We all love a bargain style find, and footballer's wife and fashionista Kaya Jones is no exception. Kaya, who is married to Man United star Phil Jones, was one of the glamorous ladies out supporting International Women's Day events in the city centre this week, when we headed out for our weekly Steal Their Style series.
Kaya regularly impresses her friends with her thrifty style finds, and they were among the stylish guests out at Menagerie restaurant at New Bailey for Julie Perry's annual charity lunch for International Women's Day.
Mum-of-two Kaya, who also runs her own business in Cheshire, was rocking a pair of statement green metallic jeans from ASOS for the event. She teamed them with a pair of strappy heels that may look designer - but were actually purchased on sale at Miss Selfridge "years ago", she says.
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And that was not her only bargain buy. She had styled her hair in loose curls for the event, and revealed that she has recently discovered a way to get the look she usually gets with the coveted £499 Dyson Airwrap styler - with an absolute bargain £2.50 buy at Primark instead.
Kaya, 31, said: "I've recently started using a hair styler from Primark, it's so cheap but it is absolutely brilliant.
"I do have the Dyson Airwrap and love the curl I get from that, but this Primark tube gives me almost exactly the same look. You wrap your hair around the tube then sleep in it, and the next morning you wake up with great curls.
"It’s that good, my hairdresser drove past me the other day and messaged me to say "wow your hair looks so nice". I felt I had to message back and say to her: "I’m not cheating on you, it’s this wrap from Primark that did it!"
The Primark "heatless curls" set has clearly been a big hit with shoppers - priced at just £2.50 - as it showed up as sold out at most stores when we checked online. However other online retailers, including Boots and ASOS, do similar heatless curl rods priced from £6 up to £12.
Kaya attended the event with friends including Keeley Liburd, 27, who was wearing a fab one shoulder cut out shirt from Zara. They both hailed Zara as one of their favourite stores, and Kaya has been on a "Zara trawl" for the perfect outfit for the Cheltenham Races next week.
Kaya adds: "I just wear what I think looks nice, you don’t need to spend hundreds of pounds on statement pieces. We all went out to Bongo's Bingo recently and I was wearing a pair of £20 shoes from Ego - my friends wouldn't believe that's where I got them from.
"It’s not about how much you spend, it’s about how you can make it work for you. And I always think if you have a good blow dry it makes any outfit look great. I wear the same gym gear every day for the school run, some of it is so old and bobbly, but I feel if I have a good hair day it makes the whole outfit look better."
We asked five more women at the IWD event for their fashion tips and how they would describe their style...
Sophie Brown
Also at Menagerie was Married at First Sight star Sophie Brown, 27. Fans of the hit series will know things didn't quite work out for Sophie on the reality romance show, and she's now happily single and living in Manchester city centre.
Sophie, who works in tech, attended the event rocking a pale blue Zara blazer with gold buttons, over a stylish cut-out black dress and boots from, yep, Zara again. She finished the look with a classic YSL handbag.
Sophie said: "I love any tailored pieces, my style is more tailored, fitted and classic I'd say.
"I always like looking nice, because first impressions are important. I forget sometimes when I'm out that I might get papped, but I don’t mind wearing stuff again - it's not sustainable to be buying new stuff all the time.
"I like to switch up the accessories, style my hair in a different way and with key statement pieces you can switch up your look fairly easily."
Kayleigh O'Donovan
Kayleigh, 34, is the owner of city beauty salon and blow-dry bar House of Vanity, so is firmly embedded on the city's style scene. She was rocking a Parisienne chic ensemble including a beret, grey tux dress by Fourth and Reckless on ASOS and stylish stocking tights by Villa.
She said: "I'd describe my style as quite transient, I change it up quite a lot. I enjoy following trends and using that as inspiration for my own look."
Having owned the salon since pre-Covid times, Kayleigh, who lives in Castlefield, has seen a real difference in the way clients dress since lockdown. She said: "Pre-covid, everyone wanted to be high glam.
"But now, it's more a subtle glam, I think people don't want to look quite so done. It's gone from really big hair to looser, beachier waves and more neutrals and less glitter in the make-up."
Nida Holt
Nida continued the Zara theme this week - her fabulous printed two piece was from the high street retailer.
Nida Holt, 30, works in recruitment and lives in Manchester city centre. She said: "Yes, I'm very Zara today! I got this two piece in the Zara spring collection a few years ago for £49.99 and it's just a real statement piece I love it."
Her jacket and heels were also from Zara, while her look was completed by a coveted Jacquemus mini handbag. Nida said: "I like to keep it high street and then add designer details. I like to keep up with the biggest trends but put my own twist on it."
Citing Hailey Beiber as her style inspo, we were also loving her curly waves. The secret to her glam locks? "I swear by the Dyson Airwrap. I know some people struggle with it, but I don't use any product, I just use it when my hair is almost dry and the curls really hold."
Danielle Caroll-Peters and mum Jacqui Carroll
This super stylish mum and daughter duo were celebrating IWD together in Manchester at the Menagerie event. Danielle, 40, and mum Jacqui, 60, are so close that they even work together, running their own shop Bohemian Stars in Liverpool.
Danielle was wearing a gorgeous green jacket from Quiz, teamed with a DSLB jumpsuit and hot pink heels by Lipsy. The mum-of-three said: "I’m all or nothing when it comes to what I wear, I’m either tracksuit and not a scrap of make-up for the school run, or full-on glam. But my mum is always so glamorous.
"She has always inspired me, growing up she had the biggest wardrobe which was amazing for dressing up. She always taught me to have a capsule wardrobe of key items like leather pants as you can always style them up."
Jacqui adds: "I always say 'keep it and it will always come back in fashion'."
She describes her style as "very bohemian, but I do like sparkles, I’m a magpie if I go to a shop, I head straight for the sparkles." Jacqui's fabulous sequin-encrusted jacket was a high street bargain - purchased for half price in the River Island sale, while her over-the-knee boots were from boohoo.com.
Freya Leisk
Freya completed our Zara fans at the event - wearing a tailored black jacket from the brand, and also Zara pointed heel boots. Her leather look bootcut pants were from Aria Cove, while her classic striped jumper was an ASOS bargain for £30.
Zara, 20, is studying fashion business promotion at Salford University and describes her style as "quite minimalistic". She adds: "I tend to stay smart causal and classy."
As for her favourite brands, she cited Zara, and said she loves to look at Instagram brands for style inspiration.
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