Wheelchair Fashion: Autumn Rose

Wheelchair Fashion: Autumn Rose

No comments

autumn, chronically ill, disability, fashion, ootd, vintage, Wheelchair

This outfit of the day is another one where I'm making a dress into a skirt & still feeling incredibly clever about it. I mean how many times have you bought a dress & then realised that it only really works as well, a dress. When you decide not to wear the same outfit twice you realise that dresses are pretty limiting, unless you buy new regularly they're really a wear once kind of thing....hence my feeling of true smugness when I worked out how to turn my dresses into skirts :)

This dress is one of my favourites & by far the most comfortable thing in my wardrobe & was in this post from July. I usually wear it as what I call 'pretend clothes', clothes that aren't pjs (my normal uniform) but don't require me to wear underwireing, shapewear, tights &/or make up & that I can go to sleep in if I get too tired to change. Does that make me sound like a weirdo? Now you get why I go all out in my ootd post ^^

I don't wear a lot of black & this outfit totally reminded me why, I kept merging into the chair & looking like I had square boob lol  Does anyone know why wheelchairs are all black? I always assumed it was the same reason early fords came in 'any colour as long as it's black' but seriously the only advantage I can think of is that stains (in theory) don't show as easily but it's not worth it for all the disadvantages.

I always wonder if anyone reads all the text fashion bloggers write in this section, I know when I read fashion blogs I don't usually (I struggle to read that much text full stop so I focus on other blogs) although there are a few where I read everything they write.....not mine though, I write all kinds of gibberish lol. A store I really respect said they were going to read my blog post last week & I swear I nearly broke into a cold sweat, I almost wanted to tell them that my blog is really more of a picture book than something that is there to be read ^^

Anyway, the important bits, the necklace was a gift, the top is an ASOS basic, the belt is old from ASOS again, the skirt is actually a dress from Lindy Bop as I said, the tights are from M&S & the shoes are from B.A.I.T. footwear. These shoes though, I love them so much, they are so pretty & I am starting to get used to them but they are so uncomfortable to walk in & I have no idea why because the heel is really short but it's like I'm walking on a narrow shoe just in a line down the arch of my feet running toe to heel. I feel like you'd have to be some kind of acrobat to be used to this feeling, it's decidedly un-fun to start with! That being said I'm thinking of getting a grey pair next since I don't walk in them & they look so pretty ^^ My mum thinks I'm being silly but you only live once & I have great faith in the power of the right pair of shoes :)

I have to mention that it was actually my mum who came up with the idea for this outfit! She's usually really bad with that kind of stuff but I guess years of taking my outfit photos are teaching her to see clothes the way I do ^^
Thank you mum for putting up with my obsessive perfectionism, making me laugh when we are out taking photos, helping me feel good about myself when we've taken 30 photos in a row where I look bad & keeping me going when I can't find a single thing to wear.

Continue Reading

Wheelchair Fashion: Golden Morning Pin Up

Wheelchair Fashion: Golden Morning Pin Up

No comments

autumn, disability, drag race, fashion, ootd, retro, vintage, Wheelchair

This is going to be a bit of a photo heavy post but I am living the fierce fish fantasy, serving face & body-ody-ody for days (and speaking the drag queen lingo that goes with it).
Honestly though I can't tell you how amazing I felt in this outfit - taking photos I felt untouchable, beautiful & fabulous, seriously people spend years of their lives dieting/having surgery/having therapy to feel as good as I felt & it is all because of this top!
I can't begin to tell you how long I have been lusting over this top, I think I first started before I got sick (so 5 yrs +) but the price (£55 @ deadly is the female) always stopped me from taking that step & buying it.....I can't explain how much I regret not getting it earlier!!!

I decided that this autumn I wanted to do one of those classic autumn ootd posts with autumn leaves thrown at me to be caught in motion by the camera & a handful or acorns or conkers or pine cones or some other equally cliche thing & this outing was supposed to be the day I got it. The previous few days had been dry, the morning was going to be light & I was hoping to get out for morning golden hour, before the sunrise, to get the perfect photos in a wood near where I live.
Well the wood was pitch black when we got there (after getting up at 7am on sheer force of will....the crazy things I do for my own perfectionism) so we went back via a park hoping to get something & ended up getting these photos which are better than any fashion blogger lens flare dream photos I have ever designed in my head, I am SO happy with them!!!!

