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80s era garments often present a unique styling challenge; they're often a wild print, an exaggerated fit, or in the case of this houndstooth double-breasted day dress, they have a strong "office power suit" look that at first glance, doesn't seem to translate well into how we might dress today. Western Style Elements Can Transform a Look Personally, I like to tackle the challenge of styling a strong 80s "workwear" piece by roughing it up a bit. It seems counterintuitive to do this; pieces that are inherently strong silhouettes are pieces we are always told to "soften" with more feminine touches. However, with this particular dress, it just doesn't work. To my mind, the houndstooth print is really the main character here, and I didn't want to convolute that with a bunch of fussy romantic accessories and shoes. I went with equally strong accessory pieces and shoes that lend more of a boho Western style meets street vibe, neutralizing its 80s secretary feel and giving it a more universal, go anywhere appeal. And an added bonus? Blousy 80s dresses are comfy! And.....the holy grail of dress attributes, this one also has pockets! But I digress - really, the most important accessory to consider pairing with a dress like this is your shoes. These open toe slouchy Donald J. Pliner booties (Y2K era - bought secondhand in the mid 2000s) provide just the right amount of toughness without being overly studded or embellished. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that swapping-out an expected pump or heel with a vintage dress really is the key to bringing the look into the current decade. In this case, it's a nod to the era, but not walking around looking like an extra from Working Girl with Melanie Griffith. Am I showing my age? Meh, whatever. So give it a try. The next time you're vintage shopping or thrifting and see an 80s dress that speaks to you but can't see how the strong shoulder and/or oversized styling is going to translate, grab something unexpected to pair with it. It will probably surprise you!

Welp. I may have made a bad decision. I may have decided to try and cut a few face framing layers into a haircut that was already too short and too heavy (yes, I did it myself, don't you dare judge), and now I've ended up with a heavy, wavy mullet mop that I can't do much with, because it has ideas of its own. My hair has done it's own research, and wants me to understand that chin length face framing layers are basically tyranny, and then it screams "freedom" and puffs-up defiantly. Yeah, I may have done that, in my rush to rid myself of a blocky haircut that I felt kinda meh about. So now it's grow time. I will say though that the look on Prince Valiant's face perfectly matched my feelings when I realized I was looking at a summer of inconvenience while I grow my hair out over the next several months. But I need to back up a bit here. I was looking at my Pinterest last week, and realized that the posts I have done about my transition to my natural hair are to date some of the most popular content I have done. Apparently there are a lot of you out there who are interested in taking the plunge, so I guess it's time for an update. It's actually beyond time for an update; it has officially been a decade, yes you heard right, a decade since I made the decision to stop coloring my hair and see what my real hair looked like underneath. I'll spare you the recap of the entire process, but you can find links to that in the related posts links at the bottom of this post. The Natural Gray Hair Journey, A Decade Later Fast forward to a year ago, I stopped using silicone products and stopped straightening my wavy hair (which never really worked all that well anyway if I'm honest), and started following the Curly Girl Method. I sort of felt like I was starting from scratch, finding products that work to fight frizz and create definition on very thick, fine, low porosity salt and pepper hair. I've gone from having two or three hair products in my bathroom to about 600, but now, not quite a year later I'm starting to get a handle on what to use when and why. Here's what I looked like when I was ironing-out my hair. This was done in a salon, I could never get it this smooth myself. While there is definitely something to be said for grey hair looking its best when sleek and shiny (and I agree, it does), I realize now that I have to make what I am now referring to as hair lifestyle choices. If any hair or beauty regimen takes longer than five or ten minutes, I'm not gonna do it. I'm just not. If it requires that I can't get wet, or put on a helmet, or go out in the wind, or anything other than just exist in the world, I'm just not gonna do it. And don't even get me started on working out. All these curly girls on the internet saying "to preserve your hair just put it in a loose ponytail or bun on top of your head while you work out." WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE!? What kind of workouts are they doing that a "loose bun" is gonna