Winter roses / Kindness is always fashionable

 

  

Hi Sweethearts!

It may be freezing outside, but I still want to enjoy my summer-dresses :)

Today I went for a rosy-leopard mix.

I haven`t been feeling very comfortable about my body lately,

but wanting to be kind to my self I refuse to hide my self,

I think roses and loud patterns accessorized with kind thoughts is better lol.

Speaking of kindness,

I want to give a warm and heartfelt thank you to my blogger friend

Vanhi of http://www.gritandglamor.com/.

She is the most amazing person and blogger,

if you don`t know her blog already, surf over and be ready to have your

bloggerista-existence rocked with her must-reads.

She is wise, generous, so blogger-savvy and so supportive.

I was deeply honored to find that she mentioned me in two of her posts recently,

listing me as a blogger who is owning what is original about me and my blog,

and as one of the most kind bloggers of 2010.

I was so moved I cried happy tears.

I want all of you, my lovely readers, to know that your kindness moves me so,

every day.

I love you and am here for you,

my sweethearts.

<3

The outfit:

Dress, my design

(I made it from a skirt I found in my mums basement, the waistband I made from shoelaces and studs from a neckless)

Cardigan, H&M (I cut it into shape, it was too long for my curvy frame)

Earrings, christmas gift from Alex

Sequined bracelet, my design

Feather, hairband, H&M

Love, Anika

White christmas / sending you all love

Hi Sweethearts!

I want to wish you a peaceful and joyful christmas.

I am thinking of all of you, where ever you are, and sending you lots of love

<3

Christmas at ours is all about staying in the moment,

keeping it simple, enjoying each other

and sharing the love.

Growing up with divorced parents I always had to

celebrate christmas twice, and was always missing one parent on christmas eve.

This year I have taken a time out, celebrating it at home with my husbond,

and seing my family at christmas parties.

It feels good to take control over this aspect of my life as well,

and I am grateful that my parents are loving and understanding about it.

I am happy to say that I am actually enjoying christmas this year,

it is stress free, honest, and white.

We like to keep our christmas decorations simple too,

letting the tree take center stage, and simply

lighting candles and enjoying our white tulips.

Tell me, how are you celebrating christmas this year?

Love, Anika

Snake miniskirt / scarf / bolero

Hi Sweethearts!

Remember my snake mini (H&M) that I wore as a scarf?

Today I decided I didn`t have enough boleros lol,

so now my mini-scarf is a bolero.

I braved the snow in it today, mixed with a purple scarf (Indiska),

leopard dress (my design), feathers and ring (H&M).

 

I am sorry to say that I have lost some followers. I don`t really know why,

but I want to thank you all once again for reading, and let you know that I adore you all.

<3

xxx Anika

Taupe / blue leopard /snake-covered hourglass - hips, tummy, positive attitude and all!

Hi Sweethearts!

I sewed this figure-hugging dress yesterday,

and with my improved inner monolouge saying

 "Yes I can tell you that I like my shape without being too unabashed" (lol),

I don`t mind telling you that I love the way it follows my hourglassy curves.

It is all a part of this self-bloody-well-rejoycing-project/

succumbing to the fact that these hips and my tum tum ain`t going nowhere but horizontal, so

I might as well get on with making the most of it all.

(To be fair my hips and tummy are very handy for getting bus-seats to my self,

or even getting a seat when the bus is full. You know, when people very graciously offer their seats to me

thinking that I am preggers, and me, not wanting to embarass any of us further graciously

say thank you, hold the small of my back and wiggle my self into the flippin`seat, leaving

the helpful passenger feeling quite the gent and me quite the fattie.

Ever had one of those moments?

All I am saying is,

don`t knock it, just enjoy the seat.

LOL)

I always try to make the best of what I am handed,

so in life and in fashion alike I am a true believer that knowing our selves is key.

Know your self!

(3 things I know about my self that I like: My sensitivity. My generousity. My sense of humour.)

Know your shape!

(3 things about my body that I like: My eyes. My hourglass shape. The girls. LOL)

I do really think it is all about the shape not the size in terms of what suits us fashionwise.

If I was 30 kilos lighter I would still wear the same shapes I do now.

In fact, it was when this finally hit home with me that I decided to stop waiting and wanting to be thin (which is as good seing as how I can`t even be bothered to unwrap the Zumba dvds I ordered, but am using the weights they included for booksupports, very handy lol) – and just get on with dressing up in colours and prints, finally having fun with my fashion!

