Vibrant Christmas

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JJ SMITH

Oh Christmas, I am so glad to see you again...

We've got back to that magic time of the year, and as much as I am enjoying it, I am also getting *once again* very tired. And yes, I know, I am all about #FirstWorldProblems...

In words of my latest newsletter from Laduree: 'Magic is the Christmas word on everyone’s lips, but food is also on everyone’s mind!' That, and alcohol, of course. But we are not here to discuss how many glasses you are gonna end up indulging in the various celebrations the festivities await, but rather where to dress up and have lovely breakfast/tea to commemorate the holiday season. And I definitely found the right place for you. 

Few blocks off Victoria station is Ebury St, a path upon which that magic occurs, and that I would have never thought of crossing if it weren't because of IG. I am so glad my addiction got me to it!

This West London walkaway is perfect for an early morning/ afternoon stroll. Lots of little cafes and yummy restaurants, and by the end of it? Peggy Porschen Cakes. Oh, you fancy. 

You say pink, I say love. I say sweet, you say done. 

At this très chic bakery located in Belgravia you'll find creative cupcakes, fancy cakes and other sweet treats, plus tea and champagne. BOOM! The menu is vast and not that expensive considering where you are at, though you can really splurge if you want to...they've got a 400GBP gingerbread house that would be every little girl's dream. 

In any case, it's been a bit grey and cold in London lately, so once the weather was on my side, I decided to put a bit of colour into my day outfit. Red for Christmas and gingham cause I bloody love gingham. Tights? What the hell is that? Not on my vocabulary thank you. It even feels it's summer by the looks of this...

TCB xx

WHAT I WORE

Prada Flower Baroque Sunnies (circa 2013, sold out)
Believe-e Gingham Blouse
Mango Red Leather Skirt
Diane Von Furstenberg Nude Pumps (similar here)
Vintage Red Bag
Maria Pascual Jewellery
 

Furrylicious

Sometimes, all you need is a splash of colour, especially in a city like London.

The more time you spend in the city, the more you get soaked in it, loving every single bit of it. So much fun, however, is counterbalanced by the weather. You can go days without seeing the sun, and for that reason I think everybody could do with some colour to brighten up their day. Whether it is in the form of architecture, clothing or food...jazz things up, baby!

You know how much I love characterizing my outfits, so for this occasion I felt like impersonating Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. It is either that or Audrey Hepburn and her red lipstick. Who else would it be more fabulous and powerful than them? 

TCB x

Psss photography is by the megababe Roz Alcazar

“Colors are the smiles of nature”

— James Henry Leigh Hunt (1784-1859)

“The purest and most thoughtful minds are those which love colour the most”

— John Ruskin (1819-1900)

WHAT I WORE:

Paper Dress Vintage 70s Vintage Fur
Giant Vintage Cobain Sunglasses
Bershka leather Skirt (old, similar here, here and here)
ASOS Fishnet Tights
 

Stars and Studs

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROSALIND ALCAZAR

Winter is finally upon us, but don't let it ruin your day! It doesn't matter whether it's sunny or cold outside, you should always enjoy what surrounds you. And that's exactly what I did on a cold morning around North London: explore Camden!

If there is something that characterises Camden, is their punk/goth/rocknrolla style that to me cries out loud: LET'S BE REBELS! And what is better than a leather jacket to portray that? 

I've been looking for the perfect leather jacket for months now and it wasn't until I visited Camden that I found one. Should have thought about it earlier, really! This place is known because of its leather goods... In fact, in my first visit London (about 15 years ago, with my parents), trendy mum and I went on a shopping spree and bought what is still today my favourite leather jacket. You can see it on my insta :)

There are plenty of high-end options for a leather jacket, but for this instance I wanted something more special. I wanted something a bit more grunge and with a story. After walking up and down the street, we found a leather wholesaler on the back of one of those souvenir shops that we all love so much. Just walking into this place I knew I was in for the win. I love the smell of pure leather and the guys there knew exactly what they were talking about. They even gave me tips on how to wear it! I couldn't really say no this time, so lucky winner one on the pictures came back with me home.

Shopping along Camden High St is a lot of fun (specially if you are after leather goods, piercings or phone cases), only if you've got the patience to take it all in. Everybody wants to sell you something, so it can be tiresome. But hey, it's part of the entertainment, right? Every salesman there is so friendly, after all. And if you stay with them for a while, you'll go home with great tales to tell.

Stay tuned for more,

TCB x

WHAT I WORE

Leather Jacket (bespoke, Camden shop)
Topshop Joni Jeans
Marques Almeida Buckle Denim Top (sold out, but very similar here)
Gucci Dyonisus Medium Size Bag
ZARA Patent Leather Ankle Boots (similar here)

I eXceL in #MyCalvins

PHOTOGRAPY BY OLAJIDE JJ SMITH

Man, do I love the 90s or what! I'm hooked to the idea of bringing old-school trends back. And some brands are doing great at it. I mean, just look at this outfit!? 

These days I'm also feeling like a dangerous woman (yes, very Ariana Grande of me) so I'm embracing more daring outfits. Always in style though, PLEASE. 

Speaking of style. How cool is the street art on this shoot? You may be wondering where that wall is! It is part of XL Recordings, a record label located in a mew in West London. Since they started in the 90s, they have worked with big names such as Adele, Beck, Radiohead, Dizzee Rascal, M.I.A., FKA twigs and The XX, reason why you see this wall at their entrance. They must have done very well, hey!

Have a lovely weekend careless readers, 

TCB xx

P.S: JJ and I had a bit of a running story where I am posing like Kim Kardashian showing off her ass. Can you guess one which one is it? :P

WHAT I WORE:

Round Rayban Shades
Topshop CropTop
Calvin Klein for UO Midi Skirt
Stan Smith Adidas Sneakers

Candy Land

Candy Land, an unknown place for many and a delicacy for some.

Located on what I call the outskirts of London (that is anything beyond Zone 2 on the tube) is a beautiful workspace for artists and designers called SugarHouse Studios. It seemed to have an up an running café, a pizza service and a yard but, to date, is rather leftover and empty of Londoners.

The area is quite rough to my taste, despite having Stratford and the Olympic Park quite near. Nevertheless, what would seem an unreasonable trip for many was a perfect adventure for The Careless Blogger. The Spanish Mafia dressed up for the day and went exploring the area.

Why CandyLand? You may wonder. Unfortunately, there are no sweeties involved but spots called like it: PUDDING Mill Lane is the stop you'll need to get off to go to the studios or alternatively you could stop by MARShgate Lane on the bus. Not to mention the studio is called SUGARHouse? Put that on a pipe and smoke it.

As we weren't aware of what we would encounter we brought some sweeties ourselves. We enjoyed a very cold morning of girlie catch up and took some pics for you to see :)

#FUNFACT: the studio front facade was made from colourful tiles handmade on site! The colours are random, for each batch different amounts of pigment were added, decided by whoever was making tiles at the time. Similarly there weren't any rules or patterns followed for putting them up, just whatever looked good to whoever was doing it at the time. How awesome is that?

Below you can see the results!

P.S.: Yes, I support #freethenipple.

TCB xx

WHAT I WORE:

SheIn 90s Top
Topshop Mom Jeans
Gewel Boutique Sunglasses
Miista Eva Galactic Heels

Queen of Hearts

PHOTOGRAPHY BY jide JJ SMITH

I feel Londoners live by the weather conditions sometimes. I've had so many people telling me that's the first thing they check to plan their days (and outfits) in the city, it's not even a joke anymore! 

I, for starters, am one of these people, ha! You need to be prepared for at least two weather changes in a day in London, if not more. You can go from grey and cold to rainy to then beautiful sunshine in a matter of 30 minutes. Ridiculous? Most certainly. But let's not forget we live in an island, after all. 

After years of learning and consideration, my rule is to embrace whatever comes. Wear what you feel like and the rest you'll take as it comes. Not gonna lie to you guys: that rule of thumb may get you a bit cold sometimes. But hey, you look fabulous don't you? 

