The Congreve Cube

Happy Easter everyone! This isn't an Easter outfit (mostly I've been wearing a Bunny onesie or joggers today) but it is quite a cute simple one. Tux style (monochrome and bow-ties) always reminds me of James Bond. My brother loved the movies when we were younger and the outfit is just so iconic, and easily altered...

Black bow tie: ebay Hong Kong

Birdcage shirt: ASOS

Black jeans: George at ASDA

Gold sparkle socks: Topshop

White brogues with a cuban heel: Primark

Silver cuff: Oasis

It's a pretty easy throw-on outfit, but since it's so cold out I've got a vest on underneath! Can't believe it's still snowing at the end of March...

Six Impossible Things

  

I have always loved the Alice in Wonderland stories, starting with the books as a little girl, the disney film and many versions since. So much so that little snippets of Wonderland work themselves into nearly every part of my life, especially my jewellery...

Necklaces from left to right:

Silver teacup - ebay

Silver spoon - ASOS

Pewter teapot - ASOS (men's section... weird!)

Locket and charms long chain - Present from my Nephew

Green fountain pen - ASOS

China tea pot - Present from my Sister: www.madamecherry.com 

Rocking horse necklace - Present from a friend

The teacup, spoon and teapots are obviously Mad Hatter's tea party related (the easiest and my favourite reference to the story), the locket has playing card charms on it, referencing The Queen of Hearts, the green fountain pen is the sword of the writer and the rocking horse necklace is a little nod to the Rocking Horsefly.

Misc items from left to right:

Bent key bracelet - ASOS

Jammy dodger ring - Advent present from Alex, bought at The Festive Gift Fair (NEC)

Charm bracelet - Present from my Nephew, counterpart to the locket

Miniature pocketwatch - ebay

China teacup ring - Present from my Sister: www.madamecherry.com 

Cameo necklace -George at ASDA

Silver key - Can't remember... just something I've always had... mysterious...

'a' watch - ASOS

Eat Me mini mirror - Re-ment miniatures on ebay

'Key to my Heart' book clutch bag - ASOS

I absolutely LOVE this clutch bag, it's got a red tassel and is shaped like a big book. It's going to be paired with a lot of book-related ephemera over the next few months, I'm a bit of a book nerd... our spare room is a library. The jammy dodger ring is fun to wear and always gets compliments and sometimes I wear the silver key on a chain around my neck too. I have a *lot* of key jewellery actually, they're sort of a symbol. I like to think of them opening doors to amazing places, a la Secret Garden, Narnia or Wonderland... or for keeping secrets and precious treasures. They're my talisman against the mundane, to me a key is always enticing.

Koi-oi-oi

It's still cold, it's still snowing here and there. It is now the end of March. Cool story bro, needs more SUN. I'm still in knitwear and vests under shirts, I still can't wear summer shoes... *cry*

Oh well, here's another "WTF weather will we see today?" outfit...

Koi print shirt - Primark. I love this shirt, it's sheer lightweight fabric, oversize and dipped hem at the back. The print reminds me of those reproduction painted Chinese plates people used to hang on walls - the soft washy blue on white with images of temples and bamboo.

Fabric flower brooch -  Dotty About Vintage (Whitby, North Yorkshire) These folded fabric brooches are adorable, we got a couple actually. This one is blue and white and has a Yorkshire Rose button in the middle. Lightbulb moment when I was getting dressed, it really matches the shirt! Bought for me by my lovely Mum. (Find them here on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dotty-about-Vintage/240141299413217)

Burgundy knit cardigan - Bargain-dy more like, a tenner from a random stall at The Clothes Show last year. Rad.

Jeans - ASOS. They're a bit too big now which sucks, but I guess they just look straight leg instead of skinny. Turn ups too as I'm a bit short.

Burgundy Vans Authentic Vi - So comfy, so cute, go with everything. These were a present from the Outlaws, brought back from their last American adventure. <3

Mini key necklace - ASOS

Umbrella necklace (with cloud and lightning charms) - ASOS, a little homage to the crappy weather!

Pretty Fly

Birds. Bees. Well, just birds really... huddled together on windowsills for warmth. It's March and we're supposed to be into the swing of spring, but yesterday the snow blew in harder than ever and my street looked like a window into a snowglobe. Don't get me wrong, I freakin' love the snow but I'm done with dressing down for bitter days, so crank up the sun okay?

Thankfully this was only put together for indoor frolicks, because sheer fabric isn't the warmest...

Bird and floral print dress: Primark

Belt: Next

Leggings: JW

Brown brogues: Primark

Pocket-watch necklace: ASOS

Keeping it simple, paired with my mini brown satchel (to match the brogues) which has a short handbag-style strap because it was actually a child's one from ebay. It's on the jewellery post if you want a look. I changed out the leggings for skinny turn up jeans when I got cold, which I think would be nice for a day version of this outfit, but a pair of killer nude heels would take it to night too...

Game over, Moonpie.

