Muuse – original fashion at its core

Experience fashion before the stylists tell you what’s hot. I just found this cool Danish website that has now removed all the filters of trendsetters, retailers and stylists and brings you the newest in fashion design directly from the young designers themselves.

Muuse.com is a site and web shop that shows and sells the creations of young designers straight out of the leading designer schools across the world with the possibility of buying these limited edition garments.

I think the concept is intriguing and I love the idea of slow fashion where the quality and style is based on the actual craft of the garment and not just what is popular at the moment. Muuse is based in Copenhagen and work with local tailors who sew up the designs in limited editions, making each piece original. The styles and designs are all very different, but all equally interesting and creative. So check it out!

Royal Vintage the Amory

Stockholm’s Royal Armoury takes us on a fashion journey, showing how Royal vintage is part of a recycling present where quality fabrics and design can last through generations.

When I saw that the Royal Amory here at the Royal palace in Stockholm was hosting an exhibition called Royal Vintage showing vintage dresses worn by members of the Swedish royal family I had to go see what the fuss was about. Lately the term 'vintage' has been used to cover everything that he reused - not considering the quality or the age of a garment. But in this exhibition there is a clear idea about what 'vintage' refers to: exceptional and highly quality clothes from the 1900s to 1960s. 

The exhbibtion does not focus on style or fashion, but more on colours and materials.It featured dresses mostly worn by Swedish Princess Sibylla.

My knowledge about Swedish Royalty limits itself to the actual king and Queen and their three beautiful children. Princess Sibylla is the late mother of the current King Carl Gustaf. The exhibition has matched dresses in colours, so each room is devoted to one colour. Showing us first shades of white and cream and moving on the blues, reds, greens and black. We see how the dresses are made and what materials are used. Withou attention to 'the style of royalty' or pictures of any of the princesses, the exhibition instead show us that quality in texture and shape is what really lasts for generations.

The exhibition is on untill January 2012 at the Royal Amory in Stockholm

Finally Chanel

I finally got to see Coco avant Chanel. Denmark must be the last country on earth where this movie premiered and for that reason the expectations have been building up for far too long.
I thought it was a beautiful and stylish film, but the story didn’t really interest me. Apart from some amazing photography and beautiful colours the story was thin. I mean it was about Coco before the glamour life of her fashion empire, but all we saw was her love life and only a few glimpses of her actual fashion talent. The reason I wanted to learn about Coco Chanel was not to see a story of her failed love interests, but to understand how she became such an influence for fashion designer in the years to come.

Yes, we saw how she had an eye for original style and how she picked up inspiration from men’s wardrobe and working men’s materials. But where did her skills come from? I mean it seemed like she was just born with it and learned to sew a bit and suddenly puff she had her own shop and went on to stardom.

But I guess that’s what the movie business will show of her life – even though I had thought that as it was a French film it would have had more emphasis on her artistic features than on a love story.

Nerd Girl keeps warm

Winter is coming and even though the climate changes are making sure that the temperature doesn’t really creep below zero, the wind still sends us chilly greetings of cold weather. So just at the right time the cool Swedish designers of Cheap Monday decided to open a shop here in Copenhagen this past week.

And the Cheap Monday A/W 09 is just the way for a Nerd Girl to keep warm. Of course the Cheap Monday jeans are famous, but I also think their dresses and knits are really cool. I look forward to dropping in and checking out the shop in the future.

Inspiration - at last

I apologise for the lack of posting here lately. To be honest I’ve been short of inspiration both in fashion and art. I guess sometimes you just need a little time to really feel a new boost again. And oh do I feel it now!

I found Victor & Rolf’s SS10 collection online and I must say that this really gave me a rush of blood to the head. So far the works of Victor & Rolf haven’t really hit me as something striking, but with this collection Nerd Girl comes out of the shadows and is deeply impressed.
I guess it’s the whole fairytale imagery with the huge tulle dresses mixed with a sharp edge well worth of Edward Scissorhands that’s really tickles my fancy.
But I also really like the boudoir and Japanese kimono style. It seems like such a fresh and really optimistic approach to summer style. How this ends up being delicate and punk at the same time is beyond me, but it does and I want it in my closet!

You can see all of the amasing dresses here

You know you're a Nerd Girl when....

... you start getting your fashion inspiration from the library website.


The Royal Danish Library has been known as a closed up, dark and very nerdy place . But in the last ten years things have started to change. In 1999 the architecture was updated with The Black Diamante, a huge glasslike black building with an amazing view over the Copenhagen habour, new and more modern reading rooms.
The original library building dates back to the really early days of The University of Copenhagen - that's in the 1400s and it really shows . The old reading rooms look like something out of Harry Potter.
Now the latest new development in the modernisation of The Royal Library is an online gimmick featuring all the catalogues of the legendary Danish department store Daelles Varehus. And it is so much fun to look through and very inspirational.
The department store does not exist anymore, but was from its beginning in the early 20th century a popular place for Copenhagen ladies to shop. The website has all of the catalogues online, from the very first in 1914 to the early 1990 when Dealles Varehus closed. I actually remember looking through some of the x-mas catalogues as a child in the 1980s, but I do think that the older ones are more fun to look at now.

