Sunday 30 October 2011

Mystical Beauty: Happy Hallo (Dia De Los Muertos) Weekend!

This weekend some of you will be celebrating Halloween or even Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead - Mexican Holiday where family/friends celebrate, pray for and remember those who have departed). In the spirit of things and inspiration from Bella's post (The Citizen Rosebud) on awesome photographer Raoul Ortega I've stumbled across two very contrasting yet amazing mystical editorials, enjoy!

Loving this incredible shoot from Marie Claire Italia feat. Emily Senko shot by the brilliant Wendy Bevan via Fashionising. March 2011.

Not only do I absolutely adore Wendy's haunting, magical photography, (more editorials by Wendy here) the styling is just beautiful, I love the bold prints, flowers in the hair and girly dresses.

Goldie of a shoot; 'Magical Fashion' by kooky Director Tim Burton shot by the brilliant Tim Walker for Harpers Bazaar 2009. Couldn't think of a more talented duo to create something theatrical like this - entire shoot is featured on Magical fashion link.


Enjoy the rest of the weekend and that extra hour in bed!
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Thursday 27 October 2011

Snaps from AXDW ft. Stelios Koudounaris, Erotokritos & Conquistador

Last Saturday I was pretty darn excited, you see I had the opportunity to attend the 10th Athens Xclusive Designer Week (AXDW)... Who wouldn't be excited to see what crazy-awesome talent in Greece has to offer?
Believe it or not I have managed to miss pretty much every season of shows since residing in Greece mainly due to being out of the country... Well this time I made sure I stayed put.

Anyhoos, dashing from work to home to get frocked up, I made it to last 3 shows of the day. But I was cutting it fine for the Conquistador show... Bless the AXDW dude, Aris for sneaking me in through a side door! This show was incredibly packed... and oooh, it was hot too! As in there were hot men a plenty in the most slammin' clothes ever! Designer Tassos Sofriniou created such a gorgeous, masculine contemporary collection with a sexy modern twist playing with plenty of attention to detail.

A bit of eye candy for your Thursday!
Conquistador by Tassos Sofriniou, image via Studio Panoulis

Sadly I didn't capture many snaps from this show, but Thalia from Life in Athens went backstage - lucky girl! See highlighted link for more deets.

Now for Stelios Koudounaris ( Στέλιος Κουδουνάρης)... He has an unshakeable reputation for creating the most gorgeous collections and is the one show everybody wants to go see. I'm also pretty sure that this designers work is the one which most women fantasize about too. (He also does Menswear too)
I luuurved his collection entitled 'Entropia'... The elements of constricting the female form with the slightly harder edged body harnesses and the non constricted elements of soft fluid lines and floaty hems... yes please! Need I say more about the Jeffrey Campbell shoes? Yummers!

Totally Taupe!

Really love the cutout black cuffs too!
The final show on the first day of AXDW was Paris based designer, Erotokritos - whose work I have loved ever since I landed on Greek soil.
Erotokritos presented a super fun, girly and commercial collection (- for menswear check out the report/images here by Patricia Munster) with a gorgefest of juxtaposed colours & prints that made me smile and sigh. This collection boasted short hemlines, cute knits, flippy skirts & a slight nod in the direction to marc by Marc Jacobs. For high summer, look no further... Mix and match with what you already have in your closet girls!

If you feel compelled to check out the rest of the talent from Athens Xclusive Designer Week, please check out the round-ups by Alessia of Smells Like Fashion, Joan of Ordinary Pulse & Lopi from Fashion Architect.

We're now rolling into the 14th Athens Fashion Week... I know it's confusing there are 2 kinds of fashion Weeks... Have a fantastic mid-week... It's almost the weekend!

All images by me except the for the sources stated.
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Monday 24 October 2011

Finding Beauty

Happy Monday guys! How was your weekend?
I had the lovely opportunity of running into some friendly faces at the first day of the Athens Xclusive Designer Week (AXDW), which commenced Saturday. The events for the first day resulted in an incredible turn out & jam-packed shows for both Conquistador by Tassos Sofroniou, Stelios Koudounaris & Erotokritos that I almost got squashed on numerous occasions exiting the show! (Think tinned sardines!) I had such an amazing time and ended up drooling at the gorgeous summer pieces from various shows. More about them soon!

A huge thanks to Penelope of Fashion Architect & Elena of Life Full of Fashion for introducing me to the amazing photographer Giorgio of Bontonist... Seriously check out his beautiful off guard shots of the fabulous fashion crew.
For a Monday I couldn't be more random, but I was thinking about how awkward I was at having my photos taken on Saturday... Ugh, I'm not very good at being in front of the camera and usually have this thing about hating every photo taken of me, especially during a phase when I was in my early teens.
Most photos that are taken of me are usually ones of me pulling a silly face... I make 'fridge' fugly picture look good. Most of the time I'm totally happy about the way I look & feel & some days I'm not so accepting... But what I ought to remember is that not only is beauty from within, being a beautiful kind of person is more important.
So today, I'm all about finding beauty... Loving these shots...






Various images via Weheartit, Pinterest, FashionGoneRogue & Rollerdustjacketattic

Wishing you all a smashing Week!
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Tuesday 18 October 2011

The A-Z of ME! Tell me About Yourself Award


Hello lovelies, How are we on this fine sunny-ish morning? I can't believe we're on Thursday already and my list of things to do just keeps getting longer! Ok, best get on with it.


A huge thank you to Tiffany from Stylish Chatter Boxing blog for the "Tell me about yourself" blog award. Thank you girl, couldn't be more flattered, but WOW, wow wow, you've just given me a massive excuse to non-stop rant about ME. So forgive me if I can't quite shut up now that I'm on a roll!
I thought I'd continue the A-Z of Me post that has been floating around blogosphere recently - refer to the original meister who posted this 1st from my bunch of blogger buds: B of Beautifully Invisible & Tanvi's spin on this post over at The Fabulous Life of the not so rich and famous.

A-Z of me, me, me!

A. Age:
15. No, not really but I sure feel & act like one some of the time. I'm actually older than you all think I am and was born somewhere around the Paleozoic era.
B. Bed size: King, I guess that comes with living with a Greek God.

C. Chore that you hate: Pretty much everything to do with cleaning, but I especially don't like ironing. Couldn't think of anything more tedious. 50's housewife, I am not! The Domestic Goddess in me works best only when fueled by copious amounts of coffee, followed by a bumper pack of Haribo sweets.
D. Dogs: Me wants badly! Have you seen Boo, he's so cute! I'd love a Chow Chow, Pug, or English Bulldog...
E. Essential start to your day: Coffee, hugs from Mr. Perseus & checking e-mails.
F. Favorite color: Hmmm, fuschia & cobalt blue. Depends on my mood.
G. Gold or Silver: Both, I used be more of a silver or white gold kinda gal, but these days I've been leaning towards glittering gold & gilver.
H. Height: Scooping in at 5’6-ish, which is tall for someone in my family.
I. Instruments you play: At school I used to play the violin (hated it), the recorder, treble (ridiculously large version of a recorder) but secretly wished I played the drums for Gun's n' Roses!
J. Job title: Nuclear Physicist by day and Ninja Turtle by night. (Neither of which are real jobs, sadly need brains for the first one and the only black belt I have is the fashionable kind)
K. Kids: Yeah, sometime in the near or distant future, just don't know which one yet. For now, I'm happy playing Fairy Godmother to one gorgeous 20 month old bubba.
L. Live: As long as possible, filled with love, laughter & no regrets I hope.
M. Mother’s name: She has one, since I'm relatively anonymous I won't be sharing online.
N. Nicknames: Too many in real life. My online persona is A Brit Greek as y'know, but sometimes I'm referred to as Miss SOB (no, not Son of a B****) but Miss Salad of Boys which Shopping Diva coined. I once ordered a Salad of boys (the word I was after was cucumber, but pronounced incorrectly can sound a wee bit like boys) during my Lost in Translation phase of only being in Greece for a few months. Oops.
O. Overnight hospital stays: Hmmm, no. I've spent far too much time in the ER due to various sports injuries but I will admit to being super clumsy, which is why I don't strut around in heels in Athens without Mr Perseus by my side, or I'd wipe out on the crazy pavements in 2 secs flat.
P. Pet peeves: People who don't signal when making a turn, peeps who let their children ride on the back of a motorbike without a helmut - that is NUTS! Peeps who are nasty/cruel unintentionally & Peeps who steal! People who don't say please, thank you or excuse me and just shove you out of the way. Ok, this could turn into a mega list me thinks!
Q. Quote from a movie: I'd probably quote something from Pretty Woman/Dirty Dancing or Star Wars... but there are some from The Hangover that make me LOL uncontrollably. Others I heart:

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
- Ferris Bueller's Day Off.


