Something for fall

One of the biggest problems fashionwise living up here in the north is to stay warm during the cold parts of the year and still feel stylish. Unfortunately pretty and practical seldom go together...A problem (a least for me) which I am trying hard to solve.

In order to wear these pretty but not very warm shoes, I came up with the idea to make myself some spats. Basically a piece of cloth (or three per foot sewn together) to keep my feet warm and cosy. Or at least warmer. I used a piece of elastic underneath to keep in place, and velcro to open and close. Very simple. I might do a few more in different fabrics and colours, maybe with buttons going up the side, for some other semi-warm shoes I happen to own...

Staying dry and looking good can also be tricky. Lucky for me, I found this stripey rain-cape in a charity shop not too long ago. Now I just need it to rain!

I've got more ideas on how to stay warm and look good, but I haven't put all of them into practice yet. I'll show you once I get that far...If you got any tips or tricks you use yourself you are welcome to share!

Finally, here's my latest attempt at pincurls;

This time around I went to work for three days looking like this, and got many compliments and even more enquiries as to what special occasion was coming up which required this hairstyle...It appears that the people Iwork with only make an effort for special occasions, so the looks I got when I said that I just felt like it were a bit pussled. I guess I've taken my first steps down the road of being "the strange one that dresses up/does her hair for no reason". Oh, well, as I'm already on that road, why not go full throthle? On the third day with this hair, I put on some red lipstick...

Old fashioned market

On friday when my holiday started I got all dressed up and travelled along this beautiful road.

At the end of the road there was an "old fashioned market", where people sold lot's of hand made stuff. My mother was there selling her pottery, and me - I embraced the opportunity to wear some of the few vintage item that I happen to own. This was the result;

The suit is the one that was too big and that I've been working on for a while, and I think it's from the forties. The rest is all second hand/vintage stuff, apart from the shoes, they are my beloved hush puppies.

The whole outfit cost about 20 euros, the seamed stocking being the cheapest item of only 10 cents. And I had tried to curl my hair a bit with this hot air curler I've got, but what a bad investment, the curls lasted a maximum of 20 minutes...

Sadly, this was not the car I arrived in...

This was pretty much the first time I wore all vintage outside the house, and let me tell you, it did not go unnoticed...Funny, because the were other (sellers) there dressed in an old fashioned style. But ok, they had gone more for the poor peasant style. I felt watched. I do not feel ready to go out on the town dressed like this. 50's inspired style is so much easier to get away with.

They are doing a play at this same location, and both my dad and my youngest brother (who took the shots of me) are acting in it. Due to my outfit I was actually asked if I'm in the play also, as some of the actors were walking around in costume. In 18th century costume. I guess nobody will know if I'm mixing 40's, 50's and 60's fashion in the future, if they can't tell 1770's clothes from 1940's.

Right, now I'm off to do some packing, because we're leaving for Mallorca tomorrow night! If I don't have time to blog before then, have a wonderful week everybody!

Masquerade

On saturday I went to a masquerade arranged by the staff club at work. I dressed, naturally, as a cat and got quite a few compliments. I was a bit nervous before going as I'm still kind of new at my workplace, and I didn't really know anybody that well. But I didn't feel left out at all, instead, I had a pretty good time along with Cleopatra, Snow White, Marge Simpson and a whole bunch of other people.

The outfit is made up from a pair of tight "jazz pants" a tight black top and a long sleeved bolero. I'm also wearing a fur collar where fur collars normally go, as well as fur collars wrapped around my ankles. My tail is a boa-style scarf folded in half, the shoes are my beloved hush puppies, the gloves I made myself and the belt I thrifted a couple of weeks ago.

Shoes and Handbags

When I was about seven I was quite a girly girl, you know, pinks and purples and Barbies and princess dresses. Then I grew up a little and became more practical and wore blues and jeans and trainers and didn't care that much about my appearance. This has all changed, starting a while before I moved away from home and became addicted to second hand shopping. It keeps getting worse - or better, depending on what side you stand on. I have, for example, introduced make-up, skirts, shoes and handbags into my life.

