No Matter What | OOTD

Hello everyone! How are we all keeping? I hope you've all had a lovely weekend.

After a rather serious and incredibly wordy post last time, I thought a picture-heavy OOTD would be a good idea for today's post...

These pictures were taken what seems like forever ago while I was still in Newcastle. This may seem a random time to post them but to be honest I completely forgot I had them and didn't want to waste such lovely pictures! Hope you like the outfit!

In these pictures I'm wearing my gorgeous Dr. Martens, an adorable black and white checkered skirt I bought earlier this year from Urban Outfitters, my trusty handbag from Accessorize and a black twirl tee that I bought in the Cheap Monday sale for £7.

I know this isn't a particularly summery outfit but it was slightly more seasonal when these pictures were taken! Although I do live in England and its currently raining so maybe its not such an ill choice for this time of year anyway!

The song this post is titled with is by a band called Valora and the song is No Matter What. I heard it first on the soundtrack to the film The Last Song (one of my favourite films ever) and then got a little obsessed with it...as I always do with brilliant songs! Its really good though I would definitely recommend you give it a listen.

I got back from London a few days ago from my final internship of the summer and as you'd expect, I took a hell of a lot of pictures while I was there! I've got a few adventures that I'd like to share with you, I'm currently in the process of editing them all but you can expect to see them on here very soon.

As always I hope you're all doing well and good luck to those of you in the final weeks of your exams.

Speak soon.

Holly

Mindful Musings | I Do This For Me

Hello everyone, a slightly different tone for today’s post. This one’s a little serious, and a little long but please read it all or you won’t fully understand.

I feel I need to explain myself. In fact, I don’t think I should have to explain myself for anything I do, but I feel I need to do so today. This is a peculiar situation and I’ll try explain myself as explicitly as possible.

You should also know that I’m not naming, shaming or relating to anyone in particular, this is just how I’ve felt over the past month or two. Recently, I feel I’ve had to justify myself and my blog to new people that I’ve spoken to about it. I feel there are so many different attitudes towards fashion blogs these days that I never know how people are going to react when I tell them that I write one. 

Some people (and I am speaking very generally) think that because of the huge success of some high-profile bloggers, everyone just wants to become famous and not have to get a “real job”, or that the people who produce these blogs just want to shout about how great they are and for everyone to look at them for five minutes. These perceptions may not be entirely true but from my experience, this is how I feel people now perceive fashion blogs. 

Because of these negative prejudices of online authors, I can at times be quite reluctant to admit that I actually have a blog, when really I should be incredibly proud of it. 

I’m writing this today because I want to make a one thing very clear; I do this for me. No one else, me. 

I do not at all want to sound selfish when I say this, but I do not write this blog for you, the reader, I write it for myself. This is my platform to experiment with, with which to document my life, to push myself to be inventive, to practise my writing and to share my photography. This is for me, I do it for my own sake.

I am truly ever so grateful to all of you who read this blog, I want that to be understood. To know that there are people across the world who like what I write and create is extremely rewarding. I want thank you all for taking time out of your day to read my musings, I’m extremely happy to have produced something that others have found interesting. 

But I do not share my content online for the sake of approval from strangers, thats not why I’m here. I created this blog because I want to feel good for something original that I have produced; I feel good because I’ve made something I’m proud of and that I have achieved, not because other people have said its good.

In the nicest possible way, I don’t care whether you guys like my blog or not. If you do like it then thank you, thats wonderful and I really appreciate it. But if you don’t like it, then I am sorry but its not going to change anything I do. 

I have always lived by the saying “each to their own”. One of the most important values I try to live by is to be fully accepting of people’s opinions and dreams or wishes or preferences no matter what my is opinion of them. I strive not to judge people for who they are because there could be a billion reasons they are that way and I am probably ignorant to the majority of them. I think everyone deserves the right to be who they are without having to explain themselves to anyone or apologise for being so. It would not be fair. I stand for self expression, and everyone’s  right to exercise it. 

