Coming Soon....

- Brimfield with Aurelie Claudel and Martien Mulder. Find the breaking story on Nowness.com on Tuesday!
- Anouck Lepere's fantastic vintage exploration in Florence.
- What Goes Around Comes Around, Tales of Endearment and Martien Mulder create a vintage denim love story in Prosptect Park.
- Belgian Tales.

Generation Z

Vincent, 12, from Copenhagen

Sweater from Weekday,
Necklace bought in Sweden.

Neue Schönhauser Straße: Peter

I've been looking for someone like Peter to photograph ever since I started taking street shots, but older gentlemen types aren't as as easy to find in Berlin as in Milan or Paris, for instance. Peter is 83 years old and lives in Berlin-Köpenick. He's now retired, but before the war he was trained as a chef at the Adlon Hotel here in Berlin. He told me that his house is filled with clothes, and that he changes his style every day. He also gave me this cute postcard to say thank you for the photo!

/dario

Münzstraße: Dagobert

Dagobert, 27, singer originally from Switzerland.

Vintage shoes,
Everything else designed by his sister-in-law

Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz: Chihiro

Chihiro, 26, illustration student from Japan, living in Brighton.

The Royal Crescent Hotel and Vintage Auction Coming Up...

Lucky Robert was given a night in The Royal Crescent hotel in Bath last night for his birthday, (booked at www.laterooms.com - excellent rates). I went too of course and it was absolutely lovely, a well needed rest. Their spa is incredible, a huge water pipe over the pool pumps hot water across your shoulders and massages them, the tubs are hot and cold...oh I could have stayed in there all day. When we came out and had drinks in the garden we looked fresh as daisies, skin all plumped and rosy and felt fantastic, I cannot recommend it enough. In the evening we met a friend and had dinner at Jamie Olivers restaurant in Milsom Place, really good atmosphere in there but Robert thinks the food is 'English Italian', not authentic enough for him but I loved my spaghetti and the olives were very good...

Its been very busy here getting ready for Vintage At Goodwood - http://www.vintageatgoodwood.com/home.aspx - I am so glad I booked the stand early as now I am hearing from other dealers that it is nearly impossible to get through on the phones and they have sold out of spaces....I am planning a beautiful layout with all my best and newest pieces, its a nice big space compared to what I have at the vintage fairs. Fingers, toes, legs and everything else crossed for good weather....the line up gets better and better - I will be roller skating in the 1970s warehouse disco and remembering my wild days in the 1980s rave tent...as well as doing some work on the stall of course.

Another project on the horizon is a Vintage Fashion and Textile Auction I am putting together with Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions, taking entries from September. We already have huge lots of film costume (top secret details at the moment but will tell all asap) and a collection of early Biba and Ossie...do email me if you have anything you would like to put forward and if you would like to go on the mailing list for details of when and where.... More soon.....x love Samaya ps: a special hello to my auntie Janet!

Mauerpark Flea Market: Martina

Martina, 27, Ph.D. Student

Cos t-shirt,
Franzius trousers,
Vintage shoes, sunglasses, and bag

Weekly Feature - kei glass

Hello, I am featuring very very creative etsy shop for beautiful handmade glass art called Kei glass . She is crafting so many beautiful accessories from brooch to pendants and earrings.

This are my favorite listings from Kei glass's shop. Just check it out.

glass pendant-purple and teal- WARWICK

pink dichroic glass MAGNETIC brooch- BUBBLE GUM

dichroic glass earrings- NIGHTLIGHT

Weekly Feature - ardentreverie

Hello, I am featuring very lovely etsy shop for

Handmade crafts, accessories, paintings and more: Welcome to Ardent Reverie .

Just check out the shop for very great deal scarves and beanies. It's time to get ready for the Fall. If I wasn't a knitter I would definitely buy from this etsy shop. Great items and affordable prices.

Please check out my favorite listings from Ardent Reverie .

Sage Wine Feather Clip

Bella Moss Feather Clip

Not So Scarf - Black

Directly from shop owners:

"We are two crazy sisters working like crazy in our tiny room to create unique handmade items.
We love creating new things that inspire us so that we can share them with you.

Please check back for new items as they are added regularly.

You can also get more information about us by visiting our blog, ardentreverie1.blogspot.com"

Thanks for visiting,
Nev

Kastanienallee: Giuliani

Giuliani, 72, graphic designer from Rome

At home: Carsten Nicolai

I do not need to tell you what the work of artist Carsten Nicolai is like, since most of you know it already.
However, I can tell you that he is speaking the most pleasant Saxon dialect I've ever heard. Being born and raised in Saxony myself, I immediately lost the tone when I left aged 18. I've always had a troubled relationship with this special dialect, but for some months I am starting to enjoy it again. Carsten says to speak this dialect feels like to willingly fall in a kind of sofa, a very soft one.