Still love: '"We're women, We don't say what we want, but we reserve the right to be pissed off if we don't get it." - Sliding Doors

"Do you know how hard it is to find a decent man in this town? Most of them think monogamy is some kind of wood." - The Mask

Do you concur?” “Damnit! Why didn’t I concur?!Catch Me If You Can

R. Right or left handed: Right.
S. Siblings: One brother.
T: Time you wake up: Early, sometimes far too early, insomnia is a mare!
U. Underwear: Why yes of course! La Perla is kinda nice, don't you think?
V. Vegetable you hate: N/A - clearly I must be a bit weird.
W. What makes you run late: I don't do tardiness.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: A lot. Legs, back, wrists, chest, teeth, you name it, i've had it done. I'm sure it's more than the average person.
Y. Yummy food(s) that you make: Thai Green Curry, Bangers and Mash, White Choc cheesecake, Chocolate molten lava cake, Cakes & Triple Choc brownies cos double ain't enough, y'know.
Z. Zoo animal: Panda's, Zebra's, Otters... they're all so cute! Gotta love 'em all, no?

A big shout out to other bloggers I love on my Google following list and also reading list on the side bar - these guys rock!

Images, via amazon.com, pinterest and Justbesplendid tumblr
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Monday 17 October 2011

Lusting after... Chunky knits & Fall Fashion from Stefanel

Hello lovelies! How was your weekend? We're officially in Autumn territory in Greece, but I have a sneaky suspicion that it's going to get warmer again later this week. In the meantime, I'll be layering up in cosy, chunky oversized knits.
Yes, its that time again, currently lusting after Stefanel's Fall fashion all over again! Love Daria in the new campaign, but feeling the Urban Style shoot below more! See more here.
Layers of knitwear upon knitwear... & Looking effortlessly stunning!

Lusting after... Stefanel's Red knit dress and slouchy double zip cardi

Sorry... On a bit of Daria roll... Vogue Paris May 2010 via FGR edited by me

Have a fantastic week folks & Καλή εβδομάδα!

p.s Thanks for all the Twitter Love! You guys rock!
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Friday 14 October 2011

Fabulous Frock Friday! Scarlet Hues

Blown away by this fabulous dress and shot by Grazia Germany, Sept 11 via here

It's Friday and I can't help but feel like I've had a rather productive week, crossing things off my list despite the current strikes in Greece. I also had the chance to indulge in sampling some new chocolates made at the M.I.L's shop. I swear that in another life I'd be a Chocolatier, can you imagine doing this for a living or having a shop devoted just to chocolates? Yum! See a snap shared here.
There's no rest for the wicked as always, my working day doesn't end on Friday, but anyhoos, today is another fabulous sunny day in Athens. Ever the optimist, me.
How about you lovelies, how was your week and what will you be doing this weekend?

Random shot via Pinterest

The beautiful Daria W for Vogue US by Mert & Marcus via here

Amber Heard in stunning shoot by the awesome Guy Aroch. To see the rest of the shoot go here


Busy Being Fabulous! Via Pinterest

Have a fun weekend!
p.s Welcome new readers! Hugs and sunshine to you!
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Wednesday 12 October 2011

Jersey Girl: The Perfect Tee

Via Pinterest

I hope your week is going well gorgeous people! I'm having a blast over on Planet Twitter. Who knew that it could be so ridiculously addictive? A big fat Greek smooch to all of you and your welcome tweets!

T-shirts - not just a humble wardrobe staple, you gotta love the versatility of such a basic item. So much so that I practically live in mine as part of my off-duty wardrobe. I also love that understated street chic can be achieved in minutes with a bit of effortless styling and accessorizing too. For glammed up look, think loose white tee teamed with a killer sequin skirt (see below!) - love the contrast of mixing simple and luxe, or a white tee paired with a hot pink pair of wide leg trousers and statement necklace by either Dannijo or Aurelie Biderman!

Anja looked on fire in the Zanotti Campaign 2009 via tfs

I already have an extensive collection of printed and plain tees, but am forever in search of the perfect tee. One that made in a good fabric, fits, hangs and sits nicely for my shape but is also comfortable and durable. I did a bit of a recce and came across these.

Bargain! Love the F21 basics, plus All Saints always produce the softest, gorgeous drapy tees!
I've always been a fan of American Vintage Tees via Revolve Clothing, as they hang really nicely, durability is a little so-so on tees made from different fabrics. The Alexander Wang Tee is a bargain at 35€ from 70 odd euros. Plus at the OUTNET always have many bargains on the t-shirt front so get shopping!

