Looking for a quiet place

If you're like me, getting work done at your house can be extremely difficult. Sitting in one's bed does not have the same formality as sitting at a desk. Since it doesn't really feel like work, taking a Facebook break every now and then feels totally normal. Until Facebook leads you down a Google hole and before you know it, several hours have passed and you have accomplished less than half of the tasks on your to-do list. So what are your options? 

When I lived in New York, my favorite study places were the Stephen A. Schwarzman building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street or the Science, Industry, and Business Library (SIBL) at Madison Ave and 34th Street. The former was the library with the famous lions and history filled the building. The latter was much more modern, but both places felt like great halls of knowledge. To me, they were like places of worship, and I immediately felt calm and serene when I walked through their doors. 

Reading Room at the Stephen A. Schwarzman building. Photo:bronxbanterblog.com

Lobby and lower level of SIBL. Photo: alspectorarchitecture.com

In Copenhagen, the Black Diamond became my place of respite. Again, the reading room in the old part of the library felt like old knowledge and I could imagine the students before me, huddled over their texts, furiously writing essays. The Black Diamond had an added bonus of a cafe in the atrium which served the best hot chocolate I have ever had the pleasure to enjoy. And if you were lucky, you could snag a free glass of wine during performances at the theater on the ground floor. 

But now I am in Germany and it has taken some time to find the right place that can be used as my surrogate office. My first thought was to find a nice library. But that proved more complicated than I originally thought. Most libraries in Munich have closed networks which require a student ID to access. Since I am no longer in school, this was not possible. But a thread on Toytown Germany said that you can get around this by signing up for a library card. I followed their advice and can confirm its accuracy. The only caveats are you need to have a valid residence permit and passport. Also, it does not give you access to all of the libraries and so far, the only one that I have been successful with is the Bavarian State Library (also known as Stabi) on Ludwigstrasse, which is also where I got my library card. I only tried it at two libraries, so your experience may be different. 

Another thing you should be aware of if you decide to come to Stabi is the place has one main reading room which gets packed. I came once on a Saturday afternoon and there were no seats available, at all. It was so crowded that students actually took to sitting and working on the stairs. My second attempt was successful, but at 10:30 on a Friday, there were only a few chairs to choose from. So come early or stay at home. 

The alternative to libraries would be a coffee shop. But, unlike many cities, WiFi is not a given and I have found far too many coffee shops without internet. Even more disturbing is the Coffee Fellows near Hauptbahnhof which actually charges for internet! If I can correctly recall the prices, I believe it was 10 euros for two hours and 20 euros for 4. WTF? Granted, if you buy food, the price of your items will be applied to the fee and I think it also granted you access to the multi-function machine. But still, 10 euros?

Luckily, I live in a cool part of town and discovered the place that has satisfied my needs, Trachtenvogl. The atmosphere is cool, the seating comfy, and the staff laid back. I can order a coffee for less than three euro, and stay there as long as I want, without any hassle or dirty looks from the waitstaff. And their music selection is on point, ranging from folk, rock, funk, and chill hip-hop. 

Look at all the Macs!

Trachtenvogl can also get crowded later in the evening and on the weekend. But many of the tables are large enough to share and can accommodate a big group or several small ones. 

If you're in the Munich area and have discovered the perfect work location, I'd love to hear about it. I'm always on the lookout for new spots and I'm pretty sure the people at Trachtenvogl will soon tire of me. At least I hope not. 

High Style, Low Cost Fashion

It the most wonderful time of the year

Oh my Lord, it is December 26th and for me, this is one of the high holy days of fashion. In the words of the great Martin Lawrence, "for 50% off, Jesus was born on the 26th." Last night, I checked some of my favorite online stores and many had already started their unbelievable markdowns. Even my favorite blog Jezebel got in on the action and listed some of the best sites that would give you the biggest bang for your money. But before you rush into any store and attempt to buy all the things, here's some advice: 

Use this as an opportunity to get the things you normally can't afford. The fashion hierarchy, from highest to lowest, is (generally speaking) coats > shoes > jeans and handbags > dresses > bras > sweaters > skirts > blouses. There are variations and you can always find exceptions to the rules, especially if you shop at fast fashion retailers like Forever 21, but this provides a general overview. Also, I included bras because for the busty gal, you'll have to pay for the support you need. Buying cheap in this category simply is not worth it. 

Now with the list in mind, evaluate your wardrobe and see what things are missing. This will help you to concentrate on the things you need instead of re-buying things you like. I.e., that black peplum shirt that is on sale for 25 euro is great, but not if you already have 15 black shirts and only one pair of jeans that are starting to fray in crotch due to chub rub. 

