Abandon ship! (Apparel)

Instagram: abigaillllucy

Abandon ship's printed tee's are so nice. The pictures on them are so interesting, and a lot more original than most of the printed tops in shops at the moment. I loved this skull one the moment I saw it in a magazine last summer, the galaxy print just looked amazing! And courtesy of my lovely boyfriend remembering how much I liked it I am now the proud owner of it, yay! I'm wearing it today tucked into high waisted black skinnies which works really well because of the colours on the top.
Uni work is crazy at the moment, it feels like all I do is work! I have three projects on the go, which is completely draining but hopefully i'll get it all done soon.
On another note- look how long my hair has got! I'm so excited for it to be long again, I hated that inbetween awkward length, but it's finally getting there. Love and stuff X

Tie dye!

I love tie dye! It's so fun and colourful, and despite the fact that the snow has finally made it's way up here I couldn't resist wearing my tie-dye vest today. I made it over the christmas holidays with my boyfriend who was desperate for one (we now have matching t-shirts, probably not something I should be admitting to) but it was really fun. I've just set up an etsy shop online selling custom made tie dye, the only problem is I may end up wanting to keep them all, they're all individual but all equally as nice! I apologise for the picture quality, i'm swamped in work so a webcam picture will have to do for now, although it definitely doesn't do my top justice. Love and stuff X

http://www.etsy.com/shop/AbigailLucy

Touched down in London town

 I'm back from London! I got back last night after a horribly long coach journey, I never thought I would be so glad to get back to uni. The trip was much more fun than I thought, although we visited so many galleries everything started to look the same after a while and we ended up walking SO far over the few days. We stayed in a hostel in Queensway which had three level bunk beds, who knew they even existed?! I settled for the middle, it seemed safer than about 8 feet off the ground on the top bunk! Myself and two of my course friends visited the ice bar (courtesy of my Dad who also took us out for dinner) which was incredible, so much fun; although very cold, I definitely thought I would be more used to it now after living up North since September! We also went to some bars around Camden and ended up cycling back after the tubes closed, which was an experience to say the least... also probably about as cold as the ice bar. I did manage to visit the Tim Walker exhibition at Summerset house though, which I would highly recommend- his work is so beautiful and the show was put together so well. I definite must see if you're in the area. Love and stuff X

At the ice bar! 

New shoes! Again.

Scrolling through my older posts new shoes seems to be a common theme, so to keep up with that tradition I thought I would post about the beautiful new shoes I brought yesterday. Unfortunately they're replacing a pair of black topshop boots with silver studded ends- topshop shoes are beautiful but their flats definitely don't last that long, which is disappointing. I've been looking for a pair of boots to replace them for a while now but haven't found anything I liked, until yesterday when I was in town and just couldn't keep myself from the office sale (student budget means shopping is fine as long as it's on sale, right?) and I found this beautiful new pair. The detailed studding is a little bit edgy but works really well, the boots go great with jeans but also paired with dresses and skirts which is what I was looking for. I'm almost certain they will last longer than my topshop ones, you can see they're built better- They're currently making their debut outing on my feet as i'm going out for dinner, I never want to take them off.On a different note i'm off to London in the morning for a few days on a trip with my course, being from near London i'm far less excited about it than most people but it still should be fun! I'll let you know how it goes. Love and stuff X

Uni sweet uni,

It's not quite home sweet home, but it will do! 
I've been thinking about starting a new blog for a while now, but then I figured why not start where I left off. So here I am! A lot has changed since I last posted, no longer am I blogging from the comfort of my big double bed at home, the bed has been replaced with a much smaller version (and definitely a lot less comfortable) and i'm sitting at a desk cluttered with work, art materials and empty alcohol bottles. Real world. I have arrived (Probably not, but a big step closer than this time last year) I'm 5 months into an art and design course in Lancashire, and while my southern heart is suffering from the constant surrounding of Northern accents it's safe to say i'm enjoying myself-possibly too much at times, but that's what university is for! I'm keeping it short for now, but i promise this time i'll be back. Love and Stuff X 

