My leather pants

I call it healthy shopping : when you can't afford to renew your closet every season but decide to indulge to a trend or two - which avoids to only define your image through your level of fashionness.

Explanation. Fashionness isn't happiness. In fact, it takes nothing for your insecurities to ruin you. Walk in a store on a day you feel crap, guards down and you'll eat rice for the rest of the month. We've all (I like to think that) been there, done that and weren't proud... Then it occurs to us that with a little bit of control (fashion diet - not fasting) and distance, we can stop being all hungry/frustrated and pick right and light.

So that's what I did. I went shopping biting my nails and other OCDs (it can be a bit stressful at the beginning) just like I was visiting an art exhibition (don't touch!) and finally went home all alone. But proud (for what it's worth).
Then, the next day, I run into these pair of (fake) leather pants and I thought "that's me" (not sure it sounds very flattering in this context, but I'm ok with it). And I got them. They're 30€ in Stradivarius and they'd better last because with all the energy I spent putting myself in danger, I'm not going back just yet.

Why black leather pants? Because the rest of the outfit has to be just simple and discrete. So, no headache to combine it with that shirt or the other... It works like an accessory that just speaks for the whole outfit.
And because we do dress to make a statment of our own and that's what's really interesting at the end of the day...

Case made - CQFD (this is not math but making a point out of a pair of pants deserves a little recognition)

SHANA : the low-cost line of Friday's Project

The group Comdifil (Catalan company, owned by Julián Imaz) launched a new chain of trendy low-cost of its first line, Friday's Project, in order to follow the other companies of the retail sector such as Lefties (Inditex) and Primark.

Shana is described by sources in the company as a new business line taking the challenge to see how low can the prices get.
The business model is the same as for Friday's Project, that is an externalization of the design and production tasks. That way the company only selects the garments from a few suppliers (mostly from Asia) and coordinates them with the brand's image.

I discovered it this week-end but haven't really been seduced by the apparent low quality, often poor taste and uninspiring clothes in the only shop they have in Barcelona.
However, it could interesting to see how to integrate some of their cheap items in a classy look...

Today's shopping in Barcelona

Making a stop in Raval, in one of the Holala Ibiza's second hand shop.

Set in Calle Valldonzella, the shop offers a selection of art books, vintage clothing and furnitures.
More info on their website!

Charming shop La Boheme in Calle Ferran - Barcelona

I found this very colorful shop this morning. Everything comes from London, and you really can feel the English vibe! I wouldn't buy most of the clothes because it's a bit too much but very inspiring... They have very cool accessories, head-bands, brooches, watches, bangles,...

In the entrance, I immediately noticed the knot shirt

I gave it a little photo shoot in the fitting room, not enough space, neon light and ungraceful wall color made completely unprofessional result, but just so you can have a closer look
Price: around 30,-€ - a bit too expensive for a half-shirt...

This blouse also called my attention for the wide patterned collar

So I tried it on, with the bad quality of the photo it might look like it's silk but it's actually cotton - color beige, flowing material
Price 35,-€

Today's shopping in Barcelona, my favorite places

Today was my lucky shopping day - it'd have been even luckier if it wasn't the end of the month, but... I found very nice little shops in the middle of the Gotico's maze, in Barcelona.

Sometimes it's really worth it getting lost far away from Portál del Angel (recently named the most expensive shopping street of Europe), Paseo de Gracia, El Corte Inglés and I won't say more names because you might not know and it's not the point...
The point is, Zara and I are so done, it's not even funny.

Let me show you where you can find really nice basics and more original clothes that won't be on 70% of the female population and might even survive 10 washing machines...

1st crush: S'Oliver, Carrer Banys Nous, 10 (and two shops in Ibiza) They don't have a website, Google says they only sell furniture but they actually have a full room of the most simple and elegant pieces of the season. That's where I found the nicest pair of leopard pants, for not even 30,-€.

2nd crush: The glint shop
A little more expensive, but just as charming, the Glint Shop is in the same street, number 22.
The style is more colorful and less conventional, didn't buy anything this time but will definitely go back!

3rd stop: Anthropologic, Carrer de la Palla, 10
They don't appear to have a website either. There were millions of leopard prints, I loved it.

4th stop: Mayday
Where my friend got these electric blue heels, they had them in red and black also. They sell it now for 19.90,-€ instead of 35! Very comfy and the curved heel gives a nice shape to the leg...

And one last address: The Instinto, Carrer Banys Nous, 5