Building the perfect capsule wardrobe

A few weeks ago I was invited along to a style workshop at the amazing new creative workspace that is The Lifestyle Lab. The concept was created by the lovely Victoria Martin Style and is already becoming a hot spot for cool events and launches - watch this space, quite literally.

Presented by Victoria, we were taken on a journey to the perfect capsule wardrobe. The what you need, what to invest in, working with trends and what to just straight up avoid. With a background in personal styling Victoria's pretty dang awesome at this stuff and I left feeling ready to give my wardrobe a much needed re-fresh. I've been going through a bit of a love-hate relationship with my clothes so the event couldn't have came at a better time. I've always thought I was pretty good at knowing what looks good and what doesn't but my shopping habits don't often lend themselves the way they should. Impulse buying is a weakness of mine. Anyone else? So, now feeling a little more knowledgeable in how to shop stylishly I'm living by a few wardrobe mantras. Here's just a few ways that I'm planning to nail a killer wardrobe that Olivia Palermo would be proud of.

Simple isn't boring
I'm finally starting to move away from this but growing up I only ever purchased statement pieces. I'm now realising the importance of a basic - a plain white tee, a pair of good jeans, a tailored blazer or simple flats. Quality is also crucial in basics. It can be SO hard to spend the good portion of £50 on a basic t-shirt but I'm now realising the difference this makes on the way it hangs on your body, how it washes and it's overall look.

Inject a little colour
It's so easy to lean towards an all black wardrobe to look chic with minimal effort but fashioning a little colour into an outfit really shows your style credentials. One blogger who pulls off colour perfectly is Sincerely Jules - her style is still incredibly effortless yet chic. Accessories are also another brilliant way to rock colour. Think colourful jewelled earrings, a statement bag or even bright nails.

Play with texture
Another thing I've really started to consider when purchasing clothes is the variety of materials I have in my wardrobe. Contrary to the previous mantra, wearing the one colour (whether that's grey, black, white or blue) can be undeniably stylish however texture is key to nailing this look. Wearing top to toe black cotton can be a little uninteresting but mixing it up with a different material such as leather or silk brings a whole other dimension to an #OOTD.

This is just a few thoughts but definitely a good starting point. In terms of purchases, here's a few that are on my #NeedsMust shopping list:

• A white blazer - I have a black blazer that I've worn religiously for the last two years and it's the perfect piece to smarten up any look. I'm hoping the white will be a nice alternative and give a really fresh look to my outfits, especially with spring / summer on its way. 
• A good pair of jeans - now, when I say good jeans what I really mean is 'proper'. I.e. ones that are made with denim as opposed to a mix of cotton and elastan. I still love stretch denim jeans but want a pair that look straight outta the 90s. Perhaps in a better fit.
• A Breton top - my love for the striped top grows every day and I'm needing a new edition to my wardrobe.  I'm not too fussy on the style but it just needs to be something that fits / hangs really well. 
• An oversized shirt - although it might look like there's already one of those in my closet based on the above pictures this was actually a steal from The Boy's wardrobe. Yes, I could steal his any time I wanted but I'd prefer to find one of my own that's the perfect balance of oversized yet flattering. I've heard a lot of good things about the men's shirts at Gap so planning on picking one up there during their next sale. 

So, again, just a few of the things I'm hoping to pick up in my next shopping spree.

Cardigan - Zara (similar)

Shirt - stolen from The Boy

Belt - Moschino

Jeans - Zara (similar)

Shoes - Next (similar)

If you have any fashion staples that you absolutely live by I'd love to hear about it.

XoXo

Travel diary | Thailand part 1

Welcome back to part 2/3 of my holiday photo diary. To avoid me rambling on about what we did every moment of every day (a very, very bad habit of mine) I thought I would break the next two posts up into mini travel guides, based on what we got up to. The do's and the don'ts, perhaps. We'll let's give it a try.

After a long seven hours flight to Thailand followed by an exhausting five hour wait at Phuket airport we were finally on our way to Koh Samui. Getting ready to land on the island we were greeted by mesmerizing views of turquoise coloured seas and white sandy beaches. Unfortunately I was too delirious by that point to whip out my camera but I'm hoping you can visualise this with me as I never want to forget that view!

KOH SAMUI

Accomodation

We spent our three nights on Koh Samui staying at Ark Bar Beach Resort. This is perfect accommodation to ease you into Thai living with it's party atmosphere, stunning beach views and DJ playing from morning to night. In a way it almost felt like we were holidaying it up in Ibiza but with a serious scenery upgrade! The room itself was basic and clean and just what we needed. The hotel is the perfect location and in walking distance to plenty of shops, bars, restaurants and massage parlours. Plenty of massage parlours.

What to do

Massage - talking about massage parlours this is definitely a must-do while in Koh Samui. The prices are some of the cheapest we seen and the choice is endless. There is literally a massage parlour on every corner. Think Gap in NYC (thanks Joey). After enduring a full day of walking along the beach we opted for a foot, leg and neck massage. It was the best £3 I think I've ever spent. The best part is you can sit next your bestie and well pretty much laugh your way through all the weird and wonderful techniques they use - or at least that's what we did...

