Category Archives: Fashion

Fashion

Fashion resolutions

I didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but there’s something I’m actually very thankful for:  Black Friday and Cyber Monday happening at the end of the month when my bank account can’t possibly tolerate any extravagances. With all the temptation that’s constantly surrounding me – insta pics of people’s latest purchases and the plethora of promo codes flying around everywhere, I feel like I couldn’t even trust myself if going shopping didn’t mean I’d be pretty much ruined the week after. Really, it’s the only time of the year that I’m actually happy about being constantly broke.

And this year’s been especially hard. Since I’m getting more and more involved with people’s stories on Instagram (even though I never met them irl), I’ve been continually bombarded with posts inviting me to check out this or that brand’s website. And yes, I did crack. But only just a little bit. Six items. (That’s a very small amount for my standard.) All from my favorite store which is H&M. And compared to the Hunger Games re-enacted in some US stores, I feel like I stayed quite reasonable, since I only bought some pants, two dresses, a sweater, a blouse, a scarf and some earmuffs (it’s cold outside!) – all combined on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. I didn’t go crazy, and this is why:

I don’t want to accumulate any more stuff

In the last year alone, I’ve moved more than five times. It was such a pain and I realized that I own way too much stuff. And even after I’d gotten rid of two big bags of clothes, I still had way too much. So my new goal is to wear everything my closet contains on a regular basis. And the clothes that I end up not wearing in a year will have to go, eventually.

I want quality stuff

It’s insane how much designer wear can do for you. For me, it’s such a big boost in confidence. I feel like nothing can be compared to the experience of wearing an Isabel Marant dress and feeling absolutely fabulous, just because the cut and the fabric are so on point. Seriously, I thought I was ruling the world, just because my dress spread this vibe for me. And that’s so much more than some generic item from any generic store can do for me. The minute I was wearing the high-end product, I knew I never wanted to downgrade again. So from now on, I’ll try to invest in high quality basics and only get the trendy things at stores like Zara, Mango or H&M. Not only will that make my entire wardrobe be more fashionable, it probably will also have a positive impact on the environment.

I want to live somewhat sustainably

I’m kind of fed up with fast fashion. I feel like I don’t get anything of quality (let alone that the way of manufacturing a low-cost item often, is morally questionable), and of course, there’s no point in trying to sell something you got for only 15 bucks. So instead of continuing to hoard fast-fashion items, I’d like to concentrate on the finer things. I prefer buying less, but making better choices in what I buy – and to keep an item for more than just one or two years.

I want to be excited about something new

Having everything available at all time has kind of made me lose interest in what’s new. Because what’s the point of owning something that’s in vogue for one minute and irrelevant the next? And why would I spend any money on something so futile? Instead, I want to be sure that this new item purchased will not just sit around, waiting for this one occasion I bought it for to happen. I want to feel comfortable choosing whatever I want in the morning (when I’m in a hurry) and still feel confident in the way I look. This (and because of the other reasons above) is why I’ve restricted myself from buying more stuff. The result of this small kind of detox is that I’m actually getting excited again about the few items I do buy. I really missed that.

 

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Fashion

My makeup routine

I usually don’t write about my morning or beauty routine and also don’t give tips on what kind of products to buy. First, because I’m a student living on a budget, therefore I don’t own stuff from cool brands, at least not as much that would justify writing about it. (Btw, I’m not getting paid by anyone to write about makeup, this is not an ad.) Second, because there are already so many great beauty blogs. And third, because I’m a very lazy person. Which means that most of the time, I just can’t be bothered with makeup and I also really don’t care if the sight of my transparent skin and the well visible rings under my eyes are frightening or even unappealing to impressible fellow beings.

Nevertheless, there are days where I want to be pretty and look as shiny and sparkly as a Disney princess. That’s when I use my magical makeup palette.

