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The weather is ... the weather, that's to say not sunny & shiny summer everyday, but when it's stable we are out and about. In this instance, we went to visit Heppenheim, one of the small towns along Germany's Bergstrasse, which runs parallel to the Rhine along the west side of the Odenwald hill range The historic old town part was almost entirely composed of these timber framework houses that are so typical for the aesthetic of a certain zone and time period. Narrow streets with beautiful little nooks and corners.



I was wearing a simple blue thrifted strapless maxi dress. Flea markets are still my kryptonite. But they are also a good, slow way to do fashion. Added some boho glam with a leo print scarf and long beaded earrings with tassels as well as the sunglasses. Accessories, you gotta love them.

And by the way, does anyone who ever played WoW remember the player made PvP video "Big Blue Dress"? I loved that one. Yes I know, totally random, but I had to think of it when contemplating a title for this post. Long blue dress .... big blue dress ...


Historic old town of Heppenheim an der Bergstrasse | Funky Jungle - Mindful life & personal style blog

Historic old town of Heppenheim an der Bergstrasse | Funky Jungle - Mindful life & quirky personal style blog

Town square in the historic old town part of Heppenheim an der Bergstrasse | Funky Jungle - Mindful life & personal style blog

Blue strapless maxi for the historic old town of Heppenheim an der Bergstrasse | Funky Jungle - Mindful life & personal style blog


Blue strapless maxi & boho glam with leo print, mirror sunglasses and long dangling earrings for the historic old town of Heppenheim an der Bergstrasse | Funky Jungle - Mindful life & quirky personal style blog

Blue strapless maxi & boho glam with booties and leo print head scarf for the historic old town of Heppenheim an der Bergstrasse | Funky Jungle - Mindful life & quirky personal style blog




In other news, you will likely not hear from me again until early September here on the blog, as I am going to do a digital fast during the upcoming Mercury Retrograde period. Yep. I may or may not finish up some of the posts I already drafted out, but if I do I'll go and say so on the only social media outlet that I'll keep active, which is my Instagram account.

I need the time to clear up my e-mail and social media accounts. Gosh you have no idea how one of those e-mail accounts looks. I am flooded with newsletters I cannot even remember what the site was about in the first place. And I need to re-orient the direction of Funky Jungle. My blog needs to grow into the direction I do, otherwise the dissonance will sooner or later kill it. Honestly I wasn't really courageous enough the first time around. But before I do anything, I'll have to mull it over away from distractions. Oh and well I simply want to enjoy my holidays and summer, being fully present.

Thrifted blue strapless maxi & boho glam with long tassle earrings for the historic streets of Heppenheim an der Bergstrasse | Funky Jungle - Mindful life & personal style blog


Walking the streets of Heppenheim an der Bergstrasse | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion, life & personal style blog


So... see you in September and have a great August you all!


Outfit Details: Strapless Maxi -Thrifted (similar & similar) | Scarf - H&M old (similar here, here & here) | Tassel Earrings - H&M (colorful similar & pricey similar) | Backpack - Gifted (similar here, here & here) | Boots - Bagatt old (similar & here)



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Linking up with: Not Dressed As Lamb | Not Dead Yet Style | Get Your Pretty On | 




In the two weeks we were down south at the ionic sea, there were several days with really strong winds blowing. Sometimes relentless for hours, ebbing for a bit, then coming back again. It fit the overall harshness. Yes the ocean was wonderful, but as soon as you went away from it you encountered the results of weeks and even months without rain. Harsh. Yet magnetically beautiful. The land had a really strong pull.

Boho style tank top with embroidery, bralette and flowy palm print culottes for a windy day at the Mediterranean Sea | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion, life & quirky personal style blog

We shot these outfit pics on one of those windy days, so please excuse the strange bulging and billowing of the clothes. Or my hair. These culottes are one of the best pieces I ever acquired in a sale. They've been with me for two years now and were worn many times over. Another perfect summer piece as they are light and breezy. As is the bohemian style tank top with embroidery. It's crinkled so it is extremely forgiving to being packed into a suitcase.




I love having pieces I can go back to time and time again, that are trusty and faithful companions on my fashion journey. As I've said before, I am not into the whole buy and discard, buy and discard cycle that is underneath the trend wheel, and much needed for it to keep moving at the speed it does. I much prefer a slow fashion approach. Where clothing (and accessories) is cherished for longer than just one Instagram picture or night out.

