Day of the Dead

"Little precious has a natural obsession
For temptation but he just can't see
She gives him loving that his body can't handle
But all he can say is baby it's good to me
One day he goes and takes a glimpse
In the mirror
But he doesn't recognize his own face
His health is fading and he doesn't know why
3 letters took him to his final resting place
Y'all don't hear me"
- Don't go chasing waterfalls, TLC


This, our first proper dress-up Halloween, taught us a number of things:

1. We would really like to look this scary every day.

2. We are going to pursue a career in which we can make cash dressing-up.. Day of the Dead party hosts? buskers? face paint workshops?

3. If we ever join a band, this is what we would like to wear at every performance.

4. Halloween is the perfect time to let your hair down and not give a f&*k what people think of you. Be whom ever you want to be. And act as effing crazy as you can!

It also got us so excited we ended up sitting in our friend Toto's room with a bunch of illustrators and creative folk, drawing tattoo's on each other, and passing around the tube of kunst (fake) blood, and almost forgetting to even go to the actual party....
for some 'slap in the face' action shots....
click here
My favourite part of the costume was our home made head pieces. Consisting of: A Burger King cardboard crown, spray painted silver, with real red and pink roses (brought from the market) poked through the bottom. Simple and epic.
When it comes to roses. Go real. Fake makes me uncomfortable.
p.s I think my new hair colour (tips) will be dirty lilac. Stay tuned.

Garage

"I could have been a sailor, could have been a cook
A real live lover, could have been a book.
I could have been a signpost, could have been a clock
As simple as a kettle, steady as a rock"
-One of these things first, Nick Drake


I have never been priviledged enough to have experienced the 'pay by kilo' vintage shopping, and there could not have been a better place to get the stomach fluttering and the happiness in the heart then Garage, Berlin.
Something about the layout and display of this place snapped me quickly into 'vintage shopping mode' and I automatically zoned on in to the deliciousness. It is put into garment category, then colour coordinated...what more could one want?
Piece by piece, rack by rack, I scanned every item (with what I think is an in-built, vintage analyzer I have in my brain...rare vintage-check, good quality-check,strange epicness-check, good fit-check = winner)
I am so effing thrilled with all of my purchases (even though there is physically no way they will fit in my suitcase, and I will look like the craziest person on the plane with more layers than cents-literally), that it has been less than 24 hours since they arrived in my grubby little hands and I have worn them ALL!
oh yehhhhhhhhhhhh.
p.s I secretly wore odd socks, and didn't realise until the end of the day that they had wormed their way up my leg. the end.

Lay Me Down

"No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue
I could not foresee this thing happening to you
If I look hard enough into the settin' sun
My love will laugh with me before the mornin' comes"

-Paint it Black, Rolling Sones

Tempelhof...Hilter's abandoned airport. It was built to be the biggest and most beautiful the world had ever seen.

Now completely bare runways are speckled with children flying kites, serious rollerbladers, and old, fenced off aircraft.

There is a strange/eery beauty to this place, and I am hooked. 

Everytime the sun comes out, this is where I'll be.

Laying in flowers, or climbing a tree.

Dress: American Apparel, vest: vintage 60s suede from Mauer Park Markets.

Rings (left to right),  Bird skull: WALD, silver locket: Tiffany & Co, thick silver: Tiffany & Co, silver bones: One Teaspoon.
Necklace: vintage mountain crystal.
Feather: Curtesy of Dino the Parrot

Ultimate

"I got a Black Magic Woman.
I got a Black Magic Woman.
Yes, I got a Black Magic Woman,
She's got me so blind I can't see;
But she's a Black Magic Woman and
she's trying to make a devil out of me. "
-Black Magic Woman, Santana


As per promised love children, here was my purchase of the day from the Mauer Park Markets, Berlin...the first time round. We have now been thrice, the the items are mounting into quite a magnificant pile of deliciousness, and you will see them all in good time (patience is the key).
This is a vintage Moschino leather (school) sack....Well, I like to think of it as a school sack (once again, my obsession with preppy meets Harry Potter).
But really, in real life, who could NOT love this bag. I'm fairly certain even the man selling it to me was indeed attached to it (or was pissed off with my epic bargaining skills).
Are you green with envy...

Resurrect

"Grow old along with me
Two branches of one tree
Face the setting sun
When the day is done
God bless our love
God bless our love"

-Grow Old With Me, John Lennon


Dreaming of the day…when I'll be swept away...
check out more pics from this and our other adventure's at:

Yosemite Campire 

American Apparel shirt, home made flower chain, Victoria's Secret bra

Burnt wears:shoes from Wald Berlin, thermal long johns, vintage knit, vintage cardi

Truth or Dare

You said the moon was ours
Yeah, you said the moon was ours
To hell with the day
The sunlight is only gonna take love away
Raise up suspicions and...and alibis
But I can see through tear-blinded eyes

-Lies, The Black Keys


Rain rain go away come again another day.
Effing heck, the weather here is draggin' me a'down.
Too many shades of grey (honestly it's on par with London at the moment), so it was time to go to the local market and get some flowers to light up my life abit.
Mixing a robot monochrome mood with my hippy love child heart I'm clashing some serious eyebrow action with concelled lips and a crown of colour.
Let's play ring-a-ring-a-rosie?

Shield Me

"What kind of magic spell to use?
Slime and snails
Or puppy dogs' tails
Thunder or lightning
Something frightening

Dance magic, dance
Dance magic, dance
Put that baby spell on me
Jump magic, jump
Jump magic, jump
Put that magic jump on me
Slap that baby make him free"

-Magic Dance, David Bowie

"i before e except after c"...my spelling is actually effing atrocious (I even just had to google 'atrocious' 'cause I got it wrong).
So remember my 'anti-fur protesters' story when I slinking through London? (click here)
Well I absolutely forgot to tell you that I in fact bought FUR in that store! Oh yes. Not only did I break my promise by swearing I wouldn't buy anything at all in the shop, I went one step further and bought the very thing they were ruining their voice boxes over!
I think after that day I almost hated my purchase, and held some sort of 'you made me buy you' attitude towards it.
The coldness of Germany is creeping in and I am learning to love it once again.
Want to know the coolest thing about it? (but of course you do!), the sections on the shoulders are removable by velcro!
Yes yes I know! That means, that I can BYO accessories to it, depending on my mood.
A crotchet phone has been suggested, and I (of course) have been considering some sort of pom pom madness, but the possibilities are literally endless!
What should I make? hit me with some idea's lovers. It's a DIY dreamboat.

Nothing Matters

"Is this the real life? 
Is this just fantasy? 
Caught in a landslide 
No escape from reality 
Open your eyes 
Look up to the skies and see 
I'm just a poor boy (Poor boy) 
I need no sympathy 
Because I'm easy come, easy go 
Little high, little low 
Any way the wind blows 
Doesn't really matter to me, to me "
-Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen


As per mentioned in my Bear Pit post, Burnt Sienna and I did it.

(get your mind out of the gutter).

To an audience estimated at over a thousand, we took to the area, and left our inhibitions side stage with our empty beer bottles.

Rachael: singer

Celeste : crowd (out of) control.

If you were unable to grasp the awesomeness of this weekly event from my photos check it out here.

Bohemian Rhapsody...a song in which I know nothing of apart from the word "Gallilao" at some point, but Rach rocked the socks off them. And my pom pom Jessie Hill knit proved to cast me as the perfect wing man.
A once in a lifetime event. Never to be repeated.
(youtube video to follow)

I feel what I wore was completely irrelevant but: American Apparel skirt, Marc Jacobs tee, Jessie hill knit, Ellery sunnies, vintage hat

Salt

"I hope you always find someone to take you home
To put you into bed, kiss your cheek, and check your pulse
Make sure you're still breathing with their hand up to your nose
I wish that could be me but its just not possible"
- Breakfast in Bed, DNTL