I don`t ever want to put my self down again for not finding clothes that don`t fit me, screw that. 

Now I buy two dresses that don`t fit and make my own, and I bloody well wear white on bottom.

Damn right!

The outfit:

The dress I made from a taupe tee (H&M) and a dress that I had reworked a year ago. I like the ruffled detail of the back so much that I made the back of the dress the front. See, now you can`t really tell if that is my tummy or the ruffles :). Ok, maybe you can tell, but nevermind :D

The bolero is my design

Tell me, what do you know and like about your self?

xxx Anika

My inner monolouge says... that is a lot of print!

Hi sweethearts!

Thank you all so much for reading and commenting!

I am a firm believer that our thoughts can help us define how we feel,

making our inner monolouge a powerful tool to use

in terms of our perspective on our selves and

the lives we lead.

To have power brings the responsibility of using it wisely,

even when the power in question is that of my own

perception of my self.

My inner monolouge used to put me down, critisize my weight and highlight my mistakes 24-7.

I have taken the power over my inner monolouge,

and now the record that is playing in my head says:

Yes, you can.

Don`t worry.

It turns out my inner monolouge is right,

be it facing the challenges in my life, laughing at my own jokes, asking you to be my friends

or wearing any prints I damned well please.

Can you relate?

The outfit:

Leopard dress by H&M that I have reworked (and is the dress I feel the best about my body in LOL, pretty incredible seing as how it is anything but discreet)

Bolero/jacket that I cut from a dress by Gina Tricot that only fit nicely over one buttock at a time before I

used the top of it for a few dresses until this morning when I got my scissors out

Scarf is a dress that I forget where I got that I now am resewing

The shoes are untouched by my hands LOL

The bracelet I sewed from a sequin scarf

Tell me, what record do you have your inner monolouge playing?

xxx Anika

To be cast into a mixmatch of the most perplexing prints and emerge victorious - in fashion and in life

Hi Sweethearts!

The beautiful bloggerista of The Merry Traveller paid me the most wonderful compliment

on my previous post, she had me laughing out loud when I read this:

"You my dear can be cast in a mix match of the

most perplexing prints and emerge a victorious and gorgeous being! Kudos!"

Looking at this outfit that I wore a few days ago I see that she does has a point about

the perplexing prints! LOL 

You know me, I am such a thinker with a sensitive heart,

always observing and pondering the big and small things of life.

It struck me that her comment also applies the human experience. 

Surviving, getting by, living, redefining, overcoming, growing, really feeling,

really being present in our lives.  

My own growth is mirrored in my fashion.

For most of my life I have battled depression and anxeity beacuse of things that happened to me

growing up. For over twenty years I was so deeply ashamed of my self,

wanting to remove my self all together,

believing that I was a burden to others, that just looking at me discusted others.

I cloaked my self in black skirts that dragged on the ground, wore clothes that hid my body,

walking around grieving my uglyness and shortcomings inside and out.

I still have those thoughts sometimes, but as you know,

this is not what is prominent about me these days.

I have fought long and hard, still am, to get to a state of

self love,

self acceptance,

dignity.

I am emerging, I am done apologizing for being me, I am celebrating my self with my fashion

 - colours, prints, figurehugging dresses and all.

I am a self worth activist, fiercly standing up for all of our right to define ourselves by own standards,

both in my professional life and blogger-life. 

I was cast into a perplexing mix of obstacles, and I am emerging victoriosly.

Didn`t think I would see this day.

The outfit:

I designed the dress my self. Remeber the snake dress? I combined the top with a

belt taken from a miniskirt (H&M) that I wear as a scarf, but that is growing smaller in size lol.

I layered the dress with my olive leopard number (H&M and reworked by me), a tribal print scarf (Zara),

feather, ring and hairband (H&M) and leopard booties (Nilson).

Sweethearts,

I want to thank you each and every one for reading my blog, for commenting,

for becoming my friends.

You are impacting my life in a tangible and beautiful way.

I love you.

xxx Anika

Tribal prints. Sequins. Stripes. Feathers. I`ve been shopping. In my closet!

Hi sweethearts!

Remember how I told you before that I only keep stuff in my wardrobe that I

absolutely love?

