Shopping wheee

After having abstained from shopping successfully I finally gave in yesterday and went on a mini Charity Shop only spree. Ok, so I may have strayed a tad from Charity Shops, but I was still pretty good. It started off in Shelter where I bought Labyrinth and The Big Lebowski on video (how retro) as I have an old tv with a built in video player and they were only 99p each. Then it was Oxfam where I got a pair of Killah red and gold wedges which were apparently a size 4, but I'm a 5-6 so I don't know how I fit into them. But, I did and I'm happy!

Then we strayed from the charity shops down Ruthven Lane and into Starry Starry Night in which I purchased a 50s apron dress. I was going to stitch a trangular panel into the back and belt it, but as a temporary measure I pinned the back in the middle, giving the excess material a cape effect which I am starting to prefer. Then, my friend took me into a shop I had never been into before called Glorious in which I was forced to buy three amazing dresses. And when I say I was forced it is with little exaggeration. A jumper dress, open down the sides, so a boob tube is on my shopping list. A fringed flapper dress with a lace neck. And, the best buy I could have seeing as it looked so hideous on the rack; a Karen Millen dress: black with different coloured sequinned squares. It is a bodycon fitting and currently knee length though soon to be chopped into a mini. It is AMAZING.

Now I just need an excuse to wear them out. But, stay off the booze!!

Freak Out

Last night was The Big Freak Zombie special. Overworked and tired I was not in the spirit to go dancing. Stress and working almost 50 hours a week, although not being the definitive reason, has certainly not helped my eczema which has been so awful recently it has put me in a slump. I have a rash which is almost certainly contact allergy related and spreads from my face down my neck across my body and my thighs. It is unbearable and I am a miserable non fashion conscious wreck.

I do apologise.

It is difficult to care about what I am wearing when all I can see is red skin and all I can think about is how itchy I am.

Anyway. Enough of the negative ranting.

I went to The Big Freak as a reviewer for Briccolage; a new zine focusing on the underground arts scene in Edinburgh. Along with the Knitty Kitty interview which I conducted on Sunday it will appear in the first issue out on the 10th April. Knitty Kitty herself had a stall set up in one of the booths in Medina, the club venue, and I caved in and purchased a Bingo ball necklace, a knitted chain necklace with a retro transformer tape/ dinasoar, a band aid bracelet, a dino skeleton earring, a fuse earring and a pink ribboned pirate ship hair clip.

I cannot WAIT to start feeling better and wearing it all again.

PS. I am detoxing and going on a macrobiotic type diet to see if anything sorts it. And I had acupuncture today - frightening, but incredibly relaxing. Defintately feeling spaced out now.

Backless Blooming

The weather is glorious!!! It is Spring time and Spring means flowers blooming and the beginning of Summer.

Last night I was flicking through my friend's copy of Harper's Bazaar with Emily Blunt on the cover and in it's high street trend section it had a ASOS.com dress which was a combination of hideous and really attractive to me. It was white with pinky red roses on it; very tack-granny-tastic. It had a tulip skirt and capped sleeves. I wanted it.

I went on the website and looked for it to no avail. However I did find a good collection of floral dresses. Whether garish such as the asos own brand, or subtle like Trina Turq's design they had a good selection. I found myself leaning towards the backless dresses. Hence the "jazz" print one which I finished off with. It's summer time; show off some back!!!



Diesel Hybiscus Print Halter Backless Dress £98

ASOS Floral V Back Pencil Dress £44.50

Trina Turq Indian Silk Cutwork & Jewel Flower £280

ASOS Jazz Print Cut Out Back Tulip Dress £37.50

Watchmen

After the fiasco of trying to see Watchmen in the cinema last week, I finally managed to see it in a late showing after work on Friday.

Absolutely brilliant.

Watch the trailers.




Now I cannot wait to read the graphic novel.

Who's watching Watchmen? Not me!

Last Saturday I was going to go to a fund-raising ceilidh with my boyfriend and his friends just outside of Glasgow. However, through lack of organisation on the male part they were left with no kilts to wear. As a further blow we were all struck with extreme lack of finances and another plan was sought out.

It ended up just being me and the other half deciding to scrap together the cash we had to have some dinner and go to see Watchmen. A brilliant plan from the outside, sure, but that night was to follow a series of badly timed and careless decisions.

It began when we went to view cinema times and, it being a weekend night, I was drawn to the late night showings of the film. The boyf was sceptical, suggesting it might be too late as we would have to hang around (it was currently about 5.30) and that perhaps we should see the 8.50 one instead. I insisted that I was too full from lunch and I couldn't possibly eat until around 8 leaving no time to see that one and how much fun would it be to see a midnight movie?

He consented.

