Weekend Street/Reflections

 

I snapped these photos on one of my recent walks through the city centre - proving that the fashion trend this autumn seems to be black, grey, white and beige, and not much else!

Linking to Weekend/Street Reflections #191

Weekend Fashion Reflections

On a walk downtown last weekend, I snapped some shots of spring fashion on display in shop windows - and managed to catch some reflections of buildings across the square behind me at the same time.  

While "in my head" I've felt tempted to perhaps update my wardrobe with a new item or two for spring, I have to confess that the displays around town just now don't really encourage me to open up my wallet. 

 

 

Knitted or crocheted skirt with big holes in it, and ending in a long fringe?? And combined with a shiny sportsy-looking bomber jacket??

 

 

 Bulky knitted pullovers so short they'll leave your tummy bare??

Violently pink coat and bag together with orange trousers??

Hmm... I think I'd better hold on to whatever is already in my wardrobe, and await the next fashion change...

 

 Linking to Weekend Street/Reflections (#63)

Gianni Versace Exhibition

Giovanni Versace, 1946-1997, was an Italian fashion designer and founder of Versace, an international fashion house. Last weekend I went to see an exhibition of clothes and textiles he designed, at the Textile Museum here (Borås, Sweden).

 

Of all the items displayed in the exhibition, I think this suit was my favourite - as in something I might actually have been tempted to try on (i.e. if it had been my size, for sale and affordable...)

There happened to be a guided tour starting 15 minutes after I arrived, so I joined that. One of the things I learned from that was the fact that they had had a lot of trouble dressing the mannequins for this exhibition (even though they had got the smallest ones available). Evidently, Versace preferred his models small and thin, and most of the materials used back then weren't elastic - and unlike real humans, display dummies are not very flexible!

Do you like wearing colour, and clothes that stick out a bit?
I like colour, but not really so much that it automatically makes me the centre of attention... ;)

Clothes Swapping

 

The weather is getting more and more autumn-like, and I'm beginning to feel the need to change the contents of my wardrobes from light summer dresses to warm woolly cardigans...

Living in a textile-focused city, every now and then I read/hear about various clothes swapping events; but as far as I can remember, I haven't yet really taken part in one. (I have handed in a few items for one or two such events - primarily wanting to get rid of them! - but I can't recall finding anything I wanted in return.)

Luckily, I have my own private clothes-swapping system, though - which means that every spring and autumn I shift some clothes between the wardrobes in my flat, and my basement storage room - and forget about the ones in storage for a while! Yesterday, in connection with washing day, I felt it was time to start the autumn swap. In particular, there was a certain long cardigan and a pair of "winter" trousers that I wanted, and did remember that I had put away. However, when I got down to the storage room, I discovered several more items of winter clothing that I had totally forgotten about! (Or at least had not been missing them yet...) Probably a good idea both in autumn and in spring to check my own storage spaces before I'm tempted to go out and buy something new (only to come back home with something and then later discover that I already had something very similar - which I have to confess has happened... As I do tend to feel drawn towards certain styles and colours!) 

As for the photos above, I may possibly have blogged these before - but I'm pretty sure they're not from my own wardrobe...! ;)  (They are from a fashion exhibition at the Textile Museum last summer, 2018.)

Re-Think

 

Glimpses from 'Fashion Days' at the Textile Fashion Center on Saturday. (Which houses our Textile Museum as well as the Textile College and some other textile-related businesses.) I only looked in briefly... I found the atmosphere a bit noisy, with loud music as backdrop to the fashion show going on just then. I think they were showing summer clothes from some of the local fashion stores.

Upstairs, there was an exhibition of flower arrangements. It's that time of year... Graduations coming up soon; and weddings are also popular in May-June here.

There was also an exhibition about sustainability and ways to "re-think" about fashion and recycling etc of textiles. 

There is a lot of talk about re-cycling and up-cycling, clothes-swapping and buying second hand these days... (And this being a textile-centered city, I guess we perhaps get even more of that kind of discussions.) And yet it seems to me, almost any time I enter one of the regular fashion shops in the city, that they are more overcrowded (with clothes and accessories) than ever - offering a million similar choices, and no real chance to get a good overview. 

