Rediscovering clothes you haven't worn in a while is the best. Especially when anticipating a shrunken pay check. Haha! I used to be well scared of orange due to my gingerness but now I absolutely love it. In fact this Style Me Beautiful stylist I met said that pale gingers are meant to wear warm colours, so bloody hell, who knew that worked!? Yeah so because I've been feeling a bit dowdy (all black everything) I thought the best way to go was head first & head to toe.

Plus I don't think I've ever gushed about my love of sheer black socks on the blog before. I always wanted to find a man who wore suit everyday but just had a sliver of edge with tattoos poking out of cuffs & collars & an exposed sheer black sock at the ankle when he sits down. There was a stylelikeu...FOUND IT. Yeah, that dudes amazing, a little old for me though, haha!

Oh Asos with your enticing newsletters almost everyday about discounts on this & that. Why must you taunt me with the most beautiful selection of summer dresses on the same week the suns come out & my legs have said "hello Mr. razor" for the first time in a while? My recent Ted Baker conversion has caused me nothing but pain since. Sales are few & £89 sounds so attainable when you've just been paid... Dammit!

Online shopping is looking pretty great right now (minus lack of funds) due to London related meltdown that resulted in me telling a lady that if she invaded my personal space again I could not be held responsible for my actions. In Cos. COS! The most mellow, calming place on earth, full of beautiful clothes. Yes they're expensive, & polyester seems to be making a comeback but mostly, a pretty sweet place to be. I really must make more of an effort to go to exhibitions early in the morning & NEVER GO ON THE TUBE.

Anyway, it must also be commended that 4 out of these six outfits are made from natural fabrics (although whether Viscose counts is still up for debate in my eyes) which is proper rare in Asos wish lists right? Note to self: make pattern for t-shirt dress & find multiple insane fabrics to make it in then wear only this for decades worth of summers to come.

Links: One, two, three, four, five, six.

Ok so I have to confess that I haven't actually worn this dress out yet. I always try & post outfits I've actually lived in because that's the point right? Anyway, I got this at a flea market at Bristol City Football Club a few months back. It was actually pretty disappointing vintage wise (considering that was the biggest thing on the poster) with overpriced stuff from boutiques I already choose to avoid, rather than part time sellers. One had this beau hanging behind it & I swear in my head I pushed a lady inspecting some spoons out of the way to get to it.

It's like the thickest stiffest cotton velvet in the world, with these neat button cuffs & a massive sash through the middle. It's really like nothing I would ever consider buying. But it was beautiful! Following on from my birthday post, when I was little I had this red velvet dress with long sleeves & I loved it. I remember at fruit circle time (passing around a bowl of fruit that everyones bought in) a boy told me he liked my dress & that I was beautiful. For the very first time! It all seems a little scewed now, god knows where he got that, but I remembered it. & whilst I largely disagree with dressing up for someone else, I've been on the hunt for a long sleeved velvet dress ever since.

God knows where I'll wear it. The bf said he'll put on a suit & we'll go dancing. But for now I shall admire it hanging on the back of my bedroom door & pose in doll-like pictures. Defo worth it. Oh & before I forget thank you so much to Emily for featuring me alongside some blogging greats as one of her favs, how am I doing on the more face front?

In a week filled with cards that made me cry (good) & sleepless nights at surprise parties (very good!) I've been clinging to my favourites clothes wise. In the restaurant we went to for my birthday lunch in the toilets a lady said how much she loved my dress from staring at it & then started noticing "Oh it has hands! & feet!? I thought it was butterflies!" I love that moment. Antipodium + Craig Redman = Awesomeness always. Plus one of my best eBay finds in the form of a Jean Muir cardigan thing with sheer poet sleeves. So all in all floating around in a daze.

Cheers for all the birthday wishes below! Everyone keeps saying how amazing their 20s are so I guess we'll see. But I'm sceptical (not that I have a choice) I feel like in to the 90s being in your 20s was everything, & then like skins happened & people realised teenagers did shit too. Anyway yes, 20. Weird. I keep telling my cat that we have to grow up now, she doesn't look impressed at my progress!

Guys that's me when I was four! Now I'm 20! Insane how much cuteness I've lost. & that hair. & actually I would love an adult sized version of that dress too. So not changed that much. Taller, less ginger, about a thousand times more jaded, but that's about it. Thought that was nicer than a photo of my looking grumpy or drunk as a teenager. Instead.

Things I'll miss about being a teenager:

1. Having an excuse to live at home & not have a real job

2. That scared feeling waiting outside a club, at a bar, that you might get asked your age

3. People being impressed that I have older friends, or being impressed by older people

4. Not having to pay for anything.

5. Half terms and summer holidays

6. Being able to have mood swings & be the depressive of the family without it being *an issue*

7. Functioning on no sleep

8. Going out 7 nights a week & not having to function

9. Listening to shitty music because "The lyrics are my life"

10. Everything being so pivotal & dramatic

I realise that some of those things are really childhood, and some of them people mainly do in their 20s but to be honest. I lived at about double, triple speed for 5 or so years when I was younger so I feel about 30 by now in the "I just wanna blow my mind" stakes. Oh well, we'll see, maybe I'll get a second wind....

So yeah, no fancy excuse for my hiatus. I was ill for a few days & busy for the others. Even my mum was shocked I didn't do a International Women's Day post, *feminist shame*. Anyway here's some things from the last week. 

Venn diagram Valentine's card that I see on my table everyday. Working on an icons series of embroideries, tattoo inspired, a little like my mum's Jarvis Cocker birthday present. Also realised that a surprising number on my icon list have committed suicide, oh. Reading Edie, a gorgeously 80s copy leant by the very awesome Mark Sperring of off work. Seeing my name in the Guardian (stylists assistant). More nail experimentation, & I ain't even done yet, gonna add another chevron. Still haven't learnt how not to chip them within two seconds of drying though...

Oh yeah & YAY 200 FOLLOWERS! Thanks guys. This, in a lovely symmetrical math geek manner is also my 400th post. How insane is that? 400 word/picture vomits. Well, I hope some of them came off better than that sounds. & a prize giveaway will follow, something embroidered & possibly zine related if that's alright with you guys.

Sorry for the gratuitous back/tattoo shot but it kind of worked with the whole pencil skirt, houndstooth thing, don't you think? Anyway, I've been searching for the perfect houndstooth pencil skirt for about 2 years after trying on a just too small (I could do it up but not breathe) one in a lovely Glasgow vintage shop a while back. So when I went to River Island to see these jeans I was caught of guard by it's perfection. The blaring "Made in the UK" label sealed it for me & I am now the proud owner of a garment that transports me back to the 50s/60s every time I put it on.

Can I just say also, yay for the houndstooth print! Everywhere this (or is it next?) season. It's up there with tweed as one of my favourite ways to knit wool together. Haha, am I the only one with that list? I've never been a fan of tartan despite my Scottish routes so I shall cling to it as Scottish, even though Wikipedia begs to differ...

Happy March!