Sunday 29 September 2013

muted florals




necklace: robynmakesthings 
skirt: internacionale
jacket: h&m
socks: h&m
shoes: ebay 
belt: asos

i'm a day late with this post due to my puppy coming to stay with me and the landlord deciding to come and visit at a totally inconvenient time, but letter late than never, eh? i'm currently making the most of the little bit of warmth we're still managing to cling onto here up north by getting my wear out of this gorgeous illustrated crop top i bought from a stall at the elsecar heritage craft & vintage fair i held a stall at back in july. i find that the colours in this h&m jacket, composed of greys and muted purples, work really well with the crop top and help to provide me a little bit of warmth where needed in this cooler weather!

all summer i was in search of the perfect pair of chunky and/or cut out boots, and after falling in love with the jeffery campbell coltrane boots but not having £150 to spare and there being no decent dupes anywhere to be found, i made do with these boots that i picked up for just £20. all was good and well and i adored my boots up until around a week ago when i spotted some fantastic coltrane dupes in a local shoe shop for just £30... and i suppose that's what i get for being in a rush to own things! there are also some really fab coltrane dupes floating around on ebay at the minute too, so if i hadn't have already spent my money on these boots, i'd have definitely been buying myself a pair of those!

Monday 23 September 2013

blog redesign


so if you hadn't already noticed, my blog's recently undergone a complete makeover. i decided it was time to give my blog a revamp to illustrate the fact that it's now going to be used as a personal blog as well as a platform to showcase my work on, and this is what i came up with.

i'm pretty pleased with it all in all, i've really surprised myself over the last few months with my attitude to typography and how i've approached it and increased my confidence when using it, and i'm also pleased with how i'm slowly improving on throwing colour schemes together, this one included as it came straight from my brain for a change, no referring to adobe kuler this time, woo hoo!

here's to further building my confidence as an illustrator, designer, and now, fashion blogger!

Saturday 21 September 2013

shades of red // ootd + video!




hat: h&m
dress: primark
jumper: primark:
belt: primark
necklace: ebay
ring: ebay
shoes: river island

it's been decided - i'm going to make it my goal to try and blog an outfit every saturday, so here i am today styling the primark red tartan dress i showed you all in my last collective haul post. i wore this outfit for my day trip to edinburgh, and paired with a leather jacket, it just about kept me warm during the cold, blustery weather. as much as i hate the cold weather, i've found it incredibly easy and fun to style this jumper over various dresses and skirts that i own, so i expect it'll be making plenty more appearances on my blog over the coming months!

i decided to be a bit daring with this outfit post and went all out and filmed a video to see what i could still remember editing-wise from my media studies a level... which now seems a bit silly seeing as throughout college i used final cut pro, and for this video i used the bog standard imovie that comes free on every mac. regardless, it was nice to consider how an outfit may look in action and how editing/music can bring a look to life; basically, i found it a lot of fun to film and edit and may perhaps consider more outfit videos in future (provided i have the time what with being back at uni) if i can get over how terrible the image quality is - apologies! hopefully it doesn't take away from the finished video too much. have you filmed ootd videos before? and if so, do you have any tips? i'd love to hear your thoughts on the video, so feel free to leave me any comments below!

Friday 20 September 2013

an illustrator's manifesto






(just a quick note to inform you all that i'm aware of the grey background on all the images i've uploaded, i've no idea what blogger's done with my clean white backgrounds! *sob*)
 
1/3 of my university summer project was to write a manifesto. i'd like to think that my beliefs as an illustrator about what will help me to improve my own skills and build valuable connections with other like-minded individuals are fairly short, sweet and simple, so i didn't want to overdo my manifesto by gushing on for paragraphs about when it was that i first picked up a pencil and why it is that i continue to still pick one up now as an almost twenty year old. after jotting down what it was that i felt was important, i picked out a few main points and shortened them as much as i possibly could to leave me with a list of phrases to help keep me, and perhaps other illustrators, inspired to work hard and persevere within such a competitive field of work!

my visual idea is - admittedly - simple, and is based around the idea of 'dreaming big' - something i feel is very important if you're wanting to push yourself to succeed in this area of 'work'. above i've included some of the colour schemes i had a play around with before choosing my final one (which is the large top image.) colour schemes are something i've always struggled with, however, with the help of adobe kuler and actually taking the time to sit and think about a colour scheme before going mad with colours on the final design (duh,) i've learnt that i can, in fact, throw half decent ones together with a little bit of effort, hurrah!

right now i'm pushing on with the last third of my summer project, which is to design and fold (very vague brief...) something based around an event or topic that you find interesting, and i've decided to look into the ban of animal testing for cosmetic purposes in the EU, something i was really pleased to hear about back in march when it was passed! i've learnt quite a lot already from the small bit of research i've done and already feel a lot more passionately about the cause, so i plan to start taking a more cruelty free route with the purchases i'll make in the future. hopefully within the next week i'll have my finished piece to show you all on here, so stay tuned!


