In winter its hard to see the colours of life. And i don't mean nature. In Germany, once it gets cold, everyone seems to hide under thick black coats. I had planned to do a video on the cool fashion people of Berlin but was heavily disappointed. Everywhere: black winter coats.
I had to give up on the video idea and move it to a time when Jack Frost is not making all people hide underneath goose feathers.
Today, when i went to the Modern Graphics comicbook store, i decided to browse down Oranienburg street and suddenly stopped in total suprise. Colours, cuts and cute designs! I stood in front of a store called Chapati.
Now alternative fashion is usually quite pricey but the sale sign seduced me to come inside. There i was greeted by a comfy coffeeshop corner and a cute brunette shop assistant who was open for a chat when i asked her about the fashion. Chapati is a Berlin fashion label who specialises in fair trade and organic materials. When you think "fair trade" you might instantly associate the label with hippi clothes and random dye. However, the store contained a great mix of clothes for different styles. Elegant, cute, alternative, practical and comfortable, there was a sheer abundance of colours patterns and material. The store was much larger than i thought and the variety of styles made me spend about 3 hours on browsing. The sale made even the cozy and warm winter collection affordable and they also had a section for "second choice" clothes upstairs. What i also found exciting to see, was their section on unique clothing items. If you pick one item of the unique selection you are the only one with that item on the streets. Fashion like that is usually unaffordable for a student like me, but at the store those pieces were mostly priced like the regular collection. I also liked their "click and go" skirts. You can adjust them to different sizes and even wear them inside out. I must have tried on their whole collection and am still considering if i should go back tomorrow to get my favourite one.
Three hours later i had spend my money on a long skinny short coat for €19 (original price €75) out of soft and velvety cotton and a second white coat that had caught my eye for €29 (original price €75). What i find especially charming is that both of them have pointed hats that end in a little bell. Not loud enough to annoy you when walking but definitely setting a unique accent. The zip is a little heart too. The white coat even has some lace at the sleeves and torso so i think i might see if i can wear it with my lolita fashion dresses.
Reading the bilingual catalogue now one sentence stands out for me "Chapati design contributes the (to?) making life colourful, through our joy in colour and fairer through responsible trade, and as a result of these to making people happier."
Fair and fancy, i enjoyed my spontaneous shopping experience at the Berlin fashion label.
And once i got back home i could snuggle up in my velvety coat, read my new yuri manga and just be happy and warm, knowing i bought something good.
If you are curious the webpage to Chapati is www.chapati.de
Thanks for reading.
Hope you are warm and snuggly too.
Love
X
Cat
No comments:
Post a Comment