urban fashion

Monthly Roundup – August

/ Vamp It Up Mcr (Chrissie) / 2 Comments

I’ve taken screen shots from my Instagram to remind me, and show you what I’ve been up to this month.

Skincare and Haircare

I cut my curly hair using tips from Brad Mondo and tips from various natural hair vloggers to style my 2C curls.

I changed my contraception so got quite a few hormonal spots and this Body Shop Tea Tree, Skin Clearing Mattifying Toner was invaluable; as was The Ordinary, Lactic Acid which very gently and naturally exfoliates.

Now it’s the end of August and my skin has settled so I’m using Neal’s Yard Remedies Orange Flower Toner and Orange Flower Moisturiser everyday to keep my skin all glowy and nourished (along with the The Ordinary Lactic Acid twice a week).

Food, glorious food!

Me and my bloke spent our Tesco vouchers on Pizza Express (who will be going into liquidation next month apparently) and order two ‘new’ veggie pizzas and all of the salad.

To take advantage of the governments ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme we went to Ruyi Vegetarian Restaurant. Amazing!

I’ve gotten back into the fake meat brand Vivera and have been making simple stir-fries. Like these Vivera Shwarma Kebab strips with rice and pea and sweet corn and Jamaican Jerk BBQ sauce.

The hot weather made really reduced my appetite so these mezze/tapas style bowls were great to nibble on.

Style

I’ve had purchasing a Nirvana tee at the back of my mind for decades and this month I found an official pale pink one. Cute and grungy!

I got sick of buying summer shoes that were either too flat and bad for my shitty joints or too heavy or that flew off my feet going down stairs. I bit the bullet and bought Crocs. I actually think these look pretty bad-ass as they remind me of late 80’s/early 90’s street style. Here’s my full review of Crocs.

I still think the simplest thing to wear is a maxi dress. Hides a ton of sins and all you have to choose are shoes and then a jacket/cardigan for evening.

Lifestyle

In the crazy hot weather I’ve been wearing these sandals from Newlook, drinking Rockstar blueberry energy drink, using this light and fruity perfume from Eden and ( even with my limited concentration span) flew through My Sister The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.

The households charity shop donations for the second quarter of the year: A crazy wide pair of linen trousers, a face scrub you have to mix from powder (I managed to spill the first pot everywhere), vest I’m now too big for, too small jeans, a teeny-tiny dress from Japan, shoes which I’ve had over a decade and worn out.

Tips on How Not To Be Constantly Late and a fun checklist to see How Basic Are You?

Listened to

80’s pop and bluesy rock.

Watched

Snowfall about the start of the crack epidemic in early 80’s LA, like a mixture of Breaking Bad, The Getdown and The Wire.

Canada’s Drag Race, love Priyanka!

Galdem (on BBC iPlayer) about women making it in the UK grime scene.

Read

My Sister The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.

Don’t forget to like, comment or subscribe! Xxx

🖤✨Chrissie✨🖤

Monthly Round Up – July

/ Vamp It Up Mcr (Chrissie) / 3 Comments

Style

I’ve mostly been wearing this combo or these pants with the-dye tops. I’m all about clashing prints this summer.

I bought these adorable and very unique Freda Kahlo earrings by Wilderness from Sour Cherry, who are located in Afflecks and they also have an online shop.

I’ve been wearing this outfit (shrug, maxi dress, black gladiator sandals) the few times we’ve been out and about.

I posted about Items of Clothing That Seem Ideal in Theory but…

Hated my heavy, long fringe in the heat so gave myself a short choppy one instead.

Food

After reading that Pizza Express will be slowly closing branches permanently from September my Bloke used up his Tesco points and treated us to a meal. We thought it crap that the rocket didn’t come with the mozzarella and tomato so we ordered that as well. We also ordered three 14″ pizzas which were amazing. A spicy, smokey one with aubergine, peppers and humus (added after cooking); a slightly sweet one with sultanas, black olives and red onion and a cheesy one with garlic.

I tried Aldi’s No Steak Bake which had the loveliest flakey pastry and a mince sauce that was so rich it would have suited a Spag Bol better!

Did a comprehensive Cupboard and Fridge Shop at Ocado (didn’t realise they have Follow Your Heart Cheese unfortunately). It’s all gluten and dairy free apart from the pepperoni which has milk in the flavouring.