The face of Repossi

When I read the raving visitor reviews on tripadvisor.com about Ulpotha, the exclusive yoga resort and spa where Gaia Repossi will be spending her vacation, suddenly my Chelsea office seems like a hell hole. "I will be in the jungle of Sri Lanka for three weeks! Remember my wonderland I told you about?" she wrote me in her last e-mail. "You should come!" Okay, that was a nice invitation. But unless you run a century-old family jewelry business, spontaneous, exhilarating trips to exotic destinations are not on the immediate agenda over here. Instead I sweat it out in New York and write about the lovely Gaia, 24-year old Artistic Director and prodigy of Maison Repossi. 
Even though she has been getting a lot of media attention lately and is seen regularly in the party pages, Gaia's glamorous fashion persona seems a far leap from her private life. Gaia practices yoga almost religiously - she's a very advanced student - and she has a child hood passion for painting. "Painting is always my life and my goal. It's all I've always been dreaming about. I paint every day. As much as I can. My agent says I should sell my paintings, but I don't want to. I paint for me."

Gaia and I met up at her Paris apartment a few weeks ago. She was fully prepared for the visit, had everything laid out and hung up before my arrival and kept notes on each one of the garments. Most of the vintage pieces she showed me belonged to her mother Gio, who was a muse in her day and owned a lot of French Couture. Secretly I suspect Gaia would wear Isabel Marant and t-shirts every day but since her public image is growing, she's taking fashion a little bit more seriously. "I take my work as a big responsibility and I professionally embody the company. A company needs to have a face and moreover a soul."

Gaia's most prized possession: a 1970's Lynx pull over fur, that used to belong to Jeanne Moreau

1930's chocolate lace dress from Neila's on Rue Mont Thabor in Paris

Dior, Haute Couture, 1957

Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture, 1974 and beige linen handbag

Dior Haute Couture, 1966

Two of Gaia's bracelet designs from Repossi's Ere collection for which she collaborated with friend Eugenie Niarchos.

Gaia, in front of one of her own paintings, in early 80's beige YSL dress worn with Chanel Haute Couture heels. 

Original 1970's Repossi clutch in silver and enamel

Original 1970's Repossi powder box and lighter in gold, enamel and diamonds (€25,000)

Beaded and embroidered vieux-rose Charlotte couture dress from 1925

Yves Saint Laurent black dress with satin bow, 1974

Early 80's Yves Saint Lauren jump suit, worn with Chanel clogs

At the studio: James Lambert

In the same room as Atalanta and Holly, James Lambert is working as an illustrator for clients like Serpentine Gallery, Liberty and Guardian.

At the studio: Atalanta Weller

When I was finished with the portrait of Cooperative Designs, Dorothee asked me if I would like to meet two shoe designers that had their working space in the same unit. A door behind the knitting machines opened and I met Atalanta (left), the creative behind the label Atalanta Weller and her assistant Holly. Their studio is filled with sculptural heels, designed for Gareth Pugh and House Of Holland. Atalanta's own collection has been out for the second time this winter and is available at Brown's Fashion.

Susie Bubble visited her only some days later: Ata-Weller-Weller-oh....

At the studio: Cooperative Designs

Taking "At Home" portraits in London is considerably different than in Berlin and doing it with a 35mm lense is even more risky. London's houses, apartments and studios are in no way comparable to the wide and bright spaces you find in Berlin.
This is the team of Cooperative Designs squeezed in between their knitting machines. Dorothee Hagemann and Annalisa Dunn are well known for their colorful and bold yet elegant knitwear, that is also available in their online shop.

The Creators Project: Radical Friend

You might know Radical Friend from their works as directors of music videos for Yeasayer and Black Moth Super Rainbow - here you see Julia Grigorian and Kirby McClure in their installation they did for The Creators Project. If you enter the pyramid you can have your face scanned in a seance like experience, the scan will enter an archive of faces scanned in New York, Sao Paulo and so on until at the end all faces will be re-born in a hologram sculpture in Beijing. In London it was placed next to the holy throne of Moritz Waldemeyer, that creates an individual nimbus for everyone who sits on it.
Young artists are obviously very willing to take up religious, spiritual and esoteric references. And they do not shy away from interactive media art, that had a really bad reputation in the last decade. Maybe it's a revival?

