A Curious Fancy

A while ago I asked Paul if he would make a video for my blog,...

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:41:54 -0500

A while ago I asked Paul if he would make a video for my blog, and so this idea was born. The concept came rather organically from the music we chose and this is the result of going out in the middle of the night one night and experimenting with Paul’s new camera light. It was a rather novel and interesting experience, being on video while freezing to death without tights or a coat in the middle of the night. I think the music ties together the theme very well. Like the name suggests, it’s a short film about night and the moon. I hope you like!

For best viewing, fullscreen before watching.

The Tinsel Tree

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:54:00 -0500

Last of the outfit posts we did at Canterbury! We shot this on the last day I was there, before I flew to India. I had completely forgotten about this cape entirely through accident. I left it at my ex’s place before I flew to India the time before this and then we broke up, so when he returned it, I just shoved it at the back of my closet and forgot all about it. I am glad I found it though! It’s the perfect trench cape, complete with hood (although I haven’t put it up for these photos) and in a gorgeous tan. I quite felt like a 40s spy when I wore this.

Puplet!

Top - ASOS

Cape -ASOS

Skirt -ASOS

Tights - Tabio

Collar -From another coat

Hat -Vintage

Loafers -Vintage

Gloves -Accessorize

specky git

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:40:08 -0500

yet another outfit that we shot while i was at canterbury. like with this outfit, i felt like a university student in the 40s with this one too! the dress is one of my greatest vintage finds in recent times. it is actually from the 40s and is in my size which is a bit of a miracle. i paired it with my favourite new cardigan and unwittingly dressed in the colours of the american flag. still, i don’t think it looks tacky when offset with my yellow satchel. also, glasses! my eyes are so bad these days that i cannot see a foot beyond my own nose without the help of glasses. these are my constant companion now, except you never see them because i don’t think i look very good in them! i always wanted big geeky frames but now that i have them, i think they overwhelm my face a bit. which is surprising since i have a pretty large face! anyway, i thought that the frames went well with this outfit so here you have me - specky as they come!

the print is one of my favourite things about this dress. isn’t it lovely?

because i miss him <3

dress -vintage, 40s

cardigan - asos

satchel -asos

tights -asos

hat - vintage

shoes -vintage

glasses -london retro hoxton

Mousie

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:18:06 -0500

This was actually shot a week or so ago when I was still in Canterbury. I really didn’t have much to all day while I was there so I lay in bed and read and raided the fridge and pretended to be mousie while Paul worked in the other room. Being mousie was my chief activity of the day. I don’t think I have been as happy as I was there in a very long time. And now I have all these photos to remind me of the two weeks I spent with him. This outfit is something simple which I just threw on without thinking too much. I wore this to go for drinkies with Paul’s friends.

Top -Topshop

Dress -New Look

Tights -Tabio (very old and ratty)

Hat -John Lewis

Brogues -ASOS

The Rose Gardens

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:00:11 -0500

For today’s shoot we went to the rose gardens in Canterbury. It’s a lovely place, right next to the river (canal?) and I daresay it is lovelier in the summer. I tweeted about this dress a while ago. It’s a vintage number from the 80s which I scored for £5 at the vintage sale at the University’s Winter Fair. It’s hard to find vintage clothing in my size so when I do get my hands on something, it is an occasion of great joy. I still can’t get enough of horse prints, so I paired it with this jumper I got from ASOS earlier in the summer. A dress and a jumper, paired with a collar is my to-go outfit for this season. I think it lends itself to a rather 40’s-ish look. What do you think?

After we were done with the shoot, we went to Cafe Rouge for a lovely meal!

