Stockholm, November 17

A weird thing happens every time I switch on the "genius"-function on my I-pod. I've got 9110 songs in that little box, but no matter on which song I start with, sooner or later, "Roygbiv" by Boards of Canada starts playing. It's not that it's bad, I just thought that the epicenter of my taste in music would be something else, like something by The Orb, Dreadzone or Biosphere. But obviously, I am proven wrong. Life is like that sometimes. Oh, and this girl looks GOOD!

Stockholm, November 8

So a smoking generation! (And to all young people who didn't get the pun, go ask your mum about it. She'll know.)

Stockholm, November 3

Most people are happy when at a bar. Most people.

Stockholm, November 3

Peace is good and war is bad, right? Right! But the peaceloving people almost always dress like unwashed old virgins, while the warpeople mostly wear quite nifty outfits. If the peacepeople started to dress as nice as these young mushrooms, then more people would join in the struggle for worldpeace, and it would be achieved. Yay! (OK, but it's very early in the morning and I have a headache.)

Stockholm, November 1

Of all the subcultures, the punks must be the most photographed. This thesis is strengthened by this strapping young lad, who when asked about a photo, immediately strikes a series of poses, like it was nothing. Some modeling agency should give him a lot of money. He could be the next male supermodel. In a way, he already is!

Stockholm, November 1

Every year the real style-oracles (i.e. the ones who get paid) announces that the season will be colorful, that people are so tired of the black black black and instead want orange yellow green, and that by wearing color everybody will look more happy and beautiful. Guess what? They're wrong! Black is still, and will always be, the color of choice for any stylish person, and, as the lady above is a living proof of, you look very happy and beautiful wearing black. Or grey, for that matter!

Stockholm, October 26

Some professions always dress cool. Of course, anyone, of any profession, may dress cool, but some professions sort of require nice outfits. I mean, an insurance clerk might put on a fancy pair of trousers, but most don't. Dancers though, like this strapping young lad, always look their absolute best. It could be the way they move, and not the clothes at all. But then again, the clothes of dancers are almost always very nice. Just look at this guys shoes. Absolutely splendid! Stay with the Beat!

Stockholm, October 21

In England, the nobs hunt foxes in a most cruel and barbaric way. In Sweden, minkfarmers mistreat the minks with sickening sadism. To be frank, animals are treated like, well, animals, all over the world, and that sucks in a major way. Therefore it's good to see someone who doesn't need a poor tortured dead fox around her neck to look good, when she can knit one which looks even better! Style with a consciousness, ladies and gentlemen. She sets an example for us all!

Stockholm, October 21

Although I believe in everyones right to wear any kind of clothing they like, I, personally, have an extreme liking of black. It's almost like a fetish. Unconsciously I always treat people wearing all black in a slightly more favorable way than people with other colors. I know it's not fair and everything, but hey, that's life for you!

Oh, and by the way, since the girl above is so extremely well and stylishly dressed, I think you all should visit demode.se, in which she's somehow involved. Check it out now!

Stockholm, October 20

Who needs that ordinary boring old sun when this girl spreads warmth and light just with her smile? It's like that expensive light therapy, but it's a person. And it's free! Yay!

Stockholm, October 15

I took four bloody pictures and in everyone of them she got these red eyes. I know I can fix it with this photoshop thing, but I've had my Saturday quota of wine so I figure why bother, she still looks totally gorgeous anyway. Cheers!

Stockholm, October 13

Never trust a guy without a beard growth. That means a guy with a beard can be trusted. And a guy with a beard and moustache (hungarian style, look it up!) like this you can trust with your life savings!

Stockholm, October 13

I like when people mix clothes from different eras. Like this lovely girl above: Blouse and skirt a bit like the 50's, nose piercing from the 90's and Dr. Martens from, well, they're timeless. It makes me think of that old sci-fi series from the UK. The one with that music, the one that sounded like taddaddadam taddaddadam taddaddadam dam dam dam taddaddadam taddaddadam taddaddadam dam dam dam taddaddadam taddaddadam taddaddadam wah waaaaaaaaaaaah....

Doctor Who! That's the one!

Stockholm, October 13

Over 30 years old, but the punk subculture is still cool! I hope the punks of today will keep their style when they are old. I believe the retirement homes or whatever they are called, you know, the places where really old and frail people live, will be much more fun with a bunch of wrinkled old punks around. "Nurse, can we listen to Sex Pistols while we drink our prunejuice?"Of course you can luv.

