MY BIGGEST REGRET OF THE SUMMER...

is not buying this dress.

Stine Goya Anthias dress (see more silk dresses)
Next time, Stine Goya, next time. I'm looking for you on Ebay.

THE ONLINE SHOE SHOPPING DILEMMA

Some people do drugs to escape from their lives. I look at shoes online. It takes me away from my daily worries and responsibilities. I ignore more important things in life while window shopping online. What’s worse is that, when I do find a shoe I absolutely adore, it never comes in my size, or it’s too freaking expensive, or the shipping and customs cost is outrageous. Shoes will always be expensive though.

My main problem is the sizing. I’m a size 7. Most women are. You think that all the shoe companies in the world would manufacture more size 7’s knowing this about women, but they fail to do so. Finally, I see the shoe I’ve been eyeing for months on sale at the websites of Urban Outfitters, ASOS or Zappos. But is it a size 7? No way in hell! The world needs more size 7 shoes. There should be companies solely dedicated to carrying size 7 shoes. I am dead serious. The deficit of size 7’s in the world is a problem, because so many women wear this size. Enough of them are not being produced. And the pair of shoes that you truly long for never end up being yours, unless you’re willing to pay the price.

Okay, so let’s say I find my size anyway. I live in Canada. Online shoe shopping, like I said before, is a bit of a “window” ordeal: look, but don’t touch. Hell, with online shopping, don’t even bother trying the damn things on. Often, Canadians are tricked into paying astronomical fees for anything coming from the US/UK. I’m talking about that secret $30 extra tacked on to your bill. This is the customs and duty fee. I see the pair in a style I have been looking for (story of my life) and I add them to my check out cart, only to find out that the shipping is not actually free, despite what the website advertises. I mean, yes, Solestruck is giving me free shipping, but the Canadian government ain’t. Most sites fail to actually mention in non-legalese that you’re going to pay extra border fees at your door, or they pretend that it’s not a big deal. The shoes on sale for $100 end up costing $130. You’ve just been tricked into thinking your shoes were on some sort of “sale”. Ha!

If you buy from a Canadian company, chances are the shoes are going to fucking suck. The world needs to wake up, especially Canada and the US, and find a more efficient and wallet-friendly way of dealing with customs and duty. Canada isn’t that “international”. We're on the same damn continent as the USA. New York is a 12-hour bus ride away, or a 1-hour flight. Buffalo is a 3-hour drive. So don’t tempt us depraved shoe-a-holics into driving across the border, only to find that what we came for does not exist.

For the most part, my best shoes came from Europe, and my worst shoes from Vietnam. Some from them came from the USA. I own a lot of shoes “designed” in Sweden and continue to want more. Lately, out of desperation to own a pair of ankle booties from Swedish Hasbeens, I began looking for cheaper knock-offs. I came across DICO Copenhagen, and well, I couldn’t help but share these lovely pairs from the fall/winter 2010 collection with the blogosphere. I don’t even want to know if they have my size or how much they will cost. Forget about shipping.

Welcome to my world. Look online, but don’t touch. Don’t even think about buying or trying. Just dream. Save the picture on your computer, and hope for the best. Maybe one day you’ll actually find them, or force else someone to pay for them for you.

You know, Copenhagen and I have a special and loving relationship, albeit dysfunctional. We've fallen in love, fallen out of love, played the blame game, ended our relationships on Facebook, and now we are both at a happy medium where we can enjoy each others company in a civil and respectful manner. All I need to do is test our new relationship with a little visit. You know, to make sure we're both doing okay.

In January 2008, I packed by bags and headed for Copenhagen for 6 months of exchange at University of Copenhagen. What was a terrifying experience at first turned into something delightful, eye-opening and just plain "hygge" (the Danish concept/way of life for "coziness"). Although it was stressful at times dealing with "Danish ways", I look back now and realize that my life wouldn't be the same if I never lived there. 

No, this is not turning into a sob story. Many friends were made, and many beers were consumed as several bicycles roamed the streets like it was no big deal. This is normal to the Danes; environmentalism, sustainability, high taxes and tall Carlsberg's. In lieu of COP 15 and to anyone who is interested in visiting my beloved little city in the near future, I present you with my guide to night life in Copenhagen. Note: I haven't been to Copenhagen since 2008 so I'm not exactly "up to date". Feel free to criticize this post.

A guide by neighbourhoods and by streets


Nørrebro The Nørrebro neighbourhood houses the long street that is Nørrebrogade. I lived off this street, quite north past another long road called Jagtvej in a little dormitory/kollegiet. Nørrebro was the neighbourhood I biked through every day to get right into the centre of town (25 minutes by bike, 50 minutes walking). This is where you see daily Danish commuter life, not to mention all the delicious shwarma and falafel joints that dot the street.

What's good in this area?
Be sure to check out the streets Elmegade and Fælledvej; they intersect with Nørrebrogade. These are some of my favourite street to bike down, plus there are loads of ethnic shops and shoe shops. It's a little like Vesterbro (you'll see) with lots of Middle Eastern foods/cool shops/awesome cafes happening.

