Bags,bags,bags...

Miuccia Prada once said that you should never carry a bag that was bigger than to just fit your lipstick. Those wise words may be hard to follow, as we girls usually tends to put a little bit more than just one lipstick (or five) in our bag. But when there are so many fantastic bags out there, who cares? This season it is all about tanned and brown leather. In all sizes and styles. Spring /Summer 2010 bags are designed to be loved.

"Indeer" soft clutch - Ted Baker

"Johan" soft xbody bag - Ted Baker

"Obligado" soft leather hand bag - By Malene Birger

"Nixon" just enough to fit your phone - By Malene Birger

"Rappa" - Dune

Leather duffle cross body bag - Topshop

And of course - Mulberry Alexa

Which of these lovely bags would you prefer?

Weekend wear...

Going out Saturday: Blazer - H&M, t-shirt, shoes & bag - Zara, skirt - Monsoon, ear rings and socks - Topshop, elephant necklace - Mango, nailpolish -Chanel, colour 18, Rouge Noir.

At the French market on Sunday: Trench coat - Bennetton.

A happy bug: Head band - H&M, The Garden Collection, big bug sunglasses - Topshop.

I am apparently going for the pirate look this Sunday, the ship in the background is a lucky coincindence: T-shirt & skirt - Zara, belt - H&M, head band - H&M, The Garden Collection, tanned leather clutch - Faith, stockings - Topshop, shoes - Bianco.

Checking out Birmingham...

Birmingham is UK's second largest city, but the only positive thing people told me about the city itself before I went there on a day trip, was that it was a great place to shop. So I spent a whole day at the Bullring shopping center. I tried on the whole Garden Collection at H&M, was a bit disappointed about how limited the Zara and the Mango stores were, but the spacious Topshop was a positive surprise. However, I also spent some time getting in tune with the Birmingham fashion scene. I can not say that Birmingham had a great fashion day on this rainy Friday, but these three girls was a breath of fresh air:

Chloe: Leather jacket - River Island, cardigan & ear rings - Topshop, tights & shoes - Primark, bag - Trench Call.

The leather jacket is still hot this season, and in my opinion this girl has styled it like a true fashionista. I loved the cardigan, and the cute shoes (which is so right at the moment), and you can not really see it, but her ear rings were amazing. I am going to Primark (for the first time!) to buy her tights.

Tiffany: Leather jacket & dress - New Look, bag - Vintage Shop Cow, scarf-Primark.

Tiffany was the first person I took a picture of ,and I have to admit that I messed up some of the brand names and items (so send me a mail with a list to correct it :). However, I loved the way she mixed up cute and rough items, the faboulous leather jacket and the rough shoes complemented the pastel dress perfectly. A big scarf is always a favourite.

Tara: Denim jacket - Oasis, dress - Reiss, tights & shoes - Primark, bag - H&M.

Every fashion loving girl will feel the need to buy a denim jacket this spring. Tara's jacket nailed the look, and you have to love the Reiss dress. Flower patterns is a trend that is very hard to ignore at the moment, and this dress was perfect with denim and the tanned leather bag.

So overall, Birmingham is ok for shopping, has some stylish moments, but shopping for 7 hours is a bit overkill, even for me. And I will thank the girls that kindly agreed to let me take a picture of them, unfortunately I could not post all of you this time.

H&M - The Garden Collection

Tunic/Dress - H&M, The Garden Collection

Environmentally sustainable fashion is something that is very close to my heart. As over consumption is one of the big diseases in the Western world, research has shown that if everyone on the planet lived like us, we would need four planet Earths to survive. So it is with great joy I see that some of the high street retailers takes the issue of environment seriously. The Garden Collection from H&M is not only filled with lovely pieces, but they are also made from organic and recycleable materials. In my opinion that is the way to move forward, and I hope many others will follow this great example. I am planning to get at least one of the pieces displayed here, but if you want too, you have to hurry. Rumour has it that the collection is almost sold out many places. So perhaps beeing environmental friendly turns out to be a cash machine for H&M.

