PRÊT À PORTER PARIS

Quite unexpectedly, I am in Paris for the Pret-a-Porter! I am one happy bunny to be here, especially since I am staying at a dear-dear friend of mine, just around the corner of Galeries Lafayette.

Only arrived last night and have not left the flat just yet, hence the screenshot and the photo of my friend's fridge magnet:) I promise lots of photos will follow in future posts, but for now I felt I should drop you a line and explain why there's no knitting update or daily posts...

I don't have photoshop or any photo resizing tool which makes everything even harder. Any good links you could suggest?

*also, DAMN you french keyboards, why do you have to be so different? I am typing one character at a time! zzz...Z....zzzz.Z..zz...z..zz....

**photo of fridge magnet was resized using this free polaroid programme I found here. You are so gonna love this!

Tagged Tortoise

So I got tagged too.
Lovely Lucia of blog-tales tagged me and another 3 bloggers to do the usual blog game: go to the 4th folder of our pictures and select the 4th picture to then share it with you.

I know some cheated and had their reasons for doing so, but I was determined to play by the rules. So I go to My Pictures>click! ...then the 4th folder>click! ...cross my fingers... and this is the forth picture:Hm, now you see I was quite hesitant as to whether I should post it for it has nothing to do with fashion. This is one of my tortoises, Helonie. She lives in our garden (we've got 3) and for now she is hibernating, preparing for a wonderfully sunny Spring. Even the way she plunges into cherry tomatoes is more sloppy than stylish. But she's special to me.

She is female and I can tell that because her belly is bended outwards (to carry eggs when she has to) whereas males' bellies are bended inwards (to fit better on top of the females when ..reproducing). Helonie is our eldest and I can only tell that from her size. Overall, I know she will outlive us all as tortoises tend to live for 100-150 years.

Helonie is a rather blunt name, it is only a paraphrase of the word "helona", which is Greek for "tortoise". What else... she is a reptile, prefers indoors to outdoors (weird, I know) and loves the smell of sun-cream (once she bit my little toe but I forgive her).
So since I decided to play fair, here's the closest link to style I could find: the Hermès limited edition silk scarf «de Madras à Zakynthos». Was unveiled here in Athens last November and is inspired by Helonie's protected cousins, sea turtles Caretta-Caretta. Those sweet creatures are in great danger of extinction and only reproduce at the beaches of Zante (Zakynthos) in Greece.

The scarf was created by Dominik Jarlegant and cames in various colours even though in Greece we'll only be able to get blue and emerald green. Part of the profits will go to the National Marine Park of Zante, towards the protection of the species. If you are an Hermès person and have been looking for a silk scarf to buy, go for this one, it's for a good cause! So this was the 4th pic in the 4th folder of My Pictures... (lucky it wasn't me in embarassing swimwear, was close!). However, now Little Miss Play-By-The-Rules I, have to tag another 4 bloggers to do the same. Great. All of you seem to have done this already!

Em... hopefully these guys haven't.
I am tagging: Blood Roses, Qin-At-The-Disco Yiqin, The Stylish Wanderer aaand Irene from Girl Next Blog.

Marc Jacobs, MMD

Oh - Make My Day, Mark J!

Actually, it was my friend who made my day by giving me this Marc Jacobs lipstick pen. I know this has been around for quite a while, but dear friend visited San Fransisco recently and after all this time, put an end to my lust.

I think they are as cheap as $1.20 but it's so not about the price, this pen* is kewl.

*the strass emblazoned pen next to it was one I had bought myself from Sunny Side Up. Best substitute I could find here in Greece, equally cute, no?

She also gave me this, which at first thought was a fun pack of matches. It is fun alright, matches it's not:)

Sure Marc, safety first. Fashion can get certain messages across simply and loudly.

(potentially silly quest.: is this really Marc Jacobs' hand-writting? Gee man, you write like a five-year-old:P)

*Cheers Kristine, totally MMD;)*

P.S. I've decided. I am buying the Marni shoes. To be continued...

End of Shoe Quiz

The shoe quiz has come to an end and to my surprise there was not much guessing. I understand, I would be reluctant too as they could be anything. I mean the flower concept is very similar to these gorgeous, this season's, miu miu:

Only mine were bought four year ago, carried to the till in a supermarket trolley among parsley, lettuce and cherry tomatoes! As you will see, they are George Asda, a brand featured in the largest stores of the well-known British supermarket chain.

