Outfits from the archive - 2015

I have been away from the blogosphere for quite a while, but I have still taken quite a lot of outfit pictures. So here are some from the archive from last year. I was experimenting quite a lot with color, texture, more romantic items, with contrasts.... Hope you enjoy!

An early summer outfit. Pretty basic, but I really like that blouse (H&M)! Such a great pop of color, and can be either festive or casual... Here I went for casual. 

Another basic one where I really like the blouse/top/thingie. This one is so whispy and romantic! The necklace is a raw smoky quartz point.

Unusually colorful for me this dress... Doesn't show very well in the picture because of a lack of natural light, but it is a rather bright yellow with a floral pattern in red, white and green. Kind of a bit too happy for my tastes, but with a leather skirt underneath, a leather belt and a bird skull necklace it feels more me.

Here is one of my favorite blouses! A silky mustard colored one with a paisley pattern. Big sleeves, accentuated shoulders, crimped waist and mandarin collar, what's not to like! Here with leather belt and  skinny fit pants with a geometrical pattern. I really liked the contrast between the paisley and the geometrical patterns, and because the patterns are so subtle it didn't feel like too much pattern going on.

A classic outfit that I usually end up wearing sometime around the holidays. There is just something about the skirt and the flower brooch that feels very festive! :)

And lastly, here is what I wore for Halloween! It's not often I get to go all out these days, especially not at work, but the library where I work hosted a Halloween At the Library-type event so we in the staff got to dress up. The library was lit only by candle light and I got to walk around with a lantern and scare little kids! So much fun!!

Most of this outfit has been seen before on the blog, it is rather a classic, but I still wanted to share!

I seldom wear these striped socks anymore, but they felt quite witchy and I think I was going for steampunkish-witchy-ghost librarian or something...

Yum, those sleeves!!! And the waistcoat too!

Note the neat collar on the shirt, love that detail! The bronze bird skull necklace is a classic that I can never grow tired of.  I also wore my bird claw ring, but I don't have a picture of that. And I finally have a proper chain for my pocket watch!

And here is the outfit with more Halloween details added. You obviously can't see a lot because we got makeup and final prep done at work and it was night by the time I got home. Anyway, messy bun, pale powdered face, foundation on lips to make them pale too... and then some spider web on the hat. :)

Looks rather spooky doesn't it?

How was your style year? What styles did you dig? What didn't you wear? What inspired you? What did you wear for Halloween (yeah, I know I'm late...)?

Outfit - All black texture play

Lots of textures in this outfit! Wool, leather, suede, the raw silk-like texture of the shirt and even some forged iron jewelry. Shirt and coat are thrifted, pants and gloves are from H&M.

Do you ever wear all black? Do you like playing with textures in your outfits?

Btw, I just wrote a bit about my personal style, kind of a profile. You can have a look at that in the tab at the top of the blog marked My Style Profile. It has a nifty diagram and everything! :)

Autumn Outfit + Rambling

I have noticed that my default style for autumn seems to be quite steampunk inspired... I just delight in digging out my vests and my pocket watches when summer is at an end! This is an outfit I wore the other day. Kind of steampunk, kind of contemporary, very practical. I feel very stylish and elegant wearing this! I love the different textures and the different shades of dark grey/black! It's quite androgynous too, which is always a plus! Scent of the day was Jeke by Slumberhouse. I stand by my words, Jeke is a steampunk kind of perfume!

The hat, shirt, vest and pants are all wardrobe staples that have been seen on this blog before. The jacket/blazer is one of my best finds ever! I bought it at a flea market for 30 swedish crowns, which is about 3.5-4 €... virtually nothing! And it fits as if it was tailor-made for me!

My new brooch suits this outfit very well imho!

My favorite gunmetal pocket watch, mechanical with the movement visible both in the front and in the back! It keeps time reliably (some of these cheap pocket watches really don't) and only needs winding about once every 36 hours.

