Long time no blog

Long time no blog dear all! This has certainly been a long emotionally and physically draining a month and so...work, work, work and more work, but a meaningful one, I am learning quit a lot. I am actually taking a little trip to the City for the Xmass holidays, I am really going to visit my long distance boyfriend and I am extremely excited and even more scared about how I am going to feel, how brave I am going to be and if I will finally have a face to face, truth and nothing but the truth conversation with him, look at his eyes and instantly know if it will be happily ever after or a final goodbye.


I am praying and wishing for the first option to be true.The other day I finally received the rest of my winter clothes which my beautiful brazilian friend sent to me back from states, God bless her! I was so excited not to go to work in semi-spring clothes and to finally feel warm and dressed up in my last season (but very timeless and chic) skirts, dresses and hats.


I was not as excited to find out that the pantyhose I put on, had a tinny but noticeable hole on it. I noticed it right when I came down the stairs and put my coat on, I was locking the doors and I looked down, that's when I saw it.
Now, of course I could theoretically go back in and put on a new pair, but I didn't. I kept walking and had them on the whole day, pulling them and trying to make that inperfection invisible.


Now, my dear ladies, don't we all sometimes do it. Knowing something is less than perfect, flawed, broken, torn and visible, we still let it be, deceiving ourselves that it might just disappear, vanish, be gone...and nobody but us could ever possibly notice it? This is something that I realized I might be doing with my relationship sometimes. Knowing that it needs some repair, having some decisions waiting to be made, and just letting it be, hoping it will fix itself or somehow disappear, that he will miss me and come back.


Well, unfortunately, in this case a little bit of see-through nail polish just will not cut it. This is one thing I hope to do in New York, finally fix my pantyhoe.


xoxo,


Kat

The One

Today is a holiday in Croatia, it is the day when we celebrate the dead, visit their graves, light candles and bring fresh flowers. I lost a lot of people in my life way to early, they died. Yesterday I lost another person, I think I lost him a while ago but just found out yesterday. I lost my boyfriend.


After waiting and waiting, loving and hoping he gave up on us, just like that, the investment was not worth of return, or no ROI (for those of you who measure everything in life in $ value). Now, I am sad, mad, disappointed, hurt, feel rejected and in pain, I am crying randomly and feel lost. I feel like he abandoned me. My heart is broken. With all that being sad one would expect me to now trash him and explain what a lousy and cowardly person he is, low values, no heart, that he is nobody. However, I can't and don't want to do that. That would not be true. He is none of those things and I still love him endlessly.


Talking to my true friends who stayed with me through everything I realized some things about myself and the relationship I had. I am not a quitter, I am very romantic and believe in love and fighting for it, I am probably living in the wrong age. Love and passion are included in all of what I do. My work, my relationship with friends, family and most importantly in my romantic relationship. I fight and love passionately.


High drama? Maybe, but it is a lot of fun and also very painful to live like that, but guess what, you feel alive and you do live to the fullest! Most importantly, you can always look at everybody's face and never feel ashamed cause at all times you gave your all!


I refuse to take the easy way out and just give up but I do believe in letting go. A very smart person once said: „Let go what you love the most, set it free, if it comes back than it is yours forever and if it doesn't than you never really had it“ .
This time I did let him go because I believe that I deserve to be with somebody who is a good passionate man with strong values, somebody confident and brave, with goals in life which are not measured in $ or Ł but in accomplishments, memories and emotions. And he, he needs to find out who he really is and what he really wants, and maybe once he will even realize who he had and lost.


And me? What's going to happen with me? I am not sure. I know I can jump on the next chance with a man willing to be my shoulder to cry on tomorrow if I wanted to. But after this relationship, which I thought to be my last one, I have to many pieces to gather and feel as if I will be busy with that for a long time.


There are to many memories, silly things that remind me of him: his jeans by my bed, a package of little presents I put together to sent to him, a calendar where I was counting the days until I go to NY for Christmas and finally see him, the travel papers and passport, our song on my Ipod, the bracelet he got me and the picture of us on my laptop.
While the worse are the memories in my head which are impossible to put in the box and push to the bottom of the closet. Our first Christmas together, our „official“ anniversary on the New Years Eve, the cruise around Manhattan, stupid thing he said when he first kissed me, watching movies and being lazy on the beach, the Valentines day with rose petals and candles, dinners in the City, waiting for him for hours to come from work and sleeping on his chest, talking and drawing to each other on the webcam for hours at night, talking about our future, our apartment and having babies, this will all be hard to let go and forget.