I had gone to that 24hr Asda obeying my midnight cravings for a salad, and there they were on the shelf for £12. I swear that summer, everyone believed me when I joked they were Prada! (oops, u must have misheard guys, i swear i said A-s-d-a).

It was that same year I saw a supermarket brand -this one- being featured in a sponsored still life section of Vogue UK. Was quite shocked.

Anyway, if you like the style and want something similar and 'so now', you can check out these miu miu ballarina's on sale at net-a-porter. Were 310 euros and now sell for 232.50.

I guess this is the first post that clearly shows what this blog is all about, and that is style rather than fashion or brand names. I don't think there's a brand I wouldn't wear, provided I like what I see, can afford it and is in line with my ethics (I am so against real fur, sorry fur lovers!).

Small exception, I totally dissapprove of knock offs. I'd never go to the concert of Madonna's look-alike so why would I ever buy a fake Prada? As for my George Asda sandals, well, they were out years before miu miu 'planted' that flower.

At the moment I am obsessed with Marni's Mary-Jane rubber pumps. Net-a-porter too, sadly no sale (€260). Very close to buying them...

Shoe Quiz

Today was a rather warm and sunny morning and obsessed as I am with Spring I deared wear these shoes. Wearing stuff without tights is something I brought with me from England even though my Greek friends cannot get used to me doing it yet. In case you are wondering, no I did not catch a cold/turn blue/got a bellyache:)

Top: Pullover I got during my last trip to Italy, handmade.
Jeans: Moto, Topshop
Bag: H&M
Watch: The Dwatch;)
Shoes:...aha! here's a quiz for you:

Take a guess! Should be easier for the Brits (small clue). Were bought, em.. maybe four years ago. Any idea what they are?

My very own Dwatch

When they first landed at the shop windows, I though Dwatch watches were some silly (but very-very pretty) obvious knock off of Swatch. You know, like Frada, Abibas, Cucci and so on.

Tried to look them up on www, but got the most irrelevant links you can imagine...Democracy Watch was one of them. Anyways, this is the most relevant I found.

Soon, they were all over some of the most elegant and stylish shops (and wrists). They started growing on me. My sister got one in purple and most recently my Mum appeared sporting a beige. That was it, I WANTED ONE TOO. With shiny little swarovski crystals.
And now I've got one. In cheerful orange. (stupid i couldn't wait till sales to buy it) Very different to the watches I've been wearing so far -my all time favourite is my retro-like Puma. Orange has never been my colour of choice either. Well, well how things change.

Knitting Update: it is growing slowly but surely, no? It does look a bit disturbed I admit, but that's better than boring. Em.. and although in this picture it looks perfect, it's not. IT'S GOT A HOLE. SOS people, does anyone know how to fix it? (come to think about it, one single hole is not a bad score...) (still, help!)

P.S. I am very determined not to let this be just another unfinished scarf. I've decided I'll keep a photo diary of my progress, top right hand side. Feel free to tell me off if you catch me being lazy:s

Cavalli ss09

So. Have you seen this yet? Cavalli advert for ss09.

1) If it wasn't for the enormous bling chain print, I'd have thought this is Versace's ghost from the '90s.

2) Hm. Is it me or it's a bit too much to style this shot with a necklace and bracelets? I think the print does all the accessorizing this dress will ever need.

3) Graphics designer was a man. No way would a woman hide those amazing shoes with the logo.

Impressive ad though. I like the shape and I like the movement of the fabric.

...Bit cheesy.

Larger than life.

...Bit boring?

Afff. cannot decide.

Happy weekend! x

Fluorescent Feet

As of today, it's officially The Sales Period in Greece. Em... I feel totally ungrateful as my "can't-wait-for-sales" excitement has suddenly become "can't-wait-for-Spring-collections".

I was sorting out My Documents, when I came across my pictures from last Hellenic Fashion Week. And there they were, Frida Karadima's semi-wedge fluorescent peep-toes. I liked them with her Summer designs and as part of Al Giga's whole fluorescent art directional concept, but I thought that Frida in total black, totally rocked them!

