quick stop cosy

Another new thing I had to post! Bargain knitwear from TKMaxx xD. Got caught in this typical Irish weather on my way to my hospital check up and my mumma whipped this badboy out when I got home. SO happy that the slouchy jumper is dominating street style these days. nice to combine comfort, functionality and style (normally you only get one of the three!). May have to do a quick feature on knitwear soon!

Snapshot 4!

A slightly more subtle look today. The shorts are one of my favourite summery items because they're so lovely and bright! I think the shiny patent belt sets them off quite nicely. It was a chilly day so I wore the tights (cut offs again because of the cast). I'm a huge fan of stripes so I like this top even if the colours are a little boring! I think the combination of the stripes and the bright pop of the shorts creates a playful look (I'm a playful gal myself). The cardigan is a real gem though- it's a proper Arann knit so its ridiculously warm and its just the right length for me. I love slouchy cardigans to keep things cute and laid back! I don't think it shows in this photo but I teamed the look with sharp 50s make up-black catlike-eyeliner and a bright red lip! The most commented on aspect of this outfit was my yellow zipper earrings!

Snapshot 3!

This is another lil somethin'-somethin' I put together for college. This one drew a couple of positive comments from people in my class-especially the top, and a lot of odd looks from the older generation as they drove by me waiting for the bus :PThe lace top is an edited item; it was originally a long sleeved leotard but I cut the sleeves short and removed the crotch region of it so it was more comfortable and a little less dressy for everyday wear. 

The hippy pants are probably one of my favourite items of clothing i got them for a steal in a little Indian shop while on holiday in Portugal. They are super baggy and comfortable but can actually be worn with a lot of things! Every time I wear them my younger brother likes to roll out the MC Hammer jokes!
The hat glows in the dark (which is all the time in Ireland at the moment) and I'm fairly sure belongs to my best mate Stephen. (He has an impressive selection of beanies which I have to regularly pilfer!)





As per usual the shoes are of course converse (I do own other shoes, cons are just the easiest option atm (at the moment) cos I have to wear comfortable flat shoes!).

The last item is my soft blazer. A bargain bucket miracle from new look sale a few years back! Before blazers were everywhere I was able to rock this badboy but used to keep it mostly for parties for over short dresses and the like. Today I thought it was a nice formal-ish contrast to the very hippyish trousers. It is also a little bit warmer than your average blazer because its soft cotton! Could probably do with an ironing to return it to the peak of its glory!

Snapshot 2!

  So here's our second journey into my daily dresscode! I've mentioned my love of colour a few times and this dress is great cos it has so many colours you can wear it with anything. The dress is home-made by me when I first started using my sewing machine. I used the top shape and fabric from an a/wear maxi-dress. I then slashed the length and used the leftover fabric to layer the top half and to put an underneath layer under the split front. Hemming the whole thing was a nightmare, especially since my sewing machine can be a little temperamental!  It definitely still needs some work as it's strapless and tends to fall down because the fabric is a bit slinky (hence the black string top underneath!).

I teamed it with the same distressed green tights from 'not so semi-formal' and my favourite purple shirt. The knotted shirt and bandanna were to add a bit of the 50s flavour I love. For an alternative option i combined this summery outfit  with my blue snowboots (it was also a slightly icy day!).

funky new coat

My mum brought back this new coat today and I thought it was quite cool and unusual so deserved a quick feature! It is suuuuuuper soft and cosy, kind of like wearing a picnic blanket! I think the collar is absolutely gorgeous and gives it a really lovely old fashioned feel. It has big lovely sleeves that are slightly like wings. The bottom had a bit of a twirl to it (something I adore in a coat!) and the bottom is split in several places so it's deadly for ACTIVITIES! this is a coat which will make you look sophisticated while still allowed you to climb trees and sit down on buses and such!

found items

I would consider myself a thrifty individual-I don't think I own any clothes that cost more than 25euro (with the possible exception of shoes or things my parents bought me for my birthday!) so when I'm not charity shopping or trawling penneys I tend to acquire items from various places. My best friend Lorna has regular wardrobe clearouts and always lets me look through the out pile before she throws it out (she's my only friend who's roughly the same clothes size so this is always a magical and lucrative event for me!)
Lost and founds are also great as in schools and colleges they often sell off or give away their contents after a certain period of time. My friend Conor acquired his trademark green chequered coat and a particularly awesome scarf from the lost and found at one of the soceities in my college.

My favourite hat was actually found on the ground by a friend of mine. Ditto one of my favourite pairs of earrings (lucky break, I found one one day then found the other a few days later a few hundred metres away!). Obviously you have to wash these things pretty well before wearing them just to be safe but its the same as getting them from a friend or acquaintance. Earlier this week I found an absolutely gorgeous scarf in the alley near my house so I'm set for the rest of the cold snap!

Now I'm obviously not encouraging stealing-anything that I've found is something I've only picked up after seeing it in a location more than once; i know how awful it is to come back to wear you think you dropped something and find its gone, even if you didn't expect it to still be there.

