Gender Blender

Fashion Beyond Gender

Category: Fashion

  • Trip to Vienna #1

    Trip to Vienna #1

    Taking advantage of the fact that the global situation with the corona virus pandemic did not add to much travel during the summer, we visited Vienna twice and once Venice to see and experience these iconic places without hordes of tourists. We have already written about a trip to Venice here, and this is an article from the first trip.

    As always, enjoy, comment, share, and if you don’t want to miss something, sign up. 📧 😘

    Breakfast at Café Central

    Because we lived in a hotel across the street, we went to the amazing Café Central for breakfast everyday. Be sure to try Klassisches Wiener Frühstück with Wiener Melange Kaffe („Viennese style coffee“, espresso infused with hot water and frothed milk), and enjoy its amazing atmosphere packed with history.

    The café was opened in 1876, and in the late 19th century it became a key meeting place of the Viennese intellectual scene. Key regulars included: Peter Altenberg, Theodor Herzl, Alfred Adler, Egon Friedell, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Anton Kuh, Adolf Loos, Leo Perutz, Robert Musil, Stefan Zweig, Alfred Polgar, Adolf Hitler, and Leon Trotsky. In January 1913 alone, Josip Broz Tito, Sigmund Freud, and Trotsky (the latter being regular) were patrons of the establishment.

    The Secession Building

    The Secession Building is an exhibition hall in Vienna, Austria. It was completed in 1898 by Joseph Maria Olbrich as an architectural manifesto for the Vienna Secession, a group of rebel artists that seceded from the long-established fine art institution.

    Stefanplatz and surroundings

    Originally only half the size the square was expanded when a row of houses separating it from Stock-im-Eisen-Platz, today the two areas are considered one. Outside the original city walls the platz became part of the city in around 1200 but it wasn’t until 1978 with the opening of the U-Bahn station that the square became central to the city.

    The Hundertwasserhaus

    The Hundertwasserhaus in Vienna is a building designed by the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser and located in the 3rd Viennese district. The extraordinary building was constructed between 1983 and 1985. It was architecturally realized with the collaboration of architect Josef Krawina as co-creator and the implementing architect Peter Pelikan.

    Famous LUGECK | Figlmüller Vienna schnitzel

    Unfortunately, the traditionally renowned Figlmüller restaurant was closed due to a pandemic, but its Viennese schnitzel was served in the LUGECK restaurant a few meters away. And as usual, Michaela and I had one serving in half. Be sure not to miss this experience when visiting Vienna.

    Long before opening Lugeck, brothers Hans and Thomas Figlmüller took an active interest in Viennese tavern culture. They dusted off and studied their grandmother’s old cookbooks and heavily researched the traditions of Austrian cuisine, as well as the countless taverns, which plated such dishes. With the research done came the idea—revive traditional Viennese cuisine and classic tavern culture at Lugeck.

    The Volksgarten

    The Volksgarten (English: People’s Garden) is a public park in the Innere Stadt first district of Vienna, Austria. The garden, which is part of the Hofburg Palace, was laid out by Ludwig Remy in 1821. The park was built over the city fortifications that were destroyed by Napoleon in 1809. The Volksgarten was opened to the public in 1823.

    Hofburg Palace

    The Hofburg is the official residence and workplace of the President of Austria and was formerly the principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. It is located in the center of Vienna and was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn Palace was the summer residence.

    Gerstner K. u. K. Hofzuckerbäcker

    Pleasure on three levels is on offer at Gerstner K. u. K. Hofzuckerbäcker – the Imperial and Royal Court Confectioner – with shop, bar and café-restaurant in the magnificent Palais Todesco near the Vienna State Opera.

    We never miss the opportunity to have their walnut cake here. 🍰

    Evening walk

    And finally a few more photos from the evening walk in Vienna. We went to the LUGECK restaurant again, but this time only for a beer. 🍺

  • Our Wedding One Year Ago

    Our Wedding One Year Ago

    On the occasion of our annual anniversary, we would like to thank to our family and friends for being with us, because without you, it wouldn’t be a D-day that has become unforgettable for us. THANK YOU once again to all who came and enjoyed our special day with us. Pictures are more than words, so enjoy over 400 pics included and feel free to comment. 🙂

    Michaela and Vlasta

    Morning preparation

    Guests Gathering at Church

    Arrival to the Church

    Wedding ceremony

    Joint photography

    Family & Friends Congratulations

    Family & Friends photo

  • Tip No. 1 – Dress according to your age

    Tip No. 1 – Dress according to your age

    So let me as a woman dive little deeper with the first tip mentioned in previous post What the girls know, but no one told the boys. 🙂

    I’m sure we all know that. We look at a photo of a beautiful model in a perfect outfit, and we long to look the same. We browse e-shops, we will find the same or similar clothes that we buy and wait impatiently for the package to arrive. And here it is. We eagerly open it, dress new pieces and … that’s not it. What happened? There may be several reasons, but the most common reason is that the model on photo was young, slim, tall, with ideal female proportions. And lets face it, even most of us women doesn’t look like her. It’s called marketing. But anything she puts on would suit her, even a bag from potatoes.

    We all grow old, we all change, we all know it. In the first third of life, we look forward every day to being older, taller, more mature. Then, unnoticed, the time comes when we look in the mirror every birthday and slowly come to realize that we are no longer teenagers. Our body is changing. Everyone changes differently, it depends on how we care about ourselves, what genetic predispositions we have, what health shape we are in.

    We must learn not only to live with our wrinkles, degrading skin and hair, altered proportions, but also with the fact that we can no longer wear everything that comes to our mind. But I think that by following a few simple guidelines, we can enjoy fashion at any age. But don’t get me wrong, if I am talking about age, it means how you look and feel, not exact biological number.

    Couple of guidelines for you to help

    • Be careful with miniskirts. We all enjoy miniskirts, it’s a bit of a symbol of femininity and every boy who wants to wear a skirt wants to have it. BUT…. The miniskirt is tolerable even at a later age, if you have nice legs, but it must be combined with higher boots, nylons and ideally the upper part of the clothing should cover the maximum. It always looks more elegant when only one half of the body is exposed. For example, when I show my legs in a short skirt, I wear a turtleneck, and vice versa, when I wear a long skirt, I can have a neckline or short sleeve. In short, we must leave something of the body covered, so that there is room for imagination.
    • Bare arms and shoulders until 25, then I’d rather not. Of course, there are exceptions, as always. But spaghetti straps or a sleeveless outfit is nice when you have bony shoulders. If you like this piece of clothing, try throwing a light sweater over your shoulders. Pay attention to the quality of the skin, if you suffer from acne or do not want to shave, forget about this part of clothing. It will never look nice.
    • Easy with neon colors. Enjoy neon colors on your nails and in summer. It looks a bit “fiercely young” on clothes from a certain age.
    • You will look younger in lighter colors. Pastel tones are cool, and will do the trick.
    • Leave the pictures on the T-shirts to the young generation. If you can’t do without it, go jogging in it, or do housework. 😊
    • Avoid wearing scarfs or shawls. Even if you feel that the scarf or shawl is nice accessory or hides something, usually it is not so. Boys have a shorter neck than girls and a scarf will shorten it even more. A shirt or a T-shirt with a collar will do you a better service.
    • Try a hat, straw hat or panama hat. But beware, not everyone is a hat type. For example, Vlasta does not look good in any type of hat. Just don’t overdo it with the size of the crimp. The smaller the figure, the smaller the crimp.
    • Look for inspiration from celebrities. You can take advantage from celebtrities fasion. But whenever you are looking for inspiration from the stars on a silver screen, look at women your age and similiar figure.
    • Don’t wear poor quality clothing. I prefer less clothes, but quality. Clothes from the Asian markets or e-shops like AliExpress are not expensive, but the quality of the fabric, workmanship and cuts is usually not very good, to put it mildly. And it’s recognizable at the first sight! As we age, we are expected to advance to some level of society, including better clothing. Most of you definitely have expensive and quality suits in your wardrobes, so why should you suddenly wear a lower quality dress or skirts?
    • Don’t lean forward, smile. The older we get, the more we tend to hunch over. When you straighten up and smile, you immediately look younger. We have such a trick. Imagine that you have a string on the top of your head and someone is still pulling you up. Just focus on that, when you are walking on street. You will see what immediate effect this has. You radiate confidence and pride, look younger, surprise your surroundings and feel amazing. And it often discourages unbalanced individuals from making silly remarks to your address. So you achieve several goals at once. Isn’t it great?

