Love will tear us apart

The damn seasonal flu (thank God not the swine flu) has kept me indoors for the past week, and since an old pyjama has not been the best outfit material for a fashion blog, I've kept it quiet here as well. There is really nothing more annoying than feeling like crap, looking like a Peruvian druglord due to all the nose blowing, and coughing like you've smoked cigarettes since the merry 1950's ending up keeping yourself and your partner up at night. Finally there are some signs of recovery, although I can't leave my place without my tissues and the nasal spray (how attractive), and my voice still gets lost in the evenings.

So, here I am barely up again, wearing something cozy and something quite Alexander Wangish with my latest purchases. I picked up all the arm candy from Lindex after receiving their press release, and falling in love with all the Givenchy- est que pieces they got going on this fall. I also found some tye dye leggings and a very Edie Sedgwick-like knitted vest, but more about those later. The bum beanie is quite new too; I was literally forced to get it because if you like bangs like I do, well, let's just say that the autumn wind does not agree with you most of the time. The corduroy pants are a second hand find for one Euro and the t-shirt I purchased when I was in Stockholm back in June.

Speaking of the t-shirt, I must confess something right here and right now: I'm not the biggest fan of these statement t-shirts with huge text over the chest (except maybe those "Frankie says relax" ones, due to their nostalgic value), especially when they say something tacky like "I went to Ibiza and all I got was this lousy t-shirt". You might wonder what made me change my mind with this t-shirt acquired from Weekday; well, with a text you can barely even see and with lyrics of one of my favorite Joy Division tracks, it was the perfect statement shirt of all times. So here, today, it also ends up being the perfect choice for this outfit.

T-shirt: MTWTFSS
Pants: Second hand
Cardigan: H&M
Leather Jacket: JSFN
Platform booties: Bullboxer
Boot straps: Mouseyessim vie eBay
Bracelets: Lindex
Beanie: Seppälä
Tungsten ring: Superior Wedding Rings
Flower ring: Stockmann

Best of the Big Apple

I've stated before that I'm not a huge fan of the NY fashion week, somehow I've always thought that Europe has more variety to offer. However, there are now more players on the table and stakes are getting higher; some of these "newcomers" have even caught my critical eye. There is no denying that Alexander Wang, the wonder boy of fashion, has already achieved a major role in the world's fashion scene. At a young age, he has managed to create something that makes the hardcore fashionistas hearts beat faster every time a new collection hits the runway. In Alexander's footsteps, more and more formerly unknown designers are lifting their heads up and putting it all out there. They have even made me buzz about the NY fashion week, so something positive is happening in NY.

Even though the spring is not here yet (temperature this morning was -7 Celcius), I'm already drooling over the fall fashion, as usual. I decided to pick up the top looks that I liked on the NY fall/winter 09/10 runway; something I could accept in my wardrobe anytime of the year, may it rain or shine. All images are from style.com, edited by me.

1. Alexander Wang hit the jackpot again! The main thing I love about this collection is that it's so wearable and I can already see so myself doing some DIY action with a pair of old leggings. My closet withholds very similar pieces already, so these images are rather inspiring.

2. Ohne Titel is a new very good friend of mine: leather, layering, black color, odd cuts, broken knees, zips, whats not to love?

3. I don't think it's possible to ever get over the Rodarte knit tights that were introduced last spring. I must say though, that the new fall/winter collection looks really promising as well, although these were the only wearable pieces I could think of. Loving the OTK boots and knits mixed with leather. Makes me want to get some thread and start knitting my own pieces.

4. Temperley London is completely street ready with it's stud and zip detailing. Perhaps I'm going to have to get myself a pair of studded ankle cuffs. Ebay, here I come...

5. Is it just me or did Marc Jacobs just put us in a time machine and send us back to the 80's? Well, it's one of my favorite decades, so this trip was a pleasant one. Shoulder pads, sharp cuts, neon glow and Flock of Seagulls hair have all got a 21st century update when Marc's models strutted down the runway. I wish it was fall already...

What are your favourite picks?

Wacky or just plain tacky?

N.Y. fashion week continues. Betsey Johnson is one of those designers who's pieces I absolutely adore or hate. Unfortunately the latter seems to be the best verb to describe how I feel about her S/S 09 pieces. The bowler hat is about the only lovable thing about her creations this time.

Source: Style.com

I also checked out what the much awaited Marc by Marc Jacobs had in store for us. Well, I have to say I was a bit disappointed. Everything was very sporty and sort of blah. We have seen this so many times on the runway, Marc! The dresses looked like they were fitted to make the models at least three sizes larger which I doubt to be the intention of any great fashion designer (or every woman's nightmare as Michael Kors on Project Runway might say).

Source: Style.com

I guess I have to give all props to Alexander Wang this year. He was the only one with a fresh angle and something new to offer (OK, the Rag & Bone was pretty good too but they are not a major name). I have to admit though, that spring looks have never been my favorite, so this might have a slightly negative effect on my views. But just slightly. ;)

Announcements

I guess some of you noticed that there was a problem with my images. I had exceeded the bandwidth of a free account at Photobucket. I signed for couple of new ones such as Imageshack, so let's hope it works. If anyone knows a good image host website with unlimited bandwidth, please let me know. I'd like to keep the pictures on this site and keep them coming. :)

Also, something else you might have noticed is the little "FF" favicon I created in the URL field. I was getting tired of the Bloggers "B" Favicon and wanted to create one of my own. Hopefully you will like it.

What Europeans do first, Americans do next

I have never been a true fan of the N.Y. fashion weeks. I feel that majority of the time there is nothing new to offer, everything is very conventional and boring. When I was younger I remember the latest fashion always coming from U.S. People admired things like college shirts, Levi's jeans, Gap, Calvin Klein, Cindy Crawford and Beverly Hills 90201. U.S. had money and us Europeans were jealous of it. Even though the biggest fashion houses have always been located in Europe, the 90's streets were occupied with Nirvana obsessed grunge kids with ripped jeans, bleached hair and over sized flannel shirts. America was everywhere.

By the end of 90's the course of fashion had changed and Europe started being "cool" again. Small designers started to pop in places like Belgium, Sweden and Denmark, even in my home country, Finland. All of a sudden, underground was mainstream and determining the latest trends. By the 2000's Europeans had gained more purchasing power and many designer stores opened their doors outside of the Paris-London axis.

By viewing the fashion shows of the N.Y. Fashion Week for S/S 09 (Ready-to-wear) that started last Friday, once again there is nothing that we have not seen in Europe first. For example, Donna Karan showed us the paper bag waist pants with cropped legs - A look that has been introduced already in Paris last year and that has been very popular in Scandinavia this summer and fall. A look, that has already been brought down from runway into street style and being sold in the commercial stores with the fraction of the price of, say, Donna's work.

DKNY S/S 09 vs. Monki F/W 08

Source: Style.com

So far, the most positive surpriser of the N.Y. Fashion Week has been Alexander Wang. I still can't believe how young he is, only 24, and how at so young age he has managed to create such a strong brand under him. It truly amazes me. His collection has the rock aesthetics that really please my eye and the pieces have great detailing from head to toe. Very good work indeed, Alex!

Alexander Wang S/S 09

Source: Style.com

Tomorrow is Marc by Marc Jacobs' turn which for me personally is the one I'm awaiting the most. We'll see if Marc can pull it all together and what his vision for S/S 09 shall be.

It's just one of those days

Do you ever feel like on some days are just against you? Like when there is nothing wearable in your closet, or when your favorite jeans don't seem to fit like they did before summer? Well, I had one of those days today but at least my hair co-operated. I want to introduce my new fall jacket which I got from Helsinki a few weeks back after attending Flow festival. It's by H&M Trend and I instantly fell in love with the fact that it has a hoodie. What could provide better coverage for your hair on cold and rainy days? The jacket is made really well and the little details on the sleeves make it look more outstanding compared to a basic black coat.

                    

Jacket: H&M Trend
Shirt/tunic: Gina Tricot
Jeans: Cheap Monday
Shoes: Skopunkten

Oh, and I changed the layout a bit because I was getting tired of the old fuzzy banner pic, and the fact that my pictures were so small. I'm quite pleased with the new look, what do you think?

This city ain't so sexy

Dress: H&M
Belt: MTWTFSS
Bag: Second hand
Shoes: Small town shoe store (a bargain for 5€!)
Rose pin: Second hand

Yesterday I finally went too see the much talked Sex and the City movie with my boyfriend, Ranna and her boyfriend. It wasn't news to me that the movie got really bad reviews but I just couldn't believe how bad it actually was! The plot sucked, characters looked old and jokes just weren't as funny as they used to be in the show. The only good thing about the movie was the outfits (naturally) but the whole label mentioning was a bit too overwhelming for me. They could have also left out the corny montages and cut the movie's running time in half...

Anyway, above is what I wore to the movies. Yes, I was one of those people who just had to go with the theme, and even got my boyfriend to wear a suit type outfit. The stripey dress is actually a few years old but for some reason I never really wore it. When I bought it from H&M, I instantly thought of it as "Carrie Bradshaw" like dress and pictured her wearing it with a huge pink flower pin on the chest. So what could have been a better choice for the SATC movie than the dress from back then?

P.S. I had some trouble with uploading the pictures so they were a bit pixelated in my previous post. Now I learned to use the HTML-code instead and they look much clearer! The wonders of technology...