Dress - Vintage

Jumper - ASOS

Collar - from a coat

Tights - ASOS

Brogues -ASOS

Hat - Vintage

Best of 2011

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 11:49:00 -0500

1. i wandered lonely as a cloud

hello gentle reader! seeing the ‘best of’ posts everywhere, i thought i might do one as well! these are the five outfits (and one more) which i most loved on me this year. it’s funny to look at the photos from earlier in the year and see how much my body and face have changed. i sometimes can’t recognize myself in the thinner me earlier in the year. i know i don’t talk about it much on this blog but the principles of fat acceptance have been one of the cornerstones of my life since 2007. so while a part of me still wishes for that thinner version of me, i know by now that that is a dangerous wish. however, unlike before, it does not send me spiralling down into a pit of despair, because while i think i look very different, i don’t think it is necessarily better. it’s just…different. more than my body. its my face that i see the changes in. my double chin is more prominent and my cheeks have filled out. but i don’t think i look bad because of it. just different. years ago, all my new year resolutions used to begin with the mandatory fat girl resolution - to lose weight. and although i have gained two dress sizes in this year, partly through being on birth control and partly through eating normally again after an unintentional diet, that will not be one of my resolutions. instead i will resolve to work through my mental health issues and finish my MA in a way i can be proud of and be a better daughter, dog mother, friend and girlfriend, not to mention a better blogger! i think those are resolutions worth trying to keep. so thank you everyone, for all your support, and i hope you have a lovely 2012.

ps - click on each individual photo to go to the post!

2. brighton rock

3. midsummer common

4. the time traveller’s orphan lovechild

5. working girl

bonus! fall colours

the ducks are back!

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:44:32 -0500

aaand the ducks are back! i am at macclesfield now and we were lucky enough to have a canal right next to the house and since i miss my watery locations, we decided to take some photos there. i have mentioned this coat on twitter before. it’s from topshop and was bought in a fit of madness. being aware that topshop goes only upto a 16 i haven’t passed its portals much since gaining a size, but a couple of weeks ago i found myself getting off the bus from uni right in front of the store and walking in. i saw this coat and instantly fell in love although even as i took it to the changing rooms i had no delusions that it would fit. but as i slid my arms in, i instantly felt doomed since they slid right in! and then a madness came upon me and minutes later i was at the counter forking over £98 to the girl there and no idea why i was doing so. still, i don’t regret it because it’s worth the price. it’s 100% wool for one and the cut is exquisite. it’s a bit tight around my body but that is to be expected. as long as i don’t have too many layers underneath it, it fits fine.

yay ducks on the blog again!

coat -topshop

hat -asos

tights -asos

loafers -bass

gloves -accessorize

The Christmas Robin

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 10:30:00 -0500

it’s christmas! it’s really sad that this year i am spending christmas alone, but i was lucky enough to be with my boyfriend for part of christmas eve. on a sidenote if you are spending christmas alone as well, check out the #xmasathome hashtag on twitter. to get into the festive mood i decided to dress in the colours of the season! red, green and gold. so here’s wishing you all a very merry christmas/giftmas/hanukkah/holiday in general. i hope you get to spend it with friends and family and people dear to you.

this cardigan from asos is one of the prettiest things i own. the sewed on pearls, the fur collar and the deep rich red combine to create utter loveliness.

there were puplets!

cardigan -asos

coat - new look

skirt -asos

tights -asos

hat -asos

wellies -town and country via amazon.

a sidenote about the wellies - if you are looking for sturdy, durable wellies look for these ones! i got them last year and i haven’t regretted it for a moment. these are a beautiful red and made of the thickest rubber and feel a lot better than the hunter ones. (needless to say, no one is paying me for saying this.)

Oh so kawaii

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:58:00 -0500

Considering my old wardrobe is mostly obsolete after going from a size 16 to a 18, I am now busy building it up again, bit by bit, and that too on a student budget. I had my eye on this dress for almost half a year but I never knew that it actually came in any size larger than a 14. I remember seeing it at Modcloth after one of my readers alerted me about its existence but thanks to Modcloth only stocking tiny tiny sizes I had no idea that this actually went upto a 18 until I saw it on sale at ASOS a while ago. I have been told that I look like a bumblebee in this dress and I think I agree. Somehow it has a very Japanese EGL vibe to it too, especially around the bib in the front and the sleeves. It evokes memories of being a child when I yearned to wear pretty dresses like this but had no way to. I am glad I came around to that in the end though!

These are my new Bass loafers scored on ebay for $8!

It was a beautiful Winter day, crisp and clear with sunshine and blue skies, so I took a few photos of the leaves!

