Wheelchair Fashion: Stealing a moment

Wheelchair Fashion: Stealing a moment

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autumn, fashion, ootd, plus size, retro, vintage, Wheelchair, winter

Post-Halloween Autumn. It's kind of an awkward time.

Stores & TV have already decided it's time for Christmas & the weather has started to get frosty but the leaves have barely turned...
This time of year always flies by so it's kind of nice to steal a moment of quiet, to just let time slow. Just for a minute. Just to enjoy the last of the season.

Snuggle under a blanket with a hot chocolate, a pile of biscuits & a good book.
Light a candle, put on your favourite jumper & make something pumpkin spiced.
Make s'mores on the stove, paint your nails & watch movies in bed.

Or you could, you know, get up before dawn to take photos in a picturesque Yorkshire village at sunrise....

Maybe I'll try the first three options next time.

If I'm honest I quite liked getting up & taking photos. The fact that it was the 2nd day of the first period I'd had in a while was not quite so much fun (the cramps were a beeyatch!) but I wasn't going to let it ruin a the only day with relatively good weather for weeks (by which I mean that there were rainbows when it rained). As I said in the last post Autumn weather in Yorkshire tends towards changeable, in that it changes between grey & wet, grey and cold, grey and windy & grey and all three lol.
It was nice to have  a morning of sunshine, even if it was in between showers. I was really worried on the drive over because it was very damp & very dark. Luckily we drove into a band of sunshine about 5 minutes before the sun came up.

For all that the weather was glorious (& it really was...until we got rained off about 2 minutes after the photo below) the photos aren't really my favourites.


It was just one of those days I guess. Some days the photos are just harder to take than other days...
Something about the awkwardness of taking photos in the middle of an empty village & menstrual cramps & the vagaries of fate lol
Interestingly though my period really changes the shape of my face (see if you can spot the differences lol) and it makes the photos look....weird I guess. It just doesn't really look like me. Even more so than normal.
I never feel like the person in the photos is 'me'. Mostly because I'll see people leaving these comments about how beautiful or effortless I am & I'll be sat in the same pjs I've been wearing for 3 days with greasy hair & soup stains all down the front of my top... I struggle to mesh the two halves of myself in my brain.
I'm working on it by wearing more of my pretty clothes in my day to day & trying to remember that being sick doesn't define me.

For all that I don't love these photos I love this outfit.
For one thing the blouse is a proper colour! It is so hard to find tops that I like & that fit me (I know I've said this before but it is super frustrating) and finding ones that aren't white, off white or cream is even harder. This is from Modcloth (and is currently on sale). It goes up to a size 4XL, it's a super cute colour (and it also comes in a pine that's great for Christmas-y looks), the lace is adorable, it's really versatile & it washes amazingly.
The cardigan is another one of the EmmyDesign Sweden cardigans I LOVE (I have 3 & wear them all the time). I was so nervous about buying this one, I don't really wear a lot of teal, in fact I think this is the only piece of teal clothing I own. It has actually turned out to be one of my favourite pieces. I wear it all the time just in casual wear & I'm always wanting to pair it with burgundies. I think it's so fun with the two tone teal & it's like the opposite of burgundy on the colour wheel so it works really well. All that colour theory technical-ness lol. Plus it is super super warm & comfortable. Unfortunately these cardigans seem to have sold out everywhere but they are worth keeping an eye out for...
I got the skirt from TopVintage Boutique. It's actually a size too small because it only went up to an XL but it was far too cute not to get. Plus the wheelchair means no-one is going to know if the zip is open a bit at the back lol. What drew me to this skirt was the tweed & the ribbon detail at the bottom. The detail that made me fall in love with the skirt was the great pleat detail.
Also the glitter.
I wish it showed in the photos because I LOVE the glitter. It totally takes the skirt to the next level.

Oooo, and the shoes. The shoes are these bettie page shoes & I am totally in love with them (even though they are secretly cursed, literally everything went wrong whilst I was trying to buy these).

What's your favourite way to enjoy the last of Autumn? Also do you ever feel disconnected from a part of yourself?

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Wheelchair Fashion: Watercolour Plaid

Wheelchair Fashion: Watercolour Plaid

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autumn, fashion, ootd, plus size, retro, vintage, Wheelchair

There is something supremely ephemeral about Autumn, more so than any other season. I think it's because the idea of crisp cool, but not cold, golden mornings walking through a park as leaves shower down around you that is the essence of Autumn (as snow is the essence of Winter & ice-cream at the beach is the essence of Summer) exists only in books & movies. Autumn is a season of change & that change seems to translate as cold, windy, rainy days. Or at least it does in Yorkshire...
The leaves took a long time to turn this year (it's been cold but not really frosty enough) & the weather has been...variable? Variable is a good word for it. Although mostly it's been varying between cold & grey, cold & windy, cold & rainy and cold & grey with a few rays of sun....
It was all of the above when we went to take the pictures but it was kind of a now or never moment (now that I've said that next week is going to be gloriously warm, sunny & the leaves will finally turn properly...it's sods law).

