// Explanations… …interpretations…

Posted on | April 6, 2011 | 3 Comments

Coming back from a few days holiday trip was not all pleasant (the weather) — but not totally lacking nice surprises. The Indiedays Lookbook –feature picked one of my outfits to their monthly gallery. Thank you so much — now I just need to figure out how to splurge my gift card

The outfit picture stream was a bit on a hold a while ago — actually I was photographing several outfits for Finnish website Ellit — and the article came out during my trip. Writing it made me ponder my choice of language in this blog — the text for it came out with such an ease — on the other hand I like to keep writing in English, I guess that from personal perspective it is more beneficial. Anyhow, there’s a bunch of previously unpublished pictures in the article — and some of my thoughts about clothes, fashion, style and such… …this time in Finnish. (Note, the title is not mine — and the text is bit chopped and edited, but it still is a good intro to my thoughts about style and clothing oneself up…)

Oh, still more media exposure — there was also a short article of me in lovely Finnish Olivia magazine couple of months ago — I just can’t look at the pictures without thinking boob reduction job desperately needed — and I don’t really want to think that… …and that makes me thinking…

…you know the whole thing — or at least a huge thing — in blogging is creating illusions. The favorite illusion I like to create is “normal sized chest” — and I have grown pretty good at it. It is a pretty straightforward combination of my poses and camera positioning, combined to clothes that do not hug my torso too closely and underwear that lets the girls lay low — or squeeze ‘em against my chest. Otherwise I haven’t been too careful, you have seen me without make-up, with ratty hair (uh, that is the almost daily truth of my low maintenance life), with eye infection, in clothes wrinkled during the day…

What I mostly keep out of this blog is my actual life, this is not a lifestyle blog — it’s just about my infatuation to clothes — and I’ve pretty much decided to keep it this way, adding a few tourist-y shots from my travels if I feel like it!

Recently I have paid bit more attention to photographs, I’m using our “bedroom” for photos, it gives bit more interesting lighting options when I shoot against the natural light. Light itself has endlessly prettifying (and also uglifying) capabilities… No way I’m going out for outfit pics — it would be very challenging without photographing partner anyway!

In this picture (with the old photo setup in our living room) I’m wearing a second hand leather skirt (I let the hem down again, it was gathered on sides for a while), Weekday shirt, silk scarf found from my neighborhood department store, Vagabond wedges.

Posted on | April 6, 2011 | 3 Comments

// Everyday shoes

Posted on | January 24, 2011 | 4 Comments

The shoe fairy could bring any pair of these Vagabond spring shoes to my door — and I would be very happy girl indeed!

Posted on | January 24, 2011 | 4 Comments

// Goal kick

Posted on | October 29, 2010 | 4 Comments

I’m a cardigan girl. But I need them disproportionally large — or shrunken and small — textures and patterns don’t hurt. Could not help myself when I saw this cotton cardigan in H&M earlier in this autumn. Got to check if I have some nice prints to combine to this. I also love it as a part of simple everyday black and white outfits.

It has not been a huge clothes investment autumn for me — the browns and camels have invaded the shops and boutiques — not to mention the faux shearling *shudders*, not exited. Guess I can wait until it is time for blacks and grays again, haha!

Leather pants are from Selected and clumpy suede wedges from Vagabond. I really like the awkward shape and detailless look of them.

Posted on | October 29, 2010 | 4 Comments

// Moderate heel

Posted on | October 1, 2010 | 3 Comments

I’m quite liking the bluntness of Vagabond Gaga. Their minimal blackness make so much sense to me right now.

Posted on | October 1, 2010 | 3 Comments

// Pillow case

Posted on | May 29, 2010 | 3 Comments

I don’t particularly like the culture of being busy all the time and personally I try to schedule my life in a way that I don’t have reason to complain about being too busy to do a thing. In my schedule I definitely need space for spontaneous stuff… …or just for being. But naturally there are times when despite all the efforts things just pile up… …last week it was the work and I just squeezed in couple of shorty-short photo sessions about my work gear, so here’s the second one.

The outfit itself is not particularly flashy — but I do love (almost) every single piece of it. The T-shirt with neat pillowcase shoulders is from Vietto — a great, great piece I got in exchange for my photographs of some neat Vietto jewelry. I was very drawn to certain hand chains of the collection — but because the recent jewelry rejection mode that still seems to have some effect to my daily looks I went for this safe solution. And no regrets, I’m definitely going to wear this organic cotton, artisanal made shirt a lot. I warmly recommend for all Helsinki visitors to drop in the design shop Goodis, where Vietto is sold among other interesting artisanal labels. Actually I was about to make a post about the shop, but forgot my camera home when visiting there — so it will be the next time!

The skirt is the 2or+ linen one seen here before, and this one I love too. It goes all wrinkly during the day, but for me it does not matter, that is the nature of this fabric. I have two old skinny double belts on my waist, both probably from H&M. And the brogues are from Vagabond. They are the weak link — I do love brogues but these lack a character. I bought them in haste about year ago, I really had to have a pair. Now I just wish that I had waited for something bit more special. Like these Irregular Choice ones.

Posted on | May 29, 2010 | 3 Comments

// Childlike

Posted on | May 18, 2010 | 4 Comments

So I wanted to wear this specific dress today… …and got a bit regressive mood, wanting to create something immature, innocent, slightly moody… …well, however I’m wearing AttilaDesign dress, We Love Color tights, Only (?) burnout T, dirty pink Zara cardigan, COS scarf, Topshop bag (which I had to change to my horrible laptop bag which I have for my work laptop), Vagabond shoes. Nothing new. Nothing borrowed. Something blue.

