Mr.StrictlyIntimate
the Life, the Love and the Sex of Vienna.Archive for Lifestyle
The “ME” in the Stories I Tell
First of all, I don’t take myself that seriously. I take what I do seriously, and I try to do a good job. (Denzel Washington in GQ US Oct 2012)
At University I feel like being at a point of struggling lately. I don’t have a problem with my grades or my motivation or with the environment. I am actually quite comfortable there, though, there are a few things that really bug me, but hey, you can find things that bug you or make you mad or angry always somewhere, somehow. So, that’s no big deal for me.
As you already know from some earlier entries, I am getting my master’s degree in Journalism and New Media — if you haven’t known so far, you know now. These studies involve a lot of writing, heavy writing. Sometimes these written exposés try to take me out of my comfort zone and I’m going there, out of it. But early on, when signing the contract with the university, I kind of made a pact with myself. I swore to everything that’s worth the world to me, you know, Burberry; VOGUE; Jane Austen; that, no matter what I was about to say or write or do, it would always be consisting of three things: HONESTY, STYLE and AUTHENTICITY.
With everything I write and have people read I want them to not just get to know me and my point of view, I want to present them the perspective of someone finally having an opinion and putting it out there. Even if they do not agree with what I have to say or like the way I say things but at least, it makes them think about my words and actions and opinions and maybe even gets them to form their own opinions — either on me or the topics I write about. I don’t want people to always agree with me, I think most people don’t get that I live for making them speechless; wondering if I’m really being serious. I love to make people laugh or cry reading my words. I love people to be confused by my words; to later on think about what I said once. I want them to form an opinion about my words — either good or bad.
But, what I want the utmost is for them to always find ME in the words I write, the stories I tell!
That’s not because I think I am the most brilliant person in the world, or the most talented, or the most articulate, or the one everyone has to listen to. I know, compared to a lot of other more influential people I might am not influential at all but still — who I am reflects who I want to be. And one day I want to make a change. I want to show people that they can achieve anything they want if they truly stay themselves and go ahead with it. Pull it off relentlessly.
I just want people to know that they can rely on me having an opinion; having a character that I can put out there, a character that doesn’t give a fuck about the things other people say just because they do not like the fact that I’m straight forward and relentlessly sincere. That is the authenticity in my words. I know, I may put a lot of fashion words in writing because I love the visual language and emotional depth of clothing. I want to be a character, people trust because they know one hundred percent that I am honest with them, and straight forward, and that everything I say and write and do is authentically constituting myself. Giving them a part of something they might be able to relate to.
This is who I am and I can’t understand why people always try to force you to be more like the others or more formal or writing based on guidelines. I write what I think and feel and would say in every second I live and breathe, for everything I always wanted to do.
Don’t get me wrong — I do abide by a certain set of rules when it comes to writing, like grammar or spelling. But what I want people to understand and accept and respect and tolerate is the fact that out there one must be himself and unique in order to survive this crazy mixed up world. That is what I am — that is what I believe in — that is what makes me truly special and different. I know who I am and I always make sure people understand that no matter what I say and write and do — it’s done by myself. With outspoken HONESTY, sharp STYLE and one hundred percent AUTHENTICITY. All three in capital letters.
Take it, or leave it.
Amen Fashion.
XOXO
Gossip Girl Revealed!
“And who am I? That’s a secret I’ll never tell… You know you love me. XOXO, Gossip Girl.”
Hello, my Upper East Siders! Mr.StrictlyIntimate here.
I guess you have all seen, or heard it? How do you feel now that the best kept secret of television history is out? Are you shocked? Dazzled? Confused? Or simply speechless by the turn of events and this tremendous revelation? Let me tell you I was just angry with myself that I did not get it the first minute because I was totally hoping Lily (played by Kelly Rutherford, a mundane, elegant and gracious woman!) would turn out to be the Tell-All-Bitch helping her daughter Serena (played by sparkling Blake Lively) to stay in public to never being able turning her back on being a van der Woodsen but hey, sometimes even Mr.StrictlyIntimate can get things wrong. Hard to believe, isn’t it?
“What’s the difference between gossip and scandal? So glad you asked. Anyone can commit a minor indiscretion and generate a day’s worth of buzz, but in order for gossip to birth a true scandal it requires the right person to be in the wrong place. Take one ‘it’ girl on a pedestal, add a crowd eager to see her fall, and give them the means to knock her down.”
