Day 1107 - Shoesday Tuesday

Shoes: Irregular Choice Sparkling Slipper (Cinderella) 

I wasn't going to blog today after what happened in Manchester, it just didn't feel right to be discussing shoes after something so terrible. I watched it unfold last night and this morning I just woke up feeling so sad. Everyone seems to have an opinion (I'm sure we've all witnessed the good, the bad and the ugly on social media and TV today) but the truth is, there's no comforting words at this time. For those involved or hurt or the families of the dead and injured, that'll be the worst day of their lives and theories on how to "not let them win" just won't matter at this time. I'm sure I'm not alone in this, but I feel a bit guilty actually that I have the luxury of being able to choose to carry on.  Although it's never left my mind all day, I can try and write this blog post and get on with my day.  I can choose not to listen or read any more about it when it becomes too much. There's no escape for those families though and I just feel terribly sorry about that. The only thing I think the rest of us can take away from situations like this is, there always seems to be more people willing to help than harm and we have to have faith in that, no matter our beliefs or thoughts on these situations and that's all I'll say x 
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So it's been a little while since I've managed a post here. Last week I did a strange thing and almost completed a post, then chickened out of posting it because I wasn't happy with the photos. It's really not like me to do that, I've always shown you every outfit regardless of it being good or bad, but that's what happened. Anyway, I love this outfit, but it has a story (quite a long one, I'll warn you). So my youngest cousin was getting married last month. We'd known for a while and the cousins were invited at night and because it was held locally, I was able to go. It was still a big outing and effort considering all that's been going on, but I was looking forward to getting dressed up for once. It turned out none of my other cousins could make it (other than the sisters of the groom) as they all either live far away and/or have kids, so it was just my sisters, my brother in law and our Aunties and Uncles. I had a beautiful dress that I planned to wear from pretty much the moment he got engaged! Then I lost lots of weight over the past year and a bit and when it came to trying it on, it was massive. I could literally fit another person inside, it was huge everywhere and drowned me (and not salvageable at all). So, I was kind of torn with what to do.
Did I go out and buy something new, was it worth the expense when I'd likely only wear it once, then it might not fit next time? I've been going through my wardrobe and attempting to get rid of the stuff that's too big now, but it's hard-going. There's probably only a handful of items that truly fit, but obviously I can't survive on that, so I'm keeping stuff that isn't great but doesn't look hideously big. There were a couple of wedding possibilities. A floral Coast dress, a little big and not that 'dressy' looking or the Pearl Lowe Peggy lace prom dress, again a little big, but I love this to bits and it's the type of thing I feel very dressed up in, as I wouldn't wear it every day. I know I'm not 'normal' that I wear quite formal stuff as everyday pieces, but still I like to look even more fancy for something like this. It was black though and I was kind of hankering after something with more colour (the original dress was very highly coloured).  So I spent hours trawling through ASOS and ordered a couple. They were dreadful, so it was back to my own wardrobe. I decided the lace dress was the one and this was just a few weeks before the wedding. I planned my shoes, bag, how I'd do my hair and makeup and was quite happy. Another dress in my wardrobe I really love is the Collectif Dolores mermaid print that I got for my birthday last year and have never had the chance to wear. It's just a little big in the waist/stomach area but not noticeably so. It didn't feel 'night-time' dressy enough for me, but it's still very 'wow' so I decided I'd wear that to a family gathering we were having at home for my parents Ruby wedding anniversary. This involved the same Aunties and Uncles and was just a week before the wedding. I'd had a really tough week in the run up to the wedding, so didn't try on the lace dress again until 2 nights before. I'd had a trip to the hospital and went bra shopping afterwards as I needed a plain black bra for the lace dress and my boobs have (for the first time in their life) shrunk a little, so I needed to try them together. The dress was big. Weirdly a lot bigger than just a few weeks earlier. I'd only lost a couple of pounds I think since then, but maybe with the new bra...it just wasn't right. It sagged in the chest and shoulders and needed pulled in a few inches at the waist and wasn't the type of thing I could wear a belt with. I was stressing big time! So Mum suggested the mermaid dress as it was the only option left (after retrying a lot of my wardrobe) and I told her I couldn't wear the same thing a week apart in front of the same people!

Now I don't have rules about only wearing things once, but it just seemed like a wasted opportunity. I never get the chance to dress up, this is my last cousin to be married (so there's no more fancy outfit occasions) and it's such a statement dress/print that it's not the type of thing that looks different with a change of accessories. So Thursday evening, 6.30pm and I'm desperately googling the Dolores dress in other prints trying to find somewhere that would deliver in time. Nowhere would (I needed it for Saturday but Saturday delivery was just too last minute for me and it might not even arrive before I had to leave). So back I go to ASOS, as I knew I could get that delivered on Friday and (literally) thousands of dresses later, I've spent £250 on another 5. My Auntie and Uncle were coming up from the Isle Of Wight and round to ours on the Friday and while they were here, my parcel (eventually) arrived. My Uncle was laughing in disbelief at how well organised I was (!) I'd already had a hair disaster, so begged my Mum to re-do it (cue a desperate trip to the chemist for more dye), so all in all, it was a bad week and obviously I was shattered. Once they'd gone I had to try the dresses on and they were all hopeless. They'd sent the wrong colour on one (I ordered black with red flowers, they sent cream and gold), but some were pretty but just not right or a good fit on me. So, you guessed it, the only option was the bloody mermaid dress! It was just very disappointing, as I'd have worn something different to the party had I known I was wearing this to the wedding.  I chose different shoes this time (I've still got the party outfit to show you), but despite all the stresses of what to wear, I did feel amazing in it (even although I heard my Auntie whisper I was wearing the same dress again)! Plus I saved myself a heap of money, the dresses went back on the Saturday morning and the bra the next week!

