Home for the Winter

Apologies all for the hiatus, I managed to get myself rather ill and confused for a few weeks. Cue Boy rigging up laptops so I can watch Star Trek Voyager from the (extremely hot) bath, and cooking me nothing but grilled chicken and baked eggs for a week - my body basically couldn't digest anything except light protein, and I got sick of bacon with my eggs by day two...

But now I'm home in London, exhausted from a hard, and at times unsatisfactory, month at work, missing Boy, but glad to be without cares for a week or so.

Any recommendations for things to keep myself occupied with? All I can think of is sinking into a good book - most likely E.M. Forster - I'm obsessed lately, particularly with the new Hodder & Staughton editions... And watching lots of old films! I'm also rather enamoured with the idea of the V&A after Christmas.

Anyway. After several months of starving myself of clothes-related treats, I've splashed out in the Christmas sales! Not sure whether I'll keep them once they arrive from ASOS and Urban Outfitters, but I'm hopeful...

First up: Camilla Norrback Dorothy Squirrel Print Blouse

Second splurge: TBA Mushroom Print Silk Skirt

And finally... The jumper I've been lusting after for MONTHS (though in a different colour):

Stine Goya Snake Plait Jumper

 

Ooops!

I've now got to go on an economy drive for the rest of the month! ;]

Though I'm so close to cashing in in the Mulberry online sale... (I haven't got the Bayswater yet. Thinking about it for birthday cash usage.) The Leah Messenger and the Hayden Tote are calling my name!

Is anyone else using the Christmas Sales as an excuse to treat themselves this year? =D 

Xxxc 

Another pair!

So last weekend another pair of jeans arrived! Just before we went on holiday... Awesome timing!

This time, a yummy pair of thin grey stretch denim from Firetrap on Box-Clothing.co.uk, that I was kindly sent as part of a promotion. The 501s are great basics, but I have to admit, the boyfriend prefers these... They do make me feel like I should own a leather jacket and heels with spikes on them!

If I could, I'd do it like this...

+

Alexander McQueen Leather Belt

+

Christian Louboutin Boots

+

Helmut Lang Vest

Dries Van Noten blazer 

Okay, so it's not a leather jacket but...

Anyway. Back to the jeans... They're nicely clingy, and don't create too much of a muffin top (- always a problem for me)!  They do slip down slightly at the back, but this is mostly due to me being a weird size, having to wear a 30 inch waist even though most of me is skinnier than that... (Damn thighs! ;])

Still want to try the Levis Curve-ID tho! 

No pics at the mo, as still no camera, but I promise an outfit post soon!

Xxxc

Denim Chitchat.

So today I finally bought a new pair of jeans... 

I've been wandering around for months in a far-too-large pair from TopShop I bought to go to Stockholm with - they had to be big to fit my oh-so-very-sexy thermals underneath! But not such a good look to rock around town, I can tell you!

I'd been resisting buying any more denim, but with a looming "long weekend" on the Kent coast with Boy, I took the plunge today, and spent far-too-long in Peter Jones "contemporary-casual" section. (It's actually a John Lewis, it's slightly posher than normal as it's on the end of the King's Road, and has a different name...)

So, to cut a long and boring story short, I ended up getting a standard pair of Levi 501s, which I'm surprised at as they've never suited me in the past. But hey, bodies change, right!

No pics tho, as I am currently without camera. Bugger! 

Apparently women try on at least 10 pairs of jeans before buying one... I can definitely relate to that. The damn things never fit properly. Even these give me slight muffin top. 

I also contemplated Not Your Daughter's Jeans - in which I was an 8!!! HAHAHA!!! It's the extra 2% lycra I reckon... Normal jeans have abut 2% but apparently these have 4%. 

However, I didn't quite have the £130 to spend. Plus, the name slightly put me off! They are really good for flattening the tummy though. If you are looking for basic, straight or bootcut jeans with a high waist that doesn't cut into you try them... I'd possibly have bought them if I'd had the cash, I think.

My only slight annoyance though was that I had been thinking of looking up Levi's Curve ID jeans... You know the ones that are fit according to shape?? 

There's been chatter about them lately, and I'd really like to try them. Has anyone gone there yet? Interested to know if you guys think they're as "revolutionary" as the various press bits and pieces make out...

Xxxc

Winter Nights...

Is it just me who's become obsessed with Pyjamas?

Okay... Probably...

I've bought several F+F at Tesco pairs of jammie bottoms lately. All for lazy Sunday mornings in bed!



I'm short on tops, but I figure I can collect some more. I bought this one with the red tartan pair:

 - plain but useful!



I'm okay being alone in my obsession!

