2011, I love you.

Dear Readers,

I'm listening to Mat Kearney's 'Sooner or Later', the song made popular by Google's Zeitgest video, as I upload the pictures that can best summarise my 2011. I can't believe it's over already. Here we are, a few hours away from 2012.

I can't hide that tears fill my eyes as I write this post - yes I'm cheesy - because this is probably the first time I'm going to end the year without a single regret. You know how it goes, it's the countdown and the past year flashes before your eyes. I would normally spend those moments thinking 'I should have done that' or 'That shouldn't have affected me so much' and most importantly 'I should have been brave enough to do it'. This year, however, the story is completely different. 

Looking back at where I was last year, I can't believe who I was and what I was doing with my life. At the end of 2010 I was completely devoured by fear and anxiety. I was aware that I was growing up and I refused to move on. I just wanted to freeze time and enjoy these pre-adulthood moments for as long as I could. Thing is, I wasn't really enjoying anything, for the fear of life and its ups and downs, does not allow you to savour the little pleasures of our existence. 

The main reason why I kept holding on and being afraid was that I had no idea who I was. 'How can I go out in the world not knowing who I am?' was the question I kept posing myself. Every morning, I woke up thinking that something or someone would just help me find the answer to the 'who am I?' question, until one day I just woke up and realised that's not the way it works. YOU define yourself. Not society. Not your family. Not your job. You are the key to your own destiny. You just have to surround yourself with the right people and keep doing what you love doing most and you'll be sorted.

It was this newfound confidence that changed me profoundly, so drastically I can barely believe it. In 2011, I finally found the courage to face my fears, stand up for myself, be myself and do what I always wanted to do. I had to take some very difficult decisions, I let some people down with my actions, but I had to do it. For myself, for once. I never felt so 'me' in  my life.

Heh, I think I've bored you enough with my sermon over here so let me move on. I would like to wish you all the best for 2012. Please believe in yourself and your abilities and try your hardest for 2012. You'll be as surprised as myself next year when you realise that your life has changed completely and that YOU brought about that change. Follow your instinct, it bloody works.

2012 is going to be the year where all the hard work of 2011 will bear its fruit. I honestly can't wait. This was my last full year as a student. This was the year I bought my badass camera. This was the year I started blogging. This was the year I got published. This was the year where people in the fashion industry noticed my existence. This was the year where I added Chanel and YSL to my closet. Most importantly, this was the year I re-discovered the love for life. 2012 has some pretty big shoes to fill, but I know it's going to be great. I know it, my heart says so!

Once again, bestest of wishes to everyone and THANK YOU for spending some time to read my work. You all have made my year, my transition and my world better each and every single day.

Here are a few of my favourite photos from 2011.

-B

December Haul Part One

My Top Fashion Moments of 2011

Dear Readers,

During my many years of fashion blog hunting, before I got down to do my own thing too, I always said to myself that at the end of every year, I would do a 'top fashion moments' post. Here I am.

I am not that big-headed to say that the birth of Boffism was one of the most important things in the fashion industry this year. However, running a blog made me ever so aware of all the little things that happened over the past year. Readers, these are the fashion moments that I'm going to recall every single time someone mentions 2011. In no particular order, here they are.

1. Chanel SS2012 at Paris Fashion Week

This is probably the fashion moment of the year. I wouldn't dare say of the decade, probably Mr. Lagerfeld will conjure up something even more breathtaking in 2012! Anyway, from his underwater inspiration to Florence Welch singing during the show, I loved it so much I had to write about it in my article for Manic.

2. The Downfall of Galliano

The large number of people who have heard about the collapse of the fashion industry's favourite tragic hero is utterly surprising. To think that most of them don't even give a fork about him or Dior. That goes to show that the entire Galliano drama characterised 2011. Point.

3. Louboutin's Red Sole Drama

Speaking about drama, I can't forget the one surrounding Christian Louboutin's red soles. Last week a friend of mine told me that these 'are just soles', but honey, they're not. Spotting common shoes with red soles in shops is something I still can't get used to.

4. Versace for H&M

I've written about it and I've given you my take on it, but irrespective of what my personal tastes dictate, I can't deny that this collection has indeed been one of fashion's most discussed topics. And, guess what, it should be a subject for debate next year too. Versace intends to hang on to its romance with H&M next year!

5. The Royal Wedding

Pippa Middleton who? That is what many of us would have said in 2010, but not in 2011! The whole 'who is designing the dress' issue and the 'who wore what' talk was enough to award the Royal Wedding a place on my list.

6. THOSE Hats.

Now, technically, this should have been included with the 'Royal Wedding' part, but whenever I look at the hats worn by Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, I can't help but think of them as being separate from the rest of the wedding! Who hasn't heard of - and probably laughed at - those hats?

7. The Benches at Balenciaga

Oh no they didn't! Oh yes they did! The benches at the Balenciaga SS2012 show in Paris broke, leaving members of the fashion royal family, including Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington, standing. How can I forget tweets like the one by Anna Dello Russo, who exclaimed that everyone was 'standing like in a church!'. Priceless.