Cute summer dress - H&M, The Garden Collection

A beautiful bouquet of colours, tunic - H&M, The Garden Collection

The little rough dungaree dress - H&M, The Garden Collection

As you can see, being environmentally correct, does not necessarily mean to dress dull.

Ted Baker - In Ted We Trust

There is a little tag on every item from the British brand Ted Baker which says "In Ted We Trust". And indeed, we do. This season, you can trust you will be tempted to get several of his gorgeus pieces..

Emidius zebra printed strapless dress - Ted Baker

Hira beaded print mini dress - Ted Baker

Llonga jersey dress - Ted Baker

Flashie mid length skirt - Ted Baker

Mayne knee lenght skirt - Ted Baker

The Ted Baker brand came to life in the late 1980's, and are in my opinion one of the best medium priced English brands. The brand has elegance, playfulness, and a certain edge. I love what they have done with silk and chiffon this summer, creating a whimsical, yet stylish look. The watchword of spring/summer 2010 is Romance, and Ted Baker nails the trend. The minidresses compete with the superlong, oh so desireable, dresses, but if you do not have legs like Gisele Bundchen you will probably trip and fall in the longest ones.

I think it is wonderful that the skirt is back, after being a bit overshadowed by the dress the last couple of seasons. Everything is allowed,from high waist statements to school girl swing skirts or office pencils.

The dresses and the skirts above is some of my absolute favourites from Ted Baker this spring. To see more of his dresses you can visit his website - www.tedbaker.com. Ted Baker is to be found all over the UK, in Norway you could buy his items at Høyer last time I checked.

Are you feeling inspired to shop now?

London Calling...

Ready for shopping:Jeans, body and cardigan - Topshop, belt, scarf and Elephant necklace - H&M, shoes - Bianco, bag - Mulberry.

I love London for shopping. I usually end up purchasing pieces in the same stores every time, and this time was no different. However, half the joy of shopping is strolling around, looking and searching in new places and boutiques, even those you can not afford, to get an inspirational kick. Are you inspired enough, you can replicate the look you want in more affordable places like Zara, H&M and Topshop. They are usually brilliant in copying the latest from the catwalk, and you can actually find designs and colours at H&M even before you can read about them in the fashion magazines. I was inspired by the March edition of Elle, and wanted peep toe shoes. Surprise, surprise, I found a pair I could not resist at Zara. Theese items begged to come home with me this Saturday (and strangely enough, I replied that "my home, is your home"):

Peep toe shoes with leather laces, so right at the moment - Zara special edition

Preppy blazer with shoulder details - H&M, Loose cotton T-shirt - Zara, Golden oversized necklace - French Connection.

Killer vs.Kitten heels

The April edition of Elle UK is out, and you can read what we allready knew after the spring fashion week - the kitten heel is back. A welcome message to everyone with back problems, who has cursed the killer heel during the last season. Girls who has sworn to lower heels has not won this battle entirely though - The killer heel is still hot and sizzling.

For a fierce attitude and a great pose out partying, I would choose killer heels any time. But for lovely summer evenings, a city break or a romantic dinner, both me and my back says a loud yes to the cute kitten heels. This summer I will give my old Bianco silver and gold kittens a new spring together with pastels and denim.

VS.

Above: My Favourite Killer heel gladiators -Zara, Jean Leather Court kittens with details to lust for - Topshop

What do you prefer?

