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Quintette N.1 by Dustin O'Halloran

Purple kaleidoscope pattern

Feroda hat - H&M

Black skinny tie - H&M

Shirt - vintage

Sweater - Zara

Blue skinny pants - Pull&Bear

Boots - Zara

Probably this delicate and slender sweater isn't the most warming up wear for mid winter, though I wanted to capture its white and purple kaleidoscope-like Fair Isle pattern in a white scenery. I juxstaposed it with deep blue skinny pants for purples, scarlets and maroons go very well with mazarines, celestials and azulines to me.

I'm about to make the most of the rest of my weekend. By it, I mean reading books and art magazines, and watching as many movies as possible. I feel dehydrated in that area somehow. Just to leave you with something to draw inspiration from, I recommend to check out Jonathan Saunders Fall/Winter 2012/13 menswear collection, listen to Florrible and Misrabella (aka Florence + the Machine and Laydee Isa), as well as Patrick Watson and see the documentaries Press Pause Play and Yves Saint Laurent: L'amour fou.

Close to Paradise by Patrick Watson

Hairstyle

Yesterday someone dropped me a line in my Tumblr askbox inquiring about my hairstyle. When looking through some photos with close-ups from different angles, I actually hit on an idea about making a blog post.

My hair is currently a bit longer, but generally, when trimming I try to stay loyal to similar construction. As short as possible on sides and back, and as long as possible on top.

However, to be honest, I really don't like my hair. It's too thin and completely not wind-friendly.

Sunshine Recorder by Boards of Canada

Walk the river

Fedora hat - H&M

Sweater - H&M

Jeans - Zara

Knitted socks - H&M

Black canvas desert boots - H&M

This winter season has made me feel like being put before the choice - to make the most of Fair Isle patterns around the snowless Christmas time or to wait for a proper white scenery. Well, having chosen the second option, I was hurtling this weekend through the snowdrifts in the woods, wearing knitted pieces to keep myself warm. Unfortunately, I forgot about hand care and thought I'd lose my fingers for good (they seemed to be literally frozen). Anyway, H&M is treating me quite well this sale season.

How brilliant it can be to enjoy the Fall/Winter 2012/13 collections and draw inspiration from it right now. So far, my favorite one is Andrea Pompilio's. It also seems like animal prints are dominating in menswear. And I adore it. By the way, I heard Guillemots' Walk The River for the first time in June last year, while exploring the Costume National menswear collection for Spring/Summer 2012, designed by Ennio Capasa. It was really well accompanying the show, along with The Butcher by Radiohead. Love.

Anyway, I'm going back to Mona Lisa Smile (how I love the 50's). Over and out.

Walk The River by Guillemots

Keep it preppy

Everything above is vintage, except a bow tie (Blanco). I wear it, plus the dress shoes and briefcase, here.

The other day I came across a video with Tommy Hilfiger conversing at Central Saint Martins about the preppy style and culture. I suddenly felt a burst of inspiration and urge to keep everything around (and on) me smart, casual and chic. That's how I feel about the preppy style - very relaxed, yet suitable for almost every occasion. In the end, creating and wearing your own uniform, with classic and elegant accents, will certainly make you feel comfortable anywhere. In addition, the presentation featured shots from some lovely movies, such as The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Darjeeling Limited. Truly inspiring.

The term PREPPY originated in America in the 1950's, and the word was used to describe groups of people that attended private "preparatory" schools. The PREPPY culture began here with uniforms, stripes, Oxford shirts, chinos, school blazers, crests, Latin motto's, pranks and cheers. The fashion, language, sport and leisure activities of this group then formed a unique American identity that inspired people and fashion ever since.


The Jackson And His Computer Band Remix of Pilgrim by Mungo Park

Let's play Atari again

I intended to post a New Years look around the proper time, but I guess I'm a master in missing out on the occasion. Well, here it is, just a few days later. When styling, I was absolutely inspired by the Atari video games. I spent pretty much time in my 90s with brothers playing Pitfall, Kaboom or River Raid. I composed this outfit of the video-games-patterned pieces: the Space Invaders sweater and Pac-Man socks from Blanco, bought back in Spain. I definitely don't own Elvis Presley's hair, but I tried to pomp it up a little bit, in the 50s style. Plus, the redish skinny jeans from Pull&Bear and leather dress shoes from Zara.

I wish the sky was brighter at the moment. Whenever I think about going out for a photo shoot, clouds seem to dim any artistic morale. To survive a gloomy aura, I'm planning to spend this weekend watching Gummo, Paris Texas and Breathless, as well as reading HP and the Goblet of fire.

