Istanbul

I have wanted to go to Istanbul since I was child. The fact that it is the only city in the world split between two continents always intrigued me. Being such a unique hot-pot of diverse cultures, I was sure the city wouldn't disappoint me, and as expected, disappoint it did not!

Istanbul is a beautiful city and I absolutely loved it! Right from the moment I stepped out of the plane, I knew my journey would be a very eventful and memorable one.

The holiday started off on a rather anxious and eager note as my friend's flight was delayed by 8 hours and I had to patiently waited for the flight to arrive. Thankfully a kindle and Starbucks came to my rescue.

Also, I used this time to get holiday ready. A little bit to toe nail colouring never hurt anyone.

When my friend finally arrived, we went straight to the hotel, dropped our bags and left to explore the city.

As expected, the city was beautiful. With old mosques right in the middle of a modern city, I realized that in addition to a blend of European and Asian cultures, the old world and new world blend in together in Istanbul seamlessly.

The Blue Mosque was absolutely magnificent and was totally worth the long wait in the queue to see it.

It was full of visitors, some were there to pray while others, like me, had come to see its beauty.

The interiors of the Blue Mosque were breathtaking. The entire celing was covered in very intricate mosaic artwork.

Most mosques and religious places in Intanbul have a rule that men and women must wear clothes that cover their knees and hence I carried all my midi dresses on this holiday. I also carried a couple of scarves along in case I had to cover my head while I was in there.

It worked out quite well I think, as I got to combine my two favourites; midi dresses and scarves.

Along with the scarf, I accessorised my outfit with a hat. This, like the scarf was also a practical accessory to protect me from the blazing Istanbul sun!

I carried this satchel bag with me as my holiday bag as it was small enough to carry along comfortably but big enough to fit everything I needed.

All in all,  the first day in Istanbul was mesmersing and left me wanting more of the city!

As feautred;

Hat: H&M 

Nail Lacquer: Estee Lauder Pure Red 

Bracelet: Some Beautiful Place (Link)

Dress: Zara
Satchel: Urban Outfiters
Scarf: H&M
Sandals: Primark

Sunglasses 101

If god told me that I could have only one accessory for the rest of my life and asked me to pick one, I would choose sunglasses.

I say this because I have learnt it the hard way over the years. I come from a country where temperatures drop below 25 degrees very rarely and its sunny all the time. i.e. India. Growing up, I thought sunglasses did not suit me and people stared at me when I wore them. As a result, I avoided wearing and this meant there was a lot of squinting in the sun and terrible headaches involved.

Over time thankfully, I have grown out of my strange, awkward phase and now love sunglasses. I have even managed to collect a decent mix of high street and designer sunglasses.

The ones below are my current favourites.

Bottom Left: Chanel; bottom right: Tom Ford; mid left: Michael Kors; mid right: Ray Ban; top left: ASOS; top right: ASOS

My friends always ask me how I manage to have so many pairs, but the truth is I have collected these pairs over the past five years. Taking good care of my sunglasses has prolonged their life ensuring that I have a variety to choose from.

I often give my friends these three simple tips to protect their sunglasses and although these things might seem like common sense, you might be surprised how more often or not, most of us do the don'ts of this list.

1. Keep you sunglasses in a protective case. Throwing them in the bag without a case is NOT advisable as the lenses will get scratched. Even if they are not expensive sunnies, scratched sunglasses don't look good on anybody!

This Forever 21 pouch (Link), and is inspired by Rebecca Minkoff (Link). I love the Rebecca Minkoff version however I wanted a pouch for my highstreet, inexpensive glasses and hence did not want to spend a lot on the pouch.

2. Do not wear your sunglasses over your head! Yes, this is convenient and can look cool sometimes, but it loosens the hinges of the frame. You don't want your sunglasses drooping over your nose. That look never really works for anyone, unless you are playing the role of a strict grandma in a film!

3. Keep the cleaning cloth that comes with your sunglasses in the case. This might sounds like silly advise, but this cloth helps clean the lenses and is a protective cover for you sunnies in the box. (Yes, I know about the OCD of protection IN the box, but it works!)

I also often get asked how to pick a frame.

I'll be honest, I have a very narrow and small face and often find it hard to find sunglasses that suit me. But, over the years I have leant to make it work for me.

When picking sunglasses always try and stick to classic frames. Trends come and go but frames like Aviators and Wayfarers never go out of style. If you are feeling more glamorous, then big frames could be ideal for you. 

People say that different face shapes should wear certain type of frames and although it makes sense to an extent, I don't think anyone should restrict themselves to rules like that. If you have the confidence to carry off a frame you like, go for it, confidence is after all the ultimate accessory!

Double Denim Saturday

On one of those random lunch break shopping sprees I  passed by H&M or Hennes as it's called in the UK and saw this really simple staple denim shirt.

It is is really simple and it's simplicity is what makes it so versatile. It has been the most worn piece of clothing in my wardrobe this summer.

This weekend, I decided to go old school and team it with dark blue skinny jeans. There is something about dressing like the 90s thats so nostalgic and fun! Also, I love how the light blue shirt and the dark blue jeans look together.

