This is definitely a very Sian outfit consisting of a pretty twirly skirt, a girly pink, a pair of flat shoes and some quirky details (the bow tie and the bow pattern). I got this blouse recently off eBay for 99p – amazing! It seems to be brand new and unworn, originally from Forever 21. Now I know that Forever 21 isn’t even expensive in the first place, but for a pretty blouse like this, I would have happily paid full price in the store. The problem is that there are no Forever 21 stores within, oh, about a 4 or 5 hour drive! I have had this skirt almost forever – I think it’s the piece of clothing I’ve had the longest and still wear. My mum bought it for me from TK Maxx when I was only 12, a whole 10 years ago!! Weirdly my shape has changed since then, and even though I was younger, and you would have thought smaller, the waist is now far too big on me, which is fair enough as it’s a size 12 and my waist is an 8. So I had to do a bit of sewing, uh oh, and sort it out myself. I don’t have a sewing machine (at least I don’t have one that I can use!), so I stitched the waistband together with a simple needle and thread! Ah well, it worked!
A quick explanation of these photos here – I’ve read a few things recently about bloggers not actually wearing the clothes that they post, so I thought I’d show you these pictures that Ben secretly snapped of me mowing the lawn in one of my typical outfits (he was hiding behind the tree, as you can probably tell!). I know some blogs out there are simply for the purpose of fashion, to show off fancy clothes and whatnot. But for those of you that haven’t been around here long (hi new readers!), my blog is not one of those. It is not a high ‘fashun’ blog, I’m simply showing you what I wore and how I wore it. There have been the odd occasions where I have worn an outfit for the purpose of showing an item, but I’ve always let you know. Otherwise, all the outfits you see here are what I’ve worn. So if an outfit is looking a bit shabby, sorry about that, but I do spend time in these outfits mowing the lawn, looking after kids (I went babysitting in this outfit later), sitting in an office all day long, walking into town…all sorts of things! Basically, this is a personal style blog – a collection of photos of what I really wore. Sometimes the outfits are inappropriate for occasions (overdressed much for lawn mowing?!), but that’s just me. And yes, I know I’m not wearing shoes to mow the lawn – that did give me muddy feet, yes!
The bracelet I’m wearing here was very kindly sent to me by Speechless Jewellery. They got in contact with me because they’re a Dutch based company looking to reach out internationally – I was only too happy to help! They have a range of these bangles in platinum, rose gold and yellow gold each with their own saying. This platinum one says: ‘live life, laugh lots, love forever’. I have another, but I’ll save that to show you another day 🙂 They also have a Facebook page here where they seem to have plenty of competitions to win their fabulous jewellery. Seeing as I got two bracelets, I actually wore this for the day then passed it on to my sister who will get more wear out of it than I will.
Unfortunately I can’t wear bracelets too much on my right wrist – it’s still damaged from my operation at Christmas. In case you’ve forgotten (I just like to tell stories really!), I had my gallbladder out, which is pretty simple really, but they had problems finding my veins and tried 16 times to get the IV into me – in my arms, hands, feet and finally my wrists. And bam, they hit my tendon, damaging the nerve in my wrist. Unfortunately everyone involved seemed to forget it had happened afterwards, meaning that I wasn’t told anything about how it would recover. I spent a couple of weeks unable to use my hand properly because I had permanent pins and needles alternating with numb fingers and thumb. That’s now subsided, but I cannot touch my wrist without getting tingly fingers, and that means I can’t wear things on my wrist either. I went to the doctors to ask about when it would be better, as I was originally told it would take a couple of weeks. Well, it turns out that they’ve decided 6 months later that it’s permanently damaged now. It’s nothing major, but quite annoying as even sleeves, bracelets, gloves etc. can set it off, and I can the occasional stabbing pain in my arm, as well as an achy wrist and muscle wastage in it.
(Oh, and say hi to Jeremy, the owl that lives at the bottom of our garden – we actually managed to get a good picture of him!)
(Oh, and say hi to Jeremy, the owl that lives at the bottom of our garden – we actually managed to get a good picture of him!)
Blouse: Forever 21 via eBay
Bra (just seen underneath): c/o Tutti Rouge (Betty)
Skirt: TK Maxx (ridiculously old – but I like this one with a similar shape)
Flats: Primark (which is now available at ASOS)
Bracelet: c/o Speechless Jewellery
And again, enough about Sian and illness! I swear, I don’t know how you’re still all here! A note about this blouse again though – it’s pretty see through, but the weather has been way too hot recently to even think about layering anything underneath it, so I just decided to wear lingerie that was made to be seen. I was sent this bra by Tutti Rouge (review coming very soon!), and it has the most gorgeous pattern. So just so you know, it’s meant to be seen here! I realise that the blouse is gaping in the picture, so sorry about that, but you try finding something to fit my bust and my waist without looking like I’m wearing something hugely oversized (if you do, please let me know!). Oh, and to clarify too, this bra is slightly too small in the cup and an entirely wrong shape on me (will be telling you this properly in the review), which is why I prefer to show it under a blouse, but the band is a perfect size on me.
No major life things to update you on today. I’ve been at work and it’s been really warm and sunny, as I mentioned yesterday. Apparently it was up to 28C today, but I was stuck in an office and not appreciating it! But I’m looking forward to the weekend as apparently this weather will continue and I’m seeing some friends, so that’ll be lovely as always.
Love,
Linking up at: Transatlantic Blonde, My Greatest Hits, My Thrifty Chic, Plane Pretty
oooo, I really like your skirt! I was hoping it was something still able to purchase – but, I guess not, if you bought it 10 years ago. Darn. It is super cute! 🙂
Also, I really like the lawn-mowing pictures. So funny!
xoxo,
Laura
http://lauraisthriftingthroughlife.blogspot.com/
I love the fact that you mowed the lawn in your outfit. I must admit, I couldn’t be bothered with the hassle of wearing an outfit just for the sake of the photos and then changing, I wear whatever I’m wearing for the whole day, whatever I’m doing.
You look lovely! I actually thought that the blouse and skirt was a dress, they go so well together! I also have the same problem about being a size 12 in general, but an 8 on the waist! Still, a needle and thread always comes in handy!
The Little Things
You look adorable! Love your hair 🙂
I cannot stopping alughing at you mowing the lawn. The outfit is super feminine. Love it.
xoxo
Ivy
p.s I have a giveaway to win £50 vouchers to spend on Africas Runway.