2013 has been a good year / pt.2

Here's the second installation of my two-part run through this most awesome of years.  If you missed the first part, you can still find it here.  On to the second half of 2013 now ...

JULY

The highlight was certainly my boo's birthday and our day out with the Crazy Guides guys round Nova Huta. We also got to visit MOCAK's Economics in Art exhibition where I saw my first Banksy, and almost had a heart attack in the process lol!

AUGUST

To celebrate our anniversary we took a train ride to Zakopane, which, despite the heavily tourist oriented atmosphere, remains a most beautiful place and definitely a must-see for anyone visiting Poland.  This month also gave me another 'first': my first music festival - the Coke Live Music Festival in fact where I got to see Biffy Clyro, Franz Ferdinand, and Florence and the Machine among others. A few days earlier, I had even seen French metal band Gojira live during a separate event.  Never a dull moment! Unfortunately, this month saw me return (certainly not of my own free will) to Malta, but ...

SEPTEMBER

Confessions of a Former Size 6 is one year old! This month was pretty intense, what with settling back on the island, invitations for events flowing in (was I so missed!?!), and, of course, the greatest of surprises - my boyfriend showing up totally unannounced for a week! It was definitely the best and most welcome surprise ever for me!

OCTOBER

This month, I graced your Style on Sunday pages together with fellow bloggers, designers, stylists as the Maltese 'Fashion Pack', something that has truly humbled me, as I still don't see myself as big as others I was standing next to.  The month ended with my much longed for trip back to Krakow where, as an early birthday present I got to see another favourite band: Editors. It's all happening in Krakow, isn't it?!

NOVEMBER

Oh lord, I aged another year.  Am I any wiser? I doubt it.  Still. This month was possibly one of the busiest and craziest ... but definitely enjoyable with loads of quality time spent with great friends, and fantastic shopping events!

DECEMBER

The last month of this supercalifragilisticexpialidocious year (of course, I had to use a Mary Poppins reference ... it's the time of the year you re-watch it for like the millionth time!).  There's still some of it left ... and still more to happen, including my Christmas / New Year trip to Krakow next week.  But this month hasn't been short of highlights already - certainly the biggest one being moderating a workshop during an EU Commission conference which also saw the likes of Commissioner Johannes Hahn as one of the speakers (in my line of work, that's a HUGE thing ok?!). Oh, and from a more tasty perspective, I actually managed to accomplish my dream of making a rainbow cake. I am mighty pleased about that!

Well, well, well ... that was a little whirlwind round-up of what for me was one, seriously good year.  I do hope that you are closing off the year as well as I am ... and of course, that you keep following this petite place on the web I call my own! xoxo

2013 has been a good year / pt.1

Even though the year is not yet officially over, I felt it was high time to look back on this year and all the good things that it has brought with it.  It's been, I must admit, possibly the best year of my life, thanks to my boyfriend and parents who've been my rock in the more difficult times, the opportunities I sought and which came along unsolicited, and you my dear readers, who have kept me going!

What follows is a little two-part run through the year, with some highlights, both blog-related and more personal ones. Hope you enjoy this!

JANUARY

Moved to Krakow and started working from home - this was definitely a blissfully challenging time, getting to spend time with my loved one, but having to get to grips with a totally different climate (SNOW!) and possibly the most difficult language in the world! And of course, I can't forget visiting the Andy Warhol retrospective which was showing in Krakow at the time.

FEBRUARY

More snow in Krakow as I came across some quirky loved up apples at Carrefour.  Of course, I couldn't leave without buying one or instagramming it!

MARCH

March was spent jetting from Krakow to Malta to Berlin, where I attended a course on social media, and of course did some obligatory shopping and site seeing! I experienced my first 'White Easter' ...oh, and I appeared on FM magazine as a professional shopaholic.

APRIL

Our first Polish wedding in the quaint and quiet Wadowice! A seven course meal, lots of dancing and lots more vodka! Loved every minute of it!

MAY

This was possibly my craziest month, at least the end of it: spur-of-the moment purchase of flight to London for the Roy Lichtenstein retrospective at the Tate Modern, the David Bowie is exhibition at the V&A, friends, parties, shopping (duh!).  Quick trip back to Krakow, to catch a flight to Malta, via Bergamo, to travel to Budapest (via Munich) the following day.  I wish the flights were all on the same airline topping up my frequent flyer card!