(Season 1)
It’s out there, now. Dan Humphrey, or as we all love to call him (as well as he himself obviously did) Lonely Boy, is Gossip Girl. Who would have thought? After 5 Years, 6 Seasons and 121 Episodes Kristen Bell got kicked to the curve by being offered a guest appearance while her voice has been the cornerstone of our personal Gossip Girls ups and downs, just to make some space for Penn Badgley alias Lonely Boy to take the spotlight away from her. Poor K — they say, ‘There are no small parts, just small actors.”
“And some masks we wear because we hope to stay hidden. But that’s the problem with wearing masks. They can be ripped off at any moment.”
(Season 5)
After seeing Monday’s final episode of my most beloved series I was feeling bittersweet. Not particularly sad because, you know “sad” is just not what I do. I have not outfit that goes with “sad” and “pitiful.” But still, I felt a little heartbroken that I can never again be in pure amazement about Blair Waldorf’s (played by amazingly wonderful Leighton Meester) hilarious wit, cruel intentions and fabulous fashion! At least, in the end Blair got to marry of her life Mister Chuck Bass (played by handsomely sexy Ed Westwick) in one of the most beautiful gowns by Elie Saab, a designer I cherish for his classic and elegant approach on the fashion of a modern woman who is aware and conscious of her body and wants to feel beautiful at any given point of time.
Blair Waldorf’s Wedding Gown by Elie Saab
Other happenings in Questions:
Wasn’t it hilarious how Ivy for the first time realized that good old William was playing her to get to Lily?
Isn’t Blair’s and Chuck’s son simply adorable?
Doesn’t Georgina Sparks look as striking and evil as never before?
Doesn’t Dan Humphrey somehow look like he should seriously consider taking on showering again?
Wouldn’t it have been awesome if Lily van der Woodsen was Gossip Girl?
Wouldn’t it have been awesome if charmingly funny Dorota was Gossip Girl?
Didn’t we all think “well, that was kind of predictable” as Serena and Dan were about to get married at the end of the episode?
Wasn’t it pretty nice and neat how they managed to include every once important cast member in the story’s arch for this final bashing 40 minutes?
“In Manhattan, some parties are VIP only. Others are strictly private. But some parties are political, and those lines are drawn by the most established of the establishment. And once those lines are drawn, they can never be crossed.”
(Season 3)
Don’t we all now feel like, “Damn, it’s really over, isn’t it?”
Well, my dear Upper East Siders, it really is. It was such a wonderful time watching those characters grow and develop, some more, some less, some almost not at all. Still, my Gossip Girl years were, besides Sex and the City and now Pretty Little Liars (the only thing I can still keep on holding on to) and Revenge, one of the best of my few hours spent in front of the television. This is all gone now, but hey, I got all the season on DVD and I can’t wait to get the sixth as well. This is a bittersweet farewell so I thought to ease the heartache here are some of Gossip Girl’s (or Dan’s) best quotes:
“Sometimes you need to step outside, clear your head and remind yourself of who you are. And where you wanna be. And sometimes you have to venture outside your world in order to find yourself.”
(Season 1)
“But the worst thing the truth can do? Is when you finally tell it, it doesn’t set you free… but locks you away, forever.”
(Season 1)
“In life, as in art, some endings are bittersweet. Especially when it comes to love. Sometimes fate throws two lovers together only to rip them apart. Sometimes the hero finally makes the right choice but the timing is all wrong. And, as they say, timing is everything.”
(Season 2)
“One thing about being on the top of the world.. it gives you a long, long way to fall.”
(Season 2)
“We make our own fortunes, and call them fate. And what better excuse to choose a path than to insist it’s our destiny? But at the end of the day, we all have to live with our choices … no matter who’s looking over our shoulder.”
(Season 3)
“When you do finally get what you want, the problem is there’s always someone that’s trying to take it away. And all that wanting makes us blind to the fact that things aren’t exactly what we think they are. Maybe it’s better sometimes to just get what you need.”
(Season 4)
“Sticks and stones may just break bones, but the wounds from words never heal. Especially when they’re words we hoped we’d never read.”
(Season 5)
“They say every road comes to an end, but sometimes the end feels just like the beginning. Even when you think you’ve come a long way, you can suddenly find yourself right back where you started. Because every journey is fraught with twists and turns.”
