Throwback to summer - Cottage life at Rievaulx

Possibly my favourite picture of me ever...

With winter really coming in now and the darker nights and colder days taking over I started thinking back to summer. Not the summer just gone, as that was filled with so much craziness it's a bit of a blur, what with all the... erm... baby, but the summer before that. The one that was lovely and calm. The one where I could fit into all of my pretty dresses.

I was between one teaching job and another on summer holidays and I was staying with my parents while I sorted things out and moved onto my new place. As a little treat they had booked a cottage at the tiny area of Rievaulx in North Yorkshire. I went to visit with them there with my husband.

I always thought thatched cottages were cute, but a bit weird and I never really believed they would keep you warm and rain free. Buy it turns out they do as we had a torrential thunder storm while we were there and we were still mega cosy!
 

Because of its cuteness couldn't resist a few shots of me in my lovely kitty dress. I've posted about this dressbefore but it looks so grand with the cottage I felt like sharing. It it's the lily of the valley dress which was such a staple of my wardrobe. I've had this dress for about 3 years I think and I wore if so often. I still think its lasting well, even if I can't quite fit into it riiiiight now.

That is Rievaulx Abbey in the background. The view from the cottage was amazing! And of course being an old village it had a lovely traditional red phonebox!

Have you ever stayed in a cottage? I find I end up loving the cute cottage country life while I visit but I do miss easy access to good shopping.

Outfit:

Dress: Vivien of Holloway

Shoes: Clarks

Belt: Primark (stay classy!)

Where the heck have I been?

No, seriously, its been 15 months and I have really missed keeping my blog but there have been so many changes in my life it was suddenly hard to keep up!

I moved across the country (again!), started a new job, worked my butt off, went through a total body transformation and had a baby. A year in life can make a big difference.
 

My little madam, although I feel it's unfair to call her that as she's pretty mellow actually, is now four months old and it's impossible to imagine life without her. I am currently on maternity leave and enjoying learning as much as I can about being a mum. So far this time has been a mixture of joy, frustration, moments of nothing much and ones of complete excitement, but I realised that I wasn't doing a very good job at keeping a record of the things I'd been doing, something this blog was originally started for.

I can't believe it has taken 4 months of time off with my daughter before it became clear to me that I needed to restore my creative outlet.

I've still been my usual self while I wasn't updating, dressing in my special way, eating lots of food, sewing and faffing about with my hair, although I must admit my costuming has been limited by the baby bump. I might do a throwback post from time to time to try and ensure that the time is not lost but I don't think I'll be doing very many of those.

So I'm back, I'll still be posting the usual but with some added baby nonsense every now and again (note the new button in the side bar).

I also might occasionally write about my efforts to shift this baby weight. I have a whole rail of clothing I can't wear at the moment so I'll post with joy as I am able to get back into things - or occasionally into things for the first time! Regaining my self-esteem is going to a big challenge and part of the reason I hadn't posted very much is that I was feeling pretty low about myself. But lets be positive - this body made a life - I need to take care of it and start loving it a little more.

I want to start by sharing one of my favourite dresses that I wore during my pregnancy.

Around 28 weeks

At 38 weeks

I acquired this dress from a lady in a Vivien of Holloway group and she sold it to me second hand. It was a size bigger than my usual so it could accommodate the bump.

It is a Runaround Sue dress in a black strawberry print. It was out some time ago and was something that I missed out on so I was really glad to pick up one second hand as I've wanted this design for some time. That is one thing I love about Vivien of Holloway the buy, share, swap element of dress collecting is great fun. 
 

To give you an idea about the changes in my body I am still wearing this dress now and thank goodness it's so comfortable and flattering that even with 15 extra lbs.

Aaaaaand finally here is me and my little munchkin. I won't be posting many pictures of her because this is my blog after all, not hers, but she is such a big part of my life now I felt I had to share at least one.

 See you again for more adventures soon!

It's a nice day, to go to a wedding in a Vivien of Holloway Kitty dress

‘Tis the season for weddings! Yey! Who doesn’t love a wedding? I adore getting dressed up for events and an excuse to buy a nice new dress is always appreciated.

This was the first wedding I have been to since my own wedding so it was really fun to see it all from the other side of things.

As it was a summer wedding I decided to go with something light and floral and luckily for me Vivien of Holloway had just put a new Kitty dress on their site in peach and royal blue florals.

I have ranted and raved about the Kitty dress so many times I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you how wonderful it is again. But if you had any doubt, it is amazing. It is still my favourite design of their dresses by a very long way. It's just soooo flattering!

