Hi guys. Hi. It’s been a while! ‘I must update more often’ I cried, before not posting for two months.

Well, I’m in my third year of university now. Things have been surprisingly hectic. Everyone told me that third year is the easiest because one gets ‘used to it’ by then. Not true! There has been a significant increase in workload. Luckily I do enjoy most of what I’m studying this year. There’s also the added stress of preparing for post-uni life. Do I apply for masters programmes or do I apply for jobs? I haven’t got a clue and yet I need to start doing at least one of the two like… right now. The end of student life fast approaches (scream)!

Probably due at least in part to the stress of this year and the fact that I’ll be moving somewhere else soon, I’m thinking of ‘decluttering’. While the idea of a minimalist lifestyle doesn’t appeal to me - I love environments that are aesthetically pleasing, cosy and full of memories - I have way too much stuff. I am one of those people who is very deeply affected by her environment so I think this is a good thing to do… but how to do it?

Unsurprisingly, most of my possessions are clothes which just happen to be the hardest things to throw away! The ‘six month rule’ just does not work for me. If it’s in my closet, it’s been worn in the past six months.  That’s one downside of knowing what you like - the years pass by and ya still wanna wear it all! Consequently I have a tonne of stuff. I think the route I’m going to have to take is asking myself whether a particular item of clothing is in line with how I want to dress over the next couple of years. It means that I’ll force myself to stop wearing the clothes I bought when I was a teenager. Probably a good thing!

Have any of you guys had a good ol’ clear out before? Or given yourself a total style overhaul? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

I’m spending a few days in Durham before leaving for Christmas. I forget how quiet it gets when the students leave. One of my housemates has gone home, the other leaves today and I leave tomorrow. I’m off to Cambridge until the 27th and then off to Brighton for 2 weeks. Right now I’m just hanging out trying to get things done - what else is new? I’m really excited to go back to Brighton and have a potter round London. I just love this time of year.

Outfit time! This is from one of my 'mod days' which I have occasionally. The jacket is from FrontRowShop! You can buy the exact one here. Ten points if you can recognise which famous horror film this exact pattern can be seen in.

Also - check out my interview at Tntst.com here!

Hope you're all well!

Quick outfit post!

Hi guys!

Here's what I wore a couple of days ago.

Took me ages to post about these but at last I have photos! I'm sure you guys have seen these Jump From Paper bags around the internet lately. They're super cute little handbags designed to look as if they're drawn on. While they're small, they actually feel very sturdy / good quality. I have to say I'm a fan. I love pastels and I love contrast so this bag is pretty ideal! Interested to know what the larger ones are like too.

Click here for the shop.

I thought the 'outline' effect went perfectly with this vintage coat I found on Etsy!

I'm also wearing a faux leather pleated skirt from Lashes of London. You can find it here. I actually think it looks better in real life than it does on the website (am I allowed to say that?). It looks more understated and less plasticy. Before I received it I thought it would be a little 'hi, I'm a trendy person wearing a leather skirt'. DO YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? Actually, it has ended up fitting perfectly into my wardrobe and will be worn a lot this autumn/winter! The only thing is ... I'm afraid to wash it because what if it crumples? How do you iron plastic? Someone teach me how to take care of clothes please.

Fresher's week begins today! Seeing everyone arrive has made me feel a little emotional because it reminds me of my fresher's week and how awful it was hoho. If any freshers are reading this, congratulations on getting into uni and good luck!

x

Hats!

I am terrible at coming up with titles. Every post is a slight struggle. Perhaps it’s time to embrace their awkwardness.

So I’m back from Belfast. It was not what I expected at all! Well, being honest, I had no idea what to expect as neither I nor my friend had actually researched the city that much before we left haha. It was actually quite small and, while it was nice and I am very much interested in visiting other parts of Ireland, I’m not sure I would visit Belfast again. Hmm, I think this might be the first time I’ve written about somewhere I’ve been on this blog and felt so distinctly ambivalent about it (I have a lucky tendency to love pretty much everywhere I visit). I don’t want to be mean about Belfast so I will say that there are a few possible reasons for this unrelated to the city itself e.g. I got sick right before I left haha.

I suppose in one way it was good – I’ve learned more about what I should do to make a trip a good one. Don’t get sick, pick where to stay myself, research the place beforehand and figure out what I want to do, get enough sleep. But yeah. I’m glad I went but I know it would have been better had the circumstances been different. I also didn’t get that many nice photos! Darn it. Generally, it might have been one trip too much for this break.

