Adventures in a VW bus part 2: Red jeans and Arthurian legend

Hi everyone! Here's the second lot of photos from our holiday driving our vintage VW camper van round Cornwall, hope you like them :) These were taken at Tintagel Castle which is where (legend says) King Arthur was conceived - the castle is all ruins now, but the landscape in which they're set is just breathtaking.













As mentioned in the previous holiday post, the weather in the first couple of days was sunny but cold and windy - my hair got blown about so much on the first day the cap had to go on for the second day at Tintagel, and my capsule wardrobe was a rotation of layers, layers and more layers. In fact it was quite liberating having a very limited number of clothes to choose from. You've heard of the 30 for 30 challenge - this was more like 5 for 5 ;)



And here he is again - the real star of these posts: Barbarossa! (Click to see the image larger)

There'll be a couple more posts from the holiday, with my everyday outfits in between (i.e. what I wore to work). Have a wonderful weekend everyone - more in a day or two!



Parka: La Redoute similar, Jeans: La Redoute, Scarf (reversible!): F+F at Tesco, Cap: Unknown, Boots: Debenhams similar save similar splurge, Sunglasses: New Look similar, Bag: Betty Jackson at Debenhams similar

Style Icon feature, plus giveaway winner

Thought I'd share an interview I did with Yes and Yes - Sarah features a Style Icon Interview each week and I was so flattered to be asked! Click here to read my interview - it was posted whilst I was on holiday so I've only just had a chance to share it with you!

It would be lovely if you read it and left a comment...?

Drumroll........

I have more good news to share! The winner of my ReVintage Jewellery giveaway is...

             

Congratulations Rachel - the Classic Silver Crystal, Vintage Charm and Curio Bracelet that you chose is yours and will be in the post to you soon. Thank you everyone who entered, and of course a really big thank you to Rebecca Gill of ReVintage Jewellery who sponsored the giveaway!

*Exclusive discount* Rebecca is offering 20% off ReVintage Jewellery to all Not Dressed As Lamb readers till 13 June 2012! Quote "LAMB20" at the ReVintage Jewellery Etsy shop to get your discount!

More holiday photos tomorrow ;)

Adventures in a VW bus: Part one

At last I have the first of the photos of our holiday to share with you! We rented a classic split screen 1965 VW camper van (named Barbarossa) and drove around Cornwall in South West England, going wherever we fancied each day... what a couple of hippies! ;) Normally I plan holidays to the enth degree, so it was nice to be free and make it up as we went along. Just to warn you all, you will not be seeing any cute, floaty summer outfits or bare flesh in these posts... the week was bright and sunny, but mostly cold and windy. Hence my capsule wardrobe of jeans, scarves, jackets and sunglasses ;)















I've done a mixture of outfit shots and holiday snaps to show over 3-4 posts to (hopefully) keep it interesting! My outfits were pretty dressed down because I had to be warm and comfy for both driving and walking everywhere, plus every item I took had to co-ordinate and fit in a medium sized weekend bag; no luxury of dressing in a mirror either - every girl's nightmare!!! My hair got blown about everywhere we went so I just had to go with the rough n' ready look for the week.

Here we were in a place called Bude on the north coast of Cornwall - if you look at the sea you can see why they hold surfing competitions in this part of the country. The landscape is just stunning as you can see - and it only gets better in the next holiday post! The final pic of Mr. Summers and I is a tradition of ours: for the last seven or eight years we've been taking a photo of ourselves whenever we go somewhere, always with me on the left and him on the right. To watch yourself change hairstyles and age (unfortunately) is both fascinating and a bit scary... maybe one day I'll do a post of the best self portraits of the last few years...?

Happy Wednesday everyone - another post tomorrow!

New label: abide clothing (plus competition)

Now I don't normally do posts about a particular brand, but in this case I've made an exception: abide clothing is a British label launched just this spring, and I was so taken by their beautiful, quality handmade(!) clothes that I thought I'd share a few of their pieces with you. This isn't a sponsored post... I'll explain below.

The whole line is made in Devon, England and is quintessentially British, inspired by the beauty of the English country and seaside. Whilst I was really impressed with the soft colours and gorgeous flowy fabrics, what I couldn't believe was that not only were they designed and made in my part of the world, but abide is even based in the town where I live. The only other interesting thing I can think of about where I live is that it's (roughly) where Joss Stone comes from...!

Abide's designer Kim Mckellar's beautiful collection was influenced by her surroundings, and it shows. I love the soft colour palette (I'm really into pastels right now) with the odd punches of navy blue; the attention to detail on the trouser legs and wrapover tops is just so pretty and delicate - sooo my ideal style. The whole collection reminds me of hazy summer evenings, walks down by the sea and the rolling countryside and blue skies... in other words, Devon - when the weather is lovely, like today! ;) My absolute favourites are the mint trousers and yellow wrap top, and if I were a short skirt kinda gal I'd genuinely wear all of these pieces. As a total bonus - considering my blog's theme - I think many of them would suit women of all ages because they manage that amazing feat of being on-trend but still classic.

I'm afraid it's not cheap - pieces start at £52 and go up to £190; however, until 24 May there's 25% off all stock. If you think about it they're no more expensive than, say, Karen Millen or Reiss, but all handmade and so much more exclusive.