JUNE

With my every monthly trip to Malta, it kept getting hotter, while back in Krakow I was still battling thunderstorms and occasional blazer-temperatures (which I love, btw!).  Alas, my time in Krakow was soon drawing to an end ... but there was still time to make some incredible memories while there ...

Watch this space for part deux of this 2013 round-up xxx

as featured on STYLE on Sunday magazine ...

Well, well, well ... I've been building up to this moment over the last week, haven't I?

This has definitely been a highlight of ever since I have started this blog.  It is something that gives me the courage to persevere at what I am doing.  This blog is where my passions come to play and if I don't keep this up, then there won't be much left of me, the real me, that is.

So, yeah, in case you haven't noticed from my Facebook page and profile, I'm among the Maltese Fashion Pack in today's issue of STYLE on Sunday ... It was certainly an honour to be featured among so many big names in the local industry.  I for one would have never thought that this little blog would have set me in their same ranks! I am still in awe, seriously!

In case you missed out on your copy of STYLE on Sunday, here's what the feature had to say about me:

Mariel Sacco has injected a bit of reality into the Maltese fashion scene through her blog Confessions of a Former Size 6.  Her blog has also become something of an overnight sensation. 
Inspiration: It's people rather than brands for me.  Mostly divas, like Sophia Loren, Lana del Rey, old-style and vintage things. 
Contribution: I think I'm the only blogger to give fashion a reality check, in the sense that I'm short, constantly on a diet, and always in between sizes.  The trials and tribulations of a real person trying to make it: that's my selling point.  
Mariel's top tip: Internationally, bloggers are now collaborating with big designers and becoming celebrities themselves.  So if you have something to say, say it, as bloggers definitely have a place on the fashion scene these days.

Huge thanks firstly go to all my followers - you are the ones who give me the strength to keep going and I owe this one to you; Jo Caruana and Iggy Fenech for giving me this opportunity and exposure; Brian Grech for the amazing shoot; and to all those within the local fashion scene for keeping the passion, dedication and dream of us all alive!

confession #000062

...or, shopping just got a whole lot better!

as you may have noticed from the badges at the side of this blog, i am part of the etailpr bloggers network through which i can promote both established and upcoming fashion brands treating my readers to the occasional giveaway or discount.  in the last days, etailpr has launched a competition for bloggers in conjunction with asos and shopcade.  if you are a blogger, what are you waiting for? check out the competition here, like, now!

if you're not a blogger, fret not my dear friend.  what i bring to you is something astounding.  i've only recently joined shopcade and, well, i am hooked.  

shopcade lets you browse products ranging from fashion items, tech stuff, media, food, you name it, it's there.  whenever you like an item, you can place it in a list such as i did with the shopcade 'gifts i want' which you can see below. 

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confession #000060

... or, in praise of dresses

it is a truth universally acknowledged that "a woman can never have enough shoes". while i won't even go anywhere near disputing this fact, because it is, indeed, an indisputable fact, i shall add my little twist to it:

a woman can never have enough shoes, or dresses

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confession #000059

... or, oh, jeff ... i love you too... but ... 

oh, jeff ... i love you too ... but... (1964)

i can't believe it's already been three weeks since i was in london, more or less round about this time - it was saturday as well - viewing the roy lichtenstein retrospective at the tate modern.  before putting fingers to keyboard, in an attempt at making sense of the notes i took post-exhibition, i wanted to find the perfect time so as not to rush it for the sake of writing.  i guess, this glorious yet lazy saturday afternoon hits the spot.

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confession #000058

... or, just one of those days

this morning i woke up in one of those 'eating isn't very chanel' / 'nothing tastes as good as skinny does' kind of moods. i don't know if the (by now locally infamous) transforma advert had anything to do with it.  what with playing on my sub-conscious and all that.  it could even be the realisation of the total abandonment of any dieting effort over the last month.  my schedule has been as bad sh*t crazy as the weather here in krakow, providing me with ample excuses reasons to forego a jog for a cup of tea and a bar of chocolate.

