Seasons. Happy New Year 2013 with Louis Vuitton, ss 2013.

We are living the last days of the current year. The winter solstice was already 21st December and after that the day is approximately five minutes longer every day in the northern part of world like here in Finland. I'm celebrating it with this Louis Vuitton spring/summer 2013 outfit. It condenses perfectly the black-and-white trend of the spring 2013. Towards spring we go, believe it or not!

I wish you all Happy New Year 2013! Let it be great and full of inspiration!

For Fun. Circus.

When I was a kid, always on Boxing Day came Billy Smart's Christmas Circus on TV. It was a magical moment to see all the glitter of the costumes and the acrobats flying in the air. Trapeze was so high up and there was a lot of animals in the show. Those were the moments when my love for circus has begun. 

 I have visited Circus Finlandia's performances with my kids. I love the atmosphere in the big tent. The starred top of the tent, the orchestra, cones of light, the variety of feelings from joy and excitement to wonder when a magician conjures a parrot out of nothing. This year before the acrobats acted their most demanding act Circus Finlandia's director Carl Johan Jernström introduced the coming stunt with the words:

"Circus performers are showing off the best they can do."
What a great phrase to think of when we are due to do some demanding task in our daily lives.

Dolce & Gabbana would be my number one costume designer for Circus Princesses. The first lady could perform an entrance in the pelerine and throw it off to some assistant's hands before starting to walk with string up in the air.

Sometimes when I look through my favorite street style sites I hear echoes of Circus. Or what do you think of these two characters below in the framework of circus?

The Urban Spotter

The Streetstyle Aesthetic

On the Street. The Mystery of the Fox Girl, Kamppi, Helsinki.

A hat is an essential accessory around here in winter times. Frost and snowing is much more pleasant when you have your head warmly covered. Few days ago I saw this fox-like hat. Somehow that suited well to my mood and gave me a motif for a little Christmas story.

MYSTERY OF THE FOX GIRL
On the last week before Christmas some forest animals dare to explore the habits of people. To make sure to be safe among people they change themselves to human form. This Fox Girl is now among us in Helsinki looking around wondering lights and odd things it sees. It is used to interpret the shadows and paw prints in the snow. It doesn't know what to think about all it sees in the town of Helsinki. The Fox Girl returns back to the woods a bit confused and it is very happy to be able to dive under the spruce branches with no lights on.

Seasons. December Amaryllis Belladonna from Sketchbook.

 

I have a habit to plant an flower bulbs of Amaryllis in the middle of the November. It's a pleasure to follow how the first green leaves appear from the large brown flower bulbs and the flower stalk get taller every day on the kitchen table. The result of that growing feels always such a wonder. This year our Amaryllis appeared in light red tone, a bit like red crab. Flowering began in mid-December when nothing will flourish outdoors because of the cold and snowy climate around here.  The contrast is very effective to meet such a flourishing beauty at home.

The Amaryllis bulbs can flourish again if you treat it right. From the site of the United States National Arboretum I found a step-by-step plan to get your amaryllis to bloom again.

Amaryllis is a traditional flower for Christmas time in Finland. I'd love to hear if there are some other traditional flowers in other countries. If you like, let us hear from your plant selection for Christmas in comments.

Catwalk. Chanel Pre-Fall 2013 Goes Saint Lucia.

The 13th of December is Saint Lucia's Day. To the ceremony belongs that a girl is elected to potray Lucia. She is wearing a white gown with red sash and a crown of candles on her head. Lucia brings the light to the darkness of the wintertime. You can read more about the tradition of the Wikipedia article Saint Lucy's Day.

Today I opened a new window of my Advent Calendar. A singing Lucia appeared to the middle of the singing rabbits. At once I started to sing the beautiful Sankta Lucia -song. In Saint Lucia's Day you can encounter Saint Lucia almost anywhere. Once I was in dentists and the staff had dressed up to Lucia and performed the song. That became a memorable event.

Then my brain started ticking. I looked through a Chanel Pre-Fall 2013 show a couple of days ago. I absolutely loved it. I'm pretty sure I'll come back to it later. I felt that the last white outfits would be perfect for Lucia also. So the crown of candles accompany the Chanel-look this time.

