A present for myself

Sometimes you need to get yourself a little treat (or three!) as well. So that is what I have been doing in the past few days: I've spent quite some time on Ebay, and I eventually ended up getting three cheer-me-ups (I'm so tired these days!) for myself:

the Hello Kitty foot warmer (you connect it to your PC through a USB connection and it heats up your feet) in the picture, as well as a black leather weekend bag (I really need some nice luggage that doesn't cost a fortune!) and a Michael Kors peasant-style dress.

And now I am trying to figure out if I should also splurge on a piece of vintage Lanvin-jewellery... that's a nice way to start a weekend, don't you think?

(the pics are from Ebay)

Today I'm loving...

Net-a-porter.com has such great stuff lately!

I'm really loving these Marc Jacobs flats and the matching bag.

Lovely classics with a twist!

They make me smile

Ever since Carrie dissed the Judith Leiber-bag Mr Big got her on Sex and the City, Judith's bags have been seen as somewhat tacky. But I don't care, whenever I see the new styles that come out, they still make me smile as I think they are so cleverly made.

Here's The Beehive and The Package.

(that said, I would probably never carry one of these bags, they ARE slightly over the top, but I still think they are fabulous!)

Today I'm loving...

... another cardigan, this fantastic Tuxedo-style buttoned cardigan from Paul & Joe (Net-a-porter sells it) to be precise.

I just think it's such a fun item, that can be combined in a million ways yet never get boring. I'm seriously considering getting this!

Today I'm loving...

... this Marc by Marc Jacobs Sequined merino wool cardigan from Net-a-porter.com.

It's a great and simple way to add some sparkle into your every day life.

(I actually have a completely sequined jacket that looks a bit similar, but a jacket is much more structured and... not as fun to wear as a cardigan... so I'd actually prefer this cardi, by a lot!)

New purchase

I've been thinking about getting a studded bag for a while now. But since a bag with studs might be something I might find myself quite sick of soon (it is one of those super-trendy items you just HAVE to have one moment, and that you can't stand the next, after all) I didn't want to buy something high end.

You see, I think it's a waste of money to spend a lot of money one something you will just be using for a few months ago, so I've been checking out bags on Ebay instead, and in stores around the area where I live. And a few days ago I found my first studded bag!

It's not too crazy, it's a bit plain even, but that's exactly why I like it... studs are enough as it is, you don't need a weird shape or color to go with them as well... (You can close the entire zipper though, I was just too lazy not to do it when I took the photo!)

My wishlist, part 2

Eric Daman's book You Know you Want It.

Eric Daman is the costume designer for Gossip Girl, and he was also an assistant designer on Sex and the City so I'd love to read about his views on fashion!

(the book will be released on the 15th of December and I personally can't wait to read it!)

(pic from Elitegossipgirlstyle)

I thought I'd write down some of the things I am hoping to recieve myself during this holiday season.
The first item I really need and want is a pair of Converse, but not just a plain pair or anything. I would want something a bit more unusual, with a cool design, or why not something limited edition?

(pic from Freshnessmag)

Twinkle, twinkle little star

I don't know anything about Miley Cyrus, mostly because I've never seen or heard anything featuring her in my life (as far as I can recall anyway), so it's actually really surprising (to me, anyway!) that she would be mentioned here.

But she wore a great little dress recently. And I really, really want to post a pic (from The Frisky) of it here. Too bad I don't actually know of anything even remotely Miley-related to write to go along with it...

Blogawards

The lovely Noemie K from No's Land has sent me a Blogaward. Thanks Noemie!

Here are the rules :
- thank whoever gave this to you
- copy the award
- repost it in your blog
- tell us seven things that your readers don't know
- link seven new bloggers
- notify the winners of the award with a comment on their blog

So here are seven things about me for my readers :

1) I'm a bag-a-holic. I love bags and have been collecting them for years (I haven't counted how many I have in a while, and I've also tried cutting down on bag purchases, but I still think I have around 70-80 bags (that I use! Everything I don't use I give away to friends... or my sister).

My collection includes brands such as Givenchy, Versace, Longchamp (of course!), Dior, Dolce and Gabbana (just one, but it's great!), Moschino, Celine, YSL, several other high end brands, and tons of bags without any label or from lesser known brands.
This might sound like a lot, and sometimes people think I'm completely crazy when they hear about this, but keep in mind that I've been collecting them for quite some time. It's not like I bought 40 designer bags in one week or anything, it took me some time to build this collection. And it is still growing!

