Wheelchair Fashion: The Flower Queen's Daughter

Wheelchair Fashion: The Flower Queen's Daughter

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chronically ill, disability, fashion, lifestyle, M.E., ootd, plus size, retro, spring, summer, team princess, vintage, Wheelchair

Do you guys remember last year when I took part in the team princess M.E. awareness event organised by Queenie Sian? Well it's coming up to M.E. awareness month again & I'm taking part again.

The idea behind team princess is that we M.E. sufferers have a lot in common with the fairy tale princess, many of us are trapped in our castles, sleeping for a thousand years or 'just' cursed. There isn't a cure for M.E. or even a treatment but you can help with our isolation.

Like last year I'm not having a individual team princess fundraising page but the charity I am recommending is the Smile for M.E. charity who specialise in sending happy mail to M.E. sufferers, I can't even explain how much of a difference happy mail can make.
You could also donate to Gemma who is raising money for a wheelchair she desperately needs.

On to the look. So I had this crazy idea that it would be super cute to name all my Team Princess looks after fairy tale princesses & not just the Disney ones but cool, lesser known fairy tale princesses. After a lot more reading than I really had the energy for (fairy tales are really interesting, particularly the Eastern European & Scandinavian ones) I realised that fairy tale princesses are mostly pretty lame, they barely do anything in the stories! However I did find the story of the Flower Queen's Daughter which I thought totally fit with this look. There is a bit of a Persephone thing going on at the end of this story, like the Flower Queen's Daughter brings Summer with her or something & in this dress I literally feel like I am wearing Summer. If I looked behind me & there were flowers growing in my tire tracks I wouldn't even be surprised.



So the dress was my reward to myself for coping with some pretty shitty body & life stuff & I am so in love with it. I was kind of convinced that it would be something I wore maybe once (the pattern is kind of out there for me) but I have already worn it 3 times & I've only had it a few weeks! I've even worn it when I wasn't leaving the house & I usually just stay in pjs so I'm not wasting energy.

If you are wondering where to get it, this is the Bernie Dexter Paris Dress is Serenity Walk & you can get it from either the brand's website or Unique Vintage (where I got it). I got it in the largest size just so I was certain it would fit & I would actually say it was a tiny bit large on me (only just) despite having a waist of 41 inches & my waist being that & bigger depending on the day. It makes it super comfortable so I guess it depends on how you want it to fit.

The skirt is slightly shorter than my other vintage inspired pieces hence my petticoat showing at the bottom (& at the side apparently, I wish I'd noticed that when we were taking photos!). I actually love being able to show off the bottom of my petticoat, this malco modes petticoat has the most amazing detailed edge & I never thought I'd get to show it off ^^

The straps on this dress are wide enough to cover bra straps if you want to wear it without a cardigan. I choose not to because my I'm pretty sure my arms are pale enough to glitter in the sunlight...plus it is Yorkshire & it rarely gets warm enough to go without sleeves of some kind :)



I could write an essay about why I love this dress, seriously there are so many amazing things about it, there are pockets, the details are so pretty, it's is so comfortable & I feel like a ray of sunshine in it. The ONLY thing I don't like is the zip is in the back but you can't have everything lol. (Did I just spend a whole blog post talking about a dress? I'm super weird lol)

What is your favourite fairy tale, Disney or story book princess?
I'm not much of one for princess stories, my favourite fairy tale princes was the one in East of the Sun, West of the Moon, my favourite Disney princes is Princess Dot in A Bug's Life & my favourite story book princess is Princess Meryl in the Two Princesses of Barmarre by Gail Carson Levine.
(My taste in princesses may be a little unconventional).

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The Trouble with Words

The Trouble with Words

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chronically ill, disability, lifestyle, M.E., random

One of the things with my M.E. that affects me the most emotionally is the way I struggle with language. It affects me every day, I struggle to comment on friends posts, or write posts of my own. I struggle to remember things I need to do that involve writing more than I struggle to remember anything else & I get tired fastest when reading, writing or thinking word/number based things through.

A long time ago, when I was still coming to terms with my M.E. & was trying to finish my A-Levels I remember having a moment when I could physically feel my thoughts taking longer. I can't explain it but it was like my thoughts were driving through my brain & the motorway was closed so they were having to take side roads. When I focused it was almost like I could feel the part of my brain that wasn't working.

As my M.E. has progressed I started to find creative things much easier than I found analytical things. I started to process things visually rather than analytically in a way that was totally foreign to how I was before. I had always dreamt in words (no pictures at all) & suddenly my dreams were totally immersive & in full colour. I used to think everything in words & make lightning fast connections from one concept to another in a way I can't even describe any more. I remember it, I know it is missing. It was the thing that made my brain my brain & no body else's & with out it my world feels really slow & dull & I feel really detached from it.

I used to love writing, it was my one creative talent, & I was pretty good at it. Now I put off writing tasks until the last minute because like a kid with a piece of maths homework. I know it will be hard, tiring & I know it won't be any good however long I work on it.

