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.

ASOS | ASOS Sequin Detail Shoulder Pad Top at ASOS

And this one too :P

ASOS | ASOS Sequin Detail Shoulder Pad Top at ASOS

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ASOS | ASOS Shoulder Pad Jersey Dress at ASOS

This should be on my shoulder pad issue but I still don't know how to add this :P

ASOS | ASOS Shoulder Pad Jersey Dress at ASOS

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The shoulder pads

Shoulder pads. Something that was invented to empower women i.e. take away their sexuality and replace it with masculinity. Circa 1990s. And mission accomplished. After seeing them in about a million shows now I've started to think of them as fashionable but still not in any means sexy. Especially Balmain has some seriously high-fashion style shoulder extensions (I wouldn't call them pads anymore). Even the Chanel classic suit jacket has outgrown some paddings and Givenchy's rough minidress has a surprising one shoulder (the other one being bare) pointing up to the skies. These are just the tip of the iceberg. I can't recall many show without any padding. The shoulders can be just a little padded or highly exaggerated, sharp or puffy, long or short sleeved. You choose what you'll go for as long as you'll go for it on the shoulder.

I was planning to pull this look off with a couple of great pieces from asos.com. Easy and simple to wear. With small shoulder pads, I like the sharp ones because (hopefully) no one will think I've got that weird shoulders for real or then the princess puffy ones for a bit more romantic feel.  And when wearing big shoulders, down scale your bottom a bit. Or at least cinch in your waist. You need to maintain some kind of figure and balance. And I recommend high heels, gives some longevity to your body that it desperately needs when it's broadened.

So ladies, enjoy your masculine power now since it is my strong belief that women will want to feel the power of (tasteful!!!) sexy soon again. Even though, in some way, feminine sexy is always on the menu.

Sky high

After waiting for what felt like years, my new shoes finally arrived in Bianco. And the boots end up nowhere lower than 15cm above my knee. Overall loose black suede and a 10 cm heel. :) 

The boots are as sky high as they can get this fall. Yes they were getting there last A/W but this year they will be everywhere, if not on the streets (the Finnish are a bit slow to warm up to trends) at least on the pages of Vogue.

Just one tricky thing. My ex-boyfriend called my last fall's thigh-high boots blow job boots before he saw them on my feet. After dressing them up with a chunky long knit he approved of me wearing them somewhere else than only in my apartment. So please!! If you'll pick up the trend, do not wear the boots with anything too skimpy, bad quality nor too much make up. No mini skirts (yes to hems ending up high though) nor tight shorts accompanied with a tight skimming top. You know the look I'm after so please avoid it! By all means. Instead pair the tight boots (like my last years low heeled boots) with eg the chunky knit I was talking about or a big loose t-shirt or a cardigan. A loose enough tunic looks nice, preferably with long sleeves.  Think Missoni. As long as you think casual you'll do fine. Just leave out everything that yells "cheap". Leggings are a good choice to put underneath because they're not too thick to make your legs look big as the vertical line on the thigh makes them already look a bit bigger. Oh yeah and about the hemline, it needs to be above your knee. The coolest it will look if it is above the ending point of the boot if the top balances it out. So still no miniskirts.

Wow I think I have mentioned about the cheap look now enough many times and I truly do hope that I won't see any of that this season. So no one will be mistaken for something they're not, with no intention to diss any occupation.

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!

Cottage wardrobe = festival outfit

The mid-summer fest is over and I'm glad. It's always a bit tough to stay stranded from the civilization, not the least because you don't need much of an effort to create your outfit. It's just too easy, Juicy Couture pink velour suit or leggings with a big sweater. Or bikini. But this summer the bikini was mainly used for swimming, no sun and no skinny dipping with big sisters guy friends around.

Luckily, this year I got a bit of brain activity to the fashion section of my brain. On friday, me and my boyfriend were invited to a festival with lots of friends around and which draws around 10 000 visitors. As much as I love my Juicy velour suit, it's strictly for home, cottage and dog walking use only. I'm so happy that I had not changed my new Vila Soho Boot Sandals (check out nelly.com, couldn't attach the picture) into golden Bianco-sneakers (because of being behind schedule on thursday when leaving, I just had to throw the sneakers in a bag). You can always build an interesting outfit if you've got one cute piece to build it on. I love shoes for that purpose. Then shiny leggings, a tube top down from waist as a body skimming skirt and a one size too big, orange Diesel-sweater to bring some color and balance the outfit. And my never wrong, black Zara leather jacket from three years ago to top it off. The bag was just a tan colored, medium-sized, slouchy tote with lots of pockets (the only one I had with me, but it did bring a bit of lightness to the outfit). No accessories, it was rock enough this way. Not like I had any with me, though... But in the end, the shoes saved me.

And about the boyfriend, he has been trained by now to pick his own outfit. Now he just asks if it's ok. It was.  As if he had known we had to take "proper" clothes with us to cottage...

A new blogger, an old stylist

I've been planning to write a blog for months. Originally it was the idea of Late (the guy who helped me to create my own pink-monochrome business cards), but only now that I finally embarrassed myself, talking to myself, out loud, publicly, about fashion I knew it was the time to create a blog.

So here we are. I don't think I would be capable of having enough thoughts to write this blog if I hadn't been to London College of Fashion and been taught by the woman I appreciate the most when it comes to style: Polly. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be a personal fashion stylist, but I also would be still wondering why the beautiful LBD from Hugo Boss looked fabulous on my sister, but just plain wrong on my mom, even in right sizes. Now I know: fabric is king (more about the dress and HB later). Choosing the right color, style and focus points are just guidelines. They are there to play with. But pre-Polly, I had already been styling for years. I thought I knew something about fashion, about building interesting outfits and playing with pieces. I still know (or at least am supposed to know) loads about fashion but now there is just one aspect more to the game: right fabric. You'll be hearing about this A LOT.

But now that it's almost mid-summer fest here in Finland, I need to go pack to go to my parent's summer cottage. I'll need something reasonably slouchy, but still balanced and cheery. I.e. something suitable for a party where one wears no make-up and hops in and out of the lake. I'll be taking my Princess Tam Tam bikinis..