We visited V Revolution. I had this cheese burger with bacon, slaw and onion rings. My bloke had the burger between two doughnuts which he said was very tasty and not as weird as you’d think. Okay…!?

I’ve started putting chilli (fresh, or oil, or sauce), spring onion and crushed roasted peanuts on everything. So refreshing for summer!

Skincare and Makeup

If I Could Only Use One Skincare Product this is what I chose and explained why.

I blogged about my Lifestyle Tips for Maintaining Healthy Skin.

Unpopular Opinions – Makeup Tag was surprisingly fun to join in with. Spotted on Just Geeking By.

Lifestyle

I posted 20 Tips for Living a Greener, More Sustainable Lifestyle

Another tag which I find by the lovely Heather over at Just Geeking By was The 90’s Tag I was a teen in the 90’s so this was so much fun!

The last tag I joined in with was The Daily Gratitude Tag – Home Sweet Home

TV

Limitless – a spin off from the film staring Bradley Cooper. A guy who’s on pills which expand his mind consults for the FBI. Light and entertaining.

Preacher – About a preacher, a con-woman and a vampire ft. God and a murderous Saint. Totally nuts!

Films

The Avengers films – Never get bored of these.

Captain America – Kinda boring.

Mortal Engines – Film Set in the future most cities will have morphed into huge machines which move around and swallow smaller cities to survive but not all cities are as ruthless as this. Two young people fight to find justice and fairness. Based on the Mortal Engines Quartet books by Philip Reeve.

Super 8 – A film incredibly similar to Stranger Things before that series was created.

Youtube

Brad Mondo – Very honest, funny, sweet hairdresser who reacts to people doing their own hair and also does tutorials.

Music

Kate Bush album Hounds of Love; Fun Loving Criminals album Scooby Snacks; Lady Ice (fellow Mancunian) single No Silence; Nadia Rose single Skwod.

If there’s anything you want to ask me or to tell me, please leave a comment, I love reading them and replying to you!

🖤✨Chrissie✨🖤

You Know Those Items That Seem Perfect in Theory…?

/ Vamp It Up Mcr (Chrissie) / 5 Comments

Here’s a dress that was perfect on paper for nights out but just didn’t work for me in reality.

THE GOOD

1) It flattered my tummy 🤰🏻

2) It was above the knee

3) It was strappy

4) It had a low neck 🍈🍈

5) Very cool print 👻

THE BAD

1) It was actually too big on the bodice even laced at its tightest so it felt like it was wearing me!

2) The neckline managed to bury any hint of cleavage (quite a feat!) 🙅🏻‍♀️

3) The thick skirt sat stiffly on my knees, so I’d have preferred flirty, black netting that length instead. Cyndi Lauper/Gwen Stefani style

4) The grey tone drained all of the colour out of me 🧟‍♀️

I actually felt pressured to wear it because I’d been told that I looked ‘classy’ and ‘grown up’ and ‘so fancy!’ and I’d been looking for a dress so long. But as soon as my Bloke saw me in it he said “Great dress but it’s not you is?” “No it’s really not!” I was so relieved he’d recognised that.

LESSON LEARNED

Always trust your instincts, and wear what makes you feel, like your most confident and true self. Never feel that you have to do it justice. Return it, gift it, donate it to charity, sell it on Poshmark, just don’t put up with it!

What items have you bought that you thought would look great but just didn’t work and why?

🖤🍒Chrissie🍒🖤

Pyjama-style Fashion

/ Vamp It Up Mcr (Chrissie) / 2 Comments

As seen on catwalks and in glossy magazines over the past several years, pyjama-style fashion is sticking around. It’s cool how items which look like PJ’s separately, can also look surprisingly smart when you put them together right.

I should have rolled the sleeves up for the first one though.

Shirt – Missguided

Cami – Boohoo

Palazzo Pants – Matalan

Sandals – Newlook

Earrings – Forage

Hair Clips – Claire’s

Scrunchy – Claire’s

I’d love to know, in these strange times have you managed to pull off wearing actual PJ’s outside and how did that go?

🖤✨Chrissie ✨🖤

Your Fave STYLE Photo’s from the Last 6 Months

/ Vamp It Up Mcr (Chrissie) / 3 Comments

Here’s another part of this little series and today it’s my style posts and photo’s which got the most likes on my Instagram and on this blog. The previous one was Food and the one before that was Lifestyle.

