Friday, June 17, 2011

Weekly inspiration roundup: WILD THINGS

While working on that previous post yesterday, I’ve decided I need to do more interesting writing for the blog – since I’m not much of an outfit posts girl, and more of a writer, really, though with a strong interest in fashion (of course). Secondly, I’ve decided that the blog also need some regular fashion inspiration feature which requires no writing at all – apart from captions/credits. And, I believe, the best time for looking through cool fashion shoots is the weekend - which technically begins Friday night…

Sigrid Agren by Mariano Vivanco for MUSE Summer 2011

Irina Denisova by Dennison Bertram for KINKI MAGAZINE

Irina-Denisova-by-Dennison-Bertram1

 Emma Watson for VOGUE US July 2011

emma-watson-vogue-us-july-2011

Beyonce Knowles by Sharif Hamza for DAZED & CONFUSED July 2011

Lisanne de Jong by Viviane Sassen for DAZED & CONFUSED Summer 2011 lisanne-de-jong8-785x1024

Justin Hollar for NYLON Mexico

JH

Lily Donaldson by Matt Irwin for MUSE

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Momchil Hristov for GIA MAGAZINE hjhjhj

Frida Gustavsson by Thomas Klementsson for CONTRIBUTOR Fg

Jac Jagaciak by Zuza Krajewska & Bartek Wieczorek  for FASHION POLAND

Ana Kalacovska by Andriana Kostova & Dimitar Petrovski (via Touchpuppet)

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Of hoarders, squanderers and label slaves

alexa1

Yesterday, as I was going through the latest posts in my blogroll, I stumbled upon a blogger interview – it was a Chinese housewife lady showing off her numerous top designer possessions (nothing without a world famous logo), including a collection of Chanel bags – almost 40 all in all. And seeing that made me not so much impressed, or awestruck, as just somehow annoyed. It made me think of another such blogger interview I once saw – a very young girl with her totally insane collection of Birkin bags of all possible colors. It was somehow disturbing to think of this kid, who clearly haven’t worked a day in her life, throwing away money on some of the most expensive bags in the world. Who even needs that many bags of exactly same design? Frankly as I looked at the giant piles of bags of both of those “lucky” ladies I was seeing two label slaves. Despite the fact that a Hermes Birkin or a classic Chanel bag is an icon in the bag world, such a huge collection of them, in my opinion, has nothing to do with fashion or style. It’s an equivalent of ridiculous gold-&-diamond name-tags on thick golden chains worn by rappers – a demonstration of wealth. And what they call “collecting” I call hoarding and money squandering. But moreover, it makes me think how we all, fans of fashion and style, sometimes shop way too much (and some of those things we barely wear) rather than spend our money in more productive ways that enrich our lives, educate us and broaden our horizons.

LV

Some of you may think it’s just envy. Well, I assure you, this rant has nothing to do with that. Sure, we all strive for a better level of life, and every now and then we may experience a little twitch of jealousy seeing a fellow fashion blogger showcasing outfits made up mostly or partly of designer labels, and actually getting lots of extra readers thanks to that. But I have no problem with that as long as a person uses his/her bigger-than-average shopping budget to put together a unique personal style, which the readers can use as a fashion inspiration – in the same way they do a fashion magazine, only blogs offer a much more personalized approach and that’s why we love them. Among the examples of such blogs are StyleScrapbook and ManRepeller. But if all a blogger does is invest into overhyped brands like Chanel, LV or Hermes and dump the pics of it on the blog page, it just looks like major boasting. Don’t take me wrong, I have all the respect for those brands, but honestly, hoarding items bearing world-famous designs and logos doesn’t require any taste, fashion sense and personal style – it only takes money.

birkin

Now, it sure sounds like I’m getting all critical on fellow bloggers and who am I to judge? Maybe, but I’m also a journalist, writer and a keen observer of social trends, which I tend to criticize in my articles if I feel they deserve it. And what I’m talking about here is exactly a fashion-related social issue. Fashion blogging world is a social structure of its own and while we all have different budgets and incomes – which is only normal – it should be more about style and individual approach to fashion, and less about “Look how many pricy bags I got!” I’m sorry, I just don’t see how any reader can benefit from this knowledge – you can view the same bags on the company website and in the Vogue and in better quality I bet.

