Tee with a twist

We all love a good jersey t-shirt with a design twist. I guess the right length as well as the fact that it's handmade are all precious bonus points for me. Apart from the quirky two faces of this one by Mary Wants A Purple Dress, the freestyle vertical frill that stands in the shape of a suit-jacket lapelle with the help of a tight belt, is such a playful detail. I think I am officially over message tees and plain tees. Hello design twist tees!

--------------------------------------------------------
Reminder: THIS giveaway ends tonight, at midnight;)

All I want for Christmas

You know Christmas is approaching fast the minute you come across Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas" whilst switching stations on your radio. I am informing you that this has just happened.

What also happened though is Psarokokalo's excellent Christmas Tree, made from fabric scraps! I give it a week before I O.D. on Mariah's vocals, but this tree, I just can't get enough. Unique, arty and a member of the fashion family - well, a shredded cousin!

And whilst browsing at Psarokokalo's Etsy shop, I realised that All I Want For Christmas is this wool detail tee. Is this special, or what: 100% handmade, hand knitted, one of a kind. Come on Santa, this is an easy one.

Tic-toc...26 days to Xmas;)

xmas shopping list

*yes, you can download;)
It's less than a month to Christmas and last year I'd promised myself I am not leaving Xmas Presents Shopping last minute, ever again. So right now is a good time to get organised and a helpful list is how it starts: I left a space for my total budget (or balance in my piggy bank) right at the top, so that I have some sort of limit to what I can spend. Then I split my space into: Names, Budget, Possible Gift and a "mission accomplished" (or Done) space to tick in relief.

It's best to write down the names you want to offer gifts to so that you don't leave out anyone important. Then you split your budget to how much you are willing to spend on each person (you'll probably like to keep the list secret!) to avoid running out of money half way. Once that's sorted, you note the best possible gifts for the amount vs the person. When the list is completed you can get xmas shopping out of the way within a day of good leg work: you know exactly what you're looking for!

If you wish to try it out too, just click on the image to enlarge (should be A4), then save as, then print. Knock yourself out planning and above all, enjoy!

Inspiration: Le Creative Sweatshop

Is it me or are these shoes simply wicked? (yeap, it was a boy who made them) Have been meaning to show this to you ever since the Prêt-à-Porter . At first I noticed the shoes. Then I realised those cone-shaped papers were everywhere:

They had an out-of-this-earth space of their own, but they were spreading fast beyond that, being stuck on walls, images, handbags, even people.

They were quite simple to make, in a pre-cut coloured piece of paper. All you had to do was get one from Le Creative Sweatshop's stand, ...

...fold it and remove the tape from the small yet powerful sticker adjusted to its base:

Then you were free to go wild with it. Four simple steps: Fold it, Take it, Glue it, Spread it.

"What on earth is this?" I had to ask the Creative Sweatshoppers. "It's a virus campaign" they got back to me with a french accent. "A virAl campaign?" I was too quick to correct them. "No, not exactly. It's a virus campaign 'cause it spreads like a virus". Indeed, it was taking over the huge exhibition area, from isles to toilets, to snack bars! Genius...

The stand:
Post-it creative mayhem on the wall and more paper (possibly wearable) stuff.

So that's my 'Thursday Inspiration' for you. Not bad for a communications agency, no? Leaving you with this, borrowed from Le Creative Sweatshop creativity-boom website:

Black Friday

Hellz is full of surprizes this winter: after the recent release of its Holiday Collection , Hellz declares this Friday, November 27th, "Black Friday" and presents the Hellz x Reebok collaboration shoe.

The sneaker bootie comes in one color way, with stud detailing and a punk rock attitude to go along with it. Although there is a high demand for the collaboration, the shoe will only be available to the public at selected retailers, as well as the Hellz soon-to-drop online shop. The brand promises that if the shoe is purchased through the Hellz online shop, customers will receive a special gift.

What the Hellz? This brand is making headlines...

Looking good

Spotted in Paris.
They look like they've just walked out of the pages of a magazine. I find myself saying this way to often in that city...

Santa's come early - Giveaway!

