Indie Hits - Janine Basil

I meant to try and write monthly about one of my favourite Indie Brands, but I am not a disciplined blogger and I write when the mood takes me and when I have time and energy as my real life job as a carer for young people can leave me really drained, so I'm not even going to apologise, my theory is if you enjoy my blog you'll bear with me.

Anyhow I am a huge fan of indie brands, I like them for several reasons.  Firstly you are buying something that probably not everyone else has, secondly you are supporting someones dream and probably I find the customer service is usually 100 times better than with mainstream brands, I don't think you can underestimate the human touch.

Anyway this time (I was going to say month, but honestly who am I kidding?) I am featuring Janine Basil a amazing accessory maker.  I have only bought her hair accessories but I knowe she also does shoe clips which look amazing and hats.

My love affair started with this beautiful star headband that I bought for my niece's wedding.  It was the most expensive hair accessory I ever bought at the time = it still might be but I have worn this often and it is much loved.

I have worn this loads and the quality is really good and it remains in very good condition.

I tend to go for a space theme for some reason so a lot of my collection is space geek.

This solar system headband that is made in conjunction with Sugar and Vice is also a firm favourite.

As well as these I also own some really pretty glitter bow headbands and a pink Hello Kitty - esque bow and some pixelated cherries that I don't have a picture of for some reason but you can find here

I also have this lovely heart glitter headband but I think I would have been better with a different colour glitter as I think it blends into my hair a bit.and again for the life of me I can't find a picture where it shows  but here it is in it's glory on her site.

At the moment I am trying to decide which headband to get for my college reunion to go with the dress pictured, so if any of you lovely souls who read could help, please drop me a comment.

There are so many things I love on her site such as the fast food bows, the unicorns, the poison ivy glitter headbands and pop art and geek inspired accessories.


I am loving her shoe clips and these burger ones combine two of my favourite things food and accessories and could really brighten some plain shoes.

To be honest there are so many things I love on Janine Basil I could do about a hundred pictures as I think her style captures what I love: quirky, whimsical, fun and colourful.  So if you aren't familiar with her stuff please look. I will leave you with this dramatic fascinator that I intend to spend my retirement in.

Plus 40 Fabulous - The February Edition

I participate with a wonderful. stylish bunch of women in a Monthly blog event called Plus 40 fabulous, as despite what people think 40 does not mean you suddenly wish to dress in beige slacks and give up hope of ever being fashionable again, unless you count the over 50 renaissance fashion seems to be enjoying at the moment with Advanced age and JD Williams having a pretty stylish over 50 range, since when did style have a age????? Any how I digress, this months rather splendid theme is:  What makes me happy?

Not to be cliched I will start with the important stuff My Family.

I live with the Hub and a rather wonderful elderly Staffrador (we think she is Staff cross lab, although at her last vet visit they said there may be some Collie, so a mongrel but we prefer Staffrador)  called Madame Beyonce.  I have to say chilling with these two is my favourite thing and I am very grateful to have them both in my life,

I have also been blessed with a wonderful family, unfortunately I no longer have my Dad but I have my fantastic Mum who is my biggest cheerleader, help, support and I am so lucky to have her.  I also have a pretty fab big brother who is big support and help to us all.  Here they are at my nieces wedding.

Friends

I am also blessed with some understanding friends as I work long hours as a carer and often am not about at weekends or when they are off, but they are always there.

And although I have not seen them all together in some time one of the things I am really looking forward to this year is my college reunion with these guys and recreating this photo,

Through Blogging I have also made an amazing group of virtual friends and one of my aims this year is try and see them a bit more in the flesh.

My Home town.

I live in Deal and although as a teenager I didn't appreciate it. referring to it as the seaside town they forgot to even open.  As a adult I bloody love the place even if it is full of expensive coffee shops and not much else it is a place of great beauty and in my opinion a bloody great place to live.

From The Telegraph

One of our beautiful side streets

Eating Out

I love good food and if I can eat out all the better.  Recently I ate a really good Vietnamese after an appointment with the eye geeks in London - that made me very happy.

Music

 I will always love Pulp, David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Saint Etienne, Camera Obscura, girl bands, Amy Winehouse and the Foo Fighters.  A bit eclectic I know and I am huge Brit Pop fan and love interesting covers at the moment Postmodern Jukebox is a fave.

Books.

I have recently got back into reading and am on track for my two books a month target.  So far this year I have read Jojo Moyes, Before You and After You which I highly recommend.  A forgettable easy read called The Angel Tree and at the moment I am reading The Diary of a Teenage Girl, which is set in 70's San Fransisco which so far I am enjoying.

