Not So Mellow Yellow

I'm out of the doldrums; out of the pyjamas, and back in to some proper clothes today.  Service resumed as normal... well, as normal as Louise Land can be!

I decided to wear one of my favourite dresses today. I feel like I've been neglecting it this summer (if this season's wash out can be called that), and that's really not on!  This dress got taken on many an adventure around New York city last summer from the top of the Empire State Building to the Statue of Liberty to a crazy ride around Midtown on a rickshaw at 11pm in the rain. I wore it constantly from May until the chill of Autumn set in. So, it's got quite a bit of sentimental value to me now.

This dress is one of my favourite pieces of clothing; not only from my current wardrobe, but out of everything I've ever owned. I only tried it on out of curiosity when I came across it while shopping early last summer. I was surprised by how good I felt in it; how well the shape of the dress fit me. I happily handed my money over to the cashier, and I haven't looked back since.

It was refreshing to find a thick cotton dress with a more unusual print. I'm tired of seeing so much jersey and polyester, and although I love ditsy florals and butterfly prints, I am a little bored of always coming across them. This dress is so different... Yes, it's still a bird print, but it's not a typical swallow print... It's thick, instead of thin and see through. It's dark, instead of light and fresh and summery. It's also effortlessly comfortable and breathable in the heat. It has a frill along the collar, and another along the bottom. The waist is elasticated, but not in a noticeable way that causes me to constantly pull at it like so many other elasticated waists do. To sum up, this is perfection in dress form!

I've dressed it with a green keeper belt (on the waist... well, kinda); stacked up lots of Indian bangles with a couple of bracelets; added a silver and turquoise ring; and added a yellow cropped cardigan. I'm wearing this cardigan for the first time, but it's my second of the same one. I wore the other one so much it now has that horrible dark tinge from too many washes. These cardigans are perfect... they cover enough of the arm, and aren't too stifling on hot days. I have them in seven colours!

My physiotherapist is encouraging me to sit up for five or ten minutes at a time every hour or so, so I made a conscious effort and decided to play with some make up while doing so. The sun was shining, so I decided to try out the yellow shadows I bought from Inglot last summer. I can't recommend this brand more. The eye shadows are vibrant, long lasting, and give even coverage.

 I used a darker yellow shade across each lid, a lighter shade to the inner corners, and a shimmery pale gold blended where the colours met. I then lined the lower outer lash lines with a turquoise Bourjois eye pencil. I also tried out the Avon mascara which came with Marie Claire Magazine. I did curl my eyelashes first, but it was very easy to apply, didn't clump, and nicely separated and curled the lashes!

Please ignore the powdery finish to my nose; I used a Benefit foundation which doesn't work well with the pores on my nose. I really need to find myself a new liquid foundation at some point.

What do you think? Would you wear yellow eye shadow? And would you think of teaming yellow and blue together?

This is an example of the print of the dress. There are lots of different birds and flowers in different colours all over the black fabric.

There's quite a lot of green to the pattern of the dress, so I picked it out and accessorised with green accessories. This is a double keeper belt from Dorothy Perkins.

I felt like stacking lots of bracelets on my arms today, so I dug out some of the Indian bracelets I bought on holiday in France at least five or six years ago and added them to a couple of high street bracelets on my wrists.

I went on several holidays with my family to the mid-west coast of France in my early twenties. We'd usually wander around the market in La Palmyre at some point, and I remember coming back with about thirty of these bangles in one go- mostly in green and turquoise. I haven't worn them in so long, but I've been feeling so nostalgic for those holidays lately, so my mind went to them.

I'm still loving this nail polish... please excuse the chipped index finger. The ring is a little too big but I think it's pretty.

Dress: Dorothy Perkins
Belt: Dorothy Perkins
Cardigan: New Look
Indian bangles: From a market in France
Teal flower bracelet: New Look
Teal skinny beaded bracelet: Dorothy Perkins (part of a set)
Gem stone bracelet: Dorothy Perkins
Ring: Evans
Nail Polish: Barry M Racing Green
Eyeshadows: Inglot
Eyeliner: Bourjois
Freckles: Models own


Do you have memories attached to your clothes and accessories? Do you have a favourite item of clothing?

I'm trying to decide whether to buy the yellow bird printed zip front dress from AX Paris, as it's in the sale now and I LOVE the navy fish print one I already own. Decisions, decisions!