Being able to wear your hair down (last month’s huge revelation) opens all sorts of doors concerning headgear – like wearing fedora-esque hats that have been all the rage for a while now. Although I suspect this is more of a trilby… 

Brim widths seem to vary, although I think it’s more about what suits you best. I chose a hat which has a smallish brim as I didn’t want look like I’m wearing a huge saucer on my head. It’s worth being quite mindful and judicious when it comes to choosing because when a hat looks right, it a) looks like a natural extension of yourself in fabric form and b) bestows a certain air of confidence and – if my teenage reading of Deepak Chopra while on a long holiday car journey in India serves me right – all sorts of magical energies that will encourage good things to happen to you! A statement to the world that you’re ready to engage in a positive way.

I took these photos as the Algarvian sun was going down so they already had a bit of graininess as I had to push the ISO up a bit to stop the lens from struggling and to capture the shots in focus. Post-editing, using The Fader plugin to adjust the intensity of VSCOcam filters, I added a little more grain as I like the atmosphere and moodiness of the shots. Combine hat magic with a few carefree moments fooling around with a camera in a field is a surprisingly good way to relax – for me at least!

You might recognise a couple of these pieces – the hat and coat – from a little impulse Zara haul earlier this week. I convinced myself the Faro Zara had pieces that I couldn’t find in London or online (this bit is true so far, apart from the scarf!) so couldn’t miss the opportunity… You know, the usual thinking behind spontaneous splurging. But I adore the light latte colouring of the coat and have a bit of a thing for faux furs at the moment – there are so many good ones around! I feel an edit coming on…

We make our way back to London and all its busy-ness this weekend, which I’m quite excited about. Although I think I like the notion of autumn more than the reality of it – the reality being feeling the cold and never having quite enough layers on… So I’ll be putting a lot of magic energies into big knits and warm socks over the next few days in an effort to prepare for the colder months. Brrr, shivery just thinking about it!

I am wearing Zara faux fur coat (similar), summer dress and hat (almost identical apart from beading – which you could add!) with a pair of cropped Reiss trousers and Birkis.

Natalie Marie Jewellery double disc necklace