Unfortunately, even tho I used a SPF50 the first couple of days, I fetched a minor sun burn. Urgh. Not cool. A moment of going out unprotected can do you in here if you aren't used to it.

Bohemian top with embroidery, espadrilles wedges and flowy palm print culottes for a windy day at the Mediterranean Sea | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion, life & quirky personal style blog

Bohemian style tank top with embroidery & statement earrings out at the Mediterranean Sea | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion, life & quirky personal style blog

Bohemian top with embroidery, espadrilles wedges and flowy palm print culottes for a windy day at Torre Melissa, Calabria | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion, life & quirky personal style blog

Bohemian top, statement tassel earrings, bralette back & quarter moon and arrow tattoos | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion, life & quirky personal style blog


Bohemian top, statement tassel earrings, bralette back | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion, life & quirky personal style blog


Seen before on Funky Jungle: Culottes - Espadrilles Wedges


Outfit Details:

Culottes - H&M old (similar here and here and the flowery version)
Tank Top - Mango old (similar here & here, here & here)
Espadrilles Wedges - Bata old (similar here, here in red, here in beige)
Bralette - Free People c/o Shopbop old (similar here)
Tassel Earrings - Market old (beautiful glamorous option & similar here, here & here)



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Linking up with: Not Dressed As Lamb | Elegantly Dressed And Stylish | Get Your Pretty On | Shopping My Closet | 


This is the kind of beach life my introvert self delights in. Away from the masses, just me and the ocean. These rocks formed this kind of natural lagoon there at the beach of Torre Melissa, Calabria. A still pool at the otherwise often slightly stormy sea. Strangely enough, there weren't many people up there on the rocks. Then again, it was early in the season and the majority of people at the beach were families. So maybe that changed by now. The locals told me it starts to get full after the 15th of July.

Sitting on the rocks at the beach of Torre Melissa wearing boho elephant harem pants and a Free People tank top | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion, life & quirky personal style blog

Which is why I had the opportunity to play Funky on the Rocks all by myself and enjoy the view over the ocean and the sky adorned with an almost full moon rising early. The Moon and the sea are intimately linked, even tho the Mediterranean Sea doesn't have as high a tide like the more open oceans. Sometimes you may hear it doesn't have a tide, but that's not entirely true. It is just pretty insignificant to those you can experience at the Atlantic for example, or the ones I saw at the North Sea in my youth, where the ocean retreats considerably during low tide.




These Elephant Print Harempants were such a good fashion companion during my beach vacation, other than being my pants fo choice for the road trip. I cannot repeat enough how comfortable they are. But the coolest thing? You can pull them up and wear them as a jumpsuit!

Another great style buddy was this bikini top that did double duty as a fancy bralette for me on this trip down south. And really, I liked it so much as bralette, it's going with me to Germany as well. So I imagine you are going to see it again sometime, soon.

And in case you haven't been following me on Instagram, here's also a close up look at my latest tattoo. Originally I had a different kind of moon planned, a lot smaller and different placement too, but after a last minute discussion with my husband I decided on this one instead. Very pleased with how it turned out. Now I guess I can be a Moon Child too.

Boho style at the mediterranean sea with elephant print harem pants, Free People tank top & fishnet bikini top | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion, life & quirky personal style blog

Bohemian vibes at the beach of Torre Melissa with boho print harem pants, Free People tank top & fishnet bikini top | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion, life & quirky personal style blo

Pointing at the Full Moon - Boho vibes at the ocean | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion, life & quirky personal style blog

Pointing at the Full Moon - Little, minimalistic heart shape tattoo | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion, life & quirky personal style blog
Here you can very faintly see the almost full moon in the clear, stunningly blue sky

Looking out over the Mediterranean Sea. Boho vibes. Quarter moon free style tattoo, black Free People top, black fishnet bikini bralette top | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion, life & quirky personal style blog

View from the rocks at the beach of Torre Melissa, Calabria, Italia - In spiaggia | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion, life & personal style blog

Sunbathing on the rocks somewhere in the South of Italy. Wearing elephant print harem pants and a bikini top with fishnet details that doubled as bralette | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion, life & personal style blog

Close up look of Funky on the Rocks in elephant print harem pants and a black bikini top with fishnet details. The top doubles easily as bralette | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion, life & quirky personal style blog


Outfit Details:

Harem Pants - Thai Harem Pants, get 10% OFF your order with Code FUNKYJUNGLE - they also have my other pair back in stock!