'Cos that means all the more snuggly cotton for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

I just want MORE!!! =D

Dahlia Pant Set from Hush



Bunny Rabbit pyjamas from PJ Heaven



Hedgehog print pyjamas from Topshop





















Wild Flower Pyjamas from Cyberjammies at Idlewild


Me to You Bear Leopard Print PJs from Very.co.uk



Sigh.

And what about footwear?! I'm a sucker for fluffy things.

Step up... The ULTIMATE.


Debenhams fluffy booties

All for curling up in front of the metaphorical roaring fire and preparing for Christmas... YAY!

Pondering Investments...

In our house, one thing that often comes up is whether saving or spending is a better idea... While I like saving, and do so regularly, my best friend is a spend-now-save-later type who doesn't always understand why I like to save a third of my (not substantial) monthly income rather than spending it on going out and items that I have a momentary yen for.

I may be a fashion blogger, with a wardrobe obsession that many think must equate to a large number of clothes, but really, I don't spend on new things very often. I tend to enjoy "rediscovering" my own wardrobe... And my mother's wardrobe... And my grandmother's wardrobe...

I tend to spurt buy charity shop bits and pieces when I'm feeling in the mood for the buyer's high, but my internet shopping habit often leads to spending more on returning items than those I keep! My boyfriend finds this slightly odd, but - thank goodness - puts up with it...

My style is more dependent on treating life like one play after another that requires sets of costumes, than on fashion trends - though I do enjoy fashion week's spectacles, and take note and inspiration from the stories they tell and the ways other people interpret them... 

I am also an inveterate magazine buyer, though once again, it's the stories spun, and the interplay of colour and light an texture that attract me, not the "current"ness of an outfit. Not that being fashionable is something I look down on. On the contrary, I wish I could make my costuming a little more directional sometimes! ;]

For me to actually buy something new, physically in person, it is usually presaged by at least a week, up to a couple of months, of musing and mulling over any gap in my wardrobe and debating quite how much I love, and would wear, an instant style crush... Case in point: Sophie Hulme for ASOS Pigeon cardigan:

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy shopping when I'm in the mood, but I do tend to go through quite a guilt complex process with buying things for my wardrobe. It often equates to it being easier to not buy something than go through the annoyance of beating myself up for it after and have to spend time returning a week or so later.

Odd huh.

However, at the moment, I'm battling with a conundrum. Do I save my savings from the past couple of months, or do I spend on one thing I've been yearning for for a while now...

A Mulberry Bayswater bag, in yummy chocolate brown, that will enable me to abandon the less-than-chic tote bags I relied on throughout university and that still do for day-to-day when a smaller handbag just isn't practical...

 

I've been thinking about it for ages, and I think that after Christmas, I might just about be ready to take the plunge. But is it worth the uncomfortable feeling I'll get having spent the money I'd been putting aside for my own security?

What do you guys think?

Xxxc

Weekend of Weekends

Evening!

So I'm currently relaxing in bed after a lovely Sunday, waiting for my boyfriend to realise it's bedtime... =D I have to get up at 7am these days, so it's getting ready for bed-time at half ten. Who'd'a'thunk-it?!?!

What have you guys been up to this weekend?

I managed to make a trip back to London on Friday night with Boy, and had a lovely, relaxing time there, 'til we headed back this afternoon. My parents are in Jamaica for two weeks, so I had promised to pop back and visit the cat, and dragged Boy along so he could come with me to have lunch with my Godfather...

So, after a late night on Friday, we got up early on Saturday to head to Blackheath for lunch at Cafe Rouge, which had a excellent "gluten free" menu (yay Celiac), and were happy to also remove any traces of potato and lactose from my food! (My stomach basically hates me...) It was a lovely meal, and two of my favourite people got on very well!

We then spent the rest of the afternoon visiting Blackheath Gallery and at the funfair on the Heath. Boy won me a big cuddly leopard at the shooting range (and got rather a fan club of gun obsessed, small boys). 

Then we headed to the Southbank for dinner and an amazing film at the BFI - It Happened One Night... 1934, Clark Gable falling in love with Claudette Colbert. Amaze!!!

I particularly loved the fact that they fell in love with each others' brains as well as being attracted to each other... Oh, for that quality in a mainstream rom com of this decade! 

Colbert wore some absolutely gorgeous clothes, particularly an awesome white silk pyjama jumpsuit in the first scene... And then she promptly dives into the sea in it to escape her father! =D I can't find an image of it via google though, so I'll have to give you one of her in his pyjamas instead!!! Images from http://www.matttrailer.com/it_happened_one_night_1934

I've never been a particular fan of thirties fashion, but I'm kinda rethinking that view now... I mean, how cute is her hat?!?!

Brilliant film. AND Boy enjoyed it as much as I did!

So after that, we had a lazy Sunday morning, which involved not getting up 'til gone 11, eating a massive brunch, and then driving back to Cambridge - after saying a tearful goodbye to the cat!

