Long Time, No Speak

forgive me father, for i have sinned. busy busy busy!
back monday with a killer post of the last fortnight.

I Hate Mondays

top - Topshop

cardigan - sister's (Primark)

cut-offs - handmedowns

bag - thrifted

scarf (worn as bow) - thrifted

i don't really like brown very much, except in leather. nor do i like beige. however, the cardigan is sparkly so technically it's gold. and the brown...well, it was the first thing i fell into when i rolled out of bed.

my sister came home for the weekend, and now she's gone back to london. she drew herself in comic strip form to keep me company.
tomorrow is my best friend's 18th birthday as well as the day my parents go away to the lake district, and also the night my sister and i are going out for a meal. i have two art books to return to the library. i'm meant to be helping a boy friend shop for a shirt. i've got a driving lesson on friday morning and work on saturday.

this week is my last week in college, and there's so much to do that i keep forgetting what i'm doing and when.
we have lessons until thursday and then our prom is on friday. still no shoes.


boot update: the stretchers are in place and hopefully doing their job. right now, i have my boots on my windowsill. i figure, if i can't wear them then i can at least look at them every day. they really remind me of another R&B pair...
old school.

p.s. HOORAY FOR THE CLOTHES HORSE!

Shiny, shiny...

i went shopping for shoes for prom, and found these russell&bromley boots instead.they are just a little too small for my size 7 1/2 feet, but i couldn't let that stop me. so i borrowed vicky's shoe stretchers - they look like some kind of 17th century torture device.

it reminded me of a funny feet-related post by the whimsical nerd a few weeks back.

i got another pretty little treat as well. my boyfriend bought me this necklace, against my will might i add. we were meant to be suit shopping but ended up at the fashion market, and one thing led to another...

i think i might love it even more than i love checks.

boots - Oxfam

necklace - Me&Yu

blouse - vintage shop

Fateful Napkin

yesterday at lunch, in Pret A Manger in piccadilly gardens, manchester....

i was handed this:

as i was about to wipe the remnants of jalapeno chicken wrap off my face with it, i realised; it's actually prophetic. the main thing on my menu for summer (in regards to wardrobe, not cuisine) is CHECKS. as soon as i cottoned on, i was seeing checks everywhere. the big lumberjack-looking guy on the train, the girl waiting for a taxi at morrison's...i get home and watch Mallrats and there's brody a.k.a. jason lee, in bed with a checked duvet!

i checked out my wardrobe and realised just how many checked items i own. there's my favourite little tartan mini skirt, the red and black bargain from Asda's boys' section, a customised green granny skirt, my secondhand plaid shirt, two scarves, a bag...

maybe i need to check myself into rehab. or just wear it all at once!

pictures: fabric from my sewing box

Yesterday...

FIONA

top - H&M

skirt and belt - thrifted

socks - Ambleside

shoes - Doc Martens

bow - pretty coffee bag ripped into a rag

NICOLA

top - H&M

jeans and jacket - Topshop

shoes - New Look

hairband - on her travels, in an airport

Watch The Birdie

clothes - Portugal

belt - mine!

necklace - Topshop

later this evening: vicky visited.
she came.

she saw my prom dress.

she conquered the vile stripey trilby that lives on top of my wardrobe.
now, i am off to make purses. if i can find any zips...

p.s. mum told me about a programme on radio4, about The Dockside Dandies, a bunch of boys in the 1950s and 1960s who earnt up to £30 a week (£500 today) and, being too young to squander it on alcohol, spent it all on more fashionable pursuits. click here to visit artist Peter Wiley's website, and find out more about these dashing young devils.

La-croc-ste

my daddy wears lacoste, my daddy plays guitar.

hectic week! and it's only wednesday. we performed our Midsummer Night's Dream piece tonight - could have gone better...i also handed in my 3000 word personal study for medieval history about women and heresy, paid off my prom, and managed to fit in some sunbathing somewhere.
yesterday night, my big sister sophie came over and made us nachos and enchiladas, the best thing ever to come home to after a long hard rehearsal.
ah well, all done. now i've just got five exams to sit, and then summer can begin properly.

fiona t-shirt - boyfriend's

sophie t-shirt - mum's

fiona shorts - (other) sister's

sophie shorts - Asda

fiona sunglasses - Topshop

sophie hairband - H&M

fiona earrings - Lady Luck Rules Ok

fiona tights - Asda

(i've got a bit of a backlog of pictures, they'll all turn up sooner or later)

Giz Your Credit Card

after getting a phonecall from a friend late last night, i was picked up sometime around 11.30pm and proceeded to drink cider in their garden until the early hours. mittens the cat was kind enough to sleep on my head whilst i was stupid enough to leave the blinds open, meaning i woke up in sunshine at 6am.
tonight i decided to do some online shopping, or should i say online window shopping as i am currently credit card-less and probably will remain so until i am responsible - see me never having a credit card.
i was meant to go into town today to shop properly, but everyone was busy. i ended up going to yorkshire to see my family anyway, which was lovely.