No need to splash out on a new party dress; recycle last year's LBD and add a colourful POP! With xmas just a sneeze away, Kipling has released a fun holiday line of party bags, in metallic shades of green, black, pink and silver. Funky sequin glamour, enough space to fit all of our little saviours, a removable strap to transform from clutch to shoulder bag and clever leash for easy recovery of the house keys. Fancy holding it for your next night out?


FUN-ky charm comes with the bag.

Inside pocket for your mobile phone and zipper compartment for make-up essentials.

Santa's come early this year!
The green "Limit" is up for grabs, so if you like it drop me an email at aleccarox@windowslive.com, subject "xmas". (Competition ends on Monday November 30th - last entry by midnight)

*Let me know if you'd like to participate in future giveaways.

**If you've said so before, you're already on my list so need not email me again:)

33 days to Christmas

The xmas countdown is down to 33 days. That's about perfect to start the festive decorations (which I always leave last minute and end up keeping till February 'cause I like them so much).

Christmas of course doesn't mean the same to all of us. To some it's a religious celebration, to others it's time for presents and days off. To me, it's a bit of both as well as the time of the year I can go wild(er) about decorating the house and get away with it.

A few years ago, I had used a vintage mannequin my grandad used for his fittings in the '80s to put lights on instead of a Christmas tree. When I decided to bring in a Christmas tree, I went for a fake one by choice (as fake as it gets, a pink one). Real trees are dead trees and I saw no joy in having a dead part of the forest flashing in my livingroom.

True, real ones make the house smell nice but that was nothing a couple of aromatic candles couldn't fix. Last year, I decorated it with candy (it was fun to watch my guests eat the "ornaments" on Christmas Eve) complete with a cookie nativity stall.

This year... haven't got a clue yet, I am open to suggestions!
Any fun decs you've tried yourself?

Hello Bundle Boot

The "bundle boot" is a Lacoste winter baby. Was happy to see it arrive at my inbox and even happier to know it retails for a sweet £60. So I'm sharing. It looks like this funky soft boot can deal with showers better than my sneakers, pamper my feet better than my flat pumps and the side buttons make it cuter than the usual rain boot. On my list to try on soon!*before you ask, they are available in Greece too (see image below for styles) (oh, and in euro it's €99).

Deux Hommes s/s 10

Designer duo Deux Hommes, Grigoris Triantafyllou & Dimitris Alexakis, presented their s/s collection at hotel Grande Bretagne in the heart of Athens last Saturday. For them it's gonna be either mini lengths or maxi, but there's no space for the average in-between. Actually, looking at this collection, there's no space for the average at all: ethereal fabrics, perfect fits, frills, pleats at their best and descreet lace trimmings went down the melting pot and came out as an ultra feminine, curve-loving collection.

"Pop light feeling of the late '70s, haute couture elements of the Parisian maisons of that era. Exoticism and echoes of the French Rococo. A game between depth and surface, romanticism and provocation, youth and time going by"

Wish you were at this show? Well, I wish I was part of it, leaving in the coral little number four shots below.

Update: Since batteredcouture asked for it, here are a couple of close-ups of the shoes. I was kindly informed they are from Omilo Lemoni;)

in2life.gr

Thank you, in2life!

Athens, I Love/Hate You

I'm not this excited about all my purchases. It was meant to happen when I stopped at Anna Economou's corner at Whitebox the other day. A bag is a very personal choice, it's a tool as well as a statement. This one had it all to the max: enough space to fit all of my personal stuff and a loud and clear message "I Love Hate Athens". My feelings exactly about this city I spend my days and nights at. Crazy. Mental. Carefree. Careless...

It is very well made and produced in very small numbers. Moreover I met the maker who shared about the theme: "I decided to make this series of bags whilst travelling. There are 'Love this city' and 'Love that city' bags everywhere, except Athens. Maybe because us living here have this love/hate relationship with it... The sewing is in capital letters and kinda angry, intense, full of passion. It's on purpose."

All I can say is that I am very passionate about this bag right now.
Other bags by Anna Economou:

Above: Anna Economou (left) with Katerina Georgoudaki of Sugar Line Productions (right)