2) I don't take very good care of my bags though. I am a bit ashamed of this, but it's not like I really abuse them or anything. I just don't bother with cleaning them, putting them in their dustbags and filling them with paper and all that stuff you are *supposed to* do every day. (I do it from time to time though, so don't you guys worry!)
This is partly because I don't have time to do that and partly because they seem to be fine even if I don't.

3) I don't like knock offs, and never buy them. I have gotten a knock off on my hands once or twice when I bought something on Ebay (which I love!) but immediately got rid of these.

4) I used to think Hermés Birkin was my dream bag for a long time, but now I mostly dream of Bottega Venetas fantastic leather goods instead. I don't own any (yet!) though...

5) I also have quite a large collection of scarves. Which is a bit strange, to tell you the truth, since I don't really wear scarves that much. But a lot of scarves are just so pretty and so hard to resist!
This collection got started when I accidentally saw a big lot of vintage designer scarves being sold dirt cheap on Ebay a few years ago. I placed a bid, the auction was in the wrong category and so I won. So once I had 30 lovely scarves (one of the scarves was a white Dior-scarf that is still one of my favourites to this day) it was hard to resist adding a few more to the collection...
I think I have around 60 scarves as well. My favourites are a lovely Alexander McQueen one that looks (and feels) so delicate I rarely use it (I'm scared I'll ruin it) and a mint green Valentino-one (that I use, it already has a small stain on it that doesn't go away so no need to worry about ruining that anymore!)
A lot of the scarves are vintage, but some are new as well. I like a lot of H&Ms scarves, especially from the designer collections they've had over the years.

6) I love the smell of Nivea products. And I'm rather big on all sorts of beauty products in general, too!

7) Alber Elbaz is my favourite designer at the moment. I also adore Stella McCartney.

Here are the bloggers I tag :

Cafe Fashionista
A Daisy Chain Dream
Squarectomy
Fashion Titbits
(if she has time... I know she is a busy bee these days...)
True North Style
Pop your fashion pill
Hottest Heels

(pic from Frillr)

That's fierce!

I got a great present today. Christian Siriano's book Fierce Style: How to Be Your Most Fabulous Self (and can you believe that I didn't even know he wrote a book?).

What a great present! Now I just need to find time to curl up with a book and several cups of tea one of these evenings...

(pic from Sooo Fabulous!)

Oh happy day

I'm kind of excited today, because I won an auction (on Ebay, of course, where else?) for a Fendi jacket last night. (I'd post pics, but the ones posted on Ebay are not so nice, so I think I'd better take my own pics when the jacket arrives)

It will be my first item of Fendi clothing (I have a Fendi bag already, but no Fendi clothes) so I am excited to try it out. I'm always curious to see the craftmanship, fit and so on, on brands that I am not so familiar with, as I think trying new brands every once in a while makes fashion more fun, instead of just sticking to the same old brands all the time. (Personally, I tend to overdose on H&M and Celine)

I'm also dying to get something branded Hermés, Bottega Veneta and/or Lulu Guinness into my collections. But considering the prices of Hermés and Bottega Veneta I think the most likely scenario is that something signed Lulu will be the next addition...

(the Fendi logo can be found here)

It's that time of year again, part 3

Another idea for an affordable, yet fun and original present. These Russian doll measuring cups for cooking are just too adorable!

I haven't purchased them as the store (Fred Flare) that sells them does not ship to the country I live in, but if they did, I definately would! This is also a gift I would love to recieve myself, to tell you the truth.

Fred Flare also has many other affordable presents, so in case you are shopping online for the holidays, don't forget to check them out!

It's that time of year again, part 2

Another great place to get original and adorable presents for people is Miso Funky. I love their bags, their coasters and their magnets.

In fact, I just got some small gifts from this store today. (I would tell you what, but I'm scared one of the recipients might see this, so you'll just have to figure out what your own favourites are instead).

How... original!

Sometimes I feel so unoriginal. Like today, when I actually got excited when I read about "The Carrie Diaries"-book on Catwalk Queen.

But hey, I'm not going to pretend that I am not excited when I am. If there is anything less original than being excited about the same things as half of the people your age, it's pretending to be someone you're not.

So... yay! "The Carrie Diaries" will be out i April next year! And I LOVE the cover!

It's real funny baby

I've mentioned Longchamp before. And I will mention this brand again!

Because I absolutely LOVE the bag Jeremy Scott has designed for Longchamp (exclusively sold at Colette). It's unusual, funny and so charming at the same time.