Thursday 19 September 2013

a day out to edinburgh



so on tuesday, me and a friend dragged ourselves out of bed at the ungodly hour which is 5am, and set about getting ready for our day ahead in edinburgh. with my friend's strong love for pandas and the fact that edinburgh zoo is home to the only pandas and koalas in the uk (apparently, anyway) we thought it'd be a good day trip for us both, because when else were we ever going to get the chance to see pandas or koalas?!

the zoo wasn't disappointing. due to the time of year, it wasn't crazy busy which means we had the chance to stroll around at our own pace without having to worry about fitting anything in, however arriving so early meant that a few animals hadn't yet gotten out of bed which meant that we missed catching a glimpse of some animals, the big cats in particular. we weren't disappointed though as we got to spend plenty of time cooing over the koalas, and after a very long hour wait, the female giant panda (who is currently pregnant, eek!) finally made her way out of her cosy den and came to give us all a glimpse - it would've been very disappointing to have travelled all the way to edinburgh to have not seen a panda!

on our way to the zoo we travelled down edinburgh's princes street, and after laying eyes on what looked like huge h&ms, a primark, boots and lush, we decided it was essential to have a quick shop before we headed back for our train at 6.30pm (very long day!) i was pretty well behaved when shopping and bought a couple of bedroom 'essentials', along with a denim dress i just couldn't leave as i'd not yet seen it in middlesbrough's primark, and a no.7 skin mask which i've only used once and already want to sing the praises of. i did take my camera along with me for the day with the intention of taking lots of pictures of what we'd gotten up to, however i always find that i spend the time actually enjoying the moment rather than trying to photograph it... it seems i can never manage to do both!

all in all, i really enjoyed our visit to edinburgh; the city is beautiful, the people were friendly and were definitely not in a rush. the place in general reminded me a bit of london, however i found it much easier to relax and enjoy myself there as it wasn't as hectic and aggressive as london has been when i've visited previously! already i'm excited to visit again and explore the city properly, i just now need to find a reason to revisit...

Monday 16 September 2013

september 2013 haul: boots, primark, asos

since starting to read blogs (which began around this time last year,) i've found myself making more frequent purchases than ever before. i try to tell myself these purchases are necessary due to reasons such as, "but that mascara has had such good reviews!" and "but that dress will look awesome with my chunky boots!" but more often than not, i come away with shopper's guilt after having spent a little more than i'd have hoped to for the month... this month was no exception, what with me starting uni again and needing to once again become less frivolous with my money, but for now i thought i'd show you all what i've purchased throughout the month of september - and who knows, maybe it'll inspire you to do as i so often do and go trawling the highstreet for items you've seen on blogs!



1: collection pressed powder, £1.99, boots: for me, this product is cheap and cheerful and does the job of setting my face and reducing shine just as well as any other, more expensive powder i've tried out, so i figured why pay any more for another?

2: collection last perfection concealer, £4.19, boots: i'd never tried out the collection concealer before, but after reading such great reviews and it costing a measly £4, i figured i'd give it a go while boots had a buy one get one half price offer on. 


3: benefit they're real mascara, £19.50, boots: as someone who doesn't like splashing on one item, the price tag of benefit's they're real on the high street always put me off the purchase, however, after finding the product on ebay for just £7, i figured i'd jump on the bandwagon and put this apparent miracle mascara to the test; so far, i'm impressed overall. 

4: collection 24 hour felt tip liner, £2.99, boots: before this purchase i'd never used a felt tip liner, and now, in hindsight, i see how foolish i was. eyeliner application with a felt tip is a breeze and i'll definitely be repurchasing this when i run out.


5: rimmel kate lasting finish lipstick in 01, £5.49, boots: the only reason i purchased this is because i'd previously bought a MUA lipstick (i mean, come on, they're a pound) in a similar shade and loved it, however it transferred far too easily for my liking so i was on the hunt for a similar shade with a better wear time, which happened to be this.

6: rimmel kate matt lipstick in 101, £5.49, boots: another 'a blogger uses this and i like it so i'm going to purchase it' purchase here. after seeing lily melrose mention this in one of her favourite lipsticks videos, i figured i just had to go out and buy it because the colour is so pretty. also, i figure lily knows what she's talking about, so if she recommends it, it must be worth the pennies. 


7: patterned skirt, £8, primark: when i laid eyes on this in the shop, i was instantly reminded of this print i'd seen on the motel website. i thought the skirt looked a little more expensive than your average primark find, so for £8 i had to have it. 


8: tartan dress, £13, primark: anything tartan gets a yes from me, but combined with this adorable collar and loose fitting, i was smitten after trying it on. i'm sure this is something i'll get plenty of wear out of throughout the colder months. 


9: tier necklace, £4, primark: i'm a sucker for anything chunky or layered, so when i saw this necklace for just £4 i threw it into my shopping bag just knowing that it would look great under collars, or over jumpers, or to pretty up a plain dress, etc. etc.

10: woven chain belt, £2.50, primark: i probably own too many belts, but i really liked the subtle gold chain woven into the belt and thought it would break up tops and bottoms well without being 'too much'. and anyway, it was only £2.50...


11: t-bar shoes, £12, primark: these shoes have to be my favourite purchase of the month. after eyeing up dr. marten t-bar shoes and refusing to pay the hefty price tag, these were the perfect compromise for me. they're just so adorable!

12: paisley smock dress, £25, river island: i grabbed this from asos during the students' 20% off event, meaning i picked it up for £20. after eyeing it up for such a long time, i figured 20% discount was a good enough reason for me to go ahead and finally purchase it.

13: silver stud belt, £8, asos: this was another blogger inspired purchase (lily melrose, AGAIN...) after seeing and loving the belt she wore in this outfit post. when the belt arrived i was a little disappointed at how thin it was, but i thought it would suffice and kept it anyway, and have since found plenty of wear in it regardless.

so, there are all my purchases, and after totting up the total spent i'm giving myself a little tap on the wrist... i will be better throughout october! as ever, i'm always interested in reading about others' hauls, so if you have any posts you'd like me to check out, please leave links below. thanks for reading!

Saturday 14 September 2013

a fresh start...



blouse: charity shop
necklace: robynmakesthings
shoes: primark 
belt: asos

as a person who's interested in fashion and reads plenty of fashion/personal style blogs, there's always been a part of me that's been itching to join the 'fbloggers' community and share my personal style with the rest of the internet, but the fact that i used my blog as a platform to showcase my work online always put me off doing so. however, since creating an account with cargo and creating an online portfolio to display what i think is my best work from the previous year (which you can view here if you're interested in doing so,) i felt that i could now finally make the transition and make my blog a little more personal, so i bit the bullet and bought a tripod!

new blog content will probably mostly feature outfits posts like today's, the occasional beauty related post (if there's something i just have to share my two cents about and feel as though i possess enough knowledge to talk about it properly) and, of course, my illustration work when it arises. hopefully i'll still have plenty to share with you on the design/illustration front as i'm banking on there being a huge workload this year, so if you're following me solely for my design/illustration, don't fear, i won't be leaving my work behind!

so, onto today's outfit. as well all know, summer has well and truly departed, something i'm really not very happy about, but life goes on! i recently purchased this dress from asos because i think it's a key wardrobe piece that can be worn all throughout the year with a little bit of work. where it would look great in the summer worn alone with a pair of chunky sandals, it can also be layered up with blouses, leather jackets and blazers to make it suitable for the colder weather, provided you also wear a good pair of boots! the shoes are also a recent favourite purchase of mine. i'd been eyeing up t-bar shoes on ebay (dr. martens in particular) and just couldn't justify another £20+ on more shoes, so when i saw these in primark for just £12 i had to have them, what a bargain!

i apologise that the quality of the photos isn't brilliant, however a new camera is simply something i cannot afford when i only really use it for hobby purposes! additionally, i'm always on the search for new personal style blogs to follow, so if you run your own or have any you'd recommend i check out, please leave links for me in a comment below!

Wednesday 4 September 2013

i'll be gone for a while...



i'm back in middlesbrough now and settling into my new house before starting my second year of university in october. due for the first day back is a project that consists of three tasks (only one of which i've currently done,) so i'll be spending the next month working my way through the project until i've an entire A3 sketchbook to show for my efforts (sob.) this means i'll probably not have much time to work on personal things, so before i have my summer project work to show here, i'm leaving you all with a couple of illustrations i've completed recently that were inspired by the, uh, bugs i've encountered over the summer... these two are butterfly and spider inspired, and where i planned to do a few more, i've really just not had the time. hope you all enjoy what may be left of your summer!