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Black and Gold

This year for my birthday, I decided to go out for a few cocktails with friends. I wanted to wear something that was comfortable, slightly dressy and really “me”.

I decided to wear this beautiful, long, mesh dress with gold embroidery. I love this dress because it balances many of the elements I enjoy in “going out ” outfits. It’s feminine but not too girly, dressy but also comfortable and the embroidery adds just the right amount of detail.

This dress is also really versatile and can be worn with tights and different base layers during the winter.

To finish off the look, I added some gold accessories to match the embroidery and a black saddle bag with gold hardware.

The details really bring this look to life.

As we were staying out for the evening, I added my favourite All Saints Balfern jacket, it’s the perfect weight for spring evenings and adds a bit of edge to the outfit.

I have been wearing trousers quite a lot recently but after this outfit, I feel like dresses and skirts might be having another moment.

I’m also really pleased with one of my latest eBay finds, these shoe boots by Mc Q. I try to buy leather items second hand whenever possible and feel very lucky to have found these in my size. I originally bought them because I needed some boots without buckles for work but I have ended up wearing them quite a lot, they are the perfect mix of “city girl” and “storybook witch”.

Overall, I really enjoyed my birthday this year, I did a few little things over the course of a week and actually had quite a good turnout of friends, despite my last minute arrangements.

OUTFIT:

Dress: Next

Jacket: All Saints

Bag: Vivienne Westwood

Shoes: Mc Q

Earrings: Dixi

Phptpgraphy by Richard Ayres

aestheticcontradiction

Spring needs

I recently managed to get my studio looking pretty much the way I want it, only to find out that I have to move again soon. The only thing that makes it bearable is that I have most of the furniture and equipment I need now and the next move will probably be easier.

I have a few posts to catch up on and with my birthday coming up I thought I’d start with wishlist type boards. I’m pretty sure my homeware choices will come as quite a shock after my wardrobe picks but that’s the way I like it.

clothesI’ve tried to choose items that could be Spingish but can also be layered for warmth as there’s no signs of the cold subsiding yet.

1. Black, cotton waterfall hem top £24, Dorothy perkins

2. Tigre t-shirt £40, All saints

3.filigree sunglasses £15, ASOS

4. roseport bike shorts £68, All saints

5. mesh skirt £34, rare at topshop

6. titanium druzy ring. $120 by liclabjewels on etsy

7. horse print skirt, £28 topshop

8. khaki lace shorts, £20 miss selfridge

9. Jeffrey campbell 8th street studded boots £160

10. stalagtite amethyst ring £22.89, product925 on ebay

11. studded leather satchel £210 Dr. Martens

12. druzy amethyst ring $27 xtremegems2010 on ebay.

birthdaywantsroom131. White chandelier £49.89 B&Q

2. vintage lamp £28 www.cqout.com

3. Belgravia mirror £37.99, ebay

4. hand painted cheat £23.99, dunelm-mill

5. rose cage lamp £29.99 dunelm-mill

6. hand painted small drawers £3.99, dunelm-mill

7. French style dressing table

8. Deer mugs £10.50 each or £35 for the set, lovelydeerhomeware on etsy

9. Deer dinner plate £19.50 lovelydeerhomeware on etsy.

BLOG SIGNATURE

aestheticcontradiction

Accessory moment no.4

This look revolves mostly around the bun hair. It’s not a style that I wear out very often so I wanted to see if I could make it look a bit more special.

What I used:

1. leather cuff (used as hair tie) £5 -NO:WEAR camden

2. Clock part necklace -ALL SAINTS (not current season)

3. Studded cross hair clip £18 -Eustratia (www.eustratia.co.uk)

4. Spikey bracelet £18 -River Island (not current season)

5. Bird cage ring £12 -TOPSHOP

6. spike earrings £6.50 –ebay

I think putting the leather cuff around the bun really made a difference and gave it an edge.

 

I get asked about this one a lot. It’s a little pierced cherub creature (wings on back) was a gift a friend brought back for me from Tokyo. I made it into a long necklace because I think it brings a bit of fun to my outfits. I haven’t seen anything like it in the UK and most people react quite strangely to it.

And finally the full outfit.

 

aestheticcontradiction

Accessory moment no.3

I tried out this summery look in preparation for my holiday. Most of the accessories featured are new and I’m really pleased with them.

1. mini box bag £12.99 H&M

2. Mini hair flower H&M

3. Ring £2.50 Primark

4. Pentagram earring $20.00 thechainsoflove.bigcartel.com

5. Evil eye bracelet gift from Greece.

 

aestheticcontradiction

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 :).