Because of the dress’s blue tones I wore the dress with a blue light cardigan and a pair of blue highwoods from Lotta from Stockholm. I felt they were the perfect summer accessories.

I made a particular effort when pin curling my hair I let them dry and set for even longer than usual and gave them a very thorough brushout. I was really very pleased with the result, it ended up being far smoother and sleeker than usual. I only wish I knew what I did differently this time that lead to the lovely smooth curls. But sometimes you just need a bit of luck with hair.

Outfit Details

Dress: Vivien of Holloway

Cardigan: Monsoon

Shoes: Lotta from Stockholm

Belt: Vintage

What is your dream wedding guest outfit?

Casual Cosplay: Harley Quinn meets Vivien of Holloway

Some time ago I entered a costume competition run on the Vivien of Holloway facebook page. I didn't win it, but I had a lot of fun putting together this little casual cosplay.

The challenge was to create a costume using a Vivien of Holloway dress so I decided to use my Peggy Lee dress. The red colour and the white collar really reminded me of Harley Quinn so I decided to throw together a vintage inspired Harley look.

I made this look by tacking the diamonds on to the dress. I tacked them on very badly because it was just for a one off but I would applique then neatly if I was going to do this again.

I also wore two pairs of tights, in this instance I didn't cut the tights, but I would have cut them and re sewn them if I wanted to wear this costume again.

It was also a great opportunity to break out the Worbla mask again and the blonde wig.

I also decided to have a little fun with some prop signs...

Have you ever thrown a costume together in a rush? Did it work?

The problem with vintage reproduction tartan circle skirts...

Or should I say my problem with vintage reproduction tartan circle skirts... is that I have too many.

I am OBSESSED!

I have always loved tartan (I think its something to do with growing up close to the Scottish border, or and being and 8th Scottish) its so wintery and cosy. I also love the fact that tartan comes in a range of fabrics now, not just the heavy, dense, wool of old but in warm but movable flannel and many other light weight fabrics.

At last count I have 7 tartan skirts, although one is a pencil skirt and two are box pleats that are currently sitting in my for ebay stash, but that still leaves 4. One of these skirts is true vintage and I found it in a charity shop (yes!) and I will show you that one later in the winter. But the other three are vintage reproduction from Vivien of Holloway and cost £45 (although I must warn you they are sold out in many of the larger sizes i.e. 16+).

I am showcasing two today as I bought the third one with m christmas money and am still waiting for it to arrive so I can take pictures, but it is very similar to these two only it is blue and green (swoon!).

Here is the first one, it is mostly blue with a red and white tartan stripe. Blue and red are my favourite colours so this skirt was an instant winner for me.

The circle skirt itself is amazing, it has such a large amount of fabric that you really feel like you are getting a lot of skirt for your money (£45).

The amount of fabric also means you can do this:

The second one is a red tartan which is a more traditional and stereotypical colouring. I actually don't have any red skirts so that was the driving force in my decision to get this skirt.

Skirts: Vivien of Holloway

Jumpers: Vintage

Boots: Doc Martens

Hat: Accessorize

Scarf: Thrifted

Coat: Vintage Laura Ashley riding coat 

I have every confidence that the blue and green skirt will be brilliant too and I promise I will show you once it arrives!

Why I love the Lily of the Valley Kitty dress from Vivien of Holloway

If you follow my instagram you will have certainly seen me in a Vivien of Holloway dress. They are one of my favourite vintage reproduction brands (although I must confess there are plenty of brands I haven't tried yet!) which is why I decided to get their Kitty dress for my graduation last summer.

Good ol' Viv then decided to remake the Kitty dress in a new, and I believe limited addition, range of fabric and I knew I had to have another Kitty. I decided to go with the gorgeous green Lily of the Valley print and I think I managed to snag the last one in my size as they are now out of stock in most of the sizes. Mind you there are plenty of other bloomin' gorgeous print dresses in the same style.
Trust me if I had all the monies I would have one in every colour!!

I ADORE this dress. Here are all the reasons why...

Pockets: It has huge roomy pockets for your gloves, trinkets, money and (in the winter) handkerchiefs. Meaning there is no need for a handbag. I love the freedom of a dress with pockets and when the print blends perfectly with the dress you simple can't go wrong.

Skirt: It has a super full gathered skirt with a length of 30 inches so it is perfect for dancing as the skirt won't swish up and for dressing with that mid-century modesty.

