olechko

As per my poll of the most fashionable Mind the gap, Little Miss Moi, Ms. Raluka (what’s your blog address??) and me this summer little flat sandals are definitely in style.

The things are dressy enough to keep it cool at the garden parties as well as comfy to brave those Kyiv ups and downs. The Birks on the bottom left are so classic that they do not even need an introduction.

Washer-dryer options in Ukraine are nowhere to find, as well as thoughout Europe actually.  This is why towel dryers are such common objects in European restrooms as they are non-existent in North America.   The best option is to dry your laundry on the line - your linens will smell wonderfully, unless you live in polluted Kyiv.  The benefit of your laundry getting de-wrinkled can be substituted by paying extra to your cleaning lady to iron it.   It’s much cheaper to get your shirts done that way then take them to the cleaners (whooping $5 per shirt fee).

I remember taking down beadsheets from the line in the midst of winder - they would be solid and crusty, but yet dry once they are brought inside the house.  Wait, maybe Ukrainians and the whole Europe is just very consicous about burning extra kilowatts of energy on that machine? Our contributions to becoming “green”.

I am thrilled to see more and more young folk driving little scooters around town. Apparenty helmets are not mandatory for them at the moment, but cute outfits are almost always a constant feature to go along with these…

As a result of years’ worth of reading Vogue, FRUiTS and Elle magazines, I collected myself to actually ask the stylish people on the street of Kyiv I admire to pose for my pictures. (For now I have expressed my fascination with just stealing photos for my Devushka project). I do not aspire to match up to match up to the w0nderful Sartorealist or outshine the indie Ulyanov’s Kyiv streetfashion but this can be loads of fun.

I would ask my subjects for their name, occupation, age, where the things were bought, what’s their style inspiration is about, etc, etc and hand them some kind of business card with the site address on it…

This past winter my pictures took ironic view on the subjects, picking on overdone fashion statements. As the spring came, I got inspired to take candids of plain good looking Ukrainians (included boys this time around). Now the pictures take much more flattering view on beautiful people prancing, mostly outside my flat.

You might have seen tons of people carrying around some twigs with furry little flower thingies on them - those are willow branches, blessed today by the priests in church. The whole thing quite set the spring mood and gave a reason to pull out summer clothes from the closets for the firt time this spring.

Here this lady was buying the twigs on a sidewalk from babushkas, with St. Sophia in the background - looking very happy about her new summer purse and a bunch of twigs in left her hand.

Two days ago I took a flight from Milan to Kyiv and had some time to spare on observing my compatriots getting ready to board. First thing that stuck out in observation process was their shopping habits. Usually everybody gets stocked up while still in town. Therefore the over-sized suitcases at the check-in. And let’s not forget the shiny wrapping plastic film that help holding up those bursting suitcases.

Then come the duty-free shops. Desperation gets out at this stage and most exiting things get carried on the plane in the clear sealed plastic bags. And lastly, the duty free shopping from catalogue on the plane. I thought they are there for the in-flight entertainment. But no! As we were giggling about the items on the list, my neighbor promptly made a request to buy something from it.

Irony aside, I love to shop every time I am abroad. This time I was coming back with one more garment bag, securely wrapped at the airport in bright acid green plastic and our carry-on luggage full of duty-free food goodies. God save us from the catalogues.

A follow-up on the discussion with Little Miss Moi on Fashion. Kyiv fashion may either scare to death or wildly inspire newcomers. There are several kinds of sources for obtaining clothing here. The masses wear bazaar-purchased clothing that commands the worst taste of Turkish and Chinese manufacturers. Middle-class makes rich the A group (Mango, Promod, etc). The cream of the crop shop in London, Milan and Paris. Petrified expatriates order from gap.com and zappos.com and beg their friends to bear the overseas shipping costs.

Local clothing production is almost non-existent. There used to be a nice “democratic” British-Ukrainian label called Sensus which is no more. Several Ukrainian acting designers do not make the weather here just yet.

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It’s stunning, interesting, personal and magnificent. In spite of having very little to do with music and theater, I am drawn to this place extremely. The Opera House was opened in 1900, built in Austria, transported to Lviv by train and put together by pieces. The interior is full of gold, silver and marble details. It generally feels good to be inside. Besides, ballet and opera, other acts perform there periodically. The tickets on regular shows range from 10-70 hryvnias, a bit steeper then in Kyiv, actually. Because of that it’s easier to get a seat at the last minute. A nicely-designed site has the general information and contact info in English, but does not seem to have the bill translated just yet.

Great place to get the feel of end XVIII Century Kyiv! Full of artifacts, old photos and all kinds of trinkets, well designed and presented. They even have their catalogue published soon, the pleasant cashier lady informed us.

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