The shape of things to come

So much for me promising to post more often! A couple of people from work got sick over the past week, and guess who had to work 10-hour-days... wow, you guessed, it was me! I am going to stop saying that I will post more often, because everytime I do, something comes up!

I wonder if I am the only one who is feeling perplexed by this season's fashion. There are so many trends out there right now, that it makes me think whether there is anything that is not fashionable. It is not that I am a dedicated follower of fashion or anything, but I simply can't remember a time when the selection of styles (be it in magazines, or in clothing stores) was this broad.

We have grunge, punk, pop, techno, classical, goth, English countryside, nomad, hardcore futuristic city, lace, fur, texture, sleek, cocoons, egg shapes, bodycon, leggings, no leggings, wide trousers, skinny trousers, no trousers, high waist, low waist, blouses, t-shirts, flats, normal heels, crazy heels... Not that I have always dressed according to fashion (mostly it has been just the opposite), but I find this endless sea of options both confusing and wonderful. I feel like I want to wear something totally different every day, to explore my sense of style, but I also get awfully confused when I have five minutes to decide what to wear. More now than ever, I feel like I have to ask myself every day: "what do I feel like wearing? who am I?"

As you might see from the images above, I am still going strong with my leggings phase. I have been experimenting with loose shapes, and believe it or not, with bodycon... I am sure a bunch of trendsetters would wear these tunics above without a skirt underneath, but I simply do not understand the 'sans pants' trend. Leggings are not pants, right? They are meant to be worn with something other than just a shirt, right? Surely it is not okay to expose one's rear end in something that is basically tights, and hence can be considered underwear? Right..? Hmm, it seems that I do want some structure in 'what is wearable', after all. I will risk being criticised over this, but I want someone, anyone, to ban people from wearing leggings as pants! Elle UK clearly disagrees..!

Night of the arts - at home

Today is "the night of the arts" here in Helsinki. It is an annual occasion, a festival-type event with a lot of music, films, performance art, theatre... basically everything that falls under the wide category of "art". It takes place all over Helsinki - book stores, art galleries, museums, the streets... I went into town for the day, and just as the festivities were beginning towards the evening, I decided to head home. The weather was lovely, but there were just way too many people around, and way too many drunken teenagers throwing up at street corners at 6 pm already.

I think it is hugely important that there are events such as this one -it is an opportunity for up-and-coming your artists to show their work, and for the audiences, well, it can be an (annual) event of a lifetime, witnessing wonderful performances, experiencing larger-than-life moments. For me personally, the festival has been a bit of a disappointment for the past couple of years. This year, I am staying home!

These images (the first one is from the August issue of L'Officiel, the other two from the Derhy catalog) inspired me today:

And this is what I wore (hmm, not quite as sophisticated, but oh well!):

This is my new animal print coat:

It is a little wild, and perhaps an unlikely choice for me, but I fell in love with it and had to have it!

Portrait of a cat

I have had trouble sleeping lately. First it was Illusia scratching the bedroom curtains, always starting at 5 am. I have, at least temporarily, solved the problem by lifting the curtains up on the railings just before I go to sleep at night. Now, instead of her bringing down the curtains and the railings, I wake up to her gentle meows.

Masa has developed a habit of attacking my poor sleeping toes in the early hours of the morning. At first he was just patting my toes gently with his paws, but I guess the game was so much fun that recently it has turned into "claws-out-and-all" kind of action. But how could I be angry at someone who looks like this?

He was so funny as I took these photos above, it was as if I was a photographer on a photoshoot, instructing my model to look coy but beautiful at the same time, and he would move around on the chair, constantly looking at me as I took probably 10 or so frames. He is such a photogenic cat; well, they both are! The group shot turned out well, too.

This is what I wore today, indoors and out.

I am coming up with an impressive selection of in-between-season coats. This one is by Nümph, I bought it at the Beamhill summer sale. I also have my eyes on a wonderful Max&Co. animal print coat...

The birds, the birds!

I have not been around because I have been having laptop trouble (again!). Everything should be working smoothly now, so I hope to be posting more often.

