12/23/2012

fashion year 2012



Let’s try to sum up this year in fashion. And I do not mean enumerating the trends or choosing best outfits of the year. A personal summary this time.

Well, it was a second-hand focused time. Raiding these messy shops at 9am to be the first to get best pieces was a real sacrifice and ahuge pleasure. Now my wardrobe abounds in vintage-like garments with great potential, especially for the next summer season! Can’t wait. Promise myself to learn to sew and re-make all these sweaters and tees piling up.

When it comes to high-fashion, twenty twelve was more of being infatueated with same stuff which is Balmain and Stella McCartney. Keep dreaming to afford a pair of shiny, skinny, embroidered pair of Balmain pants. But I still got a chance since I survived 21.12.2012. Thank you Mayans. What a relief.

In terms of shopping it was most exquisite year ever! How superficial it sounds! Since moving to London, it’s like being let in to Hamley’s after playing one Barbie all your lifetime. Screw Topshop and Urban Outfitters. I can dress in Beyond Retro or at Spitalfields Market. Just give me the money.

What about personal style and how it evolved? It seems to have been a crucial time. After wavering between hipster-like, bold apparel and minimalistic, COS designs, I feel like I’ve finally reached the balance. My wardrobe offers me so much for the moment being I am happy to think of what to wear every morning. How delightful it seems!

I wish the next year will be more of a settling down with my style and taste. I loved you 2012, but move on! 2013 is coming! X

12/16/2012

playlist twenty twelve / part 2

So this is the part two of my playlist for this amazing year. It is all about best singles/EPs/songs that either gained some recognition or have been unjustly overlooked. I do not care that much, just love these tracks!

Sky Ferreira 'Everything's Embarassing' from Ghost EP



Summer Camp 'City' from Always EP



Mikky Ekko 'Pull Me Down' Single



Tame Impala 'Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’ from Lonerism




Joey Bada$$ 'Daily Routine' from 1999




12/13/2012

gdansk




Hi Gdansk !

Hope you are well. It is so nice to know you are my real home.  The one with my beloved places and forests. With snow in the winter and sun in the summer.

Since I left you I’ve never felt more patriotic. Living in London cannot even be compared. You’ve got it all, exciting life (if one knows where to look for) and serenity, order and wilderness, urban space and dilapidated sights to hang around.

Now, when I am on my way back to you it’s just feels exquisite. I just cannot describe my joy, but it is probably because of the flight that awaits me and I dying from fear now.

But hopefully, we will meet again soon and I will exploit you as I used to do. With friends and alone.   With mum and dad and my brother. Because when I visit you all is complete. This is where people are. This is where I belong.

I will always be missing you no matter where I will go. But know, you are the ultimate place I will come back to. Sorry to keep you waiting.

If I ever could tell someone how amazing you are, I wouldn’t 1. Find the right way to say it. 2. Even if I did, I wouldn’t like to. Stay small and cosy and cool as always.

Well, we’ve got the deal now. Please, remember about me always. We are great together.

Kisses,
X

12/10/2012

playlist twenty twelve / part 1


A little less fashion related topic, however once  I have written about link between these two categories: music and fashion. So I decided to prepare my playlist of 2012. Biased it will be and simply in my taste. No consideration for the ‘trendy’ and ‘must-knows’. Here is part one.

 Grimes ‘Oblivion’ from Visions



   Best Coast ‘Do You Love Me Like You Used To’ from The Only Place



  Merchandise ‘Become What You Are’ from Children of Desire



 King Krule 'Bleak Bake' from Rock Bottom/Octopus



 Guards ‘Coming True’ from In Guards We Trust EP




12/08/2012

i have the view i cannot reveal




Fashion is about having a point of view. And having a point of view is about loving it. At one of the lecture I attended, vey accredited fashion journalist said that what he has learnt is that writing about fashion is also form of resignation from your own comments and thoughts,  just a mere attempt to satisfy the reader by writing things you instinctively feel will be appealing for the audience. So it seems like a contradiction, having views and not keeping your mouth shut?

