Graphic Sweaters: A Must-Have in Your Closet

You're probably already familiar with the 'graphic tee' - simply put, a t-shirt with some form of graphics on it. Usually, I'm drawn to the ones with phrases in French or Italian. They go great with pretty much anything, and can easily dress down an outfit. I love wearing them with a feminine skirt, or a leather jacket. Graphic tees are a must in my closet, but in the winter time, I don't wear t-shirts much. Then I spotted this cute 'Ciao' sweater at Value Village! It's the perfect way to wear a graphic top in the winter that offers a bit more warmth.

I've linked a few 'Ciao' graphic tees and sweaters at the bottom of this post, if you're inspired to add one to your wardrobe too. Might I suggest styling with a beret? I went for some serious preppy vibes with this outfit. A thrifted Burberry-style scarf, a navy pea coat, wide leg pants with cold button detailing...and a classic red lip.

Spring is just around the corner, but it's not here quite yet, so stay warm!

Beret - Granville Island Hat Shop | Coat - Zara (thrifted at Salvation Army) | Sweater - Loft (thrifted at Value Village) | Scarf - thrifted at Value Village | Purse - Winners | Pants - Forever 21

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta

Preppy Equestrian Style for the FEI Nations Cup

You know me, I will never turn down an opportunity to don my preppy attire, and a day at the FEI Nations Cup Jumping, sure is good enough for me! It was a beautiful sunny afternoon (lucky us!), and I spent the day watching Canada, the US, Ireland and Mexico compete for the ultimate $100,000 prize. Swiss watchmaker Longines is the official timekeeper and sponsor of the event which is held at the Thunderbird Show Park in Langley BC. The classic, elegant, luxury watch brand certainly fits the aesthetic of the event (and I think one of their watches would have paired quite well with my preppy outfit, if I do say so myself...).

Now, this is a fashion blog here, so of course we're going to discuss what to wear if you're ever invited to such an event. A horse jumping event like this is definitely a different vibe than a Kentucky Derby or Deighton Cup type of event: it's far more laidback, style-wise. So rather than donning a huge hat, fancy dress and heels, I instead opted for (somewhat) more casual attire. When I started to brainstorm outfits though, I'll admit I came to a roadblock. When I usually think of equestrian style, I think of fall equestrian outfits like this one. Summer is definitely a bit more difficult. So I decided to go with a more preppy look instead!

For starters, I recommend choosing low wedges if you're going to wear heels, in case you end up walking the course. Longines invited us to see the jumps up close before the event began, and it was helpful to not be teetering around in high heels on grass. With the sun out in full blast, a good hat was a must-have - nothing too huge, and definitely not a fascinator, but something with a bit of a brim. As for the rest of the outfit, I've been waiting for the perfect time to rock this striped Tristan blazer that I thrifted from Salvation Army ages ago. Serious preppy vibes, right? Pair that with a pair of classy wide leg pants and a flowy summer blouse, and you're all set to go!

Thanks Longines for hosting us, and congrats to team USA for their FEI Nations Cup win!

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta

Travel Style Diary: London Part 2

It's hard to believe this is my final Travel Style Diary from my trip to Europe! In my last post, I wanted to show you the photos we took while at Stonehenge, and also share a few more things we did during our final days in London.

Stonehenge was a place which, to be quite honest, I wasn't super enthused about visiting at first. Partially because it's a long bus ride to the site, so you really have to dedicate half a day to it, and it's rather pricey - I believe we paid around 80 pounds for the tour. Our bus driver was pretty hilarious though, so that alone actually made the long journey out there feel shorter, and it was definitely an amazing sight to see. Brrr it was freezing out there though! I'm glad I layered up. My Burberry-style scarf was a star piece in pretty much all my London outfits for that reason. If you're not sure whether to check out Stonehenge, I definitely don't think it's an absolute must-see if you're tight for time, but if you have a free half day, it's worth a visit.

There was actually a lot of other sights and activities we managed to squeeze into our 5 days in London. Harry Potter Studios was an absolute must-see for us, and we spent the whole day exploring the amazing wizarding world of Harry Potter, seeing all the original costumes, movie sets, and drinking butter beer. Man, was that butter beer everything I had hoped it would be. We also saw the London Eye, Big Ben, and checked out the inside of Harrods. My god, I wish we had a Harrods here in Vancouver. That department store is incredible. Their food section alone was a sight to be seen! Chocolates, teas, preserves, fresh foods, unbelievably beautiful cakes, and so much more. I wanted to buy literally everything. We also visited Camden Market, where we made a stop for a snack at Cereal Killer, the cereal shop with flavoured milks, cereal toppings, every cereal you can imagine, and even a huge selection of Pop Tart flavours! It was delicious!

