Lately I've been having a mini clear out of unwanted things to earn myself a little extra cash, and this dress very nearly went in the eBay pile.
I bought it around the time I started this blog, a good year and a half ago, and although I loved it at the time, I convinced myself it wasn't all that great. I think that was because the fabric is that thin, satin-like polyester which I'm not a huge fan of. So, the dress had been unworn and unloved in my wardrobe for over a year.
When I selected it from my wardrobe with a handful of other clothes destined for eBay, I then tried it on again, to be sure. I always make sure. And... well, as I stood in front of the mirror, I decided it was actually quite pretty on, and wondered why I'd allowed it to go unworn for so long. I saved it from the adoption process before it was too late, and decided to wear it a few days ago...
And it even made it in to the garden for a photo shoot!
Although, I couldn't have chosen a worse day for taking photos. It was extremely blustery outside, and I spent most of the time trying to hold down my dress with my hair across my face! I took about sixty photos, and only a handful were half-decent and didn't involve me flashing.
The dress is a royal blue midi-length tea dress with foliage and garden birds across it and I came from Dorothy Perkins. I think they also had this dress in a pale blue, but the bold cobalt won me over- it's one of my favourite colours. I love the long midi length, which is a couple of inches below the knee on me; dressing in it makes me feel so lady-like. The only thing I really don't get about this dress is why it has ruffles running from the bust down to the waist band. They look awful, and really do nothing for my figure. It would be so much prettier without them.
Isn't the print pretty?
I dressed it with a mint green cardigan, to match the mint foliage of the dress, and wore black opaque tights as it was so chilly. I'm now thinking grey tights would have looked better.
I just slipped on my studded slippers to go outside, but it would look so much prettier with a pair of cobalt or mint heels.
I also accessorized with two Cath Kidston brooches of a blue tit and a chaffinch (I think), to continue on the print of the dress. The blue tit was having a conversation with one of the dress birds!
And to coordinate even more, I wore my mint green floral ring which is made of jade.
It's Wednesday which means it's Wish List day once again, and this week I have two dozen beautiful pieces of clothing and accessories for your viewing pleasure...
~ Animal motif knitwear. Clothes adorned with penguins and daschunds, deer and bunnies, raccoons, owls, swans and more. All perfect for adding to my wardrobe zoo. The daschund jumper is my personal favourite (7).
~ Tartan, tartan, and more tartan. Did I mention tartan?
- The tartan ASOS smock dress (8) is one of my favourites of the moment. Isn't it a beauty?
~ Chunky knit jumpers and cardigans, hats, gloves, and scarves. Brrr it's freezing!
~ Joe Browns' gorgeous new winter coats. (12 and 18). They're stunning.
~ Almost everything on the Modcloth website. Their bold colours and funky prints make me smile. It's all so beautiful. If I could do a trolley dash on that website, I'd die blissfully happy. I want it all.
~ Speaking of Modcloth, I'm so in love with their 'Spark a Connection' dress (19), which is printed with bumper cars! That's right: bumper cars! I thought I'd seen all there was to see in terms of prints, and yet they just keep on coming.
~ And finally, I'm loving the pork pie hats from Topshop. The forest green version (4) is absolutely stunning. It's a shame I really can't pull off hats, but I can think of a few of you who can!
When Summer ends and the weather starts to drop, I always find myself reviewing my wardrobe to think of what I need to see me through the colder weather. Do I need a new coat, or some new boots? Perhaps I could do with a a thick knit scarf, or a great pair of heavy denim jeans.
Sadly, as much as I love Autumn and Winter fashion, I never have much money to spend on myself or my wardrobe at this time of year; what with Christmas on the horizon, and four family birthdays before it. Between September and January I have to be quite frugal and put gift-buying first, so I actually don't have much of an Autumn / Winter wardrobe! I mainly just make do with layering up clothes I wear in Spring and Summer and that usually works just fine for me.