I do not know what I want to do in the fashion world yet. Now I am writing. But also looking for experience in PR. It is such a broad industry, it seems it will take some time until I create my true, genuine fashion views. But even if I do, I may not be able to express them except from my poor blog which is definitely not reaching the audience wider than my mum.

It is a little bit tricky and I wonder if fashion journalism is what I should strive for. Journalism, in general, seems like being controlled, curbed, criticized and underpaid. But the dilemma here is why opinions, even in such fascinating field like fashion, are a necessity and a thing we should hide at the same time. Isn’t it a form of frustration, which all of us try to avoid while making their career choice ?I am just a little bit unsettled. Hopefully, I won’t end up suffocating my outlooks for money’s sake. But still will be working in fashion. Still being happy. X

12/03/2012

fashion questions




Probably you know this awkward moment when you’re about to leave, ready to go out and then, suddenly you just take off all the accessories, wash off the red lipstick and wear just black. If not, I am envious, because I do it all the time.

I feel fashion should be about sophistication. Rings and nail polish, necklaces and embroidered bags. Some would say less is more, but sometimes it sounds so unconvincingly. Then, I regret changing the whole conception of an outfit in mere 10 seconds, which seems to prove I know nothing about personal style and individuality. What can be more dull than black and plain?

The dilemma here is what is the authentic definition of style. If it is about marking one’s place in the street with bold, distinctive garments and accessories, I failed. However, it may be also about reflecting what really appeals to you. In this case , I succeeded.

Fashion can be like philosophy on a different, less severe level. Saying that, I feel silly. It is just that  it puts me in this dilemma, should I care for style? Really, all I can thinks of is if  things I wear can be a part of fashion’s appealing world? Don’t really know if I am eligible. But gonna try. Because it is fun that I want my life to be filled with. X

11/24/2012

christmas is fashion time




Sometimes I wonder what Christmas and fashion have in common. But as I am far from home and I will be going back for vacation to my hometown by plane, with just  one luggage of a limited weight, I discover Christmas can be like a fashion show.

I can’t stand the magazines offering perfect Christmas Eve’s garments, starting from conservative white shirts and black fitted jackets that should be ‘paying respects’ , finishing on sequin dresses tight as hell to accentuate the oncoming New Year’s Eve. I believe this is the time clothes should not be just an appropriate choice for the reverent occasion. They should be what we want them to be.

So when I will be doing packing in three weeks’ time, I will look for vintage sweaters, tartan skirts and turtlenecks. No formality, no glittering (apart from a golden nail polish!) just crimson-dark red and bottle green which will perfectly look with a rural-styled Christmas tree. And woolen socks of course. Hopefully, I should also find some space for the plain, black, loose and short Topshop dress.

But this is not a check list of my wardrobe. This is me looking for the fashion’s place during this time of celebration. Christmas is a perfect moment for dressing-up, as the ambience around  is very often so epic, with Frank Sinatra’s songs , Nigella’s programme on the TV and smell of gingerbread,  that we can appreciate things we’re wearing twice as strong.

I love this feeling,  so let’s be honest, my Christmas outfits are thought over. No bigger pleasure that watching Chevy Chase in ‘Christmas Vacation’ dressed in the checked pyjamas  pants, grey sweatshirt and cosy socks. Truly recommend. X

11/17/2012

i'd love to make




I wish I had manual skills. They may be trained I guess but I don’t have patience. But if I possessed one, I would design. Collections some people may not want to buy and probably my low livelihood would force me to swap jobs, but just for a while I’d love to feel I create something.

What designers claim is that making things with hands is indispensable. That you start from scratch with total freedom and some ideas. You decide first, then people who may deem your finest work shitty. Then you lose your spirit and regain it with a hunch you have something to show. Well, it can be hard. And cool.

I used to scoff at the concept of ‘inspiration’. But the more I write, the more I understand it. Something can spot your attention and really engross you. And writing is a way of creating as well, but designing gives a tangible, vivid evidence  you can cherish, sell, save, exhibit. If it is successful, it can become a massive, life-changing project. An imprint on the fashion world people may forget, but they will refer to it later, as they do now with vintage clothing.

