Lace and Stripes

This is a simple outfit I threw together when me and Ash went out for a meal. We were supposed to be going out with a bunch of his work colleagues but they cancelled at the last minute so we decided to go to TGI Fridays and have dinner and cocktails instead =] I ate so much that I couldn't manage desert and had an ice cream cocktail called a Mudslide as a substitute! So so yummy!

I took this in a rush before we went out so once again it's in the hallway. I think this is actually quite a good location for outfit photos though because there is a huge window so the light is good and I can rest the camera on the windowsill. It'll be much better if we ever get it finished!

What I'm wearing:
Blouse: H&M, it was a gift from my friend Kelly, who grew out of it. I had to cut the cap sleeves off because it had narrow shoulders (or maybe mine are wide?) but it works fine as a sleeveless blouse under a jacket =]
Jacket: A cheap shop on my local high street, I've posted it before here. I added the lace a while ago because that's my universal solution to 'this doesn't look quite right, definitely needs something...' =P
Black skirt: River Island via a clothes swap.
Cream tulle skirt: New Look. Birthday present from my mum this year =]
Brooch: Charity shop
Hair flower: H&M, 2 for £1.99. I wore it with a ribbon as an alice band.

Of new boots, wonderful gifts and clubbing apparel

What is this you say? Another post from Cemetery Dreams, in the same week?! I'm surprising even myself!

The main reason I'm making this post is to say a massive and slightly overdue thank you to Victorian Kitty of Sophistique Noir for sending me 2 lovely blouses =]. I received them a couple of weeks ago but didn't immediately have a chance to wear either (it's back to woolly jumpers at work already). I put together this outfit using one of them today though. I really love this blouse but it's a little tight in the bust for me (shock horror) so I have to leave the top button undone. I started to think of ways of wearing it with something underneath and immediately thought of this dress:

Sorry for the poor lighting, this was taken in my old room at dad's and it gets a very bright at sunset! It makes my black tights look a slightly odd colour too for some reason. Also forgive me for not drying my hair before I took the picture.

What I'm wearing:
Blouse: Living Dead Souls, gift from Victorian Kitty
Dress: New Look, I got it earlier this year and I can't remember how much ti was
Boots: New Look. These are new. £29.99
Velvet Choker: Handmade by me.

I've just brought these great boots as a replacement for the shoes I repaired in this post which finally gave up the ghost. The soles split right across the toes on both feet so there was no way to save them =[. I couldn't afford to spend enough to get real leather, but at least these are cheaper than those shoes were! Also they are really soft and comfy with grippy soles perfect for the autumn weather.

This outfit is one I'd like to wear when I go to Leeds to visit some old friends at the end of the month, the goth scene is much bigger there than it is here and I've been promised a weekend of club nights! I'm very excited! This was just a trial run, I may decide that this outfit isn't OTT enough and add some more accessories though. What do you guys think? I wish I could order one of these ribcage belts to go with it but they are sold out at the moment.

I'd forgotten about this choker because it was hiding at the back of my jewellery box but I think I'll have to wear it more often again! I'm also going to try to get some nice soft narrow lace trim and make some more for my Etsy shop =]

Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!

I've been meaning to post far more regularly so this post feels very overdue! I've been promising an outfit post for ages as well, sorry folks! Also the outfit itself is very Alice in Wonderland inspired so I couldn't resist quoting the White Rabbit in the title =]

Sorry about the unglamorous location and lack of full body shot. Our room is a bit of a mess today and I was in a hurry so I took them on the landing even though it's in the middle of being redecorated (and may stay that way for a while, the plasterer never turned up to finish it off and didn't explain why!) The camera cut my head off in the picture but I was wearing a black ribbon as an Alice band with black rose clips on the side.

What I'm wearing:

Alice in Wonderland Socks: Innocent World via egl-comm-sales £10
Black Skirt: A Taobao shop (no label in it) via egl-comm-sales £15 plus ridiculous custom charge of £14!! I hate customs in the UK. Really puts me off ever buying things from outside the EU again!
Belt: Primark £3
Pocketwatch Necklace: Birthday present from Meera =]
Jabot: RQ-BL came with the blouse I got in Camden
Blouse: Forever 21 £18.95, altered by me.
Brooch: Flightless Phoenix Designs available on Etsy

I saw these socks a few weeks ago and just knew I had to get them. They looked pure white in the picture (as they do in my pictures actually...must be the flash) but they are actually an off-white/pale cream colour, so nothing I had really matched them well. I was going to tea dye a cheap white blouse to match but then I was passing through Forever 21 (I like the Costa coffee in there as a place to do uni work, it's quiet and has great views) and spotted this blouse. It's a similar shade of pale cream with grey stripes and a black insignia on the pocket so I thought it would match well. The only problem was the shape. It was so baggy!

I spent last Saturday taking off the sleeves and pocket,  adding bust darts, taking it in at the sides and then reconstructing it! I've never sewn a blouse and it's been about 8 years since I constructed anything with darts or sleeves (Oh my were my GCSEs really THAT long ago?!) so it's not perfect but I sure (re)learned a lot!

Has anyone else noticed how baggy everything is this season? I know the blouse wasn't supposed to be a larger size because of the length and fit of the sleeves but the body was like a men's small not a lady's small... I guess that's what's fashionable at the moment, but it looked very odd on me! Especially as the collar is really tiny; too tight to button up properly and be comfortable, also it sits funny because it overlaps a bit. I decided to leave the top button undone and wear the jabot instead of reconstructing that too.

I made another of the Curiouser and Curiouser brooches to go with this outfit, managed to be a bit neater with the glue this time, but still not perfect. Another thing to keep practicing! At least it doesn't show at all when worn because it's on the back =] Until I get it right I'll be selling them at a slight discount though!

A Special Occasion Of Sorts

This post is very long overdue but it seems to have come at a fortune time, to allow me to participate in Sophistique Noir's monthly theme, albeit in an unconventional way (I know it's been ages since I did an outfit post, I've been so lazy lately).

 

I've finally opened my Etsy shop! I talked about doing so last year when I started making chokers. I would have done this sooner but you used to need a credit card to open an Etsy shop and I can't find mine anywhere (I put it somewhere safe...). Luckily you can now link it to a paypal account instead.

My shop is called Flightless Phoenix Designs, a name I've been using at craft fairs and so on for a few years with my sock animals and other hand-made things.

This is the logo I'm using for now. I know it's very rough but I'm no artist, I drew this on a lunch-break at work and edited it in photoshop. The font is based on a vintage typography sample from The Graphics Fairy. I'm sure I'll have to pay an artist to re-draw it for me if my shop takes off, but fortunately I'm lucky enough to have plenty of friends who'd give me mates rates =]

At the moment there are only a few things in my shop, but I'll try to add more soon, and take better pictures too! If there is anything you'd like to see, please leave a comment below!

As a reward for all my lovely readers I've made a 10% discount code for you. Enter BLOGLOVE1 at checkout to get money off =]

Now I'm off to read the other posts for this monthly theme =]