Quirky view of my outfit! ;)

My best pair of shoes! I love how elegant they are while still being practical! I like the pointier than normal toe (for this type of shoe) and my feet look smaller than they actually are in these! They seem to be quite good quality too, I've had them several years and worn them a lot and still they look no different from the day I bought them! The shoelaces are a bit too long though...

In other news the history society in my home village is organizing a class about tule weaving/plaiting that I am taking part in. Tule is a type of sedge that has traditionally been used here to make mats, shoe insoles and various other practial or decorative items. So far I have only made a couple of bracelets and a new handle for one of my teapots. Next time I am making insoles, wish me luck!

I found this teapot in the garbage room of my appartment complex in Uppsala. It was pretty but lacked a handle. Now it has a handle again! I am rather proud of it! I also really like the matching but mismatched cup and saucer combo! Am I strange when I feel like my tea cup has to match my teapot?

My tiny village has a very active community life. We have a youth society, a history society, a historical motor society and a kind of community center where the latter two of these societíes are based (the youth society has its own house). My father is active in some way in all of these societies and I am getting more and more into it too, mostly in the history society. The word history society is a bit misleading actually but I couldn't find a english word for hembygdsförening. The swedish word more literally means home region society or even roots society. I feel strongly about my village and my roots here (my family has ben here as long as this village has existed, literally since the land rose from the sea) so being part of the history society and learning/conservating the traditions of my village feels important!

The Art of Choosing Jewelry

A comment from Lynette prompted me to write this blog post. She asked me to write some more about where I find my necklaces and how I go about choosing them. I take any excuse to sort through my jewelry so I wasn't exactly reluctant! 

You wont get to see my complete jewelry collection today, as part of it is still lost somewhere in some moving box... But here is an illustrative selection. 

There are a few criteria that I use when searching for, choosing and buying jewelry. I want unique jewelry, preferably handmade, vintage or repurposed. I also want jewelry that is more than pretty. I want it to have a context or a subtle symbolic meaning. I wear a lot of jewelry with association to history or nature. You may notice a lot of old keys among my necklaces along with other repurposed items but also some leaves and mysterious historical patterns. These are things that I feel are distinctively "me", that have a meaning for me! I also want to introduce more macabre in my collection. My raven skull is feeling kind of lonely. But I don't want to venture into gothic cliché so the hunt is a bit slow...

There is also the material to consider. There are some colors and materials that I prefer, that I have made mine. Bronze and forged iron are my favorite materials by far! Gold is too... vulgar, silver too pale and they are both too perfect, too light, too bright. I want a rustic and dark feel to my jewelry! I like oxidized, rusted, aniqued! I try to make sure that I have matching rings and bracelets fro every color and material. I just obsessively need my pieces of jewelry to match perfectly! Another signature material in my jewelry wardrobe pertains specifically to my rings. I really like carved stone rings, meaning rings that are carved out of solid stone. I have a lot of them in various different colors!

There are other personal preferences to take into consideration as well. How large do I want my jewelry to be? And what lenghts suit my clothing best? Admittedly, I enjoy large pieces of jewelry. Large but still elegant and practical. I want my jewelry to be noticed. And I want it to be noticed right away, and not as an afterthought! I also want my jewelry to be a natural part of my outfit. For that it is useful if a necklace is flexible and can be made shorter or longer depending on my needs. When I wear my vest I need my necklaces to be shorter than when I am without vest. When I wear a button down shirt I need a necklace to lay just right between buttons... A wardrobe with a variety of cleavage types demands more flexibility from the necklace wardrobe. For some of my pendants I have made braided cords to use instead of the chains they came with, for added versatility.

So where do I find my jewelry? There are a few different places. As I am into making jewelry I create a lot of pieces for my own use. I sell my jewelry on Etsy (my shop is here) and that is a great place to buy handmade jewelry. I have made some really stunning finds there, like the raven skull and the wire eye! I also buy a lot of jewelry on handmade markets or in handmade shops. Another part of my collection is thrifted or second hand. But it's hard for me to find vintage jewelry that really suits my style...

