Outfit: Vintage Red

I’ve been a fan of fashion since a very young age. I wasn’t always good at it – oh no. This post very much proves that!! But I was a fan all the same, always trying to sneak a peak at my Nana’s Marie Claire magazines, fascinated by all the stunning gowns and glossy photography. In those early days though, ‘fashion’ meant fitting in, to me. It meant wearing the same thing everyone else was, which unfortunately, due to a lot of my fashion forming years falling in the 90s, started with brand named sportswear (oh the trauma of not having the ‘right’ trainers!!) and migrated to trying your damnedest to look like either Cher from Clueless or your favourite Spice Girl. Thankfully, by the time I’d reached my 20s I’d realised you didn’t have to look like everyone else to look good and it was during this time I found a niche – Vintage.

My love of Vintage was born just as I’d started to understand that fashion could be less about looking like a clone and more about looking like yourself – it was a way to express your personality and during this time I really started to explore clothes that I felt gave me an identity. I had long held a love for 50s and 60 movies and icons like Audrey and Marilyn so I guess it was a natural attraction (though admittedly it was 80s slouch boots that first drew me into vintage stores…) and I felt that these retro styles represented just what I wanted – they were feminine and pretty enough to look ‘nice’ rather than making too bold a statement, but they were just that little bit different and made me feel like I had my own style. Sadly though, that teenage desire to fit in meant that the ability to smugly say, ‘Thanks, it’s vintage!‘ often overruled my ability to judge whether or not something actually suited me, so most of my purchases from those days have long since found themselves on eBay or in a charity shop pile!

Some have stood the test of time though – like this beautiful sundress, which was ironically one of my earliest purchases! At the time I bought it, over 10 years ago now, it wasn’t remotely similar to anything that would be considered stylish and so it rarely got worn – the look of the time was very casual, and this just felt too dressy, almost a special occasion kind of dress, which is normally how it got worn when I did feel brave enough to wear it. Now at the grand old age of 35 I have finally learned not to give a crap about how dressy I look, or whether what I’m wearing is ‘cool’ so the dress is finally getting the wear it deserves! Of course it helps that strappy sundresses have had a bit of a resurgence in popularity this year, not that I’ll let that be a factor – now that this beauty has had it’s potential realised I won’t be letting it fester in the back of the wardrobe any longer!

Love,

In this post: Sundress, Vintage (Similar) – Sandals, New Look (Similar) – Tassel Earrings, Dorothy Perkins (Similar)

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