Lumps,bumps and the art of not giving a crap

My love my love my love my love
You love my lady lumps- Fergie

I know, I know how elegant a title you are probably now wondering to what level of Shakespearean quality am I about to type, what beautiful sonnet doth my hands yearn to type but alas that is not my style. Instead I decided to begin with a Fergie lyric. I wanted to update you all on my journey in the last couple of years of self acceptance leading to self love. Believe me if there was a ten step programme to this then I would be currently typing in my own private yacht on the outskirts of some beautiful Greek island, This journey is totally different for everyone involved. For some it will take years whilst others might reach their temporary end point much sooner and what is so crucial is that we learn to not measure our own growth against others.

I call it a temporary end because I truly believe that I dont think that we ever finished with self love and acceptance because as we age change and develop so to do our feelings and emotional requirements. T-j in 2017 is a totally different creature than T-j of 2007 full of different needs and emotions and it is so important to learn to adapt to that need. What reignited this interest for me was recently I have been have several different conversations with girls I know through social media, in real life and everything in between about a variety of topics which all centre around the theme of self love.

To get started my core principal all revolves around the art of not actually giving a crap about the option of others, within reason. I dont advocate being ignorant or knowingly rude however it is your life, look and body and you are the only one you have to make happy. If you like it wear it, it you want bright yellow hair then bleach it. I understand all of this is easier said than done and it is hard if maybe those around you aren’t supportive of your decisions, you come up against work constraints or whatever it may be but as long as it doesn’t negatively impact you then what do you have to lose? the experimentation stage doesn’t end when your teenage years do. If you want to experiment go for it ! The key to it is to not place excess credit in others.  Something I struggled with massively is the concept of if you dont see it then you can’t be it. Growing up there were not alot of plus-size people in the media. The plus-size character in a show was the funny one, a one dimensional character who didn’t get to add alot to the plot of the show, and don’t get me started on the lack of any plus-size models on the scene I saw Crystal Renn during her plus-size heyday when I was in my mid teens but at that point I had already spent 14 years as a tall, chunky, ginger so I had began to develop my own sense of self. I mean I had no confidence but I was developing my “style.”

These days I would definitely say I have found a way to be happy and comfortable in my own skin. Don’t get me wrong I have off days that is 100% normal but now I place my measure in how something makes me feel as opposed to worrying if it is going to be liked by others, for example this look. If you had told me even 6 months ago I would be parading around Belfast in a mesh top with a bralet I would have called you crazy. Now  it doesn’t fill me with dread I was actually super in to this look and decided to shoot it in several of my favourite locations.

 

 I want to continue with this series of talking more openly and creating the coversation about body image on this platform so please do let me know what topics you would like me to cover. 

OUTFIT DETAILS

Mesh top- Ebay

Bralette- New Look Curves

Culottes- Primark

Trainers- Primark

Denim Jacket- Primark

My Soul- Primark

 

 

BYTAYLORJAYNE

STYLED: Floral Botanical

I remember the way that we touched I wish I didn’t like it so much
I get so emotional, baby
Every time I think of you
I get so emotional, baby
Ain’t it shocking what love can do

Location: Botanic Gardens Belfast

Suprise its me !

I am back with a new attitude, new look and new approach. Getting back into blogging and reinventing myself on my social medias really helped me get back to the core of why I began blogging and vlogging back in 2008/2009 and more recently I have really got happier in accepting my approach to the whole thing. I am here for me, I am here for fun and I am here because I feel like I still want to share my opinion and voice my thoughts and feelings.

A few recent physical changes are that after vowing not to dye my hair and to grow it out I cut off 2 inches, bleached it and coloured it neon pink and orange ( directions hairdye is the bomb.com) and I couldn’t be happier.

Also my obsession with Rupauls drag race is now probably blindingly obvious, I was team sasha from day one and SPOILER ALERT I was so happy that beauty be damned and monsters reign for this next year!

If you want to join the revolution: innovate, that’s my solution!

Rings- Topshop Finer range £3 each in Sale 

Even though I am trying to come back again with a new attitude I still cannot not use my favourite location of Botanic gardens. I knew that the rose garden would probaby be in bloom by now and I think Sashas lipsync was so strongly in my mind that I had to recreate it for the blog!

Details:

Distressed boyfriend denim jacket- Primark new season

Black shirt dress- Primark

Trainers- JD sports

Chub rub shorts- Evans

Glasses- Specsavers Horace frames ( from the mens section !)

 

PHOTOGRAPHY AS ALWAYS BY MY MUM 

BYTAYLORJAYNE

STYLED: In Disguise

“Some of the best things that have ever happened to us wouldn’t have happened to us, if it weren’t for some of the worst things that have ever happened to us.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

Location: Belvoir Forest

So its been a while…

I don’t really have a reason or excuse except for sometimes life just gets a bit busy. I am going to try to get back into the swing of things, so I am beginning with a series of images that I took about two months ago now. Belvior forest is only about 30 minutes from my own house but as I stated in the last post it is somewhere I always forget about. It is such a beautiful place and I would defiantly recommend it for an afternoon stroll.

So I bought this camouflage jacket about 6 or more years ago from the army surplus shop in Smithfield market in Belfast when camouflage was having its first big popular moment. I remember at the time the owner of the had a print out of a ASOS listing and he was so proud that he was offering the same jackets for a tenner. Now camo is having a second fling at being super popular and I have whipped it out again.

 

 

MAJOR DRUNK EYES ALERT 

Details:

Camo jacket- Army Surplus

Pinafore dress- New Look Curves

Shirt- Evans

Tights- Primark

Runners- Primark

BYTAYLORJAYNE 

STYLED: Weekend Vibes

“Few of us ever live in the present. We are forever anticipating what is to come or remembering what has gone.”
― Louis L’Amour

Location: Botanical gardens & The MAC gallery 

I definitely didn’t forget that I had this blog post ready to go… nope… not at all 

I decided to take a slightly different approach this weekends post and I am going to combine a couple of days together, this weekend has been so beautiful in terms of weather and the combination of this and not working alot has meant that I have been able to really chill out this weekend. The weather has been so beautiful and in the high teens for the last few days I have tried to spend as much time as I could enjoying the sun. We decided on Friday that we would check out the new MAC gallery exhibition after I have seen #superape all over instagram.

Details:

Denim shearling jacket- Primark

Checkered Shirt dress- Monki

Drop Hem dress- Evans ( Super old stock- like 3 years!)

Fishnet tights- Primark

Metallic Trainers- Primark

PART TWO 

The day after spending time at the MAC gallery the weather became practically tropical and mum and I decided to head up to botanic gardens to enjoy the weather. For Belfast anything above ten degrees is tropical which means that places like Botanic gardens always become super duper busy but you can always find a relaxed corner to chill in and enjoy the weather.

Details:

PJ shirt- Evans

Straight leg jeans- New Look Curves

Metallic ankle boots-Primark

Quay sunglasses- TKmaxx

White crossbody bag- Primark

Statement hoop earrings- Primark

BYTAYLORJAYNE

 

STYLED: Statement Jeans

“In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful. Alice Walker

Location: Belvoir Forest 

I think we can all become guilty of ignoring and not appreciating our surroundings, you forget how incredible your surroundings can be. I live only about 30 minutes away from Belvior forest but I could probably count on one hand how many times I have actually visited. However I changed that by dragging mum down for a brief stroll through after a gym session, there is something so therapeutic to just chill out and unwind with a good long walk anywhere.

Last year was the first time really statement jeans came back onto the scene and I immediately fell in love with these Alice and You beautys! I got them on ASOS last year and I remember they were in and around £39 although I do remember getting some sort of discount on them. £39 is alot for jeans for me personally but for the amount of wear I have gotten out of them they have definitely been worth the investment. I was rather shocked that something so statement has been surprisingly easy to style, usually I wear them with a simple raglan tee and trainers but they also work with a black shirt and metallic heels which is good as thats how I chose to style them today.

Details:

Bomber Jacket- H&M sale

Black pj style shirt- Evans Clothing

Alice and You statement jeans- ASOS

Fishnet tights- Primark

Silver block heels – New Look sale

Glasses- Specsavers men’s Tokyo frames

A massive shoutout to Sharon and Chloe in Pure Beaut Reflex for giving me the most incredible mermaid lilac ombre nails. I have gone to Sharon for all my nail needs for years and I am never ever dissapointed.

