The weather varies so much that it’s starting to get really annoying. One day I’m drinking Champagne in the park and the next I have to turn up the heat in my apartment. Looking at the people in the streets (my best way of telling the temperature) it seems to be jacket weather today, so I’m going for thick tights inside my shorts.

I’m very H&M today which is bound to happen once in a while with all the money I leave at that store.

T-shirt: H&M (One of those fake rock t-shirts. I’m not a fan, but it was on sale. Seems to be an excuse that works on anything.)
Shorts: H&M
Tights: H&M
Necklace: Secondhand
Shoes: Secondhand

Today I received the book How to Be a Budget Fashionista in the mail. It’s written by the owner of The Budget Fashionista, a site I have turned to many times for great tips, Kathryn Finney. As soon as I have finished it I’ll give a proper review, but for now I must say that this looks very interesting and perfect for a poor student like myself. It’s avaliable at Amazon for about $10.

It’s really annoying when something I like becomes something everybody wears, but sometimes I wish things that I love would become more common. The sun parasol is one of these. I think they’re so pretty but they’ll attract too much attention for me to dare to use mine.

They were seen in a few spring collections, like Hermès and Anna Sui and if you dare to, check out this seller on eBay where you can get one of your own for about $30. Maybe together we can make them common enough to use without being stared at, but not too common to ruin the fun.

Through Vintage Amore I once again found the answer to my problems. As you know I’ve been looking for something with chain prints with no luck. Then Vintage Amore got in a Chanel scarf with chains printed all over. It’s big enough to be worn as a top so it’s a designer scarf and a garment all in one!

I thought I’d share this with you as scarves with chain prints probably are easier to come by than actual garments, and it was such a smart idea to wear it as a top.

I’m so happy!

Going out to have coffee in the park.

Dress: H&M (2-3 years old)
Gloves: Secondhand
Socks: Lindex
Pumps: Secondhand

If you don’t feel comfortable carrying around those huge handbags we’re seeing both this and next season, you can go for a clutch. I love these, especially the wristlets. They are also super easy to come across secondhand and easy to make as you only need to remove the straps of an old handbag. Or, as we’ve already had a look at, you can carry your handbag as a clutch. Here’s at least a peek in what to expect of clutches for fall.

Giorgio Armani, Jil Sander, Chado Ralph Rucci and Kenneth Cole.

I went to a backyard sale today. I am pretty broke so it was mostly for fun. It turned out to be held by some of the most stylish celebs in the country. They were selling their vintage treasures and designers items. I believe there were three of them, but I only identified two; Pia Tjelta and Synnøve Skarbø¸. Pretty unknown for the rest of the world, but Pia Tjelta is usually on the top ten list over best dressed celebs. They managed to fill the entire backyard only with stuff they wanted to get rid of. Corso Como shoes, Missoni tops, vintage handbags… I can only imagine how big the rest of their wardrobes must be!

I wanted to spend the little money I had on something, but I ended up not buying anything. Although I saw some amazing things it was either too expencive or I just didn’t need it. The only thing I fell completely for and that I would have bought if I could was a pair of snakeskin platforms. They were too small. Typical. Oh well, at least I got a glimpse into what my life would be like if I was famous.

I saw a movie from the 80’s yesterday. It was really crappy - an erotic thriller or something - and nothing exciting ever happened. I did get a glimpse of a secretary in the movie. She was wearing a very simple and conservative outfit. What made the outfit interesting was a pair of red pumps. I’m trying to recreate the look today.

There was no outfit photo yesterday as I was hung over from a party I went to the day before. It was one of the craziest parties I’ve ever been to. First we walked through a labyrinth of strange art. Then we got to a room were the word GO was blinking with light bulbs. Down the stairs you got to a basement where they sold cheap beer accompanied with performance art. You really had to be there cause there was a new surpise in every corner and words can’t describe it. I wish I had a camera with me as there were some people there with great outfits.

Back to today’s outfit, it was very tempting to match the red shoes with some red accessories, or to add some fancy jewelry, but I really wanted to keep it as simple as possible.

Top: H&M
Skirt: Secondhand
Shoes: Secondhand

I recieved these amazing socks in the mail yesterday from StockinGirl. They’re pretty wild but I thought that when I was going to get a pair of my own I should go for the wildest ones. There are lots of other prints available though like polka dots, florals, paisley, skulls - you name it. The quality seems great and they came in the cutest packet.

Don’t forget the 10% discount for all you readers by use of code SB10.

