What's In My Hand Luggage | Survival Kit For Long Haul Travel

What's In My Hand Luggage | Survival Kit For Long Haul Travel

 

Hey guys! Happy new week! I'm dedicating this one to all of our news from NYC! We've finally caught up on sleep/work backlog, and I am SO excited to share our highlights and travelling tips from our time away. (OK, I have some fun things for back home too!)

As any one who travels with budget and short haul airlines will know, it’s often easier and cheaper to fly short distances with hand luggage only. In recent years, as I've mostly been travelling in Europe, I’ve become pretty adept at packing my life into a small wheely suit case. It's practical, but I miss having the luxury of packing things I actually want for a flight. When it came to packing for New York, with the joy of both hand and hold luggage, I couldn't wait to assemble my perfect long haul carryall. 

Here are the items which kept me snug, happy, and organised for our NY flight . . .  

Scarf: Becksondergaard Pre SS15. Love This & This | Leopard Print Pouch: Becksondergaard Pre SS15 Love. Love This Chic Option. | Patterned Note Book: Paperchase | Long Necklace With Stone: Feather & Stone | Lip Balm: Burts Bees | Face Spray: Pai Lotus Flower & Orange Blossom BioAffinity Skin Tonic (sold as part of travel set) | Face Moisturiser: Elemis Hydra-day Cream | Hand Moisturiser: La Roche-Posay Hand Repair Cream | Tablet: Apple iPad Mini | Socks: Pantherella c/o

Travel scarf: I recently professed my love for the travel scarf in my weekly blog for Hello! Fashion (by the by - have you checked it out yet? I don’t think I even told you guys I was doing that!).  Natural fibres are always the best as they keep you warmest. I took my new Becksondergaard scarf to New York,  it's pre SS15 but this gorgeous cashmere scarf would be perfect too. 

Precious jewellery: I keep all of the things I would hate to lose/ couldn’t replace, close to me in my hand luggage, jewellery included. I use small jewellery pouches, or even a purse to keep the items I want to wear on holiday safe. 

Socks: I want to feel as comfortable as possible on a long haul flight, and so I love to slip my shoes off and pop a pair of cosy socks on. Pantherella has a great choice, and I love the simple grey pair I got recently. I am also a huge fan of Roos Beach Shop, a super sweet Cornwall-based boutique I am yet to visit in person, but which has a great selection of gift-able items online. I just added these fun patterned socks to my sock drawer!

Moisturiser - in every guise!: After previous flights, I’ve found myself suffering  breakout. This is the last thing you want when arriving at a fabulous holiday location, or returning back to work. I made it my mission on this trip to be fastidious about moisturising and staying hydrated. I accepted a glass of water every time the cabin crew came round with drinks and avoided the salty plane food. The beauty products I took with me were: 
- Burts Bees classic lip balm. I use this every. single. day.
- Elemis hydra-balance day cream. LOVE! I have been using the cleansing balm too.
- La Roche-Posay Hand Repair Cream. this was a gift, and I have never used a better hand cream! Sometimes I use a little of the excess to smooth through the end of my hair too to minimise frizz.
- Pai Lotus Flower and Orange Blossom Skin Affinity Tonic: a refreshing spritz of this perked my skin up when it was feeling particularly lack-lustre on the flight. 

Pouches for stuff: I love a great pouch. On any given day I’ll have two or three in my handbag. Pouches rock my world! To clarify, in my mind, a pouch is either a small clutch bag, wallet or even pencil case, which I use to store things in my bag for easy visibility. No handbag rummaging for me! When travelling I use a clutch for passports and boarding passes, a separate one for all travel itineraries and information. And one for my iPad. I also have a separate one in my small personal handbag for receipts, and sometimes an extra one for cards and change. Yeah, I love these things!

 

iPad: I love the feel of a physical book, but I find that downloading titles on to my kindle app is much more space-efficient. Before we left for NY, I took the advice of Lindsay & Bjork from A Pinch Of Yum and downloaded a load of business-related books they recommended. To my shame I actually got lost in more of my non-fiction titles, but still, I like to know they’re there when I do want to get stuck in to a business boost. I also use my iPad for browsing the internet when away as I didn’t take my laptop with me to NY. 

Notebook: this thing comes with me everywhere. Despite working in the digital sphere, I find that I make my best notes and musing by hand. I religiously write to-do lists, and jot down thoughts as and when. This notebook was great as I actually dedicated a page to every day we were in NY, and we could scribble in things we wanted to do. As sometimes phone signal, and data allowance, can be tricky when abroad, it helped to have a physical record of everything. I also wrote down directions to places we were going in case we couldn’t look them up on our phones. 

