Busting five knots, wind whipping out my coat

In an unexpected turn of events, I attended the Southampton Boat Show on Friday. IT WAS EXCELLENT. 

I've had a soft spot for boats since I went on a boating holiday down the Thames as a kid, with my friend Kate and her family. Actually scrap that, it started way before that, there is a super adorable picture of me  as a toddler, with my big brother, pretending to steer my mum and dad's friend's boat. They had a huge house that backed on to the river in Caversham and to this day that is one of my 'dream houses'. Imagine, keeping your own boat in the river equivalent of a garage. One day I got carried away 'play steering' and it turned out I was steering the motherfucking boat yo! Back to the boating holiday - I loved when we would get to a lock and it would be action stations. We even made up a song to the theme of 'Rosie and Jim' - basically just replace those names with 'Lucy and Kate' and the put Martin and 'laine in there somewhere, oh and the KING'S FUSILIER, as that was the boat name. So cool. The only bad thing was when we got super-pooped on by a bird. But thatcould have happened on dry land too.

Now I take any opportunity to get on a boat. One of my favourite times from holiday last year was the one-day cruise we did around Cyprus. Ah yes, I would get on very well on one of those boats with a sun deck. Or a speed boat. So the long haired animals could sit along the sides and let their ears blow in the wind. I digress... YES, A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME. 

Almost as much as I like the idea of having a pleasure cruiser, a 5-man staff in tight whites and magnums of champagne on ice, there is one more shallow thing I like about the idea of sailing on the deep - the clothes of course! I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times, I will always dress to the theme. So to the boat show I wore this boat-neck, nautical striped number from one of the thrift store fill-a-bags. I also wore my captain's jacket (the navy M&S one from the previous post). I wore plain old an ankle boots there. I had got this right, all of the fellow show attendees were wearing tan footwear but there was an abundance of deck shoes! I can turn anything in to a shopping expedition, so I bought the best cheapest pair I could find (well, my boots were rubbing too...)

The top is made of a heavy material and is quite big, so I probably look as fat as a sea cow in it, but it is super comfy to wear, and I actually think it does look pretty cool with a leather mini skirt.

bad medicine

What can I say, its an enormous tie dye t-shirt, with two hideous transfers of Bon Jovi on it. From a charity shop in Weymouth. Shit blog photography.

I know my life would look alright if I could see it on the silver screen

Haven't blogged anything for ages, been wearing the same shit all the time because the weather is basically still wintery. Going for comfort, today I wore this men's baseball top with a print of James Dean from the film 'Giant' on it. It was £1.25 from my old Sue Ryder shop, purchased on one of my few visits back there since I left.

I love baseball tops; I've held on to some great 1970s ones of my parents that I will have to blog.

sequins, shoulder pads and smugness

I've had this top for a fair few months now but always chickened out of wearing it. Then that bloody sequinned t-shirt was in H&M and mine didn't seem so special anymore but HAHA, mine was a fiver from the St Francis  Charity Shop in Upminster.I thought it was appropriate for New Years as it is rather festive and blingy and good for dressing up jeans, which are not my strong point, which means the whole smart/casual look sort of evades me. I'm usually either dressed like a teenage boy or trussed up like a teen prostitute. I'm hoping I pulled it off though.

I went back again more recently to the St Francis shop and managed to buy my secret santa from there too; I think it might be my favourite charity shop in Upminster, either that or the RSPCA one. Both have great prices and amazing stock. At Christmas, St Francis' had a whole circular hanging rail of VELOUR! How I managed to not buy anything from it is baffling. Although the same day I got this sequinned top I did get a beautiful blue velvet skirt from the Sue Ryder shop in Upminster too. I have worn it a couple of times but have not had a chance to photograph but it must be added asap. Happy New Year yaddayaddayadda....

happy death day to you

as today was the Mexican 'Day of the dead' or Dia de los muertos, I would like to show off my little calaveras brooches from Beyond Retro...

these guys co-ordinate

 

and this guy is a bit of an odd one out but he is drinking a beer and wearing a stetson, I HAD TO HAVE HIM. Yes, I did also wear a t-shirt with a skull-with-a-quiff on it today, its my favourite. The pics of the brooches aren't great because it was so hard to get an up close detailed shot without glare, the Beyond Retro blog has this for a better idea. Gotta catch 'em all.

scary kids scaring kids

Part of a pointless death rattle from this blog.... my Halloween t-shirt from a charity shop in Worcester Park when I went at the start of the summer, £4. Love the colours.

