get obsessed.

I am madly in love with this photoshoot done by Akila Berjaoui (styled and photography)
I stumbled across the shoot on studdedhearts.blogspot.com

Love letter to a City

Dear Amsterdam,
         I miss you with my whole heart.  You are perfect.  You are the perfect mix of a city with small town values.  Your people, parks, and endless array of activities make me love you wholeheartedly.  One weekend was not enough and you left me wanting more. 
Until we meet again

yours faithfully,
Anna 

from boys to men.

Emily and I both share a strong interest in men's fashion.  I love picking up the newest GQ or FANTASTIC MAN to flip through and drool over the fashion...and sometimes models.  When Em came to visit me in London we would see swarms of well dressed men which in return make them more interesting to us and attractive.  Even some of my favorite fashion blogs are only menswear.
Check out Blake Jacobsen...then send your boyfriend the link and hope he gets the hint.
http://blakejacobsen.blogspot.com/

Blake's style is the perfect mix of fashion, looking dapper, but not trying too hard. His use of layering adds dimension to his outfits and shows that he truly knows how to dress.

Lovely Lucca.

This past Sunday was a rainy day throughout the entire region of Tuscany. But instead of sitting at home in my apartment being unproductive I decided to make the most out of my time here in Italy and take a little trip to the town of Lucca. With my trenchcoat and umbrella in tow I made my way to the train station where I hopped on an hour and fifteen minute train ride. Lucca is an amazingly beautiful town that is mostly famous for its still in-tact Renaissance city walls. I headed inside of the city walls only to find myself completely dumbfounded by the map I found. Finally I found the courage to ask a woman for help and with a bit of terrible Italian, Spanish and English we somehow communicated and she walked me to where she was meeting her friends for coffee which was right where I wanted to be. I love that in a town where I knew no one I found such a friendly face. I spent my rainy Sunday exploring the winding cobblestone streets of Lucca and entering every church and viewing every piazza possible.

not my photo, but still

 Lucca was built by the Etruscans and eventually became a Roman colony. Traces of the ampitheater can still be seen in Piazza dell Anfiteatro.  One of the highlights of my day was seeing Il Volto Santo (The Holy Face of Lucca) which is a huge relic supposedly carved by Nicodemus and finished by angels.  I ended my journey with a trip to the very famous Antico Caffe di Simo, (where Opera composer Giacomo Puccini used to go) with an amazing cappuccino.

Although the rain masked some of Lucca's beauty, it gave my day an eerie and ancient feeling that went along perfectly with my coffee and my journal. It's these hidden gems of Italy that I keep discovering that make me fall more and more in love with this country and my travels.
xoxo, Emily

leather & skulls, hearts & flowers.

Anna and I had the most amazing time at BrickLane eating and shopping our hearts out. What makes me obsessed with London and BrickLane specifically is that there are so many budding designers that sell their wares throughout the city at different markets and different venues. We stumbled upon so many amazing jewelry designers and here I chose to spotlight two of my favorites:

   1. Galibardy - www.galibardy.co.uk

Head to the website and you'll probably be just in love as both Anna and myself are. Galibardy has this innovative knack for taking something super edgy like a brassy skull ring, and adding a slight feminine flair, like a white floral enamel design over the top of it. 

I'm also a huge fan of this tape measure styled bracelet

Galibardy creates necklaces, earrings and bracelets that add a tough-girl style to any ensemble. I envision the skull rings and necklaces mixed and matched with your favorite girly dress and a leather jacket. The BEST part about Galibardy is that the jewelry is reasonably priced, AND they are launching in the U.S very soon! Keep your eyes peeled for this company.
2. rebeccajane- www.rebecca-jane.com
I ventured around BrickLane by myself for a few minutes and lucky for me I stumbled upon rebeccajane. I  realized that the woman working at this booth is the designer and creator of the leather handbags and accessories at her stand. Rebecca Jane Eaton's craftsmanship is unbelievable, and it makes sense considering she graduated from Bristol University with a degree in fashion design womenswear, interned with the Givenchy accessories department where she had the opportunity to design a bag that was taken into production as a limited edition piece stocked in the Givenchy flagship store. Rebecca then went to work for famed English designer Luella Bartley and leather accessories designer Paul Seville.

