Prints

I can't get enough of bold, colorful prints! I'm going nuts over at Pinterest. I have a board for Clothing, Tableware and Home...

Follow Katri's board Prints on Pinterest.

Looking at the dates from my older pins, looks like this isn't really a recent interest, but has been sneakily developing over quite a while. Perhaps it just took some time to develop.

Are you on Pinterest? What are you pinning now? Please share, I'd love to see!

Lost and found inspiration

My inspiration for many things went missing for a long time. The things I enjoyed the most, making things and fashion, felt bland. I wore the same things and barely made anything new. I did get rid of a lot of things and with a very brutal purge of items in my closet, I started feeling lighter and even a tinge of inspiration.

I started feeling drawn towards patterns. The bolder and more colorful, the better. I wanted to find something really over-the-top. I got my wish!

I struck gold at the CAFTCAD movie wardrobe sale. I came home with a jacket, two tops and a large piece of fabric.

Value Village was good to me too, I found the amazing skirt on the left!

I won't be wearing all these things as they are, but I want to try my hand at making something new. I haven't decided if I dare to try sewing a skirt out of the fabric I found, but let's see if I feel brave enough!

I figure if nothing else, I can make some new sofa cushions!

What do you think of my crazy patterned finds?

This is going to be harder than I thought!

I wanted to start that clothing challenge from something manageable and relatively easy. I was going through some items of clothing in my head doing a rough estimate how many I think I have. I know there will be very difficult ones! Like T-shirts. I love t-shirts. I wear them pretty much every day. I'm wearing one right now...

[It has a Superman logo on it, so it's only for home. I won't be caught publicly supporting the wrong superhero. I'm a Batman kinda gal!]

...so there will be a lot of them. I'm pretty happy in my ignorance when it comes to the amount of them. There might, or might not, be an entire drawer for t-shirts.

I started thinking something I don't wear that much... Shorts? I think I have 5 pairs or so. Three of which are for sports. They are in the basement with the out of season clothes, so I'm not going to bring the box and more stuff upstairs right now.

Ok, skirts. I think I have 10.

These are very typical skirts for me in the colder seasons... A lot of black, zippers and fun textures

No. Wait. I forgot about this one. So, elev... No, I forgot that one too.

Screw it. I'll just go count.

...

18 friggin' skirts!

These, on the other hand, are not typical at all. Even the shapes are unusual for me.

It's even possible that there is one more hiding in that out of season box...

I do wear a lot of skirts in the summer, so I knew there would be quite a few. Eighteen just seems a lot!

I might do an actual post about the specifics of this challenge if you guys are interested. I just wanted to share my astonishment and building dread about what I got myself into!

How about you try this out too! Just pick one category of clothing, make a guess and actually count how many you have! Please share the results! I'd love to hear about it!

Friday Inspiration

I'm all for good basics in my closet. It make life so much easier, I lose my nerves very easily when I need to think too long what to wear. Sometimes, and this is extremely rare, I don't mind spending quite a bit of time thinking about what to wear, but most of the time I need to just get ready as fast as possible.

As much as I love fashion and all the crazy things that go with it, I don't really wear extravagant things myself. I'm all about a basic t-shirt, nicely cut jacket and jeans. I'm ok with splurging on shoes or the occasional bag, but even those are usually very basic. The only thing I find myself going a little outside my general comfort zone are my shoes and sometimes the colourful t-shirt. This is one of the reasons I don't write a fashion blog. Honestly, I would imagine people would be bored with my "outfits" after a week. (let's not forget the fact that I am extremely uncomfortable getting my photo taken. This is why I haven't yet added one of myself. I just can't find a decent one)

Anyhow, all this is to say that I love reading about fashion and checking the latest collections (If you've ever wondered who takes the time to go through all the photos of a designer's collection, not to mentions several designers, the answer is me.) but most of the time I get inspired by very simple outfits.

Photos found on Pinterest

Jeans, t-shirts and a well cut blazer. Add funky shoes and a nice bag. That's really what I wear, all the time. So, I will happily admit that I would wear every single one of these outfits. (Ok, I would need longer shorts, or maybe just replace the shorts with jeans)

I'm still looking for that perfect t-shirt though. I'm testing a few new brands, we'll see how that goes. Any suggestions for great t-shirts?

Balancing act

Just because I would prefer to wear heels all the time, doesn't mean I don't understand the awesomeness of (some) sneakers. I'm definitely in favor of the old school sneakers, so I'm always happy to see some. As an added bonus, if you want to be (or appear to be) in the know in fashion, there are some sneakers you need to know about.

