Kaufhaus des Westens

Casadei red patent sculptural heel sandal, aka OMG.

That and lots of other amazing designer stuff was spotted during my visit to KaDeWe in Berlin, the second largest department store in Europe, a must for any Berlin-visiting fashion junkie.

KaDeWe (an abbreviation for Kaufhaus des Westens) first opened in 1907 and has a rich historical background. In 1927 it changed ownership from its founder Adolf Jandorf to the Hertie Company, which modernized and expanded the store. However, during the National Socialist era, a banking group forced the Jewish owners to sell it and appointed an "Aryan" managing director. During the WW2 a plane was shot down and crashed into the building causing great damages and forcing it to close. The first two floors re-opened in 1950 and by 1956 it was fully reconstructed, becoming a symbol of hope for post-war Berlin.

To those of you not that interested in historical facts, maybe this will get your attention...
KaDeWe stocks Gucci, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Dolce&Gabbana, Miu Miu, Burberry, Celine, Tod's, Strenesse, Jil Sander, See by Chloé, Neil Barrett and many other luxury brands, all under one roof.

There were also more affordable choices, some of which I contemplated myself.

I tried on this grey Comptoir des Cotonniers dress, but the zipper was faulty and they didn't have any more in my size left, so I passed.

In any case, the luxury shopping experience and the designer eye candy alone were more than a treat!

Add to Cart More Info

Berlin trip condensed

We flew into Berlin through München with Lufthansa.
However the layover in München was so quick, our luggage lost its way and decided to stay there. Good thing Lufthansa is well-known for always tracking down luggage. We had our precious stuff delivered directly to the hotel later that day.

Speaking of that, the hotel was really nice and very close to a metro station, but if I wished to use their wifi I would have to pay 16 euros per day. Say what?
Big FAIL, thank goodness for Starbucks and free wifi!

First thing we did was pay a visit to the Fernsehturm in Alexanderplatz. That's the TV tower in the main square of the city. The photo above is from inside the elevator, and the number shown is meters above ground.

You can imagine the view and if you can't:

Other sightseeing included:

A boat trip down the river Spree.

A visit to the very baroque Charlottenburg, the palace of queen Sophia-Charlotte.

Very, very baroque.

That's her above.

I think she must have had an obsession with Versailles.

Visiting the Aquarium which is part of the very famous Zoologischer Garten Berlin and home to some really nasty-looking sharks.

And a Sunday excursion to the near-by city of Potsdam, walking by the picturesque lake and visiting the Sanssouci palace.

It's customary to pay your respects to Friedrich der Große by leaving a potato on his grave, as was the one who introduced the potato in Germany in the 19th century. I did it, although I much believe he would have preferred flowers. Oh well.

That's all a part of the traditional sight-seeing you can do in Berlin. More pics will follow with things I saw that were more of my taste and of course, shopping!

Add to Cart More Info

In Berlin

Christian photographed in Münzstraße by Stil in Berlin


Leila photographed in Berlin Fashion Week by Stil in Berlin

Dear readers, I will be in Berlin for the following days. If you have any tips or suggestions on where to shop, eat, drink and generally wander, do leave a comment here on this post, I will really appreciate it. See you soon!

Add to Cart More Info

Some shoes deserve to be in a museum

From my visit to York Art Gallery.

And it looks like someone did quite a good job there.
Display design by Gelder Harvey Architects.

Add to Cart More Info

British shoes on british soil

My new, very Union Jack-inspired, Reebok trainers.

Only £13 at York Designer Outlet.

Actually, they were £25, but there was a "get a 2nd pair for £1" offer, so Becky and I got a pair each and split the total cost. A great deal or what?

Naturally, the best choice of footwear to enjoy a walk at Rievaulx Abbey.

More pics from my trip to York coming soon...

Add to Cart More Info

Blimey

My thoughts on the UK so far:
(I'm posting this from my iPhone, so excuse the lack of pictures)

1. Topshop is like a black hole that sucks you in. There's no return after you enter its premises.
2. The british have the best food ever. And they're really friendly and polite. Both attributes are considered extremely important in my book.
3. Heels are sick here and I mean this in the best possible way. Like, insanely high and gorgeous. Haven't bought any yet, though.
4. In Topshop, I also saw the biggest earrings I've ever seen in my life. Huge. Saucer-size. You can eat desert off them. Anyway, you get the picture.
5. While I've been in York, it's been rather sunny. Back home in Athens, it has been raining cats and dogs.
6. Everything sounds cooler in a british accent.
7. My credit-card bill is gonna be insane.

Add to Cart More Info

Amsterdam recap, couple of months late

So, this summer I went to Amsterdam.



And I saw great things, and wore cool outfits and shopped amazing clothes. And I failed to blog about it, other than this sorry little excuse for a post. For that, I'm sorry dear readers. Just to make something clear though: I never feel like I "have to" blog about something, and quite frankly, if I ever started feeling like that, it would be the end of my blogging adventures. I could never function under pressure. However, this blog still is the place where I like to document my shopping and style adventures, and by not writing a proper post of my Amsterdam trip, I felt like something was missing.

I hope the saying better late than ever is true.



Time for you to meet my dutch shopping treasures:


1. White sundress with black doodles, ONLY.
2. Checkered sundress, H&M.
3. White t-shirt with girl sketch. H&M.
4. Multicoloured panties and tights, H&M.
5. Khaki tulip skirt, H&M.
6. Fuchsia bikini bottoms, Calzedonia.
7. Tan leather and snakeskin print sandals, Bronx.
8. Multicoloured trainers, Adidas.



Yeah, I know. We have H&M here too. But I just couldn't stay away from them! Lucky me, the Dutch were having some serious sales. That means almost everything was half price off, including the two dresses (the white one was like 5€) and the Bronx sandals. And, on top of that, I got the crazy-colour Adidas high-tops for 34,00€ down from 90,00€

Ok, that doesn't feel too guilt-inducing to write down. See mum? I'm a responsible shopper.

Why am I posting all this now? Well, I'd say closure... before leaving for yet another trip abroad!
This time, I'll be visiting this wonderful little gal in the UK:


Hey sis, missed my cooking?

Add to Cart More Info

I'm back, my suitcase is not

Yup. That's right.

As I've already complained all over twitter and facebook (and usually I'm NOT a whiny person) ALITALIA managed to stay true to its name as a lousy luggage handler and leave all three of our suitcases in our transfer airport. This means that, while I'm back in Athens from Amsterdam, my suitcase is currently vacationing in Rome.

Along with almost all of my new buys, of course...

Hope to get it back soon and in one piece, as I'm leaving once again for Samos island tomorrow... Alas, my camera was in my hand luggage, so regular posting of my adventures in the Netherlands will start soon... Feels good to be back!

Add to Cart More Info