Holiday gift guide for HIM & HER.

Photo via Lulus.com

Today I have started my Christmas gifts shopping here in Budapest and this year I actually decided to do it on a more organized and controlled way. First I made a list of closest family and a couple of best friends who I want to buy gifts for and ordered what I need to order online since most online stores require you to make orders before December 19th in order to have gifts delivered by Christmas.

 Then, since I don't know the city well I googled and researched the shopping malls and found the one with most stores I would like to visit and went there with the list and predetermined budget. I withdrew the exact amount of money in cash and first went to do the customised gifts which required printing, engraving etc. so these can be done by the time I am done shopping and then I bravely walked through absolutely packed hallways and stores of the shopping mall. Usually, I prefer to shop on the work days in the morning when not many people are in the stores, due to my busy schedule, still taking over a new position at work and living in between Budapest and Barcelona I will not have this luxury this year.

The first rule for me for Christmas shopping is 'Don't panic!', a second one is 'Start early!' and third one is 'Don't overspend!', Christmas should not be about things so when you shop you shouldn't get things just to get them because it is Christmas and you need to get something to everybody. 

Sit down in peace, have a cup of coffee or a tea and think about people you care about and what are their interests, what is that they said they maybe lost and might want to have back, what are the thing they are saving for to which you can maybe contribute a bit or if you are on a really limited budget and spend a lot of time with these people just make a nice collage of photos from fun times you had together in the past year and put it all together in a creative frame or an album you will take time to decorate on your own.

Bellow are some fun gifts I was looking into which might work for your loved ones as well. :)

GIFTS FOR HER 

Dear male readers, no matter what you do, always remember make it personal, emotional, make it smell nice, always write a note to go with the present!

Luxurious scented candle by R-Nichols | Oprah's favorite| price: $45| burns 60 hours (delivers to Europe)

Ženski rokovnik - ladies only planner available for sale in each dm store in Croatia and online 

Price: 80.90 kn

Jeffrey Campbell bedazzled loafers via Nasty Gal | Price: 94.19 Euro

For busy women on a run this is a very practical gift!

Cream Quilted Olivia Butterfly Twists ballerinas via Butterfly Twists | price: 25 GBP.

Swarovski  Entwined Glamour Bracelet | price: $ 70

I have this bracelet and love it! It works both with casual and evening wear and it looks really luxurious.

GIFTS FOR HIM!

Ladies, In my experience men want practical gifts, nothing overly couture and to trendy. If you think about it, they ask quite frequently 'What is this for?' Make sure that their gift is in-line with their interest, useful and fun, cause as Coco Chanel said: "As long as you know men are like children, you know everything."

Sherlock Holmes PlayStation game, it is strategic, none violent and you can play it together :)

 Price: $ 49

Clinique men's cosmetic pack | price: 80 Euro

Customised bath robe | price: $69

Men's manicure set | price: $30

If you are not sure what to get for the lady in your life or a friend or you don't have time to go shopping, you can always write a card and get a gift card online and print it out on a nice piece of paper and put it in an envelope together with a card, just make sure you also write a nice personal note. I have great experience shopping from NastyGal, Lulu's, LuisaViaRoma and Asos. 

The same might apply to the men in your life, if they have a hobby they are very passionate about for example my dad hiking or my boyfriend dad - crossword puzzles, then go for a gift which corresponds with their interests.

I hope you found my gift guide useful lovelies! Have a lovely Christmas shopping!

The color of love.

I asked you, my lovely followers on my blog's Facebook page recently what colors, smells, food and drinks remind you most of Christmas, Martina, Korana and Ana said color - red. I feel the same way. When I think Christmas, no matter how 'to be expected' and 'typical' it might sound I automatically think - red. Not so much Santa suite red and Christmas decoration red, more so Valentino silk or satin gowns red, Alexander McQeen lace and velvet red and sexy New Years Eve Chanel lipstick red.

Alexander McQueen

Currently I am addicted to burgundy lipstick which I just got from Chanel recently, it goes well when I want to add some drama to my day look and looks amazing with evening looks. I love to wear red maxi gowns with gold sandals or shorter red dresses with back booties.

“Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. 

