When in London

Wow. I don't know what other way to describe this city, really. After having stayed there for almost 2 weeks I am completely certain that I want to study there and possibly spend the rest of my life there. There's just so much to write about that I don't know where to begin. To cover some basics: I stayed with my cousin who studies there, I was there for a total of 11 days and the main motive of my trip was to do a portfolio course at London Art Portfolio which is situated just off Tower Bridge. There, I met some truly amazing and inspiring people and the time in between classes was spent going round some of the bigger art galleries (such as Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Royal Academy of Arts, National Gallery, Somerset House etc), eating beautiful food and shopping of course! With London being such a huge city with a vast mixture of ethnicities, culture and style, I really got a chance to experiment with clothes as I wasn't as worried getting the strange stares that I would normally get if I was back home. Here is a round up of some of my OOTDs :

Gallery Hunt:

tshirt: Mango, skort: www.sheinside.com (or Zara), satchel: H&M, plimsoles: River Island

Art Class:

Bart Simpson crop top: www.sheinside.com , studded shorts: Pull and Bear,

 backpack: Topshop, creepers: Ebay

Airport Ready:

short sleeve jumper: H&M, floral leggings: Zara Kids, backpack: Topshop, shoes: Vans

 There is so much to do in London throughout the year, but I think if anyone was to ever visit, summer is the best time as the weather is perfect for seeing some of the main attractions. Since I had already seen some of the biggies (such as the London Eye, Westminster Abbey and Madame Tussauds) this time I decided to pay Greenwich and the Tower of London a visit.

OOTD 'Monochrome' : shirt, trousers, jacket, satchel: all H&M , creepers: Ebay , sunglasses: Michael Kors

A few days were obviously dedicated to shopping, something London is probably best known for. Brick Lane was absolutely insane and I would definitely recommend it for vintage and thrift lovers and even those who love a good bargain (such as myself) here are a few of my favourite Brick Lane buys:

(I am a total sucker for nick nacks so I was practically in heaven when i saw the amount of jewellery stands) all of the above were bought at the markets apart form the beetle earrings which are Zara and the flower earrings which are Pilgrim.

This cute little vintage dress was only £7.50!!

If you ever decide to pay Brick Lane a visit, the best day to go is Sunday as it is the only day when all of the markets are open, although you can go during the week if you want to go round the vintage shops (which are slightly more expensive than the markets) 

The dress and jewellery were all bought at the Sunday UpMarket in the Old Truman Brewery, including these amazing treats at one of the stands (left: strawberry cheesecake whoopie pie, right: vanilla raspberry cupcake) and I can honestly say that they were the most delicious cakes I have ever tasted.. like ever.. better than the Hummingbird Bakery I swear!

Recommended vintage shops: Blitz, Beyond Retro, Rokit Vintage, East End Thrift Store

ART JAM @ Rich Mix Centre (Shoreditch)

One night we went to this thing called an 'art jam' where basically some artists were gathered to do a live painting session where each artist got 45 minutes to do an improvised painting and after the time was up the artists had to switch canvases and continue painting someone else's piece. This went on for a few rounds and the final outcomes were so cool! These were a few of my favourites.

There were a lot of talanted musicians at the art jam but this girl really stood out, her name was Vanessa Casperscz and she was a singer/beat-boxer/ukulele player.. talk about talent! So make sure you check her out! 

Wow this has turned into a long post but you have reached the end of it! Might do a part 2 of London sometime depending on my mood, as there is still a lot of cool stuff to share!