the Circus Issue

The first issue of the bookazine series by Herznote Publishing is released on September 14. It’s all about fashion. But don't think of the usual stuff. Bloggers from all over the world worked exclusively for CIRCUS Fashion. They took a look at the hidden stories of the fashion world – far away from top model shows, beauty tips and brandmania.

The Athenswears team has contributed to this issue with an article about the parent-child relationship and how they influence each other in terms of personal style and fashion. We interviewed mothers and their daughters as well as fathers with their sons and focused on their inner code for style. Do they share the same beliefs or not? How important is individual style and what does their style say about them?

More coming soon..

To order the Circus Issue visit http://circus-bookazine.com/shop/

Daphne near Syntagma Square

Daphne works as a journalist and a copy editor. She likes fashion but not shopping. She always goes to the shops alone and with a plan in mind.

"Shopping with other women can be problematic. They get confused searching for the perfect outfit and can spend hours thinking about it. I, on the contrary make quick decisions. I shop two or three times a year when I want to renew my wardrobe. I go to specific shops that sell clothes that fit my personal style. I prefer small boutiques with professional employees that will help me to put together the right outfits. It is a pity that such shops seem to go extinct.

Generally, I prefer to wear clothes that are comfortable as well as stylish. I like eccentric details and I am not afraid to combine bright colours with floral prints.
I like long skirts because they give me the freedom to move. I wear jumpsuits for the same reason. I don't like to attract attention so I dress simply and sometimes I add one piece of clothing or an accessory that makes a difference; but it’s only one piece. For example, I never wear high heels with my long skirt. It is my personal rule.

I usually don't spend a lot of money on clothing. Today, I am wearing a Zara jumpsuit, a pair of shoes I bought in Rome and my beloved large summer bag. I wear a belt, originally belonging to a pair of jeans, in an attempt to match it with my denim shoes.”

Confront your fears with a cobalt blue Jumpsuit

Stella is an architect and a mother of a cute four-year old girl. Her style is unique and she stands out in the crowd because she has a flair for putting together outfits that look like they were made for her.

"I wear uniforms, that's all. I always had my issues and that’s why a uniform enables me to choose outfits that I know for sure they will work on me. That way, I conceal my insecurities." When I asked her what is it that she wants to hide behind a uniform, she referred me to Marina Abramovitz's video performance The Onion. " In that video Marina Abramovitz speaks on behalf of me."

In this photo, Stella wears a necklace by Christina Darra and plastic Marni shoes. "They are so comfortable", she says, "I've spent all last summer wearing as I was going in and out of the sea."

Marina Abramović, The Onion , 1996 – 20:00 mins



The first shot is a close up of Abramović looking upward and holding a large onion. Her fingernails are painted bright red, just like her lips. Slowly she brings the onion closer to her mouth, taking a large bite from it and beginning to chew. Her voice-over keeps repeating the following as she devours the onion: ‘I’m tired of changing planes so often, waiting in the waiting rooms, bus stations, train stations, airports. I am tired of waiting for endless passport controls. Fast shopping in shopping malls. I am tired of more career decisions: museum and gallery openings, endless receptions, standing around with a glass of plain water, pretending that I am interested in conversation. I am tired of my migraine attacks. Lonely hotel room, room service, long distance telephone calls, bad TV movies. I am tired of always falling in love with the wrong man. I am tired of being ashamed of my nose being too big, of my ass being too large, ashamed about the war in Yugoslavia. I want to go away. Somewhere so far that I’m unreachable, by telephone or fax. I want to get old, really, really old, so that nothing matters any more. I want to understand and see clearly what is behind all of us. I want not to want anymore.’

source: http://wmuvideo.wordpress.com

two girls and a fedora hat

Sometimes I meet people that want to talk about fashion but they do not like being exposed.However, I recently met two girls who were willing to do so creatively. They stroke a pose and concealed their faces behind a fedora hat.

