Hello

Hello Bloggers. Where do I begin to start? I haven't blogged since May of last year and since then a lot has changed.

Blogging is one of my biggest passions and not being able to post in almost a year is ridiculous. With working full time at Next which you're all fully aware of and having a busy social life I found it very difficult finding time to create content for my blog.

I have thoroughly missed blogging and with it being a brand new year, 2016, my goal is to get my blog back in full effect by posting weekly (I bloody hope so!). You're all aware that my aim in life is to work in Men's Fashion and use this blogging platform as a creative outlet to help me break the Fashion Industry and gain some sort of interest from readers.

Enough of that, I want to rewind to last year and tell you some of the amazing opportunities I achieved last year.

On my blog I will be creating some #Throwback posts where I write some of the experiences I had last year as I didn't have time to post them in real-time last year.

2015 was an incredible year, my favoruite by far, and I've only lived nineteen of them so far. 

Every year proves to be better, I grow with age, I change in appearance and gain confidence, work harder and do some pretty cool things which fills a nineteen year old's body with much joy.

2015 was the year of growing up and having fun which were two important factors that contributed to the success of such a good year. Each year, everyone turns older and grows up and that definitley applied with me - turning 18 the previous year was one of the best things I could of wished for, your responsibility and social life changes over the course of a few months and you find yourself becoming a young adult with a lot to tackle.

Being 18 was one of the finest moments in my life, not only was I aloud to experience the night life of Weston-super-Mare and Bristol (non it's finest but it will do) but I began to be a lot more mature.

I can truly say last year was pure enjoyment - I found myself going out every Thursday and Saturday with my friends, meeting new friends and struggling to remember the nights before. 

Nights out are either loved or hated and I'm one who bloody loves them, yes you can frown upon them all you want but the idea of spending the early hours of the morning with your best friends, meeting new people and dancing to your favourite music brings me happiness, weird I know, but I still enjoy it. 

Last year was truly spent going out every weekend but it brought me some of the best memories and brought me some bloody brilliant new friends who I treasure the most. 

However 2015 wasn't all about drowning my sorrows in cheap Jager Bombs and Vodka Redbulls, but I also got to travel some of the world last year with my best friend, Britt (who I often refer to as Britney Spears)

Last year me and my best friend left what was a dismal, rainy UK behind and found ourselves jetting to Bulgaria and Lanzarote for our finest get away. We soaked up the sun, sat poolside, drank cocktails and gossiped the weeks away. With both of us finishing College and taking time off work it was fulfilling to hang out with my best friend abroad.

What made these trips sweeter was that these were my first trips abroad without being accompanied by my parents. Not only was it nice to being told what to do under Adult-Supervision but it was rewarding to find myself across the world without the help of my family and do it all myself.

Myself and Britt first hit the renowned Sunny Beach in Bulgaria, call it your upmarket Magaluf.

Party Holidays are often frowned upon by our current older generation, but for me it was always something I wanted to experience and to say I have with my best friend was nice. We spent the week soaking up the sun, drinking cocktails and partying the nights away on party boats and clubs.

Not only was Bulgaria brilliant but so was Lanzarote which I got to experience with Britt and her family. Her family was kind enough to invite me along to their holiday which I was more than happy to commit with. A week of tanning up, eating glorious food and seeing some mindblowing sites was truly amazing and I have the fondest memories.

2015 as I have mentioned was truly a fantastic year, some other highlights included going to Reading Festival with a group of my closest friends. Festivals are one of my favourite British past-times, along with a Chococlate Digestive, but four days camping, drinking and watching some of my favoruite musicians is truly bliss and something I look forward to doing every Summer.

Lastly the year brought me new and old friendships, brilliant memories, some truly cool photographs I'll forever treasure and writing this is getting me all giddy as the sounds of Lily Allen singing Somewhere Only We Know is being played through my ears, it almost feels movie like.

Therefore, I'll leave it here, 2015 was truly great and I hope yours was too.

I apologise for the lack of posts but from today onwards I am back, and better than ever.

Look out for some brilliant Fashion, Lifestyle, Travel and Throwback posts and I'll see you very soon with another post.

Charlie | chxrlietottle.blogspot.co.uk | Instagram - charlietottle | Twitter - chxrlietottle.

