I'm gonna wait till the midnight hour

Hello guys. I have to admit, I think this evening I am seriously winning the multi-tasking game...I am currently in the process of writing this, finishing some work for my English class, and catching up on the Sherlock finale which I have been meaning to watch since Sunday. I like being busy and so seem to always take on multiple things at once, even when I have no need to. It's strange.
Anyway, on the weekend I visited my cousins in their new home. They've just moved into a gorgeous little house just outside of London, and I was obviously completely infatuated with the sleepy, sharp grey suburbia, perfectly set off by the miserable weather.

I wore a cardigan and shirt from Beyond Retro, with my Topshop jeans, Rokit shoes and bag from The London Satchel Company. My jacket belonged to my mum...I wear so many of her old things that I'm starting to feel like I'm turning into a teenage version of her or something. A little like the film 13 going on 30, I guess. (I love that movie I mean the 80's makeup is to die for).

I have come to the conclusion that I need to stop wearing brown and mustard...since purchasing my yellow coat, I have become obsessed with earthy, natural tones and seem to be wearing something orange or tan coloured almost every day. I love it though. I also have way too many checkered and tartan skirts, but since the 90s seems to be making a comeback, I see this as no bad thing.

We had a lovely lunch in a nearby cafe (which I would literally live in if it was near to my house) and obviously I felt the need to photograph it...I love documenting things and for some reason that means taking photographs of a lot of the food I eat (trust me if I didn't control myself I would photograph everything). I had thought that my need to record everything was a recent thing, but after sorting through some old scrapbooks of mine, I realised that in fact I've been an obsessive documenter since the age of about seven. I wonder what that says about me.
Also, yesterday evening I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend the Beyond Retro Industry Talks at their Cheshire Street store. I went with my two friends Poppy and Mabel, and got to listen to talks by Naomi from the amazing Two Shoes One Pair,  Company Magazine's street-style photographer Holly Mcglynn, and Little Mix's stylist Holly Ounstead. It was a fantastic event, and it was so amazing to be able to hear about the fashion industry directly from the people working in it, and get to talk with them afterwards. Everyone was so lovely, and I am looking forward to hopefully doing some collaborations in the future.
I hope you are all having a good week,

ellie xo

and here under the spell of evening, I long to hold you tight

Happy Saturday! My first week back at school is done - and somehow I seem to be back neck deep in coursework again (although it does serve me right for all the hours I spent avoiding getting it done before Christmas). I took today to finish my geography work for monday, and take a trip down to central London to buy some bits and bobs for my textiles final piece, which I am beginning later this week. I decided to make a dress with a corset in April last year, but only now have I realised that might not have been the best decision, especially as I am using velvet which leaves basically no room for mistakes whatsoever. I like making things, and am looking forward to just giving it a go...hopefully it won't completely crash and burn and even if it does I'm sure I will show you guys just for us to laugh at.

I ended up discovering the shop of my dreams - 'MacCulloch & Wallis', whilst on a mission to get some corset boning. It is down a side-street just off of Oxford Street, directly opposite House of Fraser. It felt like the Selfridges of textile equipment, with it's gloriously old front and whimsical miscellany of modern and traditional fabrics, embellishments, trimmings and more. Over two floors of beautiful historical architecture are filled with an organised jumble of treasures, perfect for the basic DIY job or the theatrical graduate piece. Prices are incredibly reasonable too, making this probably one of my most favourite shop discoveries of late. Definitely going to be spending an awful lot of time here in the future.

I wore my fur coat from Oxford, high-waisted checkered jeans from Topshop, polo neck from Uniqlo, and shoes from Rokit. My earrings are from Hannah Makes Things and my necklace belonged to my mum. Tartan, checkered and hounds/dog tooth prints have been slowly seeping back into fashion over the last few years, but the recent increase in their appearances at LCM and LFW suggest that maybe this time they are going to be sticking around. I don't know about you, but my wardrobe at the moment consists of a good three or more checkered skirts...it's beginning to become a bit of an obsession if I'm honest.

