Animal Farm

What I'm currently reading. And descriptive of my flat as well, I just realized. I'm not quite sure of from where this comes, but apparently I have a thing for cute, little animals.. So let me introduce to you:


.. Poul the Shark, who I found in a radiator in my new apartment. His strange color matches the strange color in the bathroom so that's where he's living now.


..Hektor the rip-off cat.. He set me back 10ddk in discount supermarket Netto. My mom hates him. She thinks he's ugly. She once 'accidently' tried to throw him out with some old papers, haha..

..
..The no-named Vinkekat. He's from China Town in Paris and brings me good luck!


and last but not least there's, Asger. He's originally from Ohio but he quit his equestrian studies and moved to Copenhagen to become my study group's mascot. He's living chez moi at the moment.

So, what's next? I'm thinking of one of these bunny lamps..


Or maybe this hippopotamus doormat. I always had something for hippos...

Sorry, I can't help it ...

Along with Chloé ads, Miu Miu and Prada ads are a weak point of mine. This one I found digging through the piles of magazines that I for unknown reasons decided to drag along to my new flat located on the 4th floor (the removers weren't exactly thrilled at the sight of my Vogue UK chair). But on topic, this ad is from fall/winter 2002 featuring Michele Nicks, shot by Mert and Marcus. And below, the infamous Vogue chair.

Ensemble du Jour

Posting outfits wasn't really my first intention with this blog, but this is in honour of Tine. Obviously a lot of thought didn't go into this outfit, but at the moment I just feel like wearing things that aren't too complicated. The dress is an extremely old H&M piece, the gold flats are the ones that the new Repetto acquisitions theoretically are substituting.. they're from French Koah and some of the best shoes I've ever owned. I don't think I'll ever bring myself to throw them out.




Though I openly admit to playing favorites in my wardrobe, I always welcome more pieces with open arms. And yesterday I received the Acne top it seems everybody around the Danish blogosphere has been ordering this past week. I did know that it a bit ran big but I was almost drowning in the sz 36. I doubt the 34 would even fit, so it's going back for sure. So to comfort myself I went shopping today, again. First I went fleamarket-ing and came back with an adorable navy H&M dress with stars on it. And after a tip from Ditte I went to Danish supermarket chain Føtex to pick up these Marc Jacobs rip-offs, which set me back a mere 49dkk. It seems I've been bit by a shopping bug but I guess as long as I keep my shopping in the discount category it should be alright (good thing somebody pressed buy-it-now on the Balenciaga Day I've been watching on eBay)..




Oh, and I got a new haircut today as well! Ever since I saw Anna Selezneva in August's French Vogue (which is less than a week ago, haha), I've been thinking of having it cut shoulder length-ish and letting my bangs grow out (this post really exposes my copycat tendencies, eh). In any case, I'm very pleased with the result.

Bruno Ripoche

I stumbled across this photographer's work in this week's French Elle (I think. There are so many special editions published it's almost impossible to tell which are what. It was the one with the Angelina Jolie cover, in any case) and was instantly smitten with the editorial Vacances Romance, because of its soft lighting and feminine styling. After a bit of online investigation I found the photographer's portfolio and though I adore the most of his work, I was instantly particularly taken with this editorial from Double featuring Julia Dunstall. Click here to see additional footage from the shoot or click here to see his full portfolio. If you like this editorial, I guarantee you will not be dissappointed with the rest of his work.

Soviet SciFi

Palace of Soviets, never finalized.

There is something about old Soviet architecture that makes me feel the same way, as catholic cathedrals do. The latter were always build with the intention of making the person feel small compared to the size that God has. I guess when it comes to this sort of architecture, it's the same case, only the totalitarian system substitutes God.


Georgy Chakhava’s Roads Ministry, Tbilisi in Georgia, 1975

A couple of years ago French 1-euro magazine Citizen K ran a feature on architecture from the USSR times and it left me in awe. Not only because of the before-mentioned feeling it seems to evoke in me, but it genuinely surprised me how playful some of the architects have been during these depressing times. The odd and the eccentric qualities that these buildings hold are simply breathtaking to me. Combined with a sense of futurism with a heavy and solid feel, which are characeristic for buildings from the Soviet-era, it makes for very interesting architecture . The blend of brutalism and creativity is strangely appealing. It almost seems as if some of these buildings just landed from outer space in an innocent landscape. Anyways, I did a lot of research for this post and had a hard time deciding which pictures to show.. Well, these are the selected few. I hope you enjoy them.


