Busking

Busking culture is not that big over here. Maybe that's why I was so impressed by this guy at Berlin's S-ban. Or maybe because he was cool indeed...



Im a picker
Im a grinner
Im a lover
And Im a sinner
I play my music in the sun
Im a joker
Im a smoker
Im a midnight toker
I sure dont want to hurt no one
(The Joker, Steve Miller Band, 1973)

Flu hits fashion

For the non-Greek speakers: "Pandemic of dead prices".
Loutraki summer resort, taking "trendy" to a new dimention.

Random FleaM Streetstyle

How on earth do you ride a bike in this? (amazed)

Ah, the definition of "ensemble". (surreal)

Floral scarf on dog. (nice touch, was...too black)

Eye-candy

Back to Trödelmarkt in Tiergarten, Berlin. If this is not eye-candy!

Isaac Mizrahi - Resort '92/'93

Pierre Cardin, God knows from when (it rhymes)

aaaand...Lacroix, dahlings. Lacroix.

Original, rare, true bits of history just sitting there at a flea market for 40 - 90 euros on average. Sadly, I brought them back only in pictures.

Your dog needs a spa

I've just received this:

CURE NAIL & BODY BAR HOSTS
PAW FECTION
A SMALL DOG SOCIAL (25lbs max)

Featuring IWI Fresh, Glamour Paws and PAWS Atlanta.
Retreat, relax and renew with your couture canine. Join us for an afternoon of spa treatments, accessories, and hors d' oeuvres for both you and your most stylish accessory, your couture canine.

IWI Fresh will debut their spa canine collection, IWI Doggie, only for fresh and fabulous dogs. Achieve complete PAW FECTION with Glamour Paws' clothing, accessories, and treats!

Emm...
a) I do not own a dog, but if I did, I am under the impression that it would not appreciate the benefits of a... facial.
b) A dog is not a stylish accessory. It's a dog.
c) Still, if I was in Atlanta, U.S.A and not Athens, Greece right now, I'd borrow a dog. I want to see this. (and then let it chew on my shoes for a week to compensate it!) (what if it liked it??!!)

If you are reading from Atlanta and fancy doing this on Sunday, you can reserve here: rsvp@urbansuiteent.com .

more flea market

Cure's gold, could be mine for 150 euros...

Who's that girl (it's Madona) for 1.5 euros (blast from the past: priceless)

And these two came home with me! I still have them somewhere on cassettes. Useless info on the Rick Astley cover: he comes from the town where one was for the first time killed by one. Doesn't get spookier then this!

Last day of Plueys -10%

Just a quick note, today is the last day of that offer Plueys gave my readers (see top right hand side). It's not exactly the right temperature for checking out rainboots, but I'm just saying!

Saturday flea market

This is Trödelmarkt in Tiergarten. Every Saturday and Sunday, from 10 till 5, Berliners know they can come and dig out some real treasures: collectors vinyl, cuttlery, memorabilia, second hand clothing, old postcards and ...past collections' sunglasses! It's all there, I saw it with my very own eyes.

Fur: loads of it. First hand or second hand, fur is not my thing. To be honest, I felt like burrying the whole rail.

Bracelets, earrings necklaces, all had their own story to tell, in beautiful shapes and colours.

And of course hats. This stand was so special. All brand new as a matter of fact. I had my eye on the buttoned grey one.

Old traditional uniforms. Although I wouldn't buy one, it was interesting to see all this cultural herritage hanging there...

Drink'n'Drive

Well. Almost. If you so fancy drinking and driving, in the city of Berlin there is one innocent way to do so: ride this tram. It was quite a surprise to see it stopping at the lights, full of people dancing to music and enjoying a drink (em...in broad daylight). Obviously, where there's will, there's a way...

(p.s. in case you were wondering, driver was NOT drinking)

Berlin Street Gourmet

Half the reason I went to Berlin was the fashion week. The other half, was currywurst (currysausage for the non-german speakers).

Currywurst, pronounced koorivoorst, is by now considered to be a national German dish. Sort of like the Greek souvlaki, it is widely sold in the streets (if I was a brave eater, I'd stop at every canteen)

There's even a Currywurst Museum in Berlin, at Schützenstraße number 70, where you can enjoy threedimensional installations and classic exhibits are intended to playfully arouse enthusiasm for the internationally known item of German food culture.

For the record, currywurst was first sold by Herta Heuwer at her Take-out at the corner of Kant-Straße and Kaiser-Friedrich-Straße in Berlin on September 4th, 1949. The original Currywurst was a boiled sausage, fried, with a sauce of tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, curry powder and other ingredients. (thank you wiki).

In case you fancy a bite, all you have to do is grill a pork sausage, slice it and cover it with ketchup and sprinkle curry powder (the more the better). Fresh bread makes the whole experience even tastier. (a more... official recipe can be found here)

Silvian Heach @ BBB

Silvian Heach, italian brand, showing at BBB. You can check out the line by clicking on the link. What had me speechless at the exhibition was the installation at the hall of the showroom (kinda like the state of my livingroom when I left for this trip!?)

