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It’s cold, it’s wet… Hey, mustn’t grumble, I say, this gives me the perfect opportunity to wear all my favourite (old and new) trends: Sportswear (probably not sooo trendy anymore, but oh-so-comfortable), trench coats (always spot on), grey (I recently read an interview with a fashion trendsetter who named grey THE colour of the future, not as harsh as black but neutral enough and available in all shades) and layering short over long.
Just staying on the fence wasn’t as easy as I thought…
scarf: diy, sweater: topshop, tracksuit bottoms: select, cardigan: greta lorenzi, trenchcoat: topshop, boots: givenchy
Every year it's the same - February just isn't fun! Too little sun, too wet, too gray, too much rain, too much work, too little tennis, too cold... makes me all grumpy and moody. What's needed here is more soft velvet and warm red, I thought - and when we had an hour without rain (yeah!!!) I ran out to give it a go. You won't believe how much fun high heeled photo shoots are in the mud! (That actually made me laugh, slipping and sliding around, hoping noone would see me and naturally, still struggling with the remote.. one day I'll get it.)
Maybe I just need a better attitude; maybe I'm in the wrong place and climate (Australia should be nice right now, or Brazil...). What about you? Do you have a crisis month?
dress: nicole farhi, shoes: costume national, tights: wolford, top: vintage (dolores), handbag: maruca from boulder, colorado
Recently I discovered a box with slides and negatives. 'Real' pictures from a pre-digital age. I have to admit it took me a long time to move on to digital, and although I love all the possibilities of modern photography (and photoshop!) seeing these old pictures makes me feel slightly melancholic. (I used to have an ancient 6x6cm camera, with a little window on the top. Heavy as a rock, but so much fun.)
Have any of you seen Scarlett Johansson learning 'real photography' with a mechanic camera, developing her photos in a dark room in Woody Allen's 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona'. I don't know... I love the simplicity of digital photography and really don't miss all the toxins from the dark room. So I'm happy with the new ways. But what about you? Do you find non-digital photography more artistic, more worthy than digital? Might any of you maybe even take pictures 'the old way'?
Just for the fun of it, here a 6x6cm self-portrait from pre-digital times. I promise I won't bother you with more!
I recently received awards from the lovely Pia of Haute Like Wasabi, Imogen of Tia Cherie, Cristi of Thatssorad, RockandRevolution and Haute World. Thank you so much for thinking of me and giving me awards!
Since I already went into total confession mode in my All You Never Wanted to Know about Me post I thought I can’t do that again to you.
So instead I went one step further and [GASP!] opened [the secret life of every woman] my handbag! And what did I find?
1. A bag in a bag in a bag… I got this little Goldpfeil wallet for one of my Vogue subscriptions and it’s been with me ever since. It holds all my cards and the little money I carry around with me.
2. My glasses. When I recently went to the optician because I was sure all this computer work would make me farsighted I was told I was actually shortsighted. Doesn't matter... Just as well a perfect reason for a pair of Givenchy frames, even if I only wear them for driving.
3. My sunglasses. I haven’t used them for weeks, but hope keeps them in my bag. Love the battered leather case by a company called 'The Original'.
4. Self-made purse with Euros.
5. Handcream. A must!
6. Lipstick. Chanel, colour no. 40.
7. Pocket mirror. Another of these nifty presents you get when you buy several items of one cosmetic brand. I can never stop myself…
8. Keys.
9. Suncream. Another item that hasn’t been too necessary lately. But having spent years of my childhood burning in the sun I’m now triple trying to make up for it (hence therefore SPF 40).
10. The second part of subscription presi; holding more little things. (More bags in bags... am I showing my slightly OCD side here?)
11. Current bag. I never have the time to adjust my bag to my outfit. This black Be&D bag has been with me for a while and is just perfect.
12. Then I was thinking 'Isn't there something missing?' - until I realised that all technology was plugged in somewhere. But I have to share my phone with you because only then will you understand what a tech dino I really am! (Ok, I do have a Blackberry thingy, but hardly know how to use it.)
And my awards go to:
1. Kirafashion. Beautiful Brasilian lady with great sense of style.
2. Café Fashionista. Noone writes like Erika; you always came back to entertaining blog.
3. A little bird told me. Jen manages to talk about every day fashion questions in the most charming way.
4. Fade to Black. Cool dresser and fashion designer blogging from New York.
5. ClaraBelle. Clare knows her fashion inside-out.
6. Couture Millinery Atelier. Hat Designer Anya’s blog is one of the most beautiful ones I’ve discovered and is full of inside stories.
