Friday 23 November 2012

Spooky Bonfire Night Mist



I just had to share these photographs of the spooky atmospheric fog that engulfed us all after the fireworks a few weeks ago.  People were amusingly doing zombie-walks with hands outstretched, it looked great in the surreal setting!

Wednesday 21 November 2012

In The Shops: Vintage Inspired Purchases of Frustration!!

I have been doing a spot of online shopping over the past month or so.  Getting those little additions for the Autumn and Winter, focusing on practical things like boots, coats, dresses with long sleeves.

It's not been straightforward.  Below are three items that I bought...and then returned!  Alas. It works out a little expensive having to send things back, so it's a bit annoying, but then I am spared trekking around the high street.

First up were the 'Dolly' boots in blue suede, from my favourite footwear brand J Shoes.  A nostalgic boot hinting at Victoriana, these looked right up my street.  I have slim ankles and calves, and being tall means that boots sit lower (and therefore on the slimmer part) on my legs, so I frequently have trouble with boots being like wellies on me.  I thought the lace-up design of these boots would solve this problem as I could tighten them to fit, but alas, these had particularly roomy ankles and looked 'slouchy' on me.  Not the desired look, so back they went.  They were only £50 too in the sale, so I remain a little sad that these were not my boots.

Next up was the 'Jenny' dress (£65) from Collectif, in burgundy.  I loved the long sleeves, and the pleat and button detail.  Once again the curse of long limbs struck - the sleeves were too short, and as they buttoned up were really tight and restrictive because they were around a fuller part of my arm than intended.  The overall look was disappointing too - it's quite a dark, brownish burgundy, and the whole appearance on me was a bit frumpy.  A real shame.

Finally, on a bit of an impulse buy (well, I did spend October working 4 jobs, I needed a treat!) was the amazing, fabulous, Gretel Coat, again from Collectif and priced at £175.



I was very impressed with the quality of the coat - the fabric isn't smooth, it has a sort of indented star pattern, and the lining is a polkadot satin.  I wasn't impressed with the fit though!  Narrow shoulders, a tight bust and a baggy waist.  It does say on the website that if you are larger in the bust or want to wear layers underneath then to go up a size, but I would go one step further than this and say if you have any bust at all then go up a size (I'm only 38" bust, but found the size 12 too restrictive).  But expect the waist to be far too big.  And if you wanted to wear layers underneath you'd probably have to go up two sizes.  I really think the sizing is way off on this coat, which is such a shame.

I dread to think what I have now spent on return postage overall.

Anybody else had to return any online purchases recently?

Friday 16 November 2012

Autumn Sights

We are so lucky in Cardiff to have beautiful Roath Park.

Anyone wondering what is on the sign, it's written in Welsh!







Friday 9 November 2012

Album Photo Shoot - Behind the Scenes

My partner is a musician, and sometimes that leads to interesting adventures with photographs, music videos, industry parties and touring parts of the world we wouldn't normally get to visit.

A few months ago we headed into the forests of South Wales in pursuit of photographs for the next album.  Our dear friend Tom was head photographer, and it was my job to play photographer's assistant, by helping with wardrobe issues, scouting out locations, and taking 'behind the scenes' photos to document the whole day.  I was also in charge of bringing snacks and sandwiches, because creative types sometimes overlook these kinds of thing!

The forest was the perfect location.  I will share the finished album photos with you another time, but for now here's a sneak-peek behind the scenes!  Top photo by Tom Strickland, all others by me.






 


Wednesday 7 November 2012

The Vintage Movie Club in Cardiff

A very pleasant evening was spent on Friday evening at a new Vintage Movie Night at Hubbard's Cupboard, a shop in the High Street Arcade selling vintage clothing, vintage repro made to order (including wedding dresses) and handmade gifts.  In the run up to Christmas they are showing old films every other week on a Friday evening, in the intimate surroundings of the shop.  The clothes rails are pushed against the wall, seats brought out (with cushions, very important) and popcorn is served alongside bubbly.  What a great idea!

I attended with my friend Violet, and we had a ball watching 'How to Marry a Millionaire', which Violet had never seen and I had only seen the start and the end.  It makes so much more sense now I've seen the middle!!

Violet confessed this vintage dress she bought at a vintage fair we went to years ago was having it's first outing!!  I love it and hope she wears it more often now.


I borrowed a boot to prop my cone of popcorn in - ta da! 


There were a few teething problems that I feel obliged to mention to review it honestly - a low volume issue being the main one, but they have promised to purchase a new DVD player for next time.  The image was also projected a little high on the wall, and was slightly stretched (only evident whilst looking at the leading ladies' feet, Lauren Bacall looked like she had flippers at one point!).  Finally, we were promised champagne, but served Cava.

None of these issues stopped us having a fun evening, and we are aiming to get to one of the Christmas film showings.  Here are the rest of the listings:
16th November - Charade
30th November - Jailhouse Rock
14th December - White Christmas
21st December - Miracle on 34th Street

Tickets are £12 each and are available online here.  The shop itself is well worth a browse even if you can't make the film nights, here are some photos for you to peruse..







Monday 5 November 2012

Outfit Post: What I Wore to the Catwalk Show

I forgot to put these photos up in my post, here you go!


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