Druzhba (Friendship) Sanitarium by Igor Vasilevsky, Yalta in Ukraine, 1986
BONUS INFO: the CIA suspected this to be a missil platform when it was first build.


Wedding palace, Tbilisi in Georgia, 1985


Žižkov Television Tower, Prague in Czech Republic, 1985 + unknown building in Belarus.



Linnahall concert hall by Raine Karp, Tallinn in Estonia, 1975-1980


Unknown building, found randomly in a google search.


Polytechnic University, Minsk in Belarus, 1981

Une fille matérielle

I read all of those magazines yesterday! I've left Provence for now (fortunately going back in mid-August) and had the pleasure of having those publications as travel companions on that long and tedious journey with a lengthy stopover in the exotic Düsseldorf. Well, it wasn't so bad. I actually had the largest cappucino I've ever seen in that airport and the waiter who served me was awfully cute as well. Anyways, I'm glad to be home. Reunited with my camera and lovely flat. Today I've just enjoyed my own company (I think I've parent-OD'ed).. taking my time to settle back in, doing some grocery shopping, going to the post office, cleaning, relaxing.. and taking pictures of my new purchases! So here goes:


..white Zara tunic dress.. this is the back.. it has cute little buttons on the front..


..10 euro tunic dress from Monoprix.. the color is quite difficult but it has so many lovely details that I simply couldn't resist..


..Repetto ballerinas - finally a worthy substitute for my current but very old gold ballet flats.. i wear them with everything!


..golden, woven Minelli flats.. starting to see a pattern in my shoes purchases?


..Princesse Tam Tam underwear (there's a buttom part, too but she's less photogenic)..


..H&M tennis-esque sneakers, bought them for hiking in Isola2000 but will probably put some new laces into them to make them slightly more interesting..


..and the dress of my dreams finally arrived! A Miu Miu spring/summer '06 creation.. it's perfect and I love it to bits already!

Revenue ...

I've strayed off la route du mimosa for a few days as you might have noticed. In the most literal of ways as well. You see, my mom is quite ill at the moment. She developed some sort of allergy to many things you really can't avoid in a normal everyday life (such as anything with perfume, exhaust from cars or anything fuel-driven, etc.). So my dad and I decided to take her up the mountains for some fresh air for a while. And believe me, we went far-far-faaaar away. To a small village, that during winter turns into a busy ski district, called Isola 2000.




And I should add that, during summer, absolutely nothing happens. So I guess you can say I went cold turkey on normal life. Well, sometimes it's nice to just turn of your cell, shut down your computer and enjoy some peace and quiet. So that's what we did. We went hiking. We played boules. I went horseback riding. We ate plenty of good and rustic mountain food (tartiflette, raclette, fondue.. words don't describe the fear I have of trying on my new sz. 26 Acne jeans I somehow managed to squeeze into last week).



The most awesome of all was the hiking trips we had. We went to discover parts of the Mercantour national park. Lots of beautiful flowers, summerbirds, dears-- and old blockhouses (way back from WWI, my history-savvy dad informed me). All simply amazing. I'm still kicking myself so hard that I forgot my camera.

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On a very different note, A Pretty Face bestowed upon me a lovely award. Thanks you so much for that (and now we're at it, happy birthday! Hope you have a lovely one.)



The rules for this are pretty simple: When you receive this reward, showcase it on your blog and link to the person who awarded you with it. Hereafter, give along the award to 7 other blogs and comment on their blog to let them know. So here goes, this is time the time for spreading some blog love:

Bloggerella - Couldn't think of a more shoe-savvy person (no, Carrie Bradshaw is not a real person!). Her blog is witty, smart and always an entertaining read.
Tinetush - Where to begin? A lovely girl whose personal style is somewhere in between adorable and beautiful and with just a touch of unusual, she's a long-time favorite.
Young Mind - For always having interesting points of views on unusual topics and style issues.
Paper cut heart - This blog is always one of my favorite reads. It's pretty, quirky, and extremely charming. This girl's sense of esthetic is simpy impeccable.
This World Tonight - This girl never dissappoints when it comes to amazing purchases and she still keeps me in awe with her fantastic and of course ever-growing wardrobe.
Soir de Fête - One of the first blogs I started reading regularly. And I still do! This girl's sources of inspiration, taste in music, personal style.. She can do no wrong to me.
Cool.cool.hip.hip - In spite of a hiatus at the moment, this blog still remains a favored one. She has adorable personal style and always something interesting on her mind.

