Hello, Goodbye

Hello Again...

I can't believe it's nearly April already! This month has felt so hectic and the uni work is certainly piling up but I managed to have a few days break from the chaos to celebrate my birthday. 20 to me sounds so mature and grown up however my sister so kindly pointed out that I still have the mish- mash fashion sense of a seven year old and she's probably correct.
I had a lovely week spent drinking with friends, eating out and of course a girly catch up and shopping trip with my mum.

During my birthday week for some reason I was obsessed with my Vintage shirt from Blitz Vintage that I picked up on my recent trip down Brick Lane. I love the silver thread intertwined within the shirt and the ruffled neck gives it a Florence and the Machine vibe. For my meal out I paired it with my new maroon tennis skirt. I originally wanted the American Apparel one however the student budget wouldn't allow for it so I  settled for this £8 Primark on instead (haha). To be honest you can't tell the difference that much, I might even go back for the black one.

The Coat is the real eye-catcher of this outfit and it was given to me by my ninety two year old Grandma. it's an original from the 1940's and is just stunning. I am wholly against animal fur in clothing but with this jacket being an original from a time period where this was the norm I don't feel too guilty. 

The shoes were a birthday present from my parents and are from Topshop. The height of the heel is perfect for  me. I'm a little obsessed with block heels as I love the 70's vibe they have. They're also perfect height for dancing and going out in without my feet feeling like they're going to drop off. 

I got the tights at Christmas from H&M sale, I don't know why I always wear bring black tights as I love wearing these so much. I think sparkly starred tights would be cool so I'm on the look out. 

Accessories wise I'm wearing some cute earring from the Accessorize sale.

I then have my green woven purse I've acquired from my mum. It was hers when she was a young girl and its just the perfect size to slip in my tiny going out bags. 

As well as the celebration of my birthday its also Easter and with it comes spring!Yey! This means my sunglasses are slowly but surely beginning to make an appearance after a good few months hidden away in my draw and my winter coats are being worn less and less. That said it is raining at the moment...a typical northern drizzle, but hey at least I'm cosy and warm at home!
Yes Easter brings a trip back up north to Hull and I must admit I really felt like I needed this break. With essays to write, monologues to learn and movement pieces to choreograph I needed some breathing space. Don't get me wrong I'm in love with the city but I appreciate my little Yorkshire village on the outskirts of Hull so much more now.

Hull has a lot going for it recently, and although not as flash as London it has its own unique charm that I hope others will appreciate. With it being City of Culture next year I hope others grow to love its little quirks as much as I do.Where else are you going to get a double for £2.25 or eat quality chips and curry sauce?

I'm glad I go to pop into Hepworths Arcade it's such a beautiful arcade hidden in Hull's old town. Its also home to Beasleys one of Hull's best loved vintage shops. I managed to pick up some more sunglasses for a fiver so hope the sun is planning on making a more long term appearance soon. As well as the sunglasses the trip into town gave me an opportunity to buy some much needed new trainers. I opted for New Balance from Schuh which are a funky maroon colour and will be much better to dance about in at uni than my converse (faithful as they are they defo lack support). I'm not a trainer wearer in everyday life but these are so comfy and do have slight retro edge to them.

 I've also been on loads of walks around my Village, mainly to the co-op for £2 Ben and Jerry's which slightly defeats the object, however it did make me realise how pretty the village is in spring time.

Apart from this I've been doing lots of relaxing  (in between essay writing). I'm trying to get back into reading a lot more an I'm currently finishing a book from my brother about the world of Shakespeare.  I'm also looking forward to getting into a David Bowie biography, as well as this I'm dipping in and out of London Style guide by Saskia Granville which has loads of cute places that I'm determined to check out in the summer term. Of course I've also unashamedly read loads of fashion magazines and it appears that "granny fashion" is making its way back in...so maybe I won't be the only one in my uni wearing bows and broaches by the end of term.  Ruffled shirts, over the knee skirts, old fashion accessories and geek chic cardigans keep popping up in all sorts of designers collections such as D&B, karen Millen and Gucci.  I'm a particular fan of the long floaty granny frock and really need to invest in one for the summer however mine will probably come from a charity shop and not a designer boutique. You can get them reasonably priced in  most Dove House Hospice vintage shops. We have one in Hull and its full of all sorts and great for a rummage.

I go back to London this weekend and now that lighter nights are approaching I'm getting more excited about spending my first summer in the city. I can't wait to explore it further and hopefully introduce my friends from the North to some of my favourite hidden gems. I'm also planning a trip to a vintage fair at Alexandria Palace which sounds pretty cool and I'm desperate to go to the sky garden and see the sunset - it's meant to be amazing!

Until then I'm going to enjoy my last few days in the Yorkshire calm before I return to London where I begin rehearsals for new Musical to be performed at the Hackney Empire (but more on that to come) 

Happy Easter... 

Cemetery Gates

Hello...
This last week has been slightly manic for me, assignment deadlines and Easter assessments seem to be looming over me like dark cloud and despite the fact that we are not even into March yet I think the work load will only increase. So of course I turn to blog writing and procrastination instead.

