dear prudence

today we got to visit prudence, she is a couture hat designer that has designed hats for vivienne westwood, balenciaga, gucci, julien macdonald, and many other designers. her studio was quite small but adorable. i loved how she framed editorials where her hat is being worn. she also had some hats out for display. i loved the straw hat with the purple bow! i was tempted to pick it up and try it on. i also loved the feather hat. very bohemian! you can tell how passionate she was about designing hats. hopefully one day i can find something i am passionate about and have a successful career like prudence!

5th floor

harvey nichols invited us for some tea and biscuits on the 5th floor. i'm not one to drink tea, but this tea was so delicious and the raisin biscuits were amazing! after our tea, gary gave us a tour of the store which was incredible! i loved that they carried some of my favorite brands like chloe sevingy for opening ceremony and alexander wang. they also had a vintage section with amazing vintage chanel bags. my dream bag! one day hopefully i will own that bag! they also had amazing window displays featuring alexander mcqueen dresses.

let there be cake!

i was fortunate enough to be able to celebrate my 23rd birthday in london! i had such an amazing day! during class, everyone sang happy birthday and suzanne bought me cupcakes! thanks suzanne they were beautiful and delicious! after class we all headed to the graduate fashion show! by far the best day in london. the fashion show featured graduate collections from the top students in fashion schools. i feel in love with some of the collections! after we went to watch priscilla queen of the desert broadway show. it was my first broadway show and i loved it. the costumes were outrageous! i wish i could have taken pictures! after the show, my flatmates treated me to a birthday dinner. we went to an italian restaurant down the street which was amazing. we were the last ones there and the waiter brought out a tiramisu cake, turned down the lights and sang happy birthday in Italian. Best birthday ever!

portabello

on saturday, we woke up bright and early to go to the famous portobello road market in notting hill. it was such a beautiful day, we were surrounded by antiques, vintage jewelry, old books, and my absolute favorite, fur coats! I was in heaven! but of course being from sunny southern california i won't have anywhere to wear it too! Maybe one day if I move to new york or london. :)

polished

my favorite thing about london so far is seeing the men dress up.  everywhere you go you are bound to bump into a guy with impeccable style. i don't get to see that back home cause in orange county everyone is very casual with jeans and t-shirts. we got to visit bespoke tailor shop, thom sweeny. matthew gonzalez, a former occ student, invited us over to show us where these stylish suits come from and how they are made. bespoke means to customize to fit the customers needs. they get to choose everything from the fabric to the buttons and details. if i were i boy i would definitely rock a suit everyday.