Florence city of fashion love

After briefly mentioning Florence in my post yesterday I began to look at my pictures form last years trip there and immediatly had a longing to go there again. Florence is everything you could want. Amazing cafes and restaurants for so cheap you can barely believe it, beautiful architecture and museums, natural scenery of gardens, mountains and the river Arno and shops. Glorious mounds of shops. Florence isn't a city you should visit with a city guide. It's a cuty where you need to enter and walk around with only your sixth sense to guide you. Wander through those little streets and enter shops full of magic, giving you the feeling of harry Potter in the wizard town. It's a spectacular experience to lick your gelato(which they cream onto a con with huge spatulas like cake cake mix in your mouth) all your senses are going crazy, your eyes can't believe the glorious shops, your ears hear offers being yelled up and down the market in sexy italian accents, your skin feels the sunlight, your taste buds are experienceing new flavors of such delight and you smeel the air of freshly baked cake.

The first few days passed in a hazard of shopping which I can only vaguely remeber due to sensory overload. I remember that in everey store I stepped I never wanted to leave agaion and they only got prettier and prettier. Walking past Ferregamo, Pucci, Etro and Prada for the first time understanding where they really came from. Feeling the italian flair. It's not main street like Milan you walk through little streets hunting for treasures and evry once in a while you will end up on a piazza filled with vespas and colorful candy stores. Florence is one of the few towns who realize what an art fashion really is. They have a shoes museum! A museum for shoes and trust me that was the first museum I could've stayed in forever. Seeing those shoes it's like someone finally understood me! Shoes weren't just shoes, they were a way to build confidence and establish a new person!

The most amazing store by far was however a jeweler store. On recommendation of a friend we one morning entered the so called "most awesome jewelery store ever". When inside we were massively disappointed. The room was full of drawers and little cabinets with a few nice pieces displayed on top. After wandering through the room for a couple of aimless minutes we were about to leave until the sales assist called us why we were leaving. We answered we were done and thats when the fairy showed us her magic. She opened all the cabinets and drawers which were filled to the top with jewelery. Not gold and silver but jewelery made out of plastic, not cheap plastic though expensive looking shiny and colorful plastic in all forms and sizes. With added stones and pearls to form necklaces, rings, bracelets and colliers. We were dumbstruck. Every time we thought we were done another drawer opened. After 1 hour we were still not even clsoe to done. After purchasing a pair of elephant earrings in blue and pink with matching bracelets and another set of pink, turqouise and cream we left drunk of magic potion. This one was definetly one of my favorite stores. 

Then of course there was Pucci, outlets, little stores, Blumarine, Ferregamo the shop etc. Our hotel reflected this wizardy of brilliance, looking over all of Florence with a roof terass amazing breakfast and gorgeous rooms. All in all I can't wait to go back and seriously envy all Italians.

Still loving fashion,
<3

P.S. For some tips be it shopping, eating or living just mail me, I'd be glad to help :)

Outlets

Outlets are in my opinion the remake of heaven. They used to be those little dark rooms, with bare concrete walls and no heating. The piles in the middle would more remind us of garbage than fashion. 
Today we've evolved a long way. The stores are hidden "it pieces" in rich towns such as St.Moritz, Zurich or Florence. When making your way through some backyard you enter a miniture shop where you can hunt for hours for treasures that cost barely anything. In many shopping metropoles they even have whole outlet towns by now such as LA and Florence. When we, for the first time, entered the gates to one of the "Outlets"(more like cities) in Florence I was dumbstruck. There were shops with the greatest designer labeles ranging from Alexander Mcqueen, Prada and Pucci encircled in nice grassy areas with benches where the husbands could wait with the kids and dogs. The stores were all organized and if it hadn't been for the prices I wouldn't have noticed the differnce. There I bought a dearly loved pair of Stella Mccartney shoes for $90 and a couple of others things, but looking back with regret not enough. Too shocked by this whole new fairytale dimension which had just been  unlocked I was running from one store to the next, desperate to manage in the three short hours we had been given before the transfer would pick us up. However by the end of that trip I was so exhausted I could barely walk anymore. After about 6 hours shopping in the morning and a little cardio training elsewhere also know as sightseeing, where we ran up El Duomo in about 15 min (463 steps!!!) to catch a quick sight of our shopping terrain. 

