What I Wore: Nautical Stripes

After an autumnal few weeks, today was just about warm enough to bare my legs for what is almost certainly the last time this year (that being said, I only lasted until the early afternoon, when the clouds moved in and I scampered to put on jeans and a jumper).

This dress was a bargain find back in June, setting me back the princely sum of £3. It's been a central part of my wardrobe this summer, being made of stretch jersey cotton and therefore a great dress to throw in a bag whenever we went away (it got a lot of wear in Canada, for instance).

And when I'm wearing nautical navy and white stripes, what better accessory than a swallow necklace, which harks back to sailors' tattoos? 

* Dress: New Look via charity shop * Cardigan: H&M * Belt: Peacocks *

* Necklace: Online purchase years ago * Sandals: Marks & Spencer *  

What I Wore: Vintage 80s Style

Although the sun has deigned to show its face today, overall the summer's been pretty rubbish, weather-wise. However, here's evidence that we did have some nice weather this summer. I wore this outfit in the school holidays for a sunny Saturday bike ride followed by a picnic. I can't say a pair of wood-heeled sandals were ideal bike-riding attire, especially considering we returned home via the pub (where I had one too many ciders), but they look pretty so *shrugs*.

There's a story behind my purchase of this vintage madras-check skirt, though. When I was a kid, my family was friends with a couple called David and Sue and I basically idolised Sue. She was our piano teacher, and the leader of the choir at church in which I sang, and they lived in the most beautiful cottage with a huge garden, while we lived in a standard semi-detached on an estate. Sue wore fashionable clothes, things that had clearly been bought brand new, while ours - my mum's included - were cobbled together from jumble sale finds and hand-me-downs (of course, now I know that jumble sale finds are the best thing ever, but when you're 10 it's hard to understand that line of thinking). And I very clearly remember Sue wearing a madras check skirt exactly like this one, and thinking she was the coolest person ever.

So of course, when I was browsing in a vintage store a few months ago, it was a given that the madras check midi skirt would be coming home with me. My attempt at shortening it perhaps took a tad too much off - I don't think the new length is exactly right on my proportions - but it's otherwise really comfortable and fun to wear. And look, pockets!

* Skirt: Vintage * T-shirt: H&M * Tote bag: Ella Masters Studio *

* Belt: Peacocks (old) * Clog sandals: TK Maxx *

What I Wore: That 70s Show

This is an outfit I put together last summer after finding my dream button-down chambray skirt in a charity shop. Imagine my delight, then, when at the beginning of spring 2015 the 1970s revival was being touted by fashion pages up and down the land? Finally, I was ahead of the curve!

This outfit is something I wore a lot in Copenhagen last August, and it came into its own again in Canada. It's such a cool (literally cool, as in not-hot: I don't have notions above my station about my metaphorical coolness!) outfit to wear when sightseeing in a city. The t-shirt is a very thin cotton that's a joy to wear on hot days, and the skirt - once teamed with cycling shorts underneath to combat chub rub - is comfortable to wear when pounding the pavements.

This is, though, a sucky outfit post in that you can't buy anything from it: charity shop finds, past seasons stock, and a ring from my travels in South Africa. Oh yeah, and I cut my head off the lead photo because my hair and face were so bad in it!

By the by, if anyone knows where I can get a similar pair of sandals to these old Dune ones please tell me! I absolutely love them but after two summers wear they're starting to break and I need them in my life.

* Striped t-shirt: Zara (not online) * Skirt: Charity shop * Belt: Charity shop * 

* Sandals: Dune (old) * Ring: Shop in Cape Town *

What I Wore: Bicycle Print Dress

Is this the most twee dress ever? It's bright blue; it has a print of tiny daisies and bicycles with baskets; it features a Peter Pan collar. I think it just might be. I think even Jess from New Girl might reject it for being too twee. Me though? I love it.

My favourite mustard cardigan from H&M goes well with the dress (it's hard to see on these images, but some of the daisies on the dress are yellow) and I finished off the outfit with my new Clarks shoes, which are crazy comfortable for a pair of shoes with so many potential rub-points.