Another piece of pre-shopping advice is to concentrate on quality versus quantity. Style Digger has a great article about this, which I highly recommend. I think the biggest challenge for shoppers is knowing how to select quality pieces. At one point in time, a designer label was the guarantee of quality craftsmanship. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case and finding good pieces now takes a fair bit of effort. But it is not impossible, if you know what to look for. My mother studied fashion and one thing she taught me was to look at the print. On a well made garment, the print would continue across the seams, e.g, the stripes would match on both legs. On a cheap item, she said, "it looks like they just sewed two random pieces together." Additionally, I try to only buy natural fabrics. I sweat more than a menopausal woman, especially if I'm on my bike, so acrylic sweaters are not an option. I will grudgingly accept polyester, but that is only because it's almost impossible to shop vintage and avoid it. In my personal opinion, leather, wool, cotton, and silk just feel better than manmade materials. They allow my body to breathe which means that smells do not accumulate on them as fast and easily as something that works as a personal sauna. Not to mention, leather ages while plastic falls apart.

Now with these lessons out of the way, let's concentrate on the meat and potatoes of the discussion, sales!

Go For the Good Stuff

To piggyback off of my advice of going for quality versus quantity and use today to buy the things that are normally out of your price range, stay away from cheap stores and go to the more expensive ones. For instance, avoid H&M and head into Weekday. The jeans in the former run on average, about 100 DKK while the latter sells jeans for 450 DKK. But today, you can get a great pair for only 113 DKK. Also available at Weekday are these two lovely jackets. 

The first one breaks my rule of natural fabrics, but it's mostly wool and cute enough for me to ignore the viscose it contains. Both are only 250 DKK and available here and here.
Edited: It appears that the price on the first jacket was 250 DKK only on December26th. So forget that nonsense and only focus your energies on the black asymmetrical bomber jacket instead. 

If you are in need of jeans and crave something a little more high-fashion and you're in the New York area, I recommend getting thee ass down to the nearest Lucky Brand store. Their jeans are everything you could want in a pair of pants. They are slimming, comfortable, and make your butt look amazing. Right now, most of their jeans are on sale for less than $40, marked down from $100+. Check them out here. Lucky also sells lovely handbags and traditionally marks them down by 50%. Right now, this blue tote is selling for $84 instead of the normal sale price of $164. But if you don't mind yellow, you can get the same bag for only $62.49.

If you live in Denmark, things are little more complicated since everything in this country is SO.DAMN.EXPENSIVE. And if you find something that is "cheap", it is usually cheap quality. This is especially true for shoes. So if shoes are what you need, here are two options. The first choice, though it seems counter intuitive,is to take a trip to Magasin. Yes, it is expensive, but just like Irma, it too offers some deals. 

The above sneaker is currently on sale at Magasin for the low Danish price of 420 DKK. Sure, they're almost 500 DKK and barely qualify as cheap. But they are marked down from 1,400 DKK and are made of leather instead of polyurethane, meaning that they'll last much longer that the cheap versions on sale on Stroget. 

The second option is using the internet to access things beyond Denmark's borders. As long as you stay in the EU, you won't have to worry about paying VAT and often the shipping is less than what you would pay for in-store prices. Including shipping, the shoes below are still less than 300 DKK from Topshop. 

Here's a word of caution: It is extremely hard to judge the quality of shoes when buying online. Just as important as material content is comfort and usability. If something hurts, pinches, or chafes they're useless. Also, a pair of heels that are too high for everyday use is equally bad. A pair of shoes that you never wear is just a bunch of money wasted. So factor this in as well as the cost of return shipping before you punch in your credit card number.

ETA: It has just come to my attention that my favorite vintage store in Copenhagen, Second Love, is currently having a sale where most of the merchandise is 50% off.

Photo: cphtreasures.com

This is, hands down, one of the best shops in Copenhagen. Located at Dronningensgade 55 in Christianshavn, it's just a few steps away from the metro and offers a great assortment of hand picked items. I purchased a pair of black wool, high waisted capri pants there that garners numerous compliments every time I wear them. So take advantage of their sale and stock up on high quality, simply lovely, vintage winter items. 

The goal of today is not to buy any and everything. I think a smart strategy is to use the sales to acquire the clothing staples you need and fill in the holes of your wardrobe. Try to buy high quality items that will last you for several seasons. Once that is accomplished, you can then splurge on special flourishes to make your wardrobe unique. 

Hope this helps, happy shopping!

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