What else can an architect do?

[Doug Patt / How to Architect]

Of course fashion design would be one of the options. We are problem-solvers after all. Not that I personally have such plans, just to make that clear.

Double thanks

Funny how I get more compliments at work when I wear my fun stuff.
Seems like the people I work with actually appreciate comic-inspired prints and bold colour.

Diabolik t-shirt, Sisley. Fuchsia A-line skirt, H&M. Metallic ballet flats, Maloles. Perspex ring, Accessorize.

I have to take a moment here and double thank my blog-and-real-life-friend Elena.

I don't remember if I have mentioned it before, but I've been having camera problems these last few weeks. Not something dramatic, but I seem to have misplaced my battery charger and I'm still unable to locate it till this day. That means I have been camera-less for quite a while. I managed not to fall back on my posting thanks to my stack of draft posts and the bottomless source that is the internet, but I was growing restless about my inability to post recent outfits. Cue Elena, who offered to lent me her old Sony camera until I figure this thing out.

And this Sisley t-shirt printed with Diabolik and Eva Kant, the Italian comic fictional characters, courtesy of Valuecom PR? Elena kindly gave it to me, as she already had it. So this post was totally made thanks to her, for two different reasons.

Double-thank you Elena, you're amazing!

Fenastock haul

Remember this post about Fenastock I wrote 3 weeks ago?

Well, that wasn't the first nor the last time they did one of their amazing offers. I while ago I managed to take advantage of a 40% off offer they had going on...

...meaning those Melissa turquoise peep-toes above, that originally retailed for €60 and had an outlet price of €43, ended up costing me just €25,80. Isn't that great or what?

Wanna see what I got? Brace yourselves.

A See by Chloe tank top, as seen on the pic on top...

...a Lulu Guinness make-up bag...


...and three different t-shirts by Marka T-shirt.

I couldn't find any link for that brand, all I know is that it is greek and that Filep Motwary has written two posts about it. As you can see yourselves, I have developed a slight obsession with graphic-print white tees. I think my ever-growing collection will need a special presentation here in the blog soon...

I believe I should also mention that Fenastock is having another one of their promo offers right now. For the entire day today, you shop one item and get one of the same value or less for free! That could mean up to 50% off on the already reduced prices. Not bad! If you are in the mood for shopping, hurry up. Unfortunately, the site is in greek only and they only ship to Greece, so I'm sorry international readers!

Working it

This is a typical work-day outfit for me.

Simple as a t-shirt, a skirt, flats and some tan-coloured accessories like my tote, bangle and belt.

I hate being matchy-matchy with my shoes and bag!

I've had this t-shirt since before I was 20, me thinks. I love the flattering neckline, its colour (teal is one of my favourite hues) and that abstract yellowish print in the front that reminds me of a Rorschach test. However, fitting trends were apparently different back then and it now appears way too short on the torso for me to wear it with normal rise skirts or pants. Baring your midriff is acceptable when in your late teens, yet not the best option for a working 26-year-old. But, tuck it into one of my beloved high-waist skirts and problem solved!

Teal t-shirt, DIESEL (about seven years old). Khaki tulip skirt, H&M. Grey patent peep-toe flats, H&M. Tan bag, Mango. Leather belt, mum's vintage. Wooden bangle, Alexi Andriotti (a freebie from Stylewatch's Fashion Playground event).

Career crossings

From fashion editor to architect? Absolutely can be done.

Read Sophie Hicks' amazing story as told to Stephen Heyman for New York Times Style Magazine. She quit her job as fashion editor for Tatler and British Vogue in the 1980's to study architecture. Not a bad judgment call if you ask me, considering the fact that since then she has designed almost 100 Chloé stores around the world, among other extraordinary projects.

In 2002 Chloé asked us to come up with a concept for their stores. The brand has attitude. Chloé’s image is pretty but also spirited and unpredictable and my aim was to show the contradictions inherent in the Chloé character and to give the shops an edginess which is missing in many luxury designer shops.

Her work has been featured in many fashion-retail-specific interior design and architecture books like The Inspired Retail Space, Fashion Retail, London Architecture & Design Guides, Shops and Boutiques 2000 and International Architecture Yearbook: No.8 and she has also designed furniture for her own projects as well as the bottle and packaging for Paul Smith's perfume.

And she dresses in men's suits, a fashion statement I love.

Read the article here on The New York Times Style Magazine

Image and quoted text from Sophie Hicks

Jealous cat

Boater straw hat, ZARA

Well Queen B, I did inform you I was jealous of your hat.
So when I popped into a ZARA store last weekend, I just couldn't resist!

ELLE Espana

I had no idea...
Thank you Raquel for informing me about it and most of all,
thank you Paula Llanos Garcia and ELLE Espana!

Read the feature online here (page 5).
Photo taken from my floral childhood post.

Fluid

Photography by Alberto Seveso/Indiffident

Hot, hot, hot!

But it looks so cool...

Carvela Klaire Flower T-Bar Jelly Sandals from ASOS

Making someone over

Hello people. Meet my friend Litsa.

Litsa is a lovable person and a linguistics academic genius. She's also severely sartorially challenged and currently looking for a job as a literature teacher.

That's her before her make-over. The picture is not exaggerating, that's exactly the way she dresses on a day-to-day basis. Litsa is a true tomboy and proud of it. She's also smart enough to know that this is not a good look for a job interview. So she came to me.

An important note here:
I am a sucker for make-overs like most girls, BUT one must not forget that the objective is not to make someone appear as a completely different person, but to make them look more put-together and polished, while dressed for a specific occasion. I already knew Litsa would feel completely uncomfortable if I tried to put her in a pencil skirt and heels, so I didn't even try.

The keyword here was androgyny.

And that's Litsa after I was done with her.

Grey tailored jacket, Naf Naf. Grey trousers, ZARA. Pale blue button-down shirt, ZARA. Grey flat oxfords, Massimo Dutti. Brown belt, Attrattivo.

All the clothes and accessories used are mine. I hemmed the trousers for her as we may be about the same size, but I am several inches taller.

The trousers aren't the same shade of grey as jacket, but we quite liked the effect. Not everything has to match perfectly, right?

Litsa was also a bit skeptical of the light blue shirt, as she thought it was too girlie and frilly for her taste, but it all fell together when she tried on the jacket.

Overall, I think the result made us both happy. She looked professional, but in her own personal way and she was even able to demonstrate the kung-fu she will perform if they don't hire her.

You go girl!

Zara shopping

Oh yes, I did it again! Got myself those turquoise gladiator sandals from Zara Kids in size 38 (good thing kids grow so fast these days)...

...an orange floral scarf...

...a Zara Kids boys t-shirt featuring a blue monster driving a bike...

...and this miniscule grey bag thingy that can be worn either diagonally on the shoulder as a normal messenger bag or with its strap removed, dangling from your own belt.

And the best part is that I didn't actually pay for anything of the above because I had all those bonus points in my credit card from airplane tickets and stuff, that were just sitting around.

Finally put in good use.

AXDW last day

This post is to wrap up the last AXDW that took place in March, as I was too blogged-out to post all about it back then...

So, on the last day of AXDW I only managed to watch the Romina Karamanea and Melina Pispa shows, as I had to leave early. You've probably already seen the posts about those two collections, so here the day's outfit as seen on the pic above:

Dove-grey strapless Insight dress I got back then from Reverse (the outlet store of Revolve Clothing) worn over a plain white t-shirt and black leggings for modesty and accessorized with a black patent bow belt, my Erica Anenberg two-finger bow ring bought back then, a resin Accessorize ring from back then and my beloved Luella clutch.

Wow, that's a whole lot of back links for a single post!
Well, that seems to cover it for AXDW AW2010/11...

It was exhausting, but we had an amazing time

And it wouldn't be half as fun without all of you girls!

Fashion Architecture on Polyvore

[Fragment of Future Event (40/50) by Snowbell]

[Here, There, And Everywhere (48/50) by Snowbell]

[Down the stairs (46/50) by Snowbell]

[Inside Out by Snowbell]

[On the Street by Snowbell]

Even though I've never been a big fan of polyvore (I love my photoshop and the endless possibilities) there's no arguing that it's one of the most inspirational - not to mention addictive - fashion communities out there. For those of you who are not familiar with it, here's the quite enlightening about section:

Polyvore's easy-to-use virtual styling tool lets people mix and match products from any online store to create their own fashion collections called "sets". The Polyvore community consists of trendsetters, shoppers and aspiring stylists, who create more than 30,000 sets daily. Polyvore offers an unprecedented level of direct engagement with real products and brands, while its social features make it a powerful platform for the creation and distribution of user-generated advertising.

Normally I'd save you the re-posting of other people's sets, since it's all out there for you to discover, *but* this is definitely worth mentioning here on this particular blog:

Fellow architect and fashion aficionado Snowbell has created all these beautiful sets above, inspired by architecture.

I'm just posting a small selection here, but I totally suggest you go check her polyvore collection titled Fashion Achitect for the rest of them (that's the way it was spelled, but I suppose the missing "r" is a typo).

Furthermore, she has created a polyvore group called Fashion Architecture where other members can post sets inspired by that same concept.

Inspiration for all fashion architects out there!

Chie Mihara talks shoes

I first came upon this darling video ten months ago and immediately thought now, that's something worth posting.

Then I forgot. How typical.

Anyway, here it is, one of my absolute favourite shoe designers Chie Mihara talking about what she does best:

Making shoes we will fall in love with.

Sale on sale

Fena can be easily described as the most famous and hip concept store in northern Greece. They stock all the designer brands I would love to stuff my wardrobe with (but can't really afford to) as well as more high-street brands I already own, love and would like to get more of.

So you can imagine my excitement when I was informed that not only they have an outlet store, but also that they also sell online!

Fenastock is easy to navigate, has countless pages of clothes, shoes and accessories in reduced prices to choose from and offers the option of bookmarking your finds on your own personalized favourites list, so you can have them up and ready for the next time you visit.

This comes in very handy when they hold one of their amazing limited time offers, like the one the one having right now!

Just for the next 24 hours (until Sunday midnight greek time) everything on fenastock will be an additional 50% off on the already reduced outlet price, just by citing the code "50066" at checkout.

I already got myself this Diesel Preview green bubble skirt, courtesy of the kind people over at fenastock who chose this smart way to introduce their amazing shop to us bloggers. And it worked, as I'm already craving half the store...

So what are you gonna get?