So I envy all these people sitting in their bright studios with tall windows and wooden floors, surrounded with pens, scissors and materials. I envy satisfaction from creativity and bringing some innovation. All I can do now is write about it. In a way it’s equal sense of complacency. But not an equal achievement.X

11/12/2012

london




Hi London. Basically, I think we’re both a little tired of ourselves . Now I am on my way home but I know I am gonna miss you anyway.

Well, I just need all these landmarks. I am a in the middle between an avid tourist and posh citizen, but I keep learning. So when I go down the Embankment I still feel like it is too epic.  And when I take a bus via Piccadilly I always stare at these neon screens.

I just detest the tube now, honestly. But don’t mind. It’s not your fault people between 8 and 10 am in the morning cram into every train with Metro in hand which they later leave everywhere around the city because they cannot reconcile carrying it with a Starbucks coffee.

But then I like the variety. Going to Shoreditch or Camden to be cocky and eccentric, then to City to be business-like, eventually ending up in Green Park in front of the Buckingham palace to be more patriotic.

And food. I do not mean scrambled eggs or any other English stuff, even if it is cooked by your beloved Jamie Oliver. I mean all these Italian and oriental food I can get literary everywhere. One thing about  London is I never get hungry there. I just can’t decide what to eat. And end up in Mac.

The weather is not a perk for me, sorry. I don’t mind cold, I mind humid. But I guess there’s nothing to do about  so I won’t make a fuss.

Eventually, I like quite a lot about You . You were a good choice. So either I am smart and you are cool. Let’s flatter ourselves. Cheers ! X

11/02/2012

my perfect era





If I could be born in any other era I would get stuck with my choice.  I think living sometime in the past would be cool itself, but to make it cooler I would opt for two decades. Well, the 40’s. The fashion back then was something exquisite then, real vintage now with this attention to detail, intertwining elegance with casualness. Dresses were a  bit shiny with sequins or smooth materials, but never too obtrusive or tacky. I can see these women sitting in saloons with long cigarettes, quite dependent on men but not that much anymore. I would settle down in New York and go to cafes in the evenings to listen to young Frank Sinatra or Ella Fitzgerald. At weekend I would travel to Hamptons with my posh friends, who would probably be not so sincere.

And straight from there I will travel to the 60’s. The Beatles may be the reason, but I would be more obsessed with The Yardbirds, The Sonics and Tony Clarke. I may look a little bit like Jane Birkin, straight hair with a fringe , checked skirt  and a turtleneck. I would stroll down the swinging King’s Road in London, popping in some underground clubs to get sweaty while making an idiot of myself, shouting for the The Kinks to get out on the stage.  

But I am here in the 2012 with fashion copying all these styles, people listening to oldies or bands trying to elicit the same effect, clubs making us deaf with house music and cigarettes being expensive as hell (I do not smoke, but what bothers my friends, bothers me too!). No surprise I dream of the past and I bet I am not the only one out there. X

10/27/2012

simple vs flamboyant


Models off duty. I adore them. This is so much different to the show, where fashion and design obliterates individuality. But when the lights are switched off and the all champagne glasses are empty, models can stand out.

Of course they are effortless,  natural and timid in a way. Maybe a little bit boring for hipsters, especially  this sacred ensemble: skinny  jeans, t-shirt and motorcycle jacket. But fashion has two dimensions for me. One is the space for these unique, bold entities, wearing opaque pants or actually wearing almost nothing. The other, which appeals to me so much is the casual one, slightly conventional, but comfy and cosy. Still there is this paradox that happens to me every time: when I favour for simplicity in my clothes , the only people I spot on the street are these colorful and unorthodox. And the other way round. So I am going crazy, always regretting my fashion choices.

