Summer To Winter

Ending off the week with some photos I loveeeee!! Shot these in LA with Scott on Venice Beach, which was madly busy and rather windy but thankfully these turned out just peachy. I think some of the ones I scanned look like vintage postcards which I love so much. Of course I love this dress a lot too. I got it from Jaquemus for a testing basics video and, as its quite the fancy piece, haven't had much chance to wear it but was desperate to shoot it on the beach. I feel so amazing in this dress I wish I could wear it all the time, but not only would that be a little OTT it's also almost impossible to get on and do up when you're on your own, so it just isn't meant to be. 

As there is no styling in this post really there isn't too much more I can say about this outfit. So of course the natural thing to discuss instead is the passing of time. Looking at these photos I can't believe how long ago it feels like since I was in LA, in what felt like the height of Summer, when now feels like we are coming to an end of it all. The grey days becoming more frequent and the general feeling like the days are getting shorter. I do really love autumn and winter, and the cliche things to look forward to like those cosy feelings, warm drinks, knitwear, candles etc etc. But there is also something about Winter that I associate with slowing down; more nights in, binging box sets, and I am by no means ready to do that yet. I have loved the long evenings of Summer drinking in the garden, and the spontaneous plans that seem so much more appealing when it's still bright out. So while I am clearly thinking ahead a little here, after all we are still in August, I am planning on holding on the last bits of Summer as much as possible. Sartorially speaking and I am more than ready for knits and layers, but in terms of actual life (and this isn't even touching on the effects the darker months can have on mental health) I am holding onto the feelings of Summer a little longer. I just know everyone of you will nod along when I say I can't believe we are past the half way point of the year, it has flown by at the most alarming rate and I wish I had a way to make things slow down. Like I said, even thinking these photos were taken a month ago is mind blowing!! 

So here is to desperately finding a balance to wishing things would slow down, while also looking forward to the things ahead. I know that is something I am working on - not wishing the time away just because I am missing wearing knitwear, while also not holding on to what has been an amazing Summer when there is nothing to say the Winter months won't be so amazing too. 

DRESS: JACQUEMUS

PHOTOS BY SCOTT LEON

Copenhagen | On Film & iPhone

The second trip to Copenhagen this summer, this time for fashion week. It’s fast becoming my favourite European city as I seem to have more and more fun each time I am there. This time around I travelled with Lindsey and Brittany, we stayed in a pop up hotel on the water which was a converted shipping container, which after a moment of 'oh god no' when we pulled up outside of it, turned out to be gorgeous inside. It was amazing except the toilet wouldn’t flush and we managed to pull a door off it’s hinges but you can’t always have everything and that provided many a laugh. Let me tell you that the combination of a non-flushing toilet and a doorless shower room makes you feel even closer to your mates than you did before. 

Aside from laughs inside the shipping container, we saw some amazing shows. Malene Birger, Stine Goya, Baum und Pfertgarden, Holzweiler - they were all so good and as always Copenhagen is my favourite fashion week for inspiration. It’s also always the friendliest - everyone stops for a chat and just seems to have more time to catch up than when you see people at the major four fashion weeks. To say the fashion industry has a reputation for being a little spikey, spending time at CPFW totally counteracts that stereotype. As if the city isn’t inspiring enough itself, the people we were there with gave me the kick up the arse with content creation and ideas that I feel like I have been needing. 

Aside from all the fashion week things, we also did THE MOST essential thing to do in Copenhagen - went to Tivoli. Linds and I went for the first time last August and it’s been high on my list of places to revisit ever since. A theme park in the middle of the city that is just beautiful!!! Honestly it’s the most fun ever. The three of us filled up on pick n’ mix then went on enough rides to make us think we would be sick. I’ve said so many times how amazing it is to travel with my work, but you can get jaded by it sometimes too, so doing little things like a theme park trip that are just so much fun brings everything back down to earth. From there we went to Pate Pate, one of the best restaurants in Copenhagen (in my humble and not-so experienced opinion) and is well worth a visit if you find yourself in the city.

All in all it was such an amazing trip again, and I hope to find myself in Copenhagen again very soon... just not in the winter because I’ve never experienced cold quite like it. It’s the best fashion week to attend and if any of you reading this are starting blogs and want to attend a fashion week please consider Copenhagen over all the others - I promise it’s the most fun, and any excuse to visit this incredible city is a good idea!! 

