Barcelona & I

The Barcelona scenes are a dreamscape full of palm trees and romantic historical buildings that make one want to sport a C16th gown and hood.. or maybe that's just me. Specifically when a fella on a spanish guitar is singing a beautiful ballad whilst you're in the midst of the gothic quarter. I can happily say I have fallen in love with the city and five days just wasn't long enough to explore and have a full blown summer affair with the place. 

Evenings were particularly wonderful spent at The Placa Reial Square in the heart of La Rambla sipping cocktails at Ocana and then dinner at Rossini for great Italian/Spanish food. Perfect. Days were spent with cultural visits; that way we could escape back to the hotel rooftop pool by late afternoon with our new poolside favourite beer, Damm Lemon. I miss it already...

                        

       

             

Barca Planning..

In a few days time I will be headed for Barcelona, the heart of Catalonia in Spain. Loved by Gaudi, Hemingway & Dali to name only a select few. Culture and history is plenty in this city which is one reason why I & two girl friends decided to initiate this adventure. 

The Gothic Quarter or Barri Gotic is one place where our infatuation with medieval design can come into existence. I am however equally anticipating the modernism of Gaudi's architecture with Park Guell and most famously (and still not finished) La Sagrada Familia. 

With the beach and stunning side street cafes, Barcelona is a city of epic proportion. I came across Herb Lester in Haper's Bazaar. The publisher offers beautifully illustrated quirky guides for a reasonable price. If you're a lover of design & embarking on a trip check the site out. The Barcelona guide of which, is full of bars that Hemingway used to frequent. 

What to take with you for up to a week can be stressful but I think I have packing light perfected. An assortment of plain light tshirts in various neutral colours (white, black, grey), the ever faithful Birkenstocks along with a great camera, those timeless Ray-Bans and a bag big enough for all one's sightseeing needs, my choice; a Fjallraven Kanken. Beauty wise; SPF lip balm is your friend, I like Korres. The best eyeliner I have found with a record of no smudging whatever the climate is Mac's LiquidLast. Lastly, a perfect summer fragrance whatever your style. I choose Dolce & Gabbana's Pour Femme for its sensual yet light aroma for a classy, beautiful city. See you when I return..

Pastel Love x SS14

Catwalk trends for this summer have captivated my heart from the artists' painted strokes at Chanel & Celine
 

to the scientifically feminine florals at Christopher Kane.

 

But one thing remained uninterrupted at fashion month: pastel shades.
Even Dolce & Gabbana broke up their uniform of gold, red & black to bring the lighter shade of sicilian lemon to the show. You can forget that pastel was only used for the most feminine of silhouettes but was married to the most masculine of outerwear from the suede short sleeved jacket at Vionnet to the cashmere knit coats at Burberry. Even the tomboyish skater dress at Marc by Marc Jacobs was given this most desired pleasure.

All photographs © vogue.co.uk

Map Of Days x Robert Hunter

Map of Days is a beautiful new book by Robert Hunter that captures dreamy illustrations and fantastic story telling through pictures and a little text. Anyone familiar with Orlando Weeks' (The Maccabees) illustrated book with accompanying music 'Young Colossus' will already know Rob Hunter's unique style. 

Map of Days is out on No Brow Press

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Nike x Liberty Spring 2013

Nike have once again teamed up with Liberty of London to create some limited trainers ready for whatever kind of summer England are about to have. Featuring archive prints from Liberty, the roshes are my favourite. The shoe has a minimalistic style that is perfect. Sadly, they have already sod out from Liberty's site but are available at Nike iD with more colours to choose in the capel and pepper prints. 

JAWS x Leeds

I took some photos of JAWS on wednesday night in Leeds before their gig at Oporto. Here's a few of them. There's still got some more to develop. 

For more photos of JAWS click here 

LDN & NYC Fashion Week Fall 2013

It seems that all the looks I'm in love with from London & New York fashion week all have one thing in common - colour. Dark red seems to be a trend that I'm subconsciously following. Here are the following examples..
Seriously everything from Elizabeth and James is sick so check out the other looks. It's all effortless and relaxed. Reminds me of a New York Celine.

Christopher Kane 

  

Christophen Kane full collection

Elizabeth and James

  

Elizabeth & James full collection