All at Sea

Brideshead Revisited & BNTM Live ticket!

2010-10-21T11:43:00.000+01:00

Hello my lovelies! After having been gone for absolutely ages, I have returned with some more outfits.

These pictures are from this summer. Oh, how I miss the sunshine already!

I left London in a mad hurry; my suitcase was packed in a few minutes, and I think my mind was definitely set on comfort during travelling. I left most of my lovely summer blouses & tea dresses in my wardrobe. So silly! These outfits are therefore far from how I wanted them to look, but I'd had to make do with what I brought. This is, respectively, what I wore to fall in love with Castle Howard (where Brideshead Revisited was shot) and to meet up with a friend for a coffee & a trip down the canals in Bruges.

Trousers: Zara
Top: H&M
Belt: Primark
Bags (filled with picknick treats): Middle is vintage & rest is from a market in Athens
Sandals (obligatory 'comfy' sandals bought on a whim because I was sick of blisters and sore feet on holidays, and therefore not really to my taste): Clarks (ha!)

Skirt (with images of dogs!): Zara
Top: Zara
Cardigan: Topshop

Antique ring: Portobello Road Market
Necklace: made by me
Hat: Reiss

During our visit to Castle Howard, my friend and I kept making references to 'Brideshead Revisited', and we posed for slightly over the top pictures a la Charles and Sebastian, trying to reenact bits of the final scene of this clip. The Lindisfarne Mead & sunshine had gone slightly to our heads!

Also, if any of you fancy coming along to Britain's Next Top Model Live this weekend in London, let me know! I won a ticket through WishWishWish, and my friends are either working or studying (which I should be doing, but, ah, priorities!) Leave a comment on this post & we could explore the makeovers & catwalk shows together?

'Fool For Love'

2010-03-22T00:08:00.000Z

Just to let you know that I'm still alive and well. I've got a ton of new outfit & other posts lined up, I just need to get round to uploading and posting them! I'm just about to start my last two weeks of uni, so that dissertation proposal has got to be written. Life is hectic! Especially considering I'm also volunteering for the East End Film Festival and Pleasance Theatre, as well as going to BBC-recordings virtually every other day.

Oh, I met this lovely man tonight:

Mr. Carlos Barat, starring alongside Sadie Frost in 'Fool For Love' at Riverside Studios. Mark Ronson was sat next to me in the audience! How very bizarre!

Update coming up soon! xxx

Winter

2010-01-21T17:53:00.001Z

I'm back with three more outfits! Since I'm at uni in London during the day, I had to take these pictures after five pm, which means natural daylight is unfortunately lacking. This is, respectively, what I wore to go to a Radio 4 recording at the BBC Studios to lust after some of my Comedy Crushes, have a nice curry with friends on Brick Lane and do some birthday-shopping for my mum in the West End. I hope you like them!

Dress: Camden Stables Market, London
Bag: Second-hand, Camden Stables Market, London
Necklace: Sale item, Urban Outfitters, Antwerp
Shoes: Primark, London

Dress: Camden Stables Market, London
Bag: Gift
Necklace with Alice in Wonderland!: Gift
Shoes: Vintage, Episode, Antwerp, Belgium

Top: Primark
Trousers: Sale item: Zara, Hasselt, Belgium
Bag: Second-hand market, Berlin, Germany
Necklace: Spitalfields Market, London
Shoes: Urban Outfitters, London

Pretty much all of these outfits were combined with my trench coat and some checkered men's scarves.

During the winter, I get awfully lazy when it comes to combining clothes because it's always so cold, but I did manage to get my hands on an amazing blazer with elbow-patches which will be featured in my next post! Also, I've finally finished decorating my room, so a post dedicated to all my little trinkets will be up here soon! xxx

Up north...

2009-12-20T20:33:00.000Z

I've been stuck in London for two days now because every train, coach and flight to Brussels has been cancelled. I've literally spent the entire weekend queuing, dragging around my suitcase from Shoreditch to King's Cross to Victoria and back. Fingers crossed it won't snow tomorrow!

I thought this would be the perfect time to share with you a few lazy outfits, as well as some of the pictures I took when I was up north at my friend Laura's home for a week. It was frighteningly cold, but I had a smashing time. On Monday, we went to see Russell Howard on his tour. Tuesday was spent in York (more on this later), which is now officially one of my favourite English cities. On Wednesday, we went to Durham. As we were seeing Jon Richardson at the Live Theatre on Thursday, we spent the rest of the day in Newcastle, finding some absolute bargains. The last day was spent in Northallerton, where we spent most of our time hiding from the snow in Lewis and Cooper's, a massive gourmet food shop, where we tried some chutneys, admired the expensive rose wines, and bought an amazing cake recipe book.

Most of my pictures are from York, as I've fallen in love with its quaint little streets and the delightful variety of shops. Plus, everyone should visit Betty's Tea Rooms, because the afternoon tea is sublime!

Molly Brown's, 62 Low Petergate, York

Priestley's, 11 Grape Lane, York

A few recent outfits:

Skirt: Camden Stables Market, London
Top: Second-hand, Brick Lane Sunday Market, London
Cardigan: H&M
Shoes: Primark
Brooch: Vintage, Portobello Road Market, London

Tops: Topshop.com
Skinny Jeans: Urban Outfitters
Shoes: Maripe, bought in a boutique in Belgium
Necklace: H&M
Bag: Second-hand, Camden Stables Market, London

Now I'm off for some mince pies and cheesy Christmas films. Home Alone 2, anyone? xx

Nineteen!

2009-12-01T13:21:00.001Z

Yesterday was my nineteenth birthday!

I spent it with my friends, eating cupcakes and drinking chai tea latte in Covent Garden, before heading over to Leicester Square, to enjoy some candy floss and rides.

I also met and received a lovely signed picture from Jon Richardson, my favourite stand-up comedian. Check him out; he honestly is brilliant!

In the evening, we went to the 'Angel and Crown', a cosy little pub, decorated to the brim for Christmas, which serves the best beef & ale pies ever. We then went to see Dylan Moran at the Apollo Theatre. I came out crying with laughter; he was on top form! I finished the evening with some cookie dough ice cream.

I think it's safe to say that a perfect day for me does indeed consist of lots of lovely food and some excellent comedy.

Hendrick's Halloween Ball at the Troxy

2009-10-31T20:00:00.001Z

Last night, I went to Hendrick's Halloween Ball, a decadent masquerade with a 'Beauty and The Damned' theme. It was hosted at the Troxy, a 1930s art deco-inspired cinema on Commercial Road, and more than a thousand people dressed up in amazing Victorian dresses and three-piece suits. There was a naughty banquet, a jazz-band, dead pheasants, peacock feathers, silhouette drawing sessions, black lace, ghost story telling, fencing, bouquets on the stairs, and lots of gorgeous people dancing to 'Sweet Transvestite.' This is what I wore...

dress - Beyond Retro, E1
mask - Escapades, Camden
shoes - Primark

necklace - vintage, market in Ghent

'Decorate your own cupcake' - Tesco's (so much fun!)

Happy Halloween, everyone! xx

Muswell Hill

2009-10-11T23:44:00.003+01:00

Yesterday, my friend Laura and I decided on a whim to spend a lazy afternoon in Muswell Hill, forgetting about the stacks of reading about First World War Poetry we still had to do for uni on Monday. And what a splendid day it was; sunshine, great company and a perfect setting for walks in the park, afternoon tea and discovering some hidden gems! I definitely recommend you pay a visit to this wonderful place; it’s a perfect way to get off the beaten track and to discover some dedicated, independent shops in a relaxed yet very vibrant area of London! Now on with the pictures...

dress: stall at Camden Stables Market
cardigan: H&M
necklace: stall at Brick Lane Sunday Up Market
scarf: Topshop, vintage, original Liberty Print

Shoes: Office
Bag: Topshop, Mark B

This is the cemetery, where Karl Marx, George Eliot and a range of ‘revolutionaries’ are buried, alongside sailors and soldiers and people from all kinds of walks of life. It’s definitely worth a visit.

trench coat: Burberry Prorsum
& the most delicious gingerbread cake in the world!

tiniest little daschund, so adorable!

