Swap until you drop!

Fall is here and you got nothing to wear? Look no further than your friends’ closet!

We all totally crave for full Burberry collection for this fall, me personally, I am a McQueen dreamer....but the reality is that one would need to sell a car to buy one of these collection pieces, however this doesn't mean you can't look fabulous and have a piece or two to follow this fall seasons top trends. As we all know, fashion recycles.

My suggestion is (and something I have been doing for years with my girlfriends) is to organize a clothing swap party, as the saying saids „One person's trash is another person’s treasure! “ If you live with your parents you can also go „closet shopping“in your mum’s, sisters or grandmas closet, just try to make sure they know you are doing it!;)

There are some ground rules to organizing swap party:

• Invite a group of friends to your house whom you would like to participate in a swap
• Determine the average condition the clothes should be in: No wholes (unless the trend) / recently washed / not faded / no undies J
• Each person should at least bring one piece but maybe more
• Ask to have clothes brought a day before the swap so you can categorize it per size/type
• Mark a room to be a dressing room
• Prepare light snacks & drinks for your guests to feel welcomed
• Ensure that everyone has fun and that swap is fair in terms of the amount people take away

Here is my favorite sweets recipe – macaroons ala Laduree!

Enjoy lovelies!

                                                                          Xoxo,

Recession in fashion - Dress for less

Economize
Dictionary: e·con·o·mize (ĭ-kŏn'ə-mīz')
1.To practice economy, as by avoiding waste or reducing expenditures.
2.To make economical use of something



Right, Webster was a really smart fellow. I am not so sure that he was a fine dresser. Anyhow, one thing is for sure, recession is hitting us on all fields, so is the case with dressing and shopping. Does this mean we should stop spending money on clothes, shoes and make up?



Of course NOT!!! It is very important to continue to stimulate economy by continuous input of fresh cash. In short, by spending, you are actually helping general bad state of the economy.However, the key is, spend less than what you earn. It does sound simple, but it is the hardest thing for people to learn. I am the prime example.



Now, the current state in retail is seemingly very beneficial for the consumer, right? Sales everywhere! This however encourages you to shop for things that are cheap, not those that you necessarily need or are of a good quality. Basically with the economic situation as it is, you simply cannot afford to buy cheap stuff. You are looking for good quality pieces that are timeless and fit your personality.



So we could have seen on Paris, New York and Milan Fashion Weeks for Fall 2009. your timeless dark and light grays, blacks, browns, beiges all were spiced up with zippers, shoulder pads, big chunky statement industrial jewelry , tie high boots, lather pants, sequins, men shoes, interesting head pieces etc. Designers could not afford to make cheap and weak collections.



Cost saving was definitely noticeable, but not in a bad way. In contrary, many designers showed their strength by going back to their roots and covering basics.

Gareth Pugh did a video fashion show which showed fashion pieces and fabrics in a whole new dimension.
Botega Veneta did many feminine value added pieces: white coats, great detailing, low back dresses.
Marni focused on investment pieces as well, he did great fur coats and peacoats, short skirts, huge chunky jewelry and line chain necklaces.
Angelo Missioni had a vision of ice princess who wore layered cardigans, light and delicate lace pieces in pale pink and baby blue armored with huge chunky knits.

My favorites were:
Zac Posen - Zac's story happened in Paris in 1920's Patty Smith era, he did gorgeous silk dresses and suites in pale pink and gold. His message to women was to create their goddess existence.
Ana Sui did not disappoint, her collection was of course colorful, hippy, feminine and gothic-cool, she used feathers and designed some great head pieces.
I loved Alex Wang's rock and roll minimalistic look. Alex did leather pants and tailored jackets, great texture and finishing in black and white, beading with bras-nickel metals, beautiful purple dresses and great sequin hoods and hats.
I also loved Oscar de la Renta's gowns, smokey eyes, duchess hair puffs kind of look and wool-fur combinations in red, orange, blue and purple.
Donna Karan created gorgeous gowns and skirts by cutting and draping, these easy and flexible pieces came in purple, red, burgundy and blue.

Of the chart were my top favorites "beyond fashion" designers:

Galliano for Dior - with Ukrainian virgin bride muse who wore coin necklaces, gray, silver green and red pieces - see-through silk pants and wide and long sleeve dresses with gorgeous beading.
Ana McGibons made a great collection for Chloe, great capes, rolled up pants, black velvet overalls, military colors, tall shorts, oversized coats and a special beige sleeveless dress with high neck.
McQueen did a very strong collection - colorful tights, long skirts and coats, great hats, all in red, white and black, very fetish, fierce and gothic.
While Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel did super cool retro hats, deep V front tops in black, white, jade green and pale pink, body suites, high neck and half sleeve.

In conclusion, try to pull the inspiration out of next seasons designer pieces, pay attention to details and invest in timeless pieces which are always in style.
Luckily, many spring items are still in, like harem pants which just got sequin detailing for fall, chunky jewelry and zippers are back, red lips and high tie boots are still in-style from last fall. Please note that shoulder pads are optional trend worth of passing.

Let the recession inspire you to recreate, reuse, shop for vintage pieces, go through your grandma's closet or simply organize a little yard sale or trade among your girlfriends with stuff you grew out of or were given and it doesn’t fit your personality.
If you are a designer wearing girl, you can now get the designer jewelry for less: Erickson Beamon did jewelry collection for Target, in Croatia Leonarda Boban did a cute jewelry collection for Kozmo drug stores, so there is something there for every budget.

Get inspired!

xoxo

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