Different places do different things to my style. Its become a bit of a joke. 
My latest adventure was to Salzburg, Austria.
"Why Salzburg?" I hear you ask. The answer is....I have no effing idea, but if I was going to throw a stick to the wind (is that even a saying?!) I would say "The Sound of Music".
My all-time favourite childhood memories consist of trying to re-create scenes from this film with my three sisters. Dressing up and singing 'Coo-coo' (although to this very day I have no idea of the words)....leaping around in a circle like Liesl, and running around our backyard shouting the lyrics to 'Do-Ray-Me' (effing heck that song gets me excited!), are just a few of the amazing things this story does to the imagination....
Salzburg is where the movie was filmed and was also the home to the original Von Trapp family. And yes, my eldest sister and I did the sound of music tour. About five minutes in I plaited my hair in two plaits, and even people on the street and in restaurants smirked at me like "oh dear. that girl has actually dressed in costume for the Sound of Music tour"...which only made me think...I wish I DID dress up properly for it!I would have gone all out if I had planned it in advance. There's always next time? (probably not).
Highlight (apart from the tour, der) was walking around all the crazy amazing churches and graveyards. The pinnacle was a monastery carved into a cliff face...the only way to see it was tiny church windows in the rock...it was the spookiest, strangest, most incredible thing I have ever seen. Also the 'torture chamber' in the castle rattled every single bone in my body...they even had the instruments in which they used still in there. Creep-town.
Anyway I thought I would use this post as a sneak preview to the answer of my previous tease of saying : "my style has had a serious swing" by introducing you to my new lipstick.
Welcome to my dark side. 

D&G Jacket, Topshop man tee (courtesy of cowboy), antique necklace, MAC lipstick

Double or Nothin'

"You keep on saying you'll be mine for a while
You're lookin' fancy and I like your style
You drive us wild, we'll drive you crazy
You show us everything you've got
Baby, baby that's quite a lot
And you drive us wild, we'll drive you crazy
You keep on shoutin', you keep on shoutin"
- Rock and Roll All Night, Kiss


Now, there is one kind of outfit that will always get my certified tick of approval. In basically every single way.
Doubling up in your outfit.
Double denim √
Double leopard √
Double leather √
Double stripes √
Double colour √
Double patterned fabric √
(someone stop me!)
You might remember the photo shoot I did where I styled each outfit in matching get-up head to toe. Or if your a sneaky newbie, check it out here 
Here's some Berliner doubling deliciousness....

this man later started juggling. fantastic.

this couple must have been on a double date? 

her: leopard skirt and matcing heels, him : double denim

Double washed out black denim? the answer (obviously) is yes.

Bear It

"There's a killer on the road
His brain is squirmin' like a toad
Take a long holiday
Let your children play
If ya give this man a ride
Sweet memory will die
Killer on the road, yeah "
-Riders on the Storm, The Doors


So I have found my most favourite market in the world (so far)...not to put down Spitalfields or Brick Lane, 'cause London you got it goin' ooon. But seriously. Going to the mauer park markets in Berlin on a Sunday is like stepping into a modernistic version of Woodstock. The actual stalls that brought the amazingness had the 'one man's trash is another man's treasure' type vibe. So you truly have to be in the mood to get a' diggin' (how's my slang today. I'm in a strange mood)
I got a vintage rabbit fur coat with effing lilac coloured satin lining for 10 euro! I almost fell over when the lady told me the price. I tried to pretend it was a normal-ish, and did the whole 'consider it and shake my head, and then nod slightly' to make sure she didn't realise how crazy that price is. (winner!)
I got my red hooker platform heels, which, to be honest, I am absolutely in awe of. The brand is actually called 'Guilty'...can you even effing believe that! Amazing! 
But, without question, the purchase of the day goes to the brown leather vintage Moschino sack I found (image to come)....
wait for it, wait for it....for 20 euro!!! Oh but yes, I had to get my haggle on to come out on top of this one. I got him down from 35 euro. Wunderbar!
Apart from the shopping (oh yes there's more), there is a huge open space next to the market full of thousands of people laying on the grass, drinking beer, hanging on the hill, blowing bubbles, carrying around a giant silver blow up hammer?, bongo drumming, pushing their babies in vintage prams and wearing sailor outfits! The list goes on. You totally feel like you are at a festival. 
The main cause of epicness though goes to Bear Pit Karaoke.
An old outdoor stone colosseum type theatre, in which hundreds of people cram in, beer's in hand, and sing along clap and just be all-round merry whilst someone works it on out on the microphone.
"Karaoke?" I hear you ask. And, I know what your thinking. Unless you are fairly wasted, some poor pop trash singing 'hit me baby one more time' isn't exactly a cause for a mention. But wait, the song choices mainly consist of old school musical numbers, kids singing the Beatles, David Bowie and even a bit of Opera. Two thumbs up.
Not to mention Geldolf the old friendly tripper blowing bubbles dressed as a wizard throughout the crowd.
I'm hooked.
Stay tuned, incase we pluck up the courage to do a number tomorrow... oh la la.

Grind Me

"I saw a girl in the crowd
I ran over, I shouted out
I asked if I could take her out
But she said that she didn't want to

I changed the sheets on my bed
I combed the hairs across my head
I sucked in my gut and still she said
That she just didn't want to"
-No Pussy Blues, Grinderman


We were lucky enough to hop on over to the Grinderman show at Columbia Halle to see Nick Cave work his mystical magic. 
I had forgotten the warnings regarding the difference in appreciation from the audiences over here (a.k.a they all just stand still and very quiet, rather than dancing and singing along, and dare I say it...have fun?), and this lead to more than a few very angry fellow listeners abusing us for our 'outrageous' behaviour.
Nick liked it though.
Thats all that counts?
Dear little Rach was so over the moon, she nearly started actually levitating off the floor from all the happiness welling up in her heart. This inspired me to get creative. In a creepy way. (word of warning, this story does not have a happy, or even eventful ending, and even though I have just said that you are still going to read the rest, arn't you. Yeh go on, do it). 
I decided to take on a media personality and try and convince the young photographer side stage to let me up and photograph the band. Rach's 'real' camera in hand, I went on to explain that I was a journalist from New York (acent in tow) and had come to the gig last minute, so hadn't organised the media pass in time. Was I ready for the "Oh cool, so what publication do you write for?" question that followed...the answer is no. I'm fairly sure I mumbled something along the lines of "oh you know, just like, I don't know if you've heard of, you know, like, just some various music and fashion magazines...." FAIL. 
You never know if you never try right? You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink? no. that doesn't apply to this at all does it...FAIL X 2
But all that aside...
"I'm the Grinderman."

And yes, yes, yes he is.

I wore: Vintage velvet dress, 'guilty' patent red vintage platform heels (both from mauer park markets Berlin) 

Rach wore: vintage top, costume glasses, Karen Walker necklace

Bow Down

"violently happy
come calm me down
before i get into trouble

i tip-toe down to the shore
stand by the ocean
make it roar at me
and i roar back"
-Violently Happy, Bjork


We danced on over to the Peter Lindbergh 'On Street' exhibition at the C/O Berlin, and boy oh boy...this man is a fashion photography legend.
Embarrassingly enough, I was unaware of his statuer in the industry, and could not have put his photographs to his name, but this made me think...there are so many amazing fashion photographers in which I am constantly 
staring at their work, and almost worship the images they create, and yet, I know nothing of them.
Tisk, tisk to me right?
Don't worry, I am going to make a solid effort to read up on my favorite's from here on in!
Peter's images are so iconic, you will recognise his 90s supermodel portraits for sure.
Mainly in black and white.
He stated in an interview that to fail at fashion photography is to go into the room with the exact image you want to create. The image must be about the subject. You have to open up what they have to offer, and bring out their true 
selves in order to create a masterpiece.
I thought that would be uber interesting for all the budding photographers out there, and it actually got me super 
inspired to bring that knowledge to the next fashion shoot I do....(not on this blog, in the real world silly billy's)
Tell you what, it also made me ponder that the denim overall is back?
anyone?

