Natalie Solomon

Thursday 23rd May

#Travel – Stockholm City Guide

Finally, after spending the early May bank holiday weekend in Stockholm, I bring to you my guide of the city. Now I know I am no Stockholm ‘insider’ who can share the city’s deepest secrets, I was only there for 3 days(!), but we did discover some real gems.

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Overall feel & vibe of the city

As far as cities go, it was quite laid back (and CLEAN, with real fresh air), but that didn’t effect its great energy. The people are friendly, incredibly beautiful and wow aren’t they stylish?? The food is fresh and delicious – I could have gone from cafe to cafe eating brunch and fika (will get onto this in a bit) all day. The lifestyle there seems sooooo sweeeeeet no wonder all the cool ones hide there.

How to get around

The city is small, making it very easy to walk everywhere until occasionally you realise there is water between where you are and where you want to get to with an around-the-world walking route. When that happens – sail across! The ferries are great.

Clothing staples

Layers, comfortable shoes for the day, sunglasses and jackets!

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The Hotel

After much research we went for Hotel Skeppsholmen and boy we were happy!! What a beautiful hotel, with some of the most beautiful views of the city. Everything from the design, to the atmosphere, service and food was absolute perfection. It made the trip a perfect mix of a quiet relaxing get away, but still only a 10 minute walk to the buzzy area.

Food

No city guide is complete without the low down on the food. Sweden is known for its fish, meatballs and liquorice, but what everyone failed to tell me was they are also pretty damn good at pastries – cardamom buns to be exact. YUM.

My favourite food finds have to be:

Hotel Skeppsholmen for breakfast – table with a view

Cafe Rosen / Fabrique / Albert & Jacks for lunch – all so good!

Rosendals Tradgard for fika (their afternoon tea), where you will find the most delicious home made cakes. Don’t be put off by the walk though, it’s worth it!

Sturehof for dinner for the best fish in town

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Which part of town would I live in?

It would have to be Sodermalm, the ‘Sofo’ of Stockholm (play on Soho), often described as the bohemian part of town. Wandering around Sodermalm was one of my favourite parts of the trip as it is surrounded with great food, coffees, juices and beautiful shops – both established stores and small boutiques with amazing finds. Here you escape the tourism (don’t worry there is still an Acne store).

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The perfect day in Stockholm

Breakfast in Rosendals Tradgard in the sun, followed by a long walk around Djurgarden. A visit to Moderna Museet and Acne Studios, find the new lunch spot in Sodermalm, mooch around the boutiques, dinner with friends followed by a drink at Nosh & Cow and then to bed.

Would I go back?

YES

Tuesday 21st May

#style icon – OFF DUTY

Today I want to talk about Julie from Sincerely Jules. Is it me or is she one of those girls who looks so graceful and well put together all the time? This look is a perfect example of knowing how to look as immaculate off duty as on, so I had to draw it!

She is wearing one of her own designs, the Off Duty sweater.

She has the casual laid back cool look down to a T. Envious, me?! I am blaming her Californian life.

Now as the temperatures keep fluctuating (it feels like Autumn in London), making the thought of getting your legs out completely terrifying, pairing a sweater with a cute skirt isn’t a bad idea (for the brave). Italy can’t come soon enough!

Wednesday 15th May

Cannes

Each year Hollywoods finest make their way to the French Riviera for the Cannes Film Festival where we, (the photo ~~stalkers~~ viewers) then sit at our computers for the next week and a half swooning over the beautiful gowns gracing the red carpet.

With Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby opening the festival tonight, no doubt we are in for some treats.

My absolute favourite look of last years festival has to be Diane Kruger in her aqua custom Giambattista Valli couture dress. Who was your favourite?

I cannot wait for the photos to start flooding in from this year, and no doubt there will be at least one other Cannes Film Festival post coming your way…

Friday 10th May

The Great Gatsby

After much hype and excitment, Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby is almost here! With Gatsby Fever on a high I decided to create an inspired graphic. I guess now is a great time to finally read the book too!

Friday 3rd May

City Break

Getting ready to head off to Stockholm this afternoon for the bank holiday weekend, and what’s a holiday without some crazy last minute packing and discovering you have nothing to wear? Wouldn’t this cute MSGM dress be perfect for sunny weekends like this!

I’m so excited about going to a new city and hope to come across some great finds in Stockholm so can share it on here next week. Stay tuned…

Monday 29th April

Coachella

Having had endless amounts of Coachella photos popping up the last few weeks, its hard not to pick your favourite, and when I saw this post from Rumi Neely at Fashion Toast I just had to draw it. I mean, who doesn’t love a flower crown??

Here’s to next year in Coachella!

Friday 26th April

The Investment #Wishlist

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One of the things I took away from my time at Vivienne Westwood was – ‘Buy Less Choose Well, Make it Last’.

Dame Vivienne Westwood has never been shy to vocal her opinions, and that is something I definitely admire, and most of the time she has a point! I really am a strong believer in buying fewer good quality items than buying into the disposable trends which seem so desirable at the time but end up at the back of the wardrobe in no time. The terrible Bangladesh building collapse most certainly raises questions about the safety and working conditions of the factories that supply to the British high street brands – Not sure I want to support that.

So with half a dozen weddings this year and a couple of city breaks I have put together my current wishlist / investment pieces.

In recent years I have noticed I tend to make simple, yet elegant choices when it comes to my wardrobe. Afterall, is elegance not in the mind? My idea of elegance is good knowledge in knowing what suits and fits you best, not buying into the disposable trends and statement pieces (well, to an extent!) What are your thoughts on this topic?

Just a quick note on Astier de Villatte, after walking past their candles in Liberty’s countless amounts of times I discovered their beautiful gold edge paged notebooks on the weekend on Columbia Road. Each of them have a unique colour pattern printed on letterpress in Paris – I can’t wait to get sketching in mine and share here. More on that soon…

Friday 19th April

The Hollywood Collection

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Here are my illustrations I created for Bio Sculpture, launching The Hollywood Collection for Spring Summer 2013. They have been used in all the campaigns for the new collection, which has been so exciting to see published.

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I have used Bio Sculpture on my nails for years, so I was very excited when they asked me to get involved in this project in creating the artwork for the campaign. The beautiful 7-colour pastel palette was inspired by the galmour and lifestyle of 1950s Hollywood. Arn’t these colours gorgeous??

It was such a fun project to do and I can’t wait for my next manicure to try one of the new colours. I am already debating which I would choose; beautiful and feminine Elizabeth – or the softer look of Audrey – or even Grace with her calming ocean hue. Who is your favourite?

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