To battle any sort of weather in style there are 4 things that should always be in your wardrobe: 

1. A cashmere jumper (Boden has some amazing ones at the moment, and in so many colours!), which will make you feel soft an cozy even if you are outdoors
2. A pair of jeans, which will defeat any meteorological situation while being comfy
3. A pair of heels (or plenty if you must), which even though they aren't always your best friend (especially if you are wearing a beautiful new pair and it starts pouring rain), they will make you and your figure look fabulous. I'm tiny as well, so you'll see me on them 90% of the time. 
4. A leather jacket, which is probably a staple amongst any London gurl. There's a reason why they call it "Perfecto" jacket, right? 

TCB x

SUPER MAGS

Photography by Charlie Sawyer

What a day yesterday was. London Fashion Week just started and my feet is already feeling it! I am having so much fun, though. Lots of catwalks and presentations (too many of the latter, in my opinion) that you can check on my Day 1 reviews and also lots of free sweets, popcorn and booze to indulge into. OBVS!

Walking down Lexington St towards the main stage (that is Brewer St Car Park) certainly makes you feel like a star followed being followed by paparazzis. To top up the day, I ended up party-hopping in Soho followed by a late dinner at Sexy Fish making new gal-pal friends. What else?

Let the fun times continue. I'll keep you posted!

TCB x

WHAT I WORE:
Total Look by ASOS
ZARA Suede Ankle Boots
Launer London Traviata Bag

Outtaspace Punk

I was playing with my new toy (a Penny skate) around the hood and as soon as I jumped on it the song Complicated from Avril Lavigne came to my head. Or Sk8ter Boi, obvs. Ahh, listening to these songs takes me back to when punk music was so cool that all we listened to was raging or utterly depressing music. What good times!

In any case, how cute is Notting Hill? I love walking around this neighborhood. Discovering new spots and enjoying the beautiful hues around me has become one of my favourite passtimes. Also I've lately realised that:

1 - Westbourne Grove is the perfect location for a quiet yet great shopping experience: Joseph, The Kooples, LOFT, Sandro, Maison Scotch...plus you've got two cafes for a perfect pit-stop: Daylesford Organic and 202 by Nicole Farhi. Great for people watching too, which is SO much fun.

2- Not only you've got lots of trendy foodie spots: Hummingbird Bakery, Electric Diner and Ottolenghi, as I mentioned endless times...but also calmer and more classy ones like The Dock Kitchen, The Ledbury or Chakra.

3- Portobello Market on Saturdays is my fave market for antiques, fur and good vintage finds but if you can't bear crowds by all means avoid going there. 

I was skating myself away from the crowd when we saw a brick of coloured houses that really got us. We decided that it was too matchy matchy to let it go so we came back home, took the camera and started playing! By the way, I'm TOTES into velvet these days. Why aren't you yet?

TCB xx

WHAT I WORE:

Town Clothing Outaspace Velvet Body
ZARA A-line Skirt (old)
&Other Stories Velvet Leather Pumps
Skinny Dip Planet Clutch
Amazon Mini Cruiser Skateboard

Launderette

Is it sinful to do laundry on Sundays? This question just popped up when looking for laundry services on a Sunday and it got me thinking. MI wouldn't say it is but I live that to each one of you, guys.

A good Sunday requires cleaning your shit up and figuring your life out. However, the chances of that happening entirely depend on what you´ve been doing the previous night, or at least in my case.

If my brain cells let me function as normal I love spending my #sundayfunday not only doing my household duties but also wandering and discovering new spots in the city! My latest addition? This retro - cool laundrette service near Barbican station. Of course this place could not be left undocumented so my team and I came around a second time to take some cute-sie pics. Here you´ve got the result!

Stay clean, fellas!

TCB xx

WHAT I WORE:

Town Clothing Glitter Turtle Neck
ZARA Velvet Burgundy Pencil Skirt (old, but similar here)
ASOS Black Stilettos