Lady Boy Cabaret Show - if you're looking for a night of cheesy music, a little theatre performance and an hour of dis-belief that these girls are actually men, this is for you. I'm not sure if it's the same everywhere but we didn't pay to get in. We did however have to buy a drink though which cost us about £5 each.

Mr Ung's Jungle Safari - this was a great day out and allowed us to experience corners of the island that we probably wouldn't have on our own. The day starts with a visit to a temple with a mumified monk (slightly scary but so fascinating to see!), a visit to a zoo, swimming in a waterfall, lunch in the mountaintops and entry into magic garden. You're picked up in one of those open air trucks which has two seats on the roof - so much fun!

Shopping - unfortunately this isn't something I did much of in Koh Samui (the usual 'I'll wait to see what else there is' error ) but I think Koh Samui has some of the best shopping. Especially if you're after some fakes! I'm still regretting walking by those Dior So Real dupes!

KOH PHANGAN

After three days in Koh Samui heaven we packed our bags and headed for our next stop: Koh Phangan. For anyone planning this island hop on an upcoming trip you'll be happy to know it's only an hour boat trip between the both.

Accomodation
After a short taxi drive to our hotel we made our way down a small driveway and checked into the Phatcharee Resort. Firstly, the accommodation itself is gorgeous. With our own little lodge and a pretty pool we were set. Well, we would have been set if a few pesky cockroaches visiting our room didn't leave us terrified for our three nights there. I know this really can't be helped when you're in a tropical island but unfortunately for us it dampened our experience a little. My only other issue with this hotel was its location. As the sun disappeared we were required to make our way down a street that had absolutely no street lights. Definitely not something two girls want to face before reaching their hotel. I don't want to give a completely bad review of this place as it was still lovely and clean and the staff were really friendly.

What to do

Mopeds - Koh Phangan is very different to Koh Samui. Everything is spread out and for that reason a moped is almost essential. I'm not sure what we would have done without ours. Thankfully the roads are pretty quiet so once you get the hang of driving it's a lot of fun! Taking long drives to stop off at random beaches is what our days consisted of. The bikes only cost around £4 to rent for the day and petrol is cheap as chips!

Half Moon Party - our main reason for heading to Phangan, and most travellers for that matter, was to attend the Half Moon Party. Everyone has heard of the infamous Full Moon party and this is basically a slightly smaller version of this. The one difference is this party is held inland as opposed to on the beach. It was a fantastic night filled with drinking, dancing, people watching and neon body paint, of course...

Bubba's coffee shop - we stumbled across this place on our first day and visited again the following day. The staff are incredibly friendly and they serve a mean breakfast with some delicious smoothies. Definitely a must-visit if you're ever in Phangan and in need of a good hangover curer!

I hope you enjoyed the first of my Thailand posts - more in the next one. If you've ever been to Thailand I would love to hear your recommendations!

XoXo

A day in the Dubai dessert

Today marks two weeks to the date that I returned from what can only be described as the perfect winter getaway. Suffering from a little bug, a whole lotta jet-lag and coping with the beach life to work life transition, I think I'm finally recovered and ready to re-live those two magical weeks.

Like any holiday, there was plenty a picture taking so, while I have whittled it down there is still quite a mountain full to get through so I'm going to split this into a few posts. And well pretty much drag out the holiday reminiscing process as best as I can! First up, and our first destination of the trip: Dubai. With only a day and a half ahead of us we opted to get a real taste of Dubai with a desert safari - you know, just your typical Sunday afternoon activities...

Picked up by a 4WD (we booked this trip with Get Your Guide) we headed away from the concrete skyscrapers of the city and out into the wilderness, where there was nothing but sand for miles. I've never been in the desert before so this was an experience on its own but little did I know what was ahead of us. After letting the air out of our Jeep tyres we were ready to hit the sand dunes. In the blink of an eye, around 15 Jeeps sped off out onto the dunes in all directions. Clinging onto the side handle we thrashed our way through the sand with nothing short of a small scream from me and my bestie at every turn. No word of a lie, my heart was in my throat this entire journey. The Jeep was inches from tipping over, on multiple occasions. Definitely not for the faint hearted! But if you can handle those 30 minutes you'll laugh more than you can last remember. After an obligatory stop for pictures we headed to The Desert Gate for the second half of our evening.  We enjoyed a mix of belly dancing, henna tattoos, a shisha corner, camels and even the chance to dress in the traditional Arabic dressing. I loved every moment of this day and spending the evening in somewhere that looked straight out of the Aladdin movie gets 10 stars from me,

 

 

To finish off our Dubai visit we checked out the Dubai Mall and headed to the beach for a lazy afternoon watching a few surfers catch some waves. After a stressful taxi situation leaving us 90 minutes behind schedule we made it just in the nick of time for final check-in, ready for the second leg of our trip.

Get ready to be transported to a tropical Thai-paradise in the next post.

XoXo