The bag: OK so this is a biggie, which bag to use for your hand luggage?! This Karen Millen bag has been a daily saviour in my life of late! I use it to carry my laptop - SO hard to find an attractive, comfortable go-with-everything bag for this - and it was a great size for hand luggage. I like that it’s big but not bulky, and that it has both a long and short strap which gives you an option for how to hold you bag. 

What’s not shown: I took Sarah Yate’s advice and bought my own tea bags for the journey too. This helped to stifle the boredom of plane drinks, and keep us hydrated on the flight. And naturally I bought a hundred magazines for entertainment. 

What’s on your hand luggage must-have list? Do you have any tips and tricks for feeling healthy after a long-haul flight?

I am so excited to share all of our travelling news this week! If there is anything you would like me to specifically cover, leave me a comment below or drop me a line on monica@theelginavenue.com

Have an awesome start to your weeks all!

Love, 

MB x

NOTES FROM PERTH

NOTES FROM PERTH

Glassons off-the-shoulder top, ankle zip pants and knitted denim jacket / Betts Shoes Toffee B sandals / MinkPink round sunglasses / Bad Witch Boutique Cora necklace in Amethyst

A mini "travel diary" from Perth which mainly consists of buildings because Fremantle (an old town) is full of pretty ones. Some of my favourite shots from the trip definitely include this one that I instagrammed and the shots from Hotel Fremantle where there seemed to be creepy ghost clouds lurking?

The days we decided to adventure out were spent shopping or wandering around Kings Park, while 100% of my days were spent in the Birkenstock slides that I was repelled by just a few months back (they're too comfortable to hate for too long, okay?!) And don't let that Summer glow fool you... Perth wasn't *that* hot, but my skin still looked the part thanks to Eco Tan's Certified Organic Invisible Tan (it's without all the nasties!)

While it was relaxing and beautiful, there are exciting things to plan for in the next few months so I'm glad to be back sleeping in my own bed. 

P.S I didn't mean to wear triple Glassons but working there means my wardrobe is 80% by them, oops.

DREAM SEQUENCE

DREAM SEQUENCE

The Fifth Dream Sequence bustier / Glassons ribbed top / Bardot denim (similar) / London Rebel boot via Famous Footwear / Vintage coat & scarf / Forever New bag

 / Bad Witch Boutique crystal necklace

This outfit pretty much sums up how to successfully attend up pop-up sale, wear a bustier in Winter, and discover a new kick-ass brand. My trek to The Bowerbird Group's Collingwood showroom included very early rising and driving in circles in the wrong suburb for half an hour because I'd made a wrong turn, but I walked out with a matching bustier and dress from The Fifth label, as well as a backless, printed dress from Finders Keepers that I'd had my eye on for a wedding coming up in October... and the best part is, I spent under $150 and it feels so good. Mission complete ✓✓

Patricia Field Style and the City

Patricia Field Style and the City

Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte all had a not-so-secret friend who turned them from women speaking directly into the camera about their dating fiascoes (a rookie season one mistake) into style icons adored the world over. It has been years since the series ended and the last of the films graced the silver screen (breaking box office records) but women all over the world can still not get enough. With this in mind "Style and the City", an exhibition of beautiful gowns and outfits worn by these fictional but very real style icons has been cleverly curated by legendary costume designer Patricia Field and brought to Perth. Launching on Friday morning, the free exhibition will run until May 1st at enex100 and inside Myer at Forrest Chase.

At the launch Patricia shared stories from the set- how she met the actors and how they became family, posed for photos, met and chatted with some 100 women and men all obvious fans of her amazing work. 

Not only is Patricia Field the Emmy Award winning costume designer behind Sex and The City, but Oscar nominated designer behind films like The Devil Wears Prada, Confessions of a Shopaholic, and television series' Ugly Betty, Spin City, Cashmere Mafia, Hope and Faith, Six Degrees and Kath and Kim. Her boutique, which she opened in Greenwich Village in 1966 has been attracting fashion forward locals, internationals and celebrities for fifty years. Named in Time Magazines '100 Most Influential Fashion Icons of All Time', Field is a down to earth and fascinating woman. Her stories brought to life the experiences on set while demonstrating her design process, character analysis and relationship with cast members. 

Costumes from both the HBO television series and both of the Sex and the City films are on display, from the infamous Vivienne Westwood wedding gown (complete with bird!), Zac Posen wedding party gowns (the black worn by Charlotte was Field's pick for Sarah-Jessica Parker to wear in white but Parker chose the Westwood), the Versace ruffled gown Carrie was stood up in by Alexander Petrovsky during that last episode in Paris and a whole lot more. By a whole lot more, I am talking the Carrie necklace, the blue Manolo Blahnick's, that white dress with the gigantic orchid corsage, the Eiffel Tower bag etc etc etc… Patricia Field scoured dresses from across the globe to bring to Perth, just for us. Zac Posen dug into his New Jersey archives for the wedding party dresses, designers and collectors around the world were called, and the results are a stunning collection of 24 colourful, iconic gowns and costume pieces that you just have to see. 

