#But for £10 secondhand in a really nice colour that I can wear with shirts I already own I'm not going to complain

[the-busy-ghost]

Ah yes, the dream £10 vintage Laura Ashley skirt (made in Great Britain), in good quality corduroy

The dream skirt that requires a fucking PHD in ironing

[jessiewre]

Day 49

Sat 22nd Feb

Shopping & Biscuits

We had a slightly shakey start as Phil was feeling sorry for himself. He hadn’t done any exercise for over 8 hours and so he felt a bit low didn’t he.

I had a word with him and then even the waitress at breakfast corrected him when he was being a grump. YOU SING IT SISTER 💪🏽

We ended up chatting to Wendy the waitress for a while and she was really nice. I popped to the loo and when I came out, she was ready waiting for me. She leaned in and whispered ‘So what have you got organised for Phil’s birthday?’

I looked at her blankly feeling a little hot all of a sudden and said ‘uh...a few presents...?’

But she was all excited like ‘Oh we can organise something for you! I can get all the staff tomorrow to sing to him and then we can thrown WATER and MUD all over him!’

Ok well now she was talking my language 😂

Then she asked me if I was planning to bake a cake.

Uh, no Wendy, I’m not. I’m slightly lacking in ingredients, a kitchen and the inclination.

But she made the point that the chef there could bake one which was maybe a good idea. Yes, someone else baking a cake was something I could get on board with. I told her I’d get back to her.

Being 2 days before Phil’s birthday it is tradition for me to get a gift so naturally we went shopping as I wanted to show Phil a secondhand clothes shop I’d come across. Unfortunately there were minimal men’s items, apart from some classic Chris / Ken Wretham senior shirts 💜 which, as nice as they are, Phil wouldn’t really suit 😬.

I got a dress and a shirt for $10 🤓. The dress needed slight altering, so I took it into the guy fixing our other stuff and added it to the pile. We went back to the hotel and got straight in the pool to cool down.

Barry was the only person in the pool and it had been over 24 hours since Phil and Barry had spoken so they had plenty to catch up on. First they were absolute lads and covered the footie. I wondered how long Phil could talk about Peter Schmiecel for...then I suddenly became aware that my bikini felt weird. Too comfortable almost. I looked down and my eyes widened as I realised that the bikini top I was wearing was not a bikini top at all but my soft crop top thing that I’d put on that morning to make it easier when shopping and trying on clothes. It was nude pink colour, so was DEFINITELY see through 😫😫😫. Ewwwww I had been casually swimming around and chatting to Bazza with this on!!! 😳 Why didn’t Phil notice and tell me?! I slid out of the pool cringing and switched the tops asap.

Meanwhile then lads chat moved onto biscuits. My ears pricked up when digestives were mentioned.

Barry got straight in there with the big question and asked Phil if he was a dunker.

Phil confirmed we were both massive dunkers. But also that we were partial to a hob nob from time to time.

Barry nodded along. He understood. He was up to speed with his biscuit chat I’ll give him that.

Barry said he liked to keep his chocolate in the fridge and then Phil dropped the big’un...He told Barry about his love for a very special biscuit / cake (seriously which is it), one that is often found in the cupboards of Lyncroft Gardens, but never for very long. We used to have Mr Kipling Ones but then we shifted onto Aldi specials Holly Lane. Yep it was Phil’s beloved vienese whirl. Barry listened intently and nodded along while slow blinking. He fully recognised the strong bond between a man and his favourite biscuit.

Barry then revealed his unbelievable tactic for eating a crunchie. He keeps it in the fridge so its nice and chilled and when he’s ready to tuck in, he takes it out and SMASHES it onto the floor. Then he opens it up to enjoy all the little pieces one by one.

It’s this sort of content that needs sharing with the world. Its why I began writing this blog in the first place. The people need to hear this stuff.

All this talk of biscuits reminded Phil he needed to burn some calories so he decided to go for a sea swim. He was going to go to the shops to get beer first so it was ready for his arrival back, but I kindly offered to do this for him while he swam. I was being kind, but I actually needed to collect his headbands, plus I was hungry too, so it was a bit of a win win like.