Luckily a touch of subtle editing can make a slightly grey day into the perfect autumn fantasy. Although can you call editing subtle if it gives you a headache so bad the other people in the room can feel it? Lol. It actually was subtle editing, I was just trying to get things done really quickly, I only managed to get these photos done two days before they were due to be posted (rain & cold & wind conspired against me) so I did a lot whilst running on empty. I'm not very good at writing my blog posts ahead of time. I need to have the photos taken, edited & in the post before I can even work out what I want to say... I mean I know the basics, this skirt is really nice, the top is cute (if see through) but bobbles when it washes & the cardigan is a staple but the other stuff requires me to be in the moment & the moment includes the photos & the fantasy they conjure....or at least attempt to.

These were supposed to create the fantasy of a late 1940's university student in the park on an Autumn day water-colouring the scenery in her sketch book. I even did a watercolour in a sketchbook that I took with me. I actually used the props maybe twice.....

In my defence it was really busy in the park. I'd picked a park in Harrogate that has lots of beautiful long avenues of trees with the vague concept in mind of leading lines & serene park land. I've never seen any one in the park when I've gone past it in the car so I assumed it would be pretty empty. Not quite so empty at 8am apparently.
I have never seen so many dog walkers, joggers & commuters in one park. Honestly.
I was constantly getting in the way of one person or another. I felt so awkward I felt like I needed a sign saying I’m not vain honest this is the thing I do that makes it worth getting out of bed on a morning.
It did get a little less busy about half an hour in so I eventually got a chance to take photos with my props.

Honestly though who needs props when Autumn is this beautiful? It's like that line you see everywhere this time of year about every leaf being a flower. Nature creates a perfect background with all the props you need, no additional fantasy required.

Clothes, erm. Like I said above the skirt (Miss Candyfloss, available here and in a dress here) is really really great. It is a really pretty Autumn/Winter plaid with enough colour not to be flat but not so much that you couldn't wear it to school. Plus it's the only shade of mustard I have ever owned that doesn't instantly make me look sallow. There are two roomy pockets, good sized belt loops with cute button details (front and back) & the pleats make it practical. The only downsides I can find is the zip is a little stiff over the waist band & the sizing is a little small.
The blouse (from modcloth) is very sheer, very cute. very big.....washes badly. Which is a shame because it's really nice & it's hard finding cute tops & I love the texture but the polka dots bobble up like a wool jumper even on a delicate wash & I'm not sure how long it's going to last. I would recommend hand wash only....
The cardigan (from Modcloth but it's no longer available in this colour) is an old faithful. I have it in a whole bunch of colours & I love it. It's super comfortable, cute & looks good tucked in or left out. Also it comes in loads of sizes, washes well, is reasonably priced & lightweight enough to be worn as a layer. I often wear these with pjs because they are just the right amount of warm.
You can't really see but I'm wearing a red M&S cami underneath the top (it was a super cute pop of colour in person). The shoes are from B.A.I.T. footwear & the beret is from Imogens Imagination on Etsy (they do my absolute favourite berets).

What's Autumn like where you live? If you tell me that where you live there are perfect crisp golden Autumns I may move in with you. Just fyi lol.
Happy Halloween everyone.

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Wheelchair Fashion: Femme Fatale

Wheelchair Fashion: Femme Fatale

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autumn, disability, fashion, ootd, plus size, retro, vintage, Wheelchair, winter

You know it is very hard to write a blog post when your cat is sleeping next to you looking super adorable... I think it's a plot to prevent me from being productive. Especially as she leaves as soon as I give up on my laptop.

I think this is a blog post for which I need to set the scene.
It's night. There's fog. That film noir music starts to swell in the background. A wheelchair user rolls into the light of the single lamppost. Her face is all but obscured by the night & yet you can see the determination in the glint in her eyes and the set of her mouth. She’s hunted for the secrets only she knows. Knowledge too deadly to trust to any man.
A car passes between you and she is gone, back into the night & the safety of the shadows.

Lol. This shoot had the silliest & most convoluted backstory. My mum & I just kept adding to it all the way through planning.
So it's the cold war (or maybe the early 40's, not quite sure) I'm working as a lab assistant but am actually more qualified than my boss who is making me do all the work & then stealing my ideas & giving them to the enemy. I've been working undercover building a case against him with the government but then I discover something (I think super powers but it doesn't really matter) that I don't trust him with so I take the research & leave. But then for some reason I also don't trust my own government so....you can see how convoluted it got. Would make a great film though. Way more fun than another fast & furious sequel.