If I ever do find a man who will be strong enough not to feel intimidated by me, who knows how to and is not afraid to deal with all the challenges which relationship and life bring, I know I will be able to give my all to him, and hope he would take my bruised up heart.


Kat :(

Friendships

Weather Report: pleasantly warm
Stock Market Report: L.O.V.E hit its 52week high= priceless
Emotional State: worried but hopeful


First and foremost I would like to thank Kim and Anita for their endless wisdom, love and support in the past week. No, this is not acceptance speech on movie or music awards. These are honest and truthful words of gratitude to my friends who each on her own unique way helped me see the both sides of my Time, Love and Lifelong investment dilemma. They helped me see what was really important by applying their knowing of me and they care for me as the real friends should. So thank you girls for being you, reminding me who I am and encouraging me to stay true to the same.



Now, this made me think about what friendships really are, since in the past two months I have really questioned the longevity and quality of some of my friendships. As I see it, the friendship is a relationship just like a romantic one, well minus the physical part and just like the family relationship, again minus the actual blood connection. The common ingredient as you might noticed and felt is LOVE .



Different than romantic relationship, friendship should be unconditional in love and have much higher bullshit and PMS tolerance. Also, friendship should be more forgiving and absolutely unselfish. Next, friendship versus family relationship has a spare bad and a shoulder to cry on for you even when families bullshit tolerance is on the all times low and romantic relationship has proven to be a mistake.



And the last but by all means not the least is that friendship is never silent, it tells you what you need to hear even when you don't want to hear it. It catches when falling, it falls and knows it will be caught, it makes a mistake and forgives one, it fights and makes up and it never ever lets go.



So thank you again fabulous ladies. Thank you Armina and Matea on "big sister" friendship. Thank you Ania on "little sister" friendship. Thank you Allis on listening friendship, thank you Erin on wisdom and experience talk, thank you GF on partner in crime friendship. Thank you Anita on blunt honesty and endless support. And thank you Mr. Financial Analyst for helping the L.O.V.E hit its 52 weeks high.

Original or a knockoff?

Day: hot and miserable saturday
Emotional state: heartbreak( broken into pieces and doctors gave up on recesitating)
Guilty: knockoff who presented himself as an original


As Carrie Bradshaw said there are to L`s women look for in New York City, labels and love. I thought I found both. However, it is much easier to recognize a knockoff to experienced fashionista`s eye when it comes to labels than to love. Being hopeless romantic as I am I trusted, loved and cherished my New York found love. I cared for it better than for any shoes or a designer dress. I love it more than all the label pieces I have as well.


Unfortunately, when it comes to love there is no dry cleaning place, nor the detergent to clean it with, nor the store where you can return it for a brand new one or even the original, because when it comes to love pieces are unique. If you have bought a knockoff, trusted it to be the original, great quality and just what you needed and it ends up breaking and falling apart, there is nothing that can be done. Knockoff will stay a knockoff, that can not be changed.


So what to do now? You are left heartbroken, you feel disappointed, cheated on and miserable. Who`s fault is it? That is a hard question! Is it your fault for not knowing that this great looking, great quality original will quit on you the very first time it gets tough? Or is it his fault for deceiving you this whole time knowing that he is knockoff? But does it really matter?


At the end all that matters is money, right? It is the value of something you lost. I guess I found out what my monetary value is, how much am I worth to my "original" and that is what really makes me sad, that even love has its worth on the stock market.


~Kat

Talking Fashion

Where did the summer go?
I am not quit sure what is happening this year but I felt like summer has just swooshed by in a light year kinda speed. I vaguely remember snow this year in the City, meeting my boyfriend, having a spectacular two people New Years party with him and than it got warmer ( yes it got warmer in January!) , fashion week in Bryant Park, the showroom rush and than sum...and than ..mer was over! I just don´t get it, do seasons last weeks rather than months now?

