Cinema Outfit and Scenic lake snaps!

 

Here's a quick outfit post of what I wore to the cinema for "Now You See Me", which I thought was a very engaging film. It happened to be a thriller, my favourite genre, but reminded me somewhat of Scooby Doo- possibly the mixture of character personnages and vaguely 'goodies vs. baddies' storyline.

 

I hadn't worn this top I had bought at probably my favourite vintage shop in August yet, and due to its possible 'grandmother' connotations, I tried to keep it young with denim shorts and black leather accessories. Pink is supposed to be a very prominent colour this coming fall, but to balance out the child-like linen and white floral embroidery, studs and a ferret tail ensured the outfit still felt my own.

 

 

 

Top- COW Vintage in Sheffield

Shorts- Zara trf

Bag- Marco Valentino (vintage)

Sandals- Clarks

Sunglasses- Mango

 

 

Coconut Milk Bubble tea with Mango popping boba and Rainbow Jelly- my ongoing addiction!

 

Traditional Polish Nalesniki with vanilla-flavoured soft cheese filling

 

Soft cheese with maple syrup for breakfast: calcium overload!

 

 

 

I've just returned from the Polish Lake District- Jezioro Sniardwy; here are some photos...

 

 

 

talia xoxo

 

Multi-cultural & natural food market (+outfit)

Considering all my recent posts have been quite high on the word-count front, I thought I'd make this one slightly more...vision-friendly! I visited a regular antiques market this morning, followed by a one-off food festival for lunch. The antiques market was a bit of a let-down; the prices were extortionate and the variety was limited. On the other hand, the food market exceeded all of my expectations. There was such a large choice of fresh food, definitely something for everything. Portions were quite small, so it was nice to be able to try a bit of everything, from Mexican, to polish, vegan to ice creams.

 

 

Top- DKNY (vintage)

Skirt- LAUNDRY by Shelly Segal (vintage)

Bag- Marco Valentino (vintage)

Ferret Tail- Market in Warsaw

Sandals- Clarks

Sunglasses- Mango

 

 

Chinese shrimp & boiled egg hard shell cups

 

 

Macaroons

 

Vegetarian Bistro menu

 

Salad jars + fruit water

 

Various fresh breads, wraps, olives, houmous 

 

Freshly made lemonade

 

A pasta version of subway?!

 

Paella

 

'Courgette flower', black bean and cheese tostados

 

Citrus+mustard seed carrot

 

Black sesame and prawn giant rice crackers

 

 

Black olive tapenade & walnut tart

 

Tomato, courgette, pepper and green olive Greek tart with olives and tzatziki

 

Home-made Lemon iced tea

 

Packed stalls from 12-5

 

Modern art & prints for sale

 

 

 

talia xoxo

Outfit: City roaming & Food: Green Peas Eco Cafe

Although they are most commonly associated with seaside activities, I think denim shorts are perfect for hot days wandering city streets. If worn correctly, (i.e. not a bikini/crop top and flip flops), they can look rather chic, far from the 'California girls' ditsy daisy-dukes stereotype. 

 

Making sure the rest of the outfit is quite simple, I've gone for a black and tan theme. I read once that you should have a maximum of 3 colours/tones in an outfit (black and white excluded), and I think it's a pretty good rule to follow. 

 

To make the outfit still look quite young, I've worn a blue lace bralette from Gilly Hicks, and jewellery such as these feather earrings from Topshop and an assortment of thread bracelets.

 

 

Top- Zara

Shorts- Ralph Lauren

Sandals- Aldo

Bag- Marco Valentino (vintage)

Sunglasses- Mango

 

 

One o'clock pre-lunch snack: Snickers and Hazelnut Chocolate ice creams. If I'm honest, the Snickers was lacking flavour slightly. Next time, I think I'd rather get 'Hello Kitty' (Cream flavoured with pink bubble-gum sauce). The Hazelnut Chocolate tasted like a more expensive version of Nutella, with small nutty pieces. I'm not usually a fan of chocolate- to be frank, it's quite predictable and heavy. This, on the other hand, I will happily eat again!

 

For lunch, we went to 'GreenPeas', an eco-café and bistro type of place. For starters, we shared a Courgette Soup. Sounded not too tasty (half price soup with a main before 4 o'clock so we thought we may as well give it a try), but we couldn't have been more judgemental. It was creamy, and had sunflower seeds also. Absolute heaven, very filling, and the portion was generous.

 

For mains, I had the 'Green Sabbath' Tortilla, or in other words, a Spinach and Feta wrap. It was tasty (if a bit too salty- slightly too much feta- for my liking), and the garlic sauce ensured the spinach wasn't too dry. Served with coleslaw and lettuce, this dish was filling, but not bloating.

