A couple of years ago James and I came up with “James And Laila Day” as a way to keep our close relationship despite our increasingly busy schedules. We see quite a lot of each other anyway – it helps that we work together and live about ten minutes apart – but why not have an extra day out for the hell of it?
This was actually one of the worst JAL Days in history. I’m pretty sure I was still hungover from NYE and we ended up sacking off shopping on Oxford St as it was rammed (unsurprisingly) as well as chucking it down with rain.
We decided to stay local in Islington instead! The best part about staying close to home was an afternoon dash home to change my extremely wet feet and tights and digging out my boots :) Apart from the thawing out/outfit change, our day involved brunch at Sawyer & Gray, shopping along Upper Street, dinner at Joe’s in Kentish Town and a trip to the Boulougne Bar, our local Victorian gin parlour. Plan B worked out a lot better!
PREVIOUSLY ON JAMES AND LAILA DAY: CAMDEN // SAILOR // CHRISTMAS // LUTYENS HOUSE // HALLOWEEN // KENTISH TOWN // CHINATOWN // CAMDEN PASSAGE // COUNTRY FAIR
James and I had a rare Sunday off and I had all these grand plans for a jam-packed day of action and adventure. I think this is what happens when you don’t have weekends or a normal working schedule; you see a window of opportunity and go insane trying to make the most of the day! However, as it was a day off I predictably slept for hours, and by the time James and I bothered to leave the house we decided to just head ten minutes down the road to Kentish town rather than trek over to East London. I was initially annoyed at failing in my original plans but cheered up considerably following a breakfast that involved dessert and a very fruitful trek round the charity shops. You can see my purchases above (accompanied by James). The book is amazing and the polo neck is so warm!
I’m wearing one of my many, many purchases from the charity shop where I work – it’s covered in the kind of ridiculous 80s print that makes me laugh (chains, hooks, iron rods and pearls… that classic print combination) and it was a mere £1.50. £1.50! That’s cheaper than nearly everything in McDonalds! James jokes that every Friday is “New Outfit Day” as it’s the day after my shift and I invariably have new clothes. He’s got a point, but it’s hard to feel guilty when everything is secondhand recycling, incredibly cheap and contributing to a good cause. I never shop on the high street or online but if I find something I like in a charity shop I do tend to just get it (funds allowing!) because you might never see it again: too many times I’ve had the depressing “return” to a charity shop for that one singularly amazing item, only to find somebody worth more sense has snatched it away in your absence.
Welcome to The Dolls House in Dalston, presented by aesthetic wonderkids Dead Dolls Club. I don’t know if you would describe me as a party animal as I tend to be too broke to go out every week, but I do love a good night out dancing with my friends! The Dead Dolls Club have essentially taken over an abandoned house in Hoxton and filled every floor with gorgeous drawings and murals on the walls and ceilings. It really does make you feel like you’re in a life size dolls house! Each floor had a slightly different theme whilst maintaining the unique atmosphere throughout the house. The dining hall (pictured in the above picture) felt very Parisian and art deco whilst the dance floor (top picture) felt a bit more western saloon to me. They had amazing cocktails available on a couple different floors – I really fell for the Admiral Bloom – and though we missed the dining there were burgers down in the basement courtesy of the really lovely Thank Cluck who had some pretty tasty vegetarian options.
I am often jokingly referred to as “the hipster” one amongst this particular group of friends and as we normally hang out in bog standard pubs or theatres, so heading to Hoxton (trend central ever since Hadouken! rocked up) was a bit of a departure. It became a bit of a running joke that we were heading to “my house”, “home territory” and partying with “my kind”; I played up to this by wearing some clear frames as obviously nothing taps into that Hoxton mythology better than a pair of fake frames. I did then hilariously bump into one of my friends unexpectedly which was pretty good punchline to that joke! All in all it was a great night out – would you be up for a party in a giant doll house?
White shirt – River Island, £15. Pinafore – Ark Clothing, £15. Shoes – Comme Des Garcons via charity shop, £6. Gold studded socks – Urban Outfitters, £4 (sale). Fake frames – Camden Market, £1 for two. Pink shoelaces – Camden Market, 75p (haggling!).
Whilst in Forest Hill (one of my favourite areas) last Friday, I decided to visit one of my top London museums, the Horniman. Lorisidae have been in my dreams of late and my primary goal was to find a specimen. I’ve explored the musical instruments and anthropology collections numerous times before whilst living in nearby New Cross, but my favourite gallery at the moment is the natural history section. They have some hugely informative displays comparing brain sizes and skeletons of different animals but I decided against any squeamish pictures. I’m going through a primate phase at the moment and am always awed by the gorilla skeletons (below) as at first glance it looks like a display of mismatched human skeletons.
If Wes Anderson were to curate a museum gallery it would surely be the Horniman natural history collection. The thoughtfully laid out displays, pastel backgrounds and gratuitous use of ‘Futura’ font lend the gallery a certain Anderson aesthetic. Without my sketch book I happily wandered around taking photographs and scribbling notes on which animals to further research. There was such a feeling of tranquility and calm in the upstairs gallery especially and I spent about an hour alone, just me and the exhibits. After, I sat in the medicine garden listening to the wind chimes and thinking about all the thousands and thousands of creatures in the world, and how at one time we were all the same.
TAPE PARADE 