By the way - how do you react to music in shops? For me, it usually has the opposite effect than I suppose they intend... Unless I know exactly what I'm after and am really determined to get it, background music often makes me turn around right at the door and walk straight back out again... 

Just now I'm thinking that I don't really need a lot of new things for this summer. That may depend a bit on what kind of summer it will turn out to be, though! (So far, I think it has not made up its mind yet...)

However, I made one purchase last week that I'm happy about - at least so far. Not clothes, but a new handbag (shoulder bag). It wasn't second-hand, but half-price, and just what I wanted. Or coming as close as one can expect to get in reality, anyway...
 
(In my imagination, I'm constantly looking  for the equivalent of Hermione's magic handbag in the last Harry Potter-book... Tiny on the outside, weighing nothing at all, but with room for a library and a tent the size of a fully equipped small house inside...)

I'll donate some less successful purchases from the past to a charity shop instead. (Not sure if that makes the world a better place; but it will save me some space, anyway!)

 

Haute Couture

On Saturday I went to see an exhibition at our Textile Museum presenting the World of Lars Wallin, a Swedish couture designer. He made lots of costumes for various kinds of shows and events like the Royal Opera, the Eurovision song contest and and the Nobel Prize ceremonies.

  
It was a very impressive collection of costumes and dresses. As I have an annual pass to the museums in my town I might go back again for another look.

 Shadow Shot Sunday 2

 

Shop ‘til You Drop

It’s a tough job, trying to build up a new wardrobe.
As previously mentioned, I lost a bit of weight over summer, with the result that when I started needing my autumn/winter clothes again, I found that rather than just fitting back into them, I have shrunk out of them… Which is of course a pleasant change from the other way round; but it does involve quite a lot of “work”.

For one thing, because of limited wardrobe space, I could not just buy new clothes without also radically throwing out a lot of old ones. And what on earth was I to do with all those which no longer fit (and that I have no wish to fit back into)? Having no car, and a bad arm (not able to carry much), I would require help to take them to a charity shop (across town) …

One day a few weeks ago, while out walking in my neighbourhood, I was thinking about this and wishing for some place closer to home where I could leave them. Then, passing the recycling station on the estate where I live – which has hitherto only had recycling bins for paper, plastic, glass and metal – I happened to look up; and there, right in front of me, was a brand new container which must have been added this month. And it turned out to be for clothes; by courtsey of some environmental non-profit organisation. I don’t know much about them (I think they’re new), but I don’t really care. They have now got about half of my old wardrobe! … Which leaves me some room to go shopping!

On Thursday night this week, one of my favourite clothes shops in town had a special shopping night for members, after the usual closing time – with 25% discount on everything bought during those three hours. As among other things I needed a new winter coat, I decided this was worth a bit of queuing. I’ve never been to one of these club nights before, but it did indeed soon get very crowded… Phew! But it did save me around £45/$70. The items bought (that night) were the ones above.

That’s not the only shopping I’ve done this week. I also bought new shoes (not that I’ve shrunk out of my old ones – but I do tend to wear shoes out by walking).

However, even a new winter coat or good walking shoes seem fairly simple purchases compared to the major ordeal of the week, which was a vision examination followed by having to choose no less than four new spectacle frames (as just one pair of progressive glasses does not sufficiently cover all situations for me).

As anyone with bad eyesight (and not wearing contact lenses) knows,  choosing spectacle frames is an ordeal because one has to try on the frames without the correct lenses in them; which means not really being able to see properly how one looks in them.  And on top of that knowing that these frames will be part of one’s appearance every day over the next two or three years or more.

Have you noticed the change in spectacles fashion lately? I’ve actually been avoiding walking into opticians’ shops over the past few months (even though I knew I’d soon have to), because I was so afraid to find nothing but the kind of frames that seem to be turning up everywhere around me lately (especially on TV). That is: huge, thick, plastic ones, covering half the face. And I don’t want those!

