FASHION Archives -

Winter Outfits Inspiration

by The Christianistaupdated on 1 March 20211 March 2021Leave a Comment

I think it’s the first time I’ve ever had winter outfits shot! If you go to my Instagram page you’ll see that there are usually no winter outfits; you’d think it’s spring and summer all year round where I live! But this year I found it interesting for you as well as for me to propose some winter looks, I hope you will like it!

LOOK 1

Black sweater dress: https://www.asos.com/asos-curve/asos-design-curve-oversized-sweat-dress-in-black/prd/12868203?ctaRef=my%20orders
White heel boots: https://www.asos.com/public-desire/public-desire-slow-knee-high-boots-in-white/prd/21009419?ctaRef=my%20orders
Black leather hat: https://www.asos.com/glamorous/glamorous-exclusive-wide-brimmed-bucket-hat-in-black/prd/21566001?ctaRef=my%20orders

LOOK 2

LOOK 3

Beige dress: https://www.asos.com/urban-bliss-plus/urban-bliss-plus-roll-neck-dress-in-beige/prd/20719341?ctaRef=my%20orders
Black heel boots: https://www.asos.com/new-look/new-look-heeled-boots-in-black-croc/prd/13776273?ctaRef=my%20orders
Classic Black Coat: I don’t have the reference, but it’s from the brand “Ralph Lauren”.
Black bag: I don’t have the reference anymore but it’s from the brand “Steve Madden”, and I got it on Zalando.

LOOK 4

Feel free to comment which look(s) you liked the most!

With Love,

The Christianista

Where to shop online

by The Christianistaupdated on 12 January 202112 January 2021Leave a Comment

Hey everyone,

As a big fan of online shopping, I was asked to write this article in order to recommend the right sites to order clothes from. It is true that I go less and less in store, and that the ¾ of my shopping are done online, so I hope I will be able to give you the best recommendations!

So this article is about online stores other than the ones we are used to due to their physical presence (Ex: Zara, h&m, Bershka, etc…). The first part of this article includes sites on which I usually make my purchases, the second part presents sites that I have never tested but for which I have made inquiries from different consumers.

1. Asos

I could not dare to start with a website other than my precious “Asos”. My favorite site; and you surely know it, the ¾ of my orders come from this website, and I recommend it 2000%. Why do I recommend it?

The great diversity of items: There are really all kinds of styles, for all occasions, from casual to chic, from street to gala. It’s obvious that they’ve thought about every category of people, especially with their “Plus Size” category, “Maternity” and even a “modesty” category and even more.

Brand diversity: On Asos you will not only find “ASOS” items, you will also find items from several other brands.

Fast Delivery: I personally paid €18.99 to get the express delivery option for one year, which means that I can receive all my orders in express (the next day generally) for one year.

But in general, they usually deliver quickly when using standard delivery, between 3 to 4 days. The shipping fees are 4€, and the delivery becomes free once you reach 42€. For an express delivery, the fees are 15€. The other positive point is that there are no fees for returns, and the refund is quite fast; it usually takes between a week and a week and a half.

2. Zalando

There was a time when I used to order there all the time, but not with the same frequency as at Asos. I only order shoes there, and especially heels. I think half of my heels collection comes from Zalando. And to be honest, I’ve never ordered anything else there as I’ ve never been personally interested in their clothes.

Diversity of brands: Their diversity of brands is, I believe, even wider than Asos, which allows you to have many more choices without necessarily going to each brand’s website. This enabled me also to discover new brands that I didn’t know before.

Fast delivery: In terms of delivery, it’s just as fast: a 2-3 day delivery with the option “express delivery” available. And the good thing is that there are no delivery costs for regular deliveries.

Payment option: I must admit that on this point, they offer an excellent advantage at Zalando: there is no obligation to pay at the time of the order. You can indeed order without paying, and receive the bill at the same time as the package. What I particularly appreciate in this option is that the return of an order becomes very simple because you don’t have to initiate any refund procedure, you just have to send the items back.

3. Boohoo

Unlike Asos and Zalando, Boohoo only sells its own brand. However, it also offers great diversity, including several different categories, identical to those mentioned above for Asos. One can also mention the categories for small and large sizes.

In terms of quality, I must admit that it is not necessarily the best, it depends a lot on the type of items but given the very affordable prices they offer, there are no surprises. Moreover, they often make great discounts on their articles, which makes it possible to really find clothes at very low prices.

As for the shipping, I have always chosen shipping in Belgium (when ordering on Boohoo France) and the option offered costs 9.99€ and I always receive my orders within two working days. There is no free delivery available in Belgium. Similarly, when you want to return ordered items, fees are charged; I personally had to pay 5 euros to return an order via DPD.

Please note this! I insist on the fact that I order on Boohoo.fr, i. e. in France, because from now on if you order on Boohoo UK, expect to pay customs fees due to Brexit.

4. Shein

I have never purchased any of the items of this brand before, so the following reviews are reviews that I have collected from various consumers that I have asked to give me feedback.

Regarding delivery timing, Shein delivers within 10 to 20 business days and offers free shipping for purchases over 45 euros. An amount of 2.50€ is charged if the total order varies between 25€ and 45€ while you have to pay 4.99€ for delivery for any order below 25€.

The quality of the clothes is not the best, and just like Boohoo, this brand offers trendy clothes at such affordable prices that it is recommendable for anyone who wants to shop with a small budget. The other positive point is that they also offer a lot of discount codes throughout the year!

One remark that has been made more than once and that I will surely take into account if one day I decide to order on this website is the fact that the clothes are generally in the small size, and that it is therefore recommended to order one size up.