Final thoughts on building a jewelry wardrobe:

• Make sure rings and bracelets fit right. If they are too loose you wont wear them, no matter how pretty they are. 
• Find your style! Your jewelry should match (or maybe contrast) your clothing and if you have a distinctive personal clothing style then why not an equally distinctive jewelry style?
• Signature pieces are very useful to have, especially if they are versatile and suits the majority of you clothing. If you can't be bothered/don't have the time to choose jewelry then you have something to fall back on that always works!
• Try making your own jewelry from items that mean something to you! These pieces will be very personal and original!
• Signature materials are important. They help you focus your search and keep your collection consistent! Look at your clothing style and try to come to a conclusion as to what materials and colors you should focus on. And the choice doesn't stand between gold or silver. There is a myriad of other materials! Maybe wood is your thing, or a particular type of gem, or leather, or sea shells or maybe bone....
• Avoid very fragile pieces of jewelry. Jewelry needs to be quite durable to be wearable! Most materials can be sturdy and elegant at the same time. Buy quality!
• Support small businesses and handmade goods. Capitalism and multinational corporations may rule the world but they don't have to rule your wardrobe!

What kinds of jewelry do you use? What are your favorite materials? Favorite shops? Do you ever make jewelry youself?

Five Things From My Wardrobe

This post is in part inspired by the "five things tag" that is moving around the blogosphere right now. It is an interesting tag, but I felt like modfying it to be more about personal style. This post is also inspired by some posts by Lynette at Evolution of an Aristocrat (awesome blog, do go visit!). She has embarked on a closet remake and while I have not found myself doing the same, I am doing this instead.

Lynettes posts about her wardrobe really had me thinking about what items make out the core of my wardrobe. What are my favorite items (right now)? Which items do I use the most (or wish I could use the most)? What items are indispensible? What items are at the core of my personal style? With these questions in mind I created a few categories and got to work.

Five Favorite Clothing Items

• Dark red velveteen shirt. As seen here and here.
• Black shirt with wide sleeves. As seen here and here.
• Gold and red brocade jacket. As seen here. 
• Pleather pants. As seen here and here. 
• Black skirt with ruffles at the hem. As seen here.

Conclusion: This was a difficult category as I decided to limit myself to just five items from my whole clothing wardrobe. But I learned a lot in the process of choosing these five items! They are items that work well together. Almost all of them have been in the same outfit at some point. They are also for the most part items that are second hand. They can also be said to be a representation of my personal style. 

Five Favorite Necklaces

• Raven skull necklace. As seen here.
• Gothic winged necklace. As seen here. 
• Wire eye pendant. From Twisted Sister Arts.
• Beaded black and silver necklace with key. My own creation.
• Rosary inspired amber colored necklace with key. My own creation.

Five Other Jewelry Favorites

• Forged iron ring. Recent find. 
• Leaf brooch. Recent find.
• Eye button brooch. As seen here. My own creation.
• Hematite ring. A jewelry staple in my wardrobe.
• Peace sign clip on earring. Good for a gal without pierced ears.

Jewelry concusions: I wasn't as strict with my jewelry categories. I have soo many favorite necklaces that they got a cateory of their own. Here too I can see certain patterns. I seem to have an obsession with anything gunmetal/oxidized silver/forged iron/dark silver colored... The wire eye gives a dark red splash of color and then there are the couple of bronze/amber/rust items. I notice a certain similarity in color scheme between my favorite jewelry items and my favorite clothes! Most of these pieces of jewelry have also been used in outfits together with my favorte clothes!

Five Favorite Perfumes

• Mona di Orio Les Nombres d'Or Cuir.
• Slumberhouse Jeke. reviewed here.
• Darling Clandestine Maudlin and Bedlam.
• Wild Hybrid Wrangler.
• Olympic Orchids Tropic of Capricorn.

Conclusions: this is very much a "right now" category of favorites. Jeke is a long time favorite and I believe that Tropic of Capricorn and Cur might also stay favorites for a long time. The other two are ones that I am obsessed with at the moment but that might be forgotten tomorrow or next week. Still I notice patterns of leather, animalic notes, darkness, spices and a hint of smoke. These scents are definitely "me".

