Fashion in the F1 -behind the scenes

I know it has been ages since I last wrote. I was on a vacation and who would have time to do anything then, right? But anyway I'm back. On my holidays I got to experience a totally new fashion dimension: the vip section of the Formula 1-world. With the vip-pass I got because of my dad (he is the doctor of Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes -team), I had access to the behind the scenes of the Budapest gp 2009. 

On Friday as I got to Hungary I realized it was so hot that I wore a cotton, light, navy stripe Motel-dress to the circuit on Saturday. Wrong. The motor home, where I spent quite a lot of time because of the free drinks and food (kidding), was very well air conditioned and I was freezing most of the time. Luckily I had just before I left grabbed a grey 3/4-sleeve cardigan which helped a bit. On that day I realized that most of the women were wearing jeans and smart t-shirts. The dress code could be said to have been smart casual. But to my surprise, no towering heels (I wonder was it because the drivers are so short?) and no skimpy small minis nor see through blouses an no labels anywhere. None of that glamour that is displayed in the media. 

Sunday, the actual race day, was more of a glamorous one. But it was still not trashy, if we don't count the overdoses of make-up on some girls. The reporters were dressed up in sexy dresses and some of them actually wore the darn high heels. Even some of the girlfriends were showing some cleavage and wearing those heels. Not all. The combinations I loved the most were worn by some of the women of the Mclaren guys with their maxi dresses and embellished sandals. They looked gorgeous. Maxi dresses were around quite a bit that day overall. And that day I caught a glimpse of some labels. At least a Chanel 2.55-bag in beige (which Nicole said was way too small to carry her life in) and a Prada bag, though I heard it was fake (what the....???!!!!!). And I was in my ripped jeans from Vila and a leopard cardigan. More casual than the previous day. The biggest problem with those were that as I was hanging out with the mechanics they told of a rule they have in the garage: if they see a rip they rip it even bigger. It was a fast take-off for me though we did make a truce soon afterwards. I just had to stay 3m away from a few of them. 

But as Lewis won (congratulations, Lewis!) the whole team (including me) changed into very non-breathable, synthetic bright orange winning team t-shirts and for the first time I felt too hot during that weekend. But I am so happy it is summer. Without any tan it would've looked like a team of ghosts. So no point for me getting deeper into the issue of the team uniforms, they are what they are, the designers are given the team colors which they have to use so there is no use of pointing fingers at anyone, even if the uniforms don't bring out the best assets of everyone. Everyone's got to wear the same anyway. And it does give a feel of unity, definitely, even if they wouldn't be the coolest outfits ever.

So what a weekend in many senses, race wise and fashion wise. And I even got quite a few new friends and some useful contacts. Towards a work filled weekend (approximately 17h of work a day, thu-sat). It's the rally weekend here in Jyväskylä. And someone else can find out what happens behind the scenes there.

And a trend alert for next spring: wooden heels! They were all around the coolest stores. They'll be big next summer. (You can find those in the stores in Finland now, too)

Peek at men's S/S10

Even though I have barely realized it's summer here now that I still have to wear a jacket when outside, I'm already focusing on summer 2010. And not the least on men's collections. Somehow they got me more excited than the women's. I will be writing about those eventually, but now that I got started on men in my last text, I can't stop there.

It seems that many of the trends that men will be wearing in spring/summer 2010 are just continuation of the trends that us, women, have been wearing now for a couple of seasons. To quote men.style.com, their picks for the top 10 trends for men in s/s10 are: double down, gun show, roman holiday, berber shop, in the red, black & white, tights fit, sheer audacity, shorts suit and parka life.

To broaden the view on these I might have to explain a bit more. Double down: double breasted jackets i.e. a suit jacket with two rows of buttons but in just one line. And no need to leave the lowest button open.

Gun show: bearing your arms. Many designers opted for the sleeveless look, including such as Hermes and Prada. The sleeveless tops were paired with straight pants and many went for the vest option to layer on the top. In these ways the sleeveless look was at the same time relaxed but clean.

Roman holiday: this one was my favorite. The gladiator sandals are now here for men! As strappy as the sandals were, they were still made a bit chunkier than the women's and will not be mixed for a women's shoe. They were paired with about knee length shorts or at least cropped trousers to show off the ankle. The look can be clean, relaxed or slouchy. Your pick.