5. PrettyLittleThing

I have also never ordered on this website, so I based my order on the opinion of a regular consumer.

As far as quality is concerned, it depends again on each piece of clothing, depending on whether the tissue is thin, transparent, etc. She advises us to take a good look at the photos and videos available on the website to get an idea of the appearance of the cloth and its quality.

As for the prices, they are very affordable and the website provides very often promo codes, which offers a good alternative to the customer: buying large quantities of clothes at very affordable prices.

In terms of delivery, it is done quite quickly. You will find on their website that the regular delivery to Europe is between 5 and 10 days but it has been attested that in general, the package arrives within 5 days. Be careful, PrettyLittleThing being in the United Kingdom, it should be noted that with Brexit regulations, customs fees should now be charged, which would be quite high! And this, my dear people, is a piece of information to keep in mind if you want to shop there!

Well, I hope this article will have been helpful! Of course, these are not the only online stores where you can do your shopping, but they are well known and we often hear about them. Don’t hesitate to give me feedback if you order for the first time on one of these sites, and here is my Instagram account “@the.christianista” if you need more information about ordering!

Lots of love,

The Christianista

Long Blazer Jacket

by The Christianistaupdated on 29 April 202024 February 2020Leave a Comment

Hello my fashionistas!

Hope you are doing well and have a great start of week! Here’s an outfit for you that I particularly wanted to see on my blog.

This is a set that I bought from **Primark**.

It’s a easy set to
wear, you just have to match it well. For my part, I chose to wear it with
black, a simple black turtleneck from H&M, and black heeled sandals.

Considering that I wore it in winter, I could have chosen black boots for example, but it is true that when I do shooting, I do not take into account the seasons.

And one of the things that made me buy this set is that I know I can dress it up in different ways and I can put the different pieces separately.

First lookbook of 2020

by The Christianistaupdated on 3 February 20214 February 2020Leave a Comment

Hello my fashionistas!

NOVELTY of this new year: Every month I will share with you my lookbook, which will include one or two outfits that marked my month and their references!

Here is my January selection, two outfits from my favorite online store: Asos.

For the first one, I am wearing my New Year’s dress:

I particularly liked it for the bustier’s originality and of course its color, MY color!

For my second selection, it is an outfit I wore during my vacations in Malta.

It is still available for sale on the website so go for it!

My Black Friday in 3 steps

by The Christianistaupdated on 20 December 20202 December 2019Leave a Comment

Hi my fashionistas!

So as you may already know, by the end of November takes place the well-known “BLACK FRIDAY”. It’s an event that I’m always looking forward to, so in this article I’m going to share with you the 3 steps I follow in order to prepare it, hoping that it will come in handy for you in the future!

STEP 1 – SPOTTING

A few weeks before Black Friday, I usually go through the different stores and make a visual selection of all the pieces that might catch my attention BUT without buying anything. I do it in local stores, as well as on the internet (where I proceed to put the articles in my wishlist).

GOALS?

Making a pre-selection to save time on D-Day. Let me tell you that once you’re in the store dealing with a big crowd AND time pressure, looking for the rare gem at ease becomes a complicated task.
Not buying the items at the pre-selection stage, simply because there is no point in purchasing them at full price when they may be cheaper after a few weeks.

And I can ensure you that this step turns out to be necessary every single time. (That being said, I still happen to buy items that weren’t pre-selected though !)

STEP 2 – ESTABLISH A BUDGET

Well, I don’t really bother to create a budget every time I want to go shopping, but I highly recommend that step, especially if you want to avoid any excess and be reasonable.

STEP 3 – MAKE A LIST

I make a list of the essentials that I have to purchase, that I really need. What better than buying your must-haves items at reduced cost instead of purchasing them at their full price ? And when I talk about must-haves, I mean those things that are absolutely necessary, the rest being treats. For example, along my must-haves you will find black pants (mainly because I wear a lot of black…).

So there you go, that’s how I prepare my Black Friday ! Most of the time I order my items on the internet in the first place, and then I go to the local store on Friday for an effective shopping. However, the 3 steps that I’ve just listed are not restricted to Black Friday only, but can be applied to many other events such as the sales periods per example. That’s it ! I hope that it will be useful for somebody !

With Love,

The Christianista

Wedding looks

by The Christianistaupdated on 19 October 202119 September 2019Leave a Comment

This article is for all my fashionistas!

Still being in the wedding mood, I picked for you two of the best outfits I wore to attend the 2019 summer weddings. The first outfit is the one that I wore for a civil wedding, and the second is a dress worn as a bridesmaid.

Outfit for a civil wedding

On the eve of the third civil wedding I attended, I browsed the shops in search of the ideal dress (N.B. NEVER END UP WITHOUT AN OUTFIT ON AN EVENT’S EVE). For those who already know me, you even know the colors that are dear to my heart. My eyes are set on this beautiful red dress from C-A bought at 39.99€. From the first fitting it suited perfectly, it was a flared dress as I like them and it definitely was THE ONE, the perfect one for the time and the season.

To accessorize the dress, I opted for silvery items, with these beautiful pumps bought during my trip to Naples, as well as this purse which I can’t remember the origin of and this ring from the « Six » store.

Bridesmaid outfit

For the second outfit, here’s the bridesmaid dress I wore at the penultimate wedding of the summer. It’s so splendid, not only for its color that I love so much but also for its model, its fabric and especially its beautiful train.

Where does it come from? (the question many asked me…) You’d be amazed… It comes from Ali Express, for the small price of 50 euros. Yeah, I know, it’s a SUPER DEAL !

Hoping these looks pleased you and got you inspired !

With love,

The Christianista