Anna Lou of London

2016 is the year of the hashtag. Well, 2015 was the year of the hashtag too – the hashtag is just taking over. Social Media and the rise and fall of an instafamous #lifegoals, has left us with a whole collection of new vocab for the year. And as well as EVERY emoji, the hashtag is my new fave thing to do. It gets the conversation going, and gives me the easiest opportunity that my new Insta selfie does in fact have #nofilter. So following that, I thought I’d compile together Instagrams top ten hashtags right now. At number five, we have #friends, for all the cute BFF selfies. Perfect for when Instagramming in bars, museums and cafés with mates. At number four, there’s #yummy. We’ve all been there, you’re in a cool little coffee shop with exposed brick and wood interior, and the latte art was just too pretty not to snap. Can scrolling through the #yummy hashtag be considered a hobby? It’s definitely mine. #feelinghungry…

Another favourite, coming in at number 3… #throwback. Everyone loves a little nostalgia right? Throwback Thursday gives us the perfect opportunity to look back on special moments, funny memories or simply just a really great selfie. Just missing first place on my little hashtag hierarchy, is #lol, a timeless classic. You could say this one is what kicked off the crazy new take on the English Language, as is still one of the most used words daily. I’m definitely not the only one who sometimes slips up and says it out loud…

Finally, taking first place and THE most used Instagram hashtag right now is, wait for it……. #fashion. Yes, us Instagrammers care just that little bit more about our style. Fashion will always be our number one priority (kind of), here’s a few ideas’ on how to incorporate the hashtag into your style.

Hashtag NOFILTER Necklace http://bit.ly/1PCJig1

Hashtag NYC/LONDON/TOKYO Necklace http://bit.ly/1RHe6h8

Hashtag HAPPY Necklace http://bit.ly/1TfWDlg

Hashtag RICH Necklace http://bit.ly/1WTScfc

  Shauna Cook (Social Media Intern)      

Ever since the beginning of 2015, Pantones colour of the year, Rose Quartz hasn’t just been adding ‘= the right amount of colour’ into our wardrobe, but also piling up in my jewellery box like a rose gold mine. There’s something about the warm tone of copper that is Rose Gold, which has such an edge of femininity and youth to it. As someone who has always been scared of the colour pink, rose gold has helped me ease my way into this pink hued love affair, and like most love affairs, my love is only growing deeper, so I put together a little wish list on the Anna Lou of London site whilst daydreaming about all the possible styling options. Our Rose Gold Name Necklace adds just the rights amount of personality to an otherwise quite plain outfit. I’d pair this under my collar, and if it’s not cold enough to layer clothes that day – I’ll just layer my accessories. The name necklace next to our Woodland Necklace would look gorgeous together, and give an easy outfit and easy pick me up. It doesn’t stop there either, if you’re like me, you like one thing, you’re obsessed with it and have to have EVERYTHING to match. A couple of our Rose Gold Regal Rings stacked next to an Initial-Heart Ring (or two) would keep the theme running perfectly. And the great thing about our initial heart rings, is you can just keep adding, there are no limits with the amount of children, friends or loved ones you can have piling up on your hands (in reason). Most importantly, I think the great thing about my new fave colour, is that it’s not an investment in a whole new accessory collection – layering lengths, shapes and even shades works incredibly in rose gold’s favour – if anything, a little touch of sterling silver would work a dream. You can find all the rose gold jewellery on our website @ http://bit.ly/1St4hXe   Shauna Cook (Social Media Intern)

Lots of looks today are all about featuring the boyish, edgy side of people. Dark colours like navy, olive green, black, and brown, ripped jeans, Doc Martins, Vans, all that jazz. It’s all about keeping it cool. Accessories are not forgotten: dark leathers, skulls, lots of layering. But what people seem to love the most are studs. Studs on leather bracelets, studded earrings, studded rings, studded bags. I won’t lie to you, I’m big on the studs myself. My personal style is quite boyish, and studs help add to the effect. Conversely, I’ve also noticed people with quite classy or girly style wearing studs. The lovely ladies with the girlier styles usually accessorise with studs to keep up with the trends. And it looks just as cool! Studs are the kind of accessory that can be worn with any style. I love having staple pieces that can be worn with anything anytime, and studded jewellery is great for that. I like to be boyish most of the time, but when I have to dress up and be a little more classy, I add some studs to show off my edgy personality. Some of my absolute favourite Anna Lou of London pieces are the studded bangles. They come in so many colours to fit any type of outfit. The pastel colours are perfect for those classic occasions when you have to be a little more girly. The army greens and monochrome colours are really where it’s at for daily trend-setting outfits. Studs are like the new, less cheesy version of bedazzling. Whether you’re girly or boyish, you can wear studs and add edge and glamor to your look. We’re all stuck on studs! By Jessica Kaplan