uncommongoods.com is a website that specialises in recycled products, and as i was searching through jewellery, i really liked most of the Kathy Bransfield pieces (except the price tag), specifically the oscar wilde quote necklaces - if only they didn't have those hideous asterix/rectangle charms! the "remember what's important" necklace was even better; i really like trees at the moment, probably because it's summertime again and therefore time to climb. i keep seeing people popping up in the same perfect tree print t-shirt. downside? it's from primark.

lazyoaf.com is a uk-based brand, completely unpretentious and a firm favourite of mine. i began my oaf-session (pardon the pun) a couple of years ago with this little beauty which has never let me down, and then i joined it with t-shirt number 2 that i took on holiday with me. how hilarious am i. i have another one from the oafette range, turquoise with a faux bow, but still am not satisfied! my next victim is lined up... the trashy vamp lips tee in purple.

twitch vintage is an ebay shop (she's also on myspace: /twitchvintage) that sells some beautiful clothes, lots pretty cheap for what they are, and updates with new auctions every twitch tuesday. the diversity of the items she has makes it feel more like a pick and mix than anything - you've got to sort through all the different eras, styles, colours, prints, shapes...just to find what you'd most like to bid on.
this week it's time to join the navy - i'm in love with her tent dress and crocheted sunshift, as well as the ruffle dress (black not navy, and a little slutty, but still stunning).

heidi seeker is a bit nuts, i can't look at the site for too long or my eyes start watering and i want to lie down in a darkened room with muted floral wallpaper to counter-act its loud colours and juxtaposing patterns. one thing i've had my eye on for ages is the mini boombox bag that comes with working speakers. i know it's tacky, and the sound quality would be horrendous, and technically, i'd be no better than someone who walks around with their phone blasting out tunes...
but I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT.

Who?

i defy anyone to dislike the deyn.

Play Time

today i wore the playsuit.

for a long long time, it has been hanging in my sister's abandoned wardrobe, calling out for a willing wearer.

i had it with tights and a top underneath at college, i don't like showing that much skin to that many teenagers...

it doesn't matter that it makes me look a bit like a pin up crossed with a little girl going to nursery because it was so much fun to run around with it on in the

sunshine! we sat on the field all day on a blanket, did handstand competitions for a while and then i sold some jewellery.

when i came home, i did some gardening with my mum. we planted cabbages, strawberries, rosemary, thyme and tomatoes. now, we're having sausages and rice pudding for tea and later i'm sorting out my costume for a drama piece based on A Midsummer Night's Dream. our dress rehearsal is tomorrow; oh dear.

don't worry, melanie, i was very careful.

Victorious

so, i have a friend and she went to a wedding.

beforehand, she was having a semi-crisis in finding something to wear. vicky isn't very conventional and likes to where what she wants whenever she wants, which meant she had to find something she wanted to wear that wouldn't upstage the bride or upset the groom.

in the end, her outfit probably did both, and more. in the most fabulous way possible.

dress - Edinburgh

jacket - The Loft

gloves - John Lewis

shoes - Harlot

necklace - family jewellery

corsage - made by her grandma

hat - Gill Parkin Designs

a charming child told her she didn't like her hat. i think it's better than ten million feather fascinators put together. gill parkin is a friend of vicky's mum, and lives really near us. weirdly, i once did a catering job for her husband's birthday and waited on her dinner party. then a few months later, i was handing out her business cards at my sister's fashion event!

vicky also modelled some shoes for me yesterday, they came in the bag full of things ella gave me. sadly, they're two sizes too small for my feet, but there's something really striking about them, no?


shoes - Asda

Le petit déjeuner

tulips

surprise

peas

goose eggs

yolk

bacon

TGIFriday

who doesn't love it when friday finally rolls around? my friday was particularly fun this week.

i finished college at lunchtime, and went to get my undercut put back in by my friend emma and her boyfriend dannie. they do a very good job, pictures to follow. then i got the bus home and met my friend ella who is moving and getting rid of lots of clothes. before we went through them, we bought sandwiches at Tesco and discovered golden syrup sponge ice cream - new favourite flavour, mmm!

in the carpark, i found a pair of flattened glasses in the road.

i don't wear glasses but it's fun looking at everything differently. finding these made me wonder who they belonged to before they got run over. were they thrown away or lost? does their owner miss them, or have they been replaced with a pair of designer frames? i'll find something to do with them. after the ice cream binge, we sorted through the handmedowns ella's giving me and jewellery she doesn't want anymore, and then played with doug, her dog.

top and skirt - Topshop
tights - H&M
boots - Next via eBay

necklace - Bank

bone necklace and bone ring (not shown) - Spain

afterwards, i went home, got changed and then went to a housewarming party. my friend lisa recently moved in just around the corner from me. everyone was going into town afterwards, and they were dressed accordingly, in sequins and stars...

paying attention to the details...

and getting spectacularly smashed.

or perhaps that was just me.
thank god for friday. only six more days until the next...