I will normally allow myself a couple of purchases before I concentrate on Christmas shopping, but I have to think about what I really need more than what I'm dying to own. And that's exactly what I've been doing lately. I've put together a little collage to show you what I need and would like to add to my wardrobe this Autumn...
Winter Coat
I'm probably most in need of a new winter coat. The ones I own are all a little past their best now, and also a little too short for wearing over most of my dresses. I find it so difficult to find lovely fitted winter coats that fall past the knee, so finding ones which I like are a whole other story. I wish the navy Dorothy Perkins coat was a few inches longer as it's so beautiful.
Wide Fit Ankle Boots
I've been looking out for the perfect wide fit ankle boots, and I think I've found them in the Simply Be studded boots. Well, that's providing they're as pretty as they appear on screen, and fit well in reality. I've ordered the burgundy pair after having an eBay clear out, and I'm sure if I fall in love with them on delivery I'll be going after the other two colours as well. In my head I'm already working on making them all mine, anyway!
Staple Boyfriend Cardigans
Something I could really do with is a couple of plain coloured boyfriend cardigans for layering. I have plenty of cropped, and shorter cardigans, but not much of anything else. Getting rid of faded and misshapen old cardigans seemed a good idea at the time, but I never got round to replacing them... I have my eye on the black Matalan cardigan above.
A Red Cardigan
It's been a couple of years since I last had a red cardigan in my wardrobe, and I've been wanting one ever since. I love wearing red, and I think it's such a versatile colour. I've been trying to hunt down a nice, affordable one all year, and oddly they've been so hard to find! What's up with that?
Chunky Knitwear
I both need and would like some lovely chunky knit jumpers and cardigans to keep myself warm and cosy when the temperatures plummet. I love wrapping myself up in chunky knitwear and going for a walk when there's a crisp frost or snow on the ground. Heaven.
Knitted Beanie Hat or Beret
I have a couple of knit hats, but nothing I love. I want a new cable knit beanie or wool beret to keep my ears warm in the cold, and to look cute, too. Ideally, I'd love one in grey, burgundy, teal, cream, or black.
Tartan Dress
I definitely don't need any more dresses, but I have wanted a tartan one for a long time, so I had to treat myself to the gorgeous Pink Clove number last night. Not only is it beautiful, but it has sleeves which makes it more A/W friendly (few of my dresses have sleeves), and it was only £22! I hope it lives up to my expectations in real life!
And finally,
Scarves
I have several scarves which are suitable for Autumn / Winter, but I have my heart set on treating myself to a new one. I'm in love with the red polka dot scarf from Accessorize; it's beautiful, and also wonderfully thick and warm. I will have to pounce on it soon, but I've also fallen in love with the tartan scarf, which would also be so perfect for my A/W wardrobe. Perhaps I need both...?
As I mentioned earlier in the week, last Sunday marked the anniversary of the day I first woke up in pain and was aware something wasn't quite right with my back. (I still don't know when I actually did the damage to it, but I think it started a few weeks earlier). Anyway, I didn't actually manage to take a photo of myself on the day, but this outfit was worn the afternoon before, which I'm counting as a record of the two year milestone.
I bought this lovely Peter Pan dress from Rachel's blog sale a month or two ago. When I saw it up for grabs, I just had to have it because of the amazing print. It has little daschund dogs all over it! I love daschunds, but didn't have a single dog-print anything in my wardrobe, so it had to be mine. It was originally from Primark, and it's only a polyester number, but I love it! I've not actually stepped foot in Primark in two or three years, so buying this dress was a real novelty. Thanks, Rachel!
I kept this look very simple with black leggings, black studded slippers, and a bold coral coloured cardigan from Matalan. I have this cardigan in four colours, and they're the softest things ever!
Isn't the print adorable?
I really love the beautiful Mother-of-Pearl buttons these cardigans have.
These are the mismatched accessories I was wearing. I wore my new strawberry brooch and my cute fox pin, both from Cath Kidston (where else!?), and a jewel coloured ring from Evans.