Photo from Jak & Jil

New Balance. You won't get anywhere without seeing them, they are going to be everywhere. Mark my words. The colours don't really matter, although this would be an excellent way to incorporate some colour into your wardrobe. Also, totally works for everyone.

Photo from NAP

Another, more fashion-y option (and considerably more expensive, if you go for the real deal) comes from Isabel Marant. They look a bit like the 90s Nike Air hightops and have a hidden platform. Good news is that if you really like them, there will be cheaper options available. H&M already made their version and I believe Aldo as well.

So, which ones are your favourites?

What's up Montreal - Vintage mart spring sale

Remember when I mentioned the last vintage mart sale and how I found a great dress? If you don't, no worries, I just want you to know that the sale is on again!

It takes place over at the studio at 5445 De Gaspe. This time it's only open until 5pm Staturday. So, hurry up and go see what wonderful finds there are waiting for you!

All details HERE

Sorry for the late notice on this one! I've been getting sick with a cold, so I feel extra slow... I'll return to the blog once I feel a bit better.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Senjaku Candy Land

So, yesterday I had some errands to run. And by 'errands' I mean I had a 40% off coupon at Banana Republic (yes, I still dress pretty corporate (except when wearing band T-shirts, and even then it's with blazers)). After some major frustrations in the dressing room, I ended up buying flats. Now, they were very much needed. After I busted my knee, I've needed to resort to non-heeled shoes more often than before, so I've come to notice a gap in the shoe closet. Flats.

Let me tell you something: Flats are not counted as shoes. They are like socks, a necessary evil. I really don't like buying either. The list of necessary evils in the wardrobe are flats, underwear, socks and sports clothing. (I had to add "in the wardrobe" into the previous sentence, because if it just said necessary evils, the list would be too long and include things like dill* and sink strainers**) I hate shopping for any of those. These things are like toast for the wardrobe, when do you actually WANT toast? Seriously, you buy it every now and then and make sandwiches, but do you ever really crave toast?? No! 

(random comment: I read the paragraph and imagined powdered toast man sitting in a wardrobe. [/odd mental images])

I feel this might need explanation. (The shoe comment, not powdered toast man, who, I'm sorry to say, you should already know about.) Even though flats are technically "shoes" they don't count in the fun and exciting tally which is reserved for real shoes. Real shoes are mostly awesomely unpractical heels. Or in some cases also sneakers. But the only cases where sneakers = shoes are: 1) Adidas Superstars 2) funky-OMG-what-the-hell-were-you-thinking-coloured retro (this usually means 70s) -looking sneakers 3) some Converse Chuck Taylors, but only hightops and/or special edition, preferably both. (Ooh, Batman)

(Random comment 2: nananananana Leðurblökumaðurinn! I seriously laugh about 5 minutes Every.Friggin.Time!)

So, to conclude: if someone (in this completely imaginary situation, let's say, husband) asks me, how many pairs of shoes I have bought this month, I can say two (these and these) and not count the flats. See how it works?

Anyhow, since I had errands to run, Chris and I decided to have dinner in chinatown. Afterwards, we headed for the bus stop, but of course the bus just leaves when we are still across the street. Lucky for me (or unlucky if you are prone to count calories, which I certainly am not) there's a tiny little store next to the bus stop which sells all sorts of random goodies. I say random since I do not read Japanese. So when I happen to be in the neighbourhood, I often go browse in the store. I decided to buy something just based on the packaging.

Today's pick seems to be sailboat flavoured. 

Turns out that sailboats taste like cola. Score! If you want to know more about these delicious treats, check them out HERE.

All kidding aside, these things are amazing! They taste like sour cola candy. These are possibly my favourites of the Japanese candy I've tried so far. I'll start keeping an eye out for this company; Senjaku Candy Land.

* dill, because unfortunately (especially in Finland) you can't really get fish dishes without dill. Also, pickles often are accompanied with this heinous weed.

** sink strainers. I really, really hate emptying those things, but if you don't have them you have to unclog the sink which I really, really, really hate.

Statements

In attempt to make my wardrobe more interesting, I've started experimenting with jewelry. I've always loved earrings and bracelets and have been wearing those for a log time, however, necklaces have been a bit more tricky. I've worn some, sure, but more as an afterthought that anything else.

