Today I though I would share a very quick few photos from my first few weeks of living in my new home. None of these are outfit-related, so feel free to skip this post if you're just here for clothes. I'll be back to outfits and some other vintage topics next time.
 









I've been really enjoying living where I do now all apart from the distance I am now from my friends and family back in the Midlands. However, I've been really lucky and have made some great new friends in my new home.

I hope this random selection of photos hasn't been too boring - it was really just by way of a quick update as I've been running the blog off mostly pre-written scheduled posts (from before I moved) for a while now. Like I said at the beginning, I'll be back to my usual style of content from the next post onwards, so I hope to see you there!

I got dressed for work one morning before I moved and realised I'd accidentally dressed like an extra from Grease, so I just kind of... ran with it. I wish I'd had a more school-esque background to shoot against but there was nowhere suitable locally. I can't complain too much when I had such easy access to the countryside though!

I'm now onto the last few hats from Natty Titfers and I'm really pleased with how this outfit came out! Although the hat is really pretty, I didn't expect to end up loving it as much as I do. The outfit reminds me of Victorian mourning clothing (although my mum pointed out that it might be half mourning due to the green on the hat).

My skirt is a beautiful original 1950s piece which unfortunately gets hardly any wear. It's really full and quite heavy, so I've layered it with three petticoats here to give it some fullness, but I could easily have put a couple more underneath to give it a really nice shape. It's begging for a trip out to the opera or something!

This dress was a gift* from my friend Cherilyn who runs English Country Vintage. It's a beautiful 40s style day dress which has quite the nicest cut. I took it for a day at the beach which is a wonderful luxury of living where I do now. I spent my first weekend on the seafront, walking up and down the prom in between the pier and the arcades. The weather was just nice enough for me to be able to go without a cardigan during the day; it's really different for me coming from a countryside area to suddenly be living by the sea.

In the evening I had to add an extra layer but I still enjoyed staying out until the sun had gone down. I took the first couple of photos earlier in the day but was battling with the bright early afternoon sun. Later in the day I managed to catch the last bit of the sunlight although the wind hadn't dropped much. I love the way the material of the dress moves, it really has the most lovely fluidity to it.

You may spot something funny happening on the back of my dress in some of the photos - I didn't realise until later that the button had popped open.

*I mean an actual gift, not some kind of company sponsorship.








Cherilyn is currently planning something very exciting, and I hope to be able to share the details with you very soon!

If you're confused as to the unseasonal weather in these photos, by the way, it's because I moved to the coast in September and took these photos shortly after I moved.

This is the second of the shirts I made for myself using some old shirts of my brother's. (You can see the first here). I'm more pleased with this one than with the other one as I think I did a better job of the refashion, although I must admit I was also pretty happy with the first one because I'm far from the best sewist and I thought it came out well.

This one makes me feel like a lumberjill, or maybe a cowgirl. I love how it's so practical but also still vintage and stylish - exactly the sort of item that gets a lot of use in my wardrobe. This one's also a thicker fabric, so it will be perfect for the Autumn and Winter. I have one partially finished shirt and two or three more that I'd like to get done at some point as well. I think I might also have just a little bit of this fabric left over which I would like to make into a matching hair band if I get the chance.

I'm still working my way through photographing the hats I borrowed from Natty Titfers but I'm getting towards the end now! This outfit somehow makes me feel like a Tim Burton character or some Miss Havisham-esque mad old woman found wandering the streets in the tattered remains of her expensive clothes. I think it's in the nature of these hats to make me want to pretend to be different characters each time.

The day I took these photos, I had received an email with some information which meant I had to change a lot of my plans. I was upset and quite worried, but I'd made plans to go out in the evening so I employed my favourite tactics for brightening up a bad day: I ate ice cream, made up my face, and put on some pretty clothes.

I always find when I'm feeling upset that making myself look nice really helps me to put on a brave face and maybe even cheer up a little. I like red lipstick for making me feel like "myself". This beautiful combination is Besamé Masterliner in the lighter colour followed by my favourite Besamé American Beauty lipstick and topped off with Besamé Lip Glaze in Cherry.

My boots are new (old) - the sharp eyed among you might notice that they have no zips up the insides which is something I've been looking for for a really long time, and which I've mentioned several times before on Lovebirds Vintage. This was the first time I'd worn them out of the house, and I'm happy to report that due to the lack of zips, I didn't trip over my own feet even once ;) I really like the slightly steampunk-y Southern Belle vibes (although I realise the beautiful shape of them isn't totally obvious from these photos) and I can't wait to start wearing them more often as the weather gets colder.

The only slight problem I have with the boots is how the tongue swivels - you can see it's sitting more to the side of my calf than in the centre - does anyone have any ideas how to prevent this? And yes, that is a huge ladder in my stocking. There are several areas hat I've patched up but I'm making them last as long as possible!

Anyway, the style of the boots coupled with the style of the dress almost makes me feel like I'm going square dancing. I woke up the next day and felt calmer if not happier, so it must all be down to the healing powers of red lipstick, right?