sunday morning.

 top: fashion star x h&m

floral pants: c/o kristine's collection

necklace: c/o dear laura

heels: mango

bag: c/o carlo rino

There are so many things I adore about this ensemble, which probably explains why I've been caught wearing this exact same outfit multiple times (#guilty). I hate the fuss and the awkward crinkles that come with tucking a long shirt into skinny jeans, and since this button down has a lovely shapely tail, I decided to leave it out, as it satisfied a heightened level of both aesthetics and comfort. The 3/4 length is such a cute way to wear fitted pants, but can leave someone with muscular legs like me a stunted silhouette - hence the leg-lengthening nude pumps which have really been a lifesaver and an outfit-redeemer on numerous occasions. Everything you could possibly wear just looks ten times better and more credible in a sexy pair of nude heels, I'm convinced! I picked up this semi-translucent floral top from Buffalo Exchange when I was in New York this February, and I intend to visit (and revisit) that store until I'm wrinkly and bedridden. The floral texture of it works perfectly with the print on the pants and works equally well with denim shorts for a can't-be-bothered summer getup. I chose to button the shirt up all the way and conceal the collar with this overwhelmingly chic gold necklace that Dear Laura kindly sponsored me. It's like a cage/prison bars for my neck - except it's pretty and comfortable and I wear it by choice, if that makes sense. This slouchy purple bag from Carlo Rino is the most glorious color ever, and although it initially looked like a weird boxy square when it was hanging on the rack in their showroom, it transformed into this wonderfully creased leather must-have when I put it on my arm and filled it up a little. It's a grab-and-go holdall with excellent quality genuine leather, and looks perfectly slouchy no matter how full it is! Oh yeah, and this song will never, ever grow old.

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fade.

floral-framed sunglasses -- urban outfitters // floral button-down -- thrifted // denim cutoffs -- gap // bag -- H&M // belt -- H&M

"Let summer set you free."

The quote above was from a letter written to me at the beginning of summer by my best friend. I feel so peaceful whenever I read it; it makes me feel like I'm putting my life into the hands of an unknown entity dubbed as "summer," and letting "summer" take me away and throw me into situations and places I could never even dream of. Summer is when we unravel the dusty cocoons formed during the remaining months of the year and spread our wings and go places and open ourselves to the new world around us. It's when we let ourselves be touched and moulded and shaped and influenced by the new people we meet, the new things we see and the new places we go. Summer is the time we all become butterflies, you could say. But as much as summer changes and shapes us, it also manages to embed a slice of itself into us: a slice saturated with scars and snapshots and memories that'll remain infinitely vivid and play a vital, albeit nostalgic role in the rest of your life. Summer leaves it's mark on me every year in one way or another, be it a heartbreak and a subsequent love lesson, or a friendship that will stay dear to my heart for the rest of my life. Summer has many facets and it is somehow much larger than the sum of these facets: it's a part of something bigger. It's not just about sand, hot lifeguards and late nights, nor is it merely a vacation from life as we know it. It isn't just a time for fairytale love, and it certainly isn't just what the thermostat reads on a baking afternoon. These tiny aspects are what summer is made of, but adding them all up won't even come close to the authentic magic of the season.

Much like this Marks and Spencers floral button-down I picked up at a thrift store in Ireland a few weeks ago, summer is slowly but surely fading. But maybe that isn't a bad thing - faded shirts with granny-inspired prints will always be cool in my books. As for summer's gradual fade into the school year, that is a bad thing. It's a terrible thing. Heck, I already find myself dreaming about and planning for next summer!

Although I wish I could chase the perennial humid summer weather out of Singapore, it's the long months of absence and relaxation that summer entails which I must sadly wave goodbye to. Summer, I bid you a bittersweet farewell.

+ Don't forget to enter my summer care-pack giveaway here!
xx v.

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