I feel like this Outfit of the Week, is a little bit of a fib. I definitely have worn these black jeans, whenever I slip them on I image myself transforming to a Kate-Moss-like creature because black jeans and a blazer are the only off duty look for supermodels. So if I’m wearing them, I must look like an off duty supermodel – Obz. Then it happens. All the bits.

Should there be a microscopic bit of fluff in the atmosphere, black jeans will attract it. By the end of the day, you’re genuinely not sure if you are wearing your black jeans; or just thought about them and actually decided on some weird, fluffy legging things. This is a special reality, if like me you work in a place full of fabrics and threads.

So yeah, I wear them…. But only when there is nothing else.

The blazer on the other hand is a thing of dreams. Gold. Lace. Satin-y lining. What more could a girl want? If all that doesn’t make you want to wear it, just look at the poofy shoulders.

I don’t know what to call it; it is not quite a shoulder pad – its more Victoriana than 80’s. You do kinda feel like a Dynasty diva though; pass the hairspray will you?

The jacket was a sale bargain from many years ago, from Mrs Selfridges and its short life span in Burnley town centre.

The top is from New Look’s current collection. I wanted a black vest top, and this one has small cut out details along the neckline and hem which just give it a bit more of a boho feel. I’m not a fan of the boho look really, but it is apparently impossible to buy anything now that doesn’t nod towards the trend. Sigh.

The shoes are just some ye old faithful black court shoes, because you can’t go wrong with a patent court. Unless you scuff then, then you will inevitably spend the evening staring at the said scuff.

The nail varnish I am wearing is one of my new obsessions; that will probably be featured in a blog post soon – and I’m not just saying this time, I mean it. No, really; I have no excuse because I’m off work all next week.

Sorry just had to slip that in there. Enjoy getting up early on Monday, suckaasssss!

When I had this blog post in mind, I started about gathering a few bits and bobs for a photo. For some reason, I gravitated towards the candle and this necklace. Now I’ve uploaded the image, it all looks a little bit religious.

If you are religious by all means keep that kinda faith, if you want to. But the various Gods around aren’t the point of this post, so let’s just sidestep them for a while.

This week, I got some news that a side project was not going to plan. Truthfully, I knew this weeks ago; I’d gradually stopped letting myself spend the majority of my days thinking about it. I started a half-hearted search for a new thing to focus on. However the fact that things were not sticking to my carefully crafted script was only confirmed recently. Although I knew it was coming, when it was spoken out loud it still felt like a bit of a kick. My heart still dipped; yet surprisingly it was not a proper sinking feeling.

Yes, it was a bit crap, but it wasn’t too bad. I knew in my heart that things could, and can change. My plans may have to alter slightly, possibly even change direction but they will eventually come to fruition.

I may not have faced a life changing battle, or stood in the face of mortal danger but I have done things I’m proud of. I have done things I thought I couldn’t. I got through them, so I know I can get through less than perfect situations. I know that I can keep going, turning things around as I do. I am confident that it will all come good in the end.

I’m not about to post a rubbish quote, made shareable by an over-used Minion image. But I am going to tell you to have faith in yourself. Some of the most inspiring people in my life have not committed great feats. They have not made the national news, the local news and barely made a Facebook mention.

They have carried on, with what on the outside would seem mundane; holding down a job, raising a family, pursuing ambitions. What is admirably however, is the tiny, almost miss-able fact that they carried on. When they couldn’t be bothered, when they were tired, when they thought it might be time to give up because they just don’t get it. They carried on.

So I guess I’m using this blog to ask you to do the same. Have faith in yourself and carry on. It might be hard, it might be stressful, and it might make you want all of the wine. But that’s ok. Get drunk, nurse a hangover, but carry on. (Maybe the day after the hangover though, let’s not get carried away here.)

Know that to get to the grand old age where it is possible for you to sit and read a blog, you must have overcome something. Even if you can’t think of anything now that seems big enough or worthy; it’s the law of averages that you must have faced something shit by now. But you made it through, and in all likelihood you will continue to get through things.

So keep the faith in yourself. When things don’t go your way, take a step back and look at it for what it is. It’s a pit-stop, a chance to pull over, re-examine the map and then get back behind the wheel. In the words of WW2 propaganda… Keep calm, and carry on.

