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While I’m well aware that Coachella came and went, I am also aware that this is not the be all, end all of music festivals… Festival season is a long, hot, globe-trotting period of weekend get-a-ways and too much beer in plastic cups. While Spain may not be at the top of many band’s tour schedules, this country has plenty of music events to boast.
I’ve realized, for a girl living in Madrid, I post very little on this incredible city. And while I could write for hours about all the Spanish capital has to offer, I figure small doses might be better. So I’m starting out by wandering the streets of probably my favorite neighborhood in the city: Malasaña.
As I spend a lazy Friday afternoon sniffling against a cold, and sipping green tea; I find myself watching reruns and old movies. Cliche as it may be, Annie Hall is one I return to time and time again. Annie Hall’s style has been referenced so often, you could say she is the icon when it comes to androgynous dressing. But her style would be nothing without the quirkiness and eccentricity that comes from being a female role in a Woody Allen film. The men’s button downs, wide legged trousers, thick rimmed tortoise rims… all copied and replayed by anyone who claims themselves fashionable. But it’s the fact that nobody else sounds that cool using the word ‘neat’, that makes her so memorable.
Just a few of my favorite things about the capital of tea, mod style, and everything royal:
1. Going thrift-hunting in Spitalfields market: wool felt hats, 1£ CD’s, and peter-pan collared dresses.
This past Thursday I took a bus from campus down to the nice fancy part of town where I felt like royalty for an afternoon in the company of the master, Yves Saint Laurent.Well, fine, it wasn’t exactly with the real person seeing as the world unfortunately lost the great visionary back in 2008. But I did enjoy the company of his legacy: his most beautiful creations exhibited by the Fundación Mapfre and Fondation Pierre Berge, his long time partner in crime.
My friend Lexy told me about this a while back and, after a month in Ethiopia, this whole idea makes a lot of girl-power and ass-kicking sense: It’s called The Girl Effect. It starts with investing in a 12 year old girl; letting her know that she has a chance to escape poverty by her own doing. It starts with keeping her in school, where she might be safer from being married off, getting pregnant or having to sell her body at the age of 15; giving her the tools to learn and think for herself… To be the one who starts the family business.
After a summer spent in Ethiopia, these are only a few of the many things I wanted to revisit in photos: