Hello everyone, and welcome back to Steampunk Saturdays. Today's outfit features a few items that I'm really excited about, and what I hope might be the last snow of the season (unless we get a white Easter like some are predicting), which arrived last weekend. We took the opportunity to shoot some photos that I've been excited about for absolutely ages and it's been a while in the planning so I hope you enjoy the results.

The outfit began after I attended the Subaquatic Steampunk Weekend where I wore a gorgeous black Victorian-style skirt that I purchased from Corsets UK. After I got back from the event I noticed that the skirt was starting to come apart at the seams, so I emailed Corsets UK's customer support. The customer service was absolutely excellent - something that I find is becoming more and more unusual - and they offered to send me out a new skirt as a replacement. As the original skirt was now sold out, I opted for this tiered brown satin number which I thought would make some pretty cool outfits. I also wasn't required to send the original skirt back, so if I can figure out a way to mend or alter it, I will be using it again for steampunk costumes in the future.



One of the things that particularly drew me to this skirt is the really cool beadwork on the waistband, which I think adds a very unique touch. It also has an interesting chain detail which looks great, but me being the clumsy person that I am, I keep getting it caught on door handles and things as I go past!

Unfortunately the skirt is quite a lot too big for me on the waist, and with no option to wear a belt due to the beading, the only way I can make it sort of fit is by wearing something a bit bulky underneath. I'm wearing the smallest size that was available (UK 8) but I'd say it fits more like a 10 if not even a 12. I can't see it on the website any more but if it does ever become available again (or if you see it for sale elsewhere), I'd definitely recommend sizing down if possible.



The next item is my really seriously cool Alchemy Gothic Aetheric Inclinometer Attache Bag from Blue Banana. I love the design with the compass, and it's made of a really sturdy canvass material with leather accents. It really adds to an Aethernaut inspired outfit, and would probably be good for an explorer style as well. The only thing I don't like is the size - it's not even big enough to fit my phone in, which makes it not particularly useful to take to events. I can fit small items such as makeup, tissues, money etc, but I will definitely need a larger bag for taking out with me.





The last item for today's post is this gorgeous pistol that I borrowed from my other half. We got it from Head Case Curios in Southsea, and it's absolutely beautiful. I'd definitely like my own at some point, especially as you can get all sorts of different ones. I'm tempted by a little handbag pistol, something I can fit in a thigh holster, or a great big blunderbuss or something.

Anyway, that's pretty much it for today. Let me know in the comments which is your favourite item from today's post and I'll see you all soon.

Let me introduce you to my newest Dolly and Dotty dress, the Vanessa Classic 50s Inspired Check Dress in Navy. I took her for a spin in Windsor which I think might quickly become one of my go-to places for blog photos. This particular day we were expecting fine weather according to the forecast, and although it was nice all morning, we did get caught in a short hailstorm while walking around the town. Although it was really cold, it did give the streets an extra pretty touch for us walking around which I hope comes across a little bit in the photos.

I did really enjoy wearing this dress and exploring a few of the old streets. The location where these photos were taken is actually one of my favourites just opposite the castle; it has such a charming look to it. As far as the outfit goes, I thought long and hard about whether to get this dress or not - not because I have any kind of problem with Dolly and Dotty (I am still a big fan), but just because I am trying to be really conscious about what I bring into my wardrobe. At the moment I'm working really hard on making my clothing and makeup collections work for me, and work hard at that. With makeup I'm really into minimalism at the moment and I'm working on paring down my fairly large collection into just a core set of products that I love and wear every day. With my wardrobe, the goal is less minimalism and more cohesion. I definitely didn't set out to get myself into this position but over the last few years my wardrobe has become more and more print-heavy and as such I do find that I have a number of items in different patterns which I find really hard to match with other things.

I have earmarked some items for sale and to give to charity, which will hopefully allow me to see the wood for the trees a little bit better but in the meantime I am kind of trying to avoid prints a bit in favour of buying plain items so I can mix and match a bit more easily. It's a slow process because I'm still more or less on a self-imposed spending ban as far as clothes go, but I'm still accepting some brand sponsorships (which I am very very grateful for) that I still need to consider in the same way.

Anyway, I really loved this dress when I saw it on the Dolly and Dotty website and since it's blue and a check print I felt like it would work well in my wardrobe. When it arrived I ended up feeling completely justified in my decision. It was basically love at first sight, I mean look:






It's just very me. It's sooo cute and sweet without being girlish. My friend Aliesha said it makes her think of me cycling along in the summer with a picnic, and I know exactly what she means. I'm living my Summer Holiday or maybe Come September fantasy. (Hmm, Cliff or Rock? Cliff or Rock...?).

I'm wearing a size 8 which is a little tight on me around the shoulders but I currently match the size 8 bust and waist measurements much better than for the size 10.I'm always in between sizes in Dolly and Dotty and just fluctuate a bit between being closer to the size 8 and closer to the size 10 - if only there was a size 9 available! Anyway, it also has a red lining which is quite unusual. It shows through the white squares just the teeniest bit if you get right up close, but it isn't noticeable when you're wearing the dress unless someone is closer than is really polite!






Hopefully soon I'll be able to show you some other views of Windsor as it really is beautiful. Please do keep an eye out for my bits coming up for sale and let me know in the comments if you have any preferences for where I should be selling things. Is through the blog or on Facebook good or would we prefer to stick to Etsy?

See you soon!

Just before Christmas my fiancé's dad gave me a Sigma 50-200mm lens to try out. These photos were taken on the lens' second outing whilst being in my posession, with my good friend Lexie behind the camera. I'm very excited about the possibility of being able to use the lens for blog photos on a more regular basis but as I'm sure you can spot from these photos I am having a few teething problems as the photos aren't coming out quite as well in focus as I'd like. Although they're not perfectly sharp I wanted to share them anyway, firstly because I do still like them, and secondly because I wanted to use it as an opportunity to ask for advice from any of you with more photography experience (and skill!) than myself.

I did discover that the optical stabilizer on the lens was turned off on these photos (and on another set which you'll be able to see at a later date), and I'm hoping that turning this back on will improve things. I am also planning on trying out the lens on a tripod to see if it makes a difference. If anyone out there has any other advice or tips I'd be really grateful as I'd really like to be able to use the lens to its full potential.





Anyway, the subject of today's blog post is not my photography-related woes, but instead is this outfit which features several items which have not been included in blog photos before. Starting from the top, the first new item is my lovely floral headband which I picked up for a song about a week ago in my favourite local vintage shop (more on that in an upcoming post). The flowers themselves look quite old to me, and are typical of those that turn up on mid-century hats and bridal headwear. However, the construction of the headband makes me think that the flowers were either purchased separately (maybe from a millinery or craft store) and attached to the band, or have been repurposed from another item. Nevertheless it's a very beautiful (and delicate - some of the flowers are made of paper) item which I will really enjoy wearing.

Next up is my sweet little cardigan, which spent most of the day hidden beneath my favourite jacked (complete with my little crown brooch from Tegen Accessories).  It's a bit difficult to tell from the photos but the flowers on the front are 3D. This actually came from my fiancé's mum as she said she doesn't wear it any more, but it goes just perfectly with this skirt, which is the Banned Maddy Tartan Skirt in blue (more about that in a minute). Alongside the cardigan I also have this cream kelly bag, which my friend Jo gave me and which I featured in my thrifted and gifted haul and try-on video. It's actually not vintage but is the perfect style to fake it (and actually isn't at all dissimilar to a genuine vintage cream kelly bag I have that used to belong to my granddad's late first wife). It looks small but I actually managed to cram loads of stuff in, which is very important for me as I seem to always carry plenty of stuff around.

Lastly I have some very warm and stylish pixie boots which were passed along to me by Lexie (my friends and family are all very generous!). Unfortunately that lovely faux-sheepskin around the top doesn't extend inside the boot (I bet that would be extra cosy) but you can flip the top up and wear them in more of an ankle boot style which I have also done. I do love versatility in my wardrobe, it's like having two pairs of boots in one!



The skirt was sent to me to review for you guys by Blue Banana, who have a lovely selection of retro and vintage reproduction clothing, mostly in a 50s style but with a couple of other decades thrown in here and there. Some of the clothing is much more rockabilly or even psychobilly/more punk inspired, but there are also plenty of items that suit a more authentic vintage wardrobe as well.

For me, the skirt is the perfect style. I wear a lot of tartan and check prints so it just called out to me, and you see those pockets? Yep, they are absolutely real, and they are huuuuuge. I love them for popping my phone into when I'm just pottering about the house and I know how much of a selling point functional pockets on womens clothing are to a lot of you. They also feel fairly sturdy, so even carrying a heavier item like my phone doesn't drag the skirt out of shape. The inside edges of the pockets have been left raw though, which makes me wonder if over time using the pockets will cause those seams to fray more. (Just to clarify, all the other seams are finished).

I'm wearing a size XS, which fits me absolutely perfectly. According to the size chart on the Blue Banana website, this is a 26" waist. It's available in sizes XS through to XL from Blue Banana, and at the time of writing it is in stock in every size.



The fabric of the skirt has a very nice feel to it, and a decent enough weight to give the skirt a nice shape and some movement as you walk. The only problem I did find was that it creases like nobody's business, and by the time I had finished ironing it it was all creased again. To be honest it isn't a huge problem (it irons quite easily at any rate, so at least it's not a pain to do) although if you're going to be spending a lot of time sitting down it might look quite crumpled after a while. At some point I might try steaming it; I wonder if this would at least help to prevent it getting creased as it's being ironed.

Although Banned refer to the colour of the skirt as "blue" (and as such it's listed this way everywhere I've seen it online), the product description on the Blue Banana website calls it turquoise and I personally might even go so far as to call it green. It's looks quite blue in these photos but I'm not sure if I'd wear it with a blue cardigan, for example. Maybe I will try it and see. On the other hand I have some shoes and a bag in a turquoisey kind of colour which might suit it much better. Anyway, all I'm trying to say is - I know different people perceive colour differently but to me this is much more green than I was expecting based on what Banned have decided to call it.



I think that's pretty much it from me for today, but I will leave you with a faintly ridiculous photo of me taken just after the wind finished lifting my skirt up. See you all soon and please do let me know if you have any advice or tips for the lens!

Hello everyone! Today I have a slightly different post to usual, but I am very excited to show you. Over the past few weeks I have been working on some vintage-inspired home decor with a company called Pixers, who sell a variety of different items from posters and wall canvasses through to wallpaper and fridge stickers. I picked out several different items to help make my uninspiring rental flat look a bit more vintage, and I'm going to show you some before and after photos as well as talk you through my experience with some of the items. I also have a lovely 40% discount code if you'd like to get yourself some goodies from Pixers so make sure you read all the way to the end to find the details on that.

Because I live in a rented flat, all the items I chose had to be suitably temporary (I couldn't choose a wallpaper, for example, because I am not allowed to change the colour of the walls and also I don't plan on living here long-term). Fortunately Pixers has plenty of options that can help to make a boring rental home look much nicer, without the need to make any major changes. If you don't live in a rental home and you can completely control you own interior design, then of course any of these options would still be suitable, and Pixers does also sell some wonderful designs of wallpaper and wall vinyls if you're able to go for something a bit more permanent.

Of course I've chosen all vintage-inspired designs (of which there are plenty available), but Pixers has literally thousands of designs across their different ranges so there is something to suit every taste. In addition, many of their designs run throughout their ranges (for example you can have the same design on wall murals and a table veneer and a fridge sticker... etc) so you can choose to keep a theme running across several different items if you wish.

So let's have a look at the items I chose and what I did with them.

First of all, I picked out some pretty antique-style wall canvasses to help decorate the bedroom area of my studio. Here is the before and after look at the area:



Let's take a closer look at the details.

Before adding the items from Pixers, I already had a little nod to vintage style through the crocheted blanket that I use in the winter. To add to this, I chose two of the wall canvasses from Pixers to mix-and-match with some similarly vintage-inspired canvasses I already owned but had never bothered to put up since moving into this flat. I really liked the collage style of the "Vintage" canvas, and it features a dragonfly which is very appropriate for me given my interest in insects.





My second canvas of choice was the "Le Cabinet de Curiosités" print featuring some unusual items in bell jars and some scattered butterflies. Again I liked the antique style, but also the museum feel of the print was just perfect for me as I have done quite a lot of work in museums and even met my fiancé in one. I knew he would also like the print, so this one was a good choice for something we can hang up in our flat when we finally manage to move in together.



