Maman les petits bateaux qui vont sur l'eau, ont-ils des jambes?

T-shirt: c/o Petit Bateau. Asos petite jeans: £28. Brit Stitch satchel. Urban Outfitters fedora: £26. Vintage white pumps: mum's. Rotary watch.

Cohen's back, tell a friend. Seeing as I tend to take photos in advance (thank god, seeing as I haven't had the time to take any in the past week, because life) it seems weird to think that these were taken just two days after flying back, which technically makes this the first UK outfit for a while. I'm now very much in a schedule: I've completed jury service, am now three days into my internship at Cath Kidston and back to complaining daily about how appalling Greater Anglia's service is. Tonight I'm headed in a Nando's direction - the one direction I'm interested in, heh - before staying at a friend's, which isn't really leaving that much time for sleep.

On a more legitimate fashion blogger note (when I'm tired I tend to go on rather obscure tangents, the above is actually pretty focused), I was incredibly excited when I got an email from the people behind Petit Bateau. You may have seen that I'm a fan of the Petit Bateau marinière I picked up in the sale from their Munich store, and it's nice to wear a t-shirt that's good quality and not an arctic monkeys band tee, which are still going strong a good five years from first purchase. Of course, I took this nautical motif very seriously and headed down to the water to watch the Thames sailing barges with their distinct brown sails float on the river Chelmer at Maldon . I do like to work on a theme.

Read more

Will you pour me one for the road?

eBay Dirndl (blouse, dress, and apron, probably not the technical terms, but essentially a three-piece german lady suit): €24.90. Topshop monk shoes: £27. Brezel: c/o Lauren.

Photos by Lauren.

PROST

I had to save the best till last, didn't I?

When you ask the average person what they think of Germany, the typical answers will be beer, sausage, and the war. After living in Munich for just over six months, that's a pretty accurate trio, and they all boil down to (well, not the war so much) the traditional beer festivals that happen throughout the year. I was absolutely gutted to miss out on Oktoberfest, but my fellow Stylight girls were pretty up for getting a dirndl on and drinking our own weight in helles of a Saturday afternoon. I bought my dirndl from ebay for just over €30 once P&P was added, which is about the same price as a t-shirt in Topshop. You can buy more hardwearing handmade ones from many of the trachten shops (tr: traditional national costume) dotted around town, but with these coming in at well over €100 this was a much more intern-friendly option.

Frühlingsfest takes place in the same park as Oktoberfest, Theresienwiese, in the centre of Munich for about two weeks. We sat inside the main Hippodrom tent without reserving a table, but if you want one for the evening that's definitely a necessity. A one litre Maß costs €8,90 making it a darn sight cheaper than London, and a few of those certainly helped persuade me to head on a few of the fairground rides outside. I'll be back for Oktoberfest, but Frühlingsfest was possibly the best way to end my time in Bavaria in the most cliché way possible.

If all goes to plan (it normally doesn't, so I'm not holding my breath), this ought to be published while I'm up in Liverpool for the weekend. I'll inevitably be instagramming a food diary as it's all so GOOD, so be sure to follow me here, I promise I'll make it look pretty with a couple of filters.

Read more

One day baby we'll be old.

Ark collared shift dress. Marks and Spencer bag: £43. Shoe Zone wedges. Brandy Melville necklace: €6. Brandy Meville heart ring: €4. Jana Reinhardt bird ring.

Photos by Carmen.

Looking back at these photos makes me realise just how lacking my town is in architecture (and Zara, Munich town centre had THREE). This is Marienplatz: the station I changed at to get to the airport, the place I'd often end up at the end of a night out, and pretty darn aesthetically pleasing to boot. Like the Houses of Parliament, it's a political building, but they moved across the square a while ago and now it's more of a landmark than a location for important decision making. Nevertheless, on my last evening in town (sob), I met up with Carmen for some outfit photos in Munich's most famous square - better late than never, eh? Afterwards, we headed to Hans im Glück for burgers and a final farewell to all my favourite Münchners (and got a cheeky snap with Carmen and Anni who both have fabulous blogs) before the next day's flight back to the UK.

Hey, I might not have Marienplatz any more, but I do have an M&S and a tesco express.

Read more

Brilliantly British.

Laura Ashley trench coat. Charity shop blouse: £4.55. Asos petite jeans: £28. Asos woven leather sandals: £25. Vintage bag: 50p.

I'm sure you're not keeping up as it's so easy to get distracted by pictures rather than focus on chronology, but we're not in Munich for one post only. I couldn't resist sharing these photos taken on Friday as my mum and I went for a wander round our favourite Essex villages, with mandatory scone stop-off. I know that a lot of blogs focus on emulating street style by shooting literally in the middle of a road, but I'm definitely not cool enough and much prefer a pretty country garden for a backdrop than an industrial estate - just watch out for the ducks.

First stop was the Lordship tearooms opposite the agricultural college in Writtle. If you're a jam connoisseur (yep), you may recognise the little jam jars as this place is run by the people behind Tiptree jam. They've got a few tearooms around Essex, but I've only made it to this and the Tiptree one so far, with Heybridge next on our to-try list; I would definitely recommend them if you're in the area either for a cream tea (about £6 for two scones, jam and clotted cream, and a hot drink) or a proper meal. Afterwards we went for a wander round the village in the afternoon sunshine, which is a pretty-front-door instagrammer's dream.

Making a slight diversion on the way back, we stopped off at Hylands, which is my favourite park by far. The grounds are massive (V festival is based here), but the landscaped gardens are beautiful, the stately house is the perfect location for weddings, and they sell really good ice cream.

You may have seen Liv's and Carrie's posts from when they were whirled off across the channel - and that could be you! You could win the chance to have your own brilliantly British weekend in London or a fabulously French time in Paris with IHG Rewards club. All you have to do is upload a quintessentially british or french photo to instagram and use the hashtag #IHGselfie - simples, but look here for more details. These guys are wishing you good luck!

Post written in collaboration with IHG, although I will take any excuse to eat scones.

Read more

I ain't saying you're perfect but you're really, really good.

Boohoo baseball tee: £10. American Apparel skirt: £30. Shoe Zone wedges. Asos over knee socks: £3.60. Charity shop belt: 20p. Marks and Spencer bag: £43. Brandy Melville necklace and ring: €6, €4.
Photos by Lauren.

oans, zwoa, g'suffa

This is definitely a "when in Munich" scenario. It took me six months, but I finally ended up going to Hofbrauhaus: the ultimate and most touristy of all of Bavaria's breweries. Just a stone's throw from the town centre, Hofbrauhaus is home to all things brezel and you can get a litre Maß for €8, which makes it marginally cheaper than Frühlingsfest and Oktoberfest (more on that soon!). Surprisingly when you consider its tourist target market, there seemed to be a lot of Münchners in there, and although I don't think I'd personally make it my local I can certainly see its charm and why people keep returning. Before heading to the beer capital of Europe I was definitely not a fan of the hops-based drink, but there is something about throwing yourself into a culture which makes you accustomed to tastes that you'd otherwise pass on, and can you really not drink beer when you're in Hofbrauhaus? That, and it often costs less than a soft drink, damn you UK duty rates! Now, how to go about ordering a helles in wetherspoons...

Speaking of being back, isn't the weather amazing? Of course, it's set to tip it down this evening and for the rest of the week, but I've been making the most of the sun by snapping some truly British outfit photos which I can't wait to share with you all. But with two more Munich posts to come you'll just have to wait that little bit longer! Other than spending time out in my garden editing away, I've been getting myself back into a routine of eating cheddar and having good ol' catch ups. However much I miss Munich, it is good to be back.

Read more