One of my favorite scenes of spring is one I haven't actually shared on the blog before--the hedgerows in bloom. As we drive down the quiet roads of our region vistas of green fields bordered in hedges stretch on either side. Right now those hedges are full of the dainty lace of cow parsley and stunning, blooming hawthorn trees; the latter being one of the most magical trees of legend. You see a lot of hawthorn trees around Ireland because of the tales that surround them, they are often referred to as fairy trees and to cut one down is bad luck. This superstition is so ingrained that you still hear stories of golf courses or houses being structured in a manner as to accommodate hawthorn trees no one is willing to remove. When in blossom the hawthorns are incredibly striking, the flowers cover every side of the branches and from a distance the trees look as if they have been dusted in icing sugar. While I do love visiting the manicured gardens of decadent manor houses, I think my favorite types of blossoms and "gardens" happen when nature is left to its own devices; from bluebell woods to blossoming hawthorn trees and fields dotted with meadow thistles and wild angelica. There's no symmetry or flowers arranged in a dainty row, instead it's exuberant bursts of color and life; untamed and free.

I don't normally buy a piece in multiple colors, but after I fell in love with this dress last autumn I knew it would be a staple for me. Surprise, surprise, I have worn it almost nonstop this spring! I loved it so much that when I saw it came in more colors and there was a sale on, I went ahead and got the purple version--I mean those puff sleeves and lace inserts! It's all the details that make it so special and a perfect statement piece. Recently, I discovered there's also a blouse version that has been tempting me...Do you have certain clothing items that you think of as "vacation clothes?" This dress is pure holiday dress for me as it always seems to end up in my suitcase whenever I travel. I've brought it to Spain and Hawaii and this year took it to Venice. I do wear it around my own home as well, but the pinkish hue and backless style just seems better suited for a warmer climate than Ireland so inevitably it gets more wear on holiday! One reason I stopped sharing regular remixes is because remixes always seemed to be based on how wildly different you could wear a piece. I'd usually take one dress and try to style it with drastically different colors and accessories, sometimes I'd even play with the shape of it with safety pins or tucking it into skirts. Those remixes are fun and show how much you can do with a single piece of clothing, but ultimately when I wear clothes these days I tend to style them rather similarly. Maybe it's just that I'm older and my style is more "settled" but I don't have the same desire to mix things up and always find a new way to wear something; I'm ok with pure outfit repeating. Case in point: the above two vintage dresses that I re-wore and re-photographed recently. The pictures are more different than the ways I styled the pieces. I still get a lot of wear out of my pieces even if I'm wearing them in similar ways each time and ultimately that is the goal of remixes--showing that clothes are still getting worn and re-worn even if it's always in the same ways.If there's one staple worth investing in for every wardrobe (and I don't believe there are many staples that work for every wardrobe) it's a white blouse. Seriously, how many pieces does a perfect white blouse complete? Perfect with skirts, pinafores, trousers, etc. I'm always hunting for the perfect white blouse and I might have finally found the one for me with this style I've been wearing loads this spring. It has the same romantic feeling of the first dress in this post that I enjoy so much right now; a slightly vintage feeling with lace inserts.

When I think of settings suitable for my jewelry collaboration with GoodAfterNine, it doesn't get more ideal than this woodland scene in spring with the wild garlic in full bloom. Here you can spy badger holes and dens fox cubs might hide inside. On sunny days lazy orange tips float across the path and the air is heavy with the scent of wood garlic. This is a place that inspired the jewelry with some of my favorite woodland creatures, but this collection of rings and charms and earrings is also the perfect portable capsule of this woodland scene. I can't pack up a bundle of wood garlic and mail it to you, or capture the delicate flight of an orange tip butterfly through the marshes, but by casting them in metal and hand-painting their features and color onto petite pieces of jewelry this scene has been partially frozen in time and made shareable. I like to think of the collection as a tangible version of "quiet in the wild;" it's a bit of wild you can wear on your wrist and take on adventures in both green spaces and more urban ones so you can always have the wild within reach...

These bluebell woods feel like a scene straight out of a Beatrix Potter illustration. I rather expect Peter Rabbit in his blue jacket to dash by at any moment or Jemima Puddle-Duck to waddle past in her bonnet. I used to find fashion inspiration in vintage films and magazines, but these days I feel my inspiration can more directly be found in books and characters. I think it's because I find myself living in a scene that is so reminiscent of the books and stories I grew up on. I can imagine Potter strolling through this landscape with her notebook and watercolor kit far easier than I can imagine Audrey Hepburn here with her always impeccable makeup. So instead of taking inspiration from Funny Face, I find myself wanting to look like some Edwardian author (or perhaps Edwardian school child as my penchant for bows makes my style err towards the juvenile!). With the Edwardian era's penchant for ruffly aprons, giant bows and bonnets, sailor collars, and lacey white blouses, who can resist? My new pieces from Miss Patina give me a subtle nod to that era with a classic pinafore dress and bow-trimmed blouse. It's modern Edwardian, or Edwardian-lite, in clean neutrals that let the subtle details shine through (this blouse is made to be a perfect layering and styling piece mixing with a dozen pieces already in your wardrobe). A suitably timeless look for these ancient woods finished with the perfect pocket for filling with secrets and sprigs of hawthorn.

It's no secret that I've been a fan of GoodAfterNine's pretty enamel jewelry for years now. Their floral and animal themed pieces fit my style perfectly and add a touch of whimsy to every outfit. So you can imagine my excitement when I started to design this collection with them last autumn. One saying I came to for inspiration is the sly, "foxes are wolves that bring flowers." While I don't see myself as a wolf in fox clothing, I love the image of a clever fox holding out a bouquet of flowers--and this collection delivers both. There's the charming petite fox with gold-tipped paws and tail, alongside cheerful yellow blossoms, and a delicate orange-tip butterfly that all repeat across a variety of pieces. The whole collection is made up of a hair clip (my favorite piece!), charm bracelet, stacking rings, ear climbers, and simple pendant necklace on a long chain. I love the versatility of these pieces that combine my favorite things (foxes and flowers); the fox necklace is small and sweet, easily wearable every day and the stacking rings can be paired up for a statement or worn singly for a more simple look. I especially like how nice the orange tip ring looks singly, like a little vine wrapped around your finger and an ephemeral butterfly that just briefly landed there. GoodAfterNine really hit it out of the park with the details on these as well; all of GoodAfterNine's pieces are handcrafted and painted to incredible detail. With the charms and necklace too all the little figures are perfect from every angle, there's no fear of things looking "backwards" or looking wrong at certain angles. Instead the little figures have all the personality and life of the real thing in miniature form--the fox looks ready to prance off into the woods...I hope you love this collection as much as I enjoyed helping design it and hopefully the whimsical pieces can help bring a bit of whimsy into your life.