March 2009 Theme Day - Glass

This month's theme day is about glass. These pictures was taken from Brødrene Pedersen in city center. This shop sells everything you can think of dressing your table. Glasses and plates, cutlery and porcelain, every type of meal will be truly a grand occasion.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Why Blackglam Mink Coats Are Considered The Best Fur Coats Available

Blackglama, this is a name which embodies a sense of comfort, elegance, and undeniable style. Blackglama fur coats live up to these associations and more, as they are considered, and have been for a long while, to be one of the world's finest natural fur coats. Blackglamas are considered an American Legend, and have a history of glamour which would make anyone proud to be associated with, and part of.

Minks are considered the most commercially valued animal with fur, because the quality of the fur is so explicit. Combined with the fact that they offer a variety of different colors, which vary from dark brown to white and include patches of diverse colors on the stomach, throat, and back, it is needless to say that mink furs are preferred by many. The company of Blackglama agrees.

Prior to manufacture, each fur coat is inspected by experts. They do this to ensure that the coats which Blackglama produces are of the finest quality. Blackglama has a reputation for being one of the best in the world of fashion, and they must continue to live up to that reputation as they have for some time now.

The mink furs are so meticulously examined, that every quality of it is examined. Every quality from the texture, density, length, resilience, to the leather which is found beneath the fur (called pelts). Blackglama manufacturers consider the leather to be one of the most important facts when choosing mink furs. Thus, when purchasing a Blackglama, you are purchasing the best of both fur and leather.

The pelts are tested for flexibility, lightness, and a variety of different things. Blackglama's reputation includes not only finding and using the best fur, but also use pelts with flawless leather. With such a built-up, strong reputation, it is a little surprising that Blackglama has continued to live up to its name for many years, and are still going strong. They understand that it takes high quality materials to make a high quality product.

Blackglama not only provides its consumers with great quality, but pairs this great quality with attractiveness. They are considered to be a very attractive type of coat, because as they are well-known for their selection of superior colors. The coats chosen have a color which portrays both richness and complexity. As is probably obvious, Blacklama fur coats are quite difficult to imitate.

Blackglama makers know, and have known what qualities they need to have to be considered a high-quality coat. They have achieved and surpassed the art of producing a fur coat, only to deliver what is considered to be the most attractive, the softest, and the most resilient fur coat your money can buy.
By Gregg Hall

Narvesen

This is a franchising and they are all over Norway. They are selling books, magazines, newspapers, chocolates, chips, tobacco, etc. This shop is in the Culture House where cinemas and library are located.

Statue # 17

This is a statue of Berge Sigval Natanael Bergesen (1863 – 1956). He was a Norwegian shipowner and politician from Stavanger. He founded his own shipping company in 1887, Sigval Bergesen. Bergesen was member of Stortinget from 1903 to 1909. He held also several important board positions, among these chairman of the board of the Norwegian America Line from 1929 to 1939.

House Series # 65

This lovely brick house was built in English style. It is located between Radisson SAS and Clarion Hotel. It is a real town house, a more central address is impossible to find in Stavanger.

I can only say: 'What a lovely house'.

Boats in Winter Storage

Here are some boats in Breivik marina put on land for the winter. I hope they have secured them well, or something like this will happen.

Sailing Boats Packed Down for Winter

In Breivik Marina these sailing boats are sleeping through the winter. The sea is too cold for fun sailing this time of the year. Tomorrow I will show you a few that have been put on land.

Thormodsen Electrical Shop

Thormodsen is part of Expert branch of shop. This one sells smaller electrical appliances. We have bought lamps and oven there. It is a nice shop and they have many good things.

Doorway # 9

This is the entry to the Nikita hairdresser in city center. It has many branches in Norway.

Street Musician

This street musician was playing classical guitar, I have seen him playing many times around town center. He plays very well and my husband often drops coins in his guitar case.

Mæhle Clothes

Here is a shop for women, lots of nice design, even a comfortable sofa and lots of magazines for hubby to pass time when the woman try new outfits.