Top - Free People (old - similar & similar)
Bikini Top - H&M (similar mesh back)
Sandals - Ikwetta (old - similar here & a beautiful slave/gladiator option)

Rings & Bracelets - From the beach vendors and local markets


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Linking up with: Not Dead Yet Style | Not Dressed As Lamb | Style Nudge | Shopping My Closet | Get Your Pretty On | Rachel the Hat | A Labour Of Life | Jo-Lynne Shane |













Why Boots Are The Freshest Option For Evening Wear - I like this "trend"

How NOT To Make The Fashion Industry More Sustainable

38 Summer Hairstyle Ideas

3 Travel Pros Pack Beauty

10 Of The Cheapes Countries To Travel To

An Introduction to SEO

Baked Banana Oatmeal Cups

Quinoa Cauliflower Patties

Commonly Misunderstood English Words & Phrases

16 YouTube Channels to Up Your Art Game






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Linking up with: The SITS Girls |
I'm currently juggling the preparation two mixed suitcases. The first is for when I fly with my son to Germany next week. The second is for when my husband joins us later. One cannot have more than 15kg. I'm a bit of a cheapskate here and then again, it's only for a part of the total stay. And the other cannot be too full either, since I have to consider the return trip in the car.

Rolled up clothing for packing a suitcase efficiently | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion, life & quirky personal style


I want, of course, to take pics for the blog, so I need to think about possible outfits more than if I'd just tourist around in the area I grew up in. Quite frankly, it's doing my head in. Not so much figuring out what I want to take, but figuring out that which I want to have immediately, that which can wait and what I actually can leave at home. Not new to preparing suitcases, I shared some of my standard packing tips in the past.




For this version, I will plan the outfits, then add in a couple more tops. Never bottoms, they take too much space. Tops rolled up into a sausage always find a space. Then we lay it all out on the bed. Or your head if you are really good like that. Notoriously an overpacker, I always edit out a couple of pieces once I think I'm done. It'll probably still be too much. Especially because even with the "Funky 12 Piece Wardrobe" in effect I will get a piece or two. I know my chicken.

It's so funny that I actually enjoy living out of a suitcase, yet the capsule wardrobe frustrated me. Maybe because the other stuff was right there? I didn't pack it up, but even then, it'd been right in the house. When I'm on holidays, what's in the bag is what I got. And it's enough. With some to spare.




Links à la Mode, July 20th
  • Adorned in Armor: Lip Liner: The Secret to Wearing Any Lip Color You Want
  • Aesthetic Distance: My Can't Live Withouts: What's On My Bathroom Counter
  • Accessories Girl: The Ballet Athletic Line That’s Going To Rock Your Workout
  • Arash Mazinani: Getting Out of Your Own Way When Developing Your Personal Style
  • Beyond Frills: Savvy Shopping Tips for Busy Bees
  • Everyday Starlet: High End Lipsticks Review | Best Long Lasting Lipsticks
  • Five Foot Nothing Shopping: Summer Styling Tips
  • Funky Jungle: Why I Prefer Real Leather For Bags And Shoes
  • Girl in Betsey: Tasty Collagen Smoothie Bowl
  • Hampton Roads Fashion & Style: Weekender Shirt Dress
  • Have Clothes Will Travel: Top 50 Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Picks Under $50
  • My Own Sense of Fashion: Comfortable Luxury- An Interview with Thibault Boullenger
  • Mynt and Coco: The Perfect Summer Jumpsuit
  • Sifa's Corner: Summer Essentials with June Popsugar Must Have Box
  • Tales of Two Blog: Spot the Difference: Bloggers of Celebrities?
  • The Borrowed Babes: Christmas in July: Hallmark Holiday Movie Style - July 14, 2017

SPONSOR: Shopbop coolchange, Gorjana, Castaner Shoes, WANT LES ESSENTIELS, Karen Mabon, Poolside Bags, Printed Rompers, White Jeans, Mid Heel Sandals, Men's buddy,



Linking up with: The SITS Girls | Not Dressed As Lamb | 




This is a question that pops up if you have concerns about proportions in regards to culottes, as they tend, like midi skirts, to optically shorten you. But well if you ask me then why yes, you can. Of course. It's not the first time I did wear sneakers or 'slip ons' with my culottes (post comes with culotte styling tips too). For me wearing that kind of shoe with a pant that has a more ladylike appeal as its baseline is a pretty stylish mix between chic and sporty.

