duck in a dress: what duck wore

Showing posts with label what duck wore. Show all posts

Friday, 27 March 2015

What Duck Wore...Thrifting Bargains

I'm one month behind in doing my whole "one outfit post every month" thingy for my 33 before 33 list. I think I'm going to blame the lack of decent daylight and busy weekends.

I've picked up a few interesting little things from charity shops recently (if I can get away with December as "recently") and also took part in Janet and Steph's Big Blog Clothes Swap the other month so here's a bit of a roundup of bits and pieces. Some of them need a bit of alteration but nothing that can't be done at some point with my trusty sewing machine and a mug of tea.

This little dress is a modern one by TU at Sainsbury's and was a bargain £3.99 from a charity shop in Bath. One of those dresses you try on and then a little smile appears on your face at just how perfect it is.

Even though I tried in on in the shop though, I didn't actually notice there was a little button missing from the front but that's no bother to fix really. I've even worn it to work a couple of times and no-one's noticed yet anyway!

This one was picked up in a charity shop in Bath the other week. I love the colour of it and the pattern and I picked it off the rail to look at and then put it back because green isn't really my colour. It was such as lovely shade though and I loved the neckline on it; it was also Berketex and £8.99 so I thought well, what the heck, I'll try it on just for fun anyway.

In the mirror though, it didn't actually look that bad, which is quite amazing as like I said, it's not often I can pull off a green colour. I'd like to take it up a bit though as I think it would look slightly better if it was shorter but that's a job for another day. It also has the coveted 'Made in England' label!

This top and scarf were part of the fab package Janet sent me for the Big Blog Clothes Swap. I love Breton tops but don't actually own any, there's always a bit of me that remembers it being drummed into you as a teenager - "stripes make you look fat" - so I've never actually bought one.

Breton top and scarf with Lucky Dip Club brooch

This fits me perfectly though and I went for a casual look when we went out to see one of the Bath Lit Fest talks the other week. The jeans are just an old pair I've had for a while, the scarf is thrifted via Janet (White Stuff originally) and the brooch is fabulous sparkly heart from a Lucky Dip Club box.

This dress I actually picked up just before Christmas in a charity shop in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. It's supposed to be floor length I think but even so, on my 5ft 4in frame it's just a tad too long and needs taking up a few inches.

I do think it's fab though, it was one of those items that look a bit frumpy on the hanger but when you put it on, looks so much better and a lot more structured. There's no name on the label but it does say 'Made in England' and puts me in mind of something a bit early 1980s.

And lastly (not clothing) I've seen a few different bloggers make outfits based on the patterns from the Sew Over It shop and then in a charity shop in Bath I found this gem peeping out from the shelves for only 50p.

I do feel quite inspired to get making and crafting but the first thing I need to do it dramatically sort out my crafting area. At the moment, my sewing machine is rather buried under a large amount of detritus from Christmas and my birthday last December!

Tuesday, 3 February 2015

What Duck Wore...On a January Work Day

On my 33 before 33 list, I have this thingy about doing one outfit post a month. The idea was inspired by Janet's post last year about how bad outfit shots can make you feel better; that really struck a chord with me as I don't feel at all comfortable in front of a camera.

Put me behind one and I'll happily snap away but put me in front of one on my own and I just don't know what to do. How am I supposed to stand? Do I smile or laugh (and risk pulling some kind of weirdo face)? Does the one-hand-on-your-hip-and-leg-bent thing look too forced? Do I cultivate some kind of staring-into-space arty look? Does this outfit which I think I look good in look hideous to everyone else? And so on and so on.

The best pictures of me are the ones that have been taken really quickly or by accident. The sort of ones that, when you're looking back at your pictures on the computer, you think "oh, wow, I actually don't look too bad there".

I don't really want to live my life only feeling good about the 'surprise' pictures though, it'd be nice to think I could actually stand in front of a camera wearing a nice dress and not feel like a complete prat.

So in the spirit of pushing myself to try new things, here's my first outfit post for 2015.

With the exception of the shoes (I'll tell you about them in a minute) this is what I wore on my first day back to work after three and half months of sick leave.

The dress was from Asda, bought last November for only £12 and it's had quite a lot of use since then (I even spent my birthday daytime wearing it). It's black and white leopard print but I don't think it's particularly loud or in-your-face so I feel quite okay wearing it.

The cardigan was a little gem picked up in a charity shop just before Christmas. It was priced at only £2.99, I'm pretty sure it's handmade and it certainly hadn't had a lot of use. There was a tiny little hole in one area of the neckline but that was no bother to sew up easily.

The shoes I haven't actually worn to work yet (it's far too cold at the moment) but I picked them up last Saturday in a charity shop for £8, completely new and unworn. They're Clarks 'K' shoes and are also the very first thing I've bought clothes-wise in 2015 - the cutting-down-on-clothes and high street ban thingy is going well so far.

How do you feel about having your photo taken?

Thursday, 18 July 2013

What Duck Wore...My New Favourite Dress

Last Thursday I found a fab parcel from Joe Browns on my doormat - the dress that I'd been coveting for ages had finally arrived!

I love Joe Brown's quirky style but I do find them a bit too expensive, at least, it's more than I'm willing to spend. I always scour their sales for bargains though and the other week the dress I'd wanted ever since I saw it in the catalogue was reduced from £32.95 to £12.95 as their 'Deal of the Week'.

It's the Mallory Square Dress and it's still available (albeit slightly more expensive at £18.95 and I don't think there's a huge range of sizes left).

It's perfect, just the right length (I'm 5ft 4in), the material's not see-through, it's light and floaty to wear with a fab 50's style shape and the print is really really summery.

I love the little ties at the shoulders as well!

I've already worn it to work, with a cardigan so it still looks fairly smart and on Sunday, it went to the beach at West Bay, with nautical pumps and a little basket bag.

Gorgeous summer dress - Joe Browns

White and clear bead necklace - charity shop

Red basket bag - charity shop

Nautical ballet pumps - Atmosphere at Primark

Tropical green nail polish - Avon Arabian Glow Nailwear Pro in Electric Green (similar colour of Divine Lime available)

Dark pink nail polish - Avon Nailwear Pro+ Nail Enamel in Grape Goddess

Do you like Joe Brown's stuff? How would you style the dress?

By the way, this isn't a sponsored post or anything (my blog's nowhere near that big!) -
I just really like Joe Brown's stuff!

Monday, 20 May 2013

What Duck Wore...Steampunk Style

The Frome Steampunk Extravaganza we attended last Saturday called for a special sort of fancy dress outfit. Although I love the steampunk genre, I don't actually own the full get up of clothes.

So I had to make do and mend with an outfit that was just a little bit steampunkish.

This time it was my lovely friend M going all David Bailey on me...