P.S

The reality of on location blogging is a tad less glamorous than you would think!

BYTAYLORJAYNE

STYLED: Underpasses

“She is a figure of legend and fairy tale, one to be taken seriously, or she might knock you off your feet with a quick whirl of the staff she carries everywhere.”
― Claire Wong, The Runaway

Location: Wine shipment direct building 

Another week passes and another dodgy car park in the back end of Belfast city centre is seemingly the ideal location to shoot my outfit. I have to say that the inspiration behind this was totally down to seeing local stylist Eve Brannon shooting here earlier in the week, as soon as I saw her instagram post about it I knew I had to go for myself.  The Legend wall was created by the #BelfastBanksy Glen Mollloy Creative and features ten images of legends both alive and dead.

Finding new locations is pretty difficult I mean Belfast is such an incredible location in itself my issue is nearly always trying to find locations that are accessible to someone who doesn’t drive. Instagram and social media in general is such an incredible tool as I follow so many local creatives it is great to be able to see what is inspiring those around me and trying to create my own original concepts using influence I take from those who inspire me, I have an ode to instagram post planned for the upcoming months so stay tuned for that!

I’m the dandy highwayman so sick of easy fashion
the clumsy boots, peek-a-boo roots that people think so dashing

MINI STORY: One thing I love about shooting out and about on the streets of Belfast is the reaction of those around for example shooting on an electrical box in a dodgy car park the loveliest women came up and asked mum and I if we wanted her to photograph us together, I dont think she really understood why we would choose this location and its pretty difficult to explain blogging to someone who has no idea at all what it is.

Details:

Distressed denim jacket- Primark new season

Black dip hem dress- super old Evans clothing

Fishnets- Primark

Khaki Boots- Primark

Chub rub shorts- Evans ( you will understand if you see the P.s Pick!)

Glasses- Specsavers Horace frames ( from the mens section !)

P.S

I had to include this picture to highlight that despite trying to act all cool in front of the camera the reality of actually putting together an outfit post is so much more ugly and real. For example it look three attempts to get my fat ass onto this electrical box all whilst the owner of the car in-front was probably in fits of laughter but hey, my whole view is that I probably wont ever see these people again so who cares if I flash my chub rub shorts at them now !

BYTAYLORJAYNE

STYLED: Belfast Skylines

“Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.”- Mother Teresa 

Location: High Street Carpark

My name is Taylor-Jayne, I am 24 years old and I am addicted to my faux leather yellow jacket. I would say by now at least fifty percent of my blog posts have featured this jacket and for good reason because it is amazing. If you had told me six months ago that my wardrobe staples would include a bright yellow leather jacket I would have laughed because I would never in a million years think I could l pull it off but it has become hands down my wardrobe essential. Despite the colour it is such a versatile piece and works with nearly everything that I own.

I am going to be 1000% truthful and say that today location is totally inspired by the incredible Lucy ( find her on instagram HERE) I have met Lucy a few times and you know when you are just in awe of someones character and sense of self, Lucy is one of those people. Everything I see her work on through her Instagram inspires me to be more creative.

Finally in Northern Ireland we are beginning to see some sort of Spring like weather and today was just one of those perfect crisp Spring days. After picking up some bargains ( Hello Payday Weekend!) Mum and I decided to use High Street carpark as the location for todays shoot. After we shot we headed across the road to the National and had the most incredible brunch, Hello maple bacon and poached eggs on toast.

Once again I will mention the Gucci addiction because the highstreet is killing it with replica pieces right now. Step forward this incredible red bag from PRIMARK  £12 worth of Gucci realness that is my favourite favourite piece I own after my yellow jacket. The bag came into my life via my lovely lil sister who got it for me for my birthday at the end of March and it hasn’t left my body since. The perfect size to use everyday and I can even fit my chromebook and camera in it on days where I am shooting and posting in the same day.

Details:

Yellow leather jacket- Newlook

Embroidered shirt dress- Primark

Stripey skirt- H&M

Fishnet tights- Primark

Metallic Boots- Primark

Handbag- Primark

Bangles- Topshop

Glasses- Specsavers Horace frames ( from the mens section !)