Dress -Tofu via ASOS

Hat - John Lewis

Tights - Tabio

Loafers - Bass

Gloves - Accessorize

Fall Colours

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 13:48:12 -0500

Oh look! A new post! Needless to say I am back in the UK again and have no shortage of locations and so blogging is interesting again. One of the things I am on the search for this winter are coats in bright jewel colours. Being a newly acquired size 18, this is most difficult to find. It seems that it has been decreed that fatties above a certain size must only wear black and nothing else. ASOS, New Look and River island are my new sources of salvation, now that my old wardrobe is obsolete. I was thus overjoyed when I saw this cape at ASOS. It seemed perfect for me. This outfit is based on something I saw on someone while working at the library last week. I love the 40s feel and the combination of textures like wool, fur, leather and velvet. What do you think?

My new photographer! <3

Dress - Tofu, 18 via ASOS

Cape - ASOS, 16

Tights - Tabio, L

Beret - Vintage via Fabgabs on Etsy

Gloves - Accessorize

Shoes - Vintage, thrifted

The Next BIG Thing

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:56:00 -0400

i have just entered american apparel’s search for an xl model and i am completely pumped about it! i really think i could have a shot at doing this since modelling is something i love. and that is why i need you, dear reader, to vote for me. i am currently at 8 out of 150 (down from 7/143 a while ago) and by supporting me you can help me reach the top! it is super easy and only takes 2 clicks, no registration required. so please do vote for me since i can potentially be the first plus sized face of such a huge brand! so thank youuuuu for the support, you all are awesome <3

ps - click on the photo or click here to vote!

The Fisherman's Basket

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 12:18:00 -0400

so! i am back home in calcutta and outfit posts are thin on the ground. there also have been quite a few other changes on the blog since i last posted. not being in the uk means that the places where i can photograph my outfits are incredibly limited and so i have to resort to the old club lawn which i used before i moved to york last october. i will however try and maintain a level of interest in the pictorial quality on this blog by putting up some of my photography - something rarely seen here. for those of you who didn’t know, i am a photographer as well as all the other things, although because of my ex taking all the photos for the blog, my work was never showcased. oh, and that’s another thing. david and i broke up early this month, which means that i am now on the lookout for a photographer all the time. thankfully i have awesome friends who are all willing to help out, even though photography is not their forte. i never know how to announce something like this publicly since i keep my real life separate from my blog. but at the same time i would mention my ex a lot on here, so i think i owe my readers an explanation as to why my future posts will be david (and his photography) free.

we first tried to take these photos at prinsep ghat where we were bitten by mosquitoes and hassled by people. we also got one single good shot out of it. we decided to redo it again today, this time on the trusty lawns, after which we went for overpriced coffee and lovely haleem.

this vintage bag is actually a converted krill basket! look, it even has a hole on top for the fish.

since i am back home to get my psych meds reviewed, i don’t really have much to do. i am spending the time going out with one of my friends and taking a lot of narcissistic photos! here are some non narcissistic ones we took at victoria memorial.

photographic interlude being over now, back to the narcissism and fashuns!

dress - pearl lowe for peacocks

basket bag - vintage via etsy

shoes -asos

all photos by the lovely diviani.

ETA - please vote for me in American Apparel’s XL model search! it only takes 2 clicks and it would help me so much! thank you :)

Absolute Japan

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 20:52:01 -0400

the print on these shorts reminds me of the japanese prints that the impressionists were so influenced by, especially hokusai’s celebrated the great wave. looking at it reminds me of a quote from van gogh, one of the impressionist painters most influenced by japan (although it was hiroshige he was chiefly influenced by) in one of his letters to his brother. speaking of the quality of the light in the south of france (where he produced some of his greatest works) he said “the weather here remains fine, and if it was always like this, it would be better than a painter’s paradise, it would be absolute japan[.]” the phrase ‘absolute japan’ is something that really struck me, mostly for the orientalist assumptions contained in it. van gogh here is trying to distill an ‘essence’ of japan, with certain characteristics (in this case, of the weather and quality of light) being marked as japanese and japan being reduced to an entity being contained by these markers. at the same time, there is something incredibly poetic about the phrase ‘absolute japan’. it is odd that such a process of orientalisation should lead to a phrase of such remarkable poetry but then that is the kind of juxtaposition of odds us postcolonialists are always working with.

