Stylish people in real life- Catalina
Catalina is a 28 year old web entrepreneur. She describes herself as a: “pragmatic dreamer. Experimental person. Business designer. Tango dancer. Co-founder & Proud Host of Bucharest Hubb. Co-founder of Tangomeet.com. From time to time, blogger at Fashionurbia.me and Catalinarusu.me. Interested in web, entrepreneurship, metaphysics, design, painting and fashion.”
About her shopping habbits: “I used to love shopping in brick and mortar stores. It was like therapy for me. But, not anymore. It actually became the opposite. So I try to avoid them as much as possible. However, I enjoy a lot brick and mortar concept stores or small shops with strong personality, not only for the products they sell, but also for their interior design, their statement and general atmosphere. As for the online shops, they are my rescuers. And I love them for this. Besides the fact that you have instant access to products worldwide, you can enjoy a zen shopping session as well. ”
She says what inspires her is knowing the story behind a piece of clothing. “ I don’t care about its label, but about why that garment exists, what is its purpose and the purpose of its creator, what does it stand for. And I am not saying that a dress with a well known label on it can’t have a story. Recently, I stumbled upon a Belgian online concept store,http://honestby.com/, which allows transparency into the entire costing of each garment (from where the fabric was sourced, to how many hours of labour went into it). I think it’s an amazing statement. I’m also inspired by vintage clothes because of their history. It’s like a travel in time. So, I appreciate the story and the history in clothes.”
When I asked Catalina if she could define her style in a few words she told me : “I was talking this morning to my friend and I found myself saying that an inconsistent person is actually an authentic one. Invariably, if you want to provide a sense of security to people around you, you need to pretend a little bit, in a non-manipulative way of course. As we are changing all the time in our perceptions, thoughts, emotions in linear and circular ways, sometimes so fast that it might become extremely uncomfortable and difficult, even scary for those interacting with us. But then it’s also amazing when you find people that can truly bare your authenticity and not take it literally or judge you. The big luck is that with fashion is totally opposite. It’s OK to be inconsistent, changing, as we appreciate and need visual diversity. I like this definition that Tom Ford gives to style: “Style for me is someone who figures out who they are, what works on them, what they feel good in and develops their character. And the outer expression of their character is what is style.” I think fashion, actually arts in general, give us the opportunity to be inconsistent and not worry about it. Oh, too many words already. So, long story short, I like to believe I am inconsistent in my style, hence authentic.”
Talking about style icons: “For me, the classic Audrey Hepburn is stylish. I find her very sexy, and not by embracing the standards, but by being who she is. Also, I would go for Twiggy. From the contemporary models, Natalia Vodianova inspires me. I like she’s a career woman, mother, socially very much involved and, indisputably, she looks beautiful. I also find stylish, people behind all this new wave of expressing through web or non-web what they think, what they like, what they create in terms of fashion, beauty, visuals in general. And I also find amazingly stylish, women and men who despite age or context just do what they enjoy and wear what makes them feel good, and don’t care about “I should” or “It would be appropriate”. I also have a couple of women friends who inspire me very much through their style: Liudmila Matei, Diana Blinda and Manuela Plapcianu. You are one of them as well. And perhaps my most important style icon is my mother. ”
