Travel sickness.

As I mentioned the other day, unfortunately I have no holiday planned this year. 

Are any of you off anywhere nice this Summer?

I think because vacation is missing from my life I have spent my working days lost in a dreamlike state thinking of where I can escape to when it is more possible for me to do so. For the rest of my life I believe I will be caught up in a whirlwind of wanderlust, longing to explore the world and all the nooks and cranny's I am missing out on. 

I'm currently planning to start saving in less than two weeks to go to New York again in December aswell as considering where to go away next Summer to make up for not being able to this year. Will it be travelling around Italy or around the west of America? 

I recently made a 'travel' board for my pinterest so I can spend my time drooling over what I'm missing out on. Filled with envy my parents are going to both Venice & Greece this Summer and perhaps New York at Christmas too. 

Where is everybody else off to?

Free-spirit.

If you have followed my blog for quite some time now you would know that my style jumps in and out of phases. Just over  a year ago I went through a phase of being head over heels for Free People, I dressed quite free-spirited and dreamed of dedicating my final project at university on the company and hopes of moving to Philly to work for them. As I weaved into another phase though I left it all behind and began admiring different shapes and new styles. 

Having recently found myself in employment (which explains my absence) I have spent days of late thinking about what to treat myself to now that I will actually have some pocket money to spend come the end of this month. Feeling uninspired by the places I normally elope to in times of need and inspiration, I looked up my old pal Free People to just have a browse. The sunlight always gets me feeling quite bohemian gypsy-esque, dreaming of travelling the world so this weekend I took a trip back to the site I had long deserted. 

Unfortunately car insurance payments for my boyfriend this summer has left us unable to getaway to foreign lands this coming August. The site left me dreaming of distant shores and heat waves, places to wear the clothes I found myself admiring. 

I'm not a very revealing person with the clothes I wear. I used to be as a teenager, out at the weekend in a short skirt but now I tend to shy away from this. Saying this, I have fallen for all four of these dresses from Free People that are apparently not so lengthy and quite body-con-esque. 

There's a sporty jersey dress which is really just a long, casual t-shirt. I am very much a t-shirt person so this really appeals to me, it just looks so cosy and quite effortless. 

Then there's the ditsy red stretch dress, perfect for days out during the summer. (I've been eyeing up my National Trust membership card).

An off the shoulder black and white striped number, although a lot of  skin on show which would be quite daring for me these days, I have always enjoyed off the shoulder items, reminding me of Grease's Sandy and a red dress Erin Wasson once wore.

Finally the chiffon, drop plum dress. Another off the shoulder item, this dress is really quite dreamy, I believe they styled it on something worn in Almost Famous. 

My dad has big birthday coming up next month and so I really have been keeping my eye out for a new outfit and I think this is the dress. I have never had a dress like this before so I thought as it was something that caught my eye straight away, perhaps I should try something different. The frills across the top, I imagine will make me feel a little flamenco. Arriba.

On another note, the competition I collaborated on with Bear & Co. finished yesterday, thank you to everybody who entered. I will announce the winner sometime this week so keep you eyes out. 

Stranger in a Strange Land.

My goodness it's been so long. Please excuse my absence, I started a new job last week and haven't had the time to do anything. I've hardly spent any time at my computer because the moments that I do find myself without anything to do my body collapses and falls fast asleep. It's been a bit of a bodyshock for me but hopefully by next week it will begin to get into a routine and I will have the time during my days off. This week however, I am working every day. Exhausting when it's been a while since you've been in work. I am sitting here at 6am now, just as it's the only time I can find to come on here and show my face.

I couldn't write this post without adding some visuals so I collected some of my recent 'pins' and realised I had been inspired by interior. Perhaps I yearn to run away to a beautiful place or I just really want to give my bedroom an overhaul. 

Everything I seemed to have pinned appears to be rooms flooded with light and incorporating natural wood. I've always adored collections of frames on a wall and stacked books on display. 

