Mittwoch, 31. Dezember 2008

I got...

... a beautiful, super-soft, Merino wool, hand knit scarf for Christmas from my boyfriend's mother. Thank you M.! The scarf I started to crochet isn't done yet but as soon as it's ready I will post a picture of it. It's been a very nice year for me and I hope for you, too. All the best for 2009!

Zu Weihnachten habe ich einen wunderschönen, superweichen, handgestrickten Schal aus Merinowolle von der Mutter meines Freunds bekommen. Vielen Dank M.! Mein Häkelschal ist noch nicht fertig, aber wenn es so weit ist, werde ich ein Bild posten. 2008 war ein sehr gutes Jahr für mich und ich hoffe, für euch auch. Ich wünsche euch einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr!

Freitag, 19. Dezember 2008

Winter Sale at Stewart & Brown

Check out the wonderful items from Stewart & Brown that are heavily marked down. The winter sale has also started at People Tree, Izzy Lane and Hess Natur.

Bei Stewart & Brown gibt es einige wunderschöne Sachen, die heftigst reduziert worden sind. Winterschlussverkauf auch bei People Tree, Izzy Lane und Hess Natur.

Mittwoch, 17. Dezember 2008

I bought...


I am wildly determined to finally learn how to knit. I have ordered two skeins of Merino wool and will try to finish my project over the holidays. If only I could already knit sth. as beauiful as Eunny's mittens pictured above - I am making sth. much more simple though.

Ich will endlich stricken lernen! Habe schon mal zwei Knäuel Merinowolle bestellt und hoffe über die Feiertage mit meinem Projekt fertigzuwerden. Wenn ich nur schon so was Schönes wie die Fäustlinge von Eunny stricken könnte - ich mache natürlich etwas viel einfacheres.

Sonntag, 14. Dezember 2008

Links à la Mode: The Independent Fashion Bloggers Roundup

This week I took part in the Links à la Mode newsletter of the Independent Fashion Bloggers. Check out my post about finding the right colors for your skintone and color matching here.

Fash-Obsessed

  • A Few Goody GumDrops - A Few Goody Gumdrops is cuffing her wrists with the Red Crocodile Bracelets from Nancy Gonzalez!
  • Caged Lilies - Feeling russian. Chanel pre fall 09 review
  • Capitola Girl Jewelry Blog - I’m having a girl moment…
  • Couture Allure Vintage - Couture Allure takes a look at fashion photography of Hiro from 1966.
  • Debutante Clothing - Vintage Dress Silhouettes Over the Decades
  • Fashion Birdcage - MATERIALBYPRODUCT Template Spring Summer 09 Collection
  • fashion in my eyes - Coco in motion
  • Fashion Pulse Daily - Fashion Pulse’s runway look of the day is none other than Rodarte’s Grecian goddess gowns - check out what we think about it!
  • Fasshonaburu - Why should the mortgage companies and auto industry get all the breaks? A fashion industry bailout proposal.
  • Flights of Fab Fashion Fancy - At Flights of Fab Fashion Fancy diamonds are a girl’s best friend!
  • Iole in fashion - Sunglasses
  • O.M.O. Writes - FASHION ICON: International Stylist, Catherine Baba. Hailed the “most stylish woman in Paris,” she epitomizes glamour and gaudiness!
  • Shopping and Info - The scoop on Nicole Richie and Kim Kardashian wearing Rozae Nichols
  • Style Discovery - Introducing young designers from the West Australian Institute of Fashion and Textile. Style Discovery’s show coverage, interviews and more.
  • SwanDiamondRose - Mandy aka Yarnageddon is co-author of the upcoming Yarnbombing book.
  • The Subadult Years - My fabulous sample sale example with Canadian designer Lucian Matis
  • Tierra M Wilson - Fashion Gives Back In Arizona

It’s a little personal

  • shopfair - A guide to successful color matching. Find the right colors for your skintone and create colorful outfits.

  • Style Symmetry - I Love London! Do you?
  • THE COVETED - DIY : Turn old sweaters into lovely opera gloves.

‘Tis the Season

You are Beautiful

  • ShopDiary - finds some fantastic deals on cosmetics and fragrances at Costco, of all places!
  • Summershoes - Tips and Tricks and Beauty Secrets: Easy to make Papaya Mask
  • Your Style Star - Hot Lip Tips

Chic Geek

Mittwoch, 10. Dezember 2008

20% Christmas sale at potipoti

Potipoti was launched by Silvia Salvador and Nando Cornejo in 2005. Both of them are Fine Arts graduates from Spain and have been living and working in Berlin since 2001. "The label manufactures its fashion products in small and reliable textile companies from Castilla y Leon (Spain) and Portugal, and they can been found in selected stores around the world, in their own shop in Berlin (Oderbergerstr. 34) and online at www.potipoti.com". Right now they are having a 20% Christmas sale. Some of their old designs are on sale at styleserver.de

Potipoti wurde 2005 von Silvia Salvador und Nando Cornejo gegründet. Die beiden Spanier mit Abschlüssen in Bildender Kunst leben und arbeiten seit 2001 in Berlin. Potipoti lässt seine Produkte in kleinen Betrieben in Spanien und Portugal herstellen. In Berlin werden sie in der Oderbergerstr. 34 verkauft, online über potipoti.com zur Zeit 20% reduziert. Einige ältere Designs sind preisreduziert bei styleserver.de erhältlich.

Montag, 8. Dezember 2008

The art of... color matching

Who doesn't like a bit of color in the winter? There's no need to shy away from colorful outfits because you are unsure about the most flattering shades and/or how to match them if you learn the basic principles of color theory. The photos used to illustrate this post were taken by the Facehunter (girl in pink) and the Sartorialist (the rest). All quotes are from this website.