Photo from Polyvore

I received a few bolder necklaces as gifts recently and started with those. Then I happened to find a pretty funky Guess by Marciano necklace at a local thrift store. I figured I can invest the whopping $8 on a statement necklace and see if I'll learn wear it. I wore it with a black t-shirt under a dark blazer and it worked surprisingly well! So, I figure that slowly but surely, I'll give this whole accessorizing thing a try...

Do you have trouble with accessorizing or is it easy for you?

Back to black

I actually started a wardrobe overhaul some time ago. I did have a lot of clothes, yet nothing to wear. I used to go by the "more is more" approach with my clothes, shoes and accessories for quite a while. And to afford that, I also went for quantity, not quality. I assume that's a very common approach and I still understand why it's so appealing. It's nice to have a extensive wardrobe.

Nonetheless, I did rethink this philosophy some time ago and have been slowly (painstakingly slowly) building a good collection of things to wear. I'm nowhere near finished, but at least I can see some progress.

I try periodically to review everything I have and try to figure out what I still need. I just came to a realization that was quite unexpected. I figured I was doing pretty well and then realized I'm missing some definite basics. Like black shoes. I have one pair of black shoes, they're square-toed with a gold buckle. Very basic and work appropriate. But that's it.

How is it possible for a self-proclaimed shoe-addict like myself to have ONE pair of black shoes? This should be remedied immediately! (What do you mean "looking for an excuse for shoe shopping"?)

Top row from here

bottom row here, here and here

These are some of the shoes I've been thinking about. The top row are all Christian Louboutins (From left Lady Lynch, Pigalle and Rolando) and the bottom row from Fendi, YSL and Brian Atwood. I haven't quite decided what I want yet, but I think I need to go try some of these on. I'm now leaning towards to CLs, just because they are very basic. The ones from Fendi and YSl are gorgeous, but to be honest, they are both on my all time favourite shoes list, so I might want to get them in a funkier colour or material... I love my blue suede Brian Atwood's, but for basic black pumps, I might skip the peeptoe.

I do think a really good pair of black shoes should be the next thing on my list... (notice the key word "should". There's always a good chance I fall for a pair that's not practical at all...)

If you are at all curious to other things on my "I wish" list, you can check out my board "the (imaginary) shopping list" on Pinterest.

Second hand

I've made some amazing finds recently. Like I mentioned, lace if one of those trends I would like to try out. As it so happened, I found this top from a second hand expedition recently. It's a good way for me to try out wearing lace, without making a significant investment. And, as an added benefit, I get to try out the upcoming 90's trend too (yeah, the 90's are coming)

At least for me Kookai is very 90's as a brand. I associate it to that time period and used to be a fan. Is it just me? Anyone else?

So, after $5 and some cleanup, I'm good to go.

What do you think? (not just of the top, but the photos too. I've complained before how hard taking photos of clothing is. Any comments or tips?)

What to wear now, part deux

These are trends that will work in real life and I believe will be useful even after something new replaces them.

I can't, in any possible way, call myself trendy. I just don't have that flair it takes to really be on trend or even fashionable. But, I still follow fashion (quite intently actually) and sometimes try a few trendier things. So, continuing from my first post on the topic, I figured I'd try putting together ideas that I, and I guess anyone like myself, could try out. These are actually things I really want to test out in practice.

Crazy pencil skirts

Pencil skirts have always been my favourite kind of a skirt. It works for my body type and it has that subtle pin-up vibe to it. I would absolutely love to find a few funky ones. This fad might be gone soon, but I think these are pieces I could wear for quite a while after. This is, of course, if I could find pencil skirts that fit properly...

Photos from Vogue UK (Prada) and Style.com (Stella McCartney)

Where did this come from? For me at least, there's two places where the idea solidified in my head, Prada  SS11 (that's the one with the crazy banana prints and the now infamous creepers) and Stella McCartney RTW 2011.

Lace

Oddly girly for my regular taste, but I can't help it. I've seen it everywhere and I really would love to try it.  I found a Kookai black lace top a little while ago from a second hand shop, so at least I have a start. I am on the hunt for a skirt or even a dress...

Photos from Style.com

Where did this come from? 3.1 Phillip Lim resort 2010. When I saw that black lace skirt... I was done. I still think about it.

So, what do you think? Are you trying out or already over these trends?

The main reason why I learned to sew

Picture from Nerd Girl Problems

I'm not even joking.

Suede and glitter

I must've mentioned my love for shoes. I've been extremely good recently and haven't bought any in a while. In fact, the only ones I've bought this year were the ones I needed for winter outdoor activities (I bought a very basic pair of Sorels on sale, nothing interesting).

Until now, that is.