"I am a dentist. I have to wear specific clothes to work; a white robe etc, but I replaced the white clogs with colorful crocks so I made this outfit mine. When I am not working, I dress casually but never conservatively. The essential piece of clothing in my wardrobe would have to be the pants. I have a large variety of pants from which I accessorize with others items. They all are unique designs and I like them to be comfortable on me as I don’t like them to outline my body.

I like 80's fashion and fluorescent colors. On a special occasion, I would wear a dress but only something that is unique because I like to be different. I say no to mini skirts, heels and in general whatever limits my comfort, my movement. I like accesories, I will always add something to my outfit, like this hat for example. I wear rings, usually on my right hand, but I keep it simple. Often, I would wear something that reminds me of a person in my life, like a ring I wore for years that belonged to my grandmother."

The other girl I spoke to is a student at the school of fine Arts. " I don't think much about fashion" she says "you ask me if I wear accesories and I said no, but I cannot think of a reason why I don’t. Actually it's the first time I think about it. Probably it’s because I would rather spend my money on other things. I dress depending on my mood. I like colors and when I am in a good mood I indulge wearing lots of colors. I like the romantic style, dresses with floral patterns. At school I wear jumpsuits because they make me feel comfortable."

installations and performance at TAF

WhiteBox & Eva Pyr: Female Desires
11-25.5.2010
TAF (the art foundation) and the WhiteBox in collaboration with the performer Eva Pyr present the installation-performance, Female Desires. The performance explores the variety of expression of different types of women, through fashion design.
The exhibition - happening takes place within the ground rooms of TAF where each designer- artist presents her own female prototype in the form of an installation, construction, clothing or object. Simultaneously, Eva Pyr directs a fashion performance (Female Desires), in which the female prototypes shown within the rooms act and move in a way as to justify their uniqueness within the public space of TAF.

The Art Foundation
info@theartfoundation.gr, www.theartfoundation.gr

Athena Promachos

When I interview people about fashion, I try to focus on their personalities. I concentrate on specific things they say that make them differ from the mass and I've come to the conclusion that every idividual is unique. Fashion is just a way of expression, like art, like political commentary. These days, when I talk to people in Greece, in their words I sense indignation and desperation. Individualism seems to have dissappeared, people are united by fear and anger. Since I focus on peoples' feelings and thoughts, and since a picture speaks a thousand words, I would like to share some photos from the demonstration of multitudes that took place on the 5th of May 2010 in Athens in protest of the strict measures taken by the goverment that will worsen the lives of many. One can only hope for a better future and that every crisis is an opportunity for change.

The wonderful photos are courtesy of Stratos Safioleas

back to the future

Giorgos and Charalambos @ Thisseio

Blue hair, spike collar, deathly T-shirt illustrations and a cool attitude.
That was my first impression of Giorgos and Charalambos, two guys who are not afraid to speak the truth.

"I always trust my personal instincts when I choose my outfits." Giorgos declared. " I have no conventions, I choose and mix my clothes depending on my mood, I experiment and I treat it like a game. It’s like wearing a costume where I play a role depending on my mood. I do not believe in labels, most of my clothes come from women's stores like the jacket I am wearing today. I believe being yourself is the norm and I use clothes to express myself. The way I dress, attracts like-minded people and keeps conventional minded people at bay. Generally, I mix and match but I also love the style of Comme des Garçons and Digitaria, an innovative fashion label by designer Eleftheria Arapoglou. "

When asked about the way Greeks dress, he said that "the majority of Greeks show a lack of confidence in fashion and in themselves. They do not feel secure enough to express themselves and I believe that this kind of behavior is deeply rooted in a wrongful interpretation of society values and the strong influence of family and religion. I find their dress style dull, boring and miserable and I don't see them changing in the near future."

Charalambos however, is more optimistic." I think there is hope. The new generation is more open-minded since they travel more than they used to and are influenced by other cultures. As a fashion designer, I hope to change old habits. My designs feature futuristic elements and I try to visualize the new style I am dreaming of."

costume exhibition @ Benaki Museum

To Dress

The Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation is organizing a costume exhibition at the Benaki Museum, from the 24th of March until the 23rd of May, titled: “Endyesthai (To Dress). Towards a Costume Culture Musuem”. The scope of the exhibition is to display the important costume collection of the Foundation and to underline the necessity of the creation of a Costume Culture Museum in Greece.