In the hay

I bought a straw hat like this the other day. Truth is that I'm not really a hat person at all. It's the same thing with sunglasses. I feel pretentious and out of place whenever I wear it + I am completely incapable of judging whether or not it suits me. In these ultra sunny conditions however there's not so much of a choice so off I went, down in our little village to have a look at the options. Turns out this sort of hat was the least ugly I could get my hands on seeing the alternatives were bright pink/loaded with flowers/trucker cap with print.



And after all, here after a few days, I think it's starting to grow on me. Even though this one is made of straw, it reminds me of the hat that the girl in "l'Amant"/"the Lover" wears all the time.. (originally a book by Marguerite Duras which I first read when I studied at Sorbonne. Later I bought the DVD since I found it in a secondhand store for 10dkk. Not so fond of the movie but the girl played by Jane March is drop dead gorgeous and worth seeing the movie for alone). Paired with a light dress and braids it's actually quite a perfect summer look. Simple, effortless.



Actually, I find this look can actually be kind of adorable. I did some further research and found some lovely ways to do this look. Even though many of the looks at Karen Walker's spring/summer '08 collection seems a bit too styled or done (if one could say that), I find the look on Alison Nix to be rather cute in its own way (can't imagine anyone wearing this off the runway, though).. then the girl on the bike seems to be interpreting the look in a way so it actually becomes wearable. And Michelle Williams take on the hat is rather loveable as well. Simple and fresh. So I might just be able to give this hat a second chance at life even when the sun goes away.

Old but not obsolete

It's funny how some brands have their way of being so contemporary and defining for the exact times we're living in that their direction for a specific season will seem dated and almost make you cringe the next. I guess 'visionary' brands such as Prada and Balenciaga can be put in this box (honestly, how do you feel about furry-looking tie-dye and velvet school boy blazers today? Yes. I figured).



But a label that I don't find belong in this before-mentioned box is Chloé (at least not under artistic direction of either Stella McCartney or Phoebe Philo - today Chloé is a whole different story). Personally I find it quite interesting how these advertisements from spring/summer '02 don't really look dated at all in spite of their age. Or am I just lost in time? In any case, I love it. Still.

L'original

If it ain't broke, don't fix it! ... right? Personally, I'm a strong believer in this statement. Especially when it comes to things I love. Like Orangina. Don't even get me started on how wrong it is to pour this lovely drink into plastic bottles or even worse, cans! It's comparable to murder almost. There's really only one true way to have an Orangina: from it's original glass bottle!



So this is the cool part: how to take great use of these Orangina bottles. I accidently stumbled across this Orangina chandelier on Flickr. How awesome is that?!

And since this blog entry is already turning out slightly different from that I had originally intended it to, I figured might as well go all out. So here you have it: what I also found in my picture search for Orangina. A bear. A winking bear, licking it's mouth in a disturbingly sexy way. And for those of you who don't understand French: well, the text say naturally juicy. (And there's a video, too. Enter at own risk! It's almost like soft porn). Funny how this post is bringing new dimensions to the stylists version of the same look. Or. No. Lame excuse for posting about ice-melting hot bears with sixpacks. But hey, it's mimosa coloured. Ok, I'm out.

