Budget party pieces

During November and December, many of you have a high season for dinner - and cocktail parties. If you want to recycle last year's dress, a good idea is to pay a visit to your local H&M store.

In their stores now you can find several nice sequined jackets that you can use both with a plain wool or silk dress, or with a skirt and top. They also have nice sequin leggins, perfect for wearing under a plain mini dress or tunic dress. But hurry up - as with everything nice at H&M it runs out of stock really quickly.

If you feel like adding a bit of extra glamour, have a look at their fake furs. Some look really cheap but this black one works perfectly for winter parties.

All clothes from H&M

This week's favourite

On my wish list this week is this coat from Paul Smith. Maybe not the most practical one if you need to fit a jacket under but still a really classical coat.

On picture: Paul Smit Full Skirt Coat, £1,450. Available at www.harrods.com

Today's look

Business casual at its very best.


On picture: Charlize Theron

Day off

Today is my birthday so this is what I will be focusing on!

Sweet inspiration?

Today I have spent the day going through the 2010 S/S collections shown in Paris, London and Milan to get some inspiration. Seeing some of the shows, like the ones for Luella, Burberry Prorsum, Fendi and Marni, is like looking into the window at the Magnolia Bakery in New York. Me like!Cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery in New York, mmm

As plain as it gets

I have been searching all over the place for a plain white shirt, not too tight and long enough to stay in the pants (or skirt) while I am sitting down. And now I may have found it - the "Boyfriend fit" shirt from Thomas Pink. Cannot wait until the package arrives!

Pricing is somewhat strange though - the price is £69 if you are in the UK and €120 if you are ordering from Sweden. Talk about crappy exchange rate...

Available at www.thomaspink.co.uk

Fashion mathematics

Just read quite a funny comment on swedish fashion mathematics from Vicki Loomes at Fashion156 - Maximalism Issue

Well, at least my line will be nowhere near that...

Boots made for walking!

Over the last years designers have been competing in making shoes more and more spectacular, and in the same way less and less comfortable, and hard to walk in. Last year's most bizarr fashion moment must have been when Victoria Beckham walked around in heel-less shoes (thank god she had David to lean upon).

During Marc Jacobs' S/S 10 runway, the models walked the catwalk in flat shoes so hopefully this marks a change towards more "feet-friendly" fashion. I personally love heels but for every year I find it harder to walk any longer than to and from my car, or a taxi, without having painful feet. For this season, School has cooperated with Diego Dolcini (who previously worked with Tom Ford and Dolce & Gabbana) and developed a line of both comfortable and stylish shoes, as seen below. I once heard that School shoes are supposed to give women the best looking pins. How about that!

Boots available at www.my-wardrobe.com

What do women really want?

Tonight's bedtime book, interesting reading.

Snoods

This season's alternative to wool scarves are fur snoods like the one from Burberry below. If you are a handy-woman, then buy a piece of fake fur (alternatively use real or vintage), some linen and sew together a tube. If you do not feel like doing handicraft then just click into Net-a-Porter, or get a wool snood as seen here.

On picture: Rabbit snood from Burberry

Today's look

This is how I would like to walk around today. I am kind of ambivalent when it comes to UGG boots, but like this you just have to love them.


On picture: Nicky Hilton wearing coat from Burberry, bag from Burberry Prorsum (Knight studded bag) and boots from UGG Australia.

The perfect top

After years of research I think I have come to the conclusion that the Juin Scoop Neck Tee from Theory is the perfect top. Any objections?


Theory top from www.my-wardrobe.com

Wining, dining and lunching in NYC

Most of the time when eating out I prefer going for a nice lunch instead of dinner. One place I can recommend for lunching in New York is Bergdorf Goodman, not only for the really nice food, but for the people watching (besides Venezuela, the crowd probably has undergone the most plastic surgery in the world). Other nice and buzy places are Pastis (Meatpacking district) and Balthazaar (SoHo), and in Midtown, the restaurant at the Museum of Modern Art is well worth a visit. Should you want to escape Manhattan, then cross the Brooklyn Bridge and have lunch at the River Café which offers a great view over Manhattan.

As a European in the states I always get amazed on how quickly everything happens in restaurants. In the US it feels like you are in and out in about an hour, compared to home where we tend to eat for hours (often because of really slow service). Places I can recommend for dinner in New York are Spice Market (Meatpacking), Monkey Bar (Midtown) and in particular The Standard Grill (Meatpacking). Not really my kind of place but should you feel like mingling with look-a-likes from The Sopranos and The Real Housewives of Manhattan, mixed with a few celebrities like Victoria Beckham, then pay a visit to Cipriani Downtown (SoHo).

