Snapshots from London

On the hottest week of the year so far, I spent a few days in London and then went on to Edinburgh. As is often the case when hot, I didn't have the patience to take as many photographs as I would have liked but still managed to clock up a few hundred. Here are a few from the first leg of my trip...

My home for a few days, Bayswater, where my boyfriend is currently residing midweek in a serviced apartment.

I made the local Starbucks my breakfast destination each day - busy but wonderfully air-conditioned.

No trip is complete without a visit to Liberty.

And the amazing Powder Room in Fenwick, Bond Street - I wanted to steal this gorgeous pink couch.

Hot days call for lots of ice-cream stops. This was a mini strawberry sorbet.

I always seem to end up popping to Beyond Retro to stock up on their tote bags.

No escaping the Jubilee Celebrations. As well as having a picnic in St James Park one day, we also had a walk around to Buckingham Palace to see the setting up for the concert which takes place tomorrow evening.

We unintentionally ended up walking past The Royal Academy of Arts one evening, when unknown to us the Queen was playing host to film, fashion and music's finest. Quite a surreal experience leisurely strolling along the street, with Vivienne Westwood to one side. I joined the rest of the paparazzi and took a couple of snaps too (a little too shy to ask for my picture to be taken with her, as some others were doing).

And finally, the wonderful new section of Kings Cross Station. I'm so pleased the station has been updated to compliment perfectly one of my favourite train stations, St Pancras.

Hibiscus Cordial

Just because the good weather seems to have left us, does not mean I am still not craving cool, refreshing drinks. I had many ideas for this Hibiscus Cordial from The East India Company - in cocktails or for baking. But in the end I chose simple - ice cold sparkling water with a lot of ice. A delicious, delicate and fruity summer drink.

Springtime Monochrome

If I have a method at all to getting dressed, it is this - I always have one item in mind that I want to wear that day and then base the rest of my outfit around it. This seems for me, the most simple way of dressing. And so on this occasion, the starting point to my outfit was some new monochrome ankle boots from label Marian. I have bought boots from this label before, and they have some really stunning, stylish shoe designs at very good prices. Worn with my favourite cream lace dress of the moment, the introduction of black in the cream boots, meant that I was also able to wear some trusty black tights, for those British spring days which really are not that spring-like.

ASOS Floppy Hat & Dress ~ Marian Monochrome Ankle Boots via Spartoo 
~ Tabio 11d Tights ~ Zoe & Morgan & Vintage rings

Vestiaire Collective Giveaway

I introduced newly launched Vestiaire Collective to you in this post, where my dream Sonia Rykiel Domino bag was made a reality. Already a cult concept in it's native France, Vestiaire Collective have launched in the UK, a website not too dissimilar to eBay or Amazon but selling only the finest fashion at a fixed price.

And as promised, I along with fellow bloggers Carrie (WishWishWish), Rachel (Rachel Phipps), Emily (Fashion Foie Gras) and Natalie (Natalie Hartley Wears), are presenting you with an amazing opportunity to win some prizes to spend on the site, totalling £1000. The competition is now live and will run until 17th June, all you need to do is sign up to the Vestiaire Collective community using this competition link. A fantastic prize for a very addictive website - good luck to you all!

London Through Instagram

Having spent a lovely few days in London and Edinburgh over the last week, I'm sure it will take me an age to get through the hundreds of photographs I took. So in the meantime, here are some snaps from the London part of my trip, through my phone...

1. Mini heatwave in London. 2. Pre-dinner drinks in Cote Brasserie, Westbourne Grove. 3. Starbucks breakfast.

4. The London Starbucks way to spell my name. 5. Liberty of London. 6. Window display at Liberty of London.

7. Liberty sign. 8. Matchsticks at Beyond Retro. 9. Jubilee celebrations at Regent Street/Oxford Circus.

10. Mini ice-cream sorbet. 11. Powder room at Fenwick, Bond Street. 12. A water & air-con stop at Paul.

13. Parisian Chic book at Anthropologie. 14. Kinfolk magazine at Anthropologie. 15. Liberty of London.

16. The clock strikes 5 near Liberty. 17. Patisserie Valerie at Kings Cross station. 18. The new part of Kings Cross station with an amazing ceiling.

19. Pretty pink flowers at the Next Press Day at Somerset House. 20. Sweet treats at the Next Press Day. 21. Platform Nine and Three Quarters at Kings Cross station.

Blogs I Love

Following on from my last Blogs I Love post, here are another three blogs that are a part of my daily read...

Maria Vinterblomst - stunning, stunning photography. Sadly doesn't update as much as I would like. But nonetheless a very good read, in the form of pictures rather than the foreign words.

An Apple A Day - The very talented Amy Merrick lives in one of my favourite cities, New York. Her blog gives a glimpse into a very colourful world of floristry. And in fact her overall visual aesthetic is just very pleasing to the eye.

Mon Chéri - Glimpses into a Swedish world that is very much real life than staged. I love her taste... vintage dresses and furniture, all things girly is just what I want to see.

The Domino Effect

Vestiaire - French Noun: Clothes and accessories that constitute a wardrobe

Collective - English Adjective: Common, community, group

Vestiaire Collective - International community that shares the same passion for fashion, and the same wardrobe!

The large Domino bag by Sonia Rykiel has been on my wish list for a good ten years or more. Considerably out of my current budget by several hundred pounds, it amazingly became very much within my budget with the help of newly launched UK fashion site Vestiaire Collective.

Already a cult concept in it's native France, Vestiaire Collective is a website not too dissimilar to eBay or Amazon, but selling only the finest fashion (anything from Chanel, Céline, Dior, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Yves Saint Laurent, Isabel Marant, and so many more), at a fixed price. Each piece on the site must be genuine, on trend and in immaculate condition. Around a thousand pieces are submitted each day with only around half of those making the final cut. Once sold, each piece is collected by courier and sent on to Paris to be checked by a member of an expert team. This team of experts look specifically at the condition and authenticity - the teams comprise of people who have had previous experience working at the top luxury fashion houses, and it is all of these amazing details that give me confidence in what I am buying and very much the edge over sites such as eBay. The whole concept is the perfect breeding ground for buyers to find fashion gems and sellers to sell pieces efficiently, enabling the funding of future purchases.

My experience of Vestiaire Collective was a very smooth and simple transaction, helping me realise my Sonia Rykiel dream. And the bag itself, once it arrived, was in absolute perfect condition, I would never believe it had even been used before. It even arrived with it's original authenticity card from the Paris store it was bought from only a couple of years ago. I cannot praise Vestiaire Collective enough, having found a very specific place in a much needed niche market.

But I don't just want you to take my word for it... I have a competition coming up for you in the next couple of weeks, where you will be offered the chance to win one of five prizes - 1 x £500, 1 x £200 and 3 x £100 to spend on the Vestiaire Collective website, so stay tuned, details to follow very soon.

(Sonia Rykiel Domino Bag worn with ASOS Cream Lace Dress and Jewellery by Michael Kors, Zoe & Morgan and Vintage)

Magenta

I can never have too many pairs of flat shoes and this pair of ballerinas by Buffalo are the most amazing magenta/mauve colour combination. I just happen to have the exact same colour of tights as the shoe trim too, a perfect striking match.

Buffalo Bill Mauve Ballerinas via Spartoo ~ Tabio Magenta 110d Tights