Collective haul: Forever 21, H&M, River Island, Urban Outfitters & Primark (among others)

So spring is in the air, which means that I have this sudden urge to shop till I drop. Not only has the sun been showing it’s happy face, but also the mid season sale has started, I needed a few basics, I had a vacation and I still wanted to go to Antwerp with my best friend. Unfortunately for my bank account, these 5 things happened to coincide in the past 2 weeks or so. That’s right, I went shopping, online, offline, multiple times on multiple occasions and so I thought I’d show you. I initially wanted to make this into several posts, but since some people on Twitter asked me not to, I decided to show you everything in one go nonetheless. So sit back, relax, grab a cuppa and brace yourselves for a massive collective shopping haul from all over the place. Enjoy!

Most of this haul will consist of fashion, so I thought I’d start with the few odd beauty products and accessories I laid my hands on in the past few weeks. Let’s start with beauty products first:

Kerastase Leave-in conditioner, Catrice Revoltaire LE lipstick in Colour Bomb, Essence Nail Art Special Effects Top Coats in Night in Vegas & Copper’ized Me

Yesterday I got a hair cut (post will be up tomorrow!) and my leave-in conditioner is running out. Since my hair got really dry over winter, I decided to go for the good stuff and bought the one my hairdresser sells. I came away with the softest and shiniest hair I have ever had, so I have good faith this will work. Catrice came out with a new limited edition and I wanted to try this matte coral colored lipstick. It’s coral, it’s matte and so I love it. Oh and girl can never have enough glittery/ flaky top coats. Night in Vegas is apparently a dupe for Shake it or Flake, a limited edition polish from the Catrice Million Styles collection. I will write a post on that soon.

Beaten silver short necklace (Primark)

The reason I love Primark: the accessories. Unfortunately when I was there yesterday, they didn’t have many good things and a lot of accessories were gone. I did manage to pick up this short silver looking necklace. If you watch this spot you know I love any necklace that is short and I thought this would make a good addition to the growing collection.

Floral sunglasses (Primark)

Floral patterns are everywhere, every year for summer. I don’t own many floral pieces, mainly because it has to be the right floral for me to be able to pull it off. Luckily, this time round I found a few fun floral pieces, starting with this pair of retro inspired sunglasses. At only €1.50 I couldn’t leave these at the store.

Floral patterned Ked like flats/ sneakers (Primark)

Shoes!!! If you have seen any other shopping hauls on here you know I cannot go shopping without buying shoes. Primark carries this type of flat every year it seems. I already have a basic grey pair as well as a blueish grey one and these floral ones are very ditsy looking. I think they will look nice with some shorts or under a dress.

Aztec/ tribal print backpack (Primark)

Another print that will be featured in this post, as well as in summer fashion is the Aztec/ Tribal print. Primark was filled to the brim with different types of backpacks and when I found this printed one I thought it would be just different enough for it not to remind me of elementary school too much. Just a fun bag to carry around your stuff when you go to a festival or whatever.

Nude strappy wedges (H&M)

Ever since I saw these shoes on Jenn from clothesencounters I wanted these. They looked so comfy, yet every time I went into H&M they were not available in my size and online they were sold out all the time. Until I walked into H&M the other day not looking for anything particular. Lo and behold, there were only two pairs and one of which was in my size too! Best part: they are now part of the mid season sale and so they only cost me 10 euros! Woot!! I found myself the perfect pair of summer shoes.

Dark gray woolen cable knit sweater (H&M)

Huh? A woolen cable knit sweater? In May? Yes, of course! It was on sale for only 10 euros so I couldn’t pass up on it. I had been eyeballing this sweater for ages but at 30 euros I thought it would be too expensive to buy another bulky sweater this winter. However, of all the bulky sweaters I bought not one was a dark color and I really wanted another cable knit one. It will have to sit in my closet until next winter, but with Dutch summers you never know what happens so I may have to bust it out earlier.

Light denim men’s button down shirt (H&M)

A staple that was missing from my extensive wardrobe: a denim shirt. I have one with short sleeves, but honestly long sleeves are so much more useful where I live. My main problem for not having one: shirts cut for girls never fit me right. They usually don’t have enough space in the chest area if you know what I mean, so I decided to check the men’s department this time. This shirt fits like a glove (it’s a size M). It’s baggy, but that’s how I like it. I’m thinking: leggings, + crop top, + denim shirt = ultimate summer look.