xx Jenelle 

Building A Capsule Wardrobe: The Little Black Dress

Building A Capsule Wardrobe: The Little Black Dress

"When a little black dress is right, there is nothing to wear in it's place." -Edith Piaf

During the 1920s Chanel created a little black dress which popularized black dresses for women. After her lover Boy Capel died in 1919, Chanel wore and made black dresses inspired by the women in mourning she had seen in the French villages as a child. In 1929 Vogue printed an image of one of Chanel's black dresses in their article on Parisian Fashion. Implying the popularity and instant long term appeal of the 'LBD', Vogue dubbed the dress 'the Chanel Ford', linking it with the popularity of Henry Ford's Model-T motor cars. 

Ford was known to have said "any customer can have a car painted in any colour that he wants so long as it is black". 

Practical, flattering and sophisticated, the little black dress could carry women from the afternoon through the popular cocktail hours. Made from crepe de chine, the 'Chanel Ford' dress featured a slashed neckline, a bodice that bloused slightly at the front and sides, a tight bolero at the back and diagonal pin-tucks across the front. It was simple, elegant and very in keeping with the modern way of life. Over time the dress grew to become a staple in the wardrobe, as women heeded Chanel's advice. 

"One is never over nor under dressed in a little black dress."

In 1961 the world went a little mad for the wardrobe of Holly Golightly, elegantly portrayed by Audrey Hepburn, dressed in Givenchy for Breakfast At Tiffany's. Personally this one is my favorite. Adopted each generation in a different way, the little black dress is synonymous as the essential item in a women's wardrobe. Today it can take you across any occasion, it can be styled simply or paired with accessories. I love that a black dress offers a reliable outfit in my wardrobe that I can turn to knowing I will have something to wear, no matter the occasion. Somehow, even wearing the same one again and again, (something a little taboo of a printed or coloured dress) is not an issue. Should you choose to wear a little black dress again and again, it is simple attributed that you have 'style', are 'classic' and elegant. 



Cue The LBD. New to Australia, The LBD is a manufacturer and online retail boutique with a unique concept certain to revolutionize how women source and select their perfect LBD. Finding the perfect LBD until now, could prove to be a challenge. Fit, price, availability and seasonal collection changes all conspire together to make it a challenge to find the right one for each woman. Over the past 12 months, the design team at The LBD have been crafting the capsule collection, built around classic, timeless designs to create a versatile foundation wardrobe. Each LBD is available in styles to enhance the individual customer's assets. These days the average Australian adult female is an average size 14, but the LBD designed to suit body shapes rather than label sizes. Adapting necklines, sleeve and skirt styles and hemlines, there is a whole range of silhouettes to choose from, each dress is made of trans seasonal high quality fabric for year round wear. The site also features a unique Dress My Shape Guide complete with a shape guide and calculator. Each dress has been sized against its counterpart, meaning the sizes remain the same no matter which style of dress you choose. I personally find the unstandardized clothing sizing system in Australia to be extremely frustrating. I am a size 8, no a 6, no a 10... or all three, depending on a garment or brand. Not with The LBD! I calculated my size, and it fit perfectly.   

I will share my outfit post in the dress I chose in the coming days, (below is one of my styling boards I have made up featuring it) but in the mean time, I thought I would share a link to The LBD so you can check it out. I can not stress enough how useful a little black dress is in building your capsule wardrobe! 

If you have missed any of the 'Building A Capsule Wardrobe' series, check out the previous posts here. 

I will be bringing you more of this sort of post in coming weeks, so stay tuned, and please share any comments or ask any questions below. 

Happy Capsule creating! 

xx Jenelle

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Hatch Week: #1

Hatch Week: #1

As you can no doubt tell from the Perth Fashion Festival coverage, Western Australia is brimming with incredible designers. The sheer number of designers who show each year- each with their own unique take on the modern Australian fashion aesthetic, is astounding. 

Hatch Boutique, recently relocated into a beautiful store in enex100, (Hay Street Mall), supports this local talent, stocking a huge range of WA labels.  

With the intention of creating a retail experience unique to Perth, Hatch stock many of these labels exclusively, working closely with the designers to ensure their collections are showcased and available straight off of the runway. 

Baring this in mind, we have teamed up with Hatch to produce a lookbook of their Spring- Summer stock, as interpreted by Perth bloggers. 

Over the coming week you will see how I styled four looks, from casual, right through to evening. 

 In the subsequent weeks I will share the links to the other bloggers involved in the project, each with their own style- I cannot wait to see what they come up with.  

The first look- my casual, morning look is perfect for running around in. This outfit is ready for the warmer weather- can take you from brunch, to a festival, or just zipping around town. I am in love with each piece. 

