London Series part 4 - Christmassy Covent Garden

You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.

Samuel Johnson

 

I feel the same every time I visit this wonderful city.  It has so much to offer, so many wonderful things to discover, so much joy to share. Perfect to take a walk, especially now, in the winter season, and what better, crowded place to pick than Covent Garden? With the sound of French Can Can music played by joyful violinists in the market, I admired the Christmas decoration. I then discovered the Jack Daniels barrel tree which is built for the first time in the UK and is a tradition every year in Lynchburg, Tennessee. It is built from 140 used barrels - a slightly different approach to a Christmas tree. 

I enjoyed the globes, the lights, the great weather (it was sunny - the pics were unfortunately taken with my phone camera) and carried on with some Christmas shopping. It was the perfect day - in lovely London of course!

Ermanno Scervino FW12/13 launch in Bucharest

 Yesterday I had an invitation to the Ermanno Scervino Fashion in Bucharest show for the FW12/13 collection. It was a nice event, and it was a pleasure to see the designs, as they were of equestrian inspiration. It all reminded me a bit of the Gucci style, due to the adoption of cuts from the equestrian clothes, but it all was very feminine at the same time. I would easily imagine wearing some of the clothes, so I might soon go shopping there.

The designer himself was also present at the event and he addressed a few words to the audience: wear grey but stay positive. Funny thing: I was wearing grey that evening (as it is one of my favourite colours for this season) and was very cheerful.

Below you have some pics from the event, unfortunately I had left my camera home,...so phone

Travel Plans with the Right City Guides for 2013

 

(Picture source: http://www.facebook.com/LouisVuitton?fref=ts)

My life lately has been filled with packing suitcases, catching flights and making new discoveries in new cities. And when I think of travel in style, I think of THE brand which is well known for it: LOUIS VUITTON. And just in time for me making new travel plans for next year, they bring out the city guides for 2013. New destinations are Lugano, Verona, Ekaterinburg and Kitzbühel. Check them out here. 

 I would love to see some of Russia next year. How about you? What are your travel plans?

Weekend finds

Yesterday I went for a random walk  with my mother in Bucharest, and at Sala Dalles there was this contemporary art jewelry fair, where we made a stop. It was indeed a nice place to stop on a Sunday noon, as there were so many beauties to be discovered. Many of the pieces on display were unique pieces, so whoever bought something is sure to have a special piece of jewelry.

I am happy about such events, because we get to discover our own designers, people who put a lot of hard work combined with imagination and playfulness with technique - and the result is just amazing.

Some of the pieces that caught my eye were those by designer Raluca Buzura, a young and delicate woman whom I met there. I took some (not very good - sorry) pictures of them, but you can always check her website here. If you look at the pictures, you will probably think that the material used mainly is leather...but NO - it is ceramics! I was fascinated by how the designer described her work: cutting each piece, burning it, polishing it,...a long process which at the end is so worth it if you look at these amazing creations.

These are the moments when I know why I value craftsmanship so much. Because something beautiful as these necklaces comes out of craftsmanship.

Fashion Bears in London

 

Pudsey Bear by Balenciaga for Children in Need

During a random (but wonderful) walk around London, my boyfriend and I, attracted by the sparkly Christmas decoration, decided to go into Selfridges to look at some pieces of luggage (on my shopping list!). The department store, however, has so much to offer, that we found ourselves taking pictures with Santa's hats or admiring kitchen equipment (amongst others).

On display in the store I also found a series of teddy bears , looking at us with their big, black eyes, just luring us with their charming personality (each one was different) and with what you could call childhood nostalgia.

 

The teddy bears are an initiative of BBC together with 29 famous designers/brands.  The idea was to create unique Fashion Pudsey Bears (Pudsey is the logo of the organization "Children in Need"), which would then, after a period of display in Selfridges Stores in London and Manchester (until the 14th of November 2012), would be auctioned by Christie's auction house. The raised funds will go to the Children in Need charity. Children in need currently supports around 2600 projects and works with children and young people in the UK. This charity has raised over 600 million pound sterling since 1980. Below you can see some of the Fashion Pudsey Bears and maybe decide for which one you would want to auction. It would not be only for a good cause, but it will also save you a piece of fashion history. And if you want to see more, just go to Selfridges. It should be fun.

