Our Trip To Gozo

I'm hoping you thought I looked tanned in my last blog post as I have just spent a week on the beautiful island of Gozo. Gozo is a tiny island next to Malta, I had never heard of it prior to booking this holiday but I couldn't be happier that I found it; it is stunning and relaxing! 

Sin City

The Stellar Boutique

As you all know I love online shopping and am happy to waste away hours searching for the perfect items on eBay, but  when searching for the perfect fringed jacket recently, I came across 'The Stellar Boutique', it was a real find as the online shop is filled with vintage treasures and genuine moroccan accessories. I fell in love with every single one of the bags and couldn't stop myself mentally designing a new flat filled with treasure from their home section.

There's Music In Your Eyes Dear

 

I was recently contacted by the lovely people at Lavish Alice, with the chance to try out a sample of their new collection, I have a real obsession with the eye as a symbol and jumped at the chance to try out one of their own eye designs.

 

Moving House...Again

Coachella 2014 Street Style

Coachella Festival is one of those festivals that I always want to go to but never quite get around to organising or saving up for, the idea of a festival in America massively appeals to me and i'm always so jealous looking at the pictures afterwards.

 

Change In Career...

Before I left Uni I had only ever had two jobs; working in a supermarket for four years and then Urban Outfitters for three and a half, then all of a sudden as a graduate and in the space of a year I had four jobs, thats not even an exaggeration!

Sweet Virginia

Whilst I was working at Motel a few years ago one of the girls introduced me to Yayer, an online vintage store with some gorgeous 90s dresses and denim. Run by two sisters Charlotte and Harriet, the brand started selling vintage and has now moved on to their own designs, which is the bit i'm most excited about! I'm always really happy when I find inspiring companies based in Bristol, as there's not a lot of fashion businesses run here, so it gives me hope that I won't have to move to London!

I haven't fully thrown myself into the 90s trend but Yayer are convincing me that I should be! My favourite item has to be the black dress with the cut out waist below, that is definitely my next purchase, I love it! I really like the loose, smock style of a lot of their dresses, I want to team them with layers of jewellery and massive chunky shoes for Summer. 

All dresses available at Yayer.com

I do have a bit of an 'ugly' shoe obsession, recently i've bought two pairs of black chunky shoes which i'll be sure to show you guy soon. I wear a lot of dresses and skirts but would never describe myself as a 'girlie' girl so I like the way ugly shoes give my dresses a boyish edge and stop me looking too 'pretty'. I love the 'stomper' boots the last pair on this image, they're not too high so I could wear them but they also look comfy, and perfect for wearing in the day. 

All shoes available at Yayer.com

Make sure you check out their website, I thought it was reasonably priced and we all know how much I resent spending excessive amounts on one item! They run a Yayer blog which you can find here and also have a pretty inspiring Tumblr and Pinterest which I have re-blogged images from far too many times!

I also wanted to leave you with this video which I have watched roughly 20 times a day for the past week, Mick is just too sexy! 

www.yayer.com

Blogger Of The Month: Phoenix Moon

I missed blogger of the month in March, I haven't found any new bloggers recently and have given recognition to all my favourites already, so felt a bit stuck! I have been following Phoenix Moon on Instagram for a while and whilst I knew she ran her own vintage website I have only just discovered that she has a blog...new favourite blogger! Living in Texas and basically looking like she's just stepped out of Almost Famous, this girl is style personified, she's mixing up a fantastic mix of 70's hippy with perfect witchy woman. I don't even know her name because she doesn't have an 'about me' section on her blog but if anyone can fill me in please do! 

Usually I collate images from my favourite blogger on photoshop to show you guys as many looks as I can, but the photography on this blog is so beautiful I didn't feel I could crop anything and wanted it to be shown as it is. The images look editorial and are an equal mix between crisp, bold images and styled to look like old film photos. This blog is much more than just a style blog, you can appreciate the photography, styling and composition, every post looks well planned and shot to perfection, something I have a lot of respect for because shooting blog images can become very rushed for me. 