Catwalk. Monocler Gamme Rouge, fw 2012.

We are now living in a winter wonderland here in Finland. Every other day it's snowing. It made me think of the best outfit from Catwalks for winter season. My choice is Monocler Gamme Rouge's checkered outfits. They are fun, yet stylish with 60's twist. There shouldn't be fear for cold feet in these boots either.

One Day. The Castle Ball 2012, Linnan Juhlat 2012.

6.12.  is Finland's Independence Day. In the evening, the Presidential Independence Day reception is held for approximately 2000 invited guests at the Presidential Palace. This event, known as "the Castle Ball", is broadcast on television and has been a perennial favorite of the viewing public.

The best part of the show is when Presidential pair shakes hands with all the invited guests. 1800 this year. It's the moment when you can see all the beautiful evening gowns. This is also the moment to shout judgements in the home couch. Great fun! This year I did some rough sketching while watching.

On the Street. December Snow Attack, Ruoholahti, Helsinki.

 

Last Friday was a big snow storm here in Helsinki. The best way to move around would have been the skis. There came like 50 cm snow in one day. Thanks to the storm we now have snow mountains in every corner of the streets. Well, at least the kids love it.

Nowadays, if I have a opportunity to say somebody that like her/his coat, or shoes, or total outfit, I always say it. People are delighted and they sometimes start spontaneously tell me some stories that are related to that specific garment. This time I was fascinated by the wide black and white herringbone wool coat. The whole outfit had a nice 60's feeling.

The young mother told me that when she had started to wait her first child, she didn't have a coat to fit in. So they changed coats with her sister. And then afterwards she didn't want to give it back anymore. The sister had abandoned the coat in her mind already. So everybody was happy.

Do you have some nice stories to share about the contents of your wardrobe?

On the Street. Red Zorro at the Bus Station Kamppi, Helsinki.

The basement of Kamppi Bus Station in Helsinki is a paradise of concrete. To cheer up the total grey there is pillars covered with yellow and red small glazed tiles. Obviously they also help the bus drivers not to bump it. When I saw a lady dressed in a bold red cape and a wide-brimmed black hat hurrying towards the doorway, it felt like a part of the Adventures of a Female Zorro. Would you like to read it?

My Style. These Boots Are Made for Walkin'.

It came one day that I finally met a pair of boots with all the nice details I have dreamed of in my WANTED-post in a while ago. So here in this picture you can see the conclusion to that dreaming. The point when I did the purchase was the moment when I wanted to reward myself of a job well done. In WANTED-posters traditionally is a promise of REWARD also. Well, the boots itself was the reward this time.

I have noticed that I shop shoes in certain situations. Before this time I bought a pair of shoes after having suffered a dental treatment painful enough. I kind of promised myself in a dentists bench mouth full of dental widgets, that if I will be living after the dentist, I'll go to the shoe store nearby. And voila, I had a new pair of shoes. A good girl like that needed some reward for all the misery.

Now we come to interesting question.
Do you have a way to reward yourself in some particular situation? And in what way would that be? Anyone else buying shoes there?
If you like, share your ideas in the comment box.

The original hit These Boots Are Made for Walkin' in 1966 is by Lee Hazlewood and performed by Nancy Sinatra. She obviously had some rat as a companion, so she wanted to walk all over somebody. I have no such trouble, so I might just go walking all over instead. Are you ready boots?

On the street. Blue Parkas Laced with Red, Helsinki.

Now that I am tuned in the color of blue, I have spotted nice looking men dressed in totally blue outlooks in the streets of Helsinki. Here are two examples of them. Both had blue parkas and some bright red accent combined with it. Parka is such a perfect coat to have in November with big warming pockets and a hood. It protects against wind, rain and snowstorm if it happens.

One day. 100 Posts and New About Page.

 

This is the hundredth post in Flash For Zonzon. I'm celebrating it with my first animated gif image. You can calculate the image one hundred small Flash For Zonzon -logos if you like. It made a nice pattern, I think. I'd love to bury myself more in pattern design. Let's see what I will make up in that area within next 100 posts.