The whole story is really all about how next level badass I feel in the dress. Like Veronica Mars meets Kate Daniels meets my avatar in Secret World...and if you got all of those references you not only win a gold star you also get a high five :)
This whole look spawned from the Autumn-Winter Miss Candyfloss collection (which has a whole femme fatale, Agent Carter vibe). I loved the collection, it was so bad-ass yet it also felt like something powerful women from the 1940's/1950's would have worn. I love that there was a collection focusing on the kickassness (what? It’s a word) of the women at the time. There are so many representations of susie homemaker style women of in the 40’s & 50’s & so few of strong independent women like Agent Carter (who I know is imaginary but doesn’t feel imaginary).
Kind of cute anecdote, the first thing my littlest brother said when he saw me wearing this was that I looked like Agent Carter.....he then said I wasn't pretty enough to be Agent Carter but I'm still counting it as a compliment lol.


All I can say is I have actually had dreams where I was wearing this dress I loved it so much. It gave me badass film noir anti-hero vibes the whole time I was wearing it & I LOVED it.

Am I answering an invisible phone? Am I playing an invisible piano? Am I communicating in some super secret spy language? I guess we'll never know...

I did feel very film noir down by the canal, even the weather conspired turning a morning that was supposed to be sunny & clear into one that was drizzly & very overcast. 90% of my lighting came from street lamps which made for interesting lighting & a very draining shoot.....especially when you are the only one who knows how the settings work on the camera lol.
Down by the canal has changed a lot from when I used to mooch around town in my teen years. It used to have a much more grungy graffiti & litter vibe than it does now (there used to be a tunnel with some very interesting anatomical graffiti that always made me giggle). Most of what's there now is posh apartments for people who work in town & some places to eat. Plus a courtyard with speakers hidden in the trees playing birdsong....(totally creepy btw, if you want bird song in your courtyard put up bird boxes & bird feeders...).

It was actually the second time I tried to shoot, the first time nothing worked. It was too dark & the background was wrong & so were the angles.... Mostly though it was just too busy (problems with trying to take photos somewhere urban in winter, golden hour is at 7....just as people are starting to go to work. I have been doing outfit photos for years & I have never been stared at more than during this photoshoot....

The dress was from Miss Candyfloss but I'm pretty sure it's sold out everywhere.... Sorry about that. It may be worth haunting their social media though because sometimes they do re-releases?
The petticoat I got from Vivien of Holloway. I actually don't recommend it to wheelchair users, it was quite slippy & a bit too long for my skirts. A nice petticoat but not one I'd buy again...
I got the hat from Top Vintage Boutique. I'm not sure it'll get worn a lot just because it's quite a statement, you can't be subtly vintage in a hat like that, but it's definitely cute. I particularly like that it has an alligator clip instead of a comb, a must if you have fine, slippy hair like me. Also if you recently cut most of it off... The hat stayed in place really well with only a reasonable amount of hairspray (my hair wasn't crispy afterwards...that denotes only a sensible amount of hairspray was used).
The gloves are vintage & I got them from Etsy (it's where I get all my vintage goodies).
The shoes are from Modcloth. I've been trying to find different & more interesting vintage style shoes & I've been looking at these for a while. I was a little nervous because I wasn't sure on sizing & you can't fudge with open sided shoes but I finally got the largest size 11W (I always get my shoes too long because otherwise I don't fit comfortably width wise, my comfiest B.A.I.T. shoes are a size 11). I could totally have gotten away with a size smaller, these are about a size too long on me but honestly it doesn't matter, I don't walk in them anyway. The real issue is that they are awkwardly high on my footplates. I'm going to have to think long & hard before I get any other heels this high. However cute they may be.

I think that's everything...
Is the construction super noticeable in the above photo? I thought the black & white made it less obvious but I'm not so sure now....
Something about the balcony & the construction reminded me of when I was in Venice (a long time ago). It had the same kind of feeling, especially in black & white. I colour it's just a big old mess.

You know this would make a great Halloween costume. Like I'm in costume as a 40's spy but at the same time all the pieces are re-wearable & I'm not a creepy misogynistic Halloween cliche... Plus I look awesome & confident. And warm.... You know the more I think about it the more I like it as a concept lol

Do you do anything for Halloween? It's not a big deal where I live so we don't really do anything. Mostly we watch Hocus Pocus & eat fun sized chocolate bars in the dark. That's pretty halloween-y...

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Wheelchair Fashion: Autumn Picnic

Wheelchair Fashion: Autumn Picnic

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autumn, fashion, ootd, plus size, retro, vintage, Wheelchair

This post was kind of inevitable after my last one. Being at Brimham Rocks reminded me of how much I used to love the kind of early autumn picnics when there was a touch of frost in the air & we would have soup from thermos flasks somewhere in the middle of a walk. A lot of my fondest memories are of days like that...
With these memories haunting me I thought I'd take a risk. I remembered that there was a service road all the way up to the house/cafe at Brimham Rocks & I hoped that I would be able to get my wheelchair along that far enough to find an area I could take photos. I wasn't expecting much, maybe a slightly passable incline leading to a slightly open space where you could see rocks in the background. I vaguely remembered something like that & was hoping I could find it before my hips got too painful..

