Shoe shopping

I've just bought eight pairs of shoes in a week. But that's the good part of summer that the shoes aren't as expensive. And also the good part about working in a shoe store that you get to see all the new styles immediately as they arrive (actually i just owe our store 8 pairs of shoes). I've been buying ballerinas, hi-tops, sandals and plimsoles. All flats. What happened to high-heels? Have I got old or should I just blame Alexa Chung? Though I have to admit that after never working in any trainers until last Saturday, it is very hard to go back to any heels. Luckily flats can be made feminine as well, even (canvas) trainers. I paired white, plain canvas trainers with 3/4 trousers and a striped (puff-arm) shirt and I was actually sporting a pretty classy, a bit summery look for work (there was actual hope for summer as sun was shining and I'd taken out my spring coat already).

And talk about ballerinas, there is no other shoe that would suit ANY occasion (except maybe a basic black pump though I'd actually rather run e.g. a marathon in ballerinas). I can't wait to wear all my four new pairs! And can't wait to get my Chanel-ballerinas some day..

I'm really not that interested in gladiators anymore, the various types of strappy sandals will compensate perfectly and give a little variation. Though another girl's gladiators are another girl's strappy sandals so choose either, I've just seen enough gladiators, but I do love my new, a bit bohemian, jeweled, strappy sandals.

I hope everyone will feel the same urge to go buy shoes now that it is time to change into your spring wardrobe. Pick grey shoes, it'll be a big hit in footwear for A/W 10. Have fun!

P.S. We've got some very cool wedges coming and they're high (and comfortable)! Can't wait!

Joining the army

When we were kids, I believe me and my two sisters, always very girly girls, all said that we'd join the army when we grew up. It caught the attention of the boys and/or made us seem tough. Talk is cheap so now after ten years I'm finally ready to join in. In skinny cargo pants from Zara and a military jacket yet unknown but to be bought. Olive green of course. This is a color I thought I'd never experiment, but as fashion front calls, I'm ready to take action and as a stylist, send some of my own troops in as well. The bravest will follow the lead of Balmain and go all-over military, the others can take it down a notch and mix the trend with something neutral. I'm also loving the "battle-torn" t-shirts and leather seen at Balmain. Yes, I know, where's the femininity that I bantered about last week.. It's in the silhouettes and in the materials and cuts. Cargo pants aren't baggy, they're skinny. The leather as a material has a sexy vibe. The torn t-shirts aren't trashy, but a way to show some flesh. But it's edgy and it's tough. And a way to flaunt your tan (olive is a good color if you're tanned and the peek-a-boo t-shirts reveal more). So if just talk will get the boys' attention I wonder what this will do...

A gender issue?

I know this subject is very controversial and I will be generalizing a lot. Don't mind.

In fashion we have been introduced to the boyfriend blazer, the boyfriend cardigan, the boyfriend jeans and a variety of other androgynous pieces of clothing. When styled and mixed with thought and in balance, in a woman's wardrobe these may represent relaxedness or power or both. Today in school we faced an issue that has lately been crossing my mind rather frequently. I study international business and in cross-cultural management we discussed boys and girls, and masculinity and femininity. In a chart measuring a MAS-value (apparently measures the similarity of the values of the men and women at the same workplace, which initiate masculinity or femininity, correct me if I'm wrong) and I realized that according to this study, in Finland supposedly the men and women are very similar in their values. Could this relate to why here us, the women, have happily adapted androgynous to the point when we are de-feminized?

Yes, I know, this country is all about the equality of men and women, and it seems like this ideology has gone as far as our wardrobes. The only sad thing is that equality has been confused with women needing to become more like a man and therefore femininity needs to be hidden.