Stockholm, October 11

Sometimes we use minerals to explain human attributes. You know, we say that our head feels like lead, someone has nerves of steel, another has got a pair of brass balls, and yet another one has got a heart of gold. Well, this lady here is made entirely from diamond, and she is so sharp she could cut glass!

Stockholm, October 9

Do these ladies know how to party or what?

Stockholm, October 7

When it comes to rain, there are two kinds of people: First, there are those who don't leave their houses at all, who cocoons with the Twin Peaks-box and some oven-fresh cinnamon buns. Then there are those who dons a rain coat, a pair of those high rubber boots and takes long walks in the forest and tells everybody crappy stuff like "there is no bad weather, only bad clothing". Then there are people like the ladies above, who take the rain as an excuse to dress a little more fabulously. Oh is that three kinds? Well, I never were any good at maths anyway!

Stockholm, October 4, anti-racist special

Big, bearded guy with black leather coat and black boots. Could be a description of a very scary guy, but not this one. He radiates kindness and safety, almost like a lighthouse of good. Of course I have no idea, but if someone told me that this guy is a fireman, works as a doctor in a children's hospital, is the best teacher there is or do volunteer work for, say, UNICEF, or all the above simultaneously, I wouldn't be surprised. Not at all. In Plato's world of ideas, he's the idea of "the good guy".

Stockholm, October 4, anti-racist special

When the nazis occupied France in the war, the brave french resistance fought back, and did a very good job. Now, all over Europe, even in Sweden, racisms ugly agents are crawling up from under their stones, and are again making the world uglier. It's time for la Resistance to save the day once more. Oh, they are already here? Great! Now go get those racist bastards!

Stockholm, October 3

Important pieces of art, historical sites and delicate places in nature gets protection by the government, or sometimes even the UN, so that nothing disturbs the beauty of that particular object. I think this gorgeous couple here should get the same benefits, or at least their sense of style. If they start wearing boring clothes, then the government would have to interfere ("No no no that old man is not walking" but in swedish) and make them dress this proper again immediately. Order, damn it!

Stockholm, October 3

You know when you're passing the metaldetector at airports and that tiny safetypin you need to keep your busted zipper up makes the whole rig go beeping and lights start flashing and some guys takes you aside and go through your whole luggage? Right. Imagine this guy passing through customs. In the best of worlds, his warm smile would secure even the most nervous customofficer. Sadly this isn't the best of worlds, but I'm pretty sure it would be a big step towards that if more people could smile like this more often. Seriously.

Stockholm, October 1

Is it every single detail in itself, or is it the combination? Hard to tell, but this must be one of the sharpest dressed photographers I've seen. And a small hint to all you stylishly uncertain people out there: You're never wrong wearing a pair of Martens! Never!

Stockholm, September 30

I love autumn. The crisp, clear air, being able to dress in a decent way without bathing in sweat, the mist over water in the morning, and, of course, all the warm and beautiful colors of the season!

Stockholm, September 27

To most people, mondays are crapdays. To return to work or school after the weekend and knowing its five more days of mindnumbingly boring chores, endless meetings without real purpose and the almost suffocating conformity of weekdaylife, turns us all into miserable zombies. Except for this sparkling trio. To these girls, everyday is a holiday. And why not? You go girls!

Stockholm, September 26

A new modern way of transport! Not only safe, but good for the environment and also fun! The future of urban infrastructure is already here, get a Segway now!

Stockholm, September 23

It's not uncommon of men, when turning fifty and having some sort of age-induced identitycrisis, to start wearing a broad-rimmed cowboyhat. Most men look like complete twats when doing this, and should be discreetly, kindly but firmly corrected by their loved ones. Most men that is. But this man can actually wear a hat and just look really cool. If he is a granddad, I'm pretty sure his grandchildren boasts to their friends that they have the coolest granddad. And they would be right!

Stockholm, September 22

There is reality and there is fantasy. In reality, schoolteachers wear Birkenstocks, baggy jeans, a hoodie with the schoolemblem and whines about how the computernetwork is too slow. In fantasy, they look like this lady, have a slight scent of poppies around them, and can explain the theory of relativity, and its flaws, in two minutes sharp.

Stockholm, September 22

The famous swedish artist and poet Daddy Boastin once said "Sträss ta dö på halva befolknin" (basicly "Stress is killing half the population"), and he couldn't be more right. The fast urban life takes a huge toll in the form of reduced health, both physical and psychological. This man seems immune though. He sets his own pace, and makes his own decisions, which is going to make him live till he's at least a hundred years. Way to go man!

