this one's for all the ladies out there...

"He who moves not forward, goes backward" (J.W. v. Goethe)

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I probably don't need to lecture anyone on the profundity of Goethe's thoughts, although I would like to point out how applicable these can be to our personal life from time to time. I started to give free reign to my thoughts and creativity here at la Berlina little over a year ago and only recently decided that it was time to try something new, something different. In a flash of inspiration, I wrote a piece entitled "The 101 on Open-Air Festivals", which - to my great delight - was published on travelettes.net only hours later.

Launched by the Berlin-based globetrotting photographer and journalist Katja Hentschel, Travelettes is an online travel magazine/blog aimed specifically at the needs and interests of female travellers. It's the place to read about local fashion trends and insider's shopping tips, get the low-down on cheap accomodation and good eats, and figure out when and where to party - and with whom. Whether you're looking for advice on how to score super-cheap flights or how to pack light (for real!), a travelette may just have the answers you are looking for!

"The travelette gets a manicure on Monday and Tuesday will go off to hike in the Himalaya. She does not conform to conventions and thinks Paris Fashion Week is just as exiting as stomping through the Amazon rain forest in rubber boots. She worries about matching colors but laughs off mosquito bites." (travelettes.net)

I've been avidly reading the articles on travelettes.net even before I started contributing myself, and have come across a number of helpful pointers - the latest being Jaclyn's series of posts on couch surfing (see here and here).

Without further ado, I recommend you check it out and, if you share our love for travelling/journalism/photography, consider contributing yourself!

ein ♥ für blogger

Following a tradition that's been established throughout the past few years, I will share with you 5 of my favourite online blogs. Why? There's a good amount of great blogs out there that you'd really enjoy, if you knew about them. Someone, I don't know who, started this a couple of years ago... I love the idea!



Anyways, here's the deal: Everyone keeping an online blog may use this day to honour 5 of his personal favourites. No restrictions on content or language... just go for it!

5 of my fave sources of inspiration (and procrastination, for that matter...)

1) Le Coolcats Blog - selected DJs and artists signed by the french record label ED BANGER share their thoughts and impressions of day-to-day life.

2) GLAMCANYON - if you've never seen Katja Hentschel's amazing photography, you're either not from Berlin, lacking an internet connection (unlikely, as you're currently viewing an online blog) or have been shacked up at home for the past years. This is one of her many projects, a streetstyle blog focused mainly on people in and from Berlin.

3) Dirtyglam - written by a young swedish girl. Concentrates on fashion, lifestyle and aesthetic photography. Ellen (that's her name) makes great 'inspirational collages', as she likes to call them.

4) Emma Nygren - having gained national media attention and popularity through this blog, Emma Nygren is now featured in the online version of the swedish ELLE and a regular at events surrounding the swedish fashion and lifestyle scene.

5) LesMads - Last but not least, LesMads! Theirs was one of the first german blogs about fashion, culture, lifestyle and art. If it weren't for LesMads, I probably wouldn't be writing a blog myself right now. Hint hint: extremely girly ;)

Keep 'em coming: Overknees

Already emerging in last year's fall/winter trends were overknee boots, as spotted on various runways and the american television show Gossip Girl.


A variation of this trend was made popular by the spanish fashion icon/designer Trini Gonzalez, who promoted the look through her fashion blog toutlamode. They were in coming last season, and they are definitely here now: overknee stockings! See below for a first feeble attempt and make sure to check back for more refined updates at a later point in time.