wanderlust: vintage adventure in london

Tourists from different parts of the world flock to Portobello Market to discover London's best street market. There are arcades and stalls selling antiques collectibles and bric-a-brac. Whether you are looking for something special to bring home or just browsing, Portobello Market is surely not to be missed. 

The best day to visit the market is Saturday whereby all the street stalls are opened. To get there by tube; alight at either Notting Hill Gate or Ladbroke Grove station. For more details, visit this page. 

A mixture of vintage dresses and retro clothes

An array of vintage accessories, so tempted to buy some!

Racks of vintage dresses

and vintage accessories - bags, scarves, hats...

After walking around the market and you are still not satisfied, there are few vintage stores within the area that you can check out: 

One of a kind vintage
259 Portobello Road, Notting Hill
London, W11 1LR
Opening Times: Everyday, 10:00am to 6:30pm

295 Portobello Road

282 Portobello Road

Emma Goldman Vintage
112 Golborne Road

The 1920-70's Crazy Clothes Collection

134 Lancaster Road, Notting Hill

Opening times: Fri-Sat: 11.30 am, Mon-Thu, Sun: Closed

Regardless the reason you visit Portobello Market, it is sitll a fun thing to do in London. If you are lucky, you might find your one or two items to bring home. Well, I know I did. 

Hope you find this post useful and you are having a lovely weekend. Stay chic!

wanderlust: london - balenciaga: shaping fashion @ v&a museum

If you are a fan of Balenciaga, do check out its specially curated fashion exhibition at Victoria and Albert museum from now until the 18th February 2018. One of the most celebrated Spanish designers; Cristóbal Balenciaga founded his fashion house in 1919 in Sab Sebastian, Spain. It is believed that he was a genius who revolutionized the concept of dressing and the female silhouette. In this exhibition, you have the opportunity to see his beautiful work.   

Playing with volume

Spanish folk inspired dresses

Yet another Spanish folk inspired dress

50s dresses 

Hand painted silk dress

Cocktail dresses 

If you wish to fully immerse yourself into the fashion world of Balenciaga, plan a visit to its museum in Getaria, his hometown. It is on my list and hope I will be able to visit someday in the future.

Have a great weekend and stay chic! 

outfit post: 40s brown dress

In my recent trip to London, I was lucky enough to see Big Ben and hear its bell before it was officially closed for four year due to conservation work. As you can see from the above photo, scaffoldings are being built around the base of the clock tower. London would not be the same without its iconic landmark.

Outfit: 40s vintage dress and 40s vintage heels

Photos by Irina Aksenova Photography

This simple yet chic 40s brown dress is one of kinds. It comes with square collar and pockets. And I love dresses that come with pockets - so handy! Furthermore, the design of dress is timeless and if I did not mention it is a 40s dress, it is hard to tell. I bought this beauty from Dethrose Vintage and the shoes from Road Less Travelled Vintage 2. They are indeed a match made in vintage heaven.

The second location is Neal Yard's. I came across this location whilst searching for hidden gems of London. What do you think? Don't you just love the beautiful and vibrant surroundings.

Have a great weekend ahead and stay chic!

wanderlust: london - diana: her fashion story exhibition @ kensington palace

The earliest memory I have of the late Princess Diana is that I was staying up late with my family members to watch a fairy tale-like wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Furthermore, my mother has a hobby of cutting beautiful people in pretty dresses from magazines and newspaper and putting them in a book. And of course, the late Lady Di was one of them. I remember browsing my mother's book when I was little.

Fast forward to 2017, I had the opportunity to visit Diana: Her fashion story exhibition in Kensington Palace. When I tried to purchase a ticket at the Historic Royal Palaces website with no success, I was disappointed. I was about to give up hope, luckily my colleague in London office helped to source another website and tickets are available for purchase... phew and yay!  

A total of 25 dresses were curated in this exhibition. Each dress tells a story and shows the evolution of her fashion style over the years; from the brown tweed wool day suit worn on her honeymoon to the elegant off shoulder black gown that she worn when dancing with John Travolta to the Versace ice blue silk gown with beading.  It is an indeed truly  wonderful sight and experience for fashionistas or Lady Di's fans.

Fashion illustrations

My favourite photo

Kensington Palace

The White Garden

After visiting the exhibition, don't forget to strolling around the White Garden and the Palace's surrounding. The garden is planted with an array of white flowers to commemorate the late princess.

Till my next post, have a blast weekend and stay chic!