All Is Well When You Wear Red Shoes

Blogging is hard when you're poor.

Ok, so poor is a relative term. Let's just say that there hasn't been any money to spend on clothes recently and that makes fashion blogging a tad difficult. You don't want to see things I've already blogged about 50 times, do you?

Much as I loathe the term "shop your wardrobe" (what's the big deal about wearing stuff you already own? Don't need to justify it with a silly phrase!), my existing pile of clothes is all I've got and is all I'm likely to have for the next month or two. Alas, getting my winter clothes out of storage didn't reveal anything magically awesome but there are one or two nice things that I'm happy to be wearing again.

Case in point, the mystery frock. And my Irregular Choice Rosepea shoes. Despite having owned them for years (they're the second pair I ever bought!) I've only actually worn them once. Why, I don't know. They're brilliant.

Dress - charity shop
Jumper - H&M
Shoes - Irregular Choice Rosepea
Belt - Dubrovnik market

Christmas Wish List

Ach, the age old dilemma of want vs need.

What do I need for Christmas?

Well, nothing really, if we're being strict on the definition of need. My phone is about 4 years old and dying and my Kindle is nearly as ancient and has developed lots of odd vertical lines on the screen so I sense that's equally close to a painful demise. I need to replace both of them fairly soon but they're not exactly within most people's price range for presents! It'd be nice to have a working car radio too but god, is that a boring present to ask for or what?!

What do I want?

That's equally tricky. I really love surprises so although any of the below things would make me a very happy Alex, I don't want to actually ask anyone for them because I don't want to know what I'm getting. Dilemma!

I'll share them with you lot though - I know lots of us bloggers have similar tastes so perhaps they'll prove to be the perfect gift for someone else you know!


Fellow grammar Nazis will love this series of mugs by the Literary Gift Company:

This one is literally my favourite.


If you go back a post you'll see just how much I love Mary Poppins. You won't be surprised that I really want both of these prints:

L: Chimney Sweep Silhouette by The Happy Thought Shop. R: Mary Poppins linocut by Blackberry Press

They're from different sellers and so they don't match exactly but I think they make a lovely pair anyway.



Having a part-time horse has reintroduced me to the joys of muddy fields and massive farmyard puddles. My Joules wellies are holding up ok so far but I would really like a fleece lined pair to keep my tootsies properly warm over the winter.

I found this brilliant pair of wellies on Amazon of all places and they're now top of my list. Green! Polka dots! Fleece lined! Wide calf! Perfect!


I love my Elizabeth I ring from Cheap Frills and I'm an equally big admirer of Anne Boleyn.

So this necklace needs to be mine, right?



I can't afford much in the way of new clothes at the moment so I've been trying to avoid the shops. Being Twitter pals with some dedicated shopaholics makes that difficult though!

I'm doing my best but I can't stop hankering after this ASOS stained glass print frock. Beautiful!


Books are always welcome. My Amazon wishlist is flipping enormous but these six are hovering near the top.

Top (L-R)Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop by Jenny Colgan, The Secret Rooms by Catherine Bailey and The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.
Bottom (L-R)The Wells Bequest by Polly Shulman (the first in this series was ace), The Exiles Return by Elizabeth de Waal and Terra by Mitch Benn.


Finally, as I wouldn't be me if I weren't lusting after something from Irregular Choice...

I was very sad when the Long Lashes boots proved to be a no-no for me. The matching bag has always been a temptation.

And I've managed to track down not one but two varieties of Flick Flack that I like. I thought it was impossible!

Shiny red

Tweedy red

Mary Poppins

I love Mary Poppins.

It all started with the books. I could give you chapter and verse about how the Mary Poppins of the books is not the same as the film version (in short: much snarkier and much better) but basically, just go and read them and discover their glory for yourself. I'm always amazed by the amount of people who've never picked them up. They're brilliant.

Then the film, obviously. It inspired a deep love of chimney sweeps and rooflines.

Then, back in the day when the Disney Store still sold Mary Poppins things (hoping this day will come again now that Saving Mr Banks is due out), I got the mug:

I picked up my beloved locket from Etsy a few years ago. So simple and so beautiful.

And now I have the tshirt!

