Cow Vintage X Northern Quarter

Earlier this week, I got the chance to check out the new COW store in the Northern Quarter, Manchester. If you haven't heard of COW, why haven't you?! No seriously, COW is the raddest vintage store that Manchester has to offer, and they have stores in Birmingham, Nottingham and Sheffield too so you Midlanders have no excuse not to visit.

Lisbon Visual Diary + Travel Guide

Three weeks back in the homeland and my visual diary + travel guide from a wonderful week in Portugal's capital city with the 'rents is finally ready to go live. Lisbon won me over with its monochrome cobbled streets, painstakingly tiled buildings, and lots and lots of delicious cuisine. Of course, it helped too that the sun beamed down upon us for the duration of the trip, enabling me to return home with a rather more bronzed complexion. Read on for my rookie guide to Lisbon and apologies in advance for the photograph overload - I couldn't help myself!

Topshop Does Monochrome

Topshop has done pretty damn good on the monochrome front this season. Here are my favourites:

The Other Zara

It seems like half of my following list on Bloglovin'  have ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the latest Zara campaign but, I ask, what about the basics? You know, those clothes that fit seamlessly into one's wardrobe that you can pull on without worrying about Can I really pull off a structured turtleneck or daytime nighty (in winter for goodness sake!)? Don't get me wrong, there's some very beautiful pieces in that campaign but let's not forget the essentials; they're what Zara does best.

Summer Staples

ASOS boyfriend jeans - I've been after a pair of boyfriend jeans for a while but so far the ones that I have found have never quite seemed to fit the bill. Until I came across these, that is! They're slouchy but not baggy, slim but not skinny and as I'm generally not a fan of pale denim, the dark shadow detail finishes them perfectly.

Noir et Blanc

The black and white trend is big right now but, unlike clashing prints and gaudy metallics, you'll never go wrong with a simple monochrome get-up. Here are my current favourites:

Topshop Playsuit / Topshop Boots / Monki Sunglasses / Asos Clutch / River Island Shorts / Zara Shirt / Jovonnista Dress

On My Radar

Over the last couple of months, I have come to realise that my current boots are no longer the smart brogues that they initially were. They have become worn and scuffed from being trampled across towns and muddy tracks. They still serve me perfectly well but it seems that I will require new ones if I am to look presentable in times that I need to look smart. So I have been doing a little browsing and these black beauties are currently on my radar. What do you think?

L-R: Parisa Premium Western Boots, Folded Pixie Boots and Alight Metal Platform Boots