However, since I neither want to stress my skin too much nor clog my pores, I usually just accentuate my eyes and maybe my lips. (Of course, Halloween is a total exception of this rule.) I’m a big fan of smokey eyes and for a day makeup, I like to go with light brown tones and highlights. (Sephora has an awesome eye shadow palette that includes very light but also darker tones, it’s the one that I use the most. It’s also my favorite.) Then, as every single women’s magazine pointed out this year, brows are super important since they give structure and can totally change someone’s look. I actually don’t do much with mine. I already like how they’re shaped and never had a professional do them, I just don’t find it necessary for myself. What I do though is brush them into form and depending on the kind of other makeup I’m wearing that day, I’ll maybe fill them out a little (!) with a waterproof brow liner in the same tone.

Another thing I do even when going without makeup is curbing my lashes. You’ve probably heard this over a million times, but lashes that are well-shaped to make you look more awake and they also seem a little longer. Add mascara to that – I usually do like seven layers – and wahou! no need for fake lashes. I also like to draw out the small line under my upper lash line with a black kohl. Gives more depth and makes lashes look endlessly long.

Before I move on to my lips, I put on highlighter. I just loooove highlighter, it immediately makes me look fresh and well-rested and of course, puts some sparkle on my skin. I basically put it everywhere possible without looking like The Tin Man, so on my cheekbones, inner eye thingy (I’m sure there’s a professional term for that, but I’d need to look it up), bridge of the nose and cupid’s bow. On my makeup free days, swapping highlighter for coconut oil or lip balm does the trick as well. You can even use it instead of mascara. (Of course, the effect isn’t the same, but it helps to accentuate a little.) And since I’m totally addicted to lip balm, I always carry one in my bag.

Besides lip balm, I like to wear really dark lipstick. Unfortunately though, it makes my lips look even smaller than they already are – think Kylie Jenner before the procedures she denies. Therefore, I’m not using dark colors too often. (Besides, I somehow manage to have lipstick smeared somewhere else in my face where it doesn’t belong, it’s even worse when I’m wearing colored lip gloss.) This is why I decided to try out a lip plumper. I got mine from Too Faced, it’s called Lip Injection Extreme, and I have to say, it really lives up to the name. Short after applying it, there was a little tingling, nothing bad, more like the sensation that bubbly leaves on your lips. A few seconds later, I could already see that my lips were fuller. After a few days of using the lip plumper regularly, it’s now one of my favorite products. I only wish the effect would last a little longer. (I haven’t timed it, but I think it lasts for around an hour.)

And here you go, this is my complete makeup routine. When I just stick to the simple things and don’t use eye shadow, it only takes like 5 minutes to get ready.

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Culture, Fashion

Le parfum du voyage

Une impression de mes vacances qui m’a accompagné dans presque tous mes voyages, c’est un parfum particulier. Je ne peux même pas citer le nom ou la marque de ce parfum, mais je suppose qu’il s’agit d’un des grands classiques comme Dior ou Chanel. C’est un parfum très élégant, assez prononcé quand même. Il est parfait pour les grandes dames, et je l’associe toujours aux actrices fabuleuses des années 50 ou bien aux personnages féminins dans les films de Woody Allen. C’est un parfum qui inspire la mondanité, l’extravagance et l’allure. Mais surtout, c’est un parfum incroyablement féminin.
Je me souviens du jour quand j’ai senti cette odeur délicieuse pour la toute première fois. Je passais mes vacances d’été quelque part à la côte méditerranée et je passais des heures à lire les magazines qui trainaient au lobby de l’hôtel. J’avais peut-être treize ans, et c’était à cet âge-là que je découvrais le monde fascinant des magazines de mode, Vogue en particulier.
Le premier exemplaire du magazine mythique que je tenais entre mes mains avait beau être tout abîmé, avec des milliers des graines de sable entre ses pages, je l’adorais. Et pendant les deux semaines qui suivaient, je le reprenais régulièrement juste pour le feuilleter et ingurgiter même le moindre détail de cet univers magnifique qui venait de s’ouvrir à moi.
Quant à son contenu, cette édition n’était même pas extraordinaire. Mais ce qui la rendait tellement fascinante pour moi, ce qui m’attirait autant, c’était l’empreinte de ce parfum remarquable que sa lectrice précédente lui avait donnée. Je l’imaginais d’être une femme extraordinaire qui avait la finesse d’une ballerine, l’élégance de Grace Kelly, l’allure de Sophia Loren et l’esprit de Deborah Kerr. J’imaginais une femme accomplie, féminine, intelligente, audacieuse. Et je voulais être comme elle. Plus, je voulais devenir cette femme.
Ce numéro de Vogue, je l’ai gardé pendant des années, même que ce parfum qui donnait de la vie à ses pages brillantes n’était plus qu’une trace à deviner.
Depuis, en plus d’avoir un souvenir d’été qui m’accompagnera lors de tous mes voyages, je n’ai jamais perdu le goût pour les belles choses.

