Life Lately and Brick Lane Buys

Woah sorry for the long absence! Uni life has been crazy busy, what with us getting a new project everyday with no definite deadline, so it's pretty easy to let it all pile up. A lot has happened since my last post, I'm now three weeks into my course, I met Alexa Chung at her book signing at Liberty, had another Flickr meet up (you can see my Flickr page here), met up with my mum who took me out to dinner at Strada on Southbank, and caught 'Freshers flu' which had made me ill for over a week!

I've been a bit (a lot) of an emotional mess recently what with all the changes going on, and being ill, but I won't go on about it. Last week I visited Brick Lane market (again) and I plan to go every weekend, it's the highlight of my week. There's always so much happening and you get to meet some very interesting characters, I also popped into Tatty Devine which is situated at the other end of Brick Lane, and even got 'style snapped'. However, last week I went with the intention of getting some warmer clothes seeing as winter is suddenly upon us. There's a shop called the East End Thrift Store, in other words the perfect place to grab a bargain, especially for those of us on a student budget, where I willingly spent my pennies on an oversized chunky cardi, pretty navy chiffon blouse, and a denim dungaree dress (finally!!). I also bought a burgundy maxi skirt and scarf for a total of £10 from another stall. I've been looking for a denim dungaree dress for ages, and a large cardi, although it's a bit too big to wear out and about as it completely swamps me!

Hat - Topshop / Cardi - EETS / Blouse - EETS / Denim dress - EETS / Belt - Primark / Tights - Primark / Creepers - Shoezone

And here's a sneaky peek into my room!

P.s. I've just discovered 8 Tracks and I'm obsessed with it! I've fallen in love with so much new music, do you use 8 Tracks? Link me your favourite playlist so I can discover even more music :D

I've Enrolled!

You are now looking at an official CSM art student, hello. So yes I finally got enrolled, it took me three attempts as the first time they said I needed my GCSE results too so I had to get the train home to pick them up, and the second day they'd closed early. It' so frustrating to waste all those train tickets! But anyway, it's done now and my course starts in three days, eeekk! 

Thanks for the lovely feedback on my last outfit, that day I went for a wander down Brick Lane and then in the evening a large group of us went back down Brick Lane in search of bagels and then back to the flat for a game of Ring of Fire with some flat mates. I'm already getting to know everyone and starting to remember faces and names better :)

Yesterday, after enrolling I once again went down Brick Lane and visited a vintage shop called Rokit, I tried on a few things and have fallen in love with the clothes there! It's all so different and retro and perfect if you need something so spice up your wardrobe. Next week they're holding Student Happy Hours where students get 20% off, so I'll definitely be there! I then went and bought our flat a toaster which made me Miss Popular for a while, although I've now eaten way too much toast.

In the evening, I went on my first clubbing night out with everyone. We got the tube to Picadilly and spent the night at a club called Tiger Tiger. Clubbing isn't really my scene but I still wanted to experience new things and it was definitely exciting even though I wasn't drinking. Once we'd left the club we went on a hunt for a night bus and ended up trekking quit far across London, luckily I had put comfy shoes on and it felt so surreal to be wandering through Trafalgar Square at half two in the morning! 

On to the outfits; for some reason I've been wearing a lot of black recently, and I quite like the edgy look - I think it makes me look and act more confident. My outfit isn't much different from what I wore the day before, sorry. 

I think I've forgotten how to properly pose for photos.

Dress - AX Paris / Jumper (worn as cardigan) - New Look / Backpack - Primark

Mesh top - New Look / Green backpack - Primark / Studded Belt - New Look / Maxi skirt - Primark / Triple buckle boots - c/o* New Look

Major Lazer - Original Don ft. The Partysquad

Outfit Post and Life Update: Moving In To London

Hi, Im back from Greece, the most amazing holiday ever! I've been a lot more active on Twitter recently and haven't had much time for blogging because I have finally moved out of home and into my student accommodation in London. Woohoo! I've been here for a few days now; today I went for a wander around Whitechapel and down Brick Lane, seeing as it's within walking distance. Picked up a few things like hangers, cling film etc (living the glamorous life), but it's so different being on a student budget so I'm constantly on the hunt for bargains. I had my first pot noodle - surprisingly okay but a bit chewy and attempted to enrol at the uni for the second time (yesterday I didn't have the right documents) but they had closed early which was a bit annoying because not only does that mean I have to come back again tomorrow, but I'm wasting my food money on train tickets because I can't get an Oyster card until I've enrolled! 
Anyway, I'm enjoying this new life and the independence, it's always tough meeting new people but most of us here are on the same course and I'm starting to remember names a bit better. One of the great things about being here is that anything goes. I'm starting to experiment more with my wardrobe and going out in things I'd be too shy to wear back at home just because I'd be worried I'd stand out too much. For example, I've had the fringe/no fringe dilemma, but now I just don't worry about it, which feels quite liberating. Today's outfit was definitely a bit of an experiment; I'm wearing a large top as a dress, and wearing it backwards so that it's a high neck, with a jumper that's worn as a cardigan. The tights seemed necessary as I didn't want to feel too exposed even though it's been lovely and warm today, and I'm also wearing little black brogues. 

