Boucheron Quatre, an eternal classic

Black coat – CK. Ice-blue coat – Brics x Anywho. Leather halter-top by Topshop (found in Vintage store). Skirt – YesStyle. Shoes – Primark (over a year ago). Rings – Boucheron Quatre. Belt – LV via Vestiaire Collective.

Maybe it’s that time of my life, a particularly melodramatic chapter with lots of ellipses between sentences and one too many rhetorical questions, but lately I’ve been sensing a definite shift in taste. Taste in clothes, food, books what have you, although I wouldn’t necessarily label this the point where I grow up, seeing how I’ve once again spent an entire weekend playing Sims 3 and setting fire to my own house. One day I looked at my wardrobe and couldn’t help but frown at the abundance of flamboyant, low-quality pieces, including lots of the DIY projects that were done on a whim – ‘masterpieces’ that weren’t even washable. Then I had a look in our fridge and found that it was full of processed foods. But I popped that pizza in the microwave anyway, I guess I’d eat a rabid squirrel in any chapter of life, grown up or not. My point is, lately I’ve been leaning more towards finding the ‘eternal classics’ in design, the trenchcoats, black stilettos, white duvet-covers and wooden toys, you know the deal. Not that I can afford a Chanel 2.55, but surprisingly this attitude has been helping me to take a step back from the gurgling wave of trends and even spend a little less. So when Boucheron asked me to interpret the collection Quatre with a theme of Eternity I thought it was only befitting to the recent ‘coming of age’, and Kit & I shot these at the most perfect location – the circular Diana Memorial Fountain, around a section where the water texture resembled the row of diamonds and cobblestones characteristic of the Quatre collection.

Also, do pop by the Boucheron store on Bond Street (the guards have a remote for the door so don’t let the un-budging doors intimidate you like they did for me) and discover the store with your Instagram with the tag #BoucheronQuatre –  apparently they’ll be publishing some favourite snaps on their Facebook!

Nailpolish – YSL La laque couture 1 (Pop Art)

The ‘I am so sleepy, so so sleepy’ face

Neoprene Jacket – H&M trend. Saddle bag – Warehouse. Contrast-sleeve jumper – Topshop. Quilted orange skirt – Topshop Boutique . Geometric print skirt – YesStyle. Cross-patterned shirt tied around waist – Topshop Unique. Shoes – H&M x MMM. Thank you Kit for helping with the shots!

After these photos were taken we went and had a big healthy breakfast. No, I’m just convinced the sun sets at 7AM in London, how about where you live? My guess is that a few weeks ago our beloved sun happened upon a self-help book from the bookstore discount bin and on reading it experienced a surge of self-worth and decided it really was working too hard. Then I’m sure later it bumped into an old friend at the laundromat and got into a deep conversation on the topic of what’s up, where a bit too much empathy from the friend – one lousy reaction to an awkward encounter – fed to the sun’s new-found seething for the world and its ungratefulness. And on its way home tripped on loose brick and dropped all the fresh laundry in a bus stop puddle, at which point it goes SCREW THIS I’M GOING TO SLEEP FOR 6 MONTHS. Occasionally it gets up and goes to the bathroom, which is when we have some light outside, for about 15 minutes.

But that’s just my guess.

Costa del Sol, Spain

Scarf – Weston

Friendship bracelets – mix of DIY & Lucy Folk (with gold taco). Watch – Sekonda. Lipstain – YSL. Bodice top – Motel Rocks. Gold bangle – Saught

First pic/outfit: Pink dress as top – mummy’s old. Skirt – YesStyle. Satchel – ASOS White. Belt – LV via Vestiaire Collective.

A day before our flight to Spain, my husband tore off a chunk of the post-it note that had our what-to-pack list and slapped it on my arm, saying ‘don’t pack  your laptop, this will be your 7-day quitting patch’. I too tore off a slice for him and stuck it on his forehead, because hey, I wasn’t going to let the evil man eat chocolate if I was to be on a diet, so to speak. So we left for the airport, pounds lighter without our usual gear and a few other things (that chunk I tore off…), but heart heavy with the fact that I couldn’t even set some kind of a scheduled post here. It started with asking for three drinks in the plane instead of one, and then three toasts with nutella + banana slices for breakfast instead of the usual one cup of coffee, and an entire day of emptying out our friend‘s fridge (flan, leftover paella, grilled chicken, something that might’ve been dog food…etc) then going for the routine sunset stroll to the supermercado to replenish stocks for the next day. At one point I swear I could see my fingers tremble in the pattern of my email password, so instead I pet Murphy the ridgeback until we saw bald patches. At night, we played board games in Dutch and whenever either of us started losing blamed the only Dutch-speaker (aka host) for making up rules we couldn’t check online.

