1/29/2012

Louis Theroux, un fico


Il titolo dice tutto.Questo simpatico (e cosi fottutamente british) ometto (che poi è altissimo) con occhiali quadrati e semplici, sciarpa e doppio petto navy è stata la rivelazione degli ultimi anni della BBC.
Quanto è hipster, fresh and cool essere italiani e parlare della BBC? Tantissimo.
Insomma long story short: è un documentarista eccezionale, con uno stile fantastico e piacevole.Molti pensano che sia un pò troppo naive ma la verità è che con la sua semplicità, che si manifesta nelle sue domande dette in tono purefuckingbritish a degli americani sempre un pò ciccioni, sempre un pò repubblicani e sempre (troppo) ignoranti, è capace di arrivare al sodo del pensiero di chi ha di fronte, di porlo dinnanzi alle conseguenze a cui va incontro con ciò che realmente fa e pensa, di mettere in crisi tutto un mondo valoriale.
Quest'uomo ha reso l'America, per un paio di anni, lo zoo personale dell'Inghilterra, con tutti i casi umani - e disumani - degli U.S.A che ha portato sugli schermi, ma soprattutto mi ha fatto capire come si, noi europei non siamo messi bene, ma grazie a Dio non siamo nati oltre l'Oceano.
Non fate i pigri e guardatevi i suoi documentari, che sono tutti su Youtube; ve li raccomando caldamente.

Pace,
Michele.

Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2012









Here are some pictures from the Valentino Haute Couture spring 2012 collection. I would die for one of these dresses, they are so romantic, elegant and simple. I especially like the second one i posted, I would love to have it for my graduation (wishful thinking). Here is another photo of it from the backstage:

Ok, this was a very quick update, because I have to study for a test. Have a nice Sunday!

Love,
Chiara

1/28/2012

Nostalgia for the Light


Last night I watched "Nostalgia for the light", a documentary directed by Patricio Guzmán, and it made my night. In this wonderful documentary there is astronomy, history, really touching stories, archeology; the "story" is set in the desert of Atacama in Chile. The documentary is beatiful, interesting, fascinating and touching. It's mainly about astronomy, but after a while a lot of interesting stories are told about Chile's history, concentration camps, Pinochet's dictature and the horrible things he did, and how looking at the stars at night have helped prisoners and people who have lost the loved ones, to feel free and feel that there was hope for them. I loved it. I read many positive reviews about it, and I agree with all of them: It's worth watching! I recommend it, even if you are not a fan of documentaries, you should watch it! It's so beatiful and touching (I have to admit I shed a tear in the end).

And sorry, if I haven't posted things in a while but I have been busy with school.

Oh, and if you want us to write about something in particular or if you want to ask something just write it in a comment, we don't bite!

Love,
Chiara

1/21/2012

Outfit

Last night I went to a club in Uppsala (Orange) with my cousin and some of her friends for the dmz night with synth/goth music. Ok clubs are not my thing anymore (I don't know if they ever were), but it was nice to go out. Here are some photos of my outfit and as you can see I had fun taking them, but I think I can rule out modelling as a possible future career.
The dress is from Franco Melani, the t-shirt is vintage (my mother's, sorry mum) and obviously the shoes are dr Martens.

Love,
Chiara
PS As you can see I am posting the most, but the others have a lot of exams and tests at university right now, they will start posting in a few weeks (hopefully).

1/20/2012

The nerd transformation


It has definitely happened to all of you (and if it never had, I'm sorry for 
you) to participate in some theme party- in costume or toga party, where you obviously need a certain type of clothing, and the location and organization are perfect, just because the theme cannot be ruined. It's definitely a special event that in many cases allows you to unleash your imagination in terms of style, even if the theme isn't very customizable you always try to give your own interpretation, perhaps adding details, but at the same time trying to be careful not to go too far from the "character" or theme. Last week I attended a graduation party, that was also a theme party; the theme was nerd! In my opinion it was an apt choise because because the graduate had just gotten his degree in mechanical engineering, and it was organized very well since the motto of the evening was: " Engineers do not live, they WORK!" Therefore I, as all the other partecipants, had to adjust to the requirements to partecipate. Thinking about the nerdy style, the first things that come to mind are the big goggles, high-waisted pants (for men), knee-lenght skirts with extravagant colors, the shirt tucked in the pants that can be checkered or not- but in my opinion the checkered shirt for the nerdy-style can't be the shirt you would normally use, but a flanell shirts, or with a pattern, always checkered or squared, but it has to be tacky- vests, cardigans of unual colors, and here's an important thing, you don't have to match all the colors perfectly. The accessories have a key role in the nerd-style, because they change the hole outfit: a normal outfit with the right accessories can easily become a nerd-outfit! The must-have accessories are the glasses, that can be easily found even by those who don't really need them, like in H&M (they are really cheap too), other accessories are the suspenders that always have to be coordinated to the tie or bow if you wear one. It would be important, where possible to also watch the hair styling: braids or ponytails for the girls and a lot of gel or wax for the guys.
To conclude, here's a picture of me with my girlfriend taken at the party. The choise to avoid the checkered shirt and the vest was made of fear that all the partecipants would wear one (in fact they did!). They all wore the same tipe of clothes: checkered shirt and suspenders! So tell me what you think and if have any suggestions about this, I maybe happen to reuse them in some other similar event.


