You can hate it or love it.



Did you think the end of January would cue the end of these sort of blog posts? For most well-organised, content-scheduled bloggers, that may be the case, but for those of us (i.e. just me) who's blog is more pay as you go rather than 24 month contract these topics come and go as they please. If you're planning to get your New Year Resolutions a more feasible kick up the bum from right about now, this might just be the post for you.

Before you groan, click 'x' (if you haven't already) and swear about the annoying insurgence of fitness-related content on the Internet, I just want to point out that this is more about how I fit a little fitness into my daily routine, rather than going completely gym bunny on you. Because no one wants that when there's pasta to be eaten.


Clockwise, from top left: Clothing at Tesco top, Optrex eye drops, Dove deodorant, iPhone on its last legs, Nike slim fit leggings, the cheapest trainers Sports Direct could offer, Soap and Glory "One Heck of a Blot", Vichy cleanser.

Going to the gym is the most obvious and my least favourite way to react to Nutella. I tend to go twice a week (once mid-week before work, and once at the weekend) to do a mixture of cardio and weights. I would love to start a course at Barrecore, but, until the day I'm earning enough to drop a serious amount of money on the coolest ballet lessons around, I'm on the lookout for something similar near to home. Jazz and I went to a Nicki Minaj dance class a few months back, which is definitely something I'd recommend if you fancy trying something a little different one weekend with the sassiest dance teacher ever.



All hail the blender! Not quite ready to commit to a Nutribullet, I picked up the Breville Blend-Active on a whim when food shopping, and it's a bit of a game changer. I can't compare it to a Nutribullet as I've never used one, but for less than a third of the price at £25 you're getting a rather nifty little piece of kitchen tech. I reckon this'll come in even handier come Summer when smoothies will be high on my list of priorities, but right now I'm using it most days with frozen fruit and almond milk.


Willing to try everything once, I tentatively said yes when asked to review this matcha green tea powder. As a long-time fan of green tea I was all for giving it a go, but, call it a spoiler if you will, it tastes nothing like your Twinings blend friend. You can drink it like above in shot form with almond milk, but I'd recommend mixing it into a smoothie instead as it tastes pretty similar to grass. 

This is hardly a 'GET FIT NOW' deal, but if you're in the market for a little bit of inspiration, my favourite fitness ladies are:
- Lydia Millen - Best hair. Best abs.
- In the Frow x Lean Machines - Easy peasy one minute workouts to incorporate into your daily routine.
- Where are my knees? - A blog with plenty of babin' contributors all telling inspiring stories of how they're making fitness work for them.

In the meantime, here are my favourite pieces for making time spent in the gym more bearable. They might even just about make gym selfies acceptable...



PS, no, this is not an April Fools' day joke.
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I wasn't born last night.


For some reason, Leeds is one of the northern cities I'd never quite managed to explore, so when my favourite Yorkshire lass announced she was getting married, me and the rest of the uni girls booked our train tickets North for her hen party, packed some pretty frocks and arrived prepared to be drinking for the next twelve hours. We were correct in that assumption. It's been a while since I've had a session quite that long, but self-made long island iced teas followed by something of a nostalgia-fuelled reunion with baa bar (nothing on Liverpool's four walls of complete debauchery, of course) took their course and we somehow emerged unbroken - although the same clearly cannot be said for my shoes, illustrated above. After a rather long (we're talking hours here) breakfast Clarity and Georgia had to head home to dissertations and ice bucket challenges but Sita and I stuck around for a coffee and I sneakily managed to get some outfit photos which magically portray me hangover-free: god bless BB cream.

I thought it would only be appropriate to post these photos while I'm up in Chester celebrating the Coppenhalls' wedding, so here's to more northern adventures and significantly less morose mornings.
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This ain't love, it's clear to see.

navigation cottage lock house heybridge basin
the kooples leather jacket
essex boats
heybridge maldon essex
heybridge essex
uk fashion blogs
the jolly sailor heybridge basin
clothing at tesco boots
heybridge basin
vintage co-ord

After my Brilliantly British post, it didn't seem to take me long to try out the Heybridge Basin tearooms. In fact, all I required was a day off and a slight bit of persuasion on my mum's part and we were out the door. As it was a bank holiday the weather decided to (technical term right here) piss it down, so it only felt apt to go for something nautical. I found this co-ord set when my mum was cleaning out her wardrobe before we moved house last year. I'm well aware that it's not flattering in the slightest but it's stripy and so comfy that I honestly couldn't care less. And I call myself a style blogger...