Then a few weeks later, my friend Sandra wore them for the very first alternative catwalk at the Fox Fair, Athens. She fell in love with them too and since then we are on a mission to make them ours.

Is it Spring yet? Is it Spring yet? Is it Spring yet? ...

Yours Truly, Longchamps

The more I am browsing Longchamps' website, the more I get the feeling they are becoming the new... Louis Vuitton. They are stylish, imaginative, fit all my stuff and best of all, they are affordable! I quite like the American Express-inspired special edition by Jeremy Scott - he is not doing bad by the way, first Adidas then this.

What I rrreally like though is that Longchamps' classic Le Pliage bag can now be yours...truly! You can make your own customised bag online and even embed your initials on the leather part or embroid your name. A small Le Pliage costs 80 euros, embeding or/and embroidery are charged extra (5 - 10 euros). There's a 'send as a gift' option too. Perfect.

Last but not least, I am posting for you the Pixel Bag, fresh from Spring Collection's press release. Doesn't it look so modern and happy and full of positivity? Can't wait for sunny days (+this bag).

I <3 Katerinalexandraki!

Without a doubt, Katerina Alexandraki is one of my favourite Greek designers. Her clothes are always so fresh and totally make my day. I have just found out that she has extended her Bazaar till this Friday (50% off everything) but also has now in stock some pieces from her ss09 collection. Fab. I've been wanting some of her dresses and tees since I first laid eyes on them in last October's fashion week!

I am sharing the location details in case you want to visit too:
Studio Location: Iroon Politechniou 145, Kato Halandri.
Contact: +30 210 67 21 884

I have also noticed she has the ss09 website on, which is one of my favs I've decided: http://www.katerinalexandraki.com/ . Ever so pleased to see that finally there is an online shop there too, which is great since no Greek designer sold online till now (I read somewhere that Christoforos Kotentos does it too, does he?)

Anyways, great stuff!
The red chicken dress and strawberry flavour will be added to my wardrobe shortly;)

Still Knitting But..

...this is going to be my last knitting post for a while. Besides, I think I'll be knit-purling till 2009 before my (very weird) scarf is ready!

However, I could not end the subject without showing you the beautiful pullover my grandma's friend made me. Advanced knitting involved, which i'll definetely try sometime in the future.

pullover: knitted by grandma's friend
leggings: Zara
boots: Toscania

Quickie on Madonna

Speaking of Madonna in the last post, I must say she looks stunning these days! Allegedly, this pic was shot as she was leaving a NY restaurant recently, accompanied by this unknown guy (who looks like he is having difficulties digesting whatever they had for dinner). I love her new look. Looove the red lipstick. Gee, the older and more divorced she gets, the better she looks!

Knitting Update

Saturday nights out are not my thing anymore I've decided. And what better way to spend the night than... knitting. I tell you, it's the new yoga. Since the last post my needles have been on fire. Here's my progress:It's about 25 cm but I am so proud of it:) Ooops. You expected it to be blue. Well change of plan! Did not have enough blue yarn to make a scarf (or anything really) (also it turned out a bit wider than planned so my sizing method is not very reliable).Top part, side A: knit-knit-knit...

Top part, side B: purl-purl-purl...

*To get this effect I did one row knit, then next row purl.

Bottom part is knit-purl-knit etc and then next row purl-knit-purl and so on, so that it looks thicker and different to the rest. I did about 25 rows like that (thin line between yoga and self punishment here...)

And still knitting away.

These days I've been checking all kinds of websites on the sport. I discovered that according to an older BBC report, style icons like Sarah Jessica Parker, Julia Roberts, Uma Thurman and Madonna have been revealed as knitters.

I also read somewhere that Kate Moss took on knitting to draw her attention away from bad habbits but hid well all her knitting equipment in a Chanel bag and kept it a secret as she thought knitting is "seriously uncool". Ha. Try telling that to Madonna dear Kate.

And then I came across these bangles made out of vintage knitting needles:

I think they are SO cool. I want one now.
They are made by Aussie designer Liana Kabel and are sold at her online shop for 35$.

I want the red one. Oh and that measuring tape brooch is wicked no?

Last but not least, since the last post I've realised I've got some knitting blog buddies.
Special thanks to all of them for sharing their love for knitting with me:
Taylor
Laroux
Couture Carrie
Juliet
and Jen