Ever since I started scouting independent designers for Trendcy online boutique which I co-own I also became more conscious shopper. I always checked fabric and stitch quality while shopping in physical stores but with experience I discovered that shopping slow, sustainable fashion brands in majority cases also means shopping better quality, fit and more unique design.
The Reformation has became one of my go to brands when it comes to shopping for dresses. This is not the first time I am posting about this Los Angeles brand. I listed them as one of my Top 10 Favorite Brands to Shop from as one of The Best Sites to Shop Boho Chic from.
For this post I styled my Summer go-to pieces into a casual but romantic #ootd for exploring Barcelona.
This large, round raffia shoulder bag has became my everyday bag this Summer. I use it to carry groceries, fruit, vegetables and flowers from the market as well as beach towels and my beach essentials.
The day when we were shooting this in Barcelona close to magic fountain and history museum another mini storm was about the break out with quick shower to cool off hot Summer streets. The bellow Hitchcock movie set like shot was taken as my friend and photographer Andrina was loosing patience trying to take a good shot while tourists were franticly trying to find cover before the rain starts so they continued to end up in our frame. At the same time I tried to warn her when a 'new batch' of tourists were about to 'photo bomb up' - thus we got a photo as bellow.
As always, after the rain, sun comes out along with the calm. Despite the ruined hair we kept the good vibe of this shoot and snapped another few pics before heading home.
All photos: Andrina Peric
After successful blog post collaboration with sustainable fashion brand Puppa from Slovenia we teamed up again recently for another project - up-cycled denim capsule collection. I worked with Puppa design team to create a small, cotton denim, Summer collection of dresses and casual accessory which will be available in Puppa online shop by the end of June.
PUPPA FASHION
Puppa is a unique slow fashion brand from Slovenia who hand-makes high quality up-cycled women's clothing, ethically, while producing zero waste.Puppa's goal is to prove that up-cycled clothing doesn't have to be less fashionable and less trendy then fast fashion pieces we are bombarded with in advertising.
When you shop Puppa limited edition pieces you can look good and feel good because you will be wearing high quality, super soft and comfortable limited edition clothing without hurting the environment. All of the clothes is hand-made by skilled seamstresses in Slovenia who used to work for well known Slovenian luxury brand Mura.
Puppa offers limited edition collection such as LaKatWalk capsule denim collection as well as made-to-order pieces.
Made to order means that you can provide your measurements via online form on their web shop and they hand-make selected piece from their shop according to your measurements so it fits you perfectly.
WHAT IS UP-CYCLING?
Many are not really sure what up-cycling means and they confuse it with second hand, already worn clothing.
To up-cycle means to reuse a piece of material to create an object of higher quality.
Puppa uses left over high quality materials from luxury brands or new, unsold clothing pieces (for example men's denim shirts) to create new women's clothing pieces.
LAKATWALK DENIM CAPSULE COLLECTION
I got an idea for LaKatWalk Denim capsule collection from curating my closet when it was time for us to do our yearly 'Summer move' from Barcelona to Dubrovnik. You know how you have those pieces of clothing you wear over and over again, Summer to Summer without them looking worn out and dated? I realized that many of those pieces are actually a soft cotton denim pieces. Even when they wrinkle a bit from sitting in airplane they look stylish.
Once I curated my most worn Summer pieces to pack them up I also realized most of them are dresses so we decided to play with some seasonal trends and create light Summer dress collection which can be accessorized in a way that it can serve as a full Summer wardrobe no matter where you spend your vacation.
Some of the pieces you will notice will be multifunctional and you will be able to wear some dresses as a skirt or a top or a dress, depending if you are going to the beach or for a late dinner date.
OVERALL DENIM DRESS
Overall denim dress is one of my favorite pieces from this collection and a very trendy dress to wear this season. I choose for this one to be in midi version as when you walk around the city as a tourist this length is decent enough for whatever landmark you might be visiting.
I usually wear denim overall dress with white or navy stripped t-shirt for day or with off shoulder white long sleeve top and heels for evening walk.
To accessorize the dress I used gold and red accents in form of a red bandana neck scarf, gold star earrings and platform sandals.
