Friendship bracelets

Friendship bracelets have been there ever since I can remember (elementary school I would say... a looong time ago), but lately they made a major 'comeback' in the fashion scene.
Stylist Danie Bles is known for using them in her styling. NET-A-PORTER refers to a bunch of (friendship) bracelets as 'the fashion stack'.

At one time, they were just that: friendship bracelets, that you would make or buy and exchange with your friends. This time around they're the best fashion accessories I can think of. I especially love the ones by Barong Barong, Gas Bijoux and Réminiscence Paris. But the best... are still the ones my friends gave me many years ago!

For more information please visit:
Barong Barong  http://www.barongbarong.com
Gas Bijoux http://www.gasbijoux.com/en
Reminiscence Paris http://www.reminiscence.fr

Umbria Jazz 12

I don’t need many words to describe the Umbria Jazz festival in Perugia, Italy… it’s the best! Umbria Jazz means great music, big stars, friendly people, delicious food & wine, beautiful surroundings, sunny weather, in a historical town that has a lot to offer…

Lago Trasimeno is close-by, so you can go for a swim during the hot summer days. If you wanna go sightseeing on the other hand, Assisi is only 20 minutes by car, Florence 2 hours, Rome 2,5.
To me it’s the perfect combination of culture and fun.

The programme for Umbria Jazz 12 still has to be published, but some big names have already been revealed: Sonny Rollins, Sting, Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, John Scofield, Joe Lovano, Dave Douglas, Melody Gardot, Enrico Rava and Stefano Bollani!

It’s one of the biggest and oldest jazz festivals in the world and has something to offer for everyone: pure jazz, latin jazz, soul, pop, funk, you name it! And with many free concerts, it’s not only for music lovers with ‘big wallets’.

By the way, do bring some extra cash to go shopping! The stores in Perugia are great… you’ll find the latest fashion, shoes, leather accessories, ceramics from Deruta, local delicacies like truffles, olive oil and wine and of course Umbria Jazz t-shirts and CD’s!

For more information and tickets, please visit: http://www.umbriajazz.com

Mozzarella burger and pasta by La Bottega del Vino:
http://tarasdolcevita.blogspot.com/2010/10/la-bottega-del-vino-perugia-italy.html
Steak tartare by La Taverna:
http://tarasdolcevita.blogspot.com/2010/12/ristorante-la-taverna-perugia-italy.html

Bas Kosters, Spring-Summer 2012

When I asked fashion designer Bas Kosters what his new spring-summer collection was all about, he told me: "this collection puts the 'u' in ugly"! It's based upon an 'ugly' woman he saw walking down the street. But what defines ugly? Of course that's not the same for everyone!

For some of the prints, he used photos of beautiful people and then elaborated them into ugly people, cutting out eyes, lips, noses and repositiong them and actually creating very funny faces. 

(see first photo)

While for some of you, Bas Kosters might be a little bit too risqué... there are several very wearable pieces, like the ruffled mini skirt you see pictured above. It's definitely one of my favourites.

In the last two shots, you see Bas Kosters together with Greek fashion designer Angelos Bratis, talking about his collection. Who knows how the two of them inspired each other? Angelos might be using crazy prints next year and Bas might switch to ladylike eveningdresses...?!

For more information, please visit: 

http://www.baskosters.com/collections/ugly-collection-ss12

Gelateria della Passera, Florence, Italy

Gelateria della Passera is a cute little ice cream parlor in the heart of Florence. All their ice cream is handmade with mostly local and seasonal ingredients. They had so many wonderful and special flavours... I could barely decide what to take. How about earl grey or mojito ice cream? Or kaki (persimmon), apricot, clementine, mint, walnut, zabaione... By the way, if you can't make up your mind, you can try out some samples.

Located in the Oltrarno area, it's the perfect spot to take a break after a visit to the Boboli gardens, Palazzo Pitti or the Ponte vecchio (and so much better than all the ice cream that you'll find in Via Por Santa Maria). And it's THE place for dessert after a great lunch at I Quattro Leoni, Caffè degli Artigiani or 5 e Cinque!

Gelateria della Passera
Piazza della Passera 15,
Oltrarno, Florence,
Italy

Ps. Photos taken with Samsung Galaxy S phone.

Nicole Carvajal, digital drawings

Nicole Carvajal was already famous for her beautiful paintings; now she has added digital drawings to her extensive work. The women she has portrayed here are very fashionable & showing their emotions: fear, pride, amazement and so on. Not only a musthave for art lovers, but for fashionistas alike!

If you are living in of traveling to The Netherlands any time soon, you can check out her work at two upcoming exhibitions:

Gallery De Hollandsche Maagd, Gouda

1 March - 31 March 2012

http://www.dehollandschemaagd.nl/

Gallery Polhus, Nijkerk

11 March - 29 April 2012

www.galeriepolhus.nl

For more information, please visit:

http://www.nicolecarvajal.nl/welcome.html

Or read my previous blog about Nicole Carvajal:

http://tarasdolcevita.blogspot.com/2011/09/paintings-by-nicole-carvajal.html 

Photos courtesy of Nicole Carvajal.

Antik Batik, Spring-Summer 2012

Oh Antik Batik... how much do I love this brand & their new Spring-Summer 2012 collection! It's a trip around the world. Or as the French say "le tour du monde en une collection". France, Indonesia, India, Kuweit... it's all there. 

See for yourself at: http://www.antikbatik.fr/ 

Photos courtesy of Antik Batik.

People... the Bloggers at AFW

Here are some of the fashion bloggers that I met at the Amsterdam Fashion Week!!! They were all so kind, not acting competitively at all. But then again, why should they? We're all here to entertain people (and to have fun ourselves as well)! 

Pictured here among others: Natalia, Fashionable Pris and Ellis Droog. Oh and yes that's me with the green scarf and the yellow soles... they were in various street style articles... thank you guys ;-)

Dress by Antik Batik http://www.antikbatik.fr

Shoes by Robert Clergerie http://www.robertclergerie.com/en/