Hocus Crocus.

Its a lovely, sunny, snowy, bright and freezing day. It made me think about this dress. I bought it about 8 years ago from The Real McCoy vintage shop, I think it was about £35 which seems pretty cheap now. It didn't then. I was initially going to wear it to my prom but then for some unknown reason I didn't (the dress I did wear pales in comparison, believe me) and its been sitting in my wardrobe, unused, ever since. Last year it was resurrected however, for use in a short film I was in. It's really beautiful and it fits perfectly, the cut of the back looks really special and the fabric is the ideal weight. I have dreams of wearing it in the summer walking through meadows, or to a garden party. I know neither of these will ever happen, as its totally impractical for walking in and no one holds garden party's since we are no longer in the 1930's. I keep thinking about shortening it but I think it would be a shame to cut up something so old and it might loose some of its magic.
If you want to see the short film look here, there is some other pretty special stuff too.

P.s I got these shoes and not the Hasbeens.

Ahoy!

Dress: Vintage, with buttons added by moi.
Knackered Cardigan: Topshop.
Tights: Topshop
Shoes: Vintage, from a Shop in Bristol (can't remember the name).
Coat: Very old Topshop.
Hat: M+S
Bird Necklace: Accessorize.

It rained a lot when we took these photos, it was also mighty cold. They are taken on the quay wall in Clovelly and at the huge Court house. I'm not really sure if I'm allowed to stand there but never mind. This is my favourite ever dress, I think it cost about £15 and had broken buttons when I got it, which I replaced with the bright red ones. I'm now thinking of changing these for blue or gold ones, mainly because a couple of days ago I stood on one of them when the dress was on the floor and broke it. Serves me right for leaving it lying around. Nautical is going to big again this spring/summer (isn't it every year?) and in light of this I got myself a lovely little sailor style top on Saturday when I went to my Shakespeare lecture. The back of the collar looks really fantastic when you pull it out over a cardigan or dress.


I would normally wear it with jeans but I'm really bored of the leg wear most of the country's population live in. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with jeans (I have many, many pairs), I'm just saying that I am bored of wearing them. I find it really difficult to make them look interesting and I nearly always end up wearing them with flat shoes because pairing them with heels just seems to negate the comfort factor. I'm going to keep my eye out for more interesting styles/colours etc but being short in stature I don't hold out much hope. I think it might be time to move into the world of skirts and the many possibilities they hold. Maybe a nice red prom one??

On the Street Where You Live

The village I live in (Clovelly, incase you intersted) is totally unique. The streets are cobbled, you pull your shopping down on a sledge and you can't even have a satellite dish on your house without permission. All of this is brilliant. It makes me feel good to think that places untouched by the modern world still exist.
In the summer there is nothing better then swimming off the large stone quay and walking along the coast path through the woods to Mouth Mill beach, where if your lucky you'll be totally alone except for the seagulls and phesants.


Of course there are car parks and about a million tourists in the summer holidays, but during the winter the silence and desolate streets make it magical, as well as perfect for photos.
There are times when I wish we had a cash point or even a shop that sells more then pasties, ice creams and donkey models (we have a lot of donkeys) but I will mourn the day a Tesco Metro opens and they install a chair lift down the really steep street.

In other news The new Alexa Chung collection for American brand Madewell debuted yesterday and it looks great! I pretty much want eveything, even the stuff that would look ridiciulous on me such as the long skirt and velvet shorts (I have very mixed views on velvet), shame its only avalibable in America, but then I guess if it was over here there would be about a million Alexa wannabes running around and it would be like Kate Moss for Topshop all over again. I can't work out if thats a bad thing or not? Surely Better Kate and Alexa then Coleen and Jordan?



Photos from: What I Need Now.

A Few of My Favourite Things.

A few of my favourite things:
My Perfume Bottle Collection
Alice Necklace from Kath x
Tim Walker: Pictures
Flowers by the bed
Baking
T.H

The First Days of Spring.

The last week or so Spring has started to arrive, though its still been really cold the Snowdrop and Crocus's have begun to come out. I think spring is my favourite season, its like everything is waking up ready for summer and there is more colour in the world without the over saturation and yellow heat (or muggy rain) of summer. This in turn makes me want to wear more colourful clothes to keep up with the season. I have been looking for a dress which is a really delicate floral print without being to floaty or modern, and the I think the dress above fits the brief perfectly. I'm looking forward to wearing it with a long battered cardigan and my new clogs, hopefully I wont look dutch. I do like tulips though.

Its been a very busy week for me so I'm looking forward to the extra weekend I have on Monday and Tuesday, I plan to catch up on my book reading, maybe dye my hair and hopefully take some new blog pictures if the weather holds out.
I'm also going to finally order myself a pair of Swedish Hasbeens super highs which I've been desiring for the last few weeks.


I also have an essay to write this week on A Midsummers Night Dream which I really reccommend giving a read. Shakespere has always seemed quite scary to me but this play has really changed my opinion. For something written in the 15oo's it still comes across as being very contempory and actaully quite funny. If nothing else the film is worth a watch just for the great costumes of both the fairies and human characters.

Caravan Girl

Caravan Girl

A&E



There aren't many women (or even clowns) who can carry off a harlequin costume and party hat and still look elegant, but somehow Alison Goldfrapp seems to manage it. Her aloofness not only comes across in photos, but also Goldfrapp's music. It's all very sophisticated while still having a sense of humor. Happiness.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel.

Cardigan: H&M
Blouse: Vintage, Charity Shop
Skirt: Topshop
Shoes: £3 Primark Bargain.
Watch: Vintage Casio from ebay

These pictures follow two trips out for dinner, one with friends as my belated birthday treat (Thank-you Kath and Lyn) and the other with family just because (Thank-you dad).
Going out for dinner is one of my all time favourite activities, I think because it combines getting dressed up with eating, in my humble opinion you can't get any better then that. I think I'll try to do another post soon about cooking, which is another of my favourite things do do I guess because its like dressing food up instead of yourself. Interesting thought and maybe slightly odd.

I have new dark hair which I am still not really sure of, it was quite a shock going from almost white to bark brown, I'm enjoying the change but don't think it will last, I get bored too quickly, blond goes with more and I feel kind of dull. Oh well.

After my 1940's post I really started to look into 40's and 50's fashion more, I've always loved both decades but have been wary of actually dressing in a way which is influenced by them as I think its very easy to end up looking like your in costume (which is fun, but not always practical).
To compromise I've taken to wearing high waisted skirts in heavy fabrics with delicate blouses such as the one below which was a charity shop find. I've also dug out my camel coloured, tailored trousers and paired them with simple black pieces and a leather jacket with a vintage fur collar attached. It makes me feel like a pilot, but in a good way. All I need now are some goggles, oh and a plane.

On a non fashion related note I have started reading some new books this week which I can't recommend highly enough. First there is The Liar by the lovely Stephen Fry and second is Blankets by Craig Thompson. Both were birthday gifts (I got almost 100% books this year which is excellent) and both are great. My next reads will be Brideshead Revisited By Evelyn Waugh and about a ton of Shakespeare for my Degree. Should be an interesting mix.