denim.

today, i'm wearing jeans.

as you may be aware, i'm not a jeans person. i own 3 pairs - all skinny; one grey, one dark blue and high waisted, one black. i'm on the hunt for some pale blue ones on ebay, but they've got to be perfect.

but that's beside the point.

the black jeans are my favourite by a mile - they're topshop, and they came with a label that said 'ankle skimmers', or something, which i assume means they're supposed to be considerably shorter then they are. on me, they are the perfect length (although i love when skinny jeans are too long and they crumple up at my ankle).

the thing about me and jeans is how i wear them. i don't mean what i wear them with, although that's part of it. i mean, my "relationship with denim" as it were.

jeans are my lazy outfit. since i pretty much never dress down, jeans are my 'lazing round the house' clothes. they are my jogging bottoms. unless i'm being really lazy and wearing pyjamas all day, jeans are my go to. they look good and they make me feel good, but they require absolutely zero effort.

today, for example, i am hungover. well, not anymore, but i was earlier. and, as such, putting effort into an outfit, or indeed, anything, is a bit of a push. i know i have to leave the house later, so, the black jeans plus a slouchy, stripy jumper is an outfit i'm not ashamed to be seen out in but is also the epitome of 'thrown on'.

course, that suggests that any other outfit is born of a time consuming, labour intensive thought process, but the difference between the two is, at most, some standing about in front of my mirror.

no need for mirrors today.

throw on some shoes - anything black, with any height of heel, or even NONE AT ALL, works particularly well. or a chunky boot. the tan chelsea boots i'm hoping don't get expensive on ebay would be great - and maybe some jewellery and a 'chic' outfit is born.

chic. what a horrible word.

luke is moving out today. ;__;

lights.

so, this is the new interpol video.

arty, graphic, and a bit weird. but stylish. and cool. and with black leather, pvc, and paint clad....scientists...with YSL a/w08 hair.

i don't know about you, but i have the biggest urge to dip various body parts in paint right now.

great video; nothing to do with the song. an interpol staple, then.

and of course, you can preorder the album and see the tracklist and whatnot

/end of 'pol fangirling

black and blue.

thrifted blazer+skirt//topshop crop top//H&M necklace//Garage shoes//various rings

friday night's 90s flavoured outfit. bought the top in topshop earlier in the day... not in the sale... sigh.

i only went in to pay some of my bill off; typically.

now now, there's only a couple of days left to vote for blog of the month so do get on it, yesyes?

tales from the riverbank.

lazy sunday blogging. yesterday - lunch, then a walk to the park which ended in a stroll down to the river with the boys catching fish in empty drinks bottles and me ambling across the river to sit on a tree. enjoy?

all the pics are from Thomas' phone....

just keep swimmin'.

swimming is fun, right?
i mean, exercise is generally encouraged, and swimming, cycling or walking is about as much as i can muster.
but - and given this is the season for that sort of thing - finding decent swimwear is harder than you'd think.
the criteria?

- affordable
- not too similar to those i already own (one royal blue knot front/cut out Topshop one piece, one black bikini made from H&M high waisted bottoms and a Topshop halter top)
- preferably something in a stripe, an interesting pattern or a khaki/coral/something like that block colour. must be nice, yknow? cut outs/interesting details preferred in one pieces, so as not to be too 'stuffy', or something.
- and (most importantly) be suitable for ACTUALLY SWIMMING IN.

because, as it goes, a large number of swimwear available that fit the first 3 points are suitable only for lounging by the pool.
i am not a lounger.
i don't tan; i burn.
also, i'm not going on holiday any time soon.

so, internet, do your worst:

topshop

as evidenced by my current arsenal, topshop is my go-to. these are the nicest looking on the TS site right now, but i doubt either of them would sufficiently secure the girls while doing lengths. I'm not a big fan of the style of bikini top where the cups are attached to the string but free to move around. because move around they will, and exposing oneself in Byker pool is not at all desirable.

river island

river island (the store), i do not like. i don't know what it is about the north east stores, but they cool stuff from the website never makes it's way there, while the orange hued folk of the north do. in droves. the site though, has good stuff.

my point is, i saw none of these in the newcastle store today but they are varying degrees of awesome. i'd be in love with the second one if it weren't so eye-searingly pink; and the last one if it weren't £60.

side note: river island's shoe department is like a sea of catwalk rip offs. good ones, like, but i could literally walk through it going "miu miu, alexander wang, burberry..."

need supply

need supply is normally a little high priced but these pieces aren't too bad (the first - from cheap monday, is in the sale for $30. i forget how much the second one is, but its from label 'insight' which is pretty cool - see below)

this is another problem i encounter. much like high street bras - hey Topshop; H&M; et al; your bras are gorgeous, a lot of the time, but i'm sure you are losing thousands of customers by stopping at a D cup. isn't the UK average a C? shouldn't you at least consider a range for larger busted ladies? just a thought.

the cheap monday bikini top looks snug on the model; i can't imagine how i'd ever fit into it (see also: american apparel)

and so, to asos.

i was sure i'd been on there earlier and not seen anything, but in writing this post found a bunch of great options.

above are pieces from Mango, two more from Insight (which are way better than the need supply option IMO) and two options from asos' own range.

print!

decent coverage!