The outfit is, well to call it an experiment is putting it mildly. It was the first time I've worn shape wear I think since before I got ill & then I think I was still in my goth light phase & wearing corsets with jeans & t-shirts. Ever since I had the pre-M.E. organ problems my abdomen has been very tender & I've not felt anything that pressed to be worth the risk but I felt this top kind of required shapewear so I got some which is nice & all but it has an awful tendency to ride up & dig into my liver & kidneys when I transfer from car to wheelchair, I think I've worked out a way to stop it from doing that next time but seriously, what is wrong with shape wear that staying where it is supposed to be!
The top is, as I said, goddess wear :) Made by pin up girl clothing, I bought it through deadly is the female cause they are in the uk & it made shipping cheaper :)
The skirt is actually a dress from lindy bop :) I unzipped it, pushed the top inside the bottom part so it looked like a skirt, zipped it up as far as it would go, belted it & voila! I felt super clever that I worked that out, particularly since I don't really fill out the top of the dress (my boobs & waist being out of proportion now I'm a little bigger) & it was just hanging in my wardrobe accusingly.
The belt is old from asos, the shoes are old from acessorize & I think the tights are from M&S....

I'm loving these pin up-ish, vintage-ish looks & they work very well in a wheelchair. As a former hourglass, the best shape for me in my wheelchair is something with a full midi skirt, ideally with emphasis at the waist so as to replicate the shape that I have had stood up & this is a classic 1940's/1950's look that you find all through out vintage & vintage reproduction clothing.
More than that though these looks make me feel super powerful & really beautiful. I can't imagine anything I would feel more attractive in than this outfit, so expect to see a lot more of this kind of fashion on the blog ^^

Continue Reading

Wheelchair Fashion: Old Faithful

Wheelchair Fashion: Old Faithful

No comments

autumn, disability, fashion, lifestyle, Wheelchair

Hi there. I have just spent most of the week trying to work out a name for this ootd, for me this is pretty much just 'clothes'. The crochet top is what gets called on any time I want to look put together but I don't have the energy to come up with some fully thought out outfit, the skirt is just something that I happen to own that is relatively new & comfotable then I added a belt & lipstick. Seriously this is as close to a signature look as I get, maybe that's what I'll call it :)



In my last post I talked about my noise cancelling headphones, this is a perfect example of the ways I wear them. I totally tried to take outfit photos without them on but trust me I looked exhausted, miserable & in pain (not cute). When I'm somewhere noisey like town I feel so much more in control & I have so much more energy to focus on what's happening around me, plus my lipstick totally goes with them :)
These are the peltor ear defenders btw, I am basically living in them atm what with fireworks & roadworks & all the other painful background noise there is.

Any who, the top is old from George @ Asda, the skirt is new from Modcloth & the belt is old from French Connection.

Do you have a signiature look or a peice of clothing that you gravitate to when you are in a rush to look good?

Continue Reading

Spoonie Survival Kit: Noise Cancelling Headphones

Spoonie Survival Kit: Noise Cancelling Headphones

1 comment

chronically ill, disability, Favourites, lifestyle, M.E., random, review, spoonie

I've been meaning to do this post for a very long time but I never seemed to get around to it, it always seemed massively overwhelming, but then trying to include everything that is a part of my spoonie survival kit in one post would be overwhelming, I think half of the things I own could count as part of my survival kit.

So I've decided to take this one item, or group of items at a time, & make it a series. So from now on once a fortnight or so I will talk about something from my spoonie survival kit.

So I'm starting with something that is probably the most important item in my personal survival kit, my noise cancelling headphones.

There are two kinds of noise cancelling headphones; the kind like my Bose headphones which basically 'edit out' the background noise using some fancy pants computer programme I cannot understand even a little bit & the kind like my Peltor ones which block the noise using a lot of foam & by making a vacuum almost around your ear.

You don't need both kinds of headphones, they both have good points & bad points but essentially they both block noise so there is no way you need both kinds. However since I have both kinds I thought I would do a pros & cons so you could see which kind would work best for you.

3M Peltor Optime III Ear Defenders

Pros:

• Inexpensive (£19.60 on Amazon UK as of time of writing)
• Very effective at blocking out background noise
• Surprisingly comfortable for short periods (upto 3 hours in my experience)
• The louder the noise the better they block (which means they don't leave you feeling totally isolated, when it is quieter people etc are muffled not totally gone)
• You can buy replacement ear cups etc for them
• There are several sizes of ear defenders available, these ones are huge (I bought them to block out the noise of bonfire night which is AWFUL in my area) but they also come in much smaller sizes e.g. kids ear protectors

Cons:

• Can get quite tight
• Can be kind of isolating
• The ones I have are quite large & not heavy exactly but I can definitely feel them on my head & I'm certain that on touch sensitive days I'm going to hate them
• They stick out from my ears massively (seriously I look like princess leia) so there's no way I'd be able to sleep with them on
• If the ambient noise is loud enough people talking get blocked out too, quite common in shops with loud music...