PS: I wrote this post in French because it seems natural to me, since France is the native country of great perfums and also of fashion and big designers. But very soon, this post will be available in English, too.

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Miss Dior exposition

It’s been a while that I haven’t done anything against the intellectual decline which is haunting me since the day I graduated from school and so I decided that it would probably be a good idea to spend a couple of my evenings going to some expositions instead of watching a whole season of Pretty Little Liars in only one week. Still, despite of all my good will, I’ve never been a fan of classic museums and to be honest, I can’t imagine any place which gets me bored out faster than the world famous Louvre. So I have to start light. That’s why, when I read an article about the new Miss Dior exhibition which opened today at the Grand Palais in Paris, I thought I should give it a try. Also, I already was very cultural last Sunday when I went to the new exposition of Brassaï : pour l’amour de Paris which I enjoyed very much and which gave me the courage to do more cultural stuff. And so today, right after work, I went to see Miss Dior. Actually, I was expecting that it would be crowded. Brassaï was. And I was also expecting many many teenage girls, the kind of girls who are subscribed to Glamour magazine and who always tie their long sleek hair to a pony tail. You can spot them in the 17th arrondissement of Paris or around La Sorbonne. In summer, it’s even easier to recognize them because they also wear those huge sunglasses which became famous thanks to the wonderful Audrey Hepburn, and they usually wear ballet pumps. But not any kind, Repetto, please! Since this is Kate Moss’ favourite brand. Maybe it was the thought of the perfume Miss Dior which made me think that, maybe it was its name. It’s very fresh and flowery, notes that I used to wear when I was fifteen. I remember that Riley Keough used to be the ambassador of Miss Dior Chérie in 2008, she was nineteen at that time but looked much younger. I also always had the conception of the perfume Miss Dior being a very young fragrance. Furthermore, the word “miss” never made me think of a grown up woman, although I know that it just indicates a woman’s marital status but not her age. All in all, I was almost sure that the tonight’s exposition would be very girly, from its content to the people who would go and see it. Fortunately, none of my expectations were fulfilled. The first thing I saw when I came in was this huge, typical flacon of Miss Dior which was in the middle of a beautiful entry hall. The stairs, which then led to the exposition, were bathed in very bright, white and light pink light which made the ugliness of the industrial looking staircase fade away. When I finally arrived in the hall were the exposition takes place, I felt like being in a perfumery. Not only it smelled really nice there, the fact that I got one of those paper strips for perfume which was impregnated with the Miss Dior fragrance increased that feeling. And the place was simply beautiful. I didn’t even know where to start, there were light installations, pictures, paintings, dresses and of course flacons everywhere. And everything is set in the way that permits visitors to circulate as they want. There’s not the typical entry and exit you can mostly see in classic museums, and I really appreciated that. The exposition itself is very fresh, very modern. I think it’s fair to say that it represents the idea of the Miss Dior universe in the best way it could. There are a lot of facts about Christian Dior as a person and as a designer and you can get quite a good idea of his inspiration, his muses and of course, the history of Miss Dior. In addition to that, there are many works of art which are as varied as the different conceptions every one of the artists has to the theme of the exposition. And I have to ad that the different interpretations are really worth to be seen. Anyway, I guess it’s quite obvious that I had a great time. For everyone who is interested, the exposition is still on until the 25th of November 2013.

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PS Paris Fashion Week

Since I kind of announced it in y last post, I think I should actually share the few pictures I did mention. So here they are: One picture showing André Leon Talley after the show of Maison Rabih Kayrouz, and three more pictures of bloggers whose style I highly appreciate.