I found something better.

So it turns out that in the past few years the people at Brimham rocks have been building a totally smooth (tarmac & everything) wheelchair accessible path! Not an access road but an actual path through nature & everything.
It's not totally finished yet (it transitions quite abruptly into a packed dirt path not far from the house, manageable but uncomfortable - I couldn't stand it for more than a few feet) but apparently it will be finished next summer! How amazing is that? Wheelchair accessible nature!
Brimham Rocks is very hilly & some of the dips & rises were a little nerve wracking but if you were in a slightly more powerful powerchair, had someone pushing you or were in a motor scooter I can't see it being a problem. Worth trying at any rate.
I had to get off the path though, it's not really a picnic if you spent the whole time on the path. Or at least not the kind I remember.

The panic of getting a wheelchair up a steep and slippery incline with a slightly under-powered wheelchair was pretty intense. Worth it but probably not something I want to repeat.

It was a perfect morning, one of those dewy fresh Autumn mornings just on the edge of turning to frost. It's funny to think of it being Autumn because it wasn't officially yet, the leaves hadn't turned & the equinox hadn't passed but it was Autumn all the same. Perhaps that's why the season passes so quickly, it starts before we really acknowledge it & it's supplanted by Christmas the day after Halloween.

I guess being there got me all philosophical. It was one of those things that I thought I would never get to experience again & that I wish I'd not taken for granted you know? I'm sure every spoonie has a list as long as their arm of things like that. Dancing & going out by yourself & walking without pain & reading a book in one go & writing an essay &.....oh & all the little things that we all took for granted & miss so dreadfully now they are gone. It was seriously magical to get cross one of those things off the list. I did it, & it was worth the little flare I had afterwards.
Especially since I had one of those perfect Autumn moments, with the smell of damp bracken & the hot chocolate & the pumpkin muffins & the sunrise....if anyone worked out how to condense all that into a candle I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd buy 8.

This outfit is everything I was hoping it would be & more. The cardigan is by EmmyDesign Sweden & is one of their infamous Ice Skater cardigans in Cinnamon (it seems to be out of stock on their website but there seem to still be a few on the Revival Retro website). I've wanted one since last year but what with the price & the fact they go out of stock so quickly I never got one, this year however my mum treated me to this one as an early Christmas present & I can neither confirm or deny that I fell so desperately in love that I dipped deeply into my savings to buy two of the other colours. Okay I did & I regret nothing. The cardigans are so warm & so soft & despite being wool they are not itchy at all. Plus they are stunning & they look good with my clothes. Worth. Every. Penny.

The skirt is another item that was worth every penny. It's from Heart of Haute & is so lovely. It's made of a warm & soft plaid material, so warm & soft in fact that it kind of felt like I had a super light weight blanket wrapped around my legs, a total bonus for any wheelchair user. The whole outfit was pretty warm if I'm honest, the only part of me that got cold was my hands.

The blouse is from Collectif Clothing but they don't make it in this colour anymore (it's in a red now). I've been really struggling to find vintage style blouses that are the style I'm looking for - kind of a true vintage, House of foxy kind of style - that come in my size (a 2XL or a UK 20 in most styles) & this one has is the only one I've found so far. As you can imagine it gets worn quite a lot. I really like the buttons & fact that it doesn't go all the way to the throat, I can look a little 'all boob' if my tops go up too high so I appreciate blouses that don't.

The shoes are again from B.A.I.T. footwear. I seriously do own non-B.A.I.T. shoes but these are my most comfortable 'Victorian lady on a hike' shoes. They aren't Victorian-ish at all but I don't know they just felt like the shoes someone would have been most likely to wear for a day like this if they were too stylish (or impractical) to wear walking boots. And I did feel an awful lot of empathy (an awe) for those Victorian ladies in full length dresses & super tight corsets who climbed mountains whilst I was trying to get up that hill wearing high heels, a (not very tight) corset & a big fluffy petticoat.
I'm not going to lie, I also felt like I was climbing a mountain. It was NOT easy, even though it was a tiny hill (like maybe 10 steps) & I had loads of support.
It was kind of embarrassing. Also exhausting. And exhilarating. And...I can't think of any more 'e' words for it. It was really fun & painful & rewarding. And I love these photos so it was also worth it.

What things do you miss doing that you can't anymore? What's your favourite thing to do in Autumn?

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Wheelchair Fashion: Autumn Smoke

Wheelchair Fashion: Autumn Smoke

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autumn, fashion, ootd, plus size, Wheelchair

I'm pretty sure I have peaked. Literally these are the best photos I will ever have, I should just retire now :) I've been wanting to take these photos for a while but I've been waiting for it to get to the right stage of late summer, early autumn so the location would be perfect. And it was literally perfect.

