What I Ate Wednesday

I keep meaning to start a regular What I Ate Wednesday #WIAW post, as it's something I've seen pop up on various blogs and social media pages I follow, and I think it's a great idea to keep track of an average day's food, and share with other foodies out there.

One of my goals for this year is to eat more healthily, and keep track of my food intake. I really, really love food, so I'm never going to be one of those people who live on a very restrictive diet, cutting out anything that's not 100% nutritious! I'm working on a post for the near future about nutrition in general, and how confusing it can be to try and eat well these days given the amount of conflicting opinions available to us in this technological age. But for now I shall just go through what I ate on Wednesday, and why!

Breakfast

Bowl of oats, with dried fruit, flaked almonds and full fat milk. Coffee.

Oats fill me up, and give me energy to concentrate on work up until lunch, when I'll often go for a jog. Adding some sweetness with dried fruit, good fats from the almonds and the creamy deliciousness of whole milk gives me a fairly balanced breakfast that I really enjoy eating. I usually have a coffee in the morning too with milk and a teaspoon of honey. In an ideal world I would have less sugar (from the fruit, honey and lactose in the milk) and more protein and fresh vegetables, As I mentioned earlier, however, I don't live in an ideal world and I'm well aware my diet has its flaws!

Lunch

Open sandwich on wholemeal bread with cream cheese, smoked salmon, mixed leaves and avocado. 

Again, I know there are better choices for lunch, but I enjoy these flavours, and I've got a combination of some complex carbs, good fats and nutrients from the avocado and salad. 

Dinner

Spinach and cheese omelette on toast.

I train on Wednesdays and I don't have time to eat beforehand, so I try and make something quick and tasty when I get in. I'm a huge fan of omlettes, I added cheese for flavour and spinach to be healthy! Carb-haters will sneer at the toast, but it's wholemeal, and a small loaf, and I don't have a wheat intolerance so when I have bread at home (which isn't that often) I will enjoy some toast!

Snacks

Chocolate mousse, a satsuma, a slice of cake, Tango.

Snacks are my downfall and this is a fair example of my bad snacking. The cake was left over from new year, as was the Fanta. I really enjoy satsumas, even more so when they're paired with something chocolatey. But I will make more of an effort as the last of the Christmas treats are gone to choose healthier options for a lite bite between meals.

Water (not enough of it!)

In summer, I'm good at drinking water, but in winter I tend to crave hot drinks instead, or just go without. I only had 3 or 4 glasses of water today and I aim for double that. The one thing I love about winter is when the tap water is super cold! 

So that's the lot. I've posted the nutritional details throughout, as part of my resolution to track my food consumption! Totals below:

Goals for next week - healthier snacks and maybe less bread. What healthier options have you been choosing this month?

Resolutions rehashed

For 2015, I made 15 resolutions. Although they weren't really resolutions, they were goals. A resolution can be broken, a goal is something to continually aim for. And there weren't actually 15, there were 16 because I forgot about a challenge I joined. So rather than not bother at all, or agonize over a whole new set of personal goals for this year, I'm just going to repeat last year's with a few tweaks and addendums. And since there are 16, that works perfectly for my 2016 goals!

I didn't manage to achieve many of these goals last year, but they did help me try and find motivation to pursue things I otherwise wouldn't have done. Here they are, with a few words about how they went last year and how I'm going to approach each one for 2016.

1. Spend at least 15 minutes a day doing something creative.

I tried to quantify this to give me a specific target, but it seems rather arbitrary, and not really representative of creativity! I think I'll update this to "Do something creative every day". Part of my plans for self improvement this year are to give myself a bit more credit for achieving things, so I'm including quite a lot of small activities as "doing something creative", for example painting my nails, posting an Instagram picture or making a new dish. A lot of my other goals are related to doing more specific creative things, like making jewellery, baking and blogging, so hopefully I'll be able to cross a few off at the same time.

2. Stop apologising for things that aren’t my fault.

This is a really tricky thing for me. It's my default, and although I was perhaps more aware of it happening last year, I really didn't manage to change my core belief that everything is my fault. But I can definitely try harder, and by stopping myself from always saying sorry, I'm hoping I'll eventually start to believe I'm not always to blame and the world won't collapse when the tiniest thing goes wrong.

