Accessories aren't clothes, right?

I had quite a tough day at work today - I've taken over making my magazine's cover disc, and once I get used to the process it will be easy but this first time was quite stressful - so it was lovely to get home to a parcel from Curtise, containing a copy of Complete Home Knitting Illustrated from 1946 and the beautiful scarf you see underneath the shoes in this picture.

The book is fascinating as it is so very practical; fashion was far less important than function at this point in history. And yet the designs are stylish, and one previous owner of the book clearly kept using it as between two pages I found a scrap of a receipt dated '...tember, 1966' and with some prices. Most of the prices are in a table. but the one at the very bottom does say, 'Allen Key, 8d each'. Sounds rather expensive for Allen keys to me, as we got a whole pack for £1 in Wilko's the other weekend. Anyway, on the back someone's written 'decreases', so it was clearly a knitter's note.

As for the scarf, isn't it a beauty? It's the perfect mallard green, with an abstract brushed pattern in black and caramel. I am already planning outfits that will show it off at its best.

And so, the shoes. If you're going to break your resolutions, you might as well do it in style.

I know I said I wasn't going to buy any more new clothes till July, but I've sort of failed on that front. I don't really count accessories as clothes, but switching to buying them is breaking the spirit of my resolution, even if it's sticking to the letter of it.

The Luxulite Audrey II brooch needs no explanation – I love vintage, science fiction and vintage science fiction. How could I resist? Clearly, I couldn't. Lots of vintage lovers are big Luxulite fans, but not all of their stuff appeals to me – I'm usually more of a metal and diamante person when it comes to costume jewellery. This though... it had to be mine. And it does sparkle a lot, photos don't do it justice.

You do know who Audrey II is, don't you? She/he/it is the carnivorous plant from Little Shop of Horrors, a loving musical pastiche of 1950s B-movies. (Oh lordy, I've just seen Luxulite are doing flying saucer earrings...) Of late I've really yearned to express my nerdy side more. It's not the sort of thing women in the past would have done, but I guess I was never going to manage the authentic 'from another time' look other bloggers embody so beautifully – the name of this blog should have given me a clue! I can't do without my robots and rockets and old horror films. Ah well, life would be far less interesting if we were all the same.

I'd wanted the Clarks 'Chinaberry Sky' shoes for a while, and even put them on my Christmas list. (Mr Robot likes to have a list so he's got a vague idea of what I might like; I don't expect everything, or indeed anything, off of it, but it gives him something to work with.) Santa didn't bring them, but the January sales did bring a 50% discount on Sarenza. When they arrived they turned out to be a tad tight, so I've been wearing them while watching telly to break them in. The X-Files and Agent Carter will make them fit. My friend Lucy, who is the merchandiser for Ted and Muffy, also advised using stretching spray, so I shall have to track some of that down.

I don't think I've ever owned a pair of navy shoes before. Reaching the point of owning black AND brown shoes felt decadent enough, then there was owning more than one style in each. Now I have shoes that are toffee brown with navy toes, and weirdly the mid-height block heel is supposed to be on-trend this year too. Coloured shoes and vaguely fashionable - where will this madness end?