Today – on what seemed like the first day of winter: dark skies, bitter winds and drizzling rain – I headed down to Oxford to catch up with my friends from university. As I spent most of my studies there wearing t-shirt dresses and jeans, I thought I’d now make an effort to look a little smarter.

Shirt, Zara; Jumper, Topshop; Leggings, Topshop;

Chelsea Boots, Topshop; Coat, Topshop; Scarf, River Island.

The trend for warm reds – wine, burgundy and berry shades – was most prevalent last autumn, but is back in the shops this season too. Hurray! I decided to mix last year’s waffle knit jumper with this year’s check leggings and tartan scarf, complete with my ultimate eBay bargain, my charcoal Topshop duster coat.

Layering is usually too much of a conscious effort for me; when it’s cold I typically reach for the same old thick sweater and heavy jacket, rather than building up lots of complimentary pieces. I knew I wanted to wear my duster coat (which is a beauty, but very thin) so that necessitated an under-layer that was warm, but not too bulky.

I was initially worried about how the shirt would look against a crop jumper, but I actually think it works really well. It also saved the hassle of constantly having to tuck my shirt in throughout the day!

My make-up had to be something simple (I was in a rush to make a train) so I opted for a muted smoky eye using UD’s Naked 2 Palette’s ‘Taupe’ with Bare Minerals’ Glimmer Eye Shadow in ‘Celestine.’ The latter’s light pewter shade is one of my all-time favourite shadows that’s perfect for adding a bit of sparkle without being overstated. For lips, I used MAC’s ‘Viva Glam II’ (<3) outlined with Rimmel’s Exaggerate Lipliner in ‘Eastend Snob, 063,’ a combination that thankfully outlasted all the coffees, hot chocolates and endless gossiping.

How are you incorporating this season’s shades into your day-to-day outfits?

Hope you like!

Molly x