P.S

I wanted to finish this post by including a picture of my Photographer,mother, best friend and support. My mum has no previous photographic expierence but is willing to help and support me with every single thing I put my mind to including creating blog content. She is always willing to walk miles all over town to help me find the perfect photograph and really doesn’t complain at all. She is so creative herself she is always coming up with new angles and ideas that I would never even think of. I wanted today to include her and give her a long long overdue shout out because everything that ByTaylorJayne is becoming is directly because of all her help and support.

BYTAYLORJAYNE

 

Chapter 24

‘You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ Eleanor Roosevelt

Day One of being 23

welcome to chapter 24 of the book we call T-J.I have previously written posts on turning 22 and 23 so i thought I would keep up traditions and write a post about my thoughts and feelings about becoming 24.

Now that I am 24  I can officially say that I have been blogging, vlogging or putting myself online in some form or another for the last eight years which is mind-blowing really, I was an completely different person at sixteen than I am now. It is crazy to think it has been so long because the whole thing has been such a journey from somewhere where all my confidence was a show to now where I can say I am confident and truly happy.  It is so true when people say fake it till you make it because this is so true of my own confidence journey, maybe some would disagree but I would say that I have always tried to give off vibes of being super confident even on days when it is easier said than done.

It took me such a long time to be happy with my personal style, I spent far too long hiding behind all black outfits in an attempt to sink into the back ground but these days I am all about shorter dresses, fishnets and metallic everything. I don’t want to give the impression however that any of this is easy because trust and believe me when I said it is the hardest thing you can do however it is the most worthwhile thing. You are in your body for your entire life and the moment you make it a happy place to be is the moment you let more important decisions happen.

It is so easy to look back on your life and only focus on the negative, times where you allowed your mental illnesses to take hold and dictate your every move. Times when you surrounded yourself with s many “friends” because you thought it was a numbers game instead of quality over quantity,  times where the decisions you made where more to ensure that you kept others happy instead of taking your own feelings into consideration. Never EVER feel guilty or selfish for taking the me time that we all need, a walk by yourself, a solo coffee date or really just anything which makes you feel better. It is so important to take the me time call seriously.

23 was stressful, fulfilling, exciting, scary, happy, eventful and everything in between but for me it was the most me I have ever been and if I take one thing into chapter 24 it would be to never stop being 1000% me , flabby bits and all

BYTAYLORJAYNE

STYLED: Girls Just wanna have Fun

“Feminism isn’t about making women strong. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” —G.D. Anderson

Location: Sunflower Bar Belfast

Sticking with this weeks theme of International Women’s Day I have another graffiti based outfit. Again this yellow jacket that hasn’t left my body since I bought it was the inspiration but the rest of the look and post all came together by chance. I knew that alongside central library there was a particular yellow wall that I wanted to shoot against but then spending five minutes exploring the area I came across probably easily my new favourite piece by French lady graffiti artist Kashink.

GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN…DAMENTAL RIGHTS !!! ( Insert 100 flame emojis because that is the type of person I am)

For me another major event that I followed recently was the women’s marches all over America the day after Cheeto potato man became their president. One story that immediately got me hooked was the flash mob led by LA based singer MILCK  the song connected me in a way I haven’t found I have come across in a long time. It was one of those moments that I get in life that was along the lines of, this is my new battle cry and I need this permanently put onto my body asap! Maybe most people don’t react to things in that way but I do so I booked in with one of the best tattoo lady I have come across, Caila Dagger who is based out of A sailors grave in Belfast ( Please check them out HERE  the are a bad-ass bunch of phenomenal tattooers!) .What makes this tattoo even more special to me is that I reached out to Connie aka MILCK on twitter. It is was the night before my appointment and I was finalising the font choice, I decided to try my luck and tweet her asking her to put it into her own handwriting and to my delight she was so excited about the prospect and sent me a bunch of designs. My mum also go the same tattoo and we both agreed immediately on this version of the quote, ONE WOMAN RIOT. My right arm is a scrapbook of memories and the quote just seemed to fill the space between a coat hanger and a canary perfectly.I intend to one day do a post about all my tattoos but that is for another day once I have a few smaller fillers added!

