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My beloved photographer went on a business trip, so I won't post a new outfit. Something triggered me today to start thinking about my fashion past, though, how I'd used to look many years ago and what I'd thought about the clothes. So I will bore you a little with my distant memories;-)
I was born by the end of the 70s ( yes, my dear readers, I am that old;-P), and the years of my childhood were the difficult times here in Poland. We lacked basically everything. You couldn't be too choosy about your clothes then- I remembered my mom telling me that she had to buy what was in the shop, regardless of it's size, and then to swap it with some other mom for something my size. Of course, situation had gotten better in the next years, but still, there wasn't any malls here, only small and overpriced boutiques and the department stores, which weren't any good. Most of my clothes were inherited from a bit older relatives or brought by friends from abroad. I was a calm, shy and rather withdrawn bookworm then, so it wasn't a problem to me, I knew such was the reality, I care more about buying more books. I wasn't searching for popularity among the other kids in school. But I remember that I was always dressed nicely, as my mom was giving me the lessons of what looks good and what is proper in which situation. And I was interested in fashion more than I would admit it- I still have the drawings I made as a kid, some clothes I'd designed then weren't half bad:-)
When I was in high school, second hand shops were introduced in Poland. At that time it wasn't trendy to shop there, they were considered the shops for the poor. But the clothes there were different from those y0u could find in the shops then. My mom and I didn't care much what people would think of us thrifting and we had many great finds. I like shopping in the second hand shops to this day, as the clothes in the popular chains are virtually the same. I used to dress simply and a bit rockerish then, I hated all the things girly. I wore skinny jeans with simple tops, in Winter paired them with riding boots ( real ones, I used to ride then). Nobody saw me as stylish, though, as everybody was sporting flared jeans;-). I didn't care for the trends, I liked to be true to myself.
I still used to wear jeans, simple tops and comfy shoes when I went to the university. And then I went to the U.S. for some time and it changed me in so many ways... I felt so at home in NYC, so free. The people couldn't care less even when I was walking the dog wearing my pajamas. Nobody was giving me looks, people sometimes stopped me in the street to give me a compliment. So I experimented a little with more girly, a bit more sexy style and I liked that. I brought home tonnes of new clothes. But I remembered that when I put my assymetrical jean skirt on, people kept staring as if I were naked, just because I looked a bit different, there wasn't anything tacky to it. I wasn't brave enough to wear some of the clothes I brought from the States here. I was thinking more of the trends by then, but still adding a bit of trendiness to my basics, to the clothes I liked wearing regardless if they were in at the moment or not.
When I was in my early 20s, my foster sister asked me whether I thought I was cool. I was thinking of myself as of a person above that, not trying to be cool for the others. But you know what? Maybe there is a little truth in what some women say, that you become much more self-confident, even when to comes to the way you're dressed, when you reach age of 30. I know and like my body, and I know what I like to wear. I still love simplicity, and the clothes that compliment my figure. And I feel like a real woman, even when I'm wearing jeans and tank top. I don't have to prove anything to anyone, I am myself and I like that.
And that's what I was thinking, when I went for a walk, wearing a white burnout top, my new favourite cut-offs, gladiator sandals, big bag and sunnies. It was simple, comfy yet sexy oufit. And to sum it all up, I don't know if the others think I'm cool. The best thing is, I feel cool. Hell yes, I really do!:-)))And speaking of cool, in my there aren't people cooler than the surfers. I don't surf myself and I must confess I am rather scared of the deep water, but I love to watch others surf. And I was a surfer's girlfriend, although for a very short time;-). I've just seen two great documentaries about the surfers and I would like to recommend them to those who haben't seen them: those are " Riding Giants" and "Step into Liquid". Both are visually stunning, funny and even emotionally touching, however strange it may sound. But those people really love what they do and it's great.
Isn't it?
