I have bought a "new" old hat. I found it at the evening I went to the opening evening at A. Marchesan and Tidens melodis (loosely translated to the tune of the times) pop up shop! I was graciously invited by the owner Ann who usually resides in Karlstad but for a short while moved her shop to Stockholm and A. Marchesan. When all lovely vintage gals where searching through the offerings I found myself to be a bit shy. Suddenly I saw this hat on one of the shelfs and it was love at first sight. Simple, elegant, with a lovely shimmer and a pearly, sparkly detail, simply adorable. 

Since then I've realized that I'm probably wearing it backwards with the bow in the front instead of the back, but who cares? Isn't it pretty this way?

If you're ever close by Karlstad you really have to swing by Tidens Melodi. Ann's selection of vintage clothes, hats, shoes and accessories is impeccable and very well priced! You can also buy yourself a cup of ecological java and/or a homemade pastry while your shopping!

(I also bought some other beautiful treasures at her pop up shop which I will share with you in time.) 

Of to the North!

So my friends, I will be flying up to the north, north of Sweden tomorrow! My mother comes from the small town Haparanda which is beautifully placed just by the Torne älv (Torne river) and the Swedish/Finnish border, so you can literally walk over to Finland if you want. I will be going there, sadly, due to a funeral but I have a lot of planning and fixing left to do before I am ready to leave. 

This is the first time I'm going to fly with Bengta and also I want to pack some crochet projects and other bits and bobs so that I can keep myself busy until Monday. I have a hard time dealing with grief (something I might write about later) so I need things to work on with my hands. I find that it helps. 

I might not be able to post anything on the blog due to bad internet but you are always welcome to follow me on Instagram (where my name is simonastreet) where I try and post more regularly.

Til' later, lot's of love and hold your dear ones close.

Whats new pussy cat?

Vintage outfit styled by me

Photography by the lovely Åsa Edling

So, I think I will start blogging again. I stopped due to lack of inspiration but lately I have been thinking about picking this up again. I just think that I will have to stop being so over critical on myself. It's never good enough, and could always be better. But it is what it is, my vintage diary. For those of you who still hang around here from time to time, thank you! And for any new readers, you are marvelously welcome!

Taking in the last shivering days of fall

It is amazing how fast time flies. Fall has soon come to an end and the time for our warmest winter coats, hats and gloves is lurking around the corner. But winter is my least favorite season and I always watch the last colorful leafs that cling to the branches with some melancholy and sadness. Don't get me wrong. Winter can be wonderful, magical and cozy but that magic lasts only for a short while, or visits on some special days. The rest is kind of cold, dark and boring. So sometimes I wish I could have winter for just a month and then fast forward to spring. 

Well, this weekend I visited Malmö, a lovely city in the far south of Sweden. It was my first time there although I have been nearby many times. The reason for the trip was quite unexpected for me! 

I was invited by my fiancées parents to go with them on the final game of Sweden's biggest football (soccer, for you americans) championship, Allsvenskan. Football is my fiancées passion and this time his team Malmö FF had already won but played their last match on home ground. And this lady who is really uninterested of anything football thought that this must be the best reason for me to go to my first football game. So with a bag full of comfy clothes (and one pretty dress) I planted myself in the backseat of Erik's dads car and slept for the 6 or 7 hours it takes to drive down.

The first day we just let our feet guide us around town, glanced at the opera house, ate some tapas and joined a couple of friends over at a bar. This was my comfortable and relaxed uniform (I was after all there to watch football). My wonderful 60's coat that I got for my birthday last year and a orange scarf that I got from Chili paired with black 50's cigarette pants. I felt that it was colourful enough to not be boring but still not to dressy since I was quite tired after the long trip.      

   

I also brought my new camera bag that happily fits my Canon 7D and my 50 mm lens together with some other odds and ends. Later on it started to rain but the bag kept my camera dry!

  

So, more photos from this little sports weekend will come and in the meantime I hope you guys get the possibility to soak up the last shivering days of fall.

Back in town

Hey darlings!

As usual my updates on the blog has been very sporadic. I have had a lot to tend to when I came back from Washington and I also got sick. Influenza, sounds as horrible as it feels. But, now I'm back and I have a ton of material in my camera, notebook and wardrobe that I want to show you guys! 

And, I have lot's of tips for you vintage shoppers that might end up in Washington. I had a lovely time and let me tell you that I'm really U.S. smitten. I just love the whole atmosphere over there! 

Well, more on that later and soon (I hope) because I am dying to drop some lines about my wonderful vacation and the awful trip back home! 

Until then mes amis, take care!

Versailles, oh Versailles..