(Season 5)
What a ride those 5 years, 6 seasons and 121 episode were. Joyful. Tearful. Wonderful. Playful. Full of incredible fashion moments.
They say, “everything must come to an end” and they are quite right. This is the end of an era. This was the final episode, THE END, of Gossip Girl. This is Good-Bye to the most fashionable gang in television history.
Now it is all about guessing who the hell A is because Gossip Girl was revealed.
XOXO
One Step Closer to Reflecting Myself [Part IV]
Autumn is slowly coming and gently asking us to enter our hearts and closets and homes. Though being gentle in announcing oneself it rather intrudes us in a way we actually don’t want it to for we crave summer, sun and heat. But still, autumn is coming and so I think, ‘Embrace change. Embrace the chance to get yourself all dressed up in a new wardrobe, a new mood, a new interpretation of who you are. AND, embrace the wake up call to finally get your apartment done and ready for a colder season to follow, winter.’
Elle Decoration UK – October 2012 Cover
So after three phases and a short break I finally arrived in number IV: One Step Closer to Reflecting Myself
Phase I: On the Hunt (for the Perfect Apartment) [Part I]
Phase II: Designing a Happy Home [Part II]
Phase III: Bit by Bit [Part III]
To me, a home is where the heart is! Ergo: where my heart is there am I. Further ergo: Where I am there should be the real me; my own reflection; my own interpretation of who I am and who I want to be. Not just to myself but to anybody who comes into my private walls as a guest. Therefore, my personal space should be an addition to what I represent. When I enter the room I should feel as if it underlines my personality rather than projecting something that isn’t there, or presenting myself in a light that doesn’t fit the part. It would feel like someone trying to fit into an Alexander McQueen Couture gown though one knows one is completely Atelier Versace; meaning less feathers more sparkle. (Don’t get me wrong here: Alexander McQueen IS a part of my religious belief. Trust me, I worship him and now Sarah Burton for what they’ve created!)
Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2013
Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2013 Detail
Decorating and furnishing come together to be a process – a long lasting one. Not just a rush of emotions and motions that overwhelm your senses to tell you to simply get it done as soon as you can to get it over with. NO, if you want your apartment to reflect your innermost, your character, your ambitions, your motivations, your style, your fashion, your love and your passion for life; it takes some time to evolve.
That is what I did – I gave myself time to evolve within my new environment. For three months I have my own place now and it feels more like a home to me than anything has ever done. Every single day it comes closer to where I can say my heart is… but it isn’t perfect yet. To be honest, I don’t think it can ever be but at least it can be close to what I want it to be – a place where I can relax once I have entered the double doors; a place I can call home; a place where I can be myself without compromising, without having to apologize, without the necessity of defending flaws. Here I am perfect, if I want to be. If I feel like it.
Autumn calls for action – it calls for inspiration! And so I took my best friend ELLE Decoration out for some last walks in the sun trying to get inspired by what is around me; colors, shapes, shades, street signs, maps, people. I felt like a child in a candy store being surrounded by all those fabulous colors, spirits and voices. With a little help of VOGUE and GQ I always feel perfectly safe when it comes to my fashion choices but with my apartment I still feel like I do not have the grip on what is my style yet. At least not completely. BUT, every time I open ELLE Decoration I feel like I have IT, the one thing that makes me visualize fabrics and shapes, color schemes and patterns in a way I have never imagined before. Fashion isn’t just who or what you wear; it is how you live, how you furnish and how you decorate too!
So, for my bedroom I always felt white, completely – a white bed, a white big open closet, a white standing mirror and a white dresser. I always added color with just my clothes, the bedding and my big purple Prada box. But now I feel like those white walls finally need something new – I feel shapes, well, more like pattern. A mathematical pattern of triangles on two walls in an L-shaped constellation to surround my bed and my door while on the opposite wall only the closet with my beautiful clothes sets the tone. This, to me, sounds like a perfect equilibrium of fast moving, ever changing fashion versus unwinding, calming body and mind.
For the bedroom my eyes is on this triangle patterned wallpaper in Charcoal Grey/Off White called ‘Goldsmith’ by Custhom, £170 per 4m roll, Green and Fay:
ELLE Decoration UK Pattern Book S/S 2012
(picture: ELLE Decoration iPad APP)
For the bedroom as well as my living room I still have to find the perfect fabrics to decorate the windows but I am sure that these ideas will come up in no matter of time since I find myself to be in a very creative mood and a very inspired place right now. So, stay tuned for more and get yourself a little bit inspired by the last summer days until autumn conquers our hearts, wardrobes and homes.
