today i bought...

I've been going on about Isabel Marant-esque mesh tops rather a lot lately, from marvelling at the brilliant way Elin Kling wears hers to lusting after a lovely Reiss number. But until today I hadn't quite found one that I loved enough to bring home. Obviously if I had the money I would have splashed out on a real Marant beauty, but I reckon I've found the next best thing. This lovely Zara top can be yours for just £15.99 and is a dead ringer for the real McCoy. What I love about this type of top is the hint of sportiness it adds to any ensemble. And the string vest connotations are easy to avoid as long as you wear heels rather than trainers (and I don't think you should ever wear trainers unless exercising, anyway) and keep your tailoring sleek and classic. As far as colour combinations go, I'm loving white paired with cream or nude right now, and avoiding brights will keep things classy and grown-up. Make sure jewellery is kept to a minimum, too. And a word of warning if you do buy this top: it only comes in one size (which is ridiculous if you ask me, since one size never fits all), but I found that actually the size varied a lot from top to top, so you will need to try on a fair few.

Another scented candle! Unfortunately my John Lewis Mandarin & Lime one oddly had no scent (sort of defeats the object) so I returned it and bought this Coconut & Lime guy from Debenhams instead. It smells like cocktails on the beach. Sigh.