I mentioned earlier I’m partial to the colour black and stripes. Well, another of my slight obsessions are skulls. You can imagine my joy then, as I browsed through Orissa Boutique’s array of gorgeously unique accessories to find (amongst numerous other fab things) heaps of them! I first came across Kent based accessory business Orissa Boutique on Twitter. They are relatively new to tweeting and quite a new business themselves, so it’s still a bit quiet over there. (Follow them and help get things going!). They have a great Facebook page which is regularly updated and full of photos of their available stock - this is where I spent my evening drooling over bags, earrings, bracelets and scarves… so many beauuuutiful scarves! Orissa Boutique say they “pick out simple & unique pieces that will help you stand out from the crowd, not blend in with the masses” and this is entirely true. I’ve always been one for wearing what I think looks great, coming up with individual ideas and ways to wear things - Orissa Boutique support this way of thinking too, which can only be a good thing in a day and age where cost can force people into ‘cheap’ shops to buy clothes that everybody else is wearing. I was very generously sent an item of my choice to write about here. After having a mini-breakdown (everything was too good to chose between!), I picked a beautiful wheat coloured scarf with printed skull design. Communications between Orissa Boutique and I were lovely, postage of my item was extremely speedy and safe. Enough of my ramblings… on to the pretties! My scarf was wrapped in deep purple tissue paper complete with cute stickers and a little business card. Always handy to have! On opening, the scarf almost dripped out of it’s wrapping, like waves lapping at the beach, it was so soft! I could not wait to get it on! Now there are many ways to wear a scarf depending on the length, thickness, outfit, weather etc How do you like to wear yours? Orissa Boutique suggest grabbing the scarf by one point/edge and giving it a shake out before draping round yourself however you desire. This is the optimum way to make sure you have maximum length to style with. I’m partial to just draping my accessory-style scarves lazily round my neck, perhaps secured with a vintage brooch… …or triple knotting it for a more structured look. The weave of the scarf is delicate enough for summer wear however it has a LOT of length and width, so can easily double up for colder weather too. I love how it is so versatile. Now I’ll admit, I wouldn’t have thought to put these colours together - a soft beigy-wheat with oranges, yellow, white, turquoise and pinks but it works stunningly well. The weave of the scarf means when worn more pashmina-style in one layer, it almost looks pastel. Squished together, it illuminates to eye-popping brights. Again, so versatile! One problem I have with having a bit of a scarf collection going on, is how to store them. There are various ways (hanging, stuffing in sleeves, shoving in a box, laying flat) but I’ve recently been made aware of a new technique I thought I’d share with you. This is a link to Emily Chapelle’s video on how to braid a baby wearing wrap. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtrfKLxZL4Q I figured the same thing could be applied to scarves for ease of storage. It makes your scarves look really pretty too, doesn’t cause massive creasing and is pretty therapeutic to do, if you have quite a few as I do! The result: Pretty, no? The scarf also inspired me to do a bit of matching nail art. The colours go really well on the nail too, it’s definitely a new palate to play around with again. Of course I had to get a skull in there. So. I am an Orissa Boutique convert - not that I took much converting in the first place, I was already a fan! The fast send out, great communication, quality of the product AND idea behind unique, affordable fashion that Orissa Boutique have really makes me happy. Everything (minus their bags) is under £20, which means anyone can grab themselves a little treat. We all need one of those once in a while. I’m off to flounce around in my scarf some more and work out which piece I’m going to buy for my mama, as it’s her birthday soon. Follow Orissa Boutique on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Orissaboutique Like Orissa Boutique on Facebook: www.facebook.com/OrissaBoutique Visit Orissa Boutique’s website: www.orissaboutique.co.uk/
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Today I thought I’d blog about my OOTT - Outfit Of The Day! I had a bit of a rubbish nights sleep worrying about an ECG I have to have tomorrow and my toddler (he’ll be known as Fluffy, here) kept waking with what I assume are night terrors. So this morning, with the sun shining, I was determined to make myself feel a little better with clothes, accessories and a cup of tea. I’ll start from the floor and work up. My hi-tops are actually my hubster’s! He bought them a good few years back from a small shop in Bromley I believe. They aren’t a named brand but I adore the white/red combo and they are so comfy. Not to be worn if there’s any chance of April showers though (I know we’re in May now, but we all know the weather has had some issues recently!) as they get quite soggy being made of canvas-type material. I couldn’t leave my socks out, I just love these cuties from Tesco. They come in a pack of 5 for £5 in different animal prints, based around the colour grey. I am wearing the leopard print pair as I’m feeling very leopard-ish. Rawr. I’m wearing my staples of black leggings and a black v-neck skinny fit t-shirt from Peacocks, teamed with a black jersey mini-skirt from UNIQLO. Yes, a lot of black. I’m trying to move in to colour but unless its on my lips or bra I can’t bring myself to do so! Blame Nine Inch Nails. Anyway I’m sure you can imagine what they look like. Over my carefully matched blacks, I’m wearing a white and black striped cardigan from Primark. I found this little beauty in a charity shop in Eltham last weekend for £3. Again over the course of this blog, you’ll see I’m very fond of a stripe or two (blame Kurt Cobain for that one) and charity shops, too. I’m accessorising today with My first attempt at comic book style nails! I’m really into nail art and experimenting with different techniques which I will share with you as and when I try them out. I didn’t use any tutorials for this one, just drew from a few inspirational photos on Instagram and took the plunge. I used a range of Ciaté colours, an Avon dotting tool and a Barry M nail art pen in black to create this look. I’ll go into more detail on products I use for my nail designs when posting solely about them. Feeling a bit kick-ass with my nails, I opted to wear Revlon’s Super Lustrous Lipstick #028 Cherry Blossom. I don’t usually wear lipstick, but when I do, I adore deep reds, purples and blacks. Cherry Blossom is a gorgeous moisture filled lipstick with great lasting power, highly recommended for all you lipstick wearers out there. I’m also wearing a fantastically gorgeous Cameo necklace by the lovely PipAndSqueak. I am in love with her jewellery! Yasmin carefully picks and crafts each piece to be perfectly individual and beautiful. She also makes bespoke pieces such as charm bracelets completely tailored to your desires. Speaking from experience, PipAndSqueak has a fantastic customer relations that’s rarely seen these days. Take a peek over at www.facebook.com/pipandsqueeak My last accessory of course usually never leaves my side. Fluffy! Today he’s loving stripes, corduroy, polka dots and skulls. And Jaffa cakes. What were you wearing today?
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Who is Julie?30 something, mother of two gorgeous boys, lover of one gorgeous husband, perpetually living in a dream world full of wine, chocolate and artsy crafty things. Archives
February 2018
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