Harper's Bazaar Singapore "Watch me if you can" , December 2011.
“Time is what we want most,but what we use worst.”
William Penn
I have been looking for a new watch for more then a year now sporadically. I do want one but I don't have a habit to wear one since I returned back from New York. I wear some black Swarovski bracelets occasionally but not a watch. Although, I am sure I would get used to it easily again I just haven't found one I absolutely love yet so now I use this post to do a bit of a research for myself which can maybe also help some of you looking for a new watch.
Below is a selection of my favorite models with my first pick being a black Marc by Marc Jacobs watch. I didn't manage to find it yet on airports nor in Barcelona or Budapest stores so I'll probably order it from some online store. As I have quite s tiny wrists I am sure I'll have to have it taken in a bit as all of the others before in order to have it fit me properly.
When it comes to prices Marc by Marc Jacobs watches range from $99 to $400 , Michael Kors from $99 to $375 and DKNY from $69 to $300, I also love Kate Spade one which costs $175 if purchased online.
“How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before it's June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?”
Dr. Seuss
Whatever I'm late anyway watches available on Etsy for about $35
"Lost time is never found again."
Benjamin Franklin
Photo by Annie Liebovitz for Disney campaign " Year of A Million Dreams"
Once upon a time there lived a pretty young girl in an
unfortunate life situation. Her mother was dead and her father had married a
widow with two daughters. Her stepmother didn't like her one little bit because
she was young, ambitious and beautiful. All her kind thoughts and loving
touches were for her own daughters.Nothing was too good for them - dresses,
shoes, delicious food, soft beds, and every home comfort.
But, for the pretty young girl, there was nothing at all.
No new dresses, only her stepsisters’ hand-me-downs. She didn’t despair too much over her
situation, she did the best of it, so she tried to rework and decorate these
old dresses best she could to flatter her body and style. She got no rest and no comfort from her
stepmother. She had to work hard all day. Only when evening came was she
allowed to sit for a while by the fire, near the cinders. That’s why everybody
called her Cinderella.
Cinderella used to spend long hours all alone talking to
her dog. The dog cheered her up by wiggling his tail and licking her face when
she was sad almost like saying: “You have something neither of your
stepsisters has and that is beauty, you are pretty inside and out!” It
was quite true.
Cinderella, even dressed in refurbished old rags, was a lovely girl.
While her stepsisters, no matter how splendid and elegant their clothes, were still
clumsy, lumpy and mean and always would be.
One day, beautiful new dresses arrived at the house. A
ball was to be held at the palace and the stepsisters were getting ready to go.
Cinderella didn't even dare ask if she could go too. She knew very well what
the answer would be: “You? You're staying at home to wash the
dishes, scrub the floors and turn down the beds for your stepsisters. They will
come home tired and very sleepy!”
Cinderella sighed and said: “Whatever,
I’ll dance at home in front of the mirror, on my own!” Nothing could break her spirit.
Suddenly something amazing happened. As Cinderella was
sitting after hours of dancing in front of the mirror, there was a burst of
light and a fairy appeared. “Don't be afraid, Cinderella!” said the
fairy. “I know you would love to go to
the ball. And so you shall!”
“How
can I when I don’t have proper shoes?” Cinderella replied. “The snobby
servants will turn me away!”
The fairy smiled. With a flick of her magic wand
Cinderella found herself wearing the most beautiful dress she had ever seen, it
was Elie Saab Couture!
“Now
for your coach” said the fairy "A real lady would never go to a ball
on foot especially not in Christian Loboutin high heel shoes! Quick! Get me a pumpkin! “
“Oh
of course!” said Cinderella, rushing away.
Then the fairy turned to the dog.
“You,
bring me seven mice or birds, and, remember they must be alive!”
Cinderella soon returned with the pumpkin and the dog
with seven mice he had caught in the cellar. With a flick of the magic wand the
pumpkin turned into a sparkling white pumpkin and the mice became six white
horses, while the seventh mouse turned into a coachman in a smart uniform and
carrying a whip. Cinderella could hardly believe her eyes.
Cinderella had a wonderful time at the ball until she
heard the first stroke of midnight! She remembered what the fairy had said, and
without a word of goodbye she slipped from the arm of a charming gentleman she
was dancing with at the moment and ran down the steps. As she ran she lost one
of her Loboutins, she hadn't even noticed! If she did, she would surely return
to pick it up! But if the last stroke of midnight were to sound... oh... what a
disaster that would be! Out she fled and vanished into the night.
The charming gentleman she was dancing with turned up to
be Prince, who was now having a crush on her, he picked up her Louboutin,
knowing how important shoes are to women and said to his ministers, “Go
and search everywhere for the girl whose foot this Louboutin fits. This kingdom
would not survive the despair of women who realized she lost her Louboutin!”
So the ministers tried this special shoe on the foot of
every girl in the land until only Cinderella was left.