XOXO
P.S.: Inspirational Song of the Day
JEM – Amazing
(as featured on the Motion Picture ‘Sex and the City: the Movie)
Burberry Prorsum: The S/S13 Amazement
Burberry Prorsum Womenswear Invitation
With tears in my eyes and a heart that was skipping a heavy beat every time a new outfit appeared on the runway, I was watching the Burberry Prorsum fashion show from London Fashion Week today. Let me tell you one thing, apart from the beautifully touching and perfectly fitting music, Christopher Bailey has created a Spring / Summer 2013 collection for Burberry that just blew me away and left me shivering breathlessly and speechlessly.
I just sat there staring at the amazingly drafted clothes and thought to myself, ‘THIS must be what heaven feels like.’
I know, this all might sound a bit overly dramatic but believe me if you’ve been through what I’ve been through and if fashion turned out to be the only thing that can save you from failing you will find yourself in a world where everything all of a sudden seems brighter and more beautiful just because you can dress up and go out; or simply wake up in the morning and jump out of bed because a new outfit is waiting for you; or you can just sit there, staring at your wardrobe putting together outfits for a whole week, losing yourself in the most precious of fabrics, designs, labels.
To this date, nothing made me feel more beautiful, precious and happy than wearing Burberry. It is not about people seeing the label you wear because mostly, they can’t see. It is just about the feeling it gives you to know you’ve bought yourself something that is marvelous in design and quality; reflecting tradition that was found back in 1856 with Thomas Burberry and that still lives on. It gives me the feeling that I can live on forever if I just work hard for all the goals I want to achieve; for all the dreams I have in mind; for all the love for fashion I have inside me – to let it all out and create something uniquely amazing. For myself, and for others.
Bright Metallic Trench Coat
Bright Metallic Trench Coat Detail
Metallic Python Vinyl Capelet
Metallic Python Vinyl Capelet Detail
Metallic Corset Jacket
Metallic Corset Jacket Detail
The collection couldn’t have been more inspiring, more soothing, and more diverse in fabric than it has been. We saw trench coats from metallic lurex mixed with a technical fabric to make it lightweight and comfortable yet perfectly structured. Also an amazingly bright, bold and beautiful capelet in metallic python leather and bright vinyl with a python leather laminated with reflective foil to act as a frame for the tailored transparent vinyl. Corset jackets made from metallic and silk fibres crafted in plissé fabric featuring a bustier bodice and corseted back to give a sculpted silhouette.
Peacock Feathered Trench Coat
Peacock Feathered Trench Coat Detail
Tailored Satin Capelet
Tailored Satin Capelet Detail
Sculptural Dégradé Bubble Coat
Sculptural Dégradé Bubble Coat Detail
What didn’t just make me gasp but let Anna Wintour surprisingly turn her sunglass protected head with amazement (there you see the connection to the headline) was the marvelously beautiful peacock feathered trench coat with iridescent peacock plumage rosettes, crafted using couture techniques. Each of these feathers was placed by hand and afterwards stitched into a geometric floral design. The trench is finished with a collar made of rich satin and heritage-influenced epaulettes, cuff straps and a satin belt.
Absolute highlights have been all those beautifully tailored capelets, especially the ones made from floating satin. The canopy shape shelters the shoulders from the cold and is detailed with a leather latch. The dégradé effect on the blue coat results from a design painted by hand. Printed on silk the hand painted color changes its character to a dramatic twist.
Laser-Cut Leather Caban
Laser-Cut Leather Caban Detail
Last but not least, I found this caban to be worth mentioning for its pure beauty! Crafted from rich leather in a unique lace design it is laminated with a thin layer of metallic foil while the leather is laser cut then washed to soften the metallic sheen.
If this collection doesn’t take away all the doubts of fashion haters that this world is uniquely rich of talent, depth and beauty I can just say screw you! What Christopher Bailey created for the Spring/Summer 2013 season is not just divine but one of the most beautiful Burberry Prorsum Womenswear collection I have ever seen! Kudos, Christopher Bailey!
XOXO
P.S.: All pictures courtesy of Burberry.co.uk. You can see the whole show and shop the looks exclusively for one week: Burberry Prorsum Spring/Summer 2013 Show.