Now, I’m not saying I’ve accidentally brainwashed myself but I definitely may have. All week at work I have spent my days creating Pinterest boards about Audrey Hepburn and 1950’s dresses (hard life, I know) but today I really wanted to wear a dress with a nipped in waist.

As I’ve just binned most of my day dresses, I had to compromise with this skirt. But it does have a nipped in waist, and is kinda poofy so I’m pretty happy. Apart from when I sit down and have to wrestle with it or risk flashing, it’s all fun in my office.

In the title of this post I’ve called it the curtain skirt, because I don’t know what else to call it. It is a mini skirt, and it is fairly structured but that just doesn’t cover it. When I first unveiled it post-shopping trip, my dad likened it to being made out of a pair of old curtains because it’s woven and is (deliberately) faded in places. It also feels like a curtain, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Going slightly off track, I did actually Google ‘curtain skirt’ before writing this and it turns out ‘curtain skirt’ is actually a piece of fabric you effectively wrap around a sink in the bathroom. If you came here to see me modelling bathroom accessories; sorry to disappoint you.

I teamed this skirt with black tights and a black polo neck jumper because it has been bloody cold today. Looking back though, Audrey could have influenced me there. If three hours on Pinterest teaches you anything, it’s that Audrey Hepburn was a fan of a black roll neck top.

The shoes are my current go-to, for two reasons. They are awesome (you can read more about them here) and other than my trainers; they are the only flat shoes I own. I know some fashion bloggers try and convince us that trainers and tights are a thing, but they are not pulling the wool (or nylon) over my eyes with this one.

Ideally I would have liked to wear a necklace with this top, just to brighten it up a bit, however I was running a bit late this morning. As unfashionable as it is to admit, when the choice between selecting jewellery and making lunch came; the food won outright.

Although these aren’t the best photo of me ever, I am secretly congratulating myself on not having hagrid-esque hair as much as I feared, after going to be with it wet. The photos also mean I get to showcase the globe which has made a triumphant return from the loft.

This week I have been acting as photographer as well as blogger for this outfit of the week post. So you lucky things get a bit of sneak peek into my spare room – because I know you’ve all been dying to see it. Obz.

You can kinda see a 200 hundred year old chest I bought a while back in the background though, so there is that.

Anyway, enough rambling; let’s get down to business.

This floral midi-dress is actually from George’s teen-ware range, but I won’t tell if you don’t. Normally midi-dresses are too long for me and turn into a too short maxi-dress that looks a bit silly – but this one actually ends where its meant to, which is a good start. I like this dress for two other reasons though; firstly although its jersey fabric it isn’t that thin that it shows every little wobbly bit. Secondly, a lot of florals tend to be quite bright and graphic or overly girly; I think that the dark base of this dress makes it just that little bit different.

The pink pops in the design just lift it slightly so that it isn’t too wintery, and can be used for matching other, brighter colours to it.

The shoes I’m wearing are from New Look and have the tiniest of gold heels. So you get to feel mega-glam when you slip them on. It also acts as an excuse to break into a tap dance routine whenever you’re on hard-flooring. *Starts jazz hands*

I say they have a heel, but they are in essence a flat shoe. As such I was in two minds as to whether to wear them with this outfit; my mind for some reason has decided upon this inescapable rule:

Wearing a dress with tights? Flat shoes are fine! Wearing a dress with no tights? Don’t you dare wear flat shoes, you rotten thing.

I think it has something to do with being short…. Anything that cuts my legs off makes me look shorter and threatens to take me into sausage-alike territory. My mind secretly knows this and tries to make me steer clear.

As this dress is a bit darker than most florals I thought I would team it with a more of a ‘dishevelled glamour’ makeup and hair look. I never intentionally aim for this look normally so I guess this is an outfit of the week that’s out of my normal realm altogether.

I opted for a smudged-liner look on the eyes, which involved black kohl liner, the darkest of blues eyeshadow (for extra smudgy-ness) and lashings of mascara on both the upper and lower lashes. I also filled in my brows more than normal, because strong eyes means strong brows, right? To tone down the look a bit, I wore a soft pink lip with the merest of shine. I am aiming to post more beauty-related things, so follow me on Instagram if you fancy having a gander.

I partly wish that I could tell you I’d spent ages making my hair all voluminous and rough for this ponytail, but in reality I just semi-dried it yesterday and haven’t bothered straightening it since. One of the few perks of big hair, eh?