rebeccajane according to its press release "is a label that endeavours to retain the craftsmanship and quality of handmade products, sourcing recycled materials and antique trimmings o make modern designs with a Victorian inspired edge,".
While I didn't nab a handbag I did get my hands on an amazing leather bird necklace with bronze and gold tarnished chains hanging from it, which I am beyond obsessed with. Definitely my favorite purchase from London. :)
xoxo, E

Brick Lane Treasures

As most of you know by now I am completely obsessed with Brick Lane Market.  Every Sunday there is a up market set up and I thought I had seen it all in my few trips there but I was sadly mistaken.  On my last trip I stumbled through the antique area through a very unnoticeable doorway.  Although antiques don’t necessarily interest me, I found some that tickled my fancy.  Jewelry designer Halo Jones. 

Here is the info I found out about Halo Jones from their website www.halo-jones.com

“Halo Jones uses carefully hand picked antique pieces and reassembles them into original and beautiful vintage chains and pins.

A trained gold and silversmith, she combines quality materials and painstaking attention to detail to create designs you will cherish for years to come. Every unique creation is a memoir, with each component representing a chapter in a past story - from grandad's pocket-watch to mum's rhine-stone encrusted brooches - 'Halo Jones' pieces represent the triumph of memory in an ephemeral time”

*images found from Halo-Jones.com

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The Misadventures of 2 Man Repellers

For those of you blogreaders who haven't heard of The Man Repeller, I suggest you do so immediately. www.manrepeller.com.

The funny thing about The Man Repeller is that last year Anna and I coined our fashion sense as the ultimate man repeller. Our friends always give us a hard time when we wear harem pants, bright lipstick, weird shoes or big headbands. But the thing is, we always dress how we want and how we feel, which is much more important than dressing to impress the opposite sex. The Man Repeller blog has the definition posted on her site as:


Anna and I started early last year when we would plan our outfits and just say it simply as "let's just repel tonight,". This would result in us wearing ridiculous outfits, but feeling amazing. We are both huge fans of oversized glasses, suspenders, crazy socks, tights, jumpsuits and obnoxious huge costume jewelry. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Here's one of my favorite Man Repelling looks worn by the lovely Leandra Medine herself.


Moral of the story is don't be afraid to wear things you love. Sometimes you'll get praised, sometimes you'll get dirty looks, but its all worth it if you feel like YOU. This way you'll always radiate confidence and usually get the guy regardless of whether you are wearing fuschia lipstick or dropcrotch trousers.

Art & Isabella Blow.

My class was taken to The National Portrait Gallery today in London to do some sketches and find inspiration.  And of course I was blown away.  I walked downstairs and turned a corner into a small dark room and see dead birds, rats, and moss balled up on a tall wooden stick. My eyes wandered just behind it to see the silhouette of the one and only Isabella Blow.  This piece of art was disturbing, but strangely beautiful.

*photo from http://www.hintmag.com/post/september-22-2010

Friends.Fashion&Fairytales

This past weekend I got the joy of having my two best friends (one being Emily the co-author of this blog) come and visit me in London.  Having my friends by my side in such a gorgeous and lively city was truly a fairytale.  Of course I took them to see all the typical London sights but I realized that the simple joy of shopping with your best friends was something I truly missed.  Even though most of our shopping trips were simply window shopping (until we hit bricklane...but that's another story. sorry bank account) I had missed having my partners in crime next to me to gawk over gorgeous or ridiculous clothes.  Friends are the best critics you can have while shopping. As long as they aren't the kind that will tell you not to buy something simply for the fact that you will outshine them in it (but honestly those wouldn't be your true friends).

So next time you want a new top or dress or anything in between grab your gal pals and hit up high street!