8. Kanye West and his lack of talent

Kanye West is as useless as a pair of flip flops in the winter snow. I mean, why does this so-called rapper want to meddle with design. Go back to the studio, Kanye!

9. Minaj and Wintour sitting next to each other

Oh, don't get me started on this again! I seriously cannot fathom why these two completely opposite people should choose adjacent chairs during a fashion show. Enough said.

10. Fendi SS2012

Call me a Lagerfeld junkie, I don't care. I loved everything he has done at Chanel this year - also including his AW11/12 collection - but I believe that his work for the Fendi SS2012 was just as impeccable. Please do watch the show. Your life will improve.

Obviously, other fashion moments have characterised this very eventful year. Yet, you do understand that I couldn't include them all. Additionally, I wanted to keep this post shorter than Kim K's wedding :)

-B

The Florence Hat

Outfit: Hat: Pull and Bear - Peter Pan Shirt: Pull and Bear - Jumper : Vintage - Purple Ring: H&M - Cross Ring: SIX - Jeggings: New Look - Boots: Peacocks - Watch: Vintage - Bag: Parfois

-B

January Sales: First Round Up

Dear Readers,

I've never seen so many shops go on 50% sale mode on the 26th of December. Excluding the usual Terranova and the odd local independent boutique, most of the main retail shops would start their sale on the second of January, or the first working day of the new year. 

Anyway, whatever the reason behind this sudden conversion to sales mode, the most important thing is that some of my favourite shops are on sale already. I'm going to list all the shops that are on sale at the very end of the post, but I want to give you some initial impressions on the season's sales before.

Peacocks

People, this is the sale to go to at the moment. I personally visited this shop first and it was the only one I bought from till now. Peacocks haven't done such a good sale in years. Everything is at 50% off, including shoes and accessories. The shoes are beyond words, and all those wanting to step up their shoe collection need to hurry to their closest Peacocks store as soon as possible. I got two pairs of boots and a Russian hat: items which I've been eyeing for at least two months. Yay me! Clothes are reasonably priced as well!

my two new pairs of boots from Peacocks, both at around 20 euro each

Miss Selfridge

Whereas I have no idea whether Miss Selfridge intend to put more items on their sales racks, I can tell you that their current discounted items are very worth it! Most of the items on sale are clothing pieces but they do have a couple of shoes and accessories too! I particularly liked some tablet pouches in animal print which were around 12 euro, if I'm not mistaken! Prices are very reasonable I promise!

New Look

I was really disappointed by New Look up to now! I admit, I rushed towards their shoe section, because that is what I love best about the store. Oh, and if you follow me on Twitter, you would know that I'm in a bit of a shoe phase at the moment! They didn't have any new shoes on sale, all of the aforementioned was what made me base my opinion! I would suggest waiting some more to grab some real bargains from this store. They never fail to deliver, but give them a bit more time! I hope they put a specific pair of shoes on sale.

Fur Hat (or Russian hat as many call it!) from Peacocks

Terranova

You all know that I'm not a fan of Terranova, but I wanted to give them a try. I was kind of hoping for a Christmas miracle. All I can say is that I would never even dream of spending 14 euro on a jumper from this store, only to see it shrink gradually one wash after another. Quite a waste of time, actually.

As promised, this is a list of the shops (I know of) that are currently on sale:

New Look - up to 50%

Peacocks - 50%

Piazza Italia - up to 50%

Esprit - up to 70%

Orsay - up to 50%

Darmanin Footwear - up to 50%

Next: 40%

Claire's - up to 50%

Bata - up to 50%

Terranova - up to 50%

Fergi - up to 50%

I'm off, I shall spend the entire night writing and proofreading some work, so as to have some time to visit more shops tomorrow. I need to go to Next and Orsay in particular. I hope the items I need are still there. Yes, I meant to sound menacing.

-B

Our Christmas Photos

Dear Readers,

As I promised you in my Christmas outfit post, I have some photos to show you from my Christmas weekend. Well, my Christmas was rather simple and quiet. I went round some shops on Christmas Eve to get a few bits and bobs - there's always some very last minute shopping to do right? - and then spent the night in with my family and watched Disney's 'A Christmas Carol' with my sister. Loved the movie, by the way!

We went out to lunch today and now I'm as bloated as the biggest of balloons, chilling out in my PJs and writing down some stuff I want to get during sales season. It starts tomorrow, yay! 

I would like to take the opportunity to thank you all for your wishes. I hope you all had a great Christmas weekend! My Christmas vlog is on the editing table - a figurative table obviously - and I'll upload by tomorrow!

Santa at the mall on Christmas Eve

Lights on Christmas Eve

Some gifts we received

Some of my presents: Vogue December Issue, vintage notes box, pearl ring, bed slippers and a new pink diffuser :)

opening gifts and looking horrible without make up haha

our tree decoration

les parents

our lunch! I ate so much Boffsters!

my sister and myself during lunch

prettiest restaurant in Malta! Tweet me for the name :)

Femme December Issue at the restaurant we ate at. Pretty surreal to see myself on their coffee table!