Stay alive, Dud(i)e

1/19/2012

Robert Mapplethorpe


Today I'll write about one of my favourit photographers: Robert Mapplethorpe. I discovered him while reading Patti Smith's "Just Kids", I really liked his character in the book and Patti Smith describes him as a wonderful artist and person, therefore I made some research and started loving his work!
His works are very simple, elegant and, in a strange way, innocent. I think it's hard making nude photographs elegant, but he did it! I love his work, it's amazing!! His life and his personality are so interesting, I think I would ruin that if I just wrote facts about his life; there is a complexity that you can understand only if you read "Just kids" (please do, it's one the best books i've ever read, I really, really recommend it).
Here are some of his photos:







Hope you enjoyed,

Love,
Chiara

1/15/2012

Stockholm



I went to Stockholm yesterday because I had a date with a friend (Obviously you don't care about that), so I took the opportunity to walk around the city, take some photos and visit Fotografiska, the photography museum. There will be just 3 pictures of Stockholm made by me if you want to see the other photos you can go to my photography-blog: http://chiaraberettaphotography.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/stockholm/. I didn't manage to see very much, I promise you that next time I'll be in Stockholm I'll do more, or at least I'll try to. By the way Stockholm Fashion Week is coming up between the 6th and the 12th February and I'll try to be there, so you have to follow this blog to see photos from SFW!
Ok, now, I wrote that I would review the museum and I will. There are 4 different exhibitions right now, but I found only 3 and liked just 2. The first one is "Inwards and Onwards" by Anton Corbijn and I have to say it's breathtaking. He does portraits of celebrities, and his photos catch the essence of the celebrity. They were amazing! I loved this exhibition. You should understand what I mean if you have seen his work, if you haven't here are some of his photos:

Tom Waits

Alexander McQueen

Kate Moss

Mick Jagger

 The second exhibition was about the photographer Aitor Ortiz. I liked this one too! He photographs architecture and he made it so beautiful and interesting. The light, the shadows, everything in his photographs  is perfect and make the buildings look wonderful. It was a pleasure watching his works. Here are some of his photos:

Amorfosis-004

Destructuras-033

Destructuras-003

Destructuras-105



The third exhibition is "Surrounded by No One" of Margaret M. de Lange. I didn't like it: it was too pretentious for my taste. Some of the photos were portraits, they were beautiful but there was nothing special in them, some were just tacky and vulgar with no sense at all (or I didn't find any sense in them), and few were interesting. But I don't know, I maybe don't get what she's trying to say with her pictures.
The fourth exhibition is about Haiti. Ok this is the one I didn't find, therefore I can't review it.
I really recommend to visit the museum, it's worth it!

Love,
Chiara

1/14/2012

Origini dello Streetwear

Breve Storia Dello Streetwear

Street wear is youth – it’s a retro 80s look inspired by the sneaker culture and hipsters on New York’s Lower East Side.” But, don’t confuse street wear with Urban fashion – looking like the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is miles away from the dark denim, baggy clothing and white sneakers that defined the inner-city’s Urban look.[Deon Griffith]