This plan might have worked if we had perhaps gone to mine first and not, as it was suggested, to stay out, have a couple of drinks, then dinner, then movie. Considering the length of time we had to kill and the lack of funds we had to kill it, this was never going to work.

The first place we decided to go was the Blue Dog for a couple of cocktails. Hello? We have no money! When was this a good idea? At least our stupidity was made up by the delicious cocktails. I had a chocolate cherry martini and then a strawberry one with pepper for a spicy kick.

Then it was an Italian dinner at Sarti's. The food was spot on; delicious, big portions and reasonably priced. my one qualm would be that the cheapest bottle of wine on the menu is £18, but (after ordering of course) we noticed that people were drinking carafe's of wine, clearly the house and obviously cheaper than ours, and our wine was not even of a high standard. I think it would have been less cheeky if they had put ALL the wines, including the cheap ones, on the menu. As we finished our meal I noticed we were in time for the 8.50 showing (silly me) so we went up to the cinema on the off chance we could switch our tickets. A Saturday night with a brand new release of a big budget highly anticipated movie? No way. The queues for the one big cinema in Glasgow were spilling out on to the street.

So, with 2 hours to kill and less than a tenner between us, which we really shouldn't be spending, and the weather absolutely atrocious (think Wizard of Oz blizzards but add west coast rain) meant we didn't want to go far, but had no money to do something close by. In the end we went to the lovely Bar 10 down Mitchell lane, purchased a bottle of wine and slowly sipped it until it was time to go.

It's just lucky we have constant, flowing conversation.

On the wet and windy way to the cinema, with slightly woozy red wine heads, I consoled our wear souls with the knowledge that the brilliance of this film would make up for the disastrous, yet surprisingly fun, mistakes of the evening. We get into the cinema, surprisingly busy for so late at night, find a perfect centre middle seat and make ourselves comfortable.

The film starts. It is visually stunning and compelling from the start. Dark, cruel and cynical; this dystopian America sucks us in and, with no typical film structure, we are bemused, but fascinated throughout. That is, until, during one particularly loud moment in the film involving Dr. Manhattan, a speaker explodes.

As it occurs in an "explosive" sequence in the film we don't notice it immediately. Not until we realise this buzzing won't go away and there is a piercing ringing in my ears. From being in a heavy comfortable zoned in state and then being blown out of it, finding myself suddenly out of the cinema with a pounding headache and actually feeling quite dizzy. I was not impressed.

Fortunately we have free tickets to go and see it another time. I cannot wait.

And maybe next time we won't be so frivolous so that we cannot afford popcorn.

Getting into the swing of things....

I wake up every day and I would say my mood decides my style for the day. Variables include what music I am currently playing over and over again, what film I saw recently, what girl I walked past on the street who inspired me with a unique styling decision, the colour of my hair, my mood and what I see when I look in the mirror.

Although nothing tends to stay the same I have noticed a trend in the past few months, maybe even extending back as far as the past year, that I almost constantly wear dresses. Whether I am wearing 80s jumper dresses with clashing tights or 40s tea dresses my jeans appear to be sitting ignored in my bottom drawer. Occasionally I glance at them and sometimes I even take them out and, on a few rare occasions, I put them on and go to the shops in them. I do feel a twinge of guilt at my poor neglected trouser collection, however I cannot see me switching back to them permanently any time soon. Especially as I have returned to my retro phase, going somewhere between having Jackie Wilson constantly spinning on my record player or swaying to some 60s soul.

The love of the music definitely effects my styling and I have once again pulled out the petticoats, halters, shorts and started quiffing my hair (not long enough to do the proper styles yet!!). The music has also inspired me to finally take up swing dancing classes like I have been meaning to do for so long. I just want to be able to be at a party, chatting away, when all of a sudden some jive is put on the radio and I grab my partner and swing dance till dawn.

I went to my first class the other week with a couple of girl friends and thoroughly enjoyed it. There is no need to go with a partner and there are me there (just make sure you get one who knows what he's doing as a strong lead is essential). However, after I left the class I realised I had noone to practice with so have been determined to find a suitable male partner. After asking a boy I work with who seemed interested I turned around to find my relatively new (but superbly wonderful) boyfriend asking why I had not suggested he go with me. Now, without trying to offend, but the idea had not crossed my mind simply because I didn't think it was the kind of thing a guy who likes metal would want to do. How wrong I was. Not only has he proven how brilliant a boyfriend can be by offering to go dancing with me, he has shown me how well he knows me by actually also loving Jackie Wilson. More than me in fact.

So we are going to our first swing class tomorrow. I have beenb unable to resist the temptation of 5os dresses these days and both of us are so excited!!

Although I don't think he's told his friends yet....