That, or a kick-ass red lipstick.”

 Gwyneth Paltrow

Gucci

Valentino

“As she always did on any really important day, Penelope Hayes wore red.”

Anna Godbersen, The Luxe

Marchesa

Valentino

Topshop

My suggestion is to overdose on red during holidays as this is and always be a stand out, 'all eyes on me' color, just be sure to be able to handle all of the attention red dress or detail will bring upon you ;)

What is your favorite red piece you own? How do you feel wearing it?

“When in doubt, wear red.”

Bill Blass 

Swarovski brings sparkle to your holiday season!

 Some years ago while interning in Showroom Seven New York I was admiring custom editorial pieces of costume jewelry made with Swarovski Elements, they would make an average girl turn to glam diva in a snap of a necklace clip! 

I remember coming home from work and telling my boyfriend how bedazzling these pieces were and not all of them were so expensive either, so year later when he got his first real job he would  get me at least one Swarovski jewelry piece a year while we were together, I still have all of them. My favorite are black leather crystallized bracelets.

Imagine my excitement when I was contacted to participate in promotion of this lovely Swarovski Elements Advent Calendar on companies Facebook page. 

I got this elegant Entwined Glamour Bracelet by SWAROVSKI CRYSTALLIZED™ as part of this partnership and I have been wearing it every day since I got it. It really goes with every outfit as it gives a touch of glam to casual day outfit and an additional sparkle to an evening look.

Now, you are probably wondering how this lovely Advent Calendar works, just like you unwrap different candy piece with an old school chocolate calendar same mechanics are applied here, the difference is that here, every day you can come back to this calendar, reveal, share and comment various luxurious items bedazzled with Swarovski Elements, all from gorgeous Casadei shoes, True Religion jeans, Coach rings to Godiva's chocolate and truffle collection shared in first 10 days of December.

This calendar also features a bit sparkly contest where the final winners awards in the grand prize drawing are grown up girls candies - SHOES! Times two! As there are two final winners!

Here I am not talking about any shoes but rather a pair of SHEYLA Stilettoes of Kennel & Schmenger bedazzled with SWAROVSKI®ELEMENTS or as a second prize a pair of SOHO Sneakers of Kennel & Schmenger made with SWAROVSKI®ELEMENTS (both in size 5).

This is an international contest, all you need to do is like the Swarovski Elements Facebook page, enter their Advent Calendar application tab and click on the bottom to enter the brand prize drawing where you need to fill out your email and name. Hurry up, contest ends on Christmas! :)

Good luck lovelies! 

Do you have a Swarovski piece which you wear daily? 

*The raffles will be live from December 1^st until December 25^th, 2012 at 12:00 a.m. CET. The selection of the two (2) winners takes place through a random generator. All winners will be contacted via the email address provided to get their shipping address to send out the prize no later than January 31^st.

All that glitters...

"Some girls are just born with glitter in their veins."

                 As month of December kicked in I instantly got in that holiday spirit! I know it is cheesy and all but I really can't help it, I really like this time of year (minus the cold weather).

 In my dictionary 'holiday spirit' stands for Starbucks peppermint mocha (skinny of course), frozen nose when walking down the street, chunky, soft and warm woolen scarf which my my made for me, smell of chocolate cookies and cakes in the kitchen, opportunity to bust out my woollen hats and fabulous glittery maxi gowns and heels (which I envisioned my self wearing much more often at point of purchase, justifying price per wear ratio).

With all of the above said, please bare with me if you are not so much into holiday celebration stuff as I am as this month I will be focusing my fashion posts on maybe a bit less practical but so much more fun and dreamy fashion pieces.

Today's post therefor I am focusing on all that glitters! I have been waiting for opportunity to post this one so I hope you like it :)

Glittery turban.

Blazer, Nasty Gal: 138 USD

Dress, Nasty Gal: 78 USD

"Personality is the glitter that sends your little gleam across the footlights and the orchestra pit into that big black space where the audience is."

Mae West

Ellie Saab SS 2012.

Ellie Saab SS 2012.

Chanel.

Of course, every true fashionista needs to have at least a pair of 'Cinderella' like glittery holiday shoes.

