Daily Outfit: Glasshouse

Quite by accident and on my second last day here in Helsinki, my sister and I stumbled upon the glasshouse of the Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden in Helsinki. 

We were lured in by the incredibly beautiful grounds, and soon discovered a small but well stocked glasshouse full of plants from all over the world. A veritable oasis of tropical, sub-tropical and desert plants all living healthily in the middle of Helsinki. 

It made for a lovely place to pass some time and explore, and of course a wonderful place to take today's Daily Outfit photos.

Daily Outfit: Cafe Regatta

I've had a really lovely and lazy day in Helsinki with my best friend Mags. She's off to Norway tomorrow morning and My sister and I are flying back to Australia on Sunday evening. 

This means that I won't see Mags for around 3 months :"(

We decided to check out Cafe Regatta, which we walked past on our first night here almost three weeks ago. Subsequent research suggested that it had the best Pulla (a type of cinnamon bun) in all of Helsinki, so we went to check this out for ourselves.

Daily Outfit: Stockholm Island Hopping

I spent today Island Hopping here in Stockholm, Sweden.

Granted, this isn't the sort of Island Hopping that you might do in Greece, largely because despite the sun being out it was still very chilly. But, Stockholm is a city made up of a series of thirteen islands, and though you can easily walk between each, it is still Island Hopping in its own way.

Well, that is my story and I am sticking to it!

Daily Outfit: 8-Bit

Today's Daily Outfit shots were taken by my best friend Mags at our local Metro station here in Stockholm Sweden. When we first got here I instantly fell in love with the 8-bit mosaic art that covers the entire interior of station, and knew that I would have to take my outfit photos here one day.

For anyone who doesn't know, 8-Bit, or more precisely the 8-Bit era, refers to video game consoles (and games) that were produced from 1983 onwards. The artwork here does feature games from earlier eras, like Pac Man and Space Invaders, but primarily the artwork is based around arguably the biggest game of the 8-bit era: Super Mario Brothers.

Travel: Graffiti Hunting part 2

Travel presents a great opportunity to emerge yourself in the culture of an area or areas. For me, this means seeing what is on offer in the local Graffiti scene.

Graffiti has always been an interest of mine, and I love having the opportunity to see what local artists are doing. I find the work of graffiti artists really engaging and inspiring, and I am positive that the images below will be memories that stay with me once I have returned from my travel.

Daily Outfit: Baltic Princess

Today we left Turku for Stockholm, by way to the Silja Line ferry 'Baltic Princess'.

We spent the night on the Baltic Princess, and I have to say, it wasn't exactly the best travel experience that I have had on this trip. The noise that the ferry produces while you are settling in to sleep for the night is... alarming, to say the very least. And continuous. And when the ship was suddenly quiet, you were then able to hear the pumping Euro beats coming from on-board disco... AWESOME.

Daily Outfit: Aanekoski to Helsinki to Turku

Today we travelled from Aanekoski to Helsinki and then on to Turku.

The end result of the epic multiple city trip was to wind up in the port city of Turku, where we will be for 24 hours before catching a ferry to Stockholm for three nights.

We took a little stroll once we got here and then grabbed some dinner; but honestly we've mostly spent the evening relaxing in our hotel room. I did, however, find time to climb into a fountain so my sister could take my daily outfit photos for me.

Daily Outfit: Midsommar Eve

Today in Finland it is Midsommar Eve, the night that precedes the Midsommar Holiday weekend, and also our last night at the Lake House in Aanekoski.

Midsommar is traditionally a time of myth and magic, with the evening hours all but stripped away by the presence of near constant sunlight. It has been said to be the best time to divine the future in matters such as love, and is to this day a celebration of surviving the dark winter that went before.

Daily Outfit: Lakeside

For today's post I thought that I would show off some of the beautiful location where we are currently staying in a house by the Lakeside.

The nearest town is Aanekoski, and the Villa that we're staying in backs onto a truly stunning lake. When we booked it, I had all these visions of swimming in the Finnish summer evenings, rowing out to the nearby islands and exploring, and living in shorts and singlets.

Which is probably the sole reason Finland is currently experiencing its coldest summer in 50 years...

Luxury: Braddon Tailors

It is no secret that from the first time that I heard about Braddon Tailors, I have been something of a fan.

It should be no surprise then that I jumped at a recent opportunity to visit the Braddon Tailor's studio in the heart of Canberra's CBD, to check out their new range of neckwear and accessories.

Daily Outfit: Ranua Zoo

Today's daily outfit photos were taken at Ranua Zoo, a short drive south of Rovaniemi. 

I can honestly say that I had been looking forward to this since we started planning our trip to Finland and a random Google search turned it up as something to do in the area. Ranua is unlike any other zoo I have ever seen in my life, almost seamlessly integrated into the forest around it, with huge enclosures and some of the animals just roaming around free!

I got to see a Red Squirrel in the wild at the zoo, so that was pretty cool and special; plus there were Polar Bears, Brown Bears, Grey Wolves and loads more.

Daily Outfit: Arktikum

Today's daily outfit shots were taken at the Arktikum, by Mags.

The Arkticum is a huge, partially underground building with an immense glass roof, which houses a museum, and art gallery, and a science centre. Visiting the Arktikum was a very spur of the moment decision, but as we had no real plans today besides visiting the Arctic Circle line, it made sense. And I am so glad we did visit, because it is a truly beautiful building with some great exhibits inside.

It also proved to be a great location for my daily outfit snaps.

Daily Outfit: New Threads in Rovaniemi

Today we left Jyvaskyla and drove six and a half hours north to Rovaniemi, Lapland, where we will be staying for two nights.

