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.