Give me a few more days to settle in and get my body in it's right place and I will be back to regular programming. Just a short sabbatical. 

In the meantime, please remember the competition I have going on with Bear & Co. to win a custom made dress fit to your measurements. It would be great to win, so take a look and enter if you wish. Read more about it here if you haven't already.

You have 9 more days to enter.

Icon Inspiration: Natalie Loos

Yet again, more colourful inspiration but this time from Natalie Loos from Terms of Endearment. I've been pinning photos of her outfits like crazy today. A clear fan of a feminine skirt length like me and boy does she clash prints brilliantly. 

Sometimes, when I choose to dress quite ladylike I always find myself looking quite conservative with a mix of muted, neutral tones but I think Natalie Loos has definitely shown me I need to be bolder with colour. It goes to show the shapes of clothes mould the look and the rest is just beautiful detail.

Creative Interviews: Katie-Louise Ford for Cellardoor Magazine

My love for handmade has led me to interviewing lovely people who have created a business from their handmade crafts and love of creativity, to feature on Cellardoor Magazine's blog. The first went up yesterday, where I spoke with the inspirational Katie-Louise Ford about her eponymous shop on Etsy and her influences, history & other  questions like whose creative workshop (dead or alive) she would love to visit if she got the chance. As well as helpful tips on what to do if you are looking to turn your creativity into a business. 

Find the interview here and be sure to check out Katie's blog as she is currently taking a break to travel around the US. 

Wishlisting in a new direction.

It's taken me from Saturday to Monday to go from basics to full on vibrant colours. A few bits I collected from around the web today were peacefully sitting on my desktop, not enough to make a fulfilling post but they sat their patiently. 

I was very good today and despite Wednesday being my submission deadline for my freelance writing I work on each week, I got it all completed and submitted by lunchtime (Go me!). I finished up a few other pieces on my to-do list and I then found myself with nothing to do. What do you do when you've checked off everything on your check list? You go window shopping online in anticipation of payday. This is what led me to have a few items laying around on my home screen, that was until I decided to have a browse on Anthropologie. Always so refreshing, shying away from fashion's current trends the site left my computer completely cluttered and a wishlist exploding with colour. Basics are definitely absent in this post. 

My favourite prints this season are definitely lush green leaves and ferns, strangely insects - something I have never paid an interest in but now I just can't get enough and finally, graphic checks. Besides from the last, it's all very nature focused and quite often in a repetitive form. 

So without further ado, from top left:

1. Botanical pencil skirt, the perfect camouflage for Spring's new life. 

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2. Thinking about socks and sandalled shoes, slithering through the seasons in these python capped beauties.

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3. A long lost Monki discovery which I stumbled on via Pinterest and is no longer in existence. Neutrals and neon, always enjoyable. 

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4. Another appearance from the fluorescent, in the form of sheer baroque lace. I'm thinking a simple white t-shirt with a bright pink heel?

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5. Anthology magazine because you can't get more inspirational than interior design. Especially when it looks like tidy clutter.

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6. Mirrored Monki Bag. 

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7. Introduced to Brian Vanden Brink's photography through Liebemarlene and her beautifully chronicled memories of Illinois. Influenced by the deserted and decaying and natures relationship with architecture when it is free to roam. When possible, I enjoy collecting photography books to lose myself in and this book makes me wonder how people could possibly leave these charming structures behind.

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8. This Beetle book which I discovered via Anthropologie (of course), has left me even more head over heels for the little mites and I found my searching on Etsy for brooches and framed creatures. 

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9. More inspiring interiors, this time from modern California circa 1930-65.

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10. Powder pink and snakeskin heels. 

Neapolitan shades.

Pastels add pounds. The other day I learnt of how these sugary shades aren't a good option for people of a shorter stature, making you look larger. How absurd does that sound? I have always been a bit dubious towards the colours as it is, surprising for somebody who enjoys dressing as if they still attend play school. 

