A Stroll Through Leeds with River Island // Lookbook 21

It’s that time of the year again and winter is coming which means I have to brave the cold and venture up to friendly Yorkshire in the north of England. Saying that, I couldn’t think of a better setting to grab a few shots for a small River Island Christmas campaign featuring fellow bloggers 21st Century Gent, Jordan Bunker and Q Mike.

As usual the day starts off at Kings Cross station and if you ignore the busloads of French teenagers taking selfies at Harry Potter corner it’s a gorgeous building in it’s own right having been redeveloped by John McAslan + Partners in time for the London 2012 Olympics.

Upon arriving in Leeds I’m immediately transported to 2012 when I was just a young and naive graduate wandering the streets in the hope of finding a job. Fortunately this isn’t the case anymore but it was still mighty interesting to see the city where I spent so many years grow and modernise, yet retain that indescribable northern charm that made it special.

I was joined by Emily from Emtalks as we explored Victoria Quarter and the city centre without worry or obligation whilst sharpening our photography skills and making use of the historical backdrops that were available to us.

To get in the Christmas spirit River Island were kind enough to send me a few early presents of the wearable variety and seeing as I’m a sucker for a mac they hit the look right on the money. The dark green military mac coat accompanied me every day during my northern adventure and it’s lightweight nature made it perfect for the wind and drizzle I encountered.

The mac also proved easy to style as the colours of my dark green colour block roll neck jumper and black lined nubuck leather desert boots perfectly matched it’s dark green (almost army like) tones. The dark colours also ensured the outfit wasn’t too ostentatious as it’s important to feel comfortable in whatever you’re wearing rather than feeling self conscious in something you didn’t want to wear in the first place.