#43, #44 - Feminine wearing pants or even rags

Sunday was a dance and pants day. Yesterday was a pants day, and hell... let us make today pants day as well.
Dresses have a special place in my heart, and I love to wear them but every now and then I go pants-amok. There is just something perfectly casual yet feminine in the combination of a pair of capri, cigar or what ever pants, a sweater and a pair of ballerina shoes. In some way this is essence of simplicity or rather casual femininity.

If you wear your pants high-waisted and you match them up with any kind of pre-1960s vintage hair you will get a classic and elegant look of the exact era you wish to represent.
Of course the lingerie plays a huge roll in this as well, but I'll come back to this part in one of my exceptions on the blog.

A lot of men don't like when women wear pants, they prefer their women in skirts cause skirts equal feminine. And even though I absolutely agree on this statement; That dresses and skirts are more feminine that trousers, I'd say that femininity doesn't lay in the clothes but rather in the appearance and how you carry yourself.
If you try to google Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn, you will see both of them wear pants and even jeans, but their charisma is so feminine that even if they were wearing rags, they would look feminine.
Or remember Marlene Dietrich and her suits?  A suit is one of the most masculine outfits of forever, yet Dietrich nails it every single time, and she is just to die for... every single time!

Of course skirts help you feel more feminine, but the best way to become feminine is by discovering it within yourself. And of course practice, practice and some more practice.
I believe that every woman has the femininity hidden somewhere underneath of decades of anti-patriarch and pro gender neutrality propaganda of the 1970s Red Stocking Feminism.
I bow in respect for the hard work that the Red Stocking feminist did for the liberation of the woman back in the day, without them we wouldn't have the opportunities we have today. But just because you are a feminist, doesn't mean that you have to cut your femininity and womanhood off. One doesn't have to rule out the other. I'm feminist, but I sure do my best to keep in touch with my feminine sides as well.

Don't hesitate; let a man open the door for you, thank him for the gesture and smile. Put a flower in your hair as decoration, use lipstick. Don't be afraid to be extravagant or even dramatic from time to time. Let a man help you carry your bags...
Keep your head up and smile. Relax your face, be aware of how you walk, talk and act... at a point all of these things will become just a part of you and you won't even notice it anymore. At that point it won't matter anymore weather you wear a ball gown, pants or even rags. You will always look feminine.

Yesterday I wore my 1940s inspired chiffon pants. I bought them in h&m two years ago. They are so lovely. unfortunately they are too big, so I need to keep them up with a belt. The shirt is approximately four years old, and I found it in Vero Moda. This is from a time where I still was figuring out how to do this vintage style surf.  I love the color and the pom-pons at the shoulder. I remember I wore it with a pencil skirt back then. And I just adored the style. 

The hair I'm wearing is the same as here. This is so easy and quick and I love it when I need to get my hair out of the way in a creative and fancy way. 

Still what you do to get this hair is: You use a long scarf and secure it on the top of the hair with a bobby pin. 

2. You braid two braids. One on each side and secure them with a rubber band each. wrap the hair and the scar around the hair and tie it in a creative way. I usually tie it on the side. 

The jewelry yesterday was basically non existing. I only wore my old plastic earrings, cause the hairdo and the shirt were details enough for the style. 

Today I'm wearing pants cause I slept over and didn't have time to play around with dresses or skirts. 

These pants are actually my dads old working pants. I stole them from him, long time ago, cause I always wished I had a boiler suit. So these were a compensation for the boiler suit. 

I just adore these, they are so comfy, and they are perfectly big that I can wear them as a pair of high-waisted pants. They are too long as well so I always wear them rolled up. 

The blouse I'm wearing is my favorite turtle-neck blouse. I'm not sure what I'll do when this gets worn out. I think I've had this one for almost 10 years, and as I recall it's a h&m pice. 

I wen't all casual 1950s today. You know, like the american girls imitating the auto mechanics from mid-1950s. There is something light and very romantic and playful about that look. 

The hair was just put up in a hight bun and kept in place with a scarf and bobby pins. The same as Sunday. 

