The Bergen Fashionista

Ok .... So ... I've come from a Tropical Country .. where women do bare alot of skin ... and that's the culture .. the tight clothes etc .... tank tops allllll the time ... short pants and lots of dresses to keep cool. And I would say I had my style .... it was ... tropical casual..... as in .tshirt and jeans... and then I had my little light and cute halter tops etc ... so now that I have to cover down to my wrists to keep warm (the short pants and ting was never really my ting anyway) I'm floundering around like the fat seal from Happy feet where in Trinidad I'm the seal in the water and in Bergen I'm the seal on the ice.. ..... Flubbub ... Flubbub ... Flubbub ..
Back in 1998 I went to London for a Work and Travel Visa. I came back from London MUCH more conscious of what I wear ... and I'm sure heading into any Fashionista Big City would do that to one... the only thing is that I'm now living in an island off of the second biggest city in Norway ... so .... think of .. Toco style .. maybe????? yeeea...... hmmmmmm ... Questionable...

Ok dont get me wrong .. there are many people who look very nice .. but I've found that to try to buy clothes, I get what the MAJORITY of people are wearing .. which ... I have to admit .. with the extra ... dot dot dot... pounds I've Put on since I'm married ... is not a flattering look for me.... and I think its Frumpy... is that how you spell that? ..
Anyhoos ... I walk into stores and I can't figure out how to put things together.. ok except ONE store .. H&M ... really lovely things... but its so hard to wrap my head around buying summer things when it's cold outside!! What is up with that???? :) .. hahaha...

So .. You must be wondering by now .. what on earth is so bad???
Well let's start with the Tights..... as in panty hose ... its worn with everything .... with shoes ... whether its open-toe or not!!! ACK! Fashion Faux Pas in my tropical mind!! ...
And how can one where A short pants with tights??? .. eww .. what is that?? if its too cold to wear a short pants ... don't wear it at all!!!
Ok ok ok I've seen in Vogue etc ... High heeled shoes with mid calf high plaid socks and thought ... oooo nice .. but it was almost ALWAYS paired with a pencil skirt or preppy looking pants ... (and maybe I just can't see the panty hose in the pictures) ... and it looks cool ... somehow ... its not looking cool here :( ...
They also wear the "in" thing for summer .. look shirt-like tops with tights that stop anywhere from mid calf to the ankle...
remember those tennis shoes .. white that you used to wear to Phys Ed? .. or P.E. As we called it in NAPS? ... well they wear those .... happily .... ewww .. those where things we HATED .. with a passion ...
Its so hard to find a pretty shoe .. because all the shoes are ... well.. ugly .. sorry .. I love you Bergen .. but OMG can you get some decent Shoes.... the shoes you will see here are equivalent to your granny's granny's styles... oh about 50 years ago.... so you can imagine .. there are lots of clogs and weird shapes, colours etc.... I suppose with summer looming we have some open toes peeping out with some other passable styles.... but .. ummm .. gorsh ....(fades away into daydream thinking of the shopping trips to Puerto Rico with Nestle Peep and the awesome awesome shoooeesssss!s!!!! ...... sigh .. fades back in) ....

I'm desperately trying not to fall into .. what everyone is wearing so I've found myself seeking out London magazines and carefully trying to figure out what IS my style with extra clothes on ....

Would it be edgey? , preppy? ... Country? simple? plain? .. God forbid it turns into OLD lady .. simply because that's what the teeny boppers are wearing around me ....

So this week we are in Oslo for My husband's Work and the style here is a normal mixup of weird to Business .. which u expect for a captial. But one thing I've seen that is just wrong is a short pants ...a short tights and stockings..... WHAA???

*shaking head*

The sun is now looking like its peeking out. So I'm going to go out .. and I've gotten the ok from my Husband to do a little shopping .. note I said a little ... :) ...
Wish me well ... and hope that I don't end up on the wrong end of the Fashion Ladder.
Whey Yuh Say? ... Some tennis shoes??? Nei Takk!

Norwegian preparation

It has been a short time in the making ... this migration. A decision was made and in 4 months we (my norwegian husband and I a trinidadian girl) made our way to Bergen. It was 2 months of waiting for a visa and hoping that it would come through... and then exactly 3 weeks of mad rush selling everything we owned, telling people and telling my parents; admitantly the hardest thing I've had to do in a very long while.
We got a car sold on the very last day that we were in the Island of Trinidad but still have not sold a weight bench (if you are interested please let me know!)
The trip to Norway was not without its hickups of course.
After willing myself not to cry, I succeeded only to burst into tears as the plane taxiied down the runway in Tobago and I saw my father's Hotel, The Golden Thistle Hotel zooming past the window.
I suddenly remembered everything with crystal clear vividness.
I remembered my Younger brother as he walked away from us eating lunch, My dad's expression as I walked up the Departure stairs, my mom as she came up to us at the departure gate and hugged us as much as she could, the last time I saw my good friends, liming ( a trini slang word meaning hang out) with them in my old bedroom talking about boys... the difficulty with which I stood in front of my church to encourage them and how they have all made such an impact on my life.
There is much that Tobago has taught me. It has given me the confidence to be my own person, to have my own opinions and form my own ideas. It was the first time I was a manager - A grossly difficult task - handling people.

Needless to say, crying and thinking about these things the poor girl next to me must have felt uncomfortable, while my husband was trying to to comfort me on the other side, feeling a little embarassed I'm sure.

Before the trip I did ship some stuff ... yes I did... however things just kept popping up .. I swear!! .. I found myself with 5 suitcases between us both. No.... 3 belonged to my husband ... I had 2 ... don't mind the 2 suitcases was still too much for the Virgin Atlantic Flight since they have reduced free checked to only 1 ... yup... the joys of Airline extra charges. We tried to help them out some more with over weight charges. I'm sure we are in their good books for next time we travel.

Norwegian Airlines however, could not find our booking once we reached to London and waited for a 12 hour layover, since someone must have been playing farmville on FB while at work and messed up the Bergen Flight. That made checking in 5 suitcases (when you get NONE free) a little more exciting. We are also on their happy books with the over weight payments.

Ah .... Bergen ... 10C ... warm and lovely .... yea right! .... an empty house greeted us ... tomorrow we start to unpack and I start to enjoy my lovely new life in Bergen with my husband.

Let's see how long it takes me to get into the right Time Zone. So far I'm doing terribly, since it is 12:32 am and anyone who knows me.. knows that the last thing I am is nocturnal.

Everything is going Great! .. What more can I ask for? ... a Perfect Husband, my own home to decorate and coo over ... and a brand new wardrobe at some point in time!
Whey Yuh Say Bergen ? HERE I COME!