Source: www.surfersvillage.com
Despite the clouds threathening with storm I'm bewitching Summer to stay a bit longer by wearing the shorts I wrote about last time. There's nothing better then distressed cut-offs. Especially when paired with the business-like blazer. I don't know if it was because of the weather or the combination, but the people were giving me looks today. Ok, their problem, not mine:-). I feel good dressed that way. I love wearing blazers, especially when they can be dressed down by combining them with jeans. I just don't like to wear blazers with business pants, that's so not me, but sometimes there's no choice:-).
You have already seen my other cat, the black and white one, now it's the time for the debut of the younger one:-). The blog title obliges:-)
Yesterday I was experimenting with my hair, trying to give them that toussled, messy beach look I love. You know, I'm sure that there was some terrible mistake upstairs. I was supposed to be born in southern California, to live close to the ocean and to enjoy sunshine all year round. I'm like a cat, I need sun to be happy. And the ocean really calmes me down and makes all the problems seem to dissapear. Hmm, maybe one day my dream will come true and we will be able to move to Cali. San Diego will be my city of choice, then:-)
So far all I could do was to try to recreate the look I wanted to have with what I've got on my hands. And it wasn't much, since there aren't any cosmetics available here in Poland, at least as far as I know, that could do that. I did a little bit of Internet research and that was what I've done: I washed my hair the usual way, then picked some strands and scrunched them, then pinned them down with hair clips. Then I blow-dried the hair a bit.
Meanwhile I prepared the mixture of a few teespoons of sea salt and a cup of hot water. I cooled the mixture down, then poured it to the spray bottle. I sprayed the hair a little with it, then reapeated it in the morning.
I know the effect would be much better if I had longer hair, but I like it anyway:-). Next time I will try to sleep with my hair pinned that way to get a stronger effect:-)
Blazer-Spirit
Shorts-Republic
Tank top-H&M
Bag-David Jones
Necklace-the gift from my mother-in-law
I really, really don't want the Summer to end and still hope the weather will be nice & warm in Fall. But I stared to think about my Fall wardrobe, nevertheless. In the last few days I managed to find some pieces of clothing I thought will be necesssary. All of them are basics, I would say. I don't know if you agree with me, but the basics are the harderst to shop for. Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to come by, as the shops seem to be rather full of the trendiest things than the classic ones. And the other difficulty is of a completely different nature- basics usually don't shout to you "Come on, you have to take me home right now". They aren't funny. The're just the things you have to have in your wardrobe. That's why I'm so happy I found a few very nice sheer long sleeve T-shirts in Vero Moda-they were on sale and cost about 4 dollars a piece:-). I bought them in black, light gray and cream. I even managed to find white long sleeve burnout tee, yay:-). Those tees will be great for layering. They can be worn with anything from sweaters to blazers. I've been on a lookout for long cardis and so far I managed to find a nice one in dark gray. I also bought a classic black cardigan. I love cardigans, they are my favourite kind of sweater. They can be paired with anything. Since I've fallen in love with the Givenchy Fall collection so much, I wanted to find both the leather pants and the leather skirt ( O, the blessing of the second hand shops and Internet auctions!:-). The skirt is great, the pants will go the the tailor to be taken in a bit, since I would like them to be more skinny. I found gray ankle boots I really like. But I still wonder if the black lace-ups I bought on eBay will arrive at last. Unfortunately, I've already lost several packages in the last few months. That has never happened before. One of the packages contained knee high Minnetonkas:-(. I try not to lose hope and am still waiting for the lace-ups, they would be perfect for Fall. I'm still working to enlarge my rather small collection of scarves. I've never really worn scarves apart from those thock woolen ones in Winter, but now they seem like essential accessories to me. Luckily, I thrifted three new ones and I continue to search for more.
But Summer will stay with us for a little bit while, won't it? Please, please! How can it go away when I just found the pair of jeans so perfect to be made into cut-off shorts. I'm sure they will be my favourites, I've searched for ithem for so long;-). I still want to wear my short shorts!