Berber shop: this is a great look to pair with the gladiators. The idea is to get a nomad/North African vibe. The silhouette is often airy and scarfs were used a lot. The scarfs usually had no prints to keep the look airy, not stuffed, and were wrapped around the head or neck. Colors were muted, light greens, browns and beige, often reminding of the safari look that women have every year. So the man dressing up in this style should keep in mind either the nomads or then the adventurers of the African safaris.

In the red: no wrong conclusions here. The it-color of the season is red. Whether you dress it from top to toe or just as your top, bottom, shoes or scarves. The decision is yours. Different shades of red are to be used but not in the same outfit. On the catwalk the look was pulled together by using the same shade of red all over.

Black & white: the name tells it all here as well. The so called monochrome look that the women are so familiarized with is hot for men also. You can try it in the form of navy stripes but the trendiest look is got together when wearing your black or white separates on top of each other. I.e. just clear segments of black and white. 

Tights fit: I suppose that this one will be the hardest one to swallow. The saviour of women, leggings, are here now for men. AND to be worn the same way: under shorts. The easiest way to pull this off is to wear quite loose and long shorts, choose the leggings in a shade darker or lighter than your shorts and pull them up just under your knee so that only a little of the shorts are visible.

Sheer audacity: in large amounts this can be worn by only men who've got a figure to flaunt. For others, keep it to your hands or just small area of your shirt. This is also a look that will need a bit of getting used to but can look nice when worn the right way. For example a light weight shirt with white shorts on the beach.

Shorts suit: I am honestly not sure what to think of this. This is kind of like a skirt suit with separate parts for each leg. So a suit with shorts instead of the trousers. This can be really hard to pull off in a business meeting so I suggest you try it first in a family celebration or out about town. Maybe the easiest way to start is by using non-matching shorts and jackets, like the way jeans and a suit jacket look casual cool but formal together.

Parka life: no worries, this means only changing your jacket into a longer, slouchier one that will keep you dry in case of rain. Kind of like a rain coat but in a thinner more comfortable material and in a shaplier form. I bought mine three years ago in London, now it's your turn.

That was the top ten for s/s10. The reasons why I'm telling you these now are that you might need time to get comfortable with some of the thoughts, some of you might want to be so fashion forward and get going with these already now and then third of all you need time to find these since this is still only so big of a city and does not provide all of these, not at least yet next summer.

To get the visuals and some inspiration, go to http://men.style.com/fashion/top_ten.

Men's A/W 09

After the break-up blues it's finally time to get back to this. Because of a special request I'll be writing about men's fashion and dressing before even mentioning the women's fall collections. (Almost.)

As I've noticed with my clients, men aren't that much into fashion but semi-formal and clean cool could describe the styles they often want to achieve. Notice that these are men who want help with their dressing. (The men who dress accordingly to some genre, like hip-hoppers, usually have their style covered.) Anyway often this clean look is enough for a man to look stylish which is what usually appeals to women and others the best. But then there are the fashionable men. In a city the size of Jyväskylä there's only a handful of these and I'm happy to know most of them. They are there to make a statement with how they dress and when asked, they  can name at least fifteen different designers apart from Dolce&Gabbana and Gucci. 

Next season these guys will be toting a handbag, mixing smooth fabrics with shiny and hard ones (preferably in the same color anyway), adding leather and lizard skin to their wardrobe (if they haven't done that already) and their coat length will be between their waist and knees, not over the knees, fitting tight, the material being matte wool, black or brown leather or quilted satin (or some synthetic if satin is unaffordable). The over all look will be preppy with a touch of butch in it, (tweed) suit pants paired with a fitting long t-shirt and a scarf or with a chunky knit. If you want to add a suit jacket, a vest underneath will complete the look. A brave man will add a bit of bright pink in their wardrobe (like at Dolce&Gabbana) beside black, leather brown, grey and white. Monochrome (black and white) is always stylish and will be IN the next summer. And everything will be topped off with a preppy hat or a cap. And when you have read this a couple of times and actually got the picture, you can see that there are pieces for the semi-formal men too. How the fashionisto boys will separate themselves from the semi-formal guys the next season, is by adding their own favorite prints and signature pieces to their look. 