Some of the best bars in New York are located in hotels and the age of the crowd often ranges from 20-something to 50-something. An alternative to the roof top bar at The Peninsula is the bar at Hotel Gansevoort in Meatpacking district. In SoHo, the bar at SoHo Grand is also a great place for an after dinner cocktail. The hottest of hot places is supposedly Empire hotel on Upper West side as scenes from SATC 2 are being shot there, as well as the roof top bar Boom Boom Room at The Standard (Meatpacking).

This week's favourite - The fur vest

On my wish list this week is a fur vest as seen on Yasmine Le Bon (left) and swedish Princess Madeleine (right).

I am heading off to vintage stores.

The new casual

I love New York fashion. Unlike Europe it is perfectly OK to go to any fancy store or restaurant wearing gym clothes. How great is that?

High-end recycling

Some of the best places for clothes, bags and accessories shopping are high-end designer vintage store. These stores may sometimes be hard to find as they tend to be well kept secrets among their customers. Their assortment is normally much smaller and more selective than other second hand store, and prices are naturally higher. One example of such a store in New York is Michael's on 1041 Madison Avenue where you can find vintage Chanel jackets for around 850 USD, Michael Kors cocktail dresses for 300 USD and Ralph Lauren cashmere sweaters for 100 USD. Another example in Stockholm is La Guarderobe on Storgatan selling Prada, Balenciaga, Jimmy Choo, Missoni, Marni and other high-end brands. Several of my wardrobe favourites are from this store, such as a Balenciaga pant suit that looked like it had never been used and was sold for only 180 EUR (full retail price probably around 1200 EUR). Rumor says that a woman ones handed in more than 10 unused designer hand bags at the same time. So if you live in larger cities, spend some time finding these stores. It will definitely be worth the effort if your budget, like mine, does not allow for shopping these brands at full price.

NYC - Where to sleep

If you visit New York and prefer spending money on other things than lodging then check-in at The Cosmopolitan Hotel in Tribeca. The location has the feeling of residential area with several nice restaurants around. A great place for the typical New Yorkish organic breakfast is Le Pain Quotidien located a block down the road.

If you fancy people watching and want to live where the action is then book a room at recently opened The Standard in Meatpacking district. The hotel probably has one of the best views in Manhattan but be prepared to shower overlooking the bedroom. Do not miss the gym on the 17th floor where the view gets even the laziest person motivated to stand on the treadmill. The hotel also hosts the restaurant The Standard Grill where you might dine next to Madonna.

On picture: The Standard Hotel New York City

Club Monaco

Worth visiting if you are in the US is the canadian brand Club Monaco which is part of Ralph Lauren. Really nice work wear, cashmere and accessories.

Postcard from NY

I have finally landed (and thank you SAS for the upgrade)!

Your basic wardrobe - Jeans

One wardrobe essential is a pair of well-fitted jeans, but over the last years prices of jeans have gone ridiculous. If the fitting and quality is great, they may be worth the price but many times they just seem overpriced and as a customer it is hard to understand what you actually pay for (besides the brand).

One classic model that still has a fair price is the Acne Hep model. The price varies depending on the fabric but is usually around €100. Two nice colours this season are Pray and Raw, seen on picture below.

http://shop.acnestudios.com

Grey + beige

One of my favourite colour combinations right now is to mix grey, beige and oak leather. It may sound a bit like boring granny style, but give it a try especially if you are blonde.

Wear fur, oak leather and grey wool together like at Michael Kors (picture) and Derek Lam. Or just wear an oak leather jacket with a grey dress like Blake Lively at the Ralph Lauren A/W 09 fashion show. Simple but really elegant.

Sonia

Even before the Jimmy Choo for H&M line has been launched, H&M this week announced a new collaboration with french designer Sonia Rykiel. I am sorry but I do not get trilled. Trying to actually buy something when these type of collections are beeing launched is like flying Ryanair. It brings out sides of people I rather not see. Instead of buying these overpriced, low quality products, save the money and buy quality elsewhere.

If you like Sonia Rykiel, check out this season's Sonia by Sonia Rykiel collection, it is really nice. Nevermind the 15-year old looking model, the clothes also work for mature women.

www.soniarykiel.com