Five Other Indispensible Items

• Top hat. As seen in all of my outfits, it's always on my head!
• Brass (?) shot glass. Perfect to bring with me to parties. Why borrow an ugly glass when you can party in style!?
• Perfume notebooks. As seen here. 
• Gunmetal pocket watch. As seen here, there and everywhere really. 
• Ankh cross pendant. Why isn't this one among my necklaces you ask? Well, I, um, forgot about about it...

Conclusion: Several of these items are with me or on me most of the time! The Ankh is the odd one out here, but I adore it so sue me. Other candidates for this category were my black satchel bag, my winter coat, my beautiful tea cup and a few other items... but these made the final cut. What most of them have in common (sorry ankh) is that they are beautiful accessories with a practical use! 

I'd love to see some of you do this! It really is a learning experience and I am very curious as to how your five favorites would look!

A Spring-Summer Recap

Just to get into blogging again I have decided to do a post with mostly pictures. I have a whole heap of outfit pictures from spring and early summer that I need to post now or never... I especially love my eclectic spring outfits but I was too busy to write blog posts this spring so this here will be a recap.

I love this red jacket! It is one of my favorites for spring! I'll have to stay slim if I want to wear it for all eternity though, it's a thight one! This jacket is a vintage find from Beyond Retro (my favorite place for shopping strange vintage clothing!).

Sorry for the picture quality here. I can't even blame the dusty mirror for this one. This outfit was the one I wore when I had just turned in my paper and wanted to celebrate that milestone! Both the jacket and the dress here are actually from H&M!

This dress is another Beyond retro find! I absolutely adore the dark teal color of it but that color is absolutely impossible to capture on camera, even in natural light... The mirror is extremely dusty here so I guess you can't really see the dress anyway. Trust me, it is dark teal velvet and gorgeous!

On my birthday I visited Stockholm one last time before my big move. I went on a big perfume sniffing spree and to a couple of Second Hand stores. I fell in love with Les Nombred d'Or Cuir by Mona di Orio and at Beyond Retro I bought this dress. I never thought that I would ever fall for floral clothing, but I did! It is the perfect summer dress, a thin, machine washable cotton with a lace up back!

This is an outfit for colder days. The tunic is one of my favorite pieces, wide sleeves, lace, tight around the wrists... All this AND machine washable! Just perfect!! I bought it at H&M a number of years ago and it remains one of the most unique pieces in my wardrobe!

Here is another of my favorite pieces from my wardrobe, my black velvet dress, previously seen in at least one other outfit. I love how versatile it is, it can be dressed up or down, made morbid or romantic...I bought it at Weekday a couple of years ago. Here it is paired with my dark floral tights.

And now we get to my absolute favorite outfit of all time.I just had to include more than one picture of this outfit! I wear it again and again and I never tire of it! All of these pieces just fell together one day and became this outfit without any premeditation on my part! My black velvet dress is the base, together with my golden party skirt. The skirt was bought second hand, the absolutely gorgeous jacket is from H&M, the necklace is from LeBoudoirNoir and the slippers were a gift from a friend.

Hope you have enjoyed this little exposé. It will unfortunately be my last outfit post for a while... I don't have a full lenght mirror here yet. I didn't bring the old narrow (and perpetually dusty) one back to Finland with me and I have no idea where to find the wall space for a wider one in my room, not to mention the money to buy one...

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In other news, from real life, my summer job has ended. Since Midsummer I have worked as a library assistant in a small local library. I have had that little library all to myself for a whole month! I LOVED it! Working there full time is my dream for the future, but I guess I'll have to wait...

My room is also taking shape. All of my books have by some miracle managed to fit in my book shelves and all of my clothes in my wardrobe. I had doubts about both! There is even some space for more books (this is the real miracle, I have been cramming for years)!! Now I only have a few more boxes of assorted nick-nacks to unpack.

