Wardrobe of a Dream Girl : Irregular Choice

Good Evening my sweetlings,
The magical world of Irregular Choice seems to have invaded lately, I've been seeing mention of them here, there and everywhere! Any time I see their shoes I make a mental note of my favourites and tuck it somewhere in my dream wardrobe for my Dream Girl to wear. Dream Girl can walk in heels you see, her hair changes to go with her outfits (and always matches no matter how many different colours and patterns she's wearing) and, being in a land without money, she can wear all sorts of fabulous things that might take me a little while to work up to in real life!


So, after years of secret and not so secret oogling I thought I would finally compile some of my favourite Irregular Choice shoes. Enjoy!

Cortesan Floral Bar

Light coloured florals, pink and blue, polkadots... there's no way I could pass this shoe by!

 Oriento Sun So

I'm absolutely in love with the carved wedges on these, aren't they amazing? I've also learnt that black floral wedges suit me rather well and these have a secret added strawberry to sweeten the deal (as if it needed any more sweetening...)

 Spat Attack

There are quite a few different designs of this shoe and I love pretty much all of them. This one takes the cake though, polkadots, stripes and that beautiful black body that looks like masses of stars all with a gorgeous shape.

Mirror Mirror 

Continuing the space theme, I love the velvet planet and the aged look of the materials.

Dizzy Dee 

These are my absolute favourites, aren't they amazing? They look super comfortable whilst still looking really cool.

Poetic Licence Lemon Cupcake

And for something a little more casual, some pretty sneakers.


What sort of things are in your Dream Wardrobe? Do you have a Dream Girl or Dream Boy?

Friend Friday: Inspiration Strikes

Ah Friday, so good to see you again. This week we're discussing our inspirations in all their myriad forms. I'm so excited to see everybodies answers this week, I love getting new inspiration about as much as a squirrel loves skittering about in the trees or my rats love kidnapping pretty much everything I own (such as pages of my dissertation, balls of wool, my eyeliner, paintbrushes... the list is endless!)

 (image taken from Tribe World)

1. Which celebrity (celebrities) do you look to for fashion inspiration?
At first I wasn't sure how to answer this question, it's always the case for me that when I try to think of specific individuals or inspirations that my mind goes entirely blank! I did however manage to come up with a few people who are always a source of inspiration for me regardless of celebrity status or even real life existance.
Amanda Palmer, Emilie Autumn, Candice Night of Blackmore's Night, Wednesday Addams, anyone and everyone from The Tribe (does anyone remember that show?), my friend Monsta, Gwen Stefani circa No Doubt and Willow and Tara from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

 (Meadham Kirchhoff designs, I'm sorry to say I don't have the original source for the compilation)

2. When it comes to your own personal style, what inspires you?
So, so many things! Nature and especially wild nature (flowers, animals, trees, the elements), wild faeries, pattern mixing, extreme layering, feminine mixed with masculine, attitude, Totoro, trinkets, hidden elements, stripes, polkadots, bright colours, anything moss coloured (if it looks like moss then all the better!), tokens, extremes, strangeness, dreams, comfort, reality & lack of, space, traditional goth and traditional punk, Barbie, 80's and 90's toys (Popples, My Little Pony), my pets (especially my rats!).

 (two of my outfits from 2010)

3. How do you hope to inspire your readers?
I hope to show my readers how fun clothes can be and that you don't have to fit into any type or mold in order to have fun or find a place for yourself in the world. For me clothes are all about fun, I love larger than life expression and clothes for me are a fantastic way to live expressively. I also love dramatic differences or changes, like the outfits above. It's really fun to see just how different you can look by changing elements, I think that reflects a lot of our inner selves too and can make it easier to accept different parts of ourselves that we can't see. I hope to help people feel braver and more confident about themselves, to love themselves and I hope that maybe some of my outfits can inspire you to go and drag out your dress up box and have a party!

(my dad very happily reading FAE magazine!)

4. Outside the realm of fashion who/what inspires you?
I think this is already answered in the second question since I don't seperate fashion and none fashion inspirations. The things that inspire me the most outside of fashion are the people I know and love as well as the people I meet. I'm very lucky to be surrounded by amazing friends and loved ones, I take a lot of inspiration from their personalities for example my best friend is a total firecracker who speaks her mind, my boyfriend is calm but exciteable and always ready for fun, my mum is strong and has retained lots of her fun childlike qualities, my dad for his unexpected love of alternative fashions... besides that I have the blessing to meet hundreds of completely different people thanks to my job and I love hearing their individual stories, hearing about their past, their views on life... it's fascinating to have such an insight into so many different people's way of being and that constantly inspires and teaches me new things.