2 Pairs in the last two days. One pair is on their way to me and I'll show you once they get here. The other... well, here you go:

I don't know if I ever mentioned this but I have pretty big feet. In a world full of 7s and 8s, being a 10 can be tough (shoe size, not looks). But, the good news is that sometimes you can really find some treasures. Like Thursday.

I've been wanting a pair with some glitter, so these work perfectly. A (rather direct) reference to the Miu Miu glitter shoes from fall 2011 but with a fraction of the price. I figured this is definitely a pair that will make it's money's worth in number of wears. I paid 20 bucks... Last pair in the store. These guys are by Kimchi Blue and are perfect for the season.

Now, I'm just waiting for the other pair to arrive. Those ones are something I've been lusting after for quite a while...

So, found any good shoes recently? What do you think of mine?

Friday Inspiration

This lady pretty much sums up what I wrote about a few days ago

Photo form Moi Contre la Vie

The photo's from LFW and looks effortless yet very put together. Very nice!

What to wear now

So, I read a lot of fashion related materials. If I were an trendy person, this is what I would wear right now:

1. Printed pants, especially floral

Seriously, the printed pants have been around for a while now, but you still have time to be fashionable if you act now. Get floral pants a.s.a.p!
Runner up: patterned or colourful pants. Not the hight of trendiness any longer, but you'll still look stylish. Extra bonus points if your pants resemble pyjama pants or are pale mint green.

Photo from Stockholm Streetstyle

2. Neon

Keep it to a minimal though. It came with a bang and goes easily overboard. Get a neon purse or a belt. On a budget? nail polish or a piece of jewelry, like a bangle.
Runner up: bright colours in tiny splashes

3. Scarf prints

Best bet would be a button down shirt, preferably slightly sheer. (Didn't this try to break in a few years ago, but didn't get much further than a few dresses?)

Runner up: old school scarves

4. Peplum

Get a top with a peplum hem, wear it with everything.
Runner up: scalloped hems and other details

5. Metallic cuffs

This would be best around your neck, but if that isn't your thing, around your ankles. Wrists work too if that's all you can find, as long as you're wearing one on each.
Runner up: friendship bracelets (yes, still)

Also, keep in mind colour blocking and mixing prints.

One step ahead? Tone on tone outfits.

Photo Chloe S/S2012 from here

P.S. don't forget, your pants need to be either skinny and too short or optionally wide and too long!

Great white

Oh, mighty white t-shirt, why are you hiding from me? Seriously, it's such a basic yet versatile piece and somehow near impossible to find.

Ok, let me clarify. You can find tons of white t-shirts, most stores carry them. But a GREAT white (insert 'Jaws' intro here) T-shirt... That's the holy grail of.... T-shirts. Fine, I know I'm sounding overly dramatic here, but I'm really having a tough time with this one. I've tried a number of different ones, some very inexpensive, others a tad more pricey, but I've yet to find that specific style or brand I can count on.

Photo from Chictopia

The problem for me is usually a combination of lenght and thickness of the material. I'm relatively tall, so a lot of them end up being too short. Another issue tends to be the material. White t-shirt (or white *anything* for that matter) can be a disaster waiting to happen. I need a shirt that's thick enough so I don't have to worry if anything underneath is showing through.

I know this is a long ramble about something really basic. Is this just an issue for me? Any suggestions for places to find great T-shirts?

Trying new things

Sometimes it takes me a little while (OK, who am I kidding... A LONG time) to actually try something I've been thinking about. I'm talking about clothes and outfits here, but this applies to a lot of aspects of my life. I get these ideas from everywhere, something that instantly clicks in my head as "Yeah, that would totally work". But... it takes me a while to put these ideas to practice.

Photo from The Sartorialist

I have the excuse to not try it, if there's something I need to get to make it work. A color, type of garment, anything... But every now and then there's an idea that I actually have everything I need already to make it happen. And still... I just don't.

I'm taking small steps towards putting all these ideas to use, I guess I need to learn more patience. Just a random thought for today. Am I alone stuck in what's safe?

What to wear and more importantly, who to talk to about it?

Since my last Friday Inspiration post, I haven't stopped thinking about clothes. On the contrary, I've been thinking about clothes even more. And not just clothes, about the dreaded F-word (not THAT F-word silly, the other one. Fashion). I do think it's the imminent return of spring that's filling my head with all this, but I can't help it. Soon, I can wear other things than just winter stuff. My poor shoes have been neglected for months now.

This is going to be a long rant, so more under the cut. If you're not interested in a lot of clothes talk, skip the post.