Wearing: Michael Kors shirt, Topshop man bowtie, One Teaspoon shorts, Jessie Hill pom pom knit, same old boots.

Party Arty

"The rich get money but never what they want.
Find ourselves a new place to haunt.
Climb up the fire escape do it 'til the ground looks far away.
Go night swimming,
leave our clothes on the ground,
when you get busted you should just stand there proud.
It's the truth we all been wrong make it up and let's move on.
Playing cards we all get to act sly
there's so much beauty it could make you cry
there's so much beauty it could make you cry
there's so much beauty it could make you cry
there's so much beauty it could make you cry"
-So much beauty, Modest Mouse


To say we haven't been exploring the night life of Berlin, would be a dirty filthy little lie.
Rather than sit here and say how productive and creative I have been since landing, drinking mineral water and sketching in a moleskin, would be a far stretch from the truth.
In all honesty though, I think the night life in Berlin is the most inspiring in the world.
Here's a sneaky run down of my two favourite places so far....
Dr Pong = a dark and dingy ping pong hall, with vampires making out in corners (I wish I took a photo for you, holy heck. Amazing. not the making out, the outfits. of course). A barman who spoke English (praise the lord) and who kept making out with his co-worker up against the wall behind the bar (hang on a sec...there wasn't crazy amounts of making out as I am making it out to be, but it obviously caught my eye). The owner who looked like....whats his name, off True Blood, the cute guy who is really nice like a big teddy bear who goes out with the young red head? (cue Elliot: master/expert of the show) .."Hoyt". yeh him. Side note: Just don't ask for a water, as it just involves the barman walking into the toilets and bringing back a full cup = not so awesome.
People walk around with ping pong bats in their pockets. Grab a drink, hit the tables. It feels like the 70s with a grungier vibe. 
Fuchs und Elster = the best place ever. I mean it. It even knocks the underground bars in New York off the table. Set in a bunker in which you have to go through a maze of different rooms to get into. It's burlesque meets 50s swing. People  in extravagant masks, drag queens, and all round visual amazingness even lead us to get out my Sharpie and draw beauty marks on each other. Jumped on the stage when 'Rock around the Clock' hit the speakers, and in the end I even became convinced that men who wear facial glitter are actually attractive (only if they have facial hair). Guess you had to be there???
I'll take more photos next time.
Oh yes, there will definitely be a next time.

Beauty marks: Sharpie

Hat: vintage, Feather: curtesy of Dino the parrot, Glasses: Ellery, Top: One Teaspoon, Bra : Amercian Apparel

The beginning of the end

"Whatever trepidation you may feel
In your heart you know it´s not real
In a moment of clarity
Some little act of charity

You gotta pull me out of this mud
Sweet baby I need fresh blood"


- Fresh Blood, The Eels


(guest song choice by Burnt Sienna)


Touchdown.
Berlin.
Day 1 = 
-dress-ups in our epic apartment
-rolling 'round on our water bed
-searching for low fat milk
-trying to learn more than one German word (other than Vunderbar. Which, to be honest, is quite a fantastic answer to most things anyway...)
-overcoming my fear of not remembering how to ride a bike...statement that snapped me out if it: "riding a bike is like riding a bike", Elliot.


side note: although playing dress-ups for no reason is more than ok. In fact, its absolutely phenomenal... This dress-up session was born for quite a significant reason. We started off in the wrong area of the city, and our first impressions were severely damaged by an abundance of un-friendly stares from fellow passer's by. Used to wearing whatever we want (and not being stared at for it), we were quite taken-aback and this resulted in us feeling forced to wear the 'jeans and tee-shirt' combo around (not even with jewellery. effing heck. i know right!)
So with an hour to kill, in the safety of our home, we had to vent and get our fashion hit.
We have since found our nook of the city and feel free to voice our fashion opinions (thank goodness!)


Stay tuned, as I have had quite a huge sway in style since being here...totally radical babes. You'll see what I mean very very soooooon.
xx

Clothing: All vintage
Clogs: my own
Rachael's shoes: Beaucoops