The exhibition aims to present to the public a global consideration of the act of dressing and to examine it through as different aspects as possible. The exhibits will be organized following two parallel and complementary concepts: the main one will show the evolution of dress, mainly in the West, starting from body painting in primitive cultures up to the extravagances presented on the modern catwalks. Parallel to this, there will be a series of smaller units, extensions of the main one, which will approach costume following its function, such as ceremonial garments, traditional costumes, uniforms, disposable garments, theatre costumes, etc.

The costume collections of the P.F.F. are no longer confined to Greek regional costume but are continually enriched with fashion pieces. It remains the only organized collection of haute couture and prêt-à- porter in Greece. At present, the collection consists of 5,500 pieces and includes examples of work by Mariano Fortuny, Jeanne Lanvin, Christian Dior, Issey Miyake, Paul Poiret, Paco Rabanne & other as well as Greek designers, known internationally like, Yannis Evangelidis, Jean Dessès, James Galanos, Dimis Kritsas, George Stavropoulos, Yannis Tseklenis, Sophia Kokosalaki & other.

If you want to see the exhibition through the creative eyes of a fashion pro
you just have to check the following dates:

Saturday 24 April, 12:30 p.m. Vaso Konsola
Sunday 25 April, 12:30 p.m. Yannis Tseklenis
Friday 30 April, 7:00 p.m. Ioanna Papantoniou (curator of the exhibition)
Friday 7 May, 7:00 p.m. Ioanna Papantoniou
Saturday 8 May, 12:30 p.m. Erifili Nikolopoulou
Sunday 9 May, 12:30 p.m. Erifili Nikolopoulou
Friday 14 May, 7:00 p.m. Ioanna Papantoniou
Saturday 15 May, 12:30 p.m. Vaso Konsola
Sunday 16 May, 12:30 p.m. Markellos Niktas

(photo courtesy of the Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation)

the laughter yoga teacher

Eleni Skrekou, laughter yoga teacher

We met Eleni in Thisseio and were attracted to her by her big smile and positive energy. A lively, spirited person, she is working as a laughter yoga teacher and also is participating in the Free Hugs campaign. We actually show her in action and shared a warm hug as well.

We asked her about fahion and the things she likes to wear. She said that she likes comfortable, colourful, joyful clothes, things that represent her mood. Her aim is to give a pleasant and positive image, to make people smile. "Colours represent our mood," she added "and I don't like the way in Athens wear so much black; especially in winter it's like seeing crowds of darkness walking around. I like to be a splash of colour in the crowd! Even on these black trousers I'm wearing I've sewn on happy words like 'love' in colourful threads to break the blackness."

We asked her if she has favourite clothes or accessories and replied that she loves Anna Theoharakis' jewellery, an artist based on Aegina island. "She makes everything by hand and uses fabrics and threads. I probably have been very affected by her work, her combination of colours, and now I can't live without her jewellery! When I go out without wearing colourful jewellery I feel as if something is missing. If I'm in a flat mood I find I don't feel like wearing any jewellery at all. Also I have a very comfortable jean-skirt that's hand-made and has colourful details and is below the knee. I like loose trousers like I'm wearing today and tops in bright block colours, rather than items that have lots of colours together. Several times I've been told that I look Indian because of my physical features but also because of the way I dress - and that was before I ever went to India too."

Her opinion about greek everyday fashion is that people should be more daring. "Although we live busy lives and taking time to choose what clothes to wear can be demanding, perhaps people should spend less time watching television and more on focussing on their personal expression. My mood is very affected by my clothes and I wish people would dare more to be themselves. Sometimes I like to feel like a rainbow in the way I dress and overdo it, but so what?!"

We Met the April Market @ Gazi

stylish couple @ Meet the Market

Fotini posing for us

Lovely Kim











The April's Meet the Market took place at Technopolis in Gazi, the ex Gas factory. The industrial sourounding made the exhibition even more interesting, where colorful clothes, accessories and people moving around contrasted the cold metal structure of the building.

Easter @ Athens

Arwen, Sellas Cafe, Exarcheia

Arwen Curley Pandeleiakis is an Artist and Interior Decorator who lives on the island of Andros. We met her at the Sellas cafe, in Exarcheia, on a sunny day during Easter and talked about many things, among them fashion and her feelings about it. That day she was wearing her favourite all-purpose winter-to-summer dress and this is how she explained it to us:

"In winter I wear it with a roll-neck and thick stockings and in summer without. With it I'm wearing my favourite silk coat. The scarf is because I'm in Athens and I feel it protects me. I can play with it when I'm annoyed, or I can cover my neck when I feel threatened. It's from Zara; my advice is to never buy anything that costs more than 40 euros, unless it's a beautiful coat or something else really worth while."

When asked about her sense of style she replied: "When I was 13, I discovered Goth, and since then there are always elements of that in my wardrobe. I love the combination of Goth-romantic and minimal.

I choose what I am going to wear each day according to how I'd like my day to go. It's like setting the atmosphere according to how you clothe your body. For example, I love Autumn and Spring and so sometimes I wear clothes that will bring on the atmosphere of that season in my life.

My favourite clothes are my pyjamas! By the way, I'd like to say that I never ever ever buy something just because it's in fashion, and I think no one should - everyone should try to find their own style. Just because you see it in a magazine, it doesn't mean it suits you. I still have things that I bought 10 years ago which I continue to wear to this very day!"

@ Exarchia square

Exarchia square, Varvara

Varvara is 28 years old and works in a private company. She
lives in Marousi (a northern suburb). She has a dress code for
work, and for every day outfits she prefers comfortable clothes,
that don’t draw too much attention. She describes herself as
simple and conservative and feels that’s reflected in the way
she dresses. She is inspired by Latin music and her travels to
other countries. That day she wore earrings she had bought
during her trip to Brazil and her top was bought from Thailand.
She likes accessories and experiments with them. She buys
her clothes from Zara and similar chain-stores and also from
small boutiques in the suburbs, near her house. When shopping
she thinks practical and prefers to give more money for
high-quality items that last longer (for example good leather
boots). She has specific items in mind when shopping but
rarely finds them in the shops around her. It’s difficult for her to
follow fashion trends and she usually likes trends when they’ve
faded out and she’s managed to adapt to them.

Panemistimiou st, Aliki

Aliki works as a graphic designer and owns her own creative office, called Meetoo. Loves fashion and likes expressing her creativity through clothes. She shops without a plan and goes for items that attract her attention. She loves to wear out her clothes she owns, like the ballerina shoes she bought from Rebet while visiting Paris.

She learns about fashion from magazines, the internet and from what she sees in other people. She points out Balmain as this season’s favorite fashion designer and adds that she found a T-shirt in Zara that reminded her of his collection. She commented that Zara and the other “affordable” chain-stores offer everybody the opportunity to own a piece of high design since they create quite good imitations of designer clothes at low prices, remarking that this is a result of the industrial revolution in fashion, but that the bad side of this is that you may end up wearing a kind of uniform.

She also comments that clothing reveals one’s personality, aesthetics; for example a handsome man in army uniform could look ugly if he dresses with bad taste in everyday life.

Place: near the Academy of Athens and the University (Law school)


Voukourestiou st, Maria and Panagiotis

I moved on to Kolonaki, 10 minutes walk from Sintagma, and headed to Voukourestiou st, the high class shopping area. Gucci, Prada, Hermes, top-end jewelery shops and the Attica department store are nearby. I stopped to talk with and photograph Maria and Panagiotis, a married couple.

Maria works as head of sales in a private company. She enjoys quality clothing and for this reason prefers shopping from famous fashion labels like Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Armani and feels comfortable in Pinko clothes, Miss Sixty and Seven Jeans; she also pays regular visits to Zara and H&M. She doesn’t enjoy shopping because she gets confused, unable to choose easily, so when she shops it’s usually a spontaneous process. She spends money but within reason and as she said tries to buy clothes and accessories that are not fashion statements but have a timeless quality, so that she can wear them for many years. She has developed a personal style that comes from combinations of clothing she has in her wardrobe and depending on the event. She is not influenced by trends. She likes being feminine; she likes bags and eccentric shoes, always with high heels. In the photo she wears Marc Jacobs shoes,Dolce & Gabbana jeans and holds a Prada bag. She likes jewelry, especially necklaces, bracelets and rings. Earrings don’t do it for her.

Panos runs his own business. He likes fashion and shopping, makes quick decisions and always knows what he wants. He enjoys wearing brand-name clothes, and considers Prada designs quite close to his personal taste.

Athenswears on air

Athenswears visited AIR FM 104.4 in the studio to chat on the show Athens4real. On the video Eva from Athenswears relates what she has discovered about the changing face of style in the capital and her experiences about setting the blog up.

back on the streets of Athens on a dull day

We walked from Syntagma Square to Exarcheia to capture the Athenian vibe on a dull day.

@ Exarcheia, Aspasia and Olga, Students, 19 and 20 years old

Exarxeia is a youth-based area of Athens with many cafeterias, bookshops, record stores and bars. It’s a culturally peripheral zone, with a lot of students from the nearby University, cult residents, anarchists and junkies.

We met Aspasia and Olga as they sat on the doorstep of an old building. Their colorful clothes made us notice them from a distance. They are both students at the University of Athens, Aspasia studies English Literature and Olga Psychology. They said they like to shop second-hand clothes from bazaars. Olga said she likes earrings and the ones she was wearing were made by Aspasia. They are influenced by music, they listen to alternative music, Aspasia added post punk and new wave. We asked them about their haircuts and said they do them themselves.

@ Exarcheia square.

Romina is Italian and lives now in Greece because she’s studying at the Italian Educational Center of Athens. She is 20 years old and likes fashion, but wouldn’t spend much money on clothes if she can’t afford it. The clothes she was wearing that day were from London. She makes accessories herself, such as the earrings she’s wearing in the photo.

@ Syntagma square.

Christina is 21 and studies Theater in the port-city of Patra. She likes fashion and usually prefers going out wearing jeans, high heel shoes and shirts. She doesn’t like to provoke with her clothes but enjoys dressing in a feminine way. She likes to wear make up and accessorizes with earrings, faux bijoux, and an expensive watch on her left wrist. She shops from chain-stores like Bershka, Stradivarius and she would spend more money on buying shoes and a watch.

Note about Sintagma Square: it’s the starting point for Ermou st, the most popular downtown shopping avenue, with boutiques, big stores and chain-stores like Zara, Bershka etc

Athenswears@NYC part two

Other things that caught our attention during our visit to NYC

shop-windows, here one of Bergdorf Goodman

Henri Bendel

Hermes for men

Hermes for women



Very cute dolls inspired from Ponyo, the animation film

the architecture and design section, inside the Museum of Modern Art



the Tim Burton exhibition

tourist delights: iceskating in the sunken garden @ the Rockefeller Center

the red stairs in Time Square

the city view

Athenswears @ NYC part one

Well, we were lucky enough to visit New York City for a week: too short a time to do all the things you imagine doing there but long enough to catch on to the vibes of The City That Never Sleeps. The cold weather didn't put us off, so we walked around most of Manhatan and - between visiting museums, shopping and bar hopping - we had the opportunity to take a few street-style photos (or, more correctly, park-style photos, since they were taken inside Central Park). In part two you can see some photos of other things that caught our attention.

For those who adore vintage

Take a look at the forthcoming bazaar from Holy Mustache


HOLY MUSTACHE VINTAGE
presents

$$$ FUCK COLD $$$

WINTER COLLECTION VINTAGE MARKET

CLOTHES - ACCESSORIES - COLLECTORS ITEMS

21th, 22th, 23th, 24th & 25th FEBRUAY

@ Intrepid FOX Bar