Fashion, Living

Basics and Black Kicks

July 1, 2015

Having been travelling so much since April, I’m loving having some time back in London to catch up with friends, work from my sofa and generally get back in the routines of home.

I feel like London’s almost trying to make me stay put with this amazing weather we’ve been having, and its definitely working. Busy, sunny days call for zero effort basics and new Vans I bought in Brighton recently… It took me ages to make up my mind on these but I’m really glad I bought them. I always feel a bit like an Avril Lavigne throwback in Vans but love them on everyone else so decided to take the plunge and embrace my inner emo-lover. If you’re a longtime reader of my blog this might feel a bit familiar… Remember this? Old dogs, new tricks springs to mind…

I bought the Toteme t-shirt in the Net-A-Porter sale and suddenly can’t think of anything else I want to wear. I love the burnt, rusty colour and I’m sure some of you are relieved to see I’ve actually managed to tear myself away from stripes for a moment. This looks extra amazing with bright blue denim washes too but the white, roughed-up cut-offs won on this particular morning.

In an effort to show my city some love, Frances and I headed to Piccola Cucina in Notting Hill for an Italian lunch in lieu of the actual riviera. I’ve walked past their pretty blue and white tables a million times and decided it was time to go and actually take a seat. It ended up being quite a bit pricier than I though (gulp) but the food was insanely delicious.

And seeing as tuna tartare with edible flowers deserves to be documented, I figured it was a good time to try out my new toy. I got sent an LG G4 recently and was keen to give it a go after hearing about it’s DSLR-quality camera and superior lens (F1.8 for any geeks out there). If you’re a guilty of clogging up your phone with far too many pics, you’ll probably like some of the camera features which was the main draw for me. In addition to ‘simple’ and ‘auto’, you can go fully manual, controlling everything from aperture to ISO and shutter speed. Great news for control-freak camera pros and it means better photos from the likes of festivals, parties or anything that involves low light and fast movement. I’m trying to get better at photography myself rather than relying so heavily on others, so I’m hoping this is going to help me get to grips with the basics and ween myself off auto mode.

The results of my snapping taken with the G4….

One we’d finished we headed for the tube and made our way to The Basics Store on Redchurch street, a pop-up full of some of London’s best young designers including my friends Blake and Marina London. Think crinkled camisoles, ribbed knitwear and buttery silk shirts… Danielle Foster’s bags, Jessie Harris’ jewellery and the huge selection of boutique fragrances are definitely worth a mention too.

In order to put the LG through its paces a bit more, I put the camera away and took pics of the store on the phone instead. I think I need to work on my manual skills a little but I’m pretty impressed with the results.

If you’re in East London in the next few weeks, make sure to pop by The Basics Store before it closes its doors on the 19th July.