I've found them quite tricky to get right, purely down to the fact I think they can often cheapen an item and so the search is always quite hit and miss and when they are quite pallid hues, it seems they can pale skin look washed out. 

Nonetheless, I am coming round to the trend slowly, it's hard not to when it is everywhere. I'm especially loving mint and this dress from Cos suits me down to the ground. The grey breaks up the lighter hue, so perfect for people like me who are a tad timid with the trend and aren't brave enough to wear it from head to toe. 

The girl on the top right has created an adorable outfit making me realise that there is one thing I do appreciate about this trend and that is the ease in which these feminine ice cream tones can be mixed and combined.

Repeat after me.

Dress: River Island

Still fawning over repeated patterns and prints.

Moodboard

Some clothing inspiration I have been slowly collecting from Pinterest and Tumblr whilst I have been laying around being ill.

 From printed matching suits, stripes and shirts, wide leg crops, long pleated plaid school skirts, layering skirts over dresses, fitted high waist capri pants in gingham .etc.

Happy Easter Holidays everybody, I hope you are all doing well and having a lovely weekend. I went to another quiz on Friday evening despite feeling so under the weather, I worked through the anguish and we came second place. 

On a side note, thank you to everybody who has found my blog and started following, reading regularly .etc. I really appreciate it and have reached over 300 followers in the last couple of days so thank you so much for that. I am very grateful and I'm glad it's something people enjoy reading. 

Hopefully I will be back to my normal self in a couple of days.

Moodboard: Light & Nature

Images via (from left to right): The Epitome of Quiet, Lepor Lepos, Wet Paint, And The Moon Appears, Wet Paint, Obessee, Rosettes

The bleak chill fades, evenings become lighter and the future seems brighter in my mind. 

I always find it intriguing to observe the subconscious parallels created when I decide to make a moodboard and select photos. In retrospect, light I think is the theme here, for this one. 

Pastel mints, yellows & pinks, pure whites with a nod towards nature. Overgrown plants wildly creeping through the cracks in the pavement & potted plants basking by the windows. The same windows that flood the rooms with a natural light.

On a side note, I added Clemence & Astrid's image in at the top because of my love for the detail in both of their outfits; a delicate, jewelled indulgence. 

A befitting word of the day: 

Effulgent (adj.) shining brightly; radiant

Do it yourself.

Am I the only person who wishes they could make clothes? There's a sewing machine just sitting in our spare room and I look online and get so inspired by clothing which I have no access to or I can't afford and I just want to create it myself. 

I go through creative phases where I want to make or create things for myself, as a hobby or perhaps if they turned out well, to create a little shop to sell them in. I have all these ideas stored up inside my head (and on my external brain which also goes by the name, Tumblr) and everyday I wake up just looking forward to the day I have the finances to get going. Does anybody else have these feelings or the enthusiasm to do such things?

Sometimes I think I could implode with the amount of creative ideas that fly around in my mind.

On a side note, I think I've gone print crazy as of late and wild on socks with shoes. Socks and shoes isn't anything new but for me, it's kind of a big deal. Ever since I can remember, I have never been able to wear socks because I have a strange thing about how it makes my feet feel trapped. Now I am of a mature age I have decided to embrace this collaboration of S's and get my feet looking cute.

Ciao Bello!

Inspiration, inspiration it's such a wonderful thing and motivates me endlessly. I am just spending my evening exploring the latest photographs I have collected from around the place as well as reading some poetry. 

I think poetry can often be harder to be enthusiastic about than books which is unusual because they tend to be much shorter. However, it's always lovely when you find a poet where you can get lost in their metaphors. e.e. cummings is one of my favourite poets (joint with Dylan Thomas) because his writing is very creative and unconventional, he is a rebel of the grammatical variety. The themes of his poems have a romantic harmony about them and can often be quite comical, I definitely recommend them if you think of poetry as a world where poets just speak 'weather'.

I selected these images to showcase on here but soon came to realise they are all quite good at combining masculinity to already quite feminine looks.

