Shooting for Gadgets Malta

Dear Readers,

I rushed into Valletta early on Friday morning to meet six lovely, stylish ladies and one patient cameraman. As you might know from my social networking profiles, I was asked to be in a feature for the popular, local technology-centred programme Gadgets. 

Around one week ago, I was kindly handed a brand new Canon EOS M, a genius camera somewhere in between a point and shoot and an SLR. Tested my new love for an entire week, enough to build an opinion about it. My job was to analyse the camera's features and structure from a blogger's point of view. How worth is it for a blogger to invest in this new camera?

I shot a couple of street style photos with my six girls - Christabel, Abigal, Justine, Ellie, Kelly and Stephanie - for the feature as well. It was a blast! It also enabled me to review how appropriate the camera is to shoot street snapshots of fashionable people.

After a short interview with Ian, the programme's host, I had to part ways with the Canon camera and make my way back to work. Fun time, it was. I decided to upload each of the girls' street style snapshots on my blog eventually, but I don't want to spoil too much of the feature at this point. The feature airs on Saturday 15th December, so keep your eyes peeled. 

Log in to my Facebook Page for more photos from behind the scenes as well as further details on the feature itself. Thank you to the hard-working Gadgets team for the opportunity!

-B

Sunday Summary #2

Dear Readers,

It's Sunday morning, I had my breakfast and now I'm here bidding farewell to the first full week of the month.   It started off with torrential rains and tsunamis of rain-related statuses on Facebook and ended with relatively  cooler weather (that reminds me that Summer is now drawing to a close!).

This was a busy week. I've spent a great deal of time this week preparing for the La Redoute collaboration and finally published the post last Friday. The response was pretty overwhelming. Who would have known I'd end up on the company's international Facebook Page? Geez, I still can't quite digest it now. I'm really happy about it though because I tried to put my best into it and it's always a pleasant to feel appreciated right?

I haven't had the time to go shopping this week. As I said, I was truly and incredibly occupied with writing work so I didn't have too much time on my hands. I did, sadly, end up spending way too much on eBay and ASOS. The orders should start arriving this week and I'm really looking forward to see whether I remember ordering any of those pieces! It's that bad. My only excuse slash justification is that I need new clothing for work.

The photos in this post are from the only 'shopping' trip I've been to this week. I met my cousin Donna in Sliema and since, as I said, I had just splurged on my frantic online shopping incident, I decided to adopt the role of a 'window shopper' and 'image consultant'. The latter is rather fun and easy, I find myself saying 'You should totally buy that!' really often. We ended the day at Cafe Cuba, after heading back home to spend the night working on one of my upcoming articles.

I wish I took photos of the sushi I feasted on yesterday. In all honesty, I had been craving sushi for God knows how long but nearly everyone I know is disgusted by the mere thought of it. Luckily my sister from another mister, namely Alexia, is a big fan so we went out on for sushi yesterday at Portomaso. I also managed to eat prawns for the first time in my life. Alexia managed to covert me to Prawnism.

Oh, and I've been totally hooked on Train's 'California 37' album. Apart from the highly popular '50 Ways To Say Goodbye' and 'Drive', I've been loving 'Mermaid' and 'Sing Together'. I like 'Bruises' too. Well, I think it's a worthwhile listen. Maybe you should give it a try, especially whilst driving. It's a good driving album (said the girl who doesn't drive).

The coming week promises to be just as packed so I'm bracing myself for it. Three shoots, one and a half articles, a couple of side-projects and plenty of other non-blogging related errands: hand me a piece of paper, I need to write it all down. Also, New York Fashion Week! How could I forget that? I'm collecting all the necessary material to write up a post at the end so stay tuned for that.

'Changes' and 'New Beginnings' should be this week's keywords. I allocated a sizeable amount of 'thinking' time last week, which undoubtedly proved to be really useful. This sentence doesn't really make sense does it? I'm leaving it anyway though, can't think of a better conclusion.

Hope you all had a great week and hope the next is even better!

-B

The Boffism Guide to Brussels

Dear Readers,

As I made my way to University this morning, I couldn't help but remember that this time, last week, I was making my way to the European Institutions in Brussels, via the metro. Awh, I already miss it so much. I've postponed this post for long enough now, so here goes. These are the places that I personally think you MUST visit (in no particular order) in Brussels :D

1) MAMMA ROMA

I love Pizza and Italian food in general, so I was over the moon when I ate at