Well, designers certainly recognized and are fully aware of the demand for "all seasons" fashion pieces. This was particularly noticeable in Fall/Winter 08 going on Resort 09. Due to the current situation in the global economy and the ever more visible effects of global warming, the fashion is changing and adapting to consumers needs for more affordable, practical and better quality fashion pieces, wearable year round.

On the other hand, when it comes to couture collections the rules of demand are not the same. All of the higher profile fashion houses (Dior, Chanel, Gucci, Armani, Ralph Lauren) have focused and adapted on their highest paying customers and most developing markets of Middle East, Asia and India. After watching the shows and showroom pictures I have picked my favorites for both Fall/Winter 08.

Fall 2008 .
My absolute favorite shows were Galliano´s and McQueen´s shows. I also loved Ralph Lauren and DSquared collections.

McQueen used his trip to India as well as British Empire as inspiration for this collection. McQueen showed great craftmanship, his model was Victorian punk meets British royalty and queen Elizabeth. I loved the tulle skirts, India inspired jewelry, beautiful Fabergé egg purses, interesting skinny trousers and "the prince suit", gorgeous knit dresses and beautiful "feather lace"fabrics. McQeen´s fabrics were rich and royal, he used red, white, black and gold fabrics made in India, beautiful embroidery and feathers.




Galliano´s collection was beautifully insane as always. His scene was" a pastiche of a Rudolf Valentino-era silent-movie set"(Sarah Mower). I absolutely adore his houri pants, oversized head pieces, thirties chiffons, floral print dresses and coats and gorgeous free falling furs. The color pallet was wonderful (pale pinks, blues and burgundies).










DSquared showed vicious but wearable looks, I am sure Texas or Indiana would not be the best selling markets but it will be a definite success for New York as well as for many other fashion capitals in the world Paris, Tokyo, Milan etc. DSquared´s model was naughty secretary/librarian who wears fishnet stalkings, high waisted red plaid skirts, black fur, red lips and long leather glows. Batter return your books on time people!










On the other hand Ralph Lauren showed safer but very elegant and timeless collection. I loved one shoulder velvet dresses, high boots in red and purple, precise tailoring, gorgeous leather belts and Ricky bags, as well as feather and leaves embellished pieces. The color pallet was black, white, red, green, gold and purple.





In conclusion, Fall 08 Ready to Wear was artistically beautiful (Galliano and McQueen), timeless, elegant and classical ( Chanel, Ralph Lauren) and young and naughty(DSquared).
The trends are:

-Peplumed 40s style dresses and houri pants
-Plaid skirts and shirts, tweed
-Velvet/ shearling one shoulder dresses
-Silhouette skirts and coats
-Less is more philosophy (unless you are going for Diva Glam look)
-Black is a new black
-Minimalistic tendencies
-Futuristic caped jackets
-Funnel-collared furs
-High boots(red and purple is great)
-Chunky knits
-Feathers


Dress it up people September is behind the corner!




~Kat

Long Distance Love

For more than two months now my boyfriend and I are forced to be in a long distance relationship. It is not easy, as you might imagine, but we are (read he is) handling it rather well. If we disregard the past four days which have been tragic, all in all I to managed the separation with minimal drama outbreaks (not counting PMS days).

Although I have never tried nor believed in maintaining a long distance relationship, when I met Ante, fell in love and we started planning our future together, the long distance period, which we knew it was coming seemed more like a puddle in the rain on our long walk to forever, where we knew we might get our shoes a bit wet, but they would dry before water would touch our feet.

Now, after stepping in the puddle I feel like I left home wearing my new purple suede Miu Miu flats forgetting all about the forecasted showers and I walked right through the middle of the puddle. I am actually standing in the middle of it right now. My flats are ruined, my feet are wet, I am staring at my feet and I can't move. Fucking rain.

While I am standing in the puddle, and staring at my ruined purple suede Miu Miu flats, I look up. Ante is holding my hand, standing on the edge of the puddle and smiling at me. He pulls me out of the puddle, tells me he loves me and promises we will go and get another pair of those purple flats.

We keep walking....and I realize...I would walk barefoot on the rain with him forever, as long as he would hold my hand.

BOOK REVIEW:"Full Blast" by J.Evanovich & C.Hughes

Today is the day17 . of my prolonged stay in Croatia.


