Sunday 31 August 2008

dressed to impress

during the last few days, i have been reading a couple of really smart essays and articles about how to organize my wardrobe better, how to find my own style, and basically, how to dress better. so, i thought, i'd share some of those articles.
the first one which i want to feature is by a blogger whom i have come to like a lot, even though i do not comment so much on her entries. her name is erin, the blog is called "a dress a day", and the article "dress to impress".

here is the beginning for you to read. it is smart and witty and oh so true.


The conventional wisdom on dressing for success is ridiculously straightforward. Buy good, simple, quality suits and separates. Iron your shirt. Shine your shoes. Wear a good, understated watch. Splurge on a high quality handbag or tie. Avoid the outré and the trendy. Dress like your boss, or for the job you want to have.

To which I say: BOR-ing.

Instead, wear orange. Wear polka-dots. Wear both together!


I am a big advocate of orange and polka-dots because they do stand out, they are outré, and since I've worked from home since 2000, I really want to make a splash when I go into my office. I don't want to have to be reintroduced each time I walk into a meeting. I want someone to say, "Great to see you again, Erin. Nice dress!"


The classic, the understated, the quietly chic--they make an impression a little bit at a time, day after day. If you're only in the office one day a month, that impression takes years to settle in. Nobody says, "Oh, Erin, you remember her. She's the one with the fashionable, yet timeless, tank watch and the well-cut gray suit." No, they say, "You know Erin, she wore that dress with the giant yellow birds on it." Or "She's the one with the bright blue eyeglasses." You get the idea.


You may be thinking, shouldn't people know me for my work? Well, they might, but in any company over a dozen people, how many will really have seen your work? How many will have looked at it closely enough to judge it? And how does "You know Erin. She wrote that incredible Robertson piece" help them put a face to a name in a meeting?

When you work in an office every day, you have more avenues for presenting a fuller picture of yourself to your colleagues. You have daily opportunities for random conversation--not just the working lunches or the few minutes of chit-chat in the elevator telecommuters make do with. You can decorate your office or cubicle with your rubber-stamp art, your memorabilia from your college curling team, or pictures of your (adorable) Welsh corgi.

But if you're a telecommuter, all your colleagues really know about you is your work and your look. And since the colleagues who don't work directly with you will only know about your look, it's worthwhile to spend a little time thinking about what that look should be.


the whole article can be read on jugglezine, and it is worth while reading, for after this fantastic introduction, you get a lot of great tips and ideas of how to pull off your own distinctive look.

the pictures in this entry are both from erin's blog and they are dresses which she has made herself. i adore her very personal style with bright patterns, even though i never would wear any of those myself. still, they carry, above all, one message: wear what you love!

Friday 29 August 2008

the bright tights

i seem to be in a bright-coloured-tights phase. yesterday i just couldn't leave those red ones behind at h&m and of course i needed to use them directly today. but. the whole outfit screams for a bright red lipstick. or what do you think? i really have to get used to colour my lips. i really should. and, sorry for the lousy hairdo. i was just too lazy to wash it today. will do tomorrow.

























skirt: selfmade
tights and cardigan: h&m
t-shirt: monki

about lipsticks and other colours

i finally made up my mind to buy some colour stuff for my face. i admit, i have, until now, never ever worn make-up. no lipstick, no mascara, no concealer, nothing. mostly because, well, my mother never uses make-up, so i never got used to it at home, and as a teenager, i never really was interested (it was, somehow, a way to distinguish me from all the other teenage-girls), and later on i had developed this "my face is a holy region, no colour is to get close" attitude. yes, and since maybe a year ago i have started to think that maybe it might be nice to be able to change my look by having some colour on my lips or some mascara on my lashes.




















anyway, does any of you girls out there have a clue how strange it is to stand in front of, like, endless rows of different colour pots and stuff of which you 1. don't have a single clue how to use it and 2. don't have a single clue which one might or might not suit you - and your skin??

so, by reading a lot of interesting information on the internet, i kind of made up my mind what i more or less wanted. i'm still not totally sure, BUT: i got myself to buy a matte (not too much glittery stuff to begin with) lipstick in some halfway dark rosewood-colour. basically like my natural lipcolour, just a tiny bit darker and a little more towards brown-red-pink. kind of. i haven't brought myself to using it yet, but i will - next week when i am back in lüneburg and have my own bathroom and mirror. i promise to post pictures!




















yes, that was the first step, and once taken, it actually wasn't too hard to move on. i knew that i really wanted to have a semi-matte bright red lipstick (kind of to match my red skirt), and some mascara. then, nice betty lou did a post about bésame, and i liked their concept and as they have a sale going on right now, i decided to give it a try and ordered their 1930s mascara, a bright red lipstick and a carmine (orange-red kind of colour) one as well. so now i am waiting for stuff to arrive. or rather, for me to arrive in lüneburg to be able to try stuff out. and guess what: even if i might not like the colours, i absolutely love their design...

