DIY Shorts and New Beginnings

I'm not very accomplished at DIY - I really wish I was, because I'm a bit of an awkward size and I love the idea of creating something new and fresh out of something old and tired. Anyway I figured even I can't mess up something simple as a pair of shorts?

So here's some old topshop jeans being transformed into new topshop shorts!

I don't think I need to explain the steps to you, it's pretty self explanitory. Here's the outfit I put them with:

Tights - Primark, Cardi - Primark, Boots- Vintage

I really like these primark tights as they have a great pattern but are still nice and thick - however I managed to ladder them the other day so will have to buy some new ones. Sad times indeed.

I'm really excited about the coming of autumn, it's my favourite time of the year and I love being able to snuggle up in knits/scarves/hats. Autumn should be a time when things come to a close, when trees shed their leaves and winter signals the year is coming to an end. But for me autumn has always spoken of new beginnings as it's when the new school year starts, when things begin to change.

I'm starting at university (again - long story) and although I'm so pleased that my life is kick-starting again, instead of feeling like I'm stuck at the station and the train is whizzing past me, it's still nerve-wracking. I might be jumping on the train, but my destination is still unclear - I don't know what is going to unfold in front of me. But I guess, if you're going to move forward, that's the risk you have to take. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

Any other freshers out there?  

Ker-azy Face!

I'm one of those people who always ends up blinking/ sneezing / looking the wrong way in photographs. Alternatively after a few drinks I tend to get it into my head that I am *the* posing queen, with mixed results:

Isn't that just the sex?

So normally I try and just keep still in my photos which makes them quite expressionless. To prove I'm not a robot I decided to experiment this week. Okay so I came out looking mildly psychotic but here's my outfit (with added ker-azy face).

Trousers- New Look, Necklace - 1950s vintage courtesy of my Grandma, Belt - charity shop

I really love this charity shop belt , it's leather and can be worn as a waist or hip belt. Yay versatility.

I am so addicted to these recently:

Wasabi peas! They may look like little green balls of snot but they're delicious, I promise.

What's your favourite photo pose / snack?

As always I will totally love you if you follow/comment and will check out your blog!

An Eye for an Eye and the World Will Be Blind

Of course the London riots, particularly for everyone in the UK are impossible to ignore and everyone seems to have an opinion, so I might as well give my perspective - I realise that everyone is probably pretty sick hearing opinions so I'll put up an outfit post first and put my thoughts at the end.

I wore this to go out recently:

I bought this dress at a charity shop, it's meant to be a top but I wear it as a dress (hence it being a bit on the short side) and the boots are vintage - that sort of plum/wine red is one of my favourite colours. Quite a wintery looking outfit but summer seems to have decided to hide again.

Anyway, back to the riots. I don't live in London but I will do soon - it's a city I love and have visited a lot. Of course the riots are completely awful and have rightly caused outrage throughout the UK, but what annoys me is people stating that it is about government cuts and a political protest. I was in the centre of Athens when people were rioting and the fact is that it's an excuse for some idiots to go out and have (what they class) as a bit of fun - they get to have a fun night out burning things and maybe a Sony TV into the bargain. When people try and twist it to make it seem like it's got some big political message about "the youth of today" I find it really irritating. It's just a bunch of thugs using one man's death as an excuse to rampage around London.

I really hope that the worst of it is now over and those who have been affected can now get on with rebuilding their lives. But violence is never a form of protest - it is always pointless, ineffective and just plain wrong.

What are your thoughts?

Warning: Totally Unoriginal

Ok so I realise this look required minimum thought - I literally was scrabbling through piles of clothing to find something suitable because OMG summer has finally made an appearance! You have another chance to see my criminally pale legs - bet you can't wait. Excuse the wet hair:

Dress - Superdry

Leather sandals - Athens

I don't usally shop in Superdry - it seems to be the natural home of people who speak and act like this, or who aspire too anyway:

However I really liked the floral print on this little dress and it wasn't too expensive at under £30 quid. I actually did have a much better put together outfit that I wore yesterday but my camera was flat - no problem I thought, I'll charge it and take a photo when I get home. What I hadn't counted on was getting a tiny bit tipsy and my friend telling me she would give me £10 if I jumped into a fountain. It seemed like a great idea at the time - needless to stay it didn't work out that great! I emerged from the fountain soaked through at 9:00 at night and stinking of chlorine, so that particular outfit will have to make an appearance another day.

Blade Runner

As Blade Runner is meant to be a sci-fi classic, when it came up free on BBC iplayer recently I knew I had to check it out!

For an age before CGI I thought the special effects were very, well, effective, with more darkly towering skyscrapers and flying cars than you can shake a stick at! (And none of them looked like they'd been made out of lego and duct tape). Great set designs aside, the COSTUMES were amazing.

I really liked how they contrasted the disheveled, distressed look of punk-ish Pris, played by the gorgeous Daryl Hannah ...

... with the exaggerated old Hollywood silhouette and classic make-up of Rachael, played by Sean Young (isn't it weird how both actresses happen to have men's names?):

I can really see how much the goth subculture took from this movie - from the white make-up/black eyes combo to dog collars and cyberpunk.

I got a bit fidgety towards the middle as the whole film seems to play out in near darkness so I spent a lot of time staring at a reflection of myself in my laptop screen. I'm glad I stuck around until the ending though, which is played out in a mysterious victorian looking building stuffed with eerie mannequins and vintage toys, which is both strangely beautiful and very tense.

Au Revoir Summer / Un-make that damn bed!

Yeah so to all you guys basking in sunshine and heat who might be wondering WHY am I not frolicking around in hotpants with a sunhat, that's England for ya.




Shirt - Uniqlo, Shorts - Deisel, Purple tights - from a friend, Shoes - Topshop

I wore this outfit to go for coffee with some friends (yes I do actually venture out into that weird place known as the outside world on occasion) and got caught in a rain shower on the way back. Trust me, these shoes collect more water than they keep out.

I've been thinking a lot recently about the nature of the phrase "you've made your bed, so you've got to lie in it". For a long time I thought that seeing things through to the end was the most important thing about life - and whether I hated it wasn't really part of the equation. I'm not saying it's good to head for the hills every time things start to get a bit rough, but I also think that when you're forcing yourself to do something for the wrong reasons - because you're scared of what others may think if you don't, because your parents expect it, because "quitting is for failures"- will harm you more than you realise sometimes.

Fine, if you make your bed, and you wanted to make it, maybe you should lie in it. But if someone else made you make it, or you never even wanted to make it in the first place, un-make that mofo!

It's no use living someone elses dream guyz.

Don't know if any of that makes sense - perhaps I'll ellaborate more some other time.

Flowerz and Blog Award!

Skirt- Zara Top-Primark Socks - Topshop Puma shoes - vintage

This necklace was made for wayyy back when by a friend - I like ethnic vibes

I love wearing long socks with skirts/shorts, they mean I can pretend I live in the 90s with the bonus that they keep my feet warm! I apologise for my criminally pasty legs, what with living in England and all, blazing hot temperatures are pretty rare and my natural colouring seems to fall somewhere between milk and Casper the Friendly Ghost.

In other news thank you so much to the lovely and very stylish ladies at Short Sister Style (http://shortsisterstyle.blogspot.com/) for awarding me a One Lovely Blog Award!

Part of the award is to list 7 facts about yourself so hear goes:

1. I am a hoarder. My room is full of trinkets and junk that I've been given/bought and can't bring myself to throw away.
2. I have spoken Greek since age 2, but when I write it my spelling is awful!
3. I love Alphonse Mucha and anything in the Art Nouveau style
4. My worst fear is swimming in the sea and seeing a shark coming at me from the deep
5. I melt chocolate in the microwave before I eat it (melted Reeces Cups = heaven)
6. I really want to have either a Ragdoll or a Main Coon Cat one day
7. I love 80s music

Here are the 15 blogs that I award:
http://victorialeshungryeyes.blogspot.com/
http://themartiantide.blogspot.com/
http://roma-thefashionaddict.blogspot.com/
http://potdolly.blogspot.com/
http://flowdisruption.blogspot.com/
 http://ergy-erg.blogspot.com/
  http://quirkyexplosion.blogspot.com/
http://self-constructed-freak.blogspot.com/
http://adore-vintage.blogspot.com/
 http://fashionablerose.blogspot.com/
http://irmafirma.blogspot.com/
http://laura-hoffman.blogspot.com/
http://www.styleshewrote.com/
http://forshoeswefall.blogspot.com/
http://olivias-pizzazz.blogspot.com/

(I don't know why half of them have linked but half of them haven't - technology hates me - but click on them/paste them into your task-bar, they're all awesome!)