Roses Are Red...

Hi guys,

I was having a little browse on the Dorothy Perkins website yesterday and stumbled up on the most beautiful rose printed range of garments. A print I've fallen head over heels in love with, and just had to share with you lovely lot.

The print is a realistic red rose print with grey and blush leaves on a jet black background, and Dorothy Perkins have turned it in to camisoles, t-shirts, tube skirts, and tube dresses. I can't decide which piece I love most, as they're all so beautiful...

Roses are Red by frecklesanddots

Dorothy Perkins midi dress
£27 - dorothyperkins.com

Dorothy Perkins polyester t shirt
£22 - dorothyperkins.com

Dorothy Perkins red skirt
£18 - dorothyperkins.com

Dorothy Perkins red camisole
£16 - dorothyperkins.com



Perhaps I just need one of each?

What do you think? Which one do you like best?

Farewell age twenty-six...

Before I go in to my OOTD, I wanted to get something off my chest... if you don't want to read my life musings, skip the next couple of paragraphs...

As I'm typing this, the last few hours of my life as a twenty-six year old are ticking away. This time two years ago, I was completely freaking out at the thought of turning twenty-five. I knew I had wasted the first half of my twenties and had very little to show for my life. Looking back, I have very few memories of my early twenties. I didn't have the life I convinced myself I should have been living at twenty-five years old. Not that I actually had a life plan. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, and spent my time working so hard I was too exhausted to live.

 And two years later, I still don't know what I want to do; I still don't have the dream life, but that's okay. Life isn't a fairytale. Bad things happen; there are set backs. It's taken a back injury to open my eyes to what's really important, and if I hadn't injured myself I would probably still be living an unhappy life. All I want now is to be happy and healthy. I want to do more of the things that I love to do like travelling and enjoying live music with friends without anything holding me back. Sure, I've lost nearly a year of my life, and my birthday this year will be a quiet one spent in bed, but I'm happier and more comfortable with who I am than ever before. This life isn't forever and I'll be able to start living again someday. I don't know where my life will take me, or where it will end, but I'm not worrying about the details anymore. I'm looking forward to taking each day as it comes.

Here's to the future!

***

Thanks for putting up with my thoughts. I'll get on to fashion talk again now.

I've spent the weekend in my pyjamas, but I wore this outfit on Friday. This is my new ASOS skirt teamed with a basic vest, and a cardigan. The skirt is so much nicer than I had imagined, and has such a full skirt. The cut comes up large (as is the norm with the range), but the elastic of the waist band is tight enough to fit properly. I'm in love with the pom-poms!

I accessorized with my necklace of keys, and the beaded bracelets you've seen me wear a million times already.

Skirt: ASOS

Vest top: Dorothy Perkins

Cardigan: New Look

Necklace: Accessorize

Bracelets: left wrist-Dorothy Perkins, right wrist- gifts from a friend

The nail art tools I ordered off of Amazon came yesterday. The ends are all different sizes for creating different sized dots and lines. These particular tools cost just £1.90 and can be found here. They aren't dressed in fancy packaging, but they do the trick! I used them to try my hand at polka dot nails...

I used a dark pink Boujois nail polish as the base, and used one of the larger dotting tools and a purple Barry M for the dots, finishing with an Inglot topcoat. This is my first attempt at polka dots, and I'm pleased with how it turned out... It's just a shame I wripped off a nail at the quick and split the top of another the other day :( I can't bring myself to cut them all off.

Oh... and I logged on to Dorothy Perkins last night after getting an email about 20% off selected dresses, to find new ones had been added to their summer sale. These two were reduced from £39.50 to £22.00 each, and were two I've been admiring for ages so bought them with some early birthday money!

The ASOS playsuit I ordered, however, wasn't my friend so that's going back.

Happy July everyone!

P.S. I've added a new header to the blog. What do you guys think?

My hunt for the perfect skirt...

