Remember when I used to round up my outfits on a monthly basis, because I had an actual social life for which to get dressed up? Sigh. Those were the good ol’ days. I know most people are back to ‘normal’ now, despite the delays and disruptions caused by people getting Covid, Long Covid, and often Covid for a second or third time, but I’m one of those people who hasn’t had it yet, and has immunocompromised loved-ones to boot, so for the most part my social life still doesn’t…really exist?

The weekly dinner I used to host for my best friends is still a no-go, but when the weather’s nice we manage to meet up outside to protect our most vulnerable mate. My family has returned to getting together for meals at my mum’s to celebrate birthdays, and a couple times I’ve invited one friend at a time over for dinner. And that’s basically…it? So, I didn’t realise it had been almost a year since I had last blogged any of my outfits, because time has felt like an ever-flowing river that never meanders nor meets the sea, and I feel like I never really get dressed up except to shoot items for review here on the blog. I’ll put the details about when I wore each outfit (as far as I can remember) to give you context in case you’re interested, and I suppose because this is as close as I’ve ever come to keeping some sort of Covid diary, but otherwise please enjoy the pretty clothes.

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Early September 2021 – I met my friend Juliette outdoors, and it turned out to be a surprisingly mild evening for September, so I said goodbye to summer with this tropical Hell Bunny number.

Black Kalani 50s dress previously gifted by Hell Bunny
Black cropped cardigan by MAK Sweater (Affiliate code yemak-amymay for 40% off)
Panther light cane bangles by Splendette
Black Tropic sandals by Hotter

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Early October – I met up with my 3 best friends distanced outdoors again, but the weather had definitely cooled by then so I built my outfit around wearing woolly tights and a big coat.

Brooklyn Coat previously gifted by Hell Bunny
Norina-Lou dress previously gifted by Miss Candyfloss
Burgundy cropped cardigan by MAK Sweater (Affiliate code yemak-amymay for 40% off)
Burgundy Tatiana boots by Lulu Hun*
Old New Look Belt
Red Velvet Merino Wool tights by Snag Tights
Old Mulberry bangles by Splendette

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Early November – I’d shot a couple of dresses I’d recently bought in hopes of merging them together for a cool ‘2 versions of me’ shot, one Amy styled like a goddess and the other moody glam, but the lighting had shifted so much between taking both sets of pictures I gave up on trying to photoshop them into cohesion. I decided to keep wearing this dress about the house when I got home from shooting and my mum piped up with ‘oh, alright Morticia Adams?’ the second she saw me. Damnit Mum!

Black Claudia gown by Alexandra King for Deadly is the Female

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Late November – It’s Ju’s birthday mid-November so we 4 met up distanced and outside again, this time around a firepit, to celebrate, catch-up, and eat pizza. I knew it would be cold so I took a big faux-fur trimmed coat with me and wore my longest wig for extra warmth. My friend Laura, in her leggings and thin coat, learned an important lesson about layering that night!

Manuella-Amber dress previously gifted by Miss Candyfloss
Black Sherry boots by Rocket Dog
Black tights by Snag Tights

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November – My whole family got together for the very first time since February 2020 to celebrate a couple family birthdays at our house. It felt weird to do, even though it was allowed, and everyone tested beforehand, but there’s 16 of us when all my siblings, their partners and offspring all get together, so it was just a big exposure factor to get my head around after 18 months of doing everything possible to limit such things.

Black & Gold Eyelet Border Cora dress previously gifted by Unique Vintage (A/L)
Black Mabel cardigan by Voodoo Vixen
Old JustFab shoes

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December – Usually for Christmas I host a dinner party at mine for my 3 best friends and we each bring a secret santa present and provide a course. For the second year in a row that obviously wasn’t going to be sensible, especially as Menna is extremely clinically vulnerable. Christmas is her favourite time of year, though, and she was sad that this tradition had been scuppered again, so she and I had a mini dinner party over Facetime to make up for it. My hair didn’t dry in time, but it was lovely to make an effort and to find a way to celebrate despite the circumstances.

Gold lame Claudia gown by Alexandra King for Deadly is the Female
Old gold bangles
Old faux fur shawl from eBay
Old Lindy Bop – Similar

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Late December – As above, because I couldn’t have the girls round mine for our Christmas dinner, we all met outdoors distanced around a firepit again to celebrate and exchange secret santa gifts. My entire outfit was obscured by the big faux-fur trimmed coat I wore to keep out the cold, but I flashed the girls a glimpse of my glittery dress just to show the effort I’d made to be festive and Menna was thrilled.