Some of the most popular jewellery pieces nowadays are name, initial, and monogram jewellery. Alphabet jewellery has become a staple in the wardrobes of many. Why does everyone love alphabet jewellery? What makes it so great? For one thing, personalised jewellery allows you to make your mark and express yourself in your own way. I’ve noticed that a lot of people like to customise necklaces or bracelets using their favourite words/sayings, using hashtags, etc. These words say something about the person; it’s like they are carrying a little piece of their personality with them. People also like to wear the names of friends or loved ones, or personalise their jewellery in a way that reminds them of their friends. Something I’ve noticed, especially about teens, is that friends like to get matching jewellery. Each having the same personalised piece of jewellery acts like a sort of friendship piece, but it’s more personal because it’s customised. If you saw our Instagram post, then you’ve probably seen what this looks like. The #Bestie bracelets are a perfect example of the matching jewellery trend. What’s more popular than this, however, is wearing one’s own name or initials. This allows you to express yourself, but in a different way. When you wear your name, you carry a piece of yourself. I’m not quite sure how to explain it, but people get a certain gratification out of wearing name/initial jewellery. I know that monogram and name jewellery has been around forever. Back some 200 years ago, maybe even before, only the rich could wear monogram jewellery. If you had personalised items, it meant that you could afford it. Now whether this still carries through to today, I’m not sure. But I know for a fact that it still satisfies people to have a really nice piece of jewellery with their name/initials on it. The best part about alphabet jewellery is that they make the perfect staple pieces. Everyone I know who has a personalized necklace or bracelet wears it everywhere: to school, to work, to the gym, to the beach, in the shower, everywhere you could possibly think of. They are great because you can always have an accessory to wear, and they match with any outfit. By Jessica Kaplan

Gold has always been a timeless jewellery finish. For the past few seasons, however, silver jewellery has been the trend. Yet we’ve noticed that gold is making a comeback. Gold is chic, trendy, and brings out that summer tan. Real gold is perfect to wear during the summer because it doesn’t tarnish. You can wear it to the beach, in the pool, playing sports…wear it anywhere and it will stay shiny and beautiful. Gold is also perfect for going out, especially when paired with a dark outfit (preferably black). Think of gold and black as the power couple; both colours are sophisticated, timeless, and currently trending. Gold and black can also carry over between seasons. It seems that the gold trend is going to stay for a while, so you can wear gold and black through the fall and winter as well. This isn’t to say that gold jewellery is better than silver, because sometimes it’s not. Of course, if the gold jewellery isn’t real, it will tarnish just as quickly, if not more quickly, than silver. Silver jewellery also pairs well with black and looks nice with summer colours. But the current trend is gold, and gold is bold at the moment. Because the gold trend is relatively new, it can be difficult to switch to gold jewellery if you’ve been wearing silver for so long. The solution would be to go two-tone: pair gold and silver jewellery together. This is also an emerging trend, and is just as elegant and sophisticated as wearing all gold jewellery. Pairing two-tone jewellery with black, or pretty, summery outfits is great as well.   Needless to say, gold is the way to go this season. Try it out: whether you go two-tone or all-out gold, you're bound to look amazing.

There are so many ways to make a statement with your jewellery. We’ve already talked about stacking up bracelets, layering necklaces, rings, ear crawlers, and cuffs…But we haven’t yet talked about statement necklaces. Sometimes layering can be too much. Or maybe you don’t always feel like layering, or dealing with ear cuffs, etc. A statement necklace is the perfect solution. What is a statement necklace? Obviously, it's a bold, daring piece that adds strength and flare to your look. It can be a piece with geometric shapes, big jewels, lots of metal, etc. Anything thick or chunky that draws the eye in will make the perfect statement piece. Many runway looks currently feature outfits accessorized these big, bold necklaces. Often only small bracelets or rings will be featured with these looks, but more often nothing at all is added. Statement necklaces are great because they draw the eye straight to the centre of the outfit. The focus, obviously, is the piece itself. The outfit becomes a sort of backdrop to the piece. But it isn’t like the backdrop is never seen. In every work of art, your eye is first attracted to the main focus, and then it floats to what is going on in the background. So it makes your outfit a work of art, where the focus is the necklace, but the rest of the outfit is still seen and appreciated.