“That
awful untidy girl simply cannot have been at the ball!”
snapped the stepmother. “Tell the Prince he ought to marry one of
my two daughters! Can't you see how ugly and poor looking Cinderella is?”
But, to everyone’s amazement, the shoe fitted perfectly, as if her name was on it!
Suddenly the fairy appeared and waved her magic wand. In
a flash, Cinderella appeared again a splendid dress, shining with all of her
youth, resilience and natural beauty. Her stepmother and stepsisters gaped at
her in amazement, and the ministers said, "Come with us Cinderella! The Prince is
waiting for you."
So Cinderella decided to give a Prince a chance and soon
they started dating. After all, he was the man who was persistent enough to pursue
the women who he admired, no matter her background and all of the obstacles on
his way and he also understand how important shoes can be to a women, after a
while, they got married and lived happily ever after!
"Cinderella. A proof that a new pair of shoes, can change your life!"
Photo source: www.style.com
Old Hollywood glamour is back brought to us by Armani in his Fall 2013. couture collection. Armani's signature white and gold stamp was visible throughout the collection which he names "Nude". Show was inspired by movie 'Death in Venice' and old Hollywood glamour which with Armani's signature touch, luxury fabrics and immaculate tailoring resulted in an absolutely dreamy collection.
Pure elegance, as designer himself described it.
I loved model's Dietrich hairdos and nude but pearlescent, glowy make up, light and clean cut day-wear transferring into perfectly fitted gauzy gowns which were hugging the body and flirtatious with its sheerness and lightness.
Despite it's couturnes in look and feel this collection is very wearable! On top of amazing day-wear and gowns collection featured some beautiful costume jewelry and clutches, below is the selection of my favorite pieces.
"The difference between style and fashion is quality."
Giorgio Armani
"To create something exceptional,
your mindset must me relentlessly focused on the smallest detail."
Giorgio Armani
You can watch the full show below, truly captivating:
This must be one of my favorite couture collections in the last couple of years.
Photo source: Lei Lou by Alex Dojčinović
All photos: Goran Matijašec | Hair: Katica Topčić for Kevin Murphy | Model: Lucija Beden
While most of people are relaxing on the beach or counting down the days to their vacation in their office cubicles, she works, works and works. This is in short the summary of the years of successful domestic career of Croatian fashion designer Aleksandra Dojčinović who is slowly (and I would say finally) expanding beyond Croatian borders and opening her flagship store in Stuttgart, Germany at the beginning of September.
If you are still unfamiliar with this young, feminine and developing Croatian fashion brand you can check out some of my previous post on Aleksandra's earlier collections, as I was following her work as a friend and a client for years now: Lei Lou by Alex Dojčinović SS 2013, Lei Lou inspiration, Romance is alive and well - Lei Lou, Designer interview: Alex Dojčinović, Lei Lou FW 2012. etc.
Now when Croatia entered the European Union and the borders are open it will be interesting to see how Croatian fashion designers (which we have many) will compete when it comes to speed of production, quality and price with their international colleagues.
All in all, knowing Aleksandra, I am confident that she will win the hearts of ladies all over the Europe! :)
Did you had a chance to wear Lei Lou pieces already lovelies? What are your experiences?
Photo source: Reformation Facebook site
"Our (Reformation's) cotton t-shirt takes six gallons of water to make,
where as a typical cotton t-shirt, takes six hundred gallons."
Yael Aflalo, Reformation owner
I haven't had a love at first sight with a fashion brand since I started working in Rugby Ralph Lauren years ago - a collegiate Ralph Lauren brand which is now closed (RIP Rugby). A while back I came across a street style photo of this maxi leopard print sheer dress with open back on some blog and could never find who was it by until I was looking online for a new dress to wear to a wedding I went to earlier this month and FINALLY I found the Reformation fell head over heels in love with this brand not only with their amazing clothes but also with their brand and what it stands for. Wanna learn more about this brand? Read on.
So... Reformation is founded and owned by beautiful and funny Yael Aflalo and their brand stands for sustainable fashion. Previously she owned a typical fashion brand for 10 years, called Ya-Ya but she new that she wanted to start a new company with hopes to change the way fashion industry impacts the environment but keeping the fabulosity of the clothes they produce. So she did.
Video via www.frank151.com
"Yes, we want to make a world a better place, one dress at a time."
Reformation is an environmentally sustainable fashion brand that re-purposes vintage and surplus materials (using over 80% reclaimed materials in all their products) to create a chic, limited edition collection made locally in their New York and Los Angeles studios and sold directly to their own stores at fair price. They concept and produce their collections in just a few weeks.
"A typical clothing company puts their stuff in plastic, and then in another plastic bag, and then puts it on a hanger, and then puts it in a box, and then ships it out. We use laundry bags instead; we don’t use any plastic throughout the process."
Reformation online shop has three collections you can shop from standard, curated and refashioned.