I have made a little changes to the blog itself. In the navigation bar you can find a new button that leads to the new About-page. About-page sheds a little more light on the backgrounds of this blog. Take a look, if you are curios about it. There is a saying: Curiosity killed the cat. But this time I assure, looking at the About-page is not dangerous at all. In addition there is a new Popular Posts -gadget in the sidebar.

Now I want to thank you all my precious readers for reading this blog. I have received wonderful feedback from many of you. Thank you! You have no idea (or maybe you do) how much that means to me. Hope you enjoy my future postings as well. 

Seasons. November Blue Love Poem.

 

November is the month, when light suddenly falls down earlier every day. In northern part of Finland - Lapland - the darkest time is the polar night, a time when the sun does not rise above the horizon and there are only a few hours of daylight. 

This dark period can affect people in a negative way. Some sink into winter blues  or people may feel twilight fatigue. A combination of couch and chocolate may feel so inviting. However, there are methods to keep away from depression. One is to have a daylight lamp next to your breakfast table. Finnish Valkee goes a little further. They bring the light straight in to the ear.

Valkee offers a Bright Light Headset that channels bright light directly to photosensitive regions of the brain through the ear canal. They say that treatment lasting 6-12 minutes once a day is enough to increase energy. A friend of mine has one headset, but I don't remember her feelings about it. I'll ask her to put her impression of Valkee to comments of this post.

My medicine is to eat extra doses of vitamin D and take a spoonful of fish oil every day. Recommendable also is to take a little stroll in a daylight when it is available. Not forgetting sports. And in my case, the more I draw the better I feel. Yep.

And it certainly helps if you decide to love the blue dark season thinking that this is different. Oh so different! Outside you can't see a thing, so let's focus on the inner side, friends, family, music, books, baking, crocheting, studying, yoga, dancing and inventing childish poems. Forget the internet and prefer to do things instead.

What else could we do to avoid winter blues? You tell me.

Catwalk. Happy Halloween With Prada, fw 2012.

Catwalk. Trousers With Skirt. Louis Vuitton and Chanel, fw 2012.

 

One of the great inventions in fall/winter collections was the combination of using trousers and a skirt at the same time. At least Louis Vuitton and Chanel both had many outfits based on this idea. Something similar than the Louis Vuitton look above is easy to implement. A cardigan, a polo, A-lined skirt and ankle-length trousers.

It seems that the lady from Helsinki, that I drew a while ago, was actually very much in fashion with her unique skirt and trousers combination.

 

I wonder where the designer of Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld got the idea of the heavy eyebrows. My wild guess is, that Karl tends to play Angry Birds with his mobile once in a while to relax a little between a busy day. And then, one day the heavy eyebrows started to feel just right to have with the Chanel fw 2012 collection. The subconscious works while we are relaxing, right? 

Catwalk. Perfect coat, Chloé, fw 2012.

I came to think what could be a perfect coat for autumn from all the fw 2012 collections. My votes go to this  Chloé creation. I love the coloring and the checks pleases me always. This time I made the model walk in the scenery that I see from my studio window.

My Style. Wanted Ladies Boots size 39.

Few weeks ago I saw my dream pair of boots in The Style Manifest -bog. I was like Oh Wow, here they are in their beauty with all perforated details.

I left a comment with hopes that there would be female sizes available too. In the comment I'm still hopeful, but I was left with nothing. The sizes begun from 40. My size is 38-39, depending on the shoe. I thought a while to go to foot stretch to get bigger feet. In the end I rejected the idea and decided to do a WANTED-poster instead of it.

If you dear readers have seen these kind of leather boots for ladies in some web shop please give me a tip. I could wear these boots with almost anything. But so far I'm still dreaming.

On the street. Yellow higlight in a rainy day, Kamppi, Helsinki.

Rainy days are here again. Every day it's better to accessorize with an umbrella or a proper raining coat. Days are getting darker. Then it's very refreshing to see a dose of bright color passing by.
How about you? Could you add some color spot to your autumn outfit?

On the street. Jumping over puddle, Kamppi, Helsinki.

