Birthday!

Gosh, it's been a long time, hasn't it? I've been (slowly) working on a post to talk about a couple of things that have been happening with me, but I keep putting it off as it's a bit personal and I'm not really one for sharing that sort of thing. I'll keep chipping away at it and see how I go. One thing that happened, though, is that I turned 29! So, I shall share a little of my birthday experience (OK, my presents, mostly as I totally forgot to take photos of anything else) as seen via my Instagram snaps. Above is the outfit I wore out for my birthday lunch. Below are some of my presents from, in order: my mum; my best friend and her husband; my sister and her partner and last, but definitely not least, the very lovely Jane, who has her own super cute blog. (For anyone wondering the Sandy/Rizzo nightie is from Peter Alexander and the X-Files socks are from Foot Cardigan).

Savers haul

Last week, Savers had a 50% off clothing sale, so I headed over there & bought myself a bunch of new to me clothes. Of course, I went looking for summer clothes and ended up with armfuls of winter threads.  Ah, such is the nature of op-shopping! I also went to Spotlight after and got two new patterns as they were 2 for $10. At the end you can see me sporting one of my Savers finds

(the leopard print blazer).

Big Instagram Roundup

I keep thinking I've nothing to blog about, then I check my Instagram and see I've been up to a lot. Just not blogging. So, here's a roundup from Instagram. One of the biggest things I did in the past month or so was be a bridesmaid for one of my best friends. (Photo above). And just below you can see my friend in her gorgeous dress (to which this photo does not do justice.) Descriptions of photos will be at the bottom of the post.

All the world seems in tune, on a Spring afternoon

Don't worry - I didn't poison any pigeons! (I hope some of you listen to Tom Lehrer, ha). Came close to sharing my lunch with a couple that were hopping about my table in a food court, though.

This outfit features the dress that I posted a close-up of in my last post. Very pretty print! My neighbours' blossom matched my outfit quite fortuitously. And you can almost see my Populaire inspired nails - I feel like they go with nearly any outfit, despite the clashing colours.

Button up shirts and short skirts

Well, well, look who decided to blog! Anyway, I was so in love with the outfit from this post that I decided I needed more short skirts and button up shirts. So, I went out to look for some. Unfortunately, cute blouses are in abundance but not so cute skirts. I managed to find the two below at Savers and then have them taken up.

Oh, by the way! My hair is red now. It's faded quite a bit but I really like the faded colour. 

Included this photo so you can see the print on my blouse - little colourful sunglasses! So cute.

This is my favourite of the two outfits. I'm such a sucker for yellow and black! I feel like a bee. Or Batman.

I'm definitely going to hunt down some more tighter fitted mini skirts, now. I like having a go-to combination of items as much as I like experimenting and trying out something different.

Pink and green

Just a quick outfit post, today, of something I wore last week. I went on a mini shopping spree and was excited to wear my new purchases out. Luckily, I had lunch with a friend planned, which was the perfect opportunity to wear them. I was more than pleasantly surprised to see just how well they worked together.

For once, the wind made for a good photo! I said on Instagram that I felt a bit like a teddy girl by way of the 80s. Or maybe a combination of the style of Andie Walsh and Duckie Dale, now that I think about it. I'm definitely wearing this together, again, anyway.

My hair turned out really well that day.

And the blouse & blazer on their own. I nearly bought a plain mustard blouse, instead of this one, but I'm so glad I changed my mind. This is something a bit different.

My blog turns 5 today!

Wow, my blog is now five years old! Can you believe it? I almost can't.

I've been tweaking my layout for a while now but I've decided to officially 'announce' the new look, today. With my blog's new look, there is a new focus (well, sort of). I guess it's been more of a slow transition than an abrupt change, but that's because that's how life goes. I've even finally redone my about me page! Huzzah.

Leaving everything until the last minute, as is my usual fashion, I don't have much planned for this post but I thought it'd be fun to take a look at my first ever outfit posted on here, compared to the most recent. Oh, and you can use the code HAPPY5 to get 25% off of everything in my etsy shop until the 19th.

The outfit and the post that started it all: A Wink and a Smile. Aw.

Coincidentally, my most recent outfit also features a black pencil skirt (well the first was a dress but the similarities are still there).