keep things in check!? If I bend over to lace my shoes with my hair like that it's over. One burpee and a clip goes flying and someone loses an eye. Seriously, who can do that!? But I digress. So last year this was my first "curly haircut" on my natural gray hair. This was by far the best haircut I'd had in a long time, and still one of my favorite looks. I hadn't had bangs (fringe if you're British) in decades, and I love the bangs. As much as I loved this haircut, and I do believe I will be going back to a version of this cut, the big downside was maintenance. My hair grows like an absolute weed, and within two weeks these bangs were driving me nuts, getting in my face, and already too long. And again, I'm not going to a salon every few weeks (or even every few months) to get a trim. So sadly as much as I love this, I realize I still need to achieve lifestyle hair. When this cut got unmanageably long and I was sick of cutting my own bangs badly, I decided to go a bit shorter, just to hit the reset button a bit. I couldn't get in with the curly guy, so I just went to a walk-in place, armed with photos of basically this haircut but shorter. I've been going to walk in places forever, since my hair is such a fast grower I'm sort of nonplussed if it doesn't turn out as expected. And true to form, it did not turn out as expected. What I walked out of the salon with was an angled long wavy bob with bangs. Not the worst...I've had this ubiquitous haircut many times in my life, and always end up growing it out instantly because it's too heavy and mushroomy for my texture. Plus, if you google "haircuts for women over 50", you will be met with basically pages and pages of versions of this cut. Go ahead, try it...you'll see. Quite frankly, by the time I walked out of the salon, I was already sick of looking at myself. By week two it was too heavy around my face and mushroomy, but I let it do its thing, trimming my own bangs (again, badly) for about two and a half months. At that point, it was just grazing my shoulders and I figured I could safely have a few face framing layers cut, to try and coax it back into a shag. So I tried it. YES, I did it myself. I know, stop it. I did an okaaaaay job. Okay, no I didn't. I did a pretty terrible job, so I went to a walk in place to have someone even it out a touch. I warned the stylist that my hair is 2B-C wavy, so there is shrinkage to take into consideration. But I think the flattening effects of my motorcycle helmet on my locks gave her a false impression of what my natural texture really was (especially in the Florida humidity), and I walked out a voluminously mullety Prince Valiant, with some very short layers that are difficult to wrangle. So. Here we are, and ladies and gentlemen, it's grow time! In all honesty, the warmer months of summertime are perfect for growing out your hair. I think perhaps a version of that lovely shag cut with some longer face framing bangs will be a bit more lifestyle friendly, and lucky for me, with my weedlike hair it's probably only four to six months away! But in the meantime. I'll be employing every method I can find to try and make Prince Valiant's hair work for me. Sadly, there's no Great Cosmic Message here other you can't really go too far wrong staying true to what you know works for you. It's fun to experiment, but for me, every time that I do I'm always reminded why I tend to gravitate towards what I know works; It's a lifestyle choice. Incidentally, if like me, any of you have thick, fine wavy 2b-C hair, I'm putting some product links below of products that I have found work pretty well for me. Products are a very personal thing and much experimentation is required, but you never know, maybe one or more of these might work for you too!

All you have to do is quickly browse my vintage shop to know that I have a soft spot for 90s style. The square toed, blocky heel shoes, the slip dresses, the sleeveless mock necks, crushed velvet and bootcut jeans, slides...I love it all! So you can imagine my excitement as I was browsing the ol' internets this evening looking for a couple of everyday-type sun dresses, when I started to spot familiar 90s midi dress styles, like this adorable dress and shoes (pictured above) from H&M. I mean, all of this is so 90s! A slip dress, block heel slide sandals, and a crescent shoulder bag! The Simplicity of 1990s Summer Style The thing I really like about 1990s summer style is how simple it can be. Clean lines, simple cuts...but this time around there's a pop of colour and pattern that for me, really raises the bar. And what's really lovely about a lot of these styles is now they're so timeless and seasonless (is that even a word?) You can easily layer these pieces up when the weather turns. And if like me, you live somewhere where you feel like you are always on tenterhooks with the weather, the weather will turn. Probably later today. Or maybe in five minutes. Either way, we'll be ready. Check out these affordable options (you can click on the photos for details and to shop these items).

