Tiny Dancer's FASHIONOSOPHY

HAPPY FEET!

I must have got my shoe epiphany some years ago when I discovered the amazing impact a pair of shoes can have on your appearance, your mood and most importantly your confidence and self-esteem. It's not just an epiphany but rather a shoe fetish. I 've got dozens and dozens of pairs of shoes yet my lust never seems to subside and my collection is constantly enriched. And it just so happens that out of the plethora of shoe choices I have, I always go for the most unusual, off-the-beaten-track items - a quite good thing though as not a lot of buyers are likely to go for the same pair and I won't end up with the same shoes as half the population.

Sometimes I am so amazed at what the high street produces, quality and design-wise. A selective eye one the high street can grab items with true design merits, items that are true gems. And a true jem I got! My new shoe addition is something to sum up all the latest trends, yet a pair I can foresee myself getting a lot wear out of even when the current season flees and the route opens up for the new seasons to come. I got some satin, the stack hills and the beloved embellishment, some king-size gems. The shoes were also quite reasonably priced and even though they are a potentially bad investment as satin on the feet would means extra-extra care, I love them so much I can't even think of taking them back. My friend and fellow-shopper cringed, but I was madly in love. In fact, I intend to prance around the city in them as much as possible looking totally effortless and cool.

DRESS HUNT: THE PERFECT WEDDING OUTFIT

When arranging a shopping raid, I never set out on a carefully planned venture to find specific items for my wardrobe. Strategic shopping through estimating needs and investing accordingly has its benefits but it never works for me that way. Everytime I set out to find something specific it just never happens, while things are more likely to fall on my feet at the most unexpected time and places. I mostly make impulsive purchases. Plain and simply I fall in love and buy garments, but often end up with a closet filled to the brim with things I can not easily put together into an outfit. This time though, I had to get into the groove and go on a dress hunt to find a decent wedding outfit. So anchors away and the journey begins!

Dragging myself around the city in 40 degrees celcius with heat melting me away was not my idea of fun. Ok, I probably need some sun-roasting to gain a little bit of colour and exit the milky-white skin palette, but minus the swimming pool the experience just seems unfortunate. I can be a very impatient and picky buyer, so I had a very specific list of "no no's" when setting out for my dress search. I was thinking some sort of a lightweight, grecian-draped, floaty, silk-chiffon number or perhaps something in the latest smock / trapeze / sack dress shapes a bit more refined perhaps with some crystal embellishment or beautiful detailing. Something reasonably priced yet with designer qualities. Since my regular high street did not offer many options for some posh dress-up situation, I thought I 'd check out some of the local shops for eveningwear even though I was a bit sceptic about it all. And I did not stand corrected. I was in fact very baffled at the evening-dress stock and just to illustrate I 'll let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Almost every single shop seemed to follow the same concept and to say that I saw a lot of what I had imagined would be a lie. Along came lots of lame and shiny tafetta dresses in bulky shapes, cheap looking satin and wedding cake frills, heavy embellishments, zillions of beads and sequins and unnecessary excessiveness that made me want to tuck my money right away.

Looking like a bit like Tyra Banks and Nadja Bjorlin at the 59th Annual Daytime Emmy awards is not really my thing (now I am being mean!), so I think I might have to follow my initial shopping instincts and leave the dress hunt to a bit of luck. And if nothing comes along the way within the next two weeks I can always settle for some old rusty piece from my wardrobe that despite being already worn-a-plenty it will at least satisfy my aesthetics and taste

STELLA MCCARTNEY FOR TARGET: THAT DON'T IMPRESS ME MUCH

It all began when Karl Lagerfeld designed a capsule collection for H&M, at least that was the first one of the gang to hit my eyes, and concentrate so much anticipation and interest from the public. When launched, the collection sold out within half an hour, whilst ruthless shoppers jostled to snag limited edition Karl Lagerfeld garments. Everyone wanted a piece of the designer-mastermind minus a few zeros, which meant an affordable fashion-fix for customers and a complete triumph for H&M.

The success sparked up several other designer-highstreet ventures. Next year saw Stella McCartney on the H&M racks, with another sold-out-in-a complete-frenzy collection.

And for the year 2006 Viktor and Rolf gave it a go  and put the H&M tag on their creations with another sold out collection.

Topshop took it's own turn hooking up with more upbeat and upcoming designers like Celia Birtwell, Emma Cook, Marios Schwab, Laura Lees and Christopher Kane giving an alternative route to designer fashion. Since then, collaborations like these seem to have become the new trend (and probably the easiest way for designers to increase their bank balances at the blink of an eye). They now seem to be practically everywere and even more are constantly springing-up: Giles Deacon for New Look, Yovovits - Hawk / Zyhair Murad for Mango, the Designers at Debenhams, Luella Bartley / Paul and Joe for Target, Thakoon, Sophia Kokosalaki / Vivienne Westwood for Nine West, Doo Ri / Thakoon / Rodarte for Gap, just a few I can roughly list. Even celebrities are now entering the high street collaboration mode, with Madonna and Kylie designing lines for H&M, Kelly Brooke and Lily Allen for New Look, as well as the most recent and talked-about Kate Moss for Topshop venture.