Summer Wishlist with Topman's SS15 Collection

After spontaneously booking a holiday to Bulgaria with my main one Britt ("It's Britney Bitch!") last night and Summer ever approaching I have decided to scour through Topman's Spring/Summer collection to find some new pieces to add to my Summer wardrobe and in this post I am going to rundown some of my favourite Topman finds that I ultimately want for the upcoming months.

Topman is one of the biggest high-street stores around and has taken the rightful spot at the top for being one of the best Mens Fashion stores in the UK - in my opinion.

With that said I have always considered Topman one of my favourite stores alongside Urban Outfitters, All Saints, and my favourite hidden/unknown vintage stores in Bristol. Topman is so effortlessly fashionable and is forever on top with trends and creating their very own. 

Simple Summer Look

Hey guys & welcome back to my blog.

Forget about #ThrowbackThursday it's about #ThrowbackTuesday on my blog today and I am introducing you to one of my simple Summer looks that I wore frequently throughout the Summer of 2014 - simple, but a personal favourite of mine to say the least.

We all know I'm an advocate for a contemporary outfit - I tend to stick to black and white pieces and layer up with different pieces on top and that is no different with today's #throwback look. 

As we can all see I am wearing a simple black and white look (no surprises there). I am wearing an everyday essential white crew neck tee-shirt from Primark. White tee shirts are a necessity in a Male & Female's wardrobe as they're ideal to layer up with a variety of different pieces. Think of the white shirt as a canvas that you can paint on, it's a simple background item that you can vocalise by adding and layering different pieces on top.

The Breton Striped Shirt | River Island

Surprise. I'm back (this is almost as good as Beyonce dropping that iconic surprise album, and when I say almost I really mean this is much better)

You might of been wondering where I have been for almost three weeks (most likely not because you have better things to worry about then an eighteen year old blogger). As you may have gathered from my previous post I have been working full time since October since leaving College and the post explains my current state which includes working almost every day and going out on the town every weekend (and our Weston treasure that is the "Thirsty Thursday"). I go on to explain in the post I haven't been able to blog in a very long time and finding the time to do is almost a rarity but yesterday afternoon I took the time to go out with my best friend Emily (or as I like to call her Cren) for a stroll and take some photos which you will soon feast your eyes on.

In today's post I will be running down one of my favourite Spring/Summer trends that is the "Breton Striped" top (or you can simply call it a striped tee shirt if you wish but being a #blogger I just can't do that). Stripes are such a natural print to have on a shirt and almost everyone has something striped in their ever growing wardrobe.

Balancing a Blog With a Job & Your Social Life

At the tender age of eighteen I'm still living the high life that every teenager should do - this includes days out with friends, nights out on the town and so much more but besides hanging out with friends and having endless nights with my Spotify playlists and Twitter I also work full time at Next whilst writing a blog - sounds fairly simple right? Not.

"Teenagers have it easy" - the elder like to say but if you work as much as me and struggle to find time to do things you love to do it can prove pretty exhausting. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my job at Next in which I've worked there almost three years. I have the best friends and times there and I work almost non stop which I adore as pay day always proves to be very pretty. 

Quitting College (my dreadful third year may I add, I did do a two year Media Course which I passed with a delightful DDM) and entering a world of full time work I knew was going to be strenuous but very rewarding. I work so much to the point I did sixteen days in a row without a break which was exhausting.

The Indie Cindy Tracklist | Spotify

Hey guys how's everyone doing? Happy first day of Spring may I add - please endure the next few weeks of blossoming flowers and easter eggs.

Every month without fail I like to introduce to you to a new playlist of mine that I have been obsessing over. I intended to upload this post at the beginning of March but with difficulties with the Spotify widget it pushed back the date of this post - until today. Initially this post was featuring some of my favourite slow jam tracks including the likes of Drake, Chris Brown, Kanye and so forth but in the past few weeks I've found myself listening to some of my favourite bands that I featured in my January playlist - my very first.

This month I have created the "Indie Cindy" playlist in which I have compiled a bunch of indie/rock music that I love and listen to on a daily basis. Some of the artists include my absolute favourites which are, Royal Blood, Peace, Catfish & The Bottlemen, Bastille and the Arctic Monkeys. 

