I've talked about it before but I love clothes.
I love clothes and the possibility of expressing myself creatively through what I decide to wear every day.
I have always been a fan of second hand shopping and going to flea markets is probably my favourite hobby of all time.
For one thing: it's like a treasure hunt; you never know if, when and where you'll come upon some really great find. But also: it's cheap.
I have never had a lot of extra money to spend on expensive clothes, and because of that I have started to find ways to have an awesome wardrobe with what I can afford.
Besides shopping affordably I also treasure and save the clothes I have for a very long time. Forever if they hold for it.
I often get comments on my diverse wardrobe and, yes, I do have a lot of clothes, but I also use the same things in a lot of different ways to make it look like I'm not wearing the same outfit every day.
I think of this as a superpower that I need to share with the world.

When I feel an urge to shop but don't have much money to spend, here's a few things I do:

SCARFS!

At thrift stores there's almost always a pile of scarfs. Search through that.
A scarf is the most versatile piece of fabric ever.
A pop of colour or an interesting texture can do wonders to your outfit.

Tie it in your hair. Wrap it around a ballerina bun on top of your head. Trow it casually around your neck or secure it tightly with a knot.
The possibilities are ENDLESS!

And BELTS!

Every thrift shop has a bunch of belts hanging close to the cashier.
Look through them! Closely!
They always look crappy when bunched together like that. Search for a nice colour, thin or wide style, a cool belt buckle. You can find really nice belts for almost no money at all!

Save RIBBONS from gifts you receive. They look cute in your hair! Or even as a belt with a bow at the side of your waist or with the ends hanging loosely.

The forest green, wide ribbon on the top is from when I was maybe 9 years old. I had it for the school photographs in third grade.
It is still a very pretty and useable ribbon.

And for the extra brave: HATS!
Well, I obviously don't think hats are for brave people only, but many seem to be scared of wearing hats. Stupid.
Hats are AWESOME! And you can find a lot of really cool hats at flea markets and thrift stores.

I mean: Look how great hats are!
Both of these hats were found at flea markets. The red one cost me 10 kr (1.1 USD) and the brown was 40 kr (4.5 USD) if I remember correctly.

And don't forget to ACCESSORIZE!
Brooches for an example are super versatile. Put them on your jacket sleeve, sure, but you can also secure a brooch to a cardigan that doesnt have buttons to make sure it stays closed. Or put them on your hat, on a bag, or hang it in a thin ribbon and wear as a necklace.
You get the idea? Versatile!

Also:

Do you have tights with large holes on the foot part? Cut it off and make leggings! Pair with a sock in a different colour for a nice contrast.

Now I'm going to reveal one of my best secrets. It's not really a secret though, some of you might have noticed already, but I have a skirt that I wear almost daily.
It's a black velvet skater skirt from Black Milk Clothing. The brand or style doesn't really matter but what DOES matter is that I like it, I think it's comfortable and it goes with a lot of the clothes I already own.
And THAT is how you wear the same skirt every day for more than a week without getting bored.

Need more proof? Well, here you go:

Now for the getting dressed part.
If you have a black dress or skirt/tank top think like this: what colour can I wear around the dress. Think of the dress as the middle and surround it with a theme, like a colour.
Some days I first decide what socks or tights I should wear.
So a pair of wine red tights go well with mustard coloured socks. Then I can add a scarf or a ribbon in wine red to my hair and then something that picks up on the mustard too. A belt maybe?

And then you have a really nice outfit!

And now for an example.
This outfit contains the following:
One long sleeved shirt bought in a regular store seven years ago. It has a few holes in it that is hard to mend so I only use it underneath other clothes nowadays. No reason to throw it out yet!
The sleeveless dress is a thrift find and cost me 70 swedish kr (8 USD).
Underneath is a mini skirt I bought maybe five years ago at a cheap Swedish retail store.
The leggings are tights from We Love Colors that I cut away the foot part when my toes managed to create holes large enough for them to peek through.
The belt is another thrift find and cost 30 kr (3.4 USD).
And then there is lipstick from Aromi on etsy.

I walked around the apartment yesterday looking this fancy. Baked Pretzel Rolls and took photos for this blog post. Sometimes you don't need a party to look smashing!

Hope you liked this little guide to budget shopping, that you feel inspired and maybe got a few new ideas for your wardrobe!

By the way: Today marks exactly one year since Lights Out went viral! HURRAH!
We will always remember march 16 2014 as the day when our lives went bananas in the most amazing/weird/wonderful/crazy way! Thank you internet!

/Lotta

It's the season when my wardrobe is in sync with the weather! Finally!

It only happens a few months a year so it's definitely celebration worthy, in my opinion.
Since I am a lover of hats and vintage outerwear I just can't seem to stop buying those things on my fleamarket adventures. To me it's like finding a treasure when my eyes land on that amazing coat, and if it fits me it would be a terrible crime to just leave it there, wouldn't it?!