The fit: As with all Vivien of Holloway dresses, the fit is based on vintage patterns so the bust/waist/hip ratios are a better for someone with a 'vintage figure' (someone with more than 10 inches difference between their waist and hips). The 16 is perfect for my 30 inch waist and frankly enormous hips and I found that the bust was ample enough for my bust without gaping at the buttons.

Being a bigger girl (size 12/14/16 ish depending on the brand) I find Vivien of Holloway a magnificent way of getting vintage style clothing as I find to difficult to find genuine 40s/50s vintage in my size (just means I have to try extra hard).

The Print: Come on. It's beautiful. 'nuff said.

So yes I absolutely love this dress...

I also think my hair ended up looking pretty good this day. I bought some nylon scarves from Vintageous on youtube and they are a great vintage style hair addition. I'm so pleased that my hair is finally long enough at the front to roll. I much prefer my hair this way than with the fringe. Would you agree?

Dress: Vivien of Holloway

Necklace: Vintage

Shoes: Doc Martens

The Vivien of Holloway Runaround Sue - For Running Around Durham

I visited my family recently and had a lovely time. Living in the south of England so far away from my family in Durham I occasionally forget how lovely the North East is.

During my visit we all had a walk into Durham and my fantastic mother decided to take some photos!

My parents live about a 10-15 min walk from the very centre of the town and the walk involves a stroll through the wooded park area near the river. I love how green and lush it is despite the fact it was well into Autumn.

For a wander around town I decided to break out my Runaround Sue dress from Vivien of Holloway. Its a dress that I got on eBay in a lucky bid and I don't think the print is available any more - although the Runaround Sue shape is a long term staple of Vivien's stock.

If I'm honest, I'm a little bit in love with this dress. I feel that I would love to have it in every colour under the sun.

I could only take one coat home with me so I had to pick something universal. I went with a black princess coat that I picked up on ebay. It has a superb shawl collar that can be folded up into a hood (useful for the usually terrible weather in the north!) and its so warm. It didn't have a brand on it, but I know it is not vintage at all. Either way, its a current favourite.

Oh I love this view near the river!

We also had a frolic around Durham Cathedral. My mum had this bizarre obsession with the cloisters and the shadows you get there so it was only natural that she wanted to take some pictures there.

 At the Cathedral they are raising money for renovations and to support the cost they have started to make a model of the cathedral out of Lego Bricks.

Which of course is AMAZING!

I was really surprised by how much they've managed to build so far. I decided to donate a brick and got to place it in one of the pillars.

I will leave you know with this image of my husband and I pretending to be Team Rocket. I'm not really sure why. We're nerds...

Dress: Vivien of Holloway

Coat: Unknown

Shoes: Doc Martens

Why vintage repro rocks: A red Vivien of Holloway Peggy Lee dress

You've probably seen me talk about Vivien of Holloway before on her as it is one of my favourite brands and I think they do some amazing vintage reproduction dresses (and jeans, and skirts) and a few have appeared on here in previous posts.

Many moons ago while I was still a poor student I really wanted the Peggy Lee dress, but sadly it came and went from the shop before I ever had the funds to buy it. So when a brand new red Peggy Lee dress popped up on ebay I was powerless to resist (the seller had also listed it as a buy it now for a stupidly low price).

I decided to wear the Peggy Lee to London to visit my parents. They were staying in Stratford next to the Olympic park so I could not resist taking a few pictures against the stadium backdrop (even if it is being converted to a football ground).

I think the dress is a beautiful fit. It goes in and out in all the right places which is one of the real advantages of a Vivien of Holloway dress. If you've not tried one on before then you have to look carefully at the measurements as they are not conventional, they have more room in the bust and hips, perfect for curvy girls.

The dress also has nice big patch pockets, which I'm obviously impressed with if this picture is anything to go by:

My husband and I being completely stylistically mismatched, as always :)

I tried something a little different with my hair. Something a little more fancy. I took inspiration from Vintageous on youtube and attempted this side roll do (on a side note Natalie's tutorials are excellent, really clear and easy to follow I highly recommend them).

It was actually pretty easy to do just following the video step by step, the only part I had difficulty with was getting my fringe in there, its still not long enough to back comp properly so I couldn't really get the volume needed, but I think I just about got away with it.

A super extra added bonus of this hair do was that when I took it out I ended up with a lovely asymmetrical wave. I think if I'd taken some time to brush it out neatly I could have created a lovely pin-up inspired down-do.

Outfit Details:

Dress: Vivien of Holloway

Shoes: M&S