January 13th, 2014

Hours à la Milanese

Eight and a half hours, this is how long I stayed last November in Milan on my way to Parma. 8 1/2 is also the title of a famous Fellini film, but that is another story.

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One can spend days and hours by strolling through the shops, cafes and restaurants in Milan. Let me take you along a virtual tour to some special places I go to every time I visit Milan, no matter how long I stay in the city.

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December 27th, 2013

Into the Blue

On the first Advent Sunday wearing a turquoise blue coat by Fabrizio Lenzi

On the first Advent Sunday wearing a turquoise blue coat by Fabrizio Lenzi

Looking through my pictures of the last months I realized how many shades of blue I had chosen to wear. Blue is the colour of the unfathomable depth of sea, the radiant sky and the sapphires, the colour of the vastness and the infinity, of relaxation, silence and aspiration…

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December 12th, 2013

Ballet Dreams

Once upon a time there was a little girl called Jonela. She dreamt of becoming a ballerina and she danced wherever she had the chance to. Now, the girl is grown up and she still loves to dance. She did not become a ballerina but she attends any good ballet performance whenever she has the chance to. And when the curtain rises and the lights go down, she starts dreaming…..

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November 30th, 2013

Fashion in the City – Antwerp

The time just flies by. It is already end of November and I still “owe” more reports from my early fall trips. So, before it’s Christmas already here comes the second part of my trip to Antwerp on the first weekend of October.

On the square in front of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts wearing my favorite Burberry trench, Yves Saint Laurent bag (from the time when Yves was part of the brand name, now only Saint Laurent), sunglasses by Christian Roth

On the square in front of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts wearing my favorite Burberry trench, Yves Saint Laurent bag (from the time when Yves was part of the brand name, now only Saint Laurent), sunglasses by Christian Roth

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November 12th, 2013

The Fashion Connection

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Belgium and Fashion? Thinking about fashion, you will think about Milan, Paris or London. But only if you do not know Antwerp. The Belgian city at the river Scheldt is known as the main activity place of Rubens, as the third most important seaport of Europe or the world’s most important diamond trade centre, but in the last thirty years also as a training ground of world-famous fashion designers. Without names like Martin Margiela, Dries Van Noten, Haider Ackermann, Peter Pilotto etc. the fashion world would be missing a lot.

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November 1st, 2013

Summer Nostalgia

The last days of autumn have spoiled us with sun even in the Northern latitudes. And you walk down memory lane of summer, beach and sea Enjoy some photographic souvenirs from my September holidays at the Albanian Riviera, my home country. Blog posts to come will certainly be more wintry but – as usual – warm (-hearted) at the same time… 

Caftan by Lisa Corti, bangles by Sportmax, a present from my dear sister, embroidered cotton blend purse from the Bazaar in Istanbul

Caftan by Lisa Corti, bangles by Sportmax, a present from my dear sister, embroidered cotton blend purse from the Bazaar in Istanbul

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October 23rd, 2013

The Call of the Ancestors

A few weeks ago, I visited my homeland Albania. I spent several days in the village of my grandfather, in Vuno. Vuno is a small idyllic village on the hillside of the Ionian Coast of Albania, built entirely of stone over centuries.

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October 7th, 2013

Coco Chanel meets Marie Antoinette meets Amy Winehouse

This was the vision my dear longtime friend and hairdresser Jaouad had in mind when he styled me for a photo shooting in his hair saloon JF in Frankfurt. As an intermezzo before the blogposts about my stay in my homeland here are some pictures of the making-of taken by a good friend of ours. In the background the professional photographer and his equipment.

Donna Karan dress, Chanel heels, various vintage pearls I have collected over the years

Donna Karan dress, Chanel heels, various vintage pearls I have collected over the years

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September 30th, 2013

Cultural Weekend in Frankfurt: Sequel

After the beautiful late summer days in my homeland Albania I have to get used to the German autumn. But, autumn brings a lot of cultural events which are a compensation for the grey days.

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I reported here a few weeks ago about the launch of the retrospective of the deceased Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica at the Frankfurt Palmengarten. Last Friday, the full retrospective was opened at the Frankfurt Museum of Modern Art (MMK) and I was there again. 

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