Family Affairs now available on WLLWPOPUP

Beautiful images of Mun of WLLPOPUP (our new Australian online shop!)wearing the Soleil dress

Tattoos in Annabelle!

Thank you Annabelle for the perfect beach style feature of our temporary  tattoos!

New Blog Series Coming Soon

The Legends dress on Skunkboy

Katie of Skunkboy wore her Legends dress for Easter and looked so beautiful!

Coconuts for Coconuts

We had an incredibly lovely studio visit from Hannah Metz last week and Hannah looked amazing in every single thing that she put on! Here Hannah is lounging with a cup of tea and the Coconut bikini.

Family Affairs Muses part 3: Anna

Anna Tomas is our Muse from Barcelona , she is wearing the Life On Mars dress and Graduate jacket!

Anna, I just adore how you dress for class, you must be the best dressed teacher ever! Do you have a movie character that inspires you to dress for class?

I never imagined myself as a teacher. I started studying literature and then switched to journalism just because I was afraid of being in front of people. But then, during my studies, I started to interview people and to not be so shy (I have become quite the opposite somehow)….

One year ago they called me from the Instituto Europeo di Design, where I knew some teachers because I had previously interviewed them for La Vanguardia and other Spanish newspapers and magazines, to let me know there was a vacancy in History of Fashion.

I did not hesitate (Life begins at the end of your comfort zone“ as Neale Donald Walsch said). Now I love new adventures.

Last year I started the classes explaining the sixties, so I decided to go to class dressed like those days (the Swinging London is one of my favorite eras), and then the seventies (with the Bolshoi jumpsuit), then eighties and so on….

I feel so comfortable teaching and being a different teacher: myself, the disaster with technology, the one that jumps and dances in class…. that I decided to create a new outfit for each class and explain it.


Movies are, as you know, my main inspiration, like music. I open the closet and think: what am I teaching today? So why not put jelly shoes to explain this and a Victorian shirt to explain this another concept? Maybe last night I watched “Submarine” and I want to wear a red trench, or “The Great Gatsby” (the one with Mia Farrow) and I really need to wear a big Pamela.


If there’s also a movie character that has influenced me a lot is Annie Hall (sorry, I don’t like Ralph Lauren and I couldn’t believe he was the one that did the costume design of that movie)
When I was living and working in Brussels I had to wear a suit. All of them were too big… I’m 1,60 and 47kg… so I decided to put on a tie, a hat and a blazer from my boyfriend at the time. A colleague said: “Oh, you’re Annie Hall". I loved it because I identify myself a lot with that role: she’s extroverted (which I had managed to become, a bit please!), curious, hilarious, smart, passionate regarding photography and art….

I love all the pieces from Family Affairs because they allow me to create new looks, to mix patterns, to play… and to feel comfortable at the same time.

You live in one of my favorite cities; Barcelona. It's so creative and people really seem to know how to enjoy themselves! What are your tips for this great city?



Hihihihi, I love my city so much and I work writing about places (restaurants, hidden places, bars…), so I decided to so a small insider guide.

FAVOURITE RESTAURANTS


- Bio Center (Pintor Fortuny, 25): In Raval, veggie & bio In the Raval neighbourhood, veggie & bio

- Cornelia & Co (Valencia, 225): Fresh pasta, a vine cell, teas, homemade bread, seafood…

- Teresa Carles (Jovellanos, 2): Vegetarian food, breakfasts, brunches, fresh pasta, salads, and their best dish: black rice.

- Velódromo (Carrer de Muntaner, 213): Catalan food made by Moritz and Jordi Vilà.

- La Vietnamita: There’s two, one in Gracia (Carrer del Torrent de l’Olla, 78) and other in el Born (Carrer Comerç, 17). Vietnamese food. Noodles, Phò Bò Saigon…

- Koy Shunka (Copons, 7): The best Japanese restaurant in town. It got a Michelin star last year. It’s from the owner of Shunka. It’s amazing.