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Paris Fashion Week – thoughts & weird situations II

It’s been a while since Paris Fashion Week is definitely over, but still I haven’t shared all my thoughts, yet, which is mostly because of my very down-to-earth job that unfortunately takes way too much of my time and which has nothing of the eccentricity of the sparkling and exciting world of fashion. So I’m a little late on my report, but I start to recognize that this might not be too bad, since there are maybe not as many competing texts circulating than only two weeks ago. By the way, this actually brings me right to the topic I want to discuss, because quite a huge part is about the competition which is related to blogging. Although I didn’t believe it, I gave in to this competition much faster than I thought. And so, I did the exact opposite of what I announced in my last post just a couple of days later: I actually took pictures of other bloggers. Even worse, I became one of those celebrity stalkers who were running from fashion show to fashion show, hoping to get a glimpse and maybe a picture of some famous person who would attend. The only defense I have is that I really liked the outfits you can now see on my pictures. And since I was already there, why not taking a picture of some celebrities as well? Thinking about it, it also seems rather stupid to me not to take this or that kind of pictures just as a matter of principle. But even though it still feels as if I somehow betrayed myself, I could also notice a clear difference between my behavior and the conduct of other bloggers and photographers and I suddenly realized, how hard it is to make people notice you as a blogger, photographer or even as a journalist. There are just so many blogs, articles, fashion magazines, and every single one comes up with a huge special about Paris Fashion Week. The only way to survive in this struggle is to get as many likes and re-posts as possible. And unfortunately, all it needs to get there is a bunch of pictures; they don’t even necessarily need to be good, more important is that a famous name is tagged to them. And it perfectly makes sense: why shouldn’t people get excited about Iggy Azalea’s see-through top she was wearing at the Maison Martin Margiela show and that gave a very explicit Idea of her nipples? And so, star hunting seems to be one of the main occupation of photographers and bloggers, and it couldn’t have been more obvious than on that Sunday, 29 September. It was actually a very quiet day, compared to Friday and Saturday. Probably this was due to the fact that the venues were scattered all over Paris instead of being all in the same area and since it took more time to get from one show to another, I guess that star hunters were more selective by choosing the places they wanted to go. But still, when Olivia Palermo was spotted after the Chloé runway show, she caused a huge traffic jam. People went totally crazy and started to scream her name, chasing her, trying to get a picture. It was ridiculous. In contrast to that, when André Léon Talley showed up at the exit of the Maison Rabih Kayrouz show at Palais de Tokyo, people almost overlooked him. No screaming, no hysteria. It was as if there was a kind of disconnection: every one of the present crowd seemed as if they wanted to belong to the fashion scene really bad. But I got the impression that it was just a shallow behavior because those bloggers and photographers clearly were much more interested in the hype about Paris Fashion Week, and so, a few powerful personalities, who maybe don’t have the same notoriety as people who regularly appear in the yellow press, were slightly ignored. And this made me think of something else: How do all the people who are actually invited to the fashion shows actually experience this whole craziness? I’m really wondering if it’s not awful at some moments. Imagine, you get your invitation, which is awesome, and you already think about being part of an exclusive crowd who has the great chance to see one of the most beautiful spectacles of the year. You dress up as it befits a rich, important and elegant person, you take your beautifully designed invitation which was sent to you by post, not by e-mail, and you’re ready to go to the biggest event there is in the glamorous fashion scene. But then, when you get out of the luxury car which happens to be your personal taxi, you have to face the humongous crowd of hungry photographers and bloggers who are craving stardust, not hesitating attacking their prey and shoot as many photos as they can.
I used to work with a guy who had an invitation to a few Paris Fashion Week shows in 2012 and he was hesitating going there. Of course I told him he should go, and I nagged him about taking me there, too. In the end, he told me he was too tired and that he just wanted to spend a quiet night at home instead of being surrounded by hundreds of people. At that time, I thought that this was the craziest thing he could have ever said and I didn’t understand at all why he didn’t want to go to splendid Paris Fashion Week. Now I do understand.