Earrings are bijouterie from h&m and the pin is one I bought on ebay a couple of weeks ago. I'm not sure if it's vintage or what ever, but I really don't mind, what I fell in love with is the fact that it is the eternity sign. 

Oh yeah the shoes. This is one of those pairs I always forget I have. I bought them two years ago, I like the combination of the patent leather and the sateen fabric. I bought these in one of those cheap outlet shops in Copenhagen. 

#39, #40, #41, #42

It's been a busy weekend.
I was supposed to recap and write a blog entry yesterday, but I woke up with such a desire to dance so I went out dancing instead.
This is the first time in a year I've been feeling like dancing. I had almost given dancing up.Well, actually I had given dancing up... Just the thought of it made my stomach hurt. And I really didn't feel motivated.
I thought I'd never go back. Yet, yesterday I woke up, and I felt like dancing. So my plans of relaxing wrapped in my slanket and watching the tv-series "Masters of Sex" was corrupted by a desire of moving my feet to good jazzy tunes. The desire even got bigger, cause while I was getting ready my old dance partner, who has been abroad for a year texted me and asked if I was coming social dancing... Means he has returned to Copenhag... He killed me on the dance floor. It was sooo good!
Oh yeah...The day before yesterday, I went... out... to play boardgames... with a boy...

Friday I took a day off from the library. I had a lot of stuff to do, and this gave me an opportunity to wear my new pice outfit. This is so cool. Some weeks ago I found this awesome pice of clothing on etsy. 

You are wondering; Is it a skirt? Is it shorts? Oh no! it's a skort! Basically it a skirt with shorts, and I love it. 

It was awful weather Friday. It was gray and rainy and none of my comic book stores had the comic books I wanted to buy. So I needed to compensate, and I ended up some accessories instead.

I decited to go with a hat for this outfit. This is the hat I bought on a flea market a couple of weeks ago. I don't think it's very vintage, but it's still pretty and it goes very well with my white wool jacket. 

My nuances were in black and brown, so I chose a pair of old earrings. I think I had these for five or six years. And my little heart brooch. Fun fact about this brooch. Last year one of my friends was having a birthday, and I decided to get him a brooch for his birthday. We were in Sweden for a dancing workshop, and I think I spent 5 hours in Malmø tooling for a neutral brooch... It was impossible to find anything. At the end of the day I was bout to give up, and went into a thrift shop just around the corner of where I was staying. And of course I didn't find anything there either. Just as I was about to go I saw a pair of heart shaped earrings. I bought them. Went home and glued a pin on the back et voila I had the perfect brooch. I had one more earring left so I made a brooch for myself as well.  I wear it rarely, but I thought it fitted perfect for the outfit. 

Saturday I was supposed to go to the theatre, but I got caught up playing boardgames that I didn't make it to the theatre. Then again who needs theatre when you've got a room full og geeks? 

For my Saturday I wore this amazing Adolf Schuman for Lilli Ann dress I bought on etsy. It just arrived in time for me to be able to wash it and wear it. This is actually one a 1970s or probably an early 1980s creation. But what I love mostly about Lilli Ann dresses it they still have a feel of the 1940s upon them. This dress had just enough width that I could wear it with a petticoat and make it look more 1950s.  

What a really fell in love with about this dress is the details. I love the asymmetric closing and the details of the neckline. Usually I'm not very much for light colored clothes, but this was just too perfect to ignore. 

The hair was simple. I combed it in a couple of waves and made a low bun in the back. 

The dress had so many details, so I toned the accessories down. I chose a pair of heart-shaipes earrings to match the hair clips I used to keep my hair in place with. 

Sunday was dancing day... Nothing special about this outfit. It was Sunday and the only criteria I had for this outfit was that it had to be practical but still feminine. And what is more practical than a pair of capri pants and a transparent shirt.  The pants are good to dance in a the shirt is think enough that it dries quickly. The outfit is from h&m. 

The shoes are the same as the ones I wore on Saturday. It's a pair of patent-leather ballerinas from h&m, I bought them in the winter, but I haven't been able to wear them before now. 

I had my hair in a high bun and secured with a blue scarf. As I recall I bought the scarf in a thrift shop last year. 

