Pursuit of happiness

Winter, apart from the moments when it's snowing and the world seems magically beautiful and fuzzy, is quite a depressing season. Not only is it cold, but the lack of sunrays on our face might not have such a positive influence on our outlook as we would like to have. Of course, we can try to forget it with the cliche set like good book and a cup of cocoa, which temporarily makes wonders, or we can try to scare the winter off with our spring-y attitude and attire that will immediately cheer us up and, as a bonus, those around us as well.

First key ingredient - colour. There is nothing that makes you instantly upbeat like the splash of colour here and there. And if you can make it all about the colour - well, that's even better. One way to do it is to think of some exotic birds with their bold pigmentation.

Another option are macaroon pastels. These hues look so delicious that you feel better just from looking at them. Hungrier is another option.

Of course you can never go wrong with red and with Valentine's day approaching it definately is a go-to color.

Next step in happy-dressing is texture - the more dimension the better. The extra layers of fabric make the entire piece of clothing more enchanting and add some mystique to it.

And finally - flowers. There is no spring without beautifully delicate subtle blossoms like bluebells or peonies or overpowering allure of  exotic flowers. And thus, the flowers are the secret ingredient to every upbeat attire.

If the options presented are too bold you do not feel ready to channel your inner elfin princess just yet you can always start with a hint of color, or change you usual black lace underwear for a fuchsia piece. Also, instead of a flowery dress just pick a head piece. Whichever you choose remember - happy is what we are going for so have some fun with it.

Bike Chic Or a Bicycle Fashion

Every year when the spring sun comes out I take out my old bike from the storage and try to use it as my spring-early fall means of transportation. Despite the growing number of bicycles in my city / unsupported by the sufficient amount of bike lanes/ people still seem suprised to see a gal on a bike who's wearing a dress, not to mention high heels. They seem to identify bikes with sports only and to view them as simply recreational objects. I just wonder, if I ride my bike to work, why in the world would I want to wear sweatpants?

However, not that far away, are such beautiful places as Copenhagen, where bike-people are given enough space to safely ride their vehicles. And they are not afraid to show some serious fashion sense while riding. Here, are some photos of stylish bikers (in Copenhagen, Rome, Milano, NY and Paris) that I've found on two blogs http://www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com/ and www.copenhagencyclechic.com












;)

LA VILLE-LUMIERE

This July I've spent a week in Paris. There are many beautiful women there, great cafeterias and boulangeries, breath-taking architecture. However, what I appreciate the most when I visit the City of Lights, are the tres chic Parisian men whose Bohemian style makes you think uh lala each time you pass them on the street. Their appreciation for the black clothing reminds me of what is so attractive about bad boys, cause they deffinately carry an air of mystery and danger with them (even in those black skinny pants of theirs). Paris, je t'aime.

Anyway, here are some photos of Parisian fashion and landmarks. Hope you'll enjoy it.

5-minutes of fashion from les rues de Paris (unfortunately no men in black pants):

Here is some of my sight-seeing-in-Paris fashion:





My fav. places in Paris:

H&M Fashion Studio

Recently, on the h&m website has appeared a new application, fashion studio http://www.hm.com/gb/fashion/fashionstudio__fashionstudio.nhtml

There you can choose a model and style him/her from head to toes with h&m clothing. It's a lot of fun, and you may feel for a while as a true stylist. Here's a sample of my styling attempts:

Now you go to to the h&m website and try some styling of your own. ENJOY :)