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Fashion

Paris Fashion Week – thoughts & weird situations

Before you start reading my today’s article, you should be aware that this one might contain a lot more criticism than everything that I’ve posted before. After having read it, you might even say that this is a text of some frustrated wannabe girl, and maybe that’s even right, but I still want to underline that what I’m writing is nothing more than my personal opinion and that I’m not trying to discredit anybody or anything. But mimosas should abstain.

It’s the climax of Paris Fashion Week and it feels as if people go crazier than the days before. Having received a last minute invitation to a runway show today, I was rather looking forward to it and I even got up unusually early for a Saturday, which means 11 am. The show was scheduled for 12:30 at Place de la Concorde, and although I wanted to be there earlier, I was running late because I hadn’t been able to decide what to wear earlier this morning and so I had to change at least three times before I was finally ready to leave my apartment. (The fact that I changed a several times probably seems unnecessary, but you will shortly see that it’s actually important for my story.)
I arrived at Concorde slightly after 12:30 and went straight to the building where the runway show took place. Unfortunately, the only impression I got from the show was an incredibly huge crowd. I’m still wondering how I managed to get in this place which was packed with people. I think there were about 200, maybe even 300 people in a room where only half of this number would have been comfortable. Of course, every single person was there on invitation and I should also add that it was more than just a few people who left before even trying to get in, just because of the sight of the enormous crowd who was already inside. Anyway, since I got up early just to go to that show, I was determined to stay and to get in, and so I did. And there were so many people. I’m really tall and I was also wearing heels, but still, I saw nothing except rows and rows of heads in this ocean of people. And it was a completely useless attempt only to try to get some pictures – the runway seemed to be way too far away and completely out of reach. I was lucky though. I was standing next to the DJ set and the music was great.
Since I was only able to catch a few glimpses on the models, I was mostly people watching, which was very enjoyable. There was a very particular crowd where any kind of character or style was represented. There were the nouveau riches with injected lips, who had just arrived from Monaco or Biarritz. Then there were people from Germany or Switzerland who were dressed in very casual sports trousers, wearing white trainers and looking as if they wanted to head to the gym right after the show. There were also girls who made it quite obvious that they wanted to become the next fashion icon; tourists who just stopped by right in the middle of their shopping tour in Paris and who had probably received their invitations by pure coincidence. And of course, there were bloggers, many, many of them. It’s funny that it didn’t strike me before, but when I was standing there, I suddenly realized how vain this whole fashion environment is. People don’t mind standing in line for I don’t know how long, just to find themselves in a packed full room where it’s almost impossible to breathe, hoping to catch a look at the latest collection by this or that designer. And that’s just the frustrating scenario you’re experiencing if you actually are lucky enough to get in. Still, people aren’t scared off by the prospect of being treated like animals in a slaughterhouse, because being to some exclusive place, even under the worst conditions, still feels like a great achievement. And in fact, everything that counts is being there and being seen, to the extent, that the actual runway show suddenly doesn’t seem important at all. The fact that runway shows usually aren’t longer than only twenty minutes doesn’t help there, either. The real show takes place when the runway is empty.

When I stepped out of the building, there was this very peculiar spectacle in front of me. All the bloggers gathered around, taking pictures of each other, complimenting each other on their extremely creative outfits. It seemed as if it’s not even about good taste or about any sense of fashion in general. What I saw today were people who would take pictures of anybody who didn’t look ordinary, in the good or in the bad way. If maybe I had walked around there in a bunny costume, they would have gone crazy just because this would be a non-conformist outfit, no matter if it has anything to do with fashion.
By the way, I’m pretty sure that it’s the behavior of this kind of people which creates all the fuzz about the Fashion Week, and I have to admit that I started to feel a little sad while I was watching this funny scene, which was nothing but a vanity fair where the event itself is pushed in the background while people try to draw attention to themselves, taking far too serious what they’re doing. But in my opinion, and contrary to the fuzz that turns the Fashion Week into a myth, this kind of circus is not what fashion is about. Fashion is not an absurd kind of self-marketing, but an art form which stays accessible in order to make your everyday life more enjoyable.
Still, I wanted to soak in more of the Fashion Week atmosphere, because here’s the crazy thing, all the artificiality and all the superficiality makes me throw up as much as it fascinates me and so I decided to walk through the Jardin des Tuileries.