Therefore I don’t really care if you don’t like my blog. If you don’t like it then don’t read it, simple as. I am confident enough in myself to not feel I need to apologise for everything that I am. If you can’t accept that then I haven’t lost anything, I still have myself who I am pretty happy to be.

I’ve only really come to this realisation in the last few years, that I can be whatever I want and if people want to judge me then more the fool them. I feel like I’m going to put off a fair few people with this post as you might get the impression I’m all ‘high and mighty’ or extremely arrogant but I’m honestly not. Although I am confident in myself, I still have moments of doubt, so does nearly everyone. We’re always going to be slightly anxious about what people think of us from time to time. 

Now for my motives; I write this blog because I want to push myself. There are elements of my character or skills I possess that I want to develop. I have always loved photography and writing, I think I’m quite good at them. I definitely do not want to let these skills slip through a lack of practise. This blog allows me to regularly exercise my abilities in both of these beloved hobbies of mine. Then there are areas in which I am not so satisfied with, for example how creative I am with my style and how I dress. 

I have a style that is completely my own; a look that my friends recognise as me and that I feel expresses who I am, so does everyone. It all depends on our individual tastes, for which I do not judge anyone. I exercise my right to express myself through what I wear every single day. I do not wear things that I do not feel say anything about who I am. If I did I would not feel as if I was being honest with myself or anyone else, and that is not something I condone.

I am an imaginative being. I admire art and integrity and I strive to achieve both of them within my work and life. Despite this, my daily wardrobe choices can be extremely dull and unadventurous at times. I don’t really see this as a problem because if thats how I choose to dress then why on earth shouldn't I do so? However, being a creative individual who wants to go into a creative industry, I feel I should push myself harder than I currently do with my wardrobe choices. 

And that is my personal choice, it is a goal I have set for myself. Thats why I share ‘Outfit Of The Days’ on my blog. Granted they might not always be particularly stylish, on trend or unique, but I want to be honest in everything I produce. I do not want to lie about who I am on a project that is essentially for me. Even if I post an OOTD which isn’t particularly inventive, as long as it is a genuine expression of who I am then I am still achieving everything I’ve set out to do.

I feel people perceive OOTD posts negatively with the assumption that the author thinks they look amazing or have something ground breaking to say about whatever style they are sporting. That is not my goal. I post OOTD pictures because I want to push myself to be more original and a better version of me, to practise creativity through every way that I express myself. That is what I believe in after all.

I hope you all understand my motives for this blog a little better now. I honestly don’t mean to offend anyone with anything I’ve said in this post and I want you all to know how grateful I am to those of you who read my blog. It honestly means so much to me that people can relate to what I produce and stand for. The internet is for sharing and there are so many people that I look up to online because I admire them for being themselves and producing something they are proud of, I think its a wonderful quality. 

I can understand if you don’t want to look at my blog anymore after everything I’ve just said but as I said earlier, its not going to stop me from going after what I want or being myself. I used to spend way too much time worrying about what others think of me rather than looking after myself and I don’t see the point in it anymore. Because in truth, I’m the one that has to deal with myself for the rest of my life, so I might as well be happy with everything I am.

I hope you all understand and that I’ve articulated this well enough. If there’s anything you don’t quite understand or have any questions about my motives ask away in the comments and I’ll answer them as honestly and clearly as I can. As I’ve said previously, I don’t feel I should have to explain myself to anyone however I am more than happy to do so on this occasion.

If you’re still reading thank you, and if you still want to read this blog after this post then even better. Honestly, thank you. 

Don’t let anyone ever make you feel bad about yourself or being honest and standing up for what you believe in. You have every right to express yourself in whatever way you choose (as long as you’re not breaking the law obviously) and you should never have to apologise to anyone for doing so.

My best wishes to you all.

Holly

OOTD | Old Scars/Future Hearts

Hello everyone! How are we all?

