Pretty Peacock

Hi girls, I know this blog of mine has been lacking a pulse and been, well rather dead for the past few days, and yes you've guessed it once again I've experienced a spot of techno drama, if not techno lock down. Have I mentioned how I cannot wait to get my laptop? Oh yeah I have about a billion times already. This computer of mine can then go and RIP.
As I pen this post there's flames coming out of the keyboard due to the insane speed of which I'm typing, because this computer is so unpredictable I can't take for granted how long it will function for. And I really, really , REALLY am so eager and excited to feature the new Pearl Lowe collection for fashion budget chain Peacocks...don't allow that word 'budget' fool you. Peacocks is on fire right now,their summer pieces are drool worhty and have you checked out their shoes? Whoa, the attention to detail is mighty impressive hence why I feel compelled to bag them all.




board by prettyneons




There's been many a 'vintage' collection in all the highstreet stores, however very few capture the essence and magic of vintage (...if your a vintage junkie like moi your understand what I mean when I use the term magic , no?),with most attempts lacking soul and nothing more than an insult to genuine vintage.
But hold your horses vintage lurrvers as the Pearl Lowe collection is one not to be dismissed as yet another poor quality vintage failure.No, no, no as this vintage inspired collection is very very authentic indeed, the fabrics, the prints the colour way all those little minor yet major important details that can make or break vintage inspired collections.
Peacocks have quite simply blown all other summer vintage collections straight out the water.As this collection could easily sit amongst original vintage gems,and spotting the difference would prove rather challenging.
I'm lucky enough to of got my paws on one of these beautiful Pearl Lowe frocks,and the garments look even better in the flesh:perfect for those laid back summer picnics, making daisychains and day dreaming.

Not Stepping into Summer

Sigh. Now I know I really shouldn't be sighing today, for the sun is out tis all good or at least it would be if I had a pair of summer shoes.
Today I've noticed many a summer wedge, peep toe and the humble clog (...it never became extinct so this fuss about the clogs 'return' is baffling moi)parading up and down the highstreet toes (good and verrry bad) all on display. And honestly hands up I'm feeling ever so slightly envious of other girls (noooo not toes, I do not have toe envy) summer footwear.
I've been disorganized in the footwear department,clinging onto my black studded ankle boots in denial that summer has indeed arrived:my feet are sweating it out in these leather boots, my toes gasping for air and the feel of cold grass it's blatantly obvious I can no longer drag my poor feet around in denial.It's time to invest in a pair of summer shoes, I'm not going to lie I utterly detest shopping for summer footwear. Why? Well because the weather is far from reliable, guaranteed soon as I depart from the shoe shop with my new box of shoes, it will rain, piss down and that's the end of our great(?) British summer, a whole oohh 48 hours.
And I begin to regret wasting my money,I should have just purchased a pair of cheap and cheerful flip flops...these are such pesky clumsy things though aren't they?
The last time I recall wearing flip flops, it was a nightmare experience.The back of the flipflop flicking sand up my leg, tripping over my own foot (on several occasions), tripping up the stairs, falling down the stairs before finally waving goodbye as I- accidentally -sort -of- on -purpose lost them in the sea.Just the word flipflop sends shivers down my spine and my toes curl up in fear.
Needless to say I'm much more a winter footwear girl.




board by prettyneons




However ankle boots just won't cut it.It's bloody hawwwt out there, I need to put my faith into sandals and take a break from boots (tear rolls down my face).
Now where to begin? Hmmm I'm not a huge fan of over the top cut out strap sandals, they look good, but just aren't practical for a number of reasons-feet slide around too much in them ,(I'm only a size four, my feet have recently shrunk along with my height no doubt?)my little toe pokes out (my little toe has a mind of it's own)and when my feet burn I'm left with rather fetching (?)striped suntan tattoo's.
Next summer foot wear option the mighty clog.Two summers ago I lived in clogs, I absolutely adored my small collection of clogs. Until one day, when out having a picnic I fell over and fell into an enormous rabbit hole.Now I have clog phobia, a symptom that has no effective treatment.
Guess that narrows my options down , so the casual wedge sandal it shall most likely be... well that or the glitter jelly sandal from primary school days!

Pencil Full Of Lead

Yep once again I've pinched lyrics for my post title this time it's from Paolo Nutini as this song is perfect to some up today's events. I've been sat at my desk since 7am creating moodboards,creating colourways,sampling materials and drawing up a few possible print and embroidery designs. Sometimes drawing/designing etc can be a bit hit or miss, I've stared at my wall for hours before achieving nothing,taking my frustration out on pencils by biting or snapping them in half (perhaps I should consider anger management!?).
However none of the above occurred today, hoorrray! As I'm beginning to run out of pencils, for today has been very productive I've consumed ridiculous amounts of hot chocolate and various savoury chemical enhanced potato snacks...three bags of Burts, but hey who's counting?
And finally as I reach my tenth bag of crisps,I've completed five large sheets of design research/ print designs and placed an order for a set of print pigments.
Now I need to concentrate on scale, composition and general placement in between juggling my other job...someone pass the redbull.
Anywho's here's a few snap shots my art work which will now be developed into fashion prints...














all artwork: by prettyneons


...my theme is a combination of both Mexican culture (hence the Mexican sugar skull designs)folklore and my fascination with antique skeleton keys,of which I've collected hundreds of photographs.
Enough of that. How did your Wednesday go girliiiies?
I find them (Wednesday's) irritating because it's smack bang in the middle of the week: making the weekend so close yet so far.


peace x

Place Bid

Ebay, ebay, ebay I recall when I would dedicate whole weekends clicking through hundreds of pages, stalking bids, and be over the moon when that little message appeared -'Congratulations You've Won', making me feel all special and warm inside like a new crush.
Admittedly I fell out of love with ebay, it was a bitter break up. I placed a bid and won this delicate Topshop boutique lace antique style dress, for an amazing £30.I was ecstatic, smug and super excited (if not hyper)about 'winning' it. I waited hours, days, weeks and months for my winning prize to arrive through that letter box,constantly quizzing the post man (poor guy)of it's whereabouts as if he had any bloody clue!
My prize never did appear, ebay stood me up and left me hanging, or rather sitting depressed on the door mat head in my hands distraught and defeated I'd been in love with that lace dress for two months,talking about it, dreaming about it I wanted IT so very badly it hurt.Ebay broke my heart, and I made a pledge to myself never to visit ebay ever again, it's over-period.




board by:prettyneons



One year on and curiosity got the better of me, an ebay add popped up on my screen like an old chum returning into my life, I decided to catch up. Anxious due to that past nightmare experience, I took things slowly one-step-at-a-time I'm not prepared to be let down twice besides I've only recently recovered from the last does of ebay drama, heck I was one step away from rehab!
Straight away ebay greeted me with seductive fashion outlet sales, knock off designer bag's five quid, erm does this include the poor quality stitching? I ignored the 'designer' sales, and began my ebay recovery with searching 50's frocks. Within no time I felt as if ebay and I never parted, drama? What drama?After stumbling upon some quirky gems (see above) I'm finally willing to forgive and forget just how ebay betrayed me in the first place. I'm ready to commit and that commitment begins with a small wee bid on a bright and bold Hawaii print 50's vintage style mini dress. Let the bidding war commence!

This is the woman.She is knowing we are looking.

This may just be the quickest and most dull post yet? Lacking in substance it is, only I'm really consumed by my art and design work right this minute and I'm afraid if I don't grab this opportunity by the horns my creative mood might wave goodbye and abandon me.Which I'm trying my very best to avoid after experiencing a two week long creative block ,(I don't think a phone doodle is valid, is it? Hmm why do I always doodle when talking on the phone it's so rude,does anybody else phone doodle?Do inform me)to describe this period as hellish would be an epic understatement.I'm a slave to my scrapbook,or is the scrapbook a slave to me,err go figure?






photos by prettyneons




Yadda yadda yadda listen to me boring you all to tears, I must vanish now to crack on with my work, so my friends I leave you with this quick mug shot of moi.Typical Sunday outfit for me which consists of-over sized DorothyPerkins T-shirt,purple tights,studded boots and thrift Aztec necklace.Should of put some slap on my face huh? Instead of just last nights old stubborn eyeliner:look closely and your notice fresh toothpaste on my chin. Nice visual I'm sure you'd agree?
Ooookay's really must dash now,peace out
...did I really just say that?

Fashion For Food

Mid morning and so far today nothing and I mean nothing has gone right:this morning my hairdryer exploded on me,my stairs tripped me up and my tights split on me (despite all my efforts to prevent laddering them... would you believe it was a brush with the umbrella that killed my new pair of tights?!)No big deal I know when you consider people in the third world trying their best to just survive,or the homeless seeking a box for shelter (...erm yeah you get the idea already), but when you have a fresh fierce cold silly minor incidents such as laddering of tights seems just so epic and dramatic.Common sense abandons you,placing one foot in front of the other requires extra concentration and stamina,as for multi-tasking ha! Are you kidding me? Being able to talk and walk at the same time is an award worthy achievement for me today,roll out that red carpet.
Come late afternoon I'm craving sweet sugar, fat filled comfort food,chocolate lot's of it,vegetarian subway with extra chili sauce,extra mayo extra everything please and thank you.I need artifical energy to carry me through the remaining day, hell I predict it's going to be a long one,and so my usual diet of soup,crackers,milkshake and fruit isn't going to cut it.Finally lunch time arrives,and sticking to my guns I aim for subway on my journey I ponder over serious issues,'hmm do I dare order a footlong?Could I consume a sub of that size?Will I get a free cookie?What the...Fifty percent off DP sale?No way.Get out!'