I've just discovered the software PhotoScape, which has nice choice of options for making collages, that's my first try at using it. I hope I'll get the hang of it soon.
Ok, so I've promised to write about the wedding we attended on Friday. We had to drive about six hours to get to our destination, but it was worth it. It was a very elegant and certainly the best dressed reception I've attented so far. The groom wore a tux and the bride very nice lace dress with long train and long veil , very Oleg Cassini-style. All of the guests were in cocktail wear. It's not so obvious here in Poland. We usually don't have a dress code stated in the invitations, and most guests are dressed in a random fashion- during one ceremony you can see a guest in formal wear, others in cocktail wear, some even in business attire. Anything in between overdressed and underdressed. A problem that might be solved by simply indicating the dress code on the invitation.
The ceremony took place in a very nice old church. The best thing was that during the ceremony a actual choir was singing. Everything went nice and smooth, until we looked outside and saw it was raining cats and dogs. And the bus which was supposed to take us to the reception was a few blocks away. We couldn't get a taxi without waiting for 35 minutes, so we decided to be brave and to run in the rain to the bus. And we did:-). We only had one umbrella for the four of us ( me, my hubby, and the friends of us) so it was decided that the girls are gonna take it, and the gents will pull their jackets over their heads:-). We got to the bus totally soaked, and I was devastated to find out that the paper in which the present was wrapped dyed my jacket in some places:-( So I was feeling rather down, when we got to the venue, which was a very posh golf and country club. But the reception was nice, and I managed to clean my jacket off the day after the wedding, after hours after hours of careful work with the bleach. I'm the mastah, yay.
BTW, the highlight of the wedding was the moment we found out a golf cart left unattended and we took it for the little joyride in complete darkness. It was real fun!
We didn't take our camera with us, so today we had to recreate what I wore:-). So please excuse my lack of make-up, the messy hair ( I'm going to the hairdresser's the day after tomorrow), and the print of the bra on my back;-). Of course I didn't wear a bra at the wedding.
I loved the combination of my sequined dress with the lantern with that awful wall;-)
A bit of strip tease;-)
I wore the dress over the jacket for modesty's sake to the church, and the dress itself to the reception. Because of all those sequins I decided not to wear any jewellery. The dress is in beige/nude, and the sequins are like mother-of-pearl, they shine in different colors, it depends on the light. I absolutely love my nude pumps. It was the first time I've worn them, and they were absolutely comfy. What a great find, and I 've found them by pure accident:-)
Jacket- H&M( I own the full suit, with pants)
Dress- thrifted
Pumps- Jacqueline Riu
It's so hot outside, but the couple of evenings were a bit cold, I would say the Fall is in the air. And I'm thinking more and more about the clothes for the new season. I've seen some HC and ready-to-wear designer collection and I must say I'd absolutely fallen in love with Givenchy.
source: www.style.com
source: www.style.com
Those two pics are from Derek Lam collection. Yes, yes, I know, it's black and gray again, but I just love the colours:-). The clothes are still simple, but this time with a romantic touch. I like the layered ruffles under the simple coat, and that tights! The second look will be easy to recreate, since I own very nice grey dress, well fitted and very simple. I'll just add nice belt, jacuard tights and my patent oxford boots.
source: www.style.com
And finally, there's Chloe collection. Maybe it's nothing new to you, but I've always seen floral patterns as connected with summer only and never worn them in the Fall. But I don't want my floral dresses to lie in the wardrobe waiting for the warmer season. I'm definitely gonna try wearing them with opaque tights and boots. I will add my faux fur, military jacket or just a big cardigan. I have to save something from summer days to lighten up the Winter days:-)
What are your plans for Fall? Which trends do you like the best?