Bose Quiet Comfort Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones

Pros:

• Extremely comfortable - seriously the most comfortable headphones ever
• You can listen to music etc through them, in fact they are more noise cancelling when you are listening to something through them
• They are very light
• They are very good at blocking out just background but not people talking etc
• You can buy them as in-ear headphones if that is something you can cope with

Cons:

• Expensive (The current version are £269.95 on Amazon UK at time of writing)
• They aren't as good as the Peltor ones at blocking out loud music in shops (I guess the db rating is lower?)
• Sudden banging noises (like card doors slamming or fireworks) cause the computer to make a popping noise a couple of seconds later, annoys me every time

I also have a pair of Edz Kidz Ear Defenders which I haven't talked about in this post, simply because I have nothing good to say about them (other than perhaps that they fold up very neatly), they are excruciating to wear & so I can't really give you any information on their performance.

Anyway, I hope this post is helpful for you & that you find the series interesting :)

Continue Reading

Wheelchair Fashion: Harvest Fog

Wheelchair Fashion: Harvest Fog

No comments

autumn, casual, disability, fashion, ootd, Wheelchair

I think the best bit of Autumn is the early morning fog when all the leaves are turning & the world is perfectly still. I was lucky enough to get out into the fog one morning last week & (whilst the fog is heavy to breathe) it was awesome. I'm actually thinking of making an autumn bucket list just so I can cross off that morning :)

Anywho, this is my new winter coat :) The year before I got sick I got my first grown up winter coat. It cost more than I could afford but it was going to last me for years so it was worth it....& then I got sick & it stopped fitting me (I gained weight & regardless it was too long to be comfortable in the wheelchair). Ever since then I have been trying to find another coat as perfect as that one that I got all those years ago.....
I'm hoping that this one will be the coat I've been searching for. It's got a large enough zipper pull that I can zip up my own coat, it's big enough that I've got space to get larger (or wear a couple of jumpers), it's warm, the hood is cosy, I love the colour, the texture of the fabric is amazing, the faux fur is soft & fluffy & I love the toggles.

P.S. If anyone has any advice on how to take good photos in the fog I would really appreciate them, I could get okay ones of me but when I tried to take photos of things further away I really struggled....

Continue Reading

Wheelchair Fashion: Autumn Check

Wheelchair Fashion: Autumn Check

No comments

accessories, autumn, disability, fashion, ootd, retro, vintage, Wheelchair

I can't help but look at these pictures & laugh. When I was getting dressed I felt enormous, like a navy gingham whale, & I was convinced that this pictures would end up getting scrapped, that I would hate the way I looked in them, that editing would send me into a body hate spiral....
I was mega freaked out.

Obviously, after all that worrying I LOVE these pictures, I think they are some of the best for a long time & I think the dress is incredibly flattering.....seriously instead of this experience sending me into a body hate spiral it actually made me feel happier than I have been about my body for a long while :)

That's the best bit about fashion blogging for me, not just the excuse to buy clothes, dress up all pretty & leave the house (although that's pretty good too), or the awesome community (although that's a close second), but the fact that having to look at myself in photos & having to learn how to take good ones & having to keep going until I get good ones means that I have learnt to see more than my double chins & my man jaw & my lumpy bits, I also see my tiny waist & my smile & my legs & the other good parts that I'd never noticed before. More than that I've learnt to see my body as a one thing, not just a mixed bag of good parts & bad parts :)

Anyway, the fashion :)

This dress is another new one from Lindy Bop (I think I'm going to end up owning their entire catalogue ^^). I adore the bold gingham print, the fabric is divine & it is insanely comfortable, I could genuinely wear this instead of pjs, which is good because I'm getting a little sick of wearing pjs all the time (it shouldn't freak people out to see you in regular ppl clothes ^^).

My only problem with the dress is the buttons, but it's actually a love hate kind of thing. I love the way they look, I hate the fact that I can't fasten/unfasten them.....but then I have the same problem with zips, pop studs & basically all fastenings.

I'm not really sure what I was going for with this look so I'm going to fall back on Parisian :)
I sort of wanted it to be very clean & simple, for the dress to shine but for it to be soft & feminine rather than '70's lumberjack girl' which I had this huge fear it would end up as if I wore boots with it or something like that.....although you don't see enough lumberjack girl looks, I should totally try that. I think my brother even has an axe :)
More than anything though I wanted an excuse to wear my amazing new nude shoes, I can't stop thinking about them. They are agony to walk in but I still just want to wear them as slippers or something because they're just so pretty ^^

Continue Reading