Cat's Corner

Brrr!  The weather’s turning cold here in the UK and at least there’s one thing to look forward to – wearing comfy, cosy boots!!  I particularly wanted to show you my Crocs Nadias, and it’s a great time to show you now, as Crocs currently have them on sale!

I used to wear Ugg-style boots but found them too bulky and not particularly suitable in the rain.  When I saw Nadias, they seemed the perfect choice, as the base is moulded with the comfort of a Crocs clog, whilst the sides are soft material.  You can also wear them with the material rolled down, for a shorter, ankle boot length - but if you wear them up, you can also put Jibbitz charms around the top!

They look particularly cute worn with woolen skirts and leggings, under bootleg jeans and over skinny jeans and I’ve even heard a rumour that they can be machine washed on a cold cycle (N.B. I haven’t tried this myself, so do so at your own risk!).

Read all my Crocs posts here.

Check them out today over on the Crocs website:

Last week I told you about my fashion doll, Petite Blythe.  Well, I’ve enjoyed making little dresses for her so much that I’ve decided to reopen my Etsy shop and start selling them.  Three dresses, all handstitched from cotton, are available now at introductory prices from www.etsy.com/shop/cathryncook:

Read all my posts about Blythe here.

Blythe photo by Gina Garan

Years ago, when I was studying photography, I came across a book of photographs of a doll named Blythe.  A striking thing of beauty with large eyes and numerous outfits, she had been photographed on many different adventures.  This struck a chord with me, not only for the novel photography project idea, but also for the doll itself and her fashions.  In more recent years I’d seen Blythe crop up on ad campaigns, such as Sony, and I wondered if she was available to buy.  Here’s what I found out…

Blythe was originally launched in 1972 but only lasted a year on the shelves, as children found her a little scary.  Years later, Blythe was rediscovered and collected by Gina Garan, who photographed her ‘girls’ in various original and home-made outfits and published the book ‘This is Blythe.’  This became hugely popular and relaunched Blythe to the masses – she went back into production and is now available in the original size, plus a smaller, 4inch model, Petite Blythe.  Read more about Gina Garan and her history with Blythe on her website, also named ‘This is Blythe’ here.  Other Blythe books by Gina Garan are available from Amazon UK here.

I fancied having a go at photographing Blythe myself, so I ordered a Petite Blythe on eBay, which seems the only place to buy from in the UK.  She arrived on Monday and I enjoyed making two little dresses for her!  Her model name is ‘Running Deer’ and she arrived wearing a Red Indian style outfit – check it out below, along with the two dresses I made:

A couple of things to note if you’re considering purchasing a doll: the larger size has colour changing eyes, so there’s more flexibility for changing her expression, plus there is a much wider range of clothes and accessories available on the market.  However, she’s not cheap – Petite Blythe is a smaller and cheaper alternative if you’re on a budget (you’ll need a good macro function on your camera though in order to get those close-ups!!).

She is definitely great fun to photograph and if you’re interested in fashion, photography or making dolls clothes, I’m sure you’d have fun with Blythe too!  View more of my Blythe photos on Flickr here.

When I left school and went to study Art & Design at college, I discovered a passion for clothing and accessories.  I wanted to stand out from the crowd and show off my creativity!  The only problem was, of course, that I only had a part time job at Mark One (MK One as it is now) and most of my cash was spent on bus fare or driving lessons!  So I discovered charity shops…

I remember my first purchase being a vintage faux-fur coat, which was fantastic value and kept me warm at the bus stop too!  From then on, a friend and I would raid the high street charity shops near our college once a week and try to find unusual, vintage and designer items at bargain prices.  Nothing amazing to report, but we certainly had enough clothing and accessories to keep us looking funky for two years of art college!

The pattern continued into University, where my most memorable find was a 70s red leather biker jacket that’s still in my cupboard today!  When I came home from Uni and finally got my drivers license, I started to visit local car boot sales and built up a fantastic collection of vintage handbags, necklaces and bracelets!  My trophy find being a beautiful genuine Mulberry handbag at the bargain price of £10 – I nearly passed out with the excitement!!

