suit up! vintage edition

There is something magical about the femme suit. Ever since the great Yves Saint Laurent decided women should also wear pant suits, costumes for women constisting of a pair of tailored pants and the matching jacket/blazer has been a true classic in every woman's wardrobe. For the fall/winter season of 2012, Miuccia Prada even transformed Miu Miu's signature girly dresses into boldly-patterned suits, finished off with blocking patterned shirts and egdy platforms.

I was lucky enough to receive a vintage fine wool suit from a very stylish aunt and it has been hanging in my closet for many months now. The first time I wore it, I still remember clearly, was at my oral exam of the Austrian A-level. I definitely made a fashion statement wearing this beige, heavily embellished vintage suit, while others rather stayed black and white.

Below are photos J took of me a while ago, as you can tell by the warm atmosphere. Vienna in december is quite cold and not so enjoyable outside anymore.

suit: vintage, clutch: Burberry

(Photo credit: JJ)

My take on the femme suit was a feminin one. I recently got my hair cut and the new mid-long length makes me feel much more androgyn and I guess more egdy stuff are coming up. A belated Merry Christmas to everyone and an early happy new year!
Now that we've survived "the end of the world" or whatever people called it, there's nothing to stop me anymore.

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how dare you?

I've just found this illustration I did a while a go, intended for "velvet mousse". Since I changed the blog title, it has become useless. Although this drawing has no relevance anymore, I still decided to put it up for I love the minty green turban she's wearing. Sadly I'm not the born-to-wear-hats kind of person (which is also why I mostly avoid wearing head pieces), so it's rather unlikely that I'll put on a turban myself.

Now to the new blog name, what does it mean to be daring? This blog is called "dare to du it", so it's quite necessary to explain it further, no? Despite the fact that "velvetmousse" was already registered by other persons both on wordpress and tumblr, I wanted something more original and not a name that people would associate with some uber-sweet french dessert. I would not call my style sweet or anything in that sense, so after hours of brain-storming (maybe not hours), I had the idea of putting my surname in my blog title. Dare to du it, du instead of do. Obvious.

Recently I've come to the realisation that life is way too short. Yeah like it's something new. Why spend time wondering what people would think of you doing this or that, if this life you are leading solely belongs to you? One sad thing is that not everyone IS leading his life, some just exist. Existing on this planet or actually living the life are two completety different things, and I choose the second one. Be alive also means to give a statement, an individual one. I opened this blog to share my opinion, to record my journey to the ultimate goal of unswayable, independent taste. Dare to to wear fashion the way you like it, dare to have a different look than others, dare to pull off trends but not getting fooled by them.

Dare more!

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exhibition extravaganza

And there we went, to the "EXTRAVAGANZA" exihition at the "Kunsthalle", an exhibition institution of modern and temporary art. J and I both saw the promotion posters on some subway stations and associated the exhibit with fashion and thought the colors on it were quite bold and wanted to see it. And I've just managed four "ands" in one sentence, it's probably time to improve my English writing skills.

To be quite honest here, J did not know who Leigh Bowery was and neither did I, so as you can probably imagine, we were quite shocked by the provocative, and I mean really outrageously provocative images/films at the exhibit. The picture below shows me reading Leighs biography, trying to understand why he and some colleagues/friends of him did those outrageously provocative (and that in a sexually liberating way) shows and shootings. Not to mention his face piercings, where instead of 'normal' piercing studs he put in some safety pins. One only word 'creepy' is not enough to describe my feelings when first realising that the piercings were freaking real. And everything else there, was/is real.

Oh! Yes, there was a giant pair of underpants with Hitler's head on it, and I did not get this offensive joke (was that a joke at all?). What shouldn't be forgotten is the glittery colorful costumes showcased there. That's one of the reasons that the visit of EXTRAVAGANZA actually somehow paid off.

esprit trench coat, vintage Dior bag, souvenir scarf

Outside the "kunsthalle" there is this "project wall" thing going on, which reminded us of Frida Kahlo. The photos presented here are indeed Frida-inspired. The crew behind definitely got the model right, she does not only have a uni-brow, the sensual fragility she forwarded to the beholders was breath-takingly beautiful. The access to the wall is rather hidden behind the building, but free to everyone. THIS I love about Vienna.

(Photo credit: JJ)

The days are getting colder here, it's the winter layering time folks! So ready to put on some heavy bulky fat coats.

And cheers to that!

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mustard jumper

Mustard is a color that's quintessentially screaming: AUTUMN! This boldly yellow jumper I got from H&M trend line is no exception. The ubiquitously seen peplum is, too, a highlight to this garment, but the skin tight fit is my perfect-pullover-dream come true. And I'm not exaggerating here. This jumper is so versatile, I have been wearing it as often as I can ever since I got it (I even broke my not-wearing-the-same-clothes-consecutively-rule, which says quite a lot about my love towards it). Below are two looks with this mustard jumper, the first one for the warmer autumn days and the second one for the cold, frosty late autumn.

Look no.1:

As you can tell, I went a little nostalgic with the styling. And I felt so feminine with the white chiffon maxi skirt on, a feeling I rarely get in recent times.

bershka wool hat, H&M jumper, random maxi skirt bought on the street in China, 

zara necklace, zara boots, versace for H&M purse

Option two:

As for the second look, I basicly put on a chestnut-colored wool coat, a pair of black jeans which matchs with the thigh-high suede boots and carried a bigger in my favorite color this season, oxblood. A pair of emerald green suede gloves gives the outfit a color blocking twist and more importantly keeps the hands warm at freezing temperatures. Now that I'm typing, I noticed that I look quite serious in these photo series, no I'm not unhappy. I guess the fact that another friend was present when J took the photos made me a bit stiff. I am no model afterall.

mango coat, H&M suede gloves, zara bag, all time favorite black pants

Photo credit: JJ

Speaking of chestnut color (as mentioned ealier), one thing that I love about autumn is roasted chestnuts. Those are the best cold days treats, EVER. When the weather outside is frightful, I, to be honest, rather like to stay inside and enjoy some warm bites of tasty chestnuts. Last but not least, a late, yet cordial happy thanksgiving folks!

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