The rest of the day has been spent watching Glee, reading Vogue and painting my nails... Ah bliss. Oh, and I cooked dinner and did the laundry. Hmmmm. I'm an adult now. How dull! ;] 

Work tomorrow!!! G'night!

Xxxc

Resurrection Mark Ten Zillion

It's once again been a while since I touched this blog, and every time I get pulled back to it I wonder why I left it, whether I'll really be able to get going again, whether I really want to... But this blog has kept me going through some rough patches, and I just can't seem to let go of it.

So today, I'm turning over a new leaf. As I said, it's been a while, and quite a bit has changed. I'm no longer a student, no longer struggling to get through a depressive fog day to day, and I'm happily settled in a relationship, house, job etc.

My wardrobe has, I must admit, changed focus...

My weekend clothes are mostly the old favourites: a couple of Etsy and charity shop dress finds, an old pair of far too big jeans, some moth-bitten jumpers. All things I find comfort in. Because now weekends are about running around, doing errands, and spending time relaxing. Mainly as I'm still living in Cambridge, but a little further out than I used to be. Thus, I wander around the house with a book, while one of the boys builds something in the back garden, and the other programmes some "useful" thing on their laptop. Ah life.

My sartorial comfort zone now lies in my work wear. Having never before been chic and pared down, I have moved a little more into my mother's style of dressing. Simple jumpers with smart trousers, plus a few silky, smart dresses which share a teensy whisper of my previous life with my new one...

I have been converted to a well cut pair of trousers, and have three pairs from Jaeger on endless cycle. I definitely need more. Jaeger trousers always fit me, and are always the right length... Yum.

And I have become obsessed by knitwear. Particularly, John Smedley Geranium scoop neck sweaters and N Peal cashmere V necks which I have been scooping up at Cocosa's rather excellent sale prices. (John Smedley stuff is currently on sale on Brand Alley, but I hate their delivery policies - it takes far, far too long, so I'm passing on the "vibrant pink" jumper... Sob!)

Oh, and then there's my irrational, crazy, head-over-heels crush in the rather lovely oversized Stine Goya oversized grey jumper that I know, unfortunately, that I'll never own, no matter how long I yearn... Sad times. Seriously though... HOW HOT IS THIS ENSEMBLE?!?!?!

And then, there is my winter coat... It is my belief that an awesome winter coat is the foundation of a good day at work. Walking along in the morning, striding out against the biting wind, my coat protects me, it shelters me, and, catching a glimpse of myself in the window of the shops I pass, it surrounds me in a slightly princessy, slightly businesslike, slightly mysterious cocoon of mink softness... Paul Costelloe is the make, bought a few years ago in a sale in Peter Jones, the King's Road branch of John Lewis. And I adore it. It's got cute details like the double rows of stitching and the bracelet cuffs. The lining is secure and silky, and it still looks beautiful despite a few winters' hard wear.

Last year, I flirted with a gorgeous furry thing, that still makes my heart beat just a little bit faster when I wear it out, but it's always this one I come back to for warmth and great lines when it's really getting chilly. So now, I'm thinking about the next one. Paul Costelloe has made a couple of my mother's winter coats, so I now they last and keep their fit as she's had both of hers for years. So now I'm coveting one of their long riding coats like this one... (Though I have to say, on both John Lewis and House of Fraser's websites, they look really scruffy and crumpled! Ick.)

I guess I'll have to wait for the sales again though... Sigh.

Picnic

Hey all,

Just dropping in quickly to apologise for hiatus from blog revival - I've been pretty ill for the past fortnight and it shows no signs of going away... Sucky, but as soon as it does, I'll be outside for some outfit fun. Promise!

Until then, there's an outfit I particularly love that I wore on a day when I was feeling less crappy last weekend... It was gloriously sunny and my parents and a family friend came up for a picnic with boy and I. It was a beautiful day, and not only was the company and weather awesome but I was just a bit in love with my outfit - a new vintage dress I'm a bit gone over, and a hat I've had for years and just don't wear enough... These are family photos so the outfit details aren't excellent, but hope you like!!!

(Vintage dress from JessJamesJake on Etsy, vintage bag, M&S sandals, vintage hat, Primark sunglasses)

Xxxc

Suuuuuuuuunshine on a rainy day!!!

So last weekend was a London one, as I mentioned in my last post. (Gosh, almost a week ago. Oops!)

Of course, I had to see T-B and his lovely missus. They had just got back from Mexico, and apparently had a craving for burgers. So we headed from Sarf Laahndan to Soho for lunch! (I would like to point out that, due to gluten / dairy / potato issues I had a squash and goats cheese salad... Nomnomnom. They had biiiiiiig burgers though...) And of course, we did photoshoot-ness. YAY!!!

