What I Wore In 2014

It's that time of the year when I like to look back on my best outfits of the past year. 

Best outfits? I barely even blogged enough of them to choose from!

I know that 2014 was not the best year for outfits on this blog. I only managed about twenty, which is extremely pitiful. Even worse so when I remember that I created Polka Spots and Freckle Dots for showcasing my outfits! It's frustrating, but it was and still is out of my control. In 2014, my back pain grew steadily worse, and it go so bad that I was barely mobile, and was forced to spend the majority of the year in bed, wearing pyjamas with my hair scraped back. It wasn't a pretty sight! Some girls can rock that look and still look stunning; I'm not one of them! 

Even when I wore proper outfits, I didn't often have the strength to pose for photos, and most of them weren't even worth blogging about. However, there were some outfits I loved wearing, and many of them eventually made it on to the blog... Here's a look back at my favourites:

Polka Dot Hepburn- This was my very first Lady Vintage dress, which has quickly become one of my favourites dresses of all time. It's perfect in every way!

Red Gingham and Strawberries- Another first for 2014... the gingham Audrey swing dress was my first Lindy Bop frock, but not my last! The large gingham print reminded me of tablecloths, so I enjoyed wearing it with my novelty strawberry bag from Accessorize, and a matching necklace.

Red and Yellow Polka Dots- In early Autumn, I channelled my inner Minnie Mouse by wearing a classic red polka dot Lindy Bop dress, with so much yellow! Yellow polka dot pumps, a yellow cropped cardi, and the most amazing lemon wedge clutch bag. It was one of the most fun outfits I've ever worn, and definitely one of my favourites, not just of 2014, but of all time, too.

Brown and Yellow- I experimented with some different colour combinations, and ended up looking like a nineties Brownie when I wore my Pretty Woman dress with yellow!

In the House in a Heartbeat- My absolute favourite buy of 2014 was a black and white heart print skater dress by Alice & You, which fits like a dream. I've lost count of just how many times I wore it last year, but I think it made an appearance at least once a week! I loved wearing it with bold pops of colour, but especially red.

It Must've Been Love- This was the debut of the Pretty Women dress; a brown polka dot swing dress by Lindy Bop I got my hands on in the summer. I didn't have the best pieces to style it with, so this outfit wasn't one of my best, although the dress is a beauty.

Seasons Change- This was one of the few plain dresses and outfits I wore all year, but it's another that's high on the favourites list. Why? Those colours! The deep raspberry of the dress and the forest green of the boots made this colour junkie happy.

Purr, Purr. Purr- I remixed an old frock from 2012; a coral cat print dress from AX Paris which was the cheapest garment I've ever snagged on sale- less than £6.50!! I teamed it simply with black pieces, and was complimented by a lady in the supermarket.

Freckles and Fox Print- I couldn't stop myself from giving one of my favourite dresses a reappearance in 2014, and dressed the raspberry fox print frock with purple, pink, and coral. This dress is still one of my faves; I wore it just last week.

Lips of an Angel- I didn't feel hugely confident with my looks last year, but the photos from this outfit shoot were some of the few I felt I looked nice in. It's funny as this lip print skater dress is one of the least expensive dresses in my wardrobe, and it didn't even fit me perfectly!

Aztec Stripes- I bought this stripey Aztec print skater dress with a voucher I won in a blog giveaway, and it was easily one of the most fun pieces I wore all year.

Swans a Swimming- My love for quirky prints showed no sign of letting up in 2014, and I added several new garments to my wardrobe zoo, including an amazing swan print skater dress from Dorothy Perkins. The print was so cheerful, and I couldn't help but wear it with a novelty bag shaped like a Russian Doll.

Polka Dots and Vampire Teeth- I based this outfit around the amazing vampire lips clutch bag, which has to be one of the best bags ever created! I wore it with red and black, and a generous helping of polka dots.

Lemon and Aquamarine- This was, without a doubt, one of the brightest, and most colourful outfits of 2014, and a new colour combination for me. The bold aquamarine dress was unlike anything I've ever worn before, and just in case I wasn't colourful enough, I decided to go extra colourful and added lots of yellow to finish the look off. It was a happy outfit.

