Outfit: Ain't talkin' 'bout love.

Velvet sangre moto jacket: UNIF || Van Halen tee: Forever 21 || Destroyed Shorts: old ; similar on Zalando || Belt: Lovestrength || Necklaces: Forever 21 & Vanessa Mooney || Biker Boots: Sacha 

And again it's Monday, I hope you all had an awesome weekend! Mine was amazing, I went to Munich on Saturday and enjoyed the probably last hot Saturday at the Starnberger lake. It's definitely getting colder when looking at the weather forecast next week and it seems summer's slowly leaving & autumn's just around the corner. Just in time here's one of my favorite combinations for the colder days: A printed tee, moto jacket and some denim cut offs worn together with tights. 

The outfit almost consists of older favorite pieces except the Van Halen band tee. This one is actually from the Forever 21's kids department, I just had to get it not only because I'm a huge fan of Van Halen (my favorite 70s rock band besides Aerosmith!) it was also a pretty nice bargain. 

The sangre moto jacket by UNIF was one of my christmas presents 2 years ago and it will never leave my wardrobe. I love its crushed velvet fabric, biker inspired design/fit and its vibrant burgundy color! Another very old treasure is the pair of biker boots I got around 5 years ago. Funny fact: I've worn the boots in my very first outfit post in 2012!  Back then I combined them with a denim shirt, tights and a long Jack Daniel's top - it's always good to invest in some good quality leather boots, they'll last forever. 

Have a successful new week!

Love x

NAKED CITY WALKING

I like big maps, and I cannot lie, and small ones too, and after my little online ramble with Cab Calloway around 1930s Harlem in the last post, I’ve been finding various fascinating and in some cases utterly inscrutable maps.  Generally I like them better the more inscrutable they are.

          Since New Orleans is on everybody’s mind right now, and although I know this isn't  WHY New Orleans is on everybody's mind right now, I was nevertheless knocked out by the beautiful simplicity of this antique map of the French Quarter:

As an Englishman, of course, the grid is essentially unfamiliar to my experience of walking in cities, or was till I moved to the States, but I do think if you’re going to have a grid it should be as grid-like as possible.

The one above – quite grid-free  - is from Popular Map Reading by E.D Laborde, published in 1928, a kind of textbook, and the image is part of a revision test to see how much you’ve learned about map reading.  Admittedly it’s not much of a walking map, but as a visual object I think it sings.  You could also, quite easily, do a walk inspired by or conforming to it.

           And now this one: 

Naturally, the familiar London Tube map by Harry Beck is much used and abused, subverted and appropriated in all kinds of ways, but this seems more fun than many. The notion that Miami is just a few stops away from Jerusalem would no doubt appear to a lot of people, maybe even William Blake.

         That image actually appears in Wikipedia as an illustration to the entry on Psychogeography, and sure I get the general idea of the map but its deeper meaning remains mysterious, which is no doubt the intention.  Maps mean different things to different people, and some are designed to be meaningless to those not in the know.

And OK, if we’re going the Psychogeography route, above is Guy Debord’s map of The Naked City – Paris, cut up, exploded and messed with.  Good luck finding your way with this one, though that is no doubt the “whole point.”   
          Debord's Naked City map is from 1957.   The American TV series Naked City ran from 1958 to 1963.   Were the creators of these two things aware of each other?  I do hope so. 

And perhaps both parties were aware of Weegee’s book also titled Naked City, published in 1945.

And, since I style myself as the Hollywood Walker I should obviously point out that Weegee also published a book, in 1955, titled Naked Hollywood.   Sometimes it seems like all the great titles have already been used.

And life being as it is, I now discover that a website title http://weegeeweegeeweegee.net has made a map of Weegee’s New York – “A map of locations in New York City where Weegee worked, made photographs, lived and loved... organized geographically... downtown to uptown to the outer boroughs and ending at Coney Island... and/or Jersey City... (An experiment and work in progress.)” as they say.  
          You need to go to the website to be able to click on it, but I still like it as an image in itself:

Outfit: Summer Of '69.

Cowgirl Dreams tassel jacket: Spell Designs (old) || Printed crop top: Kiss The Sky via ASOS || Flare Jeans: H&M || Necklaces: Dixi, Claire's, Vanessa Mooney || 

So this is probably my most 70s inspired outfit I've ever posted and it's already one of my favorite looks of all time. Blue denim and tan suede clothes are like being made for each other, I don't know any other fabrics which fit that perfectly together. Here I'm wearing my beloved suede jacket (my first suede jacket aswell as my first Spell Designs purchase ever!) with a boho printed crop top I bought on ASOS a while ago. I really loved the versatile print and its colors! Last but not least talking about these amazing denim flares. I owned those kinds of jeans around 10 years ago and I was happy to swap them for skinny jeans. Those definitely looked different to most flare jeans which are currently available in stores this season, those are definitely more 70s inspired and better fitting. I fell in love with this pair from H&M Divided, because it's high-waisted, got a nice wash and those cute braided details on the front pockets. I didn't want to chop the hem off in order to wear them with flat boots, because then the "bell" style would be gone - I'd rather go for some high heels which make the legs look longer anyway. When you want to wear flares always keep in my mind to choose tight fitting, body silhouette friendly tops and/or jackets which aren't too long (not dresslength-like!) or the outfit could easily look a bit awkward. 

Happy weekend, lovers! xx 

Outfit: Wild wild west.

Savannah play dress: Spell Designs || Necklace: Urban Outfitters || Concho western hat: Forever 21 || Boots: Zara

There are no better dresses than white crochet/lace ones. I bought this gorgeous one from my favorite brand Spell Designs in February when it was still cold and there was snow everywhere. Funny fact: I usually shop my summer dresses in winter whereas in summer I always keep my eyes open for a gorgeous winter coat or cozy sweaters. Is there anyone of you guys who's doing the same each year? :D

Crochet lace pieces will never get old and this one is just perfect. it can also be unbottened and worn as a short sleeved kimono which is such a nice idea and makes it even more versatile. I went for a western inspired look and chose my studded cowboy boots, navajo rings and bracelets and my favorite hat with a concho band. 

Outfit: Dancing with wolves.

Paisley bow blouse & Studded cowboy boots: Zara || Studded shorts: River Island (old) || Necklaces: Dixi & Spell Designs 

To be honest I'm not regularly wearing blouses, I even only have a few in my wardrobe. I'm usually a t-shirt/casual top type of girl, but this one is just perfect. I bought it at Zara a couple of weeks ago and I immediately fell in love with its warm colors and mandala inspired print. The orange/brown tones fit perfectly to late summer/early autumn days, don't they? :-)

The blouse is so 60s/70s what I love. Furthermore it got that cute bow tie I prefer wearing loose. I didn't want the outfit to be too dressy, so I went for my studded pair of denim shorts (one of my all time favorites!) and added some Rock 'n' Roll to the whole look. I've already been owning the studded cowboy booties for a really long time now, I remember buying that pair in 2012! I'm still wearing the hell out of these bad boys, leather boots definitely last a very long time (sometimes probably even a lifetime! :D) and they get more and more comfortable over the years. 

Happy new week, friends! Love xx