    So let’s look at a few examples

    • Skirt is too short, and the shirt with bare shoulders is too much for Vlasta’s age.
    • For the red pumps is much better to wear longer skirt and T-shirt. Because of the longer skirt, he can have short sleeves.
    • Skirt with over the knee boots looks much better, but the shoulders are still too much.
    • That’s how it suits Vlasta best. With short skirt over the knee boots, and a light sweater with long sleeves at the top. And voila! He doesn’t look like a cheerful schoolgirl.

    And my summary at the end 🙂

    Don’t think of this article as a dogma, but rather as a few tips that could help you better orient yourself in the world of women’s fashion. Nor does it mean that with age, your style must look like an old aunt. Not at all. I was just trying to say that it’s good to think about whether your outfit is more for someone younger or for someone much older.

    I wish everyone a lot of courage and freedom in fashion and fun and joy it brings to your life. It’s a feeling that as a girl, who can wear whatever she likes, I can’t fully and trully experience, and you have my admiration for it.

    Hope it helps and feel free to express your thougts in comments bellow.

  • What the girls know, but no one told the boys

    What the girls know, but no one told the boys

    Looking at the picture above, you will immediately realize how different and diverse women’s fashion is compared to men’s fashion. And this picture does not cover all areas of women’s fashion at all, but only serves as an illustration of how different these two worlds are.

    When Vlasta and I met, we realized that there are things that girls know and do subconsciously and automatically, but they are a big surprise to men. For men who like women’s clothes and struggle with shyness, it is difficult to ask anyone for advice. After all, it is a hot topic, and these things are hard to discuss with the boys having a beer, don’t they? They sometimes have a natural shyness to their loved ones, and if you do not have a girlfriend to help you, it is hard. That is why we thought we might try to help this community.

    So what are we coming up with?

    We can offer something like a fashion consultancy for men who would be interested in it. We assume that it is much more difficult for most men to orientate themselves in women’s fashion, and therefore they will make mistakes that are much easier to avoid, if they follow the basic rules. You must have read and heard about these rules long before our article, and they are not a major discovery, and are valid for both sexes. However, men’s fashion is much simpler, and more forgiving of minor fashion transgressions.

    We are mainly based on our experience and a lot of combinations that we tried on Vlasta. At the same time, we respect that each of us likes something different, but the final impression should still be flattering and nice.

    And just like in photography, it is true in fashion that by following a few simple guidelines, you can very quickly improve your style and appearance.

    And what guidelines do we consider important?

    1. Dress according to your age
    2. Dress for the occasion
    3. Dress the right size
    4. Dress according to the type and proportions of your figure
    5. Focus on posture
    6. Less is sometimes more
    7. Use the correct color combinations
    8. Wear the right accessories
    9. If you go with a partner, “get along”
    10. Pay attention to personal hygiene (trimmed nails, shaved legs, regular visit to the hairdresser)

    This is not complete list at all, but we think these rules are particularly important for most important reason: self-esteem.

    If men want to wear clothes according to what they like, and not to what social conventions expect from them, several things must come together to create the desired result. Because how these men look is subject to a much greater critical view than in women. At the same time, depending on how you look, you also feel. If you don’t feel well, your self-esteem will drop, your surroundings will notice, and you feel embarrassed. And you are in a vicious circle.

    Sometimes we say “it’s quite nice, but it’s a shame that…” about the photos that men share on the Internet. So we said to ourselves that we would like to offer those who would be interested to “evaluate” their outfit with possible advice on how to improve it. The only condition is that they will agree that it will be public. But we say that going public in such an outfit requires a lot more courage.

    We have also decided to address each of the above points in more detail in future contributions. Also add some advice on how and where to shop, and possibly where and what not to buy.

    Subscribe to our blog, if you would like to stay informed. 🙂

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  • Just FB integration test :-)

    Just FB integration test 🙂

    We were trying some tweaks with the plugin which seemed not working properly. Nothing except the one of the pics is here. 🙂

  • Cycling & Beer by the river

    Cycling & Beer by the river

    We fine-tuned our outfits in the morning, so it didn’t look like one was going to the theater and the other for a picnic. The length of the skirts is also important. Finally, Vlasta found a use for his fishnet tights, which I usually smirk at. They look beautiful with a long pleated skirt. Pumps everything fine-tuned. You will definitely agree with me that it is an elegant outfit for a light ride through the city by bike. I’m wearing the same skirt, it’s just gray. We know from experience that we look like fools in exactly the same outfits. 🙂 Our skirts fluttered beautifully, people were amazed and we enjoyed a beautiful sunny day.