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Hola Afaconados!

OMG! Yesterday easily classifies as the best day I’ve had since I’ve been here in South America. We went to the Feria de Recoleta or Outdoor Market of Recoleta located in Plaza Francia. I don’t think I have a word that can best describe the smorgasbord of goodies that awaited us in each tent. I can’t even say for sure just how many tents there were, but it was SO exciting!

This outdoor market offers everything…clothes, shoes, handbags, jewelry, toys, furniture, rugs…and MORE! And get this….it’s ALL handmade! It felt like we were shopping in the park. There’s food and games for the kids, and there’s even live music! The band was playing Reggae music…Amazing!

If you’re ever in Buenos Aires, this is definitely the place to be. Just remember that you have to make it out there on Sundays or holidays, as those are the only accessible days. Tents are open from 9am to 6pm. The prices are so unbelievably reasonable, I ended up asking one owner if I could just buy the entire table of brass bracelets that cost $15 pesos a piece! Do you know how much that is in US Dollars?! Okay, well let me help you….it’s like $4 dollars. And this is what they look like:

Brass Bracelet

By going to just this one outside market I was able to buy all of the souvenirs and trinkets I need for my family and friends back home. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to take pictures of the insides of the tents. The artisans all have signs posted in their tents stating that pictures are not allowed. I was able to get pictures of the outsides of the tents though. Here they go:

Tents lined up along the street

More tents

We stayed out there so long that people were packing up their tents to leave. I was sad to see them go. LOL! I’m still on the hunt for some vintage clothing so hopefully we can luck up on something soon. You know I’ll let you guys know Until next time!

Hola Afaconados!

My first night in Buenos Aires opened with a huge bang! After checking into our luxurious hotel, the Palacia Duhau Park Hyatt, we made our way to our rooms to get freshened up so we could meet downstairs for lunch and come up with a gameplan for the night. Guys this hotel is amazing! It’s very modern…complete with spa, gym, 3 restaurants, a fresh flower shop and there’s even an art gallery!

After eating lunch at the Duhau Restaurante & Vinoteca, which is located in the hotel, we determined that we would take in a Tango show at La Ventana later on in the evening and then continue the night at a nightclub called Jet.

I don’t know how many of you have ever seen a live Tango show, but this is a dance I really wish I knew how to do. The Tango is not just beautiful to watch, it’s also sultry and even a bit provocative (in a good way of course). When performing, the women and men wear costumes that look like this:

Tango Attire

For any of you wanting to achieve this sexy look, remember that “sexy” is the key word here. If you’re afraid to show a little skin, this look may not be for you. Tango fashion is all about deep v-necks, high splits, thin spaghetti straps and very low backs. Here are a few Tango inspired selections I found on the internet:

Dress with high split courtesy of www.asos.com

Missoni knit dress courtesy of www.polyvore.com

Susana Monaco One Shoulder Dress courtesty of www.polyvore.com

These looks are not hard to acheive by any means, but you have to let that skin show. Summer is here guys…what kind of Tango inspired look can you pull together for your next outing?

Until next time!

I’ve arrived safely in Buenos Aires, Argentina after a rather long wait to board our flight in Chile this morning. No matter how long it took, I’m glad to be here in one piece. Before I begin to think about my plans for Argentina, however, I’d like to first reflect on my last night in Chile. For our final evening, we visited the Vina de Martino winery. This place is definitely going up to the top of my list of beautiful, romantic places to visit. Here’s a quick recap:

Welcome to Vina de MartinoTerracotta vats filled with wine

Terracotta vats filled with wine

Me posing beside one of the vats

 

Vats filled with wine

 

How beautiful is this place?

Honestly guys, I have so many pictures of this place I couldn’t possibly show them all. Although everyone was told they could dress down to visit the winery, it seemed like an unspoken rule for everyone to add some sort of flair to their attire for the evening. Women dressed up their jeans with beautiful scarfs and high boots (suitable for the cooler temperatures), while the men donned a more business casual look, pairing jeans with suit jackets (minus the tie). Everyone looked like they could have easily stepped out of a Ralph Lauren advertisement. There is definitely a fashion “type” that goes with the winery scene. Think Tommy Hilfiger or Calvin Klein…..clean lines, traditional American fashion. 

The best way to sum up this romantic evening would be to say that the wine was delicious, the company was excellent and I just flat out had the time of my life here. If you’re ever in chile, this is a spot you should absolutely have on your list!

