Sara Streule, Author at Sara is in Love with…

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Once Upon a Time There Was a Flamingo

16th July 2012 11 Comments

The flamingo was the most colorful spot in the gray city.

Fernando Viana, flamingo top, pink flamingo, fashion

He was living in his own pink world, and he was very lucky that he was not gray.

He was living with a girl who loved him very much.

flamingo, garden flamingo, pink flamingo, Fernando Viana

Sometimes he missed the company of other flamingos. The girl always comforted him.

girl with flamingo, polka dot tights, pink shoes, garden flamingo

They had a lot of fun together, but he wondered if he was the only flamingo.

Fernando Viana, garden flamingo, flamingo fashion

She tried to fill his world with other pink things.

The girl told him that she would discover other flamingos for him.

She had to search the whole gray world.

Don Featherstone, garden flamingo, pink flamingo, 50s decoration

Finally she found other flamingos and invited them to her balcony.

pink shoes, polka dot tights, mary jane, shoes

All of them were very lucky there and promised to stay forever in their pink world.

The rosy feathers and the long neck make the flamingo a very fascinating animal. They always look a little bit fragile on their thin legs and children wonder how this animals get their pink colour. I have to think about summer on a beach with coconut palm trees, when I see the picture of a flamingo.

But they are not just amazing animals: Made out of plastic the flamingo is one of the most widespread lawn ornament in the United states as well. The original plastic pink flamingo was designed by Don Featherstone in the year 1957. In 1966 it won the Ig Nobel Prize for Art. If it comes to garden decoration, the question is: Garden gnomes or flamingos? – Flamingos of course, would be my answer, without hesitating just a second! With their pink colour, they bring vibrance and brightness to a garden, no garden gnome could ever do.

Recently, two things happened making me a very happy flamingo girl:
First, my dearest friend came back from his internship in New York. Because he is a very sweet friend, he made a wish of this girl come true and took a big box filled with two original Don Featherstone flamingos with him as a gift. I was so happy to have my own flamingos finally.
While shopping in London, the second flamingo-moment happened, when my other beloved friend spotted an amazing flamingo shirt from the Brazilian born designer Fernando Viana. I didn’t know this designer before, but discovered that he is a big talent, creating amazing and unconventional fashion.

With all the new flamingo friends in my life, I decided to have a little party on my balcony. I love the contrast between my pink balcony and the big gray buildings surrounding the house. If feels like there is a little pink paradise in the pallid world. It’s a happy thing to be surrounded by so many flamingos, spreading summer feelings even during rainy days.

My Outfit:
Shirt: Fernando Viana bought at The Laden Showroom (London), Pink Bangles: Becksöndergaard, Silver Bangles: H&M, Leggins: Bought in Camden, Tights: H&M, Shoes: No Name, bought on a trip to Germany

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Fancy Heels

13th July 2012 1 Comment

United Nude, Oyee Design, Kobi Levi, Alberto Guardiani

Why wearing ordinary shoes, if you could make a statement with them? Today I’m showing you a selection of shoes with fancy heels, every one of them a true eye-catcher.

The Vampire

Do you love vampire stories? Did you watch all the vampire movies from classics such as Nosferatu to modern versions like True Blood? This fang shoe from United Nude shows your love for bloodsuckers and will rock not just halloween, but every outfit.

Ice, Ice Baby!

It’s summer and it’s hot out there! Are you dreaming of being at the beach, enjoying a delicious ice cream? No, you can’t eat this ice cream heels, but aren’t they cute? How the heel builds the cone is just a genius idea from Oyee Design. I just can’t figure out which flavor of ice cream the blue might be.

The Swan

The swan is a symbol for beauty, pride and romance. When Kobi Levi designed this shoe, he included all this abilities as well. It’s a fabulous shoe not just for ballerinas and fans of the swan shaped love boats. This shoes should be on your feet for a first date and carry you to the beginning of a big love story.

