A Dress of Unknown Origins

A little outfit post today. After a bit of charity shop racking I found this dress in Oxfam, it cost the grand total of £4 and has a lovely red print on a white background. The thing is, it has no size, no tags at all and no signs of where one may have been take out, which makes me wonder, was it hand made?

It is really difficult to date too as it has no zip or labels just the little buttons on the front, it feels like a cotton fabric though, if that makes much difference.

Yes that is my cat photo-bombing me.

 I teamed the dress with a red thin belt to give a bit of contrast at the waist and  pair of Swedish Clogs. I can't believe how long it took me to discover that this type of shoe exists, they are simply gorgeous and they have orthopaedic soles which is really important for me and my rubbish joints.

Lastly I also wore the Dita wig that I mentioned in an earlier post to at a bit of glamour and added a pair of 50s style sunnies from Accessorize that I got a few years ago.

Have you seen a dress like this? Can you make a guess of where its from or who it might have been made by? I'd love to know!

A Red Sun Dress for the Durham Miners Gala 2013

And the heat goes on (haha, that was a pun... sorry).

The week before last I went to the Durham Miners Gala. It was a beautiful day for it, but I can't imaging how hot some of those people playing in the brass bands or carrying the banners must have been.

If you don't know the Miners Gala is a event that occurs every year in Durham, it is a chance for all the different workers unions to get together as a celebration of unity and a little bit of socialism I suppose. I don't really know enough about the history of the pits and the gala to give any in depth explanation of the event, but it seems to be something a lot of local communities get involved in (more info here).

It was super busy as you can see from these photos (taken by my Dad)!

 

 The different groups bring banners and bands through the roads in Durham and march towards the racecourse where I believe they have political speakers and a bit of a party. My family and I ventured into town to and looked at the banners and listened to lots of the bands.

I did manage to steal away from the crowds to have a moment of quiet and a photograph in a fairly desserted back street.

I decided to wear a red sun dress from Monsoon - one of this seasons anniversary collection that celebrates 40 years of the brand - and reminds me a lot of those boho dresses from the 1970s. Perfect for a hot summer.

Here's a closer shot of the dress too:

I'm just about finished work and packing for now until I move back to the south so I am very grateful to have a bit of time to relax in the sunshine...

Review: Getting Wiggy With It - With Wonderland Wigs

A little while ago I received message asking me if I would like to review* a wig from the online company Wonderland Wigs. Clearly this was an opportunity I could not pass up as wigs play important role i every fancy dressers wardrobe.

I was able to pick any wig from their site, and there is pretty much everything you could possibly want in a wig, from realistic styles and extensions to bright blue and pink numbers. The question was, what to pick?

I used to have a bit of a ritual when it comes to my hair, where I'd let it grow for a while, then get bored and get it cut short. However lately I feel pretty settled with the length, unusual I know. My husband and I first met when I was in the shoulder scraping length of the growing out phase and he keeps saying I should get it cut shorter again. But I don't want to...

This is how my hair used to look

So the decision became super obvious, I would get a short retro style wig!

I chose the 'dita' which is inspired by one of Dita Von Teese's shorter styles, I was a little reserved about choosing a wig without a fringe as the line where the wig meets the forehead can be a little strange. But what better chance to try it out than this.

The wig arrived in excellent time and well wrapped, the package even came with a lolly pop in it. I have never owned a wig cap, and Wonderland were kind enough to send me a cap in the package too although I'm not sure it was really necessary, especially since it was little more than a cut off stocking. The first challenge was tucking all my hair under the cap, something I could not manage without a the help of a few bobby pins but once it was secure I was ready to try the wig.

Sexy and I know it...

The wig was a little tricky to get into place, as most are, but once it was on and fastened (it has two little bits that clip together at the back) it seemed fairly sturdy. I gave the wig a quick brush, and it did not shed much which I think is the sign of a good quality wig, and the style fell into place perfectly.

I think had I not had a fringe the front would have sat a little better on my forehead  but I think it was only a small niggle with the wig. There was plenty of hair woven through it and I felt that the back had really good coverage too which is rare in a short style.

Overall I think the wig was pretty good, and comparable with the prices of wigs I see on eBay and the cost it is worth it for a brush-able style with good coverage. But really I'm super excited that I get to have short hair every now and again and I won't need to get it cut! Always a bonus :)

If you wanted a wig like this it costs £24.99 and it is available from Wonderland Wigs along with so many others.