5. Which songs inspire you?
Many, my life has a pretty much permanent soundtrack (even if it's in my head sometimes!). Here are a few songs I love at the moment.


Eclipse of Time by Nobuo Uematsu (from the game Lost Odyssey). Nobuo's work has always inspired me, I often listen to it when I'm working, writing or drawing.


Ravenheart by Xandria, a band that Steven has gotten me into. Their other music is beautiful too. 



Locked Within a Crystal Ball by Blackmore's Night, I highly recommend this band as all of their songs are brilliant and they're fantastic for making you want to dance. 

Friend Friday, an initiative started by the lovely Katy of Modly Chic, is a great way for fashion bloggers  to connect with one another and share more about themselves in a friendly and encouraging community. You can find out more HERE and join in by joining the Fashion Beauty Friend Friday Google Group.

Spring Gothic

 Good Evening my sweetlings,
I feel like I haven't made a real outfit post in quite a while, in point of fact I haven't really felt like I've dressed up recently at all! Not to say that I haven't looked nice (though sometimes I've looked like I've been living in a hedge with the birds) but I've missed that feeling of getting excited because you put effort into your outfit you know?
Today I decided to wear this dress since it's one of my favourites and hasn't seen the light of day in a while. It has really nice movement, especially in the breeze, and it also compliments my body shape very well. It's always nice to have something that was made for curvier bodies since those types of clothes naturally look nicer on me I feel. This one is hugging around the waist which is my smallest area and then flows outwards over the hips and upper legs which are one of my bigger areas.
 

 Can you tell how much tidier the garden is now? Look how clean the floor is! I'm usually on sweeping duty (my favourite garden clearing activity) and I'm strangely proud of how clean it is in general.

 Caught in the wind, it has such a lovely flow. Also I love my boots, my parents bought them for me for my 20th birthday last year and they're one of my most used pairs of shoes. They're quite clinky and clicky which I enjoy.

My Yin & Yang and wooden rings are two of my absolute favourites. Also you can see my odd earrings in these two, something I do often. This one shows the little red teapot that I got in an Alice in Wonderland set I bought.

This one is a pink rose. You can see the colours in my hair fading too, now it's a mixture of mint green, whiteish blue, darker blue and grey at the ends. It always reminds me of the sea when I have it down.

I keep forgetting to take a picture of my handbag even though I love it so much! This is it, isn't it beautiful? I'm not usually into handbags but this one ticks all my handbag necessities I suppose. It's a lovely mahogany colour, messenger/briefcase styled, small and dainty but surprisingly big on the inside and with a shoulder and hand strap.

Dans le Jardin de mon âme

 Good evening my sugar snaps, I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend so far! 
The Easter holidays have rolled around and with them a two week break from Uni for me. Unfortunately I have my dissertation to finish in the next two weeks not to mention the myriad of other things I have to do so it was with a rather heavy heart that I sat down this morning to the cold glare of Word. 
It didn't take long to get fed up of tables and research reviews (especially ones that were rather mind boggling) so after doing some work I went out and spent a lovely afternoon in the garden instead and came back with a fresh mind. I'm happy to say I managed to drastically simplify my workload for myself, I'm actually a little giddy about it! I'm really of the firm belief that I should be spending Easter outside with some chocolate eggs watching the birds and snails, soaking up the sun and enjoying the flowers and I think I might have found a good way to balance my work and play times.


The title of this post translates as 'In the garden of my soul' which I feel fits perfectly with how I feel about my garden. Ever since I first saw The Secret Garden (and read the book!) I'd wanted one for myself, I've always felt inspired by flowers and greenery, attached to the spirits in each of the plants and animals there. I loved Dickon with his gentle nature and ability to speak to animals and how Mary came out of her shell and bloomed along with the garden that she tended. To me plants are much more than a pretty flower, everything about them expresses something larger to me, something indefineable. They give me such a tangible feeling of calmness and peace when I'm around them and I always choose the plants that call to me when I'm out buying them as well as saving ones that everyone else doesn't want.
The herbalists that I often spend time around talk a lot about connecting with the herbs and plants that they use, growing them from seed, having them on your desk whilst you read and write and really getting to know them on a deep level. As such you change the plant and it changes you. I need to find out what this technique is called, I know it has a name! I really feel we can have an amazing connection with plants and with nature as a whole and once you start tuning into the natures and feelings that each plant brings you really open the door to something other worldly. For me, when I go into the garden in some ways it becomes an extension of my heart and my core, in that sense perhaps even my soul.

 Steven got his hair cut! Doesn't he look great? It really suits him, though I have to admit I was double taking him for about a week after he got it done. 

