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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little red skirt

Every girl has got that little red skirt. So subtle, it can be worn anytime anywhere. Here is my take on it.

vintage shirt, random jacket, MCM bag, snidel skirt, Jeffrey Campbell boots

Photo Credit: JJ

As promised in one september post-which title I can barely remember-here's the outfit-shooting I did a while ago. My dear friend J mentioned that she was thinking about opening her very own blog about photography the other day and I told her to go for it. I could link her in my posts than, how great would that be?

The dotted navy button-up shirt was previously own by an older relative and looks therefore quite vintage proved. By the way, on the label of the shirt, it says something like "made in Austria", which surprised me completely when I first got it. How many girls out there still owns a "made in Austria" shirt nowaways? You can have all your fancy clothes hand-stitched or whatever in Paris, but the Austrian fashion industry has long stopped producing shirts as far as I can know. Now I am aware of the fact that the Austrian textile indutry does still exist and does actually pretty well (see the exemplary Wolford and so on), but fashion garments manufactured in this country are rarely-seen. That I can be sure of.

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mar, marge, margiela

Lately I've been suffering under way too little sleep and a lot of stress. Yeah exams, big time. But those dark days are soon to be over! I just couldn't help, but post something on the blog today. I had to, it's been quite a while, isn't it?

This pair of Maison Martin Margiela pumps is my current hot love. I'm obsessed with a decent, understated good pair of nude pumps! The see-through wedge is quite confusing and make people wonder and check again. Not that I have already worn it, but I can assure you these shoes are some major head turners.

Maison Martin Margiela with H&M shoe

I have also been thinking of getting some more pieces from the collection, but rather something from the man collection. Basicly, over-sized clothing-that includes sweaters, shirts AND outerwear(!) is totally my thing. The fact that my height makes me look even higher and bigger and bulkier is part of the fun wearing XL-clothes you know?

How about the white leather shirt-like jacket? I saw it in real life-means not only online-and found the shape and its hugeness quite intimidating, but so cool at the same time. In addtion to that, I've laid my eyes on that man's shredded jeans jacket in S size, which looks like it is worn turned over and than got brutally shredded, ah sloppy-chic to the power of 10! I can't make up my mind yet wether or not I shall get the jacket. Till then, I just keep pretending I'm cool!

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blood red nails

I love a good manicure (honestly who does not?). Getting the nails done is probably the most relaxing and affordable thing ever. The girl at the the nailsplace asked to me pick a color and I resisted all the hot/in trend shades like the neon pinks, moustards and greens and blues and went for a classic red red red. Recently I've watched a Youtube video about all the red shades there are. Isn't it interesting that the human eyeball is able to identify ten thousands of colors if not more? However I cannot tell what kinda red this OPI lacquer is. Is it a little pinkish? I've no idea. I'll just call it blood red (I know, I know, true blood is of a darker red).

By the way, to everyone who reads Chinese or does not, the book underneath is the "Norwegian Wood" by Haruki Murakami, an author loved by a dear friend, who happens to be the one that sent me this postcard.

xx

pleather pleated

crochete top found in a small shop, a random pleather skirt,

Jeffrey Campbell shoes, vintage CD bag, Michael Kors watch

Photo credits: JJ

If someone still hasn't got the (p)leather trend this season, he/she must be a great, giant fashion outcast. It's seen everywhere, literally: on the streets, in the stores, everywhere! The whole trend started -as I'd believe- on the Fall/Winter 2012 runways, where not only the fashion houses that are known to bring out spectacular all-leather-looks like Givenchy, Mugler and Rick Owens (yeah those dark and sensual ones), but also less tougher brands like Alberta Ferretti and Fendi were carrying clothes fully made of leather.

While I was typing the above sentence that is way too long to sound correct in English language, I was verbally pronouncing the word "leather" a couple of times. And by a couple of times, I'm indicating 10 times+, which led to inarticulateness. Ah leather, how I love you, but can't easily pull you off!

Below my take on the leather hype this fall, a pleated pleather skirt with some leather ankle boots that have huge hidden platforms, a little tacky, but comfortable to walk in and very very fun!

As you can probably tell, by the time I was photographed in this outfit, the grass was still green. Now it's of a yellowish mid-fall color, not the prettiest shade but hey, the golden leaves are coming! Kinda sad the weekend slowy comes to an end, but like all weekends, they come again in a few days. Have a hard working week people!

xx

wild patterns

Now to be very honest, I am not one of the wildest girl my friends would know. Yet it is interesting, even to me, to see how I put together daring outfits. Like this one. It basicly screams: LEOPAAAARRDDDD!

Mix and match is an essential factor to look chic thesedays where fashion trends spread so freaking quickly. Like everyone is "on trend" in some kind of ways, everyone owns some "in"-pieces. Highstreet brands like zara react so fast to designer runways and upcoming trends that everyone on the streets end up looking trendy, again in some kind of ways.

In order to be chic, but different, there needs to be more mix-and-matches going on. Here I paired a vintage leopard blazer with a paisley-shirt. At the bottom part, the pattern-mixing party continues to a bright-colored floral print skirt that accentuates the waist. As for the rest I sticked to black accessories with a bold golden touch on them.

vintage blazer, mango shirt, H&M skirt (all of them old)

Versace X H&M purse, zara shoes 

Photo credits: JJ

When it comes to accessories, I have this black X gold pattern (pun here!) that I've recently noticed! I tend to choose gold above any other metal color, which has definitely something to do with my yellow-undertoned skin, I believe. It's not that I don't like silver. Silver is such a cool (cool and cool) tone that sometimes looks quite pale on me.

The temperatures are falling quickly in november. Afterall it's autumn, the say-good-bye to bare legs season. No actually, even autumn slowly comes to an end, the colder days are still ahead of us.

xx