Feeling Autumnal

Last post I mentioned that I’d bought a new dress – well this is it! I finally caved and bought the polka dot Zara dress, and do I regret it? Not one bit! I do think their sizing is a little bit dodgy though, and I don’t even mean about the fact that they only sell this dress in Medium… but it does seem a little small to be classed as that size , although I don’t really shop at Zara that much so I’m not sure whether it’s just just dress or a general thing!

For £19.99 this was a must have… and particularly since I’ve now put myself on a three month shopping ban (wish me luck people!) I’m really glad I bought this! The burnt orange colour is gorgeous for Autumn; I think its really cool to reflect nature’s seasonal shades through fashion, don’t you?

Like every other blogger out there, I’ve developed a new crush on Zara since they launched their online store, but I do think some of the pieces are a little pricey for my liking. That’s not to say I wouldn’t buy myself a nice camel cape if I had the funds, but hey… I will still live a happy life without one!

I’ve been feeling rally lethargic lately, since the cold weather started to set in, which is why I’ve been a bit useless with outfit posts; it can be quite hard setting up a tripod when you risk frostbite! I guess I’ll be asking my housemate Sian to photograph for me more often from now on, haha. I’ll make sure I do a proper outfit post next time I wear this so you can see the rest of it!

Hope you’re all well! Is anyone going to the Britain’s Next Top Model Live event this weekend?
Kisses xxx

Bag Lady

Hello everyone! Sorry if I’ve been a bit quiet lately – I’m not losing interest in blogging, I’m just spending more time doing other things, like chilling out time with my housemates, going out, and getting on with work, that’s all! : )

I’m sorry to say I don’t have a twin, although I’ve always wanted one… so don’t be fooled. I’m doing a styling project at the moment, which is turning out to be quite fun! On Friday I got to dress up in nomadic inspired outfits for a Stylathon we did, as you can see. I don’t usually wear leaves in my hair! Haha. I look like I’ve ran through a wardrobe, and picked up all kinds of clothes on the way through, don’t you think? I felt like Little Red Riding Hood hobo edition in the second outfit!

Its such a strange thought to me, that I used to want to be a stylist, because it really is a very hard job, and one which is almost impossible to make good money from. Thats not to say that it can’t be done, of course… but to any of you who wish to go into styling, I’d really encourage you to showcase your ‘works’ on a blog, because its a great way to get exposure, and get your work out there without spending much money at all – and also a really good way to show your enthusiasm for the subject to any potential employers who may be out there! : )

I took a trip into London the other day, and made some purchases – one of which you’ll be seeing very soon! Studying Fashion at University is really evil, because we are always studying the latest trends and whatnot, and yet we have no money to buy any of them… I’m sure some of you will feel my pain! So from now, I’m on a shopping ban… watch this space, we’ll see how long that one lasts, haha. Perhaps you’ll be seeing me wearing leaves, conkers and all other kinds of ‘free’ things more often? That could be interesting.

For now, over and out, and back to work… sob. Love! xxx

A Gothic Romance

Photography by Ellen Rogers

I’m currently doing a styling project at university at the moment, which means I have been looking through lots and lots of editorials, getting as much inspiration as possible – something which I’m really enjoying because I love fashion photography! This is the main reason why I have joined Tumblr (follow me if you like!); its a great place to store inspiration and beautiful photos – a godsend when, like me, you’re a bit wary of loading up your laptop with hundreds of files!

Today, we had some help from fab stylist Kim Howells, who has worked on various shoots for Dazed and Confused, as well as music videos and whatnot. Whilst giving my friend and I some tips for the shoot we’ll be doing in November, she showed us a shoot she had worked on for Piers Atkinson S/S 2011, which I have totally fallen in love with. The perfect mix of romance and gothic style (one of my absolute favourite combinations!) everything about this shoot is wonderfully like a dark fairytale. The perfect shoot for a closet-goth girl like me, haha : ) Isn’t the spidery head piece amazing?! If you’d like to see the rest of the set, you can view them here!