So, what is it with all the designer collaborations? It seems like when we have spent our money on one, another is springing up. And in the end what exactly are we buying in terms of original design? Is this the focus of each designer-highstreet collection? Are we buying the quality of designer apparel or are we buying just a name, just "the brand"?

And then, I open up ebay and do a bit of searching and there it is, another one that I had not read nor heard of: Stella McCartney for Target. Stella McCartney seems to be the collaboration favourite indeed. She was voted by the H&M customers in 2005 as the one they 'd most like to get to design a collection for the high steet brand, and has also forged a strong team-up with Adidas for the past couple of years, designing sportswear that I must say are some of the most stylish sportswear gear around. But now another collaboration with giant Aussie Target stores? How did I miss that??

After a brief look at the 42-piece capsule collection, I couldn't help but experience a bit of a deja vu. Supposedly taking inspiration from her own unique signature style (this concept reminds me of another similar venture, well guessed, the H&M one), the collection featured some of Stella's staples: a taffeta trench coat, wool cashmere cardigans, silk camisoles, satin wrap-around dresses, shirts and beaded tunic tops, skinny jeans and tailored suits. As you can easily tell, it is not just the concept but also the actual garments that seem to be similar to her 2005 H&M high-street debut. While I was quite thrilled with the H&M garments 2 years ago, this time around the collection looks rather colourless and boring really, nothing that a shopper would not find in other major retailers and not a single garment in some sort of a challenging design. Been there done that! Sadly, for me, it's basically a "malfunctioned" repetition of the H&M collection yet at a much lower design - standard, too much like what she churned out in two years ago.

Still, fashion-hungry customers, some of whom had queued for more than two and a half hours before the doors of their local Target shops opened, rushed in and stripped racks bare of McCartney items within 10 minutes of opening time. Scenes of utter chaos were described as shoppers were taking clothes off mannequins, stripping off in front of male shoppers in the rush to try on the new range and snap up an item before someone else, and even ripping garments out of each other's hands! Ebay prices also rocketed and Stella McCartney had secured another hit under her belt. So this probably means we may catch her on another such venture? Time will tell, and until then God have mercy on our pockets.

 

WINDOW SHOPPING

Here's two more pictures of the refreshed window of CAM. I absolutely love the grecian dress, and they way it's been put together with this fiery-red pair of cowbay boots. I 'll definitely check it out tomorrow afternoon, and it 'd better look good on me!

MIDNIGHT GLAMOUR

With a shopping window that changes more often than we change our underwear, CAM the greek clothes brand, probably has some of the coolest most unique garments I have seen around. The small shop in the city centre of Nicosia, might only be limited to two rails of clothes but has seriously addictive fashion supplies and only a strictly limited number of pieces of each item (a good thing considering the few chances of bumping onto someone else sporting the same outfit as you). This time I was particularly striken by this fantastic outfit, so I could't help but take a few pictures as I was driving back home tonight, and make a post in fashionosophy. I feel the pictures say it all: Glamourous, vibrant and stylish, definitely something that will be making heads turn and something I 'll be checking out tomorrow afternoon - and I can already predict another credit card fiasco!

 

I CANT BELIEVE IT'S NOT MARC JACOBS!

It is a given fact that high street shops knock-up designer-style stuff very quickly, sometimes too quickly, even before the actual designer collections hit the shops. To our delight, the high street has made the designs much more accessible as the garments normally come cheaper and in wallet-friendly versions, which however often responds to a drop in terms of quality. But what should be considered more wise: to save-up and invest in the designer version or go for the cheap high street alternative?

Cube is a great shopping destination and definitely one of the hottest spots to splurge some cash. With quite spicy prices but also all the spiciest hottest labels, it stores among others my dearest and very popular at the moment Marc Jacobs..And a great selection of the brand's shoes that as expected come with a not so great price tag. 

Thus, Cube was where I tracked down a lovely pair of Marc Jacobs tower-high patent pumps, which I just had to have. However, thinking of my credit-card-balance fiasco after a potential Marc purchase, I let go of my "Marc" dream and out of nowhere decided to head to Bershka, a shop where I rarely get in, to drown my sorrow. Apparently, I' m not really a fan of the particular high street label, as I think it offers cheap disposable fashion at quite often very cheap quality. Then again opinions should be revised as Bershka was the place where at that exact afternoon I managed to get my Marc Jacobs knock-offs! Patent, violet and utterly gorgeous, the chunky heel bow pumps were just what I had been looking for. Actually, I think they look much cuter than the original designer version. I have very often thought of saving up an amount worth of a few hundreds to get something flashy and designery, but every time hundreds of cheap high street equivalents cross my mind..well, and the plan just sinks!

