May 2009 - Style in Sweden - Blogs

Archive for May, 2009

Vintage clothing fair in Stockholm.

Friday, May 29th, 2009

Don’t miss the vintage clothing fair Bakåt: Framåt this weekend, May 30-31, 12pm-6pm, in Stockholm. Some 30 vintage shops from all over Sweden will show and sell retro women’s, men’s and children’s wear at Enskilda Galleriet (underground station Fridhemsplan). The entrance is 60:- crowns. Take some cash with you because all the ATM’s around Fridhemsplan were quickly empty last time.

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Here’s a list about the exhibitors:

59 Vintage Store (Stockholm)

76 Vintage (Stockholm)

A. Marchesan (Stockholm)

Beak Boots (Stockholm)

De Å Sånt (Gävle)

Dream and Awake

Drömbruden (Stockholm)

Glada Änkan (Stockholm)

Grandpa (Stockholm)

Green Darlings (Stockholm) – www.greendarlings.com

It’s Vintage Darling (Stockholm)

Jigwalk (Uppsala) – www.jigwalk.se

Life is Good (Stockholm)

Little Shop of Fashion (Stockholm)

Mammas & Pappas (Linköping)

Myrorna (Stockholm)

NEWAFRESH (Tjeckien)

OELLA (Göteborg)

Orkan Lia (Linköping) – www.orkanlia.se

Reggie & Friends (Göteborg)

Rockefella (Stockholm)

Rost Vintage (Stockholm)

Stadsmissionen (Stockholm)

Tanja Malo (Göteborg)

Tokyo Stop (Stockholm)

Under (Stockholm)

Vintagebutiken (Vara)

Vintage & Finds (Stockholm)

And some private exhibitors.

I wish I could go there but I live in Lund in the south of Sweden and to drive 600km for a vintage clothing fair is a little bit too much.

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Pictures from: Bakåt:Framåt

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Posted in Shopping Guides., Uncategorized | 1 comment »

Stylista. New US fashion reality show on Swedish TV.

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

After Top Model and Project Runway the new US fashion reality show, Stylista, started on Swedish TV last week. Now ten fashion journalists compete for a one-year contract at ELLE magazine in New York. Or in other words, “The Devil wears Prada” as reality show.

Fashion? Journalism? New York? Sounds great, I thought. Unfortunately, I was totally disappointed. In particular the judge and fashion news director of ELLE magazine, Anne Slowey, is so ridiculous that I’m getting angry when I write this text. Apart from her desperate imitation of Meryl Streep’s role in “The Devil wears Prada” (she even flops her coat onto the assistant’s desk just like in the movie) she perfectly performs the cliché of a real fashion bitch.

After two episodes I’m already annoyed about her standard assessment “You have a low taste level”. What the hell is that? Is she from the fashion police? I think especially fashion is an area that really needs people who think differently. Even Coco Chanel was sharply criticised for her miniskirts in the 1950s.

Of course, this person makes me so angry that I will continue watching the show (that’s probably her concept). It’s entertaining and if you have watched all the similar forgone fashion reality shows you will also stick to Stylista.

Particularly from my perspective as a German, I find Stylista and many other US shows really fascinating and funny. US reality and talk shows are quite rare and unknown in Germany (I didn’t even know Oprah Winfrey when I moved to Sweden…yes, you are allowed to laugh now!!!) and I find they are very different. I think Germans in such TV competitions are for instance much shier and more boring compared to Americans.

People in such US reality are always so extremely self-confident. Often they claim that they are best and definitely will win the competition. If somebody said something like that on German TV (and I think on Swedish, too) people would think that he or she was arrogant. Is it a part of American culture to show this extreme self-confidence or are just these extremely self-confident people in US TV shows?

However, it’s really entertaining and funny!

The participants of Stylista with wanna-be fashion devil, Anne Slowey, in the front.

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Posted in TV. | 4 comments »

Spring. Sun. Sunglasses.

Monday, May 25th, 2009

Spring without some stylish sunglasses in Sweden is like a weekend in Berlin without clubbing. Impossible! It’s getting warmer, the sun is shining and Swedes replace their hats and beanie caps from the winter by some new sunglasses.

Today I found the new sunglasses collection of the Australian brand Le Specs on the homepage of my favourite shop in Stockholm, Mint & Vintage. They are incredibly beautiful and exactly what I like. Retro but fashion-forward and trashy but chic.

The best thing is that they just cost between 499 and 545 crowns. Of course, H&M sunglasses are much cheaper but if you buy other designer sunglasses you normally pay at least twice as much. I find them also much more unique than sunglasses from both H&M’s and expensive brands such as Ray-Ban or Gucci.

In terms of quality they can also keep with the more expensive designer sunglasses since they have 100 percent UV protection and comply with the mandatory requirement of the Australian and New Zealand standards.