 Steven bought a lot of new flowers this week, he's a real flower fiend! These are his favourites, they're lovely and bright. 

These are a type of Aquilegia, they're very dainty and beautiful. 

 Ivy Leaved Toadflax. 

 Little sunflowers! This particular breed grows to be absolutely gigantic, it's so exciting to see them this small.

 We were on a Repotting Rampage today (I really like making up amusing terms for things!) and ended up repotting about 10 plants! Here they all are, I'm hiding amongst them. 

 I bought three new types of Mint the other day, this one is Grapefruit Mint and has a slightly more peppery smell than regular Mint. 

 This one is Apple Mint, it has really fluffy leaves that make me smile whenever I rub them. 

 Cat Mint, this one isn't edible for humans but cats love it! It smells quite different to other types of Mint. 

 Regular Mint, still my favourite I think! If somebody asked me what my favourite herb was I think I would definitely have to say Mint, it's delicious, good for you and it smells lovely. 

 Golden Marjoram, this is another one that smells quite peppery. It's next to a tiny little Garlic Chive plant. 

 Blueberry with tiny little buds forming.

 The flowers of my Clementine have mostly fallen off now and are starting to make darling little baby Clementines, you can just see the green balls in this picture. 

 New plants all potted up and happy. 

 Little Tea Pots (how I love them so)

The one to the right with the flowers and butterflies was a gift to me from one of my lovely readers Jan ♥  

I'm not much of a potato eater but I love the look of them and I love growing them. 


Are you growing flowers and plants this year my dears? What are your favourite types?

Friend Friday: Come What May

 (Pull & Bear Spring 2011 Campaign by Txema Yeste)

Today is a very special day for Friend Friday as it marks the first year anniversary of this wonderful tradition. It has quickly become a much anticipated part of my week, looking forward to answering the questions posed and reading all the responses from the ladies and gentlemen who take part each week. Congratulations are in order to Katy who started this whole thing off and deserves all the success she has garnered (and more!). Thank you Katy! 

In that stream of thought today we're giving thanks to the people who made us who we are today, who shaped us, encouraged us and helped us along the way. Here are just some of the people who have influenced my life. 

1.  When it comes to me personally – I owe a lot of who I am to: 
Oh there are so many people I could put here, I feel very lucky in that I've had a life filled with people who have taught me a lot about myself and have helped me to become the person I am today. However I'm going to go with my parents for this one because for as long as I can remember they've been there supporting me and encouraging me in all my endeavours, always celebrating my successes, soothing my failures and instilling in me a healthy philosophy that has always stayed with me: if you try your best then that's the most you can do and it's the most anybody can expect from you. 
I think for somebody like me who is naturally very ambitious that being bought up with that ethic was very good for me. I think if I'd been bought up in a more academically based environment or had been taught that only certain results are worth celebrating then I would probably work myself into the ground trying to reach those expectations. Being taught to do my best means that I put my all into my projects but that I don't burn myself out by trying to reach any specified goals, numbers or letters. It has helped me to accept my weaknesses as well as my strengths and to work with them equally in my life.
Furthermore my parents have always encouraged me to be myself and have loved me for that. The more I come into contact with other parents, and hear stories of other parents, the more I realise that sadly that can be quite a rare thing (especially if you're a strange fairy creature like me!). I've always been on the strange side of things and my parents have always welcomed that and even revelled in it and been very proud of me for it. Being shown that unconditional love and acceptance meant that I never really had to battle with them about my self expression and I never felt the need to become more 'normal' for them or for anybody else. I feel that my relationship with my parents is very good and I've always been one to try and make them proud and happy. I've always felt that if they love me the way I am, and if I can make them proud, then everybody else should like me for who I am as well (or leave me if they don't!). It's made me very resistant to changing myself for other people which has proved important over some of the events in my life, I think my parents instilled that strength in me.