I gasped at the price tag of the T-shirts by Helmut Lang & the Olsen twin's brand, The Row. Seriously, how much? It's a bit of a stretch to most of our budgets for sure and although I might consider splurging on a silk blend, I sure would spend more that 40 odd quid at the very most for a good quality cut & fabric. So why is it so darn expensive? The Olsen twins have been very tight lipped about their resources, where they get everything made and who they deal with. However, I wonder if it's got anything to do with the how it's made "The secret, they say, is the French seam running down the back. 'It's cut from one piece of fabric,' explains Ashley, who is the older by a few minutes, and tends to take the lead when discussing business. 'It's about the drape and the fabric. And finding the balance between the two."

'It's made on a lingerie machine,' adds Mary-Kate, fingering the silky, diaphanous sample that is hanging on a rail behind us. 'A lot of thought has to go into it.'

Source: Daily Telegraph (UK)

Hmmmm, a Haute Couture Tee??? Thoughts on a postcard please?

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Monday 10 October 2011

Tweet Tweet, This little bird is ready to fly

Well Happy Monday to you all luvvies! I hope you've all had an enjoyable weekend. So guess what? I have officially joined the land of Tweeting after a little continuous encouragement from the beautiful Bella of The Citizen Rosebud! Huge hugs and thank you to those of you who welcomed me - you guys are seriously awesome! If you're also on Twitter come & find me here. The addiction to comment stalking commences! Tweet Tweet, tout de suite!

In the past weeks, some of you may have noticed some tweaks here and there, with the most obvious change being the aesthestics of this blog. Whilst the look of any blog is important, so are the other elements that comes with building a better blog. I don't neccessarily mean successful, as determining what a successful blog is can mean something completely different from one blogger to another (pageviews, blogging community, land a job or work with a brand?) it's all down to the perspective of the individual.
What I love most about blogging is the community, discussions, inspiration, the close-knit and regularly interactive family of consistently loyal readers.

I'm not exactly a pro on building a better blog but if you are looking to get noticed and grow your readership, note that this will not happen overnight. There are however, plenty of amazing, inspiring successful bloggers out there who share their wealth of information with us and who can help you along the way.
Here are some exemplary, informative reads from blogger buddies I heart! I'd offer them Blog Oscars for their knowledge on how to Build a Better Blog if I could!
  • IFB's Responding to "Follow My Blog!" Messages and Comments. I'm sorry guys, whilst comments absolutely make my day, there are some comments like the aforementioned that are slightly irritating, some that just feel truly insincere, especially the one liners (unless they're from blogger buds you know) or the ones who only visit once asking you to follow them and are never to be seen or heard from again - you know the ones! This is a major pet-peeve of mine and also an example of how NOT to grow your readership/traffic! Having said that, I do always make a point of writing back on their blogs though. I invite you all to read Beautifully Invisible's "How to not be a savage blogger".
  • Grechen Blogs - really love the '5 Things I've learned about Blogging' project. NEWBIES to blogging, this is a great read featuring different bloggers
  • Blogging is like a Roller-Coaster Ride by Tanvii. It sure is but Tanvii takes all of this in her stride. There is always going to be a little Love & Hate - also see her post on Anonymous commenters.
  • The stylish and lovely Mis Papelicos posted about building a better blog here and also brought my attention to how annoying Word Verification can be on Blogger Comments. Disable Word Verification in Blogger. Go to 'Settings' then click on Comments tab, scroll down to Show word verification for comments? Click on NO. Easy.
  • Onto my fave bloggers: B of Beautifully Invisible recently wrote about "10 Blogging Myths Debunked" - BRILLIANT READ. Plus her other awesome post on "10 things about your blog that drive me crazy" .
  • For html, blog design, custom fonts etc check out Faye's blogging tips here.
  • The building a better blog guru & genius, Vahni of Grit and Glamour has a whole section on her blog dedicated to this subject here. I love her philosphy of "sharing is good", you'll learn heaps from this gorgeous, intelligent, funny, stylish lady!
  • Last but not least and slightly unrealated to building a better blog, is Jennifer Fabulous, a fantastic and funny blogger from I know, right? Whose post "Parody of a Fashion Blogger" had me in total, utter stitches! Don't worry it's fictional, she isn't being mean, she's just freakin' hilarious!
via here
Changes I've made:
  • Added a Favicon icon - the little personalised icon in the web address bar. If you already have an image you'd like to use, check this link out for instructions on how to add a favicon icon.
  • Joined StumbleUpon - brilliant for sharing posts you like, discovering new websites (with your interests in mind) and booking marking sites you love. You can submit any posts you love by clicking the thumbs up icon or hovering over the little social bookmarking icons at the bottom of each post and the StumbleUpon icon is right there.
  • Added 'Add this' to the post footer on each of my blog post. This service helps share content and drive traffic - a brilliant sharing/bookmarking site.
  • Joined Independent Fashion Bloggers (IFB)- This site is the brainchild of Jennine Tamm of The Coveted. Seriously have to join this if you haven't already. There is so much info shared here on building a better blog along with amazing blog links & good reads.
That's all folks! Have a great week! Καλή εβδομάδα σε όλους!
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Saturday 8 October 2011