Rose Gold Martina dress previously gifted by Unique Vintage (A/L)
Green Mabel cardigan by Voodoo Vixen
Hit The Bottle Green tights by Snag Tights
Black Sherry boots by Rocket Dog

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Christmas day – I wore this dress for Christmas Day 2020, but considering I spent that day distanced from my mum in separate rooms for lunch, and then for the evening, masked, with the patio doors open, under a sleeping bag, in the lounge to watch a movie together, I thought it would be nice to re-wear this dress for our family Christmas Day. Everyone tested and two of my siblings and their families had to miss it because of Covid, so it wasn’t quite what we expected, but that’s pretty much how life is now, huh?

Black & Stars Farrah Maxi dress gifted by Unique Vintage (A/L)
Starburst brooch from eBay

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Late January 2022 – I had a video call catch-up with my friend Steph, as I still didn’t feel ready to return to our monthly dinner dates at restaurants. Elizabeth black dress previously gifted by Dolly & Dotty
Black cropped cardigan by MAK Sweater (Affiliate code yemak-amymay for 40% off)
Golden Night bangles by Splendette
Black Peta flats by Charlie Stone Shoes (Bought with an influencer discount)

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End of January – I wanted to try fluff curls because I can never achieve it without brushing out a pre-existing style at the end of the day, but honestly that’s all I remember from this. I think I put on a nice outfit to be at home in just because I had hair and makeup already done from a blog shoot.

Velvet Leopard Claudia Dress by Alexandra King for Deadly is the Female
Black Peta flats by Charlie Stone Shoes (Bought with an influencer discount)

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Mid-February – Outfit for celebrating my eldest nephew’s and my now-brother-in-law’s birthdays with a meal at the house.

Caia wine swing dress by Collectif*
Green Mabel cardigan by Voodoo Vixen
Golden OIive bangles by Splendette
Wine Darcy heels by Hotter

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February – I remember loving this outfit so much when I shot it for Instagram content, and feeling all sassy and sexy even though it’s just a shirtdress and I was wearing woolly tights, lolz.

Cabernet Polka Dot Barbara dress previously gifted by Joanie Clothing
Old Primark belt
Red Velvet Merino Wool tights by Snag Tights
Old Cecily boots by JustFab

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Galentine’s Day – Menna and I usually celebrate Galentine’s day every year, and this year I decided to go full glam even though we were doing it over Facetime because it was a perfect excuse to wear this dress I’d recently snapped up on sale. We both bought one of those supermarket Valentine’s meals (I shared mine with my mum,) we opened the little pressies we had dropped off to each other as thanks for being best friends, and chatted all evening.

Sapphire Velvet Tilly Prom dress by The Pretty Dress Company*
Vintage Starburst brooch
Old faux fux shawl from eBay
Santorini Gold flats by Charlie Stone Shoes (Bought with an influencer discount)

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Late March – My younger sister was supposed to get married May 9th 2020, but alas, Covid. The wedding date was rearranged twice before it finally happened this year, but one of the last things we were supposed to do before the country officially shut down was to have our family meet with her fiance’s family for the first time. At the time, they had to make the decision that it was best not to go ahead with it, rather than it being disallowed, so our meeting didn’t happen until March 2022. Both families met at a small country pub, and it was the first time I would be eating in a public place, something that felt very surreal as we walked in. I was pretty resigned to the fact that I’d finally get Covid from this gathering, then was thrilled to find I hadn’t!

Finella-Lee dress previously gifted by Miss Candyfloss
Navy Mabel cardigan by Voodoo Vixen
Vintage box bag
Gold Palmas wedges by Hotter

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End of March – I tried a new hairstyle for shooting blog pictures this day and loved it so much I decided to keep my hair and makeup on for the day (I usually brush my hair out and put it up pretty quickly after shooting, but leave my makeup on, slowly wiping off or wearing away different aspects throughout the day.) My sister’s Maid of Honour, whose makeup I would be doing for the wedding, came round to have a makeup trial, so I threw on a comfy spring outfit for the day.

Poppy Yellow Gingham Shirtdress gifted by Dolly & Dotty
Ivory Mabel cardigan by Voodoo Vixen
Lover bangles by Splendette
Old Justfab shoes

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April – I had a friend round for dinner. We used to work together but she changed jobs in early 2021, so we had only seen each other once since then in October when we met up after work for a distanced picnic in the park, losing sight of each other as the night fell while we chatted. It was much nicer to see her in the warm and the light.

Leopard print Lily dress previously gifted by Dolly & Dotty
Black cropped cardigan by MAK Sweater (Affiliate code yemak-amymay for 40% off)
Black bangles by Splendette
Black Peta flats by Charlie Stone Shoes (Bought with an influencer discount)

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Easter – I bought this dress in 2021 knowing I loved it but that it wouldn’t get worn while we were still locked down. So I was pretty pleased to pull it out for our family Easter gathering this year, finally. We ate roast, as always, and hid eggs for the kids, as always, and then they giddily declared they wanted to hide some for us adults to find, so we adult siblings launched into a vicious competition to try to out-hunt one another, as always. Just good ol’ fashioned family fun, y’all.

