Sweden has a huge love affair with denim, from the big three authentic brands to home grown denim such as Indigofera, Denim Demon and the fashion denim of Acne and Cheap Monday. I just discovered a new brand made in the town of Eskilstuna by two denim nerds, Hampus Luhanko and Patrik Andersson. What started out as blog about vintage denim they found on Ebay became a blog about their our own brand of custom denim – Blue Highway Denim. I have yet to get a pair in my hands but it seems these guys really love denim and are putting their heart and soul into making a few pairs for themselves. I’m guessing if I can find a pair it will be from Sivletto in Stockholm. Sivletto is the place where you can find lifestyle products that will appeal if you like the 40s and 50s. It’s their version of rockabilly and beyond.

There is a fine line between a fashion faux-pas and a happy fashion accident.  The distinction between total and absolute cheez, tacky combinations and a brilliant fashion move is a muddy one that depends as much on personal taste and color preference as it does on that perfect balance of style and textures. It seems like lately the leeway for this kind of experiment is widening.  I’m not sure if it’s Montreal, the season, the year, or just the general trend but colors seem to be getting brighter, combinations more daring and revealing, and style itself seems to be becoming risqué in ways that go beyond sexual.  The line between dressing up to go out and putting on a costume is ever-diminishing, as outlandish accessories such as peacock feathers, thick metal chains and old pieces of random junk are transformed into signature accessory pieces: earrings, belts, bracelets, rings, and necklaces.

Vintage polka dot tankini bathing suits are adorned with heart-shaped glasses.  Booty shorts and tank tops are dressed up with vintage ties and knee socks.  Girly dresses are dressed down with sneakers and funky accessories.  Short shorts are dressed up with avant-garde variations on the roman sandal by Trippen and Camper. Summer 2010 is a fashion bandit’s paradise.  Just don’t please don’t wear leggings as if they were pants, and when in doubt, buy your tank tops a size too big rather than a size too small.  It just looks better that way.

The F12 is a restaurant located at the Royal Art Academy opposite to the Swedish Governments offices in Stockholm. Owned by Melker Andersen & Danyel Couet, the restaurant serves high-class international food and is rather expensive.

However, during the summer the top two terraces of the restuarant are transformed into a club – which has earnt the reputation of THE place to be in the summer.

Its steps are usually packed with the hipster kids and although this years clientele is a little older, its still a very cool, music, fashion and creative orientated club. There’s a VIP room with a classic, cosy feeling and a little bar downstairs called Salongen which is open for the summer and hosts functions.

Photographer: Jessica Milan

‘Support something new’, urges Plaid Magazine’s website. But you won’t have to try very hard to support this Toronto based online magazine because Plaid is invested, heart-deep, in style culture. Featuring local and international talent in fashion, art, photography, music, design and more, Plaid has an eye for not only trends but timeless investment pieces as well.

What is ’style culture’ you ask? Well, Plaid understands that style is complex and one’s personal identity incorporates different elements. Bridging gaps and expanding horizons, the content approaches style from many angles. A recent article featuring Isis Salam, a Toronto based electro diva and style icon, is a perfect example of how life and style are intertwined. The creativity that flows through Plaid takes its cue from a multitude of sources and experiences.

One of the best things about Plaid is that they are very vintage friendly. I recall being told (by another publication) that I had to limit the number of vintage items in a photo editorial I styled because it doesn’t sell. This stigma against vintage irks me as it seems obvious that vintage is a gold mine of inspiration, individuality and supreme quality – don’t tell me that doesn’t sell – vintage is huge! Perhaps this reveals the close mindedness of certain publications rather than the marketability of vintage.

According to Plaid, “mixing aesthetics and price points give readers a real and reliable resource for approaching fashion; a bit of vintage here, a bit of name brand there, classic pieces and contemporary trends are a jump-off point for each fashion story. Where it goes from there is up to you.” It’s official, I love Plaid Magazine! Look out for a special print edition coming soon.

A Contemporary Claudia

If you were born in the eighties and you’re an American lady, there seems to be a fair to excellent chance that you read the Baby-sitters Club book series as a girl. I know I consumed these novels with an almost unnatural religious fervor, and these “tweens” totally changed my life forever. Claudia Kishi, in particular, was, is and will be one of my ultimate fashion gurus. Claudia was the “artist” of the group and the Vice President of the club. She describes her style like this: “Traditional clothes look boring and are boring to put on. So I never wear them. I like bright colors and big patterns and funny touches, such as earrings made from feathers. Maybe this is because I’m an artist. I don’t know. Today, for instance, I’m wearing purple pants that stop just below my knees and are held up with suspenders, white tights with clocks on them, a purple plaid shirt with a matching hat, my high-top sneakers, and lobster earrings.” UM. YES.