This is a question if both of these spaces can be dubbed ‘style’? I am really obsessed with that word. Probably it is more important than ‘trend’ . I guess models realise that, so I believe they have an uncompromising attitude to clothes, proving this is all about the way you can show them off and convince people this is real fashion consciousness. So tomorrow I am wearing just a sweater. Just skinny pants. Plain coat. Hope, it will feel good and confident, eventually. X


10/20/2012

fashion show !



Soundtracks are so cool. I would like to have my life soundtrack one day. They are everywhere. Every place, depending on its character has it soundtrack. Today I entered the lomography shop in Newburgh Street. They played the ‘El camino’ album by The Black Keys. So nice to not buy anything and listen to great music. So nice to emphasise the laid-back atmosphere.

Music at catwalks intrigues me. These very often electric, vibrant sounds synchronized with models’ pace do not appeal to me that much. They so rarely accentuate the collections and just do not bring any originality. But it is changing now. So I just made a playlist of lest mainstream and most quaint music background at latest fall/winter 2012/2013 shows. Enjoy !

Balmain plays Depeche Mode classic 90’s sound as a background. I am just thrilled.

Etro takes a risk and plays the remix of ‘Video Games’ at its quaint show I am dying.

Sonia Rykiel is so classic. Both in design and the scenery and with Grace Jones track. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI6UhpMawOQ&feature=related

And Balenciaga show! ‘Love is in the air’ is repeated quite a lot, quite catchy and so charismatic! Music changed the whole view of the collection, as for me. X

10/15/2012

berlin





Hi Berlin! How are you dear ? I have not seen you for ages. Is there a lot of change going on? I hope not cause on my departure last year I forgot to tell you how I like the way you are with all your flaws and imperfections.

Well, I remember walking down FriedrichStrasse on the first chilly evening of February. I don’t think it was about the shops, it was about the lights in the dark gleaming around. I really enjoyed that.

But when I met you closely there is even more to discover. I remember the view from the TV Tower and second-hand shop near Alexanderplatz. It was so out of the blue near all these boutiques, but you did not mind that and I liked it so much that it was the only place I popped in.

I am so attracted to your commitment to history. Holocaust Memorial and Jewish Museum prove that you do not deny it, you just admit it. But when I am tired of grief, I stroll down to the Brandenburg Gate and enter my beloved Kennedy Museum.  And while tourist get lost at the square, I keep repeating ‘ Ich bin ein Berliner’.

What you do best is combining modernity with communism. I can stare at the Sony Centre and then spot the rows of blocks of flats which I begin to find more appealing than any miracle of architecture
.
If I can add one thing, it would be great thanks for all these Dunkin’ Donuts just around the corner of every street. Donuts are cool. So are you.I have a great plan to see you next holiday. I hope it won’t bother you. X

                

10/10/2012

music needs fashion



Good music will defend itself. That is for sure. But I think music needs fashion. Cause as an art form is background, which is the image, should be the form of art too. So when we see what stands behind the music, clothes which add some story and appeal, we can identify more with what we hear and interpret it in the end.

What would we know about Bruce Springsteen singing ‘Born in the USA’ if we did not see he is wearing navy blue Levi’s jeans, white t-shirt and a red cup?  That he is a patriot, not a disheveled rebel identifying with his country.

I would say the same about Jim Morrison, whose leather, skinny pants and shirts were the perfect reflection of the unsettled, rebellious generation he stood for. With an aim to be a weirdo he managed to prove that not only with music but the image he created, calling himself Mr. Mojo Risin’ or the Lizard King.

But now, when we do not have so much to revolt against, artists go back in time, trying to resemble the 60’s or the 70’s like The Drums, with their blurred video clips, college sweatshirts and socks sticking out the gym shoes. Without that ,,Me and the Moon’’ songs’ lyrics would just be a banal ballad without this edgy reminiscence of the past.  Then think of Lana del Rey and her ,,National Anthem’’. Would I understand the hint if it was not for the retro, simple Jackie Kennedy look in the music video?

 I do not mean ‘fashion' in terms of trends, but in terms of what style do artists create. It complements music, makes performance exceptional and more profound. And as for me, this is great art. X


10/07/2012

fashion route back




I think I love fashion because it is so distinctive in the modern world. I can’t use Windows 93, I can’t make calls from Nokia 3310, I can’t see demolished modernist buildings. But in fashion we can do everything. It’s like getting into a car and choosing if we want to move forward or put the reverse gear.

