One of the things I love most about London? Every neighborhood has its own personality. The East End of London is a completely different character than South Kensington (check out an article about South Kent here).
Brick Lane specifically is where a friend and I adventured today. If I could sum up the area in one sentence, I would say it’s like stepping into a nineties cult classic; As you walk the streets, there is graffiti everywhere you turn that makes you wonder: what kind of emotions went into this piece of art? Did the people that created these figures have some important story to tell? How cool is it that their story has officially become a part of mine, a girl from the USA that by chance had the opportunity to witness their humanity represented on a once blank canvas. The realization is absolutely breathtaking.
In between these walls of art are vintage shops and hipster cafes—specifically a new favorite I ate at today: The Cereal Café. For a while I’d heard of this place that is basically the chipotle for cereal. You can top discontinued cereals with whatever sugary goodies you want. Mine tasted basically like a pumpkin spice latte, as it had pumpkin spice mini wheats, Nutella, mini marshmellows, Oreos, and espresso milk in it (combination creds to my friend, Philene).
The café itself was full of reminders of my childhood: character cereals, posters of bands like the Backstreet Boys, VHS tapes, and cartoon trinkets. It was like being in the belly of a memory lane beast and I was more than happy with it.
On this excursion, I wore a combination of trendy, cozy, and chic, my favorite way to go. On top, I’m wearing a graphic tee that says, “I’ll be ready in five minutes—(phrase) I’m doing my hair and still have to choose my outfit” which is the whole truth usually by the way…oops!
Because London’s weather does not allow just a tee shirt to be worn outside, I’m wearing a black sweater under and a soft cream cardigan over it. The tee shirt is also tucked into a black leather pencil skirt and paired with black knee high socks. The black accessories bring out the phrase on the tee shirt. Always make sure you pick accessories that bring attention to rather than distract from a graphic tee shirt. If you have something to say, make sure it doesn’t get lost in accessorization (I know it’s not a word, but for the sake of the pun it had to be made)!
To really pull together the ensemble, I am wearing some oxfords and a floppy hat. Floppy hats are great for the rain if you forgot your umbrella like I did today and oxfords just scream English—but these ones weren’t that practical for the rain!
My final and favorite accessory is my dark lipstick. My favorite way to add color to any outfit is through colored lips, simple and easy! This wine color is very appropriate for fall and goes well with light skin and dark hair.
After almost two months of living here, it feels great to call this place my city. It is even more of a pleasure to explore parts of it I haven’t had the chance to yet. Brick lane is a place I can see myself going again in the near future. Stay tuned for more London blogs coming your way!
Keeping it Krischic,
Kristin Vartan
Keeping it Krischic 