Hearts and Polka Dots- I went even shorter with my hem lengths during the summer, which was a turning point for me; rewind four or five years earlier and I was terrified of stepping out in public in leggings and dresses below the knee! I was surprised by how good I felt in this outfit, and I've worn the dress many times since.

JD Williams Knitwear Review- The final three outfits were featured in one post. I know I blogged about them yesterday, but I actually wore them in December, so I'm still counting them as last year's outfits. Annoyingly, the post was delayed as my laptop broke and I lost some of the photos. I had fun styling all three outfits around three gorgeous pieces of knitwear, and I even wore my first pair of trousers in two and a half years!

And that's eighteen of my favourite outfits of 2014! I didn't dislike any of the outfits I wore, but I do think most of them were quite predictable, and not really worth writing home about. I used to wear all kinds of clothes in all kinds of styles, but I've definitely become comfortable with dressing a certain way over the last couple of years. 

My aim is to try to mix things up a little in 2015, and go back to taking more risks with my fashion choices. I also hope to get back to blogging more outfits this year, although only time will tell if I can manage that one!

What was your favourite outfit of 2014?

My Christmas 2014

I can't believe Christmas has already come and gone; the whole festive season passed by far too quickly for me this year! Christmas Eve was pretty boring and uneventful, but I had a lovely Christmas Day at home with my family. Here's a few snippets from my Christmas celebrations...

On Christmas Eve morning, I went over to my sister's house, which is just around the corner from mine, and we quickly made Christmas crackers and table favours for Christmas Day.

We used a cracker kit from Hobbycraft for our crackers, and filled them with novelty chocolates from M&S- how cute are the brussel sprouts?- and also included a scratch card in each one. 

For the table favours, we added gold coins and a few Lindt chocolates to pretty cake cases, wrapped them in red or white embellished tulle, and tied them red ribbons. They were far from perfect but they went down really well with the family on Christmas Day!

Annoyingly, the cracker kit I bought was missing one cracker, and I didn't know about it until Christmas Eve afternoon, so I had to get creative on Christmas Eve night. I channelled my inner Kirstie, and made a cracker from scratch using cardboard tubes, scraps of red fabric, double-sided tape, and red ribbons. Sure, it was far from perfect and couldn't be snapped over Christmas dinner, but I was impressed with my last minute creativity. Even if it did take me over an hour to make!

I also made my blackberry and apple trifle on Christmas Eve. I've been making it every Christmas for almost a decade, so it's a tradition for me to make it every year now. It's delicious, if I do say so myself! I left the custard to set over night in the fridge and added the cream on Christmas Day- but I didn't manage to get a photo of the finished trifle before everybody dug in.

On Christmas Eve, I wore my South fox print dress, which is an old favourite of mine. It's already been featured in a couple of outfit posts, so I didn't take any proper photos of me wearing it. I didn't manage to get any photos of my Christmas Day outfit either. I couldn't really afford new clothes for the festive season this year, so I just wore my red polka dot Lady Vintage dress that I blogged about a week or two ago and absolutely adore.

I wore my make up the same way for both the 24th and 25th. I went with my signature look- green lids lined with black liner, followed by some festive green glitter. I used white and green pencil liners on the bottom lash lines, and finished with a couple of coats of jet black mascara. I'm not usually one for selfies as I hate my face, but I felt good this Christmas!

On Christmas Day, my Mum woke my sister and I up at 10am; the latest we've ever got up on Christmas morning! I set my alarm for 9, but I must've slept through it. Again. I wasn't being lazy; I was still awake at 5am.

My pile of presents from my parents, waiting for me on the sofa. I was spoiled rotten this year!

I opened my presents while wearing my new pyjamas from Dorothy Perkins. I love this Alaskan nature print!

My Christmas jumper and Christmas tree in my bedroom on Christmas Day.

Just some of the lovely presents I was given this year. I'll be blogging about what I got in a couple of days time.

Setting the table for Christmas dinner has always been my job. Is it weird that I enjoy it? I put on a festive playlist and often lose an hour putting it all together. It's just my immediate family and I on Christmas Day, so it's nothing fancy. Nothing matches but nobody cares. We have a loose green and red them, and use the same table cloth and place mats we've had forever. We're definitely not modern when it comes to Christmas; we're traditional and sentimental all the way!