And the guys adopting the handbags for next season, please note that you need to be holding the handles in your hand, not on your shoulder or on your arm, that would be too lady like. Otherwise just remember preppy. ;)

Just one thing more. Jyväskylä is one of the worst possible cities to live as a fashionisto but for next season you can get started in Spirit Store, JC, Duetto and for shoes in Bianco. Check out Jack &Jones just in case.

Now go to men.style.com and check out at least Alexander McQueen's, Burberry Prorsum's, Dolce&Gabbana's and Hermes's collections. You'll get the visual. And I promise I'll learn how to add the pictures soon!

Next blog about men's S/S10.

Loving the navy look

Now that the weather is hot and because of my previous blog, I feel obliged to say that cotton and natural fibers are the best answer to not feel suffocated. Every other material, however floaty, feel clingy on the skin and don't breathe. So I ended up wearing to work a body con, navy-stripe dress, with black knee-length basic leggings (yes, it wouldn't be too customer-friendly to give a peak of my knickers while climbing up the ladders), both of course cotton, and lots of golden accessories. I especially loved my shoes (surprise, surprise) i bought when I got to work, golden sandals with crystals encrusted over the toe strap. I ended up selling at least seven pairs of those after customers fell in love with them when they saw them on my feet.

To the point. Most people fuss about the sales, some people are flipping through Vogue to get an idea of what's up for fall and I browse style.com for the resort collections for S/S-10. (Meaning spring/summer 2010, though I think that was obvious?). I haven't quite gone through them all and I think there are a couple shows still coming ahead, but the navy style is looking strong, once again for summer. Of course the resort collections are just a taste of the actual runway collections, but they give a good hint of the upcoming. Anyway, I loooove the navy look! It is at the same time posh but casual, urban and beachy, lady-like with a bit androgyny to it and it's just simply classic as it is basically guaranteed for every S/S. 

One can dress the navy look true to one's own style and that's what makes it so versatile. I specifically love the "Riviera" way of wearing it (check out Louis Vuitton's resort collection 2010). The blue, red and black with white and lots of stripes accentuated with golden accessories an a bit of bling. Clean cuts or floaty styles. Bottom line being tasteful. The outfit I described earlier is an example of Riviera navy.

I also love wearing navy a bit more playfully and androgynous. Not using as sophisticated accessories, maybe choosing silver over gold and colors over metals (if you want to wear accessories), having prints on stripes, and not wearing everything so matchy matchy. The basic colors though need to be the blue, red and/or black with white if you want to make it navy-noticeable. An example could be a thin knit cardigan I just bought from asos.com. It has got blue stripes and looks quite basic when viewed from front but on the back it's got a big anchor print. If I'll pair it with clean cut white shorts it will be a bit Riviera, but if I team it with ripped denim shorts, with my knee-high gladiator sandals and a bit of cheeky accessories like big silver hoop earrings I'll have a more edgier look.

So if you're looking for a classic fun spring/summer/holiday style, opt for the navy. Just make sure the stripes sit straight on you, especially in the clean look, so that it doesn't become confusing. The vertical lines are a bit trickier (and less navy) than the horizontal ones. And even though everyone has heard that horizontal lines make you seem wider, it's not a problem. Just go for the thinner stripes and suitable fit and you'll be just fine. So have fun with the look! -you'll love it as much as I do.

Dedicated to my now former boyfriend whom I do love and who loves his navy look shoes that I bought for him. I think I taught him good. He'll be fine with his style.

Too hot to trot

Aaaarrgghhh!!! One of these days. Closet full of clothes and nothing to wear. And yes, I do those closet raids for others so that they wouldn't have this dilemma. And I don't think it is because of that. It's just that it is so darn hot outside and the shoe store I work in, Bianco, is going to be as hot and I will be running around fetching shoes for sales-infected customers. All my clothes feel suffocating... Especially the synthetic ones, no matter how airy they are. And golf after work. Gotta be wearing something appropriate. And boyfriend said that shorts are too sexy for work (whaaat???). I wonder how this day will turn out... Sunny at least.