And a final note on shooting this post. After the amazing response to the post I wrote about shooting blog posts on iPhone, I thought I would put it to use on some travel content too. It’s always in your bag so to capture as much as possible on the go seems best done on your iPhone. I edited the images in VSCO, and also shot through a role of film which I scanned. There are some maps and postcards scanned onto the images too - I went mega subtle with the maps especially so I hope you can spot it. Loving experimenting more and more with scanning and how obvious or subtle you can make a collage. Anyways! Hope you enjoy - feeling like gone are the days when you have to lug a big DSLR around a trip/fashion week when my current favourite content is what I am shooting on a film camera and a phone!

SHOES: DEAR FRANCES | TROUSERS: ISABEL MARANT | TOP: REFORMATION

TROUSERS: VINTAGE (similar linked) | SHOES: DEAR FRANCES | TOP: MANGO | BELT: TOPSHOP | BAG: CHLOE c/o SELFRIDGES

Escapism Of A Festival

Last weekend I went to Wilderness Festival with Veuve Cliqout for the first time ever. It's a festival I have heard so much about so I was so excited to go for the first time, and obvs buzzing that I got to take Lindsey too. It was seriously as good as everyone said it is and I will 100% be getting tickets to go next year!! Huge thank you to the Veuve for having us both and looking after us - after my last camping experience of Leeds fast when I was 18, I can definitely say that the teepee camping at Wilderness is much more agreeable!! 

So while I leave you with all the film photos I shot over the weekend, I thought I would talk a little about the escapism of festivals in general and why they are just so much fun. While I am not someone who loves camping, I must say that there is something a ted pleasant about having your basic amenities taken away - especially a phone charger which forced me to take my phone out of my had a little more! But even festivals where you don't camp, there is just something about them and the light hearted atmosphere. It's a place where everyone goes for a weekend of fun, to listen to music, have late nights, probably drink too much and eat a lot of carbs. I totally understand why you might want to go to a festival instead of going on holiday, because it forces you to switch off even more. The balance between being relaxing and also busy so your mind doesn't wander back to work things, and the general lack of plug sockets meaning my laptop doesn't come in my bag with me. We had so much fun at Wilderness I can't tell you - we laughed and laughed, drank wayyy to much, danced loads, had naps in the sunshine in the grass - it was such an amazing time to forget about things and made me realise how much I need to make sure at least one festival is a feature of my Summer. As I said I will definitely look to get tickets for Wilderness next year, and while we didn't properly camp (dare I say that last Leeds Fest experience has put me off for life, anyone who at attended Leeds Fest will know it's in a league of it's own really), I found the whole posh-camping experience wayyyy more enjoyable than I imagined and actually slept a solid five hours each night - when when you're in a field converts to 12 hours in normal circumstances. 

So huge thank you to Veuve once again for taking me and allowing me to have such an amazing weekend. it's really been feeling like we are in the last few moments of Summer and this weekend was the perfect end to it all! 

Special Delivery

Happy Friday guys - another week that has flown by! I am writing this from a little cafe in a sunny Copenhagen where I have been for fashion week, so some content from that will be with you next week! In the meantime lets discuss this outfit I love that I shot last week in Notting Hill. I bought these amazing trousers in the vintage Reformation in LA when I was there last month. You all know how much I love a trouser and these ones fit like a dream! I was so excited when I tried them on, because I have been so into white/cream trousers recently they were a no brainier purchase. I have worn them a fair bit since too (and while I have been in Copenhagen, which you can see here), but I think this look is my favourite outfit with them yet. Styled with this insane oversized t-shirt from the mens Urban Outfitters. I got this while shopping with Dean (obvs for him, hence the mens section) and I managed to not leave empty handed. It's so thick and I love the print on the front - I have a Small but I think an XS would have worked out well too. The t-shirt with these trousers feels so mega 80s and I am loving it! I cinched it all in with my trusty Topshop belt because it was all feeling a little oversized and needed something to pull things together a touch, and this did just the trick. Finished off my with my Topshop sandals because I couldn't resist matching them with the red on my t-shirt (and clearly the wall behind) and I was good to go! 

T-SHIRT: URBAN OUTFITTERS | TROUSERS: VINTAGE (these are super similar) | SHOES: TOPSHOP | BELT: TOPSHOP

PHOTOS BY TOM MITCHELL