If you've been hanging about the blog for a while, you have undoubtedly noticed some changes over the last decade or so. I started this blog round about 2012 on the very basic Blogger platform. Like so many people back in the "golden age of blogging", I did not have a plan or even really any other reason for doing so other than a love of fashion and appreciation for unique self expression in all of its forms. I've done some partnerships and sponsored content over the years, but I've always felt really strongly about selecting opportunities that I feel might be of interest to those of you who read the blog. I didn't want to hit you over the head with a lot of in your face marketing, or fall into the trap of re-creating content that a lot of people are already doing, and doing really well - better that me. It took some grappling with my inner self to arrive at the conclusion that I did not want to dilute my unique, often loud, frequently antagonistic voice for the sake of a few more followers. Sure, my saltiness has probably cost me some followers or partnerships over the years, but I'm okay with that. And the older I get, the more okay with it I am. Finding Support as an Independent Content Creator So here's the deal. As the online milieu continues to evolve, I find myself spreading myself between different platforms in a way that just feels...inefficient. My aim here is to try and evolve this blog into a place where I can plonk all of my different online interests, all in one easy to access place. So I am embarking on some long game stuff here. I am slowly making moves to evolve Highland Fashionista into a blended e commerce site that will house my vintage shop (yes I will still maintain a presence on Etsy), the blog, and eventually create a space to host other writers, artists, and various independent creators as well. To do so is going to take time, energy, and yes, money. To that end, you'll notice I've added a donation tip jar to the blog. It's a trend I'v noticed on many platforms that are being managed by san independent content creator, so I am adopting this too. Does it change anything for you, the reader? Not really. It's simply a measure I decided to adopt in the hopes of expediting my plans while keeping the platform unique, independent, and populated by only the partnerships that I choose. So that's what this thing is - right here to your right; you can find it on the about page. Obviously, there is no obligation for you to donate, and this site will always be free to browse and shop, no matter how it evolves. But I am an independent, one woman operation these days, so if you are feeling the love and want to donate, I appreciate you. Even if you don't, I appreciate you. Again, this is long game stuff, and I am just starting to earmark a few platforms and themes that I think will be able to deliver the look and feel of the site I eventually hope to build. If you have been around a while and have a specific type of content that you particularly enjoy and would like to see more of, I'm all ears. Hop on to the about page and send me a message! Yours in Sustainable Style and Snark,

On this, the occasion of my 51st birthday, I suppose I've arrived at an age where I've finally been granted a therapeutic level of insight by The Universe. Do not confuse that with the stoic maturity so often associated with women of a certain age. I still do not have much (okay, any) of that, nor do I particularly want it. But be that as it may, due to my increasing obligations as a member of the wise and increasingly wrinkled (I like the sun, sue me), I feel the need to address some of life's more complex issues. Guys, we need to talk about jumpsuits. There is perhaps no sartorial moment you could conjure that would make you reflect on your life choices more than the moment you are in an aggressively air-conditioned public restroom stall, completely stripped bare from the knees up because you decided to wear your cute jumpsuit to the bar. It is in these moments that we think to ourselves, "why do I do this?" There's no denying that jumpsuits are hard. They are difficult to fit (nearly impossible if you're long-waisted), they confuse men (my husband is not a fan), and they completely negate your ability to perform the simple act of shedding a layer of clothing with minimal exposure. But we are drawn to them anyway. WHY!? Why We Can't Stay Away From a One Piece Jumpsuit For me, the allure of the jumpsuit lies in its promise of a louche silhouette coupled with easy, "one and done" dressing. Never mind that they rarely end up looking that way when we wear them - that was simply the campaign promise made by jumpsuits, and despite all evidence to the contrary, we still believe their big lie. That said, the one piece jumpsuit I'm wearing today is actually one that I have come to appreciate over time. I believe it's originally from Target. Pardon me... Targeé (/Tar-jay). I thrifted it because I was in need of something I could put on that covered a bit more of my skin for riding my scooter in the Florida heat; something that didn't add a lot of bulk under my motorcycle jacket. This was really an experiment, and over time, this jumpsuit and I have come to an understanding. No, I won't be reaching for this if I'm looking to look streamlined or professional, but this jumpsuit actually does deliver on one and done dressing. Heck, in these photos I literally took off my bathing suit, popped in some earrings, grabbed some accessories, and headed out. I'm not even wearing makeup (okay lip balm). My hair smells of pool and sweat and just a tinge of the nutritional spray I just got done putting on the palm trees in the back yard. The glamour. The bag is a 70s vintage straw bag that I purchased intending to add it to the shop, but quickly realized that I was actually carrying it on a lot of errands, so I kept it. The shoes are from my closet, and the earrings are Native crafted, purchased from an artisan market (I didn't realise they were swinging in the first photo and didn't photograph, so I added a separate photo.) So what's the message here? Honestly, I'm not sure, other than jumpsuits are hard, they are more often than not a poor fit, but every once in a while once surprises you. So if like me you cannot resist the lure of the jumpsuit, know that you actually don't have to resist the allure. Just know it may just take a while to find one that really works for you in the way that you need it to. In other words, we have to do our own research. I cannot believe I just used that phrase.

I haven't really been buying many clothes these last few years that aren't vintage items for the shop, but this week I happened upon this dress from SheIn at a local charity shop - £3 with the tags still attached. I figured that at three British Pounds, it was a pretty safe bet to fill the sundress gap in my UK wardrobe. I have moved most of my hot weather fun and colourful clothes to Florida these last few years - I rarely need them here in Scotland and keep only enough to go on the odd holiday, but I was craving something just for knocking about the place, and the weather is nice today. The Origin of the Bargain Sun Dress I am well aware that from a sustainability standpoint SheIn is...let's go with problematic. They are a pretty massive offender when it comes to creating fast fashion textile waste, and it is not exactly where one goes to purchase a well-constructed investment piece. I figured this item was already in the circular economy since it was in a charity shop, and not unexpectedly, still had the tags on having been discarded by someone without ever having been worn. Also unsurprisingly, this little bargain sun dress is exactly what one would expect for the three pounds that I spent on it (which is probably about five pounds less than what it retails for online.) The dress is a thin, rather insipid rayon, and likely will only last a season or two. The seamwork is pretty basic, the fit isn't the best.... But you know what else? It's cute. And I actually enjoy wearing it! And that's why I pulled the trigger at the charity shop. Yes, the neckline is laughably low for something I'll probably be pairing with boots and denim, but that's what the wide variety of bralette underthings were invented for. Besides, it's comfy! I paired it with turquoise jewellery because I like the blueish green against the yellow, and it keeps everything looking fairly low key. What is decidedly not low key is my growing-out frizz ball haircut, the likes of which is currently systematically defeating every single silicone-free frizz control regimen I employ. There will be a post about that forthcoming. All things told, this little dress is certainly not something I normally gravitate to, but I went for it, and it worked for what I wanted it for; it can take a beating when I'm travelling and I don't have to feel all sad if it dies on me. I'm just hopeful that it doesn't choose to do so while I'm wearing it in public. But if that does happen, it wouldn't be the first time, and you guys will certainly be the first to know. thrifted yellow sun dress: SheIn • boots (old): Dan Post • bracelets: Etsy • ring (old): American West • necklace (old): American West • concho earrings (old): Etsy

I've been meaning to follow up on my post from last May when I wrote about my rather unfortunate encounter with trimming my own bangs ("fringe" for you Brits) and the subsequent walk in haircut that I had gotten in an attempt to correct that little lapse in judgement. Ladies and gentlemen, meet my femullet - the 70s-inspired haircut that's been in every curly and wavy-haired woman's "should I or shouldn't I" iPhone Pinterest gallery for the last few years. A Wavy Mullet Hairstyle is Perfectly Undone In my case, I really loved a shag haircut I got a little over a year ago, but felt like it got too heavy too fast, so I wanted something that resembled that haircut but maybe a bit edgier and cooler. I also wanted something I could let grow with the occasional bang trim and it would still look intentional. I've been known to go six months without a haircut, so something like a mullet hairstyle that could work with my rather unruly waves and managed to make them into an intentional style was a very appealing concept indeed. I should add here that for me, when I say I wanted to look "intentional" or "styled", what I really mean is "feral." After fifty one years on the planet, I've found that super-prim looks just don't work for me, lifestyle wise or otherwise. I prefer to look like I just rode in off the range on a barely-gentled mustang, kicked in the door to the saloon, grabbed a giant chicken leg off of someone's plate and took a bite, ordered a beer with my mouth full of chicken, then took to the stage to play the guitar solo from Freebird. Even though my hair was shorter than I normally would have wanted it to be to get it cut again, I desperately needed to get some of the weight off my head. I have fine hair, but it is very dense, and even with long layers, it gets really heavy really quick. And let me tell you, there was a lot of hair on the ground when we were done. It looked like a family of skunks exploded under my chair. So that's it. I am now fully entrenched in the Mullet Lifestyle. I'm not sure what that is, but I'll let you know as soon as I have some solid intel. For now, I plan on letting this new cut grow a bit more yet, but now I feel like I can do so without having the weight of a wet Pendleton blanket sitting on top of my head. If any of you are wavy-haired like me, I've linked a few affordable products down below that are quickly becoming my go-to styling products. Maybe some of them will work for you too.

