A Gaudy New Coat Thing

I'm not going to entitle this blog post "Two ways to wear a skater dress" because I'm sure you're all more than capable of dressing yourselves by now and can do it perfectly well without my help. Should you require it, well, I tend to wear my dresses by, y'know, putting them on my body. Not exactly a novel technique but it serves me well.

Having said that, a plain black skater dress is undeniably a most useful thing to own.  Et voila, worn here with my lovely green hedgehoggy jumper and favourite Mel flats for a day at work.



Then glammed up a tad. If by glamming up, we mean wearing something that could conceivably be classed as either a boxing robe or dressing gown. I shall christen it the Kimono Coat. Kimoat? Comono? Nahhh.



It's reversible! Bit more boxing robe-ish when worn with the black outside...



I'll stick to it the other way round I think. Pretty! Not dressing gowny at all, honest.

 So many different Flick Flack colourways but these are still my fave.


Painty hair - occupational hazard at the moment
Dress - H&M
Kimono thingy - Oxfam
Hedgehog jumper - ASOS
Flats - Mel
Shoes - Irregular Choice Flick Flack

Yay, Coats!

I've been buying more coats. Can't help myself.



Check this one out though! Cute, no?

I'm assuming it's last year's Florence & Fred as I bagged it from a charity shop last month and it doesn't really look as if it's ever been worn. One person's cast-off is another person's treasure though and I'm super pleased with it.  It's like a longer version of the H&M jacket I've got (which you can spot in this post, along with my many many other coats) and I've always wished that was a bit longer.  I may even complete the charity circle and donate that one now I've got this one.

Tis a size too big but I always prefer my winter coats that way. It means I can chuck massive chunky cardigans on underneath.



Also sequinned skirts.  Yep, I wear it to work.  It's not like I've ever got a more suitable occasion for it and it might as well get some wear!





Coat - Florence & Fred via charity shop
Cardigan - New Look
Skirt - H&M sale
Top - Ruby Rocks
Boots - Irregular Choice
Necklace - Tatty Devine, present

A Cameo Appearance

Do you remember how everything had cameos on a couple of years ago? That was a weird, short lived fashion, wasn't it? Bows and butterflies seem a pretty constant form of decoration but this sprang up from nowhere and now you'd be hard pushed to find anything in the shops with a little Grecian-haired lady on it. I'm quite partial to cameos but even I thought it was odd that they were being shoved on everything. I prefer to work in a little subtle detail or two.  Bet you can't even spot them in these photos.

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Oh hiiiiiiiiiiii.

Pretty, aren't they? I like these shoes so much that they get very carefully boxed away and stashed on a high shelf in my wardrobe after every wear. Then I forget about them. They were clearly bored up there and threw themselves onto my head while I was rummaging for something else. I don't hold it against them though. I was too busy going "Yoicks, I forgot about you!"

I never forget about these beautiful (and tiny) vintage earrings. They're just a bit too precious for me to wear every day though so I'm careful about how often they come out of the jewellery box.

Dress - Primark
Cardi - H&M
Scarf - from the mysterious land of scarves. All of mine come from there.
Ballet pumps - Schuh
Earrings - charity shop

Charity Shop Checks

Hey there, checked pinafore dress. You're rather cute, so why on earth were you lurking at the bottom of the mending pile?



It doesn't need repairing. Altering? Well it's a bit longer than I'd usually wear, sure, and the straps do have a slight tendency to slide off my shoulders. Neither of those are enough of a reason to faff around altering it though. I think it looks rather nice, especially with my awesome lady golfers shirt which, let's be honest, will jauntify any outfit quite considerably.

The pockets are weirdly low down though. It's probably not designed for the shorter person but then not much is. I'm resigned to stuff never quite fitting.





These brogues are so close to death. They look respectable here but they're totally falling apart.

As is this ring but the battered look rather suits it, no?

Dress - Primark via charity shop
Shirt - vintage via charity shop
Brogues - River Island sale
Jewellery - Dorothy Perkins

The Hunt For A Bargain

Am I the only one thinking that the sales are a bit rubbish at the moment? Admittedly I haven't been out actively hunting down bargains but I've done a spot of online browsing and very few things are tempting me. My card has only come out of my purse twice since the sales started before Christmas: once for a Matalan coat which was half price and divine and once for this beautiful Laura Ashley cardigan.



Char sent me the link to it, knowing that I'm a fan of all things equine. I must admit to a slight chuckle when I saw the product description - it's listed as "dressage cardigan" and trust me, those horses ain't doing dressage! It's quite clearly a hunting scene. Giggles aside though, I had to buy it. Isn't it fab?



I'll quite happily buy nothing else this month if it means owning something this lovely!

Dress - H&M
Cardi - Laura Ashley sale
Triple strap heels - Next via charity shop

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

Disappointment and Dungaree Dreams

Hello world. Yes that's me, wearing dungarees.

Remember when I moaned at length about how much I wanted to relive my youth by wearing some dungarees and how it turned out that they would never suit me? Well, it turns out that denim Primark ones definitely don't. As for green ASOS ones, decide for yourself:

I'd given up looking until Char sent me a link to a few ASOS pairs that she was considering. My green radar went "BRONG!" at the sight of this pair and I bought them on a total whim, despite being fairly certain that I was setting myself up for yet more dungaree disappointment.

If I'm being super harsh on myself, they probably still don't suit me - I definitely own more flattering items of clothing - but fuck it and fuck anyone that wants to judge me for my awful stomach and chunky thighs. I'm working on them but they won't ever disappear. I'm a great believer in buying and wearing what the hell you like and I like these dungarees. Who gives a toss if they'd look better on a taller, thinner person?

I've been frolicking around with my hands in my pockets all day and admiring myself in any mirror I pass. Isn't this shirt GREAT? Not that I like golf in any way, shape or form but I do enjoy vintage shirts an awful lot. The pattern reminds me of Frankie in Why Didn't They Ask Evans? - all jaunty 30s lady golfer.

Told you about the mirror thing.






Dungarees - ASOS
Shirt - vintage, via charity shop
Heels & ring - Dorothy Perkins sale

Ahoy There

Oh this weather is deeply frustrating. A couple of days ago the sun was cracking the flags and I wore this deliciously summery outfit. Today it's freezing, chucking it down with rain and I'm in jeans and a big jumper. I mean, I like the chance to vary my wardrobe but it'd be nice if I could actually pack away my winter clothing for a few months instead of still requiring it at the end of June.

Still, let's focus on the positives. We had at least one day this week where I could don a pretty frock, sandals and have almost-bare legs.



Pockets! Yay!

I love Joules dresses. There's always a high chance of finding something among the range that fits in nicely with the #wardrobezoo but this time I wasn't swayed by animals. Oh no. I found myself drawn to the lovely, cheerful boat print frock instead. Isn't it cute?


It reminds me of Rosie. It's the jaunty nautical theme methinks.





Yes, I've had my hair chopped. Yes, it's too short. I specifically said it needed to be long enough to tie back in a ponytail. Guess what? Those shorter layers are not long enough to tie back in a ponytail. Grrrr. Plus it makes me feel matronly. Hurry up and grow.



Dress - Joules 'Sennen' c/o Surfdome
Cardi - Matalan
Shoes - Irregular Choice via ebay
Bracelet - charity shop
Necklace - Sunday Girl
Ring - can't remember

I must admit I hadn't heard of Surfdome before they got in touch with me about doing a product review but their website is well worth a browse - they stock over 800 brands and have a fab range of products. Obviously the Joules frock stuck out for me but I could have chosen about 347987 other items. So much choice! I'll definitely be shopping with them again. Lovely clothes, free delivery and free returns are the way to my heart.


I'll leave you on an amusing note. I have no idea what I was doing here. Recoiling in ladylike horror from the camera? Playing invisible basketball?