Tuesday 29 November 2011

of beehives, babies and bows

Photobucket

Photobucket

I generally don't feel retro enough for a full beehive, but I like encouraging my hair to go a little ways in that direction from time to time. And I like bows, especially in a double dose at my neck and feet.

This outfit was worn for a) empanadas, hot chocolate milk and alfajores at the café across the street from my house. Alfajores are my new doom... two pieces of shortbread with dulce de leche inbetween. Soooo. good. and b) going to meet the new baby of some friends of mine. Conclusion: More alfajores as soon as possible, and no babies for at least another five years!


Photobucket

P.S. As I've mentioned before, I write weekly articles for a Barcelona tourism website, Barcelona Planning. I'd love if you wanted to make me look good by visiting... I've just written an article about some of the very, very strange Christmas traditions of this region!

Photos by Albert

blouse: Zara, shorts: H&M Wateraid collection, tights: boots, shoes: Indigo Clarks circa 2006, ring: my grannie's

Sunday 27 November 2011

em poso com un tomàquet

Photobucket

Photobucket

There was a point on my blog last winter when it seemed I was incapable of wearing any outfit that didn't include some red. All my basics seemed to be red, from my lumberjack shirt (life-saver before I found a coat), to the coat itself, to my beret... This year I've been a bit calmer on the red front... I guess I got a bit tired of it. But well, red is back for me. The funny thing is, in a non-fashion capacity, it's not even my favourite colour (that would be green or yellow). But red does wonders in the winter for slightly anemic people like me. When early mornings start to turn me that disagreeable putty colour, a red hat or scarf do help to put some colour in my cheeks. On this particular day, I decided to have colour on my legs instead...

The skirt twirling photos were kind of fun to do, but there were a goodly number of indecent ones. Note to self not to try this at work!

Photobucket

Photobucket
bicycle brooch!

Photobucket

Photos by Albert

Dress: River Island (last years summer sales), tights: Boots, boots: gift, from Barcelona circa 2007, socks and trenchcoat: H&M, scarf: The Hudson's Bay Company, bag: vintage via Mom, necklace and bicycle pin: gifts from my mom

P.S. If I hadn't bought this dress right before I started blogging, it would likely have made it onto last post's list of treasured blog items!

Wednesday 23 November 2011

how to buy what you'll wear and wear what you buy: lessons learned from personal style blogging

Before I had a blog, I was a really bad analytical shopper. I'd buy things that didn't match anything else in my wardrobe... or that I had no place to wear. Now, "analytical" and "shopper" are not words that you would automatically put together, but there is a lot of discussion around the web about "finding your personal style," "being a smart shopper," and, perhaps most nebulous of all, "investing in the basics."

Finding your personal style can be more difficult than it sounds, but there's nothing quite like looking back on over a year's worth of posts in a personal style blog to make you start thinking about what has been working for you. Accordingly, I've looked back at the three items of clothing that have appeared in my life in the last approximate year, that have each been blogged a variety of ways, and that were overall stellar buys: the kind of investment that every purchase should be.

Photobucket
The boat print dress, Topshop via ebay

Saw it on a blog, had to have it, ebay stalked it until victorious, all the while wondering "is this really what you should be spending your money on?" The answer was a resounding yes. It has astoundingly only appeared on my blog four times since I bought it in the summer... but I must have worn it about forty times... not bad for a very summery dress.

Photobucket
The birdcage skirt, Snoozer Loser

If you break down a successful purchase by a cost-per-wear ratio, this isn't the best piece I own. I spent $120 on it (I can hear all your thrifters gasping in horror, but whatever, it's handmade and from an independent designer, and, as Aya points out, it's my money)! I don't wear it non-stop. But I find cost-per-wear limiting, because this is a skirt that I feel is so completely me that I automatically feel better wearing it. Wearing it too often might deprive it of its magic, which is that some person I never met figured out what I never would have: that my personality can basically be boiled down into a moody and faintly gothic birdcage print on an obnoxious mustard colour. Also, I thought this piece would be hard to remix... wrong. I've worn it five different ways already on the blog.

Photobucket
The multicoloured gingham shirt, vintage

This one wasn't a purchase at all. I bought a few items from Veronika's blog shop, and she threw this in the envelope as a gift. Basically, my favourite shirt ever (I'm wearing it as I type). I've worn it at least twice a week for the last six months... and I don't see that changing.

Lessons learned

At first glance you might say: "So,she likes independent designers, high street brands and vintage... and has paid everything from $0-$120 for her favourite pieces, and either wears them all the time or only occasionally... what does that say?"

But there are patterns--literally. All my favourite pieces of the past year are patterned. Two of three are novelty prints. Also, they are all multicoloured, which I find extremely useful for remixing and layering... you can play up any of the colours they contain. I really like that they all contain a hint of red or orange, as red is one of my "neutral colours." They're all quite classic shapes: a poofy but not indecent skirt, a nipped waist dress, a boyish blouse. They're all made of nice but basic materials (cotton or linen). They're all my basics, but still a bit quirky.

What would your top three purchases of last year say about you?

Sunday 20 November 2011

a quiet weekend

Photobucket

I have had the most annoying time trying to do outfit shots all week. First, there's the early darkness, which I know everyone is dealing with. Then, there's the weather. It looks like it's always sunny in Barcelona here on my blog because that's when I take pictures, but actually it has been raining most days for at least three weeks, probably more like a month. Grrrr. Yesterday, I took my tripod into town, determined to get a backdrop that wasn't my terrace. It took me ages to find a quiet place with no people and immediately started raining. When it eventually stopped, my bangs had already dried into a Nike swoosh shape, and that was that. So, sorry, but today you're getting odds and ends of the weekend, and then I might take a blog holiday for a week.

Photobucket
I realize I never introduced my new camera... this is it. A Nikon D3100, shown here with a 50mm lens (which is lovely but a bit of a pain due to the crop factor). I'm very happy with my camera,though I am most definitely still learning how to use it.

Photobucket
I also got a remote recently, so now there are a lot of photos of me like this saying "why won't you focus, damn it?" I have to say though, personal style self-portraitists... a remote is possibly the best invention ever. So time-saving!

Photobucket
Yesterday I made asparagus risotto. Mmmmmm

Photobucket
Then went out with some friends to the amusingly named Sor Rita bar. Sor Rita means sister Rita (as in a nun) but Zorrita means little slut! I had to have this explained to me because I'm thick, but the bar is pretty funny. I'll have to get a photo of the portrait of the lewdly laughing nun next time!

Later in the evening I was trying to say "I liked them" (some people we'd met earlier) and accidentally said "They shit me." This is easier than you might think in Spanish. Mortification.

Photobucket
Today I went for a walk and took some pictures of Barcelona...

Photobucket
I really love photos of industrial cities... and Barcelona had a rich industrial heritage, so chimneys to my heart's content.

Photobucket
And Fraggle contemplated suicide after we ran out of his favourite food... I also considered throwing him off the balcony as he would not shut up all day. Finally we compromised and I gave him some sandwich meat.

The end!

Friday 18 November 2011

book, terrace, cat

Photobucket

Photobucket

This was originally a guest post for Chantilly's Songs, who's launching a kickstarter campaign to record an album of lovely songs. Check it out! I, meanwhile, was asked to share my experiences on the road less travelled by, basically, pursuing my own creative pursuits from a rooftop terrace in Barcelona.

I recently chose to move back to Barcelona, a city I lived in in my early twenties, ignoring more normal career paths for the time being at least, and working on my children's novel. In this pictures you can see me working, or at least attempting to work, on my terrace (I love Barcelona weather). Though I sometimes feel stressed under the weight of social expectations, I'm ultimately really happy with taking this time out to work on editing, improving, and hopefully someday publishing my novel. I also work part time at a job that doesn't excite me too much, but the satisfaction of pursuing a creative goal and living in such a beautiful city goes a long way towards soothing my frustrations....

Photobucket

Writing, editing... and I won't lie... a degree of this goes on too!

Photobucket

wearing a vintage dress and belt

Oh, and here's a few more gratuitous shots of life on my terrace, before it got cold and started raining. And Fraggle again!

Photobucket
A visiting Vancouverite, cat-lover, and thrifter extraordinaire!

Photobucket
Check out my old skool phone!

Wednesday 16 November 2011

inspiration: russia in colour, 1910

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Something a little bit different today... I've had these pictures bookmarked on my computer for over a year now, but fall seems like the perfect time to post them somehow. Photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii took these photos on a tour of the Russian Empire only a few short years before the revolution. What's revolutionary about the photos however, is that they're in colour. So often we look at old pictures through a black and white filter that is as much mental as visual... I'm sure I'm not alone in half-believing that the past must have existed in black and white, and that has a distancing effect. Here, in colour, these long-dead Russians from an entirely changed world seem so much closer to the present; colour lends their faces contour and contrast, I can almost imagine myself teaching English to the gentleman above...

There's some pretty fantastic fashion inspiration to be found here of course, in the form of velvet, colour and embroidery, but these photos also leave me inspired and enthused for my life... they remind me to be more curious, to read more, to see the world with technicolour eyes.

More photos and information on this series can be found here

Photobucket

Photobucket

Monday 14 November 2011

autumn light

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

This weekend I was in Bonn for all of a day and a half, and I mostly slept and ate. I failed completely at getting any photo shoots until we arrived at the bus stop to the airport on Sunday and Albert said "Right, we've got four minutes." Ironically, this may be one of my favourite set of photos.

There are few things more lovely than the light on an Autumn afernoon, which is always that much more precious as it fades into night so quickly.

Photobucket

Photobucket
three minutes later, I was on my way back to Barcelona.

Photos by Albert

dress: vintage, sweater: second hand (stolen from my sister who never wears it), scarf and boots: gifts

Thursday 10 November 2011

frazzled by fraggle

Photobucket

Photobucket

Today I am partially joined by Fraggle, the lovely/annoying/attention whore cat who lives in my flat. Things have been quiet on the blog front this week after I came down with one of those colds that, were I an 80 year old lady, would probably take me to an early grave. As it is, I have recovered, and am delighted that the weather has recovered with me!

Photobucket

You poser, Fraggle.

Right due at work in an hour and have to collect my bicycle from the repair shop first...

dress: Spank (Vancouver boutique), scarf: was a gift from my grandfather to someone else, but he forgot it and I took it over. :D, boots: gift, from Barcelona circa 2007

Sunday 6 November 2011

a musical evening

This was originally a guest post over at Melissa's blog, Sometimes Almost Always

Photobucket

Photobucket
photo by lucchi80 on flickr

Photobucket

Hi Sometimes Almost Always readers, I'm Emily from Ruby Slipper Journeys!

I think Melissa asked me for a guest post over two months ago, and I've been unbelievably flaky. At the beginning, I had a thesis to finish, but then I got a case of bloggers block. She said it should be food or music themed, and while I love food, no sooner did I promise something along those lines than I realized I wasn't eating out much any more, and that my home-cooking wasn't exactly photogenic. And music... well, I generally say I have no soul and don't really care about music too much...

However, I would really have no soul not to care about Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, perhaps the most beautiful building in the city. You can take guided tours of this modernist masterpiece, but it doesn't cost much more to actually see a concert there. So I went for a wonderful evening of classical guitar by Paraguayan guitarrist Berta Rojas. The music was perfect, and the surroundings even more perfect... I just wish I hadn't worked just before and could have brought my better camera. Oh, and that I could have arrived early enough to have a class of sparkling wine before the show!

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket
My camera wasn't really up to the task, but the wall behind Rojas was beautiful... the heads are sculpted stone, but they fade into the wall and the bodies and gowns are mosaic...

Thanks for having me Melis! Sorry about the epic delay!

Friday 4 November 2011

let me eat cake

Photobucket

Photobucket

Some days it's still warm enough for bare legs around here. Other days it has been raining like you wouldn't believe (namely on the days when I have to cycle half an hour to my 8 am class--like today, ugh). Anyway, last Sunday was one of the nice days. We bought a cake to have with lunch, one of the politically incorrectly named "gypsy's arm" cakes that are basically chilled cream rolled up in sponge flavoured with something... whisky in this case. Sooo good. Looks a bit like this, but more creme-brulee-ish.

I've just bought my flight home for Christmas, which has left my wallet a good deal lighter.... so I may have to cut down on treating myself to cake for a little while...

Photobucket

Photobucket

This is one of my favourite scarves. My aunt gave it to my grannie years ago, who decided she'd never wear it and gave it to my mom, who decided she'd never wear it and gave it to me. Such a convoluted path to reach it's correct owner!

Photos by Albert

skirt: Snoozer Loser, sweater: H&M, scarf: gift, shoes: ebay

Wednesday 2 November 2011

one giant leap for my wardrobe

I spent much of last winter doing periodic Etsy trawls in search of the perfect corduroy jumper dress and concluded it didn't exist. I'm not sure this is the perfect one, but considering it was staring out at me from H&M the day I told myself I was allowed to buy one thing in celebration of getting a second job, it'll do for now! Corduroy is a contender for my all-time favourite fabric, by the way...

Photobucket

And can you tell I'm having a bit of a kneesocks moment? They really suit the climate in Barcelona right now, which is still a bit warm for tights and trousers, but too chilly for bare legs.

dress and socks: H&M, blouse: vintage, shoes: ebay

Tuesday 1 November 2011

magic fountain

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

It's been a long weekend here, but I think I might need another one to recover from it. Bufff. Anyway, these were taken Saturday evening, when we came out of a museum (yes, another exhibition), to find that the Magic Fountain show at Montjuïc had just started. It made a beautiful display of coloured water against the darkening sky in Barcelona... the last day before Daylight Savings Time here.

This wasn't really an outfit shoot as apparently my "hair looked like an omelette," which, while I don't see the omelette resemblance exactly, it's true that I was a bit unkempt by that part of the day! Note the little pin with my name on it, which I've had since I was a kid. I found it in a box back in Canada and thought "awwwwesome," but now I kind of think it looks like I don't know my own name. And might be partially responsible for an increased number of people speaking English to me, grrr. : D

Happy belated Hallowe'en everyone! I didn't celebrate because I'm the grinch, but there were some cute pumpkin shaped cakes around here...

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photos by Albert