CAFES

- Granja Petit bo (Passeig Sant joan 82)


- Caravelle: (Pintor Fortuny, 21)

- Forn Mistral (Torres i Amat, 7)

- C3 (Carrer de Montalegre, 5)

- Cafe del centre (Girona, 69)

- Cosmo: (Enric Granados, 3) They make great veggie sandwiches and ideal juices. Also, they organize very interesting exhibits too.

GOING OUT

- Olimpic (Joaquin Costa, 25B)

– Betty Ford (Carrer de Joaquín Costa, 56): A famous cocktail bar.

– Sidecar (Plaça Reial, 7)

– El Molino con Dakota Club Parties (Vila i Vilà, 99)

- El Vinilo (Carrer de Muntaner, 6): I love hanging out around Gràcia and el Vinilo is a great meeting point for indie music lovers.

- If i’m on the center of the city, I go to Joaquim Costa street and visit el Negroni, el Tahiti and classics such as l’Almirall.

- El Smoll (Condesa de Sobradiel, 9): with second hand furniture that you can buy while enjoying a cocktail.

- Marula: (Escudellers, 49): to dance funky.

- La Macarena: in Nou de Sant Francesc for electronic music.

ESSENTIAL SHOPS
 
(Anna wearing the First Snow with Susana, teh shopw owner of Colmado wearing the Graduate jacket) 
 
- Krizia Robustella (Montsió 6 bis)

- Galerías Flamingo (calle Tallers)

- Oh la la! Second hand Ibiza (Pl. Castella 2)

- Ena Macana (Portal Nou, 7)

- Otras Cosas (Séneca, 8)

I recommend a walk through these hidden streets full of small ateliers by young designers:

- The area of Borne-Mirallers: Ivori - Colmado -La Tercera - Le Clinique
-  Banys Vells- Cotoners: (Iriarte Iriarte – Après Ski)
-  Esquirol: About Arianne
- Ivori (Mirallers, 7)
- Colmado (Mirallers, 5) . THEY SELL FAMILY AFFAIRS!

FOR A WALK…

- Everything around the Macba place (Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona) Plaça dels Àngels, 1

- The beach: specially when it’s not summer. You take the L4 (yellow) until Bogatell and walk through all the maritime promenade.


Even by bicycle I love the beach in winter;Sitting with my notebooks and magazines in the steel chairs and be illuminated by Lorenzo is very inspiring.

- The park in the mountain of Montjuic. I recommend going up with the funicular from the Paralelo and then go walking down until Poble Sec and have a snack in Bar Seco.

- The galleries from Consell de Cent

- Fundación Foto Colectania (Julián Romea, 6)

- Centre d’Arts Santa Mònica (La Rambla, 7): For emerging and conceptual art.

- La Fundació Miró (Parc de Montjuïc, s/n): They organize interesting activities. It’s the only center with private funding.

A MONUMENT OR TOURISTIC PLACE THAT WE CAN’T MISS

- La plaza Sant Felip Neri

- The three columns of Templo de Augusto (Paradís, 10): They are on the highest point of the Roman city. I was impressed the first time I saw them.

- La Sagrada Família (Mallorca, 401): Without doubt, and even more after the remodelling. Entering to la Sagrada Familia leaves you frozen and with Stendhal syndrome.

-Basílica Santa Maria del Mar (Santa Maria, 1): My second favourite monument is Santa Maria del Mar, with it's salon interior.

A “SECRET” PLACE

- Parapark (Rei Martí, 33): A different kind of entertainment in the neighbourhood of Sants.

- Zaoum (Argenter, 9): The atelier-shop of Marina. She treasures lots of special objects that have collected my parents through the years.

- My favourite place is the parque de la Creueta del Coll (Passeig de la Mare de Déu del Coll, 77): You can see all the city from there. There’s a beautiful Chillida, a small swimming pool, ping pong tables, you can picnic…

- The cemetery of Poblenou (Avinguda d’Icària, s/n)

- The garden Costa i Llobera (ctra. de Miramar, close to plaza de L’Armada): It’s a garden made of cactus.

