Tigress Reign by Ada Zanditon

One of the most anticipated shows for me on this SS 2013.season's Dreft Fashion Week Zagreb was Ada's show. I interviewed Ada before she came over to Zagreb to do the show, she told me about her passion for creating sustainable fashion pieces, about challenges of working in today's volatile economic environment and of course she showed me a sneak peak of her SS 2013. fashion film.

Backstage at DFWZ was as hectic as everywhere else, Ada still managed to have fun with her team of dressers and to sneak on some popular Croatian candy - Kiki.

I cannot say I was surprised by the energy, girl power and fierceness of Ada's SS 2013. collection after following her work for couple of years now there words are exactly describing Ada as a person. I loved everything from mood film, styling, amazing Julian Hakes shoes, luxurious floaty silk used for dresses as well as patches of leather which accentuated shoulders of dresses transforming a romantic floaty silk piece into a protective armor for tigresses in all of us.

One of my very favorite dresses from this collection on top of the green jungle dress with leather patch sleeves and open back is the bellow gray digital print silk dress ideal both for work and play which I plan to order upon my return from Barcelona to Budapest.

Jungle dress - 100% silk, made in London, £770

" It was fantastic to be back in Zagreb for the third time to be part of Dreft Fashion Week Zagreb.  Many thanks to Suzy & Sarah for inviting us back! Yet again, the experience of being part of this event was fantastic and Alexis Knox, my stylist and I had great assistants backstage, fantastic models and a great production crew to work with. The audience response to the show was brilliant - we were really thrilled and following the show we had celebrities and new customers wanting to buy dresses from the collection."  

Ada Zanditon

Jersey print dress, 100% silk, made in London, £405

Bellow you can see the full fashion film - Tigress Reign, the location of filming was Cyprus with the help of Ada Zanditon's partners: Easy Jet Holidays, Ecover, Illamasqua and Keune.

Director : Thomas Knights | Music: Sebastian Bartz  Styling: Styling: Alexis Knox | 

Makeup: Mika Johnson of Illamasqua | Hair: Christian Landon 

4 must haves this Fall/Winer 2012. season.

Photo source:Vogue

Working from home today due to high fever and feeling sickish and already feeling sick of drinking tea with lemon and honey all day, I thought that this would be a great time to put together a fall/winter essentials post as I am slowly but surely updating my warm clothes as the weather is getting colder and colder.

Some of pieces I am planning to invest this season are:

Warm and cozy sweatshirts and sweaters are very trendy this season. I already wrote about the trend of printed sweaters earlier past August when it hit the runway. There are many really lovely designer ones. My favorite ones are those which are not itchy and scratchy.

 I prefer plain color sweaters which I can wear with patterned smart high-waisted or cigarette work pants for the day accessorised with statement necklace or earrings and leather pants or jeans and boots in private time for a more of a casual look.

During Summer and Spring I worn cropped trousers with wedge heel sandals, tops and blazers for work or just with denim button up in a more casual variant. For this colder, Fall/Winter season I am looking for obviously heavier fabrications but I am also very much into lovely colorful patterns to brighten up short winter days and cold-dark nights :) 

I recommend wearing cropped patterned trousers with ankle booties with thick heel for the day and stilettos for the evening. Ladies who are more into casual look might want to combine them with men's oxford flats or slippers and warm and cozy sweaters.

Photo: DSquared

Photo source: Vogue US

Hats are my favorite accessory and I just never have enough of them! Just last year I discovered an amazing hat making store Mimoki. I also love wearing head wraps and turbans, I keep trying to find a new way to tie them. This winter I am thinking about investing in a brown wool hat, a bit wider then classic fedora. 

Photo source: French Vogue November 2012.

Hats can really last long if cared about properly and are an absolute classic so you can wear them every single year and look ladylike, mysterious and sophisticated. Currently I own a wide brim wool hat (JLo is how they call it often) and a classic gray wool fedora. 

Photo: Goran Čižmešija for Moda.hr portal | Coat: Teo Perić for Mak

My DKNY classic, fitted, knee-lenght coat has been serving me just great for the past couple of years but it has worn off a bit after wearing it a whole lot during cold New York and Zagreb winters, I recently donated it to Red Cross and now I am planning to invest in a good one for the couple of upcoming cold seasons.