(Clockwise)

Outfit – EMP

Bag – Lumiliu

Top – charity shop, originally Boohoo; skirt and sandals – Newlook

Boots – Koi

Camo tee – my blokes, originally Army and Navy; trousers – Newlook

Biker Jacket – vintage

Boots – Newlook; Batwings – Koi; Tie dye tee – Brave Girl Official on Ebay Moomin tee – EMP; cardigan my Mams.

Which are your faves and what would you pair with some of these? I’m always up for suggestions!

🖤✨Chrissie✨🖤

How I’ve Brought More Colour Into My Wardrobe – Part 2, Styling Tips, Tops & Jewellery

/ Vamp It Up Mcr (Chrissie) / 9 Comments

As I mentioned in part one of this post, since the start of the year, I’ve been on a mish to slowly replace darker coloured items with more upbeat and vibrant one’s. I’m mixing and matching so not chucking owt out, unless it’s seen (much) better days.

What if you tend to stick to basics though?

Well, from the start I decided that all of my colourful clothes would be basics! I build the outfit around them by adding neutral colours. A camisole/vest top can dress up anything (like jeans and trainers) and a tee can dress things down (like maxi skirts or fitted pants). Then you have that band tee, maxi skirt and trainers combo, which I love on others but haven’t tried yet.

The Accessories Rules

I was finding that including bright accessories too was a bit confusing so decided on these rules.

  1. Pick a bright accessory, either the same colour as your outfit or a flattering, contrasting colour that subtly ties in somewhere else (like blue dress and yellow bag with gold jewellery).
  2. Wear several bright accessories but only with a neutral coloured outfit (greys and neons look awesome together)
  3. Have bags, belts and shoes in metallic silver, gold and rose gold, which are fancy neutrals.

Here’s the original top that inspired the idea. I’d love to know what this pattern stitch is called?

Ideally Summer is like….

But honestly, it’s more like this…

But when this Covid craziness is mostly over, I’ll be going out more, as well as wanting to look more cheerful indoors.

(From top – bottom)

1st Column

Stay Wild Moon Child tee – Bellelily (an Insta add which reeled me in!)

Nirvana tee – EMP

Sakura unicorn tee – Tokidoki

Tiger racer back vest – Brave Soul London

2nd Column

Butterfly tunic (cropped into vest) – Joe Browns

Orange camisole – Boohoo

Grungy tie dye tee – Veronica Fever (Ebay)

Tie dye racer-back camisole – Persephone Apparel (Etsy)

3rd Column

Lime green vest – Not a clue!? Either I was drunk or half asleep when I ordered this, ha! (Edit) Really versatile day-night item as it turns out, yay!

Neon tie dye tee – Brave Girl Official (Ebay)

Teal green tee (cut into tank) – EMP

Most of these earrings are from Claire’s Accessories apart from the owls which were a gift, the blue and silver raindrop ones were from EMP, the pink drop earrings I made from guitar plectrums and the peace sign earrings I got from Moss-side Caribbean Carnival.

Being able to pick a colourful item of clothing and accessory each morning is making such a difference to my moods, especially on dull days. I look forward to getting up and getting dressed now, rather than it being a chore.

As always, I hope this has given you some ideas and inspiration or you’ve simply enjoyed having a nosey at my stuff. ✌🏽🤘🏽

🖤✨Chrissie✨🖤

Monthly Life Update – March (Yup, I know we’re well into April)

/ Vamp It Up Mcr (Chrissie) / 2 Comments

March was a bit of a non-month really. Me and the bloke started our quarantine, apart from him having an hour in the park every few days. It’s a big park with wide paths and wide gates so no need to be anywhere near anyone else. A Submotion Orchestra gig (dub, orchestral, hip-hop) got cancelled which was sensible but sad. Luckily we hadn’t booked anything else or made plans to go anywhere else.

Lifestyle

In January I made a secret resolution to avoid gluten as it effects my breathing and doesn’t help with my naturally challenged memory and concentration skills, as well as making me bloated. I’m doing better with the above which is wonderful and I’ve have discovered I have a little square chin, rather than the two (or even three) rounded chins that I normally have. Bonus!

