Hello from Montreal! As you may or may not know, I recently moved to Montreal with the love of my life and amongst the stresses of finding work and an apartment, we have been exploring this wonderful city. We have climbed the ‘Mont Royal’, relaxed on the banks of the Lachine Canal, walked a lot around Le Plateau and Mile End and I have been pretty snap happy along the way.
I wanted to share some of the photos I have taken so far from urban streets and beautiful houses to street art and, well, photos of us! Montreal is a super arty city and there is something to look at on almost every corner in Le Plateau. I love the industrial vibe to the buildings and I am so excited to shoot outfits photos here!
As for a life update, we have had no luck so far finding jobs but we are keeping our hopes up and persevering! We are hopefully on the cusp of getting an apartment – it has been relatively easy to find an apartment despite not having a job but we are just quite indecisive! It is also quite scary signing a year lease when we do not even know if we will find jobs here! To quote Lewis: “I hope this city is kind to us” and we feel more settled soon.
As a nod to this Indian summer we are having and as an ode to real summer which has officially come to an end, I am sharing one last summery outfit. Lewis and I shot this look spontaneously, on 35mm film, while on one of our early morning strolls in Barcelona a few months ago. I absolutely love the look of these photos – the light is perfectly golden and the colours are beautifully enhanced by the quality of film photography. I have already spoken about my love for shooting outfits on film in MONDAY’S POST, so to avoid repeating myself, let’s just say this is something I want to do a lot more of.
This outfit is just what I need for this up and down weather we have been having recently – just add a little cami top under the shirt for layering options on those hotter days. This gingham shirt is one of my favourites, with its cropped sleeves and loose fit, it is such a versatile summer shirt. Worn casually over my Levi’s denim shorts and paired with Converse, this makes for the perfect summer – or Indian summer – look.
Right. Now I am ready for woolly jumpers, faux fur coats and lots of boots now please, thnx.
What are wearing during this Indian summer? Are you fed up of the heat (and your summer wardrobe) and just want to get stuck into autumn?
My love for photography truly began when I studied analog photography for A-level but because of the ease and cheapness of digital, I have only been sporadically taking film photos…until now. I had been toying with the idea of trying film photography for an outfit post for a while and finally took the plunge this summer. We did not even take any digital back-ups because I wanted to be fully committed to this experiment and I was confident enough in the art and in my photographer that I thought they were not needed – and I was right. These days we are too spoilt by being able to shoot hundreds of photos, pick our favourites and edit them to perfection and although this is extremely convenient, sometimes I wonder – where is the beauty in that? Even – what is the art of that? So I thought I would strip things back, take just eight outfit photos – all of which you see here and have not been edited – and try fashion blogging the way our mothers would have done it, if such a thing had existed back in the 80s.
I am absolutely chuffed with these photos. With just eight photos to play with, I had to really pose and there was the danger that these photos wouldn’t look natural but I don’t think that is the case at all! In fact, I almost like that in the third photo down I am mid-blink as this makes things more real.
I love the aesthetic of film – its vintage grain, different colours and perfectly imperfect out of focus blur – and it is certainly something that I want to incorporate more frequently onto this blog. I have another mini film outfit post coming later in the week that we shot one beautiful morning in Barcelona and after that I have to get shooting in Montreal!
Let’s talk fashion now because this is an outfit post after all! I have already posted a summery outfit featuring this WHITE BLOUSE but this is a much more transitional look that I have been craving oh so much recently. I always think that white blouses look so great just tucked into a pair of jeans and today I have finished the outfit with my favourite silver boots to make this look a little more special for the film!
What do you think of film photography? Would you like to see outfits shot on film become a regular feature on Fashion Et Moi?
