Dreamlike
Currently inspired by the whimsical colour palette and composition of Chagall.
Chagall - The Lovers in Grey at the Kunsthaus Zürich
Photo taken with Samsung Wave II
Shopping bag chic BAGGU BAG style
I dont know about you, but as soon as the weather starts to get warm carrying a big heavy leather bag seems like the least appealing thing ever. What I want is light, easy, and breezy (which is why I bought a striped cotton one from Ikea the other day... after realizing none of my light summer bags had made it to Zurich yet). But look at these little gems! How cool are they? One part grocery store shopping bag... one part Jil Sander Market bag (sorry Jackie). They are made entirely from recycled materials and come hot off the street of NY... what's not to like, eh?
Umm... and incase you needed any more of a shocker for your mid-week lunch break - they cost £6.99
The lovely folks over at These Words Could Kill are offering 25% off all purchases made on these bags (just enter 25blog at checkout). So clickity-click on over and find your favourite Baggu Bag today, available now at SteadyGuy...
While you're at it why not LIKE MY NEW FACEBOOK PAGE? It's new and young... only 72 people have liked it so far... help me boost it up babies! xx
Adventures in Zurich...
Am currently in heaven. I'm finally getting to spend some time in Zurich and it's painfully surreal to soak in the beauty of Switzerland. Everything looks like a fake background and I keep pinching myself because surely (surely) I can't really live here.
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Wearing: Madewell jacket, Banana Republic white vest, Next skirt, Converse, and YSL tribute ring.
All photos taken this morning with Canon 550dslr & 35mm 2.0
p.s. are you a young designer or woman who wants help shopping? if so get in touch (jennifer.e.inglis@gmail.com)... am putting together a new project and just want to suss out how much interest there would be in it.
Heaven sent.
The sun is like a drug for me, especially after living in England for five years. When it comes out I am useless and want to do nothing other than wear floral dresses and lie in the park. This was the first day I braved bare legs and I was so glad I decided to take the plunge because it was a total scorcher (by London standards). What better way could there be to usher in Spring than with a perfect little floral dress and leather boots? So glad to have finally been able to bid winter a triumphant farewell.
Wearing: Paul & Joe Lioness Dress (HPR London) and Monki boots.
Photos by Daniella.
p.s. I'm in the process of swapping over my facebook GROUP for a facebook PAGE (after being advised by a reader that the group wasn't that useful - thanks for your honesty)... so get on over there and 'like' it, if in fact you do, errr... like it (otherwise, see ya later gater).
Mykita
Today, by absolute random chance, I stumbled into an eyewear shop on Langstrasse in Zurich. I was 'ohhhing' and 'awwwing' at all the glasses, pointing and saying to my husband, 'you don't understand, these glasses are amaaazing' when a man approached me and asked if I wanted to try on anything. 'Oh no no, I'm just looking' I replied. 'Well, if you change your mind feel free to try on anything you like - there's a mirror just there' (he pointed to the far side of the wall). Before he could walk away I just had to ask, 'What brands are these sunglasses?' His response included a few different names, some that I recognized* most others I didn't (one was Mykita). I tried on a pair and loved them but hadn't gone in with any intention of buying a pair of sunglasses*...
Then I spotted a very different selection sitting behind the counter and walked over to have a little look. So bewildered by these glasses, and a bit gobsmacked by how I had never come across these before, I asked him, 'Who are those made by?' His reply was 'Mykita.' As he took a pair down and held them in his hand he said, 'these are made from metal* look what they can do' and pulled the arms back making the glasses entirely flat. He passed them to me, and I walked to the mirror on the other side of the shop and was totally blown away. They looked so cool. When I handed them back to him I rambled something about how amazing I thought they were, asked again who they were made by, and said I had never heard of that brand.
Just as I was about to leave I asked if he had a card for the shop. 'Of course', he replied and passed me a small white business card. As I thanked him and headed for the door I looked down to see that the name of the shop was 'Mykita'. Realizing immediately that my incessant questions about who designed the glasses must have sounded quite silly. I was in a Mykita shop asking who the glasses were made by, clearly the answer was pretty self evident. As I drifted away down the street I looked back and saw that in strong capital letters the word 'MYKITA' was emblazoned above the entrance to the shop.
