A Guide to Beating the New Year's Blues

It's that time of year again where your timeline is filled with "new year, new me"-esque posts, Christmas and New Year's celebrations are nought but memories and your bank balance is lower than Paris Hilton's IQ. Never fear, here's a simple guide to getting you through the coming months with a smile.

1. Ignore the bullshit

At this time of year, people tend to get extremely self-righteous and disingenuously humble. Fortunately, this is often contained in the realms of social media. However, you will meet people that have got a New Year's resolution that cannot be questioned such as stopping talking about people behind their back. Very honourable. These people will then tend to force their new life-affirming lifestyle choice on everyone they meet. Not very honourable. Well done for making the amazing change in your life but remember you needed to make the change in the first place. Chances are these people won't stick to their resolution for more than a couple of weeks anyway. 

2. Enjoy saving a bit of money

We all love spending money to get new and exciting things that we want but, for most of us, that just can't continue after the binge-provoking Christmas season. As my Mumma taught me; if you make bargain-hunting a sport, your food shop will be much more exciting (you can also read my Guide to Food Shopping below for more tips). Go food shopping just before the supermarkets are due to close and get all the reduced things at an even lower price. You may think this is a well-known thing; maybe it is but more people still need to know! Try and appreciate the money you've saved when you've bought yummy food rather than a shiny new Apple product. Try out other websites such as everything5pounds.com - this is one of my absolute faves and their footwear is some of the most durable on the market for that price - amazing value! Use cashback websites, voucher codes, student deals - there are so many things out there to help save money and enjoy it! Just get searching. 

3. Look forward to the year ahead

If you're not a NY resolutions person, don't make one! Thinking about your year ahead and how you'd like it to turn out isn't making a resolution to "be a better person"; it's a pragmatic way to think about your life and a good way to make sure you achieve all you want to achieve. Maybe make a Bucket List and try and do some of the things on it. However, you can do this at any time of the year and New Year's shouldn't make you want to change as many advertising campaigns dictate!

4. Enjoy Winter and remember that Summer is coming!

Yes, it's cold. Yes, it's grim. Yes, it's winter clothes time. That means gorgeous coats, boots and as much knitwear as you can handle and we all love a comfy chunky knit! If you can't deal with Winter and are pining for the Summer sun and laissez-faire vibes, make some exciting Summer plans. 


















The moral of the story is not to let the time of year dictate how you feel. The above ways can help you combat it. GO AND HIT THIS YEAR IN THE FACE!

Commes Des F**kdown: Guide to being Hipster

My outfit for a night out in Bristol. Taken from Instagram @hollyannarisdon. A crop top and an over-sized Levi's jacket  screams edge without desperate cries to be acknowledged.

Being hipster is easy, whatever your starting point. The place to start is your wardrobe. Boys and girls, invest in some vintage Levi's (stonewashed denim is essential) in jacket/high-waisted shorts form (but not worn together). Depending on your desired hipster intensity, ranging from moderate (there's no way you can be a little bit hipster) to off the scale, what you wear with your denim is essential. For obvious hipster but not too OTT, go for plain clothes (e.g. black, whites, slogan tees) and accessorise with some edgy jewellery. By 'edgy', I do not mean Primark or New Look. I mean charity shop or market stall - way less mainstream (remember, hipsters are just not mainstream). For moderate edge, go for some converse-style trainers or you could even stretch to some 90s-style Nike Airs for an even edgier look. Pair with ripped tights, denim shorts and over-sized colourful jumper for maximum hipster effect. You could also try some creepers (a quick Google can explain what they are if you're not sure). I've personally never been a fan of them but they add an edge to an outfit, even if they are stocked on the high street.

My Nike Airs - taken from my Instagram page @hollyannarisdon

Another hipster wardrobe staple is the beanie. A Commes des Fuckdown beanie or one with foreign words on it will help you achieve the really hipster look. It does need to be teamed with long-hair though (helping with the 'I-don't-care' attitude that I'll come onto later). A parka should also be invested in for true hipster 'I-go-to-warehouse-raves-every-weekend' style. For me, parkas only remind me of Frank Gallagher from Shameless which immediately turns me against them. 

For boys, a hair cut will edge you towards the hipster style. Go for short on the sides and longer on the top (I must say, a bit like Danny from The Script - but nobody has to know you asked for his cut in the hairdresser). Team this with a turtle neck jumper (patterned or plain will work), some rolled up jeans and some vans/converse style trainers. The obvious buttoned-up shirt will help you fit in anywhere. This shirt can actually come from anywhere nowadays with high street jumping firmly on the hipster bandwagon but charity shops and vintage dens will always result in the best buys.

Your style should scream that you 'don't really care' what you look like even though it's quite obvious you do. This means your attitude must be bang on as it's just as important as style. By attitude, I don't mean pretending you have an ASBO or an 'attitude problem'. By attitude, I mean your outlook on life. If you're hipster, you don't get easily stressed, often helped by the amount of green they smoke. I am now going to say that drugs are definitely not a prerequisite of being a hipster. In fact, it's probably more hipster and anti-mainstream to not do drugs - bear that in mind. You often see hipsters surrounded with other hipsters suggesting they are easy people to get on with. They also share interests of course such as warehouse raving or any other non-mainstream place (I recently encountered some of the most hipster people I've ever seen at a live Jazz night in Sheffield).

Don't be scared, you do not have to like staying up all night dancing in a derelict warehouse being covered in sweat that's dripping from the ceiling. To be a true hipster though, you really must avoid the mainstream clubs. Sorry if that's a shock for you and it's a free country but mainstream clubs will not welcome beanies as party attire and would prefer to see girls wearing nothing but heels and a 'dress' that makes them look like streetwalkers. Certainly not a hipster look. However, if you are interested in the warehouse experiences, check around on Facebook for those kinds of events or just Google warehouse clubs in your city. Motion, Timbuk2 and sometimes Thekla are great nights out in Bristol. There are great clubs in every city for this sort of thing. To be honest, anywhere that sells Red Stripe (that's all you can drink now, by the way - unlucky) for a ridiculously high price is allowed on the hipster list. 

If hipster is your style or you want to be more hipster and this blog hasn't helped, leave a comment and I'd be glad to update. See 'Acceptable in the 90s' in this blog or the sister blog (http://embellishmental.blogspot.co.uk) for further advice.