Feelin' Felty

Cashmere hat / Orange hat / HTC hat, $215 / HTC green felt hat, $215 / Coach hat / Hat / Morgan & Taylor crown cap hat, $28

There is no denying it; the wool felt fedora and akubra style hats are huge at the moment, whether it be winter or summer in your corner of the world.

Being wool/felt means that these hats can keep you positively cozy in the colder months, but keep you sunsmart in the warmer months. Basically, invest in a good one and you're pretty much set until the thing falls apart.

I myself just purchased (and very promptly received) my very own Lack of Color 'Montana Midnight Muse' hat, which I am completely obsessed with and will probably only take off to shower. Be warned though, this is a serious hat and you may have to tip your head sideways to fit through doorways.

Nice Photo Diary & Travel Tips

Below lies a very brief post on our time in Nice, France back in July. Brief, because we only had a couple of days there, and also because we spent all our time on the beach.

And it was spectacular. 

Paris Photo Diary & Tips

As promised, I have been quite prompt with my next Europe photo diary post, and I am very excited to share this one with you.
It is, of course, about our time in the incredibly, insanely beautiful city of Paris, where we spent ten days in June. Enjoy!

Everly

3.1 Phillip Lim silk sleeveless shirt / Topshop jeans / Jeffrey Campbell black booties, $270 / MICHAEL Michael Kors messenger bag / ASOS band ring / Zoya necklace, $33 / Linda Farrow Luxe metal glasses

Dublin Photo Diary & Tips

Well, it feels very good to say that this is my second post for this week. I've been in a huge slump with being unemployed and bored with myself and therefore having no motivation (funny how that works), but things have started falling into place in the last few days so I'm back to feeling motivated to write posts.

Dublin was the second location we visited in Ireland, and our last stop in an English-speaking country. I think it's safe to say we both grew quite attached to Ireland, and we both gazed sadly out the windows of the airport bus when we had to leave.

Read on, my friends!

Cork Photo Diary & Tips

Once again, I'm falling way behind on posting about my trip in June/July, with no real excuse except that I've been especially lazy and watching Friends and re-watching Game of Thrones as I perform job-hunt after job-hunt day after day.

Anyway, enough of the chit-chat. Continuing on from my last post, we left Edinburgh and arrived in the lovely but tiny city of Cork in Ireland.

(All photos are mine)

Edinburgh Photo Diary & Tips

After London, we headed off on the train to Edinburgh. We only had a few short days there, so my experience and advice is slightly limited in this sense. Next time I visit (and for anyone who has a longer amount of time there) I would definitely try and see more of the Scottish countryside as well as perhaps visiting the famous Loch Ness. 

Below are my tips based on our limited time in the extremely beautiful city of Edinburgh!

(All photos are mine. Some are from my Instagram account)

Refined Rocker

Clu loose t shirt / Yves Saint Laurent leather motorcycle jacket / Rag & Bone relaxed fit jeans / Yves Saint Laurent beatle boots, $760 / Crown hat

At the moment, there are a few things I'm obsessing over just a little bit. These are the biker jacket (which I have always been a huge fan of), the boyfriend jean and felt wide-brim hats, specifically in a purple/burgundy colour. 

I'm also just generally digging the above look. I'm not sure what the official name is for it, but I like to call it 'Refined Rocker'. Ripped jeans, biker jacket, clean polished boot and loose-fitting t-shirt. If this was a man, I'd marry it.

I was lucky enough to find the perfect biker jacket while I was overseas, which I will share in a future outfit post (coming soon, I promise!). On the other hand, I was stupid enough to pass up the perfect hat before I went away, thinking "I'll just find one overseas", which of course I didn't. And of course now the hat I saw is nowhere to be found.

I refuse to give up hope in finding the perfect boyfriend jean and hat, but in the meantime I can lust after the ones above. A girl can dream.

London Photo Diary & Tips

I have been trying to work out how I will tackle my posts about my Europe trip and what kind of format they will take on. I finally figured that writing it like a journal with accompanying photos would probably require a post each day for the next eight weeks just to cover the eight weeks I was away. And let's face it, ain't nobody got time for that.
Therefore, I have decided to organise it in the following manner.We begin our adventure in London town.
Enjoy! 

(All photos by me)

Honey, I'm home!

Well, after a super long hiatus (over two months) I am back!

I returned from my eight week Europe trip a couple of days ago and I'm still trying to catch up on sleep and life.