Yet another 'model-turned-style-icon'

The 'model-turned-actress' term is so over if you ask me! It seems that the 'model-turned-style-icon' (sorry, i just love using dashes/hyphens and will do it on almost any occasion) is so much more realistic and relevant for the times we're living in right now (because honestly, how many of those 'models-turned-actresses' actually turned out good as well?) And I must say that I find it quite interesting and almost a bit of a mystery to me that so many models are so incredibly well-dressed. One of the greatest style icons of all time is without a doubt Kate Moss and fellow colleagues such as Milla Jovovich and Helena Christensen are favorites among many people as well. More current models such as Irina Lazareanu, Iekeline Stange, Natasha Poly and Agyness Deyn are also all looked upon as original style icons. I don't know if it is because of their constant exposure to fashion or the fact that they are given so many fantastic pieces because of their profession.. or maybe that's just the way they really are? .. Hm. Any thoughts?




But on topic: a constant source of inspiration for me is model Anouck Lepère. Not only is she probably one of the most beautiful women I can think of, but she has really great sense of dressing herself as well. I love how she often makes quite bold fashion choices (such as those widescreen sunglasses, the gold Prada skirt, mixing floral mini dress with bright red tights..), yet somehow she manages to pull it off and make it her own. Especially the four outfits below had (and still have) me feeling weak in my knees..

À l'ombre les jeunes filles en fleurs

And I thought that this was going to be a really calm summer at home. I guess not. My dad got some sort of emergency at his work (recession really creating trouble for Danish banks already) and need to postpone his vacation so I'm taking over his plane ticket. So, tomorrow morning I'll be on an airplane to Provence. La Napoule, to be exact, where my parents have had their summer house since I was born. I used to go there at least every summer in my childhood years so it was always like a second home to me and some of my happiest memories are from that little village outside of Cannes, just by the beach. I've only been there outside of tourist season the past two years and as much as I love the sense of abandoned village I cannot wait to experience what it's like to be there when it's buzzing of life.

Really, all vacations should be like these.. with long walks on the beach, relaxing in the shadows by the pool, eating fresh seafood and soupe de poisson (acompanied by LOTS of rouille, s'il vous plaît!), watching the old men play petanque at the boulodrôme, going to the farmer's market in the early morning, having pain aux raisins for breakfast while sipping coffee and reading Nice Matin, sitting on the rocks at the harbor watching the private jets land and take off, buying groceries and other useless stuff in Géant (mon hypermarché préféré). Oh, and of course I'm also hitting the sales in Cannes, Nice and Monaco. My wardrobe could need some French additions in form of Comptoir de Cotonniers, Sandro and Isabel Marant (oh please, let there be some of that heavenly s/s08 collection be left for me!)..

A new face

I used to be really into models. I guess I still am, sort of, but I don't really keep up with all the new faces anymore. Too time consuming. But from time to time I do to lurk on agency websites, though. Like tonight. I stumbled across these lovely photos from 2PM's 'Who Are We' promo book. The girl is Vendela and I immediately fell in love with her pictures. They're cheeky and summery but still simple and just plain beautiful.

Tagged!

I was tagged by the lovely Young Mind. My choices are, as you can probably tell, inspired by Roskilde highlights:

Rules: List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your summer. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they’re listening to.

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Veto // We are not your friends


CocoRosie // Beautiful Boyz


Cat Power // Lived in bars


Tina Dickow // Sacre Coeur


Radiohead // Idioteque


Lykke Li // Little Bit


Spleen United // Peak Fitness Condition


It seems most people already did this tag so I'm not going to tag anyone -- however you should feel free to do it, if you feel like it. I'd love to hear what you guys who are reading my blog are listening to at the moment!

Bows and things in boxes

Roskilde is over. I'm back. But in a sort of zombie state, unable to do anything constructive. For now all I've been doing is sleeping, eating and wandering around the city doing random shopping. As you can tell, extremely random. A necklace from H&M's children's department, a relaxing moisturizer (had to use a gift card), liquorice pastils and herbal tea. Now taking care of my extremely sore throat with the latter two. I'll be back when my mind is less foggy.

Roskilde in pictures

I'm good, I'm gone!

My butt-ugly martians have been guarding my ticket since forever, or so it seems. And now finally it's tomorrow that I'm leaving for Roskilde. Among my must-hears I have Radiohead, Cat Power, Kate Nash, Coco Rosie, Duffy, Kings of Leon, José González, Tina Dickow, Joan as Police Woman (..and I could go on and on).. and of course also swedish Lykke Li which I will be leaving you with for now.

See you next week!