Birthday celebrations

So, last weekend was my 18th Birthday, I'm officially an adult. I feel old. I had a really nice weekend and it was such a good opportunity to dress up; Friday night I hit Brighton with a few friends (It was my moral obligation, clubbing on your 18th is a must!) I took the chance to wear my black top with the mesh panel at the front again, it's so nice, but not for everyday wear, it's pretty revealing! I wanted to make it more casual than when i wore it in my last post paired with a pink pleated skirt, so I matched it with a black high waisted tube skirt and black wedges, then my burgundy Harrington over the top for some colour. It was cute, and such a fun night overall. Saturday night was my much anticipated Narnia themed party! I love the Lion the witch and the wardrobe books and films so when my mum suggested a Narnia party, how could I resist?! My mum and some other lovely people spent the entire day preparing and transforming my house, and I must say they did a wonderful job. It wasn't fancy dress (although my brother did dress up as Mr Tumness, but that was mainly out of choice...) which meant I could wear the lovely Lipsy dress my mum brought me. It was really comfy and the sequins didn't scratch at all which I find other sequin clothes do, and the low back looked really nice. Love and stuff x

Dressed for winter; ready for spring

I feel like I'm neglecting my page, I'm sorry! Everything's mega busy at the moment with school and just general life so I hardly have time to update. Seeing as it's March I'm living in hope of Spring, although I feel like a hope is all it's ever going to be at the moment- It's freezing! Luckily, this year I'm prepared. I spend practically every winter looking for a winter coat then in the end just give up as winter's nearly over by the time I find one that I like, I'm just not a massive layering fan. I just want summer! But this year, and brace your self people, this is a pretty big thing, I brought a coat! Ok, so it's not a big deal, but it is for me, it's really nice as well! I found it on ASOS and instantly fell a little bit in love, it's slightly over the top, but so perfect at the same time. It's full fur (fake obviously) and comes to  just above my knees with a cute as anything hood. It looks really nice with simple clothes, pretty and practical, what more could you want?! Love and stuff x 

SPARKLE N SHINE

Two weeks into the new year and here is my as promised new years outfit post. I went to a house party so I wanted to to be chilled out but kind of dressy at the same time, contradiction, I know, but here's the outcome of my mixed messages outfit. I got a gold sequin skirt for Christmas from H&M which is so beautiful, so that made it's first outing because every new year needs a bit of sparkle (or something equally cliche, but let's just focus on how nice the skirt is), I teamed it with a simple black top from Topshop with a leather look square on the front  to make it more casual and it was super comfy. Last but not least, the shoes, always the most important part of any outfit, and my new favourite pair, black Jeffrey Campbell lita boots. I'm currently attempting to stop myself drooling over the keyboard just thinking about them, they're amazing! They make me about 5 inches taller but the wedge at the front means they're easy to walk in, talk about the best of both worlds! Expect my next post to be a shoe one, I have three new pairs to show off, i'm in heaven over here. Hope everyone's new years have got off to a good start. Love and stuff x 

Happy new year

Happy new year you beautiful people! Hope everyone had fun filled new years, and aren't suffering too much as a consequence. I will post again soon, I promise. Expect a very, very excited new shoe post including the one and only and possible new love of my life, Jeffrey Campbell. Love and stuff x 

Charity shopping

 In true student style I have once again been raiding the charity shops, my thought process goes down the road of 'if it's from a charity shop I'm allowed to buy it no matter how poor I am'- it's for charity after all... Anyway, I honestly think the charity shops around where I live are some of the best, there's always nice clothes and they're so cheap, so it's a win win situation. The other day it was raining on my way home from college so I thought I would have a look in the shops while I waited for a lift home and ended up buying a beautiful new 'Dickies' check shirt, it's really thick and warm and just generally nice. I wore it out the other day when one of my friends had a Christmas meal for everyone (which was amazing by the way!) I wanted to dress nice, but obviously it was just a chilled thing so I wore a fitted black skirt and top tucked in and then threw my shirt over the top. It was really comfortable, I think this might be one of my favourite charity shop finds so far. Hope everyone is enjoying the festive season, Merry Christmas guys! Love and stuff x

Growing out and growing in take 2

So, not all that long ago I posted about 'dip-dye' which at the time was only just showing its self on the fashion scene. And now around half a year later it's everywhere, It's no longer a trend that's such high fashion seeing it anywhere other than the catwalk is unusual. Personally I like the trend, I think some people pull it off better than others and I think certain colours can work really well. Anyway, in the exact same way as in my last post about this I've found myself in the same position. Unintentionally, very on trend. I've died my hair so many times the last dye I used didn't react well to going over the bleach and the chlorine from swimming has made the bleach blonder. So here I have it. Dip-dye. Love and stuff x

