Saturday, July 30, 2011

Swedish style

Here I have some of the photos I managed to take during my visit in Sweden. I take the opportunity to thank all these people that cooperated with me :)
Philippa, spotted at Three Hearts Bar, Halmstad wearing an Acne dress.
1.Spotted at The Corner Bar, Halmstad. 2&3.Spotted in Stockholm
1.Spotted in Stockholm 2&3 Spotted in Gothenburg


















































The first photo shows a dress from one of the most famous fashion brands in Sweden called Acne (http://www.acnestudios.com). Philippa explained that this dress can be worn in many different ways. She matched the dress with black classic accessories (watch and clutch) and brown wedges. I like her style because it's plain but classy. I would say that the term "Less is more" perfectly describes her style.
Collage #1
1. I took this photo at a Bar/club on a Saturday night. I would describe her style as very laid back but very personal. This girl is wearing a leather jacket that matches her plain top and boots, and contrast with her baggy caqui pants. If I had to change something in this photo, I would make her wear skinny trousers and get rid of all the bracelets. Instead I would make her wear a stylish but simple long necklace.
2. This photo shows a woman who was walking around the streets of Stockholm, and I spotted her due to her oh-so-very-colorful jacket. I like how she was wearing very plain clothes, but managed to give her outfit an edgy and summery twist with the flower patterned blazer. I also like her oversized pattent handbag which is stylish and perfect for carrying anything you can think of.
3. Very plain outfit-black jacket, top and skinny jeans with white converses (we all know that you can never go wrong with black-it makes us look skinnier and taller, AND it matches with everything). I think the fringe jacket is what makes the outfit a bit more interesting. However I think it'd be perfect if the girl had a contrasting small hand bag or belt in order to not make people think that she just came out of the movie "Men in Black".
Collage #2
1. I really like this style, it's girly, summery and sophisticated at the same time. It could be perfect for shopping, a day party or a date. I like how it's so balanced-she's not revealing cleavage, but she's showing off her long legs and emphasizing that with a pair of wedges (which I then found out were only 10 euros!).
2. I love this dress, the drape of the skirt and how the waist-belt emphasized the girl's figure. She managed to complete the look with a crossed tan bag and sunglasses. Finally, she's (also) wearing converses which make the look seem more informal and laid back, and make it perfect for a day out in the beautiful city of Gothenburg. However, I would probably opt for a pair of flat sandals or black flats.
3. Finally, I like this girl's style even though it's very particular-I don't know, it's definetely something that caught my eye in the high street. I think that since she's so tall and thin she can pull off this dress very well. I also believe that the waist bow is essential to make the dress look more feminine and emphasize her figure. I would probably drop the cardigan though. I think that a pair of flat delicate sandals would complete this look.

There are things I like and dislike from each outfit, but I admire how everyone has they're own style and their personalities show through their clothes, hair style or accessories.

Swedish style

So here I am, back from Sweden...
I must say the idea of going out and taking photos of random people has been pretty awkward..but interesting and fun! It scared me a bit when I realized that whenever we went shopping, I was no longer looking at the windows or clothes that were on display in the shops, but instead I was "staring" at people, trying to find someone who I could take a photo of. I think I realized how weird it was to just walk up to people and say "Hey, do you speak English? Umm, I like your outfit/style, could I take a photo of you for my fashion blog?" when a sales assistant in Zara told me that she didn't feel confortable with the idea of having a photo taken. My first reaction was to think "I just told you that I liked your style..and I wanted your photo for a UNIVERSITY PROJECT, what's wrong with that?!", but then I thought that I'd probably feel a bit unconfortable if someone that I don't know and doesn't even speak my same language was following me around the Swedish streets just because they wanted to take a photo of me. Anyway, I do think every photo I took helped me become more and more confident and confortable around unknown people, which I think will be very helpful for the future, in terms of my career but also my personality-since it's gonna help me become even more open. I had the chance to meet very nice people who seemed to be very interested in what I was going to study and what this fashion blog was all about...
I managed to observe and come to the conclusion that in general (and I know I'm making a huge generalization here) Swedish girls' style consist of the folllowing:
1) Straight hair, sometimes messy/back brushed to give it volume.
2) Not much make up (they're way more natural than I thought they would be)
3) Plain clothes and limited colours-mainly nude,white or black.
4) Oversized clothes (particularly tops)
5) Skinny jeans or jean shorts
6) Leather or jean jackets.
7) (and last but not least..) CONVERSES! (everyone-or at least most people wear them)