It's hard to wear jewelry when you dance, so I kept it all simple and wore a pair of black clips. I've shown these before. I got them from my auntie a couple of months ago.

:::::

And last but not least. Since I didn't get to post so much during March I'm going to show you one more thing. It has been posted on Instagram on March 14th, but I didn't get to post it on the blog. 

I wore this on Friday March 14th, and I it was amazing to observe. I wore this to the Library the whole day and seriously not a fuck was given. This is one of the reasons why I simply adore Denmark, and especially Copenhagen. 

You've all heard of the mini-skirt or the mini-dress? If not it was designed in 1964 by the british designer Mary Quant and was sold from her shop in London. Well this is a micro-dress. It's even shorter that the mini-dress, and basically it stops just below the pantie line.  

This type of dress was very popular during the MOD era in the midt 1960s.  During the 1960s the dresses got shorter and shorter, and were often worn with tights. This dress was one of the main fashion items to make the tights popular. 

The micro-dress is so short that if you lean forward your panties are visible. 

This dress is knitted in some kind og light wool, and it is just perfectly short. 

I wore the dress with a pair of see-through tights and a pair of over-knees to cover my legs and protect them from the cold, but also to give the outfit some edge. With a pair of over-knees your legs look much longer, and the shortness of the skirt is very much underlined. 

Look at the details on the collar. I love the bows. I had a whole theme with the bow. My hair was folder in to a high bun, but I folded a small bow out of my hair as well and accessorized the hairdo with a small flower pin.

The theme was bows, and finished the look with a pair of bow earrings. Both the pin and the earrings are from h&m. 

#38

I know, I know.. It's been ages since the last entry. But trust me, even thought I don't post every outfit on the blog, I still keep the project going on. The best part is; I've bought so manny dresses since I started this project, that it will never end.
Today I seriously lost the count of how many dresses I've got. Last time I counted I had 116 dresses in my closet and that was a couple of weeks ago.

I'm still all about the 1960s and the MOD... And I think I've found out why... I just love the hair from the 1960s. It's so creative and... huge... You get a chance to go amok with your hair, and that is very rare for any other period... except the 1940s perhaps.

One of the reasons I like 1960s style is that it's very different from earlier fashion trends, and especially 1950s. In stead of looking back for inspiration the fashion in the 1960s is looking forward. It's all about the space age, the future, and about experimenting with new colors, styles and expressions. The 1960s are bold. The first rebellions (at least since the 1920's and the flappers) happen in the 1960s. And I really do believe it's because of the MOD generation and their turn against the old traditions and orders that the possibilities of late 1960s demonstrations are possible.

Got this dress last week from easy, and it's just adorable. I've been looking for a petroleum blue dress for years now, but it's hard to find the perfect color and style, so when I saw this one I bought it right aways. 

This dress is an original 1960s MOD dress. This is a longer version a mini-skirt, but I don't mind cause with this length I'm still able to wear stockings. 

I've matched the dress with a pair of chunky shoes and a pair og knee-highs. It's always a risk to wear knee-highs as a grown woman, and I really don't want to look like a school-girl. Seriously. That. Is. Not. My. Goal. 

My goal is to play with the MOD style, and the awesome details from the 1960s. 

I know that you during the 1960s had very marked eye make up. It was all about thick eyeliner and long, long, long eye lashes and very pale lips. I'm trying to keep the make up on a minimum. So I just use lipstick, otherwise I'd look very dead. I've kept the jewelry and the make up in similar tones, just to see how it would look, and I actually like it. It suits the blue petroleum dress. 

Oh yeah.. the hair... This is my easy 1960s hairdo. It's a huge bun on the top of the head and a small bow made out of my own hair, just to shine it a bit up.

I love this! This is so bijouterie and kitschy I could swoon! And look at the colors. They sure du represent spring. 

The huge plastic ring is bad from my MOD days. The flower ring is just between my MOD days and my vintage days, and both of them are bought on etsy. The flower ring is from LuluCoco, and I just adore her jewelry. I've been around the show a couple of times since I bought the ring. 