Since adopting this approach to my clothes my days of

what-the-f-to-put-on-and-feel-fab-when-I-only-have-clothes-that-don`t fit-days

don`t come around that much. I am happier for it.

Now I have made my closet into my

colourful, shiny and inviting candy box, my personal boutique!

Sometimes I lie awake at night thinking about all the

possible ways to combine my dresses and boleros and accessories into

fab outfits.

Ah, so many dresses, so little time. LOL

Know the feeling?

The outfit:

The dress is my design (top from H&M, yes, I am fat and in horizontal stripes lol, the belt is the

lining of a leather belt a friend of mine discarded)

The bolero is cut from a tunica from H&M that I made a dress with, before I got tired of it

The tribal scarf from H&M had my name on it, I love the burnt tones of it with a pop of dusty turqoise

The feather from H&M is for the hair, but I`ll wear it anywhere :)

The rest you have seen before, they are my staple accessories these days.

Tell me, do you also go shopping in your closet and get creative mixing your clothes?

xxx Anika

Dressing up for the moments that really matter

Hi Sweethearts!

This weekend I sewed four dresses LOL.

This is me at work today in one of them.

I love dressing up,

each and every day.

For me, dressing up is about taking care of my self,

about respecting my self, and about trying to be present

and make the most of all of these moments

that pass by so fleetingly,

all of the small moments that in total are my

life.

They matter, you know. Each one of those moments.

We might as well make the most of them, no?

The dress I made from a top that I wear backwards, and fabric left over from two other dresses.

I love the combination of the colours, and I love the sound of the silky dress

swooshing as I sway my curves walking LOL

(might as well put these not-so-understated-hips to good use, cause I

sure can`t seem to get rid of them HAHAHHA)

(I haven`t really tried very hard to minimize them, in all honesty.)

(In fact I have cultivated them, shall we say,

by keeping my sneakers nicely wrapped in their box and enjoying

a generous banana split every now and often hahahhaha.

Remember, it`s all about making the most of those moments that add to my figure too ;D )

Tell me, do you save dressing up for the special days,

or do you make every day special?

xxx Anika

Speaking of exiting moments, on February 5th I`ll be in London, enjoying the fab company of

some wonderful bloggers, thanks to Lauren of Pocket Rocket who is organizing a blogger meet-up!

Want to come meet me?

<3

Go to the facebook-page for the event for more details.

I am forever reworking my bouqet of dresses

Hi sweethearts!

I am a firm believer that we only get as much fun as we create for ourselves,

 daring to be relaxed about our selves, silly and

open for the humour in any given moment :D

I approach my wardrobe with the same attitude;

I only get as many dresses as I can come up with! LOL

I am forever sewing and reworking my dresses.

These are some of the dresses that I have given new lives before

and problably will change again and again.

The white ruffled dress

This dress was one of my personal breakthroughs in terms of defining what I can wear and not.

That definition was blown wide open when I picked my shamed self up

from the dressing room floor (when the dress sized XL didn`t fit)

and walked out of the store with two matching dresses,

determined that I was going to wear the beautiful white frills no matter what.

I made a dress from the two dresses, and here is the skirt of that dress in

the various combinations I have sewed so far.

The grey sequined T

I love grey and I love sequins, so when I picked up this t at a sale I knew I could have some fun with it.

Above are my two spins on it so far. Now it is waiting for the next idea in my treasure box of fabrics.

The coat-dress

I found this coat at H&M in London a few years back and loved it so much I wore it as a dress, before I started adding different tops to it. It is super comfortable to wear.

The brown dress

Mixing and matching my skirts and tops makes for so many options!

This is my latest take on my brown dress, with snakeprint and studs from a bag.

The wrap around dress

I fell in love with the silky printed fabric of

this wrap around dress that I bought at Noa Noa in Dublin two years ago.

The wrap around-thing didn`t work for me though, so I chopped it up, turned it back to front,  and sewed it back toghether, using the sleeves for the back of the dress.

For summer the short sleeved- t was perfect, but when autumn came I replaced it with a t with longer sleeves and leather sequins on the shoulder.

The snake dress

I made this dress from a scarf. It was the first printed dress I wore, and I loved it

so much I basically only wear printed ones now. But you might have noticed that already LOL.

Anyways, this dress doesn`t exist anymore, I have reworked it, will show you later :)

Tell me, do you also rework your clothes?

xx Anika

ps, be sure to leave me a link when you comment so that I can visit you :)