(image courtesy of Google image search)
My apologies to anyone who happens to love them. They may of course look just awesome on you. I just don’t want them on myself!

Which is why, when I finally stepped inside a couple of weeks ago to make an appointment, I found myself in a big predicament, as the assistant behind the counter (offering to help me with a preliminary look at frames) was herself wearing a pair similar to those above. Only purple instead of yellow.

The predicament increased, when among the frames she picked out for me to try, were the very same big purple ones that she had on herself…

N.b. this was after my (obviously inefficient) attempts to make clear that I really did not want plastic frames at all, but was looking for metal ones similar in shape to the ones I’ve worn for the past 2½ years.

In my attempts to explain my reasons to the purple-framed shop assistant, one of the phrases I used was “been there, done that”… I doubt she understood what I meant, but I have proof:

(Any wonder I don’t want to go back there? This was 1977. I would not mind the better hair quality back, please – but not the glasses!!!)

I think she must have jinxed me or something, because contrary to my resolutions, I still ended up going home that day with three pairs of plastic frames that I did not like at all, on loan until my appointment this week.

By then I had come (back) to my senses, though. And luckily, it was also the optician herself, and not the assistant, who helped me make the final choices. And she seemed to agree with me (or at least had the professional skill to pretend to).

Which means all four of my new pairs will still be metal-framed ones of reasonable size. Actually the ones for allround use will be the exact same model as the ones I have now, only a slightly different colour. (I’ll show you when I get them.)

SOOC Sunday: Fog and Fashion

This straight-out-of-the-camera photo should give you an idea of the oppressive fog that was hovering over the town yesterday…

I made an effort to get myself out of my own fog and down town to watch a fashion show that was set up in the town square. It was hard to get in a good position to take photos, and my camera is also really not the best for this kind of thing. So I didn’t get a whole lot of shots worth showing – especially not without editing. But here are a few that I hope will give you an idea. (Two or three have been cropped a little but otherwise no editing.)

The clothes are from the local shops and the models were all local amateurs doing this for the chance to be a fashion model for a day.

Notice the bare feet… brrr…

There were littl’uns too!

Back stage

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Straight Out Of the Camera Sunday
is hosted by Jan at murrieta365.com

Saturday Surprise: Pink Punk

  

Ï’m not really very bold when it comes to taking photos of strangers in the street… But sometimes I just can’t resist!

So I used the “shooting from the hip” method we practiced recently in the Friday My Town Shoot Out Challenge (which I take part in from my other blog).

If I had been a more daring reporter (or a very close personal friend), I would gone up to him and asked how long it takes him to do his hair in the morning…?

Weekend Reflection–Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

Not obvious, perhaps, but the photo above is a mirror shot.
Can you see me?

No, that’s not me!
(She’s got little window reflections in her face…)

Here I am again, in another mirror.

Still at the Textile Museum
(from where I’ve been posting all week)
The first shot is from the Visitors’ Workshop Corner,
where they also have a clothes rack full of stuff
which you can try on in front of a big mirror.
Before you comment, perhaps I’d better add
that it’s my own clothes I’m wearing.
Just to save us from embarrassment!

The red-and-blue mirror frame is from
the 60’s/70’s Design Exhibition.

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Weekend Reflections
is hosted by James at Newtown Area Photo

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Scroll down or click for
my SkyWatch Friday photo

 

ABC Wednesday–F for Fashion, Fabric, Factory, Furniture

How fortunate for me that the letter F just happens to fit right in with my series of posts from our fabulous Textile Museum.

On the first floor of the museum there is a permanent exhibition of all kinds of old machinery from fabric factories and fashion industry.

Familiar face?

On the second floor, there is just now a flashy exhibition of 60’s and 70’s Swedish Design including furniture as well as frocks.

It tickles my fantasy what that sofa really looks like?

Maybe it’s just another piece of fold-it-yourself
corrugated cardboard furniture!

This bedframe seems to be of more durable design.

To see what F’s other friends have found,
go to ABC Wednesday

To see all posts from the Textile Museum on this blog,
click the label Textile Museum.