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious tshirt c/o Brag Vintage

I can merrily browse the interent forever in search of the perfect Mary Poppins goodies but I am fussy about what I like. Etsy is proving fruitful at the moment (more on this in a future post) but I'm currently saving my pennies to cover the customs charges on this Spoonflower Mary Poppins fabric. It has to be purchased in the near future. I'd be scared to cut into it but I must have it!

It also comes in colour but I think I prefer the black and white.


My dream item (other than the carpet bag) would be the tape measure. Alas I fear it would not say practically perfect in every way. It'd be more along the lines of this:

*[]*

Check

I wasn't going to blog this outfit.

I was in the middle of a case of severe plague when these photos were taken and felt horrendous. As such, my motivation when selecting an outfit that morning was not "OMG, what can I pick that will look amazing?!" It was "hgggnnnnnrggghhh, need clothes that are clean and not pyjamas."

I was quite surprised when I dragged myself into work and got loads of compliments on my tights/shoes/frock/combo. Now I don't know if this is because it's actually that good or because some of the people there find the idea of patterned tights and polka dot shoes very lively indeed and were accordingly admiring of them. Probably the latter. It doesn't strike me as a massively exciting outfit, although I am fond of it.

What do you reckon?

Dress - Dorothy Perkins via charity shop
Cardi - Hawkshead
Tights - Henry Holland
Fancy high heels - Irregular Choice
Ring - Dorothy Perkins

Sexy Big Pants

Fashion bloggers don't talk much about what goes underneath the clothes. Well, things are about to change! If you've ever been shopping with me then you'll probably know that I don't really do matchy matchy underwear. Why not? Well, you know my thoughts on socks. Is it likely that my bra and pants would match either? Not really!

In the spirit of openness I will hereby reveal another secret reason for this sartorial choice to you: I am fussy about pants. They must be nice fabric and I like them big. That's why sets very rarely take my fancy. Many a bra has been purchased, leaving the matching pants firmly behind on the rail. They're so often either nylon and nasty or some bum-flossing thong contraption and neither of those are going anywhere near my derriere! Plus I have a rather grim stomach which I prefer to keep covered up (the nasty side of having lost a lot of weight - it's not all positive!) so my current pant of choice are those black shorts which comes in a pack of five from the supermarket. They might not be particularly glamorous but they're plain and comfy and that'll do me.

My eyes were opened to more glamorous possibilities when I discovered Sexy Big Pants recently though. Check out the top photo! Aren't they gorgeous? Living proof that big knickers can be beautiful.

I chose the Rachel design - couldn't resist the cheeky cutout! - and blimey, they're beautiful in real life. Even better than they look on the website and they're pretty damn good on there. Don't you just love that Italian lace panel? The attention to detail is stunning and they're ethically produced too - bonus!

Why yes, thank you, I am.


Black is so tricky to photograph, grrr. Here's the bow though!

See, big pants don't have to be granny pants and they don't have to be boring! I might not be modelling them for you in an outfit photo (I'll leave that to the gorgeous blonde model as her bum is way better than mine) but I'm wearing them right now and I can report back that they're utterly fab and are making me feel rather glam and sassy, despite the fact I have the plague.

All hail the big pants.

*[]*

Coats, Coats and More Coats

It's nice to reassess what you own sometimes, isn't it? Especially if you're like me and have limited storage. Twice a year I pack away the winter/summer clothes and shoes in various places around the house, then promptly forget about them. Sometimes this is great: I found a fab pair of brown ankle boots last week that I have no memory of ever buying! Sometimes it's not so good: I turned out a blanket chest full of winter woolies and the general reaction was "hmmm". I think I must have been on a charity shop haul and just bought anything warm, regardless of whether it was nice or not. Needless to say most of that will be getting re-charity shopped!

Coats are even worse. They live in the depths of the coat cupboard, are buried under layers of stuff on the hat stand or even get shoved up on the rail in the loft so they're well out of the way. I just cannot remember what I own! In September last year I did this round up and totted up that I own all these coats (not counting jackets, waterproofs or fleeces):

I've got more now! We have the two quilted jackets:

The two capes:

And a few navy ones...

Quite a few really!

As such I'm not buying into the "omg perfect winter coat!" hype that shops like to chuck our way at this time of year. I don't think anyone could argue that I'm short of coats at the moment! The only thing I'm lacking that I'd really like to have (other than a plain black one, but they're no fun to buy so I'll do without) is a green duffle coat. I will find the perfect one eventually but it's proving damned elusive so far.