Get your Grunge on!

I have mixed feelings whenever a street-born rebellious style such as grunge is picked up by mainstream fashion. On the one hand it defeats the whole purpose, by handing a style that was born out of pure emotion, freedom, refusal  to play by the rules, in essence a middle finger shown to the whole consumerist society, over to that same society - the usual yuppies and fashion victims, who wear whatever designers and magazines, and now also bloggers, deem chic and trendy. And let`s be fair, all the popular bloggers and fashion journalists I`ve read easily change from stilettos into sneakers - as long as the god of fashion commands them so, and would only praise Kurt Cobain for his fashion contributions, while counting days till the next album of Lady Gaga. There are no big ideas and no commitments behind their fashion choices.

So why should they be allowed to parade around dressed as punks and rockers? Well, there is at least one reason - it allows the rest of us, rockers and grungers at heart to wear these same clothes without looking like crazed teenagers, homeless or somehow dangerous elements. We can blend in, yet remain ourselves, true to the spirit. So let those designer kids play, in the end we`ll have much more fun than them with those same outfits.

And to sum it up, let`s recall what grunge is all about! In a sense it`s a combination of elements that cannot be combined, of wearing the unwearable. It`s a bit rock-n-roll, bit hippy, bit teenage rebel and every bit whatever you feel like wearing at a given moment in time.

 Nevertheless it has some ultimate elements: checkered shirts and ripped jeans (and any other ripped garments for that matter), band tees and sweatshirts, chunky boots and army jackets, light floral dresses and frilly skirts, hats and boyfriend beanies. And of course a pair goggle shades and wild messy hairstyle will suit perfectly to complete just about any grunge ensemble. Just take it all and mix, shake it well, and see what happens... Set your teen spirit free (if you`ve still got it in you anyway)!

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.

She’s a rainbow

Dying my hair is seriously on my agenda these days – it’s right about time to refresh the color and make those outgrown contrasting roots disappear. Nothing extraordinary is planned – just my regular vivid ginger red. Still I can’t help wishing for something much more crazy – getting some rainbow colors in my hair just like all those girls here and others like them. It’s just feels so alluring and daring to make such a statement only with your hair! I’m totally lusting over the colorfully highlighted ends – like the ones on Abbey Lee Kershaw above. I know of course that my hair is weak enough as it is, and any drastic experiments may properly kill it, but maybe I could get a clip-on highlight in blue at least?

But while I’m still pondering over how far can I go about making my rainbow hair obsession a reality, I decided to enquire – who is to blame for this gorgeously mad hair trend? Well, there sure is more than one guilty party…

For starters, this girl here – Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead in “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World,” 2010)

Though this one came even earlier – much earlier, back in 2004. However no one, but a few punks, dared to follow the way of Clementine (Kate Winslet’s in “Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind”) at the time. Still, for me, she’ll always remain the queen of rainbow hair…

Then there is of course Katy Perry with her latest stunner wigs (great option for those who want to try the look without the risk)

And … naturally, Lady Gaga – world’s main fashion scapegoat at the moment – lots of weird stuff that people wear can be easily blamed on her. Her scull has probably seen more wigs by now then an average wig store, so no wonder she caught the color wave quite promptly.

And let’s not forget gorgeous model Charlotte Free – her candy locks must have sent many a blonde (or wannabe blonde) running to a colorist. And no wonder – she looks just so sweet, cool and simply adorable!

Also, there was this Meadham Kirchhoff’s fashion show last September – it surely helped kickstart the rainbow!

As well as this Vogue Paris editorial starring Eniko Mihalik last October…

And this – “Washed Up” editorial by Aitken Jolly for b Magazine – is just one of many recent takes on the rainbow girl.

Some brand new summer necessities

This would be a second post dedicated to my recent trip to Cyprus. But I guess it only makes sense – as any faithful fashion and lifestyle blogger I couldn’t come back from a trip to a cool place like that carrying only impressions and photographs to share. I got some new goodies as well and, coincidentally, they all happen to be pretty basic summer necessities, and, I must add, all are good bargains! 

1. Bracelets

What ManRepeller likes to call with a charming word “arm party” is now fully on around my wrist! Bracelets are not all new – some of you may notice pieces from previous posts here – but three of them are, coming from an Indian Shop full of ethnic-themed goodies in Nicosia’s old town.

2. French Vogue

A proper Summer issue, as it covers both June and July. I have actually considered the other two latest Vogues (July issues) – namely British and American, but really, they were just way too thin and mostly filled with photographs that I’ve already seen online, therefore it didn’t seem like a good investment. In general I like the more provocative, somewhat arty and alternative approach of the Vogue Paris plus I can use it as reading material to improve my French – hence, added educational value! But there is an extra incentive to buy this issue – it’s totally dedicated to Greece. Vogue sure is romanticizing the Greek experience quite a lot – it’s mostly “movie Greece” that the magazine is describing, still if it manages to attract some extra tourists to Greece – way to go! Plus there are also quite realistic articles, such as those profiling a number of fashionably successful young Greek nationals. 

3. Sunnies

To be honest, these are not exactly my dream sunnies, but they were the best I could get when I desperately needed a pair. The story is simply this: my cheap sunglasses, which shape and color nonetheless was perfect for me, broke – a tiny screw went loose, and a part simply came off. I decided it was a sign for me to get that perfect pair of Ray Ban Wayfarers that I craved so much. But even though I found a store that sold them at a nice discount (!), there was nothing at all for me there. All the Wayfarer pairs that looked great from the first glance turned out to be strangely bent to the front in the glasses part – an absolutely unflattering design for my face. It was way too hot and I was too exhausted to walk all over town looking for new sunnies, so I ended up grabbing this very cheap pair at Stradivarius. After all I couldn’t stand all that sun without any sunglasses and I had still two more days in Cyprus and planning to go to the seaside the next day! So these little pair was my savior, and while I’m still on the lookout for my perfect sunnies, those will not be left and forgotten – after all they are undeniably cute. 

4. The Dress

What’s funny is that I actually came to Cyprus planning to buy a jumpsuit! I had an eye on the red, retro-styled one from Topshop (which they have in Cyprus unlike Greece), but as all other things I’ve spotted on Topshop website, it was completely absent from its two stores I visited in Nicosia. And then I came upon this dress at Zara – I actually posted in once on the blog, and have searched all Zaras in Athens for it, but it was nowhere to be found! And here I went into Zara shop in Nicosia, not really expecting to find anything I haven’t seen before, and there it was! It’s light, inexpensive and original – the outfit post starring it to follow sometime soon!

5. Rum

Now, I don’t want to sound like some sorta alcoholic, but really, a nice refreshing summer cocktail to unwind in the end of the day – it must be allowed (or at least I hope so). Indeed, a Mojito or a Margarita would be even better, but Cuba Libre is so much easier to make! That’s why we got just the thing for it at the Cyprus Duty Free – sugarcane Havana Club. Makes great drinks, I tell ya. Cheers!

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!

ASOS

TOPSHOP

ASOS

ASOS

ASOS

TOPSHOP

NEED SUPPLY

My top summer trend: Californication

Today I've finally given up my search for a perfect American flag-printed tee. Sure, there are plenty of them out there, but the ones I really like are unfortunately out of stock. However I've also realized that it's not so much American-flag print that I'm after as the trend as a whole. All-American, or even rather CALIFORNIAN style is having a grand comeback this season and I feel a strong connection to it somehow - I guess it's because it's so free-spirited, uniform, basic and almost androgynous - in short, totally BADASS! A pair of simple cut-off and ripped denim shorts, a casual tee, perhaps printed with the name of your favorite rock band, a bandana, cool booties or sneakers and some edgy accessories - all of this is so me! I totally feel like rocking this trend all summer, even though lacy tops and floral dresses will neither be ignored by me - after all, I'm a lady even though my inner tomboy is still so alive.

Now all I need to do is go get that "biker" tee (below) from ZARA, which I tried on today but didn't buy (fighting the impulse purchase syndrome), and a pair of ripped shorts, and my WILD THING look will be complete!

Wild Thing by AlexMatoshko featuring black round sunglasses

For more California style inspiration I've discovered those two amazing photo-shoots: first one by FASHION GONE ROGUE and second from THEONESTOWATCH.

Kelley Ash by Graham Dunn in "Kalifornia" editorial for Fashion Gone Rogue

Alexandra Papadopoulos, Breanna Box and Sydney Roper for the "Hill St. Dogs" editorial for TheOnes2Watch

And finally a most fitting soundtrack to set the mood: