AllSaints Spitalfields

My recently favourite place to shop in London.



Their clothes were made to look well worn-in and seem to have that rock-inspired formula with a special distressed shabby chic look. Things in grey, beige, black and battered denim and the Victorian-style boots without laces look like they've just stepped out of a music video.

Their trademark motif is a ram skull which goes well with the interiors of edgy rails and rusty lamps, wooden floors and vintage sewing machines. These days I could easily wear this everywhere. But I really wonder how long it will take before this becomes another boring Zara...








photos by Arek

LA RÊVE - Café De Paris

What I really like about London is that it continuously offers interesting things to do and new experiences.

This time it was my ever first time in a burlesque cabaret - very witty, very vintage and modern at the same time. Crushed velvet, theatrical drapes, chichi crystal chandeliers, the vintage feel of the main space and its balconies - it was unusual to find it all in the French-flavoured Café de Paris in Piccadilly open since 1924. La Rêve show was very good and so was the hot 'Twisted Circus' after party - with resident DJs play mixed with circus performances.

I think from now on I can stop going to musicals in favour of cabarets ;).







photos by Arek

KEX Hostel

I can say it plain and simple - this is my favourite hostel. To date. It really doesn't seem like I will be finding a better one any time soon. And believe me, I had a chance to sleep in many hostels. I'm telling you, KEX hostel is perfect :) - or very close to it.

When I first started to look for a place to stay in Reykjavik for our group of 8 restless Iceland explorers the fact that attracted and intrigued me most about KEX was that this hostel is housed in an old biscuit factory ('kex' means a cookie in Icelandic) - which overlooks Reykjavik's waterfront. The place looked good so we booked it. And then, one brisk June morning after a landing on a lava field, we found ourselves in Reykjavik at 3AM with the sun high up in the sky. And we entered KEX...

The hostel opened last April and it offers you something I could even call 'a better home away from yours' :) A very cool, stylish and cosy place, it is almost entirely furnished with hip secondhand furniture, which what it seems was very carefully selected and matched to create a spacious but comfy and relaxing retro environment for people staying over or just dropping by for a drink in their amazing bar.

I will stop talking now and let you see by yourselves. And if you are in Reykjavik - don't miss a chance to stay in KEX, it's totally worth it :)

tourist info desk

the bar

the reading meeting room





my favourite detail

the elevator...

... with some elevator music





the 1950s barber shop



photos by Olga and Arek except for the top one

Norman Parkinson Photography

Cardin Hat over Paris. Queen, 1960

One of the great pioneers of fashion photography, Norman Parkinson is famous for his sense of style. Distinguished as one of the true innovators in his field, he pushed the boundaries by bringing the model out of the studio and onto the street. He set the model against unusual and daring backgrounds, such as the gritty working-class districts of London, and was a seminal influence on subsequent generations of fashion photogaphers.


Vogue 1955


Times Square, NYC, September 1949


1938


Vogue, march 1951


Vogue, February 1950


Vogue, February 1948




Vogue, January 1949


Queen, August 31, 1960






American Vogue, October 1, 1949


Vogue, April 1 1950


Vogue, November 1956