I just need these damn sunglasses!!!

The Tuxedo 549 kr (my favourite ones).

Frenchie 499 kr.

Solid gold 499 kr.

Press replay - black 549 kr.

Press replay - Violet black 549 kr.

Joplin 499 kr.

Pictures from : Mint & Vintage

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Posted in Fashion Findings. | 3 comments »

Ladies. A fantastic book about beauty and aesthetics in Sweden.

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

Today I want to recommend one of my favourite Swedish books: Ladies from Mara Lee. Unfortunately, it doesn’t exist in English but I think the Swedish is not so difficult. Even if you haven’t studied Swedish so long it’s good to understand.

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So what’s the book about? It deals with four Swedish single women in their thirties (no, it’s not the Swedish version of Sex and the City) who live in Stockholm, Paris and Skåne. All four women are somehow involved in art. One of the ladies is for instance a successful photographer in Paris and another one owns a gallery in Stockholm.

I find the book so fantastic and unique because it discusses aesthetics in Sweden and the striving for perfect beauty in a very smart way. One of the main characters, Lea, often reflects on her beauty and its effects on her environment in a very serious way without seeming stupid or ridiculous to the reader. Siri, the photographer in Paris, tries to compromise perfect beauty in her pictures.

Apart from the discussion about beauty it’s also great how homosexuality is treated in this book. There is a lesbian relationship but it is never considered as something ‘not normal’. The words ‘homosexuality’ and ‘lesbian’ are even not mentioned.

As an immigrant in Sweden I find it also interesting that the author is born in Korea and so probably offers a different perspective on the Swedish society than a person who has lived here his or her whole life.

The only thing that I’m mot really convinced of is the title “Ladies” since I find it misleading. You expect a trivial Nordic version of Sex and the City instead of an in-depth reflection on beauty ideals and aesthetics in Sweden.

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Posted in Beauty. | 2 comments »

Prints and Patterns. Zebra, leopard and peacock.

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

They are everywhere at the moment. Kate Moss’ new collection for Topshop or Matthew Williamsson’s summer collection for H&M’s for instance are colourful and full of zebra, leopard, peacock and other crazy prints. “Be ready for the biggest hype of the summer – prints”, writes the H&M magazine.

To be honest, I am not ready. If I wear more than four colours I really wonder if this is too much and now the fashion industry tells me that the newest hype is the animal look. I don’t want to look like a zebra! Simple patterns such as stripes and dots are very cute and a colourful scarf is a perfect accessory in my opinion. But I find a whole dress with flowers, animals or other indefinable prints and colours on it really tacky.

First I thought that a bikini in this style might be cool but then I found one with Che Guevara prints at H&M’s. I think Che Guevara on my breast is even tackier than the peacock look.

The good thing with trends is that they can be ignored. Mareike says ‘Nej tack!’ to this print hype. Shopping might become difficult this summer but I rather wear my winter jacket than a dress looking like a peacock.

From the H&M magazine:

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Also the Swedish fashion website Nelly focuses on prints:

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

Shoes in Sweden. Cheap and chic.

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

I have never been a shoe nerd but when I bought a pair and wanted to put it in my cupboard yesterday I realised that there was no space at all. Then I counted them and I was shocked. I bought 27 pairs in one year. How could that happen?

When I lived in Stockholm last summer I bought heaps of shoes. I didn’t know so many people there and was bored quite often so the only thing I did was shoe shopping. When I came back to Skåne my friends asked if that was some kind of Sex and the City syndrome. Unfortunately, it was just the result of living in a big city without knowing anybody.

Nevertheless, my stay in Stockholm could just explain six or seven pairs. So where does the rest come from?

I think I bought so many shoes during the last year because you can get chic, modern and good-looking shoes in Sweden for very low prices. Low-cost shoe shops in Germany for instance are really crap. The style is often so old that it’s almost ‘in’ again and the quality is really bad.

However, if you do shoe shopping at Skopunkt or dinsko here in Sweden you can find really cheap and chic shoes. Ok, the quality is not always the best one and, of course, there’s an obvious quality difference in comparison with a designer shoe but who has the money to just buy designer clothes? And actually I find expensive clothes are not a guarantee for an interesting and modern outfit.

Here are some of my favourite shoes. Every pair cost less than 1000 crowns.

Skopunkt 249 crowns.

Topshop ca. 850 crowns.

Skopunkt ca. 200 crowns.

Skopunkt 30 crowns (no joke!!!). I think you can't get a pizza for that price.

Skopunkt ca. 300 crowns. By the way, the tights are from Lindex and cost 99 crowns. They are an exact copy from some Chanel tights.

Skopunkt ca. 200 crowns.

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Posted in Shopping Guides. | 10 comments »

Cute sells. The Eurovision Song Contest.

