OOTD: A ditsy blouse, green cardigan, burgundy Docs and how I never though I'd wear chinos...

A casual day here at Fancy Dresscapades and the unusual sight of me in trousers. For my work I am not allowed to wear jeans, a plight of many people out there, and its not a big problem for me since I don't wear them very often, but occasionally I'd quite like to wear trousers without resorting to the ol' black work trousers scenario.

Obvious solution - chinos. With all the weird colour combinations of mustard, terracotta and burgundy I did not expect to find a pair of chinos I would like. Apparently chinos are defined by the type of cotton/cotton mix they are made from, and are typically associated with hipsters and old men. Surprisingly, there are a large amount of designs out there, and M&S have some pretty good ones, so I decided to get a pair of dark blue ones with a slim leg. 

The rest of this outfit was from a bit of a charity shop spree, the ditsy blouse is from a charity shop (originally F&F) and the cardigan is merino wool from Gap, again via a charity shop. It is beautifully soft and has pockets too it is possibly one of the best cardigans I've ever had.

Here is a close up on the colour of the cardigan and the pattern on the blouse.

Shoe wise I wore a pair of cherry DMs, Docs or Doc Martens that I got last year with my Christmas money. They are the Serena style and are lined with synthetic fleece so they are really, really warm. I spent most of the snowy days last year stomping around in these boots. I also got a pair from eBay that are black during the summer months for a super bargain price however they are still in Durham. I'm missing them around this time of year. 

Here is one last shot of all of that with my parka jacket. I can't even explain how much I am loving the jacket it is so warm and snuggly, one of the best investments I made this winter, especially for £16!

Chinos: M&S

Blouse: F&F via Salvation Army

Cardigan: GAP via Salvation Army

Boots: Doc Marten

Parka: Topshop via eBay

What's the most useful thing you've bought this winter?

A home made tartan skirt

I love braces, I love pinafores and I even love dungarees. In short I like anything with shoulder straps. I caught sight of someone wearing a swing skirt with braces at a dancing event some time ago and since then I have coveted something similar.

After much failed searching and some close calls (mainly from Vivien of Holloway and Collectif) I decided that I would have a go at making a pinafore skirt myself. Since its winter I found some bargain plaid/tartan fabric on ebay for around £2.60 per metre!

I did struggle to find a pattern though. So I used some of the skirt pieces from a dress pattern I have moved the zip, changed the hem, added pleats and then added a waistband and straps from my own design. It is mainly a simple skirt with two pleats at the front and two at the back to give it a bit more volume.

Unfortunately I did not think to save the pieces so if I want to make another skirt like this on I'll have to work it all out again. Silly me. I'll never make that mistake again!

When taking the skirt for its first outing, I decided to wear it with a simple black jumper with a lace collar that came from Primark.

And here are the straps at the back, they fasten with hidden buttons in the front waist band. Oh and my beret too :)

These red shoes came from Topshop and a so darn ADORABLE, they seem to have cashed in on these babies and they have had the same design available in tonnes of different colours on the website in the last few months (I have found them a bit big fitting in case you were thinking about getting them).

Of course with a skirt I was so proud of, I simply had to do my hair. I did that really silly thing where you wash your hair and don't quite get all the conditioner out and it looks like crap, thing is, what that does is give your hair a bit of extra texture so you can get a bit more height.

So I did two asymmetric victory rolls with a beret. I think I did pretty well at building height. I bought a teasing brush, tail comb combo that really helps smooth and create the rolls. 

One more sot of the skirt with gloves, my coat and bag. I think it may have looked a little better with a neater coat but anywho.

Skirt: Home made, original pattern

Shoes: Topshop

Gloves, Hat & Scarf: Accessorize

Satchel: eBay

Jumper: Primark

The best part is, I got 3m of fabric and managed to make a whole other skirt out of the leftovers :D I'll show you those another time!

What do you think of this one?

Save the cheerleader, save the world. Or a pretty amazing vintage cheerleader jacket...

So I found these photos on my phone from spring last year and I realised that I had never shared them!

I have appreciated cheerleading for a very long time, before Bring It On ever happened, before Heroes saver the cheerleader and DEFINITELY before Glee (since I'm old) but it wasn't exactly accessible back in the day and it was not something my school ever considered offering so it kinda got swept away and became something I enjoyed vicariously through every other medium I could get my hands on.

Last year around my birthday I came across a vintage cheerleading jacket in Rokit Vintage and since I had a bit of birthday money I decided to splurge.

It wasn't exactly cheap at around £45 (and that was with a discount) but it was in really excellent condition and in my size, something that doesn't often come about. It was exactly what I wanted, red, it had to be red and white as they're my home town's football colours, it had a hood rather than the sailor style collar and it had some patches on it but no silly names.

I couldn't wait to wear it! I works really well with my Vivien of Holloway jeans, among other things, but for its first official outing I wore it over a black jumper and a vintage wool pencil skirt. Its a little bit of a colour clash, but I think it kinda works.

I thought the fit of the jacket actually turned out to be quite slimming, which obviously is a bonus although the pockets are in a really stupid place.

What is even better about this jacket is that it has a quilted lining so it is really warm on a windy day, but I'm not sure how well it would last in a rain storm.

Here is a picture of the outfit without the jacket too:

Jacket: £45 Rokit Vintage

Jumper: £4 Wallis via charity shop

Skirt: ~£1.80 Ark vintage sale

Tights: £2.50 Primark

Brogues: £49 Clarks

(Blimey! One of my more pricey outfits...)