For the finishing touches I tidied and rearranged the items on my dresser and added some throw cushions and fairy lights for a cosy feel.





Next I did some work on my bathroom. Like the rest of the flat, the bathroom was very plain and quite clinical (and features and ancient and disgusting snot-green coloured bathroom suite) so I was very pleased to be able to make it look more attractive and a bit more vintage by adding some carefully chosen accessories.

First, here's the before and after comparison:



I chose a cool retro car wash poster from Pixers to kick things off, as it appealed to my silly sense of humour to have a car wash poster in the bathroom. This particular poster was unframed (although Pixers do sell framed posters as well) so I bought a plain glass frame to help protect it and to make it rigid so I could choose to either stand it on a surface or hang it on the wall.



I propped it up in the window for these photos, although I might hang it on the wall opposite the bath in the future. It was a difficult size to find a frame for so I ultimately ended up with one that was quite large in order to accommodate the dimensions, but I'm sure a picture framer could provide a custom frame to fit it better. It was very difficult to choose a design as Pixers sell several different retro posters including a lot of vintage advertisements for car washes and other businesses such as diners and cinemas. Ultimately I decided a car wash design was the best for what I wanted, and I eventually settled on this one.



To finish off I swapped out the ugly plastic shower curtain for a fabric one with a pretty sepia-coloured butterfly design, and I added a red candle to match the red in the poster. Lastly, I tidied all of my bottles of shampoo and shower gel etc into a little wicker shower caddy which looks much better than having them all loose.



Lastly I picked out some nifty things for my dining/work area. The first item I chose was a laptop sticker with a gorgeous Edwardian little girl on it.



Overall I'm really happy with how this looks; the little girl is absolutely adorable. I will say it was a bit difficult cutting the corners of the sticker to shape, as the vinyl was square but my laptop has rounded corners. I tackled this by sticking the vinyl on first and then cutting it to shape with a box cutter around the corners, which worked pretty well but wasn't perfect. So far I haven't been able to come up with a better idea as it wasn't really possible to trace round the corners before sticking the vinyl on, as the case of the laptop is also curved at the edges. You can also slightly see the HP symbol peeking through the little girl's face in the centre of the sticker. Nonetheless, I think it still looks really great and she definitely is super cute.

Now for the biggest project I undertook - my table. I have a poor battered old Ikea table that serves as my dining table/work desk and which originally came from my old flat when my landlady sold the building. I had been thinking for a while about how I could somehow upcycle or tidy up the table so I could keep it going a bit longer, but I couldn't decide whether to paint it or decoupage it or something else entirely. When I saw that Pixers did table veneers, that completely made up my mind for me and I decided to paint the frame and use one of the vinyls for the top. I chose an amazing atomic print design, which I thought would look chic and reasonably neutral as I don't know what the decor will be like in any future flats I might move into.

Before we get to the details, here's a look at the before and after shots:



I started off by painting the drawers and legs etc of the table grey using a chalk furniture paint. This was incredibly time consuming as I had to wait for certain surfaces to dry before I could paint other surfaces, and I was supposed to leave 4 hours in between coats according to the instructions. Since the table needed 2-3 coats to get a fully opaque streak-free coverage, this took a long time to achieve. I don't want to make this blog post about the painting process, but I also noticed that the paint was very prone to getting brush strokes in it, and it seems to scratch easily so I'm not sure how long it will last.

When I had painted the table all over (except for the tabletop) I started to apply the vinyl. This was a difficult process even though I followed the instructions on the website. I struggled to get the sheet straight and then ended up with loads of air bubbles in it (it's similar to using that sticky book covering stuff that I always used to put on my exercise books when I was at school). Then, completely through my own clumsiness, I managed to damage the vinyl in a couple of places when trying to get the air bubbles out, and again when I was slicing down between the leaves of the table.

All that said, there is nothing at all wrong with the product - I just think it would be much easier to use if:
1) you had a second person to help out
2) you had a smaller table to work with
and 3) your table was all in one piece and didn't have leaves

Overall I'd really recommend this as a quick and simple (if not necessarily easy) way to customise or upcycle a table, especially if you're a bit better than I am at this DIY thing and are less likely to damage it when applying it to the table.