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confession #000057

... or, "i have nothing to wear"

so i finally got myself one of the celine logo t-shirts that have been making the blogger rounds all through spring.  i know, i know summer is just round the corner - at least according to the calendar - but who could blame me thinking it is still early spring when i keep finding rain, strong wind, and why not, the occasional thunderstorm wherever i go?

i bought my celine t-shirt from here and it arrived in the post while i was away.  i was obviously super-thrilled to find it in the post and add it to the london-budapest-malta haul brought back in my overweight luggage! and today, i finally get to wear it.  if i figure out what i'm going to wear it with, that is.  i have this tendency of waking up with an obsession to wear a particular item and then spend hours in front of my wardrobe trying to figure out how i'm going to style that item.  today is one of those days.

to help me in the process, i'm scouring lookbook.nu to see how other fashionistas are styling their own celine tee and playing around on polyvore.  which one of the sets in the slideshow would you go for? le me know in the comments section below!

5 ways of wearing a celine t-shirt by tikkamars on polyvore.com

confession #000056

today i just want to pay tribute to the women who inspire me in terms of personal style and fashion.  most of them are what would qualify as petite, i.e. below the 1.67m mark.  and as a petite woman myself (standing at a mere 1.48m - yes, not even 1.5m!), it is quite logical that i should look at how these beauties are gracing the latest trends, and working them to make the most of their more diminutive shape.

so, without any further ado, here goes my list of personal style muses:

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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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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 #000044

... or, of grey clouds with silver linings

it's been a few intense days, very stressful ones in fact.  having to deal with a number of things which test your patience and strength beyond their limits is not something i would wish on my worst enemy.  especially when these include the loss of a wallet with all your beloved credit cards, thereby making it impossible to resort to retail therapy in such situations.  

but there is always a silver lining.  in situations like these, you realise how much the small things, or the things you tend to take for granted, really matter.  

my facebook page reached the 100 like mark today! it's not a big deal for other more established or better connected bloggers, but for me it is.  to me, this means that there are 100 people among my facebook 'friends' and not who have peeked in on the page and are getting my little musings in their news feed.  my hope is to have more than 100 followers, especially on the blog itself so that i can provide followers with offers from affiliate stores and the like, but i don't have great expectations. never had, and never will. 

another silver lining today was seeing some photos of the charles & ron fashion show from last night, as part of the malta fashion week.  the intricate laser cut details may not have been my favourite pieces, not being a fan of laser cut in the first place, but certainly kudos for giving a local flavour to the collection with the inclusion of the eight-pointed cross, notoriously known as the 'maltese cross', bandalori (village feast banners) prints, and intricate laces which reminded me of my late gran's shawl which she used to use for church and i now keep as her heirloom.  i must confess, that part of me really wished i was there last night and i'm sure that i'll be equally blown away once i see photos from another local favourite of mine - sef farrugia's casa azul collection showing tomorrow at the new designers show.  i can't wait! in the meantime, feast your eyes on these gems from charles & ron ... 

photograph by bernard polidano.  check out bernard polidano photography here

this must be one of my most favourite looks of the night: so elegant, simple and sophisticated. photograph by bernard polidano.  check out bernard polidano photography here 

the ultimate favourite for sure ... so reminiscent of my gran's shawl. photograph by bernard polidano.  check out bernard polidano photography here 

and here's a photo of my gran's shawl.  photograph by yours truly, quite some time ago!

confession #000043

... or, stating the obvious

i think i'm suffering from seasonal affective disorder.  today week, we had some absolutely glorious weather in krakow, but this week was certainly a throwback to winter.  fair enough, it hasn't snowed for about a month, but the grey skies and the rain certainly don't make you think of spring, let alone summer.  

i've even had to bring out my geek-certified anorak and dark clothes again.  the neon yellow heels i bagged last week still have the price tag on. *sob*  

so, aside from snuggling up, endlessly browsing fashion pages, watching youtube clips of cute cats doing all sort of adorably funny stuff, and watching film after film, what's left to do on this grey saturday afternoon apart from taking a few silly pictures of one's tout pout? 

wish you all a lovely weekend, whatever you do, whatever the weather! xx

confession #000041

...or, size matters

or, to avoid any misunderstandings, let's call it 'matters of size'.  

you may remember my post from a few weeks ago about making the most of fashion when you're 5' tall or thereabouts.   i've often also complained about my rather rotund figure, which, being short, makes me feel even more corpulent.  somehow the willpower and stamina to stick to my diet or an exercise regime are nowhere to be found.  my commitment levels are somewhat taken up by what i feel are more important things such as my relationship with my loved ones, my work and having as good a life as possible.  

