A different perspective

It's probably been about 6 months since I started this blog, when I started it I had very different ideas on what I want to focus on and how I want things to look, but has time went by I started looking at things differently , it was partially to do with the blog, partially to do with the awful winter and partially because I felt I was lacking inspiration.

This morning was the perfect time to try and do things differently, I was thinking for a while about changing the way I take photos, I made a couple attempts in the past switching from one style to the other. I'm not a good photographer , I do enjoy taking photos but can't say I'm any good. However I did want my outfit posts to look a little more lively and this morning as I was getting ready to go and meet a friend for coffee (in the snow, in the middle of March!) , I decided to take out the tripod that was left in my apartment when I moved in and try and capture a different view of my outfit to see if I can master slightly more organised outfit photos. I suppose it worked, I'm not too happy with the end result but I'm going to post it any way just as note to myself which I'll hopefully look at in a few months to see how things have changed.

I'm still not sure which direction this will take me but I enjoyed experimenting with something a little different and might try to play around more often with how I take my photos. I guess I needed a bit of a change, so please bear with me whilst I try to figure out what's the next step for me.

The splurge

If it wasn't for this bag I wouldn't have thought of leaving my apartment this morning in this horrible weather, it's been so cold and miserable I lost any will to go out or do anything and just wanted to stay at home but I knew there was a parcel waiting for me at the post office carrying my Rebecca Minkoff Mini 5 zip handbag. 

I've been waiting for the opportunity to get this bag , it's by no means a new bag but I've been saving a little bit every month since last summer and waited for the right opportunity to buy it because I loved it so much when I saw it in a shop last year.

It's not the most expensive bag ever but I would rarely even consider or find myself in a position to buy a bag that retailes at over 100 pounds because I'm doing just fine with my standard Zara bags, but ever since I saw this bag I knew I wanted to get it and after a few months of saving I finally found it last month on a flash sales site , I've never been to a flash sales website in my life but it was actually a pleasant experience and the best thing was that it cost a lot less than what I expected it to cost which made me even happier. 

I did have some doubts about the size and whether I'd be able to fit stuff in , I usually love carrying a tote with pretty much all of what I have at home which usually makes it impossible to find anything so buying a bag that is relatively small was a concern , but I promised myself that I will try to keep things more organised and thought a smaller bag would mean I will be more careful with what I carry which makes this bag just the perfect size for me to learn how to carry a bag without carrying everything I have at home. So far I managed to shove my giant wallet into it , my phone and even my camera and a small folded shopper without making the bag look like it's going to fall apart under the weight so I'm quite happy with this purchase and it looks like it's definitely going to be my last bag purchase in a long time as I feel I finally have a balanced bag collection that doesn't need anymore additions. 

A practical bag?

Some days are just not good outfit days no matter what , Mondays come to mind when I think of days like these so instead of the outfit I prefer to focus on the accessory. This bag is a great example of a compact and practical bag that's also quite roomy. 

On most days I carry a giant tote around as it's easy for me to just stuff it with whatever I need without thinking too much but today I've spent most of my morning outside and wanted to carry a small and light bag with only the really essential things I needed. 

I found this bag in the Zara sale, I bought it because I thought of using it as a camera bag, but since I don't often carry my camera with me I debated whether I should keep it. This morning I made my mind when I realised it's actually quite perfect for days I spend outside, running from meetings to trains and whatnot, it's quite light and roomy so I can fit my notebooks and my tablet easily and I love  the fact it looks classic but a little edgy with the metal details on the straps and clasp. 

Gift time !!!!!!!!!!

One great thing about living thousands of miles away from my family is getting Christmas presents early. I always promise myself I won't open them until Christmas day but always end up ripping the packing the minute I get them.

So this little one came in this morning from my dear mum who recognises my obsession for black totes, I have far too many of them but can never say no to another one! This one is a great little treat from Zara that makes me really happy! Thank you mum :) 

The day after last night - an adventure in dressing to go out

Topshop jumper, leather look skirt, MMM for H&M bag

A few days ago my friend invited me to celebrate her 30th birthday, whilst we usually go out to our local pub for a couple of drinks this time it was a proper black and white themed birthday part with a room booked in a somewhat posh restaurant.

When I got the invitation I said 'no problem , dress in black , that's so easy' only to realise that I barely have any decent all black going out clothes.

In general whenever I go out I feel very under-dressed , I usually see girls dress all shiny and sparkly , big hair , huge heels whereas I always stick to what I consider comfortable. So after digging through my wardrobe and mixing and matching outfits I realised there was nothing I can consider  appropriate enough for a birthday party in a posh restaurant. That's when I decided to kill to birds in one go and get myself something I would also be able to wear for the holiday season and a never ending series of Christmas parties and dinners.

I was eyeing the studded Topshop jumper for a while but thought it might be a bit over the top for my usually casual and simple style so every time I passed next to Topshop I had to convince myself I really don't need this jumper, until the birthday outfit search started. For a couple of days I held myself from going to Topshop telling myself that I'll eventually find something nice and shiny in my wardrobe but yesterday I caved in and decided it's time to get hold of that jumper and on the way sort out at least one of my holiday season outfits.

So there it is , my fairly simple but slightly blingy festive outfit, teamed with a leather look skirt and the MMM for H&M handbag.

Better late then never - thoughts on Maison Martin Margiela for H&M

Maison Martin Margiela for H&M upside-down bag

It might seems as I'm late to join the Martin Margiela for H&M ride, however my experience from a casual trip to H&M this morning helped to confirm my suspicions about this H&M collab.

When the collection was first announced it was hit with a wave of criticism that hasn't died down until now.  Maison Martin Margiela designs were something that for me always stood as a work of art rather than 'grab off the shelf' fashion so I was surprised but very much intrigued about this collaboration. I found it really hard to see how the designs will translate into high street items and when I discovered that collection would be based on re-issues of selected designs from various collections I found it even harder to see how H&M loving fashionistas (including me) will rock those Margiela designs.

When the lookbook for the collection surfaced online I initially had to stop and take a breath, they were fabulous there's no lie , but still deep in side I felt there is no way those garments picked by H&M were manufactured for me and my thoughts were confirmed on the launch day when I decided to walk into H&M on my walk from work thinking if I'm lucky I might be able to find a bracelet or a necklace that was left after the initial shopper's raid on the collection. To my surprise when I arrived and discovered that nearly all of the items were still there 10 hours after the store opened which only affirmed my initial suspicion that this collection might have been a bit of an extreme step for H&M. Still I decided to enjoy what's available and try on a couple of the garments although as I suspected they just weren't right for me and so I went back feeling slightly relieved and happy that yet again I managed to escape the H&M designer collaboration frenzy.

Fast forward to today, a week after the collection was launched, I went to H&M to get some basic items, when I got there and had a walk around I passed by giant piles of MMM items sitting abandoned on the shelves with giant 50% tags on each and every item, I was a bit surprised but not shocked after seeing the amount of items left just last week when the collection launched the experience confirmed my thoughts that some designs are a true work of art that not everyone will understand and it's sometimes better to stand on the side and look at those wonderful creations as works of art.

(Needless to say I did end up with the handbag pictured above which I really liked when I saw the lookbook but surprisingly it was one of the items that were sold out on the first day in my local store, so I guess someone had a bit of a change of mind and I was lucky I had another look around today as it is a really gorgeous, well made and interesting handbag which I would actually use).

And to end this, I will quote the lovely sales assistant that helped me fish this bag out of the piles 'I love those designs but when they landed in store I felt a bit left down knowing there won't be many buyers for this collection in our store'.