Readers in NYC!

If you like Letters from the end consumer, you'll like IVANA HELSINKI. Chances are you'll like Ivana even if you don't like lftec. But in that case, why are you reading this?

Ok! Just received a comment questioning my endorsement over the past few posts. Thought I'd elaborate. I'm a discerning consumer who try to buy less, use more of what I already own. I've had more or less the same size since I was 18 which means I can still wear most of the clothes I've bought since 1989. Here's my dirty secret though: I love clothes. It's a constant battle between the glamor loving style conscious person inside and the environmentally concerned, often financially troubled person that I also am. That's why I say I won't buy Mes Dames below but will try to recreate the look with the help of clothes I already have. And that's why I haven't bought the Kanebo Sensei stuff - just used store samples.

I think it's important to buy things I know will last a long, long time. And since I put so much time and effort into this portion of my life, I'd like to share the stuff I think will last with you.

Ivana Helsinki is a brand I really like. It's founded by Finnish designer/artist/film maker Paula Suhonen who describes her brand in the following terms:

“My world is for the ones whom love moonlit fields, pirates, dark forests, crummy motels, champagne states of drunkenness, fragile butterflies, passionate relationships, cowboys and guardian angels.  After all, they all are just after a love of their lives, rarely seen peaceful madness; just waiting to see, will he be a rockstar, a motor biker, a gnome, a cosmonaut or a sailor,” explains Ms. Suhonen."

A few years ago, I think perhaps 5 or 6 years or so, I tried on a green wool 40s-inspired Ivana Helsinki dress that I didn't buy. It's one of the few non-purchases that keep bugging me. I loved that dress and it's been impossible to find it. This year, I found another Ivana Helsinki dress that I bought and really, really, really love. I'll post it here later on, perhaps tomorrow. I look forward to wearing it for the rest of my life. 

Now you can buy MesDames over the internets.

That is, if you're into dignity and have some money to spend.
Personally can't check either box, but still like this brand.

The thing that made me really like them was their citing Palma Bucarelli as the main source of inspiration for this season's look.
Superloyal readers might remember my joy upon discovering Palma's entire wardrobe exhibited at small museum in Rome.
Will try to mimic the look soon with clothes I already own.
Click the pic, why don't you?

Music I'd like to hear

Being woman, my story

I was born with ovaries and the whole female setup. And despite the fact that men seem favored when it comes to getting power, influence, money and attention and basically everything else everywhere ever,  I have always been happy to be born a woman. But I find many of the female "truths" disturbing. As a western European woman of a certain age, I've concluded that advertising channels think I spend my time considering the following issues thusly: 

I would like to correct this fact by offering the true statistics of how I spend my time:

I have very little interest in skin care. And have now found a product that makes me have to think of it even less, (sadly am sometimes forced to think about my skin because it itches). With the help of the Kanebo Sensei series, it doesn't. It's really expensive, too expensive for me really. So far, I get by with samples. Just thought I'd share this with you, if like me, you're not really as interested in skin care/maintenance a people seem to think.

Alicia Keys, day 2.

One thing. I love One thing. Don't really understand the lyrics at all, but I rarely do. What's the one thing? Spooning?

Also Alicia, please get back to work to make some music for the ones of us who love to dance. That would be all. Thank you.

For that special someone in your life. Or for Brita Zackari.

Seriously

the word verification process you have to go through to post comments on blogger sites (like my own) is so difficult that the wording "prove you're not a robot" only makes me think one thing: perhaps I am.

Frankfurters?

Any readers in Frankfurt? Did you see the Caillebotte exhibition? How is it?
Am really curious.

-emi

Dear Angela

Olivier Hoslet/European Pressphoto Agency

This pic of you is marvelous. The impressionists have nothing on our own time. Renoir would have killed to paint your image.

Creative reader

Pills, thrills and bellyaches brings my world together.

Let the French laugh too

This wonderful book is now available in English, Swedish and oui, French. Don't let the title fool you, this book is written by a feminist genius who happens to be a very dear friend of mine.

Stylin'.

Elaborate, yet dignified. ACNE - can you touch this?

Parenthood

Exhausting, exhilarating, loving, tender, cramping, intimate, chronic, constant, highly physical, near all-consuming. Fittingly described here in oil by Lucas Cranach the Elder , whose very title implies his fatherhood. 

Would like to congratulate pictured mom on her apple-iscious breasts.We should all be so lucky.

Dear Rolex

Wow, that is one ugly way to show you have too much money.

TEARS ALWAYS WIN

have had the alicia album on repeat all morning. 

tears always win is my favorite so far. 

Moving forward?

This is from the 70s. Can't imagine this running today. Are we getting more prude as the years go by?
I think I'd be uncomfortable showing nip action like this, but still get happy from the notion that you should be proud to show the wonders of your body.

Ps. Ambivalent of male equivalent - boner pants?

Today's the day!

ALICIA!!!!!!

