Snow day

 

 

Manchester blogger enjoying the snow in style

For the past few days, the UK has been covered in a thick blanket of white snow. Although we are used to seeing a dusting every now and then, it seldom gets this deep or stays long enough to be enjoyed for more than a day. I’m not usually organised enough to get outfit pictures in the snow before it turns to mush, but this time it settled for long enough to give me a chance!

Mango cocoon coat Oliver bonas scarf

I often walk the dogs in the cold, but I usually wear waterproofs and thermals for that and I wanted to try out a  casual but put-together, weather-appropriate outfit, that could be worn to go shopping or even to work )if there isn’t a strict dress code).

doggy kisses in the snow

Ziva came too as she always loves an opportunity for another paddle in the reservoir, even if it is freezing! She’s always eager to be helpful and can be seen here, licking snow off my face!

mango mohair coat

The wind was cold and kept blowing snow into my eyes but I was pleased with my choice of double mohair (jumper and coat) as it did keep me warm, despite the lightweight look and feel.

I played with Ziva on one of the fishing bays, she loves to run around and catch snow in her mouth! I was also impressed by how suitable these boots were, this was my first time wearing these in the snow and for some reason, thought this style may be less hard-wearing than the classic ones (softer leather), however that doesn’t seem to be the case. They have plenty of grip and my toes didn’t feel cold at all for the hour that I was out walking.

grey coat and pom pom hat

I feel the item that really finishes off this outfit, are the long, fingerless gloves. I prefer fingerless gloves so I can touch things without getting wet gloves and use my phone and I love the fact that they are long, because they allow me to make certain style choices that would normally be unwise for the weather, such as bunching up the sleeves on my coat. I prefer the way they look like this, but I definitely wouldn’t like to have cold arms!

I really enjoyed seeing the familiar reservoir looking like a complete new place, the snow covered ice changed the landscape and make it look like snowy plains, divided by icy rivers. The swans and ducks seemed to like it too.

As I have gotten older, I have really enjoyed making sure I have appropriate clothing for all weather and finding items that make me feel comfortable in each situation but still fit in with my style.

OUTFIT:

Coat: Mango, unstructured mohair blend coat (similar)

scarf: Oliver Bonas (similar)

Jumper: & other stories (similar)

Trousers: Zara

Boots: Dr. Martens

Hat: gift

Gloves: Next

Images by Richard Ayres.

Winter wonderland

I’m late writing this post (as with most of my posts), but I needed to share this magical project.

Winter themes really inspired me this year and I wanted to bring together elements from fairy tales, wildlife documentaries and fashion in a shoot.

This was the second project I shot in collaboration with Katelizabeth photography who came to Manchester for an intense couple of days of almost constant shooting. She did a great job re-arranging the set, directing the models and editing the finished images and was a total pleasure to work with. I’m sure she will be up to great things in the future.

The point was mainly to show off my creations for Eustratia but I styled it with some wintery items from my personal collection as well as some specially made headpieces to complete the look.

_KER6470 a_KER6485 aI bought the props mainly to use in an upcoming show with a similar theme but I think they really made the set, Kate did a great job of arranging them as well!

_KER6499 a_KER6502 a_KER6504 aAnd for those of you who don’t know, this in my beautiful friend, Amber AKA Sapphire Black, if you follow my work you will have seen her before.

_KER6509 aI particularly love this images because of the composition and the fact that it shows the whole set. I had been searching for a new front page image for www.eustratia.co.uk for a while and I decided to use this one.

_KER6546 a_KER6577 a_KER6578 aI also made the headpieces for this shoot, which gave me a welcome break from working solely in latex. I have made antler headbands and bunny ears plenty of times before but the crowns were definitely something new for me and I really enjoyed working on them. I hope to have time to work on more special pieces and props this year. One of my goals is to create as complete an image as possible through my shoots and to keep my personal projects as close to the original idea as possible.

_KER6616 a_KER6621 a_KER6644 aThe wonderful make up in the images was provided by Laura Wilson. She is super talented and I hope to collaborate with her again this year. One of her best qualities is being able to realise somebody else’s vision as well as just her own, I find a lot of MUAs have a problem with this. She can also work well with different styles of make up while still retaining her signature.

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