I wish I had a better excuse

A few weird weeks have passed but a little holiday in Wales really revived me, and I'm feeling much more back to my usual self. It was weird not feeling up to going out and being busy, considering that's something that takes up so much of my time usually. 

I start university properly in a few weeks, which is quite daunting but exciting. A lot is changing, I'm sadly leaving my Saturday job of almost three years, and going to dedicate my time to my degree which is going to be a real culture shock compared to foundation, which was largely about the social side as well as the work. These next few weeks of summer are going to be the last of this type for a while, and I intend to make the most of them.

These photos were taken after work one Saturday. I really enjoy being able to dress up for work, and the fact I get to work with something I love (jewellery, if you didn't already know). The long silk slip worn underneath is an old one from my mum, and the two shirts layered are from 'Cool as Kim Deal' on Depop. My creepers are from Underground.

I enjoy the sun even though I dress like some sort of gothic grandma clown nowadays. My style has definitely shifted since this blog began...I think I'm less scared to wear what I want now even if it's different to my usual look. I doubt I'm going to get bored of dressing up anytime soon.

Also...I'm doing art again! Every 3 weeks new work of mine will be posted on De Wallen Collective, an art collective formed by some of my closest friends at foundation (and some seriously talented people). You can see all our work here, and specifically my pieces here. 

Hope you have a lovely week!

I believe it's time for me to move forward

The last few weeks have been a bit all over the place for me; working combined with trying to go out and be everywhere at once left me entirely exhausted and super anxious which is something I've never really experienced to such an extent before. I'm now taking a bit of a break from the city and adulthood and hope to return refreshed and with a less sleepy, cloudy brain.
The days have really all been rolling into one, with weeks passing before I know it. I've been up to exciting things though; XXY had a panel event on Thursday that was so exciting to be a part of and was super educational...a few days before and I was in Wales with my family and Alexi, and in between I've been doing shoots and trying to keep on top of work. Busy is great but I'm definitely enjoying taking a little break from it all.

Alexi took these photos of me whilst on holiday; I cut those shorts down from knee-length pants the night before we left and love how I've now got something cute and wearable from an item that didn't really suit me previously. (They're the same shorts from this post).

As always I took a lot of photos, but for myself rather than with a magazine submission in mind which was quite relaxing. I love having work published but it's a nice break sometimes just to shoot for yourself.

The rest are a few recent days and evenings spent shooting in Hyde Park or dancing to live jazz bands. This summer has been really long and really good and after my little panicky breakdown I'm excited to come back refreshed and carry on enjoying it.

lines dreamt long ago

I was planning on going to a lavender field on Sunday and taking some slightly more exciting photos, but in the end life got in the way of my plans and so instead here are some film photos from recently that I haven't really shared yet.

I keep my film photos (both published shoots and personal diary ones) updated regularly on my website.

The first two were taken on the summer solstice. I was having a good day filled with double tartan however managed to break the entire sole off one of my platforms, which was slightly heartbreaking but if you don't wear your shoes until they break, did you even wear them properly?!

 

My friend Violet lives in a beautiful house filled with cats and unusual memorabilia and objects her family have collected, from bones and vintage glasses frames to mirrors in the garden and a whole jar of collected discarded lighters. A lot of these photos are from spending the night there with a few friends.

The colour photos below were from my recent shoot for Grunge'n'Art. I wanted to capture the warmth of the sun and that sort of feeling of its rays hitting your skin, as well as promoting a sense of enjoying being colourful and bright and being yourself. You can see the full shoot here.

The above black and white photos are from a sunny morning spent shooting for Saperlipopette Magazine. The piece went up on their site yesterday and I am really happy with the outcome...the shoot kind of captures a feeling of sisterhood, whilst suggesting the image of forest nymphs playing in the early dawn before humans are awake. You can see the full shoot here.

The last two photos were taken by Violet and capture my summer quite accurately. I've been really busy but also just had such nice few months spending time with friends and enjoying being in London instead of travelling around too much.

I hope you have a lovely week!