Swedish Fashion Women's Edition: Hippie Tres Chic

I know I mostly whine about Swedish fashion here, and my inability to find nice staple pieces that aren't ubertrendy – but there is a style of Swedish fashion that I Love Love Love.

The problem is? Ouch on the price. And I really cannot excuse buying more than the occasional on sale item from these shops. (OK – truth be told? I'm a little stingy with money, esp. on clothing. I like to spend it on travel instead).

Back in the day I was a total crunchy granola hippie. These days, not so much. I'm in the corporate world and I don't completely identify with the 'crunchy mama' movement – if you don't know what that is, congratulate yourself and move on.

Back in the late 90's I mostly made my own clothes. Lots of patchwork. Lots of flowy dresses. Lots of colors. (Think Lena Ph  meets Grateful Dead)

I would like to find some clothing that embraced the essence of that look, without looking like I made it myself. And I'd rather not look like I just came off the road from Phish 1995 summer tour.

This is why I really love the store Noa Noa (I suspect Noa Noa is Danish – but 'skit samma')

If I had a little more money, or was less of a cheapskate I would shop there ALL the time. The clothing is pretty good quality and I love the look.

The average price of a pair of pants at Noa Noa will set you back almost 100$ and the dresses are usually around $200. Nice for a nice occasion, but not really what I want to spend on day-to-day wear.

Then there is Gudrun Sjoden – I drool over her catalog's fab photography and lovely clothing. Sjoden's prices are also above my usual price point – but I am not as sad about that as Noa Noa. I can not, for the life of me, find anything that has a flattering fit to it on me. I fall into the small side of Gudrun's range and they all end up looking like potato sacks. The items here usually start at 150$ per separate.

Then there is Odd Molly. This is the thing that upper middle-class mothers wear ALL the time. While I like the idea of Odd Molly, often times the clothing looks like the stuff I used to sew. And it comes with a 200$ price tag.

I used to make nicer shirts than this – these cost about 120$. Mine sold for 20$.

See, if I was going to spend 200$ on a dress, I would be buying a dress from Winter Kate, which is American, not Scandinavian. I admit, I loathe Nicole Ritchie, but I love these dresses. 

I think the moral of this post is that I, as an aging ex-hippie, find it difficult to pay designer prices to dress like a flower child. Also, now you know, I am cheap.

I also will point out that most of these companies have a great values system - fair labor practice and organic materials, which I really support. I also have no problem with the fact that quality clothes cost more. I get it. That's why I appreciate these labels, but I still cannot afford them. 

Thank goodness for H&M