3. By the end of the year, have a figure I’m proud of.

Nothing new, I'm just re-starting this one. No excuses, I just didn't eat healthily enough or work out hard enough to get to this point by the end of 2015. So, along with the rest of the population, I'll be trying to drag myself back to the gym, and say no to office treats in pursuit of this totally-achievable goal.

4. Bake every other week.

I had a spat of baking last year, mostly inspired by the Great British Bake Off. I didn't quite average every other week, but it was definitely a good start. I'm still determined to complete every bake from last year's show before this year's begins, and with a shiny new standalone mixer I received for Christmas, there's nothing to stop me continuing to practice my baking skills more often. Below is my bake along with Bake Off journey so far!

5. Sell at least 5 items of hand made jewellery.

Other one with which I made good progress, but didn't quite get to the finish line. I made a good handful of necklaces in 2015, and even photographed a few to upload to my as-yet-unopened Etsy shop. With more practice in 2016, I'll hopefully produce more pieces that I think are worthy of selling and get my shop underway.

6. Read a book every month.

I read an entire book in a few days over Christmas, so I know this is achievable! But I'm guilty of spending too much time scrolling through facebook and watching TV repeats, when I really could be reading. 12 books in a year is entirely achievable. Any recommendations?

7. Update my blog every other week.

Other one that was a good effort, but just not quite as frequent as I had hoped. I've discovered I tend to want to write article style posts, rather than brief updates, which might have slowed things down a little. I'm also terrible at taking pictures, which definitely hindered my progress! I've fallen into a pattern of posting about food, fashion, roller derby and music in the same order, which I quite like as it gives me a chance to think about the next post. I think I just need to write more! It sounds simple, but I'm sure the more that I start typing, the easier I will find it to complete a post and upload without overthinking and editing everything a hundred times.

8. Eat well 5 days a week.

I think my diet in 2015 was quite poor. My biggest problem is temptation! I'm quite good at eating healthy meals, it's everything that I eat in between that's the problem. Also, "eat well" is quite a vague concept and I think it needs re-defining. I'm a huge fan of nutritionist Nichola Whitehead of Nic's Nutrition, and I love her realistic approach to healthy eating, focusing on the 80/20 rule that as long as you eat healthily 80% of the time, you can treat yourself the other 20% of the time. If I'm honest, I was probably more 60/40 in 2015 and that's not a great way to be. One thing I'm going to add to this goal is to track my food intake properly. If I'm writing down everything I eat, it should be easier to see where I need to change my habits to be able to say I'm "eating well" (80% of the time!)

9. Be more adventurous with clothes and make-up.

This is one goal that I feel I pretty much achieved. I found doing little outfit challenges really enjoyable, and it pushed me out of my comfort zone a few times. I probably wasn't as adventurous as I could have been though, so 2016 will be about taking more risks and being braver.

10. Pass CIMA C02 – C05.

Well, I passed C02 and C03! Just 4 and 5 to go, then I'll be looking at the next set of exams. Updating this for 2016 is going to include passing at least 1 exam for the next level. At least 1.

11. Learn basic German.

I did not do this at all last year. However, my Mum bought me a beginner German set for Christmas, so now I've got the tools, I've really got no excuse not to grasp the basics in a year!

12. Keep the house clean and tidy.

This is definitely still a work in progress. I researched a couple of articles about keeping a tidy house, which have inspired me to try harder but which I've not quite yet put into practice. This one breaks down a cleaning schedule into 20 minutes a day. I might not like it, but I can't deny that I probably have 20 minutes spare that I can use to help me get on top of this challenge. It really doesn't come naturally to me, so it's a case of changing lifelong habits and developing different lifestyle choices. 

13. Make more of an effort to keep in touch with friends.

This is another one that's hard to quantify. What is "more of an effort"? I feel like it's really hard to keep in touch with old friends when we all have such busy schedules. I also struggle with the anxiety of contacting people I've not spoken to for ages, and I'm petrified of phoning anyone, even my very best friend. So perhaps this challenge is less about trying to meet up with as many people as possible, and more about braving contact and reaching out to people without fearing rejection.

