Today’s post is all about taking risks, not playing by your rules and giving something else a go. Take these photos as an example – this is the first grungy outfit that I have worn in a long time; my hair is swept dramatically to one side; and I am standing in a park experimenting with sunlight to create beautiful imagery rather than just standing on a street.
I would not say that I have one particular style. I love the retro sixties and seventies; I like minimal, basic looks and, like in this outfit, I am into a bit of grunge. I think that is what fashion – and indeed life – is all about. It is fun to mix up personal style, try new things and take risks. Although today’s outfit does not seem super risky, it is different for me because I hardly ever wear figure hugging dresses and I am normally hiding behind my big floppy fringe. It is a funny story about the different hair here really – I was basically just so hot and flustered getting ready for this shoot that I shoved my hair to the side and actually really liked it (but don’t worry, I won’t be getting rid of the fringe just yet).
I guess I am thinking a lot about taking risks at the moment. Lewis and I are currently in Bristol, in limbo, trying to decide our next life move. Last March, we applied for Working Holiday Visas for Canada and after a long wait, we finally got them in October. I feel that it will be such a risk to move to Canada because we do not know what the job market is like over there and we do not know anyone. I also feel like I am getting on a bit – I know, 26 (and a half) is not old but as a woman, my body is a ticking bomb and I need to work out what I am doing with my life! On the other hand, what is life without risks and travel and experiences? If it doesn’t work out, then we can just come back. Nothing is permanent, nothing is wrong and everything can be positive if you have the right attitude.
Am I talking about a super random mix of things in this post? I apologise if you are confused – fashion, life, what?! Sometimes, it is good to get things out, written down and perhaps someone will understand my ramblings.
An Everyday Look
Today’s outfit is very much an everyday look, made all the more special by these silver boots. I usually share my more thought out looks on here but this is what I threw on to go for girlie drinks last week and I really like it!
YouTube: ASOS Haul And Try On Part One
Happy Sunday everyone! Today on YouTube I am back with a good, old fashioned ASOS haul video. I recently did a HUGE ASOS order so I have decided to split this haul into two videos. Here is the first featuring the more summery items and please tune back in in two weeks for part two talking about more transitional pieces as by then we will be moving out of summer territory, sob.
A Real Vintage Floral Tea Dress
Je suis une entasseuse compulsive complètement – je ne sais pas si vous êtes pareil?! J’avoue que mes placards sont pleins, mes tiroirs sont pleins et il y a trop de boîtes qui contiennent mes affaires dans le grenier et la cave de mon père – il me demande depuis longtemps de trier mes affaires. Je suis terrible à jeter des choses, je pense toujours ‘peut-être je rentrai dedans ceci à l’avenir’ ou ‘peut-être je peux vendre ceci’ ou même ‘peut-être mes enfants aimeront ça’.
Cependant, j’étais super contente d’être une entasseuse compulsive quand j’ai trouvé cette robe Laura Ashley que ma mère portait il y a trente ans! Quand j’étais adolescente, j’ai sauvé cette robe de notre boîte de déguisement d’enfance, raccourci l’ourlet et la gardé parmi d’autres pièces géniales. Je l’avais oubliée complètement mais maintenant je la donne un nouveau souffle.
Those Silver Boots That I Always Wanted
I recently read a great piece on SHOT FROM THE STREET which really spoke to me about the consumerist world we live in. The blog’s author, Lizzy, interviewed stylist, presenter and shop owner Grace Woodward who spoke about micro trends and how “they befuddle who you are. Fashion is destabilising to make people buy, they consume more and more because they feel lost.” I really relate to this idea, not because that is exactly how I act, but for two contrasting reasons.
Firstly, I am someone who is unable to buy as many clothes as she may want. My budget simply does not allow for it but also I am a thrifter at heart, who loves finding unique pieces for a fraction of high street prices. Secondly, I am certainly not an impulse buyer and I obsess over items I have seen for weeks, sometimes even months, wondering whether I could afford it or would I really wear it. Woodward backs the old fashioned idea of saving up for those special pieces that you really want rather than buying into every single trend that comes and goes so quickly and may not always be really ‘you’.
These Office silver boots are certainly having their ‘moment’ with loads of bloggers wearing them or their rose gold/white/black/glitter equivalents and indeed as soon as I saw them a few months ago, I fell in love. In fact, I wanted silver ankle boots exactly like this way before these came out – it’s as if the Office shoe designers climbed into my head and then produced my dream boots. In typical indecisive, money-saving Izzie fashion, I have been ‘umming and arring’ over purchasing them for months but I finally did last week. And it felt great. This was not a case of following a micro trend, nor a case of buying them because my favourite bloggers are wearing them. No. I bought them because I had been thinking about them for months, imagining them looking perfect with pieces I already had in my wardrobe and knowing that they were really ‘me’.
So let’s all just calm down – we do not need to have something just because it is ‘in’. I have not bought into the off the shoulder trend because I don’t think it suits me, nor did I buy those gorgeous pastel pink Dr Martens from their SS16 collection that I lusted over for just a day. Stay true to yourself and save up for those special pieces that you cannot stop thinking about – it will always be much more rewarding.
Récemment, j’ai lu un article génial qui m’a vraiment parlé sur le blog SHOT FROM THE STREET concernant ce monde consumériste dans lequel on habite. L’auteur du blog, Lizzy, a interviewé Grace Woodward (styliste, présentatrice et propriétaire d’une boutique) qui lui a parlé des petites tendances qui “nous brouillent. La mode nous déstabilise pour que les gens achètent, ils consomment plus parce qu’il se sentent perdu.” Je comprends très bien cette idée, non parce que j’agis comme cela, mais pour deux raisons opposées.
Premièrement, je ne peux pas acheter autant de vêtements que je veux vraiment. Je ne peux pas à cause de mon budget mais aussi parce que j’économise et j’aime bien trouver des bons affaires et des pièces uniques. Deuxièmement, je ne suis pas une acheteuse impulsive – je fais une fixation sur une/des pièce(s) pendant des semaines ou même des mois, je me demande si j’ai assez d’argent pour l’acheter ou si je porterais souvent telle pièce. Woodward est pour la vieille idée qu’il faut économiser bien pour acheter des pièces spéciales au lieu d’acheter tous le temps de chaque petite tendance qui vient et part vite et qui n’est pas toujours vraiment ‘vous’.
C’est vrai que ces bottines argenté de chez Office sont super populaires en ce moment. Il y a plein de blogeuses qui les portent ou qui portent l’équivalent en rose doré/blanc/noir/paillettes et je vous avoue que je suis tombée amoureuse quand je les ai vues pour la première fois il y a quelques mois. En fait, ça fait plus longtemps que quelques mois que je voulais des bottines argentées – je pense que les stylistes de bottines chez Office ont lu dans mes pensées! Comme d’habitude, comme une personne indécise qui économise, je les ai achetées seulement la semaine dernière après des mois et des mois! Et je suis super contente. Je ne les ai pas achetées pour suivre une tendance ou parce que mes blogeuses préférées les ont. Non. Je les ai achetées parce que ça fait des mois que je les en pense, que je les imagine dans mes tenues et que je sais qu’elles sont vraiment mon style.
Donc, il faut nous calmer – nous ne devons pas avoir une pièce juste parce qu’elle est super tendance. Moi, je ne porte pas la tendance “off the shoulder” parce qu’elle ne me va pas et je n’ai pas acheté les Dr Martens rose pastel dont j’en ai pensé pendant qu’une journée. Restez vous-même et économisez pour ces pièces spéciales dont vous ne pouvez pas arrêtez de penser – comme cela c’est plus gratifiant.





