Spring Scents | Calvin Klein & Paco Rabanne

I and a lot of other males are long gone from the days we would spend our pocket change on Lynx Africa thinking we were some sort of irresistible human being that could attract anyone or anything with the sweet smells of a four pound aerosol can, but those days gradually went by when the teenager and adult in ourselves discovered cologne - our saviour.

If you're like me then smelling good is one of the most important things in my daily routine and forgetting to do so is my biggest nightmare. So in this post I am going to recommend you some of my favourite spring scents and colognes that I love to wear on almost a daily basis.

Like I've mentioned smelling good is extremely important and having a scent that smells just perfect is a necessity. Long gone are the days of aerosol cans, yes sometimes they smell nice and feel almost refreshing with the crisp scented air hitting your body but are they long lasting? No. This is why you need to make room on your shelf for the perfect cologne. 

Colognes and Aftershaves come in a variety of different scents by different brands and my two ultimate go to smells are those from Calvin Klein and Pac Rabanne.

Instagram Feeds

We live in a world where taking photographs is the normal, every day millions and millions of photographs are taken and shared on plenty of different social media platforms, such as the highly popular Instagram.

Instagram if you didn't know/and were living under a rock is one of the many popular social media applications that everyone uses on the daily to upload their favourite photographs for the world to see. Whether it be a selfie from when you were painting the town red on a Saturday night, a photograph of the lunch you had today or a random photograph that's been living in your camera roll for years that you hashtag with #ThrowbackThursday the world will see it.

In most recent Instagram has become a place where teenagers have so become obsessed with the look of their account and feeds that posting photos without a care like it used to has become a stone age trend. 

The Flannel Shirt | Urban Renewal

Hey Guys, how's everyone doing?

In today's post I am bringing you my latest outfit of the day look and talking all about it, so feast your eyes on my latest look and let me know what you think in the comment section below.

Everyone's style changes day to day, I go through stages where I wear nothing but black and other days I like to create some of my favourite vintage looks and yesterday was no exception.

Me and my good friend Jessie took a day trip to Bristol yesterday where we spent the day shopping in Cabot Circus, eating our body weight in Frankie and Benny's deliciousness and taking style photos for my blog which I am bringing you today.

The Flannel shirt is one of my favourite pieces and in my eyes never really gone out of style and they are a key piece to have in your ever growing wardrobe. 

Checkered shirts are an essential that everyone has, they come in a range of colours/tones and you can mix and match them with plenty of looks, but not everyone's checkered shirts are of flannel material which is currently on the rise.

Blog Refresh

Hey guys - how's everyone doing? I'd like to first of all say thank you for making me reach 300 followers - I woke up in much delight after seeing that so thank you for support, taking the time to read weekly and so forth.

I've done a lot of thinking over the past few weeks and I have been wanting to refresh my blog for some time now (nothing major just incase you were wondering)

Schedule:

Bloggers will know that blogging can be deemed a full time thing, writing posts, taking photos and updating your blog can sometimes take a lot of time out of your day and working almost full time on top of that means it can be hard to balance the two.

I work almost every day at my job at Next and fitting a blog between that can sometimes prove difficult, however I try my hardest to update you with weekly posts. I aim to write almost three to four posts a week so I know there is plenty of content for you to feast your eyes on.

Personal Goals | The Year To Remember

In today's post I am going to run down some of the things I want to achieve this year to make it worth remembering.  During this past month I have taken a lot of time to think what I want to do and achieve this year and make it one to remember.

Being eighteen opens up so many doors and creates so many more opportunities. I have been eighteen for almost half a year now and it has been nothing but spectacular. The eighteenth year has allowed me to do so much more than ever before and this is why this year, 2015, I created a list of things I want to do to make it a year worth looking back on.

Travel and Holidays;

This year I am to go abroad. I have been able to travel the world for so many years with the help of parents, I've seen glorious places including the history of Rome, the city life of New York, the parisian life style of Paris and so many more incredible places but this has been under the wings of parents where as this year I am to travel and go on holidays with friends.

Travelling on my own/with friends is nothing out of the ordinary, I've taken day trips/weekends away at festivals with friends before so I'm used to the independent lifestyle however going abroad without parents is something I've never done.

London

Hello guys and in today's post I am going to run down one of my recent trips to the big smoke - London. 

London. A place of dreams, history, delicious food, wonderful shopping and glorious views. London is a place I love and consider it my second home.