Got the headbands. The good news was they’d made 5 instead of 3! But unfortunately they had made them all really thin, not like wide headbands. Phil needed an extra wide one to cover his Fivehead...shit, another poor bday present coming up...so I thanked them and popped next door to ask a different lady to make a bigger one. She promised it would be ready by 6pm. Problem, solution baby.

The pizza place was closed dammit so I just bought 4x beers and some cheese and onion crisps as thought he’d like some flavour after the salty sea water. I got back to the room nearly the same time Phil did and the beer was well appreciated while the soft crisps were, lets say, tolerated. Watched the footie game Chelsea vs Spurs.

As the clothes getting fixed needed collecting by 6:30pm, I offered to do it and go into town AGAIN (needed to get the giant parachute headband didn’t I) and I decided to try a shortcut route along the beach. Well it was a joyous winner wasn’t it, and I reached the lady in half the time compared to the road route. GIRL LOVES A SHORTCUT. But of course the headband wasn’t ready was it. I had to wait 15 minutes while she finished it and she got constantly interrupted by loads of Italians wanted to talk to her about god knows what. ANNOYINGS.

I collected our fixed items after that, finally, and THEN got more beer for Phil PLUS a giant water and I walked back sweating and feeling like a hero. I had my 5th cold shower of the day when I got back and Phil began trying to convince me that we should have dinner at our hotel restaurant. I was willing to consider it - until he told me that the two dishes they didn’t have were the only ones on the menu I was interested in. Sorry but I am not having a vege curry if there are lovely Italian restaurants nearby.

I convinced him to come out and we used the beach as a shortcut to Hosteria Romania restaurant.

I checked out a little jewellery stall opposite the restaurant while Phil got a table and I spotted a bracelet Phil might like. I’ll tell you what, Phil bloody loves a holiday bracelet. You know the type a boy gets when he’s about 13, thinking he’s gonna look SICK down the youth club disco with his massive Ben Sherman shirt accompanied by a metal lizard necklace from Turkey? Or was that just Luke? But yeah, Phil loves a beach bangle so I thought screw it, that could be another easy gift in the bag. But he walked over to see what I was looking at didn’t he for frigs sake! I sort of asked his opinion on one of them, then casually tried to move on, then realised I needed to get the wallet off him anyway 😂. So got two different ones to really surprise him.

The restaurant service was slow but friendly, and the food was nice. I was considering ordering the foccacia starter and the waiter stopped me in my tracks to say they would provide one for FREE. Oh sweet lord thank you.

We considered going out to party for approximately 0.3 seconds but I think Phil had exercise on his mind for the morning and the food coma was kicking in. We walked back along the beach, enjoying the awesome starry sky, and went back to watch Leicester vs Man City instead.

[thebansheeoflamordia]

Rules: Complete the survey and say who tagged you in the beginning. When you finished tag 5 people to do this survey. Have fun and enjoy!!!

Tagged by @sapphiceponine

1: Are you named after someone? I named myself Zoë after Yogscast Zoey because she is like the gay I want to be.

2: When was the last time you cried? Yesterday

3: Do you like your handwriting? Nope I have 100% messy handwriting

4: What is your favourite lunch meat? It varies based on time, currently turkey.

5: Do you have kids? Nyet

6: If you were another person, would you be friends with you? Nope I am just a little shit

7: Do you use sarcasm? *Sarcastically* No, like I would EVER use sarcasm

8: Do you still have your tonsils? Oui

9: Would you bungee jump? Depends. What are the chances it’ll kill me?

10: What is your favourite kind of cereal? Fruit Loops gimme the fruity stuff.

11: Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Nope I just leave them tied then slip them on.

12: Do you think you’re a strong person? Physically? Ish, I can lift things pretty well but low endurance. Emotionally? NOOOOOOOOOOO I am not.

13: What is your favourite ice cream flavour? Mint chocolate chip, specifically the green kind.

14: What is the first thing you notice about people? Hair. It’s always the hair. Style and colour.

15: Red or pink? Pink

16: What is the least favourite physical thing you like about yourself? My face is gross.

17: What colour pants and shoes are you wearing now? Black pants, black/white shoes.

18: What was the last thing you ate? An egg sandwich with Canadian bacon.

19: What are you listening to right now? The sound of people talking I’m not listening to music though if I was I would be listening to Wuthering Heights but it keeps getting faster

20: If you were a crayon, what colour would you be? Bubblegum pink.