I won’t lie, and I’m sure you’ve all tried going off the computer/internet for a few days and will know exactly, it was pretty liberating. Personally I did come back 2kg heavier so with my brand of logic I will conclude that quitting computer is fattening, and therefore EVIL, but I won’t deny that I did feel very deeply rested after our little holiday in Fuengirola.

Marc Jacobs Wellington

Cashmere sweater, Muriee. Boyfriend Jeans, ASOS. Booties, Sam Edelman Rowin. Specs, YesStyle, Bag, Marc Jacobs Wellington

Just a quickie before I go tip a huge bowl of rice crackers from the lounge snack-bar into my boyfriend jeans for the 8am flight back home. I’m wearing the exact pair now and by happenchance caught a glimpse of my reflection at Tokyo Narita airport and honestly thought it looked like I pooped me pants. In a good way, like, you-ain’t-gonna-pat-me-down-there-surely type of convenience. Anyhow, this is probably not the outfit to be posting while on a layover in 35ºC+ (95ºF) Dubai, but I’m quickly learning that it’s not summer in London if there isn’t at least one piece of cashmere in a July outfit, so to heck with it. This Muriee piece is another one of those that fly on and off the couch with an indecent wash vs. wear count ratio, with a shape so boxy that so effectively conceals all stages of le food baby. My favourite bit is the fact that the cashmere is dyed with berries and leaves, brownie points for eco-friendliness!

Shot in London before leaving for Japan; Thank you Kit for helping with the snaps.

Sandals, Dune

V-neck tee, YesStyle. Heels, ASOS Sienna. Boyfriend Jeans, ASOS. Headphones, Urbanears. Brown satchel, ASOS. Leather Bracelet, COS. Watch, GUESS (Have you entered the GUESS One to Watch competition!?), Gingham bike-seat, YesStyle; Photos on rows 4,5,6,7 taken for Editer feature

Pop quiz: What does Ceviche, iced lemonade on a humid day, 2-for-1 sale at Sainsbury’s and cushioned flats during LFW have in common? Answer: The ‘Ahhrrrhhhhhhhhhhh‘ from an angelic choir that fill your head and relieve your stress-bar of gremlins and oafs (oaves? no). It’s one of those difficult-to-explain things that forces you give a vague explanation but also allows you to witness that rare surprised look on your ever-sceptical dining buddy as the first fork goes in – you know – the subtle hop of eyebrows and the curt nod before he catches your eyes and says ‘yeahhh it’s alright’. Pah, men and egos. Personally, when I had my first bite while shooting for Editer not only did I join in with my angel choir with a high-pitched medley (think ‘Oh Happy Day‘) but there was also hooting and banging of spoons on the table some. It’s that good. And as far as vague explanation goes, Ceviche (of Peruvian kitchen) – is basically raw fish and seafood marinated in spicy citrus juice, or what they call Tiger Milk. I obviously had a brief moment of imaging milking a tiger and thinking THAT’S RIDICUWOOS, but a sip of it induced another angelic ‘Arrhhhhhhh‘ plus a happy tiger roar and then I understood why the name. So there you have it, a perfect birthday lunch with le hubby. (Bday is actually the 4th but since every year I’m busy counting fireworks [FOR ME!?] we decided to celebrate earlier.)

Speaking of birthdays and delights, got some fun news from the lovely folks at Motilo: An opportunity to win a ridicuwoos amount of dosh to spend at NET-A-PORTER.COM. I have my eyes on a certain PS1 classic or contents of a full suitcase to take to Japan next week. In fact, the competition ends on the 10th of July and that’s just about when I fly so I’ll see you, suitcase, at the airport. Note: if you’re feeling generous, please feel free to enter with variations to my name (i.e Shini Parko, Shini Parkookoo, Shini Pee…etc) and I’ll never complain that someone spelt my name wrong in an email again.