Regardless, it was lovely to wander round a new corner of Essex I'd previously left undiscovered for a few hours (yes, we ended up in a pub to "take shelter from the rain", shame that) that is only about twenty minutes away from where I live, and I got to climb on walls when it explicitly said to not climb on the walls. Can't keep this little rebel down.
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A little party never killed nobody.

F&F Partywear
Temporary Secretary
HiFashion
Temporary Secretary
Lounge Lover Shoreditch food

A few weeks ago (it was hot, so it feels like a lifetime ago), I made the ill-advised decision to wear my leather jacket on the northern line. Going to Old Street wasn't purely for the lols (although there were a lot of them over the course of the day), but it was to meet up with Sarah, Annie, Sherin, and Caroline, put on some totteringly high heels and have a day of dressing up with F&F. It was lovely to finally meet some of the bloggers I'd been following on twitter for a while, and we got on like we'd known each other for years, only stopping our chat when having lipstick applied. I would never go so far as to say I'm a model (and wouldn't want to be), but it's still a weird feeling playing the part, particularly having someone else do your make up when you've had the same winged eyeliner look for about five years. I can't thank the lovely girls from Tesco, Hannah the stylist, and Lisa the hairstylist for their encouragement and make up brush magic, nothing like an attack of self-doubt halfway through the day, is there? I thought I'd upload a few of the behind the scenes photos I took on the day (not to mention some of the amazing canapรฉs we had at Lounge Lover that evening), and below is one of the final photos from the many that were taken.

Head over to the inspiration page to see more photos and what the other girls wore, or watch this short video and see me, um, flick my hair a lot.

Giveaway

After the shoot, I've found myself browsing through F&F's website and finding quite a few things that fit perfectly into my wardrobe (and I've received a fair few compliments on my hat from this post!). If you'd fancy winning a £50 voucher and getting some of this stuff for yourself, all you have to do is:
  • Follow this blog via GFC or Bloglovin'
  • Chose your favourite F&F Partywear item, and tell me how you'd style it in a comment below (don't forget to leave your email so I can contact the winner!)
The competition closes on 7th November at midnight, so I have enough time to pick a winner before I head off to Munich - good luck!

Leopard print jumper and high waisted skirt
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I don't know what they're telling you but I know we can turn this around.

Autumnal leaves
Laura Ashley Trench Coat
Autumn Outfit Details
Chelmsford dogs
Autumn Outfit
Leather bowler bag
Chelmsford park autumn
Autumn OOTD
Autumn leaves
Autumn Outfit
Autumn OOTD
Jumper: £21.50, French Connection. Joni jeans: £32.40, Topshop. Trench coat: Laura Ashley. Cossack hat: £10, F+F. Bowler bag: £43, Marks and Spencer. Wedges: c/o Shoe Zone. Necklace: Grace Face Boutique. Lipstick: MAC Ravishing. Nails: Nails Inc "The Thames".

I don't know why I was so excited to take these photos; they're the most clichรฉ autumnal images you can find on the internet (yep, spot the classic "hold a leaf in front of your face" shot), but we keep going back to them for a reason! The park in town, only a few yards away from here, was the most obvious place for my mum and I to head to take them, and not just because it's only a stone's throw from M&S. The place I normally associate with picnics and school lunchtimes (which once included sitting on a bench and consuming an entire tub of Ben and Jerry's with a friend. In October.), is currently home to rust-coloured leafy avenues. It's not quite freezing point yet, so I wore a surprisingly non-itchy jumper over skinny jeans, with a trench coat, comfy wedge-heels and a hat that's far, far too big for my head - but it's fluffy, which makes it okay.

In the course of writing this, I think I've received four Paul Hollywood-based snapchats after last night and made my way through three mugs of tea. So it's time to stop procrastinating and putting off important things and get down to serious phone calls and emails - moving country is hard. I'm also planning to head to the AX Paris party tomorrow night, so let me know if you'll be there, and I won't be that weirdo sitting in the corner on her own!

Chelmsford Central Park
200 Comments

Stop the world I wanna get off with you.

Stop the world I wanna get off with you.
carnaby street sign
tesco boots
fickle tattoos
Stop the world cos I wanna get off with you
Stop the world I wanna get off with you
london autumn ootd
Stop the world because I wanna get off with you
Striped tee: £7, H+M. Shorts: £69, Carven via Cricket. Leather jacket: The Kooples. Boots: £25, Tesco. Navy panama hat: £26, Urban Outfitters. Necklaces: Elsie Belle and vintage. "Ship happens" temporary tattoo: c/o Fickle.

