FASHIONOSOPHY

THE ODDNESS OF FASHION

As a dresser I 'm not one to say that my style is particularly daring, innovative or experimentive. I often play it on the safe side to avoid any scornful sniffs from the surroundings, as people in small places are rather conservative and less open to new ideas and trends. I quite like edgy outfits and odd combinations of garments and colours but a little bit of the weird looks I could probably get, the potential mocking commentary my outfits could spark, and the reactions of disapprovement around me would break my spirit and smash my self-esteem, so I often wander in safer fashion routes.

Thus, while I admire the personal style choices of people like Susie from StyleBubble and Agatha from Stylebytes, I am not usually one to upturn the conventions.

While riffling through the collection around my local Zara branch quite a while ago (actually that was probably a couple of months ago) I thought I would try and wear a black organza ruffled skirt with a beaded flower on the waist as a short dress.

Still, when I walked out of the fitting room, the shop assistant exclaimed in a funny way trying to suppress a giggle "well..you know..that's a skirt"! She must have thought I looked a state and while I felt sligthly awkward I somehow managed to give a very confident "I know" reply that ceased her. She was probably expecting an embarrassing reaction of realization of my little "fashion-mistake", but my positive and rather confident reply erased her hint of laughter.

That sparked some philosophical thoughts about style. What is it with people being so close-minded with clothes and fashion? Obviously that is not the case for many countries around the world where people are using fashion and style to express their feelings and identity but for Cyprus, I can't really say there is much space for experimantation. It is such a small place, the fashion market is so limited and most women follow the same dress code erasing any diversity in terms of style. I am just so angry at the creation of unfulfillable aspirations and pointless dress-code criteria, the creation of homogeneity and fear of being different. I have always admired people that were comfortable in their own skin and dared to be different by putting on something unusual just because they liked it and felt reflected them. I wish I would have the guts to walk out without leaving negative criticism and comments like this break my spirit.

Ever since, I felt that justice was granted after spotting pictures with different versions of tiered layered dresses that resembled my Zara "dress". Apparently designer houses, such as Gucci and Giambatista Valli, and I share the same taste, meaning that they have brought out their very similar versions of that layered organza skirt / dress, hehe! And a few months later justice was granted once again as Zara got it's own layered designer-inspired dress. You can track down, and wear without fear but loads of confidence, this lovely yellow number at your local Zara branch or online at ebay shop "It's how you wear it"!

 

A SWEET ENCOUNTER

Sometimes life can be refreshingly surprising. You often discover that a moment, a random incident, or even fate, as some prefer to call it, gives you by what it seems a complete chance, and in the most impossible places, what you may have been looking for in ages.

I can't say for sure if it was just pure randomness or fate that led me to that old alley that particular sunny Saturday afternoon. What I am aware of is that as I was once again walking around the little alleys looking for off-the-beaten-track shops in the old town of Nicosia to grasp one-of-a-kind garments, I felt the inexplicable urge to turn into a small unkept grassy alley. That was when my eyes caught sight of Demetrakis Georgiadis, well..and the eye burning colour of a patent bright-red clutch bag!

Mr Demetrakis, an old craftsman sitting on an tattered straw-pleated chair, in a background composed of scraps of leather fabrics, studs, buckles, dozens of tools, belts belts belts and that gorgeous patent bag, greeted me with a huge smile and a quite high mood for talking. As it occured from my little unofficial "interviewing", he has been working in his little workshop for over sixty years, making belts and other leather accessories and selling them to women that want to get something unique and different that you can't easily track down in the market. At eighty years old his vivacity seemed to have gone no under with his creative spirit at its peak and his adoration and persistence to work and create still flourishing. He was absolutely adorable, so sweet and polite, with a huge smile and sparkling eyes, that would go even brighter especially when talking of his work.

We chatted at great length over his life and family, his grand- daughter (apparently as pretty as me,words cited,hehe!), the recycling tenderness of fashion and how waisted / elasticated / patent belts and bags that are now considered to be fashionable are actually vintage-inspired and used to be greatly favoured by the female shopping public some decades ago (another proof on that designers seem to have run out of fresh and innovative ideas).

The best part of the encounter was the opportunity wonder around, explore the workshop and riffle through what seemed like a gazillion of vintage belts. Despite giving me an elasticated belt I had expressed liking for as a gift, Mr Demetrakis insisted on me taking the patent bag and another belt for free, an offer that touched me (and I' m pretty sure that the thought would never cross the mind of other well-established designers who 'd make the big bucks) but which I did not have the heart to accept.

I walked away with a huge smile on my face, the elasticated belt and my newly purchased fire-red patent bag under my shoulder. A couple of weeks later I stopped by his little workshop once again. He was sitting exactly on the same spot, resting his body upon his old battered chair, working miracles with his hands and creating another belt.

He did not seem to remember me though, but I still found the opportunity to trawl for more one-off treasures, an attempt which eventually resulted in the purchase of a bright-blue suede belt to colour-up my outfits.

PS: A few days ago a friend was sporting this black leatherette envelope-clutch bag in exactly the same shape and design as my patent one, apparently a purchase made from Faith back in the UK. I neglected to ask details on the price tag yet I 'm pretty sure it cost more than my hand-crafted version, despite being of lower quality, something that could easily be observed. Hence my even bigger excitement for discovering this sweet miracle-maker craftsman!

LADY IN RED

As part of this blog, I thought that dedicating a post to Flashback, (the only vintage shop in Nicosia) was a sine qua none. So a couple of weeks ago I walked into this little vintage heaven, equipped with a notebook, my digital camera and a tape-recorder. I was not in luck though as the owner was away to London, but still I grabbed the opportunity to do some digging around the shop.

Flashback did not disappoint me once again. As always, it was filled to the brim with great quality clothes and accessories, and other vintage gems. While rummaging through the racks of clothes, touching the super-soft fur coats, trying on different accessories and shoes, and not getting enough of the beautiful vintage tops and dresses, lightning struck! With the tip of my eye, I spotted a long red dress.

Being a sucker for anything glamorous I instantly fell in love with that red dress hanging from an antique hanger. It looked divine, a sort of Grecian goddess dress, a bit draped, but in a fiery red colour! I looked at it in awe and couldn’t help but try it on of course. It looked fantastic: very glamorous, sexy and very red carpet! I walked around the shop like a weirdo, sparkling with excitement like a child in a toy store, strutting and making circles.

But after a while the bell rang and the question popped into my head: Will I ever be able to actually wear it? I love dresses and have bought quite a few, but they stay firmly stuck into my closet. My dress collection may have looked a bit extreme at the time purchased but this time the red dress looked completely out of context. The leopard dress, yes, the black and white chiffon one, yes, the blue-grayish mid-length TS-boutique, yes, and the black corset dress, are just some of my belonging that could be wearable within certain circumstances. But a long red dress??

Not being the kind of person to have endless red-carpet invitations, the chances for putting it on seemed strictly limited. Worn at a regular Saturday night out, it would definitely make heads turn and would spark quite a few comments. Fear and self-consciousness emerged in my heart, so in the end I had to pluck up all of my courage and leave the shop…empty-handed.

I have deeply regretted it though, and still think a lot about it. It has been on of the most impressive, mesmerizing pieces of clothing I have tried. That’s what happens with forbidden love and love at first sight: It strikes you, leaves you paralyzed and delirious, and no matter what you do you simply can’t get it out of your system, at least not that easily!