Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Fashion tourists


This week I've discovered a new favourite song . Although it's been doing the rounds for a while now, it really is a must-see. And, it's acted as a bit of an inspiration for this week's entry.

I think the reason this song struck such a chord with me (if you'll pardon the pun) is because living in Berlin full-time, I've started to notice an influx of very confused fashion tourists entering my adopted city over the last few years.

Take a look at the chap above for instance. Now, he's clearly making too much effort. The hi-top shoes and the embroidered jacket are already pushing the envelope. But the shoulder bag just takes the game too far. No genuine Berliner would ever do this. He is either a footballer for Hertha BSC and earns way too much, or he is a "fashion tourist" from out of town. I'm tipping the second option.

The thing about Berlin is: it's fashionable, because it is liberal in it's attitudes. Locals wear crazy combinations of things either because they don't have anything else to wear in their closet or because they have designed the clothes themselves. Most of the time they get into the clubs and bars wearing whatever they want, because people here appreciate a bit of originality. Now, that's cool.

I'm no fashion guru, but buying a full wardrobe of "cutting-edge" stuff in Shoreditch before you come across on your 29 pound Ryanair flight for the weekend is, I think quite clearly, not cool.

Monday, September 20, 2010

"Das Derby"

Just in case you've had your head in the sand the last few months, Berlin's biggest football club, Hertha, are back in the second division this season.

Euroblog's hard working journos have determined that Berlin is the only European capital without representation in it's national first division football competition. We're pretty sure this news is an exclusive.

How did it all happen? After loving Lucien Favre to bits in 2008/2009, Hertha Berlin dumped him early last season after a string of bad results and signed up Friedhelm Funkel. Things went from bad to worse with him at the "helm" and - before you could say Marko Pantelic - the team from the capital was the laughing stock of the country and got demoted.

Hertha's traditional rival meanwhile, Union Berlin, has come from the other direction. The Köpenick-based club has worked its way up from the regional leagues to the second division in three years. After starting strongly last season, they ended their debut period in the middle of the table.

So, what most people thought could never happen, is now reality. Union v Hertha - in the 2nd division. Adding a little bit of extra spice to the all too predictable media beat-up, is the fact that Union come from the former communist east, while Hertha are the traditional West-Berlin club.

The first derby of the season was on Friday. The game, played at the "Stadion an der Alten Försterei", ended in a drab 1-all draw though. Bit of a let down really....especially after such a long article.