I have a secret to admit… in seven years of living in London I had never been to the Saatchi Gallery until recently. Being an East-ender for the first five years of those seven, I never ventured much further west than Oxford St (apart from the occasional jaunt across the District line to Parsons Green to see my best friend). But since moving to south-west London and taking a job which is based west, I have been meaning to venture out around this side of town - and what better excuse than a blogger excursion with my fellow content creator, Skirmy of Mr. Salt & Pepper.
We went to Saatchi Gallery to check out the current From Selfie to Self-Expression exhibition. Full of celeb selfies to artist work as well as a plethora of amazing interactive selfie situations, it’s a great way to spend a morning or afternoon and I’m in love with the building it’s self. The exhibition runs until 6 September 2017. Find out more in my 6 Things To Do In London This summer post.
After selfies we went for a coffee and baklava refuel (Skirmy’s first baklava experience!) before wandering around town to find a shoot location.
I love shooting with Skirmy; apart from his endless Drag Race-isms, one-liners and all round great energy, he’s a great photographer and knows how to catch a curvy boy’s best angles. I love this outfit, too. I’ve been really trying to play around with my style recently. I’ve always considered myself a good dresser, I know how to work with my body, but I also describe it as ‘civilian’. I like clean lines and traditional silhouettes. But I picked up these Only & Sons trousers off of ASOS a while back and I wear them all the time. They are made from a light jersey so they are soft, light and super comfortable - perfect for the summer. The cropped hem taps into the trend for ankle baring and the tailoring details adds a level of polish. To keep the smart-casual vibe I paired it with this Penguin polo shirt. I think polo shirts are great for guys like me with broad shoulders. When you find the right fit, it looks smart, it shoulder of your best parts and the normally slightly thicker fabrics of polo shirts means it’s drapes on the torso without clinging.
Accessories-wise, I’ve been wearing this look with trainers a lot - my adidas Originals Stan Smiths to be precise - but I wanted to go smarter on the day because I was attending a high-profile talk with Sheryl Sandberg and Malala Yousefzai in the evening (I know! More on that coming soon!). Putting the devil in the details, I finished the look with my new Garrett Leight California Optics sunglasses as they are slim and smart and a Versus Versace watch from the new Shoreditch collection. It’s the first time I’ve worn this watch out. I really wanted a chunky metal watch for smarter occasions, then sod’s law never found a suitable time to wear it! But hurrah the time arrived. It’s heavy AF on the wrist but I just needed to get used to it compared to my everyday £15 Casio (I don’t usually trust myself with nice things as I break them).
I really like this look. It combines so many part of my style. The classic, the comfortable and the considered. This was my self-expression for the day!
Check out the Selfies To Self-Expression shoot below
Polo shirt - Penguin | Trousers - Only & Sons | Trainers - adidas Stan Smiths | Sunglasses - Garrett Leight California Optical | Watch - Versus Versace Shoreditch collection
What do you guys think, do you like the look? What would you change? Let me know!
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