I look forward to sharing some great stories from my time here in Argentina. We’re staying at the Palacia Duhau – Park Hyatt Buenos Aries and it is breathtakingly gorgeous! Stay tuned!

Hey Everyone!

The next stop on my fabulous South American trip will be Buenos Aires, Argentina. But first, I get to enjoy my last night in Santiago. Today we’re visiting a winery named Vina de Martino. Wine is a big deal in Chile. In fact, Chile is now the fifth largest exporter of wines in the world, and the ninth largest producer. I’m looking forward to seeing this:

Chilean Vineyard

De Martino Vineyard in Chile

As I begin the painful process of packing for my flight in the early morning, I thought I’d do a little research to see just what types of fun and exciting things are in store for me in Argentina. I plan to learn how to Tango while I’m there, and I can’t wait to see what kinds of art and jewelry they have to offer. We hit paydirt at Pueblito de los Dominicos so I’m hoping to find something comparable there. Fashion Week in Buenos Aires was in February. I hate that we missed it….I can only imagine how wonderful it would have been to be there at that time. Oh well, I’ll be hitting you guys up when I get there! Until next time…..

Buenos Dias Afaconados!

As promised, I made my way out yesterday to explore the Chilean arts and crafts scene and it did not disappoint! My first destination was to a place called San Cristobal Hill. Although not related to my primary purpose for venturing out, it’s still a very notable mention. Located in Northern Santiago, San Cristobal Hill rises 800m above mean sea level and about 300m above the rest of Santiago. At its peak, sits a 22 meter statue of the Virgin Mary. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would not believe it really existed. It’s breathtaking! See below:

Statue of the Virgin Mary at the top of San Cristobal Hill

To get to the top of the hill you have to take a tram called the “Funicular” that goes up the side of the hill on what looks like train tracks. Going up was a little scary considering how high up we were going but the view at the top will seriously leave you awestruck:

The view from the top of San Cristobal Hill

I got lucky and found someone to take my picture

After San Cristobal Hill, and a short visit to the hotel to collect my Bestie, it was on to the next destination. We hopped on the red subway line at El Golf and took it all the way to the end, which brought us to Los Dominicos. At this stop, we visited the Pueblito de los Dominicos. According to everything I’ve read about shopping in Santiago this is the place to go to buy the best artisan goods. This craft village contains more than 150 workshops that sell ceramics, furniture, paintings, sculptures, jewelry, leather goods AND clothes! I felt like I was in artisan heaven! We got there a little late so a lot of the stores had already closed for the evening, but what we were able to see was fantastic! The detail that goes into the jewelry is amazing and the prices are more than fair. Some of the owners can even be bargained with. Chilean artisans use a lot of copper in their jewelry designs and we were lucky enough to get a chance to see some master artisans at work:

Chilean Artisan at work

Another Chilean Artisan in the same store

Chilean Jewelry

My Bestie and I decided we were slighted by “time” and needed to have another visit to this wonderful place before we leave for Argentina on Saturday. We will definitely be back!

Check out some of the other goodies we found there:

Chilean Leather Goods

 

Chilean Art

More Chilean Art...I WANT this painting

Chilean Rugs

I hope you all enjoyed these pictures as much as I enjoyed being here to take them. It’s moving to see so many artists doing what they love. Until next time!  

Hola Afaconados!

I’m on my own today and I’ve decided that this will be the day I venture out into the city to discover some of the Chilean arts. I’ll have much more to report upon my return, but I’m really looking forward to seeing how talented the artisans are here. My mission will include finding anything from paintings to handcrafted jewelry and handbags. Since fashion is art, I find it meaningful to explore all of the different facets of artistry. It’s amazing how much inspiration can come from a painting….color concepts, fabric selection, etc. I’ve read that street art is big here so I’m looking forward to seeing pieces comparable to the ones I’ve found on the internet. Check them out:

"Tiempo Para Mirinaque" by Chilean artist Gino Intveen

Mural art by Chilean artist Patricio Madero

Chilean Street Art

 Until next time….Buenas Tardes!

My apologies for taking so long to write my first article via Santiago, Chile. It took me longer than I anticipated to get acclimated to my new surroundings. I’m ashamed to report this to you guys, especially after my previous article, but my ambition to pack light turned out to be just that. Let’s just say that while I didn’t have to pay an excess baggage fee, I did have to take two bags instead of the one I was hoping to take with me. I don’t know what happened! At the last minute I started feeling paranoid. I felt like what I had packed wasn’t sufficient enough and began frantically throwing random articles of clothing into my suitcase. Please don’t let my inability to fight the excess packing urge deter you from taking the advice I wrote in the article.

