*~~Dressing for confidence: Part One; Collectif~~*

Hey all! Today I've decided to write this little bit down, as I know a lot of other ladies that are into fifties/reproduction or Rockabilly styles often have a real hard time finding things that fit the aesthetics of the look, or they are unsure where to shop and not get ripped off by things masquerading as UK brands and sizes when in reality they are coming from China!

Now, Rockabilly looks a hell of a lot better when worn with confidence, and once you have everything put together then trust me you really will look amazing!

A smile pulls any outfit together :)

This blog post is mainly aimed at ladies in the UK (with regard to the links I will use!) Although if you like I can do an international or specific country post if needed!

Now there are a lot of stores online where you can get some pretty darn fabulous clothing and accessories, the most obvious and frequented of these is;

Collectif

https://www.collectif.co.uk/

Say the word "Collectif" to any rockin' lady and her eyes will glaze slightly and you may even see a little bit of drool. Collectif makes some absolutely gorgeous clothing, but as it is the best for Fifties looks, it can be a bit more pricey, though they do have a lot of sales, and the clothes really are worth the price!

However, there are some negative aspects, such as prices of accessories and postage costs, which I will also cover :)

Their clothing really makes for a beautiful, ladylike look!

Buy me here!

Their clothes are a little less loud than a lot of us wear, as they go more for Fifties reproduction than what we know as Rockabilly, however with the right accessories and makeup they most definitely can be jazzed up!

Take this blouse for instance, paired with pale blues or pinks it'll make it stand out so much more than when paired with darker colours. Finish the look with pink cheeks, white accessories and you're good to go!

Buy me here!

For example, right now they have the most stunning coats all ready for A/W14! I have been eyeing them up for a while thinking that surely someone but love me enough to get me that green one as a Christmas present!

Okay the shoes are absolutely terrible for that style, but you get the idea right?!

Buy me here!

They also do most everything in a range of different sizes, which is great! I always err on the side of caution at a size 12 and usually get a 12/14 to make sure I have the perfect fit for the larger breasticles.

https://www.collectif.co.uk/l0-sale.html...just sayin'!

Come on, you know you're gonna have a look :3

They have some amazing fitted and flared dresses, (I myself prefer flared) so that there will be something that suits your shape, but if you're a little worried about it and need some help then feel free to message or send me an email :)

...

Here!

Fitted glory! But more sailor needed for my liking!

Buy me here!

Now the photo above is a great example of how good a fitted dress can look, and they really do fit any shape or size, so don't be nervous if you know people can see your belly, they are too busy thinking "Gosh what a lovely dress!" to notice, or indeed you'll look that fabulous that you won't even care!

I actually prefer fitted dresses like this on bigger ladies, even though they are usually lax to wear them! At my size (12-14) I feel an hourglass shape really looks amazing in dresses like this, and as it's a higher cut at the top, even better for pear shaped ladies!

Advantages of the fitted dress;

#1 - they make your legs look so long due to the tapering of the skirt!

#2 - They look freaking fabulous with heels or flats!

#3 - extra buttons and pockets can draw attention away from areas you aren't so keen on.

Now if you feel a fitted dress won't suit you, or your confidence is not ready for anything too figure-hugging right now, try a flared dress instead!

Buy me here!

This photo right here just embodies perfection for me, wowzer! Beautiful accessories all tied in to the dress colour-scheme, that's an A+ right there!

Now these kinds of dresses can be worn with or without a nice puffy petticoat, but really, they are so much more fun with one, and of course, when you sit down you feel like a princess ^_^

My proudest moment in my huge swing petti was taking up two seats on the bus!

However, please Collectif shoot your stylist for making this poor lady wear a bandana with a going out dress!

These sorts of dresses really do suit any size or shape, and they are so very easy to obtain in different dress sizes, colours and levels of dramatics!

I myself prefer to keep things a little simple, have the dress as the loudest part and then matching accessories in the base colours :) it just gives a more pulled-together feel in my opinion.

Advantages of the flared dress;

#1 - add a huge petti and get instant teeny tiny waist!

#2 - every size and colour imaginable and obtainable!

