jumper dweller

Artist: Adam Trump at Ritual Tattoo, Guernsey On Friday, I made a huge commitment. No, I didn't tie the knot with my very handsome boyfriend (that won't happen for quite some time, but maybe someday). I got a chest tattoo. I made the decision to become far more tattooed than my parents ever anticipated when I got my very first tattoo at seventeen. I am now (technical term coming up) pretty-reasonably-tattooed (okay, I was joking about the technical term).  In this post I'll give a quick overview on how I came up with the concept, a description of the design process and talk about time/pain/difficulty-sitting. I hope you enjoy my thoughts, but just a quick note to politely ask that no-one copies my idea/design exactly. If this post has inspired you, I'm flattered, but please respect my tattoo artist's work and my individuality and find a design unique to you. Thank you in advance! Anyway, on to the experience!  Unfortunately (for some), the...

Good evening folks!  Today I present: two very different coats, two very different outfits (which both are representations of a style-war I fight in each day - crazy and bright vs. vintagey and slightly more classic). I hope these outfits give you a little bit of inspiration as to how to put together a faux-fur-coat-based outfit! If not, I hope I will at least entertain you a little.  This outfit is honestly one of my favourite I've ever put together, sorry to brag. It's out-there enough to satisfy my thirst for eccentricity but also put-together enough for me to pass as sort-of-fashion-forward. This jacket is absolutely beautiful (but I am allergic to it, haha) and I can't stop wearing it. My apologies if you're an instagram follower of mine and are so darn sick of seeing it.  I teamed *the coat* (insert jazz-hands here, it deserves it!) with a Miss Selfridge dress, which I will always praise to the high-heavens (and not just because I work there). ...

Evening folks! If you follow my instagram, these pictures will be nothing new, but for those of you who might stumble across me via the actual interwebs, then this is for you! The thoughts which accompany this post will be new to all of you lot though (I'll try to generate something fresh and interesting!)  I flipping love this coat, and at a mere £6 from Cancer Research, you really can't go wrong. This outfit was a challenge to myself: I never wear black and only black - it feels wrong, I thirst for colour, pattern, and yet I felt awesome in this ensemble. The coat was a comfort when outside and feeling lack-lustre, and the sport socks (Topshop, may I add) broke up the outfit.  Additional details! Jumper: charity shop Jeans: Miss Selfridge  Shoes: Dr Martens  This outfit was the one I wore to my family's Christmas party and seemed to spark many (albeit back-handed) compliments, which went as follows.  Person-who-is-not-Louise: 'Ah...

My inconsistency in life is, quite possibly, my least favourite personal quality. I just cannot seem to stick at things, bar a few exceptions, which include: Instagram, reading and my relationship. Unless something offers instant gratification, I struggle to keep at it. It seems a lot of us humans have a problem with this: no dopamine hit, no continuation.  However, it's 2018 and I want to turn things around, a lot of us do. I want to become the person I know I could be: consistent (Q: how many times will this darn word feature here? A: lots and lots and lots), organised and hard-working.  Consistency is an art that few master in a lifetime. It often is fuelled by passion, a thirst for success and general enthusiasm surrounding the activity. I am passionate about blogging and sharing style adventures. Life just sweeps me away, leaving me awash with anxiety about the future and feeling incredibly uncertain and undecided about everything that ever existed and wil...

I, Louise Kate Vivian,  am a maximalist. If you don't believe me, you should see my room. Admittedly, I did live away from my home for three years (for uni) and there accumulated a ton of stuff, a veritable ton. However, as 2018 fast approaches, I have decided to minimise my oh-so-maximalist lifestyle: the compulsive clothes-purchasing has to stop, and I highly doubt I need to read every single one of the three hundred books that lay in (untidy, though organised) stacks on my desk. Having so many material possessions is tiring, stressful and weighing heavily on my mind. I thirst for a clear space, a life and personality independent of consumerist-induced vanity, and a focus on experiencing all (or at least some) of what life has to offer. It's time to wave goodbye to the ton of stuff, and welcome a greatly improved financial situation and a greatly reduced quota of time allotted to tidying my currently untameable room. Where to start? Or more to the point: how to start? ...

Afternoon folks! As a self-proclaimed mess of a human, I thought I'd entitle this post 'A Purple Velvet Mess,' and write a little bit about why uncertainty and the messiness of life can be empowering in its own way.  It is no secret that human nature desires growth, progress and generally for things to go to plan, and yet infinite progress and perpetual growth are entirely impossible, and as we all know, things rarely go as planned. And so, we are frequently thrown by life. Plans are made only to crumble, our work does not seem to pay off and eventually every project will tail off, bowing to the next big thing.  We are ultimately victims of our own expectations. The answer? Well, there isn't one, but I have my own idea about how we might best manage something which can be desperately frustrating.  I try to embrace the uncertainty and trust that whatever higher power there might be is weaving the threads of my life into a beautiful knitted scarf, or t...

Evening folks! I want to share two things with you, the first being today's outfit, and the second being a little essay thing I wrote last night in a moment of existential despair about the future of society (in place of Louise's trivia). So, here's the outfit ~ I feel a little like Cat from Eastenders in this coat (and I love it!). The cords and crazy shirt really liven up the coat in my opinion.  Outfit details: Coat - Primark via charity shop Top (underneath) - Miss Selfridge Shirt - ASOS via charity shop Cords - vintage via @vintageousrags on Depop Socks - unknown (from the Portsmouth Vegan Festival) Shoes - Dr Martens Without the coat! It's a Louise-tradition to always do a 'silly one' photo-wise, so here we are, my favourite silly pose. I also really love the light here, the Sun, honestly is just the best (and extremely necessary).  And now for my thoughts: It’s absolutely terrifying: the wo...