Thursday 31 March 2016

BMC: 200+ Custom Piece!

So you may or may not know, but Black Milk Clothing has a kind of loyalty scheme where you get rewards when you hit certain milestones. For 50 pieces, you get a voucher. For 100 pieces, you either get another voucher, a shooter, or a Pop Art piece (this is the option I chose). But for 200, 300, 400, etc., you get a custom piece of your choice for free!

I hit 200 pieces back in October, and I already had an idea of what I wanted. Mine ended up arriving on the 30th of March, so the turnover for mine was pretty quick. I know a lot of girls have had to wait much longer though! But my prints were pretty simple, with just one colour change. For bigger changes or completely new prints, I imagine the wait is much longer.


This was the preview I got sent at the beginning of March, to allow for any fixes before it was put into production. One of the first pieces I wanted but missed out was the Cotton Candy Corn Skater Skirt, so I knew that had to be one side. I had toyed with a galaxy for the other side, but at the end of the day tartan is kind of my jam. So I went for the Tartan Punk print, but in pink to match the unicorn side. And obviously, it had to be an IOD...I mean, I own all the other ones that have been released so far haha.


I was so excited when it turned up! It's so perfect!


I also got a cute note from loads of the staff members, complete with confetti and My Little Pony stickers! And a polaroid and BM stickers.


I think the Cotton Candy Corn side is my favourite, although it's less flattering. I was worried about it being a bit too girly for me, but I guess unicorns are pretty badass, even if they are pastel.


Tartan on the IOD cut is always so flattering, so I'm sure I'll get a lot of use out of this side too.

I'm so so happy with it! The only downside is that it is slightly too big as I went with the S as usual, but I do that to allow for layering underneath in the colder months. Other than that, it's absolutely perfect! Now I'm being naughty and planning my 300 customs already...only 60 more pieces to go, which is pretty terrible! I need to save money for a house! Naughty me.

Tuesday 8 March 2016

BMC: Future Classics & WonderLust

Since I ended up taking a break from posting, I'm lumping my last 2 month's release hauls into one post.

WonderLust was a tad lacklustre with it's high-street worthy styles and unflattering cuts. Future Classics can be forgiven for being a little boring since it finally gave some more staples!

There was also a small Valentine's collection called Love Hurts, but nothing took my fancy.


I was really excited to try the new ryder cut as I really want the Tartan Punk Ryder Dress when it restocks, but this Dark Moth Ryder Crop is a disaster and it made me cry. I have a small bust and am below S measurements, so I got an XS. It's so tight that it's painful. It's completely useless to me and I think I'd need an M, which is ridiculous as I'm nowhere near that on the size chart! Sad Abbey is sad.


I was very put off by the new cut of the Budgie Smugglers Nana Suit Bottoms as they're far too revealing, but since I wanted the Budgie Smugglers Nana Suit Top due to my love of birds I figured I'd risk them. I forgot that I usually take S in tops so I got an XS, and while it's tight it's still fine and will probably feel more comfortable when I'm using it for swimming. The bottoms look odd from the front and show tons of cottage-cheese ass from the back, so I don't recommend them unless you are very happy with your butt (unlike me!).


Since the pieces I wanted this time around weren't too pricey, I also got The Awesome Cap Sleeve Crop to pair with my matching bottoms from a while back, and the Foxy HWMF Leggings that I've been eyeing for a while to wear with my Galaxy Fox. I thought the foxy print might be unflattering, but I actually think they look pretty good!


There was also a small surprise half off sale on the US site around this time. It just happened without warning when I was asleep, so I missed the mecha gym gear I've been lusting after. But I did finally get to try a Tartan Red Black Snapback. As expected, I feel a little silly as I do in my Enter Shikari one, although I think the style is growing on me a little now my style is heading back towards the boyish side. I also got these Reppin' It White Smackdowns with the intention of wearing them under dresses when I'm not wearing tights as they're long enough to prevent thigh-rubbing. Turns out they're so figure hugging that my thighs don't really even touch when I'm wearing them...magic!


Although I already own a few things in this print, the gothy pattern and cutesy scallops made the Bone Machine Playsuit just the perfect thing for my upcoming holiday! I'm a little disappointed with the Burned Velvet 3/4 Sleeve Crop as the velvet they used is nowhere near as soft as some of the older bv pieces, which is a real shame as I was hoping a black one of this pattern would be released. I do still love how it looks, but it definitely looks cheaper as well as feeling it.