Cheryl dress by Collectif*
Ivory cropped cardigan by MAK Sweater (Affiliate code yemak-amymay for 40% off)
Gold Palmas wedges by Hotter

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Late April – I still don’t want to eat in restaurants unless I have to (see: not wanting to be the only person to miss the meet-up between my family and my now-brother-in-law’s family, and also my sister’s upcoming hen do) so I invited my friend Steph round for dinner as a progression from our Facetime catch-ups.

Dominique 50s dress previously gifted by Hell Bunny
Ivory cropped cardigan by MAK Sweater (Affiliate code yemak-amymay for 40% off)
Panther light cane bangles by Splendette
Black Palmas wedges by Hotter

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Late April – It was my sister’s hen do! They’d rented out a small restaurant in Brighton, so the only people in the place were the 16 invitees and the 3 members of staff, and I didn’t get Covid, so huzzah! We had a fab and hilarious evening of trying to solve a mystery based around a parody story of Bridgerton’s Lady Whistledown, and I had literally no idea who L. Whistlewind was. The food was delicious, everyone was lovely, and I could tell my sister was having the best time. I drove us all home like a big girl (I hate driving places I don’t know well, especially in the dark, so we made a deal that my mum would drive our car-full there and I, as I don’t drink, would drive us home. My tipsy eldest sister navigated for me. Huzzah teamwork!)

Black Scarlette dress previously gifted by Dolly & Dotty
Janet Fishnets by Snag Tights
Old suedette belt by New Look
Vintage Brooch
Black Vivien heels by Hotter
Black box bag previously gifted by Lola Von Rose

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May – My birthday! In 2020 I bought this dress with some of the birthday money I was given, knowing I wouldn’t wear it properly for a while. A couple times I debated wearing it to outdoors meet-ups with my best friends, but decided against it for practical reasons. In the end, I wore it for my birthday celebration at home with my family this year, and joyfully told everyone ‘this is the dress you bought me in 2020 for my birthday. Thanks!’ It made me so happy to finally wear a dress I had been waiting to wear for something special, 2 years later, and feeling so killer in it.

Black polka dot Claudia Maxi dress by Alexandra King for Deadly is the Female
Old suedette belt by New Look
Black Palmas wedges by Hotter

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Mid May – I met up with my besties for my birthday, outside and distanced again. They clubbed together to give me the money that would pay for this dress, which I had ordered myself in Vixen’s backlot sale under the justification that I knew I would end up with some money for my birthday that could pay for it. In my mind, therefore, this dress is a gift from them, and the shoes were a gift from my mum and eldest sister, so wearing this outfit felt like it was my Birthday Outfit.

Mustard Ingenue dress by Vixen by Micheline Pitt
Bronze cropped cardigan by MAK Sweater (Affiliate code yemak-amymay for 40% off)
Old Bag
White Sardinia flats by Charlie Stone
Coconut and Cloud bangles by Splendette

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Late May – My sister got married! I had planned to wear the navy velvet Claudia gown by Deadly is the Female and had even saved it for 2.5 years without wearing it since I’d bought it with that that specific occasion in mind. As the day approached, however, the weather cleared up and the sun came out, and I began to panic that wearing full length sleeves in a floor length velvet gown would be too hot. All week I dithered about whether to switch to the below dress, before following my gut and committing to the gold. I knew my decision was right when we arrived to decorate the reception venue the day before and I felt how warm the hall was just from 1 hour of sun, as it had rained all morning. On the day, I was cool, comfortable, and only mildly distraught when I broke the pinback off my vintage brooch. My sister-in-law sewed it back on as we sat at the reception table, post speeches, using a needle and thread she had brought with her in a box of emergency fixing instruments she had in the car, because she’s the fucking best. It was a lovely, perfect day.

Gold lame Claudia gown by Alexandra King for Deadly is the Female
Vintage brooch and box bag
Gold Veronica heels by Lulu Hun*

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And that’s it! I’d like to say that you can expect more regular outfit round ups moving  forward as my social life livens back up to pre-pandemic levels, but realistically with Omicron’s ever-mutating variants and the almost complete lack of mitigation measures undertaken by most in daily life, I have no real concept of what might happen in the coming months. At the very least if things remain largely as they have been I’ll do the next round up covering just a few months of sporadic outfits, rather than 9 months, as I did today.

Stay safe, mask up in poorly ventilated areas to protect the most vulnerable, and much love ❤

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Disclaimer: Items marked as gifted are items that were sent to me for free in exchange for honest reviews. Items marked with an asterix * are all items I bought myself but are made by companies I have worked with previously by accepting gifted items. The use of my MAK affiliate code will generate me a small commission from your order. Items marked with (A/L) are Affiliate Links.