A black wool cloche hat with bow from Åhléns, 99 kr, currently in stores
It was in between errands that we had some time to spend window shopping in town the other day. One of my favourite things to do is to pop into the shops to have a look at what’s new and what’s in store. We did just that and popped into Åhléns (a major Swedish store chain that is comparable to Isetan in Singapore). Continue reading “Some new spoils and a spree about town”
Photo: Marcio Madeira
Wherever the girls went there was silence. Elly was completely blue: blue make-up, blue clothes, blue cap and blue curls. Eva was all green, Del all violet. Some girls were all in black… in their full regalia looking as if they had just left a Fellini set.’
– Barbara Hulanicki, describing the impact of the Biba look in ‘From A to Biba’.
Think Biba and the associations from the ’60s were mini-skirts, mini cars, the King’s Road, Big Biba (once deemed as ‘the most beautiful store in the world’ by the Sunday Times, UK) and various other London happenings that defined that decade as one that rocked. Continue reading “Saturday inspiration: the story of Biba”
It was only in Sweden that I’ve come to know and appreciate Wolford products. I’ve previously written about it here.
And here, you can find clearer pictures of the Biscay boots from DUO. The colour is simply delicious and as it turns out, these seem to be one of my most versatile knee high boots yet!
You’ll be seeing more of this blue and brown smocked skirt in variations of use. It’s a simple cotton skirt that I bought in Hong Kong about two years ago, at a store just round the corner where our hotel was located. You can’t see it from the picture above but the top of the skirt is gathered or smocked, for a versatile fit of waist or chest. Because it falls to the ankles when worn as a skirt, it goes very nicely as a knee-length strapless summer dress, with or without a belt, depending on the style you wish.
I’ll bring you the variations of this skirt in the following weeks to come. I’ve also hand sewn a sprinkling of black sequins onto some of the black ‘florals’ around this skirt, so that it catches the sunlight when I use it during the summer.
What attracted me to this skirt was the mix of colours, the smocked top and the border of florals at the hem. The prints reminded me of modern batik paintings (or free hand) and the border of florals hinted towards prints of the 70s era, bold and stylized.
The textures, prints and versatility of this skirt made what I thought was an interesting piece of clothing.
Due to the success of the late 1950s film and different stage adaptions of the novel ‘The World of Suzie Wong’, the Asian dress cheongsam, or qipao, has been associated with Asian women as being overly promiscuous or submissive.
I was graduating from college and had a prom to go to, with no dress. It didn’t occur to me to go find one in the stores, I thought evening wear and prom dresses were generally costly.
Continue reading “Friday Glam! A dress with a story”
I was first introduced to boot cut jeans, oddly enough, by an ex-boyfriend of mine when I was about 16 (?). Prior to that, I was wearing mostly high waisted skinny jeans or slim cut jeans – which have now actually come back into fashion, like these dark blue Lollobrigida Jeans by 18th Amendment, currently in stores. Continue reading “Today’s outfit: ribbed vest over lace voile blouse”
Photo: Marcio Madeira
From John Galliano, Fall 2006. The perfect Halloween do?
I don’t have a Halloween outfit to show for, but I thought the Galliano creation featured here brings home the essence of dark, in my view.
From Sarah Mower, who reviewed his show:
PARIS, March 4, 2006
To get to John Galliano’s fall show, guests had to drag themselves to a bleak industrial studio on the outskirts of Paris on a freezing and traffic-clogged Saturday night.
How the elements cooperate, perfect weather for the collection!
I’m still a Galliano fan.
I actually met with Gunilla Stolpe when I was at her shop browsing. I really had no intention on purchasing a short coat, but I spoke to her some about her inspirations, her designs and she explained to me in great detail, how she made this yellow coat – which is what sold me the coat and of course, her pleasant personality.
I call it an Easter-coat, because of the yellow and this particular yellow is strongly associated with Easter in Sweden (perhaps other countries too where they celebrate Easter). There was one in a dark brown but I figured I haven’t got anything yellow in my wardrobe. Or very few yellow coloured items in my wardrobe, so why not brighten it up with this?
Apart from its colour which cheers me up just by looking at it, it’s warm without adding too much bulk on the frame. There is actually a matching ribbon belt to it which is not featured in the picture above.