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Fashion Inspiration Life + Style

Style / Wishlist / Esprit Summer Capsule

posted on June 3, 2015

In one of my many contradictions, I hate the summer heat, I refuse to go out in it, it kills my brain cells, but I bloody love wearing summer clothes. They’re so light and comfy and sundresses exist and I love to show off my legs, even though they’re not particularly special, and it’s all just so easy and wonderful.

So today, I put together a little capsule wardrobe for summer. I loved doing the winter capsule wardrobe with Avenue 32 and I thought it was about time to do another full-on imaginary shop, this time on Esprit. It’s only missing a little white, but we’re all set if we add on my Very spring refresh wishlist.

Summer Capsule Wardrobe

 

01. Pale Blue Flowing Printed Jersey Top / 02. White Print Tee / 03. Striped T-shirt
04. Blue T-shirt with Turn-up Sleeves / 05. Short Sleeve Cardigan / 06. Green T-shirt With Burnt-out Motif
07. Retro Style Jersey Dress / 08. Pink Stretchy Capri Jeans / 09. Stretch Print Jacquard Sheath Dress
10. Non-stretch Denim Shorts / 11. Stretchy Denim Capri Pants / 12. Washed Stretch Jeans
13. Foldover Shoulder Bag / 14. Ballerinas with Woven Embossing / 15. Leather Bag
16. Leather Sandal with Wrap-Around Ties / 17. Textured Fabric Ballerina / 18. Cotton Fabric Trainers

2 Comments

Cafés & Eateries Fashion Life + Style London Outfits

Style / Misty Rain + London / Camden Foundry

posted on June 2, 2015

camden-foundry-table

A while back — a really long while back, for full accuracy, though not as long a while back as another outfit I’ve got scheduled — I met up for coffee with Laila from Tape Parade and Belphoebe from Rags of Love. I suggested slash pressured them to meet in Camden because I could walk there and I’d never really got a good look at it: I’d just seen the main road and was convinced people were making up the charm.

The walk was not quite as pleasant as I’d hoped for, as there was this misting rain coming down, it was quite drearily gray, and I was running late, so I wasn’t exactly stepping around leisurely with my camera as befits a pleasant walk. Also, I got lost. I’d checked the map multiple times beforehand, and walking straight down from Haverstock Hill seemed super boring, so I wanted to postpone the turn onto that road as long as possible, and so headed down Belsize Park Gardens towards “south.” I forgot “south” was Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill, not Camden, and so, when I got to King Henry’s Road, I had to turn back and figure out where I was on an offline phone map, and how to go east and actually reach the right road.

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7 Comments

Fashion Life + Style Outfits

Style / Trying Out A New Lens

posted on May 26, 2015

outfit-new-lens-01

One day I’m going to write a post about why I could never be exclusively a personal style blogger, and this post will be a prime example of why. I favor comfort and cleanliness over fashion, and even though I can come up with like thirty interesting outfits made up of the clothes in my closet, I still only wear, like, six. I will also remind you all that I had to issue myself an Instagram challenge to start wearing my jewelry, and I’ve totally fizzled out by now. Most of it is in pouches in my backpack in my suitcase in my closet. Layers upon layers of “you really don’t even remember you have this stuff, do you?”

The facts behind this post are these: 1) I had new glasses to show off. 2) I wanted to try my 50mm lens on full-body portraits. 3) My mom was coming with me to the doctor, so she could help out, and I wasn’t going to let that opportunity pass me by.

And so: this is me, feeling out my 50mm lens. I learned a little bit about it, and I was also reminded that my mom is spectacularly good at focusing on the background instead of me. She was a sweetheart, though, and put up with me and even let me snap some shots of her, which she won’t let me post (mom!) but which were good for me to test out the new lens as well.

There’s room for improvement, obvs, but overall I’m smitten with the lens! Now I just need to like, move back to London so I can shoot actual people. Easy.