I'm not qualified in napkin origami, so I made paper planes again...

We ate off my Mum's Port Merion china this year. They're not festive, but they matched the colour scheme.

My handmade table favours.

No other food needed, just turkey. Okay, maybe some roast potatoes and stuffing would be good, too... 

Our Christmas dinner was delicious, and it was lovely to sit around the table with my parents, sisters, and brother-in-law. We only ever eat at the table together on Christmas Day, (and occasionally on New Year's Day and Easter Sunday, if we have a big turkey dinner like this one), so Christmas lunch feels really special every year. As usual, we all ended up laughing until our sides hurt and I choked on my turkey. We were even in hysterics at the industrial strength crackers that turned in to a game of tug of war and sent chocolates flying in every direction. Christmas dinner is a health hazard when the six of us get together! 

After Christmas dinner, my older sister took my Mum off to A&E while the rest of us crashed in front of the TV. My Mum badly cut her leg on Christmas Eve night when she was retrieving presents she'd hidden under a drawer in her bedroom. She caught her leg on a piece of metal and took a big chunk out of her shin. There was so much blood, but she wouldn't listen to us when we told her she needed to go to hospital and get it seen to. I was sure it needed stitches. I don't think she realised how bad it was until the next afternoon, when she saw it with her glasses on, so she reluctantly gave in. She didn't want to go to A&E on Christmas Day / her birthday, but we made her go. Sure enough, she needed four stitches and four injections, but luckily they only missed out on two hours of the festivities. Never a dull moment in our house!

My younger sister got this White Rabbit teddy for Christmas off our older sister. He looks a bit startled!

I was forced to watch Frozen after Christmas dinner; I was not happy. It was the THIRD time a family member had put it on in about five hours. Am I the only one who is fed up to the back teeth of hearing about Frozen? I haven't gone a day without hearing about it on Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, on TV, or blogs, or in real life since the film came out. It's doing my head in!

Once everybody was home, we just had a lazy afternoon watching TV. My sister and brother-in-law headed home around 6pm, and I popped over for a while, where we did the same thing. I had to admit defeat before two hours had passed, and came home to turkey sandwiches, festive TV, and my bed. I was so sore and shattered, that I pretty much crashed. One minute I was watching Family Guy, and the next I was waking in a daze at 2am! I somehow managed to spend 9 hours out of bed on Christmas Day, which was a huge achievement for me. It's been a long time since I last did so, and I'm pleased I got to enjoy a normal Christmas and not one in bed on my lonesome.

Overall, I had a great Christmas! I got to spend some quality time with my family, I got spoiled rotten with presents, and indulged in some delicious food... What more could anybody possibly ask for at Christmas? 

I watched a couple of those documentaries on the Boxing Day Tsunami this week, which claimed the lives of almost 300,000 people a decade ago, and I still can't help thinking how lucky I am to have had the Christmas I had when millions weren't awarded the same privilege that day. And I know millions all around the world won't have been so lucky this year, either. I'm so thankful for what I have! I'm just sad it's over for another year.

How was your Christmas? How did you celebrate, and what was the best present you got?

Lady Vintage Polka Dot Hepburn Dress Review

Hello, my name is Louise and I have a polka dot dress addiction. And water's wet. 

My wardrobe is packed full of dresses, and at least a dozen of them are polka dotted. You'd think that would be enough, but somehow I always manage to find room for one more when the perfect frock comes along.

That's exactly what happened when vintage reproduction brand Lady Vintage got in touch and invited me to review one of their beautiful dresses. I knew exactly which dress I wanted to review; a polka dot Hepburn swing dress! I'd been admiring the designs from afar for a long time, so I knew it had to be my first taste of Lady Vintage. I asked to review one in red or navy, and made some space in my wardrobe for one more dress.

I was sent the Hepburn polka dot dress in 'red wine'*, and ladies, let me tell you- this dress is absolute perfection! In the short time I've had this dress, it's already become a serious contender for my favourite dress of all time! At the very least, it's made the top three! Sure, I wear dresses every day, but it's not often I fall head over heels in love with one, like I have with this little number. It's beautiful! If it were a person, I'd happily walk down the aisle and marry it.