I knew I wanted these photos at Brimham Rocks, regardless of the fact that the area I knew these photos needed is 100% inaccessible. Ehhh, inaccessible is just a hard to spell word, nothing was going to stop me from getting these photos exactly the way I had imagined them.
I used to go to Brimham Rocks all the time when I was a kid. I probably know it better than I know Leeds City Centre, or at least I did for a long time.
I could talk for a long, long time about Brimham Rocks & honestly you'd probably get pretty bored. Let's just say that it's the perfect mix of Yorkshire moorland, woodland & easily climbable weird rock formations that makes as much fun at 5 as it does when you're older. I'm not so excited by the rocks these days (although there are a few I remember very fondly) but I do wish I could walk some of the moorland & woodland bits I remember loving pre-M.E. Some of those hold a very fond place in my heart & it was really hard being there & not getting to go on a proper walk.

This part of Brimham Rocks is right next to the car park, up an inaccessible rise through a small (& totally inaccessible) patch of trees. I think it might have been technically semi accessible if I had been in a more powerful wheelchair & the ground hadn't been slick with dew. Also if I hadn't been quite so scared of crashing. There's a pretty well walked track & it's not got too many mole holes & rocks. The problem is that it's narrow so you can't avoid the obstacles that are there...plus what would you do when you got there? You can't turn, there are tall grasses & heather on all sides. You'd have to reverse out & believe me that would have been a thing of nightmare. This just isn't something you'd do for fun.
I ended up walking the distance (maybe 10 metres...) in short bursts sitting on my wheelchair in between & having my brother carry the chair the distance (again in short bursts, the chair is pretty heavy after all). So total realism obviously.
Whatever, this is almost exactly where I had hoped to take pictures (the area I had imagined is a bit further round, so totally beyond the reach of me or my wheelchair) The area I had in mind is a little more open & I remember walking through it when I was a kid when it was all dry & golden. Every other step we'd disturb some grouse who'd make a lot of noise, fly up & then land exactly where it had been... I miss stuff like that.
This was pretty much perfect though, the rowan trees & the edges of the grass turning a little yellow with a touch of autumn & the heather being out & stuff... It would have been an awesome background even without the smoke. I have a feeling I'll be going back to try to find a slightly more accessible part to take photos in.

I'm finally going to talk about the smoke bombs. All of that talking about the location & this is going to be pretty simple. I used smoke bombs I bought on the internet.
Lol, no there's more to it than that. So whilst I was on my time out from blogging I decided I wanted to use the time to think about how to improve my blogging. I felt like I was stagnating & everything was overwhelming. I wanted to think of ways to blog without getting overwhelmed & also get more satisfaction from what I was doing. So I started planning photoshoots & outfits upto 3 months ahead (I have ideas for posts I don't even have clothes for yet) & I also wanted to improve my photography. So I bought a few photography books & I started watching photography videos on Youtube. My favourite videos are by Tony & Chelsea Northrup but they don't do a lot of fashion photography stuff so I kept searching & found Jessica Kobeissi. She obviously doesn't do the same style of photos as me but I learnt a lot by watching her videos & got a lot of ideas. The video that made the biggest impression was the one where she used Smoke Bombs (actually there are two, this is the other one, but the first one is the one that inspired me the most).
I did a WHOLE load of research, I pinned every picture I could find with smoke bombs. I watched a whole load of videos (I found this one especially helpful) & I read a whole load of posts (it was exhausting) & ended up deciding this was something I really wanted to do.

I used the Enola Gaye smoke bombs for a few reasons. Firstly they have a massive colour range (every colour of the rainbow plus black & white). Secondly they create a lot of good quality smoke.
Thirdly the dye is water based & doesn't damage the environment. Fourthly (& most importantly for me) they are apparently the safest because they are 'cool burning' & have a ring pull & don't set your surroundings on fire. They are still a form of pyrotechnic though so you have to be careful. I made my brother (who was wafting them around for me) wear heavy duty gardening gloves when he was holding them & we took a bucket of sand (actually cat litter because that's what my mum could find in ASDA) to put them in when we were finished.
I also picked a day with very little wind (less than 5 miles an hour seemed to be the best I could do) which gave the smoke the most 'hang time' which was handy because I'm no where near as good a model as the one Jessica worked with. I spent most of my time looking at the smoke & being awed by how pretty it was. And also doing weird things with my arms. I did a lot of weird things with my arms. And that doesn't include all the times I was swatting away midges. There were a lot of midges out, my mum's forehead ended up covered in bites. She kind of looked like she had measles...