Thursday 28 August 2008

the new skirt

finally, i finished the skirt i sew during the last two weeks yesterday evening. i do like it a lot, even though the seams are not as straight as they were supposed to be and even if it is a little little bit too large - but only a little.









































skirt: selfmade
tights: h&m
tanktop: vero moda
shoes: wedins
necklace: hootie (etsy)

Edit: here is the link to the pattern for the skirt. you can download it for free after creating an account on burdastyle.com

tagged

i was tagged by my friend kattelinen, and am now going to answer those questions. until now, i have only seen them on swedish blogs in swedish, so i'll translate them into english.

Five things on your to-do-list:

  1. post two letters i've written
  2. do a new post on my blog with today's outfit
  3. study!!!
  4. study!!!
  5. feed the cat

What did you do 10 years ago?

that was summer 1998. i spent time with my first boyfriend and my best friend vroni. in the beginning of september, vroni and i went on a school-exchange to nyköping in sweden. we had a lot of fun and obviously i fell in love with the country - otherwise i wouldn't teach swedish today!

At which places have you lived?

  1. Freistadt, Niedersachsen, northern Germany, until i was almost 2 years old
  2. Wolfschlugen, close to Stuttgart, southern Germany, until february 1990
  3. Villach, Austria. just until i finished 5th grade
  4. Speikern, near Nürnberg. this is where i lived until i finished school, my parents still live here
  5. Kristinehamn in Sweden, 11months 2002/03
  6. Lüneburg, close to Hamburg, since 2003. well, with breaks and in a lot of different houses here. actually, i moved 4 times just within Lüneburg since then
  7. Karlstad, Sweden. one term as exchange student in 2006
  8. Oslo, Norway. well, one might say that i live here every now and then, as my favourite person a lives here...

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire?

  1. get a good lawyer and tax-adviser
  2. buy a real chanel-bag (am i superficial??)
  3. buy a lovely summerhouse somewhere where there are mountains and a lake/the sea
  4. start a foundation for young filmmakers
  5. put the rest of the money on the bank so it won't be gone too quickly

Rules: answer all the questions and tag 6 persons. tell them in their blogs that you tagged them.

well. now i'm a boring person but i just tag everyone who likes to feel tagged. here you go!

Tuesday 26 August 2008

sunny tuesday

this is me, today, in a white sailor-style terrycloth-dress.
the problem with the weather right now is, that as soon as the sun is away - plus inside our house - it gets pretty chilly, but when the sun shines i sweat.. so at some points today i really wished i had not put on those tights this morning...

























dress: thrifted
tights: c&a
shoes: h&m

family-pieces

today it was warm and sunny and my brand new sister in law, linda, came over, basically to do some washing but also to have a chat. so we sat on the porch and had a good time - she was drawing and writing while i took out my stuff for crafting jewellery.

i had had the idea of making a necklace for my mother, and finally even decided on what exactly to do, and as there was still time left, i even made a piece for linda. she picked the colours herself and was also allowed to decide about the length of the necklace..

here are the pieces:
















































the blue.crane-necklace for linda
















































and a garden-leaf-necklace for my mother, which she will get when she comes back from her vacation.

Monday 25 August 2008

oh, it's gingham

today, i went for some black and white - my gingham skirt and matching (!) t-shirt, and combined it with raspberry-red tights. and a darkbrown cardigan.

























tights, skirt and cardigan: h&m
t-shirt: adessa
shoes: skopunkten
lila heart-necklace: present from my favourite favourite person a.

flowers in my hair

it's so nice to have flowers in your hair..


















norwegian designer annette mangseth creates the most adorable little pieces of art, i think.
to be obtained through her etsy-shop carambatack.

Friday 22 August 2008

the marlene

so, even though i really should try and keep my money better together, i couldn't leave those cool marlene-trousers in the store yesterday. i mean, they were to be had for 8 euroninos, and i've really wanted to own a pair of very high waisted trousers for some time. the only thing is - as usual, i'll have to shorten them. alternatively only wear them with heels. resulting in me buying a pair of nice high heeled shoes, which i would like to have for upcoming autumn anyway...

























and here is yesterday's outfit (today was boring jeans-and- cardigan-day, so no pictures of that..):

























the red skirt: h&m
tank-top: indiska
shoes: h&m

Thursday 21 August 2008

i want to see this movie

america the beautiful - here is the trailer.



i really do hope that this movie will start in european cinemas. soon.

new projects

i seem to finally get myself to sewing some more. before i came here, i bought some simple black fabric for a skirt, to be exact, for this pattern:




















some days ago, i found a free pattern for this dress, and after finishing the marie-skirt, i will give it a try - and to not forget about it, i bought some pretty blue fabric with a flowerpattern on it today. the fabrics-store here offers 20%discount through august, so i thought i might just as well do some shopping there, and also bought some lace to make something nicer out of a simpe black shirt..

better late than never

here is last monday's outfit - i actually took the trouble of putting it on today to be able to take a picture. i like it so very very much.

























as you can see, there is a change in the background, which is due to me being house- and catkeeper at my parents' place while they are on vacation.

skirt: vero moda
top & shoes: h&m
necklace: selfmade (the telephone again..)

i am quite sure, that this skirt was of some inspiration to marc jacobs, as the pattern resembles the one of his "windowpane - dress" a lot... =)

Wednesday 20 August 2008

my latest catch

right now i'm waiting for this lovely lovely dress to arrive:

























it's a betsey johnson one, obtained through ebay as it is no longer available in betsey's online shop. i think it will be perfect for late summer and even autumn, maybe with a nice cardigan and thick tights..

nevertheless, in her shop, there is still this perfect summerdress to have:



















there is also a slightly cheaper (and shorter) alternative from topshop (well.. still a bit too much for my purse this month, after above namned purchase), in five different flowery prints - here is one of my favourites:

last friday

here is last friday's outfit.

























shorts, polkadot-shirt, tights and belt: h&m
cardigan: kenvelo
necklace: selfmade (the telephone!)
shoes: skopunkten

latest pieces

during the last days, i finished two projects, both for people i really care about.

the first one was a necklace for my friend and collegue dagmar, as a thank you for her invitation for dinner. we had a nice evening, eating good food and talking about our vacation - she had been to finland and showed me some beautiful pictures which her boyfriend, who is a professional photographer, had taken.

























the second piece i finished, my peacock-and heart-bracelet is meant for a very special friend of mine who is not at all in good health right now. i know she loves flowers and beautiful things, so i do hope that she likes it and that it gives her joy. so today i will write a letter to her and post it.

Friday 15 August 2008

the mobile phone

yesterday at h&m, i stumbled over this cute plastic charm dangling thing which you can attach to your mobile phone, and decided to turn it into a charm-necklace: pretty, isn't it?

Thursday 14 August 2008

Mongol

yesterday, i went to the cinema with my friend rana, to see the movie "Mongol", an epic about the rise of genghis khan. the movie is produced very well and on a large scale - bombastic battle scenes, lots of blood, romance, very well acted, a perfect soundtrack. at some points, it reminded me of "Braveheart", but then also the stories both take place around the same time (plus/minus a hundred years or so) and follow a strong leadership personality and warrior.



for me, in the center of the movie, of the story, is this haunted personality. a young boy who experiences nothing but hardship after his father was murdered, and who is running from his enemies all the time and never gets to rest. the image of this running man chased by horses kind of got stuck with me...

Tuesday 12 August 2008

the polkadrop-bracelet

i am working right now on a few projects with my jewellery, two necklaces which i cannot finish yet as i am waiting for some supplies, and matching bracelets. one of those bracelets i made today:











i called it the polkadrop-bracelet, and i plan on making one or two more in the same style.

Monday 11 August 2008

which tv-series heroine are you??

here is my result:

Xena (Warrior princess) : 81%
Loïs Lane (Loïs And Clarck) : 80%
Carrie Bradshaw (Sex & the city) : 71%
Dana Scully (X-Files) : 70%
Ally mc Beal : 67%
Fran Fine (The nanny) : 65%
Sue Helen (Dallas) : 64%
Gabrielle Solis (Desperate Housewives) : 61%

Quelle héroïne de série télé es-tu ?

i do like lois lane. and i don't mind being like carrie at all. i mean, who would? and i definitely like like like fran fine ("mr. sheffield!!!"). and i guess a is flattered when he sees i'm most like xena. so, it's a nice mix and everybody is happy, eh?

flowers blue

today's outfit: blue turtleneck, blue shoes and a flowery skirt

























skirt: h&m
shirt: new yorker
shoes: vintage

Sunday 10 August 2008

esther's bracelet

today, i had dinner at my friend esther's. we had a vegetarian wok, with lots of coconutmilk and peppers and noodles with it.

i had totally forgotten about her birthday, but had gotten the idea of making a bracelet for her, as a thank you for the invitation for dinner. the fun thing is, that she had been at a market in hamburg yesterday and had been looking for a nice bracelet then. which she told me when she opened the envelop. she also told me, she had been looking for something blue. guess which colour i had chosen as main colour? - blue..


Leo and Anna (Tolstoj and Karenina)

in moscow, i went to buy some russian literature and ended up with tolstoj's "anna karenina" and nabokov's "lolita", which i think is only partly russian and partly french/english/american, as the writer did not write it in russia. on my "want-to read-russian-literature"-list i still got some dostojevskij and also "the master and margarita" by mikhail bulgakov, which i have already read a part of.

anyway, i started to read anna karenina and have already read more than halv of it. the book is easy to read, even though in the beginning it is difficult to remember the who is who. and it is thick. it is exciting, not too fast and not too slow, it features different points of view and it is about love. and family. and divorce. and life. and the upper gentry of 19th century russia. thus featuring kind of a russian parallel to jane austen or w.m. thackeray's "vanity fair", at least when it comes to descriptions of society. oh, i need to find out about film-versions.

this grey sunday-afternoon i think i might dedicate to some more reading.

liten karin

this girl has done such a beautiful series of pictures:



































































aren't they bewitching? the little red dress, the cage and the trees - i'm still charmed...

Friday 8 August 2008

the red skirt

this is what i wear today. the red skirt and the black bow-shirt.

























skirt: h&m
shirt: mango
wedges: clarks

the weddingpresent

well, my brother is married now, and of course he and his lovely wife were supposed to get a weddingpresent from me and a. and of course, they came up with a quite extraordinary wish, a piece of pottery, to be exact, a pot to put the bread into, basically one like our mother has. so i went to the two local pottery-shops here (now we talk handmade pottery), and found such a pot. just, you know, the design wasn't really what i thought my brother and his wife were into.

but. of course, i came up with the brilliant idea to order such a pot and paint it myself. which was possible. so today, i had the top of the pot at home and painted it with blue (poisonous) colour.






















i always kind of make things up when i go along, so i started with the nautic details, the ankor and fish and waves. i think it is really cool when you have a lot of small details to look at and things to discover.




















the tree was a lot of fun to paint.






and also the cat and the sparrow and the mouse. when we were kids, my parents used to call me "maus" (mouse) and my brother "bär" (bear), and my youngest brother "spatz" (sparrow). i really couldn't do a bear, but then i thought the mouse and the sparrow and the cat (we always had a cat) might serve as memory for him..

anyway, now i have to take this really breakable and heavy thing back to the pottery to get it burnt. i also will have a lightblue glazing (if that's what you call it) added, so what i did today will be dark blue and the rest of the thing lightblue. kind of. i'll feature the result as soon as it's done.

vacation

now i have come back to lüneburg after some wonderful weeks of vacation. a and i first spent a few days in sweden, in his parents' summer house on an island in the lake vänern. it really is beautifully situated, with a view of the lake and some other islands and the far horizon out on the lake. there was a lot of wind and not too much sun, which was nice because we didn't suffer of mosquitoes, but then also we couldn't catch much of a tan. the best thing was that it was nice and quiet and we could read a lot and bath and use the sauna and barbecue and relax.

after this nice start, we continued to moscow to experience the biggest city we have seen so far. we visited just the right amount of sites, had nice food and just stared and watched things. russia and moscow are really fascinating. here come the first two pictures:
















we took a boat trip on the river moskva, which took us along a lot of the major sites







this is me with the kremlin in the background. sadly, the weather was not so nice during the last three days.

from moscow, we directly headed to the south of germany, where my brother's wedding took place. i did wear my dress with much grace and success and we had a lot of fun at the celebration. more about this in a later post. with more pictures.