Style Evolution – The Birthday Suit

Fnarr, fnarr, snigger etc.

Actually I’m gearing up to take a few days off, as next week is my BIRTHDAY! I’m scheduling posts in advance and attempting to be all organised so I can take a break, so todays post, doesn’t contain long stories, thoughtful musings on important issues or even exciting things to buy, it contains PHOTOS OF WHAT I WORE FOR MY BIRTHDAY!

Because that’s, like, really important.

Actually I think Birthday outfits are kind of fun to look back on, you always pick something sort of special if you’re going out with friends for the occasion and looking back through 5 years worth of birthday outfits gives a little insight into how my style has evolved and changed over the years.

Although my blog started in April 2008, by  my birthday I hadn’t even figured out outfit posts were “a thing” so my first birthday post was from my 30th Birthday party in 2009. My husband treated me to a long lusted after Vivien of Holloway frock which I teamed with black accessories. Hey, fact fans, those black shoes are the same ones I’m wearing here, just a couple of months ago! I’d yet to learn anything about vintage hair styling and my hair was ALWAYS in this “pleat with fringe” style.

2010 was a futuristic Bo Nanafana at the Spiegeltent, so I took a bit of inspiration from Bladerunner in a Lady K Loves pencil skirt, Warehouse jacket and Calvin Klein jeans Blouse. In the intervening year I’d learnt to sort of do victory rolls and faux bangs, but still not curl my hair. And, oh dear, looks like I’m wearing those shoes AGAIN. Do I not have any others?

I was so pleased with that hair style when I went out, but by the end of the night the rat was starting to show through the bangs, and there was so much hairspray on it I think it stayed in place when I took out the pins!

By 2011 i I appear to have a much better camera, and much better hair styling skillz, and apparently, some new shoes, thanks heavens. I was back at the Speigeltent for more birthday fun this year. I got treated to a massage and facial for my birthday which meant that my hair somehow ended up covered in oil, so I had to wash it and use hot sticks in the space of 45 minutes to get that hair do. I’m pretty impressed to be honest.

The dress is vintage Kitty Copeland and cost £5 from a costume sale, the shoes are Salavador Sapena and cost 99p on eBay and the hat came from TK Maxx. To me, this feels like the year I started to really find my style, and know how I wanted to look.

Birthday chick 2012 style went full on 40s. I was only going to the pub and I remember hating everything I owned to wear that night. I’d put on a bit of weight in the year between these two photos and my hair was in desperate need of a cut. This would have been a sponge roller set with victory rolls, worn with a black 1940s dress I got off eBay, a 1930s glass necklace and red sparkly red or dead shoes.

And onto last year! I totally failed at a full on outfit photo last year, but I was wearing a green body con midi dress with an armful of bangles and a green vintage headscarf and faux bangs. I spent the day at my first ever Roller Derby bout, and now I play, so last years birthday was pretty much a turning point!

5 years of blogging, getting involved in vintage styling, working for myself, organising events, writing, and finding my own style and I’m a very different person now than I was back then. I’m more confident, fitter, if not thinner and much, much tougher both mentally and physically. I think 2009 me would have secretly loved to be wearing 2013 me’s outfit, but she wouldn’t have had a clue where to start. I wonder what 2019 me will make of 2014 me’s birthday outfit?