There is even a great fashion blog called “What Claudia Wore,” a site devoted to exploring the contemporary influence of Claudia’s look. Her wild, irreverent attitude is infectious and, above all, fearless.

The blog occasionally offers examples of magazine spreads that have “Claudia” written all over them. This one above is from the March 2010 issue of Nylon magazine.

Kasia Bobula is a London-based fashion journalist and photographer. She has written for a variety of magazines including Dazed & Confused, Tank, Useless, A4 and Hintmag.com among others.

 She writes a monthly column for Kmag and her photography has appeared in Style.com, Elle UK, Nylon Japan, DazedDigital and Surface China. Recent photo projects include collaborations with musicians Rufus Wainwright, Marina & the Diamonds and Lady Gaga. She is the queen of backstage photography! Watch her.

Photo by Kasia Bobula

Many Poles have settled in London since Poland joined the European Union that it was only a matter of time before one of them turned out to be a fashion designer.

26-year-old Krystof Strozyna, Central Saint Martins’ graduate, loves abstract graphic dressmaking and humongous, lacquered jewelry made of wood.

With bodycon shaped dresses he won the hearts of celebrities that are waiting for their dresses to be made by Krystof.

Even outside of New York, people such as my increasingly androdgynous friend Pictureplane have been taking press pictures that look straight out of 1992. With the demise of rock’n'roll or punk’s dangerousness, S&M is perhaps the last edgy look left. Wednesday’s “Weird” party has become an underground sex club where bondage performance art is exhibitioned in front of hipsters (it used to be a night for synth music nerds).  EBM, Industrial, and New Beat are the new disco soundtrack to downtown culture.

PICTUREPLANE

My friend Zana's harness

True Goth Summer look. Seen this verbatim.

About six years ago everyone and their mom was sporting jean jackets, so much so that the general consensus for the rest of us was to hide them away in the back of the closet – or at least that’s what I did. Well good news: time to find that jacket, dust it off and rock it with pride.  Denim of all kinds is very on trend this Spring/Summer and it doesn’t get more classic then a well worn jean jacket.

I think it’s safe to say that after years of being in hiatus, the jean jacket is back. I’d never really considered this garment to be a trend, but instead a staple that comes and goes. However, I threw mine on this morning and met up with a couple of friends who also showed up wearing jean jackets in various shades of blue. I felt a bit sheepish rolling with my jean jacket posse, but then I noticed that, despite sporting the same article of clothing, each of us looked unique. Maybe that’s the beauty of this casual, classic piece – it lends itself to so many adaptations and styles.

It’s nice that Spring’s focus on denim has offered up new cuts and washes beyond the standard. If you are afraid of looking like a Gap ad, try searching for some vintage denim, acid wash or even cutting the sleeves off for an edgier look.  Hopefully with more diversity we won’t overdo it and never want to see another jean jacket again.

There will always be something or someone out there trying to pimp hard to the sneaker freak in you. You know it’s there inside you, that itch, that need, that part of you that lights up at the mere mention of limited to 400 Air Jordan’s in mauve and neon pink. So when satiating this need, you gotta have someone you can trust. Vancouverites have Livestock.

Not a shop but indeed a boutique and rated #18 in Dime’s Top 50 Sneaker Stores (it may not mean anything to you, but it holds weight with the sneaker fiends), Livestock is a mecca for the sneaker heads. You know it, they will have it or have had it. For many, this is as close to a trip to the sneaker churches of NYC as you’re gonna get, right down to the massive 7am lineups of sneaker heads waiting to get their hands on the limited edition stuff that will drop that day and only that day.

Thankfully, there are two locations. The West 4th shop may not carry all the limited editions that that the serious pimps are craving, but they tend to carry a lot of consignment stock and different stuff that will provide the right amount of satiation. The Gastown shop is the original, the home; nay, the church. It’s more of a sneaker boutique and it shows in the design and layout of the store. It’s clean, it’s simple and it lets the majesty of the product do the talking.

Who do we have to thank for this temple to the mighty sneaker? Gastown’s favorite sons, Gman and Rizk.

It just makes sense, they were b-boys from the get go and the city’s biggest hip-hop promoters. It’s less that their fingers are on the pulse, and more that their heartbeats are the pulse itself. With direct lines into the heart of Timebomb Trading and NLA, they’re only a step away from the fashion industry.