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Carrasco

During my stay in Sweden, I had the pleasure to meet Angela Alexandersson, a Swedish emerging fashion designer. Angela is the head designer and responsible for the brand Carrasco, a fashion label that started a few years ago in Halmstad, Sweden. This outgoing and enthusiastic girl gave me the possibility to have an interview with her, as she showed me her office and place where all the "magic" occurs-the place were she designs and makes the prototypes for her collection. During the interview I found out very interesting things that made me become even more eager to study and work in the fashion field, and made me understand what the key for success is: Follow your dream without any boundaries or fear of being different from the rest.
Angela Carrasco was born in Colombia, but lived her whole life in Sweden. She lived and studied in Hylte Bruk until high school, when she moved with her family to Halmstad in order to attend a performing arts school where she specialized in the dance area. Although she wasn't exposed to the fashion field until she went to university in Gothenburg and Copenhagem, she was raised by her very creative mother who always enjoyed sewing and the art of clothes-making. She argued that she´s been interested in fashion ever since she can remember: she would make her own clothes in her younger years and design prom dresses.  My friend (who put us in touch) who grew up with Angela remembered that the current owner of Carrasco would never let her leave the house without making sure that she looked good-she would always take care of her make-up, hair, clothes...she always had a Stylist inside.
After she graduated from high school Angela decided to study fashion design, where she met most of her current friends who would share the same passion as her. She warned me (laughing) that "when you study fashion, you stop having a life", but also mentioned that all her friends were in the same situation, so they would support each other. So since she had company and was doing what she loved she managed to balance her studies with working: her friend encouraged her to create her own fashion label after buying a very good and expensive sewing machine. She started up by making prom dresses for friends, relatives or friends of friends...and through  the word of mouth she became more and more popular.
As she obtained her European diploma in Fashion Design, she decided that if she wanted to start up a business she would have to know how a business works. Therefore, she immediately went into the University of Halmstad in order to study a degree in Business and Management and Entrepreneurship. Once she felt she had a greater insight on how to manage a company and she felt she could be in control, she hired people to start working with her and started up a company called "Attractive and adorable". With this new label in her pocket, she went out and tried to find Swedish stores that were willing to sell her products. Due to her enthusiasm, passion and interest to move fast in a very competitive field, she managed to obtain different awards (such as Best New Business in Sweden where the state gave her 5000 Euros) and capture the interest of potential investors. 
Recently, Angela decided to take a more professional and serious approach and change her brand name to Carrasco (http://www.ruleofrr.com)She currently designs the brand´s collections but works with factories that mass produce her products and relies on agents that are spread around Sweden and Finland. Although she´s already working on expanding into other European countries, her dream is to have Carrasco in Asia.
The brand revolves around the theme of the "good angel and evil devil" we all have inside and is characteristic of having very colorful and eye catching items, but that can be easily adapted to different people´s styles and preferences. This year is the first time that the Swedish fashion label has very set and specific collections that target particular audiences: she has three main lines for everyday occasions-Roses Shore, Coral Explosion and Rebelic Wave; parallel with a more sophisticated high fashion line. When I asked her about where she gets inspiration from, Angela couldn´t limit her answer to just one source, she said that she bases her designs on a mixture of sources, such as magazines and things that surround her. For example, one of her latest collections is based on the sea (the colours, patterns, textures, etc). Her roots and background also play a big role in her work: her collections are mainly influenced by Colombia together with Africa, Italy and Asia. 
Angela described her style as feminine and sexy. "I don´t like wearing unreavealing clothes, I like wearing things that emphasize my curves" she said as she smiled. Her style takes a "dress to impress" approach, which is apparently completely the opposite of the regular Swedish style. The creator of Carrasco explains that women's look in Sweden is very urban, plain and easy going. Boyfriend style and oversized clothes and Converses are a MUST in this Scandinavian country. However, men are becoming more and more concerned with their looks, and therefore tend to wear colorful, patterned clothes; checked shirts and rolled up jeans...and let´s not forget about their typical sleek back hair styles. 
The atmosphere by the end of the interview was very relaxed and informal where I took the chance to ask Angela what her tips would be for someone studying or working on the fashion field, to what she responded: "Do not be afraid to talk to a lot of people, they will help you build up your contacts network, and those will be the people that help you when you need it. Don´t ever stay stationary, the fashion field moves very fast and is very competitive, always go after your dream with enthusiasm and you´ll be very likely to succeed". 