the coral asos one is, i think, in the sale, and has the desired cut outs, but this option is cheaper and ticks all the boxes:

asos

ok, ALMOST all the boxes (note the free-to-move cup/strap design. noooooo!) - but it IS khaki with gold accents, with decent straps and plentiful cups, and is under £25 for both pieces. oh, and it comes in a coral-y shade, which is even cheaper.

making a comeback.

i've gone all 40s. which wasn't part of the plan.

it's the hat.

the comeback I speak of = formal hats.
part outfit post, part DIY.

thrifted leopard dress//topshop boutique skirt//vintage jacket+belt (gift off Ana...)//peacocks shoes//various rings//thrifted+DIYd hat

if in doubt, dress it down with a denim jacket...

you may remember my buying this hat on a whim way back when I had blonde hair. it went with the outfit the day I bought it; it was £4 in a charity shop. I don't think I wore it again other than in that pic.

it (along with a whole bunch of stuff) have been in my DIY pile for months, but last night I had an hour to kill and it was on top of the pile.

essentially, alls I did was cut off the wide brim and concertina-d it and stitched that to hold the shape, then stitched it to the bit of brim I'd left on.

if I wear it forward it looks like a baseball cap...I shall not be wearing it like this. but with the brim at the back or side; vair cute.

such an easy DIY (no need for good sewing, as long as it's held in place and you use the same colour thread...), perfect for weddings or other such formal occasions. or, y'know, everyday.

shortsuit.

vintage/thrifted blazer+silk blouse//vintage shoes//primark shorts//H&M necklace

lots of outfit posts of late; which is strange cos I'm not really going anywhere. post office; morrisons; ikea. maybe town. *shrug*
anyways, obvs this isn't a suit but it passes as one, and I'm quite down with it.
you might've noticed Elaine Benes of Seinfeld fame has taken over Little My of Moomins fame in the sidebar there > ...then note my buttoned up shirt.
high necks don't often work with me but this gets a pass, ouioui?

I had a dream I was in Inglourious Basterds last night. I've never seen it. WTF.

there's still a voting situation here should you be feelin' it

pink et green.

I've seen a few people trying out gem fatale's leopard nails of late. as much as I lovelovelove leopard print - much more than is appropriate - leopard nails are a bit fussy for my nail tastes. that said, I thought mebs I'd try some stuff out...

so...pale pink with moss green tips.

love this colour combo quite a lot. 3 layers of the pale pink, then the green tips, then another layer of pink. the pink is really pale but 4 layers has made it really stand out.

miraculously every nail is still in tact after I took my bike wheel off, changed the inner tube, and put it back on today, too.

I was gonna do thin stripes but that would take much more patience than I could muster, so tips are about as far as I'm going. a take on the classic french manicure (...is what I would say if this were a press release)

you can see my new desk, a bit.

it's like learning a new language.

I don't know what, exactly, is like learning a new language.

I doubt Paul Banks knows either.

he does have a habit of writing random lyrics.

maybe he means outfit posts?

part grunge, part country gent. it's funny what a tweed jacket and a scarf with pheasants on it will do for an outfit.

ancient H&M jacket+vest+necklace//thrifted mesh jumper//AA dress as skirt

//Henry Holland tights//New Look shoes//vintage scarf I stole off Aaron

clearly a highly approps outfit for Ikea shopping in. we were the tweed army. well, me and Luke both had tweed jackets on, and Josh's jumper was a similar colour so....

anyways, I got a new desk. and I am sitting at it AS WE SPEAK.

and then I had to make space for it so I got rid of one of my drawer sets, so a whole bunch of random crap got thrown out.

goodbye old scraps of fabric/random museum leaflets/old body moisturisers I haven't ever and don't plan on ever using. why is it you end up with so many tubs of moisturiser? I don't think I've ever bought it, cos I always end up with about 50 tubs when birthdays and christmases come round.

mebs I'll show you the desk sometime, but until then you should do some voting

sea within a sea.

mm, Horrors title.
which is kind of approps, since this graduate collection could almost be the get-up of a lady-Horror. maybe. if the Horrors were from the 90s. maybe.
=/.

given my 'wooo the 90s!*' stance right now, and also the thoughts of 'argh i'll be a graduate this time next year wtfffff' and 'oh god i have to do a collection, i should really be doing my sketchbooks right now' that pop up on a daily basis, any graduate collection which includes 90s influences appeals instantly.
well, i'm automatically interested in any graduate collection, just to see what i've got to live up to, but ones I love are even better, if more intimidating.
this is all a roundabout way of saying, "hey, check out Westminster graduate Hannah Sea's collection, dude."

woah, back up now - sheer, fuzzy, awesome proportions, great details (button up centre back on a skirt, yessum), check prints that are tartans, but not quite. smoky tartans? idk. the boots and bags are awesome too:

if you've been reading this blog for a while (and I know a bunch of y'all haven't - hey new followers, btw, I just hit 60 ^_^), you'll know how big a fan of fash illustrations I am, which is why I love graduate 'season' so much - LOTS of grad collections find their way to the internet/blogs with their portfolio images attached. it just so happens that Hannah's are wonderful:

pic-a-tures from style bubble

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*woo to anything 90s, really. i was gonna say grunge but it's not that limited. also woo the 70s and woo 80s punk/goth styles, too. some sort of mix of the three. idk.

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heyheyheyhey >>>> vote