Paisley - not just for shit hippies

I have never been the type to bulk buy the same item in multiple colours. It feels like such a sartorially narrow-minded exercise in sensibility to plump for a failsafe style and stoically stick to it. To me, it's always felt like a lack of vision, a safe option.
I was forced to eat my words on Tuesday when I found these sandals - aka; the low-key-chunky-buckle-friendly-wedge footwear OF MY DREAMS - in New Look. I'd had them pegged on my Bookmark list as work-appropriate yet fashion-forward footwear for three days about a decade, but couldn't find either the black or tan version in my size.
However, on an impromtu trip into town with Mother Dearest, I was ecstatic to find not just one but both pairs in stock. In my size. On the cheap. And the only ones left. Readers, I'm sorry to disappoint any of you who thought that my buying high-street days were behind me, but I bought them both.

Rest assured that this won't become a regular occurence. Mind you, the rest of my ensemble was uncharacteristically high street (though the majority wasn't bought by me at all - my two very lovely friends Emma and Jenny gifted me the necklace and the dress respectively.)
The dress is H&M, and my, what a gorgeous creation it is. I've only recently come to appreciate paisley and still find it a rather awkward trend to swallow, speaking to me as it does of tacky early noughties window dispays and the worst kind of privileged middle-class hippy who considers dressing like a Summer of Love throwback to be the ultimate fuck you to the 'establishment, maaan'. This sparse miniature oxblood print, however, is the perfect level of wearable. The knife pleat detail on the bodice and subtle lace on the shoulders are refreshing reminders of just how right H&M can get it sometimes.

Dress - H&M, shoes - New Look, bag - Tea and Cake, specs - H&M
I really enjoyed the contrast of professional attire and my scraggy purple hair/tattoo combo. I wore this dress for the first day of my new job with the circus. Yes, really. No, I haven't decided to become a trapeze artist.

Betti Baudelaire xxx