THE RETURN OF THE SADDLE BAGS

• 
• After a winter of riding suits, boots and hats (the very successful Balenciaga winter collection for 2006), spring welcomes yet another addition to the rider pact: the brand new generation of the Dior saddle bags. Nothing like Balenciaga's sharp and severe lines, the saddle bags resemble the horse’s saddle yet in more refined way and feminine shape, and are usually decorated with heavy embellishments and colourful embroidery, with the signature CD charms along the shoulder strap.

• Ten years after their successful debut at the house of Dior, and after being featured on the shoulders of fashionable celebrities and other fashionistas, John Galliano has remade the iconic bag and has come up with twelve new designs. The new bags are inspired by Galliano's trips around the world and one in particular has been inspired by the UK's royal family and its long history of kings and queens.

• Still I am not quite sure whether the return of the saddle bags will make the same impact on the public as when they first came out. Personally, I have grown out of these bags whilst a few years ago, I absolutely hearted them. But since then, almost a decade later, there has been a shift in aesthetics, and trends in shape, fabrics and decoration have changed. Without meaning to fall into the trap of labelling something as out of fashion, I should note that other notorious bags,like the Hermes Birking Bag, or the Chanel pleated bad, have preserved their number one status over the years partly because of their classic shapes and colours. Thus, I am a bit sceptic about the comeback, but I guess I 'll just have to wait and see how it is perceived by the fashion world and of course the media, who play an important role in defining the trends.

PS: the pictures in the blog are previous versions of the saddle bags, for no matter how badly I searched the net I was not able to track down any pictures of the new generation. 

SALE-ING

It's again that time of the year when the sales hit the shops, and when everyone seems to go crazy. The most frightening sales-situation I have seen was about two years ago, at a Mango shop, which on entering looked like it had been hit by a hurricane. With very few clothes all knotted up with the hangers on the rails, some others mixed up on the racks and everything else piled on the floor, literally all over the place even in changing rooms, it completely resembled a wicked battlefield.

It is a given that lower prices somehow spark our animal consumer instict. But then there comes the main trap of buying something just for the sake of it being cheap. I have often caught myself reaching out for things I have in similar versions, or things I don't need or don't particularly like or never have noticed previously, just because of a delicious price tag. Then again, I have picked up some of my loved-up items on sales that I got a lot wear out of and still treasure like gold. Thus, sales are a good opportunity to stock up on great items so long that, as with any purchase, you make wise and carefully thought investments.

I have already mentioned my attempts to save up for "the bargain days to come", and I believe I have made some really good purchases. The only downside is that I have been shopping from brands with shops all over the world like Mango and Zara, so more girls will probably be wearing my items, but sadly the Cyprus market doesn't really leave many options in sales-shopping. Still, I am very very pleased with my new wardrobe additions. Here's a taste.

 

Cream-beige pixie leather slouchy flat boots.

Floral boho wool scarf.

Leather oversized brown bag.

Embellished top and silk polka-dot shirt.

TEMPTATION IN MY HEART

I have been all over the place lately, visiting small boutiques and local clothes and accessories exhibitions to get material for the blog. Things have been going pretty well, apart from the fact that my consumer-monster has been set free - a very dangerous thing for "bank-kind". Every time I go into a shop I end up buying things, which apparently is not so good for my credit card balance. But what can I do? "I can resist anything but temptation", and in this case temptation is immense.

TIME FOR CHRISTMAS, TIME FOR CANDIES!

A few years ago, and while riffling through the racks of a designer discount store, I found a pair of the prettiest shoes I had ever seen. Made of a frosty pink type of fabric, with a silver bow at the front, those lovely ballet shoes immediately grabbed my attention. That was long before ballerinas were such a big hit and I still remember my sister's and my mum's expression when I got them home. Hideous and stupid they called them at the time, but (hehe!) justice has been granted as they now both love ballet flats and find the pair nothing less but adoring! This I must say was one of my first fashion-forward purchases, with the - unknown at the time for me - brand, Lollipops.

Lollipops, is a french label, selling bags and shoes, and lovely accessories, from necklaces and earrings to keyrings and i-pod cases. Romantic, flirty, girly and sweetly coloured, with beautiful detailing and finishing, lollipops accessories are for the princess in each of us. The brands' makers creatively combine different materials and textures for each collection to produce a multitude of exquisite details in each of the products. Great fabrics, Pretty bows, beads, studs, embroidery, sequins and crystals, each Lollipops' item is pure magic, and makes you feel like eating them up.

As for the lollipops shops around Europe, well they pretty much resemble a girly toy store..hm..or should i say a palace? Or even a fairy place?

                         

For this Fall/Winter, Lollipops' designs are sophisticated and daring with influences from several cultures and styles, but all with Lollipops' unique style of feminity and humour. So this winter, Lollipops has put a bit of modernized folklore influences, inspired by popular traditions of Eastern countries, and a touch of medieval legends, fairies and magical misty forests is also imparted on this collection. The new Lollipops' creations are also characterized by an element of excess with flashy details.

So..It's Christmas (almost), it's magic, so get the taste of Lollipops!