The style and fit of the dress makes me feel like a million dollars; something which doesn't happen all that often! I find the classic fifties-style swing shape really flattering on my figure; it disguises those areas I'm not particularly confident with showing, like my thighs, and hips, and nips me in at the right places. The style of the dress would suit most body shapes and sizes; it flaunts curves, flatters all sizes (yes, plus sizes, too!), and can create curves for ladies who have little, (but girls, remember, you're beautiful with or without curves!) .

Being unfamiliar with Lady Vintage's sizing, I used the size guide and size generator to determine which size I needed. I'm generally a size 20 for fitted clothes, but because of my broad waist, their generator told me I needed a size 26/28! I thought that couldn't possibly be right, so I compromised and went with the 22/24, and I'm glad I did. Apart from the usual issue of being a little loose on top, this dress fits me like a dream. It's fitted, but not skin tight (which is how I prefer it), and I have plenty of room left to breathe and move comfortably. Being comfortable is essential for me. 

Just as well that the fantastic quality fabric is super soft, then! It's made from a medium weight cotton, which has a good weight, and is neither too thin or two thick. Like baby bear's porridge, it's just right! 

I think this dress is ideal for wearing all year round. It's warm enough for Winter, and light enough for Summer; just add or subtract layers appropriately. The dark red is best suited to Autumn and Winter, though- and especially perfect for the Christmas season! I am aware that the colour clashes with my red hair, but I don't mind clashing when the dress is this beautiful.

I decided to shy away from a classic rockabilly look with this dress; mostly because it was far too cold for bare legs, and I'm crap at my hair! I gave my outfit a modern twist with some black pieces, studded slippers, and fun novelty accessories. Yes, it would look better without tights, but I didn't want to get frost-bite; it's bitterly cold here at the moment. The dress comes with a skinny black belt, which fits me with room to spare! I have it on loose in these photos intentionally to take the pressure off my bad back.

This is how the dress looks without a lovely tulle petticoat underneath. It still has a great shape, and I find dresses like this one much easier to wear for every day without one underneath. That being said, I'm dying to get myself a petticoat so I can play dress up! 

The Hepburn dress retails for £50, which is really reasonable for a high-quality vintage-reproduction dress. Quality vintage-style dresses under £50 are few and far between, and Lady V is definitely on the lower end of the scale.

You can find the dress here, but if red isn't you're thing, the dress also comes in black, navy, mocha, and purple. I have a few of them on my Christmas list! The Hepburn comes in lots of different patterns, too, and you can find them all here. The dresses come in sizes 8- 26/28 UK (some styles go up to a 30/32), which is absolutely fantastic. It's great to find another brand that isn't afraid to cater to plus sizes. I'd definitely recommend sizing up once, but check your measurements against the size guides to be sure.

I adore my Hepburn dress, and have so far been impressed with both the fit and quality of the dress. This may be my very first Lady Vintage dress, but it certainly won't be my last!

Dress and Belt*- c/o Lady Vintage // Shrug- New Look (similar) // Shoes*- c/o Fashion World // 

Bag- Accessorize // Bracelet- Cath Kidston // Brooch- Cath Kidston // Tights- Evans

Before I go, I just wanted to offer a quick apology to Lady V for the length of time it's taken me to get this post up. I'm mortified by how long it's been, and it's not okay! It wasn't my intention. I've had some physically demanding physiotherapy sessions over the last couple of months which have sent my pain levels through the roof, and repeatedly left me unable to get about unaided, As you can imagine, it's made it difficult to get outside to snap a few pictures and for that I'm so sorry! I hope you'll forgive me!

Are you a fan of Lady Vintage dresses?

Thanks for reading!

*Lady Vintage provided me with the dress in exchange for a review. As always all words, opinions, and photos are my own.

OOTD: Brown and Yellow Polka Dots

Today's outfit is one I wore back at the beginning of September when the weather was still hot and it still seemed acceptable to wear pastel yellow. It seems so long ago now!

I had been playing dress up that day, trying different colours with my new Lindy Bop brown polka dot Audrey dress. I don't usually find it difficult to pair colours together, but my wardrobe is lacking in colours that compliment brown, like rust, mustard, chocolate, and dusky pink, so I started experimenting with other colours. That's how this unconventional brown and yellow combo came about. 