Despite this I've still managed to find the time to have a beautiful few days with my Mum, Dad and sister -Frankie who took the time to head down from Hull and see me here in London. I love my family of nut jobs and we had a great few days of exploring London and being tourists. However our first destination is certainly not a typical first port of call for most tourists.

Highgate Cemetery 

"What?"..." "A cemetery?"..."Why?"  I hear you cry

However Highgate Cemetery isn't any ordinary cemetery (just realised how odd that sentence sounds) But honestly its a really fascinating place full of beautiful architecture and also important and influential people such as communist founder Karl Marx and punk rocker as well as Sex Pistols Manager Malcolm McLaren. As you can tell the diversity of people buried here is massive. Pop Artists, entertainers, scientists, poets we spotted so many influential names. You can even book to be given a guided tour around the private tombs of the rich and famous. (But dad being dad forgot to book before we arrived)

Highgate is the most tranquil part of London I've been too and its so pretty, I loved waking around (despite it feeling freezing cold) admiring the impressive grandeur of the place. I felt as if I had walled straight into the early 1900's or the film set for a ghost story. Even the houses in Highgate have a ghostly elegance. It really is an enchanting part of the city, and if like me you have a weird fascination with graveyards and find them eerily beautiful (hehe) its a must see.

 We also visited the V&A the same day to see the new Musical Theatre exhibition which was really interesting. I love the V&A and can easily spend a day getting lost in all the history. The exhibition contained  costumes, tons of old scripts, set designs and loads more I was in Musical Theatre History heaven.

Another favourite part of the family's trip down was our afternoon down my most loved street possibly in the entire city - Brick Lane. Shoreditch to me is just so cool! I'd love to be able to afford to live around there.
Brick Lane especially is a heaven for vintage lovers and I managed to get some great purchases Blitz Vintage department store. Some flowery culottes (I'd been after a pair for ages) and another blouse, This ones white and it defo has Florence and the Machine vibes going on.  I'd never actually been in Blitz before as its down one of Brick Lanes many side street but its an absolute treasure trove and their £5 sale rail is a great place to start. Rokit, Beyond Retro and the Vintage Guitar shop are another of my favourite shops down Brick lane and I defiantly want to bring my flatmates here to explore Shorditch with me further.

Luckily with it being a Thursday the vintage market was open and we spent a good while perusing old viynls and other random pieces. personally I could just sit and people watch down this street for ever. Its so vibrant and alive with colour, fashion and many curry houses hehe. Luckily for me I spent an hour people watching to my hearts content in the sweetest little coffee house. It was basically a very old, very tiny converted house, it even had the original log fire place juxtaposing the funky artwork on the wall. I'd also say that this cafe made the best bacon sandwich i'd ever had in London.
 (apart from musical theatre and fashion food is certainly my other love!)

Talking of Brick lane and fashion who can ignore fashion week. This year it seems to have been glitzier than ever which I'm loving! I wish I could go, unfortunately I can't even make fashion weekend with show rehearsals going on but I've stalked Instagram and found some of my most favourite and outrageous looks of this year.

Topshop

Tempereley

Temperley

Temperley 

You can probably tell that Temperley is a particular favourite of mine. God their summer collection looks practically edible with its sweet pastel colours. You can practically smell the flowery patterns! Their collection seems so elegantly British but has crazy edge to it as well.
Thanks to this collection I now also now desperately want to ivest in a cape coat! The purple one is just beautiful (as if i'd ever be able to afford it, I'll keep looking in the charity shops for now hehe). Of course I also enjoyed Topshop's show. I was around the Pimlico area last week and it was full of people who's been attending a LFW event, the street style was fab! I felt so out of place in my dance gear. Street Style at LFW always seems amazing and again I Love stalking Instagram and getting inspiration. The amount of clashing prints and colours were a visual explosion!!!

This week I've been wearing lots of clashing prints too (its just so much fun) I mixed my blue "granny" shirt from EBay with my American Apparel button up skirt with my Granddad cardigan on top (which actually did belong to my Granddad). I Picked the gold locket up at a vintage fair back in Hull. I really liked the clash of the neural colours and random small prints.
 I've also become slightly obsessed with layering turtle necks under t.shirt on casual days and am so happy to be reunited with my Topshop mom jeans after leaving them at home after Christmas (oops) as they look great with this t shirt look.

Shirt - Ebay
Skirt- Urban Outfitters
Locket- Vintage Fair
Cardigan - Vinatge 

I'm also trying to read more about the history of fashion (and just read more in general) At the moment I'm reading a book by the Kyoto Costume Institute called "Fashion- A fashion history of the 20th century" it goes all the way from the 1900's to modern day and is really interesting. Its fascinating to understand more about why women dressed they did depending on the social/historical and political traits of the time. the pictures in it are also stunning and whats even better I picked it up on EBay for £6!

Anyway thanks again for reading my pretty much useless but hopefully interesting drivel. Have a great weekend... I'd better get back to essay writing (urgh)...