spruced by marlene

This is the haircut every woman has in mind when she picks up the courage to walk into a hairdresser to say: Make me look like Jean Seberg in „Breathless”, please. I know it’s the look I wanted when I wore my hair short. Except that my friend Nora pulls the style off in a way I never quite mastered. She’s not from Paris, but she might as well be. Her whole look is very French, based around a considered selection of classic pieces like slim black pants, striped tees, blue silk shirts and ballerinas, often finished with a bright red lip. So chic. Nora gets her hair cut at Salon Jasmin Kohlmayer in Munich. So next time you think about having your hair cut short, you know where to go to say: the look I have in mind is Nora’s.

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My birthday is coming up very soon. Okay, tomorrow. I made a crack in the dinner invitation about the fact that I will then be the same age as George Clooney was when it all started happening for him. I don’t know what Clooney’s beauty routine looks like. He so rarely invites me around his house to snoop around the bathroom. I imagine it involves slapping ice-cold water on his face and looking at himself lovingly in the mirror. Then he thinks about his friend Brad Pitt’s Chanel No 5 ad and laughs and laughs and laughs. If that’s it, it really works for him. The man has aged ridiculously well.

My beauty routine looks slightly different, but in celebration of tomorrow I’ll share some of the products that make me feel confident like Clooney. Some of them are recent discoveries, others long-time favorites, most of them I use every day. They come recommended by friends and professionals and through my own experience of trying a lot of stuff over the years.

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I left for a two-day trip yesterday with no less than eight bags. Eight. There was the handbag. Small pouches for within the handbag for stuff like lip balm, gum, months old subway tickets, you know, the kind of things you really need to be within arm’s reach at all times. A bag for my camera. A suitcase. A wash bag. Individual cotton bags for shoes. The only thing that didn’t have a proper bag was my notebook. Sure, it has a sleeve for protection. But either I stuff it into the already too full handbag, put it in the suitcase or even carry it in a canvas shopping bag. This has to stop. It’s a nice computer, it deserves a nice bag.

Only problem is: So far, I’ve found very few nice notebook bags out there. They either look like you could take them on an expedition to the North Pole, where they’d protect the computer from a potential attack by polar bears. Or they look absolutely beautiful, but cost as much an expedition to the North Pole.

Maybe you can help me out. Where can I find a simple, functional, preferably uni-coloured and not too expensive bag for my notebook?

Two of my favourite things right now. A pair of pointy flats that I found at H&M. Yes, H&M. Who’d have thought they’d make such beautiful leather flats? You can still find them here. Mine will accompany me all through spring. As will peonies. Nature just designs the most beautiful things of all.

“Übergangsjacke” – now there’s a word that will almost instantly kill my desire to shop. The expression sounds better in English, yet the image I have of transitional jackets is of something practical, possibly rainproof, likely dull. I should say: had that image. Because Saviana and her college jacket from French brand Gat Rimon changed my perception of transitional dressing. The jacket’s casual, yet still dressy, thanks to the silver sleeves, it’ll keep you warm on cool evenings and be light enough to wear in the sun.

Saviana got hers at Wald, one of my favourite shops in Berlin, which is run by the lovely Dana and Joyce. They recently opened an online store. Unfortunately, this jacket is already sold out. But! They stock another one by Gat Rimon in silver. And the last word that will pop into your head when you see it will be “Übergangsjacke”. Promise.