Vogue Italia Anar-chic

Small break from the Fox Fair Finds as the April issue of Vogue Italia has come to my attention. I have never seen anything like it, let alone on a Vogue cover: it is a sephia, grainy print of the actual shoot, title as part of the photo too, and for all the more vintage effect, the photo was folded in two before scanned and printed as a front page.

I am so used to Vogue covers internationally being so sleek, picture-perfect and glossy, that this mat, purposely imperfect one is such a pleasant rebellion to my eyes. Rightfully deserves the title it's been given by the editor: Anar-chic.

The commentary talks about the liberty of the absolute creation. R-e-s-p-e-c-t.

(credits: make-up - Pat McGrath, fashion editor - Karl Templer, photo - Steven Meisel)

Otherwise, this issue is literally a collection of expensive ads. Aquascutum's is worth sharing. I can almost hear the photographer say "lights... models... now start kissing". What a Spring theme.

Fox Fair Finds - Marlidarling

Costume designer Marli Aleiferi aka Marlidarling does the loveliest handbags I've seen in a while. Made from retro cotton fabric, they are all handmade and unique, so there's no way you'll meet another girl holding the same one as you. Machine washable, size fits A4, controversially colourful and retailing for just 19 euros.

Alecca: how did the name come up?
Marli: it was what some friends used to call me during fashion school. It is witty and fun and carries a bit of myself, like the bags I make.

A: you are a costume designer. Why bags?
M: a bag is the most personal and functional part of one's outfit. I love tote bags. They are so convenient for all times of the day, casual in the morning, playfull at night and always fit everything. In times when fashion becomes so uniform, I felt the way to make a difference is by holding a unique, simple and practical bag.

A: where can we find your bags?
M: they are all limited edition items, produced in very small numbers. At the moment you can find them exclusively at The Fox Fair. I am planning to register an etsy.com shop soon. Till then, you can reach me at fashfab@hotmail.com

Fox Fair Finds - Euangelia

Euagelia in action. The young designer, styling a visitor in person. Her exhaggerated bum attire stole the show without a doubt. I thought her silicone covered brooches were special. More on Euangelia, here.

Lucky but we don't know it

I have said it before, I'll say it again: we are lucky but we don't know it (or we don't care). There are all kinds of opportunities for everybody who says they are into fashion, to meet the designers in person, wear what they make, be styled by them, discover new names, but no. We don't bother visiting them, we don't see a point in discovering them before they've made it to print.

Fox Fair is a good example. This Bazaar takes place (almost) every Saturday at Bacaro's open space. It is free to enter and features carefully selected new Greek designers, brands and shops.

The idea behind it, as the organisers Danae and Nicholas shared, was to recreate the atmosphere of Berlin streetmarkets where hundreds of original fashion gems wait patiently to be taken home by young people with special taste and original style. Most items there are unique.

But guess what: we don't care. Silly (scary) as it may sound, some of the big names of tomorrow go there in person, make stunning presentations of their work, sell at special Fox Fair prices, but we are not there. Something's not right here.

Let me inform you that the next Fox Fair is on the 23rd, which is the Saturday after the next. This time, Pansik students will make and display limited edition t-shirts to be sold between 15-30 euros with profits going towards good causes such as Dromous Zois. I hope I come across some familiar faces there, save the date, it's really worth it.

Till then, I'll dedicate a few posts to my Fox Fair finds. Fashion is not only cheap stuff produced in masses by market leaders. Hope you like what I chose, stay tuned & get excited!

Recession Shopper

I've got a new word for you: The Recession Shopper.
Fresh UK research by LinkShare and associates discovered there's a new consumer profile, the "recession shopper". Apparently, due to the whole recession scare, shoppers now do extensive research before they splash the cash.

92% of the partcipants said they do not trust info coming from sales advisors and a whopping 81% goes online for consumer reviews and price comparisons.

Hm...this should be called the "clever shopper" if you ask me.

Anyways, my regards to the impulse shopper under extinction.

Drop by, why don't you

The other day I was in Kifisia and I thought I might aswell drop by Frida Karadima's atelier. Got her right in the middle of a fitting, which I was allowed to watch. Great!

It's no secret I am a big fan of her summer collection 'fluorescent' and I keep looking for a good excuse to bring one of those dresses home: a wedding, a graduation, a reunion, the Oscars, ANYTHING. Seeing and touching the clothes I had seen on the models of her SS 09 show only confirmed they are flawless.

Still, the fitting was really intriguing... What was it for? Well Frida has been invited to show her collection as a representative of the Greek fashion scene at our embassy in Serbia on June 13th and she was perfecting some new designs.

What she makes is no walk in the park. The details that make each dress so special require particular skill and patience to come out this perfect: spotless hems, unmistakable seams, amazing fit. I was impressed.


Frida is almost always at her atelier. How about that! You can just walk in and meet the designer in person. 'Can anyone just walk in and meet you?' I asked, standing there myself. 'Of course!' said the very sweet, down to earth young designer, 'it is always nice to meet like minded souls and talk about fashion'.


I tell you, being at the designer's own space is much more intense than going through endless rails of merchandise.

In case you want to drop by too, Frida's showroom is at Diom. Kyriakou 16 & Drosini and you can reach her on +30 210 62 31 956.

Thanks Daisy Chain

The ring I got from Laura aka Daisy Chain has just arrived, complete with a sweet 'thank you' card. It is ever so cute, was here in no time and it's a perfect fit (tiny fingers, still I could adjust it if I had to).

Thanks Daisy Chain, it's fab!

FF Thought #2

When I am down, I go shopping. A new pair of shoes always makes my day! It gives me such pleasure to bring new buys at home!!... (and then wear them just once) (and then get stressed like hell 'cause I am running out of space and my credit card is sinking in debt)
(I am down again)
(when I am down, I go shopping)

Therapy? Sickness?
Some people? Sometimes.

dash of glam

( I was saving this for later but what the heck!)

Yesterday five of us had a shoot at Glamour mag's studios for a piece dear Amalia Agathou (centre) is putting together about Greek fash-bloggers. I had the pleasure of meeting in flesh Katerina B. from Queen B. (my neighbour as it turns out) and Hari from The Soho Symposium (pictured right - had quite a chat on blogging issues after the shoot). Lopi from Fashion Architect and Alkistis & Aris from Streetgeist were somewhere in the building too but it wasn't meant to be (I guess I'm kinda used to it with Lopi:))

I must say, posing for someone is a zillion times harder than doing so for your own timer. Lefteris, the photographer, teased me on voicing that and suggested he left the room till I was done (he did not). It was quite an issue for me whether I'd pose full face or not. As you may have noticed, I've never done it in this blog, it's kind of a Rox policy. (to be continued...)

*Great to have met everyone, thanks Glamour for turning the spolight on fash-blogging*

FF Thought #1

Marc Jacobs bag, £3.350, spotted on the pages of British Vogue, May 09.

Strikingly similar bag, 20 euros, spotted in mum's closet, bought somewhere in Italy ages ago.

A: Why on earth is this bag so expensive? I can get the same elsewhere for 20 euros.
B: Yes, but this one is made in EU, has better stitching, unique prints, is branded, will last.
A: But I don't want it to last! In four weeks it will be out of fashion anyway...

Fashion. How much does it cost? Too expensive. Too cheap. At what cost...