Bandeau crop tops in gray, purple/ flowers, aqua, (Forever 21) nude lace (Pieces) and black (Asos)

So I went on a bit of a bandeau crop top kick. These will be perfect for layering underneath some of the sheer shirts I have and in combination with highwaisted pants/ leggings/ shorts/ skirts they will make a great outfit for summer (see description of the picture above). They are inexpensive and look really nice on too. I will make a outfit of a day post so you can see what I mean.

Bodycon gray geometric print mini skirt (Forever 21)

This skirt is amazingly tight, but therefore it looks amazingly good on. It fits like a glove and will look nice with a pair of high heels, opaque black tight, a plain top and colorful scarf.

Floral print playsuit (Forever 21)

I bought a playsuit from Urban Outfitters last year, which I love, but can’t wear to work as it’s too low cut. This one covers things up nicely and with a pair of tights I can even pull these off in fall.

Cobalt blue treggings (Forever 21)

I hardly wear actual pants anymore. It’s usually leggings, jeggins or treggings that I am wearing. These are just perfect. They are tight but of a very light material and they are the perfect blue color. I had been looking for a great, bright blue pair of pants, but none of the blues I had seen till now struck me as blue enough. This however, definitely made the cut.

Speckled sweater tights (Urban Outfitters)

The minute I saw these tights I knew I had to have them. The fact that they are black with yellow, red and blue specks in them makes them original and give you just a pop to go with a boring, basic skirt or dress. Plus they were on sale!

Aztec/ tribal print leggings (Urban Outfitters)

While shopping in Antwerp I had hoped to find a pair of fun, printed bottoms. I have been seeing them all over youtube and thought they would add a touch of fun to my wardrobe. At Urban Outfitters I found these, also on sale and a perfect fit. You throw on a button down on top, pair it with some boots and you instantly have casual/ edgy outfit. Me likes!

Multicolored pastel ombre/ tiedye jeggins (River Island)

Antwerp brought me not one, but two fun pairs of bottoms. These jeggins instantly caught my eye. I initially thought they had a galaxy print on them, but upon close inspection they have more this ombre/ tiedye effect going on. And they’re pastel. Hitting two trends in one go! Just throw on a basic white shirt and some sneakers and it will be simple yet eyecatching outfit.

Aqua/ mint colored cardigan (New Yorker)

I have a bunch of cardigans, but most of them are for winter. I have none which are lightweight and easy to put on even during summer. This one is thin and a bit on the sheer side even. The color is very summery too as it’s a bright mint/ aqua color. This will look good with those River Island jeggins I just showed you.

Strawberry & cherry print t-shirt (Primark)

The minute I saw this t-shirt I knew I had to have it. It’s super cute and even though they only had one left 5 sizes too big for me I had to have it. It now just is a baggy shirt, but that’s what I like anyway.

Red polka dot sundress/ bikini cover up (Primark)

I still love my polka dots, as you can see here and in the picture below. This dress is actually more of a bikini cover up than anything else, but I think it will make a fun summer dress. This will be perfect for vacation.

Sea foam polka dot sleeveless button down shirt with waist tie (Primark)

If you thought that aztec print backpack was retro, check out this shirt! How 90s is that?! I still love my button downs and my polka dots and sea foam green is my favorite color this season (along with mint) so with that many loves combined into one shirt, I thought I could afford to go all Saved by the Bell/ 90210 for a change.

Ditsy floral print night gown (Primark)

I didn’t have any night gowns, until now. I always prefer wearing shirts and pants when I’m sleeping, with sleeve and pant leg length varying per season, but this one looked too cute and comfy to pass up on. I think it will be perfect for these transitional phases where it’s too hot to be sleeping in long pants, but too cold to be sleeping in shorts.

Basic gray and orange shirt (Forever 21, H&M)

Like I said, I also needed some basics. So I grabbed a gray shirt from Forever 21, as I only have one and whenever I need it, it’s in the wash. I love how this gray one isn’t just gray but has this speckled look to it. The orange shirt is from H&M and even though they call that color orange I think it’s more of a like coral or a bright peach. Anyhow: there is too much pink in that color for it to be a real orange.

Basic black shirts (H&M)

I was in dire need of new plain black t-shirts. I wear these so often that they are the first items in my wardrobe to actually need replacement (nothing else really does, I wonder why? 😉 ). I just picked up two slightly different ones from H&M, so I will have enough stock for a little while to come.

And that’s it! How about you? Have you bought anything during this mid season sale season? Or perhaps you just needed a few things? Tell me about it in the comments below!