funnily enough, in keeping with the theme we decided to go have sushi just before the shoot! mm, raw fish :)

i can never tie bows, so david did this one for me! i think he did a really good job!

i love the looping on the edges of this coat. it’s a very old one from anthropologie, and i bought it to replace a navy vintage jacket which i had and outgrew. i think i have grown to love this one more!

litel fuzzlets! i think by now, david can have a portfolio of ducks and duck like creatures alone!

crop top -topshop

jacket -anthropologie (elevenses)

shorts -asos

brogues -asos

boater -john lewis

Midsummer Common

Sat, 18 Jun 2011 12:03:50 -0400

today we tried out a different choice of location -midsummer common! although i miss the cows that were grazing there a month or so ago, it still is a lovely place.

the playsuit is from hobbs and the first thing i own by them. i quite simply love their aesthetic and it’s a pity that their prices are so often out of my wee student budget. i decided to keep it simple with my new boater from john lewis and my trusty clogs.

it rained for a bit while we were taking photos.

and then there was this adorable creature!

and people rowing.

playsuit - nw3 by hobbs via john lewis

boater - john lewis

clogs -lotta from stockholm clogs

satchel -asos

Rainy Day

Tue, 31 May 2011 14:41:00 -0400

this was probably our most truncated shoot till date, thanks to the fact that it started raining halfway through! i was glad of my new old trench, a brilliant find from brighton for only £5! i had been looking for a classic trench for a very long time and i even used to have one back in my dieting days when i was smaller than i am now. it was a beautiful deadstock vintage number in the brightest parrot green which i never got to wear because it was always too small for me! in the end, i gave it to my sister last year before moving here. when i spotted this coat hanging on the £5 rack, i was immediately drawn to it and imagine my delight when it fit me like it was made for me! i had been eyeing a similar trench at topshop which retailed at about £85 so this was a bargain indeed. i also picked up this awesome 70s shirt which i plan to wear sometime soon, as well as a 50s style 80s jumpsuit with the most gorgeous fit.

aaand this is where it started raining and my top got mussed up by the wind :/ about this i had no idea so all the photos from this point on feature extreme dishevelledness.

i want to live in a houseboat like this!

in the end we sheltered under the bridge and took a few last photos.

scalloped crop top - topshop

trench - to be worn again vintage, brighton

skirt -asos

hat -vintage

t-straps - biviel

bag -primark

Big Beach Bums

Sun, 29 May 2011 18:21:00 -0400

on saturday i went to brighton for big beach bums, a blogger meetup, as i mentioned in my last post. much fun was had that day by us all and i hope we can do it again sometime in the future! here are some photos from the day. not very many since we were pretty much busy thrifting throughout the day!

l to r - alex, rebecca, kirsty, claire, nadia.

kirsty, who organized the expedition!

on the way we passed some incredible graffitti!

fagged out from thrifting, we went to get some coffee!

then we went to wetherspoon to meet up with our partners!

finally, david and i went to the beach to take some outfit photos and we called it a day.

Brighton Rock

Sat, 28 May 2011 21:46:19 -0400

yesterday, i travelled to brighton for bigbeachbums, a blogger meetup oganized by kirsty wherein we went thifting in brighton’s vintage heaven and had a lovely time! it’s a pity more people could not make it but it was great meeting claire and rebecca and nadia, and ofcourse kirsty! i thrifted a gem of a trench for £5, among other things, but that was definitely the bargain of the day! pictures from the day are due soon, but in the meantime, this is what i wore. my boyfriend came along with me and so while everyone caught up at a wetherspoons, we decided to hit the beach and take some photos. it was hella windy though, and i was feeling pretty rough from not having slept in a day and having shopped all day long! so do excuse me if i look a little bleary eyed :/

the cutout at the back hits me excatly where my love handles are but i don’t mind!