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

It’s almost impossible not to watch the Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden. I couldn’t avoid it either. Ok, to be honest, it was actually fun to watch and judge all these crazy musicians from all over Europe presenting corny music in dresses who were totally over-the-top. The more glitter the better!

Dressed over-the-top? Corny music? This year’s winner, the Norwegian Alexander Rybak, was simply dressed and if I forget the lyrics and just focus on the music I even don’t find the song corny. I think he presented a quite original piece (at least in comparison to the other participants).

It’s fantastic that the usual winning method ‘sex sells’ didn’t work this year. A charming young guy dressed in a classic black vest combined with a white shirt and some black suite trousers accomplished the best score in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest. All the Barbie girls shaking their arses in their short dresses did not have any chance against the Norwegian violin player.

In particular Germany had to learn that just a sexy woman is not sufficient to win this competition. Burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese supported the German participants “Alex Sings and Oscar Sings” by dancing and smiling in a corset that was so tightly laced that I was wondering how she was able to breath. It didn’t help. Germany was almost last.

When I saw Alexander Rybak’s performance I (and every other person in the room) said, “Oh my God, he’s so cute”. I have never voted in the Eurovision Song Contest before but tonight I spent 4,95 crowns for this talented, well-dressed and cute Norwegian singer. I hope it was really his charm and talent and not the result of two and half years of enjoying Swedish culture…

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Posted in Music. | 7 comments »

The Swedes and the sport. For health or beauty?

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

When it comes to sports I am lazy. Very lazy! I don’t work out at all. Ok, once a year I go jogging but just because my friends convince me that it’s good for my health.

They usually run one time with me since I am so slow and become as red as a lobster after two minutes that it’s not that great fun for them to wait for me all the time.

I think I will never get used to this workout mania in Sweden. Seriously, I am the master in making up bad excuses why I don’t want to join my friends’ indoor bandy matches or their jogging sessions.

“I don’t have that much motivation because I don’t want to lose weight”, I said in the beginning. But this excuse didn’t work at all. “It’s not a beauty thing. It’s about your health. You feel great afterwards”, said my friends.

Apart from that ‘afterwards’ is definitely too late I’m doubtful that it’s all about health. Sweden is a country where people care incredibly much about their look, their style and beauty in general so I can’t imagine that they do not aim to keep their body in shape.

I mean it works. Many Swedes have perfect bodies while I have to see the first ugly traces of my laziness on my body. But to be honest, I don’t care that much. At least not yet…

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Posted in Beauty. | 5 comments »

Stylish Stewardess hats from Skåne.

Monday, May 11th, 2009

I found some very cool hats on the internet today. They look like the ones that Stewardesses wore during the 1950s. I have never seen similar hats in Sweden before and I find they are interesting and creatively designed accessories for a night out on the town.

Designer Marita Hägg offers on her website small and large Stewardess hats as well as a black line including some very chic and elegant ones. The hats are black, grey, white or leopard patterned so that you can combine them with almost every garment. I find the idea of 1950s Stewardess hats very innovative and at the same time classic and retro.

The only thing that is somehow confusing is the name of the brand, Gothic Airways. Many people probably associate Gothic music and dark clothes with this name and think that these hats do not suit their style. However, I find these hats could suit many more people than just Goths since they look like vintage accessories.

I also have such a hat but I bought it in a small shop in Berlin last year. It’s a black one with pin stripes. If I buy one of the Gothic Airways collection, I probably take this one:

Other hats that I also like:

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Pictures from: Gothic Airways

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Posted in Fashion Findings. | No comments »

East Berlin architecture in Swedish fashion.

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

Head designer and founder of Sweden’s most recent fashion success Cheap Monday, Örjan Andersson, told in an interview that he was inspired by East Berlin architecture when he created the spring collection. To be honest, I often do not recognise the designer’s source of inspirations if they tell it in interview but when I look at some Cheap Monday outfits of this season I can really understand his idea.

The clothes are not very colourful, mostly grey and black, and include a lot of unquiet squarish patterns reminding of skyscrapers and big city feeling. They look somehow dirty and imperfect and are full of holes while still being hip and innovative.

The spring collection of Cheap Monday makes me thinking because I find them so extremely un-Swedish. I think they even represent a contrast to Sweden and its fashion ideal.

When I think of Swedish fashion I see chic clothes with clear lines and colours representing a modern way of elegance combined with a retro feeling.

Why does a designer living in Stockholm, the capital of Swedish perfectness, create garments that absolutely are not reminiscent of his environment? It seems like a revolution against the perfect Swedish (fashion) world.

I actually prefer the classical way instead of half destroyed clothes. But I like the idea of trying something different and new. I think Sweden really needs more of these people who initiate these small revolutions.

Some examples of the spring collection presented at Copenhagen Fashion Week:

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