In Rome: Black-White, Hi-Low

[tank top: Forever 21, skirt: Mango, cross-body: Zara (old), sandals: Sam Edelman, Hat: Rome street stall]

After a 15+ hour period in transit, I'm back in Hong Kong. I decided to reminisce by spending today compiling photos from the trip (totaling over a thousand between both me and my boyfriend's camera). This trip has been truly eye opening - seeing Europe for the first time has been amazing and inspiring. I'll be featuring a few of my outfits from the trip in my next few entries, starting with what I wore on my first day in Rome.

Rome is by far the prettiest city I've seen. We spent the days getting lost in the streets under the scorching and cheery Italian sunshine (which was the perfect excuse to buy a hat!), gorging on pizza and gelato every meal, and discovering the most breathtaking views and monuments as we turned each corner. 

Rome was very, very hot as we were visiting smack in the middle of a severe heat wave. Although a bit tough to walk in, the heat was a nice break from the rainy, chilly London weather we had been in. I could not wait to pull out the tank tops and sandals. I had purchased this hi-low skirt whilst being in London and was anxious to put an outfit together. I had tried on quite a few hi-lo skirts/dresses before but none really fit the bill. I wanted a skirt with less of a bold color such that the focus on the skirt would be its silhouette instead of its color. This skirt was the perfect muted print which would allow me to pair it several ways. For Rome, I went with what I packed and paired it with a basic black tank I got years ago from Forever 21. Simple and classic.

The hat was an impulse purchase that I made quickly after arriving in Rome. The sun was waaaay too sunny and I knew we were going to be out and about for the time we were there. I loved the large rim of the hat and how it balanced out my outfit. Perfect mix of function and aesthetic. It ended up being my best accessory in Rome - I wore it out every single day!

[spending late afternoon strolling around Vatican City, St Peter's Basilica]

[nomming on gelato. If you're ever in Rome, check out Old Bridge Gelato in the Vatican City, was amaaaaazingness]

[notice the scarfy thing I'm holding? St. Peters does not allow visitors to enter with bare shoulders, so I had to purchase a 2 Euro touristy scarf with "ROME" printed all over it. Cheesy and wasteful but forced purchase.]

Ciao! <3