For now, I’m happy to be back in the north east of England. My head feels messy and I need to sort everything out, come up with a routine, get healthy and start taking care of myself properly before my classes start again. This is going to be a tough year, but hopefully the good kind of tough rather than the kind I experienced last year. I’m optimistic!

So on to more fashion-related matters, I wanna talk about hats. My relationship with hats. Hats and me. I have a few of them. I think 8 or 9 now. More will be bought. When I was younger, my parents used to say that I looked good in hats. I thought they were just telling me that so I wouldn't end up with skin cancer but I now realise, many years later, that actually hats are pretty great. While I wouldn't want to return to an era where every outfit required a hat to be 'finished', they are certainly a very stylish way of hiding the fact that you're too stingy to get your roots done.

While I was in Sydney, I tried to take a whole bunch of outfit photos with all the hats I brought with me haha. Maybe you will see how they turn an otherwise simple / whatever outfit into a slightly better than whatever outfit. You will also see pretty much all the clothes I had with me! haha. I think my hat to other clothes ratio was a bit off.

This is my black bowler hat. If there was a 'basic' hat, this would be it. I resisted bowler hats for ages because of how trendy they are. I mean, wearing the above outfit made me feel almost like I was in some kind of 'alternative girl' uniform with the hat, glasses, tattoos and all black outfit. But you know what? It's an easy way to make a simple outfit not a boring outfit. Embrace the uniform. Occasionally.

Click here for the exact hat I'm wearing!

A summery straw bowler in an autumnal mustard colour? I'm wearing that forever. This was $5 from a Dangerfield discount store in Newtown.

Now I grant you this is rather wide categorisation but I don't possess enough wide-brimmed hats to break this down any further hoho. I own but a single variety - a navy blue, wool hat with a chiffon bow that I bought in Camden in my first week of arriving in the UK back in January 2009. It was once completely stiff and is now a little floppy (and as of last week slightly crumpled). I have not taken good care of it, poor old thing... but only because I wear it so much because it goes with seemingly everything I own. No, really. I'm not exaggerating. It's just one of those things.

This is not a Sydney photo. This is actually from 2011 haha.

See, not the most fabulous of outfits but with the addition of a hat, it has ... slightly improved? I could totally be a fashion writer.

I don't know guys, they keep the sun off your face, the rain off your fringe, a slight air of mystery if worn with sunglasses? A felt halo? (too much?)

Here are some on Etsy I like!

 

1 // 2 // 3 // 4

Pillboxes. These are my thing. Any look I would go for is always such that a pillbox could easily be included. They are probably the most impractical of hats. They provide neither warmth nor protection from the elements. Brimmed hats kind of make sense. Bowlers and cloche hats kind of make sense. Pillboxes are literally just a little block of colour added to the top of your head to make you look more put together. I don’t know guys. It works somehow.

This is the one I wear most often – my plain black, wool felt hat. 

Hat: vintage // Coat: Primark // Scarf: Edinburgh Woollen Mill

Here are some Etsy links:

1 // 2 // 3 // 4

Our little woollen French friends who will, without fail, make you look like you should be riding a bicycle with a baguette in the front basket. Some might say you should beware pairing a beret (almost wrote baguette) with a striped shirt. I say don’t let the bastards tell you what to do!  …Unless you are a man with a moustache… shave it off, you beast.

Shirt: Saba // Collar: Chicwish // Backpack: Chicwish // Skirt: Bettina Liano

Thanks to Chicwish for the collar and bag! Click the links above for the exact product pages.

I also LOVE the berets in Orla Kiely SS14. Please let me look like that when I wake up tomorrow. Please. Please.

I can post no more. I must leave the house and stop tempting myself by surfing Etsy hoho.

What are your favourite hats? Do you have a certain kind you like / that contributes to your overall look?

x

Glasses pt. 2

I was actually going to make a completely different post with a little glasses-related 'by the way' at the beginning, but I've actually rambled enough to make this its own post hoho. I think I'll continue writing and queue them? I have never once used the queue function so let's hope it works.

I have managed to acquire two pairs of glasses since my last glasses post. Apparently it got me in a glasses mood? Gave me some glasses awareness?

1. These glasses from Glassesshop.

Here's the link to the exact product page. They're pretty great and I've been getting a bunch of compliments on them (always a good sign). I didn't get my prescription lenses put in these because my prescription is probably too strong to be able to be put in free. However, if you have a normal prescription (anything less than blind as a bat really), your lenses are included in the price. Pretty good! 

