Style Crush - Olivia Palermo

Everything this girl does is effortless. She manages to achieve so many different looks so perfectly and gets it right every single time with her combination of smart tailoring, delicate lace and unique prints. Each time she steps out in a new outfit its as if she played ip-dip-sky-blue with her wardrobe and the items just luckily ALWAYS end up going together. She combines fabrics and prints that I would never usually dare put together (see red lace and leopard combination above) but never, ever over does it. I don't doubt that her incredibly amazing genes are to thank for helping her outfits have that extra something but even so I love everything about this girl. Along with Aimee Song of SongofStyle, Rumi Neely of Fashion Toast, Blake Lively, Whitney Port and recently Millie Mackintosh she is up there with my all time favourite style icons and if that wasn't enough the girl really does have it all with her gorgeous German beau Johannes Huebl, don't even get me started on his 'steeze'. Boys take note. 

Don't forget to check out my pinterest, instagram & twitter too! I'm not one to encourage a 'follower' but in this case, please do! :)

Amazing what you can find in a tiny French village

So my parents insisted we visit a friends vintage store the other day, thinking it involved a lot of antique tables and chairs I was pleasantly surprised when I found this stunning Jane Shilton snakeskin clutch bag! I'm not convinced yet about my thoughts on the fact it's real snakeskin but I try to tell myself otherwise and it seems to make me feel better! I love vintage shopping because you are guaranteed a unique piece that most of the time you can be sure wont be on the shelves of Topshop for three times the price! Oh and I forgot to mention, the bag was €25!!! How amazing? Vintage has its own piece of history behind it too and I love that! I will be returning to purchase some jewellery once I find that 100 hour a week job but until then I will admire from afar! I will try and get some pictures of it all as it to die for and so much better than any vintage store I've ever seen! Apparently the best vintage jewellery can be found across the pond so I best get a ticket purchased ASAP! Message to friends-if seeing yours truly wasn't enough incentive to come see me in France then this shop definitely is!!

Fashion's Night Out

September 6th 2012. Fashion enthusiasts pen it in to your diaries right.this.minute!! I have been meaning to go to this for a few years but now seems like a better time than any. Career talks, long conversations with the parents and a lot of my friends graduating has got me thinking more and more about what it is I want to eventually do with my life once the surreal world of 'University' is over. I luckily still have a year left but if this last year is anything to go by I may wake up tomorrow and find I have graduated with not a penny of my student loan left and absolutely NO CLUE what to do. I love everything about fashion and I know one way or another I want to pursue a career down its very large path so what better way to start my productive year than with this?

If late night shopping surrounded by your favourite designers and celebrities isn't tempting enough then go to support Vogue's charity of choice, Refuge, and buy the FNO t-shirt which I am absolutely in love with, designed by Jonathan Saunders. 

Where has summer gone?

How is it nearing the end of August already? It seems like yesterday I was writing my last blog post, unfortunately in fact that's not the case at all! Every time I promise myself I will keep up to date with this site something else takes my attention. In my defence this summer has been hectic and thankfully everything I hoped for. Croatia was undoubtedly AND unexpectedly my favourite part. The country is beautiful and it's people are some of the friendliest I have ever come across. I luckily found this out when I left my iPod in a hostel in Hvar (it was the end of the trip, Hideout had taken its toll and about the only thing my brain could process was my name, YES I really was that tired!!) within a week I received a message from them letting me know they had it and would be returning it to me. I don't mean to be a pessimist but this would definitely not have happened had I been in England! So if this post achieves anything then please let it be that you all book flights to Croatia some point soon. More importantly make sure you go to Hula Hula in Hvar. Just be wary of copious jugs of Sex on the Beach,  french twins and people who claim they are on yacht week! A 3am search party and 1 very disorientated Shep later meant that Hula-ing will forever remind me of these three things!!

Parklife, my 21st in London, Ibiza and French escapes have all come close seconds. That being said all this travelling has taken its toll on my bank balance and I'm quickly realising that nothing in this life comes for free but thankfully the past 3 months have so been worth the 100 hour a week job I now need to find!! Know of anything legitimate that pays well for minimum hours then let me know!? That dream job has to be out there somewhere right?

VanCity

I have been putting this off; in constant denial that my year abroad is over. I have been home just a week and there are already so many things I miss about Vancouver. However it seems like yesterday I was leaving my parents at the airport, awkwardly sobbing to myself whilst listening to Shep sing me her own rendition of Take That’s ‘I Want You Back….Brooooke’. I was leaving everything I had known for a year and it was one of the most daunting experiences of my life but by far the most rewarding.  Now 8 and a half months later I am, again, awkwardly sobbing to myself in an airport that had become my familiar, saying bye to life long friends that a year ago I didn’t even know. That to me just seems crazy. In a year I have managed to make so many amazing friends, from all over the world that I would never ever have even spoken to if I had continued my degree in Manchester and not had a year abroad. WOW. I am so grateful and proud to have been offered the opportunity to even take this course, if not; not only my life but I would be mind blowingly different to how I am now.

I thought moving to university taught you so much, but moving 5000 miles away from friends and family to a completely new country where everything is unfamiliar taught me so so much more and I grew up quicker in this year than I have in the last two. How can one year completely change your outlook on life? As you can tell it kind of freaks me out but they are lessons I needed to learn and definitely ones I will take with me for not just this next year but forever.

Vancouver really is the most beautiful, most liveable city in the world and I wouldn’t have wished to have my exchange anywhere else. It has everything you would ever need; beautiful views, mountains, beaches, nightlife, culture, amazing restaurants and most importantly such friendly amazing people. Something about this city inspires you to do so much more with life and every one of you reading this needs to visit at least once.

However as one door closes another one swings wide open and I am far too excited to get back to my norm. This summer is already about to be the best one yet; France, Croatia, Ibiza, festivals, 21st’s..& wherever else the sun takes me, not to mention another year in Manchester. 3 years is definitely not long enough to finish a degree so one more can’t hurt surely?

Coachella ella ella ella…

 

I have been so poor at updating this of late and I am sure I will regret it when I look back but I guess I have just been too busy (I know-what a tough life hey?). I am the happiest girl alive to have been able to tick off such a huge bucket list entry recently, COACHELLA! I have wanted to go for so long and I figured if I don’t go when I am living on this side of the pond when will I? (Un)fortunately I will be making the trip to Palm Springs again as this was simply the greatest festival I have ever been to and I just cannot wait to do it again (it is more than worth the 9 hour flight!) The weather was incredible, if just a little TOO incredible, with a high of 45 degrees it was most definitely one of the hottest/sweatiest festivals I have ever been to (it was no Parklife!). The ultimate highlight of the weekend was just that, The Weeknd-front row, he was incredible and now I am even more addicted to his stuff than I was. Swedish House Mafia, Afrojack, Guetta, Kaskade, Ingrosso, Florence & the Machine, Frank Ocean all came a close second and I definitely think the line-up this year was one of the greatest and will be hard to beat next year. 2014 I aim to be back there making only one change; you HAVE to get a hotel-yeah yeah we had the full experience but there’s a little difference between camping in rain and camping in sweltering heat where the latest you can lie in is 6am (surprisingly the former is much easier to handle). Apart from that I wouldn’t change a thing-it was a huge highlight of my year and being able to finish off in LA for a couple days was a huge cherry on top of the whole trip.