so it came as a very nice surprise when this morning, forgetting that it is actually a public holiday both back home in malta and here in poland, i came across this article on the dailymail (there's only so-much intense reading you can do before your first coffee) about h&m's latest swimwear campaign.  i'm not referring to h&m's campaign featuring a smouldering beyonce knowles, who herself is beautifully curvaceous.  

the ad campaign i'm referring to is actually for h&m+'s range, which caters for, well, the more endowed.  i love how beautifully healthy model jennie runk looks, as well as h&m's tact by actually playing down the fact the range is for 'the bigger girls'.

my favourite quote of the whole article is where jennie runk states:

'So much of advertising and fashion portrays only one kind of body, and that's super tall and super skinny. I think not only should there be more plus-sized models in fashion, there should also be more petite, pregnant, ethnic, etc. 'I think ever woman should be represented equally -- we're all beautiful in our own ways!'

and heck, yes, so it should be! when you're stuck in a 4'11'' body, with a pot belly that won't shift and way too much junk in the trunk for your height, you yearn for a stylish inspirational figure.  i'll admit to finding solace in images of kourtney kardashian, who's a few months older than me and actually just a couple of centimetres taller than me ... and who, after two pregnancies, is looking better than ever.  but then again, her gym routine is probably part of her public life unlike mine! 

there, i had my morning rant.  now off i go to make the most of this public holiday! toodles xx

confession #000039

...or, here's one i wrote earlier ... 

hello lovelies! i hear that malta was rather grey and windy today.  it feels somewhat weird my enjoying looking out of my home office window onto a glorious bright sunny sky here in krakow while the rock of sun and sea is battling the last of april showers.  

anyway, if you're spending the evening in today, jog your memory back to autumn 2011.  that was when i had my first fashion article published on the sundaycircle online.  i'm very grateful for the opportunity i was given, but somehow my stance at the sundaycircle seems to have died a natural death. the reason? well, i suppose it was brought about by a number of factors which changed my life over the last year and a half.  but nevertheless, i look back with fondness on that time and in celebration of it, here's one of my very first articles, which i believe is still quite relevant.  i've updated some of the photos which had originally gone out with the article, just to give it a new lease of life.  enjoy! 

geek is the new black

being brainy, or at least looking like a whizz kid is something of a new fad.  american sit-coms like the big bang theory and the quantity of comic-inspired movies hitting our big screens over the last years may have something to do with it.  the makers of family matters and steve urkel probably never thought the hapless protagonist would one day be a bit of a style icon. 

steve urkel, main character in u.s. 90s sitcom family matters, memed

geeky glasses, plaid shirts, rolled up jeans and braces have all found their way in men’s fashion during the last months.  and they seem to be holding on fast, each taking a life of its own.  the geek look was once considered to be un-cool and subject of ridicule. not anymore.  the day of the geek has finally arrived. 

the dark-rimmed glasses, immortalised by the likes of yves saint laurent himself as well as the more unlikely fashion icon, woody allen, and re-discovered through ray ban’s current wayfarer and clubmaster collections seem to have triggered this craze.  coupled with slick side-parted hair or a quiff reminiscent of a t-bird’s hairdo, the dark frames give an air of meditative aloofness which is oh so heartbreaking.  coupled with a plaid shirt – why not, with a few cowboy-cum-lumberjack adornments to it – and skinny jeans, the whole look would scream “renegade geek”.  brainy bad boy … who could ask for more, at least in the fashion stakes? 

the ray ban wayfarers

an unlikely fashion icon ... woody allen

going through a number of designer catwalk shows and high street store product presentations for autumn 2011 menswear, it is easy to see that the key elements of geek keep making their way through the various collections.  tommy hilfiger’s preppy style is riddled with geek influences, but still retains the essential college jock attitude.  on the other hand, h&m’s modern casual 2011 collection fuses suits with funky t-shirts creating a laid back philosopher’s stance.  mangano’s man is rough around the edges but still oozes that ‘i know stuff’ charm. 

oh, the preppy boys that got our hearts racing back in 2011 ...

so gentlemen, while the shops and online stores can provide you with all the basics to create your own individual brainy bad boy style, do yourselves the favour of making sure you know a thing or two about science and the arts.  Real brains are the most attractive and fashionable accessory you can actually have.