Well Christmas is almost upon us and I'm feeling mega-organised because I've been ready for about a week, only needing to pick up a few last minute bits when I picking up my fiancé for the holiday. Although I don't get a 100% work-free holiday (damn you, essay marking), it still means I get some time to go out a few nice places. This particular outing was to a shopping village; the Whittards bag contains MULLED WINE TEA!! Which is amazing, and I completely recommend it.

I chose an outfit that turned out to be just perfect for the weather as it was warm enough not to need a very heavy coat. The skirt is a new charity shop find which I previously featured in this video, and boy do I love it. It's a beautiful wool, and a very flattering length and shape, and the cherry on top - it has pockets. Paired with my all-time favourite jacket, it almost makes a suit and I get the most wonderful Peggy Carter vibes from it. I just had to pair it with what I'm calling my "fox fur" - this fluffy pom pom scarf that is a new addition to my wardrobe and also featured in the video.

That's probably all from me now until after Christmas, so I'll see you then and I hope you all have a wonderful time.

A post shared by @helenmaegreen on Dec 22, 2017 at 5:46am PST

A post shared by @helenmaegreen on Dec 22, 2017 at 5:48am PST

Pretty much ever since I got into wearing vintage I have been wishing to own a proper swing coat; one that is both long and wide enough to successfully accommodate a swing dress underneath. Although I've been after one for ages, I never managed to find one that was in my budget, as they do tend to be a bit more pricey compared to options available on the high street. However, I was lucky enough to be given some money for my birthday and finally decided that now was the time to find the coat of my dreams.

I looked around at several options and priced up various different brands as well as different retailers, and eventually settled on the Hell Bunny Elvira Coat, which retails at around £90-£120 depending on the individual retailer. When I purchased it in October, the cheapest I could find it at was £105.99 from Rock Collection (which is where I ultimately bought it), however at the time of writing they are selling it for £98.99 in most sizes  so now is a good time to get one. I went for the black option, as this seemed as though it would be the most versatile, but I think the red is also very stylish and I am pretty sure I've also seen it in a lovely teal colour from other shops.





Apart from the price, one of the things that was slightly putting me off buying one of these coats (from any brand, not just Hell Bunny), was the fact that almost none of them contain any wool. For me, it's very important to have the warmest possible winter coat as I really feel the cold, and therefore wool (or a wool blend) is usually the best choice for me. The only ones I'm aware of that contain some wool are the Collectif Pearl Coat and the Heyday 5th Avenue Coat but at £216.50 and £250 respectively, there is no way that these would be options for me at the current time.

According to the Rock Collection website, the Elvira coat is mostly polyester, but despite the lack of wool I have actually found this to be a very warm option and it has a really good weight to it when you lift it up. Due to the wide skirt, I have also found that I can wrap it around myself when sitting down, so it feels even more snuggly.

I also find that the faux fur is nice and warm, not to mention soft as all get out and super stylish to boot. I have heard a number of times recently that some "faux furs" available on the high street have been turning out to be real fur produced at very low prices in fur farms abroad, but I have checked over the fur on this coat extensively and I am certain it is completely fake due to the texture of the fur and the backing is not hide.




In terms of sizing, I was unsure whether to opt for the size XS or S. As I am a UK size 8, this often corresponds to a size XS, however as this is a winter coat I wanted to be able to fit extra layers underneath and therefore gambled on the size S, hoping that it wouldn't end up looking too bulky. I'm actually really pleased with the fit - it's definitely big enough to fit a fairly thick cardigan underneath without losing the sleek fitted look. The length is absolutely perfect and exactly what I was hoping for as it's the right length to completely hide my swing skirts and dresses (both vintage and repro). The only slightly weird thing about the sizing is how completely enormous the hood is. If I wear it as I would normally it completely engulfs my head, even if I'm wearing my hair in a bun or a ponytail that adds extra volume to my hair. I have seen it suggested online that you could pin the hood in place with kirby grips, but I have yet to try this and I'm actually not sure where the pins would go as I don't think I want to go shoving grips into the fur.



Overall I'm really pleased with the coat and I think it was totally worth the money. When I have some more money available I'd like to also get a camel coloured one and then I think I'll be all set. Of course there are loads of designs from different brands that I love so I could happily buy twenty of them if only I could afford them! I'll definitely enjoy wearing it all winter.

Hi everyone! I hope you like this little "thrift haul" video. Let me know what you think in the comments!

One of the things I love about winter clothing is the many opportunities for wearing lovely brooches. For some reason I associate brooches much more with Autumn and Winter, I think largely because I tend to wear them pinned onto coats, jackets and scarves. My beautiful crocheted flower brooch was a Christmas present last year, but I don't think it has ever made it into a blog post before. I really like how the neutral colour of it works so well with this outfit and how the different textures offset against each other. My poor coat is really starting to show its age (though you can't tell from the photos), but it is my absolute standby for this time of year as it's effortlessly stylish, warm, and a great neutral. Eventually I'd like to get a full length swing coat in the same kind of colour to "replace" this one. And by "replace" I mean I will probably keep the old one anyway and just pretend to myself that I have replaced it with a new one.

My other brooch was a birthday present from my fiancé and it was an excellent choice on his part as it goes so well with the kind of colour palette I favour at this time of year. I missed out on a proper close-up of it this time but I'm sure it will appear in plenty of future outfits.