Streetwear non significa street fashion, o hip-hop fashion, dato che la prima comprende ogni forma di "urban style", e la seconda è invece qualcosa di ulteriore.
Lo Streetwear non nasce nei ghetti afroamericani delle città statunitensi, non nasce dal disagio e dalla povertà, non nasce nelle prigioni sovraffollate di membri di gang criminali, nè dall'immaginario della cultura hip-hop degli anni '80, sebbene questa lo abbia influenzato e lo influenzi tuttora.Lo Streetwear nasce dalla cultura, ribollente, frizzante ed intensa, dei primi movimenti legati al vivere su tavola, e prima tavola tra queste, la tavola da surf, nel boom tutto californiano degli anni '60, dove costruttori di tavole emergenti vendevano sulle spiaggie surfboards e skateboards con le proprie signature, quelli che poi sarebbero diventati, dagli anni '80 in poi, i marchi ed i nomi dello street americano.
Ma, si sa, i surfisti non sono spesso vestitissimi, dunque chi altri poteva farsi mezzo per diffondere e rendere ufficiale un nuovo stile ed un nuovo modo di pensare l'abito, se non gli skater? Ebbene si: le necessità di questo sport richiedevano abiti semplici e comodi, adatti ad essere usati sia nelle strade sia sulle tavole che sfrecciavano sull'asfalto dell'assolata costa americana.
L'evoluzione è lenta, graduale; i jeans ed i pantaloni diventano comodi, le magliette e le felpe leggermente oversized (ma non enormi, come nell'hip-hop fashion), spuntano i primi occhiali da sole, ma l'attenzione tutta maniacale è rivolta direttamente alle scarpe, al primo abito a cui uno skater deve pensare; e la Vans si impone come marca principe, con i suoi modelli storici, primi tra tutti le Era e quelle che oggi chiamamo Old School, affiancate dalle Skater High (che arrivarono un pò dopo).
Dalla California all'East Side newyorchese, atmosfera stimolante negli anni '80, resa tale da un confluire di agenti diversi: la presenza di artisti, di giovani stilisti, di intellettuali.Erano altri anni, finiti gli incredibili anni '70, si era nei futuristici anni '80, che permettevano nuove sperimentazioni e nuove commistioni culturali ma anche, e soprattutto, estetiche e stilistiche; e qui confluiscono la nascente cultura hip-hop, la (tutta europea) cultura punk e le influenze della cultura skate, e da lì il passo è breve; la sneaker culture, la grande scoperta che un paio di scarpe da ginnastica possa essere un oggetto di grande carica stilistica e "fashionable", irrompe con le sue marche sacre e paradigmatiche; la Nike vince la gara con l'eterna rivale tedesca Adidas, e si impongono nuovi modelli e nuovi stili per il vivere urbano.
Tale stile è oggi mutato, ma ne rimangono tipiche alcune caratteristiche: sneakers di pregio, jeans stretti (ma non troppo) o pantaloni chino, magliette con stampe creative, felpe con cappuccio, e tutte le possibili variazioni e combinazioni sul tema; è sempre bene ricordare che streetwear NON è hip-hop fashion, non è pantaloni bassi e felpe XXL, bensì uno stile estremamente ricercato, difficile talvolta, creativo e libero.

Michele

1/13/2012

The 20's are back

The Great Gatsby vibe is coming back. On the runways there are a lot of 20's inspired dressed. I think the upcoming "Great Gatsby" movie has set the 20's fashion in the spotlight again (I'm very happy about that.). The simple cutting of the dresses is very flattering and very elegant. I have to say that almost every Spring/Summer 2012 Ready-to-Wear collection was very sober and elegant. Of course the flower prints were present on the runway, as always. Here are some 20's inspired dresses from the spring/summer 2012 RTW collections:


Philosophy by Alberta Ferretti 

Alberta Ferretti 

ETRO

Gucci

Carolina Herrera

Marc Jacobs

Tory Burch

Hope you enjoyed.

Love, 
Chiara

1/10/2012

Dr Martens/Agyness Deyn

I just got my white dr Martens, I'm so glad! I've been wanting them for years and finally my parents bought them to me as a Christmas present!! Ok maybe you don't care about my shoes but I wanted to post an outfit  with them so you can use it as an inspiration. I chose one of Agyness Deyn's outfit; I love her style, I think she doesn't look like other models. She has a very punkish/ grunge style and you can really see the british influence. Also her outfits are really easy to take inspiration from or recreate, she chooses really simple clothes that you can find really easily, and spices everything up with some colorful details and/or accessories.

Then I wanted to say that in 2 weeks I'll be wondering the streets of Stockholm just for your benefit (ok no, not just for you :P I love Stockholm). I think I'll go to the photography museum (www.fotografiska.se) because I saw they had some interesting exhibitions and it's a beautiful museum, I'll probably review it. And I was also thinking about going to the modern art museum in Stockholm (www.modernamuseet.se), I'll see what I'll manage to do in just one day. Ok, I think I have written enough, bye for now
Love,
Chiara

1/08/2012

Gucci Fall/Winter Collection 2011







This is some pieces of Gucci's 2011 fall/winter collection, I love them all! I have to say I was really surprised when I saw the fashion show because I don't really like Gucci's style, but this time they amazed me. It's my new obsession.

ITALIANO:
Questi sono alcuni modelli della collezione autunno/inverno 2011 by Gucci. Li trovo splendidi! Devo dire di essere rimasta realmente sorpresa quando ho visto il fashion show, poiche´ non apprezzo troppo lo stile di Gucci, ma questa volta mi hanno (piacevolmente) meravigliata. Sono la mia nuova ossessione.


Love,
Chiara