I think the absolute best thing about all of this though is the dress. I saved it for this post because I think it almost looks like it's made out of smoke you know? It's such a soft fabric & the print is also so soft & in such soft colours that it just lends it's self to this kind of shoot. I know it's a summer dress but it felt kind of like it belonged in the misty world of early autumn anyway. Like this was it's destiny all along...because dresses have destinies apparently. I need to spend more time in the real world.
Anyway, rational things I love about the dress. I love the 1940's vibes & the buttons down the front (although I don't love that they ALWAYS do that weird squiggle across my boobs...I have no idea what that's about). I love the petal detail of the sleeves, the collar & the soft float-y fabric of the dress. I LOVE the chinoiserie kind of print on the fabric & the colour. Seriously the colour is everything.
The dress is available sizes XS to 4XL on Modcloth & Unique Vintage. It is microscopically more expensive on Modcloth but they are currently doing free international shipping. Swings & roundabouts.
The skirt is a lot narrower than my usual circle skirts so I wasn't certain my regular petticoats would look right under it (they didn't) so I ended up getting myself a Zoey petticoat by Malco Modes. It's a much narrower petticoat, great for wheelchair users who are worried about the bulk of a fluffier petticoat. If anyone knows where I can get a Zoey petticoat in the UK (or at least Europe) I would really appreciate it because the shipping on the Malco Modes site is....it's a lot.
The shoes are my B.A.I.T. footwear grey Rosalinda shoes (you can kind of see them in a few photos, sorry there aren't any better pictures). Not very practical to walk through nature in but very comfortable in day to day life.

Oh & finally the necklace is this one from Buttonsy Jewellary on Etsy. I used to have all my necklaces out on a tree thing from a few Christmases ago but before I got Renata (my cat) I put them all away in a box so that I didn't come in my room one day to find her tangled up in them (I wouldn't put it past her even now they're away if I'm honest, she's sneaky). The problem with putting them away is that I kind of forget about them. I'm going to have to put a post it on my makeup mirror or something to remind me...

I'm so excited for Autumn!
There are very few things I don't like about Autumn (& all of them have to do with Bonfire Night lol) but I have to say what I'm looking forward to most is my house just being QUIET sometimes (my brothers are both still around it just feels like I have no room to breathe sometimes). I'm also looking forward to autumn leaves & foggy mornings & listening to the rain & mornings where the sunlight doesn't burn my eyes out. Oh & stews & hot chocolates & baked goods with pumpkin & apple & warm spices. And wearing a whole load of burgundy. I love wearing burgundy. And plaid. And cardigans. And boots...I wish I could still fit into boots....
Oh Autumn is so my favourite season.
What are you looking forward to about autumn?

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Wheelchair Fashion: Hurricane Plaid

Wheelchair Fashion: Hurricane Plaid

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autumn, disability, fashion, ootd, plus size, vintage, Wheelchair, winter

Autumn/Winter weather is kind of crazy in England, or at least in Yorkshire it is. It gets cold & grey & very very wet. This makes it tricky to get photos, especially as I can't cope with going out on a weekend. (P.S. Did you know that the North of England closes 90% of it's gardens & stately homes during the week in winter? It's super frustrating.)
Anyway the last two weeks I have been waiting & waiting to have sunshine....or at least no rain. Today I managed it & boy was it fun, I swear I saw boat row by in the air & a mean school teacher cycle past as she turned in to a witch.

A.K.A. it's was really windy. Like ridiculously windy. And there was a torrential downpour part way through. Also the temperatures were sub-artic & now I am just feeling sorry for myself. It made for beautiful photos but a very sore & uncomfortable body, I am however thinking of getting a wind machine. Hair-o-graphy doesn't work when you have a pixie cut but I've invented skirt-o-graphy instead. I'm expecting to see it on the next season of RuPaul's drag race.
As I am writing this I realised that binge watching 3 seasons of Gilmore girls over the past 5 days has definitely influenced the way I am writing this post. I have a tendancy to take on the personality of my favourite female characters when I binge watch TV, I used to watch Veronica Mars in high school for this exact reason (I become a bad ass when I watch Veronica Mars, I become Lorelai meets Lane meets Paris when I watch Gilmore Girls for too long). So if this post is weird, that right there is your reason.

I'm just lucky the photos turned out so well, it's 100% down to the dress. It's from Miss Candyfloss (107.50 Euros, I'm a size 3XL), mostly out of stock there but it's also available from Top Vintage & Deadly is the Female (deadly is the female is your best bet).
Nothing about this dress should have worked for me, it's quite high necked for me (I have too much boob for high necklines), the plaid looks really dark indoors & the way the shoulders are set makes me look microscopically broader in the shoulders which doesn't seem like a big deal but when you are already built like a rugby player...quite honestly I was freaking out when it arrived. I also made the rookie mistake of trying it on without shapewear, I was convinced it looked awful.

It's actually stunning. Firstly it has an almost true vintage feel; no real 40s/50s clothing comes up to my size, it just doesn't happen, so items like this that look & feel like they are really vintage are real godsends. Secondly the fabric is super soft, it has a felt meets real plaid texture but much finer woven than either of those, it's feels almost wooly which is perfect for a winter dress. Thirdly my petticoat fits underneath it nicely, it fits in my wheelchair & the skirt doesn't get in my way. Fourthly there is a side zip! Praises & halleluiah. Whilst it is not possible for me to get dressed by myself, I like the idea & that zip gives me the illusion that if I wasn't too sick to stand up long enough to get dressed without help I would be able to put this on without anyone else zipping me up. That illusion is nice.

