I begin every winter all happy and excited – anxious to put on a warm fuzzy sweater and drink a hot cup of cocoa in front of the fire, while out the window the snow covers the roofs of my beloved city of lights… But every winter there comes a time when my fantasy-moment meets reality: sweaters irritate my skin, I have no fireplace, through my window I can only see the neighbor’s fat cat, and who drinks cocoa, anyway?

We’ve come to that time of year – the season of disillusionment and sobriety.

After the holidays, when Christmas lights come down and the magic wears off, you suddenly realize that without the decorations – winter in not as charming as it seemed.  Plus, you have absolutely nothing to look forward to till spring (3-4.5 months to go in this F@#*&& cold). No more cheerful soirées among friends and family, no more shopping sprees, no more glitters and sparkles… We are left alone in a cold, dark, long sad and painful winter.

As the despair takes place in my heart, I find comfort in comfort. After all, it is -2 degrees out there and high heels stockings and skirts are equivalent to torture.

And so, even though we’d all like to look like this in winter:

Giambattista Valli 2010-11

Stella McCartney 2010-11

Prada 2010-11

Sonia Rykiel 2010-11

You’re most likely to see that in the streets (here demonstrated by Liv Tyler, Heidi Klum & Katy Perry):

In the battle between chic and comfort, sometimes comfort prevails.

(And if you have a problem with that – after 3 months of winter, I’m getting short on Vitamin D and the idea of punching someone starts to look appealing.Wanna take this outside? Wait a second, I’ll just grab my coat)

• Be nice
• Write more on your blog
• Buy a leather jacket (real leather, on sale)
• Come up with a plan for world-peace
• Go out more
• Buy THE bag (real leather, no flashy colors, on sale)
• Read a classic
• Avoid overdraft
• Cut down dairy products
• Eat more fruit

Issues wishes everybody an inspiring year.
And then some health, joy and peace, we need those too.

Happy new year!

The common wild Glitter lives in cold weather and high obscurity. It is normally spotted during winter time in Europe, North America and parts of Asia. It feeds on human window-shoppers of feminine gender. The common Glitter’s annual active season is a very short one-  comes January, it retires to its hibernation and isn’t expected to show any sign of life until 10-11 months later.

Even though we have no scientific proofs to the theory, many experts believe the Common Glitter is genetically related to the Sailor-Striped-Shirt for many resemblances in the two species behavior. The Sailor-Shirt appears in spring mostly in Europe, and is only active for a short period as well (April-June).

During rough times, some believed the common Glitter and the Sailor-Shirt to be extinct. Fortunately, they’ve proven to be strong of nature, surprising wildlife experts every year anew.

One month before Paris Fashion Week, the anti-event took place in the garden of Palais Royal, in the heart of the city.

In Grazia’s street fashion show, real women walked down the runway instead of professional models; Chanel, Prada or Dior were replaced by Zara, H&M and Gap (straight from the real womens’ real closets); Anna Wintour’s sit was taken by local bloggers and instead of international stars – the public was invited to see everything.

Photos: Olivier Jeanne-Rose

We have at least two months of warm sunshine ahead, but the fashion world is already switching to a ‘winter state of mind’. Summer sales are practically over, mid-season collections are neatly presented in stores and in a couple of weeks the infamous September issues will list for us next season’s “Must have”s. In an attempt to keep up with this crazy rhythm, I here by open the Fall-Winter season on Issues.

Even in -10 degrees, showing-off feminine legs is always a good strategy to adopt. This winter, you might want to pay attention to the refreshing work of Gal Stern (28).

This young designer graduated two years ago from Shenkar (Israeli College of Engineering and Design) where she specialized in printing. During her final project she had to develop different textiles for women’s pantyhose and there she found her niche. Today, her hand printed tights are sold in Australia, USA and UK (not to mention her online store that ships everywhere).

Issues: Where do you get your inspiration?
Gal Stern: My inspiration keeps changing. In my last collection I was influenced by vertebrates and knots, by forms and their repetitive patterns. Inspiration comes from feelings you get from the world, and so, at this moment I’m also influenced by ‘Avatar’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Both of these films are projected in 3D and are about fantasy.

What technique do you use in your work?
My printing techniques vary from one product to another; I don’t tend to give them away… In general, all products are hand printed one-by-one through silk-screening in my workshop.
There’s a real movement of “back to necessities”, prioritizing hand-made unique and original products over mass production. It’s very important to me in my work process.

Who do you design for?
My customers are girls and women from 17 to 70. They like fashion, know to express themselves in an original way and they don’t ‘go with the flow’.

Do you plan to expand your work to other garments?
My business is still young. Right now I’m focusing on tights but I have a lot of projects. Later on I might develop into working other pieces, maybe bathing-suits…

Photography: Suryanty Theong, Noa Ramone, Dean Podmore

If you like fashion blogs, take a look at LOOKBOOK.nu. It’s an online privet club where young bloggers from around the world post their best looks. Unlike other web sites who share a similar concept (Ilikemysyle.net for example) Lookbook is not very democratic. Here, not everyone is invited to participate and only chosen members are allowed to post their styles, comment or rate others.

Once you finish hissing “what a bunch of snobs”, you might want to take a closer look. It’s actually a nice way to get familiar with new faces in the on-growing community of fashion bloggers.

But then again, if you believe all fashion blogs are alike, you could see in this web site the ultimate proof to the banality of today’s self-admiring youth.

One way or another, say hello to some of the chosen people: Romina (15) and Josephine (16) from Germany, Tricia (21) from the Philippines and Perventina (25) from Russia.

Originally, I LIKe my stYLe.net is a social network for fashion lovers, where you can upload photos of you and your wardrobe, comment on other people’s pics and discuss style and other topics. Lately, the people behind it have decided to publish chosen pictures of members in their own magazine, “the first user-generated fashion magazine”, as written on the cover.

When the concept is that innovative, the result is bound to be interesting. Through-out it’s 264 pages, “I LIKe my style Quarterly” brings personal stories, cyber dialogs and a lot of photos taken by young people from all around the world. Diversity, style democracy and raw materials are “I LIKe my style” strongest points. On the other hand, 12 Euros for internet content is a bit too much. Especially for a magazine coming 100% from the street.

More than it’s a fashion magazine, ”I LIKe my style” is a testimony, a fraction of  today’s state of mind. Right now the web is overloaded with these blog-influenced-celebrity-like pictures, which makes this issue a little bit annoying nearing the end. But in 20 or 40 years, when there are no more countries and we all speak Chinese, people could be writing studies about it.

After two and a half decades collecting dust in the back of the closet – they’re back! Roller-Skates – like when we were little, like in the movies – are getting more and more popular in the streets of Paris.

In their presence, Images of Olivia Newton-John and ‘The Village People’ pop immediately into the mind of the beholder, along with a sudden urge to put on a pair of hot pants and go disco.

Skates can be made now out of any pair of basketball shoes, avoiding the whole Ice Capades allure. This little detail goes a long way, making the look much easier to wear. Before going to Nomades, 37 Bld Bourdon 75004 Paris (Place Bastille), choose carefully the shoes you’re about to slaughter, and count 108-120 Euros to put wheels on them.