#3 - very easy to dress up for a night out, or down for a simple picnic!

#4 - halter tie neck dresses make the boobies look wonderful!

Have I made you love Collectif yet? If not, now you can gush over the accessories with me, muhahaha!

IT'S GOT FREAKING STRAWBERRIES ON IT!!

Buy me here!

Now I honestly would not recommend buying hair flowers and accessories from Collectif, simply because you can get the exact same things on eBay for a lot less money shock horror! But if you're a serious brand whore or you're owed a nice prezzie then some of these are perfect!

Plus sometimes a lady just needs a £12 hair flower...for the strawberries.

So cute!

Buy me here!

Now these are amazing, and they're only a fiver whilst being made entirely from velvet, so I think that's a pretty fair price really :)

And all Rockabilly ladies will attest to the fact that you can never have enough hair flowers!

Buy me here!

Now some of the bags can be super expensive as well, but I know a lot of ladies hate to skimp on their bags! Plus you know...Christmas is a'coming!

This cute little number will work perfectly with pretty much anything, especially black, white or red outfits, and cherry print dresses!

I'm not overly impressed with Collectif's range of bags to be honest, sadly this was the only one that caught my eye.

Buy me here!

Now once again, Collectif is kind of taking the piss with their prices when it comes to the accessories...as I have these exact earrings but they came from eBay at the price of £2 and free postage!

Buy me here!

Same can be said for these too, £5 really is too much for these, and you can find the same from a lot of UK eBay sellers :)

Saying that though, I do really love the bamboo hoop earrings that they do, and I haven't seen those anywhere else! I'm not overly sure I would be prepared £7 for them though!

Every other accessory is priced between sort-of-reasonable to just-plain-silly, so honestly, best save their bits and bobs to a wish list for Christmas and just get yourself the clothing!

Postage;

Now here is where things carry on being pretty darn silly, their postage for orders under £150 is £5.50...most places where I get my dresses online, including eBay, it's anywhere from £2.80 to £4 for tracked items. Once you get to the checkout it just feels as if they really are trying to squeeze you for all your are worth :(

They use Royal Mail First Class Signed For delivery, which I know for a bloody fact does not cost that much! Something like free delivery would really help attract more customers, and get them more profits in the long run, I really hope they look into it soon as it is the main thing that puts me off buying anything else...

However, their clothing is really worth the money, looks absolutely amazing (although not always Rockabilly enough for my liking), and they make a good statement piece!

I've also gathered up some links for you to make your own mind up;

Reviews; Can be seen here however all the recent ones are pretty negative which makes me split into two minds about buying anything, sounds like they are really messing people around with the coats!

xx

Why mental health disorders need to fuck off.

So you're going to sleep one night feeling funky fresh, happy and content.  
But then something happens to you overnight, a brain "chemical reaction" or something "internally wrong with you" depending upon which school of medicine or indeed bullshit that you happen to follow...

You wake up feeling pissed off, melancholy and low for no apparent reason...

This can last for a day, several days, weeks or indeed months.

You haven't slept well and now have a headache, or you have slept way too long and feel sick.
Your hair and your makeup just won't work, and you find yourself re-doing them all day long and never being satisfied with the results.
You don't want to see anyone today, not even the ones that you love.
Your clothes hurt your skin, or make you look fat and ugly, they're just too tight or too loose or not right for some reason.
It feels like your own head is working against you.
"Everyone" is looking at you funny, you know it.
"Everyone" is talking about you too, making jokes and being rude and mean.

Nothing feels right...not any one thing makes you feel good.

You can't laugh.
You can't smile.
You can't eat.
Or you can't stop eating.
You want to stay in bed all day long.

But you felt fine the other day right? In fact, you had been the life and soul of the party, felt totally amazing and loved by all your family and friends. Maybe you are like me and spend all your cash on things you want, and justify them as "making you happy"? But once you have the many pretty things you "needed", you still feel sad inside.

Just one little thing, a mocking glance, a back-handed compliment, can sink you into this mess, it's not fair, not fair at all.

