Enchanted Event

I attended Enchanted in London at the weekend - such a wonderful event. Got to see lots of friends and meet new people. I was in a fashion show too! I got an email about 10 days before the event to say that one of the models couldn't get a visa, and was I still free to do it. I jumped at the chance - despite being very scared about doing all the make-up and buying scary things like brown shoes!

In the end I didn't need the brown shoes, and a very kind lolita MUA helped me with the false eyelashes and retouching my lip gloss. My sister in law had helped me curl my hair too but in the end the designer had a wig for me for wear anyway. I really liked this wig - I want to buy one like it!

This is me on the cat walk!!! In cat tights hehe! (I couldn't resist buying a pair at the stall later on =])

(Photo taken from Lorina Liddell's twitter - follow the link on that post to their website)

None of my friends at the event recognised me under all of that make-up and hair! I put these photos up on facebook and even my own dad struggled to identify me!

(Photos taken by Hirokawa Yumi from Uplift Tokyo/Lorina Liddell, found here on their official tumblr)

Really had a lot of fun, although it was very surreal at times! Especially looking in the mirror and freaking out because the last time I had a fringe I was about 14! Maybe that's why no one recognised me, or maybe it's just that no-one really looks like themselves with this much foundation on! I've not done much facial make-up before but I think it looks OK, at least you can't see my spots!!

My co-ord for the rest of the event was very simple in comparison, but I was happy with how well my hair survived being unceremoniously shoved under a wig cap at the last second! Here are some photos Jing Li took of me and Lizzie =]. Those false eyelashes look a bit ridiculous without everything else to go with them, don't they!

All the models were really lovely and helpful and I had such a nice time seeing all of my lolita friends and meeting new ones too. I also brought a few goodies - I'll be posting about them soon! I'll be very busy for the next week though attending a friend's wedding and starting my new jobs, so you'll have to wait for a little while longer =]

Red and Black week. Day 6

Finally a proper post, with new pictures! Here's a run down of all my red and black outfits!

Day 1
The weather was horrible, I didn't really feel like dressing up, or even drying my hair because it was going to get wet again as soon as I stepped out of the door! I was only going for a quiet family dinner and knew I'd probably spend a lot of time running around after my 4 year old nephew anyway =]

What I'm wearing:
Red and black lace top: hand me down from my friend Pip, I've had it since I was 13.
Black long sleeve top: Dorothy Perkins, present many years ago
Jeans: Rag Market stall, 5 quid, about 7 years ago. I have 2 pairs, these are the ones that still have an intact rear!
Necklace: Alchemy Gothic.Present from my brother.

Day 2
Another day with the family; my sister-in-law wanted to see me in a corset hehe! I was originally going to wear a floaty skirt, but the continuing rain made me want something warmer! I played pirate lego with my nephew and discovered that it is possible to play Swingball in a corset!

What I'm wearing:
Top: Tammy when I was 11. It's a little short on my now but otherwise still fits! It was supposed to lace up with red ribbon but mine didn't come with any. I use a couple of old chains and a charity shop pendant instead.
Corset: 20 quid from a model on VF who'd grown out of it
Trousers: My pirate trousers again
Wooly tights: M&S kids department; they are so warm!

Day 3
I had an important uni meeting to attend so I thought I'd try to look professional!

What I'm wearing:
Dress: 3 quid in Sue Ryder chairty shop. Originally Topshop.
Jacket: My trusty Miss Selfridge one, you've seen it before
Key Brooch: Vintage sale. It has a little red gem in the centre which sadly doesn't show in the picture.
Necklace: German Christmas Market. Present from an old boyfriend.

Day 4
My outfit was terribly unexciting, just black jeans and an old Alkaline Trio t-shirt (Black with red lettering) so I didn't bother to photograph it, but here is my swimming gear. The bag I made to go with my other swimdress, which is the same but in black and white polkadots! I lined it with waterproof fabric salvaged from an old pac-a-mac.

Day 5
I had to go visit my Nana (who I mentioned yesterday) so I thought I should dress 'nice'! We still haven't finished wallpapering the living room sorry!

I wasn't sure about the scarf:

What I'm wearing:
Jumper: 5 pounds in Primark
Skirt: British Heart Foundation, 3.99. Originally New Look.
Tights: More M&S kids, I have about 10 pairs.
Scarf: Market stall, about 2 quid.
I'm also secretly wearing a grey cable knit skirt underneath for added warmth!

In the end I wore a choker instead because I wanted to wear it once this week:

The choker has a vintage Parisian cameo button on it. It cost me 12 GBP, shockingly expensive for me!

Day 6
Today I was sad to see it raining again. I've been saving this dress since the theme was announced. I was hoping to go frolick in some meadows and pretend I was in little house on the prairie! I got this from a vintage shop for a tenner last year and added all the black trimmings.