Afterwards I ended up having a walk around Berwick street, and nipping in to Beyond Retro as I literally cannot pass by without having a snoop around, especially in their Soho store; it's almost underground and feels a little like a secret club.

In other news...I seem to have acquired the most gorgeous little hamster, who I have decided to name Elvis for some reason or another. We have always had pets in our family but after my dog Milly passed away a year ago I couldn't face trying to fill her place with another furry friend. Recently, however, the house has been feeling so empty that I couldn't help but pay the local pet shop a visit and buy the little bundle of joy that is currently running about in his wheel and making a hell of a lot of noise. Got to love his mischievous little face though. I also thoroughly enjoyed a bit of cinnamon, nutella and banana cake with tea whilst he settled in...can you possibly get a better combination of flavours?! I'm in animal and cake heaven.
On that note, I hope you have a good weekend!

ellie xo

she opened strange doors that we'd never close again

Happy Wednesday! I can't believe it's mid-week already. I've only been back at school for a few days but am already getting back into the usual grey swing that is my weekly routine. Getting up in the dark is still difficult, coming home to a hot mug of tea is still comforting; nothing has really changed except the fact that it is now a new year...and my last year of compulsory education. I had always assumed that I would just jet off into a career before I was 17, but as I've matured the necessity of qualifications and higher education in our modern society has been made ever more apparent to me. I also quite like the idea of staying in school too, as I feel a lot less grown up than I thought I would feel at 16.
Anyway, I had a textiles practical day today, and so had to spend the entire school day working on my practice piece for my final garment. I'm supposedly making a dress with a built-in corset, however I think quite a bit of adjustment is needed before it is anywhere near ready to be done in my proper fabric. It was much better than my normal timetable though.
I felt it necessary to wear my David Bowie top from the V&A shop today, to celebrate the birth of the Starman himself. Over the last year in particular his music has become increasingly more important to me; something about his evolution, both musically and physically, fascinates me. Basically I am very grateful that 67 years ago today a whimsical, artistic messiah-to-be was born.

 

I wore my cardigan from Clothes Show that has quite definitely become my favourite cardigan, with my shirt from Clothes Show, top from the V&A, skirt from Blitz, shoes from Rokit and socks from Topshop. My uniform of late has consisted of variations of this outfit, as shorts are apparently deemed inappropriate (?!) and cardigans and skirts are very comfortable combinations.

(images from here)

On a completely separate topic, I also feel it is necessary to talk about the London Collections: Men shows that have been taking place this week. Today saw the presentation of Burberry Prorsum's A/W14 collection, which has, in my opinion, added the perfect splash of pattern into the often plain field that is men's fashion. Beautifully tailored trousers were paired with sleek jackets and overcoats, to which a printed shirt, unbuttoned and open, was added, along with a contrasting patterned bag. The effect was effortlessly smart; so casual and nonchalant in appearance, and yet so finely detailed and well finished that the pieces sell themselves as the highest quality of clothing. Patterned scarves were draped around the model's shoulders, and the odd suede cowboy jacket even made an appearance. I absolutely adore this collection and kind of (really) wish it was a) for women and b) in my price range. Actually, I don't even need it to be designed for women; with those sort of patterns and gorgeous bags, I'd wear the whole collection anyway.
In other news, my cousins have just returned from a holiday to New York, where they bought me a gorgeous new journal from Barnes & Noble. I recently finished my first, and so couldn't wait to start playing around with this one. Here are a few pages from the two, and if any of you are interested in journalling yourselves I suggest you check out this post Maya wrote for The Pulp Zine, as she is the queen of all things journally and hers are incredible. I also have started using my pocket scavenger book that my parents bought me for christmas. It's so relaxing to do and is a nice way to keep those little scraps and things that you want but are not sure where to put.

I'm going to visit my cousins in the countryside this weekend, and so am looking forward to taking some proper pictures for you guys again. Until then, hope you have a good week.

ellie xo