I couldn't help thinking about these sunglasses for the rest of the day and when I got home I immediately pulled out the card and found the company online. Completely overwhelmed by the absolute magnitude of the brand, I got wrapped up in the many facets of the website: hand made glasses from Berlin, collaborations with incredible photographers and designers, a 'laboratory' where all the magic happens, and a careful selection of the most beautiful sunglasses. I'm so excited by this brand. They've only got a handful of shops, some being in Paris, Tokyo and Berlin, so there's a good chance most of you wont be able to pop down to see the glasses in real life (sorry London).
This shop is, without a doubt, my favourite discovery since being in Zurich and hopefully (if I'm lucky*) you'll spot a pair of these frames on my face in the near future.
*Paul & Joe, for example. The pair I tried on by them was amazing and I've been trying to find them online but can't. However, in my online hunt I did come across this. Totally chuffed because I love Paul & Joe and this was such a treat to find while insomniac posting at 4am on Sunday morning (the story of my current wave of insomnia - which I have never experienced before - is a whole other story, which I will leave out).
*I only recently got these ones after all, which are still seriously glued hard to my face.
*okay, so he didn't say 'metal' but some sort of specific metal... but I can't remember what it was.
*my birthday is in April, after all, so here's to keeping fingers crossed
Photos from the MYKITA website.
Not a plastic bag.
The Jil Sander Market bag has become a crazy sensation in the fashion world. When I first started spotting it on street style blogs I wondered what would ever cause someone to buy it... surely it's just an orange plastic bag, right? I can pop down to Sainsburys and get the exact same thing.* It wasn't until I saw it in person, felt how heavy the plastic was, saw how it hung so perfectly off Jackie's arm that I realized why this bag has become such a huge hit. It encapsulates everything that is right about Spring Summer 2011. Minimal, bright, understated, and just a little bit ironic. The Jil Sander SS 2011 collection (filled with simple white round neck t-shirts and floor skimming skirts in hot pinks) was the best show of the season. It was the most revolutionary and the most inspiring.
Is paying £90 to have a bit of that phenomenon silly if it comes in the form of a bag that could be mistaken for one you'd get at the grocery store?
* Okay, maybe not the exact same thing if it's covered in 'Sainsburys' logos.
Trenched.
A perfect no-fail trench coat is the most essential piece of clothing for anyone trying to survive Spring in London, especially on days like today when it went from scorching to freezing with every shift of a cloud.
Wearing: Paul & Joe Cyclone trench (HPR London), jumper and leather trousers Topshop, American Apparel large leather pouch, Converse, and Retro Super Future lucia havana glitter sunglasses.
Thanks to Daniella for the photos.
Colour pop it.
Currently loving: unexpected pops of colour (especially if it's yellow), worn out backpacks, these Dr Martens, and the fact that Spring finally seems to have landed. It's still a bit chilly in London but this combination feels like the perfect way to nod to the coming season while avoiding the tragic English trap of wearing bare legs on the first day the sun shines (which inevitably ends in tears once it sets).
Photos featuring the ever stylish Matthew Zorpas.
Friday nights...
Found these Manolo Blahnik beauties on the street in Kensington this morning*... someone must have had a good night. I'm going to wear them, tap my toes together, and whisper, 'there's no place like London, there's no place like London, there's no place like London.'
* I didn't actually find them on the street. My friend wore them out last night and I thought it would be funny to pretend I found them on the street because, seriously, how freaking awesome would that be? I didn't think anyone would believe that I found them. I'm so sorry I couldn't add this update sooner, before all the comments were left, but I haven't been at a laptop until now. There is some truth to it though, we did have a very good night and there isn't any place like London.
More colours, please.
Not too sure why, but Topshop has sort of dropped off my radar lately. Am I the only one? It's been ages since I'd logged onto their site or stepped into one of their shops... but yesterday I spotted these little beauties. Well, actually, I spotted the neutral pair and thought they looked like the best summer heels ever. But then I got to thinking... would they be better if they came in a headache inducing bright shade of pink or yellow? Uhh, yes, they would be. Unfortunately though they only come in nude and black (which I still really like) but if they came in yellow they'd be mine in an instant, because colour popping is in little chickens and what better way to rock it than on your feet?