The earrings are a present from a friend, I've got them i there different shades. And the flower-pin is from h&m.

I'm going to the theatre on Saturday. As I can see it's some kind of a feminist-queer-gender play, I seriously need to plan an outfit that will make all the gender-neutralist faint and hate me! 

<3

#37

I guess it's way overdue with my regular clothes posts. So today we'll take a regular outfit post.
It's spring in Denmark. The sun is shining and has done so since Saturday. Unfortunately spring means pollen as well, and I've apparently developed some kind of allergy toward spring... That means lot a crying and snuffling, which means no makeup, and a lot of compensation for that.

Today I'm of to a gallery opening for a photographer whom, amongst other, I've been modeling for the past year.
His project is pretty cool, and is called "Six Degrees of Copenhagen". Basically it's inspired by the whole mid-00s phenomenon of "Six Degrees of Separation". He's be taking pictures for five years now, and finally they will be displayed today. If you get a chance, go and check them out. Either on his page JensJuul.dk or visit the gallery: Banja Rathnov, Galleri & Kunsthandel, Museumsbygningen, Kastelvej 18, Copenhagen Ø. The pictures will be displayed until April 19th.

Would you believe if I told you that everything I'm wearing today is from h&m? Well it is. The shirt is I guess 4-5 years old, but I just love it cause it is made as broderie anglainse. It's made by puncturing small holes in the fabric as some kind of needlework. It's such a lovely fabric and I wish I had more clothes made that way. 

I've bought the pants last summer, and they are perfect. They can go both as a 1960s look, but if you dress them in a certain way they look as one of those 1930s or 1940s pants with wide legs. But then again fashion is fluent and every decade is in some way inspired by an earlier decade. 

And yes.. I'm showing off my stomach. I'm doing it to celebrate the spring. :)

I accessorized the outfit with pearls. It's been some times since I've been waring pearls, and frankly I've missed it. The brooch you know, it's the one I bought last month in Décor. The earrings and the ring are merely bijouteri. 

And the hair.. Oh the hair.. I say this hairdo on youtube yesterday and just had to try it out. It's pretty simple, but you need some time to do it. But it's worth all the effort. I found it on a Russian channel, and they represented it as a bridal hairdo, but I thought today would be perfect to try it out. I used a couple of flowers just to make the do like more fresh and young.  

Exception #3

This Saturday was International Women's Day.
Where I'm born, ex-Yugoslavia, this day was celebrated. It was a nation-wide celebration; The inclusion and acceptance of women had to be marked, so all women got presents and flowers from both men and children.

Where I live now, Denmark, this day has never been a very big deal. It has been more sort of a political matter, and this day was a day of remembrance; a day to focus on the century-long oppression of women.

This Saturday was different. This Saturday a group of women decided to celebrate the day with an event.
In co-operation with the Danish National museum and 42 model we put up a show that showed 100 years of women's underwear: 1880-1990.
I was one of the model, and I represented 1880. I was the one that opened the show, and for 7 minutes I stood in front of 600 people that watched me get dressed. It was intimidating, it was scary, and it was hell a lot of fun.

Click the images for a bigger version

What I'm wearing here is a chemise and a bed shirt. This is the first layer of four layer in all. 

Courtesy od Karen Mardahl

This is the process of the dressing. 

First my dresser took the bed shirt of. Then I put in to a pair of pantalettes. The next step was the corset. This was such a fun. I head several people from the audience squeal, and some of the even said "oh no" when my dressed to the corset from the pile of clothes. I guess it took her 5 minutes to tighten the corset. She didn't want to tighten it to much, cause she was afraid it would break. Even though I was up for a tighter lacing I think the audience got the point. 

The last layer was the undershirt and a short shirt to keep it all in place, and to hide the corset fully. 

Courtesy of Per "Rock" Mogensen
One of my friends recorded my part of the show, so you can watch it on youtube. 

I must say I'm very excited that I got this opportunity to be a part of this show, and to make people remember how much actually has happened the past 100+ years.

Happy late 8th of March. Remember the feminism and equality of the sexes is not in your clothes, but in your mind. 