Posted on | May 18, 2010 | 4 Comments

// Almost there

Posted on | May 10, 2010 | 5 Comments

I have been eyeing these Vagabond sandals… …I like everything in them, the clumpiness, the unfussy “health sandal” look, even the price (69 €) — but one small detail just ruins them for me. The ugly attachment of the leather strips to the soles. Few round rivets instead of those “office type” staples, maybe couple of euros more price and I would have been sold.

Posted on | May 10, 2010 | 5 Comments

// Everyday floral

Posted on | April 10, 2010 | 6 Comments

Oh, nothing special this time, but I like to keep these everyday wear posts going on — and not all of my everyday stuff is layered nor particularly creative. On Thursday I wore this nice cotton vintage dress to work, with H&M silk slip (I really like unlined dresses and separate slips), opaque tights and Vagabond OTK boots. I have an old metal bead choker wrapped twice to my wrist. But that’s about it. Super simple.

I would love to wear just the mongolian lamb vest on top of the dress when going out (and roll the sleeves down)… …but unfortunately it is not that warm yet.

Posted on | April 10, 2010 | 6 Comments

// My authoritahh…

Posted on | March 25, 2010 | 4 Comments

There are things that I have loved ages — like Ray Ban aviator sunglasses. There were so many years I thought I can’t use them because of my high and round cheekbones. Mwahahahaaa! Guess what, when one ages one stops to care and wears what she wants anyway! I bought this awesome ombre pair two or three years ago and haven’t had any regrets. I love to wear them with feminine hair — but maybe even more with strict, pulled back hair and loose utilitarian clothes. This is perhaps as androgynous look as it is possible for me.

All stuff is old — or ancient. The bulky T is actually the lovely oversized T-shirt dress from Babooshka Boutique, newest item in this bunch and can’t recommend it more, the jersey is soft and heavyveight — and has not lost any of it’s blackness in repeated washes. Plus the shape is just… …awesome. The leather jacket is really old and from H&M (spank me, plz), booties are old Vagabonds and the jeans are from Diesel — they were originally faded blue but I dyed them black couple of years ago.

At the time I bought the jeans (several years ago) the tapered loose leg was practically nonexistent phenomena… …and it often happens to me that when some shape or cut disappears from street view I create desperate craving for it. That’s not because I want to be the early adapter or something — I just feel that it is not good to limit the options available for the sake of trends or something (you’ll bet I’m stashing harem pants… …they surely disappear any day now…). Whatever, I have loved this pair dearly, the cut is actually very flattering for my body type (can’t believe I said that), they are extremely comfortable and I love every single detail of these (the elaborate stitching, the twisting inner seams, some extra tool loops on the waist).

And hail for the unexpected fashion icon!

Posted on | March 25, 2010 | 4 Comments

// Soft geometry

Posted on | March 18, 2010 | 15 Comments

Actually I was not even about to post these pics… …but whattahell, the heel of those OTK boots are clearly shown in these. I was about to shoot this again the way I actually wore it — the cardigan open (I had only couple of images of that). The belt emphasizes the body issue I have found quite difficult to work with… …the large chest.

There is definitely a reason why I do prefer more or less sacklike garments covering my upper body. Although my ribcage is quite small the fat tends to accumulate to my short’ish torso topped with broad shoulders — and I have terribly large chest. Don’t get me wrong… …I have nothing against boobs and even the nipplegate does not move my eyebrow (come on, we Finns are so liberal with the nudity — and love to shock the foreign visitors with meetings in sauna and such…). But having my large chest on display feels gross. Personally I think that I look like I could beat Angus the cow in the milk production competition… …and maybe I would, who knows. That definitely does not make dressing up easy.

So I occasionally play with waist belts but almost always end up leaving home with somehow billowing silhouette. Or just lightly fitting one. And almost never emphasize my waist, because emphasizing the waist equals emphasizing the boobs and that’s it, pals! Nothing to discuss about. The images from front don’t tell the whole truth and the geometric blocks of the dress distort the proportions nicely — but I can assure you that the side silhouette of this was tragic. There is more than a daily serving of boobage on display, even with that minimizer bra that is designed to make the big boobs look like pancakes… .…or as much so as it is humanly possible…

Personally I have never thought that shapeless silhouettes or oversized garments make a person look fatter than they actually are. They might do so in single photographs, but in real life people perceive each other as moving 3D objects in 3D space with the clothes moving around the bodies — and it does not take long to get the idea of overall bodily proportions, whatever the person is wearing (excluding intentional body proportion changing padding, used to solve certain issues). And I’m not dressing up for photographs. So I’m generally saying no for boob display silhouettes causing me personal mental discomfort and yes for relaxed, loose garments covering my torso, or long lean vertical lines with lightweight fabrics, coats and jackets worn open — those make me feel good in my skin. And don’t get me wrong, this is not a whining post. I am quite comfortable in my skin. Every treat has a tradeoff — my legs are relatively long, plus this overall body shape can carry a lot of weight without going totally shapeless.

And I’m definitely not saying that this is the right way to handle the boob issue — but just my personal solution for a thing that is not even an issue for everyone.

The dress is old one from Malene Birger, it is delightfully beautifully draping viscose jersey with nice geometric pattern and tulip shaped skirt. The nude cardigan is from H&M, and I really don’t remember the origin of the suede obi belt — it might be from Vero Moda, but I have removed the tags. Necklace is from Pilgrim. The boots are those Vagabonds — and the heel is ugly.

Posted on | March 18, 2010 | 15 Comments

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About

Location: Helsinki, Finland

Contact: kamicha (a) gmail dot com

I'm especially interested in young designers creations, non-established labels and indie fashion. So if you have something interesting to show, feel free to contact!

You can find Finnish design from both specific and some outfit posts - but both are tagged.

You might be also interested in DIY posts, How-to posts, DIY ideas - or my adventures in Etsy =).

More about me and this blog.