Meanwhile, I took a chance on the Written in the Stars Reversible Skater Dress as the photos from various places made it look any colour from black to purple to blue. Turns out it is a very dark purple, which I'm happy with as I don't really own anything purple! A few people were annoyed at the "BM" constellation...I think a shark would have been better, but why wouldn't a brand put their name on a piece? Nobody complains when it's shit like SuperDry.

I wish I could get the Fly With Me Panel Dress, but aside from clearly having nowhere to wear it and not really suiting pastels, I can't see that it would ever fit me properly. I do hope they make skater or cheerleader skirts in those pretty pastel PVCs in future, though!

Last night's release was called Fear and Clothing in Las Vegas, which is both a shitty name in general and not at all indicative of what the collection actually has in it, as far as I can tell. Naturally, there are a couple pieces I grabbed, but my favourite pieces of the collection would be hideously unflattering on me, which is a shame!

Friday 4 March 2016

The Mindsweep Tour

Another somewhat belated post...and I have been neglecting my blog again. Oops! In my defence, I do actually have a reason this time - still recovering from last week!

The end of February saw Enter Shikari return to touring the UK for their album The Mindsweep that was released just over a year ago. The Bournemouth date was the day after my birthday, and the start of my awesome birthday week of awesomeness.


Rory shirt is a wardrobe staple haha. I stayed in a nice little hotel right near the BIC, and watched Rick & Morty whilst pre-drinking there haha.


Somehow managed to walk straight in and to the barrier in a great position! The first band were The King Blues, a mix of ska punk and folk punk. I liked them a lot!


The more generic The Wonder Years were up next, and while they were also good I wasn't really feeling it so much. Aside from the obvious Shikari hype I was feeling!


And then the Enter Shikari boys!


I was about as close to Rory C's mic stand as I could have hoped to be considering I didn't turn up early to queue. The happiest me! I love this photo so much ♥


I was up bright and early in order to fit in a walk along the seafront, since I haven't been to Bournemouth before. Decided to match Rory's guitar for this day, although it turned out I got brutally rejected in the evening when he started high-fiving people and stopped before me (not bitter AT ALL =P)


Somehow the sun was so strong that it was warm enough to take my coat AND hoodie off!


I half-wished I could have stayed there all day, but I had a Cardiff to get to and a Sophie to meet.


We lazed around at the hostel for a bit before getting some disappointing munch at Wagamamas.


Shikari things happened.


We were on the barrier but kind of on the corner, but that means behind-the-scenes goodness!


We did a spot of shopping the next day and got sushi before heading home. We were both too tired out to do much more.

Pretty much as soon as I got home, I started trying to resist buying a ticket for the London show. But, naturally (as I always knew I would, even back when buying the Bournemouth and Cardiff tickets), I caved.


There was a Tea Party Club meet near Hyde Park in the afternoon, with a raffle, tea, and cakes. I turned up a bit late due to my check-in time over in Hammersmith, but was still a nice afternoon!


A quick outfit shot before getting changed in the toilets...


I ended up a bit late to the Ally Pally due to the tea party and it being a long way out, but I think I only missed part of the first Arcane Roots song. The rest of the running order was the same as before, only this time I sat out The Wonder Years near the bar with a pint in each hand. Which, as it turns out, was a terrible idea.


I was so drunk for the rest of the evening that I don't remember much at all other than being escorted to the bus by a concerned member of staff and being judged on the tube for getting grated cheese and crumbs everywhere other than my mouth. And the crowd was INTENSE.


But the stuff on my camera made me laugh so much when I looked through it, and after a shower the next morning I just couldn't stop smiling. The happiness lasted for a couple of days. And I'm NEVER happy. So it was still worth it (although I'm super annoyed at myself for not staying sober enough to remember more of it!).


Obviously after 3 intense gigs in stupid platform boots, you get achy. So I decided to just chill in my favourite part of London for a little while (the grass out front of the London Eye). I had a good raid of the local Boots as well, so my tum was happy!

I headed home early again as I just had no energy to do anything else. I don't really mind too much as I'm back in London again soon anyway and I'd had far too much excitement and exertion for one week. I still wish I could do the whole thing again though! Best week ever!