Anyway back to the outlets they are a must in every big city and honestly who cares about this season? At the moment neon has been "in" for 3 seasons and anyway vintage is the newest awesome ;) You can drag kids, dog and even husband to these outlets as they have restaurants, kids areas, grass and in some cases even hairdressers/spas. The only thing you should probably hide in the end is your credit card bill, because even though there are designers for 90% off you will be broke in the end. And enjoy it because trust me nothing is worse leaving with only memories, you can't wear those!

Still loving fashion,

<3

Is classy the new sexy?

Yes, as you can probably tell by now I love attention grabbing, provoking and different clothing (although not and I underline this to attract men, but because I love it). However after recently trying on a dress on persuasion of a friend I noticed how amazing classic could look. The dress was sweet and although I have ocassionally bought the "goody goody two shoes dress" it always ended up in the back of my closet where it was never worn, but today with all the leather and studs I noticed that classic could be a nice alternative. And much to my suprise it actually got more compliments. People admire it when you look classy and confident and right away grant you a certain respect. 

People like Anne Hathaway, Hailie Steinfeld and Taylor Swift have showed us how amazing it can look and while up until now I believed only a Taylor Swift could look attractive in a 50's dress, I'm now starting to change my mind. I believe the challenge is creating a classic look with accessories that add the sparkle. LCassic being anythind from knee length skirts, calm coordinated colors or vintage style. In one of the outfits below, I paired a a brightly colored dress, with a patent leather belt, patent leather shoes and black tights along with a sparkling necklace (as you can see below) and I felt great wearing it! However my favorite is the one on the right, that cape gives me an Audrey Hepburn/princess feeling and I fell like cinderella just because of that one elegant poncho. They are so much more practical than normal dresses! You never have to pay attention weather your skirt is sliding up, if your tights slide down a bit no one can see and they flatter the figure! So all in all a win win situation. What makes Taylor and Co. so sexy is I believe their positivity and confidence. Clothing says so much about you and dressing like a lady says you expect to be treated like one. Also by not having to worry about something sliding down or up you have mor etime to focus on that smile of yours and not to forget by hiding more skin there is more to uncover ;)

Thanks you ladies for bringing sexy back!

Still loving fashion, 
<3

Provoking

I admit it doesn't exatcly make you a canidate for "Americas next sweetheart", but it makes life a hell of a lot more fun. I love provoking through fashion because nothing makes heads turn like a unique outfit be it vintage, contrasting or just completely crazy. True to my motto "Normal is boring" I decided to follow the newest trend of written on tights. I'm an absolute fan of this because in combination with a plain skirt it makes anything stand out. I like the feeling of having left a subway, shop or cafe knowing people will rember my outfit, maybe even mention it. They might not be aware of it but somewhere in their heads they will have an opinion, be it good or bad. This need to be noticed is I have to admit vain, but also a lot of fun and I think just refelcts the human nature. In a world like today where there are always people who can sing, dance or write better. Are prettier, funnier or skinnier it is so hard to stand out. While some people use criminality to make their point, or extremly good grades or even voluteer work (which I highly admire) I love to do it through my clothes. It's the easiest way to present myself and my personality and to be completely honest my clothes at times scare of people, which really is a good thing because I wouldn't get along with superficial people like that. 

I believe fashion is an art and in art you express yourself. Now we can't all be Miranda Kerr or Stella McCartney so by just dressing extravagently and sharing it with you I feel like I'm expressing my creativity and that's a good thing right?

Still loving fashion,
<3

Which one is better?

Shopping Metropoles

Abu Dhabi: A shopping metropole?

Paris, London and New York, cities we know and dream about, cities that spell out one thing for us; Shopping! These cities have the greatest malls, designers, boutiques and vintage stores and we could live in each easily and never get bored. After a recent trip to Abu Dhabi I however began to wonder, what makes a fashion metropole? Is is the amount of stores, designers or prices? Because in my time spent in Abu Dhabi I felt like I was in shopping heaven. 

From the moment I got there I was infatuated by the 'Sex and the city' feeling streaming my way. I felt like Carrie waking up in a completely new world. On my first day shopping I then targeted the Center Souk, an incredible builiding containg shops and cafes on 3 floors. Naturally I didn't have the time to sit down in a single cafe because I was busy running around like a mad hen picking up a million things I 'desperately needed'. Yes looking back I can say thank god I wasn't alone because I would have been broke after the first two shops, but it seemed unable for me to understand how necklaces could be $15 and look so good! There was arabic influenced jewlerry everywhere and while I knew most wasn't high quality it still looked so precious. There were belly dancer outfits, Maxi dresses and rings, bracelets and colliers everywhere. After that we went to the Emirates Palace which was purely breathtaking. There is a reason SATC was filmed there. The hotel radiates wealth and luxury and walking through the giant rooms I felt like Alice in wonderland. Refreshed after the most amazing tea I had ever had we carried on to Marina Mall where I stopped in shock again. This Mall was a giant replica of the worlds most trendiest brands. They had everything from Forever 21, Ted Baker, Guess and Dior. This shopping center represented the world most popular brands all in one shopping centre. 

After another few days of maniac expreiences from which I still can't believe their quite true such as camel riding, desert picknicking and going on crazy rides in a water park I came to the conclusion of what a fashion Metropole is: A place in which international brands can be found, while incorporating it's own unique feeling when shopping and having signature pieces which will make a fashion lover remember the city.

So while New York and co. are probably best know there are still millions of shopping paradises which you can explore, Abu Dhabi being one for starters.

Still loving fashion,

<3

P.S. If you have made some great experiences while shopping in unknown or know cities please comment them as I would love to explore them.

Feeling like Carrie through and through :) 

Experiencing what it's like not to be equal with men

quiz for cocktails

The other day I wrote a post on cocktails here is a little quiz to help you figure out which should be your signature cocktail ;) 

Wedding dresses

It's what every girl dreams of. When we watch "Bride Wars" for the millionth time and wish for a wedding like theirs. When we walk past tiffany's pretendig to eye those necklaces, when really dreaming of the moment where our boyfriend drops on one knee and pulls out that magical blue box...( I would  also totally settle for the Cartier trinity ring)
Unfortunately times have changed and I was shocked to find out, the other day, that some people actually don't give engagement rings anymore! Their boyfriend didn't drop on one knee and they married in black! Black? Of all colors black?! Is this what people believe marrying is about today? The wedding day and all the days up to it is like dipping into Cinderellas wonderland. However only if you do it right.

The thing that really brings the wedding to life is not the ring, setting or guests, although they are indeed very important. No, the biggest thing of all is the dress. Watching Sex and the City yesterday and seeing Carrie's Vogue photoshoot in all those drop-dead-gorgeous wedding gowns made me all sentimental. Imagine marrying in a dress like that... THE dress designer however is and will always stay Vera Wang. Since years I have been stalking her website, eager to see the newest bridal collection and hog the laptop with my friends dreaming about wearing one of these. Seriously Kim K and co. don't know how lucky they are. While I do love classic Vera Wang makes everything seem so perfect. Only in one of her dresses would I ever consider wearing in anything but white. Her champagne and rose colored dresses with tull and sparkle make you feel like you are looking at the work of a magical fairy. Yes, fairy Wang is the only person in the world I will excuse for making black wedding gowns. But anyone else should go and book a divorce lawyer already! Her creations are art and only people who have no idea about any of her magic can say "It's only a dress, you will never wear it again." Don't you see that thats the point. It's like winning an oOlympic gold medal, yes you only won it once in that year and category and it isn't real gold, but it's got such a huge sentimental part that it's worth so much more. The possibility of looking at it hanging from a hanger and relieving that moment of pure happiness, it's a feeling worth paying time and money for. Stepping into the dress when you feel bad and then looking into the mirror and seing beauty, that's what a wedding dress is about, making you feel beautiful and having a memory for life....
Don't you agree? What do you think of Vera Wang?

Still loving fashion,
<3