Mon amour de la photographie a commencé quand j’ai étudié la photographie analogique au lycée. Cependant, dans les années récentes, à cause de sa facilité et son bas prix, je préférais la photographie numérique et je prenais des photographes de pellicule de temps en temps…jusqu’à maintenant. Depuis longtemps je pense à essayer de la photographie analogique pour prendre en photo une tenue et je l’ai fait cet été – enfin! On n’a pas pris des photos numériques de la même tenue au cas où cet essai n’a pas marché parce que je voulais me commettre totalement. J’ai eu assez de confiance dans l’art et dans mon photographe et j’ai eu raison. Aujourd’hui, on est trop gâté car on peut prendre des centaines de photos, choisir nos préférés et les éditer pour qu’elles soient parfaites et même s’il est plus pratique, je me demande, où on trouve la beauté? Même – c’est l’art? Donc, j’ai pensé à revenir à la photographie traditionnelle, prendre que huit photos de tenue – vous voyez tous sans éditer – et essayer le blogging de mode comment nos mères l’auraient fait s’il existait dans les années 80s.
Je suis vraiment contente avec ces photos! Vu qu’on ne prenait que huit photos, il fallait poser et j’avais peur que ces photos ne paraîtraient pas naturelles mais c’est le contraire! En fait, j’aime que je suis en train de cligner dans la troisième photo – c’est plus réal comme ça.
Je kiffe l’esthétique de pellicule photo – son grain retro, ses couleurs différentes et son flou imparfait mais parfait au même temps – et je veux bien faire des photos comme celles-ci plus souvent sur ce blog. Plus tard dans le semaine, je vous montrai un deuxième petit poste de tenue shooté en pellicule à Barcelone et après il faut que je commence à shooter à Montréal!
Parlons de la mode maintenant parce qu’après tout c’est un poste de tenue! Je vous ai déjà montré un look d’été avec ce CHEMISIER BLANC mais aujourd’hui c’est un outfit de transition. Je trouve que des chemisiers blancs vont super bien rentrés dans un jean et aujourd’hui j’ai mis mes bottines argentées pour un look plus spécial pour la pellicule.
Qu’est-ce que vous pensez de la photographie en pellicule? Voulez-vous que la tenue shooté en pellicule devienne une poste habituelle sur Fashion Et Moi?
The new season is just around the corner and in true Izzie style, I am already thinking about how to be on trend for AW16 but, of course, on a budget! Here are my top five tips for updating your current wardrobe for the new season. Enjoy!
Welcome to the Bristol brunch project! As I have mentioned previously, Bristol has so many great places to eat out with such a variety of cuisines and vibes to choose from. So, with this is mind and a lot of spare time on my hands, I roped in my sister Jess – AKA Queen Of Brunch – to take a tour of familiar and new cafes in Bristol in the quest to discover Bristol’s best brunches. I have organised this post in chronological order rather than order of preference – it’s long and contains lots of food porn so grab a cuppa (and maybe a snack) and let’s see which brunch comes out on top.
PRIMROSE CAFE
First stop on the brunch tour just had to be Primrose Cafe. Located in the beautiful Clifton Village, in the charming Clifton Arcade, I have been brunching at Primrose Cafe for as long as I can remember. What I love about Primrose Cafe – before we even start on the food – is its style and character. This cosy, family-run cafe has not succumbed to the recent popularity of minimalist, hipster cafes but it has remained its charming-self, with stars on the ceiling and a small, cluttered counter. Primrose Cafe offers the usual brunch characters such as full/veggie breakfast and eggs benedict/florentine/royal but what I am here for is something quite different.
Both Jess and I chose their bubble and squeak brunch served with two poached eggs and a grilled tomato (plus a side of smoked salmon for me and mushrooms for Jess). I love this dish because it is such a different approach to brunch – plus it’s gluten free, which can be tricky to find in a brunch. The eggs were perfectly firm but runny and the smoked salmon was gorgeous. The only slight criticism that we both could make is that the bubble and squeak could do with a bit more seasoning. Otherwise, Jess and I both left Primrose Cafe very happy brunchers.
