Gasp...I'm Wearing Something That's Nearly Pink

Oh hey, what's this? An outfit post, in the new house? Woohoo!

Now admittedly it's not the best photography in the world as I still have to get to grips with the lighting - the green chandelier I absolutely *had* to have in the library is amazing but doesn't cast the most consistent glow in the world! But hey, how much better are LOADS OF BOOKS than a boring plain white wall? Pshaw, stylish bloggers, books will always win!

Actual house blog posts will follow at some point in the future. I know I moved in last November but I am a) extremely untidy and b) a world champion procrastinator so there are still plenty of bits that need fixing and/or tidying before I can record them for posterity on t'blog.

I felt rather sassy today though, so wanted to snap some outfit pics, dodgy lighting and all. My wardrobe has been somewhat lacking in #wardrobezoo recently and a horse print top is always a very welcome addition to the clan. It's verging on being pink but I won't hold that against it!

Love a good long top!

Shirt - from Char
Cardi - Hawkshead
Skirt - H&M
Heels - Dorothy Perkins
Ring - MerCurios

All About Alice

Isn't it a true blessing to have friends that are both amazingly talented and super generous?



This beautiful Alice skirt made its way to me via Char. Not only was she kind enough to pass it my way when she got too slim for it, she made it with her own fair hands! Isn't it gobsmackingly good?




I poofed it out a bit with the crappy underskirt/petticoat I made a couple of years ago and then proceeded to feel thoroughly girly all day. Hurrah!




As I haven't worn these IC heels for a while, I dug them out of their box and gave them an airing. They look like they defy physics but they're actually v. easy to walk in. You don't notice the odd heel!






Cardi - New Look
Skirt - handmade by Char
Heels - Irregular Choice
Ring - MerCurios
Necklace - Eclectic Eccentricity
Bracelet (which is actually a necklace) - Dorothy Perkins

ps - Mah hair is huuuuuuuuge!!

Paddington...version 2

Nope, I haven't made another Paddington item of clothing. I probably should...I'm sure there was a decent amount of fabric left over after I made this skirt. Where on earth I've put it though, I don't know. Probably in the same place the missing red zip is stashed. They'll turn up eventually, they always do.

What I have done is teamed it up with lots of black things. Let's face it, the skirt is fairly bold. Although I paired it up with red last time to pick up some of the pattern colours, it really doesn't need that to help it look awesome. Basic black is a nice backdrop to make it stand out even more.



Any chance to wear my fave ridiculous black heels is welcome!





Skirt - handmade
Cardi - Gap
Jewellery -MerCurios
Shoes - Shelly's

SuperAlex

Meet SuperAlex. Not-so mild mannered administrator by day, high-heeled wearing arse-kicker by night.



Superpowers:

List making
Speed reading
Navigating
Shoe collecting

Weaknesses:

Packing
Bookshops

The superhero power I'd really like is the ability to fly. Well, either that or the Mary Poppins ability to tidy things up with a click of my fingers. That would be brilliant. Anyone who says invisibility is a weirdo.


I reckon I'd be a good superhero though. I'm not scared of a fight. POW!



And look at my dedication to the cause. Obviously any good superhero must have visible underwear.

Jumper & red ring - Primark
Skirt - Warehouse
Heels - Irregular Choice, present from Char
Silver ring - MerCurios

Polka Dotty

I shall blame the purchase of this jumper on two things: my love of Harry Potter and Gem's persuasive ways. When we were living it up in Warwick we got chatting about how much I loved the jumper when she'd blogged about it and then she revealed it was in the sale on The Orphan's Arms outlet site. Well, I had to buy it, didn't I?

It arrived and I was torn between thinking "ZOMG I love you" and "Waaah, something this short won't flatter my awful stomach". Normally my sensible head would make me send it back but my impractical head won out in this instance. I'll just have to be careful what I wear it with. It's starting to turn into the right sort of weather to wear thin jumpers over frocks, so that's what I did.

Chuck in a nice pair of heels and I think that makes it dressy enough for work, don't you? Irregular Choice shoes always improve an outfit. This is why I own so many of them! These particular ones are very old but a real favourite of mine. Just the perfect heel height to wear all day and not end up with ruined feet.

I felt like this was an appropriate level of owl/literary themed rings for one outfit.

Dress - Matalan £5 sale
Jumper - The Orphan's Arms
Heels - Irregular Choice via ebay
Owl ring - Landbaby
Once Upon A Time ring - MerCurios
Owl & book ring - present from Char

Something New

I bought myself some jewellery this month.  Quite a rare thing for me, as my jewellery buying tends to consist of scooping up rings in the Dorothy Perkins sales and little else.  I hit my favourite Etsy shop, MerCurios, instead.  MJ created my favourite ring ever (seen at the top of this post ) but I was in the mood for something a little bigger this time.

Because it's all handmade and personalised (and because MJ is a lovely person who doesn't mind you asking "um, could I have it a bit more like this?"), you can get exactly what you want.  I liked this necklace but thought it would be a teensy bit big for me, so my fancy fell upon this one, except that my chosen phrase was a bit too long.  Et voila, a cross between the two is now mine!

As for the chosen phrase, it's from Coriolanus.  For him, it's about turning his back on the city that has banished him.  For me, it's nowhere near as dramatic: I don't exactly live the life of a Shakespearean hero!  I do spend quite a lot of time in the world of my fictional characters though, so it partly reminds me of that and partly acts as a general reminder that annoying though everyday life may sometimes be, this isn't all there is. 

It hangs to just the perfect length and looks lovely - what more could you want?  For a more full-length view, I'm wearing it in my last outfit post, although it's mostly obscured by hair and tucked up a bit higher than usual by my collar.

Next on my wish list is one of these beautiful bracelets, if I can ever work out what I want on it.  There's just too much quotable literature! 

Usual disclaimer applies - this is not a sponsored post (I make it clear if I'm doing one of them), it's just an item and a seller that I absolutely love.

Once Upon A Time...

...There was a girl named Alex. She found a rather amazing Beatrix Potter duvet cover (originally a curtain from the looks of things) in a charity shop. She wanted to make it into a frock but alas she was scared of patterns.  Weirdly, hopelessly scared of them.  All those lines and little triangles and baffling instructions that went along the lines of "on wrong side, pin one piece of seam binding to each back section, centering over lower large circle" made her head boggle.  Luckily she had a fairy godmother to call on in the form of Char.

Two days filled with much honking (don't ask), much removing Oscar from his new favourite sleeping spot on top of the pattern pieces, much letting out of the side seams on the frock when it turned out not to fit over Alex's arse, much patient explaining on Char's part, a LOT of coffee and cake and, lo and behold! A frock was created!

And she lived happily ever after with it, safe in the knowledge that it fitted better and looked less wrinkled in real life than in the photos, and also that she could sort of sew a little now.  But patterns still made her a bit boggly.

Jemima Puddleduck under the boobs.

Mrs Tiggywinkle and Peter Rabbit on the skirt

and an unidentified mouse.  There are also some guinea pigs on there.  Not quite sure why. 

Frock - handmade
Cardi - Gap (was originally about 6 inches longer but someone put it in the tumble dryer)
Shoes - New Look
"Once Upon A Time" Ring - MerCurios
Necklace - Accessorize

Giveaway Time

I have bad news and good news.

Bad news: I am not running the 12 Days of Christmas giveaway again this year. My brain can't cope with the effort of thinking of things for it. It was hard work last year!

Good news: I have a big shiny giveaway for you RIGHT NOW instead, partly to celebrate having 400 followers and partly just because you're all marvellous.

There are 4 prizes:

1. Your choice of either a single or double personalised silver banner ring from MerCurios .


I absolutely adore MJ's creations and I am very jealous of whoever wins this one. I strongly encourage you to go and buy something from her anyway. She makes the most gorgeous jewellery; all sorts of stunning statement pieces made with rock crystal, geodes and skulls, and of course a huge variety of beautiful personalised rings. The lucky duck who wins this gets to choose their preferred style of ring (single or double banner) and their own message to go on it.


2. A £50 voucher to spend at Very.co.uk


Fifty whole English pounds to spend on whatever you want! Now you could be sensible and spend it on Christmas presents (new Call of Duty game? toys for the kids?) or something practical like a new hairdryer, or you could take my advice and spend it all on yourself. Buy something lovely like shoes (I really want these!) or a new coat or a pretty frock. The choice is yours.


3. A lovely pair of boots from Natureshop.co.uk.


I always like to hear about companies that try to do things ethically so I was very pleased when the lovely people at Natureshop got in touch. The products are all made in as environmentally responsible a way as possible and they tell you all about it on the product page which I very much approve of. And who doesn't love a bright red pair of wellies or proper sheepskin lined boots? No more cold feet in the snow this year: hurrah! The winner can take their pick from the Merrell, Keen, Teva, Kamik, Chaco or Timberland ranges.


4. A book token for one book from Persephone Books (provided by moi).


Persephone reprint neglected classics by twentieth century (mostly) female writers and I can honestly say I've never had a bad book from there. Even if their books aren't quite to your personal taste (and there's a really good selection so I hope that at least one of them is!), they're beautifully printed and make amazing presents for people so you can always pass the gift along. I'll organise a book token for the winner which can be claimed against any book in their catalogue.

Given that multiple prizes are up for grabs here, I'm going to make the rules as simple as I can:

- Leave a comment on this post.
- You must let me know which of the prizes you would like (it's fine to say all 4) and give me a way to contact you - email address, twitter, whatever. If you don't do both of these things then your comment won't be counted, sorry!
- If you want to mention the giveaway on Twitter or your blog, feel free to do so. Just pop an extra comment to let me know you have done so and you'll get an extra entry.

The giveaway will run for one week, ending at 10pm GMT on Monday 28th November.
I'll pick the winners using random.org. Should the first number picked not want that particular prize, I'll draw another number at random.

That's all the formalities out of the way. Now go! Comment! Decide what you'll pick if you win!