“I can’t keep quite, A one woman riot!”

Details:

Yellow Faux leather Jacket- New look

Nirvana T-shirt- Primark men ( with about half a bottle of bleach thrown at it at home)

Denim Culottes- Simply Be last year

Bag- Zara

Two tone aviator glasses- Ebay ( about £2 including delivery!)

Holographic trainers- Primark

BYTAYLORJAYNE

International Women’s Day #beboldforchange

“We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” – Malala Yousafzai

On March 8th it is International Women’s Day. 

“Call on the masses or call on yourself to help forge a better working world – a more gender inclusive world.”

Every year the day has an official theme and this year the theme fell under the title of be bold for change. It was a call to have women all over the world pledge to do something to help change.

Thank you to these girls for allowing me to photograph them and their message 🙂 

I am not sure how many of you are from Ireland North or South but one uniting factor is the lack of Abortion laws which are in place in either country, I can only speak from the perspective as someone who has grown up in Northern Ireland so that is how I will base my writings. I have never previously shied away from talking about big topics because I am a firm believer that if you choose to put yourself out there on a social platform that you also should use your platform to discuss openly and honestly about topics that affect you.

I will however preface my opinion by saying that I understand that the vast majority of the population will have a total opposing opinion to my own and that it is ok as long as everyone is respectful of everyone else it is important to have open and challenging conversations as I believe that is how we make and affect change by being opening and honest in our discussions. 

In Northern Ireland women can still face 14 years in prison for supplying or being found in possession of drugs which cause an abortion. 14 years , I can’t even let that sink in enough. In the mainland UK women have rights and access yet in Northern Ireland we are simply left with no rights and that scares me.  I have to be responsible for my own body, sort my own birth control, work through periods and all the crap that comes along with that yet at the end of the day my reproductive rights are not my own.

Yesterday a peaceful protest  in aid of Strike for Repeal was held at the front of Belfast city hall to show solidarity with our sisters in the South of Ireland who were also holding a rally to Repeal the 8th amendment which makes abortion illegal. in 2017 we have no rights over our own bodies which is why is it crucial that we still must go out and protest this law because our Government will not help us. I could write about all the issues with Northern Ireland and our government but I will save that for another day.

What you notice on days of protest is the spirit of everyone there, we are optimistic, and seeing others standing up for what you also believe in is so inspiring. It is my opinion that we need to legalise abortion in order to give it the protection that women deserve when they are having to make this decision. Abortion has always happened and will always happen so having the protection of the NHS or other clinics ensures that we do not have to listen to any more horror stories of women having to travel to the UK mainland in order to go through the procedure. Women are more than just a vessel to make children and our government happily gives more rights to that then they do to the women who have to go through it , not taking into consideration the physical or mental well being of the women.

At the protest I witnessed a man come up right into the face of a women standing with a banner and aggressively argue her that her banner which included the Uterus offended him. When she asked him to remove himself from her face as he was becoming more and more aggressive he turned to the crowd and screamed that we all must just be a bunch of lesbians. That is nothing else perfectly illustrates the mindsets and views that we still find ourselves regularly coming up against. Your opinion is invalid and worthy of being shut down because of a the outdated and naive angry lesbian feminist stereotype that time and time again is used to label us.

If I can make one crucial one out of all of this it is this, even if my opinion is not yours. You may not agree with what I stand for nor do you have to but I urge you that when you see an opportunity to take to the streets and count for something that you find the time to do so. It might be a rally  or signing a petition, it might be sharing something on Facebook or another platform. it might be defending you opinion to a random person you encounter in life. Please be respectful and stay safe but above all your opinion is valid you are allowed to show how you feel and you do not have to sit back and take something because it has always been that way. You and your opinion are valid and worthy.

Last year I attended a huge march to protest the laws and this year this is the first but probably not the last rally or march that will be held. Our latest vote in Northern Ireland gives you a small glimmer of hope that we will cling to.

Big issues are not going away and we will not walk away and let the government have the rights to our bodies.

We are here, we wont go away and you will listen to us. 

#BEBOLDFORCHANGE#BEBOLDFORCHANGE#BEBOLDFORCHANGE

BYTAYLORJAYNE