First day jitters

First day in Barcelona. Don't faint I made it here alive, just! 27 hours on a plane is enough for a lifetime and quite frankly I'm surprised I didn't go completely insane. Regardless, I am here in beautiful Barcelona, soaking up the sunny yet crispy weather. I must say though, in 24 hours I've managed to work myself up into quite a fulfilled state of mind, due to the fact that all my winter rags are out to play!!!

Red stripe T: Sportsgirl

Navy/Red Scarf: Second-hand

Cream coat: H & M

Black jeans: Cheap Mondays

Socks: Primark

Shoes: Primark

It's the perfect weather for my creativity to run free, as it's only just cold enough for a coat but warm enough so you don't have to be bundled up into a sack for fear of pneumonia. Today's outfit: very casual as it was an errands day. Once I'd decided what to wear, I realised today has been a relatively vintage-free day (shock, horror!). But as the quote goes: 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'. Albeit not common for me to not be wearing vintage or second-hand items, I welcome the days when I throw on an outfit that still suits my style but isn't all about looking like you have just walked out of H&M decked top to toe. So a cheers to my first day, and primera post from the european quarters.

Green me up

Naturally before leaving the hometown and embarking on another adventure abroad, there are always the endless catchups to be attended. I always like to mix up the occasions.. one dinner, one bar, one pub and dance floor encounter just to give me one last of everything before I go. Having different groups of friends means choosing the best night for the right peeps. This evening we headed to a bar in the city centre, none of this fancy pants cocktail evening wear, its a funky bar, live music and the like, so I felt it best to dress how I was feeling: a splash of dishevelled, colourful and ready for a cocktail.

Cargo Olive Shift Dress & Pocket: Vintage

Burnt Orange Beaded Necklace: Vintage

Black/Gold Pendant: Grandma's

Soft Gold Belt Chain: Second-Hand

Watch: Fossil

Black Gem Ring: Diva

Black Alexa Boots: K-Mart

I like how the outfit turned out, but managed to forgot my glomesh black clutch I had hooked under my arm all night for the pics beforehand so you will just have to open up your imagination for the finished look. Mixing it up with the ostentatious jewellery and a splash of orange was a must, but I admit this outfit was helped along by my hours scouring Ms Westwood pages with all her wonders.

Style Icon: Greta Garbo

Garbo still belongs to that moment in cinema when capturing the human face still plunged audiences into the deepest ecstasy, when one literally lost oneself in a human image as one would in a philtre, when the face represented a kind of absolute state of the flesh, which could be neither reached nor renounced.

Roland Barthes, "The Face of Garbo," Mythologies (1957), trans. Annette Lavers [Farrar, Straus, 1986, ISBN 8090-1369-X/0470], p. 56

Oh the 20s, the glories twenties. Silent films. There is something about silent films. It makes you focus on the actors and all the details about them. Just look at Greta Garbo!

Greta Garbo was a silent film actress in Sweden and Germany in the 20s until being signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Hollywood. First a star of the silent films, she made the transition to talkie movies. She retired in the early 40s and was largely unseen in public until she died. She never gave interviews, signed autographs or appeared at movie premieres, which only added to the mystique of her persona.

Born: Greta Lovisa Gustafsson on 18 September 1905 in Stockholm, Sweden
Died: 15 April 1990 in New York, United States

I think Greta Garbo was one of the most beautiful actresses of the 20s and 30s. There is just something about here – that look in her eyes! Or maybe it’s her whole aura. Something dreamy about her....

Oh this all reminds me to find more silent films to watch...

AC/DC rocked my world!

Last night was the night of all nights: AC/DC’s Sydney concert – the Black Ice tour. And the old gents did not disappoint. It was one of the best nights of my life!

Great rock’n roll bands like AC/DC and the Rolling Stones have this ability to shake you to the core, to let you forget all inhibitions and just let go and scream and yell and jump up and down. It was great.

Fashion choices were predictable– all AC/DC T-Shirts and black jeans. Either way, comfort was the main factor as we walked and stood in the same spot for hours, plus it was super hot.

So, here is what I wore:

T-Shirt: aquabella from Surf Dive 'n Ski – Sydney
High waisted jeans: Lifeline Opshop Mona Vale, Sydney Leather jacket: Vintage
 Tiger Sneakers – Hype Shoes, Australia
Black necklace - a gift Silver necklace - belt worn as necklace, from some Opshop

Alright I admit it, it was way too hot to wear the leather jacket, but I would have loved to wear it to tie it all together...

What music inspires you or changes your outlook on life?  What influences your fashion choices?

PS. For those about to rock, I salute you!

Why we love opshopping, second-hand clothes and vintage fashion!

While we are not collectors of vintage clothes and don’t try to look like we just stepped out from another decade - we do love second-hand, vintage fashion and opshopping in general!

Here at Mitzi Loves Opshops we enjoy the thrill of finding clothes from past decades and the often low price of second-hand clothes also makes  it possible for us to maintain this hobby!

Pics from Flickr, tagged 'vintage'

Here are the top five reasons why we love vintage fashion:

• Uniqueness: While everyone wants to be different, we really do want to be different! Haha... Well, a while ago we got fed up with looking like we just stepped out of a chain store. Clothes from previous decades were often custom made, and others were manufactured in small quantities only.  And most of the time, the detailing is beautiful  and includes hand finishing, unusual buttons, embroidery, lace, crochet, applique, beading and other techniques.


• Quality: Back in the day, clothes were designed to be worn for decades, and were well cut and made. Also, some of the materials used are rare today or very expensive.


• Price: Alright, we admit it – we are cheap skates! But opshopping and finding bargains in various other stores it the only way we can maintain our opshopping obsession.


• Inspiration: Finding unusual pieces stretches our imagination and creativity in how to put new outfits together and opens our mind to try styles we would otherwise have never considered!


• The Challenge: It’s not just about simply walking into our fave store and plucking off the rack what the mannequin suggests -  no! - opshopping develops an inner desire to find something special or unique. We have always lacked patience to say the very least, so opshopping has given us that outlet to just go with the flow and scour racks to find a treasure, if not its until next time. The challenge lies in accepting there is no plan for every excursion, you might find that pair of fabulous red leather flats you were after three months ago and not that pair of high waisted jeans you were after for tonight’s outing. What will be will be!

Why do you wear vintage fashion?