I decided that this lengthy drive was the perfect opportunity to break in this gorgeous new 100% cotton sweater that I picked up at H&M yesterday for $19 Euros.I have been wanting something along the lines of this sweater since I touched down in Helsinki and started seeing example after example of hot Nordic guys in blue and white striped tops!

Daily Outfit: Road Trip stop one - Heinola

Today we left Helsinki for a road trip to Rovaniemi, Lapland. 

It is a nine-hour drive, which we are breaking up into stages. Today our destination was Jyvaskyla, but we stopped off at Heinola to grab some lunch. It was a place of interest to my sister and I, because it is a town which shares our Surname.

Heinola is a fairly small town built on the shores of a lake. It is pretty if a little dull, but it was interesting to see the area where my surname originates from.

Daily Outfit: Farewell to Tallinn

Today I bid farewell to Tallinn, Estonia.

I started off the day with a brisk walk (getting myself completely lost before retracing my steps and finding my way home), and then a short time after I got back to our apartment it started to rain.

Tallinn is a beautiful city, but all the beauty in the world still makes walking around in the rain fairly miserable.  However, I didn't actually notice it was raining until we got outside on our way to grab some breakfast and run some final errands, so I was a little under-dressed for the weather.

Travel: Graffiti Hunting

I have something of a fixation with graffiti. Whatever form it comes in: paste-ups, stencils, spray paint or stickers; I love it all.

If you follow me on Instagram, you've no doubt seen me waxing lyrical about the merits of various bits and pieces of graffiti around Canberra; but my interest really peaked last year when I went to Tokyo and saw the calibre of work being done there. Wherever I go now I have my camera ready to capture the graffiti of that place.

It was miserable and overcast in Tallinn today, and while we went out, I didn't take any outfit posts. As such, here's the first of my graffiti hunting from this trip.

Daily Outfit: Tallinn, Estonia

After a very brief ferry ride from Helsinki, we arrive in Tallinn, Estonia, where we will be for two nights and three days.

My outfit for today was planned around two different forecasts for the weather, with Helsinki promising 14 degrees and potential rain, and Tallinn 20 degrees and cloudless skies. I wanted to be prepared for anything.

I'm not exactly sure that the outfit was a success though, especially not in the style sense...

Daily Outfit: Kiasma

Today we went to Kiasma, the Finnish Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as the Rock Church, the Market Hall, and the Natural History Museum. 

I really loved everything that we did today, but Kiasma was a stand out, and also the location of today's Daily Outfit photos (courtesy of Mags). The background that I am standing before is a work from a current show called 'Together', and which was jointly organised by Kiasma and Finnish textiles heavyweight Marimekko.

Daily Outfit: Sibelius Monument, Helsinki

Greetings from Helsinki, Finland!

It has been an action packed 24 hours since arriving in Helsinki, but aside from just being here, the standout for me was taking a walk with my best friend to a park on the opposite side of Helsinki to see the Sibelius Monument, and to take my daily outfit photos there.

Daily Outfit: Helsinki

By the time you're all reading this, I am on a plane on my way to Singapore, before reaching my final destination- Helsinki, Finland.

I'm headed to Finland with my younger sister Hollie, and we're meeting up with my best friend Mags. I'll be away for three weeks, in which time we're travelling all over Finland, and venturing to Estonia and Sweden as well.

If you're wondering "Why Finland?", the main reason is that my dad was born and raised in Finland, and as such I am incredibly curious about my heritage.

Announcement: Ink & Leathers Turns Six!

Six years ago today, I decided to start a Fashion Blog.

Six years of this on-again-off-again relationship with my Blog, of taking likely thousands of photos of myself and my clothes, of changing platforms and addresses and templates and learning how to use twitter and instagram and never quite getting the hang of html or my camera or even really how to dress myself...

It has been something of a roller coaster ride, to say the very least.

Daily Outfit: Sports Luxe

I've always been curious about trying Sports Luxe as a style, and with incorporating this look into my own wardrobe.

This jersey was a last-ditch effort to try and salvage an otherwise dismal thrifting adventure (for me) that I had recently with Heather and Jiawa. My chief issue has always been that I'm just not sports savvy: It took me several Google searches to narrow down which team this jersey represents (the Dallas Cowboys) and then more to figure out which sport they play (Gridiron, apparently). Trying Sports Luxe as a look has always felt a little disingenuous to me.

Daily Outfit: Sporting Style

Today I'm getting about in a sporting style by wearing one of my favourite neckties ever.

The thing about this particular necktie is that it is pretty beaten-up. I bought it at least second hand from Etsy, and it is a pure navy silk fabric with a woven gridiron player motif. It has worn through to a really sad threadbare state in several places, and you can see the padding on the inside of the tie. 

To me, however, that's a part of the charm of the piece.

Daily Outfit: Red Lobster

For me, lobsters are synonyms with luxury.

Growing up in the late 80s-early 90s, TV shows and movies, as well as magazines like Vogue Living represented lobster as the food of the rich and famous. In my forming mind, the links to luxury and high society were cemented during these formative years, meaning that by the time I became a young adult, lobster seemed to be some sort of ambrosia that meant you had made it.

If you could afford a lobster dinner, you were someone.

Daily Outfit: Countdown Mode

I'm officially in Countdown Mode for my trip to Finland, Estonia and Sweden in under a week's time, and so the outfits that I have put together for this week are, for the most part, very much focused on clothes that I will not be taking to overseas with me.

I guess it was sort of like setting myself a challenge, to see what outfits I could piece together after I'd taken my favourite/most comfortable bits and pieces out for the trip.

I'll leave rating the outfits to you, however.