confession #000054

... or, david bowie is in my head

if you've been following closely enough, you'll know that last week i went for a quick break to london. initially, the aim was to go catch up with some close friends and visit the roy lichtenstein retrospective at the tate modern.  as an afterthought, i figured i should try my luck with visiting the david bowie is exhibition at the victoria and albert museum as well.  tickets online have long been sold out for this so i didn't know whether i would actually manage to go in.  i'm delighted to report that the stars aligned in my favour.

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travelling light is not my forte

travelling light is not my forte by tikkamars featuring cheap monday jeans

confession #000053

...or, i should be packing

yes, i should really be packing right now. even though i only returned to krakow last night, this afternoon sees me travelling to malta once again, only to head off to budapest on wednesday. it's complicated. don't ask. 

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London shopping list

London shopping list by tikkamars featuring ted baker

confession #000052

... or, making a statement

finally here it is! my second vlog! so excited about this one ... well, it was a long-ish journey to get to this one.  i actually started recording this some days ago, didn't realise my battery was flat so i was talking to a dead camera *facepalm* and then last night the video took absolutely ages to finalise! so here i am, at the crack of dawn (well, the sun's been up a couple of hours but i'm still dazed) posting my latest.

the vlog is mostly about statement necklaces, as well as a few other happenings in my life at the moment.  i won't spoil your fun ... just watch it now "in full technicolour". enjoy xx

p.s. all the opinions stated in this video or on my personal blog are my own. i am not paid for any mentions or positive reviews.

confession #000051

... or,  idle hands are the devil's workshop

ok, maybe not quite. but this morning i actually caught up with something that had been on my to-do list for over a year: customising my trusty converse hi-top chucks with some studs. and i'm so chuffed i did it, i had to blog about it!

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and if it rains, we'll brighten things up

and if it rains, we'll brighten things up by tikkamars featuring pointy toe shoes

confession #000050

... or, yet another guilty pleasure (part deux)

as i mentioned earlier last week, the eurovision song contest, and all the fanfare and paraphernalia that goes with it, is one of my guilty pleasures, which i get to enjoy on an annual basis.  last night saw the second semi-final of this year's edition ... and boy was the #eurobitching on fire! well, the night did give us a lot to comment about ... 

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GIVEAWAY POST!

ladies! have you ever heard of oasap.com? if not, what are you waiting to log onto their website and get yourself something unique and lovely just like you?! there is always an excuse good reason for some online shopping *wink *wink

my wishlist on oasap.com just keeps getting longer and longer and i'm pretty tempted to just 'add all items to bag' and give myself a little treat ... mmm, decisions, decisions! i've this thing about online shopping.  i love it because you can always find something different from what's in the shops and what everybody else is wearing but i would wish to have items in hand instantly! but then again, "good things come to those who wait" and "patience is a virtue" and all that jazz ... 

giveaway

but anyway, without any further ado, here's the 3 very simple steps you have to follow to stand in chance of getting your paws on something gorgeous for this summer from the lovely people at oasap.com: 

1. register on oasap.com by clicking here
2. follow oasap.com on facebook, twitter, pinterest and instagram
3. once you've registered, leave a comment with your account email underneath this post (and this post only!)

the prize

the winner will be able to choose one of the gorgeous pieces below. 

 

the giveaway is open for 10 days and the winner will be chosen on sunday 26 may 2013.  the winner will be contacted by myself and will be required to provide shipping information to be forwarded to oasap.com. 

what are you waiting for? sign up to oasap.com now and leave your comment below! good luck xx

confession #000049

... or, yet another guilty pleasure

if there is something that i'm somewhat ashamed to confess, is my utter love for the eurovision song contest.

i know.  it's embarrassing:  the contest is über-commercial, camp, rigged, monumentally pointless and an overarching affront to good taste. but, somehow, every february and may for the last 20 odd years, i feel this sudden urge to religiously follow first the malta song for europe festival or whatever it's called at the beginning of the year. then,  come spring, i feel the need to watch the maltese contestant face yet another disappointment in not placing among the top spots.  well, with a few exceptions of course.  my little patriotic self must acknowledge dame spiteri, la losco and the woman with 155 pairs of shoes' successes ...

with the onset of facebook, it has become a sort of tradition to watch and comment on the contestants' get-ups, gimmicks and vocal abilities - the more vitriolic comment, the better! last night's first semi final was no exception!

today, i'm bringing you my little round up of those outfits i loved , the outfits which made me cry a loud 'wtf' and one particular moment when i felt like going 'oooooowwwwww' ...

let's start with the best dressed ... 

cyprus: even though i'm not a fan of fitted dresses, this was a winner for me.  i loved the teasing nude lining under the sparse black lace, which even made the maltese commentators wonder whether she was wearing any underwear.  i found this dress sexy but in no way trashy which can be quite tricky for black lace to pull off. 

