Dress Style

johan and I scored some tickets to the Stockholm Film Festival this year and today we decided to see two films. Julia: with my favorite favorite actress, Tilda Swinton. this photo was taken on our way to the second film: W.

I'm wearing my newest, cutest (& super cheap) wool coat that I scored at the Stray Boys sample sale during lunch last week. It's super chunky and fits me perfectly, which is more then I can say for any other jacket I've found lately. Jackets are always much too large for me in the shoulder area.


chunky knit scarf- Monki (I stitched it into a loop to use as a hood)
knit tube dress- Monki
vinyl leggings-f21
DIY slashed leggings
(new) ankle boots- Dinsko
black skull bag- Weekday

since Spring 2009 collections have hit the runways, brands are loaded with samples, dupes and factory mocks taking up valuable space in their studios, so comes the season of sample sales. this week, there were many of them in Stockholm, and if you live here, there are still a few tomorrow as well as the epic Weekday sale (all external brands are 50% off until Dec. 25th)!!

I missed the carin wester, hope and cheap monday sample sales (sad face but my wallet thanks me) but judging from the ones i did go to, they were well worth squeezing, bumping and pushing your way through.

p.s. how cute are these glasses?!
image from http://www.pastan.nu

i found these the other day, my last visit to California and my last night in San Francisco spent dancing with some of my closest friends at the transfer. i've noticed that i make the same exact party face in every photo...

since my 100th post was such a bust, this is a make up one and something I've been meaning to post. since i don't have my website up, i'll be posting some of my university work. this dress was made during my junior year (2004) at UC Davis in my Experimental Fashion Design Course. our assignment was to create a 'red carpet' look that utilized one material other then fabric. i found some film reel hidden in a drawer in the design building and used that along with my base fabric- navy indian cotton. although i love/ed the outcome, this was one of the most difficult fabric to work with, it was like linen with sheen which i had to iron every 5 minutes.
the photoshoot took place in downtown sf, on top of a skyscraper, where we luckily found these large water tanks that worked super well as the backdrop for the dress, showing off the layers on the back.

it's my 100th post, but a sad one.
sigh.
my head hurts. i'm going to bed.

thanks to sweet, swedish Emeli at 5PREVIEW this most crazy awesome shirt will be mine soon. if only i had this a few years back at my 'talking heads-balboa theater-dance party' birthday bash.
expect photos of it in action.


photos from 5preview. i can't WAIT for their Weekday collaboration to arrive in stores.

i bought this watch this summer in california. i fell in love instantly but the minute i brought it home, it stopped working. being as lazy as i am, i never returned it & it never decided to work again so i wore it in it's broken state. i don't think i've left home without it since I bought it. i've had to explain the sad truth many times after being asked what time it is and strangely enough on the morning of the presidential election, it started to work and has ever since! is it a sign?

friday night, johans work,Doberman threw their 10th anniversary party in possibly the coolest venue in Stockholm. they did an amazing job decorating (LED lights, ribbon plaid walls, trash bag 80s room)

this is a preview of my friday night.
johans works 10 år fest.
more party photos soon.

i woke up (hungover) to this today!

Google is hosting billions of photos from the Time Magazine archives. they are available for free for all to use! here are a few of my favorites:

Donayle Luna: her eyes are amazing, not to mention those sky high lace up boots.




Grace Jones: her shape and total look is inspiring, the second photo is my fav.




Hermes printed dress.



finally, i love the look on the middle womans face. classic.

i am off to yoga!

it's 11:35pm in Stockholm and my two sewing machines are on, there's black fuzzy fabric remnants everywhere. but two broken sewing needles later I have a new cropped jacket and a wandering brain. (let's not get started, sometimes I can't go to sleep, I have so many ideas in my head).

how late is too late to sew?

now that i'm in my own flat, no landlord (technically) and some very loud punk neighbors, i often wonder if anyone can hear my loud machines going at a very late hour. my friend Desiree (who I lived with for about 3 months before moving to Stockholm) would say no hour is too late, even though she lived right below her landlord. in those days though, I would often sew the next days outfit but in the past few years, i don't really feel that urgency to have a new skirt for the following day. I've begun to design and sew a lot slower then i used to, so the whole cut and sew process doesn't usually last too late into the night but there are still times (like tonight) when I can barely keep my eyes open because of utter exhaustion (that explains the broken needles) yet I can't manage to put down the scissors. it makes me feel like i'm back in school...churning out a 8-12 hour shift in the design studio with my trusty design partner, Fred. well, i may not have a review and photo session tomorrow but i do have a new jacket which i may or may not wear to work. regardless expect photos tomorrow and perhaps my fellow designers wouldn't mind sharing their thoughts on how late they think is not too late...

blazer dress: vintage Harrods
tights: H&M
Leather Stockings: DIY
ankle boots: vintage

thursday nights sewing project. faux leather stockings that will transform any of my shoes into Swedish winter shoes. I'm not really motivated to buy knee boots and would much rather wear these... more photos to come soon!

remember this illustration I did a while ago because my camera was in the mail?
well here is the end result of that DIY project:

the dress was made of some plush fabric, that reminds me of a teddy bear (although i was never a teddy bear kind of kid). the black organza in the sleeves comes from a pair of sheer pants i bought at WEEKDAY when they were having their höst rea (fall sale) a while ago. i managed to somehow ruin/tear the pants but then re-used the fabric to make the sleeves of this (now one of my favorite's) dress. it's warm, has everything I'm currently channeling: sheer fabric, plush textured knit, exposed zipper and of course my favorite color black. it's got angular seams on the lower portion to cinch in the hem. here are a few more photos, the last one with my new pair of boots!

my co-worker Lotta and I have been making a lot of lunchtime trips to (now) one of my favorite shops in Stockholm: Black Market. it's one of the few places here that carries Comme des Garcons perfumes and also features great pieces by some of my favorite designers including Henrik Vibskov, Opening Ceremony, Eley Kishimoto, our legacy, Peter Jensen, Rickard Lindqvist, Mini Market, and Folk among others. there is no signage outside the store, just the opening hours. you go through an uninteresting glass door and enter a large painted black and white cave like room (which acts as an art space from time to time). down a few steps and to the lower left you'll begin to see some colorful prints a la Henrik Vibskov. The interior is very minimal, with not even a dress form in sight. they have a larger men's section then womens but I do like running my hands through all the wonderful chunky prints that HV carry for fall/winter08. I've actually been eying a certain cardigan both for myself and Johan's wallet, i mean body...to the point: here are my latest purchases from the last two days, two visits

purchase number 1: Rhubarb by Comme des Garcons Series 5: Sherbet. Ever since I stayed with beautiful Amanda in NYC, i've been longing to get this. She had it and rarely even used it while i was there but the deliciously musky scent has haunted me ever since. i wore it for the first time this morning and on my walk from the subway to work, i could smell trails of myself and it gave me tingles!

purchase number 2: bernhard willhelm for uslu airlines nail polish in grey- san bernadino. this takes my white polish to a whole new level.


not really a purchase but this is the bag and one of my favorite parts of the Black Market shopping experience- a hand stamped at checkout brown paper bag. I love the idea of seeing the owner stamp black market on each bag, seeing a piece of branding happen right in front of your eyes. simple but lovely.