Before I left, I had said that I might be able to blog a bit while we were away. Once we got there, I realised it was going to be near impossible between not having a computer with me, being non-stop throughout the day and also just generally trying to live in the moment and enjoy myself.

Those of you who follow me on Instagram would have experienced me spamming everyone's feed with pictures each day (not sorry), which may or may not have made up for my absence on my blog.

As I decided to call this a 'fashion AND travel' blog, now begins the process of typing up some very delayed posts about the trip, including photos from my camera and hopefully some tips and information on where to go and things to see, as well as all-important shopping tips.

I also bought way too many clothes (is there even such a thing?), so I'm hoping I will be able to get back to outfit posts in the next week or so as well. I'm so excited to share what I bought!

Watch this space!

Polyvore: The Suitcase Packing Edition

With my impending overseas trip just around the corner, the thoughts have begun flying surrounding different outfits and outfit combinations I can come up with out of very limited luggage.

As someone who has way too many clothes (don't we all) and not enough time to wear them all, having to pack two months worth of outfits into a 70 x 40 x 30cm suitcase seems like something nightmares are made of. 

To add to this, all the outfits must be comfortable enough to walk around for 10+ hours a day on cobblestones (a stiletto's worst nightmare) while not looking like I stepped out of the hotel without looking in a mirror.

In an effort to inspire myself and dream up different outfits that fit this criteria, as well as perhaps giving ideas to those who may be reading this, I have created a few Polyvore sets that outline what I believe to be perfect  outfits for looking good while on the go.

T By Alexander Wang boatneck shirt / rag & bone/JEAN distressed jeans / Converse sneaker, $68 / Alexander Wang over the shoulder bag / Karen Walker / Lomography 35mm Fisheye Camera

Monki , $71 / Jersey knit maxi skirt, $18 / Marni black sandals / Steve Mono leather rucksack backpack / Illesteva tortoise shell sunglasses / Smythson Runway textured-leather notebook, $120 / SuperStock

Break On Through

Admittedly, this is not one of my usual posts, but I wanted to write something to pay homage to a musician that has made a significant impact on me.

Last night at 9.31pm in Germany, Ray Manzarek (keyboardist) from The Doors passed away from his battle with bile duct cancer.

I came across the announcement post on the official Doors Facebook page whilst brushing my teeth this morning, and was shocked into turning my electric toothbrush off and staring, captivated, at the information in front of me.

I'm too young to have witnessed The Doors in all their glory, before the death of Jim Morrison, but their staying power over decades and a generation or two is indicative of just how incredible they really were.

Considered one of the most 'dangerous' bands of the 1960s, The Doors pushed the envelope with their controversial stage shows, namely Jim Morrisons antics, as well as controversial lyrics. The well-known story goes that when playing The Ed Sullivan Show for the first (and last) time, they were asked to change the lyrics from "Girl, we couldn't get much higher" to "Girl, we can't get much better", due to the supposed drug reference. The band agreed to the change.

When it came to sing the lyrics on stage, Jim sang them as they were originally written, much to the disgust of Ed Sullivan.

Ray Manzarek and Jim Morrison were the founding members of the band, and met at film school at UCLA. Believing that they had gone their separate ways after leaving, they had a chance meeting on Venice Beach in California, where Jim told Ray that he had written some songs and sang an early version of the song 'Moonlight Drive'. They formed their band then and there, and as the saying goes, the rest is history.

Ray's parts are probably the most recognisable sounds of each Doors song. Everyone knows the opening music to 'Light My Fire' or arguably the most epic piano solo in contemporary music in 'Riders on the Storm'. More dedicated fans would also throw in the opening to 'Alabama Song' or the aforementioned 'Moonlight Drive'.

I could go on forever about a band that has had such a profound effect on myself and millions of others, but I'll keep it short and sweet.

The music world has lost a legend, but Rock 'n' Roll heaven just gained one. 

R.I.P Ray Manzarek
1939 - 2013

"Death makes angels of us all and gives us wings where we had shoulders, smooth as ravens claws"

- Jim Morrison 'An American Prayer'

Euro-spiration Part 10: Rome

Well, here we are at the end of our 'Euro-spiration' blog post journey. In hindsight, I could have separated my Ireland post into the separate posts that Dublin and Cork rightly deserved, but in a moment of blonde-ness I didn't think I had enough weeks. Turned out I did, as I could have stretched it to next Monday, but at least it's left me with more time to plan last minute things to do with my trip, rather than typing posts and daydreaming about it.