Also I’ve noticed the biggest hoarders and squanderers are people who don’t understand the value of money (they never had to work hard to make them) or/and feel a constant need to show everyone how much they’ve got. And expectedly when it comes to labels these people go after the popular choices – something anyone can recognize. I, on the other hand, am all for originality and individuality when it comes to style and the world-famous designs, no matter how iconic and timeless, are anything but original. Frankly when I see yet another blogger flaunting one of those typical flashy Louis Vuitton bags – I’m bored to death. It’s like the most obvious IT bag choice in the world! How about using your imagination?

Chanel perfume bottle mini cake

Now I’m not trying to preach anything and tell you to stop buying stuff, or buy less, or buy less bags. It’s everybody’s own business. In fact, recently rummaging through my wardrobe – I’m pretty sure it’s quite tiny by fashion blogger standards – I felt guilty for all my hoarding. And that’s considering I moved from Ukraine to Greece last year, bringing less than a third of my wardrobe with me and I shopped only occasionally throughout the year! It’s still too much. And I don’t want to be a hoarder and I don’t want my life to be about things. And even if one day I do complete one of those many novels I’ve started at different times and it becomes a bestseller or sell a script for good money, I’m sure I’d find a better use for it than buying 50 bags of the same designer like your typical label slave. After all I’m blessed with some good taste, common sense, creativity and imagination as I’m sure all of you, my favorite bloggers and readers are! And for someone who doesn’t have that – well then piling bags may be the only solution…

That’s what I’m talkin’ about ))

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

STYLE OBSESSION: 50's swimwear

While I'm not much of a vintage girl in my everyday clothing, I'm totally in love with vintage, 50's style-influenced swimsuits and bikinis. In fact last summer I got myself a very 50's piece from NEXT - red with white polka dots and padded bra. That was a bit of an impulse purchase but I'm more than happy to see that the vintage swimwear fashion has grown even stronger this summer! What's best about those 50's style pieces is they can do wonders to your figure if chosen right! For instance, padded and layered tops can add volume to the upper part of your body (if desired), while high wasted bottoms and swimsuits can hide those extra centimetres on your sides and belly turning you into a gorgeous pin-up girl!


Monday, June 13, 2011

DIY shorts, gladiators and a clock-camera

I finally got around to shooting the latest arrivals to my wardrobe. Two of them are the result of my first ever shopping at ASOS - I know, right? But, better later than never... Anyway, I'm happy to say the "test" was successful - my package arrived within five days which is pretty rad for a free delivery (in case you didn't know - it works for anything you buy, no minimum spend required).

One of the ASOS goodies is this cream-colored t-shirt. It's pretty simple and minimalistic, but I'm all about such loose, neutral-colored and slightly sheer tops right now, so it immediately became one of the key pieces in my summer style.

The second ASOS item is this camera pendant necklace fitted with a clock. I have wanted a camera-necklace for a while now, but I didn't expect to find one which can also tell time apart from simply looking cool!

Finally the third new goody is this color-blocking pair of sandals. They are from a Greek brandFULLAH SUGAH. They have a really great collection of summer footwear, I'm especially in love with their wedges! But I also needed a pair of new summer flats, since my ALDO gladiator sandals acquired a rather worn look after two years. Initially I was after Fullah Sugah's jelly sandals which I spied on their website, but upon a closer inspection they turned out way too shiny and sparkly from all the sequins glued to them - that's really not my style. And then I spotted this pair below - now they are much more me! I've also tried them in red, but in the end went with the blue.

Oh, and as for the DIY short I've mentioned - I've made them out of my old H&M skinny jeans, that got too stretched for wear. They are nothing spectacular, yet it's the first time that I had the patience to carefully carve the shorts out to perfection - rather than just butcher some poor old jeans and as a result get something horrid and unwearable which happened a few times before...
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