The Ultimate Summer Dresses

Looking out the window here it seems like summer is not coming to Copenhagen any time soon. It has been raining nonstop for the last two days. So instead of looking out I’m turning my head back to the computer and convincing myself that sunshine and warmer days are just around the corner.

Fashion-wise I love summer. Summer means dreamy dresses, sunglasses and cool sandals. Basically it is a chance to finally get rid of all the heavy winter layers, we wear here in the north, and dress elegantly and feminine. I’ve been watching Bottega Veneta for some time and I really like the way this spring style is sharp in texture and fabric and still looks really comfortable.

Bottega Veneta’s style always reminds me of Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. The sway of the loose dresses and a general attitude of relaxed sophistication is what I think is a brilliant style for this summer. So as I hear the heavy rain on the window, I just keep dreamning...

While I wait for Coco

The most anticipated fashion films this year Coco Avant Chanel and Coco and Igor are not coming out in Denmark until September. Even though Coco Avant Chanel premiered in Paris in April! Come on – what's the big idea? - why such a wait for the rest of us?
Well, while I'm waiting, I've been reading up on Gabrielle and her time in 'The World of Coco Chanel- Friends, Fashion, Fame' by Edmonde Charles-Roux.

It's not a serious biography about her personal life, but more an attempt of providing a look inside her world and the people around her in that period. And I kind of like this way of looking at Chanel, even though it does add a certain gossipy flavour to it. The good thing is that the book tells us about the people she was inspired by and spent time with, and indirectly that portrays her style and artistic vision for fashion.

Besides the book, that has more pictures than it has actual text (definitely satisfying your visual huger for Coco and her period of glory), I found the new commercial film for Chanel no.5 with of course Audrey Tautou as the leading lady. The Amalie-team (meaning Jean-Pierre Jeunet) is behind this film, which really shows in the colours and composition of the frames. I also think it has a little of the same goofyness of Amalie and his other films – I wonder if that's intentional? You can see the whole film here.

But, alas after all of this Chanel propaganda I'm still just sitting here waiting...

Stars from Ivana

One of my absolute favourite Scandinavian designers showed her collection at Copenhagen Fashion Week this week. Ivana Helsinki is famous for interesting prints and constant renewal of her look.

Her A/W09 collection continues the slightly simpler style which was also present in the last A/W collection. This one is all about the dresses and is darker and more grown up in its silhouettes.
Stars are the signature print for this fall collection adding a more rock and roll-cool to the otherwise strict clothes. The tight cut coats and dresses make me think of Victorian dress style, which I really think is a cool historical reference.

Photos: Sacha Maric

A Nerd Girl and her shoes

Unfortunately my laptop has been highly unreliable in the last two weeks – hence no blogging. I’ve tried to write several posts, but have been cut off every time due to some technical error. So I’m praying that there won’t be any more of that in the coming week. But if there’s nothing on the blog for some time – now you know the reason.

Whilst in Berlin I did do some shopping. I got these nice shoes from Chie Mihara, who I just discovered. Unfortunately my camera is broken and only takes really bad pictures at the moment so I can’t show you any photos of me in my new shoes. But this is what they look like:
Mine are brown with lighter laces, and until I checked out the designer online, I didn’t know she makes so many different styles and colours. Now I'm totally hooked on her designs and a bit sad that I didn't get them in green as well.

Butterflies and roses

Surfing around online to see if I could find some cool retro swimwear for this summer season, I came across Signe Tolstrup’s S/S08 collection of ’afterwear’ as she calls it.
I’ve known about her designs for some time now as she is one of the few ‘famous’ Danish lingerie designers.
Last year’s A/W collection had a Frieda Kahlo-sort of theme with strong colours and a mysterious mood. It was lingerie with an attitude of force and sexual desire. The spring collection is more delicate, but still ever so seductive. I’m thinking Marie Antoinette caught in bed with Anaïs Nin – or something.The colours are innocent and girlish, but still tempting and mouth-watering. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with for this fall.

Film noir, Disney and a sprinkle of erotica

Those are the ingredients to the chic and sophisticated shoes by Finnish shoe designer Minna Parikka.

Her designs have it all: girly hurly happiness, burlesque mystique and then the über cool details – what more could you want?! -

Just look at her – a shoe designer who combines a sense of style with a sense of humour in the best way possible.