Here is why I can't update my wardrobe
I have a serious problem.
The problem lies within my wardrobe. Literally, everything either doesn't fit or has a hole in it. I really need to make some updates. But I'm paralyzed, I just can't do it. I can't shop. This inability to buy something (anything) has left me wearing the exact same thing every day... over and over again. It's really bad and kind of embarrassing. Here's the thing though, I just don't know where to shop. I was blinded by the wondrous possibility that was Zara's new collection... oooh, ahhhh, it just looks so good.
So, I went to the website and scrolled through every section making a mental note of all the things I wanted to get (there was a lot). Yesterday I walked into the shop and was confronted by the painful reality that everything in Zara is absolute crap. The fabrics are cheap, the knitwear makes my eyes itch, nothing is cut well or hangs properly. Everything I have ever bought from Zara has gotten a hole in it the first time I've worn it. Bah. Why do I even bother considering it as an option? It's because so many bloggers buy the stuff and post it online and it looks so good in pictures but in real life it sucks. I don't want to have nasty fabrics draped over my body all day long.
Which brings me to my major problem: I can't afford what I want to buy. I don't want Zara's ill-fitting synthetic version of Stella's pinstripes (see above). I want Stella's pinstripes.
Oh, sweet beautiful Stella and her pinstripes.
But a single jumper will set you back nearly £900 and sadly we all know I'm not a Clarins heiress so that is out. of. the. question. So while I try to figure out this dilemma which has me wedged between glancing back-and-forth between style.com and Zara I'll just continue to wear my same old American Apparel t-shirts and jeans. Because the reality is, I would rather wear that then a nasty knockoff.
photos from zara.com and style.com
ASOS AFRICA...
I love this season's Asos Africa collection. The bold prints, grey marled tops and slouchy shapes are straight up my street. The black and white houndstooth outfit is my absolute favourite. I love the peplum shaped jacket and the flared out shorts.
The collection has definitely got me craving a bit of an Asos shopping spree.
Mykita
Today, by absolute random chance, I stumbled into an eyewear shop on Langstrasse in Zurich. I was 'ohhhing' and 'awwwing' at all the glasses, pointing and saying to my husband, 'you don't understand, these glasses are amaaazing' when a man approached me and asked if I wanted to try on anything. 'Oh no no, I'm just looking' I replied. 'Well, if you change your mind feel free to try on anything you like - there's a mirror just there' (he pointed to the far side of the wall). Before he could walk away I just had to ask, 'What brands are these sunglasses?' His response included a few different names, some that I recognized* most others I didn't (one was Mykita). I tried on a pair and loved them but hadn't gone in with any intention of buying a pair of sunglasses*...
Then I spotted a very different selection sitting behind the counter and walked over to have a little look. So bewildered by these glasses, and a bit gobsmacked by how I had never come across these before, I asked him, 'Who are those made by?' His reply was 'Mykita.' As he took a pair down and held them in his hand he said, 'these are made from metal* look what they can do' and pulled the arms back making the glasses entirely flat. He passed them to me, and I walked to the mirror on the other side of the shop and was totally blown away. They looked so cool. When I handed them back to him I rambled something about how amazing I thought they were, asked again who they were made by, and said I had never heard of that brand.
Just as I was about to leave I asked if he had a card for the shop. 'Of course', he replied and passed me a small white business card. As I thanked him and headed for the door I looked down to see that the name of the shop was 'Mykita'. Realizing immediately that my incessant questions about who designed the glasses must have sounded quite silly. I was in a Mykita shop asking who the glasses were made by, clearly the answer was pretty self evident. As I drifted away down the street I looked back and saw that in strong capital letters the word 'MYKITA' was emblazoned above the entrance to the shop.
I couldn't help thinking about these sunglasses for the rest of the day and when I got home I immediately pulled out the card and found the company online. Completely overwhelmed by the absolute magnitude of the brand, I got wrapped up in the many facets of the website: hand made glasses from Berlin, collaborations with incredible photographers and designers, a 'laboratory' where all the magic happens, and a careful selection of the most beautiful sunglasses. I'm so excited by this brand. They've only got a handful of shops, some being in Paris, Tokyo and Berlin, so there's a good chance most of you wont be able to pop down to see the glasses in real life (sorry London).
This shop is, without a doubt, my favourite discovery since being in Zurich and hopefully (if I'm lucky*) you'll spot a pair of these frames on my face in the near future.
*Paul & Joe, for example. The pair I tried on by them was amazing and I've been trying to find them online but can't. However, in my online hunt I did come across this. Totally chuffed because I love Paul & Joe and this was such a treat to find while insomniac posting at 4am on Sunday morning (the story of my current wave of insomnia - which I have never experienced before - is a whole other story, which I will leave out).
*I only recently got these ones after all, which are still seriously glued hard to my face.
*okay, so he didn't say 'metal' but some sort of specific metal... but I can't remember what it was.
*my birthday is in April, after all, so here's to keeping fingers crossed
Photos from the MYKITA website.