The sight of this dress on The Sartorialist made me go “awww”. I think it looks adorable. I bought a similar dress on eBay in yellow but it made me look a little clownish. So now I’m off to find a white one…

Actually I have a few clothes I may need your opinions on, including the yellow ruffle dress, so I might gather them all in a post.

I wanted to wear something sweet today after a few horrible outfit days. I have been feeling horrible so it would probably not have mattered if I wore a Chloe dress. Today that awful feeling is starting to wear off and I’m hoping it means that I’m looking better as well.

T-shirt: Cubus (Not good quality for those of you with that store around.)
Skirt: H&M
Necklace: H&M (I bought it today for $3 marked down from $21 so look for items on sale!)
Fabric flower: Unknown
Shoes: Bianco

I kept thinking that what I really needed was a blazer. I wanted one in good quality but those are hard to come by in my price range. I went by H&M not really looking for a blazer at all, but I found one that was very classic and in great quality - all natural fibres. It was marked down from $130 to $65 which was still a bit expencive for me. I managed to have them sell it to me for $40. A great buy but the downside was that it was a size too big.

A couple of hours later I got a visit from my step dad and his Kurdish friend who was told to be a tailor. I was joking when I asked him if he could fix my blazer. When he said yes I started getting scared. He doesn’t speak English nor Norwegian and even though he speaks Arabic, a language I’ve been studying for the past year, I’m not really educated to discuss tailoring. I tried the blazer on, he took one look at it and started cutting. I was horrified and sure that the blazer was all gone. The blazer I had spent my last money on. The blazer that would cost me $130 to buy new.

He worked in a terrible speed. Threads and bits of fabric were flying everywhere. I had to have smoke cause I was so stressed out. To my surprise, after a few minutes in front of the sewing machine, he brought me the blazer - and it fit perfectly! You couldn’t even tell that it had been fixed. I mumbled “thank you very much” in Arabic and was a little embarrassed that I had been so nervous. He obviously knew what he did. And all I can say is that this blazer and I must have been made for each other. How else would all these coincidences happen in a matter of hours?

Pants like both Kate Moss and Ashley Olsen are wearing are perfect for adding a little masculinity to an outfit. The masculine look can be toned down with heels and feminine accessories like Ashley is doing or emphasized with a vest like Kate.

I have a pant suit almost exactly like the one Kate Moss is wearing, but I’ve never worn it. Pants like that make me feel short and weird, a little like I feel Ashley looks like in them. Now I know the Olsen twins aren’t exactly tall, but they usually manage to look tall. Even though I think there’s something off with the outfit I like the idea behind it and seeing these pictures make me want to find a way to make my own pants work.

I find basics both difficult and boring to shop for. This means that the number of basics I need is growing fast. I need hoodies, cardigans, simple skirts, t-shirts, long sleeved t-shirts - you get the picture. Now that I have bought the most important trend items of the season it’s the perfect time to start investing in some good basics.

American Apparel have some perfect basics for my need. The t-shirts are in great quality and they have the small neck that I like. They also have lots of other great basic clothing. The first problem is that because of import rules and money issues I have to shop a little at a time. The second problem is the fact that The American Apparel Store have some of the most expencive American Apparel clothing available. The alternatives, that are much cheaper though they’re selling the exact same products, don’t have the same selection. In stead of paying $15 a tee or $38 a hoodie I turned to Oneoff Clothing that have an OK selection and sell the same American Apparel tees for $10 and hoodies for $26. You can get them even cheaper on Amazon, where the same tees are down to $7. These aren’t shipped to all locations though.

In the first shopping round for basics I ended up with three tees at Oneoff Clothing in black, heather and asphalt. I am very pleased with myself for making such good decitions and it even made me look forward to shopping for more basics.

Yesterday was fun. There turned out to be free Champagne at the party and concidering the amount I managed to get down it was a smart thing I chose a comfortable outfit. On the other hand I saw some great outfits and especially after seeing the Chloe wedges of my dreams I felt really bad in what I wore. The Champagne helped though.

I’m totally lacking inspiration these days. It’s cold outside, it’s raining and it’s that time of the month. But at least it gives me a good chance to test out something I’ve been wanting to forever: Change the belt on my trench coat.

A little idea I’ve been thinking of: I saw this girl wearing a trench coat with golden buttons with anchors on them and it looked really cool. I’ve been concidering changing the buttons on my trench, but in case I never get to it I’m sharing the idea with you.

Jeans: Levi’s 571
T-shirt: Threadless
Trench: H&M
Belt: H&M
Clutch: Secondhand
Boots: Bianco