Casual Chic - Black culottes with sneakers | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion & personal style blog


I wore this outfit combination recently for a bit of local sightseeing. In my opinion it's the perfect for that kind of activity. It's astonishing how often you miss what's right in front of your nose. We always strife to go someplace, have this great ideas that elsewhere it is more exciting or more beautiful. And that might well be true, but a lot of times we simply neglect local exploration with an open mind. That was also something I hoped to get more of when preparing my Italian Summer Bucket list. Now it seems I am going to be in Germany longer than I originally thought, so I'll probably not get around to do everything on there, but it's a good starting point.




I had always been curious about the "Santuario Madonna della Stella", seeing it from below whilst passing by on the Tangenziale, so on a Sunday when we didn't feel like staying at home but not like going anywhere too far either, we went up there to take a look.

The Santuario is located on a small hill between Gussago and Cellatica in the Franciacorta region west of Brescia. Apparently in 1536 a deaf and mute clergy man had a vision of the Madonna with child telling him to build a sanctuary / place of worship there. Getting the 3 villages at the foot of the hill on board, they started the construction works in 1537.

Unfortunately when we arrived the afternoon mass had just started and we couldn't go inside. to take a look at the interiors. So we just snapped a couple of pictures after circling the area. Afterwards we headed to the town Gussago for some ice cream and that's where the pictures of the other church 'Santa Maria Assunta' were taken. This one is actually categorized as a cathedral. It's not that old, construction works started in 1743, the church was opened for worship in 1760 and the final touch was done in 1835.

Santuario Madonna della Stella - Gussago Cellatica
Wearing black culottes, black New Balance sneakers & a white top for some local sightseeing. Boho vibes added with the belt buckle, the earrings and the bracelet | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion & personal style blog


Casual chic for local sightseeing. Wearing black culottes, black New Balance sneakers & a white top. Boho vibes added with the earrings | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion & personal style blog

Church Santuario Madonna della Stella - Gussago / Cellatica Franciacorta

Campanile Santuario Madonna della Stella Franciacorta

View from Santuario Madonna della Stella

Casual chic for local sightseeing. Wearing black culottes, black New Balance sneakers, black cross body bag & a white top. | Funky Jungle - Mindful fashion & personal style blog


Portal lions at Maria Assunta church Gussago


Front portal Maria Assunta at Gussago Franciacorta

Maria Assunta di Gussago



Outfit Details: Culottes - Mango, old (similar here & here) | Top - H&M, old (similar here & here)  | Sneakers - New Balance, old (similar here & here) | Earrings - old, from my sister (similar here & here)




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Linking up with: Not Dressed As Lamb | Elegantly Dressed & Stylish | Get Your Pretty On | Shopping My Closet | Honest Mum | Rachel the Hat | Jo-Lynne Shane | 

It is slightly controversial nowadays, and I thought back and forth about the issue, mulled over pros and cons. Finally, I decided that there, I am going to say it: I have become disenchanted with "fashion items" like shoes, bags and sometimes belts made from PU leather, pleather, vegan leather or so called man-made leather. Because in my experience, in the majority of cases, it doesn't hold a candle to the real deal.

Why, after several years of trying with man made leather, I prefer real leather most of the times when it comes to shoes and bags | Funky Jungle - Style & Life Blog

I've stated in my post "12 Pieces for my Wardrobe" that I was looking for a new larger sized bag in black because mine (currently PU) was starting to show some serious peel wear and I think I mentioned in some other post before that several other larger bags I had aquired in the past two years didn't make it very far. One actually didn't last me a full month. What they had in common? They were all made of leather substitutes.

