Resort wear

The new resort collections have started popping up at style.com. These collections tend to bore me, seeing as they consist of "easy to wear" items. There's nothing wrong with simple, uncomplicated clothes that are comfortable and easy to pack, as resort items should be. But, in my opinion, these clothes don't represent the current trends, time and climate in the same sense that RTW and Haute cutoure do. There's no statements. No showpieces. They're sort of the designer's vision paired down to practical outfits. I guess this fits with Wikipedia's definition:

"Resort wear is a specialized clothing style, as well as a year-round fashion "season". Sometimes known as "cruise wear", it was not long ago resort collections were worn only by "jet set" celebrities who would purchase such garments while on vacation in warm-weather climates. Today, these garments are a growing part of many wardrobes. (...) From walking shorts, caftans and sandals, to full-length evening dresses for women and light dinner jackets for men, resort wear is unique in its design and function. It is generally made from cotton, silk, denim, microfiber, straw and poplin that are easy to pack, lightweight and breathable. They are easy to clean and look great without ironing or fuss."

However, even though resort focuses on functionality and comfort more than fashion, you can still spot current trends in the collections, but a bit paired down (as I mentioned). My favourites so far are Phi and Jonathan Saunders, because they do just that. Phi, designed by Andreas Melbostad, have gone for the "peekabo" trend, by mixing sheer fabrics and lace, as seen in Marc Jacobs spring collection. Melbostad's also designed a dress that looks a bit like the Acne skirt Susie Bubble was raving about. So this is quite an edgy and strong collection on the resort scale!



Jonathan Saunders have made his prints a bit easier to wear, and mixed in some office wear in his collection as well. You can easily see the links to his ready-to-wear collection.



(Pics off style.com)

Too bad I live in Norway, where resort clothes couldn't get you from your house to the shop. It's too frigging cold!

Made in Norway

Today I went to the small town Stryn, a couple of hours drive from where I live in Norway. I was walking around, looking in various shops, not expecting to find anything cool. But as it turns out, Stryn is something of a textile innovator! The town, with its 5750 inhabitants, is the home of three distinctive and well-renowned textile brands (at least in Norway); Aloha Hemp, Ricco Vero and Moods of Norway. Aloha Hemp and Moods' clothes are produced outside of Norway, but Ricco Vero's clothes are actually sewed in Olden, an even smaller town outside of Stryn. This is something I find very charming and unusual in these days when most textile products are made in China and India. It's very rare that you as a fashion consumer find a product that says "Made in Norway".

Moods of Norway's clothes are made in Turkey, but the brand's still got a unique Norwegian identity to it. According to their website, the brand started "in Honolulu, Hawaii as an after party idea between the two designers Simen Staalnacke and Peder Børresen. After finishing their studies in Australia and Hawaii, a night of sizzling cocktails resulted in the concept. When returning to the country known for polar bears and expensive gasoline, the duo drew their lines for the coming collections." Their headquarter and showroom is in Stryn, but they've recently opened their first flagship store in Oslo (right next to Louis Vuitton, no less) and plan on opening another one in Reykjavik, Iceland now in June. The brand is also sold in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Jamaica, Japan, China and USA. When looking through their collection "Cocktail hunting" today, it's clear that these designers have captured the Norwegian identity and made it fashionable in a way no one has done before them. By naming all their products after locals, using pics of their grandma in their adverts, decorating their shops with typical Scandinavian items and putting recipes and funny facts on their clothes, I think they've achieved something truly unique. Not only is it a smart way of marketing themselves; the clothes look and feel good as well. The designers work towards the goal of " making our grandma happy, and make happy clothes for happy people around the world", and prove that fashion doesn't have to be all that serious. I dig!

Yes, I'm a copycat

I'm loving all of the new pics from Stockholm over at Facehunter! Seems the androgynous, slightly avantgarde look is big there right now.

Usually I don't copy whole looks, when looking at inspiration, whether it's from the catwalk, stage or street. But there was one look I absolutely fell in love with:


I've just gotta dress like this!!

(Picture from facehunter.blogspot.com)

One stylish New Yorker...

Whilst waiting for the new "Sex and the city" movie, I looked through some photos from the series. Here's my favourite Carrie fashion moments:

Was that it? Really?!

Remember that band back in 2001....the ones who saved rock'n'roll, made Converse and skinny jeans a part of every indie boy/girl's wardrobe, dated all the girls and made fucking cool music? I think they were called something like THE STROKES.... Whatever happened?

2001: I was 14 years old. Pretty much liked what everyone else was into - charts music and shit. Then, sometime after 9/11, a revelation came to me on the radio - it was a song called "Last nite". There was something special about this song, I don't know what, but it started something "new" (I later discovered they'd heavily borrowed from older heroes) both in music and in me (Ok, I know I'm being cheesy here, but it's the truth!). So I put "Is this it" on my wish list for Christmas that year, and my lovely younger sister delivered. I'd only heard "Last nite" a couple times on the radio, and although I loved that song, I did not expect to hear what came out of the speakers the next day when I put the record on. 36 minutes of perfect rock, a hybrid of amazing bands that I still didn't know, Julian Casablancas desperately dangerous voice, Nick Valensi's short and concise solos, rebellious lyrics, the sound of New York... I think I played the record 4 times that day, and the next day, and the next, and the next...

