Leopard Print Aint All That

Leopard is a pretty iconic Rockabilly print. It's everywhere. I LOVE my leopard print bag, don't get me wrong, but whilst doing Day Two of my 30 Day Drawing Challenge I came to the conclusion that tiger print is way better!
I adore tigers. Ever since my Christening (fat lot of good it did me!) at 18months I have been obsessed. It all started with a gift from my Grandmothers' neighbour. He was a gorgeous, fluffy, orange and black, whiskery TIGER. I grabbed him and wouldn't let him go again for the whole ceremony. I didn't let him go on my first day of school. I didn't let him go whenever we went ANYWHERE. Guess who still shares the bed with myself and The Boy to this day? Yep. Tiger does.
He looks quite different now. He has two new layers of fur, he's been flattened because I use him as a pillow, his eyes are scratched, his ears and tail are pretty non existent and he's covered in sewn up holes. Check him out...

He began my love affair with tigers. They're just gorgeous.

I'm wearing -
'We Love Tigers' T-shirt - Given to me as a gift when I was 5! (1992)
Black Weave Belt - £3 Boohoo.com
Grey Pencil Skirt - £7 Primark
Yellow Tights - Can't Remember (Whoops!)
Black Patent Shoes - £4.50 eBay

Here's a few items I've found that I think knock that leopard print right out of the water.

You could go all out and make tiger print the main attraction...

...Or just accessorise with a pair of killer heels....

....a rockin' tiger bag can make enough of a statement....

...or just a tiger print hair flower can be enough. Grr!
And here's the drawing that inspired my post today - my attempt at Day 2 - Draw Your Favourite Animal.

To learn about tiger conservation and why they're so threatened please click here. It's an important cause. The thought that they may become extinct in my lifetime is just too upsetting.

Long live the tiger!

Rockabilly Summer Fashion

Since I've transformed myself into a bonafide Rockabilly chick it's been pretty chilly here in rainy old England. My thoughts keep wandering towards the summer and warmer weather that will (hopefully) soon be upon us and if I'm perfectly honest - I'm a little worried about what to wear!
I love the whole high waisted shorts with a tied up shirt look but I am certainly not as toned as I used to be and, let's be honest, hardly anyone can pull off that look...except for maybe Bernie Dexter!

Nevertheless I went out today and bought a pair of high waisted shorts as I needed them for an up and coming fancy dress party. Now, any of you who know me will know that I am NOT a shorts person. I have a fear of wearing shorts. I think it stems from the fact that as a child I was forced to wear horrid ones for P.E at school. They were baggy and my little white legs with their horrendously knobbly knees were the subject of much teasing from the pretty girls with the shapely, tanned pins. Sigh.
I've decided to put all that to bed now and be proud of my legs, yeah they're still a little weedy but they look much better than when I was a nervous little 12 year old. Sod it - I'm wearing shorts this summer!
These are the ones I got today. I think I'm going to buy some anchor sew-on patches for the back pockets.

 I think I'll wear them with cute, tucked in tops and a pair of wedges. Roll on the warm weather!

Psycho Sue's Awesome Giveaway!

My lovely blogging friend, the fabulous Psycho Sue is having a giveaway in honour of her 33rd birthday! This gorgeously kitsch clutch bag is hand-made by Sue herself. Just go to her blog post http://sew-misunderstood.blogspot.com/2011/01/its-handmade-giveaway.html to enter the giveaway!

Retro-tastic!

Has Anyone Noticed The Rockabilly Hair On Celebs Recently?

In the past year the 50's trend has been slowly infiltrating the high street and, true to form, most celebs have been following fashion to the max. Rolled bangs, victory rolls and awesome quiffs have been spotted on many a celeb in the last few months and to be quite honest with you, I'm not entirely sure what to think.
I love Rockabilly for its alternative, individual feel. I like to mix it up with a bit of Goth now and again. I take pride in the fact that I'm NOT a follower of mainstream fashion. Harem pants? Urgh. Maxi dresses? Puke.

Now the 40's and 50's trend is pretty much mainstream fashion and I don't feel so individual any more.
On the plus side - I can buy retro style pieces from the high street. Accessible, cheap and plenty!
By the time I decide whether it's a good thing or not fashion will have moved on, no doubt about it. I'm looking forward to this. The charity shops will be full of amazing bargains!

Here's some celebs who's hair has caught my eye recently.
Back in June/July 2010 I started to notice the trend. Katy Perry was always a little 50's with her looks but this blue style totally blew me away! I want blue hair. I want it now!

She usually dons the rolled bangs for performances when she doesn't have a wig on.

Another singer who's style has been swinging the fashion needle towards retro is Christina Aguilera. She rocks the red lips but her ohmygodblinding platinum hair makes me cringe a lot of the time. This style looks pretty good though. I love a good quiff.

Slightly more recently than this the ever colourful, new to our shores Nicki Minaj has been pinging up on my radar. Her hair changes every time I see a picture of her but those rolled bangs are a staple. I know it's a wig, but I'm still jealous!

And last but not least are the current offerings from Nicole Scherzinger. She's given the Betty bangs and victory rolls a go, but there's something about it that grates on me. It's just not quite right.  What do you all think?

Putting the ROCK in ROCKABILLY

I've recently re-invented myself and the way I dress as I was becoming one of these boring people that just wore a random mix of plain tops teamed with some mediocre jeans. Yawn. I always knew deep down that this wasn't me. When I was 12/13 years old and was just beginning to find my own style and buy my own clothes I was a goth. I, much to my parents horror, dyed my hair black, wore only red, black and purple and clomped around in a pair of deep red Doc Martens. Over the years my style mellowed out until one day I looked in the mirror and thought - 'Bloody hell...who are you?'
I'd come to realise that I'd been dressing according to what pleased others rather than what pleased myself. I have always loved the Rockabilly look and I started to trawl eBay around the middle of last year in the hope of changing my style into something that really gave me some identity. I'm now exactly where I want to be, although I'm finding my style is evolving even now.
For Xmas my gorgeous boyfriend got me a pair of these bad boys -

which I completely ADORE. Up until now I had been wearing cute Mary Janes or T-Bar mid-heels with my pencil skirts. I had begun to follow the 40's and 50's trend quite literally and had stopped adding the Rock or the Psycho to my Billy. With the introduction of these however, I'm falling back into my lovely alternative self again.
It's been about 10 years since I last wore a pair of Doc's and I don't know why I left it so long!
Long live the Doc's!

Brr! Rockabilly Fashion In Freezing Temperatures - Does It Exist?!

I've had to have a serious wardrobe re-think over the last week as England has been hit with such bloody freezing weather! It snowed here last night which was quite nice because it meant that the temperature got above minus for a while! We are not used to this here, it's not so fun...especially when it comes to dressing up for the day.
I love sorting out my outfits now that I'm a self confessed rockabilly/50's/40's/retro chick but during this cold weather I've really struggled! There's only so much a cute cardigan can do for you warmth wise.
My solution at the moment is teaming a warm pencil skirt with double tights, warm innersoles in my mary janes and an extra vest top underneath everything else. To make sure I don't lose the look completely I have taken to wearing more make-up than usual - which I don't really like to do but it keeps my eyes warm (that's my excuse anyway!).
Anyone got any tips on how to keep stylish in the cold? I'm so looking forward to the summer when I can start wearing tea dresses, capri pants and halter neck tops....sigh.

Oooh, my eyes are so warm!