Femme Fatale

Are you one of that ladies, everyone is holding their breath for when you’re entering a room? The lipstick heels from Alberto Guardiani will be perfect for you. With this shoes, every true gentleman will offer you a drink in your favourite bar!

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East London Girl

2nd July 2012 16 Comments

Tatty Devine, sunglasses, eyelash, me and zena

This must be world’s longest eyelashes, don’t you think?

Tatty Devine, eyelash sunglasses, sunglasses

Feeling free to explore the city while being protected from the sun.

heart necklace, Me and Zena, Lock necklace

My heart belongs to London. Surrender if you ever thought to change that!

Cut out dress, Topshop, Kelly Osborne, Tatty Devine

Being the graffiti girl while thinking about the most outstanding street art in London.

Tatty Devine, topshop, Kelly Osborne, eyelash sunglasses

Where is the next graffiti from Banksy?

Me and Zena, heart necklace, I surrender necklace

Red is the colour of passion…

The city is my playground.

Red lips are made for kissing. Red lipsticks are made for being rings! (At least this one)

Let’s walk through the streets of London!

Back from my trip to London I still feel the energetic spirit of this city. I already have secret plans to go there again soon. In the meanwhile, all the little London-things in our flat and in my wardrobe must be enough to brighten my mind.

My whole outfit is very much inspired by London. I bought most of the things I wear on my last trip there. Maybe you already spotted them on my post “A Suitcase full of London”. Just the good austrian socks and my funny lipstick ring are no british treasures.

I think the biggest eye-catcher are the Tatty Devine Eyelash Glasses. Tatty Devine is one of the very few companies I have a close bonding to. I already have a collection of their jewellery and I love to visit their shop at Brick Lane whenever I’m close.

My perfect Sunday in London is to visit the flower market at Columbia Road, have lovely breakfast there and walk towards Brick Lane and the Tatty Devine shop. This time I bought no necklaces, but I was in love at first sight with this glasses. After trying them on I couldn’t leave without them without a broken heart. I think they are just made to go with a sharp and defined haircut as mine. This glasses are very fancy and quirky, exactly what I love. A lot of people ask me about them while I’m wearing them and many take out their camera for taking a picture.

Please, please, let me never break them, I already imagine me with 90, as an extravagant old lady, walking along the Thames and still wearing them from time to time. Maybe they would take my picture then for the Advanced Style blog. I would be very proud and tell them that they keep my powerful London spirit alive.

My Outfit:
Dress: Topshop, Sunglasses: Tatty Devine, Necklace: Lazy Oaf, Ring: Tenebris, Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell lookalikes from Camden, Socks: Wolford

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A Suitcase Full of London

28th June 2012 4 Comments

All the beautiful things I bought. But oh no: I even missed to add a few 😉

London, I lost my heart somewhere in a dark little street in the east of this amazing city. I can’t stay away too long and being there feels like an immediate boost of energy. I feel more like being myself while breathing British air and I love how open-minded and easygoing the people are. It always feels like not having been away at all, when I am in the pub with my dear former colleagues or walk around the flower market with my beloved ex-flatmate.

It’s always funny that a lot of tourists in London are asking me for taking my picture. I imagine them showing it at home as an image of a crazy London girl. This time I was even filmed by the German TV channel ZDF for a documentary about fashionable people in the east of London. I was very delighted, especially because the filming took place in my favourite street called Broadway Market. I don’t know if I’ll be seen in this documentary at all after they cut their material, but I’ll keep you informed.

My mind is completely full of the most beautiful memories from our trip. We walked through the city till our feet hurt and discovered many new things. London is a city where you always discover something you haven’t seen before, even after living there for a long time. There is always a beautiful building, a nice shop or a wonderful restaurant you’ve never seen before.

My stylish friend and me shopped a lot. The two girls of us went from shop to shop while our two sweet boyfriends had to be very, very patient and strong to suffer our never-ending haul. Usually I go shopping alone, but together with a like-minded friend it was far more fun. I think I never shopped so much before in my whole life.