Exception #2 - Reflections upon style and fashion

Most of you don't know me very well. This blog is mostly about dresses, style and fashion. But to understand my style, you have to understand me as well, or at least know why I act and dress as I do.

I've loved fashion since a very early age, and except few exceptions I've never been part of the mainstream fashion. For me it's always been about style rather that fashion. So already in my early teens I started to experiment with different styles.

I guess I've always been on of those people who dress after mood, which has made my style a tad schizophrenic over the years.

As a teens I decided to become a hippie, so I started wearing big, colorful and flowery skirts and dresses, I was all about boho and I was more or less the only one. Yet something was missing, so already at age of 15 I started twisting the style.

During my high school years I started experimenting with the more darker sides of fashion as well, and before I knew it I was all about goth. Yet I was just a tad to happy to be all goth. I didn't really feel the pain you had to feel to be a goth.
And that's when I stopped trying to fit within a box and decided that I could be 60's boho and goth, well not at the same time, but I could switch between both styles, if I wanted. Who was there to stop me?

During my twenties I stated dressing in some way MOD. I'm not sure I was aware of that fact. But none the less I wore long boots, short dresses and had a very high bob.
I loved the 1960s and the MOD style as I have pointed out before on this blog. Yet the MOD style wash't fit for the stockings I loved so much. And as my fascination for stockings grew, so did the length of the dresses I wore. I guess it was a natural process for me.

I've been wearing post-world war II fashion the past 3-5 years. (More seriously the past 3 years). And I really do love the style, but the past year or so vintage has been hit by an inflation. More and more people are interested in vintage clothes. Interested in the lovely and elegant style of the 1950s. The New Look is back and I'm so very glad...

And then again I've never been the part of the crowd, and I actually think I've grown to like being the odd (wo)man out.  For me style is about making fashion and clothes personalized, but as the better part of the danish women are dressing 1950s inspired, I back out.

I woke up yesterday and didn't know what to wear. Well actually I knew exactly what I could wear, but I was getting bored, and just didn't feel like it anymore.
I somehow felt trapped and wearing the pretty dresses from the 1940s and 1950s just felt like a routine rather like pleasure. So I wen't to my parents attic and found my old MOD stuff.
A lot of it was unfortunately given to charity, but I still had some of the classics, and I will make some changes in my wardrobe.

I've realized I'm not schizophrenic just because I don't follow the same line of style for ever.
It's rather that I like to experiment. I mean, why shouldn't I? Style and fashion is all about been creative....

Fashion is fluent. That's easy to see because it always changes, yet it is always inspired by earlier styles. But what I came to think of is that style is fluent as well. As people we evolve, and we change; At least curious people, who are willing to explore life and the world, are evolving and changing.
That is exactly the same with the style. As long as you are aware, as long as you explore, your style will follow it will change and expand.
A lot of stylists are scolding women for lacking consistency within the style. But you don't need consistency. You need to play around and try stuff out until you find something you like. The best part is though when you get tied of the style and you go out to explore a new one.

I think choosing just one line of style for yourself is rather a sort of security blanket. You know what fits you, you get used to it, and you just keep going on like some kind of repeat.
I'm not a person that falls in to repetition or monotony. I like to challenge my self.

I don't have any plans of changing my style 100%. I still love all of my 100 1950s dresses, I just plan to broaden the boundaries I've put upon myself and my style the past year or so.

That's why I will be welcoming 1960s MOD back in to my life.

1960s was all about bright colors and big hair. I'm wearing a bright red a-line skirt that is just above the knee. I've matched the skirt with a black knit blouse and a pair of knee highs.

It's extremely important to me not to look like a teen, which you easily can end up doing you you don't give the look a lot of edge and some kind of twist. I've done it with the hair. This was one of my favorite up-does back than, but I've was never able to make it, cause I always either had a bob or a pixie-cut. 

The huge hair makes the look some how more grown up. 

I'm wearing big bracelets with bright colors. It's all about adding some kind of edge to the look. 

But it still has to be very fresh and young. 

#36

My hair is too long and my wardrobe is about to be used up. I think it's just about time to get the summer stuff up from the basement. 