Vintage 60's pale blue and white chiffon dress: FancyFineVintage

Vintage heart necklace: MaeJeanvintage

Vintage 50's sequined baby blue cardigan: Crushvintage

Park recreation

Back at work and I dream of more days just resting in the sun. These photos are from Paris from a day when the sun was shining and me and Erik decided to just go to the park, meet up with some friends who were leaving and drink some rosé wine. Those lazy days when you don't do anything special can sometimes be wonderful. And with Paris as a backdrop it's easy to just relax.

I'm fighting the feeling that the summer is over and I try to enjoy the sun (when it's out) on my free days. But wearing sunny dresses always helps!

Friday!

Since my vacation is over this is my first "normal" weekend off! And what will I do? If the weather allows I will be sunbathing and eating picknick from my new (old) picknick basket! 

What are you up to babes?

Doing the tourist thing

After going to Paris for a couple of times I finally did one of the most touristic things you can do. I visited the Louvre. As an arthistorian I should off course had visited it sooner but I've always thought that it seemed so big and that I really wanted to take my time visiting. But this time I thought I would make my first visit.

First of all, the architecture is amazing. We visited the part that was the apartment of Napoleon the third and I got so inspired. It is really interesting how every corner, no matter of it's importance, is heavily decorated with ornaments and paintings. That is why almost every photo is of architecture or furniture. The art, the paintings, sculptures and collections at the Louvre are of course immense and breathtaking. But, they don't do that well on photographs. You have to visit yourself. Take in the scale and grandeur, the small and intricate, feel the climate-controlled enviroment and smell the dust, people, gold and paint. I walked around recognizing paintings and artists that I only seen in books as if they were old friends. "Aha, so it's here you are."

At the end my eyes were tired and my brain overloaded. It sounds horrific to say that I just walked past the Mesopotamian and Babylonian collections and that I walked almost straight through a big hall were Giotto and Michelangelo were sharing the wall space. But the space was so big. As I thought, I will have to come back. Quite a few times that will say. To be able to take in, see and feel all of it. And I'm not complaining. 

Paris will forever own a little piece of my heart. 

1st of June

Summer is finally here but the first day of June the weather was quite changing. After a big rain shower me and Erik went down to a club where my cousin played with his salsaband. I was hesitant at first because of the cold weather and thought an evening in bed sounded as a plan but since I had promised I braced myself, put on my swing coat and my favourite Ferragamo shoes and headed out. And I'm glad I did! The music was wonderful and my spirits got lifted. All in all, a great night out!

I also have some exiting news to share, the 11th of June me and Erik are going back to my beloved France. A whole week of lounging around in Paris and outskirts! And of course I will bring my camera to show you what we are doing!

Let me show you a part of my hometown in a colourful fashion!

Outfit details:
Lipstick: Chanel, "Monte Carlo"
Vintage japanese soft pink 70's pussy bow blouse: Standard vintage
Powder pink angora cardigan: Sale find
Heavy blue/green and golden ring: Birthday present from Anna
Parrot print skirt: H&M
Bright green stockings: Oroblu
Light brown brouges: Vagabond

I was so tired of the cold one day that I thought I would try to dress the winter away. And I was actually going to shoot these photos at the tropical garden (wich is very close to where I live) but it was closed so that will have to wait for another time! 

Instead I chose to show you a little part of the botanical gardens that are so typical for Uppsala. It was founded by Carl von Linné (1707-1778) who was a swedish botanist and who was one of the greatest in his time. He was pioneering in categorizing plants and animals and has left a big mark on Uppsala where he worked as a professor and also founded gardens for study and collecting. 

Well, now you can see his name on basically everything from candy to cafées and furniture here in Uppsala. A couple of years ago we had a jubilée of some sort and you could run into local actors portraying Linné and his gang all over town. 

So, I may not be so fascinated with him or with some of his work but I do love to visit the gardens during every season of the year. When you live in the city there is not many places to relax and this is one of mine. In summer time I go here with some picnic-food to sunbathe and read a book, in autumn I visit the small fairs they have where farmers sell their locally and ecologically produced commodities, In spring you can see the snow melt away and the first little flowers appearing and in winter, well, in winter most of it is covered in snow.

 The cold and white snow gives the gardens a harder and more rough edge where the big stones covered in moss, the red metallic sculpture and the high and dense winter trees takes center stage. In some sense it's quite saddening but the feeling of everything resting under the covering snow and how all that energy will start to evolve when the sun returns with spring still gives it a sense of hope. 

With that in mind I thought I would wear my beloved parrotskirt and one of my more colourful outfits, just to remind myself that spring is coming, soon.

Ps! If you want to see how the gardens look in summertime, check out this post that I did this summer!