April 2009 - Style in Sweden - Blogs

Archive for April, 2009

Lykke Li. Musician and fashion icon.

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

Swedes know how to dress well. And Swedes know how to make good music. Lykke Li is a Swedish artist who perfectly combines music and fashion.

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It’s no wonder that Lykke Li won the ELLE award for best-dressed Swedish woman in 2008.

She always looks very unique without being overdressed. I find her clothes perfectly reflect her music. Romantic but not tacky, Swedish but not Svensson and cute but not girly.

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Characteristic for Lykke Li’s style is the hair bun. Even if she doesn’t wear it that often anymore I still see a lot of girls and even some guys with the hair style.

Lykke Li is a fantastic artist but her attitudes and comments are sometimes pretty annoying. When she won the ELLE award for instance she told the magazine, ‘It felt weird that I won the award. I have found clothes in trashcans my whole life’.

She was dressed in Lagerfeld, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Ann-Sofie Back and Acne when she commented on her prize. Is it so uncool to care about style and buy expensive clothes? Even if it is, I think such a comment is even more ridiculous.

Picture 1: Luger

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Posted in Music. | 8 comments »

Bad kids

Monday, April 27th, 2009

I was invited to a birthday party in Malmö on Saturday. What I really like about Malmö is that a lot of people try to be different than the mainstream Svensson. Don’t misunderstand me! I love Sweden with all its Svenssons but sometimes when I walk through Lund for instance I think a little bit more diversity would be great.

I come from Dortmund, a quite diverse city in the west of Germany (at least in comparison with Lund), and always when I’m in Malmö I think it’s like a Swedish version of Dortmund; dirty and dangerous with a lot of bad kids everywhere.

The birthday party was also so typical Malmö as I think.

Let’s have a look…

slips

This is Sophie and also my favourite picture of that night. I know it’s not ok to praise yourself in Sweden but I love the contrast between the flower grandma wallpaper and Sophie gothic punk girl!

linda

Then we have Linda and…

marie

…Marie who listened to the Black Lips song ‘Bad kids’ about two hours that night. What a fantastic song!

erik

And here’s Erik lacing up his boots. By the way, Erik is one of the Swedes who lived in Berlin for a while and I was so impressed by his German!

julia-och-moi

That’s my friend Julia and me. Actually I don’t feel very comfortable in front of the camera (as you maybe see here) but I think it’s a cool picture because we look like two girls from the 50s (both dresses from Gina Trikot). I’m just realising how different (or boring) we looked compared with the other party guests. By the way, you can immediately see that we were at a Swedish party.

fuse

No shoes inside the house! I hate that and I will never get used to it! Come on, it’s an outfit and it’s cold without shoes!

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Posted in Nightlife. | 2 comments »

Swedes love Berlin. Some shopping tips.

Friday, April 24th, 2009

“Berlin is Europe’s New York – why doesn’t Sweden have such a great capital?”, said a Swedish friend a few days ago. First I thought that this statement was just the result of too many Mojitos but when I reflected on it I realised that Berlin is really very hyped here at the moment. Swedish fashion websites are full of Berlin bloggers, clubs are most popular if there is a guest DJ from Berlin and a lot of my friends plan a weekend trip to my home country’s capital.

Everybody loves Berlin…and Mareike, too.

Apart from its fantastic club and art scene, Berlin is also famous for the many unique fashion shops. With the help of a friend who lives in Berlin I did a shopping guide for you. Here are our favourite shops.

Pale Blue Eyes, Kastanienallee 50

Let’s start with some Scandinavian fashion. This small shop is known as ‘Der Schwede’ (the Swede) in Berlin because Swedish people own it. You can find a lot of Cheap Monday stuff but also some rather expensive designer garments.

Extrafein, Kastanienalle 55

Chic and hip! A lot of designer clothes so it’s rather expensive.

Wood Wood, Rochstr. 4

One more Scandinavian export in Berlin. A Danish designer shop where you can find a lot of fantastic clothes from for instance Henrik Vibskov, Raf Simons, Commes des Garçons, Maharishi, Camilla Staerk orYazbukey. But don’t forget your Master Card Gold! It’s very expensive!

Apartment, Memhardstr. 8

Here you need luck with the prices. They vary from 50 until 500 Euro.

