"Top Knot Optional"

I don't visit Hel Looks much anymore. It's a fashion blog from Helsinki, supposed to capture imaginative looks in clubs and streets but it's all a bit po-faced for me. That and the fact that no-one over the age of 25 seems to be allowed out.
Rarely is there elegance or intentional humour; that could be because I'm over the age of 25, or it could be the effect upon Helsinkians of all that snow. For a while there was a terrifying spate of men and women using tights as trousers, and I think that finished me off.

'Rip It To Shreds' is made of sterner stuff than me and two of her recent posts featuring pictures from Finnish site set me thinking. Take a look at it here.
Did you scroll down and notice the hair?


The Tove Jansson influence. I've been impressed since childhood by Moomin Mama's handbags but didn't really think of Little My and her up-do (there she is, above) as a style influence. A look that doffs a cap to the humour and poise of the art of Tove Jansson could be a good thing.

This Is A Blog About Getting Dressed

Where it is unlikely that you will read the following:

"I'll just cut off the bottom of this rare vintage dress and make it into a mini".

"Look at my lovely new shoes. Note the 5 inch heels".

"I'm looking for something to show off my cleavage/armpits/thighs/navel".

"LOGOS! Nice".

It is also unlikely that you will find head-to-toe photographs of me modeling stuff. I go to Wardrobe Remix and other Flickr places for that sort of thing and you can too. I enjoy looking at photographs and have discovered genuinely witty and interesting dressers out there (UPDATE 2011: not on Wardrobe Remix anymore) but just as I don't pause before eating to capture my artfully arranged dinner for posterity, I won't be interrupting the inventive and expletive-riddled process of clothing myself while purblind in the morning in order to snap pics.

If I find something that fits, flatters and doesn't cost a fortune, I'll write about it. Sartorial shopping frustrations will be deposited here and it will be a place to proclaim the talents of people making the world a little lovelier.