Frustratingly, when I was packing up last summer I wasn't able to fit this jacket into my suitcase so it is stuck in storage at my parents house :( but it is something I'll have to pick up when I'm back home visiting as I really love it.

Do you thing its okay to wear a cheerleader jacket when you've never cheered?

A beehive, a fair isle cardigan and parka jacket

So I am still experimenting with my haircut and I have discovered that I can put it up. I played around with backcombing a little and gave myself a bit of a beehive. I thought the 60s look looked great with these cats eye specs so I was quite excited to put the look together. I used a thick line on my eye too and pale lips (going against my trade mark red).

I decided to wear a retro inspired dress by Holly Willoughby. I adore the peter pan collar on this dress, the lace is really substantial and the dress feels really solid over all so I was pretty pleased with the quality of this dress, especially since it came from eBay for ~£9! It is a little shorter than I'd usually go for but I found that with some thick wooly tights I just about got away with it.

Naturally with all the print on the dress I thought that the best thing I could do would be to team it with more colour with a nordic/fair isle cardigan (I'm not 100% sure what the difference is between the two but this forum helps a little). The cardigan is from Primark which is actually pretty good quality too. I have two similar cardigans from Primark that I have had for about 3 years now and if this one lasts as well, then I will be pretty happy with my £14 purchase!

Not so sure about that. But when you cover it up with a big cosy parka jacket you can't see it anyway.

Dress: Holly Willoughby via eBay

Cardigan: Primark

Tights: Accessorize

Boots: Clarks

Parka: Topshop via eBay

 I think the parka kind of completes the 60s inspired vibe. What do you think?

Dressing like 'Call the Midwife' in a (slightly anachronistic) 1970s dress - and I think I just about get away with it!

While catching up on Christmas special TV this holidays I was inspired by Call the Midwife. This is one of my favourite shows on the BBC, mainly because I like the stories and the characters involved. The show has a perfect balance of moments to make you cry with sadness and joy and there are a few laughs too. It is a delightful mix that makes for a well rounded viewing experience. AND, the main character is called Jenny, so its got to be good right?

Having said all that, I also like the style. A little too much.

Yes I'm a total sucker for anything from the Victorian era until the mid 1960s but the famous looks of the 1950s are my favourites so this show ticks all those boxes.

The young midwives wear lovely 1950s nurses uniforms, although I'm not sure how lovely they would be if you had to wear them everyday (mind you, my Mum is a nurse and she is obsessed with vintage uniforms so maybe they would still be). The uniform consists of a simple blue dress with white collar and cuffs and a contrasting red cardigan. 

Source

Feeling inspired I had a little root around in my wardrobe and pulled out a dress from M&S from the 70s (based on the measurements and label style). I didn't have a white collar, but other wise it was pretty much perfect! I also has the red cardigan I found in the charity shop the other week that was again spot on.

I of course don't have a proper nurses hat like the ones in the show (seen in the many pictures of the ladies riding their bikes) but I figures a red beret would do.

A close up of the cardigan and the dress detail:

Just a little note on the shoes. Obviously the midwives wear simple stockings and simple brown shoes, but it is winter and it is COLD so I couldn't bring myself to wear sheer stockings for the post. I did try to have minimally disruptive leg wear though and wore these tights from Accessorize they are knitted and a sort of oatmeal colour so they are great for winter! They're also in the sale right now for around £3.50 too!

As for shoes, to stop my toes getting cold I wore a pair of vintage sheepskin shoes by Drapers of Glastonbury. They are total GRANNY SHOES but they are fleece lines so keep my toes lovely and warm, oh, they're suede too so pretty waterproof. I thought the colour worked well as part of the outfit too.

Dress: 1970s St. Michael

Cardigan: M&S

Tights: Accessorize

Beret: Accessorize

Shoes: Vintage Drapers of Glastonbury

Just a note on fur/fleece lined shoes, they are wonderful. I have a pair of vintage Morlands boots that are fur lined and a pair of Docs that are (faux) fleece lined. They keep my feet toasty and warm. They are definitely my must have recommendation for surviving the winter. Now I only wish I could find something fleece lined that was a bit more ladylike and I'd be a very happy lady.

Have you seen Call the Midwife? What do you think?

2013 review and wishes for 2014

2013
It has been a bit of a mixed bag of a year. Lots of changes and some challenges both in work and in play (click on the images to go to the related post).

I submitted my PhD theses and passed my viva!

I had an article published in a real printed magazine:

I got a new job and my husband and I relocated to Tunbridge Wells:

I had a go at stand up comedy:

I learned to make my own clothes:

Although I've done less in terms of cosplay this year I have managed to make my first costumes completely from scratch which is something I am immensely proud of.

                     

I've also managed to expand my vintage clothing collection with some really beautiful dresses:

                           

I also found out that I needed glasses!

And I lost my blonde streaks and had a large portion of the length of my hair chopped off:

New years resolution
Moving away from home I have managed to gain a bit of weight, lets just say this is likely due to a less active job, and a lack of self control. I'm pretty disappointed in myself if I'm honest and I realised that if I want to cosplay successfully then I need to take better care of my figure (aside from all the health reasons). Because of this I want to try and get things back in check and shed a few pounds. I'm hoping by putting it on here that it will help me stick to it. Hopefully you will be able to support me in this.

I also have big plans for my cosplay this year. Here are a few costumes I hope to make in the new year:

That's it for now, I hope you're having a good new year and that the rest of 2014 brings you lots of happy times!