The picture above is a little preview of the treasures I found. You will see a few of them in my next outfit posts of course. I’m already looking forward a lot of doing shootings with this new beauties. If you read my London Wish List post, you may have spotted a few of the things from it. Fortunately for my poor suffering credit card not all the things from the list were available or looked stunning on me. But a few unexpected things joined my bags instead. I feel like a completely new girl with all this beautiful things in my wardrobe. What do you think, does this look like a very successful trip to you as well?

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A Crown of Flowers

18th June 2012 16 Comments

flower crown, orange lipstick, pastel top

On the lookout: Watching the sky, searching for funny shaped clouds and answers.

Idyll: Lace, dots, roses and the time-honored stone watching over me

Epiphany: It’s just a ray of sun on my skin

Being the not so holy saint: A crowned girl is like no other girl!

A bunch of roses: Flowers made of silk will never fade away

Frills and Buttons: Dressed in a blouse like a tender flower petal

Yes or No: Definitely a yes for this belt!

I don a crown of flowers

To mask the sorrow inside

Eyes which fall upon its beauty

Do not see the tears I cry

While the flowers bud to blossom

I wilt to almost nothing

In a garden colour filled with life

There is also a shadow found

In the sun the flower buds open

In the dark a heart is closed

The flowers shall be woven together

To hide something left unseen

The rose, the tulip and the bluebell rise

I am envious of their beautiful life

So I don a crown of flowers

To mask my sorrow inside

(A Crown of Flowers by Matthew Holloway, 1978)

Lately, pastels and flowers are finding their way into my wardrobe more often. Matching my outfit to the blooming flowers in the gardens makes me forget that I used to think pale colours are not my cup of tea. They just feel like the right thing this season.

Wearing flowers in the hair as a crown, wreath or band is an instant transformation: A girl starts to feel like from another world, like an affectionate fairy or an illustrious saint. Headwear made of flowers can look very bohemian, chick, hippie-like or whimsical, depending on the style.

Flower wreaths always remind me of the Virgin Mary as well as the painter Frida Kahlo or Illona Staller (italian porn star and ex-wife to Jeff Koons). Just this three woman reveal, what divers characters love to crown themselves with flowers. I couldn’t say which of them I cherish most. A wild mixture of them is my source of inspiration, all united by the beauty of a crowned head.

If you did never wear a flower crown, now it’s the time to try! In case you don’t dare to wear one for your everyday life, why not at least pick one to visit a cool indie festival during summertime?

My Outfit:
Flower Wreath: H&M, Skirt: Cos, Blouse: Vintage, Black Body: from Istanbul, Oui/Non Belt: Asos, Shoes: from a trip to Germany, Bag: Mango, Sunglasses: Asos

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London Wish List

14th June 2012 6 Comments

Atsuko Kudo, Tatty Devine, Lazy Oaf, Topthop

1) Heart Dress: Lazy Oaf 2) Perspex Bow Headband: Tatty Devine
3) Eyelash Sunglasses: Tatty Devine 4) Rubber Kitty Collar: Atsuko Kudo
5) Red Flower Swimsuit: River Island 6) Wedge Creeper Shoes: Underground 7) Cut-Out Dress: Topshop

Tatty Devine, Lazy Oaf, Topshop, Dolly Dagger, Cath Kidston

1) Parakeet Necklace: Tatty Devine 2) Jubilee Mug: Cath Kidston 3) Heart Dress: Topshop
4) Love Hearts Shirt: Topshop 5) Minnie Mouse Backpack: Lazy Oaf 6) Stripe Taffeta Dress: Dolly Dagger

I’m very excited about my next trip to lovely London next week. Of course a lot of shopping will be included. London is the shopping heaven on earth for sure! Because I’m still rather homesick since I don’t live there anymore, I always give in to the temptation to buy as much as possible while on my trips. It feels like taking a part of home with me for having something to cheer me up while I’m longing for London from far, far away. I can’t take my favourite pub with me or the Buckingham palace, so tons of clothes and bits and bobs have to suffice. 😉

I could easily spend weeks with just shopping in this city. There are so many things around exactly fitting to my taste, whereas in Switzerland I miss a certain kind of excitement. As you all know, I’m a big fan of vintage clothing and it’s always unpredictable what you’ll find in this kind of stores. Nonetheless, there are also non-vintage shops which I do like. Here I’ll present you a little wish list of London’s shopping treasures I’ve already discovered on the web. I’m very eager to see them in real and I wonder which of this lovelies will follow me to Switzerland…

What do you think about this things? Do you know any especially cool shops in London?