I take the opportunity to thank Angela very much for this interview, and wish her the best of luck with her projects. Hopefully we´ll be seeing her innovative designs all around Europe very soon!  
-CF-

Carrasco

Thursday, July 21, 2011

High Heels: A love hate situation

I always wonder...do we dress up to impress our friends, strangers that are walking or driving around us...men or just to feel good about ourselves?
I have to confess that I have a pretty twisted mind, I overanalyse everything. I always have to find an explanation and reason for everything. I can´t help thinking if I should have studied psychology rather than fashion. But then I realize that fashion and psychology are strongly related...right?
Anyway, going back to what I was saying...WHY DO WE WEAR HIGH HEELS? (I´m a shoes lover myself and guilty of not being able to go out without high heels on...) Ok, they are very cute, they do make our legs look so much better...But, they HURT, the chances of tripping are much higher (Oh, come on, I´m pretty sure everyone has tripped at least once in front of a group of people sitting outside of a bar, or as soon as you caught your crush´s eye...), and...they make walking on stone pavement impossible...oh, and did I mention they make your feet HURT?!
Here I am, about to go out and I´m trying to decide whether I should wear flats or high heels...(I´ll probably end up wearing these super cute 30 inch sandals and complain about my decision for the rest of the night).
I love being a girl..but does it have to be that painful?
-CF-

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Saturday night dinner..

I'm going through a stage when I don't like anything I try on. Nothing seems to fit the weather, the temperature, the occasion or simply my body. I had to go "clothes hunting" to my mother's closet. I knew I didn't want to wear a skirt or a dress because I was only going for dinner with a bunch of friends, and it was just so cold! After trying on a few things I decided to pick out this ruffled white shirt (and as I read in the newspaper on my way back from England-shirts are very "in" this season) and combine it with black pants, shoes and a blazer.

I think I can say that blazers are my favourite pieces of clothing-you can never go wrong with them. They can make any outfits/clothes look better or classier.
I teamed up these items with a bracelet that matched, and a small clutch. I would of liked wearing a red clutch/hand bag, to match the red lipstick, but I do not own one. (Note to self-buy red accessories).

The hair had definitely have to be straight to balance out the volume of the ruffles, but ended up putting it up, which I believe made the look seem classier.
This outfit is slightly more conservative (:$) than I'm used to, but I am pleased with it overall. I believe it definitely fit the occasion. Although it could totally be a thing I would wear to go to the office...

Friday, July 15, 2011

Today...

 

The look I'm wearing in this photo is very "me". Simple but still "edgy" (to some extent) at the same time. Today I went out from the morning until the evening and since it was a dark, rainy, chill day I picked this outfit because it can suit different occasions. The key items of this look are the accessories-because without them the monochromatic clothes would look very plain and ordinary.

In this photo I'm wearing my favourite scarf (I have to admit I'm obsessed with animal prints, specially leopard) which matches the River Island bag, which was a Christmas present a few years ago. Wearing it has always been a dilemma...in my opinion the size makes it a day bag (I hate carrying bags with me when I go out at night, so the smaller it is, the better), but the design makes it more a night handbag...Today I decided to "break the ice" between the bag and I, so I incorporated it to my look. I think it balances out the plainness and monochromatism of the outfit.
-CF-

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

MetamorFosis

"MetamorFosis" is my first fashion blog. Why is it called like that? Because I feel like everytime I moved countries my style suffered a certain metamorphosis. In fact, I could even say that my style changes everyday...
I'm the kind of person that would try a thousand outfits on and not leave the house until I'm happy with how I look. It doesn't matter if it's to go clubbing, shopping, to a picnic...or even to go to the supermarket. If I'm too overdressed or underdressed I will feel insecure...very insecure (and I'll try to hide). You mught think I'm very shallow after reading that, but I'm not, really. It's just that I see fashion as a way of expressing myself and showing the world who I am.
I like being different and original, even if I know that my style is not CRAZY. I like taking inspiration from things around me, but I'm still very "picky" and sometimes refuse to incorporate the latest fashion trends in my wardrobe.
 -CF-