OOTD - Oriental

I bought this amazing Topshop kimono-inspired piece ages ago, and have been trying to find the perfect outfit to pair with it... I think finally I have come up with something!

The lovely deep rich plum floral pattern dotted with surprising mustard accents is beautiful but very hard to pair with anything that's not a plain, nude or muted colour. However, this little speckled green jersey dress, also from Topshop but more recent, picks up the luscious colours perfectly.

My fox-head belt is my favourite accessory in the world; it's from Urban Outfitters.

My shoes are by Mel - I'd been looking for a flatform style shoe with an ankle strap forever, and when I came across these I had to have them! I love shoes with little thin ankle straps; they just always look so feminine and elongate the leg. These particular ones are also really comfortable thanks to the moulded rubber material they're made from, and they're not too heavy so are a breeze to walk in.

My friend Arrti is coming to visit from Portobello today and we're going to have a proper tea party with some old chintzy china that I found for £5 in a second-hand shop a few days ago, which shall be very lovely indeed! Hopefully this outfit will do the event justice...

Emily x

OOTD - Vaudeville & Burlesque

Hi guys!

This is the first of (hopefully) many ootd posts you'll see on my blog.
In Edinburgh today it's reverted back to the standard grey/rainy weather, so I thought I'd brighten things up with some spring florals in the form of this wonderful Vaudeville & Burlesque dress!

I have to admit that this dress was a bit of a cheeky steal... In my local branch of Urban Outfitters all of  these dresses happened to have been labelled wrongly with a price of £10, instead of their RRP £85! I didn't realise this until after I got home and looked up the brand, having never heard of them before. I did feel a little bad, but getting a beautiful, quality dress for nearly 1/10th of the price it should have been was pretty amazing luck.

I ended up pairing the dress with the Gerard Darel jacket I found at Emmaus, which I wrote about in my previous post.

Apologies for the slightly blurred image - I still don't have a tripod at my flat and so had to make do with some wobbly books and a make-up palette to prop up my camera.

My shoes are Topshop, they're not on the website anymore however you can find similar ones here.

There's no jewellery in this look because I haven't managed to cart any over from home to my new flat yet.. *sigh* However, I do think the dress really speaks for itself.

Anyway, off to splash about in the rain!

Emily x

Thrifting and Vintage Cupcakes in Uppermill

It was my Nana's eightieth birthday last weekend and so all the family travelled to a little village called Uppermill (near Manchester, England) in order to celebrate with her.
It's a teeny-tiny little village which used to be incredibly quiet.. however recently it's begun to pick up in a big way, with all sorts of little vintage cafes and second-hand/charity shops in which you can always find some amazing things!

One amazing find over the weekend was a place called The Vintage Cupcake Kitchen, which is slap-bang on Uppermill high-street. It is exquisitely decorated with great attention to detail; a real delight to sit inside.

The teacups and cutlery were all unique and mismatched, as was the furniture, which gave a feeling of intimacy and homeliness. The staff were really friendly too, and didn't mind us sitting and chatting for ages!

After a pot of lovely sweet tea, we had a nosey around some of the local charity shops.The shop I was most impressed with was the local Emmaus Boutique, which you can read more about here.

It was the first time I had visited this particular Emmaus shop, having fallen in love with all of the second-hand furniture being sold in the Mossley branch. I was instantly impressed with the layout of the little shop, it felt very artsy and gave the impression that it was hiding little gems, which it was! 

I found this lovely woolen 'Pablo' by Gerard Darel jacket just as I was about to leave, and I'm so glad I spotted it! It's a gorgeous warm tan colour which is extremely flattering, unlike some of the cooler mink jackets which sadly never seem to suit my colouring. It's really soft and cozy, but not too heavy which is great for the crazy Edinburgh weather we're experiencing at the moment, and it was only £6! Happy days. It will definitely be featured in an OOTD very soon. 

I have always been a fan of charity shops and I think they are the unsung heroes of the stylish masses, however becoming a student has definitely reinforced the value of money and so I'm constantly on the lookout for great little shops like this. If you know of any in the Edinburgh area, let me know!

Emily x

You can find The Vintage Cupcake Kitchen on Facebook here.

Birdbones and Blouses

Hi guys!

I'm Emily.
I'm 18, an English/Scottish literature student, a model (kind of) and a part-time worker at Topshop.

I've just finished my first year of university and am currently attempting to adjust to independent life in the wonderful city that is Edinburgh.
Having just moved into my first flat in one of the old townhouses of the city, I thought I should start a blog and document the hilarious failures and joyous successes of my daily life whilst finding my feet in the big bad world of reality.

Within the bumbling beginnings of this blog you should hope to see/read about:
Daily flat life with my amazingly quirky flatmates and friends, OOTDs and style posts, recipe ideas, art, music, film and whatever else interests me at the time, to be honest.

Hope to see you around!
Emily x