How to Wear a Black Maxi Dress in Summer / Summer Style Tips / Strolling Split 3 Outfit Proposal

Hiding from the sun a bit with my hat, sunnies and a maxi dress. As much as I love the sun, sometimes there is such a thing as too much, don't you agree?  Sometimes the sun is simply too strong and we need to rely on clothes to provide us with additional protection. Maxi dresses are very popular during the summer months- and with a good reason, I might add. Dresses and sneakers, that's been my fashion mantra lately. My summer style tips often revolves around comfort. It doesn't get much comfortable than wearing a cotton dress and converse style sneakers, does it? A black dress is always a neutral choice, and if you want a bit of colour, you can always accessorize, like I did here by opting for a striped hat and a printed tote bag.  

My sneakers are not actually converse, in fact I don't even own a pair of converse sneakers, because there is only as much as I'm willing to pay for a pair of sneakers made of rubber and textile. Their price these day seems a bit over-inflated to me, and as interesting as the history of this iconic pair of sneakers may be, I'm not setting aside 55- 100 pounds to buy a pair of sneakers that probably costs less than 5 pounds to produce. Paying for design is alright, but let's be reasonable, please. I do like the converse style design.  Converse style sneakers sometimes get a bad rap for not being anatomical and causing flat feet, and while that might be true, there are ways to work around it. 

About ten years ago, I had an appointment with a specialist and had special custom made foot insoles made. Now, that is something I didn't mind paying more that 55 pounds for (I still remember the price 66.4 pounds). Besides investing into good quality foot insoles/inserts (something hardly anyone mentions but it is sooo important especially if one of your feet is shorter than the other one), another way to make sneakers even more comfortable is by making sure the socks you're wearing with them are of good quality cotton. One of the reasons why we get blisters on our feet is friction. It all comes down to physics. If you don't want to wear socks with your sneakers, you can try using a deodorant because that should stop your feet from sweating and that in turn can help you avoid blisters. You don't want blisters in the summer, do you? With all the walking you need to do? Summer is the season for strolling around and exploring, so comfortable footwear is a topic worth talking about.

Light materials are sometimes all we need. During summer, cotton is the magical word. Speaking of magical, aren't these flowers gorgeous? I just adore oleander flowers, but I heard they can be cause allergic reaction, so I've been resisting the temptation to buy an oleander tree. Do you have an oleander tree at home? If yes, is there a way to work around it? I heard wearing gloves is a must when touching oleander as both the tree itself, and the flowers are quite poisonous.  But they are so pretty, though!

These images were shot in my old neighbourhood in Split city. If you remember, recently I wrote about photo worthy places in Split city, Croatia. You can read the first part of that post here, the second one should be up on the blog by the end of the summer. Today I want to mention something I talked about in that first post. If you remember, I advised you that when visiting Split, you explore the modern part of the town as well. Why limit yourself only on the old city centre (as gorgeous as it is). I'm a big fan of the neighbourhood I used to live in, that is called Split 3. I would say that many neighbourhoods in Split are very pretty. Many of the modern buildings remind me of boats, the way they are facing the sea makes them look like they're about the sail. I wonder was that intentional, is it a part of their design, or just something  that's in my head. I've been known to be the  imaginative sort. :)

When I was a little girl, before we moved to Split 4, we also lived in another neighbourhood known as Blatine and that's a lovely neighbourhood as well, but Split 3 has a bit more to offer when it comes to shooting location opportunities. For instance, University campus in Split has some pretty amazing buildings. The whole area is very pretty and certainly worth a visit. The Campus library is a very imposing building as well. Just mentioning it in case you're visiting Split and looking for good photo opportunities. A few notable Croatian architects worked on designing this neighbourhood and surrounding area. This urban part of the city is a great example of how approachable modern architecture can be. You can take long walks here, never coming close to the road. The neighbourhoods were designed that way, with little squares and plazas, so that parents could stroll around with their children and people could meet one another. 

That kind of 'humanized' architecture is what we need. I would say that architects need to always remember that they are building spaces for people to live in. It's as much about functionality as about aesthetics. In that sense, architecture is similar to fashion.You need things not just to look good, but to serve human beings that are using them. Here I'm talking about photo opportunities and picture taking, but still, even for the purpose of photography you'll want a space you feel comfortable in.  Modern architecture is sometimes seen as depressing, but fortunately that's not always the case. When it comes to modern and postmodern architecture, all I can say is that I've seen both things I liked and disliked. It's not white and black. It's easy to get nostalgic and conclude that it was all better 'in the good old days' but the truth is there are just as many talented architects now as there were in the past. I would say that if public wants good buildings, neighbourhoods and public areas, than the public needs to get more involved (if possible), show more interest in the work of architects and so on.

  

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