2. When it comes to me professionally – I owe a lot of who I am to:
There are a few people here, all of them are professors I've had. In highschool and college I had two brilliant teachers named Mr Feltham (my English Literature teacher) and Mr Grist (my Sociology teacher) who I got on with really well and who always showed interest in my work and who I was as a person. I remember writing a book of poetry when I was about 14 and giving it to Mr Feltham, when he taught me again 3 years later he showed me it. He kept it all that time! That has always stayed with me and touched me deeply because to me that showed his faith and belief in my talents. He would always encourage my writing and poetry, read the things I showed him and give me feedback. That encouragement really fanned the flames of my writing passion and even now, after writing my novel last November, I still owe a lot of my passion for writing and story telling to him and his enthusiasm for my work.
Mr Grist was an almost other worldly kind of person, when I first met him I was quite frightened of him because when you were talking to him he gave you 100% undivided attention and I'd never had that before. He was very interested in my fashion sense and my philosophies on life, we often ended up catching the train together on Fridays and we would sit and talk about Japanese street style and individuality. I was big into self expression then, that was always my favourite topic in his class, and he was always very happy to sit and discuss the importance of it with me. I would even dress up in certain styles before I caught the train to show him what I was talking about! He was so unapologetically enthusiastic and passionate about his subject (he was also the biggest Marxist I've ever met) and got amazing conversations going in all our classes. I really enjoyed the years I spent in his class and feel that he helped me to develop my skills in discussion and explaining my points of view which have always been helpful to me.
Lastly there's my professor Martin Dean, one of the acupuncturists and tutors who works at my University. Martin's speciality field is Acupuncture for Infertility and because of him I've really developed a passion for helping women with fertility and pregnancy related problems which will likely become my field of expertise later in life. What's more Martin has seen me make a radical change in myself, going from a shy and reserved girl who doubted herself to a confident, knowledgeable person with great skill which he never fails to remind me of. He's instilled a lot of confidence in me by acknowleding how much I've changed and how much happier I've become as a result of that, what's more he's extremely knowledgeable in the field of acupuncture and has taught me so many things in my time at university. I have to put in a quick mention for my professor Jason Tsai here as well, the most hyperactive and amusing tutor I've ever had but also a man with a kind heart who has always been there to help when I needed him.

3. When it comes to the art of blogging, I’m grateful to these people for helping me through some rough spots:
Again there are quite a few people who would fit into this catagory but I'd especially like to mention the people who have been there for me from the beginning such as my friend Alice of Lovelorn Frog. Alice was really the one who peaked my interest in starting my own blog to begin with and then helped me with blogging conundrums over the years following. I was also very fortunate to find myself on the radar of bloggers such as Skye of The Lost Princess early on which really boosted my confidence as I really looked up to admired her as well as girls (and a boy!) like MJ of End of March and Saku of Neo Grotesk all of whom I admire for a lot of reasons (not least of all their style!) and who have all encouraged me with kind words and recognition. 
I'm also going to mention Steven, Kala and Rhaggles here for their unending support and interest in my blog as well as their willingness to listen to me talk about it for hours! These three have been so helpful in offering their thoughts and opinions and have also helped me with technical aspects of the blog such as installing certain HTML. Furthermore they've helped me with ideas for posts and editing and two out of three have often been my photographer.


4. One blogging challenge I’m grateful happened because it made me stronger was…
One thing that challenged me was when I found that people were coming to my blog because of image dump posts I made each month instead of the posts I was putting the most thought into. As a consequence I had a really high bounce rate, I suppose people were just finding me through google, saving the images and then moving on.  
This really upset me as those posts were just meant as quick posts of things that were inspiring me, they weren't all my blog had to offer! It bothered me that people weren't really finding my blog because of the articles and posts I was proud of, they were just finding me through google images because I happened to post a pretty picture once. For a long time those posts dominated my 'most popular' section, as a consequence I decided to stop making them some time ago and instead focused on posts that really represent who I am and my thoughts. Thankfully that's started to have an effect on my stats and I think it also had an effect on the community here in general, I can now have much more in depth conversations with people about things I really care about.What's more I'm also focusing more on quality and well written posts which means I have more to offer in general and feel more proud of my work here than ever before.

 
5. To my readers, I’d like to say… 
Thank you so much for your unending support, your wonderful natures, your sweet words and for sharing your worlds and thoughts with me. Thank you so much for reading, for commenting and for sharing my posts with others.
I have had the opportunity to meet so many amazing and inspiring people all thanks to this blog and it makes me so glad to have started it. You have all helped me to make this place exactly what I want it to be, a place for happiness, inspiration and high spirits. Your words have brightened my dark days and lightened my heart when it was heaviest and for that I am so thankful, moreso than I can ever express in words. Know that I cherish each and every one of you my sweetlings, for you are really the very best kind of people and I hope you know it. 


Friend Friday, an initiative started by the lovely Katy of Modly Chic, is a great way for fashion bloggers  to connect with one another and share more about themselves in a friendly and encouraging community. You can find out more HERE and join in by joining the Fashion Beauty Friend Friday Google Group.

Friend Friday : Spring Trends 2011

Spring is here and with it come blue skies, fluffy clouds, sunshine, beautiful sunsets and flowers galore. The Spring trends this year fit perfectly with the carefree spirit of this season where florals, brights and wedges abound. This week we're discussing our favourite Spring trends so without further ado here are some of the trends and looks I'm most excited for this Spring.