Trendy With Japanese Street Fashion

Japanese street fashion is a live example of innovation & ingenuity. Having carved a niche for itself Japanese street fashion has become a rage among the fashion gurus of the world. Among the leading fashion destinations of Japan are Tokyo, Harajuku, Ginza, Odaiba, Shinjuku, Roppongi, Shibuya etc. These are ideal places to shop for Japanese street fashion. Japanese street fashion has a variety of trends & styles for all categories. Japanese street fashion could basically be associated with the youth. Various styles are associated with Japanese street fashion like Gothic, Kogal, Bosozoku, Ganguro etc.

Gothic Lolita is a youth fashion among young Japanese women & teenagers. Elegant & sophisticated, these outfits include ribbons, laces, bonnets & large bows. The emphasis is more on Victorian style clothing, aiming to impersonate the appearance of Victorian porcelain doll. An attempt to imitate the American Californian look, Ganguro fashion is trendy among the Japanese youth especially women who go on to tan their skin, get their hair bleached & adorn trendy summer dresses. This style is considered to define modern Japanese women contradictory to the image of subservient, quiet, ideal, women. Yet another style in vogue is the Kogal style where young Japanese women flaunt latest clothes
Far more elaborate Japanese street fashion on the onset seems to be based on uncoordinated colors & dressing patterns

Salomonsen Clothes

Another nice shop in Stavanger Center, selling man's clothes. Take a look when you are here.

House Series # 64

This nice and well maintained house is located in Storhaug. They just changed the outside cladding, so now it is ready for another 50 years of comfortable living.

The Body Shop

The Body Shop International plc, known as The Body Shop, has 2,400 stores in 61 countries. Following O Boticario, a Brazilian company, The Body Shop is the second largest cosmetic franchise in the world. The company, headquartered in Littlehampton, West Sussex, England, was founded by the late Dame Anita Roddick and is known for its vegetable-based products ranging from Body Butter, Peppermint Foot Lotion, and Hemp ~ Wikipedia ~

This shop is located in the city central.

Hustvedt Kitchen Things and Toys

Yesterday I showed the end with toys, today the end with kitchen things and plates. You can enter both ends from inside shop so it does not matter which door you use.

Again, a nice shop full of useful things.

Toy Shop

This toy shop is located in central Stavanger. We have been there many times to buy toys and cuddly animals for our daughters. It is a very nice shop with friendly and helpful people.

This shop is divided in half, the other end is selling kitchen tools, plates and so on. This I will show it tomorrow.

View towards Rosenli

They close the street so the children can slide. A happy time for the children when snow is here.

Colorful Houses in Emmaus

Here are a neighbourhood in Storhaug called Emmaus. A nice quiet area.

Another Supply Ship

Here you see some of the containers and long boxes ready to be loaded onto the ship.

Tananger Base

Here you can see one ship bringing containers with tools, equipments, food, etc. to the oil platform in the North sea.

COPNO Quay

Looking out from 7th floor in Copno office in Tananger. Across the bay on the left is a marina for people in the area. On the right across the bay is an industrial area.

Punk Fashion Tips

Punk style emerged in the 1970s as an attitude-infused anti-fashion movement, and "true" punk persists today as such. Take a walk through your local mall, and you'll probably see a Hot Topic store, the main example of punk culture being trendily (and ironically) mass-marketed.

Don't let Hot Topic fool you. Popular punk style is a watered-down version of the real thing, which aims to deliberately shuck fashion trends rather than cater to them. Punk culture doesn't have a squeaky clean moral track record: it's infused with suggested (and sometimes real) violence. The Straight-Edge movement of the eighties, for example, tied punk style up with vehement opposition to drug use and swearing, to the point that skin-head-like punk gangs would beat up marijuana users, casual drinkers and dirty-talkers severely, with no recognition of the personal freedoms others should be granted.

That, of course, isn't really what punk's about. Straight-Edge tarnished the statements made by the style only a little. Punk is more broadly about dancing how you want, vandalizing a little (a real punk always carries a sharpie), speaking your mind, getting loud, challenging the assumptions of others, and being justified if you're angry.

Punk style lacks many gender rules. Most things worn by punk women can be worn by punk men, especially black jeans, which are usually tight. Recently, bondage pants have come into style (these are pants with straps and chains dangling between the backs of the legs), but are certainly not necessary. Plaid is very punk as well, in zippered pants and skirts, as well as suspenders. Two punk friends of mine, who are a couple, are about the same size. Despite being opposite sexes, they shared all of their clothes for a few years.

