Things a student shouldn't be buying in freshers week:

A clutch by Christopher Kane! I know I shouldn't have but it was reduced from around £395 to £140 including p&p, which nobody can deny is a huge reduction. And Kane is by far my favourite designer, I really could not resist. Online shopping is dangerous and in future I will avoid it like the plague!

However this morning I got a call from my mum and apparently I've won the prize for textiles from my secondary school (based on A-Level results), and the prize is £100! So that makes me feel better since most of my little splurge has been covered :)

This colour is called 'chocolate', and I would have ideally preferred the green and blue one but hey for that price i'm happy! It's so fun, definitely something i'll keep for ages so never mind.

I have done something really bad

Or really good, depending on how you look at it. Sorry to leave you hanging but I will tell/show you next week when it arrives; oh yes, I have been internet shopping. Bad move.

Le room

Just a little update to show you my room now that I have fully unpacked :) It's way bigger than I had expected which is nice, and I have my own ensuite shower and toilet. There isn't much happening this week during the day so I've just been hanging out with flat/blockmates, but on monday I go into uni for the first time to enrol which i'm looking forward to. There's a massive UV party the night before though so I don't want to stay up too late!

Off to uni!

Tomorrow i'm going to university for the first time!! Well sort of- i'm moving into my accommodation but then I have freshers, so I don't go into uni until the 17th really. I know I haven't posted anything for a while again and I don't know what my schedule will be like when I move so we'll just have to see how it goes.
Today is a mad packing day; most things are sorted now, and I just finished packing my clothes! (Apart from coats and jackets that is). The photo shows less than half the clothes i'm taking haha, I didn't realise I had so many! I still have about half a wardrobe full too, but they are staying at home. That leopard print dress above is amazing, I bought it yesterday from topshop and it's kind of neoprene fabric- my new favourite!

p.s. my course is fashion design with production and marketing, at the University of Huddersfield- maybe it will inspire me to keep up with this blog!

Milan Part 2

I will try not to write too much since this post has lots of images, but sometimes I can't help but narrate because a) not everyone has been to/knows Milan, and b) I had an amazing time.

 This is during the daytime (obviously) but I was in this square at like 3am once with the girl I was staying with, and it was PACKED full of people all sitting down chatting, drinking and smoking. It was like a festival, or Camden or something, seriously such a cool place

This is in the same area- those columns are Roman and behind them all along the street are the coolest shops like American Apparel (I spent too much...), other alternative clothing stores and tons of skate shops.

 The camouflage bag was actually the bag they gave you in the shop for your purchases, not just a naff plastic one! And the pot contains natural yoghurt and sliced banana- my afternoon snack.

 Later that evening (after I met up with a certain gorgeous 23 year old Milanese boy...) I had dinner outside D'uomo sat at the base of a lamp post. Then this other Milanese man came over and starting chatting to me (late twenties, maybe 30)! I swear men in Milan/Italy are much more forward, but in a nice charming way.

 I did get a bit sick of panini (in Italian panino=1, panini= plural) towards the end of the month, and my host mum gave me a pack of 4 mini yoghurts one day so I bought a fruit salad to go with them. It was delicious!

 Managed to get a huge bruise on my thigh (may have been related to the gorgeous boy.....!!)

 Awkward selfie in the office when no-one was around!

 My balcony on the last day, about 20 minutes after I woke up. I was so sad to leave so I took tons of photos.

 This was my favourite place to hang out around the house, lying down on my balcony listening to my iPod. My flight wasn't until the early afternoon so I spent most of the morning of the last day here, crying because I really, really did not want to come home! Even now if someone offered me a place to stay/ another internship in Milan, I would go tomorrow.

 :(

 Aaaand back at King's Cross. Considering I came home on the day of the opening ceremony of the Olympics, and had to travel across London with my suitcase, it wasn't all that busy. Before this trip I never drank coffee but as soon as I got back I had a cappuccino from Pret, and as you can see I went to American Apparel at the train station. Oops! I will have to show you what I bought soon, it's in the wash at the moment.


