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.

Of hoarders, squanderers and label slaves

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.

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.

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?

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 ))

STYLE OBSESSION: Shopper bags

I've always been a fan of BIG bags. And not so much because of style, but because of the freedom it grants me to carry all things I may need and still leaves extra space to squeeze in a water bottle, a cardigan if I get too hot or a magazine. Now lately I've been running around with a rather modestly-sized (by my standards) cross-body bag and it surely has it benefits, but recently I found myself falling deeply in love with the SHOPPER bags. Fact is I've never had a bag exactly like a shopper, also most of them are also supplied with an extra strap for cross-body wearing and of course, the allure of space inside is so hard to resist. The color-blocking shoppers by the Greek brand Fullah Sugah and the classy brown one from ASOS are among my top choices.

FULLAH SUGAH

FULLAH SUGAH

ASOS

ASOS

ASOS

FULLAH SUGAH

TOPSHOP

Let the sunshine in

I decided to celebrate the departure of a very nasty cold (I suffered for over a week!) with a very relaxed and unpretentious outfit post. Another cause for "celebration" is my new hair - today I've finally cut it, and more importantly, dyed it a bright red which was once my signature hair color, but which I haven't worn for almost two years. I just felt a strong need to make some noticeable change to my appearance - so here it is...

As for the outfit, that's how I love to dress lately in this springy yet not too hot weather when going shopping in the neighbourhood or just taking a walk. The denim shirt is one of the more recent purchases of mine and is clearly going to be viral in my wardrobe all summer (I'm loving it!). This VOLCOM t-shirt, on the other hand, is already a few years old and it still remains among my favorites for its original cut and cool print.

This ALDO is about the same age as the tee, and it does look worn on the back side, but I still love its unique design and ginger brown leather.

These two bracelets are my most recent purchase. Since I have fallen for the multiple handmade bracelets trend, I decided to start my collection in SAMOS where I spent my vacation only two weeks ago. There, in a small shop I browsed among dozens of handmade bracelets until I picked out those two beauties made from leather, string, wood and metal.