Since the table's in a difficult position to photograph, here's a slightly darker image just so you can get a better look at the overall pattern:



Honestly I really love this pattern and the colour scheme, and it would also be an easy way of disguising a more modern table as an older one, if you're someone who has a lot of mid-century and atomic homeware.

I think I might also paint the chairs to match, as I have plenty of paint left over and it will be nice to have a matching set.

Thanks very much to the folks at Michael Joseph for working with me! I hope you enjoy my review and I'd really recommend getting a copy to read over Christmas.

Hello everyone! Today I have a post for you all about some gorgeous accessories from Tegen Accessories. Based in Brighton Lanes (so very local for me!) Tegen Accessories specialises in mostly British-made accessories, and entirely items from small independent designers. Their range covers hair accessories from basics to Bridal, and they also sell other accessories (such as bags, gloves, and hats) and jewellery.

Tegen sent me several different hair accessories to try out, and a couple of brooches. I got a couple of different styles so I can let you know my thoughts on those, and you can see how I decided to wear them as part of my usual vintage outfits, although I think they'd look great with any number of different styles.

The first of the accessories that I tried out is this feather headband (the Crystal Feather Capette in nude). The website suggests wearing this as part of a Gatsby look which I think would be perfect. I'm imagining a delicate chiffon flapper dress - I know I'm following one or two other girls who absolutely rock that style.
 

Here's a closer look at the detail. To me, all the bits feel securely attached so I'm not worried about losing any of the feathers or crystals. Some of the feathers at the base (near the crystals) were slightly crumpled when the headband arrived, I think just from being posted, but they were very easy to smooth back in to place. You can see a bit of the crumpling in the photo below, which I didn't notice at the time, but I just double checked the actual headband and the feathers are definitely laying flat now so I probably photographed it before I'd thought smooth them out.
 

I'm not always very good at wearing headbands as I often find them uncomfortable but I wore this one for a number of hours and didn't find it too pinchy behind my ears. Your mileage may vary.

The next item is this grey rose flower hair clip. I love the splashes of pink and orange on the edges of the petals.
 

Again with this one, everything feels securely attached so I'm not worried about it coming apart. It has a strong crocodile clip to attach it to your hair so I didn't find that it slipped around even in my very thin hair. It also features a brooch pin so that it can be worn as a corsage.



Here's a closer look at the clip by itself.



Next up is the vintage pink rose hair flower. The website describes this as having a subtle rockabilly style with polka dot net overlaying each petal. For these photos I went for a very classic look with my hair and outfit, but my boyfriend pointed out that my current hair colour would work really well for a more rockabilly style, so maybe next time you see me wearing this it will be with some big suicide rolls instead. Don't mind me having fun with some filters on this one!



Here's a better look at the clip from the side of this hairdo:



This clip also has the option to wear it as a corsage, featuring the same pin as on the grey flower.
 



The final hair accessory is this beautiful cream rose hair clip with a crystal centre. It's a pretty and delicate design but is a little less structured than the other flowers and flops a bit so you can't always see the crystals. If this bothers you, you could probably use hair grips to position the petals a bit.



As with the other flowers, this one also features the brooch back so it can be worn as a corsage.





The last items are these two brooches. The first is the rainbow flower brooch which is super fun and colourful. I'm possibly wearing it upside down here (if that even matters?) but only because that's the way it fitted on the collar of this particular blouse. The different colours of crystals on this one make it a great versatile choice that would pair with a great many different outfits.





The second brooch is the crystal crown brooch in gold.





Though I've chosen to wear these as brooches here, they both feature the same type of crocodile clips as the flowers so they can also be worn in the hair or even clipped onto clothing to avoid putting pin holes into the fabric. My only concern with these is that they might be a little heavy for wearing in your hair (especially if your hair is very thin like mine) although I haven't actually tried it yet simply because I really like them as brooches. In fact, the crown brooch has already become a fixture on the jacket I photographed it on here. I think it's the perfect accessory for the autumn.


Let me know in the comments which is your favourite of these accessories and don't forget to check out Tegen Accessories for lots of other lovely accessories.