Instagramming…

Tags

Instagram, Just living

Hey! Long time no post.

I know, I know… I have been terrible with the blog.

But, hey, juggling pregnancy, loads of work and redecorating a flat (which, in my case, has been a far, far more stressful experience than the pregnancy itself) is not easy and something had to be compromised. It appears that, at least temporarily, the blog is the weakest link.

In the meantime, and until I find time & energy for a decent update, I’ll be sharing bits of my life here. (please say hi if you happen to drop by!)

 

A week of outfits

Tags

What I'm wearing

I took part of this task whereby I had to photograph all the outfits I wore over a course of 7 days, from morning to evening.

So, here’s what I wore…

As you can probably tell from the photos, I spent a few days working from home and/or running errands in the neighborhood. Hence the short skirts, havaianas, messy hair and overall level of sophistication :)

Hey! what do you wear when you are alone, working from home? I usually don’t put on any makeup and 9 out of 10 times will be wearing a messy ponytail, havaianas on my feet and an as-comfortable-as-possible outfit (typically dress or tee + shorts/skirt combo).

In any case, it was a fun exercise and it put me back in blogging mood :)

Quick update

Tags

London, Sardinia

hey! I’m back from lovely Sardinia and seriously enjoying super-sunny London .

I’ll show you more from my holidays soon, but for the time being here is a handful of recent pictures straight from my mobile…

Views from our (or better, our friend P’s) lovely villa in northern Sardinia
(you can even see Corsica on the left)

more views…

and beautiful late afternoon light

First day back in London – on my way to Sunday farmers’ market
(coming back from holidays is so much easier when there’s sun in London!)

The market at Queen’s Park

New addition to the list of favourite boutiques in London: Iris boutique on Salusbury Road / Victoria Road.
Full of delightful pieces from my favourite brands: Vanessa Bruno Athe, Jerome Dreyfuss, Isabel Marant, Acne, Bash, Eberjey, Carven…

I couldn’t resist buying myself a little gift.

Blue dress

Tags

Acne

I figured out I owe you a decent picture of the dress I wore to the wedding in Italy a couple of weeks ago.
I had decided that if I bought a dress this summer it would have to be one from Acne. I simply loved their dress collection this year

(photos from Acne)

Fortunately, and contrary to my initial expectations, I managed to save some of my Liberty coins until late May, when I finally decided to invest them in this blue dress…

(photos from Acne)

I am really pleased with my choice (even though I am sure I’d be equally happy with any of the other dress above). It’s summery, delicate, easy to wear, classic and its colour cheers me (and my pale skin) up.

Here’s how it looks like on me… (oops, the dress is looking a bit wrinkled here. I’d just taken it out of my suitcase when I took the pictures.)

It’ll definitely be in my holiday suitcase.

What I wore

Tags

Today I'm wearing

well, about a month ago: my new plaid shirt made of raw silk (great material, shame that it’s “dry clean recommended”. Hate when clothes cannot be washed at home).

I’ve just noticed I haven’t updated this little blog in almost a month! Poor little thing. In the midst of work and family commitments, and moving houses (or better, attempting to move houses, because it hasn’t been done yet), it has sunk completely in my to-do list. But, hopefully, it’ll get more of my attention over summer…

New in

Tags

Etoile Isabel Marant

Freedom

Old and new

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Accessories, Velvet, vintage, Zara

Two things I brought home from my last visit to Portugal:

A new necklace from Zara.

An old little velvet jacket.

My mother was pretty excited about this velvet petit jacket she found in my grandmother’s wardrobe. It’s in excellent condition despite being more than 30 years old. The most lovely thing about it is that it was tailor-made by one of my grandmothers, who used to be a seamstress (or modiste, as she preferred to be called) for my other grandmother :) Very sweet.

Sadly, not everyone at home was able to see the sweetness of the whole thing. As soon as I put the jacket on my father’s first reaction was something like “Don’t tell me you’re seriously planning to wear that tiny jacket…” My brother, on the other hand, said between laughs that I looked like a toureiro (that is, a torero or bullfighter. Basically, something like this). He might have a point.
Buh, men…

Still, my mother and I believe this is a great little jacket and it’d be a shame to leave it abandoned to rot in an old closet. I’ve already thought of several mix & match possibilities, like for instance…

♦ with a delicate lace top (this is from good old Zara) ♦ with a linen/ jeans longish shirt (this one is from Sandro) ♦ with a striped top (almost any colour and format can work. this black & white one is from Cos) ♦ or simply with a dress (this one is an old Vivienne Westwood jersey dress that I love but almost never wear because it’s skin-tight and requires advanced suck-your-belly-in techniques that I’m usually too lazy to endure) ♦

But there are many more possibilities. It’s not that hard to find a place in one’s wardrobe for a little black jacket.