I was in our local grocery store a few weeks ago, and decided to wander through the little section in front where they sell the clothes. This voluminous printed cotton dress was hanging on the sale rack with a £7 price tag on it. At first I dismissed it, thinking its long length and voluminous silhouette just wasn't really my style. But as I was wandering about the grocery store, putting peanut butter and tuna and bags of arugula in my basket, I kept thinking about the dress, so I went back. I'm glad I did. I can't remember the last time I bought something off the rack, let alone something hanging in a grocery store clothing section. Normally I completely ignore these items, which are almost always problematic fast fashion pieces that have come into existence using questionable labor and business practices. This is still likely the case here, but this dress is actually surprisingly well made for a fast fashion grocery store piece, and with a price tag of £7, I decided to go off piste a bit and give it a try. Apparently the Grocery Store Boho Summer Dress Has Gone Viral Apparently I'm not the only one drawn to this dress. The dresses from this summer '22 capsule collection from F&F for Tesco (FYI Americans, Tesco is the name of the grocery store chain) - the dresses in the collection made quite a splash in the British and Irish fashion news, as well as on social media when they were released earlier in the summer. I can see why. The viral boho summer dress is surprisingly well made, is versatile and comfy, can be dressed up or down, and can be adapted to warm or cooler weather. Will I start to include the grocery store clothing section into my shopping rotation? Probably not. These large chain fast fashion operations still have a lot to answer for in terms of being one of the biggest polluters on the planet, so you'll have to forgive me my transgression, just this once. Since this item was on clearance, I can't link you to it if you like the look, but I've left you several more sustainable options below for you to recreate it. copper Mojave turquoise earrings (personal), similar| turquoise and leather necklace (personal), similar

So apparently this is a thing now; we're all low-key electrocuting our faces in a desperate bid to stave off resting bitch face for one more year. For me personally, there's a constant battle between side A of my brain that tells me that ageing is not a medical condition to be aggressively treated and side B of my brain that looks in the mirror and says, "wait...what!? What is that skin doing down there!? This is not where my jawline is supposed to be." For the most part I make sure that Side A wins the battle, but every now and again, I let side B win a round or two and I delve into the wild world of sleek and craftily-marketed beauty devices. Microcurrent devices are popular, and back in August on my last visit to the states, I used my 51st birthday as the perfect excuse to purchase this refurbished NuFace mini micro current device from Nordstrom's website. I hasten to add that neither Nordstrom nor NuFace is sponsoring this post, but you will find some affiliate links in this post should you decide to click through. Hey...the economy is lying in a smouldering heap and your girl's still gotta eat. Hop right to it: The Skinny on Microcurrent Devices How I Use My Mini NuFace Microcurrent Device --prepping the skin Does Microcurrent Therapy Hurt? Does Microcurrent Therapy Actually Work? My Results With My Nuface Mini Microcurrent Therapy Device The Skinny on Microcurrent Devices Microcurrent devices work by delivering a low-level electrical current to the muscles of the face. It sounds scary, perhaps even ill-advised, but it's actually pretty innocuous when you're doing it. But we'll get to that in a minute. The promised end result is a relatively non-invasive tightening of the muscles under the skin, providing a tighter, more sculpted face while also reducing the look of fine lines and wrinkles. While there is not yet a lot of longitudinal data to back up the efficacy of microcurrent facial devices, They are tested, regulated, and considered relatively safe. I chose the NuFace mini device because it's a good size, it was reasonably priced (remember mine is refurbished), and most importantly because it's an FDA-approved medical grade device. Because let's be real, the thought of delivering electrical impulses directly to one's face should absolutely give one pause. I figured if I was going to try this, perhaps I would get a good one and refrain from getting one off of Ali Baba or Wish or some other cut rate site that for all we know, might trade in counterfeit devices that have a leaky, glowing uranium core. How I Use My NuFace Mini Microcurrent Therapy Device While I thought I would initially make this a video post, I realized pretty quickly that watching someone use a microcurrent device is the entertainment equivalent of watching paint dry. Nevertheless, if you want to see the NuFace micro current device range in action (with better production value than I would ever be able to spring for), I suggest visiting the NuFace YouTube channel, where you can watch the various techniques for recommended