Because a vision softly creeping left its seeds while I was sleeping

Outfit Details:

DRESS, NECKLACE AND SHOES - 1960S VINTAGE // TIGHTS (WHICH LOOK RED HERE BUT ARE TOTALLY A RUST ORANGE) - DEBENHAMS // GILET - THRIFTED
Today I attended Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair and what a time I had! You've never seen so much polyester. Now I'd never visited this brand of vintage fair before, and I'm always skeptical as they generally tend to veer one of two ways: '80s & '90s selling a mix of New Romantic/Madonna/Fresh Prince of Bel Air styles, or '40s and '50s full of reproduction, cupcakes and scrabble rings. Both of which are fine if that's your thing, but if something's advertised as being general then I expect it to be so! Thankfully Judy's literally sold a little of everything, and I didn't spot a single cupcake! (why are those considered vintage anyway? The '50s were all about austerity!) I have to say I was a teeny bit disappointed as it was much smaller than I expected and it barely sold any homewares. I did manage to pick up a few treasures though, including a fab '60s purple velvet coat and a few crimplene items in that wonderful shade of bright yellow that just screams '60s and '70s. I also spied some beautiful peasant style maxi dresses for only £15 which I would of loved to have made mine, but alas they were just that bit too small. Which is always the hardest part of vintage shopping, having to leave treasure on the shelf because you know you'll only be torturing yourself otherwise!

As I finished at the fair earlier than expected, I popped over to the charity shop further down the street and picked up two records: David Bowie Hunky Dory and Simon & Garfunkel Sounds of Silence. Score! They also had quite a few Paul McCartney records for sale which I turned my nose up at, haha. His post Beatles career has always been the one I'm absolutely least interested in for some reason. Ho hum.

All in all a very fruitful trip, and my outfit appeared to cause a little stir as I seemed to be accepting compliments left and right and even had my photo taken. It's amazing I could fit my inflated ego back out of the door! I kind of threw this outfit together a little haphazardly, simply throwing on a few of my favourite pieces whilst keeping comfort in mind, so I'm pretty smitten with how it all came together!

Someone's painting and I think it's me

I haven't been drawing as much as I'd of liked to this summer, a combination of not having as much free time, lack of inspiration and being overly harsh on myself. I'm happy to report that I seem to be well and truly out of that slump now though! I thought I'd share a few recent pages from my sketchbook I'm quite fond of.



➳ The floral design was from a vintage gift bag I had which was in rather shoddy condition, but I loved the design so much I decided to recreate it in acrylics and Posca pens. It proved to be a lot more fiddly to draw than I anticipated, but it was quite nice to just sit and paint without thinking too much whilst I played films in the background. Next to it is some samples of Orla Kiely wallpapers with a Stephen King quote I just love. I've often felt because Stephen King is a popular writer he's seen as pretty lowbrow, but some of his passages really speak to me. He often manages to perfectly articulate precise feelings I hadn't known how to even begin to say or perhaps hadn't even realised I felt.
➳ I recently dug out my old Prismacolor markers which had been stored in the shed for 5 years. Once I got my full set of Copics I completely abandoned them, but using them recently I really can't work out why! They're a completely different pen to Copics, the colours are so wonderfully vibrant which is just perfect for drawing Yellow Submarine characters. I'm currently obsessed!
➳ The sunflower was a completely experimental piece and one I really love. I bought a set of Windsor & Newton inks when at art school and never really "got" them. I incorporated them into my watercolours and I just love how it came out, they gave the paints some real depth and vibrancy. I don't paint very often as I love my markers but I really must give this method more goes!




Most of my creative time lately has been spent working on a personal zine project which I'm so excited about. Making my own zine is something I've been interested in for a long time but never had the courage to act on. I previously got a bit caught up in the idea that there's a "right" way to do a zine, and I'd probably do it wrong and totally miss the mark somehow.

My ideas and concepts never felt good enough, I certainly don't feel my writing is strong enough (I never like my writing), and just general feelings of someone else could do it so much better than me. But then I realised so what? That way of thinking is surely missing the point. It doesn't matter if someone else has better ideas, is a better writer, or a better artist, or better anything, they don't have your passions or perspective or story and that's what truly matters. It's about creating the thing, pouring your soul into it (and there's no right or wrong or good or bad way to do that.). And I realised that I've never ever finished reading a zine and thought 'Wow, that sucked' because they don't. Every zine is a personal experience, that's the joy and whole essence of them and what keeps me going back for more.

“You have to surrender to your mediocrity, and just write. Because it’s hard, really hard, to write even a crappy book. But it’s better to write a book that kind of sucks rather than no book at all, as you wait around to magically become Faulkner. No one is going to write your book for you and you can't write anybody’s book but your own.” - Cheryl Strayed

Listen the wind is rising and the air is wild with leaves

Outfit details:

DRESS - 1960s VINTAGE (DOLLYROCKERS) // SANDALS - NEW LOOK // VEST - THRIFTED
Summer is well and truly on it's way out; although the days are still warm there's that unmistakable autumnal chill always underlying it. The evenings are really drawing in too, it feels just a few weeks ago the sun was setting past 9.30pm, now it sets at 7.30pm. This summer I've been out in the evenings much more so I've really noticed it. It seems funny to me how I could of experienced so many summers in my lifetime and not realised how dark it is at the end of August, but sometimes we get too caught up in our lives to really stop and take notice of what nature is up to. I've really been enjoying it. I confess I can't wait until autumn is in full swing though! I'm already planning all of the little things I like to do in the season, like visit the woodlands to see the mushrooms and eating all of the chestnuts I can lay my hands on! Fruits are already coming into season, and I've already made a crumble with the wild apples and blackberries I collected on my walk. Yum!

Another reason to be glad for autumn is it means I can wear my favourite clothes again. I've been patiently waiting until I could wear this Dollyrockers maxi dress I found back in July, it's made from a thick woven material and what with the browns and reds I feel is just the perfect outfit for fall. As it's still a little warmer I wore it with my gladiator sandals, but I plan to swap them for my brown knee boots once it gets a little chillier.

I'm really into '70s folk style fashions lately, not actually a good thing as it means I've been swooning online at vintage treasures that fit this aesthetic when I'm trying to pare back my wardrobe. Just a few dresses and accessories won't hurt! I'm quite tempted to make the items myself as I've found some of the most glorious patterns. The only thing stopping me is knowing how shoddy the selections of fabrics are to choose from where I live, and I hate buying fabric online without being able to feel it and see how it drapes. It's the perfect style for this time of year though, don't you think? Particularly the more layered looks.


The main source of my inspiration, the above image is what I'd look like in my dreams. I actually have a belt very similar to the black one. Now I just need the dress to go with it!



Elements are of it can't help but remind me of the much more whimsical Japanese fashion called Dolly-Kei: "Inspired by old ethnic Eastern European clothing, and the stories of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen.". I'm much more into the '70s take on it to be honest, but any excuse to post pictures of these beautiful, creative girls, and it's fun to see how these styles evolve over time. Heri, who works for the Dolly-Kei shop Grimoire in Shibuya, Tokyo has come to epitomise the style.



What styles are inspiring you for the new season?