Wellies

The last time I wore wellies was summer last year, in Wales, in the rockpools catching crabs. (My friend laughed when I told her that. Apparently 'crabs' has other meanings.) In our house - well, our shed, actually - we have bog-standard green wellies which do their job well when called upon, which is rarely.

Other people have funkier wellies, though.

|| Nancy W. || Neno N. || Jennifer K. ||

|| Ella D. || Charlotte R. || Marita B. ||

Wellies are stylish too! And they give you +20 water resist, a useful buff in Great British weather, especially this past week with nationwide flooding. Layer the hell out of them with socks to make them comfortably cosy, then go outside and splash in puddles. It's the only thing to do when you're wearing wellies.

Trends I'm bored of

You know when you've been slapped over the face with the same trend again, and again, and again? When you're sick of it and you can't take it any more and wish that trend would take a nap and go away for a while? Here are three of mine:

1. Spikes

From ASOS

Like a disease, they're on everything now - tops, jackets, collars, boots, rings. I find it excessive. The headbands are the worst, because they remind me of a certain statue. For some reason, I don't mind studs as much, probably because they don't protrude like spikes do.

From Destination 360

2. Tribal patterns

From Topman

Aesthetically, tribal patterns don't offend or displease me particularly - though I've never been partial to them - but I am just so bored now. There are so many patterns and things to print on clothes out there, and not just galaxy either, if you want to get sciencey. Heart monitor screens. Magnified onion epidermis. Cloud chamber tracks.


3. Red hair

From Hello!

I genuinely do like this colour of hair, but the statistics of people with this exact hair colour in my school is just staggering - something like one in four or five girls. It's such a shame that I've seen it so much that I've begun to dislike it, because it is a nice colour. But I certainly would be put off dying my hair red (not that I dye my hair, ha!) if over 50% of people with dyed hair had the same idea.

Are you put off things you know you genuinely like, because everyone else has killed it to death?

Red

It was sunny this Friday morning - a brief interlude between whole days of wind and rain - so I took some photos. I still haven't got round to finishing the choker tutorial, and the poor daylight isn't helping.

Choker: DIY
Top: M&S
Cardi: Matalan
Skirt: Uniqlo
I was so disappointed that I didn't get to dissect a rat on Thursday in biology. The rat suppliers messed up so they didn't arrive in time. All the other biology classes have done it already, and apparently the dissection stinks, and some rats hadn't thawed properly so the lab technicians were putting them on the radiators and stuff. I'll have to get really excited for it all over again.

Velvet and lace choker

These are some of the nicest things I've ever made. They're literally a length of velvet ribbon and lace sewn together - it's crude and simple but it looks pretty. I'm in the process of writing a tutorial on how to make them, for which I'll take photos for an emerald green velvet and cream lace choker I'm making next.

Originally I wanted to make an all-black choker, but I was limited to the materials sold by Hobbycraft. (That place is huge. I could get lost in there.) My second choice was cream lace, but there was none of that either, so I ended up buying white lace - of the most blinding kind - and dyeing it cream-coloured, using tea.

The back is just more ribbon in a butterfly knot, because that's just the easiest way to secure it. Buttons or fasteners are too complicated for a simple soul like me. My mum says the gap between the velvet ribbon is too big so I'm trying longer lengths for the next ones.

Bitch, please.

After the first two chokers I made were successes and I went back to Hobbycraft to get more materials, I found some adverts in the bag for various crafty supplies, one of which amused me somewhat. Bitch, please. Those are not ticks. Those are square roots.

Geek out

Warning: the dresses in this post may evoke dangerous levels of jealousy.

Mushroom Kingdom dress from Vitae Clothing

Mario and lolita - a match made in heaven. This is the coolest print I have ever seen, and if Vitae Clothing were still making it - I don't think they are right now - I would seriously consider dishing out a preposterous sum of money for this phenomenal dress.

Superman dress from Cation Designs

Cindy at Cation Designs is not only a science teacher - in my book, that is extremely cool - but also a talented and innovative seamstress. I came across her blog when researching how to dye lace with tea, and was stunned by this Superman dress she made out of bedsheets.

Dalek Princess on brienicole's DeviantART

That weird liquid sensation in your chest? That's your heart melting. Maybe she'll whisk it into a cake with her deadly Dalek whisk.

I cannot wait to see Melia in the Doctor Who Christmas Special. I also sincerely hope it isn't going to be spectacularly crap like last year's.