Getting away with it

Sorry for the absence, hope I can... get away with it.
I was in Thessaloniki for the sold out James concert, amazing location, thousands of people sing-along, summer spell and highschool memories. Sharing. I am back again.

Justin @ BBB

Justin Timperlake was at Bread & Butter too, promoting his line, William Rast. According to my BBB Bible:

William Rast is the "New America" denim culture brand, founded by business partners Justin Timberlake and Trace Ayala. It is grounded in the iconography of American denim heritage and biker culture, yet repackaged and presented in a contemporary context.

Bread and Butter meant the finale of the 2009 William Rast tour of Europe, that started with Colette in Paris and Selfridges in London.

I am guessing this is what happens if you team up with a singer to do a brand: you go on a tour.

It's cafe Wendel, baby

Here's where I've had breakfast every morning before hitting the exhibitions: make-my-day cafe Wendel, 42 Schlesische Strasse. Strong free wireless and many available plugs for chargers was pure joy.

A glass of milchkaffee for 1.5 euros and a fresh croissant with lots or nutella to stuff it for 2.5 euros (I think) (or was it less?)

I'm thinking: where in Athens can I have this breakfast and service for this price?

Pavements large enough to walk your dog whilst cycling and still not disturb the other passers by.

I'm thinking: the sence of freedom this space gives you should be a natural standard for all citizens of civilized cities... I am looking on in amazement, just like the young man, bottom right.

Speaking of that baby, he was quite an active little fellow. He was crawling up and down the pavement for the entire time his mum was having coffee with a friend.

I am thinking: German mothers are a tad negligent letting their babies exposed to all these germs. Actually, NO, I am thinking: German mothers are much more relaxed and the pavements are so clean, I could sit and have a picnic. At least outside Wendel...

Since I own one...

...I might aswell present it to you. It is a special collaboration between Eastpak and the Eley Kishimoto duo for Spring-Summer 2009. The first, has served me well at school. The shows of the latter in London Fashion Week, are amongst my favourite UK memories.

Mark Eley and Wakako Kishimoto have designed this "flash" print which they have also included in a secret pocket insite the bag as a pin. The bags are collectible, numbered and come with unique numbers to register online and be part of a priviledged database for exclusive info and future project alerts.

You can check out other Eley Kishimoto collaborations, projects, as well as their actual collection, here and here.

This bag proved out to be a real gem in my trip to Berlin and by pure coincidence I had the pleasure of dancing to the music Mark Eley DJed at a magazine's party in the German capitol. Will write all about this though in a different post.

East Berlin...Eastpak

Each and every neighbourhood I visited in Berlin, was an Eastpak loving place. On bikes, in trains, on the street, Eastpak bags were being carried in all shapes and colours, I could not ignore the fact...

Quite a strange choice of bag for such a chic attire, but I guess she's delighted she doesn't carry all this weight at hand.

"Banana" for the absolute necessities for a walk at the flea market.

Bikers resting at the local cafe. "Postman's" or backpack are ideal for riders I suppose. And the particular backpack is exactly the same as the one I chose for this trip, the Eley Kishimoto special edition.

Cannot imagine carrying a laptop, my camera, chargers, notebooks, magazines, jacket and bottle of water around town in a more convenient yet stylish bag.

Someone else in my home appreciates the comfort of an Eastpak too;)

Weller Winner

*Evi Choursanidi will be going to Paul Weller's concert tomorrow. Congrats and thanks to everyone for participating;)

Chie Mihara @ Premium

Amongst the very loud names participating at Premium Exhibition, was that of shoe designer Chie Mihara. Chie, was born in Porto Alegre Brazil to Japanese parents and studied in Japan and New York before finally deciding that Spain was the place to be.

Launched her personal line in 2001 which is as inspiring as the fact that she created a family and is currently a mother of three!

Chie was not there herself, her German distributors though were so kind as to take me through the winter and next summer collection and give me her email. So in the end, here's Chie taking this blog's readers through her work:

Alecca: What shall we expect from you this winter?
Chie: I thought we need to laugh a bit, to have some humor in these times, without it the product has no appealing and therefore no success… So, my winter collection is all about fun and uniqueness. Things you don’t see anywhere, details nobody dares at this moment… Things that make you fall in love…

Because obviously all our closets are full of clothes and shoes, bags, eyeglasses…and why need more? That’s the trick!! Yes, you have to make “that” product women will say “I need to have it”!!! And being a woman these times is really a plus, at least from my point of view… I can perfectly understand women’s needs and what makes us crazy!!

A: What was the inspiration behind the collection?
C: - Late thirties styles, lot’s of suede and feminine details.
- Rounded toes with inside platform and big platforms too… Curvy heels, straight…but voluminous shapes.

A: Have you got a personal favourite design?
C: I have many favorites, will send pictures. (pictures featured here)

A: For which type of woman would you say you design?
C: For the woman with sensibility and in search for something special and different.
A: A simple advice for Alecca Rox readers?
C: Buy a quality and a very good fitting shoe, even if that’s a bit more costly, you will notice a big difference! Because behind the scenes, there are hundreds of people caring for the smallest detail to make a good and long lasting shoe.

*Special thanks to Chie Mihara, she truly is wonderful!*

--> You can browse and shop the current collection, here.