I am writing this from London today! I have arrived in the capitol for two weeks for work experience and am already having an amazing time. Luckily two of my best friends off my course are here on placement as well so last night I met Harriet for food in Covent Garden and then today I explored Shoreditch with Hannah. I've got some pictures from today to share with you all but I haven't had time to edit them yet. So instead, here are some I took in Newcastle a few weeks ago...

These lovely pictures were taken by my very good friend Hannah of Trust In Vogue. This outfit is pretty simple but I think it still expresses my character quite well. I was wearing my leather jacket as well for some of these pictures but unfortunately all the images of me wearing it are really really dark and even with Photoshop none of the pictures match and as a photograph snob I can't have the in the same blog post together! Judge me all you will but photography is my life and images have to flow! More evidence to support the case that I am truly insane.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures!

Don't ask what I'm doing in this last picture. I honestly can't remember and don't care for the reason but I felt it summed up the silly mood Hannah and I were in that day. Again a big thank you to Hannah for taking these pictures, if you'd like to check out her blog you can click here.

So for my outfit. The jeans I'm wearing I bought from Zara back in February and the tassel-covered top that I'm wearing I got in Urban Outfitters in January for £5 in the sale, not bad at all! I've paired them with my black converses (obviously, cause I definitely don't wear them with everything!) and a selection of jewellery bits but I have no idea where half of them came from! My ring is Topshop, the bracelet with the hamsa charm I bought at a vintage fair and the others I was given a few years ago.

The song this post is titled with is one of my favourites off All Time Low's new album Future Hearts. All Time Low are my favourite band ever, and that's really saying something for me as there are so many bands that I simply adore. All Time Low have written more of my favourite songs than anyone else and their songs will often bring me to tears.

They released their new album in April but before hand did a small signing tour in the UK and I was lucky enough to go to the one in Newcastle and meet them all! They played a small acoustic set in HMV and then signed slip cases for the new album and seeing them play live and so close was amazing. They sung beautifully and were their usual hilarious selves. Meeting them is up there as one of the best moments of my life and I feel so blessed to have been able to go. When they finally released their new album last month its safe to say I was a little more than excited. All the songs on the album are fantastic and I've still got it on constant repeat so I thought I had better pay tribute to it in a blog post.

I hope you all liked this post and if you've got ATL's new record what's your favourite song? I hope if any of you are currently going through exams they are going well and I wish you the best of luck.

I'll see you all soon.

Holly

OOTD | Dreaming Alone

Hello everyone! I hope you're all having a good bank holiday weekend.

Today I've got another OOTD for you, these images were taken back in Newcastle a few weeks ago by my wonderful friend Hannah, author of Trust In Vogue.

I chose a fairly simple outfit or these pictures as during this lovely spring-to-summer period I love wearing white blouses. They are just so simple and understated but still look classy so not a particularly adventurous choice, I admit, but very easy to style and pretty. Quite fitting for a bank holiday...

When you think you recognise the cyclist that just went flying past you...or are compelled to suddenly impersonate a duck...

In these pictures I'm wearing my ripped Zara jeans, black patent Birkenstocks and a white blouse I bought for £10 in River Island's sale last summer. My sunglasses are Dorothy Perkins bought about two years ago.

The song this post is named after is by a band called Against The Current, they've just been signed to Fuelled by Ramen but they do everything themselves. They're a sort of in between pop and rock and are quite big on Youtube. I got slightly obsessed with this song during my last few weeks in Newcastle so it seemed an appropriate choice for this post.

I hope you all liked these pictures and have a lovely bank holiday relaxing in the sun. I've got a week till I go down to London again for my second placement of the summer where I shall be for two weeks so if there is any where I should eat or go or do near Camden then tell me in the comments as that's where I'll be staying.

I hope you're all well and good luck to everyone with exams. See you soon!

Holly

Covent Garden & The Royal Ballet

Hello everyone, how are you all doing?

Today is my last day of being teenager as I turn 20 tomorrow! I'm unusually excited; in the last year whenever one of my friends has passed the big 2-0 they say "This is the decade of big decisions; graduation, jobs, houses and weddings! That's scary!" to which I reply "Yes but how much fun does that all sound?!". Ok, fair enough the thought of graduating and having to get a job seems a little daunting but I have some really good people around me and the thought of going through all of that with them I find quite exciting. Maybe I'm just a bit weird but I think it sounds like an adventure.