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8 Comments

Fashion Home & Living Showcases Sponsored

Style / Wishlist / Spring Refresh With Very

posted on April 10, 2015

Anyone else look at their wardrobe and feel it’s particularly dreary when spring rolls around? I’m always aware of how overwhelmingly gray my clothes are, but now that it’s sunny, I want color so much more, and lighter tones; I’ve always found black really stifling in hot weather, and somehow, even though I’ve wanted one for years, I still don’t have the white sundress of my dreams. I haven’t even found it, really, but add a skirt to the white t-shirt on this board and you’re very, very close.

One day, I will rectify that awful oversight, and here’s some inspiration for future me and, hopefully, for you, from Very.co.uk.

wishlist-spring-very

Open Back Dress / Floppy Hat / Blossom Dress
Summer Blush Backpack / Ripped Skinny Jeans / Summertime Rope Bag
Duvet Cover and Pillowcase / Olivia Ballerinas / Chloe Ballerinas / Layered Crinkle Top

When I love a floral pattern, I really, really love it, but I’m awfully picky with them: if it looks like curtain, or the littlest bit frumpy, I can’t bring myself to like it. A while back — I mentioned this in my last outfit board; I don’t know why I keep thinking of it! — I had it in my mind to start a clothing line using fabric printed with my own photography, and it was really fun to see what made for a good floral print. Mine weren’t patterns, not seamless ones, but rather full-size, non-repeating photos — or repeating in a manual, edited way. Some seamless patterns are beautiful, but I generally look for the manually designed approach with florals.

Another thing I want in spring is lighter fabrics for bags, fabrics that won’t make you sweat if you rub against them too long. I’m a sucker for a good leather bag, but when it’s warm, they can be quite unpleasant. I lean towards backpacks in warmer weather for that same reason: they stay away from my arms when I walk.

My ridiculous approach to bags applies to shoes, too.

In the vein of lighter fabrics and lighter colors, I also tend to put away the darker jeans when it’s warm. I like very tight jeans, and that doesn’t change when it’s warmer, but I want the denim to be a little bit rough and keep the heat out.

Finally, I get why people wear sunglasses, but they are so far out of my universe. They’re one of those things I just forget to wear, like jewelry and underwear. (That last one is a joke. But no judgment if you nodded along to it.) I don’t usually wear hats, either, because I’m lazy, but I love them and I’ve wanted a floppy one since Spencer wore a burgundy one on Pretty Little Liars. Possibly earlier. The one in this collection is available in navy blue, and also on sale! And it will keep the sun out of your eyes, too, probably.

I wrapped up my spring refresh with a set of bedding, because nothing screams fresh air and summer like the thought of a room with a big bed all done up in white sheets. And these are on sale too! God I want them. I’d probably get them if I weren’t broke and like, shopping for a new place to live.

And there you go: those are my incredibly specific thoughts on clothing for warmer weather. Do you have any preferences that you always thought too inane to share? Tell me! I promise I won’t judge. (Though if you say you like to wear black when the sun is shining hot on you, I may make a face. But it will be a funny one.)

Disclosure: This is a PR collaboration post.

2 Comments

Fashion

Style / Three Ways to Wear Three Clutches

posted on April 2, 2015

For today’s post, I’m giving you some ideas on how to style clutches for different occasions, from running an errand (only time I can usually justify taking a clutch with me) to holing up in a coffee shop with a book (I have fantasies of being caught up on work enough to do this…) to attending an event. You decide which outfit is which, because to be honest, I’ve never been good at figuring out what’s appropriate when.

clutch-style

Outfit #1: Aqua Wristlet Clutch / Berry Print Dress / Coral Heels / Ivory Earrings
Outfit #2: Pleated Clutch / Lace Trim Top / Jeans / Ballet Pumps
Outfit #3: Birds Clutch / Jersey Dress / Aqua Belt / Ballet Pumps

If you’ve been following me for a while, you may have heard me talk about bags and my general attitude towards them, which can be summed up as: if it’s not big enough for my DSLR, I can’t justify getting it. If you’ve been here since 2013, you may have also been around for the time I took up sewing and tried to launch a clothing line — including envelope clutches. I made a number of them, and they’re one of my favorite things I got round to doing; they’re one of my priorities for when I have the chance to get back into it.

