Primark shop opening?

Rumor has it...

Today I discovered that maybe there is a new Primark store to be opened in Cologne at the end of 2013. While this is a long time to go, I am happy to hear about it. I think that in terms of growing strategy it is really necessary to go to the bigger cities. 

I have been and are still surprised about Primark's market strategy for Germany. The first shop in Germany was in Bremen, followed by Francfort, but then they opened in smaller cities, for instance, in Gelsenkirchen. Cities like Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich were always missing. This summer, they finally opened a store in Berlin (Source: www.primark.de). 

My problem with Primark is that whenever I go there I feel that I really should grap the opportunity and "buy things ahead". By this, I often buy things that I do not need and will never wear. Having a Primark close would, hopefully, change this buying behavior. 

things I bought at Primark in June (solely the pink shirt is from Blanco);
good hunt since I have been wearing all pieces regularly during the summer months

What I am also missing is an online store, but since the inventory turnover is really high, this implementation really is a challenge and so I give them some time to set this up. 

Happy shopping!

Christmas

I know, November has just begun. Still, Christmas is coming for sure, and always sooner "than expected". All over sudden, Christmas eve is there. Although it is always at the same day and I know it, it seems that I forget about it. Last-minute-panic because of missing gifts, food or drink preparation, planning, organization, and at the end I promise myself that next year will be different (while thinking of a nice sunny place with no Christmas trees). 

And now, this time starts again. Why do we always want this "perfect evening" on Christmas? Can't we just relax, being with someone we love, having a good but decent meal with ONE glass of wine? Without all this preparation and planning for weeks, going shopping once and coming home with all gifts? 

via marthastewart.com

By now, I did not manage to do it the other way. Shops are open today, so I am heading downtown hunting for gifts. Almost two months before Christmas. Yeah. 

Urban Decay NAKED2

I have been reading so many different reviews about the Urban Decay Naked2 eye shadow palette, and I thought about buying it for a very long time. Still, 43€ is a bunch of money.

Eventually I found a 10% coupon for Sephora in my bag I had completely forgotten about. So I ordered (I also needed a birthday gift so I had a good excuse to pass the order...)

Love the nude colors

Then when I received my order, it was damaged. There was eye shadow powder everywhere, so I had to return it. I am pretty sure that it was not Sephora, it has to be the French mail.

Now I received a new one in perfect shape, and I can't wait to test all the colors.

A pretty box

Flea Market

Again. I start being addicted to flea markets, but I think that this is due to the fact that I always find something. 

This time I found a dark grey woolen turtleneck pullover from Lacoste (8€) as well as a no-name blouse (5€). I really like the design and think with a classic skinny jeans and some nice shoes it will look awesome. 

My BF came with me this time, he bought a Hugo Boss button-down shirt (5€) and a Ralph Lauren polo shirt (7€). 

Le Swing

Nice decoration

After Vicky's post about this fancy vintage store in Barcelona, I had to go there, of course. 

Although I do have a pretty good sense of orientation, I had a lot of trouble finding the store (we also left our map at home and did not want to buy a new one because you are always immediately spotted as a tourist when you carry a map...): The store is located in the old part of the city- ciudad vella- and all the tiny streets always make me feel lost in a labyrinth. 

After 45 mins cycling around we finally found the shop. 

It was overwhelming. All the pretty things!

The owner I talked to

So many bags

The shop owners were really nice and friendly and we had a nice talk. As you may have noticed I love vintage clothes and whenever I have time I go to flea markets to hunt for rare findings. This is why I had to ask him where they get their clothes and accessories from. They have on the one hand people coming to see them in the store. Those bring clothes they do not wear anymore, and sometimes they invite them to their houses to offer articles from their wardrobe as well. The also travel to different cities, for instance once a month to Paris and twice a year to New York City. There they have their clients who offer them their own clothes or findings. They pay attention that the clothes are real vintage, high class brands, in good shape and preferably in a more classic style.

I loved these Louboutins

The store is perfectly arranged, and clothes are organized by colors. The have all famous brands you can think of.
 

organized by color

There is another store about 5 mins to walk which is only called "Le Swing". If you do have time, you should visit both shops. In "Le Swing" there are accessories on the first floor and in the basement they offer mainly clothes, but also bags and shoes. The lady in the store was very friendly, offered advice and explained the arrangement of the store, but left me time to look around. She spoke perfectly English and French. 

I did not find anything this time, but just for the shop it is worth a visit.  

These are the addresses: 

leswingvintage.com

Le Swing
C/rec, 16

Blow By Le Swing
C/Bonaire, 6

08003 Barcelona

My first post has been deleted by accident, this is why I had to type it again. Real sh***. 

Barcelona Shopping

Of course I had to do some shopping during the very short stay in Barcelona (he was not very pleased, but okay, I hurried).

I decided not to buy pants at Primark anymore, since after 30 minutes wearing them they totally lose shape. Still, I had to grab some accessories.

 

Scarf, feather earrings, bracelet and candle: Primark; Peter Pan collar: Stradivarius

T-Shirt from the Linen collection and pale pink pants: Zara

Zara is also a must-go in Spain, as well as some other stores you only find there (this time they still had some leftovers from the sales period). Stradivarius is also a good address, as well as Blanco. There were much more shops I wanted to check out, but time has run out (I had 90 minutes in total and were another 15 minutes late).

Flea Market

Last Sunday I went to my favorite flea market, and as usual I found lots of nice things. On the first market I was not very lucky, but on the second I found a nice green pleated skirt (5€), and then a nice pair of dark blue and white Bally high heels (3€!!). The heels were broken, but I had them fixed for 9€ at my local cobbler.