Stubborn hair

This is my solution usually when my hair is stubborn and doesn't cooperate with me. I should take a pic when I wake up because otherwise you can't understand how funny my hair can be in mornings. Brushing makes it even worse. Sometimes even hair straightener doesn't help. Every morning my hair surprises me when I look on the mirror.
I dye the blond part only twice in a year because I like more not-recently-dyed -look (little natural on the roots).


This picture is from last summer. Apparently it had been a good hair morning.

Charlotte C

I'm sorry that it's been so long since the last time I updated. There have been very tough spring fever and an entrance examination to clothing trade.
I also had my sweet 23 birthday. I will post later on about my awesome gifts.

I adore Charlotte Casiraghi's (the daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco) style. A picture is worth a thousand words..




She's so beautiful. I love the way she keeps her make-up and hair natural.


She's also a good friend of Karl Lagerfeld and loves Chanel.

Dreams come true

I found these shoes today when we made a quick stop to the thrift store. I immediately knew I wanted these. I love the way how these are rough and simple and not delicate at all.
I remember that in the 90's when I was in elementary school and I dreamed of these kind of shoes. Now, over ten years later (the patience!) finally my dreams come true!





Oh! Look at these simple rough heels.

Promises

Lately I've been really tired and busy somehow. When I've had the time I've been sitting in our balcony with our two cats. They've been running around being so excited about fresh spring air and birds (and the fact that when things get too scary they can run indoors).
I've tried to sew some of my unfinished projects but I've been too tired to do even that. I made a promise to myself that this week I will only modify and fix some garments and start doing something new next week.
So, I promise that you will see some of my finished projects soon enough!

This is what I wore yesterday..



Shirt: H&M (this was the item I forgot)
T-shirt under: Secondhand Endstand
Wet look leggings: Ebay
Heels: Ebay
Clutch: Secondhand
Leather wristband with zipper is self-made.

I ended up founding this basic dress from H&M.


Dress: H&M
Cardigan: Monki
Necklace: Etsy

And this is what I wore today.


Cardigan: Secondhand
T-shirt and dress: H&M
Shoes: Steve Madden
Necklace: Secondhand
Wristband: Self-made

Prints

My relationship with prints is very problematic. I can't wear any prints which don't mean anything to me.
Like if there is a good looking band shirt but I don't listen to that particular band, I can't wear it. I can't stand when people are wearing band shirts but don't actually listen the band. Good example is that Ramones t-shirt mania few years ago and CBGB-shirts, I think that most of those people didn't even know what CBGB was.
All animal prints are OK to me and leopard pattern (I can't explain that even to myself). But when there are pictures like a c-cassette, heart, numbers.. (You get the point). Those shirts really annoy and gross me, even.
I want to just close my eyes and die every time when I see those text shirts with something like 'angel', 'army', 'all this and brains too', 'spring university','vintage'..

Other thing that really bothers me; if I find nice piece but it has been ruined by a gigantic brand logo. Why there's so many times a huge logo in sunglasses? I guess if you want to have quality in sunglasses usually you have to advertise the brand too. So many times I'd rather choose cheap plastic ones because those haven't been spoiled by logos.

My printed shirts:



Ramones. This one is official and it's a gift from my husband.
Listen and watch here.

The Queers. H&M tee painted by my husband.
Listen and watch here:

B-52's. From Ebay. Also a gift from my husband!
Listen and watch here. I love the way they dance!

Endstand. Found this from a thrift store. The material is very soft cotton and because it's old there are small holes on it but those make it look even better. A Finnish band, by the way.
Listen and watch here.



No time to waste by Greenpeace. I found this about five years ago from a recycling center. When I was nineteen I wore this a lot. I haven't worn it after that but I can't throw it away either. Maybe I will wear it again someday. Anyhow the message is current.

I love NY. My sister gave me this four years ago when she visited in New York. I've worn it only once in public. I find it difficult to me because the shirt looks good but I haven't been in NY ever so I just can't wear it (I know that for some people that might sound a bit odd). I wear it nowadays only when I clean or just hang out at home.

Felix the cat. My husband painted this one to me. He gave me a dressmaker's mannequin as a Christmas gift and the mannequin wore that shirt.




Blondie: Front and back. I'm a huge fan of Blondie. I just realized that I need more Blondie shirts, maybe more authentic looking. This one's from Ebay.
Listen and watch.

Heartbreak stereo. I've worn this in public only once too. I like the band but that print bothers me so I think that I won't wear this ever again but I think it's a good thing to support small Finnish bands.
Listen and watch.




The cat bag. This is old Stockmann's shopping bag. I painted it myself. I made two of these but someone stole the other one!
Our older cat wanted to be in the picture too.



Yeah.. I avoid prints and all our curtains are printed.

The cat curtain. I found this piece of fabric from a thrift store. It fitted perfectly to our kitchen window.
Our younger cat eats on the windowsill, otherwise the (slightly) older one eats his food.

Loverevolver curtains. These are Vallila interior's curtains designed by Paola Suhonen. When me and my husband saw these we bought these immediately.

(Our bedroom curtains are (surprise, surprise) leopard printed).

About Acne

Acne blew my heart out again!
I do like Acne's garments, especially dresses.. But every time when I see Acne shoes I immediately stop thinking that maybe I should pay some bills instead of buying shoes, or if there's even money in my account. I just wanna buy the shoes somehow.


I definitely would want those grained leather ones.
I kind of have a few pairs that resemble those..
But I really do want grained leather shoes!
And I sort of have some but not in black.. And that's enough of a reason to buy those.


Niara and Iman.
Niaras seem to be comfy and the model is.. I don't know, funny and rough at the same time? But those aren't that nice that I'd pay 350 euros.
When I first saw the Imans I yelled to my husband (he was in the other room) that I wouldn't really need anything else in that month except those.
330 euros ain't that much but somehow when the payday finally arrives that money seems to just vanish and very quickly so. I have this bad habit that I spend my money before I even actually get it.
So, I didn't buy them then..


I don't wear jeans much and if I do they are always gray or black ones. Recently I've started to like acid washed jeans too!
Point being, I like that model a lot. Laid-back look allows both flats and heels plus t-shirts are simply made for those jeans.
I bought black Cheap Monday jeans from Ebay a while ago and thought that they'd be that bit stretchy material but they were (to my surprise) the real jeans material (cotton?) which I don't like because it feels sort of rough on skin. The model is almost the same as in those Acne ones so I've decided to just face the roughness and copy that style.

Pictures taken from Acne and Eluxury.

Helsinki look

If you like street style sites, I have good news! MY-LOOK-A-LIKE, it's quite fresh and newish site which offers more looks from Helsinki.

Power pads

In the 80's women started to build careers and make a lot of money. They wanted to look powerful and shoulder pads were huge and quite noticeable part of that look.


This Jean-Louis Scherrer's jacket suit designed in 1983 is incredibly felicitous. It's classy and feminine and those accessories truly crown it.
(Picture taken from Vintage fashion: Collecting and wearing designer classics -book)


This jacket is cute. Those shoulders don't jump out, it's very nice alltogether. Picture is taken from hel-looks. According to the interview, she made the jacket herself.


Maison Martin Margiela ss08. I'm gonna do a t-shirt inspired by the collection, which is great.

Teriteja

Finnish shoe designer Terhi Pölkki, graduated from London College of Fashion, made an overwhelming first impression on me when I saw her final collection called "The heritage of the empty land". The collection is personal and it's made out of reindeer leather and reindeer hooves, the heels are made of curly birch. It's also ecological because reindeer leather is kind of "left over" material in the beef industry.
I asked Terhi via email where I could buy those lovely shoes, but they aren't in production yet. She promised to let me know when it's possible to buy these beautiful shoes.


"Shoes need to be both aesthetic and the same time practical and well-made beautiful objects – to fall in love with."


www.teriteja.com

Colors

Somehow I'm so into decoration right now. Especially our balcony needs huge changes/ modification. I will post before and after photos when it's done.

After lazy morning we went to thrift stores. I tried to find some furnitures, but I ended up finding these instead..


Dior nail polish. Oh! Condition is great and and the bottle is full. This cost only one euro.


Old and beautiful. Finally I have solution how to use a few dresses that are somewhat transparent.


A bit color for my summer to come.


I like how this hair band is so bouffant! For the lack of a better word..


The bird. I'm might hang it on a chain around my neck or decor a hair band with it.


More color and the parakeets. My husband painted that lovely Pony painting just for me.

I recommend: Tears for fears - Mad world, watch the video from YouTube.
Roland Orzabal's dance in the video makes me happy!

Garbage bag

The patent leather bag is finally finished! I'm very happy that it looks just like I imagined because I thought that it would be much harder to actually make it. I already gave the bag a test run during the weekend when we celebrated my sister's baby's christening and her own wedding. The size of the bag is wonderful; all my make-up and hair products, shoes, straighteners, clutch, cardigan and lots of other things fit in it easily.


80's style. The lining is made of old pieces of fabric that I won't use anymore.


The fabric was very easy to sew. I didn't use any patterns I just measured a lot and made and went through things in my head before I sew.


I thought that I'd put plastic tube in the handles but we didn't found any tube from our nearest grocery. When we got in home I remembered our broken cord which had started to give small electric shocks to us so I cut it up and used it in the handles to create the form and give them the necessary strength.


Our cats likes to help me when I'm making something on the floor. Especially when I use scissors (as seen above, almost).

The aftermath

I love the feeling I get when I find something nice from a thrift store. The feeling is so much more overwhelming than if I'd find something from some regular store. You need to seek first and you can find things that you never even dreamed of!
The aftermath's not always as much fun.
Too many times I realize at home that there is a stain, a hole, buttons are missing or something like that and I always promise myself that next time I will check the item properly. Well, yesterday after we got home from the recycling center I found out that there is one button different from the others in my cardigan(pictured in the previous post), so I have to change them all. Not a big loss but still..

I ended up making a list about things that are important to check when you're buying secondhand. I should follow the list too.

Check the buttons.
If there is a button(s) missing it might be hard to find the exact same kind if the buttons are personal or somewhat unique. Almost every time when I buy secondhand I tighten all the buttons myself cause threads tend to get fragile with time.

Zippers
Check that zippers go up and down. If the zipper is broken, it's usually easy to change especially on skirts and dresses. Again if the zipper is placed somewhere where it shows it might be hard to find same kind if it's a special one. Granted you don't want to loose any of the garment's uniqueness.

Check for stains
If the stain has been in the garment for a long time it's almost impossible to clean it. Wash really old garments and especially vintage treasures very carefully because today's detergents and washing powders and such are quite different from the "old days". Even dry clean can harm those delicate findings.

Holes
It makes me sad every single time when I get back home from the day's adventures and notice that there is hole in my new garment. Sometimes you can try to fix those or modify the whole garment. With any luck it will turn out to be a-OK or something completely new yet again!

Clothes moths
If there is a reason to be afraid of moths or vermin, put the item into a freezer.

I always wash garments before use. Leather and very sensitive materials I just ventilate.


Examples of said misfortunes: I can't close that clutch because the button is damaged. A beautiful cardigan and I love those simple white buttons but one is missing.


Upper button is different from all the others. Actually that's kind of funny. Those small stains really bother me but the dress is just so cute.

I wouldn't have left any of these behind for these flaws but it would've been nice to notice before I bought them.

Lost and found

Last time when me and my husband went to the recycling center I saw a dress I wasn't that sure about. I didn't buy that then but recently the dress had been popping into my mind over and over again. So, yesterday we went back to the recycling center and I immediately started to look for it. Of course someone had bought it already. I was so sad and blamed myself that I didn't buy the dress when I had the chance.
However it doesn't bother me anymore 'cause I found all these treasures!


You can't own too many gray cardigans or cardigans in general for that matter. I like the color cause it's a bit darker than my other grays.


I couldn't believe it to be true when I found this jacket. I've been looking for this kind of jacket for a long time and now finally I actually have it. I might fix it a bit and change the buttons.

Brown leather vest. All that needs to be said. Brown is a tough color for me but I figured I'd give it a fair chance. Or at least try to.


Both of these flats are brand new. There were lots of shoes of the same kind from the same manufacturer even. I've started to like violet again so this finding had the best possible timing. Violet was my favorite color when I was child.

I think these round toe heels are cute and extremely comfy. First I wasn't sure about that hole thing but I ended up liking it.


The size of that red bag is ideal for me and soft leather feels nice. It surprised me that when I saw the flowery bag I actually wanted it.

Grey shirt: H&M
Scarf: Secondhand
I-wear-these-always-at-home-leggings are from JC.

Must have

1. Patent leather
I've fancied high heeled patent leather platforms for a long time, but I haven't made the order yet because of winter time. I want at least 5 inch heel and straps. Luckily ebay is full of those kind of shoes.
I also want a huge patent leather bag which has to be as simple as possible. Actually I'm trying to sew a huge patent leather bag right now.. Hopefully it will look the same as I've imagined.

2. Zippers and straps
I'm so into rough zippers especially in accessories, they give nice contrast when you're wearing something softish. OK, I also love those in skinny jeans, dresses, skirts.. I want to put zippers and straps everywhere right now.

3. Something blue
I have very few colors in my wardrobe, mostly black, white and gray clothes. Lately I've been feeling the need for some blue and would definitely like to find some. Hopefully I'll have the guts to wear it also as my red cardigan is still hanging in my closet and I've used that only once and even that was at home.

4. Loose mini
Yes, loose mini dress, with leggings, over the knee socks or boots, maybe even floral one. Mini dress is easy to wear cause you can wear it in so many ways and if you choose soft materials it will be incredibly comfortable too. My favorite.
By the way, I'll say no to this maxi dress trend going on.


5. Leather
Skinny pants made of leather. I have many leather-look-a-like-leggings but I also want pants. I got leather pants which are too big for me so I have to take them in a bit. I think that the hardest part will be the linings..




Shoes - Pleaser, Dress - Carin Wester, Ashley Olsen and leather pants here

Silk

Usually my husband wakes up before I do and brings coffee and apples to me when I'm still in bed, but this morning I woke up earlier and brought some pancakes to him in bed, but as I look at the bed now there is two cats eating pancakes and my husband is encouraging them to do that.

So, I received this H&M spring catalog yesterday and as I put the catalog down I instantly made an order via the web.
When I saw that blue tunic made of 100% silk (only 39,90 e), I forgot my promise not to order anything before I've paid away at least half of my H&M credit bill. Because I really need socks I also ordered grey over the knee socks and black leggings which are a bit shiny.


I've been looking for a leopard printed scarf for a while and I simply couldn't resist that nude top which has nice cuts so I had to order those too.
I had six items in my shopping cart but I can't remember what was the last one... So, there will be a little surprise for me in early May.