It’s incredible, there’s no other event than the Fashion Week I can imagine which can first make you feel really bad, but one second later, it makes you feel great. Anyway, it happened to me when I was walking through the Jardin des Tuileries. Since most of the biggest runway shows take place over there, the place is full with photographers who are waiting for the celebrities (like Iggy Azalea and Anna Dello Russo, who also were there today) and models to come out after a show is finished. It’s the best place for people watching. So I was just walking around when suddenly, a girl stopped me and asked me if she could take a picture of me. I agreed, ready to continue my walk and people watching after that, but then more and more people wanted to take pictures of me as well until I had this huge crowd around me. I felt really weird and I was wondering if they knew that I was nobody who, in addition to that, was all dressed in H&M. But I guess that this is the thing about bloggers and about human nature in general: if you show a special interest in something or somebody, then you also suggest to other people that your object of interest must have something desirable, which, of course, makes it also appealing to others. By the way, that is exactly the reason why I decided not to take pictures of other bloggers, no matter how fashionable they are, because I find it highly annoying that, while having a look at a couple of different blogs, you see the same pictures. There’s nothing interesting about that. Even worse, the person, the outfit, whatever, loses its original charm because it suddenly becomes banal. All exclusiveness is taken away. So I’m sorry that I have no pictures at all of today’s events. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this text. As for me, I totally can say that I had a lot of fun during my five shallow minutes of fame!

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Fashion

Paris Fashion Week – Pre Helsinki

Today, I went to another event which took place within the context of the Paris Fashion Week. It was very exciting, because today, I went to the Pre Helsinki Showroom where Finland’s promising fashion talents were presented. I love Scandinavian design because it combines clear lines with interesting cuts and colours. And my expectations were fulfilled. There were so many different and inspiring collections, and people even had the chance to talk to the designers. When I entered the place, the first thing that hit me was a flash of all the bright and intense colours the gamut could offer. When I later asked the designers what their inspiration was, I found out that many of them were fascinated by foreign cultures, mostly Asia and Russia, and so they modelled their clothes on traditional uniforms of foreign countries. As another source of inspiration they also mentioned nature, landscapes and camouflage. As a result, they used almost every kind of material in combination with all kind of forms and colours. The most original piece I have seen today was a jacket which was made of some rubbery material which reminded me of the Michelin mascot. The shape of the jacket also slightly looked like the Michelin mascot. And instead of an ordinary belt, there was a security belt fixed to the jacket. Yes, I think I can say that this jacket definitely was my favourite piece, today. I have rarely seen something so original. This jacket had so many different details which weren’t connected at all, but which still strangely fit together and created a unique piece of clothing. And since every single piece was as fascinating as the jacket I just described, I will better let the photos talk.

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And here’s the link list:

ensaemble
Leppokorpi
Sasu Kauppi
Siloa&Mook

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Paris Fashion Week – DEEP SWISS

Finally, Fashion Week has come to Paris and with this great event, which everybody was impatiently awaiting for months, there are also a huge number of other presentations in the fashion world which take place. Yesterday, I had the chance to attend DEEP SWISS, an event which was organized by The University of Art and Design FHNW in Basel and where the creations of their master graduates in fashion design were presented.
I have to admit that this was the very first time for me to go to such an event and honestly, I didn’t really know how to behave.  When I arrived, I felt extremely lonely amongst all the fashion insiders who perfectly knew what was going on. But I just stood in this huge hall divided into two pieces where the different collections where presented before I started wandering around, taking pictures. And I was positively surprised.
When I received the invitation to this event, I thought that I had to expect collections which would be mostly artistic and innovative, but not very wearable, since it’s the typical revolutionary spirit of students which conducts them to create purely artistic things that don’t really match with ordinary needs. But the collections I saw yesterday proved me wrong. There was a beautiful mix of pure lines, geometrical cuts and volume, coupled with a variety of materials and different structures.  And I also loved the colours, which were sometimes cold, sometimes sophisticated, depending on the collection. But before I will bore you to death with an essay about how much I love the combination of lines, patterns, structures and colours, I will show you the pictures from DEEP SWISS right below.