Update on "La Situation Miserable"

Bad stuff: 2 bad interviews the day after arrival, cancelled vacation plans, expired passport and awkward situation with some of my friends.


Good stuff : interview scheduled for tomorrow and analytical testing for P&G on Monday(WOHOO). My new passport will be done before the end of the month. My boyfriend is coming to visit in seven days. I read two books in past two days. I got inspired by one of the books I read and got an idea for starting my own business. I also discovered my love for French chansons & Édith Piaf.


"Full Blast"




The book I finished yesterday (the only one I saved out of my library left in US) "Full Blast" by Janet Evanovich & Charlotte Hughes is just what I needed to get me out of my "Attitude Miserable" and to get me going.

"Full Blast" is a steamy romantic adventure which will make your fingers hurt from speedily turning the pages. It is truly a one breath read. Not only this book made me laugh out loud, it also evoked many familiar feelings in me when it comes to family issues and romantic relationships. Jamie's (main character) fears and doubts of falling in love, commitment and letting oneself be lead by heart while risking of getting hurt, definitely hit home on so many levels.

I really believe that a girls heart can go through just as much before it breaks. Than, it heals again and covers itself with this glossy protective shield which makes it appear healthy, shinny and new from outside, and the girl moves on and lets it shine for somebody all over again.

However, when the second heartbreak happens, not only it starts beating slower, but the glossy shield breaks into tinniest pieces which than pierce the already tired and slowly beating heart and damage it to beyond repair.

Now, all this might seem just a bit over the top and dramatic, but I am PO-SI-TI-VE that this is what really happens to the girls heart.

So, all of you girls out there do be careful and doubtful, but first, go all out, take that first risk, let your heart get hurt and heal once if needed. Let it build its delicate shield and let yourself be lead by your heart, because it will detect that One person who will be mesmerized by its shine. That person, is the same person capable of breaking the shield and causing a heartbreak. But, if He doesn't.... than... Fireworks.

With Love.

~Kat

The Solution

23:45pm
Zagreb,Croatia

State of mind: somewhere between depression and insanity
State of the body: nasal congestion, painful throat, painful breathing- self diagnosis remains Strep Throat possibly transitioning into Bronchitis (also possible hypochondria)


Problem: moved to another country without detailed plan
(other than the obvious one that I am home by computer on Thursday night)
Solution:???


After moving back to Europe I realized the flaws of my unexciting plan. Well, the flaw #1 was obviously a lack of comprehensive moving plan. The flaw #2 was not having a detailed plan for job searching. The flaw #3 was planning my vacation to soon and the flaw #4 was NO planning and savings for my move to London.

The consequences of these flaws were: five boxes of priceless winter clothes and shoes trapped still in US, loosing my mind over not finding a desired job position for a WEEK now, as well as uncertainty about move to London and vacation. Not to mention a huge loss in financial department as a direct result of me hanging out in Bloomies shoe department for to long while preparing for this move.

However in my defense, I did worked a lot last weeks in the City, I really wanted to book that vacation with my girls and hoped all the other pieces (job and move to London) would fall in place until than. They didn't. But, the shoes were on sale and practically free and I definitely needed new flats. Also, my judgement is clouded by LOVE. I am in love, and I heard that two hearts in love are like magnets that pull together, and this magnet of mine is quit strong and managed to pull me to Croatia and it is now pulling me to London.

After carefully examining this problem of mine it downed to me that I am an addict. I am addicted to LOVE. LOVE toward the man I love and towards fashion. Even though those two cant compare they can definitely coexist. This addiction of mine is definitely something I am never going to be ready to let go, as long as I am able to have them coexist without conflicting (read WILL NOT buy those shoes out of my rent money).

As my friend Armina said this problem of mine has a simple solution. I just need to figure out what is it that I absolutely cant live without and what am I not going to be able to compromise over. This is how I am going to make my work and personal decisions easier. She was right. It all became clearer. I want to be with my boyfriend and continue working in fashion. That is my solution.

Love..love..love...
~Kat

Au Revoir New York

Zagreb, Croatia
Rainy, not at all summer like day...
I wonder what is the weather like in New York City...hm...
Ouu well... I'm back here in Croatia, it is my 7Th day back and I am still keeping myself isolated from my friends and most of my family members under the excuse of a terribly contagious cold, which I self diagnosed as a strep throat, so that makes me highly contagious and avoiding people for their own good is indeed a good idea.

Don't get me wrong, my throat really hurts, and I feel awful, but there is also that other thing, this feeling of "unreadiness" to face people and adapt back to the culture I do not live in for a five years now. I am not quit sure if I am scared of not meeting people´s expectation of what I should be after graduating college and living abroad or am I afraid of them judging me for who I become and being jealous .Hmm...

It is time for another glass or Chocolate Mint Baileys. (No I am not an alcoholic, I just had an hour long conversation with "Ouu so lovely" customer service representative from Sprint who informed me of $300 unexpected fees to be paid, by me! Yesterday! Of course, that´s not going to happened, for that money I can get solid sale sandals in Saks.)

OK, I am back. Moving on. I think I am going to meet my home girls for a drink tomorrow and face them bravely and just smile, can´t go wrong with smiling and listening. That is what I am going to do, I am going to just listen and keep my answers short and sweet, nobody disappointed and nobody jealous! Voila!

This past weekend my boyfriend was visiting from London. That totally made my weekend, my week, it made me smile. He is one of those rare people that just know what other person is feeling and has a calming effect without clowning or trying to hard. We spend the whole day in cafes, high school reminiscence sandwich joints and popular city ice cream place.

While we were waiting for a tram on Croatian main square to go back home I could not help but notice that Croatian man carry purses. All of them! All these macho man that act like hooligans during soccer games, strong and protective toward women, never cry, never hurt and never bleed, but, they do daily,get in touch with their feminine side and carry PURSES. No, no, they are not wallet holders, key pouches nor fanny packs, they are PURSES. I mean, there is nothing wrong with a good man-purse. I am sure it makes perfect sense to carry one and that it is very functional and practical, I mean I carry one and love it, but I am also a girl. I just could not but find the irony in the sight of a six foot five man with a purse.

Anybody that knows the reputation of Croatian man as well as their average built must surely see some irony in the fact that they are becoming increasingly metro sexual and refreshingly open with it. This must be progress from "women´s place is in the kitchen" and "women are cooking, cleaning and child bearing machines while man are out hunting for food" kind of views.

Lastly, even though I am perfectly OK and in favor of this new breed of Croatian man that are not afraid to show their feelings and care more about their looks I will not be shopping for a man-purse in early August for Ante´s birthday.

Pusa.
~Kat

Fashion Fantasy

It is 5th day since my boyfriend left.
3rd day in a row of going to the gym (2 days in between emotional therapy talks with my girls).
2 Emotional breakdowns ( possible PMS, so it doesn't count).
1 domestic attack (I made banana bread, mushy middle, crusty sides...I just ate the sides.)
No ice cream crisis.
So far so good.
Anyways, since my boyfriend left, even though I miss him dearly and I am jumping from joy every time I see digits 385 on my cell, I do have more time to focus on work and fashion over all, which I by no means prefer over hanging out with him.


Last thing I was researching was the impact that current economic situation has on this years couture and RTW collections and designers inspirations. As I was scrolling through some archive RTW (ready to wear) videos on www.style.com I started with my favorites. Galliano's RTW Fall 2008 was sensational, arguably one of his most artistic and wildest collections ever. His inspirations for set and collection came from Rudolf Valentino era of silent film. I was amazed by the fantasy Galliano has created and how he managed to isolate himself and his creative inspirations from current economic events. He certainly did not save a penny while putting this show together and was able to maintain his original "bias cutting, retro coats, and overblown headgear(Sarah Mower- www.style.com) . " My absolute favorites were pink houri pants, his new line of amazing jewelry (oversized broaches and necklaces) and his signature craftsmanship.




Next, another one of my favorites was McQueen who created absolutely mesmerizing collection rich with Indian Jewelry and "British-colonial romance inspired crinolined princess dresses". McQueen had spend a month in India and consequently created an amazing collection out of carefully selected treasures (gorgeous fabrics and jewelry) found in ancient India.


Personally I loved a peacock feathered lace, a structured military plaid jackets, an amazing skinny leather pants under gorgeous fur coats (yes, fur) and thin knit tunic sweaters, as well as gorgeously rich Victorian gowns carefully embellished with Indian Empire motives.


I loved it all, this collection was absolutely brilliant and I am anxiously waiting to see the way its going to be interpreted on the City streets this fall. I know I will be rocking curly hair and humongous broaches on my knits over skinny pants(maybe I even dear to go wild and wear houri pants in my signature purple).


Beauty sleep time.....zzzz.....


Ciao
~Kat

Baby Don't Go!!!

Sunday, May 25th
10:06pm (4 ujutro doma)


As I was finishing the last three pieces of my boyfriends medium classic crust mushrooms, ham and cheese (minus the ham) and his glass of Orangina, I started the rough draft.....
Agenda for tonight: Finish packing my boyfriend before he leaves to London on Friday.
Wish: "Please God cancel all the flights from US to Croatia until further notice."
Thanks, Kat
Brilliantly desperate ideas: Hide his passport, pretend your sick, call airport saying he's a terrorist, pay the cab driver to get stuck in traffic etc.
Reality Check: Flight will leave on time Friday the 30th, the whole entire month apart...oh...the desperation, the sadness, the thought of sleeping alone, the thought of no one to complain to, no one to smooch, to sing my bestest to!!! OMG this is completely OOC (out of control)! This is so much worse than I could ever imagine. I can already feel it coming, my eyes are watering....O.K , calm down Kat! Breath! More detailed planning is necessary ASAP.


So I wrote in CAPS LOCK BOLD....

SURVIVAL PLAN FOR JUNE (not that there was one for the month of May)

• 4 pounds of mint chocolate ice cream, 2 ibs of pistachio ice cream (to be consumed on the night of)
• Buy 10-15 kg of cokolino (breakfast)/Astoria
• Cafe Misto with whole milk from Starbucks allowed daily (I'll live it up)
• Go to see "Sex & The City: The Movie" with girls from work
• Work,work, work (time will pass faster)
• Pack for Croatia, don't do everything in the last minute (some shopping is needed of course)

Note to myself: Leave the freaking credit cards and/or ATM Card at home! ( in past known to be used as pain killers, they are healthier on my body than over the counter meds, deadly however to my bank account).
Plan is set. I'm gonna be OK, its just a month, I'll be busy(so I try to convince myself) , I will go to the gym every day and get abs like Janet Jackson had at her skinniest, or something. No, I will not be OK! We will be oceans apart! God damn...I hate relationships.Where is that freaking memory eraser thingy from "Man in Black" when I need it.
As I am looking at My Baby poking at his old cell phone with the knife ( he thinks somebody will steel it to get all of his "celebrity" friends, his mom's and dad's cell phone numbers) I can't help but notice how in love I am. When even that what he is doing looks so smart, intelligent and adorable. All until he cut himself trying to break his old bank card in half with his bare hands :) .
OK. Of I go to find a band aid and to spend some more very much valuable time with him and hopefully O.D. on him enough to last me for the month he is away.
Wish me luck!

MOVIE REVIEW: Virgin Queen

During the week, my boyfriend and I don't get to do much together since we are both working crazy hours. The little time we do spend together we do something that does not require a lot of physical activity. Yesterday we have seen a movie "Elizabeth, The Golden Age".

Queen Elizabeth was also known as a "Virgin Queen". Although the name is self explanatory, she indeed was a virgin, she never married and she was the last monarch of her dynasty and was known by what is considered the greatest military win in British history when she defeated the Spanish armada in 1588. Elizabeth claimed that she was married to her "people" and she was focused on serving her nation, especially in the fields of art, drama and seafaring prowess of English adventurers.