On the street. Remembering Woodstock, Lauttasaari, Helsinki.

 

I'm always super duper happy when I encounter an elderly lady going true to the person she has been in her younger years. Or what do I know. Maybe she has started dressing up like this after having seen Pirates of the Caribbean in the movies. Though it is very unlike, I guess.

Those lovely long pigtails which are bound into rings are far too original to be copied from somewhere.

On the street. Free layering, Kamppi, Helsinki.

 

 This time the eye-catcher was the blue wide skirt. The form of the skirt definitely stood out from the queue. When it was paired with trousers of the same color the whole outfit got a very personal touch.

I had a change to ask about her marvelous skirt. She told me it was made by her friend according to her idea. The idea was to make a similar style skirt that she had used as a child. There was a layering of tulle fabric  under outer shell. It ensured a wide, beautiful shape skirt.

I specially admired the wide pockets that could easily eat up a sketchbook. 

On the street. Cleopatra goes modern, Aleksanterinkatu, Helsinki.

On the street. Slim jeans on male characters, Helsinki.

For fun. Picking berries.

 

We in Finland are the lucky ones with nature providing us a variety of lovely vitamin rich berries to pick. I must tell the good news to my foreign readers: we have the traditional Finnish legal concept of everyman's right that allows free right of access to the land and waterways, and the right to collect natural products such as wild berries and mushrooms, no matter who owns the land. These rights also generally apply to foreign citizens.

We have a vast variety of berries to pick: blueberries and lingonberries, cloudberries and cranberries, wild strawberries and raspberries.
I have enjoyed so much of this joy of picking berries during this season. Now my fridge is full of blueberries and raspberries to consume with morning yoghurt and soft smoothies during wintertime.

The New York Times blogger, Seth Kugel, the Frugal Traveler, seeks first-class living at steerage prices in his blog. When he visited Helsinki he also went to pick blueberries. He wrote a story about it and the whole visit: In Helsinki, Going Where the Finns Go.

Catwalk. Marc by Marc Jacobs, fw2012.

 

Here is one of my favorite looks of Marc by Marc Jacobs fw2012. The whole collection is very much to my taste. Easy to be used by anyone. And the color palette is just right for me.

If you would like to adopt this look in to your wardrobe by hat part of the look, it could be done with Costo's hat Moi. Remember (look at the previous post) that the pompom in Moi-hat is detachable so you can alter the look if you want.

On the street. Tomatoes in motion, Lauttasaari, Helsinki.

Last week in Helsinki we have been lucky to enjoy a brilliant sunny weather. One must be happy about this because these are the last days of the real summer in these latitudes. I'm not sure if we can see bare toes until the next June.

On Saturday I went to a local grocery store. In the vegetable department I saw this man buying tomatoes and thought: nice colors, nice straw hat. After a while outside the store a lady walked past me and besides that I loved her red and white outfit with large polka dotted skirt, I felt like the tomatoes had climbed to her skirt to get some sunshine and had grown triple the size they usually are.

By the way. It came to my mind that Moving Tomatoes might be a good name for a band. But what kind of music would that be? Any ideas?

Finnhits. Costo, Hats With Pompoms.

Hello everyone. With this post I may solve all your "what to put in your head when fall comes" -problems. I'm presenting in my series Finnhits Finnish clothing brands that I truly like. Costo is the one.

But let me first remind you of last seasons Burberry Prorsums summer 2012 straw hats with visors and pompom's swinging on the top. If you found those caps nice I may have good news for you. Costo is specifically famous of the pompoms that sit in the top of their hats.

COSTO

Costo is a creation of three Helsinki based designers. In the beginning Costo products were done by the designers themselves. They started to utilize industrial leftover materials to satisfy their need to create products in a more sustainable and ecological way.

MATERIALS

In this case it still means high quality in their materials. For example they are using  premium fabrics by the Italian textile manufacturer Crespi1797. Crespi is specialized in natural fabrics and is world leader in linens. They also use leather, wool, denim, cotton and jute in their designs.

