I'm going to be really good at being a poor student

I'm going to be really, really good at being a poor student when I (hopefully) move out of home later this year. Yes. Why? Well, for starters, I sewed this dress myself. And guess where I sourced the stripey material for the top? A pillow case. Not even a pillow case I already owned. A thrifted pillow case. (I washed it first) That's how ridiculously thrifty I have gotten, apparently. The light blue was some remnant material from a charity store as well. But I really like how the dress turned out! I think the colours go really nicely together, and I love the stripes, even if it was once used for someone's sleepy head! I also have a new boater hat (finally!) This gorgeous hat is c/o Wholesale-dress. I was seriously blown away by its quality, because it's flipping $4!! Oh my god, I'm the cheapest person ever. Wearing: Dress - I made it! Bag - c/o Mochi Beaucoup Hat - c/o Wholesaledress Necklace #1 - Vintage Necklace #2 - c/o My Name Necklace Tights - Forever 21 Shoes - Yesstyle A lovely lady called Ashlee sent me an email the other day asking what music I listened to, because she was wondering how my music taste reflected my style and taste in clothing. From that, I thought maybe I would include a couple of songs in each look which go with the outfit, for anyone else who is curious about my music tastes! So this is my little list of songs for this look (& let me know if you'd like me to keep doing this in the future!): Foster the People - Don't Stop (Colour on the Walls) Regina Spektor - Hotel Song Boy & Bear - Golden Jubilee Hope you all had/are having a thrifty Friday! xxx Annika

Rainy day outfit

I wore this to uni the other day when it was raining. No one "got" the umbrellas though, which made me do this - :( Anyway. This is my new favourite sweater ever ever ever. And it was only $15.  Ohmygoodness. Also, these socks are pretty awesome, aren't they? As I think you've all probably noticed, I wear frilly lace socks at every chance I get, so I just got myself 4 more pairs from wholesaledress. I'm giving into the pastel mint trend juuuust a little tiny bit with the these minty coloured ones. Wearing: Umbrella Sweater - Wholesaledress Blouse - Vintage Bag - c/o Mochi Beaucoup Skirt - Momo from Japan Cameo Brooch - Ebay Socks - c/o Wholesaledress Shoes - Wholesaledress Hope you're having a happy day! Love, Annika

Caramel Cupcakes

I was in the city the other day having dinner with my boyfriend, and I knew that I had to walk home from the train in the FREEZING COLD, and I didn’t have a cardigan. I also knew I would have to either spend $10 on a taxi, or $10 on a cardigan/coat so I could brave the cold walk home. I then found a $10-or-less pop-up-shop selling cute cardigans. So guess which one I chose? (Of course I chose the cardigan.) Such a better/wiser investment! It’s so damn cute, and warm, and it has the most adorable little elk on it, who are howling at a christmas tree or something, but oh my! It's so cute! You may also have noticed my amazing bag. In fact, the title of this look refers to my new satchel bag, c/o Mochi Beaucoup. How damn cute is it?? It’s actually ridiculously nice, deliciously so, and the little scalloped edges just push the cuteness factor over the edge (in a good way). Here's a nice close up of it (yeah, I'm also wearing a different dress. This photo is for a future outfit post actually, but I didn't get good close ups of the bag earlier, and I felt it needed some.): The name of the bag is actually "Salted Caramel Cupcake Satchel". I'm sure you can see why! If you want one for yourself (or anything else at Mochi Beacoup, for that matter), you can get it 20% cheaper than usual just for reading my blog, just use the code AVPNMB20 at the checkout. Wearing: Dress - Vintage from Osaka Bag - c/o Mochi Beaucoup Cardigan - No brand Belt - Vintage Socks - Vintage Shoes - Yesstyle Hair bow - I made it Have a lovely day! Annika xxxxx

A Stripey Skirt from a Vintage Dress

Whoever is leaving all these amazing dresses in my thrift stores - I can't thank you enough! This one I made into a high-waisted skirt, because the top part had a whole boob-tube thing going on - which I do not do. I also made this blouse all nice with some DIY - all I did was sew two lengths of black ribbon underneath each collar bit, but it has totally transformed the top. Who knew that I would get bored of peter pan collars? Well, this is a neat way to revitalise them. Wearing: Skirt - Vintage & DIY Blouse - Wholesaledress & DIY Tights - c/o Oasap Belt - Vintage Hat - Wholesaledress Shoes - Yesstyle Hope you're all feelin' fine and dandy! xxx Annika

Super Tricky Skirt Shorts

Have a look at the above picture. What you're probably thinking is "Oh! That's a quite lovely mustard skirt." FUNNY, THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT TOO! Oh, wait. It wasn't until I went to try on my new "skirt" at home, that I discovered this funny thing. They're actually weirdo giant pants, deceiving me with their skirty like appearance! Ahh, the joys of charity stores. (However, they were only $1. So I'm not too upset.) So now I have one of two options, and I need your help for this one. Whatever you guys decide, I will (probably) do! So, should I make these pants into a skirt (see top picture), or bubble-hem high-waisted short-shorts (see below)? YOU DECIDE. I relinquish to you, reader, the power to determine the fate of this garment of clothing! How exciting! I love you all, Annika xxx

Queen of Hearts Tights

Ahoy there! Bringing back the hand-painted tights! I was actually commissioned to paint these for a burlesque Tim Burton show happening this weekend, for a Queen of Hearts Costume. I took these photos "to show" the person who asked me to paint them, to make sure they were alright. I may have gotten a little carried away though... and taken a whole bunch of outfit photos with them as well. But, I managed not to rip them... so no harm done! (Unless they read my blog. Let's hope they don't read my blog.) Wearing: Shirt - Vintage Skirt - Wholesaledress Tights - DIY'd (originally vintage sheers) Bag - c/o Oasap Boots - Rubi Shoes Necklace - Stolen from boyfriend Cameo Brooch - Ebay Here's a little DIY... How to make "Queen of Hearts" tights What you will need: Sheer white tights Black fabric/acrylic paint (*Important: The paint must be fairly thick, ie not runny*) A stencil A pair of legs to paint on A paintbrush What you do: Making your stencil: Get a long length of cardboard and fold it in half. Draw half-lovehearts on the folded edge of one side of the cardboard, larger at the top and getting smaller gradually as you go down. Like this: Cut these out and unfold the cardboard. You should now have a nice stencil with some pretty love hearts. Use these stencils for painting your tights. Follow instructions on how to do this here. Don't forget to let them dry for a loooooong time on your legs! Wear them around for a few hours. I'm serious!! Love, Annika xxx