RUST. Proper DJ nights, great bands, and just all around easy access and good cheer. As a non-Dane, is it wrong for me to say that I love this place? I discovered Kleerup, Egyptian Lover and Choir of Young Believers here.

Blågårdsgade Jazz Cafe. Cheap drinks and relaxed times with live jazz playing several nights a week for free. Just one of those little heartwarming discoveries found floating off from the main streets. There are other crafty and thrifty to be found in this area. Beware, thrifting Copenhagen is stupidly expensive compared to North America.

Stengade 30. They have reggae nights every Sunday. A lot of African - especially Ghanaian - expats come here (all 15 of them). Fun under the fake Jamaican sun.

Vesterbrogade Welcome to another street with tons of ethnic restaurants, colourful galleries, hot clothing shops, and cafes. Just off of Vesterbrogade is the "up-and-coming" meat-packaging district on a street called Istegade. This is also the "red light" district (aka: a handful of sex shops and maybe two hookers). Vesterbrogade is a very long street well worth the bike trot.

If you are in the area, find Lakagehuset, it has some of the best pastries, breads and muffins the city has to offer. It's more or less across Hard Rock Cafe. When you go, please fed-ex me some baked goods because I am drooling as I type this. There's also one right across Christianshavn metro station where you will need to get off, if you want to see Christiania.

Vestergade Not to be confused with the drawn out Vesterbrogade, this is yet another street that houses tiny vintage shops and cafes. It's filled with surprises and hidden urban gems.

Downtown: Various streets! Time for Google Maps, no? Anything is close to you on a bike when you're in baby Copenhagen!

FISK (Sankt Peders Stræde 1). It's one of those hybrid vintage clothing shops/cafes/bars all in one. Copenhagen meets Berlin.



Salonen (Sankt Peders Stræde 20) for a pretty decently priced sandwich and local ecological beer, with heaps of flyers on the walls.

Din Nye Ven (Sankt Peders Stræde 34). A cool place to read/drink in the daytime with live music on most nights. It gets packed and is awesome (minus the smoking - damn Danes, update your indoor smoking laws). This is one of my favourite places ever. I absolutely love this street. Din Nye Ven (which means Your New Friend) is crucial in the night or day.

Living Room (Larsbjørnsstræde 17). Living Room sells fair trade/organic coffees and tees. They also have a really nice cozy basement, and really cute postcards lying around. I was sold the instant I popped inside. Living Room defines hygge one step at a time. Check out the neighbouring Studiestræde if you like to look at cute stuff like I do.

Bankeråt (Ahlefeldtsgade 29). A cafe/bar that has human-sized taxidermied people/animals all around. I believe they have international newspapers there for your reading pleasure, too. I love this place and I wish I took pictures of its interiors. But taxidermied stuff + beer? Kind of a big deal.

Culture Box (Kronprinsessegade 54). Probably one of the hippest places for house, electro, and minimalist German techno. But I wonder if this venue is "sooo 2008" or what. Maybe there are other venues like this that I've never been to. Regardless, they host events with DJs such as Ellen Allien. FYI: The Cheap Monday store of Copenhagen is at Kronprinsensgade 7.

Vega (Enghavevej 40). Not exactly my favourite place, but this is a venue to check out while planning your visit to Copenhagen because there are always decent touring bands playing here. This is where I met Jens Lekman for the *second* time. Be weary of their house nights. Although good DJs play here sometimes, it's easy to run into creepy men trying to hit on young women. Fortunately, the place is open til 5am and then at that point, you can just bike away from the creepers.



The Meatpacking District (Kødbyen) Remember when I mentioned Istegade? Well, now I am going to talk about it some more. Istegade is one of the major arteries of Kødbyen, translating to "meat city". Istegade is populated with boutiques, bars, and other strange discoveries. This is the first street in the world where pornography became legal; you'll find sex shops and up-and-coming cafes/shops to go to. As for the hookers, I never saw more than four at a time. The area is generally safe. For more info, here is a nice little Wallpaper* review of the hood.

Kødbyen is primarily around the street of Halmtorvet. It is parallel to Istegade. There are some bars and clubs that opened up recently, such as Jolene. It's not advertised as such, but I'm pretty sure it's an Icelandic lesbian bar with impressive lighting and decor. Kødbyen is a cool place to walk around in the daytime because it's very raw (and I'm not talking about meat), however, it's also on the verge of gentrification.



Råhuset. Yeah, it means "Raw House". Råhuset lies off of Istegade and is an ex-meat factory. Strange, artsy, and Scandinavian. Actually, this might be on Halmtorvej. This area in general is carnivorous. Vegans: proceed with caution.

Karriere (Flæsketorvet 57). Ok, so this is another major street in Meat City. Karriere is a play-on-yuppies; literally, the name of the bar/restaurant means Career. It's pricey and yuppified to a point where I'm not sure if it's ironic anymore. But take a walk inside. The design and decor is, yet again, fantastically original.