Black is a near-necessary color for a punk outfit, but not the only one: punk is not goth. The difference? Punk often uses black as a backdrop to accentuate a loud dash of bright color, rather than giving black center stage.

Punk isn't goth, nor is it emo: emo is the best name to use for the Victorian influenced, pretty, frilly punk now popularized by Hot Topic and recent music. Punk is more daring, more shocking, and more dangerous than emo.

Don't be afraid to rip your clothes: ripped is better. A tank top or "wife beater" (that's a men's sleeveless undershirt), especially if ripped, goes well over a brightly colored or black bra for women. With the awareness that a rip draws the eye, rip your clothes strategically,

By : Currie Jean

Punk Fashion History

70s Punk Fashion
1970's punk was seen largely as a backlash against glam rock and the socio-political climate in the UK. Punk clothing style was influenced by skinheads, Teddy boys and greasers and was often confrontational, D-I-Y, and anti-establishment. Designers Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren were pioneers of 70's alternative fashion. McLaren was influenced by bands such as The New York Dolls, and Vivienne Westwood's fashion designs drew inspiration from fetishism and BDSM clothing. Their clothes shop, SEX, was a hub of punk subculture, with regular visits from the Bromley Contingent and Adam Ant. McLaren and Westwood's shop was also where the Sex Pistols auditioned Johnny Rotten. The punk rocker fashion at that time consisted mainly of military or motorbike boots, leopard print, bondage trousers, safety pins, and customised blazers. Controversial T-shirts featured Cambridge Rapist and Tom of Finland designs.

80s Punk Fashion
Hardcore became the mainstay of early 1980's punk fashion, with bands such as The Exploited and Subhumans providing role models. The hardcore punk clothing style was predominately that of dirty, bleached and torn jeans, studded belts, DM boots and tartan kilts. More extreme hairstyles grew, as did the prevalence of body piercings, and tattoos became more extensive. Anarcho-punk was an off-shoot of traditional punk subculture and featured black military style clothes. Leather was typically avoided for ethical reasons, and hairstyles were limited by those products that weren't tested on animals. Since then, many factions, evolutions and fusions of subcultures have emerged. Alternative fashions borne out of them include cyberpunk clothes and gothic clothing.

Milenium Punk Fashion
With it's do-it-yourself ethic and it's anti-corporate message, anarcho-punk was something Jed Phoenix related to. She was veering more towards straight-edge and had a liking for black military style clothes. Her politics were also those of non-violence, anti-heterosexism and environmentalism, and her spirituality leaned towards Buddhism. Jed's T-shirt business, Obscure Labels, provided an opportunity to end a period of unemployment without compromising her unconventional lifestyle and alternative clothing style. Jed had a stall in The Electric Ballroom, Camden from 1999 where she sold her designs. In 2000, Brighton Museum approached Jed to submit an alternative outfit to their Renegades exhibition. She provided a pair of combat boots, a "devilish technohead" T-shirt with rubber applique and additional bullet spikes, and the second pair of pinstripe strap trousers she made on her grandmother's old domestic Singer sewing machine. All this under the title of "Queer Fetish Techno Punk". Jed's alternative clothing brand has grown into a full-time business since then, with collections such as "City Punk - Military style clothing with a kinky twist" and the "Self Tailoring range - taking the punk-rock look and alternative gothic style to a new level".

celebrities trend fashion

Step into avant-garde fashion by adding feather accessories to your clothes this fall and winter. Feather trend has been hitting the runways since spring, as well as worn by many celebrities such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Penelope Cruz and Rihanna. To my delight they are finally available everywhere! They can be worn on or be a part of pretty much anything: shoes, clutches, hats, jewelry, coats, dresses and other garments. I find feathers to be very angelic and elegant, so I’m definitely going to get more feathered items in my possession.

An Exotic Japanese Fashion

These days Japanese fashion is in vogue & has redefined itself from just being kimonos to a unique blend of traditional & contemporary trends. Japanese fashion basically involves the customization of outfits. From relatively simple, young to certain contemptible styles, Japanese fashion has it all.

Japanese fashion is a live example of innovation & ingenuity. Having carved a niche for itself Japanese fashion has become a rage among the fashion gurus of the world. Among the leading fashion destinations of Japan are Tokyo, Harajuku, Ginza, Odaiba, Shinjuku, Roppongi, Shibuya etc. These are ideal places to shop for Japanese fashion. Japanese fashion has a variety of trends & styles for all categories. Japanese fashion could basically be associated with the youth. Various styles are associated with Japanese fashion like Gothic, Kogal, Bosozoku, Ganguro etc.