As for the clothes I don't even know where to begin, sometimes she wears layers of prints, colours and texture creating a perfect bohemian look, other times it's just a simple t shirt and jeans, yet she still looks more interesting and stylish than most. Accessories are key, plenty of round sunglasses, floppy hats, tassels and chunky jewellery make up a lot of the look but it's the flowing fabrics that really make it for me. 

I leave you with a large selection of images and if anyone knows this girls name please let me know! 

Company Blog Awards

If you are a regular reader of my blog you might notice that I haven't blogged for almost a month, it's partly down to my current lack of camera which is still driving me mad, I seriously need to invest in a lens! It's also down to a few bits going on in my personal life which have meant blogging hasn't been a top priority recently. As I have touched on in the past I suffer quite badly with anxiety, if anyone has suffered from anxiety you will  know how debilitating it can be and what a huge effect it can have on your life. It's something i'm trying to move on from at the moment by undergoing a course of CBT and a few other stress management courses, I do think it's helping but obviously as with anything of this nature it's going to take a bit of time. I am so excited for the day that I only worry about 'real' problems and am not feeling like i'm going to be sick constantly! I know anxiety is something I will always have but being able to manage it and calm myself down will be a huge achievement for me, and a huge relief for the people that I am close to in life, my anxiety can be just as hard for them as it is for me! 

I have a few posts lined up for the next week, one of the reasons I started a blog was reading from other bloggers how it helped with their anxiety/depression/low self esteem and honestly this blog really does make me feel so positive when i'm regularly posting! As much as I write this blog for myself and my own sanity, it is still amazing to receive all the lovely comments and messages I get from you guys and nothing feels as good as when I get an email to say I have a new follower. I don't really expect any recognition because I know I don't post that regularly but here is a link to the Company blog awards page, Company is one of my favourite magazines and Missguided is my favourite online shop so it's a match made in heaven for me!

 It would mean a lot to me if anyone likes my blog or what I have to say and fancied giving me a vote, and thanks in advance if you do :) 

The Shimmer Band In Glasgow

As I mentioned in a previous post my boyfriends band went on tour with The Strypes recently so me and my friend decided to use it as an excuse for a little trip and travelled up to Glasgow to watch them. I didn't take any pictures in the day but the city was absolutely lovely, we had a good look around Buchanan Street which seemed to house most of the high street shops, it was a lot of the same sort of shops we have here in Bristol; Topshop, H&M, Zara etc with the added bonus of Forever 21. I'm not sure whether it's because we don't have a Forever 21 in Bristol but I love it and feel like I could buy most of the things I see in there! We also ventured out to the Byres Road area which had A LOT of great vintage and charity shops, it was so nice to just wander around, something me and my friend rarely get to do together because of work etc. When the boys arrived in Glasgow we met them for some food- all you can eat- the obvious choice of five starving boys, so I probably overindulged on beige foods!

The evening was spent getting ready in our travel lodge, drinking G&T's before heading out to the venue and watching the bands. The gig was at The Garage and afterwards we ventured over to Nice n' Sleazys which boasted very cheap drinks as well as a room downstairs playing Motown, we were very happy!

One of the strangest/funniest things however was the amount of teenage girls queuing up to have their photos taken with the boys! The night before we left, there was a bit of a Shimmer Band frenzy on Twitter, quite a few girls were tweeting about how in love they were with them and one even asked how she could get a date with the bearded guy with the ponytail, who also happens to be my brother. It was amazing to see how social media has changed the way we react to things we like, rather than just telling our friends we saw a great band we can now tell the world, which is great exposure for the people on the receiving end of that attention- it's a huge change to when I was going to watch gigs when I was 14. It was good to see them getting so much attention but I think everyone can relate to how funny/surreal it is hearing a large amount of people talk about how much they fancy your brother and friends!