Oh my. It's been almost a week now since we went to the screening of "The Dark Knight" preceding the official premiere, which will take place today. And I needed the days that've passed since to recover. The movie is truly great. It's deeply emotional and touching to the core. When the ending titles started rolling, all I was able to to do was to seat motionless in my chair, unable to utter a single world. I expected it to be good, I absolutely loved the first part of Nolan's franchise, I've read the extatic reviews after the American premiere, so my hopes naturally were high. But the movie was more than I expected. So deep and so wonderfully dark. I don't want to write much about the plot itself, not to spoil it for those who have not seen it yet, but the performances were really strong. Heath Ledger's Joker was a pure genius part. It was brilliant acting. My husband and I decided to wear black to the screening, to honour his untimely passing away. I loved also Gary Oldman's part, but he is one of my most favourite actors, anyway. And it was good to see one of my celebrity crushes, Christian Bale, in this menacing costume again;-).
I don't know if you're a Batman fan, but it's a great movie and I strongly recommend it. We are definitely going to see it again in couple of days. I can't wait.
Speaking of celebrity crushes, I had and opportunity to see another one of my favourite Brits yesterday, as Iron Maiden was playing a gig in Warsaw. Bruce Dickinson is one of the sexiest, funniest and the most intelligent guys in the music world;-). He's not only the gifted musician, but also a professional jet pilot, a very skilled fencer, writer... Can you imagine that? The concert was great. Supposedly there was almost 30 thousand people in the stadium. Just imagine how it looked and sounded, when all those people started singing "Happy Birthday" to Bruce, who turned 50 yesterday. The concert was a great show, I love that they play the old songs on this tour, it brings so many memories;-). And I've got the feeling that the band doesn't take what they're playing very seriously, unlike some of the die hard fans:-).
In clothing terms, most people turned up in typical heavy metal fan garb- dressed in band black t- shirts, combat boots, some in fatigues, biker jackets, the usual. The girls opted for a similar look or a bit more goth- with long skirts or very short ones, heavy make up, lots of jewellery. I decided to wear a black t-shirt and black shorts, nothing fierce to it:-). And I wore flats with that instead of heavy boots:-). On the way home I kept thinking that I can easily relate to those fans, as I've been a fan of all kinds of rock all my life. But the funny thing is, I've never felt the urge to express it with my clothes. I didn't want to appear dark and gloomy. OK, I've always loved wearing black and it's still my favourite colour. And I was wearing skinny jeans, when everybody and their mother were wearing flared leg jeans. It was more rocker style:-). But I was never one for wearing band t-shirt, or any other typical fan clothing. I am still a rocker girl, even when I have to wear a business suit. It's about who you are and not how you look. Nothing's gonna change it:-).
And that's me among the fellow fan crowd. The pic was taken in a complete darkness and with a cell phone, you know how it is.
Rock on!:-)
Pogoda dziś nieciekawa, wietrzna i pochmurna. Postanowiłam rozjaśnić ten dzień bielą:-). Całość jest prosta- tank top, rurki, do tego duża marynarka z błyszczącą podszewką w paski. Uwielbiam zawijać rękawy, całość kojarzy mi się wtedy z zespołem Wham! i serialem Miami Vice;-). Jako dodatkowa plama koloru czarno-niebieska apaszka ze srebrną nitką. W związku z deszczem za oknem testowaliśmy dziś jako miejsce sesji klatkę schodową. Wolałabym plener, ale co zrobić.
Marynarka- Next
Jeansy- Jane Norman
Gladiatorki- Nine West
The weather today is very windy and gloomy. I've tried to lighten up the day a bit by wearing white. The outfit is deliberately simple- tank top, skinny jeans, and the boyfriend's blazer with shiny striped undersize. I like to roll the sleeves up to show it. It reminds me of Wham! and the Miami Vice series;-). As an additional touch of color the black blue scarf with the silver thread. We've tested a staircase as a photoshoot location, since it's raining outside. I'd prefer to do it outside. Well, next time, I hope...
Blazer- Next
Jeans- Jane Norman
Gladiator- Nine West