Really, this is yet another reason why we all need to try and be nice to one another, as you have no freaking idea what anyone else is going through, just as they have no freaking idea what you are going through. Kindness is not a difficult thing, and if it is difficult for you, you need to ask yourself what the hell kind of person you are.

You can go to the doctors and their first idea is essentially to bung you on a cocktail of whatever is cheapest at the time...can you tell I don't have much faith in medicine? These drugs can work for some, but not for others.
For example, I won't take mood enhancing/changing drugs like Prozac as they keep me on a constant low. I enjoy my feelings of high/hyper, they make me feel good. Sure, they aren't very healthy on my bank balance, but they are a damned site healthier than me sitting on my own and slicing up my arms.
Make sure to test everything though, and see what works for you, everyone really is very different, and something that makes me feel shitty might be the difference in mood that you really needed :)

1. Don't; Drink alcohol to make yourself feel better. I've tried it, so so many times, and it just does not work. Sure, you feel good for an hour or two, but the drinks and their mood lowering effects will catch up with you the same night, or the next day.
2. Don't; slip into old habits that you know will make you feel worse. Self harm, binge-eating, starving yourself or promiscuity do not make you feel better in the long road. You only feel better at the time because you're trying to fill the void you feel that bipolar has caused you.
3. Don't; be suckered into things that work for others by thinking they will work for you. Not everyone needs Religion, cognitive behavioural therapy, medication or talking therapy. Sure they help some, but not all. You can always try them though, you never know.

1. Do; try and sit in the sunshine, if there is any. You may sneer but it really does help. I've also found that a light box, usually used for people with SAD syndrome also really helps people with mood affective disorders.
2. Do; eat some fruits and veggies if you feel the need to snack or starve. I find their bright colours can really help, rather than a plate full of stodgy mess.
3. Do; talk to someone! Anyone at all! It can make you feel better to get impartial advice or just have someone to have a bloody good whinge at.
4. Do; get your meds checked regularly if you take them, pill check-ups often are forgotten by both you and the doctor, and doses sometimes need to be changed!
5. Do; join some Facebook groups for people with disorders like you. Having a support network has stopped me from doing some stupid shit in the past.
6. Do; remember that you are not alone in feeling this way. As much as I know only too well that it feels like nobody else has ever felt this way that you do, they have, and they are right now.
7.  And more than anything, please please please remember that people do love you, don't ever take your own life. Even someone online who you have never met, you make their day. Suicide is a completely selfish thing to do, as much as it hurts to admit that to yourself, it is. It takes away your pain, sure, but it can leave the people you love feeling the exact same way that you did. I speak from experience, my best friend in all the world Ryuu decided to take his own life, because his mental health issues got too much for him to bear. I love him, I miss him, but I will never, ever forgive him.

xx

*~~Part 1 of: Gothic Trials and Tribulations~~*

Every Goth's Nightmare; imperfect eyebrows.

Trials and Tribulations is a new series of posts that will highlight things that drive all us darkling beauties insane, feel free to send yours in!

So if you're like me and a lot of my other freaky friends, chances are you shave off or shape most, if not all of, your brows!

I've done most all of the fabulously funky and downright awful goth brow styles going, I'm going to take you through the good ~ the bad ~ and the beautiful!

** For priming my skin before perfect eyebrows, if I am shooting or going out and want a perfectly polished looking base, I use my Naturals Collection concealer first, wait for it to dry, or apply some powder to my T zone to avoid shiny skin, then carefully draw the design on, in either pencil or liquid eyeliner. 

I do this because one of my pet hates is people who shave off their brows and don't realize the skin on their foreheads is a lot whiter than the rest of their face - awkward!!

The good;

The super-gawf

I like these, simply because; sometimes a girl needs all the fierce! These are always fun to do but a complete bitch to ever actually get right! I am guilty of white-space-brows here, yeesh, that sorta ruins it for me xD

The Slightly-upturned-signyfing angry

I actually love these, I thought turning them up at the points would help my rage face, it totally did. Also the random little spikes looked pretty sweet in ze end :D

The don't-even-care-double

So these were not everyone's cup of chai and probably won't be yours either, but I thought they were a bloody stroke of genius at the time! Pink and blue, matches the makeup and lippie, pssh, what more could you want?!