Perrin Premium Platform Sandals available from Topshop.
Please note: the yellow and pink shoes aren't available in real life but were just dreamed up with a little help from photoshop.
The happy dress.
When I pulled this little black and white number on over my head and felt the way the skirt stood out away from my body I couldn't help but yelp, 'this is such a happy dress!' A couple of weeks ago I got to spend an afternoon with Elizabeth Lau in her West London studio. It was such a welcome and calming break from the mayhem of packing and moving. We sipped green tea, debated the Galliano news, and wondered whether the temperature in England would ever rise above freezing... thankfully, I've heard that it has.
More importantly though, I had the chance to coo over her AW11 collection and can I just say that it is so scarily straight up my street. Black and grey jumpers with quirky phrases, like 'I (heart) Rosie' and 'The Guvnar', sprawled across the front. The sayings were all borrowed from Cockney rhyming slang, quite possibly the perfect British memorabilia to bring over to Switzerland with me, eh eh? The simple colour palette is heavenly and the fabric is so soft, making them the kind of jumpers I would reach for every day. Additionally, the collection is stuffed full of adorable little dresses and, while they are all quite sweet and pretty, they are easy and wearable when teamed with little black converse. Just my idea of the perfect paired down outfit. Plus, it comes with a ribbon bow-tie to boot? Too cute. It could only get better if you had a mini-me doll to tot around with you...
View the Elizabeth Lau Spring 2011 collection here.
Big thanks to Kit for the first photo, Elizabeth for the tea, and Blythe for being a very good model.
Come home with me.
While loud stripes and bold colours are currently fighting to take over our Spring Summer wardrobes, I'm craving simplicity and neutrality from Weekday. Possibly the Swiss mentality is edging into my dress sense...?
All items available at the Weekday website.
Bogen 33
Discovered today that I made some epic packing fails in this first leg of my move to Switzerland. Somehow managed to bring all sorts of things that I have nothing to wear with... and nothing to wear under... and nothing to wear over... #slamshandonhead. Apologies for the less than ground breaking breton stripes, jeans, and converse combo... but hey, I've got to work with what I've got and this is proving to be a valuable lesson in not being a diva about my wardrobe.
p.s. I'm coming back to England at the end of next week and will thankfully be able to pick up some of the things I absentmindedly left behind.
Wearing: Cabbages and Roses top, Urban Outfitters jeans, American Apparel large leather pouch, YSL arty ring, Converse and Lemon Meringue nail polish by Models Own.
Tumbled: reader submissions now live.
(Original Source: Carolines Mode)
Ohh la la, exciting news just in. I went and created a wee little tumblr yesterday. I've always detested the medium... surely it's only beneficial for allowing people to rip off other people's work and creating a downward spiral into the world of infinite click-backs... which never get you to the original source? Yes, many a tumblr site is prone to offensive cases of copyright infringement, however, I've decided it's not so bad as long as you make a clear link back to the original source (see above). Now, you might be thinking 'uhh... don't you already have a blog?!'... why, yes, you're right, I do... but this is different.
My Tumblr site has three main purposes:
1. Sartorial and inspirational mind vomit (appealing, no?)
2. Random photos I've taken. These will include details about which lens I've used because I keep getting questions about lenses... so this will create a little selection of images with lens details so you can compare photos and lenses... if you are that way inclined.
3. Reader submissions: yes yes yessss, I've gotten some requests for reader submissions... some of you want to send in photos of your kids dressed up like mini robotic crusaders, others want to rant about your class mates wearing pajamas to school... whatever you want to share, you can submit it through the tumblr page (there's a little 'submit' button at the top). Mmmmk? So if you see anything tacky, wacky, or just generally freaking awesome... send it over.
p.s. I will be launching a competition in conjunction with this new hot diggity tumblr and anyone that sends in submissions pre-giveaway will have additional entries added (just sayin... not that an of you need extra motivation).