What Is This Heart?

Top: Target

Vest: DIY

Skirt: Miss Selfridge

Socks: Miss Selfridge 

Flats: Nine West

Watch: Vintage

When my boyfriend got his master's in art journalism from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, he started dressing in a more normal fashion as an act of rebellion against his sartorially experimental environment. After living in London and working in the fashion cosmos for the past few weeks (both of which are chock full of edgy/avant-garde style), the opposite has happened to me. More often than not, I'm finding myself on the lookout for quirky individual garments and pairing wacky with wacky. 

Such was the mindset behind the above outfit. When I spotted this shiny, leather skirt in Miss Selfridge I absolutely fell in love with it. Because it's so flamboyant on its own, I knew I had to pair it with an equally outlandish top because #maximalism. So I teamed the skirt with an overly embellished DIY vest and a yellow polka-dot blouse. Then, for an extra splash of color, I slipped into a pair of teal frilly socks. I had a lot of fun in this getup, but I'm sure if the alien child saw me in real life, he'd shake his head and say, "Oh gosh." To which I say, "WHATEVA." I'm thrilled that my style is getting crazier because Iris Apfel is one of my style icons and life is more exciting when you're mad. 

On the subject of insanity, this past week has been a wild whirlwind. Here's a recap of what I've been up to in photo diary form with a pinch of letters here and there:

Believe in Magic River Cruise

Conde Nast generously allotted 10 tickets to the Believe in Magic boat cruise along the River Thames to those of us in the Vogue Program and I was fortunate enough to get one of the tickets. So for three hours I sailed down the River Thames and watched the London city lights sparkle and glimmer against a starry night sky. It was truly an enchanting event hosted by an amazing charity. Whilst on the boat, I had the pleasure of meeting Meg, the founder of Believe in Magic. She has had a brain tumor for 6 years, but is so full of joy and works with One Direction's Harry Styles to help kids with cancer. Hearing her story was so inspiring. To see someone who has gone through such hardship, get up and tirelessly help others made me believe in the good in humanity. It made me believe in magic. 

Convent Garden

Last Saturday, I went to Covent Garden to try High Tea at the Strand Palace Hotel. Unlike English Breakfast, High Tea did not disappoint. My favorite was the peanut butter macaroon. Oh, and the scones were very delicious as well. Actually, all the desserts were sweet delights. The sandwiches were ok. Not too bad, but not great. And the green tea was top-notch because you can never go wrong with green tea in my very biased opinion. 

Oh, and in case you are wondering why there is a photo of stairs in this section, it's because I walked up 100+ stairs to get to Convent Garden. The Tube advises you to wait amongst a horde of people for a handful of minutes instead of taking the stairs because the latter is too physically exhausting. It is not. It only took me 10 minutes (or less) to walk up these stairs and it wasn't tiring at all! So if you ever find yourself at an Underground Station and have to choose between waiting for a lift or taking the stairs, I advise you to take the stairs. But that's because I am a self-proclaimed claustrophobe and I hate waiting. Also, I welcome exercise, so maybe take my advice with a grain of salt. 

Ceramic Poppies at the Tower of London

If you are in London, you MUST go see the ceramic poppies at the Tower of London. The art installation marks the centenary of the outbreak of WWI and it's truly a sight to behold. Everyone there is also absurdly polite. Unlike the horrendous crowd at the Mona Lisa, the people at the Tower of London don't push and shove. Once a person is done snapping photos of the poppies, he/she moves out of the way for the person behind to slip in and go snap happy. This is why Londoners are the best humans. 

How To Dress Well

I GOT TO SEE HOW TO DRESS WELL LIVE IN LONDON FOR ONLY 15 POUNDS!!!! 

This was definitely one of the most surreal experiences of my young life. How To Dress Well is on my list of Top 5 musicians I need to see live (Bon Iver, Alt-J, James Vincent McMorrow, Sam Smith being the other four), so being able to even see Tom Krell perform in real life right in front of me was a pinch-me-I'm-dreaming moment for sure. BUT THEN, I got to hang out with Tom Krell and his crew at the ritzy W Hotel after the show. 