Another thing I noticed in Barcelona; people are really into hair salons and new hairdos. What is your hairsalon of choice.

Here everybody loves long hair…and from Scandinavia we inherited the passion for braids.
It is also becoming really trendy to wear scrunchies and hair bands… Lately the “garçon” look (short hair) is becoming popular. Influenced by my adored Nouvelle Vague, Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard (Breathless and the unforgettable Jean Seberg).

What is not happening here is changing hair color into blue or pink, which I adored when I saw it in Montreal last summer and also in many blogs like The clothes horse…. Even my red red hair is strange here… People tend to love blond or dark black (typical Spanish).

My hairdresser is from Holland. Gijs is amazing… His hair saloon is always frequented by foreigners and locals… he made it a big success. Is called Touch. He really advices you properly and understands what you want from the very beginning…


Your career seems to be blooming, is there a professional dream that you aspire to?

After all my years living abroad and coming back to leave again, I discovered that I can’t stand routine. Only now, being a freelancer, I feel happy. Everyday is somehow different: writing about different spots, discovering places, editing magazines and traveling for Lonely Planet, coolhunting for trend’s articles, doing styling for brands, teaching, interior design projects, going to Milan for work once a month….

I published a book some years ago… Now I’m working in the second one, which I think is more me and I still feel insecure about it because of that… my goal is to publish it and also to be able to travel more often and write about it!

I’m very lucky, but I also work many, many hours… and sometimes sacrifice a lot of my social life because of that (even if I’m hyperactive somehow)….
I’d love to have more time to read, ride my bike, travel…. And yes, I still see myself living abroad… maybe Australia… I adore Frankie and Peppermint magazines… I don’t know… maybe my dream is finding myself doing different things in the future.
Example: next year I’ll be supervising Fashion Thesis… that was not expected and I’m so looking forward to it.

What is your favorite Family Affairs piece and why?

The Bonnie’s Boat Dress.

It was my first Family Affairs piece and I remember I was wearing it the day I met my former boyfriend in Milan.

I also have worn it in several beautiful days with my friends, in weddings, on long beach walks…. It is like a little black dress: you can wear it during the day with a pair of espadrilles or combine and in teh evening with a hat and some heels and go to the chicest event. I also love stripes… and this dress remembers me of the beach and the sea, my home…

I remember one day coming from Chicago and wearing it on the plane and crying when I saw the Barcelona sea from above…

This dress is home, means Mediterranean to me… and means having the chance to interview you Nina and start having the most wonderful wardrobe full of pieces of Family Affairs that I adore.
I even wear this dress with skinny jeans under it and a blue blazer…

I know you are very knowledgable in literature and poetry, can you suggest a wonderful love poem book we can read to get inspired for spring?

(Anna is wearing the Bees Knees shirt and Fantasy skirt )

I love poetry. I started to read poetry when I was a teen (when I was just a baby I needed to listen to The Wall by Pink Floyd to rest…. Maybe that was the beginning of me being weird)

I always admired how these authors can condense feelings into such few words… I love Sylvia Plath, Neruda, Auden, Federico Garcia Lorca, Jaime Gil de Biedma, Walt Whitman, Dickinson, Emerson, Lord Byron… Now, with spring, nothing like reading “Lilacs” by E.E.Cummings. The other poet that also reflects this period of the year perfectly is Keats, the first English romantic poet. You have to watch “Bright Star”, by Jane Campion.

the sky a silver
dissonance by the correct
fingers of April
resolved             into a
clutter of trite jewels

now like a moth with stumbling
wings flutters and flops along the
grass collides with trees and
houses and finally,
butts into the river

E. E. Cummings

Wishing you a starry Saturday

With the Spellbound dress

Nina's Wanderings part 1

Next to my favorite new weekly feature Family Affairs Muses I am also adding some other weekly features such as this one (Nina's Wanderings - every Friday) where I am sharing a random, good thrift, sandwich or record that I discovered that week.
Last Saturday we did some Easter thrifting in the Northfork and I fell head over heels for this fruity kettle!
 

