Hi friends! I hope that you have all been well and I wanted to thank you for the kind wishes here on the blog and on social media after my last post, which was a very personal one; I’m so glad it resonated with you.

November has come and gone now and it’s been such a busy month for me, culminating in the Bloggers Workshop I organised at the gorgeous citizenM Bankside hotel last Saturday for over 50 bloggers and which was a great success. If you’re curious, just take a peek at the hashtag #NNworkshop on Twitter and Instagram.

Now, I don’t know if you’re like me but something that tends to happen every year on my birthday month is that I am flooded with some sort of nostalgia about memories from my past and I get the itch to revisit them, because I don’t want  to remember things through rose-colored glasses, I want to remember them as they were.

So every year, I put the kettle on, prepare a foamy cup of chai tea and start foraging in my closet for the shoe boxes I hid in there, all the way to the back. The boxes keep safe my former diaries, photographs and all sorts of knick-knacks from gig tickets to maps, letters from friends, objects lost and found. It’s a bit of a mess but it’s also a treasure chest and I love taking the time to go through them and reminisce, it always puts a smile on my face.

So today, I thought that I could share a style post inspired by this and introduce you to the girl I was at 18? Maybe we can assess together whether things have changed, ten years in the future.

Stripe Backpack – £62 // Lena Dunham Shirt – £36 // Tassel Earrings – £26 // Black Brogues – £25
Moto Pants – £25 // Rings – £2.50 // Ballerinas – £32 // Tote Bag – £13

Ok so, maybe I’m cheating a little because the pieces I’m featuring are currently available online and they do have a modern look, but I’m also true to the spirit of the things you could find in my closet circa 2004 as I was finishing high school and heading out to university in Avignon.

Red, black and white were my favourite colours and I was definitely a bit of a rock chick. My style was feminine with an edge and I started a very decent collection of brogues.

I loved leather, layering and playing with transparency, bold handmade jewellery and any pieces that were delicately illustrated like the shirt and tote bag above. From the first time ever I had money after a summer job, it was my body that I wanted illustrated (did you know I was tattooed?) and I loved getting under the needle. I have an ace of spades on my right ankle and thirteen small birds on my left inner arm.

Now, let’s catch up with 2014.

Cork Clutch – £18 // Faces Sweatshirt – £56 // Modern Clutch – £77 // Bangle – £20
Vinyl Skirt – £39 // Brogues – £72 // Sandals – £25 // Barrettes – £22

Well it would seem at 28, the brogues and illustrated theme are still going strong.

I don’t layer nearly as much as I did before because I’m embracing being tall and I’ve developed a deep love for colour, mixed and patterned fabrics. I may have a tendency to over-accessorise but I usually catch myself before I go through the door unless you know, it looks good and I need a conversation starter.

I guess my problem now, and one that is glaring at me in the moodboard above, is that I’m often buying very original pieces and I have trouble pairing them down with more casual items to go to work or make a dash for the bakery. Somehow, it’s the monochrome pieces I had in abundance at 18 which are the big absentees.

On the other hand, my jewellery box is overflowing, since I still love original handmade jewellery, except now I can actually afford it, and Etsy has become my very best, very unforgiving friend. I pin all the things here, if you’re interested.

Now tell me: How about you? How did you use to dress at 18 years old and has your style changed?

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