(the only down side is the price: € 179.00 is quite a hefty price tag for a nylon bag...)

It's that time of year again, part 1

I like to plan ahead, so I am already trying to figure out what to get people for the holidays. I think planning ahead saves you both money and time in the long run and it also makes it easier to get presents that people will actually like, instead of just ending up with something you bought last minute.

The challenging part for me is that a lot of my friends are typical fashionistas who apprechiate the finer things in life, so of course I love to get them something that will fit that description. But the finer things in life aren't exactly cheap (to say the least), so you have to plan every purchase in order to actually stick to your budget for the holidays.

The Outnet makes that a bit easier though. I'm considering getting a Kylie graphic T-shirt by K Karl Lagerfeld (for only £22.61), a Kenneth Jay Lane Dome cocktail ring (just £16.60!), a K Karl Lagerfeld scarf for 26 pounds and/or a See by Chloé Neckerchief print T-shirt (Now £33.19!). These are all great deals for a present for a label conscious friend in my opinion.

I highly recommend considering online stores for holiday gifts, not only can you save a lot of money by doing this, it also enables you to buy things you wouldn't normally be able to get your friends.

Today I'm loving...

... this Snowdrop Skirt from Modcloth. It's fun, yet not too fussy, and just adorable!

Catch(es) of the day

I managed to find presents in quite a short time this year. My sister will be getting something from Longchamp (a brand I love - and use - a lot) and L'occitane (a brand I've been interested in trying out for quite some time now. So of course something small for me had to be bought at the same time...)

I think she'll be happy with that...

I would be!

(pics from here, here and here)

Task of the day:

* Find a birthday present for my sister.

(That could take ALL day...)

(pic from WXYC.org)

Recession chic

I wish I was as creative!

Instead, I'm spending way too much time on Ebay lately...

(pic from Miss Addicted to Fashion)

Today I'm loving...

... this necklace by Malene Birger. I think almost everything signed Malene Birger is just wonderful, and this necklace is hardly an exception.

I need this!

(see Net-a-porter for more details)

Virtual catwalk: Best of Scandinavia

I haven't been posting pics of fabulously fashionable Scandinavians for a while, mostly because it has been hard for me to relate to what they are wearing at the moment.

You see, up until yesterday it was still incredibly hot and humid where I live, so feeling inspired by thick clothes intended for fall and winter was rather hard. But yesterday, the rain, which is what we call winter here, came!

So... may I introduce you to: Donna Sandra, Sofia, Helene and Johanna

Isn't it funny?

This is not something I would necessarily buy (because I actually have rather strong opinions on plastic bags and about how excessively they are being used) but I think it's hilarious anyway!

(from Vivre)

Isn't she lovely?

I have to say I love the December cover of Glamour. I'm a big fan of both of the Obama's and I think Michelle looks absolutely adorable in this shoot!

(pic from The Cut)

Today I'm loving...

... Luella's interpretation of the Chanel jacket (because, let's face it, that's what it is. Or wait, it's a whole Chanel-suit actually!).

While not exactly cheap, it's definately more affordable than the real deal.

AND

Madonna's patterned dress (I can't quite figure out if it's flowers... or something else...) she was seen wearing in Malawi. Just lovely, and the perfect winter dress (even though the weather doesn't look quite like what I would call winter in Malawi...).

(pics from Net-a-porter and People)

Beauty's where you find it

I'm not feeling productive at all today, so I'm just aimlessly surfing the web, looking for something to inspire me.
Lately, I've been really into fashion photographers and finding new favourite photographers, so I was happy to discover quite a few of them today. Ryan Garrison, based in Falun/Stockholm, Sweden is one of them.

(and look... if it isn't a maxi dress!?!?)

Length matters

I've been wearing maxi dresses whenever I was able to this past summer, and I absolutely love the look. It's comfy, it looks great and at least here, it sets you apart from all the girls wearing super-short mini-skirts in a positive way.

So I'm dying to find some maxi dresses for winter as well. Since I'm completely obsessed with these dresses I can't possibly wait until next summer to wear the look again.

But are there any maxi dresses appropriate for winter out there? I'm finding it so hard to find any...

(pics from Gossip Girl Insider and Style.com)

To like or not to like?

I can't quite make up my mind regarding this Anthropologie-dress. Do I like it or not?

(For those of you wondering why I need to make a decision regarding this, it's because I've seen a very similar dress for sale in a local boutique where I live and I can't decide if I should get it or not.

It's not cheap, so I need to be fairly sure of what I'm doing if I end up buying it...)