Let me know if you have ever got wiggy with it!

*In exchange for a wig that was sent to me free of charge

My first wrap dress... for a very long time

Wow what a heatwave we seem to be having!

I hope you are all enjoying the warm weather and I hope it continues for a little while longer at least. It can make up for all that rain last year around this time.

Anywho, I went down south for a training day at my new job and I stopped off briefly at Brighton to catch up with a few friends. During the visit I decided to wear a wrap dress, which was possibly not the greatest choice as Brighton tends to be notoriously windy, especially by the beach.

The dress itself was bought from a charity shop and is probably from the 1980s based on the bright colours and styling. It is the first wrap dress I have bought in a very long time as I tend to find them a bit difficult to wear, they don't usually fit right around the bust and the waist, but I made an exception for this one as it seemed to hang quite well. It has a 50s style collar and is sleeveless so it is perfect for summer.

I decided to team it with a red cardigan and ballet pumps - both from M&S.

Oh yes, and that is the lovely Brighton Pavilion behind me!

...and finally

I also got a leopard print box-pleated midi skirt from a charity shop. The skirt wasn't so great but I liked the fabric and there was tonnes of it so I decided to cut it up and make it into a dress. I havent has a lot of time for sewing lately, but I did take a picture of the cut out pieces so that you could see the fabric. I'll post the finished thing eventually when I get it done.

Until then

Fabulous Folly in Forbidden Corner

My husband and I went on a little day trip to the Forbidden Corner in the Yorkshire Dales. It is a garden folly set against the beautiful backdrop of the countryside near Middleham. There is a lot to explore, with classical statues and fountains, lovely gardens, strange underground lairs, hedge mazes and a lot of areas to get completely lost in.

You can find more out about Forbidden Corner here.

So for a day exploring I chose my comfy standard casuals with my Vivien of Holloway jeans, Wonder Woman Converse and since I was going with the slightly rockabilly look, a classic red and white stripe tee.

Upon entering the labryrinth we were given a non-linear map filled with picture clues to guide us on our journey. We were also given a sheet with blank circles so we could do brass rubbings of secret panels hidden throughout the park. By ticking everything off the map and getting all the brass rubbings, you could be (almost) sure that you had seen everything.

We snuck through the entrance door straight into the mouth of a belching castle - charming! But beyond this there were so many other things to see:

A beautiful herb garden with a dancing frog fountain and secret doors:

Some bears playing poker, many of them cheating, badly:

Woodland walks:

Classical architecture, underground secrets and passages and stepping stones with a super soggy surprise:

There were a lot of statues and carvings, and while you may be tempted to think that this place is probably for kids, there is a distinct undertone of adult humour to the whole place... naughty!

 Oh yeah, there were also a lot of ducks and ducklings in the picnic area - so cute!!!

Outfit: Fossil Hunting at Robin Hood's Bay

Since everything has gone fossil and dinosaur mad at my work I decided to re-live some of my youth with a trip to Robin Hood's Bay to hunt for fossils. It's not the best place to look for fossils as the stone there is very fragile, but you can usually find small shells fossils and other things if you're lucky.

I wasn't exactle dressed super appropriately for fossil hunting, and I did spend a lot of time afraid I was going to get wet shoes, but what I did wear was a lovely 1980s floral navy tea dress I bought in a charity shop for £2.50 the previous day. It is drop waist with a belt that ties around the waist. I also wore a cardigan I got in the Monsoon sale last year. I think the salmon colour is a little odd, but it goes with a surprisingly large amount of things.

I didn't exactly have a lot of luck looking for fossils, but it was fun cracking open rocks on the beach.

To make up for the bad luck, we ventured into the Yorkshire Coast Dinosaur and Fossil Museum. Although like everything in Robin Hood's Bay it is tiny, filled with second hand books and is a little dusty. That doesn't mean that its not super interesting!

A couple of things from the museum/shop, some ammonites, the skull of a tarbosaurus, some claws (of some type of dinosaur I have forgotten) and a lot of types of precious rocks, semi precious stones and pretty jewellery.

We finished the day with some chips... naturally.

What is the best fossil you've found?