Stockholm, September 20

When I talked to this woman, I asked what the occasion was, since she was, in my mind, obviously dressed up for a party of some sort. She answered that she always dresses this fancy. Imagine that. Extremely well-dressed, even on a boring monday afternoon. Only in Stockholm, my friends, only in Stockholm...

Stockholm, September 18

At January 1st, 2000, I woke up and got really disappointed. I expected the future to be much cooler, much more like in all those science fiction-movies. But no. It was just the regular old world. But then I realized that the future might take a while to really happen, so I waited. And now this waiting has come to an end! The future is here! Just check this guy out. So awesomely futuristic! It's like it's the eighties version of 1999 again! Retro-future, yeah!

Stockholm, September 17

Cevin Key of Skinny Puppy once sported a meat-suit on stage (a stunt recently copied by Lady Gaga). That's very special, but come on, is it really OK to play with food in that way? Is food clothes? Oh, it is! This lady is not dressing up in bacon (good for her, and good for the pigs). Instead, she is wearing a pastry as a hat, and candy as rings on her fingers. That is so much nicer than walking around wearing carpaccio!

Stockholm, September 17

Language is probably mankinds best invention, and the more languages we learn the better. Th problem is that learning can be hard, especially all those weird sounds other languages might contain, like the clicksound of the sanpeople, those back-throat rasping sounds of arabic, hebrew and german, or those strange scandinavian extra vowels. This kind man has taken upon himself to teach non-swedes to pronounce the letter "Å", which can be a tricky one. I think this is an admirable initiative. Communication leads to peace and solidarity, and the world can never get enough oft those!

Stockholm, September 16

Word!

Stockholm, September 15

Remember when you were a kid and had yoghurt with blueberries for breakfast? It was so tasty and since then you always had a special relation to the "blueberries-in-milk-colour", which makes you feel somewhat happy, no matter where or when. Subsequently, this lady, by just deciding to be monochromatic, makes a lot of overstressed, predatory urban professionals to suddenly remember the child they once were, and instead of downsizing yet another company sending people into unemployment, they go home and bake cinnamonbuns and read stories with their kids. If one consider this, one realizes this lady could be a lifesaver, in so many ways!

Stockholm, September 15

It's weird. When you dress for rain, it's sunny, and when you dress for sunny weather, you can be sure it will be pouring down. And if you decide to go out and dress up, all the good clubs are closed, but when you suddenly get invited to the party of a lifetime, you're way underdressed. Except this guy. He's always prepared, for absolutely anything!

Stockholm, September 15

I know she poses as a well known, respected politician, a pillar of the community and all that. And we all see how she maintains that image with the raincoat and the multicolored scarf. But don't be fooled! As you can see she is also wearing tight black trousers and soft black shoes. Thus her true profession is revealed: Behold Gudrun Schyman, the Feminist Ninja! May the profiteers of the patriarchal power hierarchy tremble!

Stockholm, September 15

Wow! Seriously. This guy is so neatly dressed it's almost as if he was photoshopped into reality. Completely spotless, suit all shiny and a slightly mischievous hairdo on top of it all. Is it actually possible to be this perfect? There must be something wrong, something to uphold the balance. Maybe he's got abysmal taste in music, eats with his mouth open or have a pair of badly mismatched tattoos on his buttocks? Let's hope so, otherwise he puts us all in the shade, permanently.

Stockholm, September 14

It's the time of year when it gets colder and darker rapidly. Unless you're a goth this might affect you in a negative way. And then you see this urban leopardess! Seriously, her smile could melt icebergs or light up even the darkest cave of Lovecraftian myth. Instead of ordaining prozac or other happy-pills, doctors and psychologists could just give patients suffering from depression a picture of this girls smile, and loads of people would feel so much better. I think she should get the Nobel prize in medicine. Or in sheer coolness, if there is one.

Stockholm, September 11, Bodyruset special

I wasn't the only one taking photos at this event, there were a few of us there. But this one were by far the most stylish, which, in this specific context, is not to say the least. There is something with women in militaria or with items from uniforms on their outfits. I know it's a well known fact, and it's been customary in decadent fashioncircles since, say, 1920, but it still have a tremendous impact. That, in this case, in combination with that big, hi-tec camera, gives her a certain air of authority. Specially since my own camera is so much smaller and all silvery. It was almost freudian...