This was my get-up for Indietracks a couple of weekends ago, where is made the perfect outfit. After all, if you can't be twee as fuck at an indiepop festival featuring steam trains, when can you be?!

* Dress: H! By Henry Holland for Debenhams (not online) * Cardigan: H&M (old) * 

* Shoes: Henderson Luck from Clarks *

What I Wore: A Date Night Outfit

I've always been a dress girl but last summer and this I've also started collecting skirts (not such a great departure, I know, but still...!). I found this one last week in a charity shop for the princely sum of £2; it's originally from mum-store Bon Marche but I really like it. Paired with a grey marl t-shirt, my beloved new clogs (seriously, these shoes are so comfortable and fun to wear, I adore them) and a statement necklace, it was the perfect outfit for date night.

We spent the evening in the The Orange Tree in Leicester, sampling their delicious vegan mac & cheese and a few ciders, before cycling home in the twilight. An outfit I love, great food, cold cider, a bike ride and my boy? Makes for a perfect date night.

* Skirt: Bon Marche via charity shop * T-shirt: H&M (old) * Belt: Peacocks (old) *

* Necklace: New Look (old) * 'J' tote bag: Alphabet Bags * Clog sandals: TK Maxx *

What I Wore: Polka Dots (Again)

This is the dress that I just had to buy when I was on holiday, despite having bought an almost-identical one from New Look a few days before. I mean, €14 - I'd have been mad not to, right?

The cut of this is really flattering: short sleeves, a very fitted bodice going in at my narrowest point before flaring out into a full, 50s-style skirt. I love the deep back, too, which kept me nice and cool on a warm night in the pub.

Because the dress itself - both the 50s shape and the twee print - is edging towards cute, I decided to add some tough-talking accessories. My 'Bitch' necklace is one of Sugar & Vice's custom name necklaces, the colour deliberately matched with the 'Riots Not Diets' tote I picked up from Etsy this winter.

The only element in the outfit I'm not convinced by is the shoes, which is also the one thing that, fashion-wise, I tend to be fairly clueless about. Because I do a lot of urban walking, my main concern is that my shoes are comfortable, rather than stylish, which tends to mean chunky Mary Janes and brogues in winter, ballet pumps and comfortable but slightly dull sandals in summer. This pair are perfect for pounding the pavements but I don't think they quite 'go' with the rest of the look. Any suggestions on what other shoes might work gratefully received.

* Dress - C&A (the Netherlands) * 'Riots Not Diets' tote bag -  Miss Harry via Etsy * 

* Sandals - Dune (old) * 'Bitch' necklace - Sugar & Vice Designs *

What I Wore: A Re-made Vintage Skirt

I can't figure out why the picture quality on these shots is so bad: taken on my usual Nikon camera, I haven't edited them or changed them in any way, yet they look really pixellated and blurry. Weird. Anyone got any bright ideas on what the problem might be?

Anyway, onto the outfit! This is basically my summer uniform, and one you've seen (here and here and here) many times before: printed skirt, scoop- or v-neck tee, tan belt and tan sandals. Throw in a slogan tote and I'm good to go. I'm not going to win any awards for fashion innovation in this outfit, true, but I still love it.

This skirt started life as an 80s sundress with midi-length skirt, picked up from the Sue Ryder vintage shop in Leicester. The already-elasticated waist meant that chopping off both the top and bottom of the dress was a quick and easy job, turning a dated and ill-fitting dress into a cute floral skirt. Meanwhile, this bargain H&M t-shirt is my find of the summer. I'm not sure what it is about the cut that's SO flattering, but it works.