What a relaxed evening it was yesterday from the moment I heard a virtual 3D audio version of Pogo's Upular! Smile paints itself on my face while its sounds wander through my brain, it's a win! Now I can't help but being curious how it'd be like to hear Florence and the Machine, Lana Del Rey, Empire of the Sun or Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros in 3D! Definitely, one of the best ways to smoothe and console low spirits after an exhausting week at work. A must-listen below!

Upular (Virtual 3D) by PogoMix

Bronze must-haves

From the left top:
1. Spitfire Round Sunglasses,
2. River Island Brown Feather Neck Chain,
3. Casio Stainless Steel Digital Watch, available from American Apparel,
4. River Island Light Brown Pocket Rucksack,
5. Zatchels Leather Satchel with Tartan Pocket,
6. Barbour Jackdaw Print Shirt,
7. ASOS Fair Isle Crew Neck Jumper,
8. Zara Double Breasted Trench Coat with Hood,
9. H&M Braided Cognac Brown Leather Belt,
10. Topman Nevada Tan Suede Desert Boots,
11. River Island Ecru Fairisle Socks,
12. ASOS Skinny Chino.

Despite autumn's been over for almost two weeks now, I'm still infatuated by shades of bronze - light, yellowish, mustard, hazel. Before letting myself to rampage on winter sales, I feel the need to leash my desires and organize them in some way. Boyish adventurer hungry for desert voyages - that's how I visualize my brown-hue-oriented inspiration.

Well, 2012 is already here. Besides feeling brown, I'm realizing once again that I'm truly hopeless in making New Years resolutions (or any kind of them), so I'd only like to write that I wish to sleep better, be more self-confident and unfurl myself artistically. It's too early for my dream of settling down in Paris/London/New York to come true, so I won't bother to dwell on that topic.

But what would a New Year be without any novelties? Still trapped in the Christmas spirit, I made some bokeh out of a Christmas tree and designed a new logo. I hope you'll get accustomed to it. Well, actually I have another idea for a logo, but I'm going to wait till winter is over since bokeh somehow warms me up. Another update - I've added a new blog page, Features. In that section I'm going to gather links to the places where my blog has been featured. Snatching the opportunity, I'd love to thank a young, kid sir named John who had invited me to an interview. I was very flattered and enjoyed answering his questions. And last but not least, I've prepared a list of films to see and books to read in the next months, how exciting. I've archived it here.

As for a new look, I shot a New Years one yesterday. I'm going to edit and publish it next week.

Have a good, successful and joyful New Year.

***

Hi Ley, how are you?  Thank you for participating in this interview.
Hey John, I'm quite fine! Thank you for the invitation. I'm truly flattered and hope to be a good interviewee since I've never done this before.

Could you tell the readers a little bit about you and where you're from?
Well, I'm a 24-year-old guy from Poland, a fresh university graduate. Art enthusiast, fashion and photography lover.

When did you realize you had an interest in fashion?
I believe it started with love for photography about two or almost three years ago. Ever since I've been drawing inspiration from magazine editorials, photographers and fashion bloggers. I've been following them online sincerely and decided to start capturing my own concepts for personal style in mid 2011. However, I guess I've always had a sensitive eye for people's styles.

Has Lookbook influenced your style over time?  Who are some of your favorite fellow Loobooker's (boy and girl)?
Very much. I tend to perceive things visually and whatever catches my attention also influences my style. Lookbook is a wonderful community that stimulates creativity and encourages to explore your own style. I love flicking through different interpretations of fashion trends on Lookbook and it definitely inspires me when I visualize my own outfits.
And as for my favorites, I'd say Nadia Sarwar (lookbook.nu/frouu) and Tyrone Williams (lookbook.nu/tytys).

The juxtaposition of your style of photography and outfits are great!  Do you plan these shoots out?  If so, what is your through process?
Thank you! I think that good photography helps an outfit to stand out, and in parallel, fashion is an excellent subject to photograph. Trying to work with both of these areas is very rewarding.
I usually don't plan photo shoots in detail. It rather comes down to enjoying free, cloudless days. When sunlight is good, I decide to make use of it, recall my latest concepts for outfits, go out with my camera and tripod and just look for a nice scenery.

Honestly, one of my favorite looks from you is Black Ballerina.  What is your favorite look so far?
I really enjoyed editing those photographs in black and white. I think my personal favorite look is "Painter's spirit". I like hats, floral patterns, mustache, pleated pants and the way they create some artistic accents in looks. I was inspired by Salvador Dalí when styling it. Besides, I struggled to shoot it just before sunset and I thought it wouldn't work out because of the light.

Well, thank you Ley for your responses.  I look forward to seeing more from you in the future!  Happy New Year!
Likewise, thank your for your interest! I truly enjoyed answering your questions.

Everything Goes My Way by Metronomy