My post about my herbal teas will be up sooner or later, whenever I can find the inspiration to write a long text... I have soo many photos of herbal tea now that I'm thinking that I might have to split the post up into several parts... We'll see...

I also have A LOT of new perfumes in my life! An Alkemia haul or two, some giveaway packages, some full sizes from Darling Clandestine, some samples from Wild Hybrid and even my first real niche purchase,a small bottle of above mentioned Les Nombres d'Or Cuir from Mona di Orio. I smell good!!

Midsummer Magic - A Scentual Journey

Hi everyone! Sorry about the long absense! Finishing up my studies and moving back home again took a lot of time and effort.  My room is in chaos, too many books for such a small space, but it's getting less and less chaotic every day! I'm really happy to be back home again! Especially right now, Finland is so magical at Midsummer!

(This will be a very picture heavy post, consider yourself warned!)

It never gets dark here at Midsummer, the time between sunset and sunrise is so short that it never gets darker than twilight. One of my Midsummer Night traditions is to around midnight take a walk through the woods to a dark forest lake where I can swim naked and alone in the black water. That is Midsummer Magic for me. Last night I took my camera with me so now I can invite you all along on a little journey through a Finnish Midsummer forest! I will also make this a scentual journey by adding perfumes that to me give much the same experience as these landscapes.

The nature is so lush that the path is barely visible...

Ferns.

The forest I walk through is dark and dense. Moss covered rocks, ferns and blueberry shrubs are shaded by slender white birches and dark green spruces and pines. This part of my journey reminds me of Norne by Slumberhouse. This dark and mysterious forest is just as magical as that fragrance. Herne by Arcana would also suit this landscape. This scent is heavy with powerful resins enhanced by spicy cinnamon. Definitely what a dark god of this forest would smell like.

Suddenly the forest ends but what is coming is hidden on the other side of a hill and will be invisible for a few more steps. Anticipation bulids because I know what I will see and it is always magical. The lake is nestled in a deep bowl surrounded by the rugged rocky forest hills. The suitable scent fro this part of the journey is Samhain by Haus of Gloi. There is a hint in the air of something wet, of humid soil and green herbs.

The sun is already rising in the northeast, or maybe this is the lingering glow from the recent sunset in northwest... It is hard to tell when the wholse nothern sky is aglow above the mirror calm lake. Sometimes there is mist on this lake, but not tonight. The scent that would suit the beautiful dark lake is Gaea by Alkemia. This scent is water over rocks, decaying plant life and the clear scent of white water lillies.

Blueberry and Cloudberry shrubs and birches.

The edges of the lake are wet and marsh-like, very lush and green. Devils Milhopper by Solstice Scents has a similar note of fresh green leaves. A powerful green, full of life and growth, just like Midsummer is the height of the growing season.

Labrador Tea leaves and flower.

Other parts of the lake edge is dryer and rockier, here flourish baby pines and lingonberry. But all around this lake grows Labrador Tea, looking like rosemary but with its own unique scent and white flowers. As the name implies this fragrant herb has been used for tea. Every year I collect and dry the fresh sprouts so that I can drink this tea and enjoy this wonderful scent all year.

Tea of Labrador Tea and Veronica flowers.

You can get an idea of the scent of Labrador Tea by sampling the perfume oil with the same name by Salmonberry Origins. Or if you are really interested in smelling the real deal I can just send you a little sprig of Labrador Tea!

That's the end of the journey folks. There are no pictures of me skinny dipping in the lake...
The quality of the pictures is a bit influenced by the thousands of mosquitoes that landed on me every time I stopped to take a picture. Sorry about that. I have pictures of what my arms, legs and neck looked like afterwards, but I'll spare you. I looked like a victim of bubonic plague...
Several of the scents mentioned here were gifts from the wonderful Amanda of more tea, Wesley?, she really nailed my tastes when we swapped packages! Here is a picture of the perfumes I got from her! :D

Hope you all had as wonderful a Midsummer as I did, those of you on the Northern Hemisphere who celebrate the solstice that is... ;)