If I'm being honest about them though, they are very plasticy feeling and don't feel as high quality as my other frames. So if you're looking for something that lasts a long time, I'm not sure these will do it for you. However, this is arguably reflected in the price. I've just been wearing them as an extra accessory.

2. Shelled out on these Ksubi frames. The design is actually a couple of years old by now but they were just perfect for me so I had to get them. I've always wanted thick rimmed black glasses but as I'm so blonde, pasty and small-faced (hoho) they almost always look way too much on me. I just randomly tried these on and they actually looked great! They have a bit of gold on them too. 

Do you guys know any glasses blogs you could recommend? Good glasses stores? 

There is a toddler in this cafe screaming literally as if its imitating a metal singer. Just yer average day in Durham.

I'm going to Belfast tonight! 

BYE

Back in the UK

Hello!

I'm back in Durham. It feels like an age since I was here last. It's very strange indeed to be back, as if I've stepped back 2 months. I forgot what it felt like to have nothing to do! Not sure I'm into it.

Well I had a truly wonderful trip to Australia. Just fantastic. I went back about a year ago and for some reason didn't enjoy myself nearly as much as I did this time. I guess my outlook must have been completely different because my impression of Sydney before - boring, empty, not-quite-cool - was the complete opposite of my experience this time. I just loved it.

Fact is, when I lived in Sydney, I was not a fan. It had its good bits but they paled in comparison to London, and the UK in general. I now know that they are just different places with their own pros and cons. Neither one is vastly better than the other, and which one you prefer depends entirely on what you are looking for. I've found that having lived in the UK for a few years and having been to a few different places in Europe, Sydney is actually pretty great. It's fun, beautiful and exciting. I feel so lucky to have grown up there. While I doubt I would ever move back (for the pure reason that you only live once and I'd rather experience somewhere new), I have to say that Sydney would be a pretty damn fantastic place to spend your twenties. Or your life in general! Also, I had almost no gross insect experiences... except one cockroach and one massive moth (outside the house so easily escaped from). Yeah!

Apart from Sydney specifically, it was also nice to spend time in an actual city. Because I lived in Brighton for a couple of years and now live in Durham/next to Newcastle, I think I forgot what it actually felt like haha. It's pretty great.

Because I have so much to say and I'm still waiting on photos from friends, I'll separate all my Sydney-related ramblings into a couple of entries. This post will be mainly based around what I have access to at the moment hoho.

Breakfast is great in Sydney. Well, all food is great in Sydney but I can't even count the number of times I went out for breakfast while I was away haha. A ridiculous amount. And it was always good! Casually posting Elena's breakfast because mine was not quite so photogenic hoho. Apparently this place is very popular because there was quite a big line to get a table. Another fabulous thing about Sydney is that even in winter it's warm enough to eat outside... and the weather is always great. I should have photographed all my breakfasts!

Another great thing about Sydney (or certain parts of it) is the number of fun, independent stores and designers. We found this place down some stairs off Crown St, Surry Hills and it was just filled with awesome, 60-ish clothes all made by the daughter of the shop assistant. I wish I could remember what it was called! Argh! There are also a bunch of fabulous Korean clothes stores in the city, the equivalent of which I just can't find in the UK. I'm definitely going to try to save up for clothes for next time I go.

Outfit!

A whole bunch of Asos stuff and a hat from OMGFashion.co.uk!

N'aww.

So yeah. I actually have a lot more to post but won't do it all at once. For now, I'm going to go home, relax, make dinner, and go to Newcastle - the closest thing I have to a proper city here (still fond of it).

Bye!

Tutorial: Pinafore w/ adjustable straps

So I'm leaving for Australia in a couple of days and, just my luck, I woke up this morning with a cold. After some Googling I've found out that if I'm super congested, I might end up becoming partially deaf for a few days afterwards because of the air pressure during take off and landing. This is especially worrying because I'm travelling alone so I've stocked up with four different kinds of decongestants, have taken a Vitamin C pill and am hoping for the best. But oh dear. Dear oh dear. Dear oh dear oh dear. I will also probably be resented by the other passengers because I'll be infecting them all haha. Noooo.

But on a lighter note, I've finished another tutorial! I wanted to make SOMETHING out of this fabric before I left so while I wouldn't usually wear this (not because it's bad but because I don't feel like it's very me), it's something I can make in a day and I just felt like sewing something. I actually have a tonne of fabric left so might make another one with a pencil skirt tomorrow. We shall see.