Tailored for You, a scam, slave labour or genuine service? Hoi An, Vietnam

Japanese Covered Bridge, Hoi An

I recently read about a fashion Blogger's travel journal in Vietnam, which instantly took me back to those travelling days of mine. It was a lovely photo diary and there were some insane tailoring escapades accomplished, however, it also reminded me of some travelling issues/scams I came across with my friends.

Anyhow, let me take you on a little journey back to memory lane to Hoi An, Vietnam, aka 'Shopper's or Tailors Paradise' since it is well known for it's uber cheap tailoring.

Pretty, pretty silk lanterns

Hoi An was one of my favourite places I visited by far. I loved wandering around the cobbled & narrow streets in the Old Town area, a World Heritage Site declared by UNESCO in 1999, the pretty footbridges, the fusion of Japanese, French, Vietnamese and Chinese architecture dating back 200 odd years, the ultra old clan, yellowy crumbling buildings and freshly steamed buns (Bao) on the side roads. The not so pleasant and heart wrenching, but also memorable experience was spending an afternoon visiting a relatively unknown orphanage in the area where a 63 year old lady looked after well over 30 children.

Whilst some of you may not be travelling to Vietnam anytime soon, I wanted to share some Nam knowledge with y'all. Vietnam, particularly Hoi An, is a mecca for tourists when it comes to cheap tailoring.
I'm talking about being floored by what seamstresses can do in a day or two, or getting a dress and a suit made for less than 80 bucks (USD rather than Dong) or paying a large deposit upfront for your order with the possibility of being ripped off and having nothing to show for it because it was a complete and utter, tailoring disaster. Something else to ponder: I can honestly say that it is incredibly difficult to work out who is a genuine skilled worker/tailor and who is out there trying to scam you.

There's a plethora of tailor shops and custom clothing services in Hoi An - 400 establishments and counting. Some say that this is 'perhaps one of the greatest marketing deceptions in Asia'... However, some shops are family businesses who have in-house seamstresses & have good tailoring skills and then there are some establishments where you can't help but think if they're driving slave labour in the back behind the curtains... you just don't know.
I remember passing numerous tailor shops where there were fabrics galore, a melting pot of different finishes and buttons, swatches, catalogues (mail order, such as NEXT, Boden etc) and fashion magazines to help you choose what you want. They can copy anything! Hard not to be tempted, no?

I know that the sole purpose of travelling isn't necessarily to aquire cheap clothing or go on a shopping spree but if you're thinking of getting some custom clothing made I've listed a few tips below.
  • Do your research for good, honest establishments, check out this TripAdvisor recommendation or Lonely Planet for threads and forums as I think this rated high as a topic of discussion.
  • Find out how much certain garments cost by shopping around first, then always negotiate!
  • Think about what you really want, take your time over choosing fabrics and getting fitted/measured properly. These guys work very fast, however quality pieces can take longer, so allow at least 3-4 days. Be very specific and precise about exactly how you want things to look, feel during the fitting process.
  • Tell them that you're leaving earlier than you really are, so you have time to make any edits or changes if something doesn't fit you very well.
  • Ask to have an extra 1/2 inch or inch added to garments, as they tend to skimp on fabric to cut costs.
Yaly, an establishment with high recommendations

Anyhoos, beautiful Hoi An, you made a real impression on me... Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Images via Flickr from different sources edited by me
Further reading about the 'Darker side of Tailors in Hoi An' here.

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Tuesday 4 October 2011

Contrast Tuxedo's: Mad for Monochrome

via FGR (Grazia Germany)

Am in love with all the jewel tones coming through for Autumn/winter, but right now all I can think about are chic, tuxedo's, specifically white tux jackets with a contrast lapel.
I can't imagine a tux ever going out of style, it's super slick & I just love the idea of making a tux look ultra feminine by teaming it with a stunning sparkly bodice as above.


From left to right:
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