At first I thought the Jay was screeching at me for food, until I put some out and it ignored it. It carried on screeching right next me. I went into the kitchen at one point and noticed it stopped. I came back and it started. I realised it had looked at me, sat in my living room and decided I was too close to the branch that it had chosen and was shouting at me to go away! Erm…..!?

This is Little Groot, the huge chilli plant we cut right back to a tiny stump when it stopped giving us chilli’s. It’s a tenacious little fecker and has come back with a vengeance, which we hoped but didn’t really expect.

I find the trend of young women shaving the peach fuzz off their cheeks such a shame. It’s natural, your skin isn’t supposed to look as smooth and shiny as a Barbie Dolls and why are we adding yet another step in the relentless quest to look ‘perfect’? Here’s me with my fluffy face (you can see it on the right hand side in contrast with the shadow) which most people find really sweet.

Style

I went through a pastel-goth moment (perfect style to cheer up grey, cold weather) and found this huge metal quote pin from Crazy Crafty Chick Club.

I’m still rocking my custom Airforce 1’s and find that they go with basically everything. I can fit my orthotics in them and I can wear my ankle brace with them too. If you need spacious, stable but fairly light weight footwear, these are dream shoes!

I’ve finally got all of the styles of boots I’ve ever wanted so I will not be buying any more, ever. The chunky pair are from Koi and the slimmer pair are from Newlook (detachable wings from Koi) and everything is vegan.

Beauty

I stumbled across this independent soap brand in Tesco of all places as it was the only soap left but it’s the best soap though, how odd!? Vegan, cruelty free and genuinely natural. They do a range for pets too!

Cheered myself up with a sparkly coral mani.

Food

I bought this beautiful vegan porcini mushroom sauce and gluten free gnocchi in a huge (and perfectly timed) shop from Ocado just before all of their delivery slots got maxed out.

First salad of the year! With Violife Greek Block (supposed to be feta, tastes exactly like goats cheese instead) and Gosh! Mediterranean Red Pepper Falafel. I do get boxes of cheap falafel mix from the corner shop as well but these are quick and easy for when I’m fatigued.

Amy’s Burritos are the perfect size between a snack and a meal. This one is the tofu breakfast scramble and there are several others with rice and one with cheesy baked-beans. So good!

I tried Violife extra cheesy block and ‘ham’ slices, which had such similar textures and even flavours, that they blended together to create one weird flavour in my sandwich. Fail! The ‘ham’ is perfect on a sarny with pickled onion/cauliflower or a teeny bit of mustard. The cheese is perfect on a sarny with spring onions or on a cracker with sandwich pickle.

What a strange, almost surreal month that was.

🖤✨Chrissie🖤✨

What’s your ‘Core Aesthetic’ on Pinterest?

/ Vamp It Up Mcr (Chrissie) / 8 Comments

I got this term ‘core aesthetic’ stuck in my head and couldn’t remember why or where I’d gotten it from. Then I remembered it had something to do with letting Pinterest find your specific look. I typed ‘Chrissie core aesthetic’.

Here’s what it came up with for me…

Alternative and urban things like neon signs, a skull, tough but feminine style, a little bit of bling and even a bee – the symbol of Manchester.

Pinterest has well got me sussed!

I’d love to know what you get and if you agree?

🖤✨Chrissie✨🖤

Trying Vegan Shoes from Koi and New Look

/ Vamp It Up Mcr (Chrissie) / 11 Comments

My feet are the softest, most un-resilient feet that you can imagine so I’ve always worn soft leather shoes….or Docs, not quite sure why those are so comfy!? But I’ve had enough of buying leather shoes and vegan Docs are really expensive!

This is when I came across Koi vegan shoes. They’ve a reasonably priced brand that always have loads of sales on. These are obviously vegan with the black PVC fabric being very matte and thick. They are a lot lighter than chunky soled shoes and boots I had in the 90’s. Think hip-hop and goth street-wear, not Spice Girls, ha!

I’ve bought footwear from New Look since I was a teen, as they are always so comfy and affordable. So much of their footwear is now vegan too, like the boots below. You’d never know that the New Look boots are vegan as they have a slightly shiny leather-look finish. These also feel lighter than you’d expect.

I bought the batwings from Koi as soon as I saw them and then got the black boots from New Look a few weeks later. I bought boots to go with my wings! Nah, I’m joking, I’d been wanting plain black ankle boots for years, after I wore my old one’s to destruction.