And... I look like I'm wearing the Brownies uniform from the early nineties! I'm just missing the sash! Does anybody remember how vile the colour of the culottes and trousers was? It looked like bile! I remember always hating them, especially since my Mum made me wear the culottes and not the trousers. What kid wants to wear bile coloured culottes? Seriously? None of them do!

I've not worn culottes since my Brownies days (thank God), and I hadn't worn brown and yellow together, either, until this outfit happened in September... but I actually liked the result! I think the colours look okay together, and it was fun to try out a new colour combination. It seems a waste to leave this beautiful dress hanging in my wardrobe unworn until I buy some pieces that compliment it better. It deserves as much wear as possible; even if the most exciting place it gets worn is the garden and the only person I'm dressing up for is myself!

Outfit Details

Dress and Belt- Lindy Bop // Cardigan- New Look // 

Shoes- New Look // Bag- ASOS // Necklace- Giveaway Win

Would you wear brown and yellow together?

Polka Dots and Vampire Teeth

If you can believe your eyes, I have an outfit post for you today! I'm on a roll at the minute; a slowly moving one, but a roll just the same! I actually have a few more outfits snapped and ready to show you over the next few weeks! I'm spacing them out to make them last, since I never know when I'll have the strength to take some more, or even get out of my PJs long enough to wear outfits worth snapping.

This is an outfit I threw together a few weeks ago while I was waiting on a delivery. I thought it was best I didn't scare the courier by opening the door in my PJs! 

It was about 9am when I took these photos, and I'd only had about two hours sleep, so I look rough as hell in them- and felt it, too. I just had to take advantage of the bright sunny morning, though, and got myself in the garden with my camera while I listened out for the door.

The chiffon asymmetric dress I'm wearing is an old one from Matalan, but it's one of my favourites. I always feel great in it, so I return to it time and time again, as I do with almost all of my favourite clothes. I'll never be one of those girls who won't wear anything twice. One: I can't afford to live like that, and two: even if I could I wouldn't; I get too attached to my favourite clothes, and enjoy wearing them regularly! Plus I live in the real world, where it's normal to wear clothes and accessories again and again, until they fall apart. There's no shame in it!

This outfit, apart from the bag, is actually made up entirely of old pieces. I didn't realise it at the time; I was just focused on selecting pieces to wear that I thought would work with this amazing novelty clutch bag. It's a simple look, but I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Excuse the nails; I was half way through painting them when I fell asleep!

The best part of the outfit is definitely the amazing vampire lips clutch bag, which I'm pleased to say is a current line. It's one of ASOS's novelty Halloween pieces, and it's without a doubt the best novelty bag I've ever seen (or owned)! The novelty bag trend has become so popular over the last few months, and there are so many great bags to choose from, but what could be better than a lip-shaped clutch with vampire teeth?? Nothing!

It was one of those bags that had me squealing at my laptop screen and there was no question about it, I had to have it. For £20, it's so well priced, and the quality is surprisingly good for an inexpensive high-street clutch. It's well made and sturdy, and the design is just fantastic! There's also a surprising amount of room in it for the essentials. I can't afford a Lulu Guinness clutch, so this ASOS novelty is the next best thing!

If you want to embrace a little Halloween spirit but don't fancy dressing up this year, the vampire lips clutch is the perfect accessory for adding a little fright-night fun to your outfit. It makes a statement on it's own without needing the cape and fangs to go with it! It' definitely grabs people's attention, and it's a great conversation starter, too!

Looking back on these photos, the only thing I think the outfit was missing was a belt or a statement necklace. I forgot to add one or the other at the time, but two hours sleep will do that to you! 

I'm also not quite sure why my hair looks so dark in these photos; it's still the same bright red it's always been since I began this blog! I think my camera's just shit! 

Outfit Details

Dress- Matalan // Cardigan- TU at Sainsburys // Tights- Evans // 

Shoes- New Look // Brooch- Cath Kidston // Bag- ASOS // Glasses- Roxy

How would you style the vampire lips clutch bag?

Thanks for reading!