Please look after this bear

I picked up this coat today in a charity shop and it wasn't 'till my brother pointed it out that I realised precisely how much it looks like Paddington's duffel coat! There was some debate over the dinner table as to whether Paddington's is red or blue, but frankly my dears... you know the rest. Wearing it makes me want to eat marmalade... and shove my hands deep, deep into those lovely big pockets!

I don't own many coats, and of the few I do own, I always seem to end up wearing the same one - hopefully this new one will facilitate some branching out. I love how the oversized silhouette looks with just tights (over my school skirt), so I guess it'd probably look good with skinnies too. I must experiment. Once I've satisfied those marmalade cravings...

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Too kitsch?

I thought that today I'd share a skirt I whipped up recently, and which I have very mixed feelings about. The fabric was in fact a curtain in a previous life, one which I spotted in a charity shop and couldn't make my mind up over. On the one hand I really liked the colours, but on the other hand... well, I'm a bit wary of moving into kitschy territory. I ummed and aahed for a few weeks, then wandered in one day to find that it had been marked down to half price. A sign?

Anyway, I picked up these curtains and brought them home, then abandoned them on my fabric pile for the next you-don't-want-to-know-how-many weeks, until one day the grey clouds parted momentarily, and sun-craziness* struck me. I needed a bright, colourful outfit, and I needed one now! My plans for an A-line skirt with a zipper were thrust unceremoniously out of the window, and about half an hour later I was the proud owner of a twirly elastic-waisted circle skirt.

In retrospect, I'm quite glad that I did a circle skirt and not an A-line skirt, an A-line skirt would probably have made the kiddy-print too obvious, and I wouldn't have worn it. As it is in the circle skirt some of the print is upside down or sideways, and the fullness breaks it up a little. I'm still not sure that it will come out when I'm in anything but the summer-craziest of moods, but wearing it is like Prozac, so I might break it out when I've got the mean reds too.

I held onto the other curtain, and I figured I might make another one to ebay in the summer, when I'm less time-constrained. I can't think of anything else to do with one lone curtain!

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*Sun craziness - The desire to wear, eat, drink and listen to mad things, because OHMIGOD it's England and there's SUN!

Not really channeling Cassie

This outfit was originally inspired by a character from Skins, Cassie, but in the end I couldn't find much in my wardrobe to do so. I love Hannah Murray's ability to pull off really long skirts without looking old fashioned, or prudish, so I channeled that a bit. The outfit I'm wearing is probably a bit tame for her tastes, but I'm not really in a very OTT mood. It's a Sunday.
The dusky pink skirt is actually a dress, which fits me hideously round the bust. It's also a bit dressy for every day, but I think dressing it down with a jumper worked quite well. I'm trying to work up the courage to chop the top off permanently, and make it a skirt, but... I have problems cutting up stuff I paid more than a fiver for, even if i know I never wear it in its current state!


Dress - Episode, Sweater - M&S, Belt - Vintage, Tights - M&S



I spotted this dress on Craftster today, and really like it. It's so bold and... wow. And I really like the silhouette that the short bubble hem creates, which makes it a teeny bit like that crazy Balenciaga dress, but way, way more wearable. I'd love to wear it with bare legs and gladiator sandals once summer finally makes an appearance, so I'll definately be on the lookout for floral charity shop dresses to 'upgrade'. I have to say, despite all the love that it's been given on the blogs and in magazines, I hate the Balenciaga dress. Clothes, in my opinion, should work with the body, not against it like that dress does. It looks like it doesn't fit the model, it certainly doesn't flatter her and to be honest, I think it'd look more like sculpture than clothing when it wasn't being worn.

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Hello world

Nice to meet you.

...

I'm sixteen years old, right now. Sixteen years, four months and two days, actually. I adore fashion, from reading about it to making it to wearing it. But especially making it. Over the past two years, I've become gradually more obsessed with going to Central Saint Martins, and studying fashion there. The first time I saw the name was in the book 'How to Walk in High Heels', (which, for the record, taught me nothing of the sort.) Then I began to notice that this name cropped up in fashion blogs and magazines a lot. You know how it is when things crop up in clusters? I just kept seeing the name everywhere. My curiosity piqued, I decided to look it up and upon discovering a list of alumni, fell in love. The more I read about the college's alumni and history, the more set on getting into it I became.


So when I read that it was relocating, my feelings were mixed. On the one hand, a more unified, campus and up-to-date accommodation is a good thing, but the history of the old site(s) is undeniable and combined with the busy location, part of what attracted me. There's a blue plaque up to commemorate the first ever Sex Pistols gig, and it's namechecked by Jarvis Cocker in 'Common People.' The sheer number of fantastically inspiring artists, musicians and fashion designers who have passed through it must make it an amazing place to learn, although how much of that is to do with the building I don't know. I hope the new campus can retain its vibe and that the less central location doesn't totally suck, but at least if it does I'll have been once - I'm going on a summer course there later this year.

This was a slightly convoluted post, but hopefully it gives a bit of insight into me. In future, I fully plan on having lots of outfit posts and posts about, y'know, clothes, but this was current, pertinent and provided a nice way for me to introduce myself and my ambitions.

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