Pancake Day

Hat - fox + feather

Top - Urban Outfitters (old) 

Shirt - Vintage

Necklace - Waiste

Belt - Vintage

Skirt - Zara

Shoes - Dr Martens

I took these photos last week before I dyed my hair pink again, and had quite alot chopped off! I have fallen head over heels for this skirt, i've bought a few items recently that I really love, and had been looking for an A Line denim skirt for ages before I found this one for £9.99 in Zara. It's quite short so I don't think i'd be able to wear it without tights but it seems to look good with everything, including this leopard print shirt my friend gave me a while back!

One To Another

Hat - fox + feather

Gilet - eBay

Dress - fox + feather

Necklace - Waiste

Shoes - Dr Martens

This is my new favourite outfit! I had the gilet for Christmas and haven't worn it that much, but it's perfect for how the weather has been recently. This dress however i've worn pretty much every day since buying it two weeks ago! It's a Dahlia dress but I bought it from fox + feather, it's so comfortable, I love the print and the shape, i've worn it on nights out and just in the day like this outfit. I especially love the back, its a swing style on the front and smock on the back which combines my two favourite style of dresses in one! We have recently launched our new website over at fox + feather so go and check it out if you like this outfit, I have my eye on a few things for pay day!

I really wanted to do a post on my trip to Glasgow but if i'm completely honest I didn't take many tourist snaps, just 24 disposable camera pictures of the gig, maybe I will share a few so you can see some hilarious photos of me and my friends! Also has anyone been watching 'My Mad Fat Diary' because I absolutely love it! The soundtrack is so good, 90's Brit Pop is one of my favourite genres so every single song i'm shouting at the television YES COME ON! I'll leave you with the theme tune at the bottom because it is such a beauty! 

Silver Hair

One question i'm asked a lot be it on my blog or just out on nights out, is how do I get my hair so silver, and as recently I have been making an effort to look after my hair more, I thought I would share some tips for anyone who has or would like white blonde/silver hair.

My hair history is long and varied, I first dyed my hair at 13/14 it was a purple colour and after that I tried out blue streaks, bright red and black which was what I finally settled for. It wasn't until I was 17 that I decided I wanted white blonde hair mainly due to this picture of Debbie Harry on the right we had in our house, honestly I thought she was the embodiment of cool and wanted to look just like her - and still kinda do!

I've never bleached my hair straight away to achieve the white blonde colour, i've always built it up with some highlights to get my hair used to the bleach and then gone for an all over colour after around 6 months, i've had to do this twice; the first time I went blonde and when coming back from a bizarre black hair dye choice in 2009! When your hair is bleached it goes a yellow/orange colour so I always ask for a purple toner which takes out the yellowness and achieves the silver colour. Having your hair bleached can be expensive and sometimes a little uncomfortable so I only tend to have it bleached every 2-3 months rather than the normal 6-8 weeks, I don't mind having roots so I guess it's down to personal preference.

It's no secret that bleaching your hair can really take it's toll on the condition, so over the past 6 months i've built up a little hair saviour kit which I really do feel has made a difference to the condition and look of my hair.

Washing 
I wash my hair with TreSemme Platinum Strength Shampoo which smells great, I can really feel this Shampoo cleaning my hair without the fear that it will strip the colour, you should always use a colour conditioning shampoo for bleached hair otherwise it can go a bit brassy - not what we want.

I then use Bleach London Silver Shampoo as a toner rather than a shampoo. I apply this to my hair and then leave it on for 15 minutes to really bring out the silver/purple in my hair. I don't find that this shampoo is very good at cleaning my hair but it is fantastic at bringing out the colour, which is why I use TreSemme first, as it can feel a little dry if I didn't. Sometimes I put Silver Shampoo straight onto dry hair and leave for half an hour, it might not work for everyone but I tend to do that before a night out/event because it makes my hair super silver!