As part of my seasonal Coat check post I selected some lovely structured runway looks during the fashion week, since, I have been looking for pret-a-porter version of these structures.

                            Photo: Goran Čižmešija for Moda.hr portal | Coat: Teo Perić for Mak

In one of my previous posts I mentioned that I fell totally in love with long KARL by Karl Lagerfeld black tailored coat with zippers. I was just about to order it online but got a bit worried about the lenght of the sleeves since I have rather long hands so I still didn't order it. Another option which I am looking at is buying one of Croatian designers - Teo Perić za Mak classic coats which seem to look great on tall girls.

What will be fall essential pieces you will be investing in for this Fall/Winter season?

My Free People shopping list for Fall

Tie Turban 

Since they are one of my affiliates and I already wrote about this brand as one of my Top 10 favorite fashion brands, I spend a fair amount of time browsing through Free People website, however since they haven't had a store in Europe, I was bound to continue to purchase only online, which was good because there are always sales and some online exclusives, but not so good if you look at the amount of money I paid for shipment through the years. :)

 This is why I am extra happy knowing that Free People (part of Urban Outfitters group) is finally opening a store location in Europe, more specifically in London. Ok, London is not still in Croatia but I am traveling via London a lot so this might be one of my next shopping routes. Bellow you can see a sneak preview of the Free People FW 2012. Campaign video with Karlie Kloss & Aline Weber. 

While at it, I picked couple of "I will die if I don't buy" items and saved them in my shopping card until my next salary. Bellow you can see my shopping/wish list. 

I love how Free People dress fit and somehow I always pick the ones with open back (yes I know, this means wearing no bra, ouu well! ;) ).

I am still thinking if I should get the black lace dress which is available in couple of more colors but I prefer black, but I am certain I need and want the maxi bellow.

Flutter Spanish Lace Dress 

Back to Me Maxi dress

Solid low back top in black/ Stripped low back top 

I got similar massive cardigan (maybe a bit shorter) last year in Zagreb from Scotch & Soda and although it was warm it stretched a lot in the first wash. This one is not a plain wool, it is a blend so it won't be itchy and it won't stretch, based on the website reviews it is worth 1043 kn.

Flower power cardigan (this is the same one in 2 different colors)

Don't you totally adore the shirt bellow? There is no reviews on the website about it yet but I am getting it for sure, it is nicely tailored, made out of vegan leather which is super cool and I think I will get a lot of wears out of this one for sure, it goes perfectly with my rusty red jeans and biker boots. 

 Vegan leather button-down shirt

I love the style and hot pink color of these destroyed skinnies (I also like the yellow ones they have) I am just not yet sure if I am skinny enough to wear them as there is only 2% spandex in them, plus the price is a bit high.

Thrift wash destroyed skinny jeans 

I had a genuine leather skirt like this, and if you remember from one of my older posts, my mum hot washed it and it shrunk to Barbie size (RIP). So this is a true reason behind why I need the skirt bellow. It is not on trend but timeless actually, I can wear it year around and it really goes with everything.

Vegan leather pleated skirt 

My boyfriend said he would kill for these Chucks in his size and since military look and colors are making a comeback this Fall I am thinking about getting these and wear them event to work on Fridays. I do have couple of pairs of Chucks in lighter colors but not for the rainy and foggy Fall weather.

Side Zip Chucks 

Did you ever order anything from Free People online or bought from their store? What are your experiences? How do you like my selection above? ;)

MY TOP 10 FASHION BRANDS: Miss Selfridge

There are many reasons why Miss Selfridge is one of my favorite brands. I used to shop in Miss Seldfridge bircks and mortar stores iz UK, Madrid and Zagreba and now I mostly shop online. Last thing I ordered is this mint and scull scarf bellow and one mint peace bracelet. 

What I love about Miss Selfridge the most is that they have great prices, modern prints and fabrications, the close is true to size and I usually pick natural fabrications in which my skin can breath. Bellow is the selection of cool pieces I found in last couple of weeks on Miss Seldfridge online shop.