use. I generally use the above technique every time, with a few more of their "advanced" moves thrown in if I have time to spare. Prepping the skin One thing that is definitely worth mentioning here is the importance of prepping your skin before using the device. Oil interferes with the conduction of the electrical impulse generated by your device, interrupting its journey to the muscles beneath the skin. Because the skin is naturally a protective barrier and has its own supply of oil, just plopping your microcurrent device onto your skin and turning it on will will not yield the results you want. It may also be pretty uncomfortable. With any microcurrent treatment, you want to wash your face with an oil free cleanser first; preferably one that has a clarifying quality to it in order to remove as much oil from your skin as possible. After that, you will apply a conductivity gel. While most microcurrent device manufacturers will try and sell you their own brand of conductivity gel, this is not a necessity, and in fact can often be quite expensive. Gels made by device manufacturers often have some nice skincare ingredients in them and come with a claim that they can be left on after the treatment. That said, I often find that these gels, when used in the amount you need to get good conductivity, do not do well under other products or under makeup. I have found that even if they are designed to be left on the skin after the treatment, they often peel off, taking with them whatever else you may have put on top. That said, if I am using my device right before bed, I do tend to opt for a leave-on skincare conductivity gel, then just add some moisturiser over it before calling it a night. For this I use the NuFace gel for its skincare properties. However, if I am going to be going out and about and do my treatment earlier in the day, I opt for simple clear ultrasound gel, which can be easily rinsed off afterwards. Ultrasound gel tends to be slightly thicker so not only do you get a more even application (and a more comfortable treatment) you can get away with using less product, making it definitively the most cost effective option. Whatever you decide, the most important feature to look for in a conductivity gel is that it is water based and contains no oil based additives of any kind. Below are some of the options that are out there. Does Microcurrent Therapy Hurt? Everyone is different, so while I can't answer that definitively for everyone, the short answer is no. If I prep my skin correctly and use enough conductive gel, I don't really feel it at all, even on the highest setting (which is all I really use). Sometimes I feel a bit of a "biting" sting at the edges of my face, on thinner-skinned areas, or if I wander into my hairline a bit too far with my device, but it really doesn't bother me. Some people claim to feel a slight twitching under the skin. I feel this over certain areas of my face, but generally it feels like I'm rolling a cool metal ball over my face (because I am). If you follow the instructions, use the correct products and pay attention to the sensations you are experiencing, you will be absolutely fine. I believe in you. Does Microcurrent Therapy Actually Work? Everything written on microcurrent therapy points to it working best when done on a regular basis. I began using my device in September, had about 10 days off while I was travelling, and have missed chunks of several days here and there. I can attest to the fact that you do need to use it on the regular to get the best results. Sometimes when you're really tired at the end of the day it can be pretty easy to tell yourself you'll just do it tomorrow. Or just not do it at all. That said, after the first few sessions, I definitely noticed a difference in my skin. If felt tighter, had more of a glow to it, and looked subtly more defined. I did not get the dramatic results that you see in some of the adverts, but I definitely do see a benefit. So to answer the question at hand...yes. Yes, microcurrent treatments do work, but be prepared for the results to be subtle. Although admittedly, when I finally did put these photos together in one place, to my delight the results were better than I had initially thought. Imagine what I could do if I actually remembered to do it every day. And now for the unadorned, terrifying test subject mug shot photos; no makeup, insta-filters, botox or fillers. To be clear I have done some light botox in the past, but it's been over a year now. Both of these sets of photos were taken immediately after using my NuFace mini device. Please excuse the terrible lighting in the more recent photos; the week one photo was taken in Florida, and week six is in Scotland. It starts getting dark at 3:30 in the afternoon these days in Scotland. Don't get me started. My Results with My Nuface Mini Microcurrent Therapy Device week one week six(ish)

I suppose it's not all that surprising that a woman who voluntarily cut her hair into a mullet in 2022 would be a fan of seventies style. Predictability notwithstanding, I therefore submit without further commentary exhibit A; a very 1970s look with a few pieces from Highland Fashionista Vintage. Enjoy!

