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?