I was going to do a list of my favourite posts and my most popular ones but, well, as I mentioned I left this 'til the last minute. My top post (in terms of hits) is my 'How I made my Rockford Peach costume' post, which is awesome. I know I get a lot of hits from people looking how to make one - I just hope my post is helpful. That costume is still one of my proudest moments.

Thinking about it, I'm not sure I could rank my favourite posts, anyway. I always loved my Silver Screen Sundays - they were fun! Going back through my archives, I'm finding outfits I forgot about and some I'd rather not remember. But that's what I love about documenting (even a small portion of) my life, online, in this way. Anyway, enough navel-gazing. Thank-you to everyone who has ever supported my blog - maybe next year I'll do something to celebrate properly.

Oh, as well as a new layout, I finally have a Facebook page. Let's hope I remember to use it. And while I'm plugging, my friend and I started a new project: Vicious Peril! Check it out if you like.

(Remember to use the code HAPPY5 for 25% off my etsy shop.)

Celebrate good times (with an outfit)

Here's a little fact about me: I've never been to any of my graduation ceremonies. (Well, I went to my high school graduation, but none for any of my tertiary education). I don't like the spectacle and the attention. But I did want to celebrate being completely done with my thesis so I asked some of my friends out to dinner.

I put a lot of thought into my outfit even though we weren't going anywhere particularly special. Of course, the weather has been atrocious, lately, so my outfit plans were changed somewhat to accommodate the cold. At the last minute I swapped out a shorter, thinner skirt for this suspender pencil skirt. And I really love this outfit!

Nearly everything is from ASOS or Target, except for my barely visible belt, which is vintage. How snazzy are these black and white loafers, by the way?

I had my fringe trimmed, last week. I can see clearly again. Huzzah! It had got to that annoying stage where it kept getting stuck in the creases of my eyelids (or does that only happen to me?)

And here's a poorly composed, fuzzy mirror photo to finish it off. I never realise how much I need to clean my mirror until I take a photo like this.

What I've been wearing lately

This post is brought to you, yet again, from my phone! I just don't seem to leave myself time for outfit photos, these days - got to work on that. If you follow me on Instagram, you've probably seen these outfits, already. Anyway, here is a roundup of some of my ensembles from roughly the last month.

I love this outfit (which is mostly from ASOS) a whole lot but it certainly wasn't comfortable. The lining of the dress is just horrible and the shoes cut into my ankles very badly. I'm hoping I can break them in because they're adorable.

 

See? Adorable!

 

I love this lip print shirt from ASOS. There are a lot of super cute blouses out, lately, which I'm trying to stock up on. This is one of those boxy blouses, which I don't really like, but tucked into jeans or a skirt it's OK.

 

When I first got this dress I deemed the above-the-knee length too short. So, down came the hem! Now I refuse to wear dresses that are below the knee because I feel uncomfortable in them, so up went the hem again. It's not the best winter dress (too thin!) but I wanted to wear it ASAP. I think it'll stay in the wardrobe until warmer days, now, but I'm glad it got an outing.

  

This cardigan is a bit too small and quite itchy but the beading is just so gorgeous, I don't care.

Jeans and blouses

I've been pretty slack at taking outfit photos, lately. I haven't touched a camera aside from my iPhone in what seems like months (but is probably less). But here are a couple of outfits that I've worn somewhat lately - this post has been sitting in my drafts for quite some time, as I keep forgetting about it. 

Both outfits include the new(ish) pair of jeans I've been loving (from Target). Some days, wearing tights and a dress somehow seems like more effort than a blouse and pair of pants! So, I'm glad to have at least one pair I can put on, on those days.

Aside from the jeans everything else I'm wearing is secondhand or vintage.

How amazing is this blouse? I love it so much. The pintuck pleats, the bright floral pattern on the black background, that pointy collar! Ahhhh.

I really wish I had a cute leather(look) jacket to top this outfit off. With the creepers and nearly-all-black, I feel like I'm going back to the outfits I would have worn nearly 10 years ago. Ha.

I love my hair a lot, lately. I'm generally just letting it do it's natural thing. I miss being a redhead but I love being a brunette, again, and it's just so much easier to maintain.

What do you wear on those days you want to be a little dressed up but kind of can't be bothered?

