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7 Ways To Rock Flats

A pair of heels can make you feel taller, sassier and more confident, I love wearing a heel, but we all know that wearing them too much isn’t good for our joints in the long run, bunions like Victoria Beckham anyone? Nope. Nope, thank you. It’s great to take a break from heels and summer is an especially great time to embrace the flat! They are way comfier, can make you feel ready for any adventure, and, can look super cute too, here’s some styles to choose from, which ones will you be rockin’?

Sneakers – Almost everyone has a pair of sneakers in their wardrobe even if its only for your active days when you pop to yoga or go for a run. Whilst they’re mainly a casual style of shoe, many people break the rules wearing these shoes on a night out with dresses, I adore the cutesy dress with tomboy trainers look. Paired with skinny jeans, a blazer and a fresh tee, they can even be worn to work as smart-casual. Try showing some ankle to accentuate your shoes and keep you sneakers looking sharp!

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Plimsolls – Plimsolls are a little more versatile than chunky sneakers, and I’m TOTALLY a Converse girl. You can match these with everything from dresses to suits for an ace laid-back look. You may draw the line at wearing them to a very formal events, but, I’ve teamed mine with a floor length 1930’s evening dress in the past, it’s elegant with a hint of playfulness. You can also customise laces and add DIY decoration like studs and sparkle.

Sandals – When it comes to summer footwear, sandals are up there at the top of the list. Whilst there’s plenty of heeled options, there are also amazing flat options like sliders and mules – this guide at https://www.harpersbazaar.com can show you some of the best on the market. Treat yourself to a pedicure before sandal season to keep them tootsies pretty, unless you’re thinking of wearing socks with those sandals!!

Espadrilles – Espadrilles offer more support than sandals whilst still keeping your feet cool and comfy in summer. There’s lots of designs incorporating canvas and wicker which are pretty much essential holiday footwear. Check out Chloe and Zara for some of the most stylish choices, and of course, there are plenty of imitations for those wanting to buy shoes on a shoestring budget.

Slippers – For casual lounging around, nothing beats a pair of slippers. You can even wear slippers out of the house thanks to weatherproof and felt designs as found at sites like https://www.glerups.com/. Fun slipper designs are also cool, like unicorns and geeky movie designs, the slipper game is STRONG right now.

Ballet flats – Ballet flats are suitable for any occasion and are just timeless, bringing a French chicness to your outfit. They make smart workwear and are great going-out shoes too. Sites like http://www.frenchsole.com/balletflats specialise in ballet flats and have a great range for getting inspiration on styles. 

Platforms – Platform flats, or ‘flatforms’ can help to give you the added height without putting a strain on your body. You’ll find platform variations on sandals, espadrilles and even plimsolls. Chunky wedge sneakers are also in, there’s so many to choose from.

Flats really rule the summer, go find your perfect pair!

 

 

 

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Adventure Accomplished

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Close your eyes and jump! I said to myself as I hit the *Book Now* button on a 10-day solo trip to Bali. I wanted my very own adventure, just for me. I wanted to become my own best friend and learn to rely on myself, but I was also kinda terrified. New territory, new terrain, somewhere as far away as possible where all I recognised was the skin on the back of my hands. A self-proposed challenge, I faced it fuelled by a whole heap of anxiety and anticipation. I wanted to do this to grow. I had to.

Bali, well, it bloomin’ embraced me. New sights, sounds and smells surrounded me so densely that I didn’t have a chance to feel alone. Engulfed by new experiences, my eagerness to explore replaced the doubts which had dominated, my senses were too preoccupied with pleasure. I based myself in Ubud, a haven of Hindu traditions. Green, green rice fields, temples and streets strewn with the prettiest Canang Sari; twice daily handmade flowery offerings to the gods, thanking them for peace. Such a calm pace of life I could hardly even contemplate for life back home, their dedication to devotion defied my usually busy life. This calmness was the coolest feeling I have ever had.
image-5Walking the patchy pavements avoiding holes and uneven surfaces, I felt I was forever stepping carefully over these sweet scattered offerings, so many that the streets looked like they’d been littered with Party Poppers, explosions of cute colour at my feet. Scooters swarmed like mosquitoes, injecting a rush of activity, Mothers straddling bikes, no helmets, with children held on laps, trusting their own way of life. Markets had a super stench in the heat. Leather, spice and sweat coupled with constant calls to buy, all stimulating my senses to the point where, I could not stop smiling.

I visited a Hindu healer, with no idea what it would hold. After him repeatedly banging hard on my head and pushing his thumbs so forcefully into my closed eyes that I wondered if it was a joke, he told me, I had to be my own hero.

As I spent my last evening watching the sunset at Tanah Lot, I took it all in, every single bit of it. I’d had monkeys on my head, eaten fruits I’d never heard of, shared a bedroom with lizards and lingered with locals. I had done this, I had navigated my own adventure. Faraway from anyone I knew, I felt an intrepid confidence blooming. Teaming tour groups around me, selfie sticks obstructing the view, and with a somewhat hands-on tour guide trying to sit too close, I caught on to just how far I’d come. I realised right there, I already was my own hero.