Space-fad. Everyone is into it, I know. It's been around for a while now, but not nearly as long as it has been in both my dreams and in my wardrobe. When I was little I was obsessed with 3 things. Michael Jackson, Dinosaurs and Space (as you can imagine, MJ's Moonwalk was a double-whammy of awesome to me). Anyhow, I've collected a few space print items, some rocket hair clips... Star Wars tshirts... Chewbacca keyrings... that sort of thing. But since the galaxy-print explosion, I've been slowly adding to it. This is an incomplete outfit, which is why I'm not wearing it, but when I've decided the footwear and accessories it's going to be an awesome one.

T-shirt: Lush Tshirt Printing (www.lushtshirts.co.uk) Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock! They do all sorts of tshirt printing, from movies to bad taste slogans, and you can even create your own! I went with the grey so it would be easy to wear with lots of things, chose a mens/unisex baggy tshirt and rolled the sleeves. I may even scoop cut the neck at some point to make it loose off the shoulder. I like the fact that it hasn't got 'Big Bang Theory' plastered all over it, so only people who know the show will get it. 

Skirt: Dipped front and back hem with pleats, chiffon with an elastic waistband in galaxy print. This is from ROMWE (www.romwe.com) which is the most fabulously weird site. I've bought a couple of things from there before, but nothing quite so bold! I'm totally in love with their range of subliminated leggings and a crazy Bart Simpson printed denim shirt too.

Satchel: Vintage comic space print (tiny spaceships, very cute) from Cath Kidston. It was in the kids section, but if you have a netbook or tablet rather than a laptop - the satchels are a *perfect* size for them. NB. There is also a dinosaur print one... in case your childhood dreams were in line with mine...

Scarf: Thin and floaty inked silk, this was a gift given to me a few years ago and I pretty much only wear it with cardigans and jeans on a down day, but it really looks cosmic and goes with everything I think.

Anyhow, I'll do an outfit update in the future when I've decided the complete set-up, but for now it's looking pretty. Maybe a blue/purple dip-dye for my hair is in order...?

Travels and Treasures

Jewellery. Accessories. Bags. All of these things mean treasure to me. I think it's my Nanna's fault, she always had tins full of glistening cocktail jewellery for us to rummage through when we went to visit. From South Shields, she's a proper magpie - coming back from jumble sales with the wacky, weird but truly magical. Guess I've inherited the hoarding habit...

Decided to do a quick staging of some jewellery, since so much of what I have is exciting and odd. I won't name everything, just pick out a few bits, but please open the photos in a new tab so you can zoom in for more detail! This collection is, Phileas Fogg... steampunk... railways and halcyon days. Tough brown leather and a lust for adventure.

Bags:
Miniature suitcase - Topshop
Stripe hard case - Topshop
Small satchel - Vintage ebay
Tall satchel (on the bottom) - Vintage ebay

 

Floral heart - Primark

Silver pocket watch - ASOS

Umbrella with cloud and lightning - ASOS

Taxi - Accessorize

'a' watch - ASOS

Bronze pocket watch - Picked up from a stall at Whitby Goth Weekend

Hot air balloon  - Present from my Nephew

Green ink pen - ASOS

Rocking horse - Present from a friend

Books owl - Present from my Sister (www.ellymental.co.uk)

Pearl with bow and embellishments - Present from Al's Sister, Accessorize

Bugle and flag - ASOS

Soldiers brooch - Cath Kidston

Guitar case, Bear and Diving Helmet - ASOS

Pipe - Anna Lou of London (www.annalouoflondon.com)

Bow Wow Wow

BOWS! It's hard not to coo over bows, even as a non girly-girl there's something precious about them and I freakin' love them. So when I received this pink-tissue wrapped package of delights from the postman I did a shameful teenage squeal...

Kiss Like Daisy make (amongst other things) hair bows that make you look like you've walked right out of a Japanese cartoon, or are BFF's with Minnie Mouse. This gigantic black leather fascinating fascinator sits atop a flat headband, guaranteed to wow. The shape is Disney style perfection and it stays that way - funnily enough, leather is a pretty perfect material for cute bows, despite it's saucy rep!

Bow: Kiss Like Daisy

Studded Collar: JuliaHeartsU (www.juliaheartsu.com)

Shirt with collar tie: Primark

Black skinny jeans: George at ASDA

Black leather biker boots: I think these were MIA from John Lewis a long time ago...

The giant leather bow wasn't the only delicious thing in that parcel, these beauts are going to be rocking my bonce over festival season too...

1. Black Leather - Style Icon: Betty Boop
2. Pink Courderoy - puffed out with stuffing so it doesn't go flat to your head. Style icon: Hello Kitty
3. Red Tartan backed with leather - Style Icon: Anime Schoolgirls a la Studio Ghibli, Tenchi Muyo and Battle Royale

Kiss Like Daisy's amazing products can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/KissLikeDaisy?filter=3

and on Twitter @kisslikedaisy too, with the new website launching soon! Keep a look out for these beautiful bows gracing my noggin in posts to come... 

(open photos in new tab to get a bow-closeup, a bows-up... ha...)