PAISLEY SHORTS DAY

Um.. hello? Is this thing on? I have to check, you see, as last week the light on my laptop screen broke and I couldn't tell whether I was on Pinterest or porn. Actually I don't go on either of those sites but they're alliterative so it works.

I've been working hard with helping to launch Thriftette's rebrand this week (check out Ette!) and coming home to sit on a computer has been pretty unappealing anyway, especially in this weather. But it was a most welcome relief when I got a new laptop (THANKS DAD & MUM you da best), I really didn't know how much my work life depended on it. Honestly though you should've seen it, the screen had been hanging off by a thread and it's a miracle it lasted so long. Tragic was not the word.

Here are some pictures from a time when I left the house on a sunny day with Chris and we both inadvertently wore paisley shorts. I'd suggest we did it more but the fly broke on my shorts (classy) so perhaps not. We sat in the Manchester International Festival garden drinking cider and it was more like Madrid than Manchester; incidentally a bunch of my friends are in the former city right now, and I keep getting Snapchats saying "jealous???" but when the weather is like this there's nowhere I'd rather be than the latter city.

I'm wearing:

Urban Outfitters tee

Minkpink shorts & bag

Wildfox sunglasses

Topshop hat & sandals

OBRIGADO

According to A Recent Survey*, it takes an average of two days and seventeen hours before you completely relax on holiday; but I distinctly remember the feeling around twenty-two hours into mine when I was lay on the beach with my chin in the sand, somewhere in that grey area between awake and asleep, and I felt relaxed. Completely and utterly. Holidays as a young adult were great: getting away from your parents and going crazy on the free shots provided by the neon bars who just want your nubile faces in the hope it'll attract further punters. But holidaying as a proper adult is different, and I felt it acutely this time. It was about reaching the point where my mind was full of nothing, except figuring out six degrees of random film stars, what to eat for lunch (at 4pm) and whether I would randomly bump into Paul Rudd around the Algarve. See, where did that thought even come from? From my brain being in an almost meditative state. My mind, when unoccupied, goes to Paul Rudd. Of course. What else?

Now I'm back, full of ideas and enthusiasm to do things other than sit in front of a computer. I want to eat fresh food, read interesting things, have friends over for dinner, sit outside, go for coffee. The trick is to keep tight hold of the enthusiasm even as the holiday tan - or in my case, freckles - starts to fade.

By the way.. funny how you take so much to wear on holiday and only end up wearing the same things, isn't it? It always happens. This time it was these funny little moccasin boots I got from a charity shop which I'd never even worn before, but turned out to be the ideal beach-to-bar (apologies for the Grazia-ism, but it's true) shoe.

Also, we managed to adopt a cat for the duration of our stay. He was adorable but also sat outside our apartment door at 5am screaming to come in. It could only happen to us.


I'm wearing:
a myriad of Wildfox, Evil Twin and Minkpink, plus some vintage,
charity shop, Miss Selfridge, Topshop, French Connection & Patrizia Pepe.





















* I don't like not referencing this Recent Survey, but I got the information from Zest magazine who didn't cite the source either. So we'll just have to believe.

BIENVENIDO A SOUTH BEACH

Around April time, just when the sun is supposed to be coming out - and usually just as I've booked my holiday - I suddenly catch Swimsuit Fever. Just check my Tumblr for the evidence. I obsessively check all the websites I know looking for The One: the swimsuit that will instantly make me look like Candice Swanepoel and will ensure my fun lasts aaaall summer long.

Nah.. I know that doesn't exist, especially not when I live in England and summer isn't quite so summery anyway, but it still doesn't stop me from being a swimwear lover. There's been a recent crop of new swimwear websites which feed my obsession perfectly, including South Beach Swim, who held an event last week at Spinningfield's Frurt frozen yoghurt store. My pick was the Lauren swimsuit - a pink, fringed one-piece, all of my favourite things rolled into one. The rest of the collection is mega-bright and mega-fun, ideal for standing out by the beach or the pool - plus, the team are expanding into loungewear for next season: think super fluffy dressing gowns and comfy all-in-one pyjamas you're unlikely to want to get out of when morning comes.

Delicious swimwear and fro-yo aside, the brand name is fairly genius: there's something about it that really makes me desperate to go Spring Break in Miami and live it up like V-Hudge (sidenote: have you guys seen that movie? James Franco somehow makes himself incredibly ugly, and the Britney-on-piano scene makes me extremely uncomfortable and full of joy at the same time). My mum and I once had a five-hour stopover in Miami but did nothing more than sit around the airport, not leaving the front doors for fear of immediately getting lost... plus the air con was infinitely more comfortable than the August humidity. I'd like to go again though, and at least see some of the sights Miami has to offer, South Beach and Will Smith dancing on a rooftop included.