Wishful thinking DIY style

 At some point in the summer I was given an old pair of jeans from a friend which I intended to turn into some seriously cool shorts; however, here we are well and truly in winter and they are still not finished. I've taken to wearing them half finished though, they looked sad just handing on my wall for months on end so down they came. I'm still hoping to finish them when I've brought more supplies, probably next summer when it's more appropriate weather for bare legs. So, here's what happened to create these bad boys: I cut the initial jeans into shorts (Seemed like the obvious first step...) then scrunched them into a ball tied together with elastic bands and dyed them with pink dye, I then frayed the bottoms and turned them up before starting the part which is still in the process of happening, I un-stitched part of the back pocket and started filling it with studs. It was going well, until I ran out of studs. But here they are anyway, still in the process of becoming the 'seriously cool shorts' I hoped for. Obviously, as anybody from England could probably guess I have not been wearing them out without tights, but for the sake of the pictures my house is definitely warm enough to brave the bare legs. Love and stuff x

Playing dress up

I rarely get the chance to dress up, but with a lot of my friends turning 18 this year it seems to becoming a more regular thing which I absolutely love! So a few of my friends had a joint 18th a few weekends back, everyone was dressed up and looked extremely beautiful and I took the chance to show off my new 'body' (is that what they're called, it sounds weird?! Think leotard and you're there...). It's extremely revealing but I think when paired with the right outfit it can look nice, without showing too much skin. Body-con skirt couldn't have worked, so I paired it with a pleated skirt, I felt slightly childish at first, I haven't worn pleats since primary school, but when put into perspective the mainly see through top definitely aged the outfit slightly. In an attempt to look slightly more sophisticated I parted my hair in the middle, hiding my undercut, but I'm not 100% about it still, I think I'm a side parting girl through and through. So here goes, I'm leaving you with a picture of me and best friend Flora (completely outshone by her beauty and stupidly long, skinny legs), I know it's not the best outfit picture but I'm sure you get the general idea. Love and Stuff x 

Rocking a band tee

If we're talking tees, chances are we're talking wolf, as they're one of my favourite things. But nope, today, we're talking band tees. They're always good for casual, paired with jeans, skirts, shorts, shirts over the top, anything goes. The only rule, in my opinion, is that you've actually heard of the band, liking them would be a bonus. Am I being a 'music snob' by thinking wearing a band top when you've never actually heard of the band is just pretentious, opinions please?! But anyway, I currently have a Hendrix one which I cut the sleeves off and a Ramones one courtesy of my brother's wardrobe clear out because who doesn't love hand me downs, and let's face it, they look better on me! My wardrobes also spilling out a couple of Beatles tops, the yellow submarine crop top from H&M a few seasons back is always a winner. All my band tees seem to be pretty old school, but I'm a sucker for old music. I have my eye on an amazing Bowie vest though and I cannot wait to sport my main mans face on my top! I'm gunna have to keep it short because I'm in desperate need of revising for my theory test tomorrow, wish me luck. So, band tees, supporting your favourite band or just a sucker for a fashion statement? Love and stuff x

Cutting edge

As most of you can probably tell I change my hair alot, it's been almost every colour imaginable, we're talking, red, purple, orange, blond, brown... Ok, so not every colour but a fair few, it's been long and short and now it's settled in as mid-length just below my shoulders. I've been putting off dying it again because I don't want it to be in bad condition again, so I became ridiculously bored with my average looking hair, hence my new arrival, the undercut. I would like to say it was a spurr of the moment, 'what's the worst that could happen' type of decision, but it's something I've been contemplating for a seriously long time. I was too worried about what was going to happen when I decided I wanted to grow it out, I'm still not sure, but I guess that's something I will worry about when I get bored of it (knowing me not too far in the future). But anyway, I'm so glad I finally plucked up the courage to have it cut, I love it. I can hide it if I want to which is always good and when I part my hair in the middle you can't even tell it's there. And it's really, really fun to stroke when it's short. A lot of people hate it but what do you guys think? Love and stuff x

By Becki Harvey- http://www.flickr.com/photos/beckiharvey/

Sucker for a sleeveless shirt

I am an absolute sucker for a shirt, any kind of shirt, there's just something about them, you can wear them with almost anything and there are so many different types. This summers main trend and quite possibly one of my favourite for a while, the sleeveless shirt. I have a burgundy one from topshop which I love and a check crop one which was a favourite find from ebay, but of course I'm always on the look out for new ones to add to my collection, so when I saw this man's shirt in a charity shop, I knew it was meant to be! It took a hell of a lot of sewing (I'm yet to learn the art of machining so it was all done by hand) but it was totally worth it. The shirt I brought was far too wide for me so I cut the sides and re-hemmed them, which made it more fitted and then, of course, I took the sleeves off! I love it, it has a really nice old fashioned collar on it which works so well with the buttoned up look. I wore it out the other night with high wasted shorts, I tied it so it was cropped even though I was going camping, but it was worth the cold. Apologies about the pictures, there from my webcam rather than camera. Love and stuff x