I choose to wear the dress with Puppa denim backpack which fits your swimsuit, sunscreen lotion and a towel if you are going to the beach or your daily handbag necessities. The backpack also closes tight so you don't have to worry about behind the back sneaky thefts.
All photos by Andrina Peric
I am anxious to hear what you think about this first look in my denim Summer capsule collection?
Do you wear denim a lot in Summer as well?
The other day Anabela and I were passing by the neighborhood florist on our way home from the park. She got in to smell the flowers, she gets really close and buries her head in the flower pot and breathes in deeply and then saids 'Mmmm!' with her eyes closed. 😃 This is when I saw the florist finishing one of these large, round rattan basket shoulder bags and I got one to wear as my beach bag this Summer.
I didn't want to style this rattan shoulder bag as part of an obvious Summer beach look but rather explore a more classic Summer day look (yes gold is super classic in my book!) with combining classic button up with pleated shinny gold evening mini skirt. Next, I accented the look with touches of red with classic red bandana, red lipstick and shinny, patent leather sky high stilettos.
I really love how this Missguided gold pleated skirt shines on the sun and how it compliments the raw, natural color and texture of this shoulder bag.
The currently super popular round rattan bag shape takes many forms, some wear it as a more polished mini handbag basket which I intentionally choose this handmade, maxi bag with leather shoulder straps which I will use for my morning market trips but also as a beach bag.
As another red accent option I wore Murano glass heart necklace by Trendcy designer Mandali Mandrilla from her unique, handmade jewelry collection, made in Croatia.
The button up shirt on the photo is a classic J.Crew tall, slim cotton button up which I styled off shoulder by buttoning up only bottom three buttons, I pulled it off the shoulder and tucked it the collar neatly all around the shoulders and up front. It's just important to wear well fitted skin color or white strapless bra and high waist fitted pants or skirt to keep this shirt in place.
For this post I tried to channel my inner disco diva (cause God known I haven't went out after dark much since I had Anabela 😉 ). I choose to style this one of a kind eNVy room cat print tunic with sheet patches and detachable fluorescent, pearl and crystals adorned collar with over the top, silver, sparkly tights from Misguided.
eNVy room is a Croatian fashion brand best known for their unique wedding dresses and evening looks. Their style is feminine and elegant. The fabrics they use are high quality, airy and romantic like tulle, lace and silk. Although the brand does not conform to seasonal trends their pieces are surely conversation pieces, equal part timeless and modern.
My favorite part of this tunic is detachable neck collar which allows you to style tunic more or less casual. I wear this tunic tucked in with high waist black skinny pants in black and white elegant look.
When you add the collar you get the pop of color in the outfit and it's perfect evening piece which then only needs black skirt, tights or pants with heels to complete the look.
One watch out is underwear/bra to wear with this tunic. Since the shoulder and chest cut-outs are fairly low it's ideal to wear this tunic with no bra or with skin color strapless bra or stickers.
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Now, here is a desert you don't need to run away from in preparation for bikini season! 😃 I made this super simple tart yesterday and it's almost completely gone. Both my athlete boyfriend who does not like sweets and my baby daughter absolutely loved it!
I love combining fresh fruits in my Summer desserts and I avoid recipes which take to long long to make or bake or those that are packed with butter and sugar. This recipe is light, fluffy, healthy and absolutely guilt free in terms of calories.
If you don't like cherries you can certainly use fresh strawberries or blueberries or even mix of fresh mint leaves and different berries all mixed together.
Give it a try!
INGREDIENTS
CRUST1 cup/236g coconut flour (you may use regular flour but it won't be gluten free)
⅓ cup/79g chopped almonds
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup/60g pure maple syrup or honey
½ cup/118g coconut oil, solid at room temperature
*If you don't have time to prepare crust feel free to use purchased quiche dough or fluffy pastry.
FILLING/GANACHE
6oz/170g chopped dairy-free dark chocolate
½ cup/118ml canned coconut milk
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
⅛ teaspoon almond or vanilla extract (optional)
1 cup/236g fresh cherries pitted and halved
Toasted sliced almonds for garnish
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C. I used 9 to 10 inch /23 cm pan.2. Mix coconut flour with almonds and salt in a bowl. Add maple syrup/honey and coconut oil to form a smooth dough.
