As I mentioned last week University started up this week. Yay! (Sarcasm)
I shouldn't complain I have very few hours of classes compared to many of my friends. That being said it is still hard. Classes start horribly early and are filled with hours spent listening and attempting to stay focused (I have a very small attention span).
Just because of an early morning start I don't see that as a reason to skimp out on looking nice. Maybe I'm crazy, but I enjoy looking the way I want at uni. Yes, it's different from the normal flow. I wear dresses and skirts, with a distinctive vintage flare, while many of my cohort stick with shirts and pants.


This combination is one of my favourites and makes me feel like a little school girl.
As I child I read a lot of books that centred around children in boarding school in Britain and children in outback Australian schools. They were some of my favourite books and I dreamt of the day I would go to a school like Elizabeth's (The Naughtiest Girl in School) and wear a uniform like Madeline.
Sadly that never happened, my school had thick winter skirts, flappy shirts and ties.
But I'm still learning now...
To be honest this combination actually makes me so happy.
It's simple and yet creates a very distinct look.
The blouse was from Forever 21 when I was in Glasgow and feels almost like a crepe fabric. The Peter Pan collar goes perfectly over the neckline of my A-line pinafore style dress which I made myself!
Dresses like this and 60's styled dresses are actually very simple to make. This one here is made out of poplin and was originally as part of a costume (yes, I made myself a Madeline costume). When I originally started wearing it as everyday clothing I was a little worried that the poplin would be see-through. Luckily the darker colour stops this from being an issue.
As I was saying A-line dresses are fairly quick to whip up depending on the amount of detail you want to put in. The quickest one I ever made was from a length of fabric, the width I wanted the base of the dress to be, and double the overall length. I literally stitched diagonally down from the approximate shoulder width to the base. It was for a school concert, and I had a deadline of two weeks to make lots of costumes, but the simplicity is there.
They are something I always turn back to when I'm looking for something to sew. They can be made out of pretty much anything and work really well with patterned materials. If you've ever wanted to give dress making a try, this is a good piece to try out. There a plenty of patterns and tutorials on Google to help you along the way!
I should probably do some reading now,

Ho, hum

Until next time,

xx