Anywho, I’m really excited to be here! Santiago looks like a well developed city. I’m staying at the Ritz Carlton which is in close proximity to a lot of office buildings. I have to be honest in saying that what I’ve seen so far of Chilean fashion in the city is very limited. It looks like everyone here wears business attire. Not that business attire is a bad thing, but for my purposes, it just doesn’t work. There’s no thinking outside the box when it comes to business attire. For this reason, it is with deep regret that I tell you I’ve been unable to find any interestingly dressed people on the streets to take pictures of. What I have been inspired by, however, are some of the buildings here. They’re very structured with clean lines. The following pictures are of two of the buildings I photographed, along with the fashion that inspires me as a result of the architecture and design of the buildings. I hope you enjoy them. Until next time….Buenas Tardes!

Chilean Building

Versace Spring Collection 2012 paired with the Chilean building above. Photo courtesy of www.fashionblogger.com

Chilean Building with Lattice detail

Alexander McQueen Latticework Corset Belt. Photo courtesty of www.polyvore.com

Lattice Pump courtesy of www.styleguru.com

So my flight leaves for Santiago on Sunday night and I just decided to pull out my suitcase to pack. I’m a serious procrastinator when it comes to packing…like really last minute. It’s always been easy for me to pull off the last minute packing thing because I just throw my entire closet in my suitcase, come to grips with having to pay for the extra weight…and there you go! Well not this time. I’m going to be gone for two weeks and I want to make sure I save some room for my suitcase as well as my pockets.

I’ve determined that just because I want to pack light, that doesn’t mean I have to compromise being stylish. I just have to improvise a little Since I plan to do a lot of walking, my primary concerns are having comfortable clothes AND shoes. I went to Target this evening and racked up on some cute tanks and V-neck tees. The V-neck tees were $8 a pop and they had a variety of great colors. I settled on 3 of those. My Bestie gave me a phenomenal Yarnz scarf for Christmas one year and the best thing about it is that I can wear that scarf with any one of those tees. And with a variety of different options for wearing a scarf, I can make it look like I’m wearing a different scarf everyday! I’ll finish off the look with my Urban Outfitters fedora, Old Navy Sweetheart Skinny Jeans and some $16 canvas slip-ons I got from Target that are super comfy. See below:

$8 Target V-Neck Tees and Bestie-Gifted Yarnz Scarf

I got an even better deal on the tanks. After using my online coupon for Target, I got two tanks for $3 each. They were regularly priced at $6. After pairing those with an H&M scarf that cost $11.95, my fedora and skinny jeans, these are some additional looks I’ll be taking with me:

$3 Target Tanks, Urban Outfitters Fedora, H&M Scarf and Old Navy Skinnies

Pretty cool huh? 5 outfits that won’t force me to compromise my style, and that won’t take up much space in my suitcase! Of course this is not all I’ll be taking, but just look at the amount of space I’ve saved with these options!

Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!

First and foremost I’d like to thank you for taking time to read my blog. Through this platform, I look forward to having a lot of shopping experiences with deals and steals to share, excursions and adventures to report on, as well as provide some fashion tips and tricks. I expect this blog to evolve over time so please bare with me as I continue to figure out all of this WordPress stuff.

To start off, “Afaçonado” is a term I created to describe a person who is an “Aficionado of Fashion”. As far as the name of the blog itself, I have my Jamaican parents (and ex-boyfriend) to thank for that. The word “Stushi” is a word Jamaicans use to describe a girl they deem to be “prissy”. My ex-boyfriend used it as a term of endearment to describe me to people and what can I say….it stuck

This is my very first article on this blog and it couldn’t have come at a more exciting time! I’m currently in the process of packing my bags for a 2 week trip to Santiago, Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina. I can’t wait to get there to explore the architectural buildings, walk the city and check out the fashion scene. I’ve heard that Santiago is a vintage paradise and I live for shopping in vintage stores. In addition to that, both of these countries have a huge selection of handcrafted jewelry and bags. I plan to get some great snapshots of all of these things while I’m there so please stay tuned! Check out a few of the things I found on the internet:

Copper Ring From Chile Courtesy of www.greennbrown.com

Chilean Copper Bracelet Courtesy of www.7loaves.com

Courtesy of www.bellaargentina.com