The main fun of photography has always been the oh-so-necessary Photoshopping session afterwards, which is another reason why I love this set. I don’t really like ‘straightforward’ photographs so much, and with all the technologies available to use today, I think people shouldn’t be scared to be a bit more experimental when it comes to post production! But that’s just my opinion; people are of course, free to create whatever they love – which is why the creative industries are so exciting to me!

Thanks again to all of you who continue to read my blog – I’m glad to be back, and am enjoying it more than ever, thanks in large part to all of you lovely people : ) take care everybody!

Blossom

Hello everyone! Is anyone else kind of secretly relieved that the fashion weeks have finished? Don’t get me wrong, I love looking through all of the new collections, and every season I fall in love with fashion all over again, but with so so many collections going up each day I find it impossible to keep up! So I’m kind of breathing a sigh of relief now…

I may post up a few of my favourite looks sometime soon, for the sake of future outfit inspirations (I so badly want to become more adventurous with my clothing choices!) although I won’t be attempting to ‘review’ any of the collections because there are already a plethora of coherant, descriptive articles written by people who got to attend the shows first hand, which I can’t possibly compete with!

I’m in no position to splash out on anything crazy right now, so I won’t be buying myself one of these beautiful feathery Chanel ensembles anytime soon… but I did buy this new duvet cover on a trip to Ikea earlier this week, what do you think? Its nice and flowery without being too grannyish, because as much as I love granny chic, as far as decorating goes I kind of like things to look a bit fresh and uncluttered still. Also, I have dust allergies, so I’m kind of scared to buy vintage duvets haha. It only cost £9.99 too which I think was a definite bargain : ) I love it! the best part was that it came with 4 pillowcases – leaving me 3 spare to make some bunting for my room, woohoo! The perfect solution to my ongoing decorating traumas. Time to wipe away those cobwebs from my sewing kit, haha.

As for this top, its nothing special, just an impulse buy from Primark – I used to ride horses when I was younger, which is why I liked the pattern, and for £6 I couldn’t resist! I really do like prints that involve animals right now, a la Miu Miu. I love the cat prints, so genius and undeniably cute! Anyway, I hope you’re all having a good week so far – sorry things have been a bit quiet the past few days!

Katie xxx

Perfectly Paisley

Is there anyone out there who doesn’t LOVE to feel nostalgic? The fact that I still listen to the same music I did when I was 15, the presence of toys from my childhood in my bedroom, and the fact that I can’t resist a paisley print when I see one is a testament to the fact that I just love to love nostalgia!

When I was younger I used to have silk paisley handkerchiefs, which is why I have such a love of the pattern – and also the reason why I just couldn’t leave Oxfam without this shirt. For just £5, I’d say that it was a pretty good bargain! Although it’s a little big for me, as you can probably see (its a men’s size L!) I’ll make allowances for that kind of thing when shopping vintage or in charity shops etc, because its not often you can find great pieces for such cheap prices. I really do enjoy rooting through racks of clothes in charity shops, and whilst I can’t deny that I still get a big thrill from looking through high street stores too, its a really great feeling to come across something unusual and unique which you have done some searching for! I’m also big on encouraging recycling, so I guess, for me at least, buying clothes second hand makes me feel as though I’m doing my bit to help the environment : )

Whilst on the topic of being green, I’ve found in the past that it can be quite hard to shop Fairtrade etc without compromising on style, which is why I really love Annie Greenabelle. There is something very Dahlia about many of the designs; flirty, retro and kitschy = a winning combination in my book, and slightly cheaper than Dahlia too. Here are some of my favourite pieces at the moment:

1, 2, 3.

Psst, there is a sale on at both sites – check them out!

Thanks to all of you who left really lovely positive comments last post – its really nice to know that some of you enjoy reading my ramblings and whatnot! There are plenty more to come, that’s for sure… haha. Take care everyone! Love xxx