HUPLA HAT

I just fell in to this Hupla-hat in the happening Helsinki Design Market. The discreet beige herringbone will definitely bring the light to me when fall comes. Maybe this model  attracted me most because it brings a story of Tintin on my mind, The Black Island. On the cover Tintin is wearing a little bit similar style hat with Scotish kilt and jumper. Though Tintin's hat is a beret. But anyway, the pompom is there. I can't help it. I'm a big fan of Tintin series. It seems that reading those stories as a kid has affected a lot to my visual thinking.

The green pom-pom was my profit of this post. They gave it to me free, while I mentioned I was going to blog about them.

KOMBAI UNIQUE

Because of the nature of leftover materials the series of hats are limited editions. In addition Costo makes even individually original hats. A special line of Kombai hats: each  Kombai Unique is totally, absolutely unique. This, if any guarantees the individuality for your style.

DETACHABLE BOBBLE

Bobbles in the hats are detachable and it takes no engineering skills to do the trick. There´s a usual button in a usual button-hole: fast but firm. You can get a different look to your hat by changing the bobble color. Or you can use the hat totally without a bobble for a change.

WOOL BEANIES

Costo makes also 100% merino wool beanies with bobble. What could be more jolly and comfortable in the harsh winter frost. Naturally on the top sits a pompom. I started to dig this kind of beanie style in 90's when there was the Monkees TV-show in the television. It was about the misadventures of a struggling rock band. Somehow the show appealed to me with it's childish 60's humor and style. Not to mention the good music. One of the characters (Michael Nesmith) always had a beanie with a pompom in his head. Ever since a beanie like that has gone under name Monkees Beanie to me and it has belonged to my style also.

See for yourself the original Monkees Beanie. The Monkees - You Just May Be the One



As a conclusion I agree to this phrase from their website: For Costo ecology, style and quality go hand in hand. But I'd like to add one thing. That is the delight that the pompoms bring with them. Anyone who has a hat with a bobble swinging in the top, doesn't feel too pompous or dangerous. And that is a good sign to me.

Final here is the direct way straight to Costo webshop. Are you ready to choose your style? Go!

On the street. Mr X does it again, Lauttasaari bridge, Helsinki.

Yesterday I got so glad like a children getting an ice-cream! I had not seen Mr X in a year or so. Deep in my mind I have thought that he may has died. I mean, he isn't a young guy anymore. But no, he is alive!

I saw him from a car window walking along the Lauttasaari bridge in a heavy wind. And he didn't fail me this time ether. Always surprising stylish and cool. Again different hat in his head, red coat lining swinging in the wind. Next time he walks towards me I must tell him my admiration before it's too late! Or maybe I should start camping next to the Lauttasaari bridge to get my daily dose of style. (I assume he walks once a day to town and back.)

I have presented this older man earlier in a post here. And again I think he resembles me a lot of a Tintin character. This time it is the eccentric millionaire Lazlo Carreidas from the album Flight 714.

On the beach. Tattooed Fisherman in Kangasala.

In the last days of july came the summer warmth I had waited for. So I headed to the beach right away to catch some solar rays.

Rigth next to the beach I saw this tattooed family man angling with a sticklike fishing rod. His family with four kids were playing in the water. I knew it was a total impossibility to really catch a fish in a hot day and restless place like that.

But I believe this guy understood the romantic side of the angling. To withdraw to shadows in your own peace staring the red and white fishing rod bobber. Oh boy, I love it too. The image took me directly to a different decade. Like to the scenes of a marvelous Italian film Ossessione by Luchino Visconti, 1943.

On the street. Mermaid in Angry Birds Land, Tampere.

It has been a little silent here because of my summer vacation. For the past few weeks I have concentrated in eating strawberries, picking up blueberries and waiting the mushrooms to appear. I'm staying in the woods by the lake with my family in a summer cottage where the community of bats make music on the attic.

The place is situated near Tampere. So we popped in town to visit Särkänniemi Amusement Park. Amusement Parks tend to have something new in every summer season. In Tampere the Big New Thing this year is a Angry Birds Land. The area is designed according to Angry Birds game. You know the phone app people play like mad. The game is made in Finland by Rovio Entertainment, so the world's first Angry Birds Park is situated in the home territory.