One of the most well-known systems to find the right colors for you is the seasonal typology approach. This method can be quite helpful but it's still best to experiment yourself. You need: daylight, a mirror, the colored items from your wardrobe and the help of a friend whose judgment you trust doesn't hurt either. Try on your tops and scarves and see which colors work best for you i. e. enhance your natural skin tone. Usually you will find that you look best in either warm or cool colors. White, gray and black are considered neutral. I would also add beige and tan because they work with almost any other color.

After determining what colors work best close to your face you can start creating outfits:

Level One: Mixing 1 color with 1, 2 or 3 neutrals

For those who are drawn to all-in-black outfits it's quite easy. Simply add one dash of color by putting on a colored scarf or earrings or T-shirt etc. Are there any colors that don't work with black? The old rule used to be not to mix black & brown or black & navy but I don't think anyone really cares anymore, unless you work in a really conservative environment? Personally I'm not a fan of mixing brown and black leather.

Level Two: Mixing 2 colors with 1 or more neutrals

When adding a second color to your outfit you could choose either an analogous or a complementary color couple. "Analogous color schemes use colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. [...They] are often found in nature and are harmonious and pleasing to the eye." Complementary colors lie on opposite ends of the color wheel like red & green, purple & yellow or blue & orange. These combinations are real attention-getters which is why they are so popular for sportswear. If you want to tone down a combination that might seem clashy use one of the colors as an accent. Red lipstick with a green sweater or a thin yellow patent belt with a purple dress.

Level Three: Mixing 3 colors (with neutrals)

"Analogous color schemes use colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. [...] "Choose one color to dominate, a second to support. The third color is used (along with black, white or gray) as an accent." For a more vibrant effect try the triadic color scheme or the split-complementary color scheme (to learn more about these please follow this link).

Level Four: Mixing 4 colors (with neutrals)

Schemes that use four colors work "best if you let one color be dominant. You should also pay attention to the balance between warm and cool colors in your design." Wear warm OR cool colors close to your face, whatever suits you best, for the most flattering effect and keep the colors from the opposite category for skirts, pants, shoes or bags. I think that the girl on the far left is a brilliant example of the use of a four color scheme. If you don't like to use that much color try a colorful accessory like the bag in the pic on the left.

Level Five: Monochromatic color head to toe

The easiest concept to explain but maybe the most difficult to pull off depending on your self-confidence. Variations of this look in a dark shade can look quite elegant.

I think the key to successful color mixing is to be quite disciplined and really streamline your outfit until everything matches and nothing pops out (in a bad way). Of course this sometimes means that you have to buy a new item to pull a look together. If you're trying to save money, it is best to decide upon three colors (plus the neutrals) that work well together. This way it will be a lot easier to mix and match your clothes and will actually result in more outfit choices than having a closet full of colorful but hard to match items. For more inspiration I recommend these blogs: book of miri, Fruchtzwerg's Island, dreamecho and piksi's flickr photostream.

Here are some color combinations that I really like: turquoise, fuschia and purple; grey, raspberry and robin egg blue; cream white, wine red and black. What color combinations do you like best? What color combinations do you think have been overdone? I'd love to read your comments.

Samstag, 6. Dezember 2008

Made in Berlin: Ken Panda

Ken Panda was launched by Efka Weber and Kenan Polat - a fashion design duo who is living and working in Berlin. Their screen-printed hoodies for women, men and babies are covered in panda bears, stars, ducks, lilies or (my favourite) flamingos and are made by the designers themselves from organic cotton. Ken Panda can be bought via dawanda.com

Ken Panda wurde von Efka Weber und Kenan Polat gegründet - ein Modedesign-Duo, das in Berlin lebt und arbeitet. Ihre Arbeitsweise beschreiben sie selbst so: "Mittels Schablonentechnik oder Siebdruck werden süße, etwas kindlich anmutende Motive aus der Tier- und Pflanzenwelt, wie zum Beispiel kleine Pandas, in Mustern aneinander gereiht, auf selbst entworfene und gefertigte Hoodies [...] gedruckt." Ken Panda kann über Dawanda.com gekauft werden.

Donnerstag, 4. Dezember 2008

Inverallan



I first read about Inverallan on Notes by Naive, which are written by the lovely Tommy, who kindly let me use the photos she took of her sweaters (btw her "city guides through Lomo eyes" are fabulous). Inverallan offers hand knit Aran sweaters and cardigans in pure wool or cotton. "Each Aran garment takes a single knitter, working in his or her own home well over 90 hours and contains at least 25,000 stitches. Each Aran sweater is individual, made with enormous skill, and if treated with care will last a lifetime." Their scarves, mittens and berets make great holiday gifts.

Inverallan habe ich über das Blog Notes by Naive entdeckt, das von Tommy geschrieben wird, die mir netterweise diese Fotos, die sie von ihren Pullis gemacht hat, für diesen Post zur Verfügung gestellt hat (ihre mit der Lomo-Kamera illustrierten Stadtführer sind übrigens fabelhaft). Inverallan bietet handgestrickte Aran Pullover und Strickjacken aus Schur- oder Baumwolle an. In jedem Aran Kleidungsstück stecken 90 Stunden Arbeit und mindestens 25.000 Maschen. Jeder Pullover ist ein Unikat, das große Handfertigkeit erfordert und bei der richtigen Pflege ein Leben lang hält. Die Schals, Fäustlinge und Mützen sind tolle Weihnachtsgeschenke.