London is a place I visit every year without fail and this because most of my family are from the capital and I have been able to go endless amount of times which  love. This year was a far from normal as this was the first time I was going to London on my own which was daunting to say the least. What made this years trip to London different is that a good friend of mine, George, whom I've known for almost fifteen years studies Politics at Westminster University and kindly invited me to stay for a few days and get an outlook of London life through a students pair of eyes which was ever so exciting.

We keep in contact and talk almost every week which is important because it's special to me to keep in contact with old friends. For a few months now we discussed the idea of me coming up to London and staying a few days to experience Uni life in it's fullest and see the world George now lives in.

The Everyday Blogger Day Out & Travel Essentials

Hey guys, welcome back to my blog and in today's post I am going to run down some of the essentials every blogger should have with them whether they're on a day out with friends or preparing to travel the world.

So without further or do here are my Travel and Day Out essentials for the blogger next door.

Headphones

Headphones are a necessity whether you're travelling the world or getting a bus to your local high street and this is why I recommend this vital gadget for you to have with you this year.

There are a ton of headphones on the market but which ones perfect for you?

If you're an iPhone/iPod user then you're used to your average Apple headphones but move them aside and grab yourself the Beats Solo HD - I recently was given these Matte Black wonders for Christmas and they've been nothing but wonderful. 

Beats are one of the biggest or the biggest headphone manufacturer in the world with tons of people joining the bandwagon to grab a pair and jam out to their favourite music.

I recommend the Solo HD because they are lightweight headphones that come in a variety of colours. You can chose from a range or colours in which I chose black (predictable) but they deliver the most amazing sound to the point you could be lip synching to Kanye West with someone walking in without you realising  - been there, done that. 

The Very Inspiring Blogger Award

Hello you - after a short hiatus I'm back, I can't believe it's been a week since I've posted, how unlikely of me. I've been in London for a few days but I am back in the not so sunny Somerset to post daily for you.

In today's post I have been nominated by my good friend Jessie of taylormayed.blogspot.co.uk to do the Very Inspiring Blogger Award which some of you may have judged from the title.

This post requires me to write seven facts about myself in which you will get to know me that little bit more. I will also be tagging some of my favourite fellow bloggers to do the same, so without further or do here are some little facts about me.

Fact Number One:

If you didn't already know I have an undying love for a programme called Big Brother. No matter how many times I tell someone or write it down I can never get across the unconditional love I have for this specific programme - some people are in a Harry Potter fandom, but this is my fandom and the only one I have ever joined. 

I have been following the programme since a very early age and have watched every series (even the very first on YouTube as I was only five when this programme initially started). Now I'm not just an average viewer, I'm a hardcore fan without a serious amount of passion for the programme, the people, the producers, the set and everything else.

The Grazebox

In today's post I am going to be talking about my latest discovery - The Grazebox. Now us bloggers have probably all heard of the grazebox whether it being aired as an advert on TV, YouTubers endorsing the brand or bloggers insightful posts about them.

Now if you don't know what the Grazebox is then have you been doing a Patrick Star and living beneath a rock - I hope not. Graze is a online food manufacture than encourages every day people by eating new and innovative snacks delivered through the post (cool right?).

Setting up your Grazebox is simple as pie, I signed up using my good friend, Jessie's friend code which allowed me to get my first, fifth and tenth box free which was great and you go through a few about you steps, in put your bank details and there you go, the site is yours, yours for you to browse through yummy looking snacks that you'd like to see in your box.

The great thing about Graze is that it offers almost everything - every snack you could possibly think of and more... and by more I mean some that you might not of thought of eating, and don't worry if you have allergies or you're a vegetarian then they cater to you too (how welcoming of them). 

Like I said, Graze has a variety of foods for you to choose from. You go through different categories of food and chose whether you want to bin the item, like the item, love the item or send it soon. I recommend choosing "love the item" on some of your personal favourites therefore there's a better chance of those delicious goodies being in your box.

The Bomber Jacket | Burtons

In today's post I am going to talk about one of my latest purchases - the ever so stylish and on trend bomber jacket from Burtons.

Recently with two of my good friends I visited and took a wander around Cabot Circus which is my local shopping centre in which I was looking for new additions for my wardrobe - although I should be saving, my bad. 

The shopping trip was a weird one - nonetheless a great one. I decided to try something new and venture into new stores that I never really tend to browse in and see if I could find anything that I liked, which I ended up doing.

