Dress - vintage
Boots - charity shop
Bag - vintage
Hair Scarf - charity shop
Earrings - New Look (old)
As February is clearly the month of commercialised love, in a groundbreaking "florals for spring" moment, I thought this would be an ideal opportunity to write about some internalised amour. As you take a moment to recover from the recoil of cringe that has just overtaken your stoic sensibilities, I will draw attention to our being firmly two months into 2021 (our prophesised saviour year, hurrah! n.b. please read in the intended satirical tone), and it's an apt time to reflect on January intentions. Have you stuck to your weekly bum workout? Because I certainly have not.
This is where the self-love idea comes in.
So often we hold ourselves to unhelpfully high levels of scrutiny, demanding perfection as if the compassion and understanding we show to others does not apply to our own situation. You can only ever do your best and this should not be at the sacrifice of your mental and physical health. There is a balance to be found: it's okay to prioritise your needs and set boundaries in order to prevent that debilitating feeling of being utterly overwhelmed. If you are not a believer in the self-care movement, maybe it's time to reconsider? More than ever, practicing self-kindness is not a habit to dismiss as an indulgence of the new age generation. So go ahead and light those candles, line up your crystals...or just eat a creme egg and dance round the kitchen to that song you love.
Whatever soothes your soul.
These photos were actually taken on my birthday last year, and although they have been patiently sat for all this time on an SD card awaiting their digital debut, I feel like the marking of growth is quaintly symbolic. (We can even pretend the floral motif of my dress is a deliberate denoting to a blossoming mind.) Of course, the voices of discontent are always paying background lip-service, however the Emily typing this in 2021 is much more aware she has the power to
tell them to "shut up!"
The dress is a truly lovely handmade seventies number I bought from a vintage fair several years ago. The details are so darling; from the little covered buttons that adorn the front pleated placket, to the ruffled cotton lace that trims the cuffs and collar. Tortoiseshell effect earrings, organically shaped acrylic, fulfil the outfit's nod to natural forms, like a GCSE art sketchbook opening theme (I remember 15-year-old me painted many watery leaves and shells with equivalently diluted enthusiasm back then). Knee high boots are de rigueur of this era of dressing and the chocolate suede has echoes within the flowery fabric's colour palette. A true vintage box bag, which can only just fit a phone if it is awkwardly wedged in sideways, follows in the tonal accessorising - the gold hardware glinting amongst the last rays of a setting sun.
There is a whimsical romance to wandering outdoors as the daylight fades, and it is a fitting setting for some promotion of self-wooing. Perhaps you will be inspired to work towards showing yourself an element of the same unconditional love, demonstrated so beautifully by my sister being
forced to photograph me prancing around a field.
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