Hell for leather ...

Busy day off yesterday.....

A two hour walk with the wolf and young Miss Hannah Lloyd and her lovely mum. She has a dog walking company called "Wags & Woofs" in Bristol and she suggested we meet up so that Solo could have fun with the other dogs. It was lovely to see them all playing around, less lovely to clean him up after a two hour run covered in mud.

I then taught French in the afternoon to a great couple who always make it so much fun. I am sure I get more out of it than they do (not really the objective). But I also found time to start a picture that I wanted to do for my mums impending 60th birthday in March........AND, a little trip to the
St Peters Hospice shop in Cotham Hill, an affluent area of Bristol. I drove John into work so on my way back I decided to pay them a visit as I was in the neighbourhood. Conveniently. And look at what I found....

An inky blue long leather coat! It was £12 but there was a half price sale on all jackets and coats so I only paid £6 in the end. It has a certain "German Officer" feel to it but I still love it. It looks better done up but I had a thick jumper underneath so that wasn't an option. Incidentally, this is the jumper from work (Wallis) that I featured a while ago for uniform.

It didn't have any buttons so I decided to raid my sewing box, blow away the cobwebs and have a look at what was inside. I found some old buttons of my Nans that I decided I would stitch onto the coat and I am so glad I did.

And when I got to thinking about shoes, I forgot that I bought this pair from M&S ages ago and I have never worn them. Not sure why, they only cost £4 in the sale and they are a size 4.5 and I am a 6 but not letting that put me off, I tried them anyway and they fitted perfectly. They must have been sized incorrectly.

Bristol Fashion Week 2013

Ok, so it may not be Milan or Paris but our little city plays host to Bristol Fashion Week twice a year and luckily for me, they take place at the Mall where I work.

Bristol Fashion Week

There is normally a big marquee in the car park outside where usually around 5 catwalk shows per day promote the new seasons trends from the shops at the centre. This year it's running from 20th - 24th March 2013.  Now I know it's not second hand or vintage items on show but our store takes part so I naturally take an interest. It's also been a bit of an annual pilgrimage for my mum and me for years now. We have a nice meal before and a glass of vino (and then wish we hadn't bothered when we are dying for the loo half way through).

I rarely buy full price items from the high street anymore but I still like to keep up to date with the new seasons trends. It's always interesting to see what is out there and after going to the meeting this week (where I was embarrassingly late and the celebrity presenter had already started!), I now know what is considered "in" for the spring/summer looks.....

• Monochrome, specifically lots of stripes and spots (sometimes merged together in one look)
• Taxicab yellow
• Metallics and foil
• Flowery graphic prints 
• Bold colour block colours
• White
• Utility 
• Oriental (but mixed with other prints such as tartan and check.......the jury is out on that one).
• Barely there.....sheer tops exposing lovely lingerie 
• Luxe leather

And as for specific styles.....

• 1950's style skirts
• Long maxi dresses
• Tuxedo jackets (another of the items on my covet list!) 
• Long sleeved dresses

Lots of styles for your truly! I love bright yellows although they are notoriously tough to wear depending on your complexion. Full skirts are a mainstay for me, black and white is classic and I love leather (not in a seedy fifty shades kind of way). So it will be nice to see what the shows have "in store" for us. Stay "posted"..........

 

Fight or Flight?

Another week over....I just don't know where the time goes.  I am getting scarily close to my 40th birthday which I am mentally unprepared for.  I am slowly resigning myself to the fact that I can no longer prance around in my tutu thinking I am the West Country's answer to Carrie Bradshaw but I am not happy about that physical ageing process that is starting to become more and more evident.

 

Anyway, enough of that....I still have a few months to build up the botox fund.

 

Last night I suggested a cinema outing to John.  I love the cinema but he is less of a cinema buff (unless the film is starts with the word "Die" and ends with "Hard").  And despite the yawning and lack of obvious enthusiasm, I managed to persuade him to accompany me and we saw the film Flight with Denzel Washington.  Great film and very though provoking.  And even better - John stayed awake the whole time. A rare honour.

 

I had been at work all day so was keen to change and this is what I wore.  You can't really see the top very well thanks to the wolf but it's a  Topshop v-neck vest with lacy short sleeves.  It's quite plain but I didn't want to go to over the top.  I bought it some time ago now from a charity shop but don't wear it often as it has shoulder pads (that I need to remove) and John takes this mick.

 

 

What a gorgeous chap. He knew we were getting ready to go out so I thought I had better make a fuss of him.

