Hello and happy weekend, I hope yours has been slightly less manic than mine. I've spent the majority of it shooting, which is promising because it means I have lots of tasty new outfits to share with you. As exhausting as the past couple of days have been, I've had such a lovely time meeting new, amazing people and scouting out some pretty awesome locations in both Manchester and Wigan. Not the most exotic areas I know, but believe me sometimes it's in the most unlikely of places you find the real gems. As cheesy as this sounds, it's been the kind of weekend which makes me super proud of my little blog and the opportunities it's presented. Don't get me wrong, it's bloody hard work and I have moments of wanting to throw in the towel, call it a day and spend the rest of eternity (always one to be a little over dramatic as per usual) in bed with my cat and the covers over my head, BUT it never ceases to amaze and inspire me. I'm constantly looking for new looks and new shoot concepts. Suddenly the most random locations in Manchester which, in the past I will have walked past a thousand times and never given a second thought to, I'm now looking at in a whole new light and thinking "oooh with that dress and those heels, next to that sign and this doorway". I love it! It's tiring at times for sure, but the creative output I've found from blogging is in a strange way so therapeutic?... And I'm appreciating my city more than ever and there's something very humbling about that...

Away from Manchester however and moving back a week or so ago, but still keeping in theme with hidden gem locations- I went on a little wonder down to sunny old London where I did a little shoot with a dear friend of mine and killer photographer, Phoebe Phox. The outfit I was shooting was my kind of dream outfit (but then again I have so many, I'm an outfit hussy... Can I say that?). It had definite hints of seventies glam about it; the jumper (now a firm favourite in my knit collection) was plain black with a vibrant flash of retro rainbow stripes, accompanied with gold star earrings and shiny patent leather boots. But the shapes were clean, simple and A-line. I guess all in all the outfit was a very well orchestrated mish mash of both the sixties and seventies... See what I mean? Dream outfit.

Myself and Phoebe sat in a cafe in Soho discussing locations. We came up with all the obvious, "tourist" areas which were great, don't get me wrong and they did the job of "swinging London" but they just didn't fill me with enthusiasm. I wanted something just that little more covert. My outfit wasn't obvious, it didn't scream sixties nor seventies. It almost just gave gentle nobs or more aptly put, "flashes" to my favourite eras and that's exactly why I liked it! I wanted a location that did the same job.

And I guess that kinda explains why we ended up shooting where we did! Thanks to Phoebe and her extensive London trivia, we ended up a narrow, dingy alleyway just off Regents Street in a phone box. A hidden gem within one of the busiest parts of central London. The very phone box which features on the back of one of the most iconic album covers of all time... The Rest And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust. And no one seems to care it's there. Kinda a bit like my beloved jumper, something simple with just a flash of something special. It's quite literally in my opinion, an undiscovered treasure. A diamond in the rough.

Sophia x

Big shout out to Phoebe Phox, for both the location and the photography. Check out her work below:

www.shotbyphox.com

My outfit was entirely from Urban Outfitters. Click on each of the items below to shop them now!

Jumper

Skirt

Boots

Earrings