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For further information about the designers, here’s a small link list:

Katharina Andes
Noemi Anna Tina Ceresola & Matthias Waldhart
Miranda Kaloudis

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my personal it-pieces

Writing about huge pullovers made me think about comfortable clothes becoming personal it-pieces. But first, I think I probably should make it clear what exactly the definition of comfortable clothes is to me. First of all, it absolutely does NOT mean every kind of shapeless piece which inexplicably still remains in the darkest corner of your closet and which one would only wear after having gained a lot of weight. Comfortable clothes do not rhyme with fat pants. And comfortable clothes definitely don’t exist to make somebody look sloppy. When it comes to style, one of the worst things that I have witnessed is this transformation that some people go through every day after coming home from work. They would say that they wanted to change into something “more comfortable” meaning some bad taste jumpsuit with funny prints or a pink velour suit which is the reloaded version of the so-called slut stamp. And yes, as you see, this matter definitely concerns mostly women. (Men simply take their pants off after coming home from work.) But in this article I don’t want to write about the style which is typical for the suburban bitch (Dear reader, if you’re wearing a jumpsuit or some pink velour trousers, please be assured that this is nothing personal, it’s just my point of view and you can call me a bitch anytime as well.) This article is dedicated to clothes that make you feel good in any situation. Clothes which are more personal, more authentic than something you just buy because it looks cute. Or, to say it in a different way, clothes which have a history. In my opinion, there are three important steps until a simple t-shirt or whatever piece of clothing becomes a personal it-piece: Firstly, of course, it has to fit well. If you don’t feel completely comfortable in what you wear you won’t wear it often enough to make it a piece that will have its own history one day. This seems so simple, but talking to my friends and family revealed that people mostly dress to look good. Comfort is secondary. As for me, I was never able to understand this oddness and I’m convinced that comfort is one of the most important things to take into account in order to look good. Because what’s the use of being perfectly dressed when you’re pulling a face and twist your mouth because those skinny jeans actually are too tight? Or because this gorgeous dress you just got hold of during the crazy summer sales period actually is too small, but you keep it anyway because it was 300% off and because, if you didn’t keep it, you would feel way too guilty of having kicked all the other girls out of your way? Or this highly elegant outfit in your closet, which is supposed to make you feel like a diva when you go out, but actually, you feel that this kind of look is just not you? There are so many cases I could mention where girls actually hate what they’re wearing, but they do it anyway because they want to be fashionable. And this makes me kind of sad, because fashion should be fun and personal. Clothes are not just there to cover your nudity, of course. In fact, fashion is not about hiding but showing. The way you dress reveals so much of your personality and your actual mood. With the outfit you chose, you can definitely influence the first impression you have on people. Which brings me back at how important it is to privilege comfort while choosing what you wear. People who seem to feel well in their body also seem much more radiant and more likeable than people who stay stiff, pulling funny faces. So please, girls, assume your size. There’s nothing more embarrassing than unconsciously giving a very precise insight into your morphology by wearing too short skirts, or my favourite classics, doing the camel toe, or becoming a victim of “ass eats trousers”.

Secondly, there’s always a special event or memory that is relates to personal it-pieces. Sometimes it’s a t-shirt your boyfriend gives you, and you just keep it, sometimes it’s the sweater you usually wear on cold and rainy Sundays when you stay in all day, watching movies and drinking tea. It’s the fact that those pieces make you think of something or somebody special that makes you wear them more and more often until they finally become your personal it pieces. Which already brings me to my third point: personal it-pieces are the ones that you wear over years and years, even if their material is getting thinner and even if they already have a couple of holes. But the positive feeling they give you is much more important, and so it’s impossible that this feeling disappears just because the colour is totally washed-out. That’s the reason why some pullover, t-shirt, whatever, which only used to be comfortable, suddenly has a very comforting effect which makes you never want to part with it.
The funny thing is, that sometimes, the comfort that such a personal it piece exudes makes you forget how ugly it actually is. As for example, my mum has this velvet pullover and there are very colourful kittens printed on it. It’s the ugliest pullover one can probably imagine, and my mum’s only excuse for having it is the fact that she bought it in the 80s. But still, I like this pullover a lot because she used to wear it on Sundays, or during vacation, or when she stayed at home because I was sick. Therefore, I really don’t care about those awfully flashy kittens and I like that pullover, too.