Casadei heels bedazzled with Swarovski crystals via LuisaViaRoma

Booties,Nasty Gal 215 USD.

I hope that you like my selection of glittery casual and dressy things to wear, I will be posting more high and low mixed items on my Facebook and Twitter pages as I am putting together my holiday shopping list so stay tune! There will be some presents going out for you as well lovelies! ;)

Designer quickie: Aba Drvar-Tomičić.

Following last Dreft Fashion Week Zagreb I had a chance to interview Aba Drvar-Tomičić. Young designer who's super cute faux leather jackets for SS 2013. season totally won me over! Especially styled with maxi cotton dresses which I often wear! Another reason to do this interview was a boutique opening at Nova Ves 84 street in Zagreb which Sonja Lamut  whom I interviewed earlier this year and Aba have opened together. 

How hard it is to be creative in today’s volatile economic environment? Where do you make most compromises? Where do you manage to save and what is the most expensive part of making a collection?

It does get hard sometimes.  In order to create a good quality piece one usually needs to spend a good amount of money. When it comes to building a brand it gets especially hard to make any progress without significant financial investment. Lately it seems like all of us young designers are becoming experts in creating something out of nothing.

I actually make compromises in every step of the collection making process. 

Each time I start quite ambitiously in hopes that I will be able to manage pull out full collection and execute my essential idea to its fullest but then slowly but surely reality kicks in and I start to compromise on each thing a bit without hurting the quality of fabrication and making as much as possible in order to finalize my collection. Usually the most expensive things are little details which break the set budget at the end.

Jacket - 1000kn | Dress - 800kn

Jacket - 1000kn | Dress - 800kn

When you look back now what is that one thing you wish someone have told you when you were a student about being a fashion designer?

I started to study fashion design at the time when textile industry in Croatia was still going strong and fashion design still underrated. When I completed my studies, textile production in Croatia started weakening and design started strengthening a bit, now I feel like it it overrated in some cases, especially in comparison to the textile production and quality of making.  

I would like there to be some gold-middle where one can learn about design through practice and how demanding this job really is. It would be great if there were experienced designers in Croatia who could mentor me through the whole process of planning, creating and presentation.

In what way do you see fashion designers and social media are changing fashion industry?

Social media and fashion bloggers are making fashion much more dynamic, personal and approachable, everything has became much faster. Trends are changing faster than ever which puts personal style in focus and fashion is getting a whole new meaning and dynamic.

How would you comments textile industry and fashion design in Croatia today? Do you think it is possible to live solely of fashion design?

I think that fashion design in Croatia has matured a lot in last several years with it, domestic fashion houses realized importance of hiring good fashion designers as a key to good sales and production of their production.

Unfortunately, due to current financial situation I think there will still be some time before Croatian textile industry recovers fully.  In order for this to happen a strong push is needed which will bring together expert from various fields: business people, designers, pattern makers, technological support and PR experts which currently doesn’t seem to be feasible?

Currently, small manufacturing sites are surviving and managing well designer part of work but also business and PR.

I still can’t live solely of my job, I just started and investment needed is massive.

How did the fact that you became a mum changed your creative process and influenced your work?

Actually, I decided to complete my fashion education after I gave birth to my third child, so my kids are actually from the start of my education.

I truly believe that the fact I have kids has motivated me to continue and finalize my education, and to fight to do we hat I love and become a complete person.  As with most of the families with little kids, we never have enough time in one day to do all we want to do.

What is your average customer like?

I really have various types of clients, just like I work within a range of styles.

Roughly I would say that my clients are in their early thirties and many seem to be quite artistic.

The price range of my pieces is quite reasonable I think, from 250 kn for shirts which I paint manually up to 1500 kn for the faux fur, double side coat from my last collection.

Recently you have opened a boutique in Zagreb with your colleague designer Sonja Lamut, what are you plans for the future?   

Sonja and I have studied together at Profokus school of design and we have been friends ever since. We have completely different creative goals but we appreciate and respect each other’s work and are always here for each other. This is how we decided to open a boutique together at Nova Ves 84 street in Zagreb which we are currently redecorating and looking forward to its opening. 

My new Prada.

