All dressed up with no place to go!

Dress - Topshop
Shoes - Iron Fist
Necklace - Swarovski
Bracelet - Vintage Trifari

This is exactly how I wanted to look on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve, if I had somewhere to go that is! Classy, glamorous, with an edgy twist, this Topshop dress is simple yet stunning and easy to accessorize - I believe my words upon trying it on were 'Do I like it? It's like 1940s nightwear, of course I love it!'. However, since I spent Christmas Day working (10 hours, split shift) I stuck to my guns of overdressing by wearing this ensemble to eat our Christmas roast between shifts! 

Last night for NYE I was sipping prosecco in my PJs and watching TV, which is my traditional way to spend it, but if I had somewhere to go I would have looked like this! New Year is always cited as the time for turning over a new leaf, and while I disagree slightly – a fresh start can come at any time, who really needs a specific date to make a change? – it still provokes in me a certain level of reflection upon the year past, and thought over what I hope to achieve in the year to come. I always find myself making lists, because getting things down in writing is the only way to arrange my thoughts, so I hope you won’t mind me sharing a few reflections. 

The last year has been full of trials and tribulations, of joys and sorrows, and while I may not be entirely happy with how some things have turned out I wouldn’t change a thing. I’ve gone through intense emotions, break-ups, bereavements and personal difficulties. But the past is in the past, and I believe that while we can learn from it, there is no point in dwelling upon it. So for next year I have high hopes, and just a few goals. I’m not one for resolutions (I find they set me up for failure!), but here are a few things I intend to do: keep my blog up and running and explore my creativity through clothes; go on at least one holiday because travel is one of my main passions; and develop my writing as best I can, continuing to refine my poetry and hopefully write the novel I’ve been trying to create for years!

And that's my reflective phase over for this season - I hope all your Christmases and New Year's were beautiful, and you're now full of roast dinners, chocolate and love!

Tara India xo