Music aside, of course it didn't hurt that the band looked like THAT. So I read interviews, watched videos, analysed everything they said. I bought my first pair of Converse and started looking for skinny jeans, which at that point were impossible to find (You can't imagine it? No?). Julian Casablancas and co. might not have said much interesting when being interviewed, but they kept mentioning all of these bands; Television, Velvet Underground, Magnetic fields, The Clash, Sonic Youth and Blondie. And 'cause I was sooo caught up in this Strokes-thing I checked it out. And liked it. And loved it. Soon my CD collection had gone from being a typical 14 year old girl collection to a collection consisting of 70's rock, old school punk, Jimi Hendrix and noisy indie.

There's only two bands that's had this major influence on me personally (the other one being Norwegian act Bigbang). I mean, I always discover new bands and get totally addicted to their music, but these days it doesn't change me as much as it naturally did as a teenager. The Strokes came back a few years later with the follow-up "Room on fire" and by this time I'd started playing the guitar and thought I was a hippy. I still thought this album was great, even if every critic was saying it wasn't. But come on, how can you top an album like "Is this it"?

Then the band disappeared for a bit, was it two years? Hundreds of "Strokes"-bands had by that time appeared, and disappeared. I ordered the new album online, "First impressions of earth", when it finally came out on my birthday, the 2nd of January 2006. But the thing about this album was that it seemed like the band had actually listened to the critics and tried to create a totally new sound. Instead they ended up sounding like Guns'n'Roses, and to be honest, commercial. There's a few good songs on there: "Juicebox" blew my mind the first time I heard it, and I remember thinking "They've done it again!" Well, no. Maybe the pressure was too hard, maybe Nick Valensi got a bit cocky, maybe Casablancas shouldn't have written all the songs. But even if they missed with this album, I still expected them to come back. They're a great band, and great bands do miss sometimes.

So what now? It's 2008 and we haven't heard anything from the band since 2006. There's no news on their website, the last few posts being "Happy Birthday Albert/Nick/Niko" etc. Bassist Nikolai Fraiture posted on the band's website that "we just need to work out a few technical kinks" and promised a fourth album, but it sounds less than definite. Albert Hammond Jr.'s out touring with his debutalbum. When I interviewed him back in 2006, he seemed pretty content with that and not that eager to get back with the band. He got annoyed when I asked about The Strokes, and even said he didn't see the guys anymore. Doesn't bode well, does it?

Well, maybe they were just one of those bands that make one-two great albums, change rock music and disappear into more or less successful sidebands. It's just a shame...and I never got to see them live!

Cheesy electronica up north

Because my Ipod needs charging and I haven't got a cable, my life has been pretty quiet lately. So today I've just been listening to all kinds of blogs and myspace. I'm digging this new remix by Get shakes of Norwegian iceprincess Annie's new song, "I know your girlfriend hates me." Check it out here: 

http://discodust.com/files/Annie%20%20I%20Know%20Ur%20Girlfriend%20Hates%20Me%20(Get%20Shakes%20Remix).mp3

Also I've fallen in love with the music of diskJokke - his new album "Staying in" has gotten excellent reviews, for instance over at Pitchfork, and he just recently put some new songs up on his myspace. Including a remix of The National Bank's "Home".  www.myspace.com/diskjokke

diskJokke has also remixed another favourite of mine; Ost&Kjex! Hailing from Oslo, "the city of cheese" (Ost&Kjex meaning cheese and biscuits), they make funny electronica with amazing beats! Listen to the hilarious impression of "Drop it like it's hot" in their song "Milano model": http://www.last.fm/music/Ost%2B%2526%2BKjex/_/Milano+Model+%28A+Thrilling+Mungophony+In+Two+Parts%29

Hmm, I just now realized that all of these tracks are Norwegian. It's cool to see that there's a range of good electronica here right now!!

Superboring superheroes...

When I heard the theme of this year's Costume Institute gala (Superheroes!), my mind wandered: Strong Wonder women, nerdy Clark Kent's, Batman masks etc etc. A costume gala with this theme was almost too good to be true! But looking at the pictures now, the turnout proved to be very boring: A typical polished NY ball event, with tiny tanned women in Armani, Michael Kors and Vera Wang, accompanied by old rich men in suits. Anyone can look good in a LBD, why not try something a bit more interesting for once?!

Well some did try at least, but with various results. A few managed to incorporate superhero details into a modern outfit in a subtle way, like Kate Bosworth, Christina Ricci and supermodels Caroline Trentini and Raquel Zimmerman. Others looked...cartoonish, but fun! (Hamish Bowles, Zac Posen) What I don't understand is why no one opted for the Luella Batman look SS08? I mean, it's perfect! I'd happily go in that batman suit!!

On a different note, there were some beauuuuutiful couples... Now I just can't decide if I wanna be Karen Elson or Diane Krüger:


The Gossip girl cast has been called the most beautiful tv-cast ever, I can't say I disagree when looking at these pictures! ("Chuck" looks pretty good, surprisingly...)