Top (worn as a dress) - New Look / Jumper (worn as cardigan) - New Look / Velvet belt - Primark / Tights - Primark / Backpack - Primark

Hopefully I'll now have more time to blog, even if they're just short updates. Luckily my new room has this lovely huge white wall (which has to stay blank because we're not allowed to stick anything on them) so I'll be more tempted to take some outfit photos, and hopefully I will continue to be more experimental with what I wear :)

P.S. My course starts next Monday! Eeekkk!

Stars - Dead Hearts

Outfit Post: Charity Shop Dress

This is just a quick outfit post to show you what I found at my local charity shop. It was originally from Primark, and I spotted the pretty print and bought it hoping it would fit, which it did! It's got a super pretty lattice detail on the back and I love how light and summery it is. I also noticed, whilst editing the photos, just how short I look...

Daisy crown - Claires / Dress - Charity shop (originally Primark) / Brogues - New Look (old)

I do have one thing I'd like to add; the only thing I don't like about our local charity shops are that they are quite over priced, which I know shouldn't be something to complain about as that just means more money goes to charity, but I've noticed any clothes with a recognisable label like New Look gets priced at around £10 - almost as must as the store price! It's a silly little thing to get annoyed about, but when I go to charity shops looking for a bargain it's not always so easy. 
Ridiculous and insignificant rant over.

P.s. MY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW!

Outfit Post: Be mine, Victorian Valentine

Dress - Primark / Blouse - Primark / Socks - Topshop / Wedge boots - New Look / Hair bow - Miss Selfridge (from my secret santa) / Bird ring - Primark / Love ring - Dorothy Perkins / Rose ring - Accessorise / Above the knuckle ring - Dixi

Cutting to the chase, no I'm not celebrating Valentines Day, nor do I hate it. I'm a hopeless romantic and can't wait to fall in love, but for now I'll settle with munching chocolates with my friends (even though I've technically given up chocolate) and staying in watching movies I've been recommended, not a cutesy couple in sight! That's not going to stop me from getting a bit dressed up and embrace the love hearts/reds/girly theme of Valentines Day, and just to show how versatile my dress sense is, I've gone all Victorian-style in this outfit, completely contrasting with my previous, slightly "rock-chick" outfit in my latest blog post. I really love the shape created by the dress and the sleeves, it's the perfect girly girl outfit!

You may recognise this Primark dress, it seems to be very popular and I've spotted so many bloggers with the same dress, making me fall head-over-heels for it and managed to get it in the Boxing Day sales. I've layered it over this bell sleeve chiffon shirt, also from Primark. The shirt alone isn't that flattering on me as it's too long at the back and adds volume to the wrong places, but I really love the sleeves and am always teaming it up with my dresses. 

You may also notice I have straight hair. 'Big deal?' Why, yes. Now that I've embraced my natural curls, and have decided to let my hair grow super long I have stayed away from heat products (except for my high-maintenance fringe). However, every so often, as in once every few months, I decide to straighten it just to see how long it's grown, always pretty exciting (for me), and it's funny how different I look!

I hope you all have a lovely Valentines Day, couples and singletons alike!

x

D.I.Y Studded Backpack

I promised this DIY long ago when I first bought the backpack, and so in my typical fashion, here it finally is, months later. In my opinion, why spend over £50 for a studded Topshop bag when I can pay only £9 for a Primark backpack and add my own personal touches? I find backpacks quite cute and less painful than carrying a heavy bag, the only problem with them is the amount of hassle they are when you are in a rush to get something out. You can see a BEFORE image of the backpack in this post. I quite like the stud trend at the moment, I think they add that extra something to an outfit, but I'm not too keen on the extremely spiky studs. The studs I used were just plain and you can buy them at any craft store and are a cheap and easy way to accessorise an outfit.

Glad to be back into the swing of blogging, even though I have a lot on at the moment like an interview on Wednesday. Wish me luck!

(all own photos)

Outfit Post: Boxing Day Sales

I think I'm finally getting to grips with regular blog posts, Hurray! Quick life update: hit the Boxing Day sales (or the sales a few days after) and picked up a couple of bargains, also I was also tempted to buy non-sales items too. I'm currently reading Life of Pi, and so far loving it; hoping to see the film once I've read it. Been going crazy with uni applications, I have until 31st of January to get everything sent off, it's so scary! Especially because I've left it all a bit last minute, but hopefully putting a portfolio together will take no time at all.
This skirt is from the Topshop sales, I didn't find anything else in their sales which was a bit disappointing, but I spotted this skirt just as someone else picked it up. Luckily, after wandering around (well, more like trying to squeeze through the masses of crazy shoppers) I saw this skirt again, and it was in my size! I'm in love with this flare style, and I already have this skirt in red and black. 
The jumper is from Primark, it wasn't in the sale, but everything in Primark is purse-friendly anyway. I bought it because I have been wearing my black jumper to death and so thought I'd get this cream jumper so I wouldn't have to wear so much black, I also love the stud detail and the length; it's not so long that it looks bulky when tucked into the skirt. 