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Mon Dieu, Dior! An Impulsive Pop to Paris

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So, Paris is always a good idea, so the saying goes, and I kinda think it’s true, as I discovered when I impulsively popped to the very pretty city. Paris played host to what I can now confirm to have been a dreeeeam exhibition of Dior, and since it opened in July 2017 I had been properly pining to go. I wrote it off as too indulgent and costly, but, when I realised I had no plans for New Years Eve, and that the exhibition ended in early January of 2018, well, the pangs for Dior proved to pull me towards booking a solo trip. A treat for myself after a very tough year. ‘Couturier De Reve’ (dressmaker of dreams) was an exhibition I just couldn’t miss. I imagined being an old lady and saying ‘I nearly went to Paris to see that amazing Dior exhibition, but didn’t go in the end’, and that thought made me sad, so I booked a seat on Eurostar, and went.

Pop! Paris was calling.

It did cost me money, and it did feel feel indulgent, but it did make me very happy and I’m so bloody glad I went. Dior did not disappoint, not one teeny bit. Paris itself was wonderful, an exciting and elegant city, and travelling alone was just what I needed, (more on the city and travelling solo in my next posts) but Dior, damn, it was divine. Celebrating 70 years since The House of Dior was created, it was an exhibition of epic proportions. I’d arrived late one afternoon so wandered down to The Musee Des Arts Decoratifs so that I knew where I’d have to get to the next morning, and what the queuing set up was like. Getting there from my hotel was straightforward as the Metro was real easy to navigate, and even though the museum was due to close in an hour the queue was still wiggling a long way down the street. Gah, I’d have to pitch up real early in the morning to ensure I got in on my only full day in Paris. So I got there bright and breezy with a croissant in my tummy on the morning of New Years eve, and the queue was pretty short. Phewf! I stood and chatted in line with a lady from Stockholm and we got in as soon as the doors opened. I kinda knew I’d be flabbergasted by it all, my tummy was all of a fizz with excitement. It totally blew me away. Like a combination of all the best bits of any fashion exhibitions I’ve seen in my life, this was simply spectacular. I’m a girl in love with dresses, and this Dior show was dress paradise. It was insightful, educational, expertly curated and so, so beautiful. There were loads of rooms, each completely different to the next, and it covered Dior himself and his design beginnings and went on to showcase the work of all the designers at the helm of this house up until now. It was an absolute heck load of lovely. And, as a vintage dealer who has often referenced his iconic New Look outfit -which defined a decade of dressing- to see that in up close was pretty fluppin’ brilliant. It was busy, but calm, all of us in awe of what our eyeballs were seeing. The final room of course had been instagrammed to the heavens and I was most excited to get in there for real. It was like a fashion finale with everyone in there like, literally gasping at the utterly magical feeling it created. Sparkling lights like stars moving around the high painted ceilings of this grand space, music kissing our ears, and dresses, showstopping dresses which I’ve only ever seen in fashion history books, right there in front of my own face. I don’t think I’ve ever been this immersed or amazed by an exhibition before, absolute perfection. Dior sure made my dreams come true in Paris that day.

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Christmas – Make Your House Twinkly!

IMG_4710Christmas is a pretty time of the year, and one of the most fun parts of it all is without a doubt decorating your home. There are soooo many different styles you can go for during festive fun times – you could go for that classic white winter wonderland feel, keep it modern with metallic and copper, or just go all out with Quality Street coloured tinsel and fairy lights like the good old days.

If you’re looking to decorate your house within the next week or so for the start of December, here are some of the things you’ll wanna start thinking about.

Outside The House – The first thing anyone will see as they pass by your home during the festive season or come to visit you is the front of your home and your front garden, if you have one that is. One of the fun things about decorating your home during Christmas is being able to play with lights and make your home stand out from every other home on the street. You can pick from so many different types of lights for the outside of your home- you could go for colour changing bulbs, white icicles or even go all out and have Santa himself up on ya roof! If you have a few bushes or trees in your front garden you could also put a light net on there to make them sparkle and feel maaaagical!

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The Door- One of the most classic Christmas decorations you can get in your home in the winter is a festive wreath. You can buy a wreath from the store or if you are more crafty- make your own. All you’ll need is a hoop made from wood to start you off, or I often use a bunch of greenery and make it look pretty, add seasonal decorations such as holly, berries and baubles. Wrap the garland around your wood and then use glue dots to stick on some festive baubles, pinecones and bells to make your wreath perfect to hang on the front door. If you really wanna go all out, you can wrap around some battery-operated lights to make it sparkle in the evenings.

The Hallway – Next up is your hallway. Although you and your family won’t be spending the whole of your festivities stood in the hall, it’s still nice to have some decoration there to really tie everything in your home together and make it all feel as festive as you can. To start off with you can have a small table by the door with a tabletop Christmas tree and some scented candles to make your home smell super festive. And then you could have a stocking hanging on the coat rack, some lights making their way into the home- and maybe some small festive ornaments. You don’t need to go nuts with the hallway- it is just nice kinda cosy to have a few festive touches in there.