Even though it’s been several years since I stopped being a student, I still can’t resist the lure of the secondhand bargain!  I work in a creative Marketing role, where I am lucky enough to still be able to dress in a creative manner (although no more fur coats!) – shopping secondhand allows me to keep a bigger wardrobe at a lower cost, so I can afford to be versatile.  Not only that, I love that it means I’m unlikely to bump into someone else wearing the same or similar items of clothing! 

Recent charity shop finds include a Chanel silk scarf and a Radley handbag!  Of course, nowadays it’s become popular to shop vintage and there’s less out there from the 60s, 70s and 80s – but half the fun is in the thrill of the hunt! 

Here are some of my treasured finds:

Well, the long awaited review of my Vivienne Westwood for Melissa Shoes Ultragirl Bow Flats is finally here!  I also decided to trial a pair of Melissa Ultragirl IV alongside them, you know, just to make it fair ;o)

As you may have read here before*, I’ve been waiting a long time for these Vivienne Westwood beauties as hubby hid them away for my birthday! And they don’t disappoint!  They’re so beautiful that I’m forever bumping into things because I’m staring at the floor and not at where I’m headed!  I also don’t get anywhere very quickly, because people are always stopping to ask where I got my gorgeous shoes!

So, what are they like to wear?  Well, they’re extremely comfortable, thanks to the wonders of the Melflex material they’re made from, which conforms to the shape of your foot for a custom fit.  They’ve been great worn at work, smart daytime occasions and nights out as well.  I never thought I’d go out dancing in flats but I haven’t worn heels since I got them!

Perhaps I shouldn’t have bought the regular Ultragirl flats as well (mine are model IV), but I was intrigued to see if there was any difference…and there is!  The IVs are actually even more comfortable because they have a padded lining that offers more support underfoot and stops your feet getting as hot as the flat liner in the VWs.  I’m sad to say as well, that the lovely pattern inside the VWs has started to wear away already and I’ve only had them for three weeks.  This isn’t a big problem obviously, but given the price I didn’t expect it to happen. 

Otherwise they’re pretty similar – both are scented with the signature bubblegum smell and the shape seems to be identical – I guess Vivienne Westwood customised them from Melissa Shoes’ original design. 

I am totally in love with the VWs and I would definitely recommend them if you’re looking for a beautiful pair of flats – I’m sure like me, you’d get lots of wear out of them.  Click here to buy them from a retailer in the UK.

If you’re on a budget, or are not worried about the extra detail on the VWs, the regular Melissas will also serve you very well, if not in quite as beautiful a way! 

 Buy Melissa Shoes now on Amazon UK! 

*Read all of my posts about Melissa Shoes here.

As I mentioned in my birthday post, I visited the Crocs store on Neal Street in London this week!  This store, though not huge, is well stocked and nicely designed for browsing and choosing your new shoes.  The staff were friendly and approachable and we were pleasantly surprised to be offered a freeJibbitz on signing up the mailing list!

Since hubby and I have both recently got new pairs (matching Mammoth slipper Crocs!) we resisted the urge to buy any more, instead choosing a fewJibbitz for my Mammoths and hubby’s Caymans, which are now not only bright orange but also covered in yellow smiley faces…hmm!  Thank goodness his new favourites are a more subtle pair of khaki Modi Clog Crocs!

I would recommend Neal Street but warn you not to expect the entire range of Crocs, as it’s not a particularly large store – however you will find a decent selection of women’s, men’s and kids.  Well worth a visit if you’re in the area and you’re a fan like me!!

Last weekend was my birthday and I am happy to report that I was totally spoilt rotten!!  I finally got my hands on those yummy Vivienne Westwood Anglomania Melissa Shoes (brown bow flats) – thank you hubby :O)  I was also treated to two Trollbeads from my Dad – black armadillo and 3rd eye chakra – which looks stunning on my black/gold/purple combo!  A friend also sent me a beautiful artisan bead, a reddy purple armadillo that is just gorgeous and my Mum gave me a rather scrummy iPod shuffle in a lovely aqua colour!  Very spoilt indeed…

My birthday celebrations included a LOT of eating, seeing Toy Story 3 in 3D, visiting Lord Snowdon’s ‘In Camera’ photography exhibition and spending a day up in London.  I visited the Neal Street stores of Crocs and Filofax and bought a beautiful vintage laboradite and silver ring in the Covent Garden antiques market!  I will blog reviews of the two stores and my fabulous new shoes in the near future – keep an eye out!