S/S wants by genkimania featuring oversized sweaters

1. Colour Blocking and Colourful Stripes
I love stripes so I'm excited to see them in lots of bright colours this Spring. I'm a little stuck in my ways on the stripy front I feel (Black & White) so I'm looking forward to having the opportunity to challenge myself to bring a little more colour into my stripe-centric outfits. 

2. Brights
During the Winter I was craving bright colours like you wouldn't believe and it seems like the world was listening because this Spring is full of brights. They're so fun and playful and immediately make me feel happy and less stressed, nothing could be better when cramming for an exam and writing my dissertation. What's more you can mix them together to create bold outfits and the remixing options are endless too. 

Shoes! by genkimania featuring platform stiletto heels

3. Yellow, Orange, Blue
This comes into the brights a little bit but I'm so excited to find lots of my favourite colours in the shops. I love bright sunshiney yellows and the perfect cerulean blue, throw in vast quantities of orange (my colour for this year it seems) and it's colourful heaven for me. I also love mixing brights with bold patterns like black and white stripes or polkadots (and those two things never go out of style).

4. Platforms & Wedges
  For someone as prone to tripping over and losing balance as I am wedges are the perfect shoe! It's a sad fact that I've never really gotten to grips with high heels and attempting to wear them just ends up in a pretty comical display of extreme clumsiness (until the foot pain sets in). Wedges and platforms give a much steadier base which helps to prevent the dreaded fall and what's more they often don't have the same severe drop that normal high heels have meaning you can still have the height without hurting yourself. 
 
5. Sweet Sandals & Cute Boots
I seem to be turning into more and more of a shoe type of girl the older I get. Right now I'm lusting after a new pair of cute sandals (platform or flat? I can't decide) and those flowery Dr Martens have been calling to me forever! Sandals are perfect for when the weather gets hot but luckily we get enough rain here to make boots a valid Spring and Summer choice too.

S/S Jewellery want by genkimania featuring silver jewelry

Extra! Animal Rings & Statement Rings
I had to throw in one more thing because I'm in love with animal rings and jewellery (especially bugs) and statement rings with their huge beautiful stones and intricate details. I'm so happy to see animal rings being embraced, some may find them a little cliché now but I'll never get sick of them.



Friend Friday, an initiative started by the lovely Katy of Modly Chic, is a great way for fashion bloggers  to connect with one another and share more about themselves in a friendly and encouraging community. You can find out more HERE and join in by joining the Fashion Beauty Friend Friday Google Group.

Emerald Days

Good Morning my sweetlings and sugar plums,

How are you all today? I hope you're all having a fantastic first week of April. Can you believe it's April already? This year seems to be shooting by but I have to say I'm very thankful to see the warmer weather and I'm very excited to see all my plants coming back to life and my new endeavours in vegetable growing seem to be going well.

These past few weeks I've been really inspired by the greenery all around me, luckily with my hair being green it means I can wear a lot of green and they go together. I got this beautiful dress at 3 Wishes Faery Fest last year (an absolutely beautiful event, you can see my original post on it here ) and it's been one of my go to pieces ever since. I love making simple outfits with it, since it's quite bold it doesn't need much to go with it but you can still dress it up if you want to. It's also perfect in the warm weather since it's so billowy!

This week I've been cooking (Steven hurt his thumb so he's a little out of action right now :( ), brushing up on my French skills, writing my dissertation, stressing out a little too much about my school work and oddly enjoying watching Wrestlemania with Steven. I bet you never thought you'd see me enjoying wrestling, I know I didn't! 

 

 My finished perfume, I regretfully forgot to take pictures of the second part of the progress but I'm sure I'll be making plenty more in the future so I promise to document it then. It needs to be put into a dark glass bottle but for now I'm keeping it in this one, mostly because I love the colour of it. 
As for how it turned out? I smells like bottled Turkish Delight! I'm not sure how since there's absolutely no chocolate in it, it's a mystery. Turkish Delight always reminds me of The Chronicles of Narnia since the children in that love it so much. 

 I love the freshness of the leaves on my Raspberry, it makes me so happy every time I see her. I think that's one of my most favourite parts of Spring in general, few things are as sweet as the colour of fresh tiny shoots!

 My Pak Choi is growing nicely and the Peas and Carrots have started to make their appearence now as well. The Potatoes and Spring Onions are still nowhere to be seen, I think they must be sleepy. 

You can see my natural hair colour starting to show at the sides! I've been asked a lot recently about my natural hair colour so there it is folks, the elusive Natural Hair.

What are you up to this week my dears?