I've also started wearing ear cuffs, the top cuff has some gorgeous detailing and I like how they add a touch of edginess; I'd much rather wear these than pierce my ear. 

Jumper - Primark / Denim shirt - Charity shop / Skirt - Topshop / Tights - Primark / Creepers - Shoezone / Detail cuff - Claires / Star and chain cuff - H&M 

Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas 2012!
My Christmas day started at 7:00am when my excited youngest sister crept in to my room with a torch. We unwrapped our stockings and had a lovely breakfast of scrambled egg on toast with bucks fizz. It was surprising to have heavy rain and thunder at Christmas (yes I had to mention the weather) and we're still waiting for the snow, forever dreaming of a white Christmas. The lunch was incredible, thanks Mum, and the table has never looked so grand in the red and gold theme for this year. Our tree was covered in gold baubles and tiny red wooden figures which looked adorable and the twinkling lights were so magical when lit up! Not much else to say really, it was a very relaxed day, and we enjoyed the Christmas specials and movies on TV, and ended the day with full bellies and watching the box set of An Idiot Abroad which I bought for Dad. Oh, and I am delighted with my presents this year, I'll do a separate post on those though, what a treat!

I took way too many photos this year, but I tend to forget the littles details of Christmas too easily if I don't take any photos, and most of them are of my cats. Normal. I also managed to take some photos of my Christmas outfit but I got my 9 year old sister to take them so they are a little blurry. I need to train her to be my outfit photographer haha! Anyway, the rest of the photos were taking by me, and I tried to reduce them down, but there's still plenty the enjoy.

Dress from H&M / Cardi from New Look / Belt from Primark / Slippers from Bedroom Athletics / Gold glitter bow from Crown and Glory

This is one of my favourite Christmas songs, it's called Christmas Time by Cider Sky

I hope you all had a magical Christmas!

❅

What I've Bought (Part 3) and Party Nails

I've been spending again. I set out with the aim of buying a new winter skirt for college and instead bought all of these goodies.

♥ Company Magazine

♥ Loreal Ombre hair dye

♥ Primark heart tights

♥ Models Own Purple Blue Beetle Juice

♥ Models Own Disco Mix

♥ Collection 2000 brown liquid eyeliner

♥ Primark green and tan backpack





With the two nail varnishes I bought, I found that when they were combined they made some pretty sparkly party nails. I now want to experiment more with layering nail varnishes and colours and there are so many to choose from the Models Own range!

I'll soon be doing a post to show my newly ombre-d hair, and a little DIY, watch this space!

D.I.Y Dress

Over the summer, I wanted to make myself a dress. I'd made dresses before for school, but I really wanted to make a quick and casual day dress that didn't require any market research and initial designs and so, and after putting it off for so long, I came across a DIY post on someone's blog and it was the motivation I needed. I spent way too long in the fabric shop debating over which fabrics to choose, but I settled for something cheap and simple just in case the dress didn't work out.


Making the actual dress, I followed the tutorial by The Pineneedle Collective who used simple steps that were easy to follow. I bought a pattern for the top half of the dress but I followed Annika's equations for the skirt (which I messed up a little).

This photo explains the basics of the skirt, unfortunately the material I bought wasn't very long width-ways so I ended up with quite a short skirt. Also, hemming anything curved is such a pain!
I like to wear a belt with my dress because the seam doesn't quite sit on my waist, and I also prefer it with a belt anyway. With the leftover red fabric I made a matching detachable collar.

Sunglasses - Accessorize

Hat - Ebay (H&M)

Belt - Primark

Ring - Ebay

Socks - (little sister)

Shoes - Clarks (birthday present from friends)

What I Wore At Central Saint Martins

Horse print top, denim shorts, brown brogues, bee necklace, long black cardi from New Look
Grey cardi, blue dress, black skirt from H&M
Yellow top, gold leaf belt from Primark
Black brogues from Office
Black top from Topshop, plus own skeleton design
Robot/clock necklace from market stall


Okay so as you can see I'm a bit of a brogues maniac and my wardrobe may not look too exciting, but it was boiling hot that week and I was going more for comfort than style. But look, I wore my handmade headband for 3 days! 
Also, I'm still not entirely confident about posting photos of myself just yet which is why I drew out my wardrobe instead.