Silly Little Outfits To Boost Serotonin For Sad Office Days Vol.4
Actually, I've been OOO so it's the happy holiday Türkiye edition!
Hey Hautties! I recently got to be that annoying person who goes on summer vacay while their home country suffers a nuclear winter (minus one degree just ain’t right for Melbourne). Now, you get to read all about it!
As I am a bit detached from social media these days and don’t like spending my holidays trying to achieve the perfect selfie, I didn’t get a whole lot of outfit content. So the highlight reel is mainly cats and scenery with a thirst trap thrown in for Joel to say thank you for editing.
The Essentials
I admit, I packed for shit on this trip. I was in London for work where the weather is always schizophrenic. Then I tagged along with friends to Istanbul before spending a week in Bodrum for some much-needed decompressing by the sea (seacompressing?). So over three weeks, I had to evolve from bra-wearing professional normal person to effortlessly chic tourist in 30+ degree weather to finally, beach babe seeking sugar daddy for yacht.
While I’m not sure I totally nailed it, the reality of summer holiday dressing is you usually never look how you envisioned on your moodboard and hopefully, you don’t care. You’re too busy dripping in sweat or at least enjoying yourself.
I attempted the TikTok 3x3x3 rule - pack 3 different tops, bottoms, shoes and dresses to mix up. I threw in two different bikinis which did me dirty as I clearly don’t practice good swimwear aftercare. I didn’t realize my go-to Calzadonia red thong bikini had gone moldy until I whipped it out in Bodrum (I thought it was sunscreen that hadn’t washed out, but no, I’m a gross goblin girl), and after a few wears, my family-friendly backup from Cotton On Body completely stretched out.
Here’s what didn’t let me down:
Second-Handies
Where I fucked up was on the shoe front. I took a pair of sneakers, flat leather sandals and heeled mules (the patent MM6 ones from the garage sale in Vol 2 for those of you playing at home). The latter has proven super comfy for trotting around Melbourne but, for some reason, didn’t agree with London and stress powerwalks to Pret.
I proceeded to rip up the sides of my feet and then caused further damage in Istanbul because something possessed me to pack the Saint Laurent Tribute sandals I bought pre-loved at Goodbyes over my tried-and-trusty Birks. I panic-purchased some cheap platform flip-flops at DeFacto (Türkiye’s H&M) to wear on the beach, which then molested my toe cracks, so by the end of the trip, my feet were well and truly cooked.
In I see it, I want it, I bought it news, I managed to find the Réalisation Par dress from Vol.3 on Depop, which was perfect for a work presentation and dinners in Istanbul, though way too hot and sticky for Bodrum, where all of these outfits were good in theory but the reality was I spent the majority of my time in the now-saggy bikini bottoms with no regrets.
Türkiye Reccs
Now I know you’re not just here to talk outfits, so let me list some of my highlights for drinking, smoking and ordering in restaurants.
Istanbul
Hotel Fresia for cheap, charming and central accommodation with lots of cats outside.
Soho House for 360 rooftop cocktails and spacious rooms to teach your British besties how to do The Nutbush.
Flekk for amazing cocktails if you don’t have Soho House membership or like me, mates to leech membership off of.
Karaköy Güllüoğlu for all the Baklava you could dream of.
Akin Balik for incredible hummus and fresh fish (go with group, fish are big).
AŞEKA for a boujee dinner, local wines and the only butter I will ever eat.
Yıldırım usta - for two things and two things only: small fish wrap or large fish wrap.
Bodrum
This Airbnb for the most gorgeous pool, sunset views and people (downside: average rooms).
Zakka Cafe - For locals to pile you with Raki and those skinny cigarettes from Greece.
Müdavim - For more divine seafood.
Churchill - For cocktails by the beach.
Dem Wines - For dem wines!
For the most beautiful water you will ever see, get a boat tour to swim at Orak Island, German Bay, Red Bay and cover yourself in mud in Cleopatra’s Cave.
Oh and here are some of the best cats I saw:
Future Influences
While I should be looking at replacing my sad swimwear, that’s not all that exciting. What I’m really loving is this House of Sunny seashell set and I wish I could have worn that in Bodrum. I have two trips to Spain in 2025 as part of my duty as a professional destination wedding guest which will hopefully afford me more time in the sun. However, I need to be more mindful with purchasing, even second-handsies, so if I’m not still loving it by then and it’s not on Depop, I’ll pay it no mind.
Now that I’m back at home, cold and depressed with my beautiful tan fading away, I’m counting on dirty martinis to get me through the winter. These earrings from Lankris would be a perfect addition to the jewelry rotation. A few years ago, I actually had dirty martini nails inspired by Betina Goldstein, which brings me to my next train of thought about switching to press-ons.
The algorithm constantly promoted Ersa Nails, so I ordered the silver chrome Medusa set, hoping the reusable kind would save me some cash over salon manis. They can’t arrive quickly enough, though. My current job is looking real janky as they were done pre-travels, and several nails had to be sneakily reattached with Boots glue in airport toilets.
