London...

I apologize for the large delay between posts. With working and job hunting, I've been fairly busy - even on my days off! I'm really enjoying using this blog to remember the trip and all of our favorite things!

London was hands-down our favorite city to travel in. Besides the fact that English-speaking countries made us feel at ease, London just felt very similar to a city in America. It was like the hustle and bustle of NYC but amped up to 11. 

We went to the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum. It was amazing to culture ourselves. The V&A had some fabulous historic costume (which I was practically squealing over). We also saw some amazing historic artifacts like the Rosetta Stone!

Mostly, our trip's main concern was FOOD! We love trying new cuisines and eating all different varieties. While in London, we had Turkish, Thai, traditional British, and Indian food (as well as a ton of other street food). The highlights were having fish and chips, as well as having a true afternoon tea.

We did a lot of sight-seeing. We saw all of the lovely historic sites, like Big Ben and Buckingham Palace. We saw Platform 9 and 3/4 and lots of other train stations (J loves trains!). We spent one day at Greenwich, learning about the British Royal Naval Academy and checking out the Prime Meridian. We stood on 0 degrees! It was a lot of fun.

Through our entire trip, the World Cup was going on. We loved watching games at the pubs, or even inside of our little apartments (which we fortunately could do in Paris!). We saw amazing street art and graffiti, which I did an entire post on a few weeks ago. Overall, London was an amazing city and we are certainly going to visit there again someday.

Amazing sculpture at the Victoria & Albert Museum

Proper "chippy" 

Big Benji

High tea with amazing sweets

World Cup fever!

Standing on the Prime Meridian

J's amazing pie with the works at Pieminister

Looking for Harry!

Read More

London Graffiti...

J and I are back from our big adventure abroad! We got back one week ago, and we both have started our jobs. Things are really busy. I'll work on a longer post about the travels, but I thought for now that I would post some of the images I took in London at the Brick Lane market. It's really popular for street art - and as someone who loves graffiti, I was really impressed. These are some of my favorite pictures!

Read More

Graduation & Traveling...

I am so sorry for the extreme lull of posts lately. I am graduating this weekend from Drexel! Besides the extremely hectic nature of finishing up school, J and I are also traveling to Europe. We leave on Monday and will be gone for a little over two weeks. We're doing London, Paris, and Madrid!

There will be plenty of pictures and updates once the summer is here. I will have many stories from my travels, so please look out for blog posts again starting in the second week of July!

<3 <3 <3

Read More

Mary Quant, Style Maven...

I'm currently enrolled in Costume History III: 1920-Present, and I have to do a project on a designer from this period! I was extremely excited to choose Mary Quant.  We have to do a biography on the designer, research their fashions, and curate a faux exhibit showcasing clothing that highlights her as a designer.

Here's some information on her, if you don't know her story:

Mary Quant was born in London in 1934. While attending art school at Goldsmith’s College, she met her soon-to-be husband, Alexander Plunket Green.  Upon graduation, they opened a small boutique called Bazaar in the Chelsea neighborhood of London.  Though Quant was in charge of buying for the store, she also created her own looks, which were wildly popular.  Bazaar used enticing store windows and lower prices to gain the youth audience.  She also had many parties to show off the latest garments, using chic models.
            In1962, she gained a contract with J. C. Penney for mass production in the United States and began to receive worldwide fame.  By 1963, Bazaar opened at a second location in Knightsbridge.  Quant also founded The Ginger Group, which was a lower-priced line that broadened her reach.
            Quant’s clothing brought in traditional ideas, such as checkered prints and school uniforms, and made them fresh and unique.  She liked using simple designs with bold colors and prints, inspired by the youth culture that she was seeing.  She was first to use PVC and brightly colored tights to match an outfit.  Quant is most well known for creating and popularizing the mini skirt in 1966. 
            She felt that fashion was a full lifestyle. Under her brand, she also created lines of cosmetics, furniture, and housewares. Quant remained a popular British designer through the 1980s.  Her brand then focused mainly on makeup, its main moneymaker. There are over 200 store locations currently in Japan and London.  Currently, Quant is 80 years old and resides in London.

Read More