Navy, stripes, and leather? I really am taking this autumn dressing to heart. I wore this ensemble for a trip along the central line to meet Charlie (her blog is wonderful and full of impeccable styling, definitely worth a click through!) for a wander round the shops and a bite to eat, before a night in with several episodes of Gossip Girl, ice cream, and pink wine - all in all, I make that a good day!

You may have noticed something peeking out of my sleeves... Don't worry, I haven't actually got a tattoo as I can barely make my mind up for a week, let alone make a decision about something so permanent, but it's one of Fickle Tattoo's temporary offerings. Warning: they don't like being rubbed against leather (hence why mine's come off slightly), but we wore them out on Saturday night and I've been told that my friend's is still going strong. I got mine off completely with a little of my make up remover's persuasion, so there's nothing to stop you inking (or, erm, dampening your skin) up. And I have to quickly mention these boots as, on their first wear, I managed to walk a fair amount of soho, then a trip to Westfield without so much as a blister or sore ankle - not too shabby for a teeny £25, is it?
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When at Somerset House...

it's cohen - UK style blog: london fashion week, lfw, SS13, somerset house, union jack, union flag it's cohen - UK style blog: london fashion week, lfw, SS13, somerset house, spijkers en spijkers, catwalk it's cohen - UK style blog: london fashion week, lfw, SS13, somerset house, dina, she loves mixtapes, shelovesmixtapes, street style 
The Union Flag atop Somerset House
Two of my favourite looks from Spijkers en Spijkers
Dina from She Loves Mixtapes getting papped 


... do as the fashionistas do!

Don't get me wrong, I abhor the word "fashionista" (and I use the expression lightly), but London Fashion Week is such an overblown and preposterous affair that it seems the only one applicable to those who flock to the Strand twice annually to sample what the capital of quirk and cool has to offer. Or you can sit on a bench at the sidelines and cheer on your favourites when you see two beheeled editors running to the show space with only a few minutes to spare.

I adore the atmosphere in the centre of the courtyard; I doubt it can be replicated anywhere else at any other time. The exhibition is always impeccably curated - the French Sole and Kate Sheridan showcases were two particular favourites - the close proximity of designers often ensuring that their finest selection is on display, the tables being an overload of aesthetic lavishness that doesn't quite transfer to the shopfloor anywhere other than the lush New Bond Street flagships.

But, of course, attention is focused upon the shows and presentations of SS13 collections. Friday's personal highlights were Maria Grachvogel and Bora Aksu (see bottom photo): the former revealing jumpsuits that even little Cohen could see herself in, and the latter had big hair and crowns fit for the pastel creations worn beneath. Despite the rail replacement's best efforts, I managed to get to Freemason's Hall for the Vauxhall Fashion Scout's Ones to Watch show, which is the one I had been most eagerly anticipating as everything would be new. I do like established designers, but once you've seen a Burberry trench coach, there's only so much you can do (which, apparently, means creating a ridiculously expensive peacock feathered version). Charlotte Simpson's glitter contrasted Ming Pin Tien's intricately laced corsetry perfectly, with Hellen Van Rees sending her models onto the catwalk with things that looked suspiciously like weetabix attached to their heads...

it's cohen - UK style blog: london fashion week, lfw, SS13, somerset house, street style, rebecca cohen,  it's all cohen it's cohen - UK style blog: london fashion week, lfw, SS13, somerset house, street style, rebecca cohen, it's all cohen 
Navy dress: £12, Clothing at Tesco. Floral collared blouse: £2, charity shop. Butterfly brooch: gift, vintage. Skull bracelet: £11, Alexa Chung for Made, via ebay. Leather envelope clutch bag: Luella, via ebay.

It wouldn't be true Fashion Week coverage if I didn't show you a little bit of what I was wearing myself! I'm not the kind of person who likes being in front of another's camera, so dressed rather sedately in comparison to the other teddy bear adorned persons. Thank you to Dina for taking my photos - such a novelty to not have to hurry backwards and forwards with my self-timer!

I have another post coming up that's not technically to do with Fashion Week, but you may have seen me tweeting about what I got up to between stints at Somerset House, and it was equally exciting, so keep your eyes peeled (or stick with a sixties eyeliner flick, that's quite okay too).

xxx

it's cohen - UK style blog: london fashion week, lfw, SS13, somerset house, bora aksu, catwalk, modern garden
Saying goodbye to Bora Aksu
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Hello, I'm Rebecca: social media exec, new-ish coffee drinker and loafer-wearer.
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