estonia: now this dress was really up my stream.  i loved its flowing simplicity with the little embellishment detail.  it may have looked like curtains on stage.  it possibly could have done with a little less material, but for me, this was a very close contender for the top spot in my personal hit list

denmark: throughout the whole show i cared for only this and another song i'll be admitting to watching on youtube a few times today later on.  i didn't care much for the uneven hemline - that's so mid-2000's but other than that, the rest of the outfit, including the bare feet worked for me.  i suppose it spoke to my hippy/flower child inner self.  and i loved the drummer boys in the back ... especially the one with the undershave who also played the flute.  how do you say 'hello' in danish? 

moldova: i really loved the effects on this dress ... but! hadn't we seen something like this (fair enough, minus the special effects), on a local stage, circa 2005? deja vu? 

on to the 'wtf's ... 

serbia: as i wrote last night on facebook, katy perry called and she wants her dresses back! i felt i was watching the california gurls video all over again, expecting their boobs to turn into foam making machines.  even the singers seem to be feeling sick at the sight of each others' candy coated outfits in this pic!

montenegro: yes, we had to have dancing spacemen, but then again, what is the eurovision without the gimmicks? 

croatia: i might have actually lived with the coats worn with torn jeans and hipster deep v t-shirts, a bit a la brandon flowers (the killers) but no, we had to go for the full traditional look which turned into a visual description of the song's title: mizerja

ukraine: not much to say other than "get a well fitting dress next time!"

slovenia: oh god, i'm so over peplums (when was i ever a fan?)  the sight of this leather one gave me the creeps to say the least ... 

belarus: for a moment i thought i was watching a typical greek eurovision entry there.  it had all the ingredients: perma-tan and overly stylised hair, fringed micro-mini dresses, disco ball, hips shaking to ethnic-inspired music ... i suppose this is what 'playing safe' means by eurovision standards ... 

and my 'ooooowwww' moment ... 

i read so much about roberto bellarosa - belgium's singer (yes, the only one i cared enough for to learn his name) - and his need to shave / wax his eyebrows last night that i couldn't help but warm up to him.  yes, he's somewhat awkward looking.  the big bushy eyebrows probably don't help much, and i can imagine that he had mustacci tal-muzew, in other words that pre-pubescent 'tache, from quite an early age.  but there is something which i find totally endearing about him ... much like our very own gianluca (there i go, all partiotic and stuff).

so there, tonight i'm leaving you with these two boys' official videos for the eurovision song contest... it'll be something like the 15th time i'm watching 'love kills' today ... i suppose i should really be ashamed about this!

confession #000048

... or, go on, vlog!

i've finally done it! i've finally dedicated some time to create my very first vlog ... and i'm so excited about it! i can't stop placing exclamation marks at the end of my sentences!!! 

i've created also a youtube channel to start hosting my vlogs on, which you may wish to check out and subscribe here.  i still need to customise the channel properly ... but more of that in the coming days. 

you can watch the full video hereunder.  you can also count how many times i say 'eeuumm' ... i guess i was really excited about it all, despite the numerous takes! so, here it goes ... enjoy and please do let me know what you think about it and what you would like me to vlog about xx

confession #000047

... or, and the winners are ... 

well, well, well, now that was some local (maltese) talent! what a whirlwind week it was for the maltese fashion industry ... and how much i wish that i could have partaken more than just seeing it all from behind my macbook's screen! oh well, maybe next year? who knows! the idea of my spending most of my days living abroad was still in its embryonic stage this time last year, so ... anything could happen!

in case you haven't heard yet, here is the list of winners at the vodafone RED malta fashion awards which were held last saturday (11 may 2013).  i picked up some of these stars' best moments (in my personal opinion) over the last fashion fuelled year for your enjoyment.

female model award: 

gaby curmi

gaby curmi, as photographed by ellie cutajar

female photomodel award: 

valentina rossi

male model award: 

karl bonnici

male photomodel award: 

robert galea

robert galea, as photographed by bernard polidano

hairstylist award: 

annalise azzopardi

hair by annalise azzopardi, as photographed by clint serri harkins

make-up artist awards: 

mateja camilleri

photographer award: 

bernard polidano

valentina rossi, as photographed by bernard polidano

fashion stylist award: 

caroline paris

styling by caroline paris, as photographed by kurt paris

nail technician award: 

barbara buttigieg

two special awards were also handed out on the night, and from my experience in seeing these two masters at work, they were surely well deserved!

outstanding contribution to fashion: 

steve vella + marisa grima

the man behind it all, adrian j mizzi, was also surprised by a special award - the red award - given to him by the organising team in recognition of his hard work and dedication over the last 15 years of the malta fashion awards.

the night itself seems to have provided the audience with a most spectacular array of fashion lines, hair and make-up displays which have astounded both local and international media alike!  i'm especially dying to see justin brincat's make-up-meets-dance-and-art display and lara steer's baroque hair extravaganza! i can't wait to watch the whole show on tv!

