Teandtwosugars: fashion

Tuesday, 3 January 2023

Time isn't real, but you are

Time isn’t real. It’s like my own personal existential crisis laced mantra but recently it’s begun to feel painfully true. You’d think I’d be used to that feeling by now; after all, mine (and maybe your) sense of time and space has been warped beyond comprehension since March 2020. And yet, the fact I was in a hotel bar just a few days ago clinking in yet another new year still managed to jut me in the ribs as a champagne flavoured shock.

Why? I can never quite put my finger on it. It’s not as if the past 365 days have flitted by without memory or meaning. So much has happened and yet I’m pulled in by the same kind of sadness

I feel on my birthday; it’s warm, hopeful, it’s nostalgic and bittersweet. The overwhelming tidal wave

of another year gone by quickly replaced by another as if it had been there all along. A relentlessness that’s both full of what could have been but also of promise. *Sigh*

It’s supposed to be a shining symbolic beacon, newness and reinvention. Thankfully, most of the ‘new year, new me’ rhetoric has fizzled out, but the remnants still very much linger in various shapes or forms, which isn’t in of itself a bad thing. My skepticism towards this drive for change has similarly waned over the years, but I’m still a stickler for needing the reason behind it. In other words, not changing because we’ve completed another trip around the sun, but because we want to.

And what about the changes we’ve collected without even realising it? The ones we didn’t need diet plans or resolutions for. While the places we find ourselves in on 1 January may feel painfully the same, we are not. We’ve been heartbroken, we’ve been head over heels, we’ve discovered parts of ourselves we’re trying to understand and come to terms with. Even if time isn’t real, the way we have become different people - not better or worse - is a poignant reminder that we very much are.

Happy 2023, I hope you’re keeping well and staying safe - I promise my next post will be more upbeat, maybe.

Photos by the incredible PortraitsByRita

xxx

Main character energy

Whether you're taking selfies in a public toilet, re-watching the US version of the Office or swanning around Stockport pretending to be Cruella Deville, just a little reminder that you're always the main character in your own life. Here's to making that plot twist a good'n. Happy Saturday ❤

Photos by the incredible Livia Lazar

2021: Remembering the good

Hi, how are you?

As is traditional for me, it’s been a while.

There’s no particular reason, and I’m fine, truly I am, but I feel like I’m on autopilot. As I have felt for most of this year to be honest.

I say this at the conclusion of every year as it passes, but seriously where has this year gone??

Cynically chatting about 2020 and the bleak reality of a lockdown Christmas with

my friends could have happened yesterday. And yet here we are, 365 days later.

Of course, amidst the grey days, there have been moments of brilliance too. Moments where I’ve really appreciated life and how thankful I am for every aspect of it. Seeing people irl for the first time in a long time, or ever. Going back to the cinema. Listening to a new album from start to finish. Trying to pronounce wines I can’t pronounce. Walking without purpose. Getting on a train and inevitably losing my ticket. Speaking to strangers. Feeling things again like nothing had changed.

Anyway, I wanted to write something before the year is out, basically as a reminder of these sparkly joyous little things. Because looking at them altogether, they actually amount to quite a big thing.

I hope you have a wonderful festive season and New Year. Here’s to those moments of happiness; there’s plenty more to come.

Lots of love, Georgia xxx

These photos are by the wonderful Martin J Sylvester on a much warmer Manchester day. Go and check him out on Instagram.

FYI, You're so much more than what you look like

My own self image has always been a bit of a strange topic for me. How I see myself has been a bit of a rollercoaster throughout the years, and whilst the steep drops and loop-the-loops are now few and far between, that doesn’t mean I’m not faced with a sharp turn every now and then. Especially when faced with my own reflection more than I’d like.

I’m not talking about the hall of mirrors (don’t worry, that theme park metaphor died in the last paragraph), but rather, being at home more than we usually would be. Eighteen months or so in fact, give or take. The quick glance at yourself in the hallway mirror on the way out has grown into the peering at your thumbnail in the corner of every Google hangout to make sure you still look engaged after two hours. The insta pressure to make sure your pals know you’re having a good time 24/7. The scrolling, scrolling and more scrolling before checking your front camera and feeling sad that you don’t have a chance in hell of ever looking like that girl you don’t even know. Told you it was a rollercoaster.

I’ve been told to stop worrying about what I look like, to stop thinking about what others think, and to stop letting my insecurities about my appearance get in the way. Because oh boy, do those insecurities get in the way. And the funny thing is, you and I know they’re not even real. Not really. The only thing giving them life and allowing them to breathe are the big corporations which continue to capitalise off of them. Lips too thin? Plump them. Eye bags too big? Conceal them. Skin not smooth, radiant or youthful enough? You’re going to need at least five different creams. That’ll be £782 please. Imagine if we just stopped buying things the patriarchy told us to buy because we simply don’t need them? Anarchy.

And yet, even though I know all of this, I still feel that incredible pressure to conform. To fit in. To look a certain way. And sure, a lot of that I do for myself - make up, clothes, hair, skin care etc. - but there is a part of me which does wonder, is it really for me? Or is it just my own internalised male gaze? I could literally write a whole book on this; the theory that even when we’re alone, everything we do is subconsciously just to serve the male point of view. A harrowing and depressing thought, but an intriguing one none the less. (For the record, when I’m dressing up at 2pm on a Sunday afternoon to make a Halloween outfit reel, I’m pretty sure that is for me and me alone. No man, or woman tbh, wants to see me in yet another £5 eBay wig.)

So where do we go from here? Whilst I don’t think there’s really a clear cut and dry answer, I do think awareness is a good starting point. Simply being more conscious of the reasons why you’re doing things and being safely assured in the knowledge that the sole purpose of you and your body extends far beyond what you look like. You’re so, so much more than that.