If you want to approximate my recent American Thanksgiving experience, simply imagine yourself walking into what you thought was going to be a leisurely Thanksgiving gathering about twenty(ish) minutes past the time you thought everyone would be showing up for pre-meal drinks and general commiseration, only to find the host and the other guests not only already seated at the table, but actually scraping the last vestiges of their meals from their plates. Yep, that was me. I was that person this Thanksgiving. And to be honest, I should have seen it coming - I completely took my eye off the ball. While this type of gaffe might seem out of character for someone who very much considers herself to be a global citizen, I have since arrived at the conclusion that getting it so completely wrong in this manner does not necessarily happen in spite of one being a citizen of the world, but rather it can happen because of it. Holiday Guide Tip: Forget What You Think You Know I started travelling the world for various jobs immediately after graduating from University in the early 90s, and with very few exceptions, I really have never stopped. I worked on cruise ships for years where I observed how North Americans of a particular age bracket will pretty much knife each other in the kidney to secure an early 5:30 pm first seating dinner time, whereas our neighbours from Central and South America, as well as their Spanish brethren across the Atlantic will saunter in to the dining room at the earliest around 10:30 pm, expecting the first of seven courses of a dinner that could last upwards of four hours. I have learned the hard way that people who are observably anxious about being late will almost always be habitually, if not inconveniently early, and I've learned that when you throw a party in Scotland that starts at 8 pm (not a dinner party, a party-party), there will be people at your door at the stroke of eight while you're still taking the heatless curlers out of your hair, thinking you've still got a few minutes. It is my working theory that after years of travel, my sensibilities have become unconsciously wired-in to some sort of hybrid Euro-Brit-American social biorhythm. In my perfect party world if a gathering starts at 8, you can still be putting the finishing touches on your face at 8, because you have a good 20 minutes before you have to leave. Hell, nobody wants to be the first to arrive, right? For dinner parties, understandably with food coming out of the kitchen the guidelines are absolutely a bit more stringent, and I have always been of the mind that for a dinner party invitation, you tell people some version of "we will sit down to eat at eight but the drinks will be flowing from seven", or some such thing. But do not be fooled - despite their more defined start times, dinner parties too can be littered with many other types of social booby trap, and not just around starting times. For instance, in the USA it's pretty normal to bring the host of a dinner party a bottle of wine, and the host will quite often pop the cork on that bottle right then and there. However, if your host is a wine enthusiast, He or she has likely already picked out a wine pairing for the meal, and your bottle will likely be stored, relegated to a later date. If your hosts are wine people, your gift of wine really needs to be a good bottle for them to enjoy on their own, some other time. However, if you were to play out that same scenario in France, bringing a bottle of wine to a dinner party can be interpreted as an outright insult. Not only has the host again already likely attended to the aforementioned wine pairings, but in France bringing a bottle could be interpreted as a suggestion that you do not trust the host's taste in wine. Sacré bleu. The same holds true for other types of common host and hostess gifts, like say, flowers. While a lovely bouquet seems innocuous enough, some consider it gauche to buy someone something they then have to then seek out a vase for while also trying to put the finishing touches on the meal. There are also many types of flowers that hold cultural symbolism; in the US and the UK, lilies are often considered funeral flowers. Again looking to the example of France, it's chrysanthemums that are considered funerary, white flowers are reserved for weddings, yellow for infidelity, and red carnations can be considered an outright insult to the host. And now my head hurts. What I'm getting at here is that every place you go on this big blue marble, there's some degree of sociocultural nuance involved in social gatherings. In my particular situation, my exposure to a zillion different cultural norms collided head on with the fact that it was an American Thanksgiving "dinner" in the middle of the day. As a dyed in the wool "Yank" (as they would call me here in the UK), my inherent knowledge of American Thanksgiving meals often being served at what most non Americans might consider strange times - the early "in-between times" in the mid to late afternoon, also played a part. In retrospect I realise that I did more than a little bit of assuming that there would be at least an hour or maybe even two of drinks and chitchat before the main event. Nope. Whether this timing was originally a digestive decision or one meant to lessen the serving burden on the host, I do not know, because stupidly, my assuming self did not ask. After all, It could have just been a straight-up lunch. So all of that contextually considered, when my host, who is also one of my neighbours in Southwest Florida, came to my door one afternoon and invited me over, telling me he was gong to "do Thanksgiving on Sunday, starting at about one o'clock", what I should have done was immediately clarify what that meant. But I didn't. I had been engaged in finishing-up hurricane yard cleanup and some other business dealings for the better part of my short trip there, so when he invited me to Thanksgiving my brain happily just skipped right past everything I already knew to be true about the cultural norms of our little corner of Florida (one of the earliest-to-eat places I have ever known), and immediately began to relish the idea of chilling for an afternoon with some fellow Yanks in a traditional Thanksgiving setting. I had visions in my head of at least a few glasses of wine and some banter, followed by a languid afternoon feast, maybe there would be a game on...I figured the gathering would take up most of the rest of my day. In retrospect, I see my assumption for what it was - wishful thinking. We are not culturally attuned to regular long, languid, hours long feasts in that part of the world. In our part of Florida, if you pitch up to a restaurant at 8pm, you will be one of the last through the doors (if they even let you in), and by 8:45 the waitress will probably plop the check onto the table next to your still-steaming entrée and be sighing with impatience at the cash register as you chew. No, I daresay my situation came to pass because in the absence of me doing any due diligence, my brain filled-in the thing that it clearly wanted, instead of allowing me to see the thing that was actually happening. So in I rolled, twenty(ish) minutes late after deciding to shower because I'd stayed outside digging in the dirt a little too long, thinking that I would be having some wine or appetizers at the Theoretical Languid Thanksgiving of My Mind. Instead I found myself with all eyes on me, the dagger-like gazes of the other guests unceremoniously deflating my unrealistic expectations like a pin to a soap bubble. One tiny spot of relief came when I realized I had forgotten the bottle of wine that the host had told me not to bother bringing but that I had on hand and was intending to bring anyway. While any other sensible holiday guide would tell you that this was a lapse in ettiquitte, in that moment I felt utterly relieved that I didn't have it with me; it would have highlighted the fact that I'd literally gotten wrong every "instruction" I'd been (sort of) given with a 100% success rate. However, that relief quickly turned to dread when I simultaneously realized that there was in fact no wine anywhere to be seen, nobody at that table was drinking, and if I wanted to eat at all, I needed to do it in the next three minutes or it would be too late. Unable to drown my shame a with a few glasses of Malbec, I spent the next fifteen minutes eating as fast as I dared while making extremely awkward conversation in an attempt to deploy my rarely-used Defcon 5 Charm Offensive in an attempt to win back the room. There was no dessert. Or at least there was certainly there was none for me. The upside is I definitely didn't eat too much. So in the spirit of helping fellow citizens of the world avoid what I did this past Thanksgiving, let us all take a moment to browse these perfectly lovely, mostly neutral and culturally inoffensive host and hostess gifts for your next holiday gathering. At the very least, you might be able to use them to hide behind when you arrive late to the party and everyone is already seated and glaring at you.

Welp. With less than two weeks to go until the holiday zero hour, I haven't really had a moment to even think about how I'm going to approach things this year. As much as I'm a person who doesn't spend a lot of time thinking or worrying about holiday gifts, I confess to absolutely loving putting together gift guides and wish lists. To me there is something really luxurious about curating collections and organising all of the shiny, pretty things the fashion/fantasy part of your brain is tickled by. So in the spirit of the season (and shiny pretty things), I'm sharing my 2022 gift lists from LTK with you. If you're unfamiliar, LTK is a shopping app and blogger affiliate program that enables you to create clickable content. I have been with them a long time, well over a decade now, but until recently I only really used select features that I felt worked within my niche. This last few months I have discovered that, much to my delight, they have streamlined their platform considerably since I originally was invited to join, and they've made it much more accessible for the customer. As a free shopping and inspiration platform, this newest permutation of LTK is simply fantastic. It isn't social media per se (although one can certainly link to social media from it), so as a shopper you aren't sharing your finds with the world or automatically signed up for a community you didn't choose. Nobody sees the things you are browsing, and you aren't obligated to interact with anyone. LTK has simply evolved into a tool that provides personal style inspiration from real human beings and helps you locate the things you see online that speak to you. As a blogger who deals a lot in one of a kind secondhand and vintage merch, I appreciate the direction that they've taken with this platform, as I find it is more inclusive for those of us who most of the time deal mainly in vintage, handmade, and secondhand picks. The platform is invaluable in helping me source similar items for you if something I am showcasing is out of production or one of a kind. So if you have ever found yourself curious about a piece you see online and you aren't using the LTK app, go check it out! And please give me, and any of the millions of other creators you'll encounter that might speak to you, a follow! Having said all that, these gift guides all contain mostly new things that are available right now, this holiday season. Many of these shops are USA-based, but most (bit not all) offer international shipping. To make the most of these gift guides, hover over the individual gift items for more info, or click the button below each guide to see the whole capsule collection on LTK. A word to those of us in the UK enduring the ongoing postal strikes that are happening throughout the country; things we order online may or may not make it to us in time for the holiday, but I'm taking the approach that this year we are experiencing the "extended dance version" of the holidays (and then some). I sort of like the idea of a gift arriving in February when you least expect it. A little something to look forward to as the winter months seemingly drag on endlessly. If you want to learn more about the different ways you can use LTK to shop and get inspiration, check out this video by YouTuber Marnie Goldberg. She does an excellent job of highlighting all the most current features. Happy gift shopping, and happy holidays fashionistas! Get Inspired with LTK Gift Shopping Lists