Wicked

I'm not quite sure what I've done to deserve it, but my mum and I spent yesterday in London! After a little shopping on Oxford Street, we ate French onion soup and McDonalds's for lunch, and watched Wicked! I didn't know the story so that was a rollercoaster, and the singing was powerful, and it was a lot lighter and more modern than Les Mis, the only other musical I've seen. I was impressed at the 3Dness of the characters, and how cleverly the plot linked in with Wizard of Oz.

Chinatown

The Mall, leading up to Buckingham Palace

Two gulls pretending to be one gull outside Buckingham Palace

Passing by the side of Buckingham Palace on the way to Wicked

Oh hello, Merlin. Fancy seeing you here in the middle of Soho.

On Oxford Street, I bought the loveliest high-waisted skirt from Uniqlo. Its length is a little above the knee, which I think is perfect. I've been looking for a high-waisted skirt of decent length for a while now, so despite its £30 price tag, we took it home. (It's probably the first non-sale item over a fiver I've bought in a long, long time.) I found I quite liked Uniqlo, because pretty much everything in there has at least a little cotton or wool. There are some nice down jackets in there too.

Cardi: H&M
Skirt: Uniqlo

In a flurriful fit of uncontrolled impulse this morning, I also bought this cotton cardigan from H&M. Online. (Also, I did not sign up to the site with the sirname of 'Antiqua'. No, no.) It's £15 from £30, and, courtesy of a discount code from HotUKDeals, I got it for under £14, including shipping. Now I am going to feel guilty about it for the next half year and not buy anything, which is not a bad thing at all.

Teal

Following my previous trend post on yellow, I thought I might collect up some looks in another of my favourite colours: teal. It goes with black, it goes with brown, and is a flattering colour for most people, and consequently I think it's one of my favourite colours for clothes.

|| Mayo W. || Nancy Z. || Johanne D. ||

|| Monica D. || Mandi || Katrine J. ||

Maybe I'll slip in a little Being Human too, which I suspect has started filming. Not long now.

More of Alex from Being Human

"I am not the singer that you wanted"

Before Hallowe'en, I was thinking about getting some kind of face covering for blog photos. A mask like Lanfan's from Fullmetal Alchemist or Melia's from Xenoblade Chronicles, or a mask from Zelda, would be really awesome. But I've concluded that the easiest way to hide my face is with my hair - I've plenty of it.

So, I'm trying some outfit photos with my head. What do you think?

Cardi: mum's wardrobe

Top: Tesco

Necklace: Esprit, China

Skirt: Debenhams

Shorts: DIY

Tights: China

Socks: school

Boots: Doc Martens, eBay

I bought this skirt in a sale at Debenhams a long time ago, when I only just started caring about clothes, but never wore it much. Though it's a nice wooly kind of fabric, and has lots of volume - I think it's a circle skirt? - nothing really matched it and I didn't have the boots for it, either. Since I got my Docs, that's changed.

When I rediscovered it in my wardrobe, I decided that I needed some long blue socks to go with it. I told Ginge this new addition to my shopping list, and she immediately said, "aren't our school hockey socks blue?" ... She can be a genius. Sometimes.

From 2005: Becky Bedbug

I suspect she's my favourite fashion blogger - she writes well, takes great photos, and seems like a really interesting person. That's why I'm overjoyed to be able to interview the beautiful Becky Bedbug, a primary school teacher and blogger from UK.

Her blog, Becky Bedbug, has been going strong since the end of 2011 - I remember when starting up my own, it was Becky's and Megan's blogs I was watching and using as examples to myself of a good blog - and have a look at her Lookbook too, where you can find almost fifty of her fun, bold outfits.

Becky Bedbug

1. Hi, Becky! How has your style developed into what it is now?

My style has gone through so many evolutions. I always had a very strong understanding of my own style identity so I haven't had too many faux pas. Before the age of sixteen, I was a little hippy girl. I loved everything in bright, happy colours. Aged sixteen to eighteen, I became a massive emo kid complete with ripped fishnets and red eyeshadow. That developed into rockabilly and then authentic 1950s vintage. These days, my style has settled down into a mix of all of those - a kind of sixties housewife gone bad.

'One big dark room' on LB

3. Which of your looks is your personal favourite at the moment?

Lately I think this is my favourite look. I am absolutely in love with this bat jumper and the white collar peeking out makes me feel all Wednesday Addams!


4. Who are your fashion icons?

This is always a tricky question for me because I've never been one for style icons. I love Helena Bonham Carter though. She just does exactly what she wants. She wore mismatched shoes on the red carpet! How cool is that!

I think I'll always have a soft spot for Gerard Way circa 2004 too. All black velvet blazers and red eye makeup. What's not to love?