I'd like to just say a great big thank you to Leanne Marie & Laurenella who both featured my blog on theirs this week, it is so lovely to know people are enjoying reading my musings, I really really appreciate the time people take when looking at my blog, reading and scrolling through, leaving comments .etc. You are all so wonderful. Thank you.

Now please excuse me while I go and try some lemon cupcakes my mum has just baked. 

Midweek inspiration.

It amazes me how quickly time flies by lately, the weeks flash by in the blink of an eye and you soon find yourself welcoming April, Easter and Spring. It only seemed like yesterday we were all in the spirit of Noel.

It feels strange, the last two days I've worn my hair up in a ponytail, I never wear my hair in a ponytail. 

Soft curls.

Pedal to the metal.

Image via Behance

I really love seeing this kind of ladylike charm resurfacing in to a younger generation. Scarves tied around your hair like this makes me envision roadtripping in a convertible across an isolated wasteland, dust and sand fogging the sky and the road knowing no end. 

The type of dream that only appears in films because I only ever see this use of scarf tied around elderly ladies heads on day trips to the bingo hall. This old hollywood glamour is all about emphasising the woman and their femininity. 

As pretty as a picture

Two delightful polyvores [click on each, to visit] that put together really interesting and unique styled ensembles. I highly recommend you visit these if you are in need of inspiration.

Darling Buds

Hanne-Gaby Odiele by Serge Leblon for Mixt(e) S/S 12

The times they are a-changin'

“One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.”

As I grow, my attitudes are changing, maturing.

I want to live and work hard, to be able to have choices and what ever life I desire.

To go wherever I please, to do whatever I please and to just be happy. 

Paper Moon

Inspired by the film Paper Moon, the simplicity of  the1930s silhouette is showcased in Colenimo's S/S lookbook.

Fit for an adventurous tomboy, I adore the use of plain shapes, the dropwaist's and sailor collars. 

 

Battered but not lost...

I am drawn to the past and romantic eras that have been frozen in time.

I often look back through films, words on a page, items housed in glass cases deep inside museums and through faded photographs to admire and fantasise over bygone moments that always appear so much more glamorous than the present. I often wonder will people look back and think this of us and of the world we are shaping today, shaped yesterday and will shape tomorrow? History isn't just made up of facts but also of fiction, often an elaboration of what we desire it to have been. We choose to forget the mundane and the boring. 

Literature aids our fanciful imaginations and today I dug out my copy of Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises , having already started it I was determined to immerse myself back into a generation lost in Twenties Paris & Pamplona. 

The look of the Twenties has been set in stone and is so distinguished within the world of fashion.

Books allow you to stretch your imagination, deciding for yourself what characters look like and how they dress without any rules or restrictions, just some guidance from the author.

The character within the book, Brett Ashley, is such a liberated woman with two divorces already under her belt, sexually promiscuous, she is unable to commit herself emotionally to the antagonist Jake and other men who lust after her. She is native to the Parisian nightlife and the primary social butterfly within the book although a lost and lonely little girl sometimes subtly reveals itself through small cracks in her personality. 

This publicity shot of Kay Francis for the 1934 film, Mandalay, I believe fits perfectly alongside Hemingway's description of the Circe, Lady Ashley.

Absent from the surrounding company and carouse, captivated by her reflection longing for a way out and a transformation of present society to a world where she can break free from this rigid exterior and performance and display her true emotions the beau monde had forced her to closet.

What I love about the Twenties youth is how they rejected the generations that came before, abandoning antecedent attitudes and freed themselves of prior constrictions of youth.

This Kate Moss for Topshop flapper dress adorns my wardrobe but I have just been unable to wear it despite owning it for a couple of years now (the label is still attached). It is one of my most treasured items but the length just makes me feel so fraught with unease that I haven't been able to wear it outside the confines of my bedroom walls. 

I hope one day to build up the courage and embrace the spirit of Twenties youth, pump it through my veins and step out in this coruscating number and maybe even indulge in the Charleston.