Ok. Have listened through the album now. It's not really a dance album, but if you're looking for make-out music, you're set.

Kids....they grow so fast!

Lågintensiv måndag

Lägger upp en gif till, bara för att jag vill dela den här fina Marielle Kerber blusen med er. Re-enactar The Claw från Liar, liar.

It's Monday

Posting this here to remind me that I can be energetic.

What I want for Christmas

And by want I mean need, crave, gots to have it.  I want this Mindball machine at home. You put a little leather headband on (like it's the 80s). It has metal details. Make sure they're turned inwards, touching your precious forehead.

Then you relax and focus and if you do, a little ball starts rolling. When you loose focus, the ball rolls backwards.

I NEED THIS MACHINE.

Meditation has never been my thing, but focussing and relaxing with this machine - it worked for me. Either that, or looking at those weird 3-D pics with jumping dolphins. You know. They work for me, too.

Ps. I know. Mindball. They really named it that.

Come dance with me! And Janelle! And Niki.

Så bra!

Stuff I don't buy from Etsy

But would still like to share the joy they bring!

Hör min bror prata kvantfysik med Nobelpristagare

Så stolt över Björn. Det här är samma bror som spelade i Lyckliga Kompisarna (ja, Hockeyfrilla). En annan medlem var med och grundade Nudie och blev mångmiljonär. En tredje har skrivit en Bert Karlsson-kritisk bok.

Det jag försöker säga här är: Om du vill att det ska gå bra för ditt barn, se till att hen börjar spela i band.
Det var allt. Nu kan du lyssna på Björn intervjua Serge Haroche.

Dagens mening.

Han rörde sig längs stranden i sin förklädnad och lyckades nästan sälja en utsnidad delfin till en AP-journalist, skriver han.

Dear Church of England who just voted no to women bishops

call us when you get to the 21st century.

Sincerely,

the modern world.

OM DU BOR I STOCKHOLM!

Demonstrera mot Irlands sinnessjuka abortlagstiftning! Demonstration utanför Irlands ambassad imorgon onsdag 21/11 kl 11.30. Hovslagargatan 5. Mer info här. 


Dubliners are protesting tomorrow too!

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/102747

JANELLE

She really sings like this. Just like that.

Ps. Have updated my running playlist to reflect my obsession with Janelle.

Today's outfit

I've noticed many bloggers share their style with the world. (have you noticed this too? just kidding)

I think I've previously encouraged you to, like, shoot me of I started posting today's outfits. 

But then I thought: Why be so hard on the blogging community?

I'll join you instead.

This is what I'm wearing today. 

This is what I'm trying to say with about myself through my clothes: 

I'm wearing leopard. Cause I'm a wild animal. But it's also got a pussy bow, which is great cause I've been called a pussy and perhaps that's true. I have no problem with that. Pussies are cute and soft and cuddly. 

I'm also wearing yellow cause yellow is my favorite color. I truly love yellow. It's by Rodebjer and by wearing Rodebjer I think I'm trying to say that I'm not just any old mom, but a contemporary Swedish woman who's interested in fashion but not a slave to it. Rodebjer is always dignified, which I rarely am myself. I try to buy dignity, it's very doubtful that I succeed since very few people at the office where I work today have ever visited a Rodebjer store. My style clues are really wasted on most of these people. Hopefully they're into yellow, though. 

My pants are a little on the short side which seems to be in fashion. I love these pants. I love them because they're so comfy IT*S INSANE. They're byKerber pants and if you're in need of pants, you should get a pair. With these pants I'm also trying to communicate that I appreciate quality, Swedish design and ethical production. Marielle Kerber, the designer, rents a house in Hanoi, Vietnam, where she and her vietnamese friends and co-workers make all the clothes. 

This is how the pants fit on me. 

Here's what they look like on a model:

Also wearing ACNE jacket that I've had for 9 years. Buy quality, it pays. I'm listening to Promiscuous (does this often come up in spelling bee competitions? don't think so but it should) here and dance with my finger. 

Am I throwing you off? Didn't think so. 

On my feet - Clarks brogues. I don't know what I'm trying to say by wearing them? That I'm not immune to trends but neither am I immune to the necessity of comfort and mobility? Rings true. 

Also, Janelle Monae wears short pants and brogues and what more reason could you ever ask for to wear anything? I LOVE JANELLE.

Glasses were chosen with the help of blog readers around the world and I love them. They're Oliver Peoples which make me feel like I've stolen them from the Oliver People.

I'm new to this. Today's outfitters don't usually babble on like this, do they? They just post a pic and get a zillion comments? 

Also sporting a genuine McKayla expression because what could be more 2012?

Most interesting story I've read in VF for a long long time

The magic of google earth.

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/11/india-orphan-google-earth-journey

Which Wii dance game is the best?

We love Just dance. Have you tried Dance Dance revolution? Other suggestions?

WARNING!!!!
Don't buy We Dance. I'll try to return it. So bad.