Bonham Carter is epic, isn't she? I love your post about her. Not everyone seems to get it, but I think her eccentricity is charming, and she really pulls it off.

'Such beautiful dignity' on LB

5. What do you think of the street fashion where you live?

In my town, we have a Greggs opposite a Poundland with a bench in between, so that might give you an idea of the clientele where I live. There are a lot of tracksuit bottoms, leggings and Ugg boots. Not exactly style nutrition for the eyes!

6. Where do you like to shop?

Is "everywhere" an appropriate answer? I'm obsessed with Topshop. It's not all high street for me though. I absolutely love rooting through charity shops and vintage shops. Brighton is shopping heaven for me with vintage shops tucked into every corner.

I hear wonderful things about little vintage shops hidden away in small towns, but I can never seem to find them. Perhaps I need to get out more and look harder.

'Why can't I feel anything for anyone other than you?' on LB

7. How do you think your childhood on a council estate has shaped who you are?

Oh, wow, fantastic question! Well, it certainly made me very resilient. It can be quite intimidating for a thirteen-year-old girl to walk through a pack of teenage boys to reach the shop so I had to develop a tough exterior. It also made me very determined. A lot of people assume you will never succeed and I've devoted my life to proving them wrong.

I think it's admirable how you've come so far, despite the possibly less-than-ideal environment you grew up in. I've known rich kids who just expect everything handed to them on a plate - not everyone has the drive you have.


8. Why do you think the inner emo kid you're harbouring has been thriving for so long?

Haha, this is an even better question! I think there are two main reasons: nostalgia and emotional response. Aged sixteen, I was very angsty and I connected to emo bands in a way I hadn't connected to music before. It sounds trite but I felt like these bands really understood how I was feeling at that time. These days, I look back on my late teenage years with such fondness. They were great times and I had real freedom. Just listening to a couple of beats of My Chemical Romance or AFI takes me right back there!

'Pale white skin with' on LB

9. Tell us about the joys and sorrows of being a primary school teacher.

The joys are pretty predictable - the kids are amazing. You can never be lonely as a primary school teacher. You spend all day, every day with these thirty children and they can cheer you up no matter how you feel. Plus, I've never ever been bored at work. It's impossible.

On the other hand, I work really, really hard. If I add up all the hours I do, both at home and school, it is in excess of sixty a week. I don't actually have evenings, weekends or holidays, contrary to popular belief, because I work all through those as well. It's worth it though. I could never do anything else!

Thank you for your valuable time, Becky. Reading the interview, I wish I was in your class in primary school. You're an inspiration and you rock!

Xenoblade doodles 1

Since I spent a week being productive with orchestra the week before half term, I spent my actual half term in a pleasant stew of inertia, art and video games. As I am merciful, I shall save the greater part of my Xenoblade rants for my boring diary blog, but I have been working on Dunban's face pretty much all half term. It's not quite finished yet but you'll hear about it when I'm done with him.

During my days at home, I broke out the scanner and rounded up all the little doodles I've done this half term at school. I no longer have my homework diary on the table with me at every lesson, so most of these are done in a pad of lined paper, and have been pasted together on the computer.

School doodles on DeviantART

How many of each character can you spot? And, a very, very, very rough drawing of Kallian.

Kallian on DeviantART

"I died a hundred times"

At the end of my orchestral course in the last days of October, just before the concert in the loos, a cellist complimented and asked me about this dress, which I had worn a week previous, at the beginning of the course. The positive mood buffs were just piling up that evening - the adrenaline rush I had for the concert was incredible.

Cardi: mum's wardrobe

Shirt: China

Dress: Parisian, New Look

Petticoat: Matalan

Boots: Doc Martens, eBay

I adore this shirt for layering under dresses - it just provides such a nice detail. And the high frilly-ish collar reminds me of Kallian's from Xenoblade Chronicles. He's a High Entia prince so his clothes are quite fancy.

Since taking these photos, I've finally worked out how to stop the tongues of these Docs slipping sideways. I was an idiot not to see it before. If I lace them up loose and tie the knot underneath the tongue, it stays put. Plus, I like the look of looser lacing anyway.

Perkins

This half term I have been making myself busy drawing Dunban. I went to town on my own on Wednesday to get Ginge a birthday present, so I visited every clothes and video game shop, and picked up a couple of little thingies for her, which I can't tell you about in case she reads this!

|| yellow || white || grey ||

These are just a few pretty dresses from Dorothy Perkins. I love the full skirt and colour of the mustard dress, and they have some nice rockabilly-type dresses in there, like this middle one. And I've always been a sucker for city-print stuff.