Friday 23 July 2010

Flashback! Barcelona 2008

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At a goodbye party in Barcelona with a friend people always thought was my sister

When I buy clothes, I prefer to buy things I can see myself wearing for years. Obviously this is more economical, but an added bonus is that when I wear something I've had for a long time, I can remember all the fun I've had wearing it.

I bought the dress from yesterday's post in 2008, when I was living in Barcelona, and though I've worn it many times since then, I always associate it most with that city. One night that I remember well and that I have pictures from was a night during the Festes de Sants. In Barcelona, many of the little neighbourhoods that make up the city were once towns and villages in their own right, and during the summer they have celebrations: street parties with decorations, food, and music. Sants was the neighbourhood where I lived at the time, and I made it out on the last night, in my (then new) dress. I might not look too happy in the first picture, but I was just exhausted.

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Excuse the photo quality on this occasion please! They were taken at night with a mobile phone!

In the second and third picture you can see something typical of Catalan culture: a castell. (Castell means castle in Catalan). Castells are human towers, made by one person standing on another's shoulders until the tower is quite high, and finally a child climbs up to be on top. This castell was very small and spontaneous (and walking through the streets like it's completely normal) but they can be quite large and impressive.

Here are some I saw randomly one morning going out for breakfast:
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And here's what they are capable of!
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photo from calavellfalo on flickr

Thanks for taking a tour down memory lane with me! Do you have any item of clothing that you still wear that brings back some fun memories?

11 comments:

Andrea said...

Those castells look impressive...and fun, I wish I could do that ;)

http://maxandchichi.blogspot.com/

Faux Naif said...

those castells are just mad!

i love clothes with histories. they live longer.

Marta G. (A Bilingual Baby) said...

Hi! I love castells too. We have impressive castells here and then we have the most boring dance on Earth called sardana. I guess you can't have everything, ha, ha
I usually go to Fiestas de Gracia, they are lots of fun with the free concerts of so many types of music.
Have a good weekend!

Emily, Ruby Slipper Journeys said...

@Marta: I agree! The sardana is the world's most boring dance! I once saw a "sardana competition" I think, in Andorra. Still, at least Catalan culture has lots of interesting things, like castells and giant heads and running around throwing fire at everyone!

Anna Katrina said...

oh i love barcelona! brings back the best memories. cute first picture!


http://passportglamour.blogspot.com

Nat said...

Hi Emily
Thanks for popping over to visit my blog....nice to find yours too! You have some beautiful photos of interesting places :-)
I saw a castell in Barcelona once when I stayed there for 3 months years back....fun but a bit mad!

nemee said...

great photographs . both the dress and barcelona look beautiful .

artsysunday.blogspot.com

Closet Fashionista said...

Those photos are so cool!! And that dress is really cute :D
And yep, I have memory pieces too, haha :D
http://aclosetfashionista.blogspot.com/

DKFS said...

Like you kidding ? The human tower I´m pretty amazed totally it looks awesome . Great pic. and cute blog :) xxx

Anthea said...

You're so lucky to get to see all these places!

Anthea,
Embracing Style

Emily, Resplendent Tranquility said...

Oh my, those castells are IMPRESSIVE!

That is such a pretty dress. Puffed sleeves are always fun, aren't they?

I have some pants that I purchased in Italy that I love to bits. Sometimes all I have to do is just look at them and I'm instantly reminded of my trip and all the fun I had there. Perhaps I'll do an outfit post with them one of these days.

I do the same thing regarding purchasing clothes I can see myself in for years. A bulk of my wardrobe is currently 5-6 years old. The way I see it, if you take good care of your things there's no need to load up on pieces you won't wear as much. That's not to say I don't buy frivolous things on a whim, but that's another story... ;)