Two is a trend- part 2

Ronald and Pablo amaze me with their mutual love for hygiene.

A real cool hunter should not go without an antibacterial hand gel.

Apply it on your hands after leaving a vintage store.

Two is a trend!

David bumps into his ex business partner Joe (Dave&Joe).
It seems as if they share the same fashion sense too.

Dave and Joe with their identical LV bags.

TOAF ≠6

I love head accessories.
And we have started to see more of them with the Gossip Girl fashion craze.
(Especially the character, Blair Woldorf is never seen without one)
Many designers have expanded their accessory lines to include more and more hair 'decor'.

Florencia (Monis), is a fashion designer from Argentina and her hair accessories 'rock'!
ps. The Italian magazine Amica will feature her bands in the September issue.

Florencia, wearing one of her feather clips.
Me with a white Florencia Monis headband.
Florencia and her model, Pablo.

Leyla in a vintage find. I don't remember if she bought it.

On the road with David

For today, our (cool) instructor is David (Kappo)
He's going to take us to East End.
But before, he gives us a list of the 'trendiest' pubs and bars in the area:

Dreambags Jaguarshoes IS a bar!!!

The Wonder of YOU!

The cycler took us to Embankment.
But we still did not want to go home.
And still did not know what to do on a Sunday evening.
Walked pass the bridge to Southbank...
And bumped into a tent.
Of the The Lift Festival (art festival)


Inside, there was an event called 'The Wonder of You'.
Basically, people were sharing their skills.
One was making waffles, the other teaching Greek,
another learning how to 'origami'...


Elif made some 'art' at a table.
I learned how to use Skype.

The closing event of the Lift Festival was held by City Mine(d).

As one of the organizers, Ishrat Nisrat tells me, the aim was to show that everyone had a skill; everyone was special.
We had to start connecting with each other and learn from each other...

All things Turkish

Things that reminded me of istanbul during my stay...

Little Galatarasay fans.
Belly dancing shows are as fashionable as 'burlesque' shows.
At least in Soho... And the audience is mainly women.
Wolfgang Tillmans was amazed by İstanbul, i guess.
Reming you, not the best part of the city.

Tapestry bags

For those who have not seen the Gucci ads of the coming season, carpet bags are coming!
I, myself have been looking for a tapestry one, for more than 8 months.
Even though my country is known for them, i have not been lucky enough to find my 'dream bag'.

Then again,
I found my beloved models in London.
Unfortunately, they all had owners!
Florencia with new vintage tapestry bag.
@Spitalfields

I saw one bag@ the Urban Outfitters store, similar to the last one. But it was not a nice piece and was 120 pounds! Urbn is very good at forecasting the street trends and interpreting them to their collections. I found these in their online store:
Slouchy Canvas Bag
Tapestry Tote BagMayfly Tapestry Bag

London tour not complete without Spitalfileds

If you go around 10 am, it will be easier to move around. Get really crowded by noon.

Forget Portobello!
If you want the real thing, you must go to Spitalfields market on a Sunday.
(2008 'BEST FASHION MARKET' -Time Out London)
Food, vintage, young designer stuff...
Goldie's stall is one of the favorites. Nice skirts and dresses, she's got.

Ronald, wandering around... Looking for some food stalls...

Better if you skip breakfast and have brunch there.

You will thank me...


ps.
for some useful tips, check these out:
www.oldspitalfieldsmarket.com

www.visitspitalfields.com

www.spitalfields.org.uk

www.spitalfields.co.uk

The evolution of mankini

First, the producers of Borat, or Sascha Baron Kohen himself takes a tour around the Soho area in London.
They spot this weird looking thingy in a sex shop.
They use it in the film, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan...

After a couple of years it's Alexander McQueen's turn. On his catwalk, the thingy now called a 'mankini' has evolved into something else:


Here is what Simon Mills (the guardian) wrote about the "McQuini".

But then, we see Jim Carey in this!



He is either channeling Borat, or is desperately seeking coverage!
What do you think?
Will make it to the mainstream?

*** Love The Dogfish has been so kind to remind me of John Mayer's 'Borat moment'...

Faking it, London style

Ebay is going to pay 61 million dollars to Louis Vuitton for enabling the fake goods on the site. But as i hear, the case was against eBay's unwillingness to help the brands in their anticounterfeit war.
London too, has a 'fake scene' of its own:

Prada bags in Portobello...
Worst looking 'not a plastic bag' ever.
My first fake Paul Frank sighting...

The Borough Market

Being a food and especially a chocolate enthusiast, the Borough food market was Ronald's favorite.


A must see for everyone though...
Nearest tube is Borough, on the northern line.

But "beware the thieves", says Pablo!

The war on alcohol

At the V festival 2 years ago, i was shocked to see people buying beer in cases.
40 at a time?
We would buy a few glasses at most.
So okay, there is a pub culture and everything but the English do have an apatite for alcohol.
We thought they were able to cope.
But not a day goes buy without the news of binge drinking, women drinking more than men and the rise in the alcohol related hospitalization incidents.
Even the well known fashion magazines have started to mention about this problem.
Drinking was banned on the tube a few weeks ago...

Ok. So there really is a campaign against 'binge drinking' and 'getting wasted' if not alcohol consumption as a whole.

I saw this man at a pub around 17 pm at Soho.
What do you think?
Is there really a problem?
(and yes, he was breathing!)

Shutter glasses are a no no!

Not to offend anyone but a rather stupid trend, in my opinion.
Made famous by Kanye West and then Paris Hilton, as it appears, shutter glasses are very popular in London.
Actually, haven't seen a single person wearing them.
But since they are sold everywhere, there has to be some demand!
As the fashion blog My Fashion Life puts it, they are the only competitors of the Wayfarers (which in my opinion sucks too! Why do everyone want to look the same???)

But... Having tried a pair, yes, it is not possible to see through them.

I mean, it's just like seeing through shutters.


Useless... I'd say go get one; only if you are desperately in need of some attention.
By the way, i'm sure Kanye was helping a friend to sell some glasses...
Paris??? You know how she's like...

Where to find?

Online, the real thing is at it's official site.

Asos is another adresss. They are on every stall in the London street markets.


Around 10 pounds at most.

And you know what, i prefer these. At least got some style!

Rainbow colors everywhere

Just in time for the Soho pride, London was covered with rainbow colours here and there...
Absolut Vodka had a special edition bottle and a cocktail book, which we couldn't go without buying..A flag can be seen in Liecester Square.


Soho
A local pub@South Kensington

Soho

A photograph by Wolfgang Tillmans. Loved it!