You've probably figured out what happened next?My attention was diverted from subway to DP,whether you believe it or not, I had no real intentions of purchasing any sale items,I'm not one of those impulse buyers I don't buy just for the sake of buying, as it makes me feel greedy, dirty and wrong.Like some foolish kid who blows all their saved up pocket money on pic&mix sweets.But like that sweet tooth kid curiosity got the better of me, I felt compelled to have a quick looksee no harm can come of it right? Just ten minutes in- and- out before grabbing a bite to eat from subway.
Naive.
Those damn red sale stickers sucked me in,I left my willpower at the door it's too late now no going back from here.The sale rails embraced me and I in return embraced them, before I could even do the walk of shame over to the check out point I noticed my cold had improved.Could it be I found the cure for the common cold?Isn't it astonishing what a little dose of retail therapy can do? Before I go and hit the hay, a word of advice *never replace food with fashion I spent the rest of my day with one angry stomach because I foolishly replaced my subway sandwich with these instead...





photos by prettyneons

My Floral Frenzy Day

Hi girls, I've returned from my mini hiatus and it's great to be back. I miss this place when I'm gone for more then Ooh a day, I can't help but ponder over what juicy fashion/style posts I may be missing, and comment chatter I may be missing out on. If I had a laptop I'd be dangerous,never getting anything completed because my head would be permanently stuck inside this blogshere:as this is where my head is at, if not in the clouds day dreaming about living in San Francisco,kicking it with my like minded should- have- been -around- in -the- sixties- but -wasn't friends...sigh*
Enough of my confusing,random rambling for I wasn't lucky enough to of existed back in the sixties get over it already!
So why the brief hiatus? I received some good news, I went for this job interview, assumed I'd blown all chances out of the water because I talked too much, wasn't expecting to hear any call backs but instead one of those bleak kick you when your already down letters,Dear (insert name here) we regret to inform you that this time you have not been successful...yada yada yada.
However only a few days after my interview the exact opposite happened and I got the job,a job which I was very desperate to bag because of all the possible opportunities.Just how I'm going to juggle it with my own designing/art I've not yet figured out, I must allow time for sleeping and keep that pesky insomnia at bay. Easier said then done when for some unknown reason my creative juices flow better at midnight?











To my delight my folks surprised me yesterday, mum pulled me away from my desk yesterday morning just as I was setting up all my sewing equipment etc, to whizz me off down town and hit the shops I felt sixteen again needless to say I had an amazing Monday (now there's something I thought I'd never say!),I began my marvelous Monday by snooping,rummaging and digging around charity/thrift shops.
I was lucky enough to stumble upon a thrift gem shortly after stepping through the shop door: a DorothyPerkins dress was slipping off the hanger and fell on the floor and on to my foot.What can I say? The frock wanted me and who am I to reject it?Smug mode. In the same thrift shop I snagged a beaut of a blazer too,size 12 and brand new,never before worn.Ultra smug mode.Altogether it came to just under ten quid.Super smug mode.
After much smugness a much needed lunch break was way over due, after downing a huge cup of hot chocolate err correction bowl of hot chocolate, I flicked through the sale rail,(sale slut?Guilty as charged)at Newlook. Wasn't much impressed by Newlook, too much nautical clobber.I began to feel sea sick at one point.Despite almost drowning in nautical,I survived to grab a very delicate and pretty floral dress, perfect for summer picnics. My mum done a Houdini on me and disappeared,when we did eventually find each other again, she pulled out these goodies from her magicians hat...


all photos by prettyneons


...anyone else been abusing those seductive sale rails, what did you buy?

Get Your Coachella On!

all above images from:Look





all above images from: wenn.com



Hmm anyone suffering from a dose of Coachella envy? I sure am, it's difficult not to be jealous of those familiar celebs parading around in their designer festival frocks,strolling around the desert,soaking up sun rays (remember them things?Sun rays the warmth coming from that big ball of orange,oh now what's that thing called again? Oh yes the sun.Could someone please inform moi whether the UK will see some of this action?So I can finally pull out the summer clothes,ditch the tights and attempt to top up my tan...not that I have a tan of any sort to top up!)and hanging out with rock stars VIP style.While the rest of 'em i.e non-celebs,struggle to catch a glimpse of their beloved bands.Hence why over the bleak bank holiday weekend I reached the conclusion that life is just cruel.As it dribbled down with rain,for three whole days,I switched into daydream mode.In my head I was at Coachella in the hot Californian desert with my huge retro shades on,hanging out and having a chat with Zooey Deschanel,when out of the blue she invited me to raid her wardrobe.Zooey you are too kind...
...my California dreaming was rudely interrupted by the thud of hailstones,smashing against my window.Before this harsh reality kicked in,here's what I was wearing whilst I was getting my Coachella on...



board by prettyneons

1.egypt print dress, from motelrocks

2.Lulu Guinness bowling bag from,houseoffraser

3. mini wedge sandals, from missselfridge

...I'm curious which Coachella celeb look do you envy the most?