Gothic Lolita is a youth fashion among young Japanese women & teenagers. Elegant & sophisticated, these outfits include ribbons, laces, bonnets & large bows. The emphasis is more on Victorian style clothing, aiming to impersonate the appearance of Victorian porcelain doll. This style is considered to define modern Japanese women contradictory to the image of subservient, quiet, ideal, women. Yet another style in vogue is the Kogal style where young Japanese women flaunt latest clothes, cell phones & accessories to exhibit their taste through their disposable income. Far more elaborate Japanese fashion on the onset seems to be based on uncoordinated colors & dressing patterns.

Summer, Sorry I was Dreaming . . .

Today was a soggy day, the snow was half melted and not much sun. So, I went to my archive and looked for a sunny day. This is what I would have like the weather to be, sorry all snow lovers. Today my dream is for something like the picture shows.

Birkemo

All children in Stavanger know this shop, even children over age 30. It is filled with train sets, models to built of cars, war things and so on. It has model cars, planes, helicopters, boats, etc. to be built and taken out to play.

It also sells costumes for all kinds of parties, like superman, princess, lion, scary outfits and so on. It also has magic sets so you can impress your friends doing simple tricks.

So in this dark part of the year, with long evenings, I advice you all to take a trip downtown to visit this shop. You can buy entertainment for hours and hours.

Belt Buckles Punk Fashion

As most music lovers say, music is a lifestyle, regardless of the genre. Whether it may be reggae, rock, metal, goth, punk, hiphop, or pop, people are showing their love for such music genre through their outward appearances and behavior such as the clothes and fashion accessories they wear.

You can see famous celebrities and music personalities wearing the latest punk accessories to complete their whole outfit and to give them more edge. But aside from the colorful and streaky hair, makeup, boots, and studded belts and cuffs, one accessory that seems to put the whole look together is the belt buckle.

Belt buckles are the latest craze in town, and you can see many people wearing different kinds of belt buckles to give their outfit a more unique and yet distinctive feel. Belt buckles ooze with personality, and it says a lot about the wearer. There are many types of Punk fashion belt buckles, and they come in various materials. There are even belt buckles that make use of Swarovski crystals to form the design.

Famous Punk fashion belt buckles include logos and insignias of your favorite band, guitar buckles, drum buckles, and many more. There are even buckles perfect for the emo punk, such as bleeding heart buckles, which can either be colored or pure platinum or silver. These belt buckles will look really good on Punk studded belts, and will really give your whole look a more Punk appeal.

Breiavatnet Covered by Snow

Clean and crisp, this is newly fallen snow. If you long for summer I have nice photos of a more sunny days here,here and here.

First Snow This Year

It was snow yesterday so I went out to take some photos before it were gone. We don't have much snow here in Stavanger. This photo is behind our apartment.

Fashion a Manifestation of Style in Time

Fashion is the second creation, style is the first. Fashion is born out of style, as individuals we create our own style each time we go to the wardrobe and put a collection of clothes together.

Styles that came into the fashion cycle in the 70’s are coming back and deemed original, but even in their 70’s heyday, e.g. the big checks owe their origin to Scottish tartan.

Thomas Burberry Noticing how local shepherds and farmers wore linen smocks, which were cool in summer and warm in the winter, he attempted to apply the same principles to other clothing.

The new material was untearable and weatherproof, whilst cool and breathable. It became the choice mackintosh for British officers during the Trench War in Europe, hence the name Trench Coat. Now we see men’s jewellery evolving, the name to watch

Statens Vegvesen

This is the offices of Rogaland Road Administration. They organize the repair of roads, scraping snows in winter and plan new roads and intersections.

Sculpture of a Møbius Strip

This sculpture is located outside the modern art museum next to the Mosvatnet lake. On the right you see part of the bench I posted few days ago.

New Rail Tracks in Paradis

This area just South of town center where used to handle goods brought by rail and moved on to trucks. This function is moved to South Sandnes now.

This area will most likely be covered in by buildings, apartments and offices. Myself would like to see the marina moved further out South, and the marina area used for beach and swimming.