Every year when summer starts to make its transition into fall I always feel so energized and inspired. I really, really love clothes and the creativity needed to pull together an outfit for every day.
Think about it, every day when you wake up you make a choice of what to wear and how you present yourself for the world, however small or big it is for you that exact day.
Is it a business meeting Monday? Is it a stay inside in your pajamas Tuesday? A Wednesday filled with errands? A Thursday with lots of paper work, a dreadfully scary Friday or is it maybe a stroll through the city with a cup of coffee in you hand Saturday? And then end the week with a Sunday when anything can happen.
I treat every day like a costume party, sort of (with the exception for the stay in my PJs kind of days) and the days when I feel the greatest is the ones when I want to be creative with what I wear. It boosts me so much to start off a tired and gloomy morning by thinking of colours, shapes and clothing combinations.
It might seem pointless to some people but a day when my clothes feel all wrong is not a good day.

Now my favourite season is here again! I was looking back at what I've been wearing earlier years, just to see if I had changed my style since then, and I thought we could take a peek at some really good days, clothes wise. Okay?

The. Best. Hat.

I remember the day when I first thought of wearing that yellow scarf with the wine red velvet jacket. It's such a wonderful combination of colours and I could stare at it forever. It is both soft and intriguing if you get what I mean. It's like music for my eyes.

My mother's beautiful schoolbag from the 50's is one of my most treasured things in my wardrobe. It's just so lovely!

Aaah, my wonderful wonderful vintage nurse cape! Soon it will be perfect weather for you!

I love this coat that I found in a vintage shop in Los Angeles of all places. I guess it wasn't needed by anyone there so I took it back to cold and wintery Sweden instead (I really don't appreciate winter though).

My grandmother's old suede coat with three quarter, trumpet, sleaves.

This raspberry dream and the striped coat in the photo beneath this is at the tailors right now for some tiny alterations.
I hope they will get to see a lot of beautiful autumn days this year!

(And look at that fantastic little raspberry hat/beret/thingy!)

Best shoes I've ever owned. Will cry when they are beyond rescue.

I got this duffel coat from a dear friend of my family when I was in my late teens. It was hers from when she was younger but she thought I would like to have it instead. Of course I did!

Today so far has been a pajamas all day kind of sunday, but I plan on changing that real soon. David and I are going out for indian food and a walk in the grey and calm Gothenburg weather. It's definitely time for the green hat.
I'm sorry for not having updated the blog very often. I have been in a non creative mood lately, but yesterday I felt how the need for creative work started to flow through me. I couldn't figure out what it was I wanted to do though, I just had the urge to make something. I made a pot of tea and a bowl of popcorn, but nothing that could stifle the creative need in me.
When I went to bed I felt sort of angry with excess restlessness, like my brain was mad at me for not realising what it is I should do.
I'm hoping this is a sign of a big creative explosion coming.

Until next time:

Tjingeling!
/Lotta

Hello hello!
Thought it was time to bring back the Wardrobe Classics or Garderobsklassiker, as I've called it originally.
This time I'm going to tell you all about this wine red velvet jacket that I bought in a vintage shop in Camden, London, maybe 13 years ago.
It was when I lived in a little town called Midhurst for almost a year and cleaned rooms in a very old and cute hotel. Me and my friend Lisa lived and worked together and also went to London to shop a few times. On one of those trips I found this jacket and fell in love.
It's just the perfect shape and shade.

It immediately became a favourite and even though the lining has teared up a lot of times and I've had to fix it in my own, sort of not so pretty way, it's still one of the absolute best jackets in my wardrobe.
It might be in desperate need for a new lining though. And the pockets are simply two large holes. I think there might even be a chestnut lying around in the bottom lining somewhere.... It's part of the jacket now, it lives there.

I love how some things in my wardrobe just keeps on being perfect for my style. No matter how I change what I like some pieces just fit to everything. I think that must be the core of my taste.
This velvet jacket is SO Lotta Losten and it won't ever stop being just that.
SO Lotta Losten.

Today is a foggy and grey day here in Gothenburg.
I'm having a cold but it's getting better I think. Last week I slept almost all thursday and friday and then I already felt more like myself. That was good, because we had intense theatre rehearsals all weekend. 17 hours in two days and it went really really good! Only nine days left now! So exciting!

Have you popped over to my etsy shop again lately? More and more pieces of jewelry (some completely new pieces too!) is finding their way into the new pretty shop. Don't forget that you get 20% off your purchase with the coupon code NEWANDFANCY, all through october.

See you soon again!
Until then:
Tjingeling!
/Lotta

Hello hello!

So, I'm battling my second cold this year complete with brain emptying sneezes and a constant feeling of having cotton wool pressing up behind my eyes.
But still super sexy, I promise. Ahem.

One day last week I got the sudden urge to look through my bulging wardrobe to see if I could find the coral beret I bought on a flea market a couple of years ago. I didn't find it.
Instead I found this raspberry red beret that I've had since I was about 9 or 10 years old.
It's actually the second one I had because the first one got snatched from my head by some older boys on the school yard. I remember telling a teacher and pointing to the the boys where they were laughing and playing with my beret, like some evil Disney villains. The teacher just shrugged and kept on walking.
So I went home and cried to my parents and then got a new beret in the exact same colour a couple of days later.
When I was a kid it might have been a bit too big and now it's definitely on the smaller side, but I don't care. It looks nice and I love that it's somewhat a part of my history. What makes me who I am.
Well, I'm maybe not so scared of older boys and stupid teachers anymore, but it's a memory of my childhood and the beret is kind of a capsule for that part of me.
A time capsule in deep raspberry red.