I’m a walking contradiction, I guess. But the thing is, I really like clutches. I love the way they look, I love how little they weigh, and I like that they mean you’re going somewhere just to be there, because you really can’t fit anything in there that you’d need to work, like a laptop or a camera. The few times I’ve used the clutches I have or had, I just felt so free.

I love the variety of clutches available at Shopbob; they range from wedding-appropriate to something you’d toss your makeup in and stash in a drawer. (I have a couple of those, on the smaller side.)

I discovered envelope clutches on Etsy and I’m mildly obsessed with them. Foldover clutches are super useful, too, and I have one that I, er, mostly use to store my meds, but I’ve also worn it out a couple of times. (That shop is no longer online, but I found a similar one for you.)

Sometimes I think about asking my mom to mail me some of the clutches I made, flaws and all, because they were pretty awesome. But for now, I’m happy to windowshop and keep using my massive Joules bag (which they don’t seem to have in navy blue on the website anymore; sadsies!) every single day.

5 Comments

Fashion Photography Portfolio Pretty Things Showcases

Creative / Product Photography for Jewellery by EMS

posted on February 19, 2015

JEMS by Lix Hewett / London Product Photographer

A while ago — let’s not say how long — I met up with Emma from JEMS to have a chat and so I could return a memory locket of hers I’d previously photographed (and which she got published on a magazine!) and take some photos of her beautiful, quirky unique jewelry. (You really can’t take the American out of my English; I’m sorry. I tried. It felt wrong.) We had a little walk around Belsize Park — she was in London from Leeds, for an event — and picked a spot to get some photos.

I photographed the pieces she was carrying on her, and took a few more portrait-like shots as well. I’m sharing them with you all here on the blog today. I hope you love her work as much as I do. And if you’re interested in hiring a photographer, go here or here!

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1 Comment

Fashion Outfits

Outfit / Spy

posted on February 18, 2015

Outfit / Spy / Lix Hewett by Annemari S

Spy

 
In last week’s outfit post, I mentioned that I had several sets of photos from last year I kept meaning to clean up and post. Well, the other night I needed a break from thinking, and I dug into one.

These photos were taken on May 3rd last year by my beautiful, lovely, darling friend Annemari S, who is beautiful and lovely and darling, and who I roomed and spent a week with when I first came to London. She went back to Estonia and I stayed, and all we have now are these pictures. (This is where I sigh dramatically.) Psst: her name is a link to her RedBubble shop. Here it is again. Her work is awful pretty, and her use of light and color constantly leaves me in awe — by which I mean I stare at it for a while and then I go WHAT and keysmash at her.

We took this at King’s Cross station in London, where Ashley wanted to go to get a photo at Platform 9 3/4 before she headed back to the States. There was a lot of walking that day, and a no-show flat viewing, and I have a picture of me pouting somewhere in Wood Green and a picture of me looking all come hither in the British Library, because going for walks with people who are as attached to their camera as you are (of course I also have selfies) is awesome.

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4 Comments

Fashion Outfits

Outfit Post / Snug

posted on February 11, 2015

20150205-individual-card

Snug

 
I haven’t posted an outfit in a good long while — since Halloween, in fact. I’ve got several sets of photos from last year that I keep meaning to dig in and clean up and post, but I haven’t got round to it yet. Some of them are from nearly a year ago, which means the outfits may be season-appropriate when I post them. I’ve never been a trend person, and I haven’t had the opportunity to play with my personal style, so they’re not even out of date — for me, anyway.