There was this wonderful bookshop on Highgate High Street, which, in my mind, used to belong to Bernard Black. I could’ve spent hours in there!

Let me know what you think! I know I've been awfully quiet as of late, but I'm finally able to post regularly now, and I'd really love to hear from you all! x

Tulips, baguettes & Primrose Hill

2009-10-06T17:57:00.001+01:00

Oh dear! I'm so very sorry it's taken me more than a month to update my blog. Moving to London, starting my second year of uni, getting an internship at Proud Camden and generally being busy to make this house look amazing; time flies! But now I'm back for good, and I'm determined to bring out the full potential of this blog. I've planned some great posts, including a detailed exploration of my bedroom trinkets, a decadent twenties flapper picture post, and of course a lot of new daily outfits!

I spent Sunday morning at Brick Lane market and nearby Columbia Flower Market with my Italian housemate, where we bought some delicious fresh baguettes and gorgeous red tulips.

Shoreditch

2009-09-03T08:54:00.008+01:00

I have finally settled into my shared house in Shoreditch! As BT still hasn't connected our landline and we're thus without internet for another week, I'm uploading this picture of my room from some tiny internet cafe on Bethnal Green Road.

Apart from assembling furniture, meeting the neighbours and sorting out the bills, I've been browsing the local markets and stumpled upon some absolute bargains! I found this amazing Liberty scarf (with tag) for only two pounds! It'll be featured in my next post.

My internet time is running out, so I'm off for a salmon and cream cheese bagel on Brick Lane.

Dalliance

2009-08-20T09:31:00.005+01:00

Only two more days to go until I move to my lovely new house in East-London, which I will be sharing with three of my best friends. I can't believe I'm already a second year! Time really does fly.

Whilst packing up my stuff, I stumbled upon some cute trinkets I bought ages ago at a local antique market. I can't wait to give them a nice spot in my new room.

Decorating my room will definitely be a challenge! Seeing as the house is rented, we can't change the colour of the walls, nor hang any frames. I think I'll compensate by using lush bedlinen, rich fabric textures and colours, and an array of my vintage trinkets. Be sure to check out my 'before and after' post, which I will be posting once the room is finished (and once we manage to connect to the internet, oh dear.)

In the meanwhile, I wore this outfit to my little farewell-party with my Belgian friends:

skirt, strapless top, shoes, belt: Urban Outfitters
necklace: This Charming Girl.com

navy Coat: stall at Camden Stables Market
glasses: D&G

brown brogues: Office

I'll definitely miss home; the quiet nights curled up on the sofa, the long walks with my Daschund, the cherry-picking at my nan's, my mum's wonderful home-cooking, our own fresh apple juice, and the views of the sunset from my window:

Bye Bye Belgium. Wish me luck!

Berlin

2009-08-17T19:22:00.005+01:00

A few weeks ago I visited Berlin for three days, and I completely fell in love with the city! I admired the sunset behind the Berliner Dome from my hotel bedroom, was captivated by a gallery full of black and white pictures of the 1989 revolution, enjoyed a lush slice of Sachertorte, and found myself in wonderful company during a spontaneous party in Prenlauer Berg Park. Definitely worth another visit!

Welcome!

2009-08-10T22:03:00.010+01:00

Welcome to All At Sea. I'm Elise. I'm originally from Belgium, but I now live in the East End of London to study English Literature.

In this blog you'll find anything that inspires or moves me, ranging from my own outfit posts, to inspiring music discoveries and maybe even some dicussions of novels. I hope you like it!

Feel free to follow this blog, and leave me comments!

Here's what I wore a few days ago ...

dress: stall at Camden Stables Market
necklace: stall at Portobello Road Market
rings: antique market, Barcelona

shoes: Peter Kaiser, Brugge
bag: vintage crocodile leather, my nan's
lipstick: 'passion red'

trench coat: Burberry Prorsum
brown leather satchel: Urban Outfitters

lace underwear: stall at Portobello Road Market