A few years ago, I began blogging my way through a very large question survey on my Livejournal blog- solely for fun. (My Livejournal account was mostly just a space for myself to clear my head, and keep track of my Mission 101 progress). The survey was called The Five Thousand Question Survey, which is exactly as long as it sounds. I think I made it to three or four hundred before I eventually stopped using the account.
I began thinking about that survey last weekend right out of the blue, and thought perhaps I could turn it in to a new feature here at Polka Spots and Freckle Dots and blog my way through it. That's of course if you guys would be interested in seeing such posts on a regular basis, perhaps once a week? It would be a great way of getting to know me a little better, as the questions are about anything and everything; although I reserve the right to skip any questions I don't want to talk about. Please let me know what you think about this survey becoming a regular feature, and if anybody wants to give it a go themselves, please feel free to do so. You can find all the questions here.
Today I'm going to answer questions 1-25.
1. Who are you?
My name is Louise. I'm a twenty-eight year old English plus size fashion, style, beauty, and life style blogger.
2. What are the 3 most important things everyone should know about you?
I'm not sure that there's anything important that needs to be known; I'm really not that interesting. But let's think:
~ I'm quite a shy person, so I can be really socially awkward at times. However, once you get to know me well I usually come out of my shell, and when I do people realise I'm actually pretty vocal and a bit nuts!
~ I'm currently living with several disc injuries which have left me in constant pain for two years so far, and I'm battling to overcome them. This will explain the tone of many of my blog posts, if you're not familiar with my story, and is also the reason why my outfit posts are often a bit sporadic. My injuries are the main reason I started blogging.
~ I'm passionate about body positivity, and believe everybody should be respected no matter their shape or size. Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, and nobody should be told otherwise, or shamed for how they look.
3. When you aren't filling out 5,000 question surverys like this one, what are you doing?
Blogging, writing, reading, pinning inspiring images on Pinterest, reblogging images on Tumblr, listening to music, watching movies, shopping, going to physiotherapy and other hospital appointments, taking photos, editing photos, creating images, dressing up in dresses, painting my nails, playing with colourful eye make up, making plans for the future... The more mobile me also liked to go to a lot of concerts, travel, take day trips, go to the cinema, and bake.
4. List your classes in school from the ones you like the most to the ones you like the least (or if you are out of school, think of the classes you did like and didn't like at the time).
I left secondary school twelve years ago, but I used to enjoy art and music, and at times, history and geography. I hated maths, science, R.S., P.E., various Tech subjects, and key skills. I strongly remember hating biochemistry and microbiology, business studies, and ecology and conservation at college, but mostly enjoyed the other subjects,
5. What is your biggest goal this year?
I'm mainly just aspiring to work on my recovery; to regain more mobility, and to tolerate my pain better. I'd like to be strong enough to make it through a concert I have tickets for in December.
6. Where do you want to be in 5 years?
Happy, healthy, and back on my feet. Everything else would be a bonus.
7. What stage of life are you in right now?
The hiatus; the hurdle; the hardest part I've ever known, and will probably ever go through.
8. Are you more child-like or childish?
Childish! I like to be silly sometimes; it's fun!
9. What is the last thing you said out loud?
"Oh f***!" After spotting a flying insect I thought was a daddy long legs (which I'm petrified of) flying towards me.
10. What song comes closest to how you feel about life right now?
There are a few I can think of: Linkin Park's 'Waiting For the End', Ronan Keating's 'Life is a Rollercoaster', Michael Jackson's 'Smile', Bon Jovi's 'It's My Life', Alanis Morissette's 'Ironic' and Boyzone's 'Time' to name a few.
Linkin Park- Waiting For the End
"This is not the end, this is not the beginning..."
"'Cause we're living at the mercy of the pain and the fear, until we dead it, forget it let it all disappear..."
"Waiting for the end to come, wishing I had strength to stand, this is not what I had planned, It's out of my control..."
"All I want to do is trade this life for something new..."