Or you can enter their Facebook competition to win one of three pieces - but it closes tomorrow (Wednesday 23 May) so hurry!

You can visit the abide clothing website or follow them on Facebook and Twitter. I'm soooo proud and amazed that I live in the same place as a super stylish new fashion brand. I hope you guys like the collection too... let me know what you think!

Romantic, floaty wedding guest

Hi everyone I'm back from holiday! As soon as we were back we had to go to a wedding evening reception, so I'm posting my pictures of the wedding outfit first whilst sorting out my holiday photos. I'll show those pictures over the course of the next week :)

This isn't the outfit I intended to wear originally; I was going to wear a vintage eBay dress that needed shortening, but of course I didn't have enough time after getting back from our trip. So this outfit was basically a backup, but I was more than happy to switch to Plan B as I love this skirt so much. I wore it the other week as a daytime look to work, and it lends itself sooo well to being dressed up. I bought the beautiful ruffled cardigan a couple of years ago (a much loved impulse buy) and I love the ruffles and pleats together. The only new item is the pair of ASOS wedges: very high, strangely comfortable and extremely flattering. I don't have many black shoes - they're a great (and hopefully versatile) addition to my shoe collection.

Thank you everyone for all your wonderful comments while I was away - I won't have the time to reply to all of them I'm afraid but I really appreciate each and every one... thanks guys, you're the best.

Oh and have you entered my ReVintage Jewellery giveaway? Ends tomorrow (Monday) at 9:00 BST... get in there quick, people!!!



Cardigan: New Look, Skirt: New Look similar save similar splurge, Tank: La Redoute, Wedges: ASOS, Clutch: House of Fraser similar save similar splurge, Necklace: Miss Selfridge similar, Bracelets: H&M / New Look similar / Tiffany & Co / My christening bracelet, Rings L-R: New Look similar, H&M / H&M, Watch: Gift similar, Nails: Barry M Matt White NP66

Linking up to:


Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style
Monday Mingle at Bon Bon Rose Girls
What I Wore Wednesday at The Pleated Poppy

Glittery flares at sunset

When ASOS have a sale, they really have a sale... the trousers were too cheap to pass over, and I'm still in two minds whether I love them or am not-that-keen on them. Well I can't send them back now, so love it is (plus it's like wearing tracky bots*! Bonus!). I had a bit of an over-enthusiastic accessories moment when I put polkadot tights and flats with bows next to glitter trouser panels; who knows why. The rest of the outfit was really quite minimal, except for my vintage butterfly belt. I have three I bought from eBay in navy, white and black. I don't wear them nearly as much as I should.

I love it when the light conditions are so perfect that you literally have only minutes to get some pictures taken. We had a beautiful sunset just before having tea and cake for my dad's birthday last weekend, and decided to take these shots at the barn just down the lane (in fact you can see my parents' house in the background of the first shot). But in Blighty in May the evenings are rarely warm, so we ran from the house to the barn to warm ourselves up... it didn't work. My hands were like blocks of ice (see my clenched fists in the last shot)!

*Have you entered my giveaway?*

Click here to see the details - you could win any piece of your choice from ReVintage Jewellery worth up to $40!! (CLOSES MONDAY)

I'll just be back from my mini holiday by the time this post goes out; I've scheduled this in advance in case my arms are too tired to type due to driving a big old VW campervan round the lanes of Cornwall ;)

Hope you all have a great weekend - I should hopefully have some holiday outfit pics for my next post!!!



T-shirt: Topshop similar, Trousers: ASOS, Belt: Vintage eBay, Polkadot tights: Topshop similar, Flats: Dune similar, Sunglasses: Unknown, Hairclip: Unknown, Bracelets L-R: ASOS / ASOS / Debenhams, Watches: both Debenhams, Rings: H&M, Nails: Barry M Blue Moon

*tracky bots, aka tracksuit bottoms. Or sweatpants.

Patchwork bag, yellow wedges

Sometimes I like to base an outfit around an accessory, like a statement necklace, a pair of shoes... or a vintage patchwork knitting bag. I got this lovely little bag from eBay last year, and I'm not too bothered whether it's office-appropriate or not (regular readers may know my office has a rather relaxed dress code). I purposely wore the most neutral pair of trousers I own to show off it's lovely vintage patchworkiness. But what was really nice was that the sun made an appearance when these photos were taken - we were marvelling at the big shiny yellow ball in the sky and basking in its vague, hazy warmth. Bliss.

Once again this is a scheduled post while I'm travelling round Cornwall in a (hired) 60s VW campervan, so I will be really looking forward to reading your lovely comments when I get back. Let's hope it's not raining...! Happy Thursday folks :))



*Have you entered my giveaway? Win a piece of ReVintage Jewellery of your choice*



Click here to see the details - I would so love you to win :))

Patchwork knitting bag: Vintage eBay, Denim jacket: F+F at Tesco similar, Shirt: Thrifted, Chinos: La Redoute, Wedges: Bertie similar, Belt: ASOS, Sunglasses: Borrowed from husband, Bracelets L-R: Accessorize similar / ASOS / Topshop, Watch: Debenhams similar, Rings: ASOS / H&M, Nails: Barry M Blue Moon