A while ago I had a discussion (which I have since shared with quite a few other friends) with a very good gay friend who knows style and happened to have just come back from Stockholm. He compared the style of the women in Helsinki with the women in Stockholm and wondered aloud how the women in Stockholm manage to look so much prettier. He referred to a web sight that displays the style of the Finnish (mainly women) to the world, hel-looks.com, and was astonished how we can find this style "stylish". I went home and looked through the pictures and while many of the styles were quirky and fun I realized a complete lack of femininity. Big baggy clothes piled on top of each other hiding the figures of the women, flee-market finds (search for uniqueness? modesty?) and pieces so bravely put together that the most sensitive need to look away. Maybe it isn't about wanting to look attractive, but maybe the Finnish "style" has got something to do with the fact that we are trying to hide our femininity. Whether it is in order to not to be seen as vulnerable, tender, fragile or needy. Maybe the message these women try to convey is that "I can manage". But this all seems to be at the cost of loosing their femininity (the woman identity?). I believe the difference between the Finns and the Swedes is in the femininity. Then again the Swedes were pretty close to Finns on the MAS chart but could it be it's their men leaping to the feminine side...?

But to me femininity doesn't represent weakness. I've been reading a book(!!/not a magazine) by John and Stasi Eldredge called "Captivating - a journey to a woman's soul" which talks a lot about femininity and the longings of a woman's heart. One of these longings is to unveil beauty, to be captivating. This is where, on my part, fashion kicks in. The reason why we, as women, are so obsessed with clothes is that we want them to highlight the beauty we have in us. This is what I want to do with the clothes I pick for my customers. What the book also talks about is the strength of the women, that it doesn't need to be either/or, beauty or strength, but both qualities can be found in a woman and should be found in a woman as they are somewhat correlated. I believe when femininity is suppressed with clothes, instead of hiding their weaknesses women end up hiding their strength i.e. beauty. It just seems that beauty is something the modest Finns have become so afraid of that they have started confusing "stylish" with "not feminine". Or even worse, decided to stop caring all together.

The American's on the other hand were pretty much on the other end on the MAS list. In class we talked about how chivalry is almost offensive to a Finnish woman, but taken granted in the States. There women aren't afraid to be women, they cherish their femininity and use it to their advantage and to a great extent this can be seen in their fashion icons displayed in the media. They do wear quirky clothes and boyfriend pieces, but what they always manage is the sense of femininity. They convey it through balanced outfits where femininity takes the advantage of masculinity without letting it overrule itself (boyfriend jeans with high heels or a blazer with a cute dress underneath). These are the women who can get the men on their knees as well as the fashion world (I'm not saying this is the purpose of dressing up though, I'm just mentioning how powerful beauty is...). Femininity is empowering and a smart woman uses hers to her advantage.

I have not meant that the Finnish women are not beautiful and I have not meant that the Swedish men are all gay. I haven't said that the Finnish way to dress "stylishly" according to the Finnish fashionable opinion is not fashionable elsewhere, but what I have meant to do is ask why have we in Finland confused feminine with being weak or at least with something negative as it seems we try to avoid it by all means..? Or are we just afraid of it?

Addiction

Life's tough. No credit card and therefore no new clothes until next payday. To be honest I'm living on my little sister's money now that my own ran out after a shopping trip to Vila on their VIP-night. I've even spent my entire student loan on a Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress, Alexander McQueen skull-scarf (f.y.i. Heidi, the skulls are smiling so it is my style) and the most perfect Camilla Skovgaard heels so there's no help there.. Please don't mention any of this to the government nor my dad.

Right now I've been browsing for ages on asos.com's "new in" and "dresses". I have this very important work-related interview on Monday, but I'm more concerned about the sizes running out at asos.com before my payday. And talk about net-a-porter.com! It's my Monday and Wednesday treat to go see what new they have in. My friends believe I'm sick for being able to look at clothes for hours and hours (the only thing I basically know how to do on a computer). I know I'm sick because of not being able to buy all the pretty things. But that (pay)day will come again when I can look at the clothes without feeling sick because I know I can buy them. Now, if you'll excuse me, it's Wednesday and I have to go see what new net-a-porter has got in store for me..

Back in business

After 6 hours of relatively off-minded school, a four-hour nap, 1 hour of running and a bit of pilates I've figured out I need a new pillow, a new iPod, someone to download songs on it and I need to resuscitate my blog back to life. With nothing concrete to show for this day and no accomplishments (usually I consider it to be the work in a shoe store after school, now I feel helpless on an evening off) I decided I'd at least need to write down the million thoughts circling my head on the upcoming summer. Especially now that the Fashion Weeks aren't far away, I'm in a hurry to get the summer issues over with before the new beautiful images of A/W 10 occupy my relatively limited brain.