21: Favourite smell? The smell of like when you’re cuddling with someone it’s a nice smell.

22: Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone? My mother.

23: Favourite sport to watch? None.

24: Hair colour? Brown

25: Eye colour? I have been told by incredibly varied sources that they are green or hazel, I have no idea which myself.

26: Do you wear contacts? Non.

27: Favourite food to eat? Literally all carbs I will devour.

28: Scary movies or comedy? Neither really, I just really don’t like many comedies cause they often rely on humor via a character getting embarrassed and I feel secondhand embarrassment and I get really scared at scary movies unless I can cuddle someone so I prefer scary movies tbh cause I prefer to be frightened to secondhand embarrassment.

29: Last movie you watched? A really shitty movie made by someone I apparently knew years ago but didn’t even remember his face and it was really cringey and stereotypical straight white boy story

30: What colour of shirt are you wearing? Mostly green, it’s flannel so it’s multicolored though.

31: Summer or winter? Winter

32: Hugs or kisses? Hugs (though kisses are good)

33: What book are you currently reading? None.

34: Who do you miss right now? A friend.

35: What is on your mouse pad? No mouse pad we die like of mice and men.

36: What is the last TV program you watched? Shadowhunters

37: What is the best sound? Listening to someone’s heart beat when you lay your head on their chest.

38: Rolling Stones or The Beatles? Beatles, Rolling Stones I only really listen to for “Sympathy for the Devil”, but I love The Beatles.

39: What is the furthest you have ever traveled? Distancewise, to California.

40: Do you have a special talent? I can sing songs that get faster every time the character says “____” and keep the pace with them cause I was a CIT at a Summer Camp and sang a song similar to that at least three times every week if not more.

41: Where were you born? Ohio.

42: People you expect to participate in this survey? Y’all don’t have to participate if ya don’t want to but

@rose-hold @seaqueenbrionne @magicalclizzy @izzybabewoods @pansexual-izzy

[vdbstore-blog]

New Post has been published on Vintage Designer Handbags Online | Vintage Preowned Chanel Luxury Designer Brands Bags & Accessories

New Post has been published on http://vintagedesignerhandbagsonline.com/couples-who-dress-alike-it-looks-like-were-from-the-same-cult-fashion/

Couples who dress alike: 'It looks like we’re from the same cult' | Fashion

Jimi Phgura, 38, performing artist, and Simran Dhiman-Phgura, 38, freelance stylist, Hertfordshire

Jimi I’ve always worn classic clothes – I love the fabrics and weight that old clothes have. Growing up, I was introduced to them by my older brother, whom I perform with as the Twilight Players – we dance to music from ska to Prince to Stevie Wonder, and we always wear original clothes: the two-tone brogues, the baggies. I’ve had my quiff since I was 13; Jimi the Quiff is what they call me.

When I was growing up, I used to get a lot of hassle for being into vintage stuff. As I’ve got older I’ve thought, no, it’s good to be different. And being with Simran has given me more confidence to dress that way. It makes it more exciting to have both of us wearing it, as opposed to her wearing tracksuit bottoms or something.

I’ve been aware of us dressing similarly since we got together in 2005. When we went out, people would say, “Oh, you guys look amazing.” But it wasn’t until last year, when we decided to start selling a lot of our stuff to fund a trip to Thailand and did Portobello market, only then did I think, oh, people really dig our style. People would see us together and take photos.

I don’t really see it as couples dressing; it’s not as if we sit together and think about what we’re going to wear. Nine times out of 10, we just end up wearing something that matches or complements each other. And now that we’ve got a baby on the way, we’ve started noticing baby vintage stuff; I didn’t know that existed before.

Simran I’m a secondhand queen, I like to shop on eBay and all the apps, from Depop to Vinted. The 50s and 60s are my favourite eras, but at the moment, because I’m pregnant, I’m doing flowy 70s style to accommodate my growing bump.

We influence each other. Jimi has a great eye and I’ve got a great eye, so we do ask each other for advice. If I’m going to a wedding or something, I’ll plan my outfit. We’re of Indian descent and if I’m wearing a vintage sari, he’ll try to complement it with a vintage suit in similar colours. But we never intentionally match. It’s cute sometimes. It just depends on the mood I’m in – sometimes you don’t want to look like your husband.