I love that they have "Going Out" shop and other compassion shopping sections which help me choose and find pieces faster. Since I work for big multinational company I often try to find clothes and dresses particularly which I can wear day to night, bellow is the selection of couple of those, price range for these is from 30 to 50 Euros.

I also very much love the origami and 3D one shoulder dresses in beige-black and red bellow which I would recommend as evening wear both for business and some other semi-formal evening parties.

There is also lovely selection of "Going out" dresses, I am currently obsessed with dresses which have sheer parts and peplum.

I found this cute bondage black fitted dress with bright color wrap detailing which I love but I got the feeling it would be super short on me since I am quite tall with long legs.

Those of you who follow me on Facebook know how much I adore McQueen and scull details, mostly on jewelry and accessories. Last time I ordered from Miss Selfridge online store I was just about to go to Madrid so I entered Madrid address as shipping one and since I was in a hurry I miss-typed the zip code and apartment number, the order was couple of days late but they made some extra efforts and had it found me for which I am so so so grateful, especially since it was totally my fault.

I am trying to get these quite rubber flats for this summer, hopefully they will still have it my size by the time I make my order ;) Since, I think recently they also have a free iPhone app through which you can browse, share and shop on the go which can be a handy feature.

I never before ordered shoes from this site so I cannot tell you how they run in terms of size and quality but bellow are the ones I have on my Summer WANT list :)

What are your experiences with Miss Seldfridge products and online ordering lovelies?

My top 10 fashion brands: Nasty Gal.

One of my favorite online stores has grown from a personal shop/sell vintage store on Ebay owned by Sophia Amoruso in only 5 years. Nasty Gal has grown into a worldwide inclusive but also cool online store offering new and  vintage clothes, accessories and shoes. 

Nasty Gal has a worldwide delivery and issues monthly style lookbooks, its buyers shop for high and low end merchandise trying to put together a store full of unique pieces with a character. Delivery charges are not to high, clothes runs true to size (I ordered only dresses so I cannot speak for all) and prices are fair in comparison to quality. 

Dresses I got are easy to take care of and wash. Also, there are always some promos and award games for loyal customers which is cool and appreciated. :)

When I shop, I get couple of dresses and I try to pick those made out of fabrics other then polyester. I know one might say ok, I pay for a bit of a lower price then Zara or H&M and then I pay for delivery and at the end the price is a bit higher even then in local store where I don't have to way for dress to arrive in mail, but honestly, at least you are not wearing the same dress and everyone else. Last Saturday I went to a wedding in Dubrovnik where two girls were wearing the same Lei Lou dress and the other two had the same Stradivarius dress on.

Bellow are the Nasty Gal dresses which I have placed on my summer must have list :)

My top 10 fashion brands: Free people.

When I still lived in NYC, Free People store was one of those I visited on a regular, if nothing else at least to window shop and get styling inspirations. Pieces I find myself buying most often are turquoise silver jewelry, vegan leather pants, shorts, dresses and jackets as well as tights and leggings, thermal shirts and maxi cotton dresses. Last time I checked out the page there were also a couple of cute pairs of shoes.

Since some of the top 10 fashion brands which I adore (i.e. Rugby RL) do not deliver to Croatia yet (unless I ask some of my friends who still work there to buy it and ship it to me) I was thrilled to find out that Free People actually do! The shipping cost is not bad at all, especially if you order more pieces at a time.

Here are some of my favorite pieces and looks.

I would totally recommend to every city girl to check out Free People collections, cause at first I thought of the brand as being a bit to hippy for my personal taste but after buying couple of little things I kept coming back.

Although my personal style is somewhere in between Audrey Hepburn and rocker-chic, or to be quite honest totally bipolar at times, I tend to find bunch of fashion forward pieces of a good quality, quite comfortable and fairly priced here.

While many things I buy when discounted mostly due to cost of shipping and most of the times they do have my size left at seasons end.

You can check out more of their stuff on Facebook & follow them via Twitter for news.

January collection video:

All photos and a video are property of Free People.