-B

God Bless Us Everyone

Dear Readers,

I've been hooked on this song from Disney's 'A Christmas Carol' since yesterday night. I have an overwhelming amount of footage from yesterday and today which I still have to edit, but before diving into my lovely Photoshop interface, I wanted to do this outfit of the day post.

Do you go out for Christmas lunch? We always do, and usually we always eat at the same restaurant every year. Yet, this year, we went for something different. I'll show you some photos of the place later on. All I can tell you for now is that the food is so delicious! I seriously have no idea how I'm typing this paragraph. I'm so full up I could burst at any moment.

In other news, look at my vintage faux fur jacket. This lovely jacket has been hanging in my wardrobe waiting for Christmas day for almost a week and a half now. Yes, that's how long I've been waiting to wear this baby. Underneath, I wore an oversized denim shirt - obviously from the men's section - which is long enough to wear as a dress. But, just in case, I have a black bodycon skirt underneath. You know it was kind of windy!

One thing I always suggest is to wear oversized pieces when you know you're going to stuff your face at the table. The least thing you want is to wear a tight item. After a few minutes, when your tummy starts bulging out in protest, you're going to regret it.

Even though I intend to show you my presents in a separate post, let me introduce you to my new pearl ring. It's so original and it fits just perfect. Thankfully, my extremely small fingers had no issues with this new ring. Something else you've probably never seen on me is a braid. First and foremost, my hair was too short to braid for a very long time. Secondly, I've no idea how to braid my own hair. It's rather funny, I know.

I'm off to edit a lot of material. Hype button and details of separate pieces are at the end. Until my next post, best wishes and enjoy the rest of the day. 

Outfit: Faux Fur Jacket: Vintage - Denim Shirt: Vintage - Cranberry Tights: Market - Wedges: H&M - Bag: Shana - Pearl Ring: Vintage

-B

Happy Christmas!

Dear Readers,

I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all the best. May Santa - or anyone else involved heh - bring you whatever your heart desires. On my part, I'm spending Christmas eve with my family because partying on this night is not my kind of thing. 

Before leaving you all though, I would like to conclude by mentioning two things. The first is that I'm vlogging my way through Christmas weekend, outfits and all. Secondly, I would like to mention all those who feel sad or lonely during Christmas time. My thoughts are with you all.

prettiness in Paola

-B

I won my first give-away!

Dear Readers,

A quick post to show you some goodies I won in a give-away by the very talented Denise Scicluna. I love all the pieces I received and winning was such a lovely Christmas surprise. Mind you, the only thing I've ever won - medals and the like excluded of course - is an expired bag of sweets when I was nine years old. This totally makes up for it though! My favourite item is the frame, and it already lies happily between my brooches glass and my candle holders. If you're not following Denise's blog, then I really suggest to do so!

 

-B

Cosmic Love

Dear Readers,

As per usual, I commence my post with the most random facts about myself. You are now free to think I'm very self-centred.

Anyway, when I was about seven or eight years old, my dream was to become an astronomer. I remember cutting the back of those cereal boxes (the ones that came with 'space facts') and collecting them as if they were the most precious thing on the planet. One night, I even dreamt that my class teacher took us on an outing to the moon. That is a very realistic dream obviously.

check me out, rockin' the beard

By the previous paragraph, you might have already guessed that I had a fascination with space at a very young age. Over the years, that fascination almost died out, being instead replaced with a sense of fear. I can't quite explain it, I look up at the stars and feel so small and useless. Could it be that my 'fear' of the grandeur of the universe be the reason why I can't come to terms with trying out the 'Cosmic' trend?

You should know that Cosmic is in at the moment. You might have noticed a sudden surge in iridescent nail varnishes at your local make-up store or drugstore. Shops - the good ones at least - stock tops, leggings, and other random items with a galactic print or detail on them. And if it's not a cosmic print, it's some sort of star. Many stars. In a few words, Cosmic is taking over. It's everywhere. Even on the Litas!

the Cosmic Lita

To be completely honest with you, this is not a trend that I hate. It's one of those trends that I enjoy watching from afar without letting it take over my life. Whilst, as I said, I don't mind others trying out the trend - some ace it actually - I still think it's not something I would personally go for.

The crowd asks, 'Why?'

Well, simple. It's one of those trends that is going to last one season. In my opinion, the Cosmic trend owes many of its popularity points to the Metallic trend. Is it just me. or do you think that the two are slightly related. On my part, I think they walk hand in hand. Astronauts in metallic suits travelling through space. The two trends are like fork and knife, just saying.

That said, I would still love to own a pair of the Cosmic Litas.

Cosmic overdose

I wonder, do I have any readers who have succumbed to the Cosmic trend?

-B

Street Inspiration: 22nd Dec 2011