Now I just need the weather to get a bit warmer…

Little treats

Tags

& Other Stories, Accessories, Beauty, Clare Vivier, Giorgio Armani Beauty, L:A Bruket

I’ve gifted myself recently…

♥ wallet / mini-clutch by Clare Vivier for & Other Stories

I already mentioned Clare Vivier leather goods a few times in this blog. I’ve longed to own one of her bags for a long time now. Thus, as soon as I realised she had produced a small collection exclusively for & Other Stories I knew I would be definitely buying something… I am loving this yellow colour for spring (well, at least for my imaginary spring as I’m starting to doubt whether we’ll ever get any spring this year in this country), so this double-pocket wallet in textured leather was an easy choice.

♥ brass ball-ring from & Other Stories

I also got this brass ring from & Other Stories. Because I like (big) rings and I thought this one was a bargain (at £12).

♥ L:A Bruket lip balm

I’ve got a couple of things to say about this:

• L:a Bruket is a Swedish brand of organic hand-made beauty products that I’ve recently discovered at (guess where?) & Other Stories
• At first sight, it immediately meets two important shopping criteria: it’s very reasonably priced and the packaging is also quite nice (the kind of minimalist, industrial chic type of packaging, if it makes sense) ==> check its website here
• I went for a lip balm for my first purchase. Firstly, because I can never have too many lip balms and, secondly, because I liked the product on offer: coconut + pomegranate scent with jojoba and sweet almond oils
• The funny thing is that this lip balm is absolutely unreasonably huge (I’m showing it next to my Burt’s Bee lip balm just to give you an idea of its size). I could basically moisturise my whole face with it in one go… (or maybe it’s just that my lips are too small??)
• I am still developing the right technique to use it :)

♥ Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro #400

I confess I got tempted into buying it after seeing it on Into the Gloss (I love that site, by the way :)

I’ve always been quite scared of red lipsticks but I liked the way it looked on the girls (check it here) and after reading a few other very positive reviews I decided to take the plunge. And, fortunately, I love it. It’s super-easy to apply, it has great staying power, and a beautiful matte red colour. I highly recommend it. (I’m wearing it today, in case you want to take a peek.)

Yesterday

Tags

Acne Jeans, Isabel Marant Etoile, J. Crew, Massimo Dutti, Today I'm wearing

I finally wore a shirt I got for my birthday (back in October!)

And this is how I went to work: white shirt, blue jeans,  and warm cardigan + coat.

I’m so much looking forward to Spring weather…

 

My Liberty coins

Tags

A.P.C., Fashion, Isabel Marant Etoile, Liberty, Sessun

One of the Christmas presents I received from my husband was a little velvet pouch full of Liberty coins. It’s basically a gift voucher for Liberty, one of my favourite shops in London (maybe in the world?), but in a much more appealing format. Heavy, realistic-looking coins printed by Liberty’s Central Bank. How delightful!

(In fact, one of Liberty’s employees told me the coins are printed in the Bank of England printing facility…which I find hard to believe, but well, it kind of sounds amusing.)

I had hoped for a very rational management of my Liberty coin stack during 2013. I’d estimated that the amount would be enough to last until June. Besides, I am attending a weddings this summer and I thought I could use a good share of my coins to buy a lovely dress for the occasion. Ahah… I was fooling myself, obviously. It’s the 2nd of March today and I’ve got only one-third of my initial stack of coins left.

So, ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce my 2 investment pieces:

Isabel Marant Etoile Sandrine skirt

A.P.C. blue, silver & white collarless shirt (the photo doesn’t do it justice. The fabric is really lovely)

I couldn’t resist to these two pieces. Haven’t worn them yet (it’s been TOO COLD here in London), but have already figured out several possible looks (do you this when you buy new clothes or shoes? I always do it. I mean, I try to estimate how many nice looks I can create with the item I’m considering buying. The more looks, the higher the probability of buying). I’ve photographed a few of the ways I’m planing to wear these pieces – see below…

♥ with simple black shirt & tights + my Zara booties ♥ with my husband’s XL green jumper ♥ with my Whistles cream top & bare legs(?) (Well, this one is good in theory but in practice I’ve got some doubts. I’ve to accept that cream/beige/nudes are hostile territory for me. Because I’m already too beige myself, these colours don’t do my any favour. I’ll need wear some crazy makeup or jewellery, in order to bring some life to my face) ♥

♥ 70s style with high-waisted corduroy trousers from Anthropologie ♥ A.P.C. good-girl style with shirt & skirt by the french brand and Ash camel boots ♥ relaxed style with H&M boyfriend jeans (hated by my husband. Whatever) and brown brogues from Dune ♥

The allocation of the remaining coins is now under deliberation. I had my heart on a spring jacket by Sessun that I know Liberty is going to stock (this one), but possibly due to the fashion-weeks-effect (i.e. the effect of seeing too many wonderfully dressed women wearing colors, prints, taking risks and being fashionable and happy – see post below), I’m now leaning towards something less sensible and a lot more fashionista from Kenzo (e.g. a nice colourful silk scarf) or Carven (e.g. a wonderful pleated skirt).

I will let you know of the outcome.