For most people the easy option for finding something cheap and non-generic is the charity shop which is one of my favourite places and also means that, while you get something for a steal, you're also giving to a deserving cause instead of probably paying into some sort of child labour by buying on the high street. I'm lucky enough to live about 10minutes from a town that has a ridiculous number of charity shops. While you do get a higher quality of second hand clothing in town you can't beat having a whole pile of shops together in one place for easy comparison. My best find in a charity shop was my favourite pair of boots i got them nearly new for just 3euro because they were unpriced and the heels were scuffed.

Snapshot 1!

SO this is the first of my 'outfit snapshots' showing some of the combinations I put together for college, parties etc. Generally the only constant from day to day in my style is colour and the more of it the better! My mum often teases me on the way out the door asking 'what colour are you NOT wearing today?' (in this outfit its purple I believe!). These blue tights are one of my favourite pairs because they're colourful but they're a good alternative to black for when you don't want too many brights! Over-knee socks, along with tights, are the most essential part of any outfit i put together and even as I get older and should probably be growing out of the schoolgirl look I seem to wear them a LOT! They're a really cute and simple way of keeping the leggies a bit warmer (I live in Ireland after all). 

Now the dress isn't really shown in the snapshot but I love it. It's one of my rare high-necked items and is a babydoll-esque style. It nips in at the waist and has a cutesy collar and buttons. I particularly like the colour plus the dress is a really easy option to wear with anything which makes the morning rush a little easier! The jumper is new and probably one of the cosiest things I own. I love the bright colour and i think its particularly good given the dark days upon us at the moment! 






My final note on this outfit is the headband, I'm a huge fan of the 50s look and I have a lot of bandannas. I have really thick hair so its nice to get it out of my eyes especially when its windy and I'm on crutches!

not so semi-formal

A fashion anecdote; at the start of my second term of college, I was invited to a special ceremony for people who'd achieved high marks in their exams. When I read the invite on the morning (already dressed for the day at college) I realised it said 'semi-formal'. Now any time I've been to an event  of that dress code it's been not too dressy (it wasn't like a debs or something besides it was at half five in the afternoon-hardly evening wear) so I figured that I wasn't dressed too scruffily for college so what I was wearing was probably fine. How wrong I was... all the boys were in suits and the girls were in nice skirts and tops. My parents were even dressed up for it. I like to think the vice-provost of my college appreciated my creative streak when I had my picture taken with her...that's what I like to think. At the end of the day my outfit probably wasn't ideal for the occasion but I made half of it myself and I love it. Creativity was part of what got me my good grades that got me into college and it was definitely something that's helped me make a few interesting friends since I started.

The tube dress is inherited from a friend, the green leggings were once nice tights that I cut the feet off of and distressed with a key! The shirt is one of my absolute favourites and belonged to my dad back in the '70s and is pure silk. This photo doesn't show it off all that well but the outfit is colourful but not over the top...apart from in this context where everyone else was dressed like my parents. I definitely recommend tying the shirt if like me you're broader in the shoulders because this is a man's shirt and absolutely swamps me otherwise! My final note on this outfit is that cons go with everything...even the leg cast.

SHAPES

Right so I don't have access to any photos on my laptop at the minute so unfortunately I cant get cracking on a post about how to customise clothes or a style update, instead I'm gonna talk about SHAPES. (ooh-ah excitingggg!) I'm an hourglass girl and have been since the day my hormones kicked in! This was majorly frustrating for me when I first got into fashion. I started designing and customising clothes when I was thirteen but most of the styles and looks I found stunning and inspiring from the catwalk and the Internet were quite simply not suited to my body type. High necked tops and dress, baggy hippy skirts or chunky knits were incredibly unflattering. The difficulty with my shape was the thing that got me started making and editing my clothes because I didn't fit the things I wanted to buy on the high street. Unlike a lot of Irish girls I have a big 'ol booty and buying jeans was hell! Similarly I have athletic shoulders and a bust out of proportion with my waist so baggy shirts just made me look heavy. There will always be a little part of me that wants to be one of those tall, slender boyish body types simply for the clothing options but I have to thank my genetics for giving me all this trouble or I wouldn't be the person I am. I cant encourage people enough to wear what makes you happy-if you feel good in it you'll look awesome. Just like your body type you have to own your style and just be confident in it or you'll never pull it off.
Another quick note on shapes is that if you are chopping and changing your clothes is that they are CRUCIAL. If you wanna have something no one else has the way to go is with crazy shapes and cut outs. Every time a new style hits the shops its the new shape, the new cut. We'd all still be wearing flares if someone hadn't decided that skinny was a good shape for jeans. (and those of us like myself who are of the stumpy-legged persuasion know that flares needed to go!). Scissors are your friends (just don't run with them!) if you have old t-shirts, jeans, skirts or especially  shirts a few strategic snips can transform them and most of the time you don't even need to finish the ends with sewing (besides some of us like that rough-and-ready look thank-you!).
Right I think that's it for today-like I said just a quicky! From next week I'll be posting semi-regularly with photos and little tidbits of customising wisdom. Subscribe if ya like what I'm putting out here on the interweb-adoodle.!