Authors I love are Maggie O'Farrell, Lisa Jewell and Sarra Manning, especially her new book Save the last dance,

Then there is clothes and accessories my tastes veer I guess to the quirky and at the moment I love the 60's with my latest purchase being this amazing Heart of Haute dress.

I also love prints and have several print dresses this Gnome dress is my oldest but always makes me happy, as does the fox print.

I am also having a bit of a love affair with novelty bags and the skinnydip ones are just amazing, I have just got my hands on this Ray gun bag, which my work mates declared hideous but zero effs given here.

There are other things such as Crown and Glory and Janine Basil.  TV shows like the Big Bang Theory. Bojack Horseman, Gold Rush and House of Cards that make me smile but these are the main.

Please read what is making everyone else happy and if you feel inclined tell me what is making you happy,

Cathy: http://www.southernyacht.blogspot.co.uk/
Christy: http://www.sprintingwithscissors.blogspot.co.uk/
Daisy: http://daisysays.co.uk
Kate: https://wearingmywardrobein2016.wordpress.com
Kath: https://fatheffalump.wordpress.com
Leah: http://www.justmeleah.co.uk
Lee: http://www.pinkybellesshed.co.uk/
Lisa: http://www.kitandkoboodle75.blogspot.co.uk/
Mookie: http://www.mookieslife.com/
Nikki :http://www.nattynikki.com/
Perelandra: http://www.pamperandcurves.com/
Sarah: http://www.plussizeproud.co.uk
Steph: http://www.misskittenheel.com
Yvonne: http://woosangwashere.blogspot.com

What a Girl Wants?

Today I was scrolling through my face book feed when a lady working as a buyer for a company who is re branding their "Curve" range, posed the question:  "What would I like to see in their plus size range?"  I had a little think as you do, of course I don't want butterflies, hanky hems and those crappy embellishments, because who does? I am fat, I may put too much food in my mouth but I'm not blind and I haven't had a fashion bypass.
Then I felt aggravated in the question, not this ladies fault she is just doing research, but let me explain why, I felt so irritated.  I just think it is a non question really to me it makes perfect sense yes I am fat but I am a regular person.  So here's the thing if you have a decent straigt size range then I am probably gonna want to buy it, if it is a bit rubbish I probably don't so I just want the same sort of things as your average woman whatever that may mean.
I want to be treated well as a customer I want to be able to go in a shop have some choice, try things on, not be relegated to two rails groaning with tunics and polyester black trousers at the back of the store, yes New Look ,when you actually bothered to stock Inspire near me I am looking at you.  Although I suppose there is a worse version where I am barred from entering your hallowed store in person and must shop on the internet and I must say if you do this I am loathe to give you my money as if you treating my wonderful self as a dirty secret, you don't deserve my money, honey.
I also want you to treat my sisters who are bigger than the acceptable face of fat which seems to be size 24 with a bit of respect and stock their size too. whilst we're at it.
So basically what I think is what I want is what your average woman wants and the same respect as your average customer.  It's not rocket science, is it

Plus 40 Fabulous - The Style Council - 0-20.

For this month's Plus 40 fabulous Lee has picked the theme how the influences from our childhood and teens influence our choices today?

Firstly my style is probably eclectic and so are my influences.  My early influences were from old films I used to devour old films on the TV and thought that most of the women in them looked amazing, especially their clothes.  I also had a book of film that was lying around the house and I used to pour over the pictures and wanted to be as glamourous when I grew up.  I also loved Blondie and thought she was the coolest in her white dress looking like she controlled the boys at the back on the front cover of parallel lines.

So from about 0 to 7 my influences were

Influences 7 to 11

My next influences were sassy. naughty girls with big hair.  I really wanted to be Siobhan from Bananarama or Marmalade Atkins.  I didn't do big hair cos my parents cut mine about this time and I didn't know about backcombing, but I did rock fake wayfarers, denim blouson style jackets and oversize T shirts, oh and those fake cheerleader dresses.

Influences 12 - 16.

My next influences I supposd mainly came from John Hughes films, I was sort of obsessed with Andie from Pretty in Pink and dyed my hair red wanting to be her, I also adopted hats, vintage clothes when I could get them to fit and flowery dresses/  I also identified with Ally Sheedy's character from The Breakfast Club, was in love with Tiffany's hair.  I also was a bit of a hippy and would stop around in tassled skirts from the local Indian shop, Karma, anything crochet , floaty and used to go in Oxfam and look longingly at 70's boots knowing they would never fit my chunky calves.  My main influences in this look were probably Melanie and Stevie Nicks.