The Stairs – One huge part of your hallway will be the staircase, and depending on how big your home is- it could be made into a huge design feature during the winter period. The most simple way to decorate your stairs would be to wrap some lights and tinsel around the banister going all the way down the stairs. If you want to go for a more nature inspired theme, you could get a long holly garland and wrap that around the bottom of your stairs- placing small pinecones in there to add extra dimension. And finally, if you want to go all out on your staircase and turn it into the ultimate festive feature- you could wrap a garland and lights at the bottom and then hang large white paper snowflakes on the stairs. This is a better idea if you have a large home- but it will look pretty ace if you can pull it off!

Fireplaces – If you have a fireplace or two in your home, you can make these into a festive feature by placing a garland on top and then adding things such as sparkly leaves, dried oranges and pinecones. And of course, you can’t have a Christmas fireplace without a few candlesticks or a large scented candle jar. You can thread some fairy lights through your design too if you know it is the room you’ll be spending a huge amount of time in throughout Christmas.

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The Tree – The tree is without a doubt the most exciting part of decorating your home at Christmas- there’s simply nothing better than spending the 1st December in your festive pjs with a Christmas movie playing as you decorate the tree with your family. Everyone will have their own jobs when decorating the tree- one person will assemble it, someone will do the lights (after spending hours un-tangling them), and then you can all play around with the baubles. And of course, someone will have the honour of putting the star on top of your creation at the end. Dance around and take your time with this part of the decoration- it will be the focal point of your home and is the perfect centrepiece to your festive design in the home. As for the colour scheme on the tree, you have a whole load of options available to you at this time of the year. You can go for a Scandinavian look and stick to neutrals and white, a classic look with reds and greens- or just put every single colour of the rainbow on there, because it’s Christmas so you can!

The Table – The table is the final piece to add to your festive feels, and if you’re hosting Christmas dinner this year, you’ll want to make the most of the space you have on the table while making sure you can fit all of the food on there on the day. Practice by laying out the dishes you’ll be serving the vegetables and meat in on the day, and you can then see what room you have left for a centrepiece and some candles. Your centrepiece can be as simple or extravagant as possible- and you can really fit it to the style you are going for in the rest of the home. The thing I personally enjoy the most about this season is that it’s an excuse to go crazy with fairy lights and sparkle, go make your home all twinkly, and enjoy! 

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I’ve Got A Blank Space, Baby (And It Needs Decorating)

The blank wall. Every home has one. You promised yourself you’d put something ace up when you first moved in, but it’s fallen down that to-do list over and over again, you’ve walked past that blank space of yours so many darn times you don’t even realize it’s there anymore. So, the obvious answer to all this is to create a photo-gallery wall. There’s nothing wrong with this obvs; it’s just a little bit, kinda cliche. It’s been done so many times that it hardly makes an impact anymore. I’ve pulled together a list of creative ways you can add a lil’ bit of color and creativity to this gaping canvas of yours. You’re welcome.

A Gaggle Of Baskets… Baskets come in all shapes and sizes, colors and patterns, yet they seemed to always get stuffed within each other and then left below the coat rack in the utility room. Well, hows about hanging a bunch of decorative baskets on your wall to make a statement. It could be that you collect baskets from each of your holidays from now on, or just start painting the ones you spy in thrift shops – so long as there is a mix of sizes, styles, shapes, and colors you will be smiley by the results.

Letter Of The Law… I adore any look that takes the worlds of rustic and contemporary and slams them together to create art, and that’s exactly what you’ll get from hanging giant metallic letters on your blank wall. Having a couple of letters is gonna make a cool creation no matter where you put them. It could be your initials, a combo of yours and your spouse’s, or your kid’s names; slightly overlapping a pair of letters is a neat idea too, ya know.

Embrace The Wall Brackets… Everyone seems to think you have to hang your art on the wall, with the bravest of this bunch a) hanging their art at different heights or b) not hanging it and choosing to lean it instead. Well, a great way to make your favorite bird art standout in a whole new way is to put up some decorative wall brackets and then stand your framed bits on these. It’ll just add another dimension. You could even paint the wall brackets with accent colors to make ’em pop even more. Or, I love to hang my vintage shoes, bags and dresses on the walls, either with antique coat hooks or creating a cool way to both store and display your wares! 

Use The Wall Itself… Your wall is blank and bare, but that doesn’t mean your only option is to hang something on it. Hells no. A great way to make a wall standout is to turn it into something special in its own right. You could do this by creating a taped-off graphic statement, painting a wall in a lovely base color, waiting for it to dry, applying tape across it at angles and then painting over it to create a lovely statement. Or you could add some subtle wood paneling if you fancied. Perhaps, just framing some wallpaper would be enough. The options are almost infinite. Happy home making, y’all!

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