Recha Foffa covers the Coconut Vision launch at the Deep End Club

The Henry Dress on Nina



from left to right: Bryson in the Elba kimono worn over the Sound and Vision dress, Nina in the Henry dress, Tennessee in the Elton dress, Andrina in the long Legends dress



See the complete Coconut Vision post on rechafoffa.com 

Elton in Light

Rebecca of The Clothese horse waring the Elton dress during a studio visit.

Sticky Fingers on Kid-in

After a weekend of sugary sweet treats, we were reminded of this great editorial featuring the Sticky Fingers  necklace!



The Sticky Fingers necklace worn in a shoot styled by Alice Bertay, photographed by Zoe Adlersberg and with hair and makeup by Haribo.



See "For a Minute, Eternity" on kid-in

The actual Easter outfit

Today is a picture perfect Easter day in the Northfork and the Zopf and eggs turned out well and we had a lovely, Swiss style brunch. I hope you ar enjoying a colorful and happy day too!

My final Easter outfit is the Baguette shirt with the Cindy skirt

Easter bunny spotting in the garden!

I dyed them with a nylon stocking, leaves and various dyes :)

Family Affairs Muses Part 2: Amie

 Amie May used to be our wonderful press intern and is now at fashion school in Melbourne!


Amie, I love your fun way of dressing, you seem to go through different inspiration phases, right? What are your themes right now? Are there any movies or songs that are inspiring you to get dressed?

I go through a lot of phases in my personal style, I can never choose just one! Haha I always seem to get hooked on a tv show or a movie and want to dress like characters from them for months and then I'll watch a YouTube clip of some music video and start dressing like that.
I'm really loving Amy Adams' styling in the movie Her, cute little patterned collared shirts and comfy, lived in sweaters, casually fitting slacks, anything that feels as cozy like pyjamas.
On the other hand I am also obsessed with Iggy Azalea and her Clueless inspired video for her song Fancy, and like Liv Tyler and Renee Zellweger in Empire Records. I'm yet to find the perfect plaid tennis skirt!
 

You are in your second semster at fashion school, congratulations! So far what has been the most valueable lesson/experience at school?

Thank you! I think more than anything its taught me that theres always something new to learn and to always keep bettering myself and my skills. There's so much that goes into making a garment than what people might think!

Has being in school changed your style and how?

Everyone in my class has a really distinct style and they are so comfortable in their sense of self its really made me more confident in the way I dress and also to have fun with dressing! I think I take more risks and experiment more with the clothes I pick now than before, brighter colours or louder prints and almost always starting with the shoes first :)

Amie wearing the Bonnie's Boat dress

If Melbourne was a shoe, what would it look like?

A mule shoe with a chunky platform heel or a super sleek lace up darby shoe with a chunky tread sole.

What is the best sandwich you ever had?

I had a pretty incredible Reuben sandwich at this cafe in Melbourne recently called Two Birds One Stone, the corned beef was super tender, the Swiss cheese was melted just so perfectly and the Russian dressing and sauerkraut were just the right amount of tang to cut through it all.
I still miss being able to go to almost any deli in New York no matter how small and how hole-in-the-wall it was and get an A+ BLT bagel for super cheap!


Do you have any packing tips for us?

I hate to carry heavy luggage so I always pack super light, and take a really nice coat with me thats weather appropriate, a pair of sneakers and a pair of dressy flats.

(spot the Fantasy skirt in leopard print )

What is your favorite Family Affairs piece and why?

My favourite Family Affairs piece I own is the Room With A View dress, even though I don't get to wear it often, I just love the design - its so dramatic and romantic - I like how its cut quite a long length but its all sheer, very demure but also sexy!
 I wear my Frankie skirt a lot because it goes with everything and in summer I can't get enough of the Amour dress especially when I go to the beach!

Amie in the Room With A View dress

Amie in the Amour dress