I swooned over this Gyptian bag- the icon shoulder bag, in beautiful lambskin, with geometric detailing. 

Alister Yiap creates the most interesting, sculptural jewellery, having just shown an incredible collection last week, this necklace, with sterling silver pendant is an elegant, long piece to throw over and adapt into your everyday wardrobe.  

Wild Horses have beautiful draped silk monochrome pieces ready for the Spring Summer warmth. This cropped singlet I could wear over high waist jeans, or skirts, layered with another tee (as seen on the PFF Designer Capsule #2 runway) or over a lace bra-let. 

Steph Audino, captured my love of silk and comfort with these shorts. Beautiful to wear, the shorts are a sporty moment for Audino, who you will see me feature later this week with a stunning evening gown.  

Any reader of Shut My Eyes will know I am a big fan of Katherine Dunmill, this braided wrist wrap from her new collection is a simple finishing touch to balance this outfit.

All items are available at Hatch.  

A special thank you to Hatch for collaborating with us.

All photos shot by Heidy Saeran of lovethymuse.com

xx Jenelle

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Student Runway 2013 Part One

Student Runway 2013 Part One

The Student Runway is always a highlight of the Perth Fashion Festival calendar. 

The show last night was so impressive, I have broken it up into two posts, the first features looks from the Ready To Wear and Evening Wear collections.

Melanie Nicholls, a WAAPA student, took out the RTW Women's prize for the black and cobalt neoprene dress, as seen in the first image. This Dion Lee inspired dress was one of the most interesting I have seen this PFF. The menswear looks were really strong, without leaning too far into the areas of overly camp, flamboyant or dull. The grey wool cape is particularly beautiful, as an androgynous piece.

Part two will be up in the coming days, along with a few other runway posts. Rather than flood the blog with these all at once, tomorrow will mark the beginning of an exciting project we have developed in conjunction with Hatch Boutique, showcasing Perth designers, and our street style takes on them. 

More on that tomorrow. 

xx Jenelle

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Today's Everyday Fashion: Bright Blues

Today's Everyday Fashion: Bright Blues

Inspiration: Refinery29

I never seem to tire of pairing my two favorite colors together - bright cobalt and electric blue. (See it in an office look here.) My inspiration photo convinced me I should try these colors yet again - this time in a dressy shorts look with low heels and a new necklace. I plan to wear this out to brunch, or for a casual dinner on a hot night. Would you wear bright blues?

Shirt: Moda c/o MJR Sales, $22 (similar, similar)

Shorts: Gap, $28

Shoes: Forever 21, $22 (similar, similar, sandals)

Purse: Charisma Boutique c/o (similar)

Necklace: My Stella & Dot, $118

Rings: My Stella & Dot 1, 2, 3

Bracelets: My Stella & Dot 1, 2, 3

J.Crew Factory  /  Lucky Brand  /  Forever 21
Gap  /  Old Navy  /  LOFT
Forever 21  /  Dillard's  /  Sanctuary  /  Dillard's

Today's Everyday Fashion: Shoe Strategy

Today's Everyday Fashion: Shoe Strategy

Inspiration: Oscar de la Renta

Today's inspiration photo is like an assault on my eyes, but I like it. I thought - hey, why not try toning it down, so I added nude pumps and left the pom poms off my blazer. That still felt a little wild, so I grabbed a basic tee with a light blue print that matches my jeans. Now I was happy and could see myself wearing it for a lunch meeting. And taking it a step further -  the last one with sandals is even more true to real life and what you would find me wearing for errands. 

Also, my shoe strategy: buy nude sandals that can be a casual replacement for nude pumps. The idea being that anything I normally wear with nude pumps, I should be able to slip on the sandals and have them match that outfit. What makes a sandal suited to replace a nude pump? I think two things: 1. There has to be some substance/weight to shoe - so a strap around the ankle, or a slight wedge. 2. The material has to be "dressy," so nude patent leather and gold accents is what I usually go for. All of the sandals below I think make great replacements - which pair is your favorite? Which version of today's outfit do you like best? 

Jeans: Forever 21, $16

Blazer: H&M, $37 (similar, similar, similar)

Blue shirt: Moda c/o MJR Sales, $20 (similar, similar)

White shirt: Gap, $3 (similar, similar)

Heels: Enzo Angiolini/Piperlime, $32 (similar, similar, similar)

Flats: Dolce Vita c/o DNA Footwear, $65

Purse: Ann Taylor, $30 (similar)

Watch: Michael Kors, family gift
Rings: My Stella & Dot 1, 2, 3
Bracelets: My Stella & Dot 1, 2, 3, 4

Nine West  /  BCBGeneration  /  Dolce Vita
Nine West  /  Sol Sana  /  Report
Boutique 9  /  Unlisted  /   Boutique 9