14. Be on time.

Being late was one of my biggest sources of stress for 2015. Granted, the majority of my lateness was caused by severe and frequent delays on the trains, but leaving an hour earlier would still have avoided this. I've begun commuting via a different route which has (touch wood) so far been more reliable, but I'm still guilty of leaving things too late and not planning my time efficiently. For 2016, I'm really going to focus on planning and doing, rather than thinking about planning and getting distracted and waylaid.

15. Learn to swing dance.

As I write this post, I am on my way to my first class of 2016. Although I didn't actually get started until the end of 2015, I did start, and I enjoyed it, and I shall continue to dance all the way to 2017. My next challenge will be to go to a social dance. The thought of improvising and not messing everything up seems impossible at the moment, but I'm hoping that will have changed by the end of the year.

16. Jog 811 miles by the end of the year.

This was the extra one from last year I'd forgotten I'd agreed to, and I was nowhere near. 811 miles is a long way (It's the distance from Lands End to John O'Groats) and a big task. I've reset it for this year, but with the added excitement of running the London Marathon in April. I've wanted to run the marathon for so long, and having repeatedly failed to get a ballot place I've finally bitten the bullet and guaranteed to raise money for the National Childbirth Trust, giving invaluable support to new parents when it's most needed. If you've read this far and you'd like to help, please pop along to my justgiving page to donate, every pound really does help.

So that's it! New year, same goals! What are your goals for this year? I'd love to hear about how people decide on, and perhaps more importantly, stick to their resolutions.

Discovering new bands, that often aren't new at all.

I love music. But there's so much out there, I frequently wonder how long a band have been writing new music, performing at little venues around the world, never having appeared on my radar. I often hear friends and colleagues commenting that nobody is making decent music any more, but I just don't believe this is true.

In July last year, Spotify launched the "Discover Weekly" playlist, which selects artists based on your listening history to produce a 30 track playlist updated once a week. I can't praise this launch enough. Not only have I discovered countless new artists as a result of listening to this playlist, but it's got me talking about new artists with my friends, who in turn are sharing their new findings.

It's not all about new music though. Many of the "new" bands I've discovered have actually been around for years, but haven't yet appeared on my horizon. Similarly, I've had a few artists appear on the aforementioned playlist I've known and loved for a long time, but it's still nice to be reminded of a track that I've not listened to for a while.

If all you listen to is BBC and commercial radio stations, I can see why you might think that the music market is somewhat stagnant of late. Regardless of what kind of genre you're into, there is always more out there that doesn't have the budget for radio plugging, or lots of screentime on the music video channels, or a series of adverts to broadcast their sound to the nation. If you're a fan of music at all, I'd really suggest looking further and seeking out new artists. Whether it be through music streaming, or getting to a gig earlier to catch the support act, or chatting to your mates about what they're listening to, go forth and discover new tunes!

Here are 6 bands I'm looking forward to listening to more in 2016:

 Creeper

For anyone who knows me, this will be the least surprising revelation ever proclaimed. I've unashamedly become quite the fangirl in a short space of time, but that's not hard when people this lovely have songs this good. From playing their first gig in 2014 to signing with Roadrunner in summer 2015 and announcing their debut headline UK tour for 2016, these guys have been gigging relentlessly from the get go and were featured on the front cover of the first Kerrang! issue this year as predicted stars of 2016. Self described as "goth punk", Creeper have a togetherness that sets them apart from other newer outfits, and an infectious energy that is evident from the moment they step on stage. I've been fortunate enough to catch them a few times in 2015, and they never fail to deliver, bringing out a bit more excitement and a bit more magic with every show. Morphing seamlessly into a 6 piece for 2016, their 3rd EP, The Stranger, is released next month, and if you've not heard of them yet you should check them out immediately. Yes, I know I am a biased. Seriously though, they're amazing.

http://www.creepercult.com/

All Them Witches

This Nashville four-piece were brought to my attention by my ever suffering muso mate, who, despite having reasonably similar musical taste to me, normally has his suggestions callously rejected by yours truly, often with little articulate reasoning beyond "I just don't like it". This was one of the exceptions to the rule though, and if it were down to a spot of magic, All Them Witches are certainly the right band to have broken the mould with their psychedelic brand of mystical blues rock. They supported The Sword on an epic US tour at the end of 2015, and if you've read my review of the Sword's recent London show, you'll see how much I enjoy this Southern stoner rock style, particularly when it's backed up by astounding musical talent, which All Them Witches display in abundance. Check out their latest release, Dying Surfer Meets His Maker. 

http://www.allthemwitches.org/

Klone 

A classic example of another band who actually aren't new at all, Klone are a French prog metal outfit who formed in 1995 under the moniker "Sowat". Renamed as Klone in 1999, they've only recently made it over the Channel and into UK music press, with Total Guitar magazine listing them as "possibly the best kept secret in France" in a round up of the 20 best albums of 2015. Leaning towards the mellow end of prog, they remind me in parts of Pain Of Salvation, a band I discovered years ago supporting Opeth at Brixton Academy. As far as I can tell, some of their earlier albums are heavier, in keeping with the ever changing sounds of good prog bands, and I can't wait to delve into their back catalogue in the near future. Some quick research tells me they supported fellow French metallers Gojira in 2012 at London's Koko, which is a gig I wish I'd been at, albeit at a better venue. It appears that this is their only UK show, which is a shame. Here's hoping they come back soon!

http://klonosphere.com/klone/

Greenleaf 

On the surface, Greenleaf are a classic stoner rock band, exhibiting that archetypal Swedish alt rock vibe that emerged from the likes of Hellacopters / Backyard Babies, Truckfighters et al. The difference is that Greenleaf started as a side project for Tommi Holappa of Dozer, with a revolving line up who add something different and new to each release. On top of the heavy rock n roll riffs and gritty vocals come some unexpected key changes and harmonies that set this band apart from others in the same genre. They're playing at the Garage in London in February and I'm excited to check them out live.  

https://www.facebook.com/greenleafrocks

Novelists

Another French export, Novelists are also a progressive metal group, but in a very different ball park to Klone. Their sound is for more structured, with djent style tight guitar licks and an easy flowing balance between melody and screaming. The technical elements could be likened to Periphery, or another discovery for me this year, the awesome Monuments, showing the musical talent that this band clearly posses. This lot are actually fairly new, signing to Nuclear Blast sub label Arising Empire in July 2015. Their debut, Souvenirs, has received mixed reviews, arguably because Novelists' brand of metalcore just isn't cool at the moment. If they'd launched onto the scene a couple of years ago it might have been a different story, but metal subgenre trends aside, I'm personally hoping to hear more of these boys in the coming year.

https://www.facebook.com/NovelistsMusic

Elder

By far the proggiest of my new music discoveries, Elder are one of those bands who have a small number of seemingly endless tracks on each album, complete with ridiculously conceptual titles and about 8 difference phases in each song. They've been around for nearly a decade, but started young, releasing their first demo in 2007 when guitarist Nick DiSalvo was only 17. They don't sound young in the slightest though. Exuding 60s / 70s psychedelia, it's easy to see how they've taken influence from Zeppelin and Sabbath, with soaring riffs and a distinct old school groove to their sound. They're not touring any time soon, but I'll definitely be adding them to my playlist of progressive rock excellence for 2016.

https://www.facebook.com/elderofficial/

So that's just a few of the new and not-so-new bands I discovered in 2015, through Spotify or from friends, and I'm sure there are hundreds more out there that I've yet to encounter. Do you have any recommendations? I'd love to hear them. 

What's in a name?

In the week that letters are no longer allowed as part of a player's number, I thought I'd re-visit the subject of derby names. It's something that I know has been talked about over and over, but the majority of the forum posts and brief articles in the derby press I found in my quick research session seemed to be from a few years ago, when the derby scene was arguably quite different to how it is now.