The baby won’t necessarily look matching; but if I’m dressed in a classic outfit, I might dress the baby in one, too.

Malcolm Mackenzie (in blue top), 43, editor of We Love Pop magazine, and Matthew Wilkinson, 35, architect, London

‘It looks like we’re from the same cult or boy band.’ Photograph: Harriet Turney for the Guardian

Malcolm Matt and I have been going out for 13 years, but we probably only started to dress more similarly when we moved in together eight years ago. I was more subtle before.

We’ve grown to like the same things. I like 80s-inspired stuff, from Duran Duran to Miami Vice, Buffalo. Harrison Ford as Deckard in Blade Runner is a key look, as is Kurt Russell in Overboard and Richard Gere in anything. I like clothes that evoke memories, of a holiday, for instance. We’ve got racks of amazing shirts that conjure up the Mediterranean or the Riviera, but through the prism of the 80s. It’s a fun wardrobe.

We’re not matchy-matchy – if I’m wearing a sweater with a cat and he’s wearing one with a dog, it’s a bit much

We’re not matchy-matchy – if I’m wearing a sweater with a cat on, and he’s wearing a sweater with a dog, then it’s a bit much. I don’t want us to go out looking like overgrown twins or a Little Britain sketch. Sometimes I say, “We can’t both go out wearing a denim shirt”, like Britney and Justin. And I don’t want people to think, because I’m a few years older than Matt, that it’s a Henry Higgins/Eliza Doolittle thing, or Liberace and his chauffeur. I think it looks like we’re from the same cult or boy band: we’re not dressed identically but we do make sure that we look OK together.

We can share clothes only from the waist up – I have legs like spaghetti, he comes from a family of rugby players. We don’t share underwear for the same reason.

Matthew In the 80s, Peter York wrote a book about different tribes: one of them was Babytime, or people who like childish things. We might like a sweatshirt with Bambi on it, or primary colours. To say that we both like cute things is a bit simplistic, but we are quite silly. We’re both happy to be slightly ridiculous.

Colour-blocking is the core thing that describes how I dress. In terms of what I wear, it’s actually pretty classic. I’m not stirring up fashion madness with culottes or anything like that – it’s more about the colours and the textures.

Malcolm is probably a bit wilder than I am, more daring. He has quite a lot of zeitgeisty culture statement T-shirts. He’s got a Golden Girls one that I would never wear – not that he would ever let me. When I was a kid, I would always get my mum to buy me things – orange trousers or stupid rainbow jumpers – and then I would be too scared to wear them. Malcolm has given me the confidence to wear what I want.

Ben Langlands, 62, and Nikki Bell, 58, both Turner-nominated artists, London and Kent

‘I wouldn’t go back and change if we were too matching.’ Photograph: Harriet Turney for the Guardian

Ben We have been collaborating for 40 years, so I do talk about what we wear as a “we”. We’re artists, so we’re free to choose whatever we want to wear; we don’t have to meet other people’s expectations.

Work is our main priority, so we dress to be practical and comfortable. We generally wear jeans and white shirts, occasionally suits, or a jacket with jeans. We’ll wear a single-coloured shirt, like pink or blue, with jeans. Neither of us ever wears dresses – it’s always shirts and trousers.

I don’t think there’s really anything I would wear that she wouldn’t, or vice versa

I remember once, when I first got to know Nikki, we visited the parents of a childhood friend of hers and they showed us a Super 8 film of their daughter’s 12th birthday party. There were about 30 little girls in frocks and one little girl in pink flared trousers. That was Nikki.

We never attempt to match, it just happens naturally. But we’re not terribly self-conscious about it. I don’t think there’s really anything I would wear that she wouldn’t, or vice versa. It’s all quite androgynous.

Nikki My clothes are very simple to wear, wash, pack, maintain. I’ve always been a trousers person.

We met at art school in 1977 and started collaborating in 1978. When we first got together, I don’t think I was conscious of the similarities in the way we dressed. We came together through our work – a piece called The Kitchen, in two halves. I made the old kitchen and Ben the new; they were mirror images of each other.

I wouldn’t try not to match – it’s an individual decision and I wouldn’t go back and change if we were too matching. If that’s what we both wanted to wear, then that’s what we’re wearing.

Langlands & Bell’s Internet Giants: Masters of the Universe opens at the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham in March 2018.