3. Spread and press dough into the pan evenly all around and up the sides. Poke with fork all around and bake 8-10 min, until edges are golden brown. Set aside to cool while preparing filling.
4. Place chocolate chopped to pieces into a bowl. Heat up coconut milk and pour over the chocolate. Wisk until smooth. Add and wisk salt and almond/vanilla extract.
5. Pour mixture into cooled baked dough evenly. Arrange cherries evenly over the top, sprinkle with toasted almond slices and coconut flakes. Cool in the fridge at least for 1 hour before eating.
Keep in fridge for up to 5 days (even dough I doubt it will last that long).
Rock band t-shirts have always been an important part of the streetwear and pop culture. College kids would wear their favorite converse sneakers with jeans and their favorite rock band tops. Rock band tops have found their way to runways as well and consequently to many ready to wear stores along with corresponding chokers.
If you are a DIY type, you can cut out your favorite rock band t-shirt so the thin collar parts forms a chocker as on the photo bellow or you can purchase a pre-cut out rock band T.
For this shoot my friend and blog photographer Andrina and I went up and around the fence to get to this spectacular, street art location close to W Hotel in Barcelona. The enormous concrete squares are scattered on the corner of the beach and in the sea in a form of a large installation and are partially covered with graphite. This location shows spectacular views of the city and makes a great hiding spot for local teenagers.
My challenge for this look was to find more ways to wear my gorgeous wide leg pants by Blackpearl by Sara Lončarić. So far I wore this pants with elegant silk blouses to create high end evening or workwear looks but I haven't yet found a way to wear them as part of day outfit.
Naturally I pushed a bit beyond day look and wanted to see how these look worn with rock band t-shirt, elegant bralette and my favorite ear cuff from Trendcy.
Even though I wear a lot of florals and would describe my personal style as feminine and elegant I often incorporate rock & roll details, especially in my day-wear such as studded boots during winter or rock & roll t-shirts with denim skirts or shorts along with studded sandals in Summer.
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Turning back towards natural materials, colors and getting inspired by nature and up-cycling is something I whole heartedly support and hope this is not a trend but a strong direction in which fashion is going.
Raffia, straw handbags and baskets are star feature accessory in resort and Summer collections for several seasons now and I truly hope they are here to stay. Raffia basket makes a stylish bag to take to market in the morning instead of using plastic bags which take ages to degrade in soil. You can use the same basket as a beach bag or a diaper bag for your baby! 😃
Straw bags have went long way from your last season pom-pom tote. From super creative shapes of lemon, pineapple, snail to leather belted and denim patched round bags to hat bags and other little works of art - many designers have already sold out on their most photographed raffia bags.
I am currently hunting for a perfect straw handbag for Summer so I made a wide selection for you to see as well should you need to update your Summer accessory as well.
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I used to avoid baking bread as it always seemed to complicated. However, since all of our family loves eating bread (although we never use white flour) I started with making banana bread recipe I learned from Mrs. Deb for whom I babysat.
When I felt comfortable with making those sweet breads I gave it a try and made a healthy protein for my boyfriend as per my friends recipe who is a super healthy eater and we all loved it and ate it in one meal. Yesterday early morning I decided to test a simple baby and toddler friendly multi-grain yogurt bread for our beach picnic. Anabela ate so much of it we had to hide the rest from her until she had some veggies and meat first.
You absolutely have to try it! It will take you 35 minutes tops! :)
INGREDIENTS
10 soup spoons full of spelt flour6 soup spoons full of integral flour
200 ml organic non-sweeten yogurt
1 tbsp of baking soda
3 soup spoons of virgin olive oil
1 tsp of salt
DIRECTIONS
1. Pre-heat oven to 180 C/356 F.2. Combine all ingredients and hand kneed the dough for a few minutes until soft and not sticky, add a bit more integral flour and form into a ball.
3. Optionally, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with some oats for decoration.
Enjoy with your toddler and the rest of your family! :)
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