 

 

My mum had the green broad bean and pumpkin burgers, served with boiled mixed vegetables. It was okay- slightly plain (e.g. they could have served it with a wholemeal bun or pitta bread and some tomato salsa), but the service was very good, as the waitress came and said that the burgers may be dry, and so did offer a complimentary selection of 4 sauces. Overall, a fairly inexpensive and pleasant place to eat lunch, and I would go back to try some of the other daily dishes on offer,

 

 

 

Desert! Tradition Polish 'babka'. This one happens to be with orange peel and mixed nuts.

 

 

Yes, I've eaten too much today. Ah well... that's why they call it a holiday!!

 

talia xoxo

 

Who said only Olivia Palermo could wear cat-eye sunglasses?

A holiday without shopping?!? No, I've never heard of such a thing either.

 

While in Warsaw, I took a trip to the recently renovated Fashion House Outlet. Not expecting too much (as it's not in the centre, I've heard it's a bit of a waste of time), I was pleasantly surprised to find many higher-end brands, such as Stefanel, Missoni, Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste, MaxMara and Hugo Boss. I did have a look, and many items were hardly discounted; however, I did manage to find a jewel amongst the rubble in the Spanish chain, Mango.

 

 

Say hello to my new sunglasses.

 

Although called the 'cat-eye', (buy similar here), I'd say the shape is a cross between that and a typical wayfarer, since they are less oblong than the latter. I recently broke my supposedly 'hard-wearing' round Topshop sunglasses while on a weekend break to Brighton, so these are the sought-after replacement.

 

I was not expecting a case with them, which was a nice touch. Cream mock-grain leather with a magnetic fastening, and even a care manual made these sunglasses feel a lot more expensive than their RRP of £17.99.

 

According to Oprah's 'Find the best sunglasses for your face shape', this style would work best for those with a Heart-shaped or Square face. I have more of a round face (due to the half-Eastern-Europeanness), but as they are quite oversized, I thought there was no harm in trying.

 

 

The frames from the front are plain black, but from the side are a clear/grey/black tortoiseshell, meaning they would work with most outfits. There is a small 'MNG' engraving on a silver-coloured metal on the side, which I was extremely drawn to as it was subtle and classy. I'm not a huge fan of excessive labels and branding, so these seemed perfect since they are two things that are difficult to avoid nowadays.

 

 

Bit of a selfie to show how they look; now I'm beginning to think that my face is indeed more heart-shaped than rounded. 

 

Just thought I'd share this star find: yes, they are slightly tacky, but doesn't that add to the fun?! These sheer leopard-print ankle socks were about 40p each from Auchan (a French supermarket), and I thought they'd look great with low-top Converse or black suede Creepers. With grey, purple and the traditional brown, I'm hoping I'm sure I can switch them up to suit my mood and match my outfit (if even possible!)

 

 

Now to the most important part of blogging- Food! Here are a couple of pictures of my dinner/evening snack...

 

 

Smoked tofu fried in egg and breadcrumbs= absolutely delicious. I know it would be a bit lacking in flavour for some, but next time I may try it with a tomato puree sauce, sweet chilli or pesto side. Alternatively, I may add paprika or Italian seasoning to the breadcrumbs.

 

 

 

Cucumber, pepper, tomato and lettuce salad with a herb/garlic oil-based dressing; this was very tasty, but I only realised afterwards how many calories the dressing had- 140 per serving! I also had boiled yellow string beans, which are great served cold as a snack or warm as an accompaniment to a piece of meat.

 

talia xoxo

white workstation ideas

I'd like to have a bit of a 'revamp' in my bedroom. Not drastic changes, just so that it feels a bit different- less clutter, slightly more practical without sacrificing style. I've had a bit of a google search, and here are some photos for inspiration. As you can see, they're all white, light and clutter-free, with a few ornaments to make it look homely. From my mum's suggestions, I've also looked at places with a 'splash of colour', however I think they detract from the total impact of the white. No doubt an ikea browse is to follow.

 

 

Common things I like:

• Desk with 2 triangular bases
• Plain white block shelves
• Laptop (so easy to put away)
• See through jars/pots to store desktop bits
• White flowers
• Acrylic or white chair

 

 

talia xoxo

she ain't got riches, but she got fashion

Silk t-shirt- Calvin Klein (Vintage)

Tartan Skirt- Jack Wills

Silver Heels- Zara

Leather Bag- Marco Valentino (Vintage)

Sunglasses- Huzzar Huzzar (Vintage)

 

I seem to be having heel withdrawal symptoms. After a while of wearing sandals, my feet just crave to be raised at a 45 degree angle. So, even though I was going to outdoor pub grill this evening for supper, I planned my outfit around this recent Zara purchase- silver medium-sized block heels. They may not be the easiest to walk in, but they channel a slightly toned down Madonna-cross-R2D2-vibe. Originally I had planned a black skater skirt and bright purple lipstick; my mum thought it slightly inappropriate to wear practically what I wear to school to a bar, and that I had brought plenty of other clothes across the channel which needed to be taken advantage of.