I used to own the perfect skirt. It was a classic black A-line/flared skirt that sat just below the knee on me. It had beautiful broderie anglaise detailing along the hem; the top layer was scalloped. I felt great in it, and even felt so comfortable in it that I had no worries baring my legs when I wore it! Then... the zip broke. I set it aside, intending to buy a zip from the haberdashers to repair it... yes, I loved it so much I was going to resort to sewing- something I'm completely useless at. Unfortunately, before I'd even had a chance to try, I found out my Mum had thrown it out. I was devastated. If I'm honest, six or seven years later, I still am!

I just haven't been able to find a skirt that fits me so well, flatters my legs, and made me feel as comfortable and confident since. And believe me, I've tried.

But... I think I'm on to something special with this one...

For weeks I'd browse the Matalan website, and take another peek at this navy cotton skirt. It didn't look like anything special, but for some reason I was intrigued. I panicked when I saw 'last chance' stamped across the listing last week, and ordered it before I had time to change my mind. I wasn't expecting much for £12, but thought I'd at least have a basic skirt for comfy days lounging around the house.

It came yesterday... and I fell in love with it immediately. It fits comfortably (though perhaps just a little bit loose on the waist), skims over my curves, and falls below the knee! It's good quality and it's even lined! And, even better, there are no zips to bust! I feel so good in it... dare I say I may even feel confident enough to bare my legs in this little beauty?

I'm not sure what's up with my camera, so apologies for the quality of these pics. I thought I'd brave sharing another glimpse of my face today.

I've dressed down with a yellow and navy cherry print vest I picked up from Next last summer but haven't really worn, and an old white cropped cardi. It might seem like a really drab outfit to most, but I kinda like it.

Just for fun...

I've accessorised with my mint floral ring, which came from a local department store, as well as another of my Abilu Creations charm bracelets. The charms are all seaside related and are everything from lighthouses, to flip flops, anchors, and fish. For a small town girl, I'm such a water baby. I've always loved the sea (honestly, I'm obsessed), so it's the perfect bracelet for me.

I've also popped a little bow in my hair, and a brooch on my cardigan.

Skirt: Matalan

Vest: Next

Cardigan: ? I've had it so long I'm not sure

Bracelet: Abilu Creations (bought in Camden Lock Market)

Brooch: From Camden Lock Market

Bow: From South Street Sea Port in New York

Ring: From a local store

Nail Polish: Barry M

Do you own the perfect skirt? If yes, where did you find it?

What's your ideal skirt?

May 31 Day Blogger's Challenge: Day 16- A Customized Item

A Customized Item

Hello, my name's Louise, and I have absolutely zero customizing skill. (Pauses for a chorus of "Hi, Louise"...)

I'm a creative kind of girl, but I can't use a needle and thread to save my life, and wouldn't know where to start with fabric paints, glue-guns, fabric-dyeing, or jewellery making. Probably as I've never tried. I can just about sew on buttons, but any alterations or repairs are usually landed on my Mum who's a whizz with a sewing machine. You may remember seeing the ASOS Aztec dress she shortened dramatically for me not so long ago...

I thought I was going to have to show you the Aztec dress again for this challenge, but then I remembered this Red Herring shirt dress.

I needed to wear something red for a memorial service a few years ago, which I was very kindly invited to at the last minute. I didn't have any red clothes in my wardrobe at the time, and didn't have enough pennies to buy something new. So, I went to a local haberdashery and bought some red polka dot buttons!  I took the black square buttons off, and sewed these red ones in their place. Evidently, I didn't do a great job as one's fallen off, but along with a red corsage and sparkly red ballet pumps, it did the job for the evening. I really must sew the button back on!

I've had this dress for several years now, and it was always a favourite of mine to wear. It was one of the first dresses I bought for myself when I started to find more confidence in myself. It's lost it's shape over the years, but it still has some life to it. I love the subtle hounds-tooth print, and the green belt it came with, and as it's sheer, always wear it over leggings and a basic tee/vest.

♥ Dress: Red Herring at Debenhams

♥ Fabric Belt: Came with the dress

♥ Vest Top (underneath): Dorothy Perkins

♥ Leggings: New Look

♥ Buttons: Local Haberdashery

What have you customized? Who's going to put me to shame?

P.S. The asymmetric dress I ordered came today, and I may or may not have ordered two flamingo print dresses on my store card...