- Moi in the burger joint...

- Sheltering from the London-rain under a rather dysfunctional umbrella...

- Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiindy!!!

- Giggle. Standard.

- Ooooh, and look at this lovely necklace that Becks has... It's from Mixco on Etsy. IWANTONE!!! :

And how awesome are the elephants appearing around London at the moment?! Street art for a charitable cause? WIN! I love this one in Covent Garden...

It was a lovely day, despite the rain... Home is such a sanctuary for me. London makes my heart beat faster and calms me down all at once. Yay for graduating and moving back! (Well, ish... More to come on that conundrum.)

Anyhooooo... In this photoshoot, I was wearing a vintage floral dress from Etsy (putonthatdress), vintage yellow slouchy cardigan also from Etsy (joyelizabethG), a vintage white leather bag (from Topshop's Peekaboo vintage concession), Jonathon Aston white lace tights, black Converse and a fabric and button brooch I made myself... Oh, and the watch is a Lego Star Wars one with Luke Skywalker and Han Solo lego men on (- now sold out but they have some cool new ones in... I quite like the C 3PO one). Hehe! Funsies.

Hmmmmm. Quite sleepy now, and I haven't finished my dinner yet, so I should probably get to that before boy grumps because I haven't eaten all the yummy food he made me... Night all!

Xxxc

Boater Success...

Morning all!

After a beautifully sunny (if a little chilly at times) day yesterday, it's chucking it down this morning. I'm home for the weekend and desperately trying to get my head together to get dressed and off to lunch at T-B and Becks' in Sarf London. But I thought, before I left, I'd post a photoshoot I got my long-suffering mother to do with me yesterday!!!

The light in the back garden was gorgeous, and I was so hyper about my new boater, that I neeeeeded to get some pictures done! The boater is hilarious, as it's a men's large, but since the price was a steal, I didn't really care... I'm planning a costume-wench bodge (boy-word alert) with a foam ring and some glue!

Wearing: Antique Store Boater find, Gap teeshirt, Jaeger Jacket (courtesy of mother's wardrobe), St Michael (i.e. v.v.v. old M&S) skirt, vintage suede belt, TopShop tights, Kate Kuba boots, 1940's WI badge...

How pretty are those sleeves!!! (And my dad's flowers... :D)

Nattering on at Mother... Standard.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! I do love our old swing... (And yes, that is a farm, and yes, I live on a London underground line, about 20 minutes drive / 30 minutes tube from most destinations in Central London... Oh Yes. Best of both worlds win ;D)

Crouching Tiger... (With a Boater)

Boater in the Bluebells...

LOVE this badge... Another Cambridge antique store find.

Oh, and meet my cat, Jasmine... She's a completely crazy little critter who I adore beyond all other crazy little critters. She was given to us when her owner went to Africa, and when she came back, Jaz had settled in so well, we were given her to keep! She has a habit of sleeping *under* my bed and sitting on people for hours at a time, and is the most lovely reading companion, until she starts chewing the pages... Attention whore!!! ;D

Right, I really should be off... Half an hour before I should DEFINITELY not be here anymore... Oops!

Xxxc

Floating awaaaaaay...

Does anyone else rather love Noa Noa? I think I've posted before about how much I love their catalogues every season, and this is no exception. Lots of yummy sherbert orange, aubergine purple and grass green...

The website is singularly unhelpful in providing me with many pictures of the pieces I found in store today, but these two beauties are indicative of the rest of the collection. Yum! Not many shops on the internet either, but I am rather in love with this skirt:

Also, I've been spending waaaaaaaaaay too much time on Etsy lately, and here are a few of my "if only I were a different size" picks...

OH GOOD GOD HOW BEAUTIFUL IS THIS DRESS?!?!?! And it comes with a fluttery matching shrug... Oh darn silly large breasts!!!!!

(The measurements are 35", 28", free hips in case you're interested!)

If it were still winter and if I had any room for more coats in more wardrobe, I would be first in line for this gorgeous wool cape coat...

Ooooh! This dress is one of those things that I should hate, because it reminds me a little of Carry On Nurse, but that I actually love, because it reminds me a little of Carry On Nurse... And all of those vintage Mills and Boon about Doctors and Nurses I consumed as a teenager!!!

AWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! This little jumper is so cute and unusual! Me being so darn clumsy, I'd probably drop tomato or something down it in a second, but... IWANNIT!!!

And these are just some of the bits I can't countenance buying due to fit... There are so so so so so many more in my favourites, waiting to be reperused and agonised over!

Hope everyone's enjoying their Tuesday evening. Boy is cooking me-friendly pasta with tomato, bacon, goats cheese and mushroom. I am hungry. This is awesome.

Xxxc