 

This is my beloved leather jacket that is about 20 years old now. I remember buying it at St Nicholas Market in town on my lunch break for my first job. Its a lovely little covered market that sells all sorts of second hand goods but also a lot of local talent in the form of handmade clothes or jewellery. I wear it all the time.  It's starting to show the signs of ageing (as we are both) but I will never give it up.

 

Its really nice and fitted and the back has vertical folds which is just a nice touch.

 

This necklace I bought at Clovelly, a beautiful English village on the North Devon coast. I think it was around £15 but it was so different, I couldn't leave it behind.  The three rings make me think of John, me and the dog. John if you read this - notice I said you before the dog!!

 

These are the Topshop shoes that I found in the charity shop last year for around £7.  They were brand new and still in the box with tags. I was so chuffed. They were in the window too, I have no idea how they didn't sell straight away.

 

I have to say though, I seem to spend less time in high heels now (another sign of ageing!!) and when I do wear them, it takes some adjustment. I have given up wearing them for work. 8 hours stood on your feet in pain is just not worth it anymore. God, I never thought I would say that out loud!

Button Up!

I am so pleased that I got around to making this picture. My friend Gill makes them also and she posted some pics on Facebook a while back that gave me a bit of a push.  I made a button picture a while ago for the first time but it wasn't great (being my first try). My friend Jo has a lovely one at Casa Foster that her mum bought in a boutique in Bristol and I have admired it ever since. I wish I had more time to do "crafty" things. I will definitely try and make some more though, je suis très motivé.

I have made a couple since that I was quite proud of but they were for presents and I didn't take any photos unfortunately. My friend's just said to make some more and she will get her mum to sell them for me in the local Post Office. Something to think about! 

Hooray for Hollywood

It arrived! My latest (and not so secret)  Etsy purchase.

I thought I would come clean with John and tell him about it (especially as he collected it for me from the Post Office this morning). BUT......I did not come clean about the other two items and unfortunately for me, the label listed all three on the outside of the packet!  I had hoped his poor eyesight might miss it. No such luck.

This is Jess the owner of the shop on Etsy - Volkerwandering. I have bought a few vintage bits from her now as she sells some gorgeous pieces.

It's a typical 1950's-esque Hollywood style dress. I am so pleased with it. My friend Harriet has just looked at it though and said "and where are you going to wear that?......" She has a point. It's is not the kind of outfit one wears to the corner shop but I am determined to find an occasion. Maybe a Valentines meal...if I am lucky. I fear I have some brownie points to make up yet. 

It's a lovely silky material with an accordion pleat, long skirt which are always really flattering (much more than box pleats). 

I found a sketch (on the right) of this style in my Fashion Source Book that details pretty much every design through the ages and it's shown under the lingerie section for 1947. I do remember seeing old Hollywood starlets wandering around wearing this style of dress in films, as an overlay to some slinky underwear. I am sure Elizabeth Taylor would have done so! 

Another gorgeous dress with a similar style. Not mine I hasten to add! 

Seeing spots....

Hey All......

Another week over and I have a Saturday off which is nice. Back to work tomorrow though so it's a super short weekend. As per usual, I like to pack a lot in so it's been a busy day of walking the wolf, teaching French and this afternoon ma belle fille and me popped out to the shops. I am conscious that because of the cold weather, I have been living in jeans lately so I wanted to stick on a dress. And the one I picked was this spotty number. It's an old Laura Ashley dress that I bought from a charity shop while I was at uni a couple of years ago. When I first met John, he lived above a Charity shop in Fishponds so naturally, any free moment was spent downstairs.

I love spots and wrap dresses really suit my figure. They are are so flattering. 

This lovely bag is one of my (many) favourites. John bought it for my birthday last year from Ted Baker. I don't normally want for anything that expensive (Louis Vuitton aside) but I remembered that he had some unspent vouchers for a shopping centre so I planted the seed and let him consider it. Thankfully for me, the thought of actually coming up with his own present was too stressful so he jumped at the chance to use his vouchers and tick the fab husband box. Lucky me.

"Bling kit" in a trinket

How cute is this? My friend Dannie found this for £1 in a charity shop on Gloucester Road in Bristol and she is going to use it as a little trinket box for her windowsill. I think it looks like a little mini Moroccan tagine that when you open the lid, gives you lovely scents of slow cooked lamb. 

Or maybe that's just me because I somehow never stop thinking of food.