With one hand you calm me, with one hand I'm steel.

Contrast collar dress: c/o Closet Clothing. The Kooples leather jacket. Rotary watch: gift. Choies checkered boots: Kavita's Topshop "really ruby" lipstick: £7.20.
Photos by Kavita.

Well, here you go, my first post hailing from Germany! Taken literally in front of where I work at Stylight HQ (seriously, everyone kept asking us when were going for lunch as they walked past to get their own), you might not be seeing Munich's most picturesque view, but it's the best lunchtime can offer! I keep trying to describe the city to my friends by comparing it to a British equivalent, but the closest I can get to is The City of London; it's affluent, with lots of business people and glass-fronted buildings, but there's the Altstadt (english: "old town") of archaic late Gothic buildings nestled right in the middle of it. I've hardly seen any of it other than the area immediately around where I work, but hopefully this weekend will involve me layering up and going exploring!

I've worked in an office before, so you would expect me to be better prepared for working in one again. You would be mistaken. I packed two leather skirts (yes, two) and a smock dress instead of anything vaguely acceptable, read: comfortable to sit at your desk in all day. Thankfully Closet got in touch just in time and speedily sent me out this Carven-esque dress of dreams. It would appear that I'm not completely over my collar phase, but I am 100% okay with it when dresses like this exist. Paired with a pair of borrowed shoes and my favourite lipstick, maybe it turns out that I can just about pull off workwear.

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Bell bottom blues, you made me cry.

F+F leather t-shirt: £25. American Apparel truffle corduroy circle skirt: £15, via ebay. Topshop grey boyfriend blazer: £27. Charity shop fur scarf: 50p. Marks and Spencer leather bowler bag: £43. Charity shop Bally chelsea boots: £8. Rotary watch. Toujours Toi boat necklace. Charity shop belt: 20p.

Nothing like some photos taken just off Regent Street to make a girl feel homesick! Perhaps the burgundy obsession is getting a little out of hand, but why shouldn't I match my outfit with the backdrop? After all, nothing compliments an American Apparel circle skirt and oxblood bowler bag like a wall in the same colour. That's what I'm telling myself, anyway.

Thank you all so much for the well-wishes regarding my move to Munich! It's been a lot of fun so far, and so as long as it continues in the same way I'm sure I'll enjoy the whole of my stay. I'm planning to drag my camera to work this week to get my first german outfit photos too, so expect to get well-acquainted with the car park. I haven't spent that much time wandering the city yet, but a walk to the Altstadt with Kavita last week showed me how beautiful it is - now all I need to do is wrap up warm and see the rest of it!

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I call this the traveller's chant.

This one's for all the nosy parkers! I love reading "what's in my bag" posts, but have never written one before. As I've recently moved to Munich, I had to do some pretty cutthroat packing, and my fedoras didn't make the cut, even though the kitchen sink almost did. Hand luggage is always tricky (Shini's post inspired me to write my own!), so I thought I'd give you a bit of an insight into what I decided were the most important items to have on me at all times.

Leather bowler bag: £43, Marks and Spencer.

You've definitely seen this one before. I love this bag, and I use it enough to reflect it. It's leather, burgundy, and sufficiently roomy enough to house my camera (which would've been photographed, had I not been photographing with it) and every other "necessity" that winds its way into my possession on a daily basis. And it has a shoulder strap, which is the bag equivalent of clothing having pockets.

iPhone 4S, and telephone box case: £2, Primark.

Although I'm yet to get myself a German sim card (Handykarte in german, in case you were wondering), my phone's definitely coming with me. I've loaded it with the MVV and Munich Metro apps in some vain attempt to help me know where I am, and the EasyJet one means that I don't have to worry about losing my boarding pass, which is a legitimate concern for someone who is not used to waking up early and has a flight at 7am. And it has AM (plus B-sides) on it. 

HP Slate: Argos.

One of those "I didn't realise I needed this till I got it" items, this tablet has become my go-to piece of technology. Although right now I use it mainly for reading (come on guys, free books without having to leave the house, this is the dream), I've sorted it with Munich maps and tourist information. As my phone's getting a little weatherbeaten, the speed of this is appreciated, and the bigger keypad helps with my essay-length facebook message tendencies.

Purse: Luella (old and battered), with Costa, Nando's, and debit cards, and pounds/euros.

This was the first designer piece I ever bought, I was about sixteen at the time. Heavily reduced (I think it was about £70), I still love it now, even if it's seen better days. You can kind of see in the first picture that it's split into two halves, which I'm treating as my GBP/EUR sides, and is pretty handy for making sure I don't mix currencies. The cards bit is self-explanatory, because everyone needs caffeine, chicken, and the ability to pay for it.

Make-up: Benefit powder and eyebrow kit, Optrex eyedrops, Essie nail varnish, Bourjois eyeliner, and Vaseline.

I'm not one to cake on the make-up, but these are the bare essentials that I'd be pretty annoyed if I lost. I've bought another eyeliner to take with me in case of emergency, and it really would be an emergency if it ran out. The eye drops are a familiar sight for anyone who wear contacts (holla), as I find that any foray into air conditioning/public transport/cold weather/hot weather dries my eyes out, so I'm sure at some point during the flight I'll come into contact with one of these instances.

Disposable camera: ebay.

Ah, the holy grail! I love my DSLR like a child, but film photography will always win when it comes down to nostalgia. I haven't posted a disposable camera round up for a while, but I'll make sure to post one at the end of the year at least. As part of my very lovely leaving gift, Jazmine included one for me to take with me, so I'll have at least one to develop when I come back!

Post written in collaboration with Argos

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