I made it adjustable partly because it looks a little more 'real' that way, and partly because tighter/looser can be a slightly different look. Anyway, on we go!

What you need...

• About 2m of fabric
• 8" shiny metal zipper
• Two sliders and square rings (idk what they are called exactly haha). The sewing stall in my local market didn't have any of these so I had to get some kids dungarees + a bag from a charity shop and cut the metal bits out, which is why they aren't the exact same size. You do what you can! 
• Scissors, matching thread, sewing machine, etc
• A big flat surface (for cutting out the skirt).
• Ideally you will also have Wimbledon on in the background.

What you must do...

Fold your fabric in half lengthways. Using pencil or chalk, draw a semi circle (doesn't have to be 100% perfect) on the folded edge of the fabric. It should measure 1/2 your waist measurement + 1 inch around.

Figure out how long you want your skirt to be (could use a skirt you like as a reference) and mark another semi-circle exactly that measurement away from the edge of the first semi circle. Cut it all out and then cut divide it into two halves (this isn't actually necessary haha but it's what I did so it's part of the instructions to avoid confusion).

Cut two front pieces and one pocket. Make a hem on the top edge of the pocket and then simply stitch the side and bottom edges on to one of the front pieces. Hopefully yours will look a little less bunchy than mine hoho.
Right sides together, sew the two front pieces together at the sides. Leave the top and bottom open. Turn it inside out and top stitch the sides.
Place two of the waist pieces against the bottom edge of the front piece, one on either side. Sew through all the layers of fabric along that bottom edge. Fold the waist pieces over on either side and top stitch, again, through all the layers of fabric. Top stitch all the way along either side of the waist piece (top edge, not bottom edge), leaving 1cm or so at either end unstitched.



Right sides together, sew the bottom edge of one waist piece to the top edge of the skirt, making sure the side edge of the skirt meets the end of the waist.
Fold over the bottom edge of the other waist piece so that it meets the line of stitching on the other side, and top stitch through all layers of fabric so the edge of the skirt is enclosed. Leave 1cm or so unstitched on either side.

This time start with the bottom edge. Take the other two waist pieces and, sandwiching the waist edge of the other skirt piece between it, sew along the bottom edge of the waist piece/waist edge of the skirt. Flip the waist pieces over and topstitch, again leaving 1 or 2 cm on either end.
Take the unstitched ends of each waist piece and sew them together (place the edges right sides together, as usual, stitch together, turn the right way round and top stitch it all in place). Sew the skirt together as you do this, enclosing it all in the waist band. Leave one side edge open - this is where the zipper will go.
Also at this point you can fold in the top edges of the back waistband pieces (the only part which should be open) and top stitch along approx 4 inches towards the center on either side (see the markings on the waist diagram above)



Take the open edges of the skirt/waist and mark how far down the zipper will end. Sew the two edges of the skirt together from the bottom, up to that point (go over the last few stitches a couple of times to reinforce it). Then sew in the zipper by folding over the excess at the ends (does it have a special name? idk) and sewing it in to the waistband so it's all topstitched down. For the rest of the zip, just sew it right sides together against each skirt edge.

 

Cut our yer straps. I can't really tell you how long to make them because it depends on how tall you are, I guess.  Just make 'em pretty long and you can trim them later. Fold the long pieces in half lengthways and sew all along the length. Turn the whole thing inside out and stitch along either side of the length. Do the same with the smaller pieces.

Take the smaller pieces, put them through the metal loop, and sew the loop closed. Take one end of each long piece and fold it around the middle bar of the slider thingy at 1.5" from the edge. Fold the very edge over again and sew it down.

Put the other end of the long piece through the square hoop, pull it up to meet the slider and thread it through. Like this.

Sew the little strap bits into the back (about 4" in, where you left the back waistband open) and completely close up the waistband.

Put the pinafore on and pin how short you want your straps to be at their almost tightest. Enough that you can make it a bit tighter with the slider thing, or loosen them. Yeah, I couldn't find my pins haha. Make sure the straps cross over! Or not. I just personally prefer them that way. Just... sew 'em in!

And you're done! You have a new pinafore!

Wish I was wearing this in a nice outfit but... I'm ill and couldn't be arsed hoho. So yeah, just to show you what it looks like! Hope ya liked my tutorial.

Bye!