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The Romance of Spring

3rd June 2012 28 Comments

Enjoying a beautiful spring day outside with my hat from Hatastic

A ladylike lace umbrella is an elegant way to protect yourself from the sun

Is there a tea party somewhere?

Spring is colored in pastel-coloured

Detail of the beautiful leather vintage roses

This is truly a spring romance, isn’t it?

Spring, the time when nature becomes vivid and colourful again. The grass is growing and flowers appear one after one. It’s the season of pastel-colours, new life and awakening. When the weather gets warmer and the sun is shining, people are craving to spend time outside. That’s exactly what I did yesterday. Of course with a spring themed outfit, including a very precious accessory:

I am very proud to show you my amazing hat from Hatastic. I think it looks like it has been made for a fairy tale tea party and I feel very ladylike while wearing it.

Hatastic is based in London and specialized in headpieces and hair accessories. Chloë Haywood, the designer of Hatstic, gets inspired by bits and bobs from junk shops. She loves to reuse and recycle fabrics and turn them into something new and wonderful. All her hats are handmade and very unique. Chloë says that she started making hats when she was looking for a fascinator for herself for a special wedding and couldn’t find one at the shops. It was a great success and she made more and more. She founded Hatastic 2009 and her company has been nominated for the “Accessory Designer Of The Year 2011”. For more information about Hatastic visit their website or their shop on Folksy.

With an accessory like this, I’m looking forward to many beautiful weekends! Who knows, maybe I’ll be invited to a tea party once.

My outfit:
Hat: Hatastic, Dress H&M, Umbrella: bought in China, Shoes: Vivienne Westwood for Melissa

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What’s in Lovely Sara’s Bag?

27th May 2012 6 Comments

Lovely Book
I always have a book with me. At the moment I’m very addicted to George R. R. Martin’s brilliant saga called “A Song of Ice and Fire”. It’s a gripping and epic tale about intrigues, kings, traitors and dragons. Definitely one of the best fantasy stories I ever read. It has an absolutely page-turning plot and complex characters. At the moment I’m reading volume four and I wish this story would be never ending.

Lovely Fan

Fans are so pretty and elegant! Even if it is not very hot at the moment, I love to have a fan with me for a little bit of Geisha-feeling in my life.

Lovely Makeup
Leaving the house without makeup is something I never do, on the opposite: I tend to carry around too much makeup just in case I want to change from Lipgloss to a bold coloured lipstick or need to refresh my rouge. The most important things in my makeup bag are my Mac Studio Fix foundation, the Mac Bold Black Lash mascara and a lipstick (it’s a Guerlain Shine Automatique on the picture).

To refresh myself there is always a deodorant in my beauty bag. Very important: It has to be without aluminum salts like the DeoDry Fresh&Floral Roll-On from The Body Shop.

Lovely Sweets
A bag without sweets is a sad bag! That’s why I always need to have chewing gums or candies with me. I love this pretty box from “Les Anis de Flavigny, so I fill it with other kinds of sweets, cause I prefer to treat myself with gentle on the teeth sweets.

Lovely Hands
Soft hands are very important to me and I always have a hand cream in my bag. At the moment I use “Helping Hands” from Lush. The philosophy of this company is great and they’ve got the most cheerful shopping assistants.

Lovely Perfume
My favorite perfume at the moment is Ma Dame from Jean Paul Gaultier. A wonderful mix of rose, orange, grenadine and musk. It makes you instantly feel more sassy.