7. My Style Thrifting Fashion & Me. Sharon Rose manages to get the most fashionable clothes at the best prices.
8. Pixelated Blonde says she 'hates fashion'. But no, she doesn’t…
9. LenoreNeverMore. You’ve got to love Lenore. She talks to the trees, dances in Singapore. Life’s a party for her!
10. Marian Kihogo is a stylist and a her blog a 'proper', interesting, comprehensive fashion blog. Please stay with us, Marian!
11. Musings of a Born Socialite. Emily might be having a bit of a blogging low, but I love her blog and hope she soon will be back!and12. The Little Fashion Treasury. I’ve only recently discovered Martina’s blog, but I’m absolutely hooked – Plus she is German like me (but her English is better).
Let’s keep spreading the blogging love! (But all this html-ing has totally exhausted me.)
"The modern woman leads an active life, and the creator must therefore dress her accordingly, in the most simple way, whilst maintaining her charm and femininity." Jean Patou
I’m feeling a bit out of sync wanting to talk about my latest vintage find while everyone else is going on about the newest collections. Normally I’m not even such a big fan of old clothes. (Maybe it’s because I was mainly dressed in 2nd hand clothes as a child - you could also call it the outgrown stuff of the neighbours’ kids). Don’t get me wrong, my wardrobe consists of lots of old garments, which I love because these clothes once belonged to my grandma, or my mum or my dad or someone else I have an affinity to; but I usually don’t get a big thrill from second hand clothes. Only sometimes…
It was when we were rummaging through delicious ball gowns in ‘Sterling Gold’, a shop that specializes on vintage dresses (so what am I doing in a vintage shop anyway you might rightly ask…), when my eyes fell on this skirt and top adorned with little metal discs (or are they dots?) by Jean Patou. 'I don’t want nothing for myself', I think, 'nooothing!' Well, that was that. The costume fits like a glove (so much so that every time I dare to eat I feel guilty), but that’s fashion for you.
Apart from the name and that it was quite a famous fashion house in the 20s (and in strong competition with Chanel), I didn’t know much about Jean Patou. 'Joy' comes to mind, the famous and expensive perfume. But did you know that Monsieur Patou is cited as the inventor of the tennis skirt and of knitted bathing suits? Together with Coco he was a very modern influence in his time, moving fashion towards the sporty and comfortable. Even after his death the house of Patou had some notable Art Directors – a 20 year old Karl Lagerfeld, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Christian Lacroix… I just wish I knew from which period my piece is from.
You can read more about Jean Patou here.
skirt & top: jean patou, stockings: wolford, bodysuit: falke, shoes: marc by marc jacobs
Just because I mainly go to Berlin to visit family and friends it doesn’t mean I don’t know that it’s a popular place to go clubbing. This fact just didn’t come to my mind when I booked our flight home for Sunday early morning with Easy Jet. Ahh, let me tell you, little compares with the joys of sharing a flight with people who just about manage to stumble into a plane… (It’s actually quite clever - Berlin night life is fun and relatively cheap, budget airlines offer good deals, plus you can save the cost for a hotel room.) The fact that some were so out of it that they were considered ‘not fit to fly’ and had to be led out of the plane amounted to about an hour extra waiting time. But after sorting this problem we all enjoyed a really quiet (if slightly snoring) flight home to London.
Yeap, Berlin was bitterly cold, but like so many times before I found the city a place where creative spirit can still thrive without immediately being crushed by financial pressures. Rents are still cheap and there are always new independent and interesting cafés, galleries and shops to discover…
It was sitting in one of these charming new cafés in the district of Kreuzberg*, munching a delicious French chocolate cake, sipping cappuccino and watching the manager building a snow man on the side walk that my friend (who is not terribly interested in fashion) asked me: ‘Did you hear about the death of this famous English designer? He died in his flat in East London?’ ‘Alexander McQueen?!?! NO WAY!’ It’s still such a shock. Why is it that genius and tragedy are often so closely connected?
No, I wasn’t in Paris… This is the charming bathroom of said café and I just thought the interior so romantic; celebrating the city of love (one wall was covered with a map of Paris) – Just perfect for Valentine’s Day!
*Sorry, I can’t remember the name of the place, but if anyone wants to know, I’m sure I can find out.
I feel I have to make amends for my dissing the inside-out look. Being of a fickle disposition I naturally have already changed my opinion about showing off your lingerie. I’ve now decided that it’s not only acceptable, but actually very attractive. (Plus the boudoir look isn’t such a new idea anyway…)
Also, since my ‘tweed post’ I've been haunted by the idea taking pictures featuring 'girl, horse and English countryside'. Finding a horse wasn’t the problem, but mounting the beast in 10 seconds (the time you get with self-timer*) is a bit too short for me (not to mention that I’m slightly frightened by its height). Luckily, the sweet and charming Morgaine was so kind to model my idea of combining 2 trends – boudoir and jeans – on her horse.
