Decorative septum rings.

It isn’t very often I see body jewellery that I find interesting these days so when the image below popped up on tumblr I had to do some research and find out where the ring was from.

It’s from Born this way, body art in Knoxville who actually have a tastefully interesting selection of body jewellery.

I’ve included some of my favourites below:

I’m not a big fan of yellow gold so I would probably prefer the white gold version.

I also love the little knuckle duster.

I think hand carved tapers are beautiful in general but these are particularly elegant and detailed.

When I looked at the shop, I realised the septum ring I liked is a bit out of my budget for now so with the help of a fan form my facebook page I found an etsy seller with some with some silver hand made septum rings.

This is the one I thought would suit me best and at $50 it’s a much more sensible option.

I am still looking for something equally as decorative but maybe slightly more badass (maybe in black?) so if you come across anything do let me know!

Summery style

The recent rumors of a two week heat wave and general nice weather have started me thinking about a slightly more summery wardrobe update. Here are my top picks from the highstreet.

1. Zip front drop back dress £45, miss selfridge. This one is probably my favourite, I can think of places I could wear this.

2. crown vest £35, illustrated people at Topshop. You can never have enough vests and if the print is good, it’s a bonus!

3. Feather cape necklace £40, Topshop. I like a bit of tribal style for the summer, maybe it’s not quite hot enough for this yet but one can dream! I imagine wearing it to a beach party so I’ll probably have to wait till my holiday.

4. multistrap bra top £18, miss selfridge. Perfect for when it’s too hot for a real bra.

5. Stripe hotpants £35 Moto at Topshop. Practicals and pastel.

6. embroidered hem shorts £18, River island. Comfy and interesting, best summer shorts I’ve seen so far.

7. skull de jouy thoas dress £195, All Saints. Everyone needs an elegantly messy dress in their wardrobe.

8. Polkadot burnout crop £7, miss selfridge. Practical and interesting, at that price who can argue?

9.Lilac crepe midi skirt £34, miss selfridge. I love lilac but seldom find any clothes that I like in that colour so I probably have to have this.

10. Cross tights £8.50, Topshop. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to wear sheet tights in the evening!

11. sequin knicker £12, miss selfridge. I was imagining this being worn with the tights for a night out.

12. 90s shorts £28, motel at Topshop. I’m not sure if I would prefer these to be slightly lower waisted but I love the thick stripes.

13. Inverted cross plug, £10 for UK custom plugs. Very simple but I haven’t seem plugs like this before and they definitely work.

14. Underground triple-sole Wulfrun creepers. Not the most summery shoe but I’ve been looking for some casual platforms for ages and this I’m probably going to have to just give up and get these. I’ve never been a big fan of creepers, to be honest in most cases I find them ugly but these have exactly the right platform and I can probably customise the parts I don’t like :).

Bird’s yard update.

As some of you already know Bird’s yard is currently my only stockist and I work there once a month so I’m available to answer questions or take people’s measurements for custom orders. I feel privileged to be part of such a unique shop that brings together so many talented designers.

While I’m there I usually work in the boutique room featuring lovely vintage by Bird Shell and dramatic leather accessories by Belles Bejeweled and quirky jewellery by red paper house.

Last week I decided to try on some accessories while it was quiet.

pastel feather earring by belles bejewelled

feather headband!

furry beret that matched my hair colour.

In these photos you can also see me sporting my amazing fake fringe of happiness. I love things that allow me to change my appearance so easily.

My favourite products in the store are probably these necklaces by Belles bejewelled. I haven’t bought one yet as I already own a lot of oversized accessories but I’m sure I will at some point.

I also love Life’s big canvas (where I got my hanging spike earrings from). They always have new quirky pieces in.

I wasn’t really planning on buying anything for myself but I spotted this hairy shrug in the £10 room (yes there is a room full of items for £10 and a lot of them are worth more). This isn’t the sort of item I would usually go for, I picked it up purely because of the colour and tried it on for fun while consulting some customers. After walking around in it for a while and realising it was the perfect addition to my outfit however, I decided I had to have it.

The ground floor has recently been turned into a tea room, adding yet an other great element to the Bird’s yard experience. The downside is that the smell of food can be tempting, even when you’re not hungry.

They do make amazing toasties though!

At the end of the day we had a meeting in the tea room to discuss the future of the store and changes that are being made. The upper floors are all being rearranged and the basement is opening with more art, furniture and boys stuff! We are also planning competitions, parties and a fashion show so keep an eye out for updates!

Style update: Long earrings

Since starting to stretch my lobes 4 or 5 years ago I hadn’t really been interested in “conventional” earring types. This may have had something to with the fact that I’m allergic to a lot of the cheaper ones and can’t wear them for long periods of time. When I was younger, I always had to find real gold or silver ones. As I got more piercings and moved over to body jewellery I found that I was fine as surgical steel and titanium don’t irritate my ears.

I recently realised that as I already have permanent body jewellery in the holes that doesn’t irritate me, it’s fine to put other “fashion” earrings through the same hole for effect. After experimenting with a few different types I decided long earring really complement my current style. I love them so I decided to share a few of my favourites with you guys.

1. Feather earrings

These were the first ones I got so the feathers are a bit battered now but I thought they lasted quite well. They are from Topshop and cost £18. They weren’t on the website but might still be available in store. If not there are loads of similar ones around, though I must admit I haven’t seen any I like as much.

2. Spike earrings

As you can see these aren’t both the same. They were custom made for me by Cloe from Life’s big canvas at Bird’s yard and I couldn’t decide which one I like best so I got one of each to try them out. I think asymmetrical earrings can look really cool and I’m glad I got them like this but matching pairs are also available. At £9.00 they are very reasonably priced, just like the rest of the life’s big canvas ever-growing jewellery collection. I find something new and interesting every time I go into that shop!

3. Long multichain earringsThese are pretty simple but also something I’ve wanted for a while. They go with almost everything and are a great compliment to other earrings. I made them myself and it was really easy, all you need it the earring hook, a jump ring and an assortment of chains in different lengths. For those who are too lazy to DIY there are available to purchase for £8.00 and will also be added to my site soon.

4. Bird claw earrings

These are definitely my new favourites and were custom made for me by the lovely Sophie Adamson. I’ve wanted some earrings like this for a while but couldn’t find anything like them. Obviously people sell the straight bird feet ones but I always thought they looked a bit naff so when I heard Sophie had some pheasants in the freezer (yes, they are real) I had to commission a pair. I only gave her a description and a really crude sketch to go by and she did a really amazing job. I would definitely recommend her for taxidermy accessories commissions.

Here are some pictures of what they look like on:

Follow me more!

I’ve recently expanded my online profiles by joining Instagram and Pinterest. I’m enjoying them both and finding them useful for capturing new images on the go and categorizing existing ones.

My instagram username is aestheticconratiction if you’d like to follow me. I make an effort to photograph things other than my face and food when possible.

Pretty much everyone has instagram now but I have had a couple of people ask me about Pinterest. A question that came up was if I found it too similar to tumblr. I thought this was an interesting one as I had a similar concern before I decided to join. I actually think they work really well together and compliment each other. I come across images that I like on tumblr all the time but in the past it was a bit of a pain to find a specific image again if I hadn’t saved it. Now I have Pinterest, when I come across an image that would be useful/inspirational for something specific, I can just pin it to the appropriate board!

My user name is eustratia if you’d like to follow and I’m having trouble filling up the “my style” board. It’s definitely a board that I want to have but I’m not sure wherther I should post items I already own, style pictures of myself, products I want or just anything that represents me including all of the above.

Hopefully I will decide soon ;).