutely freezing. Enjoy!