Dorothy got nothin' on me

Haven't worn these since last year, they're adorable! They are from Irregular Choice (one of my very favourite shoe brands, everything they make is interesting and exciting) and they have a tiny heel, leopard print inside and they will be paired with turn up jeans, a collared shirt and a red bandana in my hair or worn as a neck-tie. Think Rizzo in Grease.

Hey boy, Hey girl

The last week has been the sunniest of the year so far, amazing considering it was raining enough to keep the Kalahari as a cottage-garden a week before. Just in time for the annual 'Oldboys Game' of American Football, where the Uni alum come back and play the current team. As ex-uni cheerleaders, a couple of us usually try and go along and cheer them on, unfortunately this year only a few of us could make it so we took a picnic and sunbathed instead. It was really nice to see people again, the weather was gorgeous and our picnic was epic. This is what I wore:


Sheer fabric sleeveless shirt (very see through but the print makes it ok to wear without a vest on underneath). I didn't think I would like this, it's a bit bold for me, but it's light and airy and was fine paired with the shorts.


Navy blue soft jeans shorts, from George at ASDA. They are SO comfortable.


Blue gingham VANS lace-ups.


Accessories: Flower anklet, leather bracelets, tortoise-shell look sunglasses.

Bow down

Delicious deliveries: Today my bowties arrived (ebay purchase), they're silky smooth and perfect, can't wait to wear them! I'm especially in love with the Harlequin one, but I think it'll have to go on a plain black shirt so that it gets pride of place.


Bow ties remind me of... Huckleberry Hound, old teddybears, George Lamb, The Cat in the Hat, Winston Churchill, Groucho Marx, Poirot and old-school Vampires. 

Me casa, es su casa

So we did go to town for a bit of shopping (mostly Birthday presents for other people) and then popped through the little green door of Leicester's 'Casa Romana' which is a secret little Italian place that does GREAT seafood. Yes I know we're about the most inland you could possibly be, but those scallops were to die for, and I know good scallops (once scuba-dived for my own in Scotland - no more than 30mins out of the water and into my tummy). We sat outside on their little terrace in the sunshine and had a really lovely night, and this is what I wore:


Blue and white zigzag stripe dress (it has a V-cut front and back, is really lightweight and sort of baggy capped sleeves... bit hard to explain). Can't remember where this was from though :-/


Navy long open front cardigan (the kind without buttons) which is super-thin and fine for this weather.


Denim-look leggings turned up mid-calf height, it was just too hot today to wear real jeans and anyway when you're wearing a dress it's weird to see a lumpy button section underneath. I have a feeling they were from George at ASDA actually...


Dr. Martens white T-bar Mary-Janes, I LOVE these shoes so much (in fact I also have them in black) but as you may know Docs are notoriously hard to wear in, especially for someone who changes shoes on a bi-daily basis... I've had them about 6 years or so but they're in absolutely perfect condition still.


Accessories - 
Brown saddle bag that Alex bought me for Christmas, I use this alllll the time.


Totoro mini-purse, attached to my bag. This was from HongKong Ebay, Totoro is awesome but the inside space of the purse is so small it's pretty much redundant. It's still cute though.


Matchstick necklace, key necklace (both ASOS) Jack Wills navy wristband.

Sun is shining, Weather is sweet...

This smashing weather seems to have turned the entire population of Britain red like lobsters in only two days so I'm pacing myself a bit, hoping that it's going to last out for the festivals and important outdoor stuff (weddings etc) this summer. I'm enjoying getting out the floaty dresses, shorts and chiffon at the moment as I've lost a bit of weight and some stuff fits me a bit better - like this dress!


It's a butterfly print maxi with an underlay and then chiffon over the top. It's steeply V-cut at the front and back and it has a ruched waist that I've covered up with a brown clip belt. 


I really hate the look of that ruching stuff but it does make the dress hang properly. Anyway, I'm having a break from tidying and listening to The Shins before Alex picks me up to go to dinner. Usually I'm a winter person but clearly the sun is a mood-changer, feel all possibility-y and new today.

Alphabetty

Ohhh how I love a quirky print on a classic cut. There's something sort of naughty about having a grown up shirt covered in an unusual print, it's a bit like you've managed to get away with something at school, like having your trainers on or your skirt hiked up. 


I got these about a month ago and I love them dearly! Both from ASOS.


Cream cropped shirt with black collar and red piping button down, with alphabet print.


Blue skinny stretch jeans in alphabet row print.


I've not worn them together yet, but the shirt looks really good with a bow tie. I think I like the alphabet print because of being drawn to writing and poetry, there's something comforting about having words around you all the time. I guess that's why we turned our spare bedroom into a library too!

Bows and Bandanas

Ooooooh, new accessories - skip in my step for these badboys...


Black and white collar - I'll be wearing this to tomboy up summer dresses with bowties or cameo brooches.


Bandanas  - Navy blue, forest green, burgundy and purple. Mostly for the festivals for when my hair is gross but they'll probably sneak their way into other summer outfits too


Silk bows - navy blue and shiny red. I wore the red one last night with a shirt, but they're a bit tricky to add to the collar because of the flexibility. More practice needed...


I'm really into patterns at the moment, but you really have to make sure you don't go all catwalk overboard with them so accessories are a really easy way to use the styles without looking completely mental. I'll be using these to liven up my more subdued days.