Everyone is raving about the ear crawler, and so are we. For those who are unaware, an ear crawler is an earring that extends up the lobe and sometimes all the way up the ear. Ear crawlers are made so that it appears that you have multiple piercings on your ear. And they really do look real! It’s easy to fool people into thinking that you went and got your ear pierced. Thank you to whatever brilliant soul made them, because now it’s easy to look cool without having to actually get your ear pierced so many times. They come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. What we’ve noticed that people like to do is wear a crawler in one ear, and an edgy stud in the other. This breaks up the monotony of having so many “piercings” on each ear. It gives a trendy, rocker-chic vibe to the look. Another way we’ve seen it done is with ear cuffs: again, in one ear is the crawler, and in the other is the stud. On the same ear as the stud the wearer will have 1-2 ear cuffs (these are earrings that make it seem as though you have a cartilage piercing). This varies the type of “piercings” that you can have. Gives the same edgy effect, but in a different way. Ear crawlers are totally cool and trendy. They’re a great way to make a statement on your ear aside from long, dangly earrings. They may be subtle, but subtlety sometimes goes a long way.

Remember in the good old days when sharing a friendship bracelet with your best friend was the only way to share a special bond with your ''almost'' sister! Welcome into your life the new and improved iconic friendship bracelets; the bangles and personalised bracelets. Why not wear gold, silver or rose gold matching bracelets with your best friend! My advice to achieve the perfect look would be to wear one of our engraved or monogram bracelets with your best friends initials layered with a few colourful bangles that you can change every day depending on your mood. Trust me you will never want to go back to the old friendship bracelet after proudly wearing the improved one! Why stop at only bracelets? Try our personalised necklaces, again you can either have your name engraved in gold, silver or rose gold or instead of your name you can wear your common favourite word with your best friend! That’s a unique necklace that you can add to your jewellery box. Have you seen our #nofilter necklace? Definitely the perfect friendship necklace to wear with your best friend on a picture that you can later post on Instagram with the cheeky hashtag #nofilter and #bestfriend. The possibilities are endless, be creative with your best friend and create your unique jewellery piece.   By Claudia Bussieres

Say goodbye to the old 90's gothic choker necklace and welcome in an improved classy-sexy stackable choker necklace into your jewellery box! The stackable choker necklace could just be what your jewellery collection is missing! Would you dare to try this unique kind of necklace? The choker is the perfect accessory to give you a more sophisticated edgy look. It takes the statement necklace to a whole new level, changing a basic outfit into an absolutely brilliant one! Would you wear one, or two together? Brass with silver rhodium, 18ky gold or 18kt rose gold plating? Worn alone or layered, the choker necklace is a ‘’must’’ to add to your jewellery box. Quick advice, the choker is beautiful on its own but for special occasion pair it with a longer length necklace to create the perfect layered look! Have a look at our bangles for a fabulous mix and match look! For a more unique look try our personalised jewellery collection. Pair our name personalised necklace with the gold choker, this will definitely give you an absolute unique style, not only you can have your name on the necklace or you can choose your favourite word instead and don't forget to add a few two tone bangles. No doubt everyone will be envious of your look! By Claudia Bussieres

After spending my first day of work at Anna Lou of London, I had the urge to share with you my top 5 favourite jewellery pieces I absolutely need for the Summer season!  This Summer 2015 it is all about BRIGHT COLOURS and ROSE GOLD pieces!

1. Loving that rose gold trend? Absobloodylootely! It is the perfect feminine touch to add to your cheeky-summery look. Feel a little adventurous? Wear a personalised rose gold necklace with a gold or silver necklace, for best results try two different lengths together.
2. Nothing better than embracing your initials on a pearl bracelet ( £18 each) Simply brilliant! Summer of weddings? Be the best dressed guest by wearing a pearl bracelet with your most elegant-posh outfit.  You are the bride to be (firstly congratulation), and why not cherish your bridesmaids with a lovely personalised pearl bracelet? This will be your most memorable day of your life and theirs too!
3. These playpurses are definitely a ‘’must’’ for the summer season. They are the perfect accessory to add a touch of colour to your outfit. The ''boyfriend jeans'' are back in style, wearing a pair with a lovely white blouse, and one of these colourful playpurses might just be what your outfit is in desperate need for! Now you have the difficultly of picking one! Good luck! £25 each
4. You can never go wrong with timeless pieces like an engraved name ring. Double the fun and get a glamourous two-finger ring. Wicked!
5. Statement necklaces are still ‘’in’’ and are one of the hottest trends of 2015, grab one or two and layer them to create your own unique pendant. Don’t be afraid to express yourself!

Fancy one of these jewellery pieces? Hurry up and get a 15% off when shopping online. Now it is your time to splash out on your favourite jewellery pieces! By Claudia Bussieres