We end our eight-week long trip in The Eternal City; the capital city of the Roman Empire and what most consider the birthplace of Western civilization itself. 

Of the most well-known explanations of Rome's beginnings is the story of Romulus and Remus, the twins who were suckled by a she-wolf. The twins grew up, decided to build a city (as you do) and then after an argument, Romulus killed his brother.

For centuries, Rome was the most powerful, politically important, richest and largest city in the Western world, before it officially ended in 1453 with the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks.

Each year, millions of tourists flock to Rome to visit the Vatican City. The home of the Pope exists as its own state and is home to around 800 people. The Vatican has its own unique political system, military and police, and even issues its own coins.  

While visiting this ancient city, we will visiting the Colosseum, the Forum, Palatine Hill (already booked as a combined ticket. No lines for us!) as well as doing the other standard tourist thing of throwing a coin behind us into the Trevi Fountain. We will also be visiting the Vatican, seeing the Pantheon and probably just generally eating our body weight in food. One other thing which I'm super excited about, is our epic day trip to Pompeii. The ruins are much closer to Naples than Rome, however it is apparently very doable from Rome, and I don't think I could live with myself if I was in Italy and didn't get to see it.

To anyone who has stuck it out and read all my Euro-spiration posts, you are to be commended. It seems very surreal to think that the next travel-related posts I do will be based on my actual experiences. I'm still unsure as to how much I'll actually be able to blog without a computer, but I will do my best. If you want to follow my trip in pictures, please feel free to follow me on Instagram (Username: thepeonymuse). You can also like my Facebook page by clicking here.

Any tips on Rome are welcome, as always. I'll say "hey" to Pope Francis for you.

Appetite for Destruction

Euro-spiration Part 9: Florence

Florence is the undisputed birthplace of all things Renaissance, and is our second-last stop on our eight week Europe trip.

Growing up, I was always surrounded by art books and artworks belonging to my mum and through this, I developed an interest in art myself. While my favourite period of art was without a doubt the Surrealist period (Salvador Dali is my homeboy), I decided in high school that my next favourite was the Renaissance.

That, coupled with the beautiful architecture, made Florence an obvious choice for me.

Florence is the capital city of the province of Tuscany and is ranked as one of the wealthiest cities of all time as well as one of the most beautiful. The city is home to the extremely famous Michelangelo's David, along with the Ponte Vecchio and the fourth largest church in Europe, the Santa Maria del Fiore. 

The Santa Maria del Fiore is more commonly known as the Florence Cathedral, or The Duomo (meaning 'Dome') and is another reason for my being drawn to this place. My motivations for this are not religious, but rather (along with millions of other tourists each other) architectural. While I'm no architecture buff, there is something so incredibly beautiful and delicate about it's Gothic Revival façade.

Florence is always said to be a 'walking city' that is best enjoyed at a leisurely, relaxing pace, and we plan to do just that.

If you do have any tips/places/restaurants (budget) for us to try out, please feel free to leave a comment in the comments section. 

Western

Penny Lane

Euro-spiration Part 8: Venice

Tell ya what, when I started doing these 'Euro-spiration' posts it seemed like a really fun way to get me into the spirit and get excited about the places that my best friend and I will be visiting.
"Do a separate post each week", they said. "It'll be fun", they said.
Now here I am, eight posts in and two to go (after this one), and I feel such sweet relief. I think deciding to do a series TEN POSTS LONG was maybe too much of a commitment, and once I've started something I have to finish it. Lesson = learnt.

The next stop on our travels after Berlin is beautiful Venezia!

Venice is one of those places that amazes and intrigues even the most apathetic person. I remember learning about it when I learnt Italian in primary school, and the idea of a whole city floating on water completely astounded me. It consists of a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by bridges, and it is no surprise that the city itself is listed as a World Heritage Site.

The area that Venice occupies is actually considered to be a marshy lagoon, which seems strange as it's not really what one imagines when you picture a beautiful, romantic Italian city. It's original inhabitants are thought to have been fisherman, who were referred to as "lagoon dwellers". 

The foundations of Venice are actually constructed on wooden piles, which are still intact after centuries of submersion. While the wood that was chosen is known for it's water resistant properties, it is sadly believed that one day Venice will actually sink. Over the centuries, it has been sinking at a rate of about 7cm per century; however, in the last century alone it has sunk about 24cm. Obviously, this is going to happen very slowly, but is still sad to think that such a beautiful city will one day be gone.

We will only be spending about 2.5 days in Venice, but will visit St Mark's Square and Basilica, Doge's Palace, Rialto Bridge, and of course, enjoy the mandatory Gondola ride. The thing I'm looking forward to the most though, is getting lost and wandering through the city.

If you have any other tips that are a must, which won't be squeezing too much in to such a short amount of time, leave a comment in the section below!

 

Army

 

Lurex

Euro-spiration Part 7: Berlin

Happy Monday to you all! It's that time again and this week I am featuring Berlin in my weekly post.

If you're just joining me, you can click on the 'Travel' tab at the top of my page to view all my previous posts. The basic story is that each week I've been posting on a different city that I will be visiting over June/July this year. Mainly for my own enjoyment and to get myself pumped up, but also for anyone reading to enjoy.

Like Amsterdam, Berlin wasn't initially on our itinerary for our trip. As explained previously, we were initially only going for about five weeks and added another three on top. After this happened, there began a great debate on where to go. Amsterdam or Berlin? I asked as many people as I could, scoured Trip Advisor endlessly, and tormented myself with trying to make a decision. Seeing as I am literally incapable of making a decision by myself (us Librans are notoriously indecisive. It drives my mother crazy), I eventually chose both.

Also like Amsterdam, Berlin was somewhere I had about 15 places down on my bucket list. Somewhere I wanted to get to eventually, but would probably save for my next Europe trip whenever that may be. It wasn't until the decision was made to visit this time that I really learned how much there is to see in this rather large city.

Between World War II and the Nazi Regime, as well as the Cold War which lasted for over 40 years and ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Berlin has had an extremely tough road. The resilience of its residents has seen the city restore and rebuild itself, and it now sees millions of tourists visiting each year. The monuments and memorials attract history buffs and remind us as humans of what can happen when power falls into the wrong hands, while Berlin's thriving arts and music scene is one of the best in the world.

As always, any tips are greatly appreciated and can be left in the comments section.

Blinded by the Light

Jeremy Scott 'Wings' / Karen Walker 'Super Duper Strength'

Karen Walker 'Orbit' / Karen Walker 'Harvest'

Ray-Ban Aviator / River Island 'Mirror Cat Eye'

Evie Knight 'Sandy' / Miu Miu 'Geometric'

 

 

I am a self-confessed sunglasses junkie and always have been, although this has been made possible by always buying cheap pairs. A few months ago I invested in a pair of the Karen Walker 'Harvest' glasses, and feel satisfied for the time being after shelling out more money than I would usually spend on things. I did get them heavily reduced though so it was definitely a win-win. I also very shamefully own a rip-off pair of the 'Super Duper Strength's that cost me $2.80 on eBay...

 

The above are some that I am loving at the moment, including my beloved Harvests!

Enjoy!

 

 



Insta Life 23.04

Euro-spiration Part 6: Amsterdam

It's everyone's favourite day again. Monday!

Now, now, no need for grumbling. I'm here to make it all better with my weekly Euro-spiration post, which I know you all love.

Amsterdam is somewhere I never really thought I would go. The reason for this is (sadly) that I only ever really saw it as somewhere that boisterous, rowdy tourists went to smoke a joint or two because it makes them feel a little bit naughty. What they don't realise is that it also makes them look a little bit idiotic. And I say that very openly. My reason being that I don't understand why you would go to the trouble of visiting a foreign country to do something you can do at home. The only difference is that you can do it in public. Such rebellion!

The only other thing I knew about it was the Red Light District, which interests me even less than the marijuana.

Initially, we were only planning 5-6 weeks for our trip and therefore were not intending to go to Amsterdam. After we decided "eff it" and planned for 8 weeks, we started to look at adding places to make the most of our time. It was around this time that I also got Pinterest and realised that I quite liked the look of it. A few visits to Trip Advisor later and BOOM! Amsterdam was on the agenda.

Now, I'm excited for wandering the beautiful canals for three whole days where our only concrete plan is to visit Anne Frank House and perhaps a little trip to the Rijksmuseum. As always, any tips are much appreciated and can be left in the comments section.

For now, I just need to concentrate on remembering the difference between a Coffeeshop and a cafe...