[Vicky Walters]

One of the posts I stumbled upon was this 2007 beauty from Cherry Rockette on "how to choose a derby name". The "number" section in that post makes me twitch as a skater, I can't imagine quite how horrible it would make officials feel! I think, perhaps a more appropriate question in derby at the moment is "whether to choose a derby name". Unsurprisingly, I can't answer that with a simple yes or no, but I'll put forward a few topics that are doing the rounds at the moment about how derby names fit into the current incarnation of roller derby, and how this might affect new skaters just starting out.

When I started skating in 2012, we were told fairly early on in our rookie program that we had to earn our derby name. It was something of a reward to be allowed to get scrim tops printed with your chosen name once you had mastered your minimum skills and been cleared for scrimmage. We were also referred to the two evils master data sheet, to make sure our names weren't already registered by someone else anywhere in the world. Yup, that was a thing. Fast forward a couple of years to the 2014 world cup in Dallas, and you would have noticed that some of the best known derby skaters in the world were appearing for the first time under their legal name to represent their country. Some skaters are choosing to stick with their given name from the start, and associate their accomplishments with their legal identity rather than an alias. Increasingly, more and more league members, from brand new to veteran, are choosing to forego the alter ego of a skate name and wear their surnames on their backs instead.

[John Hesse]

Arguably, the main reason to do away with pre-established nicknames in this sport is to appear more professional. We're in a position now where the recent champs finals were shown on ESPN  in the US, and more and more coverage is being given to roller derby across Europe and beyond. But are derby names necessarily unprofessional? Well, that probably depends on what your derby name is. 

Recently, some skaters' names were censored by ESPN during the champs coverage from Minnesota. This has unsurprisingly sparked off some discussion about whether it is necessary to censor names, and if so, how is the censorship decided. Ultimately, one should probably assume that names which are deemed to be offensive are unlikely to be broadcast on mainstream media. But the question arises then of what is considered offensive. There's a difference between obscene, indecent and profane, as described in the Federal Communications Commision. Going by these legal stipulations, one would assume that obscene names would never be broadcast, and indecent or profane names might be suitable for televised display only between the hours of 10pm and 6am, which isn't generally when games are scheduled. It's not hard to see how many derby names might face censorship under one of the 3 measures used to decide if material is indecent: "whether the material appears to pander or is used to titillate or shock".

So the situation seems to be that if your derby name could possibly be construed as indecent or profane, then it doesn't have a place in mainstream media, at least in the USA. But is that right? The majority of forum posts about the censorship of names are from a few years ago, although the sentiment seems to remain the same. I broke my self imposed internet rule of never reading to comments to trawl through the hundreds of responses to this post from Ginger Snaps back in 2011. There are lots of interesting points interspersed with expected amounts of mud flinging and trolling. The recurring theme seems to be that if you and your team are hell bent on presenting a totally commercial, vanilla, conventionally athletic image, then legal names are the way forward. If you sit at the opposite end of the spectrum and thrive on being part of an alternative subculture that prides itself on being provocative, X-rated and anarchic, then by all means, choose the most obscene derby name you can conjure up.

The trouble is, most leagues and their members fall somewhere in between these two rather extreme examples of the roller derby ethos. Most skate names are not considered obscene, indecent or profane, however, which brings us back to the question of whether there's any problem with choosing to skate under a pseudonym. People in the "legal names are more professional" camp would argue that other professional athletes don't have nicknames, and that to be considered a "serious" sport, roller derby should look to mirror this. Some commenters on the aforementioned derbylife thread have mentioned that those sportspeople who do have nicknames have earnt them over time, rather than choosing a name themselves from the off. And obviously not using derby names at all removes the question of censorship in broadcast media.

I should mention that I'm a supporter of derby names for those who want to use them, and as such I probably present a more heartfelt argument for reasons to keep them as an option, rather than to drop them altogether. This is probably a result, for the most part, of living with a surname that very few people can pronounce. The thought of hearing announcers trip over my family name as I'm lining up to play gives me a nervous twitch. I also like the fact that derby names allow some people to embrace an alter ego that they would otherwise not have the confidence to present. This probably applies more to newer skaters and leagues outside of D1 where a high level of athletic confidence is perhaps less commonplace. Additionally, whilst I love the fact that roller derby is getting more news coverage and becoming more accessible, I'm not sure it needs to be homogenised to the extent that it has no aspects left of the alternative culture from which it grew. It's understandable to see players ditching the clichéd fishnets and skirts for sleeker sportswear, that's something that has a physical impact to gameplay. However, I'm not convinced that it's entirely necessary to remove all the "fun" aspects of this sport, just to fit in with convention. I could also argue that there are other professional disciplines who use pseudonyms - authors and journalists often publish under different names, and actors sometimes have to change their names for equity membership. Granted, derby names usually don't usually resemble legal names quite so much, but for me, the principle is the same. There are derby players who have personal training businesses built around their derby names - does this make them less professional? Not in my opinion. In those cases, the name is a brand, it's a professional sports persona, it has more impact than a legal name on its own.

Granted, this doesn't fully answer the question of censorship in broadcast media. It could be argued that the classification mentioned above is too extreme, and that we shouldn't be censoring free speech for fear of offending all and sundry. But for me, that's a totally different discussion. One that's far broader than the world of roller derby nicknames.

What are your thoughts on derby names? Have you dropped your skate name to skate under your legal name? Did you choose not to have one in the first place? I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

Decades of style in one week

At some point I'll get back into posting more frequently about my adventures with fashion, but for now I'm more into following challenges and creating themes to write about.

A while ago, I posted about my go-to uniform for autumn / winter, where, left to my own devices, I basically live in boots, layers, hoodies and scarves. But one of things I love about fashion is being able to step out of your comfort zone and play with different looks. I'm still very much unsure of my own sense of style, but by setting little goals and writing about what I wear and how I put together an outfit, I feel like I'm learning a lot and being able to explore my own style in a really positive way.

I decided to create a little challenge for myself to complete over a 5 day working week, where every day I would put together an outfit inspired by a specific decade. I am quite a methodical person, so it made sense for me to start in the 50s and finish on the 90s. I'm not quite sure that the trends of 2000-2010 have yet become "vintage" enough to be iconic of that era, and I don't really have much in my wardrobe that predates the 50s in terms of shapes and styles, so this 50-year period seemed to fit quite nicely into my schedule. On a side note, I'm really curious to see how the naughties are represented as a fashion era in the future - what do you think will be the overall theme of this time period? Skinny jeans, ankle boots and leather jackets? I really don't know!

So anyway, back to the point. Here are my outfits of the week. I've tried to link to similar items where possible. Which is your favourite?

Day 1 - 1950's

A fair few of my friends are full time rockabillies, and I wish I had the dedication sometimes to commit to the style every day, but some days I'm just a jeans and a hoodie kind of girl.

No jeans or hoodie for my 50's inspired look though. I love these cigarette trousers from H&M, although the waist is a tiny bit low for a real 50's silhouette so I tried to cheat a bit with a belt. I've added a super old blouse and mac from Primark, some black pumps and my favourite faux fur collar shrug from Collectif to complete the look. For my make up I stuck with a simple winged eye and red lip for a retro feel.

Shirt - Primark. Similar here

Trousers - H&M. 

Cardigan - Collectif. Similar here.

Coat - Primark. Similar here

Shoes - New Look. Similar here

Belt - market. Similar here

Day 2 - 1960's

As someone who wears a lot of black, I tried to inject a bit of 60s vibrancy into this outfit with a bright green cord mini and patterned scarf which I've worn tied in a pussy bow over my poloneck top. I've tried to inject some vintage texture as well with grey suede knee high boots by Park Lane from ASOS over my dark green tights, adding a buttoned pea coat to finish the look. I amped up the drama with my eyeshadow to go with this look, with a smoky heavily lined lid and pale lips for a 60's feel.