 

Pudsey Bear by Victoria Beckham for Children in Need 

 

Pudsey Bear by Alexander McQueen for Children in Need  

 

Pudsey Bear by Jonathan Saunders for Children in Need 

 

Pudsey Bear by Louis Vuitton for Children in Need 

 

Pudsey Bear by Missoni for Children in Need 

 

Pudsey Bear by Prada for Children in Need 

(Pictures source: http://www.elleuk.com/fashion/news/high-fashion-bears-by-29-designers#image=1)

Beauty lies in the eyes...

 The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. Audrey Hepburn

Many times the eyes have been seen as a window to the soul, and this symbolism was equally present in various periods of time in history as well as different religions and cultures. You have the all seeing eye, the evil eye, the eye of Horus (protection and life), and in short, the symbolism of the eye refers to clarity, intelligence, observation, opening, awareness etc.

The eye has however been also a means of attraction, a vital part of the love game. Women (and men) from old times used make-up, eye-lining colour in order to emphasize on their eyes, as a look can sometime say more than 1000 words...

Inspired by the ball gowns of Christian Dior and his love for lavish parties, but wanting to emphasize on a woman's beauty, the Limited Edition Dior Grand Bal False Eyelashes was introduced at Fashion's Night Out NYC 2012. The set will cost around 28$ and is planned to be launched in the US nationwide in November. These are adorned with golden Swarovski crystals along the lashline and guarantee to offer a sparkling view on the world. I am sure parties which will have women wearing these will see some of the most beautiful and attractive "looking" eyes.

 

(Picture source: http://www.extravaganzi.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Dior-Grand-Bal-False-Eyelashes-600x245.jpg)

“The soul, fortunately, has an interpreter - often an unconscious but still a faithful interpreter - in the eye.” Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

Mercedes Benz Museum in Stuttgart

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. Anatole France

 And what better way to start than talking about change, because this is what my previous months have all been about. I have left a great team behind to join another team with wonderful people. Of course melancholy can be there, but one needs to know how to make the best of the past memories and to build even better ones with the people who are now in your life.

One of these changes in my life has brought me closer to a city I had not visited before in Germany, Stuttgart, and closer to old and new people in my life, but also to the automobile history. Even if it's not in my top 3 cities to visit, it does have a certain appeal, and once the sun is up, the city center smiles and becomes very lively. People are friendly and the streets,...the streets have seen me walking there with my friends, enjoying every free minute I could have. It is the city I learned to know someone and the city I found what I was missing for a long time in my life. Stuttgart has shown me just how good change can be in your life, even if it's just a change of attitude.

Built on the automobile history of Daimler and Mercedes, the Mercedes Benz Museum is a shrine to change. Just by taking a walk through this building you are taking a walk through 125 years of history. The automobiles are placed in a historic time-frame, so it is easy to see how the cars and their usage as well as their functionality have evolved with the constant change of needs. The ultra-modern architecture of the museum building does not for one second steal from the magic of the vehicles, au contraire, it highlights them better and makes them the stars of the show.

Once you start the tour and you take the elevator to the highest floor, you get out and see, to your surprise probably, a horse. But what is under the horse is a quotation which shows how much people can be wrong in rejecting evolution. The Emperor Wilhelm the II. said he believes in the horse, as the automobile is nothing more than a transitory phenomenon.

Change is not easy,...and it takes a lot of broken dreams and a lot of work and sweat, a lot of pain and sometimes also compromise,...but it's the natural way of life, and if we reject it, we might just turn into people who don't live in our time and who are just shadows for this world.

My life has always been a constant change, sometimes it was planned, sometimes it took me by surprise,... but I learned from every step I took and I am proud of where I stand now. And all these previous months I have learned that there are no boundaries where there is will. And that's exactly what you can see in this museum in Stuttgart....

 

Pictures (C) Ingrid Sabine Weber