So.....the story goes like this last Sunday I walked in my boyfriends apartment in Barcelona, he was away as he had a game in another city. As usual I dropped my suitcase, and walked around the apartment to estimate the 'damage' and surprisingly the apartment was much cleaner then usual, he even washed and hanged the laundry. 

I changed my clothes and started with the vacuuming and moping the floors and once I got to the living room..there it was - big, white bag with navy blue printed Prada logo. I turned off the vacuum cleaner and peaked in, I didn't touch it. Wasn't sure it was for me. Then I texted my boyfriend..no response, it was about 4 hours before the game, he was taking a nap in the hotel. Hmm...I was curious, I thought maybe some of his friends from Croatia ordered it as a gift for their wives. I was still curious...I always wanted Prada tote. Not just any Prada tote but Prada Vitello Daino tote.

Prada Vitello Daino tote is not just another designer bag, it is tote of a great value and quality from a brand with long and famous history. Prada was founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada and was originally known as Prada Brothers. In 1978, Mario's granddaughter Miuccia Prada led the company's expansion into distinctive clothing that quickly became a favorite among celebrities worldwide. Currently, Prada is one of the most influential clothing lines in the fashion industry, with an iconic collection that includes sunglasses, handbags, and shoes in addition to men's and women's clothing. 

This bag is often copied and duplicated so company issues a unique certificate with it in order to protect and identify it's customers. There is very high demand for it so for example Saks Fifth Avenue doesn't allow one to order more then three pieces in 30 days period. 

Finally...I carefully opened the hard white Prada shopping bag and untied the satin white Prada bows holding the bag handles. Inside there was a white soft cotton bag with prada logo and 2 envelopes, one big one with my name on it and a small one with hard certificate card proving bag's authenticity...and then...there it was...in it's full glory - brand new soft black calf leather, double handle,detachable shoulder strap, gold plated hardware, snap closure,one inside pocket and logo fabric lining - Prada Vitello Daino tote and it had a card with my name on it!Ouu happy day! I still can't believe it's mine! :)

"What you wear is how you present yourself to the world, especially today,

when human contacts are so quick. Fashion is instant language."

Miuccia Prada

Tigress Reign by Ada Zanditon

One of the most anticipated shows for me on this SS 2013.season's Dreft Fashion Week Zagreb was Ada's show. I interviewed Ada before she came over to Zagreb to do the show, she told me about her passion for creating sustainable fashion pieces, about challenges of working in today's volatile economic environment and of course she showed me a sneak peak of her SS 2013. fashion film.

Backstage at DFWZ was as hectic as everywhere else, Ada still managed to have fun with her team of dressers and to sneak on some popular Croatian candy - Kiki.

I cannot say I was surprised by the energy, girl power and fierceness of Ada's SS 2013. collection after following her work for couple of years now there words are exactly describing Ada as a person. I loved everything from mood film, styling, amazing Julian Hakes shoes, luxurious floaty silk used for dresses as well as patches of leather which accentuated shoulders of dresses transforming a romantic floaty silk piece into a protective armor for tigresses in all of us.

One of my very favorite dresses from this collection on top of the green jungle dress with leather patch sleeves and open back is the bellow gray digital print silk dress ideal both for work and play which I plan to order upon my return from Barcelona to Budapest.

Jungle dress - 100% silk, made in London, £770

" It was fantastic to be back in Zagreb for the third time to be part of Dreft Fashion Week Zagreb.  Many thanks to Suzy & Sarah for inviting us back! Yet again, the experience of being part of this event was fantastic and Alexis Knox, my stylist and I had great assistants backstage, fantastic models and a great production crew to work with. The audience response to the show was brilliant - we were really thrilled and following the show we had celebrities and new customers wanting to buy dresses from the collection."  

Ada Zanditon

Jersey print dress, 100% silk, made in London, £405

Bellow you can see the full fashion film - Tigress Reign, the location of filming was Cyprus with the help of Ada Zanditon's partners: Easy Jet Holidays, Ecover, Illamasqua and Keune.

Director : Thomas Knights | Music: Sebastian Bartz  Styling: Styling: Alexis Knox | 

Makeup: Mika Johnson of Illamasqua | Hair: Christian Landon