The movie reminded me on the conversation I had with one of my Turkish friends as we were returning back to University from clubbing in the City, and I remembered how shocked (although tired and partially intoxicated) I was by his views on sex and relationship. I do not remember how this conversation came about. It might have been his unsuccessful attempt of flirting with me or even just a conversation starter.
What I do remember though is that I was absolutely flabbergasted when I found out that he was dating a women and having sex with her but was expecting to marry a virgin. Also, he claimed to prefer a women he was currently sleeping with as well as the one he chooses to marry later to be of a Turkish origin.
Logically, my train of thought was following ....if all the Turkish man are having sex before the marriage, and all the Turkish women are waiting to get married to have sex, who are the Turkish man having sex with?
Are they traveling internationally to satisfy their "manly needs" or is there a divide between the women in Turkey that are virgins, and those that are "sinners" and having sex prior to marriage with no chance of "tying the not".
Next, I had a conversation on a similar topic with my boyfriend. We were discussing if it is expected from a women in today's society to take her husbands last name or not. Even though very liberal, my boyfriend seems to prefer to marry a women who will take his name and start all over, identity wise. I felt as if he hit me over the head with the bat and dragged me to his cave, until he saw my facial expression and listened to my arguments, than he decided to support "who ever the lucky one to marry him will be" and go with whatever she decides to do, my boyfriend is very smart, he picks his battles.

Personally, I believe that taking your significant others name upon marrying him is a "tradition", but it is a very detrimental one. The women who decides to do that could potentially confuse/loose her business connections, reputation and all the other accomplishments she did under her maiden name. It might not seem like to big of a sacrifice to make for the one you love but in this day and age it is not needed anymore.


Women should be able to keep their maiden name without feeling guilty or not loving enough to their husbands or boyfriends. The same thing works with the issue of splitting the inheritance among children after parents pass away and male successors.
In some cultures (read Eastern European Cultures) male child is still considered the only legitimate successor of his parents heritage. This "tradition" is absolutely wrong, and leads to development of generation of women with low self esteem and no desire to grow and become somebody, as all of their dream are shattered by what is genetically determined by whether sperm from their father supplied an X or Y chromosome to their mothers egg cell.


A matter like that should not be an issue anymore, one would think that after burning our bras,voting, getting higher education as well as multitasking and managing successful careers and family life women should not have to defend their freedom of choice anymore, or are there more uncivilized wild man left hiding in their caves?

BOOK REVIEW: "The end of fashion" by Teri Agins

Inspired by the lack of daily intellectual activity and the pile up of thoughts and ideas in my rather creative head with the limited information storage space (and probably inability to find a person who would be willing to hear all of the above, other than my boyfriend who doesn't count as he has no other choice)I decided to start writing this blog. This way, I can bother all of you willing to read it, with my daily dilemmas, worries and observations.

So,today, on my day off work I woke up 100% PMSal ready to scream at, cry to and complain to the first person I see, as my boyfriend ran out to work before I fully regained my conscious my first victim was my mother. Which is great since she must always understand and forgive, she has to! That's her "mother duty"-Mother's Law 1252.1 :"Never take anything your PMSal daughter saids to heart".

Next, I talked to my GF and BFF, we discussed rather important issues with finalizing her wedding plans and she educated me on "The American Weeding Traditions" which are soooo damn confusing! Gosh!!!! I miss Croatian good old "cash in the envelope" kind of gift giving.

As I finished my conversation I finally started reading Teri Agins's "The End of Fashion" and sinfully indulged in my 654 Calorie Grande Fat Free Pepermint Mocha (God Bless Starbucks on the first day of PMS and damn you New York City officials for showing the calorie count in my face).

Recently, I started to research fashion history and fashion business to help me decide if I should go to fashion graduate school or not. So far, the more I read the more I am realizing that my view of fashion is very naive and romantic. I have been living in an "isolated bubble".

In my little bubble, fashion is still painfully gorgeous, impractically fabulous and totally unwearable, and I love it like that! I seem to be one of a dying kind. I learned that those who would agree with my views and who would share my mindset died in 60's (Dior, Chanel) or are alive but severely drugged and medicated (but still very successful) and have no connection to the reality what so ever (John Galliano).

Please don't get me wrong, I am not comparing myself with their geniusness but simply realizing that I myself think of fashion garment as little pieces of art, rather that a pieces of fabric stitched together by a 10 year old factory worker in China. As Teri Agins realistically noted the fashion has ended as it existed before and became a mass-pleasing part of entertainment industry :(

Obviously, I have just started reading this book but I am hungrily turning its pages, praying to find a thread of hope to grip on, hoping to learn that it is not all about money and catering to couture illiterate sloppy dressing masses and that there is still interest in fashion in form it has once existed: exclusive, reserved for sizes 6 and under ,fabulous, expensive, glamorous, uncomfortable and painful to wear but stunning to look at and a privilege to wear.

PUSA.

DISCLOSURE POLICY

I wrote this post in order to provide transparency between my readers and companies I may work with now or in the future and in accordance with newly published FTC rules. 

PRODUCT REVIEWS

Occasionally I will receive products for free from a company in exchange for a review of their merchandise. I accept and promote only the products from the companies which I use myself and believe in it's good quality.

I always disclose to the PR person contacting me that I will make an honest assessment of the product on the site with clearly stating that I have got this product for free to review it from the respective company, or if I really don't like it I will not post about it at all.  

If you have questions about whether the product was given to me or purchased by me, and if you are unsure about which post is sponsored please email me or leave me a comment, and I will be more than happy to explain.

SPONSORS

I work very closely and develop relationships with companies, independent small business, retailers and young designers which I myself support and trust. Sponsors and I develop a relationship to provide great advertising space for them on my blog, often times in exchange for product goods as these small business mostly do not have disposable advertising and marketing budget. I view this as a win-win situation, and many times it is because of prior posts or an interview that the relationship with the business person happens.

AFFILIATES

I do participate in a limited number of Affiliate programs, who's banners are disclosed in the right sidebar of my blog.  There are, on occasion, links within my posts to products on these sites.  All affiliate links are for products that I own, I bought myself and liked.

Katarina Štimac 
Founder & editor

Email: katarina@lapassionpourlafashion.com

www.lapassionpourlafashion.com

 COLUMN / TUMBLR / PINTREST 

LINES OF LIFE

LINES OF LIFE  are posts which reflect emotions and life lessons I learned and  went through in different stages of my life, these are the lessons of growing up which based on your kind feedback many can relate to and find comfort in.

INTERVIEWS

INTERVIEWS category contains quick interviews I did with young and talented fashion designers, editors and business people in fashion world with intention to get a better picture of what is happening in backstage of fashion industry.

If you know or you are a young designer who ‘s work I might want to feature  on my blog please feel free to email me  designers resume and  photos of his/her work and I will be happy to consider you for a post and/or an interview. I am always looking to support young designers and showcase their work.

LINES OF PASSION FOR FASHION

LINES OF PASSION FOR FASHIONare posts related to current fashion trends which I recommend to follow, fashion events reviews and commentaries from business side of fashion with a special focus on Croatian fashion industry events and young fashion designers, their seasonal collections, special edition brand collaborations and international endeavors as well as their social responsibility work and eco-friendly fashion.

I SPY

I SPY is the collection of my travel diaries and reviews of various fabulous places and events I recommend you to visit worldwide.

If you would like to add a fabulous location to my list for all of us fashionistas please feel free to contact me with your review and I will be happy to host you as a guest blogger.

URBAN GENTLEMAN

URBAN GENTLEMAN is the collection of posts which refer to current trends in menswear but also talk about male-female relationships from female point of view.

For inquires and help with fixing or refreshing personal style, questions about where to find the perfect urban gentleman clothing feel free to email me at: katarina@lapassionpourlafashion.com. 

LADIES BOOK CLUB

Ladies book club is gathering which started fairly recently. This exclusive ladies club gathers a selective group of seven very intelligent, independent, beautiful and successful young women who share common passion for reading good books ranging from international chic lit to crime stories and local authors novels. 

Iva, Armina, Anita, Diana,Petra, Lucija, Antonija and I (Katarina) will provide you with our commentary to the books we read and would love to hear your comments and stories about the same books.

We meet last Friday of each month at different fabulous locations where in additions to good books and weekly exchange of gossips we eat fabulous macaroons, rich chocolate cake and drink good wine,coffee or Champaign depending of what kind of weekend we have planned ahead.

Visit La Passion pour la Fashion bookstore to see and purchase our book selection.

This is where I am going to post book reviews once a month from each ladies POV featuring short club member profiles.

„Full Blast" is a steamy romantic adventure which will make your fingers hurt from speedily turning the pages. It is truly a one breath read. Not only this book made me laugh out loud, it also evoked many familiar feelings in me when it comes to family issues and romantic relationships. Jamie's (main character) fears and doubts of falling in love, commitment and letting oneself be lead by heart while risking of getting hurt, definitely hit home on so many levels....continue reading the review.

Book Club favorites: