We're entering week who-knows of lockdown and I'm flagging. I took up learning French and practised diligently every day for two weeks, then not at all since. I vowed to go yoga daily and managed two days. Only 2 things have remained constant;

1. My inability to resist getting a coffee from the shop around the road that's thankfully reopened for takeout.
2. I get dressed every day.

Day #1 : Reinterpret the cover of your current fave album into an outfit...

Dress & T-Shirt - Vintage Boots - Topshop

Day #2 : Dress as if a child dressed you...

T-Shirt & dress - Topshop Pearl necklace - Made by Frankie Headband - Primark

Day #3 : Style your favourite piece of lingerie in a WFH appropriate outfit...

Top & Jeans - H&M Bra - Unreleased sample

Bodysuit - H&M

Jumper - Primark Trousers - Topshop

Day #6 - Wear something that your pre-teen self would despise...

Dress - ASOS

Day #7 : Wear something that would suit this year's Met Gala theme, 'About Time'...

Corset top - ASOS

While I'm still mourning the cancellation of my favourite day of the year, I'm hoping that when May 4th rolls around we might get an insight into what the guests were planning to wear. As a fashion history fan, I'm hoping for some really well-researched era inspired pieces from structural victorian gowns through to modern music inspired looks. An attempted interpretation from my wardrobe came in the shape of this velvet corset, making me wish I had a huge hooped skirt to pair with it, but alas! Jeans will do for another night drinking wine on the balcony and being in bed by 9.

Check out the prompts I gave Sophie & her outfits...

Read Natasha's blog HERE

I've always been drawn to the extravagant, just ask my mum and she'll tell you the struggle to get me out of a princess dress and plastic heels when I was younger. My childhood photos are full of silly hats, bright colours, and costumes, all picked out by me. And it continued, my favourite character in any show has always been the most extravagant with my love for Ab Fab and Sex and the City proving it.  I feel my eyes move towards the vibrant, and my heart towards the bold.

But you definitely couldn't see that in my outfits, or really my personality. While I've gone through my fair few of phases (don't scroll far back on this blog) I've always gone with convention, floating along in the waves of trends coming and going, scared off from items I loved by the fear of looking stupid. However, the fear seems to have swiftly left.



Maybe it's working in fashion and having access to sample sales that let me test the water with more out-there items without breaking the bank. Maybe it's the anonymity of London. Maybe it's the incredible women I'm surrounded by, who all dress like superstars and support me like I'm one too. Maybe it's my total and utter love for burlesque and sadness that I can't live in my costumes every day. Maybe it's watching AbFab for the 1000th time. We'll never know, but over the last month, I've been stomping out of my comfort zone and into the fun zone in my vintage leather boots.

I like clothes that make me laugh or gasp, completely ridiculous, man-repelling or 100% trashy. My Mum dispairs each time I pick up a red vinyl skirt, or some leopard print flares and laugh, 'these are amazing'. And at a trying time, I need things to make me laugh more than ever, so I'm going to buy all the ridiculous, ugly-beautiful clothes I can get my hands on. There's humour and joy and magic in inventing a character that would wear pieces like that, I like to try them on for the day/night. When I wore my snake print skirt with my boots and a pinafore, I was a 1960s Dagenham girl. When I wore my pink and red silk top, I was Alabama from True Romance. When I wear my cherry print flares, I'm a 70s babe going to a gig. The storyteller in me creates a full backstory, and my inner child gets to play pretend. And I, the real 20-year-old Lucy heading to work, gets a giggle each day when I pull things out of my wardrobe or walk out of a sample sale with new costumes in my hand to try on.

It's my favourite form of escapism. My shy soul draped in vibrancy and bravery. And even on my worst days, I can't help but smile to myself when I'm walking down Hampstead high street at 5 pm in pink and animal print with hearts drawn onto my cheeks, projecting a personality that couldn't be further from how I feel, but I'm infatuated with the image of her.

Dress - ASOS Bag - New Look Shoes - Primark

Dress - Boohoo Bag - Charity shop Shoes - Primark

This past week I was told I have "the perfect hourglass figure" and I didn't know how to feel about it.

It's the end of the year which means exams and revision, yes, but it also means socials and balls. After opting out last year, this year I attended my subject ball, as well as our burlesque glitter ball. Anyone that knows me knows that I love an excuse to dress up. Getting ready for an is always my favourite part; I love the process, I love fully indulging in the fantasy and drama of formal wear (or any kind of wear really), I love allowing myself to take 2 hours if I want, and go all out to make myself feel incredible. And getting ready for these events was no different; I spent weeks finding outfits, dabbled in fake tan for the first time, did face masks, did my nails, and sat there with my ritual of gin and RuPaul's Drag Race. Everything went to plan, but gradually over the past year, the process has felt less and less calming and more confrontational. I was nervous of the photos and seeing myself stood next to others, who I would never judge as harshly as I judged myself. I loved my dresses and I'd been excited to wear them for weeks, but I was scared for the confrontation of seeing my body in them, and the realisation that this is my adult body, this is what I look like.




I've said it to my friends a lot recently, but I wish 'thicc' had been a thing when I was younger. Growing up in the 2000s, the only body shape that was celebrated in pop culture was thin, athletic, slender and straight up and down. Think of women like Paris Hilton, Kate Moss, the Olsen twins, all the young disney stars. All beautiful women, but all the same shape; a shape that was never going to be me. And even in my family, my mum and sister both fit this mould of tall and slender, so when I suddenly got these hips I was confused.

Before the time of the Kardashians and Chrissy Tiegan, there was really just no representation of curves beyond 'plus sized'. So when suddenly my size 10/12 hips didn't match my little size 8 top, the only associations and labels I could attach to my wide hips was fat. I felt I was big and needed to lose weight. And obviously I know now that no matter how much weight I lost, these hips won't go anywhere. But with no role models, little early teens me didn't get that. I then grew into the indie fashion fangirl I am today, loving women like Alexa Chung, Francoise Hardy, Jane Birkin; beautiful women with bodies vastly different to mine. And so I grew up with the niggling, lingering sadness that I will never look like my icons, a thought that translated, somewhere along the line, into I'll never look right or my body will never be skinny or normalised or would never meet the standard. I always wanted to by straight up and down, lanky and twiggy. But instead I'm an hourglass.

I envy the younger generation that are coming of age in this time of wider representation. Although not without their downfalls and issues, I wish I had grown up with the Kardashians, with Ashley Graham, Rihanna, with women like Adele and Lorde and all the women doing amazing things and coming in all kinds of shapes and sizes. I wish I'd always known that is beautiful, and all shapes are amazing and glorious and equal, and shape and size are actually different things.

Because I'm only know figuring that out, and learning to not hear 'hourglass' as a negative or a statement on how my body is different and therefore inferior.  Only now at 20 am I starting to accept that my body was not made straight up and down, and that is beautiful. I'm only just starting to accept that this body is just as good and worthy as any others, and that my hips look amazing in a body con dress and maybe some other things just don't flatter me or do me justice. When my friend called me hourglass I was confronted with the realisation that that's exactly what I am! I'm curvy, with hips and a bum and thighs, all topped off with small boobs. I'm a wobbly line rather than a straight like from hips to waist, but I know deep down I have a lot of love for that, I'm just working on fighting off all the clouds first, all the social pressures and preconceptions and cruel labels I placed on myself.

I looked good. I had an amazing couple of nights dressing up and celebrating with my friends who I love and who love me, who I compliment wholeheartedly and regularly, and who compliment me back. And in the end, I love the photos, and each time I look at them I feel less confronted and more comfortable with the fact that this is my body, my adult body in my twenties. It's not what I wanted at age 13, but it's glorious and I'm learning to love it and accept what it's become.

Jeans - Next Jumper - Primark Earrings - Miss Selfridge Boots & Jacket - Vintage

All of my dreams have come true after discovering this perfect, genuine leather jacket for £10 in a vintage shop. I've been longing for a classic leather jacket for ages but I'm very picky about the styles and didn't want to contribute to cruelty by buying a new jacket, so finding this one in exactly the style I wanted and amazing quality was a stroke of luck.

I don't remember the last time an item of clothing made me feel so confident. I wore this outfit on just a normal day; uni, lunch with a friend, a life drawing class, then to drinks with my boyfriend, but I felt incredible all day. I felt totally comfortable and also sassy af strutting around the city in my vintage leather. And like this outfit isn't anything special, I'm not breaking new fashion ground or revolutionising anything, but I felt beautiful. I talk a lot about confidence and body positivity, and I think a lot of people assume that always relates to lingerie or being confident naked, but this simple jeans and jacket combo made me feel body confident. My legs looked slim, my boots made me look tall, I love this jumper on me etc etc. After wanting a leather jacket for so long, I finally got to fulfil my HAIM sister, 50s rocker cry-baby daydreams, and I felt amazing.

Put down retail therapy and consumerism all you want, but you can't deny how good something new can make you feel.

Fur Coat - Vintage Denim Jacket - ASOS Jumper - Primark Leather Skirt - H&M Boots - Vintage

I feel like my style has changed in parallel with a change in my attitude towards how I look and dress. Lately I've been leaning more towards simple pieces with extras, like textures or patterns that put a twist on classics. I crave the simplicity of a classic outfit. I love my black high necks, mom jeans, chunky knit jumpers and tailored trousers, but sometimes I feel a weird kind of guilt for not dressing how I feel, for not pushing my boundaries and being bolder in my choices when I feel confident and good.

At uni there can sometimes feel like there's a lot of pressure to be a character, to be cool and express yourself loud and clear. So I've fallen head over heels for pieces that allow me to hold tight to my beloved simplicity while also feeling a little funky. The epiphany came when I walked into H&M to find a star print knit jumper and a star print A-line leather skirt in the sale, hallelujah. Incorporating two of my favourite and most trusted pieces made patterns less scary and got me feeling cool and comfy. Yaaaas.

As ever, I'm pairing a black high neck jumper with an all black ensemble as a nod to my everlasting style icon Aubrey Hepburn (more specifically Hepburn in Sabrina, swoon). Then adding a denim jacket layered under my regular teddy bear coat to add a casual texture, colour, and added warmth cause the weather is awful. My Mum's old block heel boots are the cherry on top, they make me feel like Rachel from Friends and look amazing with jeans, dresses, everything.

As you can tell by the photos above, I'm absolutely overjoyed about the addition of star print in my life, and also the tea that was coming my way. Three cheers for taking a classic pairing and making it a little extra, hip hip hooray!

In the run up to Christmas, I've had a lot going on from parties, to interviews, to coffee dates and Christmas dinners. At this busy time of year it can be hard to work out what to wear to all the different engagements, and I've been pulling out old favourites and new flames from my wardrobe.

Top - Nobody's Child

Beret - Topshop Top - H&M Coat - Vintage Lipstick - Topshop 'Infrared'

Body - Vintage Jumper - H&M Lipstick - As above

Dress - Topshop Socks - Primark Earrings - Primark Heels - Primark

Hat - Oxfam Crop Top - H&M Trousers - Topshop Trainers - Clarks Trigenics Coat - Vintage Lipstick - Topshop Infrared

I bought these trousers in spring and that's what they scream to me. The pale blue gingham and frills reminds me of Dorothy suffering the black and white hurricane and emerging in the bright colour world of Oz. I wore them all through spring and summer with white t-shirts and small black sleeveless crop tops, sandals and bare arms. But I can't do that now, it's officially winter here in Sheffield.

I have never been very good at adapting. As a child I used to go on holiday and make my parent's lives hell by crying for the first two days, simply because that strange hotel room was not my home. When I moved to uni, I called my mum and begged her to pick me up only days later. And it's guaranteed I will always hate my haircut initially. As a creature of routine and small homely comforts, I get stuck in my ways and I' m lost when I come unstuck. And I've been feeling that way a bit lately.

Despite wearing this trousers to death in the spring, they've been sitting in my wardrobe for weeks. Because they are spring, they are bare skin and crop tops and that's not where I am now. Just as I'm not very good at adapting, neither is my fashion. My mum hates it, but my clothes get stuck in a particular context or weather pattern and I struggle to ever see them past that.

So in a small attempt to re-adapt, I wore spring in winter. I swapped bare arms for this beautifully shaped, thick black crop top, and swapped my sandals for all white trainers and added an orange lip to keep a little bit of brightness on a grey day. I added a belt around the waist to tie in the black, and then later added my baker boy hat to keep my noggin warm. Throwing my trusty fur coat on top, I liked what I saw in the mirror. I liked the re-adaptation because really it wasn't too different. Just a bit of a greyer surrounding.

I can't stop the reasons, and I can't keep buying new clothes. So everything but keep up, and change to do so.