The wings I attached (from Koi) have exactly the same finish as the boots (hurray!) and are padded for a quality look. I’ve been able to bend them around the boot slightly so I can walk in them properly.

I know having pale grey laces with hiking-style-boots is a trend that’s trickled down from the catwalks but I hate it. I replaced the grey laces with black ones from a pair of the Bloke’s old army boots.

I squashed the lace hooks closed with some pliers so they wouldn’t catch on the laces of the other boot and send me flying. Much betta!

I was impressed with the Koi packaging as each shoe came in a protective bag and the box had a hole and lots of silica packets to keep the shoes dry and aerated. The New Look shoes just came in a plastic bag, which I thought were a bit shite really.

I love both of my boots and the wings so much!

Rating 5/5 for everything!

🖤✨Chrissie✨🖤

Monthly Life Update – January

/ Vamp It Up Mcr (Chrissie) / 5 Comments

My memory is so crap for these type of posts, I need to start writing this stuff down everyday.

Lifestyle 💁🏽‍♀️

Check out these eyebrows! I’ve fully grown them out so I can tweeze them back into a coherent shape easily. I‘ve given this top to charity as I constantly had to lint roller fluff off it. Ain’t no one got time for that!

Carrying on with trying to minimise my impact on the planet, I bought these Sustainable Essentials from Ecologue.

Me pissing around and doing The Dolly Parton Challenge.

After 1 wrong order (and a correction) and 2 stunning deliveries with flower delivery company Bloom and Wild, I ordered Lillies and white roses. The roses died long before the lillies even opened. I’ve learned my lesson and shall be buying from Tesco…or the garage from now on!

Skincare 🧖🏽‍♀️

The most effective deodorant I’ve ever used is Ohii, Charcoal Natural Deodorant (which I like to think is pronounced ‘Oh, eye?’). It’s vegan, yay! But not refillable, boo!

Glycolic Acid is my friend once again in – the incredibly effective – Pixi, Glow Tonic. Cleanses, brightens and smooths without being too drying.

Stressing Less 💆🏻‍♀️

I’ve noticed that if I don’t pressure myself to go to bed and wake up at a reasonable time, I sleep much better. I go to bed around 1.00am when I’m actually tired enough to sleep and anytime I’ve had enough sleep is when I get up. That’s reasonable for me.

I’m also stressing less about what is supposed to be happening when and tend to just be content with what is happening now. Not caring about being in control of everything and just letting stuff play out is a lot less stressful!

Wearing 👚

I tried to get some style basics in the sales and had mixed success but I like these posts because they give you an idea of various brands sizing and quality etc.

Eating 🥗

Having three meals a day and eating a small breakfast before my body desperately needs fuel, so I have a clear head and the energy to put together something nicer later on.

I’ve gotten back into salad/deli type foods like humus, pickles, roasted peppers and tomatoes, crackers, seeds, nuts, stuffed vine leaves, chilled tofu (fried in toasted sesame oil and then chilled makes it taste like chicken breast for some reason) and so many condiments. There’s half a shelf full of them in the fridge lol BUT I’ve discovered my fave noodle place has stopped doing sushi! 😱

Greggs have launched their Vegan Stakebake and Vegan Sausageroll, so although I’m cheating with the gluten in the pastry, I still HAD to try them. Sadly I ran out of change and could only afford the stakebake, which was Delicious!

Reading 📖

I couldn’t get my head into reading books over Jan so I’ve been reading blogs including Roses Have Thoughts , Square One Notes , Mae Polzine and Cosmopolitan, Red, and Vogue, which was in a two-for-one deal surprisingly. I’ve read some great interviews, features, tips and reviews.

Watching 👀

Better than Human (with English subs) – this was similar to, but better than the Humans. Not as preachy and waster pacing and more relatable characters I thought.

Black Mirror series 2 – I really enjoyed this because it wasn’t as heavy as the first but still very poignant.

Black Lightning – Pop corn for the mind, with extra cheese. The quality of the fight scenes, the character arcs, the editing and the pacing of the story were all wildly uneven. The characters were likeable and the soundtrack consistently good though.

Santa Clarita Diet – featuring Drew Barrymore as a zombie and a wife and Mum. Once you get passed the clunky acting and awkwardly timed jokes in the first series and it just gets better and better. Brilliantly bizarre!

🖤✨Chrissie✨🖤