confession #000046

... or, a good fashion round up

is it saturday already? i can't believe time has, once again, escaped my badly manicured grasp on it ... i have so much catching up to do - the diet has long been forgotten, malta fashion week comes to an end tonight, my mani-pedi and hair appointments are well overdue, and the first trip in what is turning out to be a true jet setter's calendar is just less than two weeks away! so much to do in so little time! 

but before i start the day with a visit to the farmers' market to stock up on some fresh fruit and veggies, in the hope of actually detoxifying my system before all this travelling (london-krakow-malta-budapest-malta-krakow in 2 1/2 weeks will be somewhat rough on my system ...), let me give you a quick round up of what i hearted most during the malta fashion week so far.  i've already written about the charles&ron show here so let me continue where i left off ... 

tuesday: jewellery through the times

from what i saw online, this was a truly astounding show! organised in collaboration with heritage malta, jewellery designs from prehistoric times were re-created and showcased during the event.  a very interesting twist to the event was the unveiling of the face of one of the first maltese women, re-created through 3d visualisations from skull remains found at the xaghra circle site in gozo.  you can read more about her, and even see her, here.  the jewellery collection itself evidenced a people who was fashion and style conscious, and if i may add, the designs of the time can look pretty well complement this summer's festival looks.  i know, i have my eyes on the shell headpiece for sure...  

jewellery through the times; photography by kurt paris www.kurtparis.com

jewellery through the times; photography by jacob sammut pearl works

wednesday: new designers fashion show

i spent wednesday night on the edge of my seat waiting for photos to start popping up on facebook from this show.  and i must say, i wasn't disappointed! by far my most favourite looks were definitely sef farrugia's bled of knits, lurex and chiffons, jeff francalanza's intricately embellished corsets and ritianne zammit's baroque-meets-punk collection.  while i personally tend to prefer cleaner, more simple, yet vintage inspired lines for my personal attire, these three collections were bursting with creative juices and can easily find their way on international catwalks.  a nod certainly goes also towards creative factory 7, whose collection definitely carried an artistic flair over an above the fashion consciousness. 

sef farrugia designs; photography by dennis calleja

sef farrugia designs; photography by dennis calleja

ritianne zammit designs; photography by kurt paris www.kurtparis.com

ritianne zammit designs; photography by doorizz photography

jeff francalanza designs; photography by dennis calleja

creative factory 7 designs; photography by dennis calleja

thursday: fersani fashion show

well before i saw any photos of the event, i had a hunch that this show wouldn't be my cup of green tea.  i am not a big fan of gala and evening gowns, much as i admire their elegance and sophistication. but that's just a matter of taste and style, and after all the beauty of the fashion industry.  having said that, there were two pieces which i certainly wouldn't mind owning! both had sort, full circle skirts (which i absolutely adore as they cleverly hide my wider areas) and both harkened to a late 1950s/60s fashion era with a definite contemporary edge to both.  

fersani designs; photography by carlo jourdan 

fersani designs; photography by clint serri harkins

friday: international designers show

this was yet another show were a good part of me was blown away. and i'm not saying this because, like most fellow locals, i find the grass greener and designs better, on the foreign side.  the local talent has certainly proven its worth both during this edition of the malta fashion week, as well as in the previous two.  i was blown away by (a) the designs themselves in most of the collections and (b) seeing the auberge de castille once again.  let me start with (b) first.  having worked within the office of the prime minister under the previous legislature, there were a few (albeit far in between) occasions when we could attend specific activities in the ambassadors' hall at the auberge.  for anyone who has never had the chance of venturing there, do make it a point to attend and queue up during the next notte bianca, as i'm sure it'll be open again as in previous years.  seeing images of the place set up for the show has certainly brought back fond memories.  now, onto point (a).  the collections varied in style and origin and certainly provided something for each personal fashion taste.  just as for the new designers show, i've selected those looks which i personally preferred above all in the images below. 

marella ferrera designs; photography by dennis calleja

marella ferrera designs; photography by dennis calleja

kevin muscat designs; photography by dennis calleja

house of jola designs; photography by dennis calleja

house of jola designs; photography by dennis calleja

needless to say, the more i see the collections showcased throughout this week, the more i fall in love with them, or with those pieces which i wasn't initially sure about and i find it more and more difficult to pick and choose favourites. 

before i leave you, i would like to first of all congratulate the malta fashion week and fashion awards team, headed by the great adrian j mizzi whom i had the pleasure, nay, honour of working with during the first edition of the malta fashion week.  this was yet another impeccably organised, astounding exposition of maltese and international talent in the fashion industry. secondly, my heartfelt best wishes to all those organising, hosting, taking part and especially nominated for awards during tonight's final event. much love to all xx