by the way, this is an actual schoolgirls’ hat! i was looking for something vintage-y in this style but with no luck thanks to my humungous head, but then i chanced across john lewis’s school hats section and it is perfect! for a heads up (excuse the pun!) for those with large heads and looking for vintage-y schoolgirl-y hats, the largest size fits my 23” head perfectly!

dress - motel via asos

velvet bow brooch -asos

coat -primark

hat -john lewis

petticoat -skirt from h&m

shoes -biviel

Shady Way

Sat, 21 May 2011 16:44:00 -0400

This outfit consists of two sorely neglected items in my wardrobe which have been sitting there since last summer when i bought them. i fell in love with the idea of crop tops last year but it wasn’t until now that i actually have worn one! again, most people who deal out ‘fashion advice’ would strongly suggest against fat girls wearing crop tops but like i have said before, i care very little about such things. so, fat girl belly love! i have also been looking for the perfect chambray shirt for a while now (and ending up with nothing :( ) so while i’m on the hunt this sweet little crop top will do very well indeed! the skirt is from alice takes a trip, one of my favourite indie boutiques. i am constantly in love with everything they do! i love the rich velvet on this one and the tapestry print.

the sunnies are from new look. now, sunglasses are something i have never ever worn in my life, but i somehow fell in love with this pair when i saw them in the shop. i’m still now sure how i feel about them, so they might need a few more wears before i come to a conclusion!

buttercups! i held one up to my chin and indeed it did turn yellow. well, yes, i have a prodigious fondness for butter. it makes everything taste so much nicer!

crop top - dr. denim via ASOS

skirt -alice takes a trip

bag -primark

clog sandals -office

sunglasses -new look

Sailor Girl

Thu, 12 May 2011 19:02:47 -0400

this outfit is really built around the dress, it has such a sailor girl vibe to it! us fatties are often told to avoid stripes but i personally have never cared for such fashion ‘rules’, so yay! fat girl in stripes points to meee :D i should really have worn red lippy with it but i was visiting my boyfriend at cambridge and i didn’t have all my makeup with me.

posing in front of the geralds. i didn’t know what these flowers were called so i asked my boyfriend what they were. he didn’t know as well, so he told me they are called ‘gerald’ and the name stuck!

geralds!

we must have taken about 30 photos of me blowing on dandelions to get this shot!

the shoes are from asos and i love the little-girl sandal look they have. unfortunately they were out of the 8 at the time, so these are in a 7. still, being leather, they will stretch out in time.

i love they way my hair has been curling since i stopped blowdrying it.

ducklets!

mummy ducks watching litel ducklets.

the man behind the camera. i don’t usually post pictures of my boyfriend in my outfit posts, but i love this photo of him i took sitting among the flowers, and also because of shit that’s been going on in my personal life, i am incredibly emotional tonight and just wanted to say that this is the person who holds me together when things are bad. i love you, david. <3

we then took off our shoes and walked barefoot in the grass. it was cold and wet and springy from the recent rain and it felt lovelier than i can describe in words.

dress- vintage marks and sparks

hat -vintage

satchel -the cambridge satchel co.

brooch -vintage

belt -primark

shoes -asos

Look outside/ I know that you recognise/ it's summertime

Mon, 09 May 2011 14:52:00 -0400

i have been rather lax about outfit posts the last few months - in my defence, i went back to india for a while and did not have anyone to do outfit shoots with. however, not in my defence is the fact that my sister, who is a brilliant photographer, wanted to do a shoot with me but i was too lazy. so yes, in the end, the truth is that i have been a lazy little thing.

this was really a rather impromptu little shoot. i was wearing a different skirt when i went out, and then i went into primark and got this. so my boyfriend and i decided to take some photos!

i love how the skirt flares. i would ideally like to wear it with a petticoat.

we didn’t know what these flowers are called but they looked like the pinky white flowers we call the geralds so we called these the geraldines!

i used the belt from the skirt as a hair tie! my hair is getting a bit longer now. soon i’ll be able to have a bob again!

we took photos of bees on flowers!

top - topshop

skirt - primark

belt -primark

brogues -asos