Top - Primark. Similar here

Skirt - Next. Similar here

Tights - Marks and Spencer

Boots - ASOS. Similar here

Coat - H&M. Similar here

Scarf - no idea! Similar here

Day 3 - 1970's

There are elements of the 70's I like. Platforms, suede, psychedelic rock. It's an interesting decade for fashion in terms of the juxtaposition of shiny, glittery disco excess and the anarchic, shocking extremeism of the punk scene. But in all honesty it's not "my" era. I don't have the hight or slight bone structure to pull off a flared lurex catsuit and the full-on mohawked studded leather and ripped denim look is a little much for a day in the office. So I did what I could with some wide leg wool trousers, olive suede belt and wedges, a white linen top, flared sleeve crochet cardigan and a New Look suede jacket I've had for so long it may soon be considered vintage itself. I went heavy on the bronzer and opted for a subtle shimmery green eyeshadow to finish off this look.

Top - TK Maxx. Similar here

Cardigan - Pilot. Similar here

Trousers - H&M. Similar here

Belt - Oasis. Similar here

Coat - New Look. Similar here

Shoes - Faith. Similar here

Day 4 - 1980's

On to the 80's for look number 4, the decade of my early childhood. As I was doing a brief bit of research for this post, it was the 80's styles I was looking up that brought back real memories of my mum and her friends, rather than looks I've only seen in photos and films, or on the TV and internet. Google image search for 80's fashion seems to focus mainly on neon active wear, whereas I remember lots of batwing tops and enormous shoulder pads, bodycon dresses and straight cut jeans. I went for a tight fitting pencil skirt,  batwing top, white leather belt, black leather bomber jacket and these awesome red leopard print shoeboots which are surprisingly comfy for someone who rarely wears heels. I toned down the wattage, but went for a typically 80's blue eyeshadow and sugary pink lip to counter the more muted tones of my outfit.

Top - Topshop. Similar here

Skirt - Primark. Similar here

Belt - Accessorize. Similar here

Shoes - ASOS. Similar here

Jacket - Oasis. Similar here

Day 5 - 1990's

The 90's - the decade of my youth! The grunge era of layers, plaid, denim and baggy clothes, with a dollop of checked skirts and crop tops on the side. I was so glad to don a beaten pair of Doc Martens after tottering around in heels for the past couple of days. I even had an instagram comment to say this look was very "Liv Tyler from Empire Records" which is awesome because that was pretty much the exact look I was going for. It wasn't really the weather for a bare midriff so I'm really glad I chose this mega cosy Warehouse jumper to throw over my bare skin and keep me warm. I no longer own the infamous Rimmel "Heather Shimmer" lipstick but I did my best to recreate the colour for this look, with natural make up for the rest of my face. 

Jumper - Warehouse. Similar here

Top - H&M Similar here

Skirt - New Look. Similar here

Boots - DM

Jacket - Primark. Similar here

So there you have it. 50 years of fashion inspiration in one week. I really loved trying out these different looks,  and I learnt a few things in the process. 

1) Iconic styles of the past seem to focus a lot on a waist. With the exception of the 60's look, I had some focus on my waist each day. Today's diet shows a propensity for a rounder midriff; the result of too many processed carbs and not enough activity leading to storage of visceral fat and a move away from a more classic hourglass figure. That's a post for another time perhaps, but this week has reminded me of the changing shape of women in recent years, probably to the detriment of our health, and encouraged me to look at my lifestyle and try to be a bit healthier.

2) I really like make up. I tend to go with the same look every day - a flick of black eyeliner, some shaping to my brows and a bit of lip balm. It was so fun trying to take inspiration from the colours and textures of previous decades. I kept it all quite subtle for work, but digging through my make up collection for different coloured eyeshadow, blush and lipsticks was really fun and something I'm definitely going to try and keep up for at least a day or two every week.

3) Putting an outfit together is so much easier with a goal in mind. It's something I've mentioned before but often seem to forget when I'm trying to work out what to wear each day. Thinking about what pieces I had in my wardrobe I could put together to create something specific was far less difficult than opening my closet and just trying to pick something. I'm not going to try and emulate a particular era with my outfit every day, but I might try and work out a particular theme before I wildly start pulling things off hangers and throwing them on my bed in despair!

What's your favourite look? Do you have particular style rules you follow? Leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you!