Seriously if this dress had pockets it would be the best Autumn/Winter dress I have ever owned.
Actually it's already the best Autumn/Winter dress I have ever owned, I just like things to have pockets.
Plus it is one of those dresses you can wear for absolutely anything as it can be dressed up & down.
There are seriously so many good things about this dress I could go on for ever.

Also I want to mention my wheelchair is finally electric again!!! The wheelchair it's self isn't fixed but they lent me the part I need until my part is fixed, if that makes any sense. I have never been happier to go out, possibly ever, than the first time I went out after getting my controller back. I'm pretty sure my mum was even happier lol.

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Wheelchair Fashion: The Spirit of Autumn

Wheelchair Fashion: The Spirit of Autumn

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autumn, disability, fashion, lifestyle, ootd, plus size, retro, Wheelchair

The electronics on my wheelchair are still out of commission (they've found the problem though so hopefully I'll get it back soon) so I've been stuck in the house a lot. Unfortunately we have also ben having the roof fixed & it's driving me insane! Seriously, how much hammering does fixing the roof take? Also why do people feel the need to set off fireworks during the day? Or ever? I am getting the worst headaches...

Anyway, all of this combined meant that when I had an opportunity to leave the house I did so as fast as possible. As in it took me more than a week. More like two weeks. Eh, that's fast for me.

This is such a cool autumn look in my opinion; you can't really beat a good warm toned orange & red type look for autumn but this very different colour palette looks so fresh & yet warm. It's kind of like a Summer/Autumn transitional look but better. It's made by the skirt, the skirt is totally the best part of the whole outfit...
It's from lindy bop & whilst it's not the same quality as some of the other skirts I have, the print totally makes up for it. It also doesn't work quite as well with my petticoat...eh, it's still totally cute & it looks adorable with my pinup girl clothing pink polka dot top (limited edition & no longer available) & this olive green cardigan (sizes XS-4XL $29.99).

Unfortunately the skirt is no longer available. I should probably check these things before I take outfit photos...

(My obligatory throw leaves in the air autumn photo. There must be a knack to this cause I was rubbish at it lol)

I don't want to talk too much about the skirt or the top since they are out of stock & unlikely to come back in. I'm pretty sure they changed the shape of the pin up girl clothing peasant top & it doesn't sit quite right on me anymore. It could just be this one but I'm nervous to buy any others...
The fabric on this skirt is also super slippery & kept sliding around, plus I was half way in between two sizes which didn't help....
Also I got the cardigan in my actual size (a 2XL) & it is way too big on me, I should have got it in a 1XL....basically this outfit was a comedy of errors that only worked on pure luck & stubbornness apparently :)

The necklace is another etsy find from ages ago, I am incredibly marginally obsessed with trees. I feel like trees are magic, I never feel like I am really breathing unless I am around trees & I could swear that trees are more aware than we give them credit for. It might be a little crazy but when I dot sick & couldn't go out as much I got to feel cut off. I live in a terraced house in an area where the only greenery is the tiny amount we can grow in our yard. There isn't a tree anywhere within sight, even when I used to be in the attic I couldn't see any trees. So I started buying these necklaces, I have quite a collection at this point & this is one of my favourites :)
The lady who makes them is on etsy, the shop isn't running right now. It's worth waiting but if you can't there are lots of imitations around :)

This is the photo the name of the post comes from (the one above the bit of text). When we were out & my mum was taking photos she said something along the lines of "You look like the spirit of autumn."
My mum is the best, for every ten times she manages to say the exact wrong thing (accidentally & because she has no tact) there is at least one time where she says something really awesome that makes me feel kick ass for the rest of the week. This was totally one of the second times & it was an awesome name for a blog post.

Honestly I think the last post was more a spirit of autumn post but it's still a good name to use. Plus autumn is 100% the season I would like to be the spirit of.

What's your favourite autumn colour palette? Do you have one? Do you believe in magic or that anything specific has magic like properties? If you were the spirit of a season which season would you pick? And how on earth does the throwing leaves in the air picture work? :)

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Wheelchair Fashion: Autumn Pinup

Wheelchair Fashion: Autumn Pinup

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autumn, fashion, Favourites, ootd, plus size, retro, vintage, Wheelchair, winter

I am so happy it's Autumn. I LOVE Autumn clothes, I love the colours, the patterns, the makeup, the food, the weather & most importantly the fact I don't have to shave my legs anymore lol.
I'm not as happy that the light is harder to take photos in but I'm working with it :)

So these clothes are from Miss Candyfloss, there's this new collection from them (the librarian collection) that's absolutely stunning & incredibly autumn-y & perfect......I wish more of it would work for me because it really is beautiful.