 

Even though these shoes aren't completely subtle, I would never plan for them to be the focal point of an outfit, due to their simple style. The skirt seemed weather-appropriate, and the top kind of just felt to work the best with it. Bag and sunnies=essentials=pretty self explanatory.

 

Currently also doing a bit of holiday shopping here in Warsaw (obviously amongst other, more cultural things such as sightseeing and park-roaming). Will update you when I manage to accumulate a little pile.

 

talia xoxo

 

for some reason the picture on the right feels like I could be moving to the beat of this song!

 

 

everybody wants to be on TV

 

Crop top- Topshop

Skirt- Jack Wills

Frilly socks- Topshop

Trainers- Puma

Sunglasses- Huzzar Huzzar Vintage

 

Yes, the image above is very yellow-toned; however, sometimes those moments arise where your life just seems to be lacking in 'Cinemascope'. Today I had one of those moments.

 

It was extremely hot today in Warsaw- where I'm based for the next two and a half weeks- 35 degrees linger as if it were the Sinai Peninsula. Thus, I thought it acceptable to wear a crop top- something which I rarely do. This sporty, cotton one is from Topshop which I picked up from the sale last year for about 3 pounds.

 

This silk-cotton mix skirt is from Jack Wills. Yes, I  too once sneered at the name, but amongst the surplus of candy-coloured branded t-shirts and overpriced stripy ankle socks a good-quality gem or too are awaiting discovery. I've managed to get more wear out of the skirt than I originally thought- though a crisp white shirt and tan brogues are probably my favourite combination: preppy Manhattan public school student meets 70-year old Scottish highlander. It looks better than it sounds.

 

If I'm honest, I was wearing the trainers as I was walking my dogs, not because I was trying to emulate a 90's grunge vibe, but I kind of ending up liking what it looked like- not too try-hard 'unique'. Also, I probably would have worn different socks if they were clean. I'm not a fan of things that match too much. As the current rule stands- same colour or same texture, never both.

 

Again, I realise the photo on the right is a bit posey. Ah well, we all like to pretend we're being photographed in the 90's with a lomography camera every now and again.

 

talia xoxo

 

 

 

EDIT: how i'd describe this look with lyrics:

Scouting for Girls- Famous

outfit of the day: leopard print booties

Leopard print...ponyhair...block heel... surely a one-way ticket to tack-town?

 

Okay, so it may not sound like a component of an instantly chic outfit; however, I truly believe anything most things can be stylish if paired together with the right items.

 

I bought these leather boots from Topshop yesterday, in the sale for £30 (down from £70), which I thought was a bargain! Unfortunately after wearing them today, for only five hours, my feet ache so much! But hey ho, no pain no gain as they say! I'm usually not the greatest fan of 'heeled flat' shoes- the majority of my collection are either below 1/2 inch heel or above 6inch, but I thought these were far from my pet hate- kitten heels- and so I made the exception.

So how did I style them?

Silk blouse- Calvin Klein (vintage)

Skater skirt- Topshop

Leather Jacket- Zara

Leather satchel- MADE accessories

Boots- Topshop

 

So, what do you think? How would you style leopard print boots?

talia xoxo

hype this on lookbook.nu

how to style: orange

Personally, I tend to splurge on timeless classics; items such as a black velvet dress, a crisp white shirt or tan leather brogues can last a lifetime if they are both made to the best of quality and taken care of correctly. This leaves the items that change seasonally, 'fashionable' items in other terms, to be found through other sources, for example on the high street or via thrifting; however, I often struggle to part with my money for a piece of clothing that could be considered to only worn for 3 months. Therefore, every thing I buy is deeply considered prior to purchase, and I aim to find multiple ways of wearing it.

The first item I am investigating, is this orange dress. Yes, you heard correctly, orange. I have to admit, orange is my second favourite colour, after brown, but a true success is finding attractive ways to style something you'd otherwise hate, so I thought I'd give it a go. I also love the shape of the dress, which is simple yet modern, allowing the print to do the talking.



The dress in question- available at Topshop, £36

Outfit 1: Summer beach

Denim jacket- Rokit vintage 112.50

Straw bag- Lindex 30.00

Sandals- &otherstories 55.00

Hat- Accessorize 15.00

Sunglasses- Ray Ban 140.00

Bracelet- Astley Clark 165.00

Outfit 2: Workwear

White blazer- zara 69.99

Shoes- &otherstories 55.00

Tote- Aspinal

Hair cuff- H&M 2.99

Outfit 3: Evening party

Leather jacket- AllSaints

Black heels- zara 39.99

Clutch- Urban Outfittes

Jewellery- Anything with lots of chains and neon

 

 

I hope I've convinced you that orange is not as intimidating after consideration.

talia xoxo