Pajama party

Today is one of these autumn days that make you finally realize and feel in your bones – summer is over. It takes much longer to depart from Greece than some other places but it still inevitably succumbs to the conquering march of autumn. Just the other day you could still prance about in a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, and today I was freezing while hanging the laundry out to dry on the balcony, wearing leggings, a denim shirt and socks. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy it in many ways – I love watching the turbulent skies, thick clouds floating across it and the dark red sunset. But I enjoy it even more when I don’t really need to go anywhere on such a day – like today. In that case the best thing to do is get cosy on the bed or on the sofa, wearing a soft and warm pajamas, heating my hands on a hot cup of coffee or tea, and thinking of cooking some hearty warm-up meal like a tomato cream soup or a stew of ochre and meat. So that’s pretty much what I did – minus the cooking, since it would have required a trip to a supermarket (lazy, lazy me).

Speaking of pajamas, I have lived without one all year in Greece – yes I will certainly miss its warm climate – but now that I’m moving, I will most certainly need one. And it so happens that just today I spied the October lookbook of nightwear by OYSHO – I’ve always admired this brand’s boxer-shorts for girls and other pieces for causal home wear. But never went further than buying some underwear and a top from them. So I guess now the time has come to pick out one of Oysho’s pajamas.

And to complete the perfectly cosy outfit – I might go with this pair of boot-slippers by H&M.

Fall must-have list

Apparently the hardest part of the moving (see previous post) is over and I’m currently somewhat caught in between two lives – the one I had in Greece and the one I will have in this new place where I’m headed in less than two weeks. Having given up my flat in Athens I’m now chilling out at a hospitable home of my friends, with my bags stashed in every corner of the room. In the meantime September came to an end but I still made but a few (very few) seasonal purchases. What can you do, moving sometimes involves unexpected expenses plus I already have too much to ship and carry with me as it is, so it only makes sense to do all the shopping in the new place. Also, I’m moving into a very different climate and wardrobe will have to be adjusted accordingly. Either way I have a pretty good idea regarding the things I certainly cannot do without this season – some of them I already own, others are to be obtained “ as soon as.”

1. Leather biker jacket

Looks like the studded black leather jacket which I got two years ago at Zara was a very smart investment indeed. Surely I wouldn’t mind having this one from Balmain as well, but, apart from being unaffordable to me, it’s also a bit too flashy while mine suits any occasion and goes with everything.

2. Mustard Yellow

Completely in love with mustard yellow this fall. And since I don’t own a single piece in this color yet, I need a splash of this in my life ASAP! A sweater or a cardigan for starters, probably tights too and maybe even a bag.

3. Leather pants

A definite must-have for a sleek rock-chick look that's so IN this season and has been a favorite of mine for years. Of course a pair of genuine leather pants of good quality (any other kind would inevitably stretch in all the wrong places and fast) would be pricy, but lucky for me H&M made a perfect alternative this fall - pants/treggings of faux leather with black elastane stripes running down the outer sides of legs. I wasted no time in getting my pair – I sense that H&M would quickly run out of them, at least in the popular sizes.

4. Long-sleeve shirts

Certainly shirts never go out of fashion, but with the whole androgyny trend now growing stronger every day, they really took center stage. To such an extent that even I, who never seemed to like myself in shirts before, gave in and added a denim number to my wardrobe still back in spring, and most recently a semi-silk champagne colored shirt that I snatched at Zara’s summer sale.

5. Kohl & Eyeliner

Sixties look is making a major comeback right now and what says “sixities” better than generously lined eyes and super long eyelashes? I’ve been an eyeliner fan for a while now, and with black kohl and black feltpen-eyeliner lying ready in my makeup bag, I’m anxious to experiment with even bolder lines this fall – at least for my evening look.

6. Lace boots

When moving to Greece I didn’t bother bringing more than a single pair of boots with me – it may have been a bit of an oversight, but I was already paying a lot for extra kilos in my luggage, and shoes are the heaviest part of the whole thing. So now that I’m going to live in a climate where boots are not just a fashion statement but also a necessity, I’m simply lusting over a pair of boots such as these. It’s practically urgent!

7. Boyfriend Jeans

I’ve been wearing ONLY skinny jeans for the past few years, always feeling that any other kind of pants made me look big. Well, I think now I’m finally ready to try on a grungier look, inspired by fall collections of Paul Smith and DSquared. Plus boyfriend jeans are a key element for cool urban layering that I’m so into this season.

8. Dramatic nail polish

The trend for bright, statement nails is clearly here to stay, however the neon shades that were so hot last spring/summer are now giving way to darker, deeper, more dramatic colors. Which means it’s time to expand my nail polish collection. Black appears to be the hit of the season, but I find it way too goth – dark blue, green and red is the way to go for me.

Kate Moss smoking stunt at Louis Vuitton: Bold or Fail?

Kate Moss just added yet another one to the long list of scandals starring her by walking the catwalk at Louis Vuitton autumn-winter 2011/12 show while puffing on a cigarette. Aside from the fact that smoking in Great Britain is illegal at all public places (which certainly includes catwalks), the incident also took place on March 9, which happened to be Britain's annual No-Smoking Day.

Indeed, Marc Jacobs made it quite clear that the new collection and the show was all about breaking the rules, crossing boundaries and expression of personal freedom. But while chain-smoking may be Kate Moss's personal choice, it's hardly something to be promoted, especially among younger generation that is greatly influenced by Louis Vuitton as a brand, Marc Jacobs as a designer, and Kate Moss as a style icon.

So what do we make of this? Was it Moss trying to declare that with her history of drug and alcohol abuse, and dating the baddest boys out there, she can easily get away with just about anything? Or was it Marc's way of rooting for his now ostracised colleague John Galliano by staging a scandal of his own?

DSquared2 fall/winter collection is True Grit-inspired

I was just thinking that I totally forgot to include "TRUE GRIT" in my Go Wild West post, when DSQUARED2 presented its fall/winter 2011-12 collection, with models looking like they walked right out of this Oscar-nominated epic cowboy drama. Like all of the best COEN films "True Grit" is all about real places and real people, and DSquared2 fully carried its spirit. Their version of the wild west chic takes the cliche pop-culture cowboys in tartan shirts and pointed boots completely out of the picture, replacing them with moody dwellers of the harsh land, whose clothing protects them from rough weather during day and keeps them warm when sleeping under open skies at night. Those outfits simply emanate comfort and confidence - just what we need for the cold days in the city.