~kitten around

Sometimes when I open my wardrobe in the morning (or open my 6-foot chest of drawers, or rummage through my boxes of stuff to go into storage, or my sewing pile, and so on), I end up tangentially wondering about its existence. There's no real rhyme or reason to it, although most of it is intensely whimsical. And I'm turning 20 in a couple of months, so I'm not getting any younger, especially in the scheme of the blogosphere. In less than a year I'll be graduating if all goes to plan (hahahahahaha), and maybe one day after that trying to find a serious, big-girl job in an office or something. I wonder, when will it get weird that my favourite outfit is a giraffe-print minidress with patent t-bar flats? When will my bum-length hair start being 'inappropriate' for my age? What is the half-life of rainbow glittery oxfords?

Except for the occasional odd look/point/laugh, and the occasional question about the theme of the party I'm attending, people I talk to are generally pretty positive about the ~zany~*~ wardrobe I've spent the last 7 or 8 years collecting and curating. I hate subscribing to arbitrary social standards around personal style, but I do occasionally worry that I look like an overgrown 3 year-old. Women like Helga and Vix are serious inspiration for me though when I have these weird little quarter-life crises about my dress sense, reminding me that you can be a grown up and still wear bright, interesting, quirky, whimsical vintage clothes. I hope my wardrobe does have some real longevity, and I don't wake up one day wanting to only wear black and beige and bin all my weird, questionably-ugly clothes.

This dress was one of those things I see on Etsy and think 'oh, if only, but the price tag! I could never buy this!' and then find myself hunched over my laptop typing in my debit card details ten minutes later. It reminded me of an amazing skirt I had years ago featuring a border print of pale yellow kittens playing with balls of wool, that I sold in a fit of madness and have regretted ever since. It's by the amazing Katie-Louise Ford, who has a gorgeous blog too. I just couldn't get past the saccharine combination of green-eyed kittens frolicking in hearts made of flowers, plus the peter-pan collar and full skirt. I don't know if I've ever seen anything more twee. I've probably only got 7 or 8 years left in which I can wear this dress before I start pushing the boundaries of age-appropriateness, so I guess I'll just wear it every day between now and then to make the most of it.





(Kitten-print dress by Katie-Louise Ford, Asos t-strap flats, fuschia belt off another vintage dress, costume-cupboard satchel. P.S. None of these are edited, I just left my camera on weird settings accidentally. I don't know how to make them look better... soz)

Regarding my Asos shoes, my mum ordered them for me as my old pair of t-bars were getting into a terrible state from me wearing them every day. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but when they arrived I was extremely disappointed- they're very bad quality. There were glue marks and smears on the side of one shoe, and the fabric of the straps was starting to fray quite badly already. I've worn them twice and not only are they very uncomfortable, but the fraying is getting much worse and they look old and worn already. What a waste of money. They're the first Asos item I've ever owned, and probably the last too. I'm going to order a pair of Goldenponies t-strap flats in the near future to replace these- the wait is long, but it'll be worth it. I'm sure these will have fallen apart by then!