Online shopping

In Sex and the City Carrie Bradshaw once said, "shopping is my cardio".  As it is mine. But I've cheated. I've cheated already quite a few times and shopped online. But I've had to. If I could, I would definitely ALWAYS shop "live" if I lived in London or Paris or New York (though I've never been to NY). But now that I live in Jyväskylä where the amount of the potential shops limits to 10 and often the nice garment you'd like to buy has already walked right at you on the main walk of the city (a bit of exaggeration there maybe...) That's why I feel obliged to take a sneak peak at the online stores every now and then. Every day.

The risk of shopping online is obvious: the garment might not fit, suit or doesn't feel right on you. Unfortunately the clothes often look too promisingly good on the models. Real life is different. All the online stores allow their customers to "try it on at home and if it doesn't fit, return it for free", but after all the anxiety of waiting for your delivery (waiting is very exhausting, trust me), one is definitely not in the mood for returning the garment. So if it doesn't fit, keep it and make it fit. This is one reason why I don't look for clothes for my clients on the internet unless it is something specific that cannot be found in the local stores. I don't want any of them to ever feel the disappointment of buying the wrong size or feeling uncomfortable.

The next issue. The waiting. After waiting for eight days, with no money on my bank account because of the order I had made to asos.com, the post boy delivered a note to my post box about how the package could be picked up from the post office (he didn't even bother to ring the doorbell!). I ushered to the post office but when I got there, they said it could be picked up only after four. Well it did say it on the note but I was anyway about to cry. This shows that it would be so much more fun to spend your money as you get new things. Not spend your money, wait (for days) and then get new things. It doesn't give the same thrill. I hate waiting anyway.

But the opportunity online stores provide makes me place orders every now and then. It gives the opportunity to have something special that one will not bump into on the streets here (or you've got really bad luck). It also gives the chance to have something specific that you cannot get here in this city nor even in whole Finland. It gives a feeling of being safe. No one will probably look alike. So in the end, I kinda like online stores.

Some of the best online stores I use are:

- asos.com, when I want something quirky and fashionable, but not too expensive (you can find the less expensive designer pieces there)

- net-a-porter.com, when I feel I've got too much money and feel the urge to buy a new pair of Louboutins or Jimmy Choos. I love Marc Jacobs bags and I've bought a couple from there. But this site is strictly only for the ones who are either really rich or feel uncomfortable having suddenly a lot of money lying useless on their bank account. (high shipping costs!)

- nelly.com, a new acquaintance, but the products are shipped from closer and all together seems like an ok place. Though some of these products could be found here in Jyväskylä. 

- americanapparel.com, LOVE it !! Fun clothes. Don't buy your entire wardrobe from here though..

- feelunique.com, if you want some beauty products for half the price of the Finnish prices with no shipping costs. So seriously, anyone who washes their hair or uses make-up or does anything beauty related, check this out!

As last words, shopping will always be my cardio, style just needs aid from the internet.

THE sales

I used to hate sales. I thought that the items in sales were last season and going out of fashion, I would rather spend my money on the up coming season. Now that the sales seem to be in full throttle in every shop I can't help but think of what Polly, the stylist-teacher I most respect from London College of Fashion, said: "Never take your client to buy from sales. The sales are full of pieces that no one wanted." But today, I have to disagree with her. To some extent. At least in my home city, Jyväskylä in Finland. Many of the pieces that end up in sales seem often to be too fashion forward for the Finnish.  The Finns seem to be quite slow with getting acquainted with the new trends. That's why the stores trying to familiarize the shoppers with the new trends, end up in putting almost the whole stock of the mentioned items in sales. For example the harem pants that are so in at the moment. A few stores offered them a year ago. Most of them ended up in sales. So for a fashion forward shopper, the sales are a brilliant opportunity to find pieces that no one else has gotten the hang of yet. Just remember that not everything is fashion forward, quite a lot is just last reminders of the previous season. 

I've also used the sales to find quality clothes for the low budget clients. As I have noticed, clients often hope to get everything they need within a fairly low budget and I can NEVER ever exceed it. So the sales can be a good chance to find classic pieces that don't fall apart after the first wash and not exceed the budget. And everyone will be happy.

All this said, I wouldn't go to find items from the already low price stores. During the sales they are full of exhausted and grumpy people and the amount of money one saves is miniscule. Rather spend your energy finding good quality pieces for less. A few shops I'd recommend for sales shopping here in Jyväskylä: Minzi, Spirit Store, Bianco, Duetto, JC and Vila. Happy shopping!