Stockholm, September 11, Bodyruset special

I've photoed a few couples last month. I like it, because when friends or lovers or both poses together, they almost always look happy, and happiness is of course a good thing. When they are happy, I get happy. When I am happy, I make more people happy, in an endless rising spiral. So, when these two showed up, my glad-o-meter rocketed. Just by the sheer brilliance of style, I am absolutely confident when I state that these two probably made the saturday of hundreds of people happier. And that, my friends, is a good deed indeed! Oh, and Nike should really consider signing a multimilliondollar modeling contract with Mr. Gorgeous here. So much cooler than a bunch of fitnessvictims! And maybe Carsberg might be interested too? Anyway, absolutely fabulous!

Stockholm, September 11, Bodyruset special

Here is a typical example of the body/industrialist subculture: Wearing attributes that in many ways inspire fear and insecurity of the uninitiated. The high, polished boots, the skull beltbuckle, the black shirt and the tattoos. This guys physical appearance just bellows danger, danger, danger... Until you see his warm smile, and in an instant realize that this is probably one of the kindest, most caring people in the world, and that you just want to hug him and give him the Nobel Peace Prize. And why not?

Stockholm, September 11, Bodyruset special

In most cases, sport and style is an impossible combination. People who do sports seldom have any sense of fashion, being occupied as they are with those few hundreds of a second that differs between a nobody and a worldchampion. Not this strapping young lad though! Preparing for the Bodyruset race in the combination class (skiing without skis) in a most fashionable way, he should be the envy of jocks worldwide. Admirable!

Stockholm, September 10

I'm OK with summer. Vacation, warm weather and all that stuff is fine. But clotheswise, summer is generally a multicolored abyss of bermudas, stupid prints on T-shirts and flip-flops. Hence, autumn is very welcome. With the cold winds peoples sense of style returns from a few months of absence, and everything goes back to the beautiful normality. Like this lady here. I don't know of course, but I'm pretty sure she wore horrendous, like, clogs a few months ago. But now, she is wearing those nice, shiny shiny boots, and walks around being completely stylish. I really like autumn!

Stockholm, September 6

There are two alternatives with these guys. First: They might be extremely well prepared for a nice stroll in the urban jungle (well, urban forest, this is Stockholm after all). Second: In the same way as time is relative, so is space. So even if I perceive them and myself on a street, they might both actually, in their reality, be exploring the slopes of Kilimanjaro. If this is the case, this whole scene just might be a photographic proof of negative reality inversions! So i say, let's go for alternative two. Be careful where ever you are guys, and have a good time!

Stockholm, September 6

Carl Jung talked about archetypes, and Plato of the pure ideas. Well, here is the archetype, the pure idea, of the rocker. Seriously, you can't be mere rock than this! I suggest that if you see this guy at a gig, you buy him a beer, just to say thanks for keeping the scene alive. Hell, buy him two beers. I'm sure he deserves them!

Stockholm, September 2

In an old Mouse on Mars-song there is a sample: "There are at least three people from another planet living on Earth today. These three people live in earthly physical bodies. These three people are highly specialized adepts, whose job it is, to protect mankind from any interference from outer space, or any invasion, from outer space." I've always considered that was a funny sample, but didn't put much thought in it. And then suddenly, one of the adepts appeared! It's good to know she is one who protects us all, because she seems really nice! Hostile aliens beware!

Stockholm, September 2

Nowdays, being conscious of enviornmental issues is a must. Recycling is a good way to save energy and resources. This guy is certainly doing his share, when he recycled his grandmothers old tablecloth and turned it into a shirt. I just hope his old granny didn't get upset and yelled at him. It's sad when people cry.

Stockholm, September 1

In many ways, our society is hard. The pressure of fitting in i sometimes overwhelming, and many people try their hardest to be part of a conformity they don't even like. Not this one though. She is wearing her green batik-patterned tunic with an elegance to be envied. And by this, she clearly states that she is not just anyone, she is someone, and by this, she opposes the harsh, impersonal, competitive commercialized society of today. She is actually human, which is something of a rarity these days!

Stockholm, September 1

The universe is a wondrous place. Aeons of dark nothingness, of empty blackness, but here and there with little dots of life, like our own planet. It's beautiful, in a little bit scary and melancholic way. Like this lady here. She's like the universe. Dark grey and black, but suddenly, pink socks! Its like the earth! She has got the life of the universe on her feet! Talk about microcosmos and macrocosmos. You have to see things in perspective. It's clear she does, brilliantly!

Stockholm, September 1

Remember when you were a kid and had these daydreams about elves and faeries and stuff? Well, you got older and learned that they were all imaginations, right? Wrong! Because here is an elf, alive and walking the streets of Stockholms Old Town wearing enormous trousers! I bet she's got both a magical longbow and a box of sleepingpowder in those kneepockets. You see any orcs around? No? She's why!