Sparkle and Glitter » shoes

Fashion, Style and Me (Part 2)

Vixel — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 16:34:23 +0000

If I had to describe my personal style, I would probably have to call it… inconsistent. I don’t think I really have a “look” or a style that I stick to, in fact, if I’m honest, I’m a really bad shopper. People are usually advised to buy items that fit in with the rest of their wardrobe, so they have complete looks. I’m more likely to buy something that catches my eye, even if it’s totally different to the rest of my clothing, then find a way to coordinate it later – even if that means having to buy more items so I can create an outfit that works. Also, I’m rather lazy. If I’m not going anywhere, I’ll throw on anything (or not bother at all: case in point, I’m currently writing this in my pyjamas at lunchtime whilst watching the Grand Prix.)

This is starting to feel like something of a “fashion sins” confessional, so I will stop there and focus on the real point of this post – to share some Polyvore sets that represent the kind of things I’m wearing at the moment. I don’t own any of the actual items in the sets, but the looks are very close to those I’ve put together from my own wardrobe. Don’t expect fashionista greatness here – I’m not long out of my goth phase really, and that was succeeded by a few years of “I don’t really care about clothing as long as it’s comfy and keeps me warm / cool”.

Also, be gentle with me, I’m very new to this Polyvore thing! For product information, click on the pictures.

First, a couple of typical outfits when I really can’t be bothered to think about what I’m wearing – basically, my wardrobe staples thrown together.

This is a typical outfit when I wake up late on a work morning, screaming for caffeine and looking like I’ve been through the wars. The cardi worn as a top is comfy and hides a lot of lumps and bumps, the backpack is again for comfort – particularly if I’m carrying a heavy book, and the coffee machine is my best friend on mornings like these!

At the moment, during such warm weather, my black cotton maxi skirt is one of my favourite everyday items of clothing. It’s cool to wear (even though my mother refuses to believe this because it’s black) and goes with everything so another item that can be thrown on without thinking. My most flattering t-shirt is a green v-neck one from the Dorothy Perkins petites range, and I nearly always carry a cardigan, just in case. Flat shoes are a must as I’m useless in heels, and shoes with ankle straps are particularly good since they stay on my ridiculously narrow feet a little better.

I have a small collection of floral dresses, all in the same style, that represent the cornerstone of my spring / summer wardrobe. The particular advantage of these dresses is that they don’t crease, so they can be rolled and shoved into bags, worn all day at a desk then straight out in the evening without looking like they’ve been sat in all day, and they’re really versatile. I usually wear them with black accessories, because it’s classic and I have a lot of black in my wardrobe!

This outfit is a good example of how I dress for my somewhat unusual shape. I like my legs, so short skirts are great, and bright prints draw attention to the skirt whilst the circular shape disguises my somewhat massive hips! Batwing tops are wonderful things when you’re a bit wonky! They’re a great way to help disguise things. I like to wear something interesting in my hair too, particularly if it’s an oversized bow, thus hopefully drawing attention to my head and my legs, thus skipping over what’s in-between.

Of all the items here, there are only three I actually own, and those are the camera, the coffee machine and the eyeshadow (M.A.C. Fafi Eyes 1) however I have pieces similar to all the others, and wear them together as shown.

I’ve rather enjoyed putting this together, playing with Polyvore is fun!

Fashion, Style and Me (Part One)

Vixel — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:26:30 +0000

Photo Credit

I am a big bunch of contradictions when it comes to style and fashion. I used to resent the fashion industry for promoting an image there’s no way I could ever come close to achieving, but in recent years I’ve come to love it despite myself. I used to feel almost “unworthy” of pretty things by virtue of not ”fitting the mould”, but now I strongly believe that everyone has a right to style. At first, I shied away from blogging about it as I really don’t feel comfortable with the concept of posting outfit shots – I generally avoid having to look at photos of myself! I love reading about other peoples’ sartorial choices however, indeed some of my favourite blogs are fashion blogs, and I love talking about clothes, etc. so I feel that now may be the time to venture into writing about them too. Don’t expect daily outfit pics any time soon however!

To that end, I thought a post outlining my relationship with fashion and style was in order. Having been born with very visible severe Scoliosis, I’ve always had to make my clothing choices carefully, and there are some trends that have always been “out of my reach” – bodycon is the stuff of my nightmares. Some may see trying to disguise my “condition” (for want of a better word) with carefully-chosen clothing as body shame, I see it as working with what I have.

Like many people, some days I feel down about the way I look, hiding in baggy clothing and not going out unless I have to. Most of the time however, my clothes and make-up give me confidence – I can put together a pretty outfit and allow the clothes to draw attention to the features I do like – usually my legs.

I also have ridiculously narrow feet, shoulders that are about 2 sizes narrower than my hips, a torso that’s so disproportionate to my legs that I end up buying petite size tops and tall-size jeans (when I buy both tops and trousers at the same time some of the looks I get from shop assistants are quite hilarious, particularly buying tall jeans when I’m only 5’1) and I can’t walk in heels to save my life. I’m trying to work on the latter but the rest I’ll just have to live with.

I’m writing this so that I have a post I can link to whenever I write about what I personally wear, buy, or wish for, that goes some way to explaining why I make the clothing choices I do. I’m not asking for a “pity party” in sharing this, in fact, in some ways it has made shopping really easy for me – having to be so careful with what I wear for so long means that now I can walk into a shop and pick things up that I know will suit me, often without trying them on. It certainly makes life a lot easier for the boy when he’s forced to come shopping with me!

This is part 1. Now that the “serious” stuff is out of the way, part 2 will be all about what I do wear, rather than the limitations!

Photograph The Ordinary

Vixel — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:36:49 +0000

I mentioned this meme in a previous post. Found on Masumi‘s blog, you may see a few of these posts from me over the next few weeks, as I think it’s a really fun idea! Her original challenge ended before I had the time to enter, however I hope she doesn’t mind me, well, stealing the idea and posting a few photos of my own!

I took the above photo with my phone whilst picking things up from my bedroom floor. When I emailed it to myself (because I’d just put my data cable away, typically), I gave the email the subject line “Nemesis”. These shoes really are! I bought them for 99p from eBay and although they’re slightly too wide for my feet they’re actually narrower than I expected them to be. I’m going to tie them onto my ankles with scarves like they did for the fashion show on Material Girl. They are my nemesis as I have never been able to walk in narrow heels. Ever. I love pretty shoes however, and I’m also really short, so I have decided I need to learn, quickly! I’ll buy some that fit me properly once I’ve convinced myself that I can handle them – I don’t want to spend a fortune (and with feet as narrow as mine I’ll need to) on a beautiful pair of shoes only to scuff them up and ruin them by falling over or just generally not walking properly in them.

Over the next few weeks expect photos of books, notes, junk food and caffeinated substances!