To bring the outfit together, I wore tan sandals with a chunky heel and dark tan satchel bag and a snake skin printed scarf. I love tan coloured accessories. Be it shoes, bags or belts. I love it all! The colour in itself being fairly neutral, has a knack of completing outfits perfectly.

It was a glorious summer day and London from the South Bank looked beautiful as always.

Shirt: H&M
Jeans: H&M
Sandals: River Island
Satchel: Urban Outfitters
Scarf: H&M

Getting Ready for Summer

Summer is finally here! The sun is shining and I couldn't be happier. I decided to pick out a few key pieces of accessories for summer from the wardrobe and in the process I realised that less is more.

Summer in my opinion is all about minimalisation. So this year I decided to have only 3 key accessories  for all of summer and then I feel like, depending on the outfit and occasion I can always add or subtract something to match my outfit.

So here is a list of my summer essential accessories:

1. Ivory/ White coloured Sunglasses

A light coloured sunglasses frame screams summer and looks really chic. Mine are from Michael Kores and have a lovely rose gold detailing at the top rim giving a very on-trend, cat eyed effect.

2. Comfortable Nude peep toes

Nude peep-toes are very versatile and can be dressed up or dressed down very easily. Mine are really comfortable with a very slight wedge heel. I would wear them anywhere and everywhere possible this summer; right from a wedding to a holiday. 

3. A bright coloured Satchel

A satchel is just a perfect bag for summer. It is the perfect size, not too big but can contain everything I need. I personally prefer a bright coloured one as I feel it adds a fun element to my outfits and is quite a statement piece. I got this from a boutique while I was in Spain last year and absolutely love it.

I wore all three of these items to the park yesterday with a lace top and polka dotted jeans. You cant see the nude wedges in the picture but those are the shoes I wore with the outfit.

Hope you are having a good weekend! x

Neon and Nude Ballet Pumps

Neons and Nudes was a really hot trend last spring. Everyone from top designers to high-street fashion brands to even makeup brands came up with collections featuring nude and neon colours together.

The trend has returned this year and although last year, I dint really buy into it, this year, for some reason, I gravitated towards the whole nude and neon thing. 

Enter, these gorgeous H&M patent ballet pumps.

I was just casually browsing through H&M when I saw the florescent pink pumps. They are really, really bright and the above image is true to colour. I instantly fell in love with them. I know that they will be a love or hate item with most people, but I genuinely adore them.

I was on holiday last month and caught quite a bit of sun and they truly stand out against my really really tanned feet!

I saw the nude shoes as well but wasn't sure if I wanted them and hence did not buy them the day I got the pink ones. A couple of days later, I had to run back to H&M for a pair of tights and they were still there. I tried them on and really liked them. As a result, I now have nude and neon ballet pumps!

These nude shoes are perfect for just about anything. From afternoon coffee to work, I'd be happy to wear them anywhere and they would fit in. 

These pumps are really inexpensive and so did not dig a big hole in my pocket either. I think H&M is on top of their game right now. They have really good things coming out for spring and they really aren't very expensive.

Although I am in love with both these pairs, I haven't had an opportunity to wear them yet. With temperatures as low as zero degrees in London this week, sadly, all I can do at the moment is dream of spring. Hopefully I will get to wear them soon!

& Other Stories Blue Clutch

& Other Stories has just opened their flagship store in London at Regent Street. It is a new edgy and chic brand from the H&M group. It received a lot of PR coverage in press and amongst bloggers last week on its launch. The brand is supposed to be inspired by bloggers instead of catwalk trends and I believe, has currently launched only in 10 European countries.

They have a huge range of clothing, accessories, shoes, bags and makeup. Their make up range is surprisingly quite extensive for a such a young brand.

They have a website too that looks like a tumblr-meets-pinterest board, which I personally think is quite unique.

I was overly curious to find out what they had to offer so I went to the store a couple of days ago, and came home with this...

It's a very chic looking blue clutch with a red inside. It is made from Scuba diving wetsuits are made, giving it quite an edgy look.

It has a side-press buckle that sort of reminded me of my old school backpacks but in a cool way. The black strap sort of breaks from the blue colour and adds dimension to the clutch.

  

The inside of the clutch is lined with red scuba material and looks really good as the red stands out against the blue when its folded.

I tried to pair this with something casual I was wearing the day I bought it. However, it could be dressed up just as easily. Also, it surprising holds things quite well. I had filled it up with all my essentials before this picture and it still maintained it shape well.

The store itself has a very boutique like feel to it and is really big. Since it is not too cluttered with clothes, the experience of shopping in there was really good. All in all, I am really impressed with & Other Stories and will definitely be making a trip back there soon.

Spiky studs meet the Bag Lady

Yes, I am referring to myself. I admit, I have a little problem when it comes to bags. I want them all. 

Studs have been around for a while, in clothes, accessories and shoes, but I never fancied them until I saw this... 

Hello awesomeness! 

I first saw it in Topshop and though it was cute, but not worth the price. I then saw it Zara and firgured that it was slowly infiltrating its way through all high street brands. I saw it again in Primark, six times cheaper than the original Topshop bag. It was a bargain I couldn't resist. 

I absolutely adore this little clutch and have taken it out with me thrice so far. It fits in a lot of things for a clutch and is quite comfortable to carry around thanks to that little strap it has.

All in all spiky things are my new favourite! Next stop...shoes!