Influences 16 to 20

I think these have the biggest influences on my dress sense now as I was a Riot Grrl in Doc Marten's and flowery dresses which morphed into Brit Pop and of these it was the retro, nostalgia of Pulp especially in the technicolor Babies video that influenced my style most and I loved everything about how Drew Barrymore looked, even modelling my hair on her at the time and I adored Edie Sedgwick especially in leopard print. 

Me rocking Drew hair

So there you have it a whistle stop tour of my style influences.  They all influence my style now but I guess the styles I was into from 16 upwards probably does the most still, as I still wear fake fur and leopard print, love Peter Pan collars and print frocks (in fact I would go as far to say this is my signature look) Hair clips and skinny logo Tee's are still my jam.  

Yes new influences creep in but I think the essence of me is tied up in these styles.  I am happy that I have had great style icons and whilst they might not be necessarily the most cutting edge or badass, I am happy and glad I have had them in my life.  I suppose the only thing I lament is I never had a fat girl to look up to, never knew that fat could be pretty, stylish and beautiful till I was past my youth and spent so long feeling well fat in not a good way.  I hope in 20 years when other women are doing this, that perhaps fat, stylish women will make their lists.

There are lots of other fabulous 40 plus bloggers taking part in this, please check out their posts:

Cathy: http://www.southernyacht.blogspot.co.uk/
Christy: http://www.sprintingwithscissors.blogspot.co.uk/
Daisy: http://daisysays.co.uk
Kath: https://fatheffalump.wordpress.com
Kellie: http://www.bigfashionista.co.uk/
Leah: http://www.justmeleah.co.uk
Lee: http://www.pinkybellesshed.co.uk/
Lisa: http://www.kitandkoboodle75.blogspot.co.uk/
Mookie: http://www.mookieslife.com/
Nikki: http://www.nattynikki.com/
Perelandra: http://www.pamperandcurves.com/
Sarah: http://www.plussizeproud.co.uk
Steph: http://www.misskittenheel.com
Yvonne: http://woosangwashere.blogspot.com

Vegas 2015- The what I wore edition. (Part 1)

At the end of the year I was lucky enough to go to Vegas for my 13th Wedding Anniversary.  I was going to write about it whilst it was all still fresh and as sparkly as the neon adorned skyline. However, what can I say life struck I was pretty much straight back to work with a killer cold and there was Christmas.  Basically life was kicking my arse.

So here is a what I wore post which is basically print dresses and headbands from Janine Basil.

Day 1

My red Robot dress came out to play on landing but in honesty after a 11 hour flight we were just grabbing a pizza then heading for a snooze.

Day 2.

Conjunctivitis struck so I am in glasses, but I tried a kinda librarian look with a headband my Hell Bunny dress, black tights bizarrely the 100 denier Primark ones in XL fit but the 80 denier ones don't and I cannot find the legendary plus size Primark tights near me.  The shoes came from Top Shop but I got them from E bay for a bargain £2.99.  We may have indulged in drinks on the big wheel

Day 3

I wore my very old Galaxy Print Get Cutie dress with leggings and my Janine Basil Solar system headband, which I adore.  I may have indulged in the R2D2 handbag.

Day 3

My eyes were well enough to wear contacts again.  Yeay!!!!  This was the day the Hub went out to the desert to shoot guns, I watched and we went on allegedly the world's biggest monster truck.  I wore my Ninja turtles Vampire Bunny Dress, Primark Cardie and Leggings.

Day 4

So this was the dress that got the most compliments, people seemed to really love the Lady Voluptuous lip print Phoebe, which I teamed with my red glitter heart Bete noir necklace that says Mrs Jones and Red flat Mel shoes with a bow I picked up a few years ago in a sale,  I am also wearing the glitter heart headband in red from Janine Basil.  I felt like a Cartoon character and loved it.  I must say sizing down to the 20 in the Phoebe alleviated the sizing problems I had with my first one.  

This day was my day and we hung out in old Vegas and went to the neon graveyard.

Day 5

I had this dress made by someone, and it is based on a Get Cutie dress, I chose the elephant fabric from Fabricyard and the tiger necklace is one I won from Snixy swoons do check them out.  

I am going to leave it here and show you the rest of my outfits at a later in the week

16 in 16

Happy New Year you lovely lot.  Years ago I used to do resolutions usually diet, join slimming world, the gym yada yada ya.........  Usually these would be broken by the 14th of January if I was lucky I would feel bad, beat myself up about it, feel bad a bir more, then move on with a nagging sense of failure.  However, I like goals something to aim for, so when Sophie over at Busy Little Fee suggested 16 things to achieve in 2016 I was in, so I have set myself some goals for the year and if your super lucky I might update you.