If my love of jelly shoes and plastic jewellery wasn’t enough of a hint, my love of Filofax should tell you I’m a child of the 80s!  I grew up in an era where business women wore pencil skirts, shiny patent court shoesand huge shoulder padded suit jackets – but there was one accessory all these women couldn’t be without – a Filofax!

I seem to remember it started for me with a Mickey Mouse organiser and I worked my way through the years with a variety of sizes and colours, taking a see-through pink jelly mini organiser with me to University.  When I graduated and set up my business in 2003 I took a trip into London with a friend and we visited the flagship store of Paperchase in Tottenham Court Road.  If you like stationery you will, like us, have hours of fun in this store!  It was there that I spotted an A5 black leather Balmoral Filofax(below) half price in the sale (around £60 from £120).  What a bargain!  As a busy freelance photographer it was the perfect place to store my appointments, client details, job notes, business cards and financial information.  Now, seven years on, it still serves me well in my job as a Marketing Exec and is the perfect place to plan my busy work schedule.  If you have a job that requires planning, a hefty A5 Filofaxwill be a great asset – choose a leather one for longevity.

Over the years I’ve cleared out many of my older Filofaxes but I still have four others that I chop and change year to year as a social life diary.  In the past I’ve favoured the mini and pocket sizes for their compact size in my handbag but more recently I’ve rediscovered the personal size.  This is big enough to use comfortably for notes, diary, and in my case, the odd sketch or two, whilst still fitting into most of my handbags.  I use mine for fun but I think it would be just as well suited to business use.

I’ve tried to use digital planners, like Psion, Palm and iPaq but they just don’t suit me – I like a to-do list that I can satisfactorily scribble out each time I’ve completed a task!  It’s an essential for me to always have a pen and paper to hand – Filofax fills that need!

If you’re like me, or you’d just like to give it a go, grab yourself a Filofax here!

View more pictures of my Filofaxes on Flickr here or read all my Filofax posts here.

You might remember a while back I customised my silver Prima Crocs with ribbons (here).  I also have a pair in gold and couldn’t resist giving them the same treatment!

A friend in the USA told the girls in her local Lush store about my Crocs ribbons and now they all wear them too!  It’s simple – just choose your favourite colour ribbons, tie a knot across two of the holes, double knot, tie the ribbon and double tie so they don’t come undone when you’re out and about (this was a bit of an embarrassing discovery first time round!).  Finally make sure they’re even and cut the loose ends to size.

Crocs Prima comes in many different colours – get yours from Amazon UK here or directly from Crocs below:

Read all my posts about Crocs here!

A couple of months ago, I blogged about my experience with Melissa Shoes (you can read it here).  Now that I’ve worn them some more, I felt it only fair to give you a little update…

You might remember I tried out the Neon  in Mostard (yellow) and Hello III in Purple Flock:

The Neons are still my favourite, they’re really comfy and so easy to walk in, both when wearing tights and without, I think because of the support the ankle strap gives.  They’re a real conversation piece too – the colour is fab!  The only discomfort I get when wearing these is at the balls of my feet after long periods of standing – if you’re used to wearing heels a lot of the time I don’t think you’d have this problem.

I braved wearing the Hello III pair out for a night of dancing at the weekend and was a little worried about the problems I’d had before with a blister where the strap meets inside the shoe.  As I mentioned before, I used a blister pad over that area and I managed to dance for 3 hours straight without any rubbing anywhere – a miracle!!

Girls, I’m seriously impressed with this brand (and no I don’t work for them!), I think it’s the first time I’ve ever had heels that don’t rub anywhere and are genuinely a joy to wear.  I’m not saying you can wear them for hours and hours on end without any pain, but they’re certainly the closest I’ve ever found in heels!  If you have any other tips or brands to recommend, please leave a comment and I’ll continue my search!

In the meantime, I’m eagerly awaiting my birthday next month, as I happen to know my lovely husband has hidden away a pair of these beauties:

These gorgeous Ultragirl Bow Flats were designed as part of a collaboration by Melissa Shoes with Vivenne Westwood called ‘Anglomania’ – I just had to have a pair – can’t wait!  Look out for my full review of those in a couple of month’s time…

In the meantime, why not check out some of the range and other Vivienne Westwood shoes on Amazon UK here…

Read all my posts about Melissa shoes here.