Style Icon: Mona Lisa Vito

Helloooooo-ha!

First things first, have you ever watched the 1992 comedy film My Cousin Vinny? If the answer to this is no, then quick, hurry. Download it onto your laptop and be prepared for your sides to split over good, clean, comedy (bar the odd 'effword'). Now, aside from the hilarity of this film, another top reason to watch My Cousin Vinny is my ultimate number one girl crush of all time, Marisa Tomei as Mona Lisa Vito.

Her attitude, her eyebrows, her outfits... what is not to love? Mona Lisa Vito is a New York Italian chick with leathers, velvets and skin-tight cottons as her go to fabrics which could not be better for this chilly autumn-winter. Plus, Mona Lisa Vito, like me, is almost always over-dressed, so I think I could wear her look quite well as a similarly dark-haired feminist. 

*A modern day version of this would have a black bodycon skirt and sky high black wedges; monochrome shoulder-pad jacket non-optional!* 

*Check out the shades and hoop earrings. This woman seriously knows how to accesorize.*

*A bright red blazer, matching lipstick and larger than life roses surrounding her neck down into her cleavage is so Mona Lisa Vito! Just throw in a kick-ass facial expression and you have my heroine. Love Love Love.*

*I want this jumpsuit... and the body to go with it please.*

Isn't her hair great? I desperately want a white streak through my own hair now...*

*Even in her jimjams Mona Lisa looks beautiful... Lip stain, mascara and dark eyebrow pencil are probably all that is needed to look as attractive as Mona Lisa Vito... I wish.*

Luckily, I've realized that the best place on the high street (also known as a little place called Topshop) has tons of items which would contribute to a Mona Lisa Vito look... Now all I have to do is save for the following pieces:

£89 Ombre Faux Mongolian Coat 

£26 Lace Roll Neck Crop Top

£85 Baroque Skinny Jeans...

£10 Skinny Polo Crop... 

£80 Embellished Boots...

£65 Fringe Devore Kimono

£180 Limited Edition Embellished Bodycon Dress...

£8 Lips in Beguiled...

£180 Cross Embroidered Biker Jacket...

Who is your autumn-winter style crush at the moment? Have you ever seen My Cousin Vinny before? Which of these pieces is your absolute favorite? The embellished boots are the top of my to-buy list at the moment!

Love and snuggles

GabriellaSofia

x

Outfit of the Day: Growl Power

Good morning Star Shine!

So Friday is dress-down day at work, so each and every Thursday night I agonize over what might be appropriate and each and every Friday morning I throw on something that most likely isn't. Win some, lose some, eh? Anyway, this Friday just gone I panicked big-time as I'm selling a bunch of clothes very soon on eBay so I had a nightmare trying to find something in my newly-culled chest of drawers. Naturally, I rushed into my sisters room and pulled out the first thing I could find which happened to inspire the whole rest of my outfit... Here it is...

So I grabbed this Topshop fox jumper out of my sister's drawers and decided to go wild, literally. This is a skirt I got from Forever 21 last summer but I actually popped the bottom button off it when I got into the car after this photo was taken :( Maybe my granny can fix it. My gold and brown low-hanging pendant necklace is from Topshop (unsurprisingly) and my tights and boots are both Forever 21. Now, let's tackle the elephant in the room... my leopard-print coat was a bit of a random grab to be fair, I was rushing out of the house and realized how cold it was, so I reached under my bed and pulled this out. I'd forgotten I even had it and since I'm on a 'if-you-don't-wear-your-clothes-you-have-to-sell-them' kick I decided to bite the bullet and throw the H&M furry friend on. I've never looked back...

What do you wear for dress-down day? Would you dare wear leopard print? Is anyone any good at sewing buttons back onto skirts?

Keep an eye out for my upcoming blogsale...

Love and snuggles

GabriellaSofia

x

ps. Apologies for using a Cheetah Girls song title in my post title... if I said I didn't love them, I'd be lying.

Top Five Current Season Winter Coats...

