Hi everyone – Mai here, remember me? It’s been almost an eternity since I last posted on this blog but now that my exams are finally out of the way, I am back! If you followed me on Instagram (@socapricious), you would have known that I’ve actually finished a while ago. However, I’ve since started a full-time internship that has been taking a whole chunk of my time, which is why everything has been delayed until now. Excuses aside, let’s kick this off with a whole lot of pictures from my recent photowalk to Little Venice, London.
I’ve been living in London for almost 3 years now but have only managed to visit Little Venice in Maida Vale this past weekend. It’s such a shame that I haven’t gone there earlier on because it may have become my new favourite spot in this city. This residential area of West London has got such a pleasant and soothing feel to it – a stark contrast to the hectic and busy side of London that I’m used to. There, you can find a variety of houses, restaurants, stores and theatres enclosed within boats that are scattered along the waterway as well as many charming terrace cafes, restaurants and pubs on both sides of the canal. If you’re up for some sightseeing, there’s a regular waterbus service that runs from there to the London Zoo and Camden Town that costs from £8 per adult to get to Camden (a bit more to go to the London Zoo). The area is also surrounded by a lot of green spaces, perfect for summer picnics – although make sure you bring an umbrella with you, joke’s been overdone but what do you know, it’s London we’re talking about! It’s really easy to get there. You can just hop on the Bakerloo line and get off at Warwick avenue tube station (yep, the one that a certain Duffy once sang about), located just a couple of minutes away from the canal junction.
Outfit-wise, I’ve been obsessed with all white shoes and have just found the perfect pair. They’re the ASOS Portobello platforms (the white ones may be currently out of stock but they are still available in Black and Bordeaux). I was so close to getting the Vagabond Dioon lace-up boots but was a bit apprehensive about the canvas material that might get dirty easily. I was also eyeing the white ZARA Platform Blucher but when I went to the store to try them on, I realised that the soles were made out of a sort of styrofoam that was going to be rather difficult to clean. And then I saw these bad boys… They had ONE last pair, in a size larger than mine but I ordered them anyways. Couldn’t let this pass! As it turns out, the sizing was perfect, especially if you’re thinking about wearing socks with them. I guess it was just meant to be! The upper part is made of Polyurethane (a.k.a. imitation leather) and contrary to what one would expect, these all whiteys have been rather easy to maintain. They’re extremely comfortable as well due to the massive chunky platform heel. I think this is probably going to be the summer equivalent of my over-worn creepers.
PS: Special thanks to Sech for taking pictures for me!
I’m Wearing
Top : H&M
Shorts : Primark
Shoes : ASOS
Bag : Zara
I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that I’m not so much of a colourful person at the moment. Although, I definitely need more colours in my life right now considering the depressing weather outside. Notice the 5 consecutive black and white outfit? Ugh. However, I’m total sucker for bold and crazy prints, they’re just so much fun to photograph. Admittedly, this print isn’t that crazy considering it’s still in my safe black and white palette but it’s like a good compromise between my reluctance to wear more colours and my obsession with patterns. It actually makes me think about what a jester or a mime would have worn (…basically comparing myself to a clown now). I like the varying scale of the check print as it creates a really interesting optical effect. To create a sense of symmetry to the pattern of the sweater, I paired it with my black Zara wrap skort and my New Look pointed toe heels. Chose to go low-key on the accessorising to allow the bold print to speak for itself. Finally, I made an effort to top it off with my trusty mustard coloured coat so as I don’t end up looking like a character coming straight out of a black and white cartoon.
Having spent the past couple of weeks buried under a pile of books in the library, and sheltered away from the rest of civilisation, I’ve undoubtedly experienced a gradual shift in my priorities. As much as I would like to spend a whole day picking out what to wear and figuring out which jacket matches with which skirt, I usually have to leave home early in the morning to make sure that I don’t waste any of my revision time. Consequently, I’ve been recycling the basic pieces in my wardrobe and sticking to a rather uniform black and white palette. You just can’t go wrong with this classic combination. Thankfully, monochrome is somewhat of a trend this season so if someone asks, I can still claim that I’m making some sort of effort heh…
I’ve been really liking this Zara sweater because of the 3D effect of the embroidery and the cutout details. It’s a fun and subtle twist to the classic (yet, boring) white sweatshirt. To compliment the sort of baroque feel of the sweater, I paired it with this leather skirt from H&M, which also has embossed floral embellishment on the sides. For my everyday looks, I usually keep it simple so I went low-key on the accessorizing by simply completing the outfit with my trusty grey beanie from ASOS, comfy studded Nighthawk boots from Office and with my fringe bag from Zara (which surprisingly has plenty of space, enough to store a whole A5 notebook!) Et voilà, I’m set for another productive day.