Judging by the title you will realise that Burtons was one of the many stores I visited. Burtons is a shop that stores mens clothing that is usually suitable for the twelve year old boy who is trying to find his style and older men trying to look ever so hip and on trend. However Burtons had some really nice new pieces in that I was contemplating buying which really surprised me as I tend to shop in Topman, Urban Outfitters and All Saints therefore it made a nice change and refreshing to see something new.

Whilst waiting for my friends to finish looking through Miss Selfridge I browsed some of the new stock of Burtons in which I found something I had been after for ages - the bomber jacket. The bomber jacket is this seasons Spring essential for all men, the fleece lined non-collared jacket is doing the rounds around fashion stores and is perfect for every on trend males wardrobe - including me.

YouTube

YouTube a site that was originally a place for people to store their videos: for example a place for you to show the world what you're cat was doing they you found endlessly amusing or for you to store that video you created in your bedroom signing along to Airplanes by B.o.B and Hayley Williams, good examples I know.

But we live in a world where social media is becoming one of the most important things in our lives: everyday people are so consumed like me by others on these so called sites. 

YouTube has not only been a place for you to watch endless cat videos or your favourite musicians music videos but it's now a place where we can watch we what call - YouTubers. The YouTuber is just like me and you, the average person documenting their lives online with a video camera - sounds crazy right? But we've all watched a YouTuber whether you realise it or not.

Alongside blogging, YouTube and YouTubers are something I've been passionate for since I was eleven and I was so consumed by watching people I love on a weekly basis. 

Successful YouTubers such as Zoella, Pointless Blog, Sprinkle of Glitter were all people I discovered prior to the fame they have now: believe it or not I was a loyal viewer since 2011 and it's crazy to see their journey they've been on along with other notorious YouTubers. 

You're probably thinking where are you going with this blog post? But I have been going back and forth on the idea of starting a YouTube channel for almost a few months now. YouTubers are people I idolise and to even achieve half of things they're doing is beyond my wildest dreams.

The Groovy Tracklist | Spotify

February the first already? I know it's cliche to say and we are only a month in but seriously

where is time going already?

Now let's forget that me worrying that times going fast and I'm getting older each and every day. It's a new month which means I want I want to introduce you to a new playlist to get your February live and kicking (subtle reference to a 90's show there).

If you didn't already know, I have a very versatile music taste and accept listening to all genres of music without a care and most recently I have been travelling back to my roots and listening to the old funky R&B and Pop (damn I hate using the term pop) music I grew up with and create a playlist for you to listen to it and even find that song you've been searching for, for months. (trust it's a much cooler playlist than I'm making it sound). 

Blogging | Tips and Tricks

Hello Guys. Thank god it's Friday - where's this week going?

In today's post I am going to run down some tips and tricks in how to find your blog, make it personal to you and how to attract your following.

Now you might be thinking - "Charlie, you've only been blogging since December?". Correct, I have, but I have been reading and following blogs/bloggers for almost two to three years now so along the way I have found what makes a blog worth reading - including my very own.

Tip One: "Find your niche!"

Every blogger has there niche, whether it be fashion, personal style, make up, food, music and so forth. When reading mine you've realised my blogger has a series of categories such as mens fashion, lifestyle posts, music and travel.

Bloggers need to find there niche so they know what to post about and what theme to stick to. I know having a mens fashion blog that I can't talk about horse riding (prime example I know) as it will only just throw you and your followers off - yes it might be an interesting post but this isn't what your followers have followed you for.

When finding your niche chose something you enjoy outside of blogging, so that when it comes to writing your blog post it's not something that you'll get bored of.

Two Hundred

Happy Thursday - how's everyone doing?

I am happy to announce in todays post I have hit the big two hundred on my blog - yes I have hit two hundred followers on my Bloglovin' page. I initially started this blog back in December of last year and I have found it incredible how every thing is going since starting my blog. 

No matter how many followers I earn, blogging will always be about fun for me - I started this blog as a hobby which it still is but to gain a growing following each day is incredible and makes blogging that little bit more exciting. 

If you haven't followed my blog already then feel free to follow my Bloglovin' page here

To everyone that's followed thank you and I hope you've enjoyed my content so far, also feel free to recommend my blog to others as I would really appreciate that.