Vessels

Jumper: Zara

Shirt: Charity Shop

Shorts: Vintage

Bag: Charity Shop

Shoes: Vintage

Necklace: gift

This is my last outfit of 2011! 

That feels so final and crazy to say. This year has gone by so fast and I can't believe in six months I'll be graduating and moving away from Leeds. A lot has changed this year, I started it with an aching heart and ending it feeling completely content. I'm really happy with where I am right now, I'm surrounded by amazing friends, I live in one of the best cities and I'm studying something I'm truly passionate about. What more could you ask for?

I'm heading over to our local tonight for a new years eve party with bands, lots of drinking and the odd bit of musical chairs. Hope everyone has a great new years and see you all in 2012.

2011: Outfits in Review

2011 was a big of a strange year for me in regards to blogging. I took a lot of breaks from blogging for various reasons from having no time to take outfit photos to confidence crisises to being far too bogged down in university work. I still love blogging though and I won't be stopping anytime soon. I decided to gather my top 12 outfits of the year to share with you guys and see if any of you have been reading my blog long enough to remember these looks.

Took a Backseat

As expected, there's a few floral outfits in this recap. Not as many as last year as my style has moved ina  slightly different direction but this dress is still one of my favourites as it's so versatile and I wear it at least once a month.

Big Problem

I wasn't 100% sure when I put this outfit together but as the day wore on and people were complimenting me, I started to love it. Then my friend told this outfit had made it on to The Clothes Horse's tumblr which made me so chuffed!

Heights

Another floral one with the added bonus of my love, coloured tights. This green look transitioned from day to night for me and this dress sadly isn't in my wardrobe anymore so I miss it dearly.

He's The Only One Who Knows The Words

In the summer I was all over the place but I managed to catch a few days in Leeds with Mel to wear this pretty outfit. I just love the colour combination together and this was when I first started wearing Heidi braids regularly.

I Know that You're a Sucker For Anything Acoustic

Bright colours all thrown together in this outfit made for a lovely spring outfit and I remember feeling chirpy the whole time I was wearing it.

I Swore Not To Say I Love You In Song

Summer temperatures meant a dress and sandals was more than enough.

Matter of Time

Favourite colour combination of the whole year probably. The bright turquoise blouse, navy cardigan and grey tights with black accents. I would happily wear this everyday!

Silent Signs

Stripes became a big staple for me this year and this cute little dress was perfect for an exam followed by some posing in front of the street art of Leeds.

Towers

Library attire isn't my speciality but I couldn't resist leather shorts for this day of revision. I need to crack these out a lot more in 2012.

Walk It Off

A more subdued colour palette for the winter months but my new love of charity shop heels is present here with my slightly girl scout style dress.

You Can Fight The Fire That's Inside Your Head

Toulouse was such a wonderful trip and dressing like a 60's schoolgirl was one of my highlights of the year. I'm definitely going to bring the knee socks back for next year too.

Young Shields

My closing outfit was one that left me feeling like a big toddler, a comfy dress with coloured tights and stripes. What more could you want from an outfit?

What was your favourite outfit of 2011?

Youth Lagoon

Shirt: Charity Shop

Shorts: Vintage

Cardigan: Zara

Shoes: Charity Shop

Bag: Charity Shop

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas day! I spent the day eating far too much, drinking far too many cocktails and falling asleep for a two hour nap after dinner. As it was just my mum and I this year it kind of felt like any other day but it was a nice day nonetheless. My main present, which is a record player, isn't coming until January but I was still spoilt with lots of gifts to open from under the tree.

Today, my family are coming round for dinner round two and probably a festive film or two.

I wore this outfit on Christmas eve to see some friends and catch up. Someone said my style reminded them of Jess from The New Girl which I took as a massive compliment.

Inspiration For The Week

This week has been a flurry of early commutes and late nights which led me to being a bit of a zombie. I powered through though and now I'm successfully on the other side with a nice four day break awaiting me. If you can't tell from my choices this week, I've been loving the exposed collar look and have worn it in various reincarnations to the office. I'm spending my festive period at home with my mum and my good friend, Zizek, which really means I can't even take a break from writing essays. Oh well, at least I'll be surrounded by delicious food while I slave away.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

found here

found here

found here

found here

found here

found here

One Step Checkout

Jumper: Zara

Skirt: Vintage

Shoes: Vintage

It's kind of a blogging tradition for me to take a photo in front of my christmas tree every year. I wore this outfit to have some family portraits taken with my mum by Mel for her final year project and we snapped some outfit photos first. A cosy jumper with a plaid skirt spells christmas cheer to me but this year I will be wearing a white dress on Christmas day. Controversial, eh?