Traschick, Wühlischstr. 31

According to my friend, one of the best second hand and vintage shops in Berlin.

Jacuzzi, Rosenthaler Str. 19

Something between chic and casual and the prices are ok. Not too expensive but no second hand prices either.

And finally three typical Berlin second hand shops:

Made in Berlin, Neue Schönhauser str 19.

Garage, Ahornstr. 2

Colours, Bergmannstr. 102

I will add shopping guides for Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö/Lund soon.

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Posted in Shopping Guides. | 9 comments »

Kate Moss. Naked. And???

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

During the last weeks I saw a shirt appearing in different locations worn by very different people.

This one:

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No matter which age, gender or location this shirt is just damn popular at the moment. You can see brats at Stureplan with this shirt, DJs in Malmö and students in Lund. So I’m wondering what’s so deal with this shirt? What is so special about it that that it unifies classes, genders and cities in Sweden?

First of all, there’s Kate Moss on it. Ok, she is a supermodel and she’s definitely one of the most beautiful and interesting celebrities in the world (in case you like heroin models). On the other hand, Kate Moss is not really a new phenomenon. So what then?

Maybe because she is naked?! People like to see skinny female bodies. But don’t we see thousands of naked skinny women everyday in the media? That can’t be the point.

Is it the cigarette that reminds us of her turbulent relationship with Pete Doherty? We like to see that celebrities are not perfect and do ‘bad things’, too. But is that really enough? If I think of Kate Moss I remember all her cocaine stories. A cigarette is almost ridiculous in comparison with sniffing drugs.

Maybe it’s her sexy look. But when does she not look sexy?

To be honest, I’m still confused. I think it might be the fact that a sexy-looking, smoking and half naked Kate Moss is on a shirt and not in some gossip magazine. Or do you have any other ideas?

Pictures from Nelly

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Posted in Hip & Hype. Trends in Sweden. | 4 comments »

“I’m a damn crazy brat…”

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

…sings Uffie in her song ‘Ready to Uff’. Brats. Or in Swedish stekare. I think I’ve never seen such a stereotypical group of people before. How they look like? Brats are rich (or at least pretend to be) and always dressed in very expensive designer clothes (Chanel, Gucci, Hugo Boss, etc). Their skin is so tanned that I’m wondering if they really live in Sweden and not somewhere in Miami. Huge Ray-Ban sunglasses underline this summer feeling.

That’s not that strange so far. Sometimes I also buy expensive clothes and I want so badly Ray-Ban sunglasses. Ok, I prefer porcelain white doll skin but I can understand if people in Nordic countries need some sun during the long and cold winters.

But what the hell happened to the hair of the guys? How it looks like? Slicked-back with masses of hair gel!

Like here…

stekare_01a

stekare_04

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I really don’t want to insult anybody but if you have such a haircut in Germany you might be in the porn business. I mean how can anybody have this style in 2009?? And the weirdest thing is that almost every brat proudly has this haircut. Maybe it is some kind of ‘must-have’ if you want to party at all the fancy clubs at Stureplan in Stockholm?! Or is it symbol for wealth in Sweden? Well, then I prefer to be poor.

Maybe brats just need some inspirations and impulses for a new haircut. Here’s my offer to you if you are a brat. I will go with you to the hairdresser and together we devise a new hairstyle for you. I promise you will look fantastic. And don’t worry! You won’t have a crew cut just because I’m German. I think it looks as horrible as slicked-back hair.

I promise you that all the girls will love you. There’s just one thing that I want to have for my advice…your Ray-Ban sunglasses…

Pictures from Mattiasa.

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Posted in Hip & Hype. Trends in Sweden. | 4 comments »

Panic on the streets of LUNDon…hang the DJ…

Sunday, April 19th, 2009

I was at Blekingska nation, a student club here in Lund, on Friday. It’s a nice place where you can listen and dance to Indie music and enjoy drinks for student-friendly prices. I think it’s the second best student club here in Lund (the best one is Småland’s nation).

The only thing that really annoys me at Blekingska is the DJ. Sometimes the music is too low, sometimes too slow and sometimes the play lists are not mixed very well. This time we got five hours of ‘sleeping Indie’, as I call it. That is Indiepop, which is so monotonous and boring that it makes me aggressive if I’m confronted with it in a party mood. If you are a talented newcomer DJ living in the south of Sweden, please come to Lund and play at Blekingska!

