Outfit of the Day: Spring in my step with a Cath Kidston dress

Is that spring I sense in the air? I hope so, I'm starting to get a little bit sick of winter tights.

Anywho, with a bit of nice weather my husband and I decided to go for a stroll about town while the gettin' was good.

For said stroll I decided to wear a lovely Cath Kidston tea dress I got from eBay a couple of weeks ago. I've never seen this style of dress before in CK and it was a bit more up my street than the usual tunic style peter pan collar dresses that are really popular.

Of course I bought it second hand for less than half the RRP.

It was super nice to be able to go out without a coat on too! The shoes were from Clarks last year and have lasted surprisingly well for ballet pumps. I was quite impressed. They have a little more cushioning than usual so they don't make me feet ache as much as the cheap ones tend to.

Look at this picture, there are actual SUN RAYS caught on film!

Last but not least is a make up close up (check out part of my fringe with a mind of its own in the wind!). I have been using MAC make up for a while now so managed to save up 6 empty things and I finally tried taking them into the shop to exchange for my free lipstick.

I chose the shade Dangerous as its a bit more of an orange tone than my usual Ruby Woo and I thought it would be nice for spring. It isn't quite as matt as Ruby, but it is pretty matt and it is by far the best orangey red I've ever tried.

What do you think?

Dress: Cath Kidston, via eBay

Shoes: Clarks

Pearls: Thrifted

Sunglasses: North Laines Brighton

 Can you feel spring in the air?

OOTD: A 1940s style M&S tea dress

Anyone that has spoken to me at any length about my favourite fashion in films will know I adore the Edge of Love. It is wonderful to look at and part of me wishes that I could dress like that every day. I do not think I would enjoy all the poet wife drama though.

A large portion of the outfits are vintage tea dresses and skirts like these:

As such I am a complete sucker for any kind of tea dress. I simply adore this one I found in M&S and I believe that it is still available now. It is black with a red, green and yellow floral print. There are gathered sections on the waist and a little keyhole detail on the neck. All in all I think it is pretty flattering! AND it's under £40.

My favourite thing about the dress is that the mixed coloured print means that it goes with almost anything. My green cardigan that has been such a favourite of late:

Or this vintage 100% wool jumper I got from a charity shop recently for a more casual look. Its so snuggly:

I also decided to wear the dress with some clogs. Ever since I got my Lotta's I have been pretty into clogs and I found this pair in Mind for a measly £5! They are barely worn which is pretty amazing. Since it is winter though, you can't really wear the clogs on their own, so I wore them with tights underneath. I think since they are closed toe you can get away with it, but I don't think I'd try it with my other clogs.

Casual Cosplay: Cath Kidston tea dress and an outfit inspired by The Edge of Love

Taking a little break from cosplay today with an outfit post inspired by one of my favourite films - from a purely costume and style point of view.

With a day off at the weekend and some unexpectedly nice weather I decided to take the chance to relax in a nice tea dress and a cosey jumper. The style I was aiming for was something similar to the seaside and country scenes from the film The Edge of Love starring Sienna Miller a s Keira Knightley. Set in the 1940s, it is the story of poet Dylan Thomas and his mixed up love life with his friend and his wife. As a film it is okay, but some if the outfits are simply gorgeous - there are pencil skirts, beautiful dresses and casual tea dresses.

My favourite look from the film is the chunky cardigan-tea dress-welly boots combo the ladies wear at the beach. You could have probably worked this out for yourself if you've seen my blog before. In general I am a big fan of the floral tea dress but these days it is tough to get a good reproduction in a vintage print. There is also the problem with skirt length, skirts are shorter these days and a super-mini tea dress like those worn in the 1990s (I'm thinking of Shannon Doherty's character in  Mallrats...) and they just don't suit my legs.

My tea dress was a rather good find on eBay (as always) and was made by Cath Kidston. Lucky me managed to win the dress for the fairly £15!

The jumper is a from the Republic closing down sale and cost £10 a d it feels pretty luxurious and I simply loved the burgundy shade I thought it was perfect in colour!!!

Finally the dress was coupled with a pair of blue tights and cherry Doc Marten's. The docs are amazing as they have a fleece lining that is lovely and warm!

So that's it for today, do you know anywhere that sells really good tea dresses?

Vintage Outfits: Red Vintage Cardigan and a Black and Blue Tea Dress

I'm trying something a little different today as I realised although I frequently post on what I wear to events and the such like, I rarely talk about the things I wear on a day to day basis. Part of that could be to do with the fact I wear a very un-flattering uniform at work but also because I have been a bit of a lazy blogger until recently.

A few weeks ago I decided to start working full time, which means uniform 4-5 days a week from next week onwards *eep* so I thought I could start recording the things I wear on my days off and trying to make them a bit more special. Occasionally I go a bit crazy with what I wear to walk to work too but I'll post on that if it happens.

Welcome to Daily Dresscapades

Last weekend I was off to Scarborough via York to spend the long weekend with my husband. The weather was cool but not cold an looked changeable. I was also packing clothes for 3 days into a very tiny bag so a mix and match capsule wardrobe was a must.

My go to colour for mixing is blue, generally some form of blue print dress, and my favourite colours to match with it with are black (I know shocking!) red and mustard.

I managed to pack up two blue dresses and to travel I wore this lovely black dress with a floral print that looks something between retro/vintage and modern. I really like the shirt dress style and the crepe fabric is lovely, but the very best thing about this dress was that I got it for a newer £4 from eBay (it's originally from Next).

I paired it with a vintage wine red cardigan which has been relegated to the back of the wardrobe all summer as its very warm, but now the weather is turning its ready to come out again. It's feature piece is the lovely crochet collar - but all the labels are removed so I have no idea who made this but it itches a bit so I'm guessing it a rough wool mix.

The best thing was that I could pair the cardigan with the other dresses I had packed for the weekend!

The final part of my capsule weekend wardrobe was my Clarks brogues. They are a lovely wine burgundy colour and patent so they don't scuff much, which is a godsend for me, and they are really comfortable. Having said that - I'm a total sucker for a pair of brogues!

Vintage Style: A Holly Willoughby Tea Dress and a Faux Bang

I'm am not very good at going out. I like to dance about so I tend to get frustrated when there is no room to dance in a place. I am also not very comfortable with the traditional going out attire... I like my skirts to touch my knees and I although I enjoy a good pair of heels, I prefer dancing shoes.

Consequentially for a night out with the ladies from work I simply had no idea what to wear. I always end up with too dressed up or too... erm, girly casual. I think this time I ended up too casual but oh well.

I went with a navy blue dress with a little floral print paired with blue tights and some reddish patent brogues. The dress is by Holly Willoughby for Very. I got this dress from eBay (as usual) so it was quite cheap but Holly's dresses are usually pretty nice, with girly designs and a a little retro inspiration. The cardigan is from Monsoon and was super cheap in the last sale!

To counteract the slightly dressed down clothing, I decided to try something more exciting with my hair. Now, my new hair cut has a fringe, but I thought I would have a go at creating a faux bang anyway. I did a sort of big faux Betty Bang at the front with two smaller rolls either side - of course accompanied with a couple of flowers.

What do you usually wear for a night out?