Style Bytes

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Thank you all for reading Style Bytes so far; I hope the blog will be even better with the make-over.

My boyfriend gave me Fashion Now 2 for Christmas. I never told him I wanted it, but he already has fashion books in his own collection, so I guess it came naturally to him. I never got the first edition, so I was of course very pleased to recieve this. The book is great to learn more about the big designers. It’s not always easy to keep track of everything, but this book is loaded with interviews, pictures and background information. It works well as a book to flip through when you’re bored or to read from cover to cover. Even though I love the book in many ways, there are some designers missing that I would love to know more about. I guess at this price you can’t get it all. Still, all fashionistas should have this book. It’s $39.99 on Amazon.

As as start of the new year I have made a list of cravings for 2006. I always keep a list of things I want and/or need, and here are some of the ones to come.

Short shorts

Black and white polka dot chiffon dress

Striped sweather

Ribbon to tie around the waist

Tiered skirt or dress in white or beige

Flower patterned dress

Baggy dress, either it’s girly or boyish

Suit and white shirt if you still haven’t got one

Socks, knee highs, colorful tights and leggings (all to wear with heels)

Bright summery colors like mint green, soft pink and yellow

Beige and black combo

Anything in white laces

See through dress, either it’s chiffon or laces

Nice underwear to wear under the see though dress

Platform heels

Nice flats for days with a lot of walking

Anything 60’s, even though 70’s and 80’s will work in some ways

And if you didn’t get it from the above keywords: dresses, dresses, dresses.

I was asked to show off of my apartment a while back, and I finally got around to take some pictures. This hasn’t got much to do with fashion except that you occationally will see a shoe or a necklace, so if you find this totally useless just keep on scrolling.

The flash makes everything look a little sader than it is. The apartment I live in is small so I haven’t been able to do everything as I’d like to. I also share it with my boyfriend, which has made me have to make some compromizes. Still I am pretty pleased.

For the kitchen I wanted to go for a 50’s kind of style. I am especially pleased with the diner table, but I haven’t found matching chairs yet, so the ones I have are just to have something to sit on. I guess these are pretty common in the US, but here I’ve never seen a table like mine. I also have a lot of 60’s stuff, making the whole kitchen looking a little grandma-ish. My grandparents actually had the same dishes I collect. The bookshelf is Ikea, and it works as a perfect room seperator. It is wide enough to fit books on both sides. On the kitchen side I keep my kitchen stuff and cookbooks, on the other side I keep mostly books.

Some of my kitchen flea finds.
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Some recent cutouts from my scrapbook. All from Elle, some the Norwegian and some the American.

There are sales all over right now, and sometimes it’s hard to figure out what to go for. Here are some keywords.

Quality In stead of buying lots of cheap stuff extra cheap, go for quality. This is the only time many of us can afford some of the more pricy stuff, and usually the quality is way better.

Shorts We have seen these in stores for a while, and they will be just as trendy next year. Grab them while you can!

Leather handbags The tan leather handbags will work next year as well, but black leather will last forever. Mango has a nice handbag that looks a little Chanel on sale right now.

Winter coat These can be expencive so buy one now while they’re on sale. There’s still some months of cold weather to get through (at least in Norway). Also look for a trench coat for spring if you don’t already have one. There’s nothing more timeless than that.

Jeans Also a garment that can cost quite a bit, so look for them now. Last sale I bought an extra pair of my favorite. Remember that the waist is rizing, so don’t go for the low ones.

Knits Woolen sweathers and any sorts of knits never go totally out of style, and there are tons of them in stores right now.

Shoes Nice heels won’t go out of style too fast. Platforms will last another year, so look for those as well. Sneakers are also great to get on sale. Above are semi-expencive heels from Mango.

Basics and classics All sorts of basics and classics that aren’t mentioned above. Suits, white shirts, black pumps…

Think spring Take a look at the spring collections and have a look at what colors and styles you would like to go for. Some of this you will be able to find at the sales now.

I always check out Mango during the sales even though I never shop there normally. They have some semi-expencive stuff in good quality, and usually have the best sale of all.

With: Mom, two of my sisters and one of my nephews.

Where: Nesna, a tiny town up north in Norway.

Got: Fashion Now 2, Max Factor eye shadow, a year of Elle, Paper Chase CD, suitcase, beauty supplies among many other things.

Ate: Alot. Traditional Norwegian dishes like dried fish soaked in lye and I got home some nice dried reindeer meat to put in the coffee.

Saw: Northern lights, shooting stars, lots of snow, several moose and very little TV.

Best: When my dad came to visit and brought a box of my grandma’s old stuff.

Worst: Spending 28 hours on a train. (I love travelling by train, but when all you see is snow it gets dull after a couple of hours.)

I bet most of you have tons of dresses in the closet that are rarely worn. In stead of buying a new dress for the New Years Eve party why not go for some new accessories in stead? A dress you can wear on special occations, but nice accessories can dress up any outfit at any time. The little black dress is a perfect example of a dress you can pump up with some new accessories. My suggestion is to put a little extra money in new accessories rather than a new dress, and here are some ideas, all from Anthropologie.

I finally got around to make my own version of the Marni hat from their 2002 fall collection. Even though this collection is 3 years old, that hat still works because of all the buttons we see right now. I bought a knitted brown slouchy hat from H&M and sewed on some colorful buttons.

The buttons look really small on the picture but they’re much larger in life. When I get sick of the buttons I will take them off and use the hat for a more Burberry Prorsum look from their 2006 spring collection.

And so are the polkadots! The so loved and hated pattern was seen frequently in the spring collections. This time the polkadots are more sophisticated than ever and I bet a lot of polkadot haters will be turned around. Here from Y&Key and Kenzo.

Secondhand stores often have a good selection of cute polkadot dresses, so have a look there before going for more expencive garments.

…so I don’t know how often I will be able to write posts. I believe I will have internet access, so there might not be any changes at all. If things doesn’t work out though, I’ll be back in business 27th of December. In the meantime I have two 14 hour train rides to get through…

Have a Merry Christmas everyone! Leaving you with a picture my boyfriend took out in the woods, which perfectly represents Norway during Christmas.