Okay, so I think I've exhausted my Copenhagen resources. There are some places that I just don't remember the names and locations of, but overall, the main goods of my Copen-half-year have been revealed. Tourist or local, feel free to contribute to the list.

ER-COUTURE: AN INTERVIEW

Elisabeth Rolskov of ER-Couture is a Danish-born expat living and designing in Vietnam. She has started up shop in Ho Chi Minh City with her brand as an ecological designer and is adding her own personal brand of conscious, class and creativity to the basic yet emerging Vietnamese fashion scene. Here's what she has to say about being an expat-designer in Vietnam.

Tell me about ER-couture and how it got started. Why are you designing in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam at the moment?
I have always dreamed about having my own fashion company. This was what I wanted ever since I was a little girl, drawing garments for my paper dolls. I set up my boutique ER-Couture 6 month ago because I accommodate an area in Vietnam where there are little suppliers right now. This is the market in between unknown retailers and high fashion stores like international fashion brands. There are hardly any suppliers in the middle where you can buy affordable high-quality clothing.

You are originally from Denmark. Would you say that your designs and concepts are influenced by where you’re from?
I am indeed influenced by my Danish background but on the other hand I have been living overseas for many years, which is reflective of my designs. After living in Hong Kong, China and Vietnam, I have often found myself in a melting pot of different cultures. I appreciate diversity, and the exposure to varied ethnicities has inspired me to integrate the Asian and Scandinavian design style. My brand ER-couture represents a cultural fusion – distinctive for its unique combination of Western silhouettes & tailoring with Asian details & ornaments.

Can you explain the significance of using natural fabrics in your designs? Would you be considered an eco-friendly designer?
At ER-Couture, we continuously do our utmost to make things last and we never compromise on quality. We select only natural materials for our collections such as silk, wool, cotton, linen and leather. Quality and comfort are keywords at ER-Couture and we never let our customers wear synthetic fabrics!

We care about our customer and in order to reduce chemicals that fabrics often carry, and minimize excess color and shrinkage, we take the effort to wash all fabrics before production. Our philosophy is always to make the most out of our resources and we carefully consider suitable fabrics, designs and cutting methods in order to minimize waste. We also encourage people to do Demi-couture or Made-to-order as we see this as a way of encouraging quality and “slow fashion” over mass-produced disposable fashion. ER-Couture can be custom-made for the same price – which is an offer we provide as it gives us the possibility of greater customer satisfaction and a chance to make our production more environmentally friendly. This is high-end fashion after all, and the design will lose its soul if it’s being mass-produced.


Transmissions Photo shoot


Where do you find your main organic materials? What is the manufacturing process of your work?
Not all our material is certificated organic – we can’t get organic materials in Vietnam and we must therefore import organic materials (you can consider how eco-friendly they actually are after the transportation). We do import some bamboo fabrics from China, which is an organic fiber that we have been very happy to work with.

We mainly use a small sewing team that work for ER-Couture and other smaller shops. In our boutique, we have an excellent tailor who helps us produce samples and custom made garments. This gives us the chance to make perfect samples for the sewing team to follow.

What is the fashion "scene" like at the moment?
I see a market very interested in fashion. Look at the attention towards Fashion TV. The interest for international fashion magazines is also growing and Sunflower Media now has the license to publish "Her World" in Vietnam. Some of the local designers are also very interesting and are especially making beautiful garments with hand-embroidery.




Tell me about your latest collection as well as the expansion of ER-couture in Ho Chi Minh City.
Every season I choose a new inspirational source. This season our Fall/Winter 2010 collection is designed with references to Film Noir’s femme fatale and 1940's exquisite elegance. The 1940's chic, sharp and sophisticated elegance with reference to Hitchcock's female heroines is the theme ER-Couture is embracing which is visible in our feminine, artful drapes and constructed silhouettes. We focus on a feminine figure with exaggeration of waist, hip and shoulders. The overall lady-like look has a slight rock-chic twist visualizing our female heroines aesthetic with use of raw, metal rivets, dramatic zippers and leather.

Following ER-Couture's very successful first six months, we found the need to expand our Ho Chi Minh City boutique. On this occasion we have added an outstanding selection of designer accessories such as jewely, leather bags, belts and shoes. We are also introducing our new fashion line, ER, which follows the same principles of high-quality products as ER-Couture, yet it prioritizes simple design for stylish every-day wear.

I know how crazy and hectic it can often be living in Ho Chi Minh City. How do you clear your head and gain your creativity?
I manage to travel a lot. I go back to Denmark at minimum two times a year and I travel to Hong Kong occasionally.

Where do you see fashion heading in Vietnam in the next 5-10 years or more?
There is still a long way to go if we compare with Singapore and Hong Kong and I think the retail stores are still quite limited. With the huge interest in fashion I think Vietnamese retails have a good change for growth. We are indeed heading towards a more fashion-forward future!



Construction photos from a photo shoot with The Word magazine.