Skinny vs Slouchy

Katie Holmes has traded in her skinny jeans for slouchy ones. Her husband's slouchy ones, to be exact. Yes, they're men's jeans from Prps.
Katie and Tom have even been seen stepping out together in identical ones. Now, the only time my hubby and I have ever gone out with matching clothes was when we were both in a hurry and both grabbed T-shirts that happened to be black. On all other occasions we're a mismatched couple - fashionwise of course!

So how about you? Do you frequently raid your boyfriend's/husband's wardrobe or do you both aim for that matching look?
Coincidentally, Prps are starting a new women's line in the near future...

Go Green!

It seems everyone's developing a 'green' conscience these days. The interior & fashion world is no exception. American fabric guru Amy Butler has been working with the Gift Wrap Company to come up with an ecological alternative to gift paper & party ware.
The new line is called GIFTWRAP GREEN, ist's 100% post-consumer recycled. The range includes gift wrap paper, gift bags and boxes - all with fabulous Amy Butler prints.

For eco-friendly, organic and recycled clothing go to www.fashion-conscience.com

Continuing on the 'veggie' subject...

Eggplant. charred



Chinese cabbage. w/o greens



Shiitake mushroom. soaked in water overnight.



Onion. peeled.

Cami

...and here's my favourite key piece for the summer

photo source www.urbanoutfitters.com

U.O.

Funky American retailer Urban Outfitters are opening a store in Hamburg, Germany in August. Finally!
Goody...that's 'only' a three hour drive up north from B-town.

photo source www.urbanoutfitters.com 

Back

Hi everyone!

So I'm back early. After two days of crowds, noise and chaos I was relieved when the slow train finally chugged into B-town station (which basically consists of one small house and a tired-looking clerk who dispenses tickets for approx. 3 hours every day) and I stepped out onto the platform and got a good whiff of good ol' country air, i.e. manure.
Aaah, home sweet home.

Anyway, I've started unpacking the clothes I brought along plus a few new items which I really couldn't resist...a thin, tan-coloured belt, a creamy leather wallet with a gold buckle that doubles as a clutch, some fancy dangly earrings...well, you know, just stuff. Besides I haven't been on a shopping spree for ages, okay?
And all of this was at wholesale prices, I mean, what a bargain, right?

I also bumped into quite a few ex-colleagues and they haven't changed much, atleast their personality hasn't. As for their appearance...well, there is such a thing as being too trendy, if you get my drift.

My feet are aching from wearing high heels all day long, so I'm going to put them up now and just relax for the rest of the day.

Phew.

New Season Looks

Funny, now that the summer season is in full swing I'm being bombarded with shiny, new mail-order catalogues almost on a daily basis. And we're talking Fall/Winter 08/09!!!
And next week I'm off to D-dorf for the Collection Premiere showing Summer 2009!

Yes, trying to keep abreast of what's hot & what's not needs an organized mind...
So, for the benefit of the confused - here's the gist of it: 

Summer 08 - strong colours are still in, as are animal prints, floaty dresses and gold accessories.
Winter 08/09 - Grey is the new black; team up with deep purple and silver accessories.
Summer 09 - more animal prints, floral prints, new pant shapes, tunics in bold colours, more ethnic & safari-styles, lots of floaty scarves.

Not that this has any impact on local women. They remain completely unmoved by the seasonal madness called fashion, and steadfastly stick to their own 'brand' of styling, i.e. blue jeans, child-friendly sweaters in solid colours, hoodies for the younger set, and thick-soled boots.
If the temperature does occasionally rise above 20°C, exchange the jeans for turn-up jeans, the sweaters for oversized T-shirts and the boots for Birkenstocks.
You get the picture...

Summer Rain

It's depressing.
I couldn't sleep last night, because of the incessant patter of rain on the bedroom window. This morning I looked outside and it's still raining, thick clouds covering the sky like a blanket.
Everything looks grey - even people's faces ;-)
I can relate though.
I spent two years in sunny Indonesia and no matter what, people were always friendly and smiling. I guess it really has to do with the sun shining brightly for most of the year...
One positive aspect is that I seem to get a lot more work done, even though I've only had a few hours sleep.
I'm developing worksheets at the moment for the pupils who are taking my summer course.
Later this month I'll be heading up to Duesseldorf (the fashion capital of Germany) for a couple of days during the CPD. That's the international Fashion Trade Show. Okay, so I'm not officially part of this bi-annual event, but sometimes I just need to feel the buzz for old times sake ;-) , catch up with ex-colleagues and (sometimes acquire a new translating assignment) hehe.

Bye for now.