I have a pile of cards on my desk I want to send to friends & I've been putting it off since January because I'm so scared of sitting down to write them. I have so so SO many post I want to write, some that would really mean a lot to me, that I just can't seem to get done because I just can't find any words to say what I am trying to say. I am pushing myself away from the spoonie community partly because of my crippling shyness but also because talking to them would mean forming rational sentences regularly.

I know part of my problem at this point is that I know I can't write the posts or the cards or w/e & so I fail because I know I will but there is a real problem at the base of it & it's a problem that is getting harder all the time. I can't find anyway to fix it but I guess if you guys know about it I might not feel so embarrassed about the gibberish I write & say.

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Wheelchair Fashion: Mint Leaves

Wheelchair Fashion: Mint Leaves

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disability, fashion, lifestyle, retro, spring, summer, vintage, Wheelchair

Hello everyone. I've had the worst cold for the past few weeks, if a hideous cough, tonsillitis, an ear infection, a fever & extra fatigue count as a cold. Worse still my Mum (who is my primary carer) also caught it so we've had an incredibly dull & tiring few weeks...

These pictures were taken probably two days before the cold started when we managed to have a day out at Harlow Carr Gardens in Harrogate. It was seriously windy & generally not very nice weather but in the green house it was actually quite lovely, warm & full of spring flowers.

This outfit was almost an accident. I had planned the pinup girl clothing skirt & top combo but the best part of this outfit, the thing that makes the whole thing work as an outfit, is the mint cardigan & that was a last minute addition because the day was so miserable & cold. I swear all my best outfits are accidental.

As I said before the top & skirt are from pinup girl clothing - the Doris top in white & the Jenny skirt in Leaves Print.
The cardigan is an old one from Next, the belt is old from French Connection & the shoes are from B.A.I.T.

I'm not one to favour practically over fashion (pretty much ever) so I am ADORING retro/vintage/pin up fashion & the full skirts, petticoats & corsetting that comes along with the style. Well my corsets haven't arrived yet so I may hate them but I loved corsets when I was an emo/goth wannabe in my teenage years so I'm looking forward to getting back to wearing them for real this time (with tight laceing & waist training if my body is willing to cope).

Does your style lean more to the practical or the pretty? I'm seriously useless for practicality, I used to wear dresses & ballet pumps to powerchair football, I even once wore heels lol

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Wheelchair Fashion: Spring Tartan

Wheelchair Fashion: Spring Tartan

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chronically ill, disability, fashion, ootd, plus size, retro, spring, vintage, Wheelchair

Hi. If I'd realised this was going to end up being my April Fool's Day ootd post I'd have come up with something a little more interesting. I don't know though, April Fool's Day seems to be about right for the outfit photos I took whilst freezing, sinking into the mud & showing too much side boob.

Before I forget, I totally recommend  this amazing blog post (translated link) by Jacqueline on what style of dresses work best for her in her wheelchair. I would have loved to have found a post like this when I first started using a wheelchair, it seriously would have helped me avoid so many fashion mistakes :)

This outfit is another vintage inspired look (like all of mine at the moment) & I think the first time I've blogged an outfit wearing a full 50's style petticoat.

The top is a peasant blouse from Pinup Girl Clothing & it could not be more different from the peasant tops of my tween years! For a start this one is tailored to with in an inch of it's life, offering shape & structure. I think I got mine in a size too big as I have a tendency to...'spill out' of the looser, top part.....all in all though I love it. My only gripe is that the zip is in the back which can make it difficult to sort, I need help getting dressed so it wasn't any more awkward for me than anything else is (especially not more awkward than tights) but I know I would have struggled with it in years gone by.

The skirt is from Vivienne of Holloway & it's their standard circle skirt. I find it to be very comfortable despite (in theory) being about 2 sizes too small for my seated shape, although it is a little long for me in the wheelchair, hitting near my ankles without a petticoat. I think I'm going to end up getting it shortened by at least an inch, although stood up it is a much better length.

The petticoat is from Malco Modes (bought from Deadly is the Female) & insanely soft & really REALLY full although I understand that you can get fuller ones (!?!). I have the peggy? in white & it's weirdly not that impractical in an electric wheelchair (I would not recommend a petticoated skirt to a manual wheelchair user, I'm not sure it would be safe). I have to swing the skirt like a bell before I sit down so that the fluffiest part is not underneath or behind me when I sit down but it's not that much more difficult than sitting down in a large skirt without a petticoat & I really like the way it keeps the skirts looking the way they were supposed to look.

I really like this vintage-y style look & the way it helps me maintain the illusion of an hourglass silhouette so I am willing to put up with the compromises I have to make to get that (i.e. trying to transfer to the car in a petticoat, in the rain) but this would also have looked cute with no petticoat & a skirt 5 inches shorter...

The top really is awesome though, I totally recommend it.

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