I have to say I'm thrilled about the upcoming season. Maybe it's the fact that it's cheaper and more simple (no need for million feuille) to pull off a cool outfit or then it might be the nudes, the sheer, the denim, the militaristic themes or the sailor style I love. Or simply the fact that you no longer need to cover your outfits with the same coats. No matter how nice your outfit, only the people who you're with inside will see it.

Oh, and high heels! After a colder than cold, slippery winter I can't wait to dig out my 200 pairs of heels.. Don't get me wrong, I love boots and I have my fair share of those as well, but I believe it's time to draw the attention to legs with shorts instead of thigh-highs. But I do feel the need for ballerinas for the upcoming season more than ever. I blame Alexa Chung for that. We'll see.

With the same school, same job and same no-time-for-life (believe me, which of I wouldn't want to change any) it is so energizing to see a change in the wardrobe. That is why, regardless of all I said now, I will be as excited to fuss about the A/W 10 as the time comes. It's good to be back.

I recently had my first interview as a stylist when i styled four fashion shows in Fashion Market. When the journalist asked me about what I think of the way Finnish people dress, I said what I thought, discreetly though. The journalist was more blunt. A few days later the interview was in the local newspaper and under my picture it said "Stylist Lotta Hintsa describes the Finnish style as dreary." After being bedazzled for a while (this would probably scare all potential clients away) I thought of how true this was and how many many many times I had thought about it. And I believe I might have an explanation for it.

Someone has said that our clothing reflects our personality. In that case we Finns are boring, conventional and unadventurous. Well, I did say in the interview, and I will say it here, some of us would belong on the high-streets of London but most of us fail to amaze. In my job in the shoe shop, almost everyday there are customers who are looking for shoes to match a specific color on their outfit. Or then just basic black. Well, sorry we don't sell boring black and no I will not sell you anything that matches the tone, temperature and shade of the pink on your dress, get a grip. That would be too boring. At least change the shade to make the outfit look more alive and vibrant, or better yet, go for these silver glitter pumps. Some customers buy my advice (and the shoes) but some are just stubborn. They have once heard some stupid rule in some cheap women's magazine, in some "dressing for the dumb" -article, put together by some boringly dressing older lady who was probably forced to write about fashion and did it because she got paid for it. And now everyone believes that you are supposed to matchy match your shoes and purse. That rule is broken everywhere by the most stylish of the women. Of course I also hear these rules all the time as a stylist as well, it's just that these people usually buy my advice easier, probably because they're paying for it.

I love it how Araks said that she got her inspiration for a pair of pants in his S/S 10 collection from "a woman she spied on the street one day who was very dressed-up on top -but in sweatpants below."

I'm not saying everyone should start clashing colors and start wearing sweatpants with fancy tops, it doesn't suit everyone. But I believe that if the stubborn women changed the darn (i would've used another word here but my mom might read this) rules into being just guidelines (if even that) it would be possible that they found a whole new playground. I just hope that people were more adventurous and

People often call them just clothes. It's a lifestyle.

Furry

Fur. Fake or real, I don't care but I love it. It's sexy and cool, casual and fancy, you can dress it over basically everything (just leave it out from all fitness) and wear it as outerwear or inside. And this season it's hot hot hot. I've got my fake fur coat already but I'm hoping to get my real fur for the really cold season in Finland. I've been planning to reform my mom's, grandma's or someone else's old fur coat (at the tailor of course) and use it through whole winter and beyond. It would be a forever piece as my fake one will probably have to retire after this winter. Though a camel coat would be lovely as well... :)

Anyway, coats aren't the only way of wearing fur. It is now available in vests (outdoors and indoors) and in scarfs, I even saw that Russian kind of fur hat today in JC. Very cute. That might be my next buy. But with a fur coat, it would look like I'd ODd the fur look. That would have to be worn with my leather biker jacket. And maybe high heels...

Even though sun is still shining, it is definitely the time to start using fur. A vest over a long top and leggings/jeggings, and a few bangles a look make. And the nights ARE cooler.... The important thing is just to be the first one wearing it.

And by the way. Remember to balance the proportions, furs are quite big and need skinnier partners.