1/ Read 24 Books
I used to be a proper bookworm with 2 books on the go most of the time, but after my Dad died I found it hard to read.  I don't know if it was because he was a bookworm too and a lot of the time we spent together was either reading or visiting bookshops.  However, 2 books a month seem nice and achievable.

2/Save for a Holiday.
Last year I was lucky enough to go on a brilliant holiday to Las Vegas and we would love to go back or go to South Korea.  Now whilst I know I won't be able to save all of it in a year I would love to manage to put a decent sum aside for this to make a start.

3/  Cook more.
I used to cook a lot and really enjoy it.  Lately I seem to have lost my mojo this might be a case of my husband going veggie and his shifts mean he is not home for dinner a lot.  So more and more take away and ready meals are featuring more which is less than ideal.  So i want to get back to cooking nutritious, simple and tasty meals.

4/  Aim for Promotion
I have been in a bit of a stale situation at the start of last year, treading water not really progressing or feeling happy and fulfilled.  I now am working for a great company and feel like maybe I am ready to make the next step.

5/ Update Blog
I am a bit hit and miss with this little space of mine but I am going to try and update once a week at a minimum.

6/Sort out Wardrobe
My clothes are crazy i have 3 bin bags I need to sort through from when I moved, it is past time I need to sort that shit out so I know exactly what I have, want and need,

7/ Buy More Indie Brands
None of the big players on the plus scene really scream to me and at times their messages are less than body positive.  So when I adorn my fat little body I will look further afield and maybe this will mean buying less nut at least what I buy will make my heart sing.

8/  Spend less time on Social Media
Social Media is great and I have met some fantastic, rad babes through it.  However, I am letting it become a time sucker spending ages on it looking at life rather than getting on and living it a bit more.

9/  Visit Harry Potter Studios
I have always wanted to go to the Harry Potter Studio Tour, as I loved the books and need to go and indulge my inner witch.

10/  Have a Ritzy Afternoon Tea
I have always fancied a lovely super indulgent Afternoon Tea at a Ritzy Hotel, maybe even the Ritz so this is the year I will do it.

11/Dedicate More Me Time
I used to love indulging in facepacks or lovely bubble baths but for some reason this has gone out the window.  So I am going to dedicate one night a week for me time to have a face pack, do my nails and make me treat myself like a princess.  As in the words of Ru paul; "If you can't love yourself, how the hell you gonna love someone else?"

12/  Take More Pictures
For year I avoided the camera which meant I didn't take a lot of pictures, I want to take more pictures so I have evidence on a mean red day of all the good stuff.

13/  Go back to Zumba
I used to love going to Zumba, the movement made feel good and alive.  Then I moved and stopped going, I moved back and still didn't return.  It's time.

14/  Write More
I got into the idea of blogging as I love to write and I wanted a outlet for that.  I have tried writing a book for years, now I don't want to challenge myself to finish that book but I want to get back into the habit of keeping a creative writing journal.

15/  Go to One of The Plus Fashion Events
I always want to go to these but I never get there so this year I need to go to at least one.

16/ Be More Brave
Whilst most people would say I am confident I actually think I am quite shy.  There are several things I would like to do such as: join a local book club and I don't ever get there as I think I won't know anyone and they all not talk to me. Really I need to just do it and if this happens so what, just stick it in the fuck it bucket at least I tried.

So there are my goals, do you do goals or resolutions?  I know other bloggers have done this so do check them out too.

Nikki

Sophie

Daisy

Charli

Kerry-Ann

Tanya

Katya

Kitty

Katt

Lucy

Cathy

Becky

Becky

Katt

Charlene

Normal Service Will Resume

 

Merry Christmas Duckies, apologies for the lack of posts on this my little corner of the internet but I had a yucky throat infection, went on holiday then returned to be blindsided with a cold/flu virus that has virtually knocked me off my feet and made the most mundane jobs feel like climbing Everest - really you should see my house.  However, rest assured in the new year I will be back like Arnold Schwarzenegger sharing my Indie Hits, holiday which involves some rather nice outfits, even if I do say so myself, food reviews and whatever adventures I go on as we all know I am a little random.

I hope your Christmases are all what you want them to be and if it's not don't beat yourself up, it is just one day.  I myself will be working and the Hub is nursing a rather nasty case of Man Flu.  Anyhow whatever your day is I hope it brings you joy.

I have barely been festive this year but I did have a work Christmas meal that I made a bit of a effort for.  I think despite feeling deathly I made a pretty good elf, helped by Primark and Crown and Glory.

And with that I will wish you a Merry Christmas x