28 Jan 2011

TWO AWESOME GERMAN BLOGS


Gorgeous, LesMads, again.


The LesMads bloggers post their own outfits.


A stunning Stil in Berlin image from the "At Home" series.

A few iconic StilinBerlin images.

Sometimes a fashion blog is like stale bubblegum. And other times it's a juicy slice of watermelon. Here are two blogs that I like and that implore me to return, again and again. The good old StilinBerlin is a classic among the German street fashion blogs. Not only does the team take beautiful photos but they also score with their “At home” and “Interview” series.  

LesMads is another regularly updated fashion blog with a modern feel. The two bloggers post their outfits online but also inform on current fashion news. What then makes a great blog? Well like anything in life, hard work paves the way to success. And I can smell a dedicated fashion blogger a mile away.

21 Jan 2011

FASHION DESIGNER: RISTO BIMBILOSKI



Macedonian designer Risto Bimbiloski, presented his latest collection at Berlin Fashion Week 2011. Risto’s playful street-style is reminiscent of second-hand shops and markets that are mixed with delicate chiffon, lose knitwear and high-cut body’s. The trend colour grey was toned down but remained: soft, subtle and sensual.

19 Jan 2011

FASHION DESIGNER: A.F. VANDEVORST AT BERLIN FASHION WEEK






The Belgium designer-duo A.F. Vanderhorst presented their 2nd collection at the Berlin Fashion Week 2011. Flowing fabrics combined with asymmetrical shoulders, zippers, capes and leather belts. The colour palette was muted: brown-red, sand and black dominated. Like a desert-princess adorned in the sunset’s colours. But nothing new. Nothing we haven’t seen before. It’s modern de-constructivism combined with beautiful fabrics. What stood out? The models had their faces covered with hair. What is important? In 2011: the clothes.

18 Jan 2011

DON'T YOU LOVE A COFFEE FIX?





The coffee shop is not a mere meeting place for lovers, friends or business partners. Consuming over-priced caffeine mixtures (as delicious as they may be!) is also an excuse to dress up. The coffee shop is a mini show-room for the latest fashion. A vogue place.The first coffee shops originated in Cairo, Damascus and Aleppo. Istanbul was to be the first European city to open this institution – Venice following in its footsteps in 1647. Toward the end of the 18th century beer was replaced by coffee as a beverage consumed from breakfast to dinner. This meant that the drowsiness associated with beer was replaced by a focused soberness.

At first a venue for burlesque shows, the coffee shop soon became popular with scholars and artists. Picasso, among other artists residing in Paris at the time, was known to escape his unheated studio and cramped apartment for the warmth of a Café. Artists would discuss art or sketch. Coffee thus became associated with education.

Even today, coffee shops are venues for students or academics. Books are piled high on tables. Students sit for hours highlighting and writing. Some sit in the corner reading or learning. Coffee shops popularised print media. Bespectacled businessmen read newspapers. Elegant women leaf through fashion magazines.

Coffee shops have become ambassadors for old-fashioned things such as letter writing, reading and discourse even though most modern coffee houses, such as Starbucks, have now lost their traditional and cultural meaning. But some remnants of the old coffee-culture still exist. Maybe you will see someone doodling on a napkin on your next visit?