Urban Style – Skullcandy

One thing I enjoy about blogging is reviewing a new product. Especially when the review is about something that seriously speaks to you. A short while ago I was sent a set of headphones. If you know me a little you will know I am a music junkie. Ever since the age of four I had a penchant for stealing my mother’s huge headphones and her music collection. As an eight year old my letters to Santa involved Madonna calendars, Whitney Houston tapes and Michael Jackson posters. As a teenager I had a numerous collection of VHS tapes with music videos recorded of TV: Aerosmith, Foo Fighters, Kylie Minogue, Lauryn Hill… the list is endless.

Back to the headphones, may I just warn you, they are b-b-b-BLING! The beauties below are by Skullcandy.

Headphones: courtesy of Skullcandy

Here’s my review: In terms of sound quality, they are outside-noise-busters, for sure. Basically, don’t wear them if you want to heat what goes on around you. To be accurate in this review, I compared them to my trusty Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones, and I must say that the “golden ones” did very well. My Sony ones have a switch to activate the noise-reduction feature, which requires using batteries. The Skullcandy ones drowned all of the noise by themselves, enabling my iPod to function at a lower volume setting than with the Sony headphones.

In terms of wearability, I give you below:

 Jacket: vintage
T-Shirt: Fornarina
Jeans: Karen Millen
Boots: New Look
Bag: Mango
Sunglasses: Topshop

I loved their branding, the colour and the design. This particular model would look fantastic on any DJ. Wearing them at home adds a bit of fun to daily music listening. I’m unsure about wearing them on the street, but that is only because I tend to favour simple-looking headphones, but that’s just a personal preference.

In terms of the brand, Skullcandy are worth checking out. With a huge collection of accessories and apparel, they take street cred fashion to a stylish level. I was particularly attracted to their jewelry which is beautifully designed around their logo, but they also have wallets, belts, hats, t-shirts etc.

And before I forget, kudos to Skullcandy for having one of the loveliest PR people in the industry 😉

Now back to you, my dear readers, on the golden headphones, what’s your take?

Pictures: Fashion Limbo

Happy Friday

Just a silly yet happy post to wish you all a lovely weekend.
Stay safe, have tons of fun, enjoy your friends and loved ones.
But mostly, love yourself xx

Did you know we’re on Twitter? @fashionlimbo

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND XX

Style in Berlin

There is a reason for my silence these last days. One of them, the most pressing, is the existence of heavy duty building works occurring on top of me, quite literally. Just a few weeks back I also had a bushy jungle for an outside garden. It is now a building site. I wake up before 8am to the sound of power drills, excavators and men yelling just below my window. My nerves are coping more or… actually less OK. It’s the dog who is suffering the most – utterly terrified- and my writing. The loud noise doesn’t even allow me to think. It simply kills the most minuscule brain activity.

The second, results from the loud building works: I’m moving out. I am selling all of my stuff – eyes open as I will be selling some lovely clothes and shoes through this space – and with one of two future destinations in mind: London or Barcelona. Time, and job opportunities, will tell where me and my miniature dachshund end up. We’ll keep you posted through Twitter, if you’re curious enough.

So, taking the opportunity of a lovely quiet Sunday morning, I’m wondering about style. Why not take a look at this must-read feature on Luella Bartley via The Guardian, mostly about English style. Since the former designer has covered that subject, I’m going to stir the topic towards European style. More precisely, what four days in Berlin taught me about style the Berliner or Berlinerin way, or how anyone living in Berlin dresses.

Clothes stores in Berlin: Aplenty. Shopping in Berlin offers well-know international brands, but mostly there are indie stores galore. The other popular shops are vintage ones. However, in my honest opinion, vintage in the German capital is widely overpriced. I came across a popular one that was selling New Look shoes with a whopping €20-€30 price tag. Anything from an expensive brand or designer was simply outrageously priced – except for the huge shop that lets you buy clothing by the kilo, worth a visit, but with hardly any big names to be found and a lot of junk.

Berlin is however a great place to buy military inspired parkas, jackets and other similar accessories. I picked up an 80s jacket for only €15.

Boys in Berlin: Guys tend to favour well-fitted jackets and trousers. However, some urban tribes will choose hip hop inspired fashion. Whatever the preference, I came across very few males who hadn’t made a slight effort when selecting their clothes. I also encountered plenty pork pie hats, an extensive use of brogues, and as expected, a love for anything punk. Adidas shoes, unsurprisingly, everywhere. Additionally, Berlin men love a good haircut.

Not a great picture, but these guys we’re moving pretty fast and I was pretty useless at figuring out my new camera

Girls in Berlin: very understated, effortless cool. A love for discreet flower prints, feminine cuts, shirts worn as dresses or tunics paired with skinny jeans. Light make up, hair wrapped in a bun, or loose with no fuss. Shoes were mainly flat, either pretty ballerinas, trainers or more masculine styles.

Have you been to Berlin? What’s your take?

This is just a modest account on what I saw during a four day stay. I found the way of dressing there nicely uncomplicated, fast, practical and mostly, a young look. However, there is so much more to say about Berlin, like Stil in Berlin, an interesting blog on the subject, or just google “street style Berlin” for fun, there is so much documented on the European capital of cool.

Pictures: Fashion Limbo

Excitement & Disappointment – A fashion fairy tale

So, the new iPhone is not that excitingly new… when the other hotly anticipated piece of news of the year-  who will take over the reigns at Dior – is known, will we be a bit more buzzed about it?  Are we just too demanding? Maybe when we complain about how rapidly Apple updates everything on us, we are being moany insects, as really, deep down, we want new gadgets: quicker, faster, sooner. Let’s face it, who is even slightly motivated about H&M + Versace collaboration? Aren’t we all a tad, “meh” and hoping for the next best thing?

I don’t know, maybe I’m speaking too broadly, but I’m not that excited about the Versace bit, nor the new iPhone – since my 3GS seems reliable enough – and I desperately want Apple to start manufacturing MacBooks again.. but I am a bit of a retro queen, so there goes.

And…Paris, yes, about Paris,what about it? it’s Paris Fashion Week, and Chanel is going mostly white for Spring 2012, and according to Jennifer Neyt from Vogue FR, inspired by Coco Chanel’s love of pearls, nacre brilliance added to some cute pale shades: pinks, greens, a dash of salmon, broad shapes in jackets, midi skirts.

Kanye West also debuted his big ego on the Parisian catwalks, but I cannot really say much about a collection that was hardly “designed” by the nonetheless talented rapper, so I’d rather mention the theatricals at Alexander McQueen. A collection by Sarah Burton which was academic McQueen: very dramatic, a love for corsets, emphasized shoulders, intriquet details, plenty of metallics such as gold, corals, pale purples, and a return to their most thought-provoking ideas such as women objectification etc.

Pic by Julie Ansiau via Vogue FR

Excitement, buzz… today I’m loving this simple, effortless chic look from Paris Fashion Week, great photo by Julie Ansiau, via Vogue Paris. Those sandals are simply stunning… anyone recognise the brand/label? Please enlighten me.

UPDATE: and I’m excited!!! Just finished watching the live streaming of the Louis Vuitton show. It began beautifully, when the gigantic cylinder on the circular stage lifted, unveiling all of the models sitting on a huge white carousel. It began turning and with the dreamy music, one by one the models descended from their pearly white hourses. The last model to walk, a stunning – seriously, how does she do it?! – Kate Moss. Again, pale shades, broderie anglaise, some transparencies and feathers. As soon as I find a picture I will let you know.

UPDATE 2: Here’s a picture from The Telegraph by AFP

Pictures: Vogue Paris, Telegraph