In the same visit I saw this mermaid-like lady that caught my eye. She was very convenient with the red birds and green pigs that surrounded her.

One day. Flash For Zonzon in Ladyfairy's Closet.

 

A while ago I received a inquiry about an interview. A fellow blogger from IFB (Indebendent Fashion Bloggers) liked my illustrations and emailed me that she would like to write a post about me and my works on her blog Ladyfairy's Closet.

Remembering Andy Warhol's words: All publicity is good publicity, I agreed to a request. Now if you are interested in reading a little bit more about the backgrounds of Flash For Zonzon, click your way to the story.

Inspired by this I started to plan a proper About-page to the blog itself. Just wait a sec I'll get it ready.

Catwalk. Chloé, Summer 2012.

We have had the coldest June in Helsinki in ten years. It means that there has been just 3 days that the temperature has aroused more than 20 degrees. So this is a hint for everyone who are longing for a good cool resort for summer vacation. Turn your nose to Helsinki! We have the World Design Capital year going on here so there is a lot of fascinating happenings to see and experience. 

Due to our weather temperatures lately cardigans and even jackets have been a must to carry. The sun is shining all right but it doesn't warm. In hopes for the warm July I browsed through a Vogue's catalog to find a perfect dress for summer to come.

I ended up in these Chloé's lovely moving, shoulders revealing summer outfits. Emerald green stripes with pure white. What could be more fresh and calming in a hot weather. Now I'm just waiting for the warmth to come.

On the street. A Miracle In a Gas Station ABC, Mikkeli.

On Midsummer last weekend I travelled to countryside as most of the finns do at that time. What that means is a big traffic jam on the road. After sitting four hours traveling in the car we stopped at the ABC -gas station in Mikkeli.

I didn't expect to see anyone interesting there, but there he was all black and white, smoking a cigarette outside the station. With all the gold glittering in his ears and wrist.

I could easily place him in a Corto Maltese comicstory by Hugo Pratt throwing knives around a woodoo princess at a shady jungle bar. Inspired by the image I borrowed a pile of Corto's from the library to read on a summer vacation. I recommend the same to everyone. Dream with the dreamer.

Seasons. June, Helsinki Samba Carnaval.

In June my all time favorite happening is Helsinki Samba Carnaval. It was 22nd time this year. It takes place in Helsinki day 12th June or next saturday if the day is in the middle of the week. 

The event is one of Helsinki's largest free public events, the audience is around 20-30 000 people. The parade  included seven samba schools from different cities of Finland, as well as other performing groups like circus and capoeira, a total of over 1,000 dancers and musicians. Helsinki Samba Caranaval corresponds to the Rio Carnival, only the scale is smaller. 

The whole happening is so hilarious. It's just the opposite of what Finnish temperament normally is. By this I mean that we are not exactly dancing in the streets and dressing up colorfully every day. All the imaginative costumes, funny and ingenious themes that the schools have invented make me so glad. Not to mention the hypnotic drumming. If I would take part in the happening I'd like be a part of batterias banging the big drum, yes!

Maybe the best thing is that people of all age groups can participate in the same interest. From the little girls and boys, chicos and chicas  to their mamas and papas and grandparents. Everybody can find their own role in the phenomenon.

I have taken my kids to watch the show too. The first time they saw the color saturation and the wild characters the impact was so big that the next day it erupted in to these lovely drawings.

On the street. Camel-colored Anorak, Kamppi, Helsinki.

Bus stops are great. You can watch people unnoticed without needing to stare. This girl had an oversized camel-colored anorak combined with black leggings and ballerinas. So simple as that, but it gave my mind a tour to other images. The anorak was old and has apparently belonged to her father or grandfather. It was a typical cross-country skiing outfit from 50 to 60 s.

I also remember that Tintin and captain Haddock had similar anoraks in Hergé's cartoon album Tintin in Tibet. I always thought how in earth they had gone to so severe conditions as in Himalayan mountains in such a light clothing. We have similar snowfalls here in Finland and I assure you that an anorak is a joke in a weather like that. What was Hergé thinking?

I can easily imagine that this anorak is among her favorite clothes. With the history many items just feel special.