Anyway.. talk about a tangent. Kinda looks like I was just hanging around on my own on these pictures, but I'm not quite that antisocial (yet). You can see South Beach Katie above (who is also blogger extraordinaire The Quick Red Fox) plus there were a million and one other Manchester bloggers present. We seem to be growing exponentially as a species, which can only be a good thing for the future of Manchester fashion.

And who knew I suited a snap back hat? Little bit too reminiscent of the days of wearing a sideways-cum-backwards flex fit to look cool like Tom Delonge (I'm sure I could find a photo of that hanging around somewhere) so it's been donated to my boyfriend to stop his bonny bonce getting burnt on holiday. Still, it's good to have headwear options other than the usual beanie or fedora!

I'm wearing:

Wildfox tee

Vintage skirt

Waiste Starry Nirvana jacket

Jeffrey Campbell Lonestar shoes

Minkpink bag

South Beach Brooke snapback

SPRING BREAK FOREVER!!!!!

SUNNY DAY SWEEPIN' THE CLOUDS AWAY

Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?

I've been locked in my living room busily working on my CAD portfolio (with a window, luckily) but I did manage to get two hours outside on the grass yesterday. It really was dream weather, best we've had yet, and I would so love summer to carry on like this. Doesn't need to get any hotter, I'm perfectly happy in this, wearing a t-shirt and bare legs.

My CAD portfolio was handed in this morning which means I am now only three exams and one presentation away from finishing my second year of university. Crazy how time goes so fast but also seems to drag, especially when you're doing boring assignments.. I don't care about the "it's not the work that's boring, it's you" thing teachers used to say, some things really are dull, like a garment comparison I handed in last week. The whole thing struggled to hold my attention and in the end I just got fed up and didn't do the greatest job. You'd think I would be old enough to work hard on things with enough time to spare but nope, I still find it hard concentrating on things which don't interest me, even for the sake of my degree!

I've been thinking of my position as a mature student a lot recently, and I'm not sure it's something I'd recommend to everybody. It's difficult coming away from a full time wage, that's a given, but it's also tough working to support yourself as well as doing assignments, looking after a home, and keeping a relationship together: plus the older you are the more likely you are to have to care for your elders, too. If the now me could talk to the me at the time of applying I'd probably advise against it, but as it stood getting a degree was the only way forward for me. Now I'd say network, intern, then network and intern some more.. which, again, is not easy with a full time job.

So I guess what I'm saying is that getting into the fashion industry is not easy whichever way you go at it, especially if you're above an age where it's acceptable for your parents to fund you through your education. You've just got to believe it will all be worth it in the end.

I'm wearing:

Wildfox tee & sunglasses

Vintage skirt

Ralph Lauren denim jacket via charity shop

Topshop socks

Ju Ju jellies

Adidas backpack from when I was a kid

Mr Freeze ice pop from the local shop :)

RECORD STORE DAY

It's not like Manchester really needs a reason to drink on a sunny Saturday afternoon, but Record Store Day was the perfect excuse to get out of the house and hit town. I picked up the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album from the absolutely packed Piccadilly Records, plus Grimes's Visions - a total bargain at £7. In my teenage years I was addicted to buying CDs, beginning with singles I liked the covers of in Asda, to spending hours flicking through obscure albums in indie record shops. I stopped buying CDs as their price increased and my disposable income decreased but really £7 is just the cost of a cocktail in the Northern Quarter, with much more longevity to the enjoyment from the music. It's a habit I'll return to; one a month maybe, carefully considered, not because of their pretty covers.

The rest of my afternoon was spent in a sunny spot outside Common Bar, listening to live bands and DJs through the walls, hanging with my boyfriend, our buddy Alun and blogging pals Pastime Bliss. My jellies made their debut appearance and I was the ideal temperature in fewer layers than usual: finally the weather is getting almost bearable. This jacket, skirt and jellies are set to be my summer uniform so you are sure to see much more of those.

I caught a couple of minutes of Bernard + Edith and really loved their sound.. I'm so rubbish at describing music but to me they sounded like if Grimes was made of sunshine and rainbows. Which of course is good! I'm hoping to catch these guys around the city sometime soon. There was also a fluffy dog in boots there.. you can imagine just how exciting that was.

I'm wearing:

Waiste Starry Nirvana jacket

Wildfox tee & sunglasses

Chelsea Girl maxi skirt (in black)

Topshop socks

Juju jellies

Minkpink bag