"So I'm picking up the pieces now where to begin? The hardest part of ending is starting again."
Boyzone-Time
"I'm a little bit older, a little wiser, I've gotta find my way outta here and start over..."
"Maybe time will be all that I need to grow, maybe time's all I need and a little hope, and I'll find my way back home. All I need is time..."
"Just give me time and I know I'll be right where I wanna be. And in time this will be just a memory..."
11. Have you ever taken martial arts classes?
No.
12. Does your life tend to get better or worse or does it just stay the same?
I'd say life has been a mixture of the two, in all honesty. In the last decade, my depression went from bad to worse, I broke my wrist, developed whooping cough, caught swine flu, and then injured my back. However, since injuring my back, my mental health has improved hugely, and over the last three or four years I've had some fantastic experiences in life.
13. Does time really heal all wounds?
I believe that time can heal most wounds, but there are some wounds you could never recover from. As time passes we can learn to forgive and forget; our grief can ease as the weeks and months go by; we experience things which put past occurrences in to perspective... We're constantly evolving as individuals as each day passes, and life is too short not to let some things go.
14. How do you handle a rainy day?
I love rainy days! I know most people hate them, but I love the rain. I like to curl up with a good book or a movie and listen to the rain drumming on the windows. I find it comforting and cosy. I never let rain spoil my day. I just get on with it. I don't mind getting drenched. I've been known to go for walks in the rain without an umbrella (on purpose), and return to a hot bath; and even enjoyed getting soaked to the skin at an outdoor concert a few years ago. The rain was relentless for hours, and so heavy that my mobile lost it's life in the fray.
15. Which is worse... losing your luggage or having to sort out tangled holiday lights?
Losing my luggage. I'd be devastated if I lost my favourite clothes and accessories, and it would be a real inconvenience to lose it before the holiday had begun. I can live with tangled fairy lights; I'm persistent with tangled things.
16. How is your relationship with your parents? Will you miss them when they're gone?
We get along quite well, although there are times when we squabble, but I think that's a normal thing when you live under the same roof together. I will of course miss them when they're gone, even if they do drive me crazy at times.
17. Do you tend to be aware of what is going on around you?
Of course! Who wouldn't be aware of things going on around them?
18. What is the truest thing that you know?
Grass is green.
19. What did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a farmer or a zoo keeper. I actually did go on to study animal care at college, and gained some work experience in zoos and some practical work with farm animals, so I guess I was close to living the dream! I'd still like to be a zoo keeper today, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to do manual work again in the future so I can pursue that field again.
20. Have you ever been given a second chance?
I like to think I was given a second chance at life when I injured my back. It freed me from a decade long rut and unhappiness, and has promised me a chance to start my life afresh when I reach recovery.
21. Are you more of a giver or a taker?
I'm definitely more of a giver. I take great pleasure in spoiling my friends and family with gifts, and put so much effort in to doing so. I have a lot of time for people. Though, I sometimes feel that I give more time and effort than others are willing to give to me.
22. Do you make your decisions with an open heart / mind?
I'm a person who over thinks almost everything, so as much as I try to make decisions with a open mind, I don't think it's something I always succeed in doing.
23. What is the most physically painful thing that has ever happened to you?
Without a shadow of a doubt that's herniating and tearing several discs. I've been in indescribable extreme pain every second of every day since it happened twenty four months ago. I've never known this kind of pain before.
24. What is the most emotionally painful thing that has ever happened to you?
Losing my maternal Grandad to lung cancer when I was just eleven was a pretty difficult time. It was the first time I'd experienced the death of a loved one, and although I was sheltered from the whole picture, it was upsetting to lose such a wonderful, kind and well-loved member of the family. And even harder to witness the affect it had on my Mum, Nana, and Aunties.
Living with depression for well over a decade hasn't been easy at times, either; neither was watching two family dogs lose their battles with cancer.
25. Who have you hugged today?
Nobody. Is it sad that I can't remember the last time I hugged someone?