Bit by Bit [Part III]
Update of:
On the Hunt (for the Perfect Apartment) [Part I]
Designing a Happy Home [Part II]
Friday, June 8th
I used to think that once I have an inspiring thought everything will just start from there like a bomb – bamm you’ve got the couch them bamm you’ve got the bookshelves and bamm the dining area finishes itself completely. Well, it is not like that. Not at all. But, to be honest – I kind of enjoy it. The whole process of visiting furniture stores checking for a great sofa and matching fauteuils; or a bed where you feel safe and sound; or an open wardrobe to complement your clothes and bags and shoes.
All the looking at stuff and matching of colors and flipping through decor magazines is a part of a process that helps me to get to know myself better and to work on the relationship with myself for I decorate the environment I am building for myself. The person I’ll have to be in a relationship in until the end. Well, sure, if one commits suicide this isn’t that much of a lifetime but since I am not planning on jumping out of a window or in front of a bus I am quite positive that I will live a long life. So you will not get rid of me and my intellectual outpourings.
Saturday, June 9th
I am sitting in my new Apartment. On the floor waiting for a part of my furniture to arrive. I am tired as fuck and I should mention that it is 6.00 am and that I am awake since 5.20 am. My MacBook is on and I am watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows [Part I]. Eventually I must have been fallen asleep during the first half an hour being woken up by a heavy doorbell ringing. I gasp and know – it is here. Thank God, it is here and I can start building it up (by myself).
At 10.30 am I am getting thirsty (but I already built up one and a half IKEA armchairs. All by myself. Fantastic isn’t it?) so I go down to the bakery picking up a sandwich and some water.
IKEA Armchair Karlstad
10.45 am what the fuck?! I can’t get inside my apartment because the door lock broke. So I call the locksmith. 140 fucking Euros for 5 minutes of his time. Well what a great start into the day. Nonetheless, I am still cheered up by the fact that the walls I am standing in are really mine. My own four walls of blissful fashionability. This will be there place where people come to feel great about themselves. This is going to be the place where I can feel great about myself.
At 11.05 am and 12.15 pm Tomasz and B show up to help me build up the other stuff. So after T and I have finished the Sofa B arrives to help us with the rest of the stuff. Being occupied with the open closet I am building for myself. Like I am my own Mr. Big. After some time thinking I have decided that this Carrie Bradshaw addicted guy better get himself a great closet without waiting for the perfect man to show up building him one. And in the end, I stand in front of the amazing closet knowing that there are no perfect men out there (and I am definitely one of them) but there most certainly is THE perfect wardrobe. And I have it now.
IKEA Sofa Karlstad
Sunday, June 10th
This is kind of a relaxing Sunday. I haven’t had a day like this in a long time. Full of writing; flipping through the pages of ELLE, ELLE Decoration and VOGUE; watching ‘Sex and the City’ and packing my books, magazines and fashion Look Books into hundreds of boxes. Right now I have 8 boxes so far. In there? All my issues of VOGUE. Well, not all of them to be honest. There are still a lot more to pack. And then there comes the issues of ELLE and Harpers Bazaar and so on. I am afraid I will never get finished with it.
ELLE Decoration UK June 2012
Right now here I sit in front of my MacBook with the windows open, drinking tea and watching the second season of ‘Sex and the City’ (right now: Season 2; Episode 9: Old Dogs, New Dicks) while thinking about the myths of love and relationships and about the fact that there is something true to what Miranda Hobbes said in an episode of that season earlier on, ‘All we talk about anymore is Big or balls or small dicks. How does it happen that four smart women have nothing to talk about but boyfriends? It’s like seventh grade but with bank accounts. What about us? What we think, we feel, we know, Christ!’
I have to agree. (Well, except for the ‘Christ!’ thing – I would have changed that with ‘Gucci!’ or ‘Burberry!’) At some days I really wonder how every relevant topic of discussion always seems to end up with talking about guys. I am fed up with this topic. Maybe it is because I feel like being at a change now that I am moving on with my life by moving out and by being independent and all by myself for the very first time in my life. This is a change I do not want to share with a boyfriend because it is the first thing I have to myself in years.
And I most certainly will cherish that and enjoy it. The whole ride – with all its ups and downs. It doesn’t mean I am lonely just because I am alone. And, to be honest, I am not alone. I am single. Single and Fabulous! (- Exclamation Point!)
XOXO