Lastly, one stop in London you have to make is Sketch. It's a high end destination for food, drinks, art and music - a place that you really need to see in person to understand. To give you an idea, you are greeted by a doorman, who opens a cloaked entryway to let you pass into the foyer, which has a game of hopscotch printed on the floor in front of you. There, you decide which room you would like to visit: the East Bar, the Glade, the Parlour, the Lecture Room, or the Gallery. That night, we had drinks in the Parlour, but I would definitely recommend visit the Gallery (aka the Pink Room), which we saw on the way to the washrooms. It is a truly beautiful space, and on any given evening, the room is full of London's elite in their best dress. Even their washrooms were a sight to be seen: individual washrooms are hidden inside white alien-like pods. You can see photos of what they look like here!

It's been fun reminiscing, looking back on my favourite memories from Italy, Switzerland, France and England with you over the last few months. I hope it's helped you discover some new places to visit on your future travels, and inspired you to dress your best while on the go.

If you'd like to see a post on how I packed outfits for the 3-week trip, let me know in the comments!

Photography by Debra Hawryzki

Cape - Topshop | Sweater - Forever 21 | Scarf - thrifted via Salvation Army | Necklace - Claire's | Shirt - Winners | Jeans - Urban Planet | Boots - Just Fab

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta

Travel Style Diary: Zurich, Switzerland

Hindsight is 20/20. Looking back, I definitely should have worn a thick sweater on my day trip to Zurich, Switzerland. Man was it cold! But we still had an amazing time exploring the city of Zurich, travelling over from the small town of Einsiedeln where we were staying. I'd been 8 years ago when I first visited Switzerland, but lots had changed!

There was a lot of walking on this Euro trip, so my comfy Stan Smith's continued to be my shoe of choice for day trips like this. I was really excited to wear this outfit that I'd planned out before the trip. I was interested in mixing up my business and casual clothes, creating a casual yet preppy look. I wore my navy dress pants, rolled them up, added my work cream blouse (but left untucked), and then finished off the look with my preppy Brooks Brothers blazer and Burberry-style scarf. It would have been the perfect outfit, had the weather been like 10 degrees warmer: oops!

We kept warm though with delicious fondue though (cheese fondue and fondue chinoise) at the Hotel Adler, and then giant flaming beers and oversized schnitzels from Zeughauskeller. Needless to say, it was pretty stellar day when it came to food. Did I mention the massive, delicious street preztels? Yum. Food coma. Good thing we could walk it off with a sightseeing walk through the Old Town: a beautiful area of Zurich full of cute little shops and restaurants. The photos below will give you a glimpse into our full day in Zurich!

Jacket - Brooks Brothers (thrifted via Salvation Army) | Pants - Zara (thrifted via Salvation Army) | Scarf - thrifted via Salvation Army | Purse - Florence Leather Market | Shoes - Adidas White Stan Smith

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta

Preppy London Style with Clearly

What better place to break out the preppy style than London, England! One of my favourite parts of fall and winter is getting to layer up my look with preppy shirts over sweaters, and shades of wine paired with camel and cognac. Plus, I've always felt that trench coats are a great preppy add-on, and they're an essential part of any London-inspired outfit!

I picked up my coveted copy of the newest Harry Potter book (or script, rather) while at Shakespeare and Company in Paris earlier on my trip. I took to reading it on the go, to pass the time when on our train and bus rides. I brought along my trusty new Clearly glasses from the brand Love, which I've been using when I'm in front of the computer or reading. They have a special Blue Reflect coating so that UV light can't pass through the lenses, helping my eyes to relax more while on my laptop! 

Anyway, I picked out this Love L770 tortoise design from Clearly's collection because I knew it would go great with all my fall-coloured outfits, and they totally fit my preppy style! It looks like they're sold out of my particular style right now, but if you're looking for a pair that's similar to mine, you can check out these Love glasses in Love 771 Tokyo Tortoise (the same pattern as mine). I had a super tough time choosing between the tortoise glasses and these deep red Eva glasses from Kam Dhillon. They're such a unique red colour, and looked very flattering. They were a very close second!

You know I'm always looking for a style steal too, so of course these glasses are super reasonable at around $70 (including Standard Air Lenses, plus free shipping and returns (yippee!). You can browse Clearly's Love glasses online here. With glasses this affordable, you know I'm going to want like 10 pairs in every style imaginable! Glasses are definitely one of my favourite accessories.

Glasses - Love via Clearly (similar) | Coat - Joe Fresh (thrifted via Value Village) | Necklace- Nobis & Grey | Shirt - Winners | Sweater - Tommy Hilfiger (via Winners) | Scarf - thrifted via Salvation Army | Boots - Just Fab | Purse - Just Fab

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta