We were so different then before your war against the suburbs began

I've lived in the same country military town all my life. Most people couldn't wait to leave this suburban town, but even though I haven't got anything tying me here, I'm quite content living in suburbia.

My parents were both in the RAF before I was born, and my brother-in-law has been for almost fifteen years. I grew up becoming accustomed to my closest friends leaving sooner or later as their parents (or partners when they became adults and settled down) were uprooted to another base in another county or country. I've seen the effect my brother-in-law's detachments to Afghanistan or Iraq have had on my Sister as she worries for six months hoping for his safe return, and I've had to get used to their postings across the UK. I'm immune to the sound of the military planes, helicopters, and Chinooks that take flight every day; it's eerily quiet when the weather grounds them. And I'm acculturated to the sight of military uniforms each time I leave the house. It's such a commonplace sight in my hometown that I rarely think about it.

Camouflage is a trend most adults avoid here, as it's just seen as a uniform. A bulky, rather ugly uniform at that. It would likely lead to some teasing if worn socialising around the service men and women, and can be seen as a little disrespectful, too. I used to wear camouflage vest tops back in the nineties when combat trousers were still the height of fashion, but have avoided the pattern since.

I do, however, love the military trends which seems to be a recurring trend now. I adore military style coats and jackets, like the one I'm wearing today with my new oxblood asymmetric dress... (see, I did have a point with all that military talk)!

I look like I've been dragged backwards through a hedge...

Apologies for my appearance in these photos. I've not been feeling myself lately. I've been rather under the weather, and just feeling tired, lethargic, and a bit down. I've been living in my pyjamas and feeling a bit self indulgent, but I attempted to get dressed yesterday in an attempt to make myself feel a little better. It didn't really do the trick, and I was in two minds about sharing the photos of myself looking quite dishevelled but I eventually decided to anyway as it's been over a week since my last OOTD. Plus I've been itching to share my new dress, and my favourite jacket with you for ages.

My cropped military jacket is my favourite jacket out of every jacket I've ever owned. I purchased it about two years ago from Red Herring at Debenhams, and wear it with everything. It's the perfect shape for wearing with dresses, and draws the eye to the waist. It's also very soft and cosy. My favourite details are the buttons which I originally thought were anchors, but they actually have crests on them, although sadly it's missing a couple of buttons now (from the shoulders, and one on the arm) so I'll need to find a replacement for them sooner or later. The jacket is one of my best and favourite ever purchases.

I bought the dress, an oxblood asymmetric number from Matalan, about a month ago after the success of the polka dot variation I picked up. It's a size smaller than the other, and although it fits quite nicely, the 'girls' are a bit squashed in. It's not too bad with a t-shirt bra, but anything with proper support or padding will not be fitting in this dress! I just had to buy it, though, because I love the shape and colour; the shade in the photos without the jacket show the true colour quite well. It's a very dark red.



The buttons are gold-bronze with crests on them.

I decided to wear my owl necklace with the dress. It's just a high-street costume piece, and I've had it so long the gold has transformed to a dirty bronze colour. Call me mad, but I actually really like the old, rusty, weathered look it has now. 

You can't see in the outfit photos, but I was wearing this feathered bow hair band, with the feathers on the left in the photos.

And I kept the rest of the look simple with my skinny black patent belt, brown tights, and a brown, bronze and gold eye look.

What I Wore: 

Dress: Matalan

Jacket: Red Herring at Debenhams

Tights: Evans

Belt: Dorothy Perkins

Necklace: Dorothy Perkins

Hairband: Accessorize

I'm dying to purchase the ASOS textured bow collar (the one I keep bringing up) so I can wear it with this dress- I think it would work perfectly with it.

The dress also comes in several different colours and patterns (I just found a beautiful floral one here), and for just £18 they're a fantastic bargain. If you can get your hands on one in your size I'd recommend snapping one up. They seem to have been selling like hot cakes.

Do you like the military and camoflague trends, and would you wear them in a military town?