A few weeks ago I fulfilled a long-standing London ambition and paid a visit to The Barbican Conservatory. If you've ever visited Barbican Estate you'll know it's an other worldly kind of place, a brutalist masterpiece that divides like marmite. Some find the ambience oppressive, but I personally love the architecture and would give my right arm to live in the postcode. The Conservatory is hard to access because it's open on select Sunday afternoons only, when I can frequently be found nursing a hangover. It's so worth the effort of a trip however, a tropical hot house of flora and fauna intertwined around imposing brutalist concrete work. The contrast between the botanical and the mad-made is extraordinarily beautiful AND there's real life terrapins in there too.
The tropical 'Cuba Print' dress that I'm wearing is a long-term sartorial crush for me. It's from a brand called Rixo London that I first came across in Paris when I was working in the same showroom as the Rixo founders during fashion week. The trip to Paris was ill-fated (I ate some dodgy salmon tartare, contracted food poisoning and projectile vomited allover my hotel suite) so I promised myself that after such a crappy experience I'd treat myself to a Rixo dress one day. Two years down the line and I picked this one up for less than half price from Depop, it was still eye-watering expensive, but worth every penny. The cut is so beautiful and so flattering, I think every girl needs a little wrap dress in their wardrobe. This exact Rixo dress isn't available any more but there's lots similar on their site.
SHOP MY OUTFIT / SIMILAR:
The larger hoop earrings I'm wearing here were a gift from London jewellery brand Astley Clarke. I already own several pieces from Astley Clarke (my girlfriends bought me a beautiful engraved necklace for my 30th) and I absolutely adore their modern-meets-classic designs. These hoops (The Floris Hoops) are perfect for many reasons. Just the right size for everyday, gold plated so my ears don't turn green, with delicate ball details for interest. What I like most about them is that they're very easy to put in and take out - so many hoops require an extra pair of hands and that's just plain annoying when you're a single girl.
My crossbody 'Pockets' bag and disc necklace here are from British brand Radley. Not somewhere I'd usually shop, but a brand that I'm now really impressed with. The quality is top-notch, this bag is so well thought through with all the right compartments in all the right places. The leather is beautiful, and the gold hardware details look and feel expensive. Radley also do a small selection of jewellery and this disc necklace is the perfect length and dimensions, super on-trend with interesting hammered metal detail.
In short - some of my favourite pieces right now and I can't wait to take them with me on my trip to Ibiza next month too.
In short - some of my favourite pieces right now and I can't wait to take them with me on my trip to Ibiza next month too.
Plan your visit to Barbican Conservatory
Photos: Barbara Premo
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