1/30/2013

bloggers




I will never fully grasp the phenomenon of fashion bloggers. I know they’re cool and, most importantly, their clothes are cool but what’s the deal of making some photos of oneself wearing half of his wardrobe at the same time?

Well, it is quite nice they show us their fashion world. Fashion needs to be shared, in fact. This is what lets it develop and change – a complete medley of ideas. But what amazes me is what happens once the blogger gains popularity, including stacks of brand new samples of clothing , free entries to most desirable fashion events and millions of instagram followers(well, that is not a real perk, but I just had to mention it).

I think my question here is so closely related to the one I formulated while writing about Alexa Chung. Where these people got with their ideas? Were they enough creative and innovative?  Why fashion world so eagerly greets people without any merits really?

I think it has changed now a lot. Not so long ago you had to bring something, love it, crave for it and then, after struggle and hard work, make it. Sometimes, I just wonder how much of real fashion there is left in this mass-culture dominated world. Hopefully, it has not completely changed yet. I still my name to make  in the fashion world. And not as a blogger, please.

1/22/2013

barcelona



Hi dear,

I just do not know how long can I keep waiting for you. Is it this holiday or the next one? Uncertainity is what I hate most.

Do not know really what to start with. Shall I just say I’d love to stroll down Barri Gotic with shops and bakeries and have some tapas. Then I will go to take some rides at Tibidabo. No matter how many times I have been there, I just can’t give up on amusement parks. Especially when I am on the tallest ride with the quite amazing view of all you’ve got best. Pure epic.

It is winter time in London. It is cold. People are like pushing and shoving in the tube and shops and bars in their down jackets . You are not like that at all. You just keep waiting with no pressure. And you’re sunny.
You know what? I want to take boat ride along the coast like the last time. Just want to have messed up hair and shorts and a tee. No tea. I drink tea all the time here and I give up. 

But the thing is I do not know when I will be back. But remember you’re my top one holiday destination. Well, top destination in general. Hope you will keep waiting for me.

Cheers,
X

1/15/2013

london people boredom people



Walking down the London street is like sitting in the first row of the catwalk show. No surprise the city of seven million people is diverse/exciting/creative in terms of style. But despite it all it seems quite old-fashioned and tedious for me.

Of course if you take a walk to Camden Market or Brick Lane it is likely to spot these individualities with hair dyed to salmon pink and turquoise highlights. Of course if you get closer to Central St Martin’s campus there will be plenty of stylish students carrying leather bags filled with their cool projects. But to understand why I dare to say ‘Hi London, you’re fashion is boring’, just get on the northern line tube at 9 am and mind the gap.

I think who accounts for that are ‘City’ people, tired of climbing up the stairs to the 20th floor of their offices instead of taking the elevator cause they are on a diet. And what I observe all these ladies in thirties and gents in their forties do is not merely overlooking the ‘what is in fashion now’ aspect, but opting for being old-fashioned. Wide-legged black pants, square heeled pumps and grey, worn-out suits are on the daily basis. Then come faded scarves, awful gloves and well-worn bags in awful hues of browns, including cafe latte.

It is easy to generalize and I’m probably doing that while jotting all these complaints down, but this is what I see every morning and evening. There are taste, opinions, views, I know, my parent repeated it to me like mantra not to judge. But it’s hard when you come to London with some precise fashion expectations. Not everyone have to care about this superficial aspect of life which style can be perceived to be. For me, it’s too relevant to dismiss. 

1/10/2013

i love/hate you



A few years ago I would describe her as an icon, it-girl, role-model. I would sigh at her outfits with no relief, fantasizing about somehow robbing her wardrobe.  Then I may open my drawers and do the tidying-up procedure so as to tell my mum I have nothing to wear as I have changed my style. My style would be a copy of Alexa Chung’s.

I really used to look up to her in terms of fashion. I still do sometimes. She has this edgy, tomboyish look. Timid outside, bitchy inside. This is a motto she probably and I’d love it to be my creed. Not because I am her fan, not anymore. But because I can identify with it.

Why I started to dislike Alexa Chung? Well, maybe it is too strong to say ‘dislike’, but at least lost interest in her person. It was when I was caught up with her career. She is pretty, thin and has cool clothes. She did as a TV presenter. Then, it seems, in a second, out of the blue, became an it-girl with a bag named after her and Alex Turner holding her hand. I got preoccupied when I’ve noticed there was no vision behind it. No particular struggle to promote her one-off  fashion idea or design. She just came mixing up Topshop with Chanel  and that’s it.

Maybe there is envy somewhere deep inside me, but I hope there’s not. It is just that I always imagined every time new fashion celebrity is born it is due to something. They are designers, editors, stylists, artists. Alexa got it without any special talent really. Not I am not jealous. It’s some sort of disappointment. Anyway, she’s coolly dressed and has lives cool lifestyle with cool friends. Fair or not, fashion remains open for people with unique ideas. Let’s hope there is space for lots of them.

1/05/2013

FFF



I observe my friends on their quest of fashion. No one feels secure. No one feel satisfied. Everyday fashion dilemmas for human-beings are not an easy thing.

What the majority of people has is a natural instinct of not standing out and adapting. Either in behavior and look. So when it’s high time to decide what to wear the least original outfit is the winner. Fashion offers being unique and people resign from it to avoid extra attention although there is nothing more rewarding that walking down the street in a pair of obtrusive pants and people eyeing you up and down.

Where does insecurity come from? It is not only fear of opinion. It is fear of the fashion world. It seems a privilege due to Vogue’s superficial exclusiveness and photos from fashion parties where designers have fun with their favourite models. This society/sphere seems so inaccessible it may put people off just like my friends and I used to think. One cannot belong without any aspirations, clearly outlined sources of inspiration and any designer's piece.

I would say FFF. Fashion Fear & Fantasy. That is how people like me perceive it. This is why they are hesitant to admit they love it, this why they are promne to choose their H&M grey sweatshirt instead of  transparent dress with a wolf print. Can keep hoping it will change for others, as it keeps changing for me. FFF. Fashion is For Fun. Always.

1/01/2013

say hi to 2013





It is New Year now. Hello 2013. But instead of making any promises to be better, smarter or cooler , I have my fashion plans.

I expect this year to be full of ideas. More second-hand and more re-making. More Beyond Retro and Oxfams in London , more thrift stores in Gdansk. It also means learning to sew with my grandmother in the summer break and handling the sewing machine. Can’t wait.

I want a trip to Berlin eventually this summer. I miss it, all its shops and styles that mix up everything that is good about west and east.

What else then? Some more internships instead of just fashion writing, get to attend London Fashion Week and see all fashion exhibitions at Victoria & Albert museum, please.

In terms of style, conscious fashion choices. No getting overexcited about new trends and pestering my mum to pay for spontaneous ideas which turn out to be a fashion blunder. It means less frequent visits in Urban Outfitters, but let it be my sacrifice.

Well, time for the final wish. I want to be consistent with the style I worked for. I do not want other amazingly dressed people to make me tremble that I have no idea what fashion really is.  I want to be convinced to what I wear is nice and works for me. Fashion is about diversity and individual approach.

This may seem superficial I treat fashion as a subject of my New Year’s promises. But it’s fun to do something different than people who keep saying  their diet starts with the 1st of January. Let’s hope fashion will be great this year.