Around six weeks ago , I was lucky enough to go on a girly holiday with one of my closest friends to visit Dubrovnik in Croatia. The two of us had been planning this trip since October last year, oh and how time had flown and before we knew it we were on the plane at 6:50am jetting down to the south coast of  Croatia. The two of us are very much photography lovers, so it was the perfect opportunity to get some good snaps of what we did during our stay and of course our daily outfits ;). As you can already probably guess, Croatia is pretty damn hot. Most days it was around the 35 degrees, which for us British people is most definitely on the hotter side! The number of times Katie and I had to hide away in the shade and drink gallons of water to get over mild headaches is pretty unbelievable, I guess you can say that the both of us are not the best when it comes to overheating and sunlight ahahah 😉

 I’ve been wanting to post this blog post ever since I got back from my trip but I never seemed to good enough internet to upload it! Well here I am finally with an outfit post ready to roll and I’m so excited to share my favourite looks from the trip.

Blue Crochet

With the smelting summer heat, for day one I decided to wear this beachy crochet two piece which my mum kindly bought back from her travels in the Caribbean. Crochet is massive in the Caribbean so they’re so good at creating pieces which are eye-catching in both design and colour! Summer is the perfect time for some colour pop ,so I decided to wear my two piece with some lace up ghillie flats in a gorgeous burnt orange and match it with my favourite pony skin rucksack from Zara. This outfit is my go to summer kind of look with vibrant shades and textures. To finish things off I’m wearing my vintage round ray-bans which adds a little bit of a throwback to a rather modern colourful look.

Tribal Colours

Dubrovnik was the perfect place to eat out in the evenings because the air was cooler and the atmosphere was buzzing. Since we were on a pretty tight budget we didn’t eat out that often but of course when we did we went all out with our looks hahah 😉 . For one of our evenings out , I decided to wear this Indian inspired dress from Asos, it’s a pretty old piece but I just love it! The pattern is so hippy and tribal which is definitely out of my comfort zone but I love the beautiful shades of pink, orange and blue on the dress. To go with this colourful number, I’m wearing a simple pair of cut out brogues and some Kurt Cobain inspired sunnies. Both the brogues and sunglasses add a modern twist to my hippy inspired attire. The final touch to my outfit were my favourite earrings by Tellmee which are the perfect shade of green and adds even more colour! In terms of bags I’m wearing this gorgeous leather and fur bag which I picked up from Seville. It reminds me of the brand Brother Vellies who love to use an excess of ponyskin! It’s the most perfect way to add some bold texture and fun to the look.

Mustard and Metallic

Ahhhh this was by far my favourite look of the whole holiday, it’s totally out of my comfort zone which makes it pretty special to me haha. I’m wearing this absolutely gorgeous mustard yellow poplin dress by H&M with beautiful bow tied straps. I remember seeing this dress in store and totally falling in love with it! The thing I thought that would be pretty tricky to overcome was the length; it’s supposed to be a midi dress but due to my petite frame it was definitely closer to being ankle length! With the length being longer than what I usually go for, I knew that I had to wear “heels” of some sort to lengthen my body and to make my legs look longer. I decided to wear metallic green kitten heels which I bought from Asos just before the holiday. Don’t they have some serious mermaid vibes ahah?! Ahhh these shoes are just amazing! They’re surprisingly comfortable which is a definite added bonus. Metallic green and mustard yellow are not two colours that you would normally put together, but somehow they compliment each other and are so eye catching! To finish off this contemporary look I’m once again wearing my cheeky Kurt Cobain inspired sunnies which I got from ebay for £3… BARGIAN ! Hahaha. ( I also wore this dress with my Stan Smiths which adds a very “& other stories” feel to the look but I definitely prefer the look with the metallic heels.)

Simply Does It

Day three was a walking day as we decided to explore the walls of Old Town, which meant that we had to wear something practical and comfortable. I decided to wear this gorgeous halter neck blouse in a girly pink ombré shade and pair it with a simple pair of high waisted crepe shorts. These shorts are super flowy which is perfect for the scorching summer heat and keeps the looking girly and “cute.” To add some extra umph I’m wearing my orange rucksack and purple velvet shades. I somehow love the combination of orange and purple, it works so well for summer and adds extra colour to the simple outfit. For footwear, I’m wearing my cut-out brogues from Zara, the good thing about these brogues is that they have a platform which is perfect for any petite frame! Although this look is simple, accessorising with standout pieces is my favourite way of making the outfit more eye-catching and special.

Golden Nights

If you followed me on Instagram (@izzy_manuel) while I was in Dubrovnik, then you would know how much Katie and I loved to dress up when going out for food. This look was very much a “Film Festival” inspired look. I’m wearing a stunning yellow flowy dress with a dipped hem, perfect for the warm summer breeze. The shape of the dress, especially the halter neck adds a really classy touch to the dress, go go go H&M for coming up with a stunning piece ahahah ;). The low back and cut out in the front adds a little skin and sass which is unquestionably a must have with any evening look :D. To keep the look personal,  I’m wearing my mermaid metallic block heels to add some height and sparkle to the outfit. This combination just keeps heads turning which is what evening wear is all about!

A Summer Breakfast

For one of our meals out, we decided to go out for breakfast in a rooftop café to experience the best view of Dubrovnik’s old town. We had a very simple breakfast of bread with cheese and a variety of local ham’s, although it was very simple it still was wonderful! For my outfit, I decided to go for a very light summery look. I’m wearing a pink floral jumpsuit with some bright blue sandals which both incorporate what I would describe as a summer colour palette. The jumpsuit was originally floor length but I decided to shorten it to help elongate my small frame and to add some dimension to the piece. The whole idea of awkward length trousers seems to be on trend at the moment, but if you manage to make it work it looks insanely good! I’m also wearing vintage inspired leather saddle bag with a two tone pony-skin patch, as well as my vintage round ray bans. The bag and sunglasses have a vintage flare which compliments the modern jumpsuit very nicely! It’s always good to mix and match era’s to keep the look interesting and different.

Despite the lateness of this post I hope it has given you some inspiration on how to jazz up your summer wardrobe. Summer’s most certainly not over yet! hahahah :D. I hope you are all having a wonderful summer holiday and I shall see you in my next post; I have quite a few lined up and ready to go. 😀

Ciao for now , Izzy x