This is the outfit I wore at Mietti's birthday party on Saturday:

I went to the Hietsu flea market on Sunday, and found a couple of wonderful things. First, my little Lomonosov bird (the unindentified one on the back left) got company! The winter wren (in front) cost 7 euros, and the snow bunting (on the right) 9 euros. I am a huge fan of the Lomonosov animal figurines in general, but the birds are something special - they say that each individual bird is painted and/or shaped in a unique way, so that two are never quite alike.

I got this trench coat for 3 euros. The sleeves are a bit short, but I figured I could just roll them up to reveal the tartan lining, and perhaps add long gloves. I am not sure whether I should hem the coat or not, right now I am leaning towards leaving it the way it is.

Masa, interrupted.

I snuck up on Masa this morning, and managed to take these two photos before he got too embarrased and left the room. He was rubbing himself against the books, looking so happy. He seems to approve of my yesterday's book shopping. "Hmm, what should I read next..? And don't bother getting that new book shelf, I am fine like this."

I don't know what on earth is going on with my dress sense these days. I wore the craziest outfit today, and felt perfectly comfortable. I am either losing my mind, or learning to have fun with clothes on a totally different level.

Shall I compare me to a summer's day?

I went to a recycling centre today with Minni and her kids, and brought home way too many books. As usual, I have plans to read all of them, but needless to say, my time is limited and I probably already have unread books to last me a lifetime. I found Neruda's memoirs, Gogol's Taras Bulba, Portrait of a Marriage by Nigel Nicolson (it is the story of Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson's marriage, written by their son), Therese and Isabelle by Violette Leduc... some Helvi Hämäläinen, Märta Tikkanen... There are simply too many wonderful books in this world! I am unable to resist getting more!

I think my greatest discovery was Shakespeare's Sonets. I like to think that I have a decent understanding of the English language, but with Shakespeare, I am at a loss. The volume I found today has the English original and the Finnish translation side by side - not that I believe that verse is translatable in the first place, but it certainly helps to go through the original with some help.

I didn't spend the entire time at the books' section though, and also found this wondeful hairband for 3,50. I will wear it at Mietti's birthday party on Saturday. Hmm, I only have to decide which dress to wear now...

Greetings from the Old World

This postcard album used to belong to Miss Sallie Fenton from, I think, Manchester. (Some of the cards are addressed to the same Miss Fenton in Liverpool.) The postcards inside are from 1902 to 1906.

This is the illustration on the very first page.

The first pages of the album are filled with postcards portraying female actresses, like Miss Marie Studholme and Miss Gabrielle Ray, sent to Miss Felton by her friends.

The rest are scenery cards from all over the United Kingdom.

How strange, that this old album is so full of now faded and disintegrated life. People who shared times and spaces, who felt connected to each other, and all I (for all people) have, is this album, a collection of their memories.

Experimenting with prints

I was reading (well, actually flipping through) the August issue of Amica last night, and found myself admiring these looks. What is strange is that only a month ago I would have shrugged my shoulders at these photos, and thought that they were boring.

I can't remember the last time I have been as happy as today about an outfit I have put together. I don't think it has anything to do with the actual outfit being particularly good, but it is more about having had a certain feeling (mixed) this morning, then throwing some clothes on, and feeling like I have managed to channel through the sentiment I had. A big part of me has been looking at myself from any reflective surface I have been able to find today, and thinking "who the hell is this person?". The other part of me has been telling myself "you are moving on, you are going places you have not seen before." The place in question today was geometrical prints.

I am in love with this parka I found at the Indiska sale. It is so practical, and looks cool and effortless (which it is, as well).

I got these shoes at an awful store called Mekka that sells the cheapest (and cheapest-looking) plastic shoes. I actually went in because I saw bright orange converse-look-a-likes from the window as I passed by. The orange shoes turned out to look awful, but then I saw these golden ones, -50%. I changed the laces (the ones they came with were golden satin), and thought that they looked fab: a strange mix of oxfords and sporty shoes.

Smurf

I have felt really productive for the past couple of days. For a change, even work has felt rewarding. I have got a lot of things done, and I have even felt comfortable wearing leggings! I am doing something new with myself, which really is the best feeling there is.

I got the Yelle album in the mail today. It is fantastic!