My younger sister really didn't want to go, but we all forced her into it (she's not social) and we had a relaxed day at home getting ready. My Mum had been texting me updates throughout the day and thankfully told us to arrive later than we intended, as time got away from us at night and we hadn't eaten yet and were still getting ready. As a sidenote, I absolutely detest feeling rushed when getting ready. Like I still panic about it from 15+ years ago when I was at Uni and my friend always got ready super quick and would phone the taxi and I knew I still had tonnes to do, argh, it still freaks me out! As it was, we were only there for a couple of hours. My Auntie was unwell so left early, my two other Aunties were tired, so they left and my Mum and Dad were knackered, so we all went! Minus my big sister who was a bit put-out at us all leaving so soon. My cousin (grooms sister) had just given birth the day before (no joke!), so she also left early but I got a wee cuddle of the baby, which was brill.  The venue was very cramped and they removed loads of chairs for the evening, but brought in more people, so there wasn't a seat for everyone. It was dark and loud from the get-go (sound like such an old woman, but it was) and I could see my little sister hated it. I'd gone in the wheelchair (which I'm glad of given the seating situation) and once we got settled in the corner (after getting everyone up from their table, to fold up the wheelchair and squeeze past and open the wheelchair back up to get to where we wanted!) I gave her my phone to play Alpha Betty with my Auntie! I felt terrible, sitting playing games at a wedding, but nobody could see and we all felt so jammed in, there was nothing else to do! Obviously given how anxious my sister was, she jumped at the chance of leaving early, especially when she found out there was no cake but cheese instead! I know this is fashionable right now, but man, what's a party without cake?  I actually meant to ask my sister if they got food at night, as there hadn't been anything to eat by the time we left.  

I felt like it was a little bit of a waste, spending the whole day getting ready for 2 hours, but ah well. I have photos for you to see, so that makes it slightly more worthwhile! As I was rushing I didn't have much time beforehand, but I've found a few. I had a makeup smudge right under my eye, which my sis thankfully noticed as we were leaving, but I hadn't seen it when taking photos! Don't ask what colour my hair is, I've no idea! It looked different all the time and wasn't at all what I wanted, but like I say, there had been a disaster and I just needed something to cover it. I didn't want it so dark, but something light wouldn't have covered the mess. The print on the dress is glorious. So pretty and with the matching cardi, it looks awesome. I even snuck in a shell bag for extra mermaiding. The shoes, oh my gosh, the shoes. You know I tend to like the wilder IC styles, though I do have weakness for glitter (everyone should), but I felt it was a bit of a cop-out wearing plain-ish glitter shoes when I could've been showing off my character heels or something. However there's something about these shoes, I don't know what it is, but they are just magical. Well they do light up, so that's magic in itself, but I just felt so princessy in them. I know I've said it before but these are a size 4 (I'm usually a 5 or 6 in IC) and they fit me like a glove. I expected I'd have to stretch them a bit beforehand (I recall them cutting across my little toes), but no, they were fine. As it was so dark in the venue, they looked even more spectacular when I clicked my heels together to flash. I popped a video on Instagram but it was while we were waiting to go home and we were underneath a lamppost so it wasn't as amazing as being in the dark. I do find I kick the bows in these a lot with my other foot, or rather scrape a bow on my ankle. The glitter is really scratchy anyway, so it's annoying, but when I was walking around in the house with them I kept forgetting to keep my legs apart and kicked and scuffed myself! So all in all, I think I enjoyed the opportunity to get dressed up (even if the outfit was the last choice!) more than the actual wedding! However I survived a very short night on the town, which is something I haven't done for years. I'm definitely keen to pick up more of these Dolores dresses (when/if my weight settles), they have some awesome prints this season. I highly recommend the fabulous fit and flare shape. Oh and I loved my makeup, I'm wearing a new foundation shade (got a swatch post coming soon on Pink Haired Princess) which looked awesome and I mixed a really dark lipliner with pink lipstick to create a unique mauvey, creamy, glossy looking shade (2nd photo below is more accurate).  Phew, well done if you made it to the bottom of this post-making up for not talking for weeks!

Wearing: Collectif Dolores mermaid dress and Lucy mermaid cardigan (both current), ASOS hair flowers (pink comb at the back, not pictured) (old) and Skinnydip pink shell bag (old).
Fit: 3 3/4" heel. Very generous all over, I bought a full size down.
Comfort: I didn't have any issues with these and I love the flashing lights sequence!