This skirt (from Miss Candyfloss, 80 euros in sizes XS-3XL) is totally my favourite part of the collection, so far anyway. It is unbelievably stunning, this amazing heavy embroidered top layer over a softer, satin-y under layer.
There is no stretch in the skirt so it's a good idea to get the exact right size, I think it runs a little small, it didn't fasten up on me but that might be because I'm bloated :) Also, with the overlay being such a thick fabric you end up with quite a bulky waistband. It's not too noticeable if you wear a wide belt over it but if you don't have one or like wide belts it could ruin the silhouette a bit...
It's described as a skirt for bad hair days, something that draws attention & it totally is that. It is a total show stopper, only bested for me by this top.

I am 100% in love with this top (Miss Candyfloss, 52.50 euros, XS-5XL) . More like 200% in love. I did not know it was possible to love a top as much as I love this one. At some point when I feel more confident with my body I'm going to do an outfit post that shows quite how amazing this top makes my body look, I honestly felt sexy which is not common feeling for me/ I mean it never was a common feeling for me but I have definitely not felt sexy since I got sick. Pretty, well dressed, confident but never sexy. I'm not sure why but I kind of want to cry, my body confidence has been at an all time low recently (it always is when I gain weight around my face) so to feel sexy despite that was totally amazing.

I wish the top was still available in more colours in my size because I adore it. I would totally buy one (or more) in every colour.

I just realised that this is sounding like an advert for Miss Candyfloss, it's seriously not :)

The only things I can think to add to this post are a rant about what's going on with me which I'm not doing (mostly because I'm super boring) or a list of all the things I am loving ATM which I feel deserves a better place than being bungee in at the end of a blog post.... Maybe I'll do a proper once a month round up of the things I'm loving... Could be fun, if I ever have enough energy ^^ Writing the blog posts I do write is a mega push as it is at the moment. I think it's just with the last few weeks being so insanely hard (my brothers going back to college/uni has not been a smooth road & that has taken it's toll) but I'm not sure.
Are there any types of posts you guys would like to see more of?

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Wheelchair Fashion: Watercolour Roses

Wheelchair Fashion: Watercolour Roses

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autumn, chronically ill, disability, fashion, ootd, plus size, retro, summer, vintage, Wheelchair

I really want to make excuses for being AWOL for so long (not just here but on social media too) but honestly excuses are as boring to read to as they are for me to write. Lets just say I've not been feeling up to any of my usual things.
I'm pretty sure I would have written this post if it wasn't for the Paralympics being on. I remember when I first saw the Paralympics I had only been sick for 2 years. I'd been told over & over to just push through it & had tried to do so. Ultimately it had not only made me sicker but it hadn't achieved anything. I was defeated & felt like I would never be able to achieve anything ever again. Watching the Paralympics made me remember that I should be focusing on what I can do not what I can't do.
Watching it this summer has helped me again. I have been kind of coasting along, being & doing but not striving or setting myself challenges. Watching the Paralympics has pushed me to set some goals & try to improve what I'm doing.

None of this is relevant to my outfit however, sorry for being so dull.
This skirt is pretty incredible huh? It's from Heart of Haute ($80-$84 in sizes XS-2XL, mine is a 2XL) & is super cute. It was a bit of a pain to get, it was held up in customs for ages but when it finally arrived! It is an almost perfect match for my Pinup Couture Peasant top in Bright Blue ($56 sizes XS-4X) & I feel like the colour combo is very vintage-y. It kind of reminds me of that of 50s-60s blue eye shadow ^^ It was so far outside of my comfort zone though that I was totally freaking out, there is no way I would have been able to put it on if not for the incredible print on this skirt. I LOVE this kind of loose, abstract watercolour & would pretty much wear anything in this kind of print, I'm trying to talk myself out of getting the pink one.

The quality of the skirt is AMAZING, Heart of Haute is always really good but this skirt is extra good. I always tend to judge this based on the zip (it's as good a measure as any other) & the zip on this is very good, even over the waistband. (My mum says it irons really easily - that's how she measures quality).

The accessories are pretty standard for me, the B.A.I.T. Dusty Pink Ida's ($67 US sizes 6-11), my super old nude belt from FCUK (that I actually extend with ribbon so it's big enough for me lol), the hat is my new straw boater from Pinup Girl Clothing & the necklace is one I got for my birthday a few years ago :)

I feel like I should say more about the clothes but for me as long as it's not pjs it's pretty impressive, I spend 90% wondering how anyone has the energy to get dressed in 'real' clothes everyday (I'm even more impressed that most people wash everyday, where the heck do you people get that energy?).
It's funny cause I used to take all these things for granted but I now can't imagine how I did it, I wish I'd taken greater advantage of it all back then.

I added the prices & information on the things I'm wearing in this post, do you guys like that? I'm not sponsored or anything I just know that I hate trying to search for something I've seen in a post only to discover they don't make it in my size anyway...
Also do you like my chatting jibberish or would you rather I stuck to the facts of the outfit?

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Wheelchair Fashion: Autumn Rose

Wheelchair Fashion: Autumn Rose

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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.

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