Nevertheless, after my regular moaning about the music I realised that a lot of people had some funny disguises that night.

Here are my favourites:

flintstones

First I met the Flintstone ladies…

101

Then I spied Emma. Well, that night she was the evil lady Cruella de Vil from the movie 101 Dalmatians. By the way, I love the white wig.

hexe

And then I saw the White Witch from Narnia. First I thought she was some kind of space Lucia but I didn’t tell her.

I also met a guy dressed as Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing but he was too ashamed to be photographed. At least after my comment: You??? Patrick Swayze????

But not everyone was in disguise. Look at this cute girl here.

hosenanzug

Trouser suit from Gina Trikot. So 80s. So fantastic.

brille

And then I met Emanuel. I think he is first guy having the Lykke Li bun. Together with the red glasses and the small blue tie, he looks like a cool 80s comic nerd.

firefox1

When I went home I saw this poster here and I became very happy. Firefox AK will play at Blekingska on April 24. Don’t miss them if you live in Skåne. I saw them once in Dortmund in a church and it was a really great concert!

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I love Brenda Walsh and Chicks on Speed!

Sunday, April 19th, 2009

I was at Babel in Malmö recently. I think it’s one of Sweden’s best clubs because the great music and the interesting design (it looks like some kind of modern church on three floors) always attract a lot of special and unique people.

Also this time: Chicks on Speed were on stage and their show was really crazy and funny…and sometimes even somehow shocking. I mean who expects films about arses getting spanked at a normal concert?! Ouch!

Their dresses were equally weird. My personal basic fashion rule is: Take black and white and mix it with not more than two other colours (mostly red or blue). However, it seemed that Chicks on Speed rather thought: take every colour, pattern and material you can imagine and create some chaotic garments.

Look…

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I have to admit that I would never wear such clothes but I really like people who don’t look like the mainstream.

After the concert we stayed for the party ‘I love Brenda Walsh’ at Babel. Here are my favourites from that night.

robyn-lykkeli1

It’s the hair. I think it looks like a fantastic mix between Lykke Li and Robyn because of the bun and the shaved head.

50s

I love 50s style! Especially the hats are great!

red-blue

Didn’t I just write that I like black, white combined with red…

wonderwoman

Neon Wonderwoman with a blue wig maybe?

trans

I have to admit that I thought that the person on the picture was a girl when I took it but I’m actually not sure anymore…hm what do you say?

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Posted in Nightlife. | 4 comments »

Kick my ass…it’s Willie Tanner!

Sunday, April 19th, 2009

“Do you remember the nerds with the ‘kick my ass’ post-it on their back? The skinny ones with grandpa shirts, suspenders and huge glasses? Like the glasses that Willy Tanner had in the 80s sitcom ‘Alf’”, said my friend Kathy during a visit here in Sweden. “Well, have you recognised that Swedish guys have the same style…?”

Swedes are very thoughtful when it comes to their clothes, hair and style in general. Many people here spend a lot of money on their look no matter if they want to look expensive with a lot of brands or alternative in vintage garments.

One of the first Swedish norms that I learnt said that you shouldn’t brag. That’s socially unaccepted! I think when it comes to fashion (maybe also other things) Swedes apparently forget this norm. I don’t know how many times I’ve heart that Germans have the worst style in the world and British people are just ugly. For some reason, it’s ok to brag in terms of fashion and style.

Many foreigners think that Swedes are totally overdressed. Being more tolerant with the girls, most guys are labelled as gay. I actually like the Swedish style…even the Willy Tanner glasses and the grandpa shirts. However, I think that this country needs a little bit more diversity and creativity in terms of style. I mean Willy Tanner glasses are cool but isn’t boring if EVERYBODY has exactly the same type of glasses??

A few weeks ago I found for example this band poster here in Lund and took a picture of it to send it to Kathy. I think it’s hilarious!

The Willie Tanners...maybe?!

That’s definitely too much Willie Tanner! Every guy in this band (unfortunately I forgot the name of the band…maybe the Willy Tanners?) has the same fucking glasses! Doesn’t it look like a uniform? Like some Indiepop soldiers? That’s just boring. Really boring! Equality is great…but not in fashion!

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Posted in Hip & Hype. Trends in Sweden. | 1 comment »