New season, new hat

 In the winter I blogged about my various woolly hats and beanies so it seems reasonable that I dedicate a post to my summer hat. So here it is. It's beautiful, maybe less practical than my winter collection as there isn't much sun for it to protect me from and I spend a large percentage of my time when i wear it chasing it around in the wind, but it's pretty so I can live with it. I had been searching everywhere for one since last summer, after my mumma had been pestering me to wear a hat in the sun and a baseball cap just wasn't cutting it anymore! But eventually I found this cute little one on the ASOS site, I've been trying to stop spending so much money shopping but, well, it's a necessity isn't it?! I've just got back from an amazing weekend down in Newquay at boardmasters festival and am eagerly awaiting packing off to onelove festival this weekend, I'm a barefoot festival girl at heart. I'm not sure if I can risk bringing my hat with me though, not sure i could live with myself if i lost it, I'm thinking just shorts, picture tops and bandannas. Oh, and I almost forgot, every girls summer essential, I have a braid! My friend does them, i had one last summer as well, I love the bright colours, and mine has a little heart bead at the bottom. I could ramble about my love for my braid forever so I'll just leave you with pictures, my hat paired with my button up dress also from ASOS (I felt like I should be in the film Madeline walking around yesterday) and of course, a picture of my braid. Love and stuff x

Dressing to the max(i)

 It's a cliche post title I know, but I couldn't help myself. I walked into my kitchen today and my mum looked at me and asked what I was wearing in a kind of quizzical yet disapproving way, I'm used to this kind of thing but this time I was slightly confused; normally it's because my skirts are too short but today I'm wearing a floor length skirt. Granted it may be that the skirt I'm wearing is one I borrowed from my nan for a play when I was in year six, but it's summer and maxi is on trend right now! I've been contemplating buying a maxi dress all year now but when I tried one on last summer I was told they were for older people and I couldn't pull one off. This may be the case, but I think a maxi skirt dressed in the right way can look just as good as anything shorter. I figured by pairing it with my cut up i love new york tee, it would look edgy and not too grown up. How are we feeling about floor length then, should we save it for the 'grown ups' or should we all save a place for one in our wardrobes? Love and stuff x

Summer's bright

So in my last post I mentioned all the neon jewellery that's filling the shops and fuelling my need for summer (anybody else from England will feel my pain) but it's not just the jewellery that's sporting florescent brights this season, designers seem to have gone all out, we're talking tie dye, coloured trousers, cardigans and dresses. It's pretty standard procedure and not exactly surprising that out comes the sun closely followed by the summer brights, cheering up your wardrobe with the empty promise of warmth (I'm sounding angry, but I just really need some sun!) But I do have to say, coloured trousers are a definite must have; whether we are talking the bright red or blue chinos as seen in Topshop or coloured jeans, there is just something edgy and fun about them. They're easy to wear and manage to somehow bridge the gap between casual and smart. Who knew?! Personally I can't pull of the chino look, I wish I could but it just doesn't work for me so I'm playing it safe with some coloured jeans. My favourite pair are topshop's 'pink' jeans, even though they're more burgundy than pink they're so simple and you can dress them up or down. They're great for when I'm in a rush and just want to shove on jeans and a top before running out the door but they also go amazingly with heels if I'm going out but I'm not in the mood for a dress. As much as I want to carry on writing I have a new camera so I'm off to play, but I've been busy with some fashion 'DIY' so i'll be posting it soon! Love and stuff x

Summers back and so am I

 Exams are over for me and summer is practically here, well it's here in that the florals and neon brights are all over the shops even if the weather is still miserable. So, I have brought out the summer dress, even if I am still having to wear it with tights, maybe it will coax the sun out from where ever it is hiding, it is June after all! I was out shopping yesterday and the highstreet is full of small, festival style jewellery, it's all so cute, which is perhaps why my mantra for summer bright bracelets is 'how many can you fit on your wrists before it becomes problematic.' The answer is a lot in case you were wondering. I'm just checking in today, hoping that somebody out there is still reading, but I will be posting more often, so look out for my updates on my favourite summer trends; I'm thinking vans with ruffle socks, shorts with aztec print zests and festival style jewellery. Love and stuff x