!!!!!

I know, right. Apparently, none of his other fans knew about this after party because it was literally just me, Tom Krell, and his homies. They were all really interesting, comical people. Here are some notes I gathered from the night:

Tom Krell- Hates Chicago because he says there's nothing in the Midwest, but loves NYC. He's also really into music (#duh). He brought out his laptop and plugged it into the DJ table and pretty much spent the night bopping his head to songs from his playlist and eating egg rolls. AKA he is so hip and cool and dreamy. Oh and he has a PhD in philosophy so he is also intelligent. Swoon. 

Caleb (the manager dude)- Was a biochem major at UCSD and then created a music project in Sacramento during his gap year. His project tanked but he had so much fun with it so he decided to follow his love for music instead of going to med school and now he is How To Dress Well's manager. 

Elliot- Lives in Richmond and works in the European division of How To Dress Well's tour team so he travels with Tom when he's in Europe. 

Lawrence- Works in the UK division of How To Dress Well's label. He only stayed a bit and then disappeared and I never saw him again. 

Andrew (the drummer dude)- Tom said it was Andrew's birthday during the show and then balloons fell from the sky but it was not really Andrew's birthday. They all just wanted an intimate excuse to drop balloons from the ceiling. 

Larry (the sound dude)- Definitely the most amusing person I talked to. He does sound for a bunch of bands that come through London and also DJs on the side. He said he hates everyone in the music industry equally and doesn't want his unborn children to ever go into the music industry. He also said he went to school with Ed Sheeran and apparently Ed Sheeran bullied his friend's little sister and just projects a nice guy image. Also, his favorite DJ is Calvin Harris. 

Aaron (the violin dude)- He is an improv comedian on the side and has a cool mustache. His favorite place he's been on tour is New Orleans. 

Larissa (keyboard + vocals)- She has a rad mushroom haircut and I liked her triangle earrings and pointy-toed shoes. She plays with How To Dress Well, but she also has her own band on the side and does freelancing gigs with other bands. She cuts her own hair and enjoys reading NYLON, i-D, and Dazed. (My favorite magazines as well!)

Who knew there were so many people behind the scenes?

The Phantom of the Opera

When I studied abroad in London last year, I watched Geronimo Rauch play Jean Valjean in Les Mis. I walked out of the musical thinking, "Ohmygosh, if that dude ever plays Phantom, I'll explode." Found out this year that he got the role of Phantom. Exploded. And then made it my mission to see him play Phantom. 

Saw him play Phantom on Halloween and ohmygoodnessgracious he was BORN for the role. When he sang the bit from All I Ask of You, I cried. He has the most amazing voice in the world. I've never heard anything like it. I never will. It is not human. And when paired with emotive lyrics and heart-wrenching instrumentals, it is just unreal. Chills. Tears. Heartbreak. 

Camden Market

Sorry I didn't get more snaps of Camden Market but I was too busy drooling over all the clothes. This place is not healthy for my wallet. They have JumpFromPaper replicates for only 10 POUNDS!!! It took all my willpower to resist buying one of the cartoony-looking messenger bags, but I did it. (I'll probably end up going back and buying one, but at least I managed to stop myself the first time around!) 

On top of unique clothes and accessories, Camden also has mouth-watering food, talented street performers (and not so talented ones), cute little canals, and sick street art. My friends and I pretty much spent 20 minutes snapping photos in front of painted walls for social media purposes. #Millennials 

White Cube Gallery

Ever since my host Amy introduced me to Tracey Emin's work, I've been obsessed. I found out that she has a few of her light installations at White Cube gallery so I sprinted over there this weekend to stare at them in real life. Apparently, the you in "The Last Great Adventure Is You" was originally suppose to signify the other. As in the lover was suppose to be the great adventure. But then Tracey Emin realized the you was more the I. So it became more of a you're your own great adventure kind of thing. And I dig that. Because it's true. 

Don't rely on another person to make life exciting! You can embark on great adventures all on your own. 

The last great adventure is you. 

Music

Suicide Dream 1 by How To Dress Well

Precious Love by How To Dress Well 

xx