* Black v-neck tee - H&M * Floral skirt - re-made from a vintage midi dress * 

* Belt - Peacocks (old) * Sandals - M&S (old, similar here) * Tote bag - the Netherlands *

What I wore: A madeover midi skirt

You know when you look in the mirror and think, "Yep, looking good," and then see a photograph and cringe? Yeah, I have that with this outfit. The photo shoot involved a good amount of swearing and tears (mostly on on Thomas's part) and, after about 100 shots, I'm still not happy with how any of them look. But I wanted to use them regardless because I was outside! Wearing summer clothes! This is very very exciting to someone who has been pining for the sun since about January 3rd.

This outfit features my bargain midi skirt (£3 from a charity shop), which is evidence of my long-held belief that you need to ignore size labels, especially when vintage or thrift shopping. The skirt is a Primark size 12, a store in which I usually need a 16 or 18, but I'm pretty well able to size things up by looking at them and I guessed it would just fit. A couple of snips to the elastic waistband when I got home, a quick cut and hem to shorten it, and I have a very cheap and well-fitting midi skirt.

This is also the first glance at my extended tattoo: I had more flowers added so that the whole piece now stretches from my elbow to my shoulder. So pretty!

And because I'm such a brilliant fashion blogger, I only realised when I saw the shots just how badly the sleeve of my t-shirt is stained with suncream from covering up my tattoo last summer. Oops. Off I trot to Zara to stock up on some more...

* Striped tee: Zara * Midi skirt (originally a maxi skirt): Primark via charity shop * 

* Sandals: Dune (old) * Tote bag: Ella Masters Studio * Belt: Peacocks (old) *
* Name necklace: Gift * Turquoise ring: Gift *

Thomas has just told me a really terrible joke, hence my look of pain here.

What I wore: Polka dots & pretty frocks

 

This is one of my favourite dresses, a trusty old standby ready to be thrown on when everything else in my wardrobe frustrates me (I have a horrible fear of it developing a hole or other fault that would render it unwearable).

Bought from ASOS about three years ago, it features my favourite pattern - polka dots - and is so comfortable that it feels a bit like wearing a nightie. Teamed with my favourite mustard cardigan, a H&M buy a couple of summers ago (I fell in love with the openwork design on the pockets, which is repeated on the back of the cardigan), it makes an easy outfit. I wore it with this ace wooden banner necklace, a Christmas gift from my brother and his fiance. The only element I'm not sure about is the ballet pumps, which seem like a bit of a boring footwear choice, but I never know what other shoes to pair this with.

* Polka dot skater dress: ASOS (old) * Cardigan: H&M (old) * Ballet pumps: New Look * 

* Wooden banner necklace: Ladybird Likes via Etsy *

What I wore: Old clothes, new tricks

You know those days when everything in your wardrobe sucks and you hate each and every item of clothing you own? Well, I'm having one of those days but it's been going on for weeks. I think it's the fact that we're coming to the end of winter and I'm just so bored of wearing all my winter clothes (also, the fact I've spent the entire winter on a spending ban means I haven't had much in the way of new clothes coming into my life recently).

Anyway, while throwing the entire contents of my wardrobe around the bedroom in a strop the other morning, I chanced upon this combination: as the floral dress flew threw the air and landed on the collared blouse, my eyes lit up. And so this outfit - which I'd categorise as a sort of preppy cosplay meets cute indie pop - was born. There's something deeply satisfying about taking items I've had in my wardrobe for ages and building a whole new look from them. This, combined with a recent post by Hazel, has prompted me to look more closely at the clothes I own and try to think of new ways of styling them.

The floral dress is an ancient A-Wear one which I hardly ever wear due to its weird puffy sleeves and strange neckline, but layering it with the Peter Pan collar blouse and the cardigan creates a whole new silhouette. The amazing Scrabble tile J brooch that Kezzie gave me stops the cardigan from being one massive expanse of navy blue boob. Finally, cosplaying at being preppy would be no good without the addition of a satchel. It made the perfect outfit for a cinema date last week (we saw Wild, which is ace).

* Blouse: Primark * Cardigan: H&M Basics * Dress (worn as skirt): A-Wear * 

* Shoes: Office * Satchel: H&M * Brooch: Gift (homemade) *