Daily Outfit: Uniformity

Uniforms are something that get a lot of reference in fashion, over and over again.

It is sort of hysterical when you consider the fact that for those that have to wear a uniform, be it for school, for work or for a sport; it tends to have very negative connotations. A polo shirt, for example, is something that I have been loath to wear until very recently, because as soon as I put one on I remember either high school, or working retail.

Neither are experiences that I am in any way interested in reliving as an adult, which likely explains my aversion to wearing them.

Daily Outfit: Homeward Bound

This weekend I'm back in my home-town of Bega, NSW, to celebrate my boyfriend's birthday with our families.

We stopped on the side of the road on the way down this evening to take the photos of my daily outfit. I'll be taking my outfit photos for the upcoming week while I am down here, but I wanted to take the opportunity to snap something in my favourite area if the country, the Monaro.

Wardrobe Stories: Stretch Wool Travel Jacket

On Saturday morning last week I went to a Church Fete with some of my favourite Canberran Style Bloggers, to check out what sorts of pre-loved treasure we could find.

To be frank, there wasn’t a great deal on offer, and I had all but given up on finding anything for myself, poking fun at garments instead; and this is how I found it.

The garment in question is a dull navy ‘blazer’ shaped thing, in an unidentified material. I’d picked it up to make fun of the truly ghastly feeling material, but Jiawa and Albert saw a potential that I did not, and insisted that I try it on.

Travel: Scandinavian Fashion Stalking

I spent a lot of my time in Scandinavia stalking the style of the locals.

I've used the term stalking because, like a deviant street photographer, I never actually approached any of my subjects and asked to photograph them. No, instead I would just casually look like I was taking a photo of the streetscape, and hurriedly snap a few shots of the outfit or accessory in question.

Of course, 90% of the photos I took in this manner were shit.

This post is the compilation of all the Fashion Stalking pictures I took that actually worked.

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...

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.

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.