Versatile Blogger Award

As I checked my email this morning I discovered a great surprise was waiting for me! Sweet Wendy Eustache from A Flair For Fashion blog awarded me the VERSATILE BLOGGER AWARD. Wow, isn't it nice when someone recognizes the work you're doing - especially if your blog is still quite fresh with just a few readers so far? And I think Versatile Blogger Award is simply a great way to spread the love about yours and other great blogs in such a simple, reciprocal manner.

So with pleasure I comply with the rules of the Award which are as follows:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.

2. Tell us 7 things about yourself.

3. Award 7 recently discovered new bloggers.

4.Contact these bloggers and let them know they've received this award.

7 THINGS ABOUT ME

1. I'm a journalist and writer from Kyiv, Ukraine, currently residing in Athens, Greece.

2. My approach to fashion is mostly practical: I get inspired by top designers, and then recreate pieces I like with help of inexpensive brands, outlets and second hand/vintage shops.

3. I love movies as well as fashion and often mix up those two in my blog posts.

4. I prefer jeans to all other kinds of pants (for perfect fit), dresses to skirts (somehow never had much luck with skirts) and adore shorts above all.

5. I love beautiful high-heeled shoes (the more original the better) on other people, but still haven't learned to wear them myself (they give me fear of falling)

6. I hate logo prints, which include the cult Louis Vuitton bags and other accessories. Sorry to all the fans, but I find them tacky and don't like to walk around "covered" in labels.

7. Fashion for me is not an obsession but an inspiration and self-expression.

And the award goes too...:

1. Jewls and Liza at http://iliveforit.blogspot.com

2. Cara at http://www.afashionloveaffair.com

3. Jennifer Louise at http://jenniferlouiseloves.blogspot.com

4. Lopi at http://fashionarchitect.blogspot.com

5. Caramellitsa at http://caramellitsa.blogspot.com

6. Efenes at http://efenes.blogspot.com

7. Zoe. K. at http://stripes-buttons.blogspot.com

Now time to inform the lucky winners!

Top 20 visions of spring from fashion ad campaigns

Looking at all those gorgeous designer brand ads in British VOGUE, I thought it would be nice to collect them all in one place - since together they will make a pretty good spring fashion lookbook and provide plenty of inspirations for my outfits. So there you have it - my top 20 spring fashion advertisement looks.

Johnny on Stranger Tides

So I finally came to terms with the fact that there is going to be another "PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN" movie (loved the first one, disappointed with the rest) and will stop ranting about how DEPP is wasting time and talent while he could be doing something new and how Hollywood can never just "live it alone" and turns every successful flick into a saga with usually lame sequels. I read an interview with the film's creators in EMPIRE, and I know it's supposed to be a proper pirate adventure with JACK SPARROW as central figure and its actually based on a BOOK. Fine. Looking at Johnny staring boldly at the horizon in this latest poster gives me hope it can actually Be good. Well, Johnny, it better be...

Walk out to spring!

So today was one of the first proper warm and sunny days in Athens this spring, and I decided to mark it with my first ever outfit post. I know it's totally amateurish - at least quality of photographs certainly is, and I still have a lot to learn. But we all have to start somewhere...

I'm wearing a PULL&BEAR jumper and shorts by OASIS (I love this British brand and it's a shame they don't have it here in Greece). Actually those shorts are one of most successful clothing purchases I ever made - I've had them a few years now and they are still perfect and "trending."

I got this pendant at a sale at PROMOD for some ridiculous price - it was a great find. People never stop asking me what is in the cage and trying to get a closer look.

Those CALZEDONIA tights were a real surprise to me. You see, as I bought them, only the pattern covering the leg part was visible on the packaging and I thought it was general pattern of the tights. I discovered those gorgeous stocking tops only after I opened the package several weeks later!

I got those shoes at ALDO (another brand I really miss here in Greece) while shopping for a pair of ballerina flats. But once I slid my feet in those, I decided it was fate - they were so comfy, I could barely feel the heel. Plus, the design was quite unusual despite the dull taupe color and price was reduced. Sold!

Kristen Stewart in US Vogue

It may be a bit belated - KRISTEN STEWART appeared on the cover of US VOGUE in February, but I just yesterday stumbled upon this photo shoot while browsing pics for another post, and well ... I do like Kristen. A lot. Mind you - I have zero interest in "Twillight," I've seen only the first film and liked only its first half - namely Stewart's awkward teenager. She was even more awesomely awkward in "Adventureland" and simply awesome in "THE RUNAWAYS"as rock maiden Joan Jett. I still have to see "Welcome to the Rileys" (where she played a troubled girl - again) and looking forward to "On the Road." In short I simply admire her combination of cool, awkwardness and beauty, which was mostly captured even in such a glamorous photo shoot. Photographed by Mario Testino, styled by Tonne Goodman.

Kate Moss in Dior Addict lipstick commercial

KATE MOSS plays herself (well, almost) in the new commercial for the new DIOR ADDICT LIPSTICK. OK, the supermodel in the video is a bit too classy and elegant while Moss's personal style is decidedly provocative, but there is certainly no other famous model out there who'd be more fit to campaign for a luxury cosmetic product named Addict.

Avril Lavigne is back: "What the Hell"?

Just watched AVRIL LAVIGNE's newest video for "WHAT THE HELL" - the first single from her latest album - "GOODBYE LULLABY" and ... can't say that I'm impressed. I mean it's a fun, entertaining and danceable pop song, but it's been four years since her latest release, "The Best Damn Thing," so one couldn't help expecting a change. Well, ff there is one here, it's not too obvious. Avril clearly has no intention of coming back to her punk rock roots as in her first two albums, staying firmly on the pop-princess track. I mean sure, she's still trying to maintain that "rebel teen" image: in the video she's making her poor boyfriend chase her across town while she hijacks a taxi and plays basketball with the big boys - 'cause she's so free spirited and stuff. But come on, she even released her own perfume which she shows off in the said video - how BRITNEY is that???

I mean I've never been her biggest fan or anything, but I do miss Avril circa her debut CD "Let Go." Check out one of her first ever singles, "LOSING GRIP," to see what I mean.