Hello

Why don't you come see me some time.

Blogging here too.
https://www.wonderwall.se/blog/

Dear ACNE

I'm interested in finding out how many healthy adult women 

will fit into the shirt pictured here (and on your site.)

Perhaps your shoulder to waist ratio is not as unusual as I think?

Have you seen Alison's pics?

Go here to see more pics by:
Alison de Mars von Blixen.

Just a few days left now

I can't wait for Alicias new album. CAN*T WAIT.
Let's watch this again and try to stand the wait together.

When my family makes it into the pages of the main Swedish paper...

 When my family makes it into the pages of the main Swedish paper...it's to brag about the peculiarities of our molding fruit.

"Thanks", dad!

I love you.

An anonymous tip

A reader directed me to this sign to protest the current Irish stance on abortion. Sign.

Change.org|Free Online Petitions

I love this

   
                   

I love how this enthusiastic and charming Dane really seems to believe that Danish could be easy to pronounce for foreign speakers. Even I, a born and bred Scandinavian, have huge difficulties pronouncing Danish words.

It's Dance Friday

GET DOWN!!!
I LOVE THIS SONG.

My weekend will be about this: trying to learn how to dance like this. Correction: The rest of my life will be about trying to learn to dance like this.

I want to give this song and this dancing a million thumbs up. Whatever happens musically starting right after Janelle shouts Now Shut Up gives me chills every single time I listen to it (around 3:33).

Michelle, Beyonce, we never tire of your project

Let's move. And keep moving. On that note, have you tried Just Dance for Wii or Ps? So much fun!

Still in love with the two of you after all these years

Like mother like daughter

På Nordiskas hårutställning med Niki.

Ireland, there is no excuse.

This makes me furious. 

Today is a great day

Boy met girl/girl met boy. Became a couple Nov 12, 1999.

This is exactly 11 years ago today. I was so incredibly happy, 

about to meet our firstborn, so in love with her dad. 

Here Vanja is with her relative Jamiro, also born on this day 11 years ago. 

11 years on, she has a blue belt in karate and LOVES DANCE. She is such a wonderful kid to have in our lives, bit hippie, loves to bake, tells jokes, loves reading, loses her stuff constantly, can keep secrets. 

ÄLSKAR DIG VANJA.

Petreaus casting

Hoping for: Cusack for Broadwell!

Catherine Zeta Jones, I SALUTE YOU!

For being so brave and open about your bipolar disorder. To everyone else: If your life hasn't been touched by bipolar disorders this way or the other, first hand or second hand, you're probably asleep.

I LOVE MANY PEOPLE AFFECTED BY BIPOLAR DISORDER.

Help reduce the stigma surrounding bipolar disorder. Talk about bipolar disorder. Realize the person affected is not to blame for the enormous trouble he or she faces in their daily life. There is so much shame tied to such a diagnosis.

No you don't, Taylor Swift

“I’m in a predicament where I can’t wear a dress twice or else it’s pointed out in magazines,” she says in the December/January issue of Harper’s Bazaar. “So unfortunately I have to shop for dresses all the time.”

Taylor, do it anyways - be bold (not an idiot), wear clothes more than once.  Become a poster girl for a wiser choice. If Kate Middleton can, so can you!

It's November

Rubriker som alltid får mig att tänka: Äntligen skriver de om mig!

1. Sveriges okända makthavare.

2. Sveriges bäst klädda kvinna.

Introducing: Guner household Swedish language class

Found this in the archive.
Repeat after baby Niki: GUBBE!!!

It means old man, but is most often used for old men you don't like or affectionately for young men a long, long way from gubbehood.

Very useful. Especially when you're upset with anyone of the male sex.

Important questions

1. How many pairs of jeans do you keep in your closet?

2. How many do you actually use?

3. How many do you think you should have?


Am asking these questions cause I went ahead and bought another pair of jeans yesterday. Had only 2 pairs and one pair is not even comfy.

You know I've had weird encounters with jeans selling people before.

But this time, in a Levi's store, a young man took his professional jeans hands and placed them on my hips (way too close for comfort). "Ok" he said, "now I know what size you are".

It would have been so wonderful it he'd been wrong, but annoyingly enough, his connoisseur hands were on to the truth. He picked out a great pair. So annoying.

Especially annoying when he said "wear these when you're out with the girls and you'll be sure to have someone buy you a drink".

I had to reply "no thanks. give me a larger pair".

then bought larger pair and took them home only to realize they were sagging so had to go back and exchange them for smaller drink buying inspiring jeans.

(Am wearing them right now and so far I love them.)

But jean seller person: next time I want to buy a pair of jeans, just sell me a pair of jeans. All that having to buy another pair than I want in order to spite you and your cheesy talk is just tiring.

Placing this just to have it around

Next time I'm thinking I should try a new hairdo with lots of help from an expensive professional.

After drooling over glamour pics, reminding myself that my life is more like this

Not too sorry about this truth.