I think it the time of the year where the restlessness is kicking in and I feel nothing is good enough. 

Actually I'm kind of excited. 

It's still winterish in Denmark. But I've been living her for so many years that I know that I should always keep my Wellingtons and a wool coat close to me. 

Beeing aware of those facts gives me a possibility to wear lovely summer dresses even though it gets cold. 

I feel a bit uninspired. And I'm not very much in to those A-line skirts these days. I don't feel my waist is tiny enough, and I'm just not up for wearing tight corsets for a whole day at the Library. None the less I've got plans tonight so I had to look just a tad more stylish that I've been the past couple of days. 

I bought the skirt at etsy.com last year, I think. I haven't been able to wear it, cause it was to tight, but apparently today was one of those lucky days. It's simple, but I just love the tartan pattern. Maybe I should try to wear it during the coming christmas. It has those amazing vintage Christmas colors. The fabric isn't anything special, I guess it's some kind og cotton, but it's very breathable and that suits me. 

Firstly I tried to match the skirt with a green blouse, but it was just off, so I chose a transparent black shirt and accessorized with a black belt and black jewelry. 

I've had these earrings for ages. As most of my jewelry they are bijouterie, but they are simple and that's always a plus in my world. 

The ring is actually gold, and it was a present form my granddads sister. She was hell of a lady, and she had an amazing style.

The pin is actually a hat pin, but I still need a brooch that combines gold and black, so I use the hat pin as a brooch, when in need of that combination. 

#32, #33, #34, #35 - Summing up... forever

So, basically I'm not sure where the past week has gone. It's as if the days just slip through my fingers, and every morning I wake up, its a new week. 

It's almost three months since I've started this crazy project. And actually I'm starting to feel that I'm getting to the end of my winter wardrobe. There is still a good amount of dresses and outfits, but I am getting to the least favorite of them now, and I don't have the same urge to show them of. I mean all of my dresses are nice, but it's as if I forget to take the pictures in the morning. 

Last week was hard, and I ended up being home for two days, cause I caught some kind of bug. 

But none the less this is a selection of the outfits I wore last week. 

Monday: I found this dress on a flea market last summer. I was a bargain, and one wonders why. I almost ended up in an argument with my dad about this dress.  I still thinks it's as ugly as hell, and believe it or not, but I agree. None the less I love it. It's crazy, edgy, and it makes me smile every times I wear it. 

I'm pretty sure this is a 1970s pice, but, the crazy colors aside, it has actually a very 1940s style. Both the collar and the cuffs have pretty 1940s details. 

The Monday dress is more or less impossible to accessorize, cause it has way to much going on, so I just went with a simple pair of silver earrings. Mostly cause feel naked without earrings. 

Tuesday and Wednesday I was at home, so this is the Thursday's dress. This is actually the dress I planed to wear all those times I ended up wearing pants. I had a date on Thursday, so I decided to wear a dress. 

I love this dress. I actually designed it and my tailor in Montenegro made it for me. I just have a weakness for all things buttoned in the back.

It's inspired from the 1930s style, and actually it is supposed to be worn without a belt, but sometimes I wear it with a belt, just to give is some shape. I actually loved this dress so much that I asked my tailor to make me one more, but in different color. 

Usually when I wear the green dress I wear this jewelry. These is just something about green and cold. It fits perfectly. 

Friday... Well, I also had a date. I guess the Spring is on it way. So I wore a one of my many pencil skirts and and shirt I tend to forget I have. Usually I forget how pretty this shirt is. I've had it for ages and I bought it on sale in h&m. Once again it has this 1940s inspired style and color so with the right styling it ends up looking all vintage. 

And today. Today I'm almost in the 1970s. If it wasn't for the shape of the collar and the style of the pants, I'd go for a Disco-Diva today. 

Basically everything, except the hat, I'm wearing today is bought in some kind of high street shop. 

You don't have to buy expensive and fancy clothes to look stylish and elegant. It about being creative, and of course taking care of the clothes you wear. 

I always change when I get home, and I always wear my house coat at home. That's how I keep my clothes mint for several years, and even though they are bought in h&m og any other cheap hight street shop they look good and almost as new.