Broken record

It's been quite obvious that I've been struggling with this blog, lately. That is largely due to struggling with changing styles in my wardrobe. I wrote a little bit about it on Tumblr and, while I love the idea of looking different from one day to the next, it's not always possible on a tight budget. At least, not in the way I envision it.

So, I suppose because I don't know how I want to dress, exactly, I'm not sure what to blog about, either. Of course, I also don't have the drive to photograph everything the way that I used to and I think that's playing a huge part in my lack of blogging.

Lately I've been feeling comfortable in outfits such as the one above - buttoned up blouses, skater skirts and boots - but last month I was all about mod. 

This chop and changing is partly because I just love so many different styles, but also because I guess I'm experimenting, again, trying to find out what I like.

I'm probably sounding like a broken record, now, with all of my 'I'm not sure what to do with my blog' or 'I'm not sure what this means for my blog' but I still haven't figured it out. It did, at least, give me a title.

After reading some great posts from other vintage bloggers (such as these two from Solanah of Vixen Vintage and this one from Janey of Atomic Redhead) I've wanted to write my own, but can't seem to find the words, just yet.

I've gone through a few different styles in my life, and I think this is just one of those natural things where my interests and tastes have shifted subtly and it's reflected in what I want to wear. But, again, it leaves me at a standstill with this blog, considering its history and how it started. I don't want to move to a new blog but maybe I could give it a visual makeover, as a start.

I also started a Pinterest board for anything that's inspiring me (visually/sartorially) at any given time, in hopes that some kind of pattern(s) will emerge. At the least, I think it will show how my interests can change from week to week but often cycle around.

This post is very disjointed and I apologise for that. I'm still struggling with blogging and still hoping I'll come out the other side with a clearer vision for this blog. Until then, perhaps it will be a document of my experimenting and journey to a new style?

Say, do any of you guys know how to Madison?

Remember how I mentioned how good the current Australian production of The Rocky Horror Show is? Well, I saw it a second time the Saturday after I saw it with Miss Fairchild (also the Saturday of Oz Comic Con, so that was an exhausting day). The second time around, I went for a Brad Majors inspired outfit.

Forgive the mirror shot but it's the only one I got of me in my glasses (which I do need for things like the cinema or the theatre) - you can also see my ring which is not dissimilar to Brad's (seen below). I'll admit, that detail was entirely unintentional! Just a funny little coincidence (an accident!), though I did think the ring was very 'Rocky Horror'.

Oh, Brad!

A full length shot to show off the tights and shoes I wore. Of course, I had to wear my platforms to Rocky Horror!

As a sidenote, the actor playing Brad in the current production is a little bit cute. Ha. Oh, heck, the entire cast is gorgeous. (And talented).

And just so you can see my suspender skirt properly. I actually bought this for a potential future costume, but it's a cute skirt so it's currently just in my non-costume wardrobe.

Oh, gosh, writing this post makes me want to go again. Sigh. (I know, I'm a greedy little thing, aren't I? Twice just isn't enough with a production this good!)

When Miss Fairchild came to stay

As I mentioned in my last post, last week Miss Fairchild came to stay with me. And we had a grand old time! The main purpose of her visit was to go see The Rocky Horror Show, and the photos below are of what we wore when we went to see it. 

Firstly, it is a brilliant production. Honestly, some of the cast sound better than some of the earlier cast recordings I've heard (or, at least, just as good). If you have the chance to see it, do go. Adelaide was even lucky enough to have Richard O'Brien as The Narrator!!! I was practically in tears but I won't bore you all with my effusive rambling so, on to the photos.

I thought black and white was appropriate for a Rocky Horror production. And Miss Fairchild was looking fabulous in red.

My iPhone didn't really like the low light...

I decided to take some polaroids - what's the point in having film in the camera if I never use it? Miss Fairchild took this one of me and caught me with my eyes closed. I really like this shot, though.

Together! Awww. I like this photo of us.

And I'm pretty proud of the composition of this one - I usually end up with very lopsided polaroids.

I didn't really get any other photos, even though we went to one of my favourite places to eat (Two Bit Villains) and to see the Dark Heart Biennal at AGSA - we were both exhausted from all the fun, and forgot about photos. Oops.

Also, sorry for the sparse text - hopefully the photos speak for themselves!