You know how we love a good spot of wanderlust here at Fashion Du Jour LDN HQ. We’ve brought you jaunts away to Dubai, Spain and Paris to name a few. But sometimes some of the best delights are right on your doorstep! Yes, who needs far flung shores when we have top food and drink porn in good ol’ blighty? After a particularly dreamy sunny Sunday in Manchester, Leigh was inspired to share with you her tip top choices for places to visit if you happen to pop up t’North. So click this way for tasty treats for the eyes…and the tastebuds…

In many ways I’m lucky to split my time between London and Manchester and whenever I am up North, I relish in the fact that Manchester is in fact blessed with an abundance of awesomeness. Each visit heralds a new adventure and usually in the time I have been away, allsorts of new lushness has popped up which makes the city fresh and inviting all over again. One particular Sunday stands out as it was stuffed full of all of my favourite things: food, drink, the fella and fashion!

Vogue 100: A Century of Style exhibition was going on at Manchester Art Gallery and so that style snack was on the menu for the day to be enjoyed at our leisure, but first breakfast had to be devoured. True to the word “devoured”, the act of doing so was done at Federal Cafe and Bar. If you want the most instagrammable brunch, then this fellow fillies is the place to get to, no filter needed. Everything on the menu is utterly “yummilicious” and you can feel virtuous that you are getting good food at a great price. On this occasion I opted for the Avocado, Bacon and Poached Egg on toast, washed down with the less virtuous and more raucous Blood Orange cocktail. If you are after an easy going, leisurely vibe, this is the perfect place to enjoy your red wine hangover in peace. It’s cosy, it’s intimate and it’s uber friendly.

After filling our boots, we then trotted them down to Manchester Art Gallery accordingly, where we took in not only the Vogue 100 exhibition, but a good gander around all of the gallery. I particularly enjoyed the Fashion & Freedom exhibit, which provided me with much inspo for my wardrobe! I loved seeing how modern designers such as Vivienne Westwood (*bows down*) had been inspired by World War I and its impact on women and women’s fashion and so had designed new pieces for the exhibit. Beautiful, strong, feminine – the aesthetic and strength of the clothes was awe-inspiring, as was the artistry in creating them. Some pieces were literally works of engineering and the construction of them was jaw-droppingly beautifully in their craftmanship.

The main event though HAS to be the Vogue 100 exhibit. Spanning the 100 years the magazine has been in publication, it brings together all the key and iconic photography and images that have made Vogue the institution that it is. Unfortunately, yet understandably, you cannot take photos inside BUT it is free entry, so if you get the chance, GO! Strolling through the different eras, I was reminded that style is eternal and also how trends can pop up again and again, reimagined slightly differently each time. It was really interesting and I was drawn into the world of fashion photography. It is just so utterly, gorgeously, gloriously wonderful! I was reminded of what Carrie once said in Sex and the City about how she might not have been able to eat, but she would always buy Vogue as she felt it nourished her more…and I got what she meant after walking around the exhibition. My soul felt full and content, my creativity felt stoked. However, after many hours in the art gallery it was once again time to have actual food…sorry Carrie, my fellow style maven, but I’m only human.

Being a Sunday, it was only right to have a roast. So we decided to try somewhere new and headed to Rosylee for their roast wares to have as our late lunch/early dinner. With a Sunday cocktails offer going on too, it seemed rude not to wash down our epically humongous beef based roast with a large Bloody Mary. With an assortment of veg, mash and sauces served alongside the main meat event in tiny saucepans and a Yorkshire Pudding as big as your head thrown in for good measure, Rosylee is quite possibly the nicest Sunday Lunch place to be…especially when the heavens opened up outside. If that does happen btw, they then have a rainy day offer on Prosecco to cheer you up! It’s a twinkly, fairy lights festooned haven, perfect for Afternoon Tea also…which we will go back for asap.

Venturing back in the rain sodden streets of Manchester, we partook of wee spot of shopping – after all that fashion and food, shopping had to be our cardio right? We then rounded out what had been a most loveliest of days with a visit to Chaopraya for a little cocktail action (because we clearly hadn’t had enough, right?). If you are after great drinks with an Asian twist, then this is your place. Their version of a Pornstar Martini is out of this world! The food is packed with flavour too, so we decided to accompany our drinks with some starters. I highly recommend the fish cakes – seriously authentic and the best I have had, here or abroad.

After our day of food, drink and fashion, yes, we basically rolled home but damn, were we content. Manchester – you really are something else and long may I continue to be seduced by your charms!

Where are your favourite spots and top tips for Manchester? Have you visited any of these? We’d love to hear in the “Comments” below! And if you enjoyed this post, you may just enjoy our other “Come Away With Me” Travel posts here.

Until next time fillies,

Leigh at Fashion Du Jour LDN HQ x

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