Of course, I also have some personal it pieces in my closet, and will share the story of how they got this special status. The first one is my Chicks On Speed tank top. It’s very simple, it’s from H&M, and as the name indicates, it was designed by the band Chicks On Speed. I didn’t buy this top because I like the band very much. To be honest, their music doesn’t really correspond to the kind of music I would usually listen to. But everyone who loves everything that is comparable to The Victorian English Gentlemen’s Club and even louder, you should definitely also listen to Chicks On Speed. Anyway, that was just a parenthesis. So I bought this top not because of the band, but because I wanted to buy something from the Fashion Against Aids collection, which H&M launched that year, 2008 to be precise. And I particularly liked how simple this top is. Two eyes, a mouth and a name and that’s all. But the effect it has on me when I’m wearing it is woooouuuhaah! I immediately feel full of energy, excited, euphoric. I’ve never tried Speed in my life, but wearing this top is terrific enough. And so it very quickly became my anti-hangover top.
At the time when I went to university, nobody really dressed up before going out, jeans and t-shirt was the common outfit. Besides, jeans and t-shirt also were the best way to be sure that you wouldn’t care too much if your clothes got ruined, which could easily happen, some of the student parties were rough. There was this one night when I went out wearing my Chicks On Speed top. And I got smashed, not caring that I had confirmed my mum that I would go on a short boat trip with her the morning after. I was still asleep the morning after, when I suddenly heard my phone ring. It was my mum, telling me that the boat would leave one hour earlier than it was scheduled at first, which was around half an hour from when she called me. I, still lying in my bed, looking like a panda with my make-up from the night before still on, highly dehydrated, slightly nauseous, started to panic because I was convinced that I couldn’t make it to the meeting point on time. So I immediately got up, I didn’t even take a shower and I just fixed my make-up very quickly and then I started to run. When I finally arrived at the meeting point, the boat was about to leave and so I took all the forces it needed to forget my terrible hangover and jumped on it in an Indiana Jones-like move. It was epic. And I was only able to do all thanks to my magic and hangover-killing Chicks On Speed top. Later, I even found out that my mum hadn’t even noticed that I was hung over.
When the boat trip was over, I directly went to another party.
Certainly, that day was everything but glamorous, but it truly was legendary. And so I decided that my Chicks On Speed top would never ever leave my closet.

My second personal it piece is a blouse I found in Bangkok. Maybe I should say at first that Bangkok of the most peculiar cities I’ve ever been to. And also one of the smelliest ones. There are many different quarters which all have their own character, from very cultural to very commercial to very sexual. Unfortunately, I just could spend one day and one night in Bangkok. Still, I enjoyed it a lot and I’m still surprised that I didn’t catch a cold. Thinking that I wouldn’t need any long sleeve travelling to South Asia, I was suddenly in a desperate need of a shirt that would protect me from the arctic cold air conditioning in the public transports, shops, restaurants, everywhere. What rescued me was the huge night market which is typical for Bangkok. If you can’t imagine it: a city which counts more than 8 million residents becomes a gigantic market overnight. And I’m sure there’s nothing you can’t get there. As for me, I spent all my time in the part of the market where you could find amazing clothes. And I bought a wonderful blouse which, in my opinion, looks very artistic and which even has a little avant-garde touch. The piece itself is quite simple, but it’s the sleeves that create a wow-effect because of their voluminous shape. And on days when I absolutely have no idea want I want to wear, I just take this blouse and I can be sure that I will look perfect. Besides, it’s so easy to wear: since the sleeves are huge, everything else needs to stay minimalistic. So I barely wear make-up with this blouse and I always pull my hair back. No necklace, some very tiny earrings, skinny jeans, and I’m done. And then, the memory of Thailand that goes with wearing this blouse, I just love it.

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