Style in Sweden

After almost four years of living in Sweden there are still “my first time” moments. Right now it is the first time for me that I see and follow the Swedish elections. It has been an interesting experience since many things are actually quite different compared to my home country Germany. I am not talking about the political system and how the Swedish elections work but rather the atmosphere and cultural aspects.

The first difference that I have realised is that Swedish politicians are incredibly kind to each other. They are so kind that they sometimes seem stiff to me during debates, like they are reading a script. Of course, political debates should be serious and no circus show but for me it is hard to believe the candidates that they really stand for what they are saying if they don’t show any passion for their ideas.

The other surprise for me is the role of fashion in these elections. All bigger Swedish fashion magazines such as Glamour and Café published stories about the style of the candidates and interviewed them regarding their opinion on fashion.

What I think is even more interesting is that fashion and lifestyle bloggers have been included in the campaigns. According to the Metro newspaper, Stureplan bloggers Anna Hibbs and Michaela Forni have been paid for supporting the Moderate Party in their blogs.

I have always been a fan of combining fashion with political discussions, considering style and trends from a more critical perspective. I think it’s fantastic if fashion goes political, however, I am not sure if I like the idea of politics becoming fashion.

Although I love fashion, I am of the opinion that there are much more serious issues than the latest trends. Before you can afford a nice dress, you actually need a job.

I don’t mean that politicians have nothing to do in fashion magazines, but instead of asking them the obvious “What’s your favourite garment” question they could have put the focus on how to support creative people such as designers or stylists. I think it would have been more entertaining and informative than reading that Maria Wetterstrand’s (Green Party) favourite clothes are organic jeans (what a surprise!) or if Nyamko Sabuni (Liberal Party) or Gudrun Schyman (Feminist Party) has the better style.

Anyway, it has been interesting to see the elections in another country. I am curious to see how the next Swedish government will look like…and I am not talking about their clothes now.

Report abuse »

Being hip is something that many people are striving after although they would never admit it. Trying to be hip is like watching the Eurovision Song Context: you would never admit that you do it on purpose. It’s always like “Well, there was nothing else on TV” or “No, I didn’t actually search for this vintage dress. I found it by accident in my grandmother’s closet.”

I recently read a book that broke this taboo. Charlotte Lundqvist and Christin Persson describe in their “Guide of the hip Swedes” (Hippa Svenskars Guide) in a funny and (self-) ironic way how to be hip in Sweden and divide hipsters in six categories.  

I think it is particularly interesting to read the book as an immigrant in Sweden since you recognise the looks and behaviour and learn something about Swedish subcultures. It is the perfect book for commuters as you always have at least one hipster right in front of you.

Are you wondering now if you have already become a Swedish hipster? Just check it out: 

The geek girl (Geektjejen)

The geek girl, also called “La Garçonne” as she likes to wear her boyfriend’s clothes, usually goes shopping at Weekday, American Apparel and Tjallamalla. She listens to Grace Jones, early Madonna, indie rock and electro. She is the queen of social media and twitters about every detail in her life.  

The street style fellow (Gubbstreetkillen)

The street style fellow checks “The Sartorialist” every day. He mostly wears brown and beige shades and has huge roundish glasses, trench coats and cardigans with leather elbow patches from Henrik Vibskov or Raf Simons. His favourite band is Daft Punk.

The pop lady (Poptanten)

The pop lady is usually dressed in high-necked blouses and knee length skirts. She likes baking and cooking and is interested in the environment which is why she only buys ecologic food.

The usual Swede hipster (Svennehipstern)

She usual Swede hipster loves 8 bits Nintendo although he has all games on his computer. He listens to Bob Hund, The Strokes and Mando Diao and played in a Misfits cover band when he was a teenager. His favourite pants are Cheap Monday jeans on which you can always see the outlines of his Göteborgs Rapé snus box.

The French girl (Fransyskan)

The French girl lives in an arty apartment with stucco and high ceilings in Stockholm Södermalm. Her favourite garment is the classic Chanel 2.55 flap bag. Her favourite musician is Nina Simone.

The club hipster (Klubbhipstern)

The club hipster is partying all over Europe, preferably at the clubs Fabric in London or Berghain in Berlin. He is very picky when it comes to music and only listens to remixes of the French label Kitsuné. His favourite fashion labels are Wood Wood and Comme de Garçons. His hair is trimmed in the back while the styled fringe is long. He probably works as a graphic designer (or at least he wants to) and never leaves the house without his MacBook Pro.

After my boyfriend had read some parts of the guide he asked me, which hipster I am. “I think I am a mix between a usual Swede hipster and a club hipster with pop lady and French girl features,” I said. He laughed and meant that I am none of these stereotypes. I actually liked that.

Report abuse »

When I was new in Sweden I had the feeling that people discussed every problem for ages until they would finally decide something. Everybody had to listen to everybody’s ideas about ten times for being able to deliberate whether an idea was good or maybe not so useful. “Constructive criticism” were the magic words when I was a student in Lund. In Swedish fashion it seems to be the opposite.

“For some reason you don’t write fashion critiques in Sweden. You just report fashion news,” argues Carl Reinholdtzon Belfrage in the March issue of Nöjesguiden. Based on that expression, this month’ issue is all about critique, criticism and Sweden’s best critics.  

Parisa Amiri discusses for instance to what extent Swedish fashion blogs are critical. She has explored how many critical articles have been published in three of Sweden’s biggest fashion blogs, Elin Kling, Sofi Fahrman and Karolina Skande.

It’s not a surprise that the investigated blogs contain less than ten percent critical articles in 200 blog entries, two of the blogs even less than one percent. The criticism has only been directed to non-Swedish designers and fashion companies.

Amiri argues that Swedish fashion bloggers “don’t dare” to be critical in particular regarding the Swedish market since they are highly dependent on the support of the companies.

She also claims that fashion bloggers, journalists and designers regularly meet at press events and develop kind of a friendship. Because of this relationship, it is difficult for fashion bloggers and journalists to review designers and companies. 

I think the second argument is quite weak. Even if they were really friends it should be possible to criticise each other’s work. I ask my friends as often as possible to comment on my texts because without constructive criticism I can’t develop and improve my work.

Let’s be honest, this has nothing to do with friendship, this is about money! Especially fashion bloggers are dependent on ads. If you write that H&M’s latest collection is really disappointing, they will probably say Goodbye to you.

After more than three years of living in Sweden, the country of deliberation and compromise, I also feel that I want to discuss everything. There is definitely a lack of critical consideration in fashion as most magazines just show what’s new this season without questioning it.

Considering for instance the new nude look, beige and sand tones from head to toe, it doesn’t suit every skin tone and it is actually quite difficult to combine the different beige shades in such a way that it looks good. I have read about the new nude look in every Swedish fashion magazines but only Daniel Lindström, fashion director at Café, referred to this problem in the Metro newspaper.

I am also missing discussions about the social and cultural meaning of fashion. Clothing is not just something that you put on. In my opinion different styles reveal lots of hidden details of a person and even a society.

Of course, money is important in life and especially if you are working as a freelancer you are dependent on ads and connections. I cannot deny that having money and spending it is much nicer than counting every penny but isn’t it a shame if we forget to be critical just because of money? We shouldn’t be afraid to criticise the giants of the industry. Maybe they even appreciate a good researched article about their collections including pros and cons than obvious bootlicking.

Report abuse »