The Grouch

Me being me decided that obviously my brows needed to match my fluffy bear hat, which they did pretty damned perfectly :D I really loved these, as I've never really seen green eyebrows done that well before and I still think I pulled these off!

The bad;

The shocked woman

I am fully aware that my facial expression isn't doing me much justice, but never were these bloody awful brows! The points are uneven, and swept much too high for a pin-up look :( ho hum, back to the drawing board!

The dear-god-why-would-I-have-natural-anything?!

So yeah I look pretty smokin' ( if I do say so myself, which I do ;D ) considering this was a pretty bad shoot, I liked everything, but afterwards what are those FREAKING CATERPILLARS DOING ON MY FACE. A recent poll has confirmed that I should in no way be natural, ever, in any way, nope.

The archetypical Gothique fail

Now before you all giggle your tits off I'm damned sure we've all been guilty of this one at some point or other...Oooh these eyebrows look perfect on this "goth eyebrows" Google search, I could totally do those myself! nononononono

The I'm-going-for-a-blue-thing-geddit

I am sorry, I am so so sorry. I thought I was going for an awesome bubble-goth-candy-raver thing but I ended up an un-hot mess :/ Blue eyeliner all over doesn't suit anyone anyways but matching eyebrows really ruined it! Too much blue in one photo, 0/10 would not admit that's me.

The uber-gawfik-curvezz

I did these all the bloody time and I still have no idea why...it's not a good look! Why drag the corners down so they touch my eyeliner? I have no idea, and all I can do is apologize profusely.

The GROW OUT YOU BASTARDS

I went through a stage of wanting my eyebrows back, I'm not overly sure why, but this was the result. A tardy Aizun face and some barely-there brows that look silly, even when I tried to pluck them into submission.

The light blue mess

I hate the slightly circular shape, I hate the sheeny peacocky blue, and I hate the hair. Overall - hate out of 100.

The beautiful;

 The Siouxsie Sioux's! 

These are my absolute favourite brows ever, although they always have a very mixed reaction! Some of my friends think they make me look like a sad puppy, whereas others can't believe how even I get them :D practice makes perfect, but I wouldn't recommend you trying these without the complete Eighties look, they take ages to get right, and even then they are very much not for everyone.

The curved Siouxsie

The curved Siouxsie really mixed up the regular Siouxsie brows a bit for a dramatic Halloween look :) Hard to get level and even but I think I did pretty well!

The extreme shape

I really do love these and do these more than most other styles here! Just above the eyeliner so no joining them up faux-pas! Epic curved shape, perfect for really dark looks or gothing up regular outfits!

Fierce perfection

Like the above but these just went *perfect* that day for some reason.

The Candy Rave

I love everything about these, the dots, the coupling of pink and blue, the super thick pink eyeliner <3 ugh, lovely! Also I've never got the staple goth "face-dots" that amazing ever again xD

 So I hope you liked reading through these and looking at laughing at the photos, I want to see some of your goth fails too so email me at necroghoul13@rocketmail.com with the title "reader goth fails" and some photos, and I'll include you on my blog <3

Also next time I will be showing you other hilarious makeup things that I thought were great at the time xD dotty eyebrows...just why?!

xx

*~~Review; Annabelle's Wigs~~*

I really can't express how gutted I am right now, I was so looking forward to receiving my Bettie Page hair from this company, now I wish I had looked somewhere else instead!

Their site; Annabelles' Wigs does look nice and professional, there is a good variety of products, although some are very, very over-priced for what they are, such as these ones; Pastel wigs...for the love of all that is gorgeous don't pay £25+ for these, they are Chinese eBay store one-day cosplay quality and you can get them everywhere else for £1-5!

Now I had my eye on this wig for months, the aptly named; Bettie. It was exactly what I wanted for my upcoming pin-up shoots with the styles of *the lady herself*. As you can see from the reviews, everyone does like it but a lady has a problem with the fringe not being right...

I tried this on straight out of the bag after putting on all the bits of my Bettie outfit and doing my makeup as perfectly as I could, the result was this;

I did really like it as yeah it is really pretty and it does suit me, but this isn't Bettie Page hair!! Obviously the fringe was way too long and it was meant to be a straight cut, like the photo on the website;

Which it sure ain't. 