Hopefully if the weather is better I'll wear it next week =]. For now though I'll curl up and re-paint my nails. I've been wearing red and black all week and they need re-doing again!

The CK nail varnish was a Christmas present, not really my shade of red, but it's all I had. Of course I have about 4 pots of cheap black nail varnish though!

I've had so much fun this week! I hope you've enjoyed reading my entries =]

Life, Love, Hair and Hats

Heya, first let me apologise for not updating for a while- I've been extremely busy and all over the place physically and emotionally.

Hats:
I meant to upload these pictures over a week ago, because I want opinions.
I love top hats:

But I also resently brought this hat; its basically a slightly modern style bowler hat, from H&M. What do you guys think? Does it suit me? Please ignore how odd my feet look in this picture.

Some happy news:

I've cut my hair. I'm donating it to Little Princess Trust to make wigs for children with cancer.

Before:

After:

Please excuse the lack of makeup- I was worried that having 22cm of my hair cut off might cause me to weep...
So my hair is now shorter than it's been since I was 3 and I've dyed it dark auburn (pictures to follow when I get the dye off my neck...)

The Bad news:

I don't want to dwell on my personal shit, because that's not what this blog should be about, but I thought I should mention it anyway.

My boyfriend of 2 years broke up with me yesterday. It's a bit of a shock because we've been so happy, but just lately he's not been himself. A friend thinks he may be suffering from clinical depression. Whatever the cause, he doesn't want to spend time with people any more, and thinks it's unfair on me to have to wait around for him to be sociable again. He won't get help, he's content to live in his room and be a hermit outside of work. He's convinced that's the real him and he has to force himself to be sociable at all. I love him, he loves me. I always thought that would be enough, but it doesn't seem to be for him anymore. I can't help but feel it's my fault, that I've done something wrong (again; this isn't the first relationship I've had that disintegrated after 2 years due to mental health issues; maybe I send men insane? At least the last one let me help him through stuff for 18 months, this time my help is not wanted AT ALL)

I'm just mentioning this in case the heart-break, crying, feeling numb etc get it the way of me posting, or all my posts are mopey for the forseeable future.

At least it's sunny today, and I'm spending the evening with good friends.

Winter outfits

I'm not a big fan of taking pictures of myself, but I like to record my outfit ideas. Therefore I usually just lay the outfit out and take a picture.

Here are a couple of outfits I wore when the temperature dropped below zero this winter.

This first outfit was designed to juggle a difficult task; a visit to the hospital to see my nana (who is still hoping I'll grow out of this 'phase'), which involved getting 3 buses in the snow, and then clubbing. This was my solution:

My white skirt with key and lock pattern, with a black lace skirt underneath, a black poloneck jumper, my black velvet jacket and a black and white striped bowtie. Also my new hat from Bella D'luna who I met at November Nocturne. It's simply lovely and very comfortable, because the comb holds it very securely. Visit her etsy shop here.

Beneath the black poloneck jumper I wore a black strap top with lace overlay (for slight additional warmth in the day and perfect for dancing in).

Also this skirt combination would not be warm enough with this secret weapon:

my grey cable-knit skirt, which makes any outfit winter-proof =]

Ovbiously I also wore my winter coat and my doc martins (with lace edged boot covers). I even made some matching bows from some ribbon and safety pins.

I also swapped the feathered hat for my beret whilst in the snow =P


Run-down:
Lock and key skirt: H&M £7
Black lace skirt: New Look. Present from my mum
Grey knit skirt: Primark £10
Black poloneck jumper: Warehouse. Present from my mum
Black velvet Jacket: Vintage. Present from my mum
Boot covers: Accessorize (+ added lace trim). Present from my auntie.
Bow tie: Came with a cardigan I've had for years.
Hat: Bella D'luna
Black lace top: Oasis. Present from my mum

As you can see my mum has awesome taste in clothes =]

This second outfit is one I wore to the pub on a chilly evening with an old college friend.

I've had this jumper for a few years, but I rarely wear it because of the fact it's kind of chilly at the back! I decided to try wearing it with my corset dress and a long sleeved black top underneath. I added the magic grey skirt, a black lace petticoat, black pearl-style necklace and my key necklace. Obviously this was also teamed with my docs, the lace edged boot covers and my winter coat.

Rundown:
Black and grey striped jumper: Religion via TK Maxx £10
Black corset fronted dress (I wore it backwards): H&M £7.99
Black Lace skirt: same as above
Grey knit skirt: same as above
Boot covers: same as above
Black pearl necklace: Next. 16th birthday present.
Key necklace: This is a collection of antique keys, I have found over the last 6 years. Mostly from wardrobes adandoned on the pavement (yay studentville)