I think Morgaine pulls the look off beautifully, but how do you feel about corsets and Co.? Is it a big 'Yes' for you or rather: 'No, thanks!'?
I’m off to Berlin for a few days tomorrow. Though more family than fashion visit, I’m still hoping to come back with some interesting stories and pictures. Perhaps I even to manage to blog from there...
*I'm getting a remote control soon, which should make things a bit easier. Also, when I started the blog my intention wasn’t to constantly show pictures of myself. I just wanted to rediscover my love for photography and write about style, fashion and aesthetics. I have admit that although I find taking and showing images of myself slightly awkward, it contains a therapeutic element; a bit like a 'coming out'. But I’m hoping to be able to show more pictures of others in future, too.
About a year ago I found this suede M&S jacket for a tenner in an Oxfam shop. It’s actually not even real suede, but a very nice imitation, feeling quite authentic. 'Very chic' I thought. It went into my closet and never came out again.
A few months later I saw some cool fringe suede jackets by can’t-remember-which designer and realized: 'The boring M&S jacket just needs a bit of pepping up!'. So I gave it a neat fringe, which looked good… and never wore it.
Now, I’m sure many of you fashionistas already knew that Joseph Altuzarra is the next big thing in fashion, long before Miss Doré visited his workshop and Vogue UK dedicated a whole page to him in its March issue. In any case, I quite fancy his Indian inspired, soft leather skirts, trousers and shoes, and since I also have a bit of a thrifty side in me, inspiration struck… 'Where is the old M&S jacket???'
It even provided for some shoe fringing... Maybe it’s third time lucky. Otherwise it’s back to Oxfam!
So, what’s your take on the leather look: Loving the soft suede look, too? Or is it only black nappa for you? Or does wearing animal skin not agree with you at all?
skirt: no label (oxfam), jacket: m&s (oxfam), bag: from some boutique in Australia, belts: missoni & ?, jewellery: new look, body: wolford, shoes: bally
I’m with Karl – I love Baptiste Giabiconi. Not only does he look hot in heels. As Karl Lagerfeld’s muse du jour he also features in the moody and beautiful Argentinian Chanel ad campaigns (and naturally everywhere else Chanel, just think shimmering wedding suit in the latest Haute Couture show).
While studying Latin American studies I spent a summer in Buenos Aires and absolutely fell in love with the city. A daily bus ticket provided a really cheap and exciting way to discover the area; I just stayed in the bus until we arrived at the final stop, where I descended, went for a walk and later took the bus back home. And let me tell you -all the clichés about Buenos Aires are true*: Architecturally it is the Paris of Latin America, everyone speaks as fast as the Italians, prices change on a daily basis and people spontaneously start dancing the tango on the street. I especially loved Buenos Aires’ night life, which was really relaxed with whole families having dinner between 10pm and midnight.
Sadly I have no material memories left. An hour before flying home my luggage was stolen – Gone not only the scarlet vintage velvet dress and beautiful old watch I’d bought, but also my camera… You see why I had to recreate some Argentine flair at home.
Now how did I get from Baptiste to my stolen luggage? The mind it wanders...
hat: akubra, jacket: alexander mcqueen, shirt: neil barrett, trousers: costume national, boots: fendi, ring: new look.
Pastels, white and beige, denim and (sophisticated) Wild West, strong prints and raw cuts… The spring/summer collections have an air of rough avantgarde and one colour obviously doesn’t fit into this mood: Red. It’s true, Dolce & Gabbana showed some 40s inspired satin skirts with flowery prints, but even here it was more about the flow of the fabric and the botanics than the background shade. And when Mr Schuman posted a picture of a glorious redhead holding a shiny scarlet Louis Vuitton bag it just seemed to accentuate the fact that red is more appropriate for accessoires than for proper dressing these days.
Men might love red (just think of film titles like the 'Woman in Red' and (cheesy) songs like 'Lady in Red', not to mention that every proper sex bomb needs to show herself in a tight red dress from time to time), but what is the average red-blooded male to fashion? Nada, rien, niente…
So what’s your stand on the most extroverted, temperamental, hot and passionate hue? Only for special occasions or an every day colour? Just for handbags, scarves, gloves and Co. or do you like to clad yourself top to toe in the colour of love?
skirt: miu miu, blouse: c&a, tights: la perla, shoes: costume national, bag: goldpfeil
It’s cold, it’s wet… Hey, mustn’t grumble, I say, this gives me the perfect opportunity to wear all my favourite (old and new) trends: Sportswear (probably not sooo trendy anymore, but oh-so-comfortable), trench coats (always spot on), grey (I recently read an interview with a fashion trendsetter who named grey THE colour of the future, not as harsh as black but neutral enough and available in all shades) and layering short over long.
