On y va - Let's go to Zurich!

Some weeks ago I was fortunate enough to spend a long weekend in Zurich, Switzerland. I've never been there before, but since a friend of mine moved there over a year ago it was time for a visit. And I have to say it was worth it. Zurich is a very nice city, although I maybe overestimated its size. It felt quite small and traditional. And expensive as well. Since it is one of the centres of money in Europe I should have expected that. So it is no surprise that Zurich's old centre is full of big brand shops such as Tom Ford, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, etc. But what was more interesting were a couple of tiny local stores that were very individual and cool. Not shouting out big brand names I loved one of them most. On y va is located at Zähringerplatz right in the centre. Not only theyr clothes, bags and shoes were great, but what I loved almost more was their interior design. I guess that was expectable for an interior designer ;) But enough words now, here are the pics. And don't forget to stop by whenever you're in Zurich.

On y va, Zähringerplatz 15, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland
On y va

Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.

Today was a good morning. When I left the house I checked my mailbox and found my copy of Fifth Avenue, 5 a.m. which is all about the creation of Breakfast at Tiffany's. It is practically a must for everybody who loved the movie, the novel, Audrey Hepburn, Givenchy's little black dress and more.

The advance reviews were great and praise Sam Wasson's book as "A brilliant chronicle of the creation of Breakfast at Tiffany's", "... juicy incide story while giving Hepburn her due as a true modern original" or "Wasson has assembled a sparkling time capsule of old Hollywood magic and mythmaking. So finally the date of publication has come and I received my preordered copy. I can't wait to start reading.

Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. by Sam Wasson
available on Amazon now

Hats off to Viennese tradition.

This time I want to introduce you to another great example of a company that was able to survive more than 100 years and that found its way to combine traditional craftmanship and modern design. I'm talking about the most famous viennese hatter Mühlbauer. It has been founded it 1903 and is now owned and operated by the 4th generation of the family. Every hat is still produced by hand and they found there way into the shelves of the most famous warehouses of our time such as Bergdorf Goodman in NYC or Le Bon Márche in Paris. As a lover of hats I naturally stop by every now and then in their flagshipstore in Seilergasse and I often can't resist to buy one of those wonderful headgears. But I'm pretty sure that one can never have too many hats or shoes. Below you'll see some examples of their recent collection for fall/winter 2009/10.

Mühlbauer Hutmanufaktur, Seilergasse 10, 1010 Wien, www.muehlbauer.at

A touch of Japan.

I. want. that. shirt. Made by COS. Definitely have to check out their shop in Paris. Seen in "Men's Health Best Fashion - Spring/Summer 2009".

Cos, 4 Rue des Rosiers, 75004 Paris

Spectac(le)ular from Berlin.

Sunglasses. Reading glasses. Berlin-based. Handcrafted. Since 2003. MYKInderTAgesstätte. Loved by Brangelina & Co. New Store in Vienna. Must have!

Mykita Shop Vienna, Neuer Markt 14, 1010 Vienna, www.mykita.com