Things might be a bit quiet here over the next week as I have no photographer and no tripod but I'm sure I'll find some other stuff to blog about until I'm back in Leeds for New Years Eve. This year really has flown past and when I'm reunited with my external harddrive in January I will be putting together a little 'year in retrospect' post as I'm loving the others popping up on everyone's blogs. Link me if you've done a similar post!

King of The Hill

Jumper: Zara

Dress: Urban Outfitters

Boots: ASOS

Necklace: Stolen Thunder

Today was my first day back at work and I'm completely exhausted. Working 8-4 means getting up at 6AM, getting to work in time for sunrise and leaving once it's dark. At least it's only for two weeks. Needless to say I'm going to keep this post short and sweet.

It was really windy when we took these photos but we persevered as I really liked my outfit. Looking at it now, I kind of resemble a tree but I'm fine with that!

Thieving Magpie

Top: New Look

Skirt: Charity Shop

Cardigan: H&M

Shoes: Charity Shop

The lengths I go to for outfit photos can be a little ridiculous sometimes. With the upcoming snow, I think posing under an umbrella in the rain will seem like a walk in the park to me soon. It was miserable weather the last few days in Leeds but I'm home now to even more bad weather.

I've been busy since getting home on Wednesday as I've been in London the entire time, shopping, going to a gig and then my office christmas party on Friday. I finally had a moment to stop and put this post together today. I start back at work on Monday and I am dreading those 6AM starts but the bank balance at the end will be worth it. I'm hoping since it's christmas the workload will be lighter than usual and everyone should be in a jolly mood. 

I wore this outfit for a day of running errands and watching films with a friend. The skirt used to be midi length but I hemmed it up to a more comfortable length and I can predict it'll be in heavy rotation in the near future.

Inspiration For The Week

This week was another crazy one and somehow, suddenly term is over and it's time to head home for Christmas. I celebrated with a few too many drinks on Thursday night, a Christmas dinner on Friday and a weekend of recovering. I'm going home for only two and a half weeks but I'm going to squeeze in as much London goodness as I can alongside working my office job too. Yay for payday!

found here

found here

found here

found here

found here

found here

Close Your Eyes

Dress: Vintage

Cardigan: Charity Shop

Shoes: Charity Shop

I wore this outfit for a day of pre-production meetings and an evening of watching Hugo at the cinema. It's actually the first film I've seen in 3-D since I was a kid when 3-D had another mini rebirth. I just can't seem to buy into the experience to be honest. I mean, it's all very interesting for the first ten minutes but then it just kind of gave me a headache. The film itself was alright, probably not for people that aren't into film history, but worth a watch.

This dress was one of the first vintage pieces I ever bought and it took me two years to get round to wearing it. The hawaiian print is perfect for me but it is quite short which can be a nightmare when it's as windy as it has been.

I only have a few more days in Leeds before heading home for Christmas. I'm going to be spending most of it in the library trying to get another essay out of the way but I'm sure I'll fit in a few more visits to my favourite Leeds establishments before I go. I'm excited to get back to London though!

Walk It Off

dress: vintage

cardigan: h&m

shoes: charity shop

It's confession time!

Normally when I take my blog photos, I step just outside my house where one of my housemate snaps my photos and then we run back indoors. Unfortunately, our house is next to the bin section for our street but I thought I'd gotten away with it in most photos. Yesterday was bin day though and since we snapped these at 11AM, the bins hadn't returned to their little enclosure. So now you know, I pose in front of the bins every day. I'm just classy like that!

This dress had been sitting in my sewing pile for months but I finally fished it out and took it up as the plaid is perfect for the winter months. I did feel a little bit girl scout when I was wearing it but that just fits in with my normal style. 

I've taken to starting a collection of heels from charity shops. I'm normally massively uncoordinated and this doesn't bode well with heels but my modest collection is made up of low solid chunky heels so I get all the perks (the difference they make to my legs is amazing) without the worry of falling over everywhere. I still fall over regularly though. Some things just can't be helped...

Write To Your Brother

Top: New Look

Shorts: ASOS

Cardigan: Charity shop

Boots: ASOS

Hat: ebay

Belt: Zara

Sometimes when you have to be into university by 10 on a Monday morning, all you want to do is be cosy and comfortable. This is what this outfit was for me. It was snow-raining when we took these and continued to be freezing for the rest of the day so I was glad I'd gone with my supercosy tights by the end of the day. 

I ordered these shorts in the ASOS Sale despite promising to be better with money. I've been on the hunt for blue high waisted shorts for the longest time and although these have me constantly checking if my bum cheeks are out, I can sense they'll still be in heavy rotation.

We're having our own Christmas day on Friday with a roast dinner, mulled wine and mince pies. We're going to round it off with some of our favourite christmas films before people start heading home for the break. I'm only home for two weeks and I'll be in the office for most of them earning money to fund my film but I'm still looking forward to getting back to London for a little while.

What are your christmas plans?