Lovely Glasses
The sun is always dazzling me so I never leave the house without sunglasses.

Lovely Music
With my babushka shaped headphones and a few good songs on my iPod every rainy day gets brighter.

My top five songs of the week:
1) Ingrid Lukas: Rainspell
2) Jimmy Hendrix: All along the Watchtower
3) Zola Jesus: Ixode
4) Florence and the Machine: Seven Devils
5) Dillon: Thirteen ThirtyFive

Lovely Wallet
I need a huge wallet with a lot of space for a big bunch of customer and visit cards, money and coins and little notes like shopping or to do lists.

Lovely Keys

One of my favorite movies is Kill Bill. That’s why I have this pink “Pussy Wagon” key charm guarding my keys. I don’t own a big yellow car with red flames, but at least I have the fitting charm.

Lovely Phone
The most important thing in my bag is my iPhone. Like most people I can’t be without it. Staying in contact with my beloved ones and checking mails is just too important. The case is from Freitag, it’s very practical but I wish I had a more elegant one.

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Time for a Cocktail Baby!

21st May 2012 10 Comments

summer outfit, cutout dress, Tatty Devine, cocktail umbrella necklace

Having fun outside and loving my cocktail umbrella accessories

Cheers to the lovely weather!

Tatty Devine, cocktail umbrella necklace, perspex jewellery, handmade

Close shot of my new beauty

Tatty Devine, statement necklace, cocktail umbrella necklace, cat eye sunglasses

Why isn’t there any ice in my cocktail?

Party among trees and plants

cat eye sunglasses, retro, red sunglasses, cat eye

Do dandelions bring luck?

When I was a child, the best thing about sitting in a bar was if one of the adults ordered a cocktail. I was crazy about the colorful and kitschy cocktail sticks they come with. My love for them didn’t die until now. They look so cheerful and make me think of holidays at the beach with picture book sunsets. There are neon pink flamingos, fancy paper fruits, little pirate ships and glitter palm trees. All of them exciting, but I always had a special favourite:

The cocktail umbrella. It is made of very thin paper and painted with a beautiful flower pattern. As a child I was astonished that this fragile looking think could be opened and closed just like a real umbrella. Once I’ve seen a picture of a girl with paper cocktail umbrellas in her hair as a party look. It was amazing but I wished the umbrellas would have been more durable.

Tatty Devine made this dream come true 2010: Their jewellery collection included a range of perspex cocktail umbrellas. They created amazing necklaces, beautiful rings, brooches and even cufflinks. I just bought a hair barrette at first, but I was in love with the whole range and always felt that I should have gone for a necklace as well.

A few days ago Tatty Devine hold their sample sale which is always very exciting. It’s not just about making bargains, but also about getting the hands on stuff from former, already sold out collections. That’s how I got my long desired cocktail umbrella necklace. I think you might be jealous now that I didn’t told you about this fabulous sale, but I promise to keep you informed about the next one!

What do you think about the cocktail umbrella juwellery?

My outfit:
Necklace and Hair Barrette: Tatty Devine. Dress: Topshop. Petticoat: Angel’s Sale London. Sunglasses: Accessorize. Bag: Vintage.

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The Minnie Mouse Fringe

19th May 2012 4 Comments

Being Minnie: Now i just need longer lashes and a black dot on my nose

With summer approaching unfortunately I can’t wear my Minnie crochet anymore. I already started to miss a little bit of Minnie in my life. Just wearing a bow is just not enough Minnie feeling anymore. That’s why I’m very lucky to have found another way to bring back Miss Mouse into my style:

It’s much more subtle than wearing plastic mouse ears on top of my head:
I had my lovely hairdresser cut my fringe into the pointed, characteristic Minnie shape. It’s just a small change to the straight fringe I had before, but I think it makes my haircut more edgy.

I don’t know if other people with this fringe style had as well Minnie as a source of inspiration. Maybe the fabulous Broken Hearts did.

What do you think about my new fringe shape?