I have taken a quick look at spring/summer 2013 collections and they impressed me so much. Not in terms of fabrics or pattern, cause I am not a textile or design expert, but they  give such a lot of space for interpretation.  I can imagine Jackie Kennedy wearing this wonderful Marchesa dress. Or Daisy Buchanan in the one from Blugirl collection. It is so good that when we strive for modernity and development , fashion gives us an option to  go back in time.

I think this generation of fashionistas has an appreciation of detail and quality that clothes used to have. We pay tribute to that on behalf of love for vintage. But we also discern the chance to mix it all up, modernize it and create something exceptional as contemporary fashion. And that is why fashion will never pass its prime. We need it to have fun and fun comes from all the chances it gives. X

10/04/2012

stockholm



Hi Stockholm ! You are a wonderful city ! Basically, I have visited You as a tourist on the lookout of landmarks and IKEA store, but I came back with something completely different than just mere photos of me and the town hall.

I appreciate you are not a tourist destination. You still got this mystery, undiscovered charm and calmness. There are boats along the bank and people sitting there, enjoying time until  the sun goes down, which is at 12pm in the summer. No polar bears or snow, just chilly evenings after warm days.

I love that you mix modernism with tradition. I can visit Kulturhuset and then take a boat to Djurgarden island to see white wooden houses with shutters. I can enter the forest and see small gardens of private properties where people grow carrots and parsley and horses stroll.

Then when I feel I want to find myself in a metropolis I just go to Sodermalm, having drinks with hipsters, spending money on vintage clothes, talking about art displayed in Moderna Musset and Fotografiska.
If I miss history, I take a walk around Gamla Stan, pop in an English Bookshop , grab a cinnamon bun from the ‘bageri’ and go back and forth your numerous bridges. Or take a bike. Or just sit at the bench overlooking this remote  part of the city on the other side of the bay.

All your shops offer moose on the kitchen apron or blanket, Astrid Lindgren books and Moomins. I like this passion for tradition and symbols. And I like Your symbols, which reflect so much Your aesthetics and atmosphere.

So when I have to leave and my plane is about to take off I already miss you. You are so easy to reach and hard to comprehend. I really want to see you soon.  X




9/30/2012

old school



You ought to get over the past . You should never look back. However, in fashion it won’t work off. Returns are inevitable.

Old-school means an ageless trend, which almost never fades, or comes back in a new form. Due to the contrast between various generation’s styles, it enables to trace the fashion history and symbiotically  join the ‘discoveries’ of the past with the innovative approach of the contemporary designers. You needn’t look far for examples.

I ‘m going back to the thirties. Platforms. Although their history may have its source in the antic times, these are the seventies that paid homage to them on behalf of John Travolta and ‘Saturday Night Fever’.  Then, the colorfulness counted. Now, they adopt diverse forms, from unassuming platforms by Philip Lim tfuturistic vision of Alexander McQueen.

Jeans. They never passed its prime. The Levi’s brand introduced them as a ‘worker’s pants’ to become their promoter for long years. Undoubtedly, long, long years. Classic and old designs of Levi’s are priceless and might be found in second-hands only if you are lucky and persistent.
Aviators, initially made for pilots from the 30’s, reverted with the surge of military motives. So nonchalant. An attribute of music icons or movie characters. The Beatles or Tom Cruise in ‘Top Gun’ are brought to mind immediately.

Motorcycle jacket, that made its name in the British ‘glam rock’ era, is entirely self-sufficient. An intrinsic element of high-street fashion , as it adds this rebellious spark to the look. Now it is less symbolic,  still casual and intriguing, makes the whole look in a second.

Why we go back to old trends? This is topic of my interest. Of course, there are some easy potential answers, but in the era of development, where we dream of moving the boundaries, fashion is in a state of reverse. And I really like that. Do you? X