I have been making a concerted effort to ensure that during lockdown, I am still getting up and dressed as I would normally on a work day. The only difference? I have been having a bit more fun doing it.
While Scotland remains predictably unpredictable when it comes to Spring weather, I have not been deterred from pulling out those Spring/Summer dresses that have been shut away in the attic for the past 6 months or so. Instead, almost every dress or skirt has been accompanied with my favourite denim jacket that I got from Fatface in Lyme Regis last August. It’s heavy enough that it adds that extra bit of warmth to shield from the wind and light enough to be bearable on those rarer sunny days.
A year full of books, brunches and beautiful dresses
Well, it hath been a year people! I can’t believe that we are starting another new year, and even more scarily, a new decade.
While the blog has been very quiet over here at Dearly Bookish, I have been very busy. From graduating with a Masters in Publishing and starting my first marketing job to welcoming my new nephew into the world, the last couple of months feel like they haven’t stopped. Next year’s diary is filling up fast too, so I anticipate another crazy year full of exciting travel, concerts, family weddings and big birthday’s.
Although I am disappointed about my neglect of this blog, I feel I have some things to be proud of with Dearly Bookish too. To start, I finally began to feel confident enough to start this blog and its accompanying instagram. In the beginning, I felt I couldn’t share my face as I was nervous (embarrassed) for people I knew to find it. Why? Like the majority of British people, I hate drawing attention to myself, the vintage style (although I must admit, I still for the most part do it quite casually) does tend to draw attention from people. While I am less freaked out when strangers compliment my dress, I still find it awkward around people I actually know. This is definitely something I plan to work on in 2020, and I am proud to say I am making steps towards that.
In reference to this reflection I have been doing, I thought I would share some of my favourites from 2019:
Books
Red, White & Royal Blueby Casey McQuiston
I was so excited when I first heard about this book – who doesn’t love a queer YA romance between the First Son of The United States and the Prince of England? It definitely lived up to the hype and I am eager to read more by Casey McQuiston and I really hope we see more of Henry and Alex some day too!
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Persuasion has always been one of my favourite Jane Austen books so getting to visit Lyme Regis, the site of the infamous Cobb incident, was a real treat this year. There is definitely something to be said about reading a book somewhere where you only need to go for a short walk to picture the sights that are being conjured up in the story. Anne Elliot and Elizabeth Bennet will always be my OG romantic heroines.
Virgin River by Robyn Carr
To be completely transparent, I had never heard of this book series prior to being introduced to the Virgin River Netflix series. I watched the first season of the show in two days and become completely hooked! I NEEDED to see more of Jack and Mel’s story, so I was ecstatic to discover that the TV show was based on a series of books. I read this first book in a few short hours, and am pretty sure, I didn’t stop for anything, staying up slightly too late. Even although the TV show has definitely taken liberties with the original story, I can honestly say I enjoyed both versions of the story immensely and cannot wait to see where the show takes the story in its second series.
Considering how many times I have been to this place now, I find it really hard to believe that I was only introduced to it this year! A firm family favourite, this is the place that all visitors now get frogmarched to at the earliest opportunity. My personal favourite is The Betty although my wife tends to prefer the Veggie Baked Eggs. My first visit of the new year is already scheduled in for this weekend, and I look forward to many more visits over the next year.
This place is GORGEOUS. I have yet to discover a time when this bakery is not busy with eager foodies excited to sample one of the gorgeous cakes, or sandwiches. We also started buying their rye bread to take home and enjoy. Well worth a visit next time you are in the Glasgow area. If there is no place to sit when you go, take your food to go and head for a nice picnic in the Botanics.
TheDress
Picking this one was THE hardest choice, I have found and worn some truly gorgeous dresses over the past year. From summery toile de jouy patterns and autumnal foxy skirts to a very apt shirt dress covered in books, I have had lots of fun twirling through the year. Hands down, however, in top place comes a dress that I have had my eyes on for well over a year. My lovely wife bullied me (okay so I wasn’t exactly digging my heels) into treating myself to the Tilly Prom Dress from The Pretty Dress Company for my graduation and I have major heart eyes for it!!
Well my dears, that’s it from me, I am very excited to see where this year leads us all! What are your resolutions this year?
It has been a while but I am back to give a brief update on my 30 dresses in 30 days challenge. First of all, I am very proud to say that I was pretty successful in completing my challenge. All in all I think I only missed two days throughout the challenge.
Head over to my instagram @dearlybookish to see some of my looks from September and let me know what you favourites were.
As I am sure you will so come to realise, I adore dresses. Honestly, my fashion style tends to fluctuate on a regular basis – one day I will be wearing jeans, a stripey top and blazer, the next I will be wearing a tea-length 50s style dress complete with petticoat. As much as I tend to enjoy the practicality that jeans afford, I am usually happiest in a dress.
I love stripey t-shirts almost as much as I love the colour burgundy!
Up until last year, I struggled to find a dress that I truly felt comfortable in – being on the heavier side, I often felt high street shop dress were too short, or not really suited to my body shape – until I happened upon the youtube channel Jessica Out Of The Closet. I adored all of the dresses Jessica was wearing that had that very feminine whimsical vibe, and were finally long enough that I didn’t have to worry about flashing people all of the time. Cue a ridiculously long amount of time spent on a variety of Vintage dress websites. My favourite shop right now is Lindy Bop, although I also have some beautiful pieces from Hell Bunny, Collectif, and Joanie Clothing.
This dress is definitely one of my favourites!
My lovely wife surprised me with the Lindy Bop ‘Bletchley’ Book Print dress for Valentine’s Day this year. I absolutely adore it, and love wearing it to bookish events and/or work. It is so much fun and contains gorgeous detailing on each of the books. The bright turquoise belt adds a lovely waist detail to the dress, and I enjoy the feeling of the fabric. Another huge plus is the length – the dress comes to below my knees so is super comfortable to wear. Oh and before I forget… it has POCKETS!!!
And who doesn’t love a cute pair of slippers to go with a pretty dress!
I am 23 years old, married, and a mum to two beautiful cats.
I love books (duh!), but the YA genre is what takes over my life right now. When I’m not reading, I am either cuddling my cats, binge-watching cheesy Netflix films, or out brunching with my beautiful wife.
I am creating this blog to share my love of books and vintage-style dresses, as well as providing general life updates through my weekly Sunday Brunch session. I hope you enjoy.
Stay tuned for our first Sunday Brunch session, it’s out next Sunday!
Dearly Daryl 