Last Friday I got a chance to finally try to set up in the living room of my flat — technically not my living room, as I rent a room, not the whole place. A couple of months ago, though, I asked my landlady if I could use it to shoot, and she said it was fine as long as I asked first — which of course it took needing a place for a stylist to do my makeup to happen. I just, my sleep schedule, y’all. I also thought it would be at least mildly cold even though the sun comes in hard through the windows, which is why I wanted to use the living room to shoot in the first place — my room has very convenient white walls, but the lighting is terrible. Also, I hate white walls. But I couldn’t find the motivation to try the living room on my own, and thinking it would be cold didn’t help.

But I needed it on Friday, so I asked, and it all worked out, and I got my hair and makeup done by Steph Lai for a silly Sun article I picked up off the #journorequest hashtag on Twitter. Before and after the photographer arrived, I took the chance to do my own shooting. There was a lot of light and background and focus testing involved, and by god, I need a remote, but it was awful warm, and I got a few things done. This outfit post is one of those things.

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13 Comments

Diaries Fashion

Life / Sports (and) Shoes: An Education

posted on February 10, 2015

asics-close-color

Asics Running Shoes c/o Sports Shoes

This could be a review; I did say one of the reasons I wanted to start with a picture this month was so I could write them, if needed. But it’s not. It’s just a story, and a bit of an opinion piece.

Here’s the short of it: my relationship with sports, exercise, working out, all that stuff — well, it hasn’t always been good. I used to avoid all physical activity like the plague. I was bad at it, and I thought it was beneath me.

My relationship with sneakers, trainers, running shoes, whatever you want to call them, is also tricky; it was involved in one of those incidents that you carry around for years until you realize it was shitty on someone else’s part and you are fucking done feeling guilty about something that happened when you were fourteen and why are people still expecting you to take responsibility for a grown adult man’s behavior? But my mom reads this blog, and I don’t want to go into that. Maybe some other time.

Under normal circumstances, this entire post would never have crossed my mind. But of course, my circumstances are what they are.

asics-bw

I ragequit gym class during a written exam the last year I had to take it. I can’t remember what was going through my head at the time, or why I would choose to give up on a subject when doing something that was the opposite of my problem with it. But quit I did: I got up, told my teacher I’d make up the subject in September, and went home.

For many, many years before that, gym class had the dubious honor of being the only subject I’d ever got a failing grade in. Fifth grade of elementary school, when I was nine, I’d failed a trimester in it. I believe the grade was called “Needs Improvement” at that point. It was primary school, after all. It wasn’t the kind of subject you made up, so I just kept going and passed. But gym was always my lowest grade, a barely-there pass in a sea of As and Bs.

I hated it. I did the bare minimum. You know how people always talk about being the kid who gets picked last? I was, but I didn’t give a shit about that. I just didn’t want to be there. I didn’t want to run around my gym until I felt like I was going to throw up — which didn’t take very long because gym class was the only kind of exercise I ever got. I didn’t keep it up during summer, and I didn’t supplement it. I didn’t see a reason to put myself through that kind of pain.

A few years later, when I started getting tachycardia every other day, I was extremely conscious of my heart rate. But even before that, I had no endurance, and I couldn’t handle the workout. A time or two, we got to play sports and I didn’t hate all of them — I remember enjoying baseball in primary school, a sport we never touched on in high school. I remember not absolutely hating field hockey. I remember liking basketball except for how much my hands hurt when it was cold. Volleyball was always out-and-out painful.

Of course, when I was a teenager, I just felt small. I felt weak, and I hated gym class because it was so hard on me. I thought I should be able to handle the kind of exercise everyone else did. I thought there was something wrong me. It took me a long time, even after quitting, to realize that the whole thing was just messed up.

Here’s the thing: I was weak. I had low endurance. The way you build strength and endurance is slowly, starting at the bottom, taking baby steps. You don’t start where everyone else is, because that’s a surefire way of making you feel not good enough, and that’s never been a motivating thought for me. I do well when things go well, and I collapse under failure.

Not only was gym class designed to hold everyone to the same standards at the same time regardless of physical shape or external training, but I never once was given suggestions to improve my state. It never occurred to me that exercise could be fun, feel good, if you picked the right activities and built up to it. I didn’t find this out until August of 2012, when I got into watching gymnastics and on antidepressants both at the same time. I quit writing and watched a lot of TV on my iPod in bed when the sun was beating down hard on my room and my old overheating laptop, and I started exercising. It lasted until the end of the year, but it was a huge eye-opener.

I always meant to go running at some point. I still never have. But I know that if I decide to do it, I can build up to it by improving my endurance slowly, taking baby steps, with exercise that doesn’t make me want to throw up.

asics-diptych

I didn’t have a pair of sneakers from the time I quit gym class to sometime in 2012. I’ve been wearing that one pair every day since it got cold in London. Now I have another one to switch things up.

I picked this pair of Asics running shoes because the colors on the website reminded me of the Avengers. I guess that’s how you get me to do things: give me a media consumption reason to care. I started exercising because I was watching women’s artistic gymnastics, and I was fannish about it, and then I was fannish about Make It Or Break It and sometimes exercised while I watched. I actually bought a t-shirt once just because it said Payson on it, even though it had nothing to do with gymnastics; it was some kind of telegraph facsimile. But it’s still a t-shirt I wear on a regular basis.

The red on the shoes is pinker than I expected, but they still feel great on my feet.

4 Comments

Closet Cosplay Fashion

Hart of Dixie / Closet Cosplay

posted on January 8, 2015

My first Style Wednesday on a Thursday, and not even early on said Thursday. But I didn’t want to move it into next week, so here we go!

I just spent a week catching up on Hart of Dixie — actually watching from start to finish as I fell behind halfway through the second season back when it was airing, and didn’t remember much of everything. I had a blast watching and I’m really excited about the new season, which starts tomorrow in the US. So I put together a series of outfits inspired by the characters on the show.

To clarify: I define closet cosplay as outfits a fictional character would wear and which are largely made up of pieces you can find in your closet — or at least see yourself wearing, if not in the exact same combination the character would. It differs from standard cosplay in that it’s budget-friendly, convenient, and you don’t need a special occasion to do it. You don’t even need to buy anything, sometimes.

Hart of Dixie Closet Cosplay / lixhewett.com

Zoe Hart — miss New York short shorts
Floral Collar Shift Dress (Miss Selfridge) / Suit Shorts (Ted Baker)
Black High-Heeled Shoes (House of Fraser) / Cross-Body Bag (DKNY/House of Fraser)
Cobalt Blue Print Scarf (Pia Jewellery)

Lemon Breeland — intimidating, perfectly put-together
Outfit #1: Silk Ruffle Cardigan (Pia Jewellery) / Jacquard Panel Leggings (Ted Baker)
Nude Patent Sandals (Office) / Dove Grey Leather Bag (Pia Jewellery) / Magnifying Mirror (Pebble Grey)
Outfit #2: Red Scalloped Dress (Ted Baker) / Court Shoes (House of Fraser)
Flap-Over Clutch (DKNY/House of Fraser) / Pearl and Bead Bracelet (Pia Jewellery)
Alt: Embellished Collar Dress (Ted Baker) / Red Shoes (Office)

Annabeth Nass — colorful florals
Necklace Trim Dress (Miss Selfridge) / Michael Kors Pink Bag (House of Fraser)
Dressy Sandals (House of Fraser) / Butterfly Brooch (Pia Jewellery)

And that is how I would personally channel each of these characters, using pieces I would actually wear in different combinations based on my own style.

Do you watch Hart of Dixie? If you were to draw inspiration from it to put an outfit together, what character or angle would you pick? Also, if you want to talk about the show itself, I am all ears!

14 Comments

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Meet Lix

Welcome to my blog! I'm Lix: full-time graphic designer for bloggers and freelancers, and part-time photographer. I'm an unapologetic cat lady and perpetually angry feminist nightmare. I like attention and pretty things, and that's why I run a lifestyle blog. Learn more.
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