Hi everyone! Today's blog post is inspired by a tag I have seen on Youtube on some of the goth channels I watch called "My 10 Un-goth Confessions". In the spirit of that, I thought I'd do my own 10 un-vintage confessions and if you'd like to join in and do your own, I'd love you to do so and link me to your post so I can see! Here goes...

1. I don't really have any real-life vintage friends.

I have a few friends who occasionally dabble in a slightly vintage-inspired look and I know a few people who dress in 1940s clothing for re-enactment, but none of the people I normally hang out with (including my boyfriend) dress in a vintage style.

2. I can't swing dance...

In fact I'm a terrible dancer. But I'd really love to learn, and I'm endlessly jealous of people who can swing dance.

3. I'm currently don't wear vintage full time.

I spend a lot of time working on my field work at the moment, which isn't something that lends itself well to vintage fashion. Genuine vintage clothing is too precious for me to want to risk damaging it, and even most repro is impractical for tramping round a muddy field, which I do on a regular basis. In my free time, I'm finding that I'm gravitating towards jeans or leggings for ease and comfort - although I still try to wear my vintage things when I get the opportunity. When I finish my current round of field work, I'll be back to wearing vintage style clothing for the majority of the time - although I still like my leggings for the occasional lazy day!


4. I'm really bad at vintage hairstyles.

This is absolutely no secret - I am honestly terrible at doing my own hair. I have a few hairstyles that I can manage with fairly well but I don't tend to often stray outside of my comfort zone. Any time my hair looks really good, it's probably been done by my hairdresser.

5. I don't really like much vintage decor.

I know that a lot of people on the vintage scene like to do out their houses in a vintage style, but I find my own tastes in decor either tend towards an antique style or is much more modern.

6. I don't watch a lot of old movies.

In fact, my knowledge of classic cinema is woeful. I'm actually not much of a cinema buff at all though, so my knowledge of modern cinema pretty much sucks as well.


7. I can barely sew.

I can sew on a button, I can mend a hem, and I can darn a hole. I've been slowly trying to learn how to sew my own clothes, but as I'm mostly self-taught (with a little help from Youtube), progress is pretty slow.

8. I wasn't "born in the wrong decade".

I loathe that phrase. I am 100% a 21st century girl, and you can pry my smartphone from my cold dead hands. I won't go into a discussion of sexism or rights, but suffice to say I enjoy having a job in a STEM subject where I get to do more than make tea for men. That being said, plenty of people have used this phrase in good faith to describe me, and I can absolutely understand why when you look at my wardrobe and taste in music. I just accept it as the compliment it's intended as and move on.

9. I'm not brilliant at dating vintage clothing.

Sure, I can absolutely date items much better than I used to be able to and I'm learning all the time. But I know a lot of people can date things with much more precision than I am able to. I'm able to date things with enough accuracy to feel comfortable with it most of the time.

10. I usually wear modern makeup.

When I started wearing vintage clothing I did switch to wearing somewhat more neutral colours (most of the time at least) than I had done previously, but overally my makeup has remained largely the same as ever unless I'm specifically trying to create a period-accurate look for some reason. I even still like to wear lip gloss, even though I know it sometimes gets a bad rap from vintage girls.

Disclaimer: Some of these items were purchased using a gift voucher given to me by Rex London, or were given to me by Rex London free of charge. All opinions are my own.
Last year I posted about some vintage style gifts that I got from Rex London. I had a really positive experience shopping with them last year, and have been back to their website several times throughout the year to look for presents for friends and family. This year I was contacted by Rex London again to see if I'd like to try a few other things from their website, and so I was able to investigate some more of their stock. This time I didn't find anything that I wanted as a gift for someone else, so I mainly stuck to treating myself to a few things that I either have been needing for a while (such as a new umbrella) or which were too pretty to resist.



Above is an overview of all the things I chose from the website. I really love the different vintagey patterns that are offered; in this case I seem to have been mostly drawn to different florals!


In the background of my photo is the pantry design cotton apron, which is the one thing that I did get for someone else - in this case my mum. I was really struggling to get a good photo of the apron by itself, so instead here is the photo from the website so you can see how nice the apron actually looks. Mum says she has been really enjoying using the apron, and she is a big fan of the song bird pattern. In fact, she says this is the nicest apron she has ever owned, so that's a great endorsement!



The next thing I chose was this lovely tea cosy in a paisley floral print. I don't currently use a tea pot (although that is my own tea pot which you can see just poking out the bottom, which I'm saving for when I have a proper place of my own), but I am really enjoying collecting a few kitchen and homeware bits and pieces for use in the future.



I also found a lovely new umbrella for myself, as I have been needing a new one since my old one broke. This is a nice long one, which I really like as they seem more vintage style than the compact ones.



Above is a glass frame which hinged at the top, and hung with a velvet ribbon. At some stage I intend to put pressed flowers in this, as I think that would really suit the antique or shabby chic look of the frame.



I have seen these stunning stork embroidery scissors being shown off on sewing and planner blogs before, so when I found they were available from dotcomgiftshop I absolutely had to get myself a pair. I don't have a specific use in mind yet for these, as I don't often do embroidery and I'm not sure if I want to use them for paper (e.g. for cutting the stickers for my own planner) in case I blunt them. Nevertheless, they're a really special item to have.



Lastly I got this flask in the Rambling Rose pattern. I use a flask often for taking drinks to uni or when I go home to my parents' house. My old flask had got a bit worn out so I decided it was about time to replace it, so I decided on having one of the pretty ones available from dotcomgiftshop instead of buying another plain one.

If you still haven't checked out the things on offer from Rex London, I really recommend that you take a peek (especially in the sale section as they often have things at fantastic discounts). See you all again soon!

Disclaimer: This dress was provided free of charge by Dolly and Dotty in exchange for a blog post. All opinions are my own, and you can read my full disclosure policy here.



Hi everyone! Today I have another beautiful dress to show you from Dolly and Dotty. This is the Hazel dress in black and red floral. Despite what I said in my last post about opting for a size 8 in Dolly and Dotty styles where I won't be wearing a blouse or jumper underneath, I actually ended up going for a size 10 in this style as well, but as the dress has a side zip I am pleased I did as it makes it much easier to get the dress on. With the belt in place, the dress fits nicely and feels comfortable to wear all day.    

Here I'm wearing the dress without a petticoat, as I think the skirt holds a nice shape by itself, however I am looking forward to wearing it with my red petticoat when the opportunity arises.

I've also been wearing my hair in this style of bun a lot recently, as I'm finding it a fantastic low maintenance but still appropriately retro style. It's great for keeping my hair under control in the windy and wet weather we've been having, which ruins my curls in no time at all.







Although I'm wearing the dress in quite a casual way here, I actually think it would make a lovely outfit for something like a wedding with the right hair style and accessories. I really love the detail of the little pleated collar, which is quite unique and very pretty.

One thing I'd say about this dress if you buy one for yourself is to make sure you iron it inside out or with a towel over the top, as I do think when I ironed mine that the flowers somehow got darker in colour. It's a shame to spoil the pattern as it's so pretty, so don't make my mistake!