Conditioning
After 15 minutes I wash out the Silver Shampoo and condition with TreSemme Platinum Strength Conditioner, this conditioner instantly makes my hair feel soft and I can run my fingers through it straight away. Every few washes I use the TreSemme Platinum Strength Deep Conditioning Mask, I apply it to my hair and then wrap a warm towel around my hair which opens up the hair and really conditions it. I leave it on for anything from 10 minutes to half an hour depending on what else i'm doing and afterwards my hair is insanely soft! The TreSemme range is specifically for platinum hair, I don't think it is able to repair the ends of my hair but it has definitely made a difference to the overall condition.

After Care

When I take my wet hair out of the towel it can be a bit knotty so I use Redken Extreme Anti Snap Treatment first followed by Moroccan Oil Light and brush it with a Tangle Teezer.

Snapping and breakage is a big issue for bleached hair because the hair is quite weak and dry from all the chemicals so pulling a brush through it can cause quite bad breakage. I've been using Redken Anti Snap for around 6 months and can honestly feel how much stronger my hair is, it's more expensive than I would usually pay for a hair product but i've only used half the bottle in six months and really think it's helping with the condition of my hair. Morroccan Oil is a great product for any hair type or colour and again since using this I really can feel that the ends of my hair feel healthier and it is a lot smoother once dry. I have previously review the Tangle Teezer which you can find here. 

I was really excited to try out the TreSemme Platinum Repair range as anything that will help my damaged hair is always appealing to me and I am really surprised at the quality of the range considering the price. I've never been a TreSemme follower before but I can see why it's advertised as 'salon quality at home' it really has made a difference to my bleached hair.

If anyone also has silver/bleached hair and has some other product tips let me know in the comments, i'm always on the lookout for more products!

Peggy Sue

Hat - fox + feather

Jumper - Sweet Sorrow Vintage

Coat - fox + feather

Necklace - Waiste

Jeans - Topshop 

I've been in two minds about uploading this outfit shot, I think I look terrible, like my face looks so fat and puffy, and I just don't think I look very good,but the weather has been rubbish today to do a different one so i'm just gonna go for it!

 I'm wearing a gorgeous jumper I was kindly given by Sweet Sorrow Vintage with my Topshop Joni Jeans, a leopard print coat from fox - feather and my favourite Waiste necklace! I'm going to Glasgow tomorrow because my boyfriends band are supporting The Strypes so if anyone from Glasgow is gonna be there let me know and if anyone happens to catch The Shimmer Band over the next few weeks in their home town, don't forget to tweet me! 

Blogger Of The Month: Stephanie JW

I was a top rubbish blogger during January, I find it hard to motivate myself when the weather is rubbish, as i'm sure a lot of people do, but this month is already feeling so much more positive. As always the beginning of the month means picking one of my favourite bloggers to feature as blogger of the month, and this month i've decided to go for Stephanie JW. I can't remember how I found Stephanie's blog, but I really like her grungy, bohemian style and her enviable shoe collection. Working for Dr Martens means she usually teams her dresses and skirts with chunky footwear, a look I really like, it works well in both Summer and Winter. Favouring brands such as MinkPink and Evil Twin, Stephanie often layers jumpers and mesh tops underneath printed dresses adding a boyish element to an otherwise girlie outfit. 

Rather than always taking outfit photos of herself, I really like the way Stephanie lays hers out on the floor documenting both ideas for looks and her actual outfits on her blog. It reminds me of a feature 'Self Service' magazine had a few years back in which all the outfits for photo shoots were laid flat and photographed after each spread. It's a great spin on how to present your 'looks' especially relevant to me as recently i've been struggling with my confidence in posting outfit shots of myself and have been thinking of different ways to use photography on my blog.

If you haven't read StephanieJW before then think denim mixed with oversized jumpers and kimonos, printed dresses with mesh tops and chunky Jeffrey Campbells. Accessories are always featured and i've spotted everything from 90s style chokers, to long crosses and pendants, oversized circle sunglasses and black fedora hats.

Are you a regular reader of Stephanie's blog or is this your first introduction to her? Let me know in the comments :)