One had the stitching holes, where the hook for the long strap was attached to the main bag, ripping after only a short time of use, so I couldn't carry it over the shoulder anymore. Another one of them started to chip & crack as soon as 3 weeks after buying it. Yes, I didn't pay a huge amount of money on it, but it was still substantial since I'm on a budget. Besides the monetary factor it is simply waste. Buying bags and having to toss them so soon after is a huge waste of resources and that is something I utterly despise. The same goes for shoes. And quite frankly the normality of buying disposable but not biodegradable crap and adding happily to the landfills is disgusting. I want my stuff to last me at least a couple of years.

Well, the thing is, real good quality leather, from a great source and manufactured well, usually holds. And holds. And holds. A couple of years. Then some more. This bag? Still going strong. The sandals I wore here? Going into their third year now, they have only some light scratching. These boots, bought in 2014? Not a hole in sight, I will just have to replace the heel these days.

Yes, they show wear, but you know what's great? If you treat your leather right, it gets better with age, not worse, forming a beautiful patina. And you can often repair leather goods like shoes & bags. All you need is a good cobbler. Which leads me to Samuel Vimes (a character from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series) Theory of Economic Injustice which can be summarized as "Rich people are rich because they can buy a good pair of boots that holds them 10 years and thus they spend less money in the long run". That's maybe a bit simplistic, but the idea behind it is that if you invest in a good piece that stays with you, you will save money in the end. And contribute to less waste, as you won't need to toss as many shoes in the mean time.

Now none of the pro arguments for leather were new to me. But I had wanted to give fake leather an honest try because of the negative aspects of using real leather.

What I didn't know was that there are significant differences in quality between leather and leather. I mean sure I knew, sort of. I mean there's differences in quality for everything, isn't there? But I didn't know what full grain leather means or that "genuine leather" is a term used for stamped & dyed lesser quality parts.

Full grain leather on the other hand is the technical wording used for leather that is made from the top layer of the hide. It's the best in terms of durability and as far as I understood it the part that forms the patina. So it would always be the preferable choice for items like bags, shoes and jackets (remember, I don't own one). And if you want to make sure to get the best full grain leather, get it from a happy cow as the conditions in which the animal is raised and what is fed to it impact the qualities of its skin.



Why I prefer real leather most of the times when it comes to shoes and bags | Funky Jungle - Style & Life Blog


*Sponsored post. Opinion is my own after years of experience*







I'm officially back from my beach vacation. Physically we already returned on Saturday, but had to face a washing machine break down. Which was followed by my melt down when having to deal with mountains of dirty laundry in a small apartment, whilst hosting my sister. Plus I have to get ready to leave again (me and son only) in the third week of July, as I'm headed North to Germany.

So I took an impromptu half vacation from blogging, as writing articles in the mess and in the heat just didn't want to happen. What I did do was some sharing and as it turns out, the Independent Fashion Bloggers found my Summer Vacation Edit worthy of being included in this weeks Links a la Mode round up. Go have a look at the articles of the other bloggers.

Wishing you all a great weekend!





Links à la Mode, July 13th
  • Adorned in Armor: 3 Reasons Why Change is Necessary to Reach Your Goals
  • Aesthetic Distance: UberPOOL As A Dating App: Clever Or Creepy?
  • Cold Hard Fash: Mommy a la Mode
  • Couture Crush: Summer Rompers
  • Everest Says: How to Style Sunglasses in 3 Ways
  • Funky Jungle: Summer Vacation Edit
  • Hampton Roads Fashion & Style: The Sweetest Midi Skirt
  • Life in the Fash Lane: 10 Reasons to Not Follow Me on Instagram
  • Lay Summers: Marc Fisher is the Shoebrand You Need
  • Myriad Musings: What to Wear to a Summer Wedding
  • Sifa's Corner: How to Enjoy Your DIet & Cardio for a New Gorgeous Look This Summer
  • The Fashion Dryrun: Some Shopping Tips + Mid-Season Sale haul + Shopping Favorites
  • Queen Bee's Diary: Bucket List Ideas

SPONSOR: Amazon's Shopbop Eddie Borgo, DODO BAR OR Clothing, Parker Dresses, Valentino, WaiWai, Mother of Pearl, Wedding Dresses, Wedges, Denim 2.0, Men's The Kooples


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Funky Jungle is a blog for those who are tired of being a fashion caterpillar and decide it is time to become a style butterfly.

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