It’s been a while since I wrote a proper blog post so please excuse the above tangential ramble (let’s be honest, what’s new?) I’m interested in talking more personally about a couple of things around this topic, body image etc, but always end up chickening out. Do people want to read that kind of thing? If anything, I guess it would be a cheap alternative to therapy for me.

Anyway, I hope you’re all doing well, keeping safe and staying sane. Sending love xxx

Fields of gold

Hi, hello. Happy Saturday. Just checking in to see how you are.

I don’t know about you, but at the moment I sort of feel like I’m drifting between one thing and the next. Things still feel up in the air. Time seems to be rushing by and I’m struggling to grasp it. How on earth it will soon be October I do not know. I feel like New Year’s was last week.

Thankfully over the past couple of days I’ve been able to escape and spend some time in one of my favourite places. You know that overwhelming wave of familiarity and comfort you feel when you make a return trip somewhere you know and love? That, a lot. It served as a much needed reminder that things are still there, just as we left them.

Anyway, here are some thoughtful photos from simpler times with the lovely Lewis Baker. I hope you’re doing OK and I promise I won’t leave it so long next time. Love, Georgia.

Why Pinterest is the best, imho

Hi, hello. How’s it going? I know it’s been a while.

Is it just me or has time seemed to have simultaneously slowed down and sped up? It’s May next week (!!) and yet I’m still very firmly in *new year, new start* mode. At least being five months brings with it a welcome change in weather. And beer gardens. What’s not to like?

Anyway, courtesy of the many hours I’ve spent unproductively on my phone, I’ve had a lot of time to look at (brace yourselves lads) clothes. It began with Instagram, but, due to it being a place which often leaves me feeling worse about myself than before, I’ve made the move over to somewhere much more peaceful. Pinterest.

I’ll be completely honest, until about a month or so ago, I never really *got* Pinterest. Scrolling through pictures and saving them to virtual boards? I always thought it was somewhere for DIY-ers and wedding planners, but now a few hundred pins later, I am hooked. The easy browsing, the 21st June outfit planning, the media without the social and the joy of looking at things purely to look at them. And categorise them so I can look at them some more. Pure bliss. I think the fact it brings back the childhood nostalgia of my Tumblr days may have something to do with it too.

So why is it that I’m telling you all about my newfound love for Pinterest? Is this an ad? (If only.) To be honest, it’s really just a reminder that the internet isn’t always a horrible place. It can actually, sometimes, be somewhere to pause and be unproductive. And not feel guilty for it.

It’s actually really helped me get back into a creative mindset and take pointless selfies for no other reason than, it’s 5pm on a Sunday and the golden hour light is *chef’s kiss*.

I hope you’re doing well, and keeping safe. Happy Tuesday’s my loves.

xxx

T shirt weather

I just wanted to share some photos of me swanning around London as a reminder of life before (and after) lockdown. T shirt weather, here we come. Probably underneath a big coat.

Sending love xxx

Photos by the fab @jaieart

Finding Joy

I’m currently living the cliche Sunday morning dream; coffee in hand, mindless laptop scrolling with lofi music softly playing in the background. Noone else is up. Quiet, even if it is only for an hour or so.

These small moments of joy are so fleeting, it’s such a rarity for me to actually stop and acknowledge the moment when I’m in the middle of it. When life is moving a much slower pace (thanks panoramic) one of the only silver linings is that growth of appreciation. I don’t know about you, but this period has really put my life into slow motion, and allowed me to see it for what it really is. Frame by frame.

Of course, that change of pace also means a lot more time for thinking, thinking, and oh yeah, thinking some more. Whilst most of the memories my tired mind brings up are soft and comforting bursts of hazy nostalgia, there is a small portion which revisits forgotten friendships and poor decisions. Often followed by a knot in my stomach and a strange sense of remorse.

Should I feel guilty for relationships I’ve lost and the choices I’ve made?

What I’m starting to realise (it’s taken me long enough) is that life isn’t straightforward. Not every friendship is forever and no choice you make has to define who you are. Just because you are X one day doesn’t mean you can’t be Y the next. Things will move in and out of your life, but they don’t necessarily need to be good or bad.

I used to spend so much time worrying about things in my life that happened - literally - years ago, but why? Cliche (I mean c’mon do you expect anything less from me?) but I can’t change the past. As much as I’d like to hop in the DeLorean, there’s no way I can venture back to teenage me and try to rekindle something for the sake of rekindling it. Plus, that would mean putting concealer on my lips again, and I don’t think anything is worth reliving that phase *shivers*.

So what’s the point of this post you may be wondering. Really, it’s a bit of a reminder, to you and honestly me too. A reminder that those moments of joy really are there, even in those times where the waves are crashing around your ankles and you feel like you’re treading water. It’s easy to forget what joy feels like, but you’ll feel it again soon, I promise.

I would love to know what joy feels like to you. Hope you’re keeping safe and well, and sending love, as always x

P.s. For me, joy also very much looks like this vintage Haunted Hollywood Planet Hollywood t shirt which I tracked down on Etsy after a relentless search. Gotta love the internet.

Five looks, one blazer

I absolutely love a good blazer. Since I was first introduced to them in high school where that excess of pockets was my best friend (yes mum that lipgloss is essential), to the one I bought on depop last year as a Christmas gift to myself, the humble blazer has been an absolute staple in my wardrobe, through and through.

So a post solely dedicated to this particular piece of outerwear has been a long time coming. Here I've compiled five of my fave ways to wear.

Are you an avid blazer wearer? Which look would you wear?