Standard pieces are made exclusively from vintage garments after their cleaned, sized and modified into new designs.
Curated collection is one-of-a-kind re-purposed vintage, there pieces are given that special Reformation touch but it's vintage tailoring is preserved.
Refashioned collection is made both from vintage clothing materials and dead stock fabric and these are the styles which you could not find in vintage collections and this line caters to all of us who like vintage but want to have a more modern silhouette. These pieces are also a limited edition.
" Fashion industry is the second largest user of water in the world after agriculture, so literary it's like strawberries and oranges and then dresses. It's insane amount of resources going into it."
As those who read my blog a lot know, I am quite passionate about sustainable fashion and vintage pieces and I have been writing about it on my blog before and interviewing designers like Ada Zanditon who are committed to produce sustainable pieces, but I am also very passionate about good quality fabrics, tailoring and fit and these passions and demands of mine haven't been easy to find in one brand, this makes my excitement of finding Reformation event bigger! On top, I absolutely adore the sense of humor and energy I get from following this brand!
"I want Reformation to revolutionize fashion,
I want to change the way the people buy clothes."
Yael Aflalo, Reformation owner
So keep up with the good work Reformation ladies! I will continue to follow your work and continue ordering your pieces!
All photos: www.freepeople.com
Free people just launched their July catalog with Anja Rubik in the main role. Aside of Anja's fabulousity, well,come to think of it I have a super gorgeous Polish friend named Ania, so there must be something in the name...anyways, I really fell in love with their leather jackets, white hippy lace dresses and amazing pants - my favorite ones are the black ones below with a zip worn with denim shirt - sexy! And what about those overalls? Personally I would not wear them but they do look amazing on Anja!
Since I invested in a black motorcycle leather jacket which became my year around staple clothing piece, especially for traveling, now I am considering this brown one on the photo above, I love how soft the leather is and it also looks like it fits nicely and has longer sleeves which I really need considering that I have these lanky hands of mine.
How do you like new Free People catalog lovelies? :)
Even though I highly value my girlfriends fashion opinions and love their unique individual styles, I usually shop alone and plan it ahead in order to avoid impulse or PMS or 'I don't feel good so I need new shoes buy'...I m trying to make shopping my little relaxation ritual, part of my 'me' time and not let it become a dangerous credit card swiping rehab from life which unfortunately affects many women around the world and puts them into serious financial problems.
First, I do a little research on items I really, really want, I actually have a folder in my computer and on my iPad named 'WANT' in which I store the images of the items which I really really like and want to buy. Also I keep the links to these items in my favorites folder so I can come back to them and check when they are on sale (this refers to more expensive items)...and then I finally go ahead and buy them when on sale! :)
For this post I selected some of my favorite sales this month online and offline:
Lei Lou by Alex Dojčinović Summer 2013. sale where many of the brands Fall/Winter and special collaboration items are discounted up to 50% (like Lei Lou Dr.Martens special edition line of booties, sequin and 3D laced evening gowns and leopard print tube dresses). I actually got this beautiful floral tube dress called Fani, it fits really nice, I wore it on the wedding I went to last weekend.
Photo source: Lei Lou Facebook page
Free People, one of my top 10 favorite brands, just launched their new catalog (you can see it on my blog tomorrow) with Anja Rubik in the main role. I used to buy their dresses and booties when I lived in NYC, the quality is really great and even though some items are a bit pricey, it is still worth of getting them as they last long and look and fit beautifully! I love the three dresses below, currently on Summer sale in brands online shop:
Lastly, one of my favorite online shops, Nasty Gal, always has a great sale, this time I selected a couple of jackets and sweater which I can all wear to work but also combine into more casual outfit, also, I had my eye on these black ripped skinnies for a while now and now when on sale they still have my size. Nasty Gal delivers from US and has really amazing customer service and good quality products. Last I ordered were those black booties with golden plate on toes and heels, now they are on sale as well.
Did you notice any good sales lately lovelies? Do share! :)
Although we are officially on vacation in Dubrovnik at my boyfriends parents place we still had to lots of catch-up calls to to with friends here in Croatia, dinners, next basketball (for him) and next work fiscal year (for me) arrangements to do so there was still level of stress with preparation for best friends wedding so before traveling to Zagreb we decided to go for a short trip to a nearby island - Lopud to get away from everything and everybody for just one day.
We turned off our phones (with no feeling of regret if I may add) rented umbrellas and beach beds, got some cocktails, jumped in the sea for a bit to cool off and then read our books and played cards - heaven! My boyfriend kept saying - "OMG I needed this so bad, my cell is not ringing, it is not to hot, we need to do this more often!" I loved seeing him so happy and relaxed....we definitely need to do this more often.
Currently I am having a 'post vacation blues' and can't wait for mid August to come back here again for a second part of my vacation.
How was your Summer holiday lovelies? Did you already had yours or are you planning to go?
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