Anyway enough of my giddy waffling, today I wanted to share with you guys some pictures I took in April when I went to see the Royal Ballet perform Swan Lake in Covent Garden...

This seems like ages ago now, but during my Easter break my parents and I went to stay with my Auntie, Uncle and their kids in their new house in the Cotswolds. We arrived on the Monday around lunch time so enjoyed a delicious lunch in the sun on their patio and then went for a walk on the common. It was a lovely day but us girls had to go to bed early as the next day were to set off for London to go see Swan Lake at the Royal Opera House. This was such a treat for us all, it was part of our Christmas presents and me, Mum, my Auntie Tanya and her daughter Ella were all to go.

Ella is 14 and has been dancing since she was little and is really rather good at it! Mum and I have always loved the ballet and its been something we have shared with Tanya and Ella, enjoying any opportunity we could find to watch her performances. Mum has also set herself a little bucket list to complete in the past year as she has passed a milestone birthday (for her sake I won't mention which one!) and going to the ballet of course made the list. So Tuesday morning us girls headed for the train station and made our way to London.

We spent our afternoon doing a little window shopping in Covent Garden as it is one of our favourite places in London before going to The Ivy Market Grill for a sophisticated dinner. I had the Chocolate Bombe for dessert and annoyingly I don't have a picture but it was the most indulgent and perfectly delicious chocolate dessert/dish I've ever had, I definitely recommend!

Group selfie, obviously. Me, Tanya, Ella and Mum.

Mum posing for typical-tourist pictures in front of the Royal Opera House.

My OOTD; sunglasses are Dorothy Perkins (I think), leather jacket is from Topshop, my dress is Mango and shoes are Clarks.

I felt far too conspicuous to take pictures with my huge camera inside The Ivy Market Grill but I got a few on my phone so go over to my Instagram here and you'll see how awesome it looked inside. The food was gorgeous, I had a burger which was delicious and as previously mentioned the Chocolate Bombe with vanilla ice cream, honeycomb, salted caramel sauce and obviously lots of chocolate was amazing!

Inside the Royal Opera House, which I think we can all agree looks absolutely incredible!

Swan Lake was as you imagine, absolutely breathtaking. I enjoyed every second of it and I have to say it was one of the most amazing things I've ever beheld. The costumes and set were stunning and I have only the highest admiration for the dancers. As someone who is now slightly obsessed with the gym and exercise I definitely have a few new fitspirations, the definition in their muscles was unbelievable! 

We returned to my Auntie's rather late that night as our train was delayed 40 minutes but we had a wonderful week with them. Good food, walks in the country and our favourite people, we could not have asked for more! 

I hope you all enjoyed this post as it was a little different and a bit wordy, if you liked it and you want to hear more of my adventures, tell me in the comments below and I'll get straight on it. There'll be another post by the end of the week, maybe some of my antics tomorrow as I'm meeting my flat mate in Leeds for some shopping and the cinema before going out for a meal with the family, I'll see what I can do!

Enjoy the rest of your week everyone and I'll see you all soon.

Holly

Dr. Martens Fashion Film

Hello everyone! Hope you're all having good weeks.

Today I wanted to share with you all some of my university work from this year. Last semester we were asked to produce a 90 second fashion film for Dr. Martens focusing on Newcastle Upon Tyne and underground subcultures. As you all know, I adore Dr. Martens so I immediately rejoiced at this opportunity. As they are a brand that I so easily connect to, I knew exactly what I wanted to achieve with this brief.

I decided, naturally, that I wanted to focus on music. Its my favourite obsession and the language I use to express myself. Dr. Martens has seen rock music evolve over the last 50 years and I feel like although people still look to rock music from the past for inspiration, they seem to forget or either do not know that there are new artists who are simply incredible.

I am part of a genre who adores their music; amazing instruments that come together effortlessly, beautifully poetic lyrics and some of the most exhilarating live experiences you've ever seen. I love this genre and I feel like so many more would if they knew about some of the incredible artists that create this music. I know that Dr. Martens have a huge fan base within this genre so I wanted to show through the film how much the artists and fans of this music love this brand.

Anyway enough of my babbling, here's the film. Enjoy!

I am actually really proud of this, it turned out a lot better than I thought it would! As this was a live brief and the university has connections to Dr. Martens PR company, O PR, five of the films from our year got chosen to present to them to O and mine was among them.

We went down to their offices two weeks ago to present them to the team and they really enjoyed our work. The members of my class that had also been selected had created some amazing films so I was shocked to hear that mine won! I still can't quite believe this has happened, but my fashion film will now be played in the Dr. Martens Newcastle store throughout the summer!

I found out yesterday and I can't wait for it to be played in store, I don't know when it will first be shown but I really want to be there when it does! I'm still a little in shock and I hope it gets received well, this could be huge!

I hope you guys liked it and if any of you are in Newcastle over the summer do go into the store and check it out! There'll be another post soon and I hope you guys enjoy the rest of your week.

Holly

OOTD | Boardwalks

Hello everyone!

I am finally back after a month and a half long absence with another post. Since we last spoke I have been incredibly busy, I'll quickly fill you in...

So at Easter I spent the majority of my time doing uni work as I had deadlines at the end of April so my holidays comprised of me taking pictures of chia seeds and ducks for my trend module (don't ask!) and filming my brother at the various gigs we went to for fashion film. My parents and I also took a trip down to the Cotswolds to spend some time with family friends of ours. Us girls also travelled from there to London to see Swan Lake at the Royal Opera House which was one of the most magical things I've ever seen.

Then I returned to Newcastle where I had two manic weeks of deadlines and stressful, crippling late nights. There were a few tears and many last-minute panics but we got through it! I got everything handed in on time thankfully and I was actually really happy with how my work turned out. The feedback from my lecturers sounded promising as well so fingers crossed for good marks!

I had a day to celebrate finishing second year with my flatmates and friends in Newcastle before heading home for two nights when I then set off to London for an industry placement at the Jacques Vert Group. I was there for four days last week helping out with their press event for the new AW15 collections and I had such a good time, the team were lovely and I feel like I learnt a lot so a very big thank you to the JVG team!

On Friday I very slowly began to make my way north as I set off for Bedfordshire to spend a night with my Auntie Jo and Uncle Frank on my way home. We had a lovely evening Friday night and a gorgeous walk and pub lunch Saturday afternoon before I jumped back on a train to head home to Leeds. Then tomorrow I'm back off to Newcastle for a week so as you can probably guess I'm a little exhausted from the rather hectic six weeks I've had!

I am however, finally free from coursework commitments and my summer has already got off to a wonderful start. I'm so excited about all the exciting things I'm going to be doing over the next four months before I start my final year of university. Therefore to get myself back into a blogging routine, today I decided to do an OOTD post as this blog is still relatively young so there's not many on here yet and I wanted an excuse to wear my new dungarees!

An expression of my joy over my new found freedom. In case you weren't already aware, I am completely insane. 

The wonderfully weird dungarees I'm wearing in these pictures I purchased a few weeks ago from Blue Rinse Vintage in Leeds. They had loads of unique denim pieces in there but these were my favourites, much to my despair the ones with the Winnie the Pooh embroidery didn't fit me. I paired my dungarees with a vintage shirt I bought at Newcastle's Small Change Vintage about a year ago and my trusty Converses.

The song this post is named after is by Little May. I discovered it during my final few days of deadlines and it seemed the perfect song to play once I'd finished and I only had the summer before me. Its a wonderfully lovely song and I would definitely suggest you all give it a listen.

Now that I've broken up for the summer, blog posts will be much more frequent and hopefully full of interesting adventures. I hope you all liked this post and I shall see you very soon.

Holly