Brittany Bathgate, 27, blogger, and Dean Khalil, 32, builder/artist, Norwich

‘She’s a bit too small for us to share, but I have worn women’s clothes in the past.’ Photograph: Harriet Turney for the Guardian

Brittany We were really different when we first met. Dean was into DIY clothes – he’d dye his own T-shirts, cut them up, write on them. I was massively into Alexa Chung, so my style used to be quite indie It girl – lots of blazers, brogues, peacoats with miniskirts. It was a little bit 60s – sometimes I would wear my hair in a tiny beehive.

In 2013, we went travelling and spent a year in Australia. Before we went away, we didn’t dress similarly, but something switched: after a few months of living near the beach, you give up on wearing anything nice and just live in shorts and a vest out of necessity. So by the time we came home, we had a blank slate, clothes-wise, and got to start building our wardrobes back from scratch.

Dean’s a bit more rough around the edges. His skateboard style is too dirty for me. I iron everything

We’re quite aware of our couples dressing – we do often have to ask what the other is wearing so we’re not too similar. Sometimes if we’re going out, I’ll have got dressed and Dean will be like, “Oh, I was going to wear my blue jacket.”

My style is quite clean and classic. I find it fun to play around with pairings of classic pieces with, say, some crazy, wide-legged trousers. Dean’s a bit more rough around the edges. His skateboard style is too dirty for me. I iron everything and am quite particular.

We both have a lot of stripy tops, navy jackets, the same Levi’s. I’ve always been inspired by men’s clothes, but look for a women’s version – because I’m so small I can’t really wear them.

Dean I like a lot of classic British style – labels like Fred Perry and that sort of 60s look that’s fitted but not fitted. This Is England is a good style reference.

Nine years ago, when we first met, we were both at art school and I was a bit more flamboyant. In the early days of our relationship, I used to wear these black jeggings with bleach on them. I had some big builder’s boots. Our tastes have changed, but in the same direction – we’ve grown together. Sometimes we will literally have the same outfit on.

Brittany’s a bit too small for us to share clothes, but I have worn women’s clothes in the past. I used to wear girls’ jeans – when I was younger I couldn’t get jeans tight enough.

But I also have a lot of clothes that Brittany wouldn’t wear. I have Converse that are about eight years old; once white and now brown. I love them, but Brittany won’t wear shoes once they’ve got a mark on them. Every day when the shoes come off, they are stuffed and go back in the box on the shelf. Everything gets ironed.

Joel Bird, 42, carpenter/author of The Book Of Shed, and Sara Chew, 37, graphic designer/illustrator, London

‘We drifted together, but not consciously – I can’t remember ever thinking, I’d like to dress like Sara.’ Photograph: Harriet Turney for the Guardian

Joel I class my style as 30s/40s. My family thinks that I dress a bit like Indiana Jones. I didn’t set out to dress like this, but I wanted functional clothes for carpentry, and the high-waisted trousers with braces are comfortable. Plus I am interested in that era – I like jazz, and dance swing and balboa.

Even at school I dressed quite unusually – I’ve always been interested in craft. As a lad in Liverpool, I always had a sewing machine, and now I do make some of my clothes. I buy dungarees from eBay or secondhand sites like Rokit and cut the tops off to make them into high-waisted jeans. I often buy old army braces because they’re stronger than fashion braces.

Sara and I have been together for 11 years and living together for nine. I think until about five years ago, Sara dressed more vintage than I did, then we kind of drifted together, but not consciously. I almost don’t like the idea of dressing the same as my partner – it’s my paranoia at the lack of independence. But it’s inevitable – you take influences from each other.

We do sometimes share clothes. Sara steals my stuff, and if I’m desperate I can wear her trousers; but it’d have to be a bad wash day.

Sara I think Joel and I have come to dress the same because we both like things that are practical and well made.

I’m different from Joel in that I’m totally happy for us to dress the same; I’m a graphic designer and illustrator, and I like things to look right. If we go out and we look similar, to me that’s good, because we’re not clashing. I wouldn’t make us go out in matching shellsuits, though.

I’ve been wearing vintage stuff my whole life. For me it’s about the way they fit – because of the type of body I’ve got, I don’t suit a lot of modern clothes. It’s about the cut, the fabric – and the fact that they last better.

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