The Creators Project: Karl Sadler

I am in London for The Creators Project and had the chance to meet some of the contributors already yesterday and talk to them about their works. This is Karl Sadler, a visual artist who worked for 2MANYDJs and The XX amongst others. He built a forest into the venue and equipped it with lights that are arranged according to the music of Esben and the Witch. It's a resumption of an installation he did before outside in a real forest - making a very personal reference to the forest of his childhoods, he created an emotional artwork based on subjective and almost spiritual experiences.

Check the videos on his own website and on The Creators Project to find out more about his work - best is, of course, to stop by Victoria house to see it yourself.
The exhibition is free and opened for the public today till 6pm.

Shaun Ross

Shaun Ross, model from New York

Silvia

Eugenie

Eugenie, 31, designer

Annea

Last days on Ludlow

It is with sadness in my heart and wallet that I announce the closing of one of my favorite vintage stores in Manhattan, Marmalade on Ludlow Street, for good. After 11 years in business, the owner Hannah, has decided to move on to greater pastures. If you would like to stay informed about her adventures, sales and shopping events, please find her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-NY/Marmalade-Vintage/133082636102?ref=ts. Starting August 1st she will offer a carefully curated collection of footwear, accessories and select clothing at TG170 (next door). But until then, please go nuts at the final sale!

I bought this incredibly cool and comfortable color block sweater last summer at Marmalade. After I wore it to the Lanvin show in Paris last September it promptly landed me a spot in Tommy Ton's top 5 best dressed of 2009. I will miss your Marmalade!

Timo

Timo, 30, editor

Antonia

Antonia, 21, student

Juliane

Juliane, blogger and student

Hien Le

Hien Le, designer

Mareike

Mareike, 22, student

Vintage dreams on 25th Street

When you live on 25th Street like Yigal Azrouel does, a pit stop at the Chelsea Garage flea market quickly becomes a guiltless, weekly routine. "I come here pretty much every week," says the Israeli-American designer as we walk over to the outdoor market. "It is THE New York flea market. Before the high rises came in, there were about 4 more lots to the market.  This is really one of the last pieces of what was one of the best markets.” Yigal draws a lot of, but not exclusively, inspiration from vintage for his seasonal collections. What he mostly appreciates about vintage is "the craftsmanship and attention to details.  I love pulling the pieces apart and seeing how they were made.”

And oh the joy of shopping with a model in tow! This really changed my whole blogging experience. I realize that I am practically styling mini fashion shoots. There I am, in a fabulous vintage store, like Marlene Wetherell's at the Showplace, with racks and racks of the most amazing garments, accessories and shoes at my disposal, with a beautiful, tall girl like Alisa Bachurina, who fits everything impeccably and brings the clothes and looks to life as if you were in a studio, putting together a story. Only I didn't have to do any shlepping, fedexing, or begging! Most of the store owners are very cooperative in fact. A little bit of charm goes a long way... Now I just need a better photographer... (wink to self)
What we had planned as a 2-hour research trip quickly turned into a whole afternoon shopping extravaganza. "It was a lot of fun," said Yigal at the end of the day. "I go out with my team maybe once a season but it’s great to get the perspective from someone who has a great and different eye, like you (Natalie).  Your enthusiasm was also contagious!”

Yigal Azrouel with 19-year old Russian beauty, Alisa Bucharina, one of my favorite new faces and one to watch according to models.com (http://models.com/newfaces/dailyduo/5543). She is represented by Women Direct in New York. Thank you, Jon!

1920's cream silk drop waist dress, worn with navy blue apron, found at Cherry at the The Showplace.

We bumped into Phoebe Philo and Camilla Nickerson in the shop, settling their bill. I didn't see what they got...

Beige linen, African inspired jump suit with jute detailing and drawstring belt. 

Karl Lagerfeld navy blue, rayon pants, vintage top and multi-colored moccasins.

Turn of the century swimsuit.

Yigal Azrouel and Marlene Wetherell at her store. Thank you Marlene!

Missoni multi-colored harem pants and 1980's double breasted, belted Luciano Soprani jacket. 

Soprani was an Italian designer who worked freelance at houses like Max Mara and Gucci before starting his own line of colorful men's suits and silk evening gowns in 1982. He was also the wardrobe designer for the 1990 movie 'Wild Orchid'. He died in 1999.

Christian Dior ruffled chiffon dress

Givenchy belt

Black and gold chiffon Nat Kalper Couture dress

Black YSL bermudas and black Thierry Mugler jacket

Yellow terry cloth turban by Tribout Shop

Pink floral satin skirt (no label), floral silk Ungaro top and Halston hat. HOW VERY NATALIE!

Navy blue Charles Jourdan drawstring dress with gold linen trim and giant, plastic star shaped earring clip-ons

YSL awesomeness...

A 25th Street regular....

LET'S DO THAT AGAIN!