 I also thought this nail varnish was worth a mention, it's Estee Lauder 'Wicked Green'.

losing in front of your home crowd

what a fantastic long weekend! Went back to my home town of Reading for four days, a visit which coincided with the annual Reading Festival, which I didn't go to, and haven't been to since 2007. I had a good run of it from 2002-2007 but it is not the same kind of festival (it used to be called Reading Rock festival...) and the line-up and culture of it on the whole doesn't appeal in the same way. I don't rule out ever going again, and I have some fantatic memories, especially of the earlier years when we would camp in a huge group, but now everyone is old and coupled off and gone their separate ways and it just wouldn't be the same.

In homage to the festivities though, I did wear this t-shirt to go and watch the final night's coverage at a friend's house:



I picked this up from the charity shop when I worked there. I was five in 1991 so sadly I wasn't there but I wish I had been there to see Iggy Pop headline on Friday. Notice how low down in the bill both Nirvana and Blur are? The following year was the notorious Nirvana at Reading performance. This t-shirt is a little bit of history and 20 years old this weekend!

appetite for reduction

this t-shirt was only £2.99 in Barnados in Woodley Precinct. My shoes were 20 times that price so it all evens out, yeah....?

no man is an island

One of my favourite t-shirts was £3 from the men's section in River Island, it looks like this :


I used to work in River Island (my life story should be called 'Misadventures in retail') and therefore I know more than anyone that really it is a chav shop. All the chav kids I had to stop from stealing the big bling earrings are testament to that. But it does have some real treats and some things which can be de-chaved. Sat in on a Friday night I found these River Island men's t-shirts which I think are ripe from a woman to make right.


High street aside, I have bought some FANTASTIC things from my charity shop lately, including a genuine 'made in the USA' suede yeehah jacket and pretty pink cake stand. Also bought a fab black velour dress from the Second Hand Clothes Shop in the Precinct where my shop is for £3.50 and it is a beaut. I know black velour is on the way out but you can't quibble this bitch. Will blog them asap

should I keep these cheap boots?

I finally made it in to Reading to return the shirts I bought the bf for Christmas and walked away with two pairs of boots. WHY can I only buy footwear in grous of two or three, not just a pair at a time? Added to the boots I got from Camden on Sunday that is three pairs this week. Despair. However, I need help deciding if I should keep these. Pair number one:


Pros: Have wanted boots like these since 2008 when I worked on Kurt Geiger and mega expensive mega lush ones came in. They have a high platform heel which makes them comfy. They give me the required height to wear these Alice Cooper slashed leggings which my legs may or may not be too porky for. They were only £12.50

Cons: Have wanted boots like this since 2008 = not hot anymore! I may break my neck in them. They are pleather, perhaps a bit too cheap looking?


Pair number 2:


Sure they're pretty hideous but they don't look that bad in real life, were only £11 and sometimes you need cheap boots so that you don't destroy your precious expensive boots. And for good measure, here are the Camden boots, £15:

asos eat your heart out

A few weeks back I posted a picture of my beloved 'Alice Cooper Loves It' t-shirt from the label WornBy. I had never heard of the label before I bought it, but in Camden yesterday they had a few on sale in the Proud Galleries. Significantly more expensive than mine at £30, although mine is obviously old stock, but I gotta say I just really love the brand idea. Here are some of my favourites.

£35

Falling skulls, as worn by Alice Cooper, £24.50


Couldn't find a picture of the actual WornBy copy of the Oscar Wilde tee, but this is the one it was based on.

alice cooper and the christmas cardigan

a potent combination yo? I got this cardigan from my shop yesterday, Wendy and Caroline picked it out for me, they know me so well. IF ONLY I hadn't let that old man buy the christmas kitten brooch I would be in tacky christmas attire heaven. And this t-shirt is something I bought for myself while Christmas shopping, how decadent. I have wanted an Alice Cooper t-shirt for aaages but even better this is a replica of a t-shirt worn in 1979 by Chris Stein from one of my hero bands, Blondie. It was well and truely made for me, thank you TK Maxx men's section for £12.99.