When I moved back from England I had about 4-5 handbags and maybe 6-7 pairs of shoes. I had started to wear descret make-up for work back in Kent, but couldn't be bothered at the cleaning job when I got back here. Funnily enough, it was the cleaning job and wearing a boring uniform that really set of the feminime period I've got going on at the moment. I needed to feel feminime, like a woman and not a genderless cleaning robot. So now I wear not-so-descret make-up for work, and my collection of shoes and handbags is growing at an alarming rate...

These two bags cost me 5 € altogether. Not too bad considering they look unused.

Ah, and these shoes, another fiver! Too bad they don't keep my feet very warm though. Something for spring then.

And here we are, my latest find, in size 3! A little bit tight but oh so pretty and just what I've been looking for, and only 3 €! Dark brown leather, mmm. Notice that I'm lifting the shoe with my toes...Which brings me to the next part of this post: The challenge!

The Freelancer tagged me a while back to reveal seven facts about myself, so I'm gonna give it a go. Right.

1. As seen above, I go around picking things up with my feet. I think I developed this skill as a result of being too lazy to bend down when something needed picking up.

2. I am also pretty good at balancing on one leg, this comes from years of training, specifically from balancing on one foot whilst srubbing the other in the shower...Needless to say, my feet are very nice and soft from this habit.

3. I have got a very odd looking mole on my stomach, or the mole in itself is not so weird, it's the lack of pigmentation around it. A white circle with a mole in the middle. No swimsuit modelling career for me.

4. I've also got a spot on the top of my head where my skin has no pigment, this means that the hair growing on that spot is also without pigment. I have a blond spot. You can see it quite well a few posts down where I'm showing off a hairdo...

5. Even though I've become more feminime I'm still a very practical and comfortable person. I prioritise being warm and dry before looking good, however I am working on finding stuff that combines practical with pretty, it's surprisingly difficult.

6. Relating to no. 6 -being practical. I don't actually wear that many of the outfits that I show here. Right now I'm wearing a hoodie and some sweatpants...But I do dress up for going out. And for the fun of it. I've been dressing up since I was a little kid, and found it funny that there is a whole community out there that does the same thing, even in real life. In other words, I'm really glad I found all these inspirational blogs out there to share my obsession with. :)

7. This weeks stats for this blog is 84 unique visitors. Only one of these visits is from somebody I know in real life - my boyfriend. I have only told ONE of my friends about this little hobby, and I don't think she reads it. Not very often at least. I am not exactly sure why I haven't told anybody either. Maybe I'm embarrassed, I'm not the same person that I was when we were close. Anyway, I find it hard to believe that they'd be that interrested in my latest fleamarket finds. So. Is there really any point? Do your friends and family know about your blog?

Ok, so now I should tag seven people. Or break the rules! Yes! Instead of tagging I challenge you to answer the question about whether or not you've told people about your blog (if you have one) and why/why not! Cause I'm curious.

Stormy weather

A few night ago the view from from my kitchen window was this calm and blue and snowy.

Last night it looked like this;

There was a bit of a storm, you see.

Enough of a storm actually, for me to be greated by this sight in the morning.

I'm fairly sure that tree was standing straight the night before...?

Anyhow, while I work up the enthusiasm to photograph my latest finds, here's a collage of pics from that time when I dressed up as Rosie the riveter. Click for larger image.

I had a good weekend even though I had to work sunday. My bf took me winter bathing again, and this time there was a bit of snow and even some thin ice further out on the water.

Coming up is two days of 5 hour evening shifts, then two days off, then 8(!) days of work in a row...Including sat & sun shifts of 9 hours each. My life still has room for improvment, to say the least. Oh well, at least I'm not working christmas eve - no wait, I am. Crap.