I really hope this post wasn't too long or boring for you guys, I did try not to babble on too much! 

First vintage haul of England

Now that i'm properly settled back in England (although i'd still rather be in Milan), I got a craving the other day to visit the charity shop. I never really went regularly because I'd always see something that I couldn't afford, or I wouldn't have money for at the moment then next time it would be gone. But I swear this particular charity shop is the best thing about Peterborough; it's two storeys, three rooms full of womenswear, menswear, accessories and a bit of homeware. It is a specialist 'vintage and retro' Sue Ryder charity shop so prices are slightly higher than in 'regular' charity shops, but it's worth it because you always find something amazing. 
I walked in and went straight to the shoes, and found the most perfect chunky Kickers ever; they were like men's deck shoes crossed with builder's work boots, but with a heel. I almost died with happiness, then I saw they were a size 4 and I really died, in a bad way- i'm a size 5. I tried but they were definitely too small, so reluctantly carried on. In the end I bought a mid length slip and a pair of chunky black patent leather heels. These photos were obviously not planned for the blog since I just took them in a mirror (my mum's- mine is too dirty!), but oh well you get the idea. 

 

denim jacket, mid length slip and shoes- charity shop, slip skirt (worn underneath)- mum's

My summer so far (Part 1)

Okay so whilst I know I still have no proper excuse for not blogging for so long, but I do for July. Because I was in MILAN (!!) doing WORK EXPERIENCE with a FASHION DESIGN COMPANY (!!!). As you can perhaps tell this was super exciting! Four whole weeks living with a Milanese family, working full time at Krizia. It was heaven (eventually, after a few days of adjustment), and by the end I really, really didn't want to leave. These are just a few of the photos I took; I have more to upload but I thought it would be less heavy to have 2 separate posts.

 This was my room in the 'lake house' a bit outside Milan, where we went for the first weekend when I arrived.

 And this is the view from my balcony at the apartment in Milan- I was so lucky because I had my own balcony, bathroom with a shower and even a separate front door which went straight into my room. The family were so relaxed and let me come and go as I pleased, which was awesome! That's the part of being back home i'm struggling with now, as I don't have as much freedom (can't wait for uni!)

 This is the office where I worked, my desk is at the front of the photo.

 I had a roasted vegetable and mozzarella panino almost every day for lunch from a kiosk near work- so yummy! Also there was a gorgeous guy who worked there which may have had some influence on my choice of lunch venue (we had a bit of a thing actually, but I won't go into details here!)

 I had to go to lots of Rotary dinners since they organised my trip; this is the view from one which was at the top of a hotel.

 You can tell it's a fashion office when there's a huge mirror in the room for no reason.

 At the weekend the family took me places sometimes- this was a beautiful place on the edge of a lake, very similar to Brighton with all the hotels but as you can see it was much hotter!

 I just loved the font used on this hotel/restaurant.

 We went to an island called Isola Bella where there was a huge house and garden, with white peacocks!

 This is the garden. I mean seriously, people lived here. It was so stunning!

 Again, refer to previous comment.

 The next day we were sunbathing and swimming in the lake, and I got VERY burnt! 

 This is what the corridors of Krizia look like- very sleek, not like my usual style but I got used to it!

 These places actually exist, and they have every magazine you could possibly want.

 I ran (not very often), and combining the heat with being tired anyway after exercise, I ended up verrry red and sweaty. A bit gross!

 This is the galleria which goes between Piazza alla Scala and D'uomo- very fancy

 D'uomo, Milan's biggest landmark

 My friend Emily (on the left) was on a 3 week trip around Europe with her older sister so we met up for the afternoon, which was lovely.

 One weekend evening I bought a pot of couscous and walked to Arco Della Pace (photo below) and ate my dinner there, it was so nice to just sit there.

 Hope that wasn't too boring for you, look out for part 2 sometime soon!