Ready for the beach

Forget about spring (allthough we are really going to enjoy every second of it), let us focus on summer! Perhaps it is because I live by the beach that I felt a sudden urge to start on my summer wardrobe today. But let's face it, if you try to shop for bikinis in June/July, all the best ones is allready sold out. My top tip is to shop for spring in February, and by mid March you should start focusing on summer. I love when I can trade away my grey, woollen outfits, with light pastels and colourful sun loving pieces. This summer I am all abot Denim, Blue, Pastels and some bright Coral. This is what I supplemented my wardrobe with on this sunny Thursday:

Playsuit, for a cheerful day at the beach -Topshop

Fine striped bikini -Topshop

The perfect grey and silver party/city bag - Zara

Coral beaded triangle bikini - butterfly by Matthew Williamson

Denim boyfriend shorts - Warehouse, Light brown leather belt - H&M

Sandro - Paris, Spring Summer 2010

I was on an inspirational trip to Paris this February, and I fell head over heels in love with Sandro’s 2010 spring/summer collection. The cotton “nautical” striped blazer, and the cotton viscose nude pleated shorts, caught my longing glance when I walked past their boutique in 50 rue Vieille du Temple(close to Hotel de Ville) and I browsed through every Sandro boutique I found during the next three days. Sandro is actually not that expensive, but to suit my student account even better, I will get the Sandro look at Zara’s store in Oxford Street this year. You can see more of the gorgeous pieces from Sandro’s at: http://www.sandro-paris.com/SANDRO_EN.html

Nautical & Denim

I have fallen for this seasons stripes and nautical look. And I promise you that it is absolutely impossible to walk into a high street store and not encounter Denim mini skirts or/and shorts this spring. This is: Scarf, Top & Denim skirt - Zara, Tights - H&M, Stockings - Topshop.

Elle -UK

I adore Elle UK, it provides me with the perfect inspirational boost before I go shopping. What inspires you?

Mulberry & Me

Every girl has her "thing". Some girls loves shoes, some girls loves lingerie and other girls loves bags. I am a "bag lady", and currently, my brand new Mulberry Bayswater bag is one of my favourite accessories. It is classic, simple, and it has room for my computer and lecture notes. What else could a girl ask for?

Fashion formula

I believe that a woman’s wardrobe always should include certain things, such as the perfect jeans that make you feel great every time you wear it and the little black dress. I think that some pieces will last for several years, even a lifetime, and other pieces will only be worn once. This is why I never follow trends slavishly, but rather try to buy classical items of good quality. However, I love shopping, and like most girls I find it really hard to resist buying a thing or two (read a 100) when a new collection arrive in the store. To me fashion is essential, but not just because I enjoy buying and wearing clothes, but because I am intrigued with the way an outfit change the way a person feels and perceive themselves. Working in fashion, I have seen miserable and grey women walk in to the store, transforming into radiant and happy ladies by the time they have tried on their second outfit. Women shop to feel better, and fashion is all about beautiful things and feelings.

My second passionate view about fashion is that we have to become more critical about what we buy, and how much we buy. As climate change and environmental problems escalates by the minute, we have to be sensible shoppers, and contribute in the small way a fashionista can. So my pledge is to try, as far as I can, to buy good quality products that last longer, buy organic cotton and other natural garments like silk and wool, try not to buy too much polyester and recycle the clothes I no longer use.

I have created a list over the absolute necessities a woman should have in her wardrobe, this list has been proven helpful for me in the past (especially when dressing up and selling clothes to others), and I hope it will inspire you as well:

1. The perfect jeans. It is always incredible hard to find the perfect jeans, so when you find one, always buy two. Preferably in different colours, one dark and one light.

2. The little black dress that makes you feel good and ready to shine, even the days you feel like a mess and would prefer staying in bed eating Ben and Jerry’s.

3. The fabulous colourful dress that makes you feel even more gorgeous those days you already feel great.

4. The simple, fitted, white T-shirt. You can wear it together with a jeans, or whatever that suits your mood. It is so simple, but can be oh so sexy.

5. A grey or a black fitted blazer. For those days you want to power dress, or you just want to style up your jeans.

This should be the backbone of every wardrobe. So if you have these things, do you really need to buy the whole Top Shop summer collection? :)