I think it's fair to say that the summer days are now well and truly behind us, and as the nights draw in the bitter cold means only one thing... Jack Frost will soon be nipping at our doors and we need to show him we mean business with a super-stylish, brand-new, current-season coat! But which one do we choose? The high street boasts a plethora of catwalk copycats in a range of prices, most of which really don't break the bank and those that do are so lush they're totally worth us scraping the bottom of our over-drafts for! Here are the coats I've been dreaming about recently...

The Detective-Chic Cape

I believe it's time for us to channel our inner-Sherlock this winter with an effortlessly cool cape-style throw-over. I've actually purchased this one a couple of weeks ago and it can be seen in my most recent Haul Video. This Dorothy Perkins coat which retails at £69 is made of a thick black wool-cotton mix (perfect for those chillier evenings). Having said that, the fact that there aren't specific arm holes means that the occasional breeze can result in goosebumps, not to mention it can be quite difficult to carry a handbag... I usually wear it when I don't have many other things to carry, or if I can wear a small cross-body bag. It's really cool though, and tons of people look at me when I'm wearing it! I especially love the sheepskin hood detail and the brown fastenings around the neck. I feel a bit like a movie star in disguise in this! Definitely a vital purchase for the season!

The Teddy Boy(friend) Blazer-Style

I love the style of this masculine tweed coat. It will set you back £85 in Topshop but the fabric feels so luxurious that I would totally be prepared to push the boat out... if there wasn't four other coat styles this season that I'm crushing on! Plus, I kind of feel a little like I'm too short to pull off a coat like this as its length hits just between your butt and the back of your knee... Not sure I could wear it without heels which automatically makes it less versatile than some of the other coats in this list. And yet, it's just so chic and snuggly-looking (just like wearing your boyfriend's coat on a chilly night because he loves you SO MUCH that you're worth him shivering throughout the New Year's Eve fireworks) that it might be worth having to wear a pair of super-sexy killer heels... I think so! Might have to put it on my Christmas list. And go to some New Year's Eve fireworks :)

The Glamorous Hollywood Faux-Fur

I've always been a massive fan of faux-fur coats (one of my favorite winter fashion items is a leopard-print faux-fur coat from H&M... I've had it for three years and I'm NEVER getting rid of it!) but this year there's something different. Leopard spots have been switched for dalmatian spots a la Topshop Unique and Cruella de Vil and I'm preparing myself for the fact that I may have to pass over my previously fave faux! River Island's version is perfect and looks just as great over a pair of black skinnies and flats as it does with a body-con dress and platforms, and at only £60 I really have no excuse not to buy this cosy, comfy, cute coat.

The 70's Tan Sheepskin

Honestly, at first I totally didn't get the whole shapeless-coat-with-extra-sheepskin-padding-in-a-dull-suede-tan-colour. That is until I spotted this bad boy on ASOS! I love the toggle fastenings and the pocket details add something special too. Plus, whilst maintaining the 70's straight shape, there is a little cinch at the waist which would work well for people with a bigger bust like me, wishing to be forgiven a few too many mince pies! At only £65 Vero Moda have a potential buyer in me... especially now ASOS offer a 10% NUS Extra student discount.

The Nerd-Girl Duffel

This has to be the best value coat of the bunch... currently on sale in Miss Selfridge for just £42 this mustard-coloured duffel would look PERFECT with my university satchel and boots. Not only a warm and 'practical' coat that even granny would approve of, this coat is a very striking colour and really works the scholar-yet-chic look (one which I'm totally going for this year... it's the final year of my degree after all!) Don't have time to rave much more about how much I love this coat as I need to snap it up immediately!

So what will you be using to stay warm this winter? Have you been intelligent and lucky enough to purchase any of the coats featured in this blog? I might have to hunt you down and steal it because of jealousy...

Let me know what you think and be sure to tell me if I've missed out any majorly beautiful coat styles which are IT for this Autumn/Winter!

Love as always

gabriellasofia

x