I'm sure you can spot the problem right?! When compared to Bettie's hair, the wig I received just is not right at all.

So I'm pretty annoyed right now...I then decided to use my scissor skills and cut the fringe right, it was then that I noticed that whatever complete muppet made this, has sewn the wefts funny, the hair doesn't lie straight on the fringe, it goes to the left and right, now that, is not a full fringe -_-

Even as the above photo after the cut shows, it doesn't lay right no matter what you do :/

I've since tried to straighten it on the lowest heat setting of my straighteners (1 out of 25 settings) and it has bobbled straight away.

So all in all, I am extremely disappointed with Annabelle's Wigs, I wish I hadn't bothered to be honest, but I need this hair for a shoot happening tomorrow!! 

Now I'm stuck with hair I can't style properly, daren't cut any more of, and doesn't look right.

:(

Postage costs; 4/5

Postage time; 4/5

Packaging; 5/5

Wearability; 3/5

Shine; 5/5

Styling; 1/5

Likeness; 1/5

Not great...not great.

I'm going on a rant, because too many women are being bullied into worrying about their dress size...

If you're a woman, as I'm sure most of my readers are, I'm sure you've often felt or thought "I'm fat" or, just as damaging people have told you you are too big.

I have had enough! I get messages from, what are essentially, little girls with too much time on their hands and a hell of a lot of growing up to do, and internet trolls, they nearly always equate to the same thing.
These messages will say things like; "Oh, if you're a model then you're a role model for women and young girls, you should be a smaller size" or my personal favourite that made my head spin round and then breathe fire; "You're a size 12, don't you think you should lose some weight?"

No honeybunch, I do not!

I'm of the opinion, that as long as you're happy FUCK what size you are! You, as a woman, should be supported by other women and made to realise just how freaking gorgeous you are! Whether you're a size six, a six twelve or a size twenty, there are gorgeous, wonderful and beautiful things about your body, that, unfortunately, society has made you feel bad about and made you blind to, and even made you feel like you should be ashamed of yourself.

I will never feel pressured by these people, to diet, to not eat whatever the living hell I want, and to most certainly never tell any lady anywhere that she can be whatever the damned size she wants to be. I will eat what I want, when I want, food makes me happy, and really that isn't anything to be ashamed of. I would rather be reading a book and eating a cream slice than laying on the floor in a puddle of sweat because exercising for longer than half an hour makes me feel like I might die - it doesn't make me happy, so who the hell would I be doing it for?! Answer; society.

So yeah, this has a Unite Sisters! feel to it, and why the hell not?! More often that not, I know that the trolling comments my photos get are the work of other women, and that makes me so fucking sad. It might be silly to say "Hey, why don't we all unite under our fuck-your-ideals banner?" - but you know what? 

WE SHOULD.

You, reading this, you've been told before that you're too thin or that you would benefit from a diet, and you know what?

FUCK THOSE PEOPLE.

 You are beautiful, in your own damned way, you have a whole host of wonderful adjectives you can attribute to your character;

...funny - smart - beautiful - caring - passionate - artistic 
creative - sexy - confident - good - just - mother - adventurous 
ambitious - courageous - optimistic - helpful -romantic
sincere - frank - gentle - honest - imaginative...

Please don't let anyone take that away from you.

You do not need to care what size you are, and if anyone else is making you feel bad for being too big, too small or too in-between, then you need to reassess what the hell that person is doing being a part of your life.

You are beautiful. Just because they don't believe it, doesn't mean that you shouldn't, they are not you. They should have no opinion on your size, it's entirely your business. Whether you're a size twenty or a size two - YOU are your business, so don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

And last but definitely equally as important; this whole thing of fat and skinny shaming needs to stop. The "only a dog loves a bone" comments, the "fat-shaming" bullshit all needs to end too. What nasty, negative things to say.

You are a woman. This means you are part of standing up against all disgusting phrases and trends against other women, remembering your identity and realising women went through way too much shit in the past to have to put up with it from each other!

xx