PRIMROSE CAFE | 1 The Clifton Arcade, Boyce’s Avenue, Clifton Village, Bristol, BS8 4AA
BAKERS & CO
Next up was Bakers & Co, which is Jess’ all time favourite brunch place – I’m telling you, the girl is obsessed. Situated on Gloucester Road, in the heart of where I “live” (and grew up) in Bristol, Bakers & Co has become our go-to brunch place so I had already been quite a few times before starting this brunch tour. What I like about Bakers & Co is its bustling, down-to-earth vibe, although sometimes the service can be a bit slow and definitely be prepared to queue on a weekend! Now let’s talk food. I have always ordered the same thing at Bakers & Co and it’s a classic – smashed avocado on sourdough toast with two extra poached eggs. Jess orders the same thing but with mushrooms as well and even though she has sampled other brunches on their varied and changing menu, she always comes back to this. I know that avocado has become such a predictable brunch staple but Bakers & Co’s is the best I have ever had. It is smashed just to the right consistency, freshened with just the right amount of lime juice and has the perfect kick thanks to the chopped chilli – that’s right, I am analysing avocado here. Our mum joined us on this particular brunch trip and she ordered something completely different. I tried her citrus quinoa salad with smoked trout and poached eggs and it was just delicious! Normally I would not even consider ordering a salad for brunch but this dish has certainly made me reconsider this stance! Bakers & Co won ‘Best Breakfast’ in the Bristol Good Food Awards in 2015 so keep reading to see if in our eyes they’ve still got it!
BAKERS & CO | 193 Gloucester Road, St Andrews, Bristol, BS7 8BG
THE NORTH STREET STANDARD
Having been to the sister restaurant, The Urban Standard (as it is more in our neck of the woods) a few times before, we decided to venture south of the river to The North Street Standard and I am so glad we did. The Bedminster branch is much bigger and brighter with a large outdoor seating area from which you can watch the world go by.
I had The Standard on my brunch list from the beginning because they do a mean veggie breakfast and that is exactly what we both ordered (apologies that we keep ordering the same brunches but we know what we like!). The veggie breakfast consists of a fried egg (which we changed to poached), a small bubble and squeak, two slices of grilled halloumi, baked beans, spinach, mushrooms and grilled tomato. Oh and one slice of toast, which Jess thought was a bit stingy but that’s our only complaint. I love this different take on the veggie breakfast with not a fake meat sausage in sight, just lots of lovely little bits that go together so well. Also, I think halloumi is an inspired addition to a veggie breakfast and it is one of the main reasons I order this. I had this brunch before heading to London on a long bus journey and it kept me going rather well indeed!
Other location: THE URBAN STANDARD | 35 Gloucester Road, St Andrews, Bristol, BS7 8AD
SOUK KITCHEN
After a slightly disappointing mid-week brunch stop at GRUPO LOUNGE (great for eggs on a hangover but nothing special), we kicked off a sunny Sunday with our first ever visit to Souk Kitchen. Located just off Whiteladies Road in Clifton (with another location south of the river in Southville), Souk Kitchen does a Mediterranean take on brunch and god is it good.
Everything on the menu sounded so good that it was hard to choose but eventually I went for the courgette, sweetcorn and feta fritters with a poached egg, roasted tomato and Moroccan chilli jam. It was a total taste explosion in the mouth and exactly the kind of quirky brunch I had been looking for. After nearly ordering the Shakshouka, Jess chose the garlic mushrooms on toasted with wilted spinach, a fried duck egg, pumpkin seed dukkah and lemon butter. Even though my brunch was absolutely divine, I have to admit that Jess’ may have been even better. As a big mushroom fan, Jess was in heaven and when I asked her for a more detailed description, she just replied “it was so so so good.” Well there you go – you will just have to go and try it yourself. So if you are fed up of smashed avocado or traditional full English breakfasts, get yourself down to Souk Kitchen – I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.
Other location: SOUK KITCHEN | 277 North Street, Southville, Bristol, BS3 1JP
BEST BRUNCH?
I hereby declare Bakers & Co the best place for brunch in Bristol thanks to its changing menu, perfectly smashed avocado and ideal location. Bakers & Co will always be a go-to brunch place for us both and how could I ever think that Jess would choose anyone else as the winner?! Souk Kitchen definitely comes in at a close second with its alternative take on brunch that introduces out of this world flavours and unusual ingredients to the Bristol brunch scene.
I hope that you have enjoyed this brunch tour of Bristol and thank you to Jess for being my trusty co-bruncher and for being patient while I photographed all these brunches when really she just wanted to eat! There are certainly a few more brunch spots that I would like to try in Bristol but in the meantime, try the above and let me know which is your favourite.
