OOTD: Forever a Country Kid

 Today I steer away from my usual adventure spots & whimsical thinking to take a look at something fundamentally girl. As mud-loving, tree-hugging and scraggly haired as I normally am, there's no escaping that I am in fact a lady (despite being raised by a single father and often displaying many boy-ish traits).


As much as I try to avoid a consumerist lifestyle filled with gadgets and baubles I just can't shake my love of pretty dresses. It doesn't always end well- The result is me attempting to do something daft like climb a tree or mess about on a rope swing and end up revealing to the world, my pants of the day. Not always what the world particularly wants to see. Although I don't consider myself an authority on fashion, I absolutely admire how creative we can be with our clothing, how we use it to express our personalities and identify ourselves. I love how our clothes can sometimes (or never at all) say something about us, and I think that my choice of clothing often say's something about what inspires me. My wardrobe is eclectic and varied and includes a motley jumble of boho-hippy trousers in vibrant paisley, fairy-esque skirts & flower head bands to rustic country handmade jumpers, quirky prints or baggy jeans (boyfriend being my preferred fit).

What do our clothes say about us?

My whole life I've never enjoyed tight clothing. Although skinny jeans are cute, I just can't bring myself to wear them for long periods of time without being highly uncomfortable. I later learned when I was diagnosed with Dyspraxia, that an aversion to tight clothing is a trait of many dyspraxia folk. Does this explain my love of genie pants and dresses? Because they're baggy and loose? I hail from the countryside/by the sea and so my wardrobe is largely inspired by my lifestyle: quaint, folky, outdoor. I love to mingle feminine with the outdoor and so I tend to invest in more durable brands such as FatFace and Cath Kidston. I'm not particular though, if there's one thing I truly love it's a charity shop find. I enjoy nautical and floral prints the most as they remind me of my roots but my secret love is finding an excuse to dress as close to a fairy as I possibly can. I went through a phase of always wearing flowers in my hair but these days I've lost some of that courage. 

I think we can enjoy clothes and styling without appearing superficial or narcissistic. I think it's a great way to celebrate us and our creativity - for there is definitely some kind of art that goes into choosing what to wear :) 

Jessica who is a Graphics student is putting together a project about lookbooks and fashion and so she wanted to borrow my camera to photograph some style images for her project ^.^ Therefore it's imperative that I mention all photographs of myself are taken by the lovely miss Jessica so that there's no plagiarism issues.

I present to you, my lovely new Cath Kidston 'Beacon View' dress that turned up on my doorstep this morning in it's lovely packaging. I'm rather a fan of Cath's more unusual prints (The cowboys, dinosaurs and safari prints of yesteryear being a few of my favourites!) and I absolutely adore her latest cloud variety but when this lovely dress went into the Sale I couldn't resist. 

Now the weather is warmer (the last week has been idyllic) I can happily don dresses again without heavy jumpers. Also hats. I LOVE hats. This is a very old straw hat I've had for a while and I was incredibly happy to bring it out again for the new spring sunshine. 

Let it be known that I adore buttons 

This lovely cardigan is a piece from my brand new job! That's right... I'm officially bananas. I'm working TWO jobs along a full time degree. I am now a proud employee of FatFace clothing (finally). We get a fantastic discount on our uniform and so I picked out this cardigan quite simply because it's light, cosy and goes with everything. I work one night a week at Bills now (I couldn't bear to leave) and just a few short shifts at FatFace. My main motivation behind this, is my love of lookbooks and catalogue photography and I LOVE their branding. Previously, I've never had any fashion experience and I figured as someone who wishes to photograph fashion it would be fitting to start somewhere learning :) Their values are pretty great and as an outdoor person I couldn't think of a better clothing brand to work for.

That there Cardigan is a NanKnit. It's currently on loan to Jess, and I love it so. It's custom made in my favourite colour with artfully mismatched buttons by my loving and awesomely talented Nanny Sue. What a babe.

 I can't resist taking photographs. It's simply what I do. The lovely Jess (who is becoming a regular cameo in my posts these days :P) She works at Cath Kidston and so her wardrobe is extremely enviable.

It's been a beautifully sunny week however I've spent the majority of it holed up in bed with the flu and terrible kidney pains. There's been a few miniature adventures squeezed in between: a midnight drive to see the lights in the valley, an impromptu trip to London to visit Josiah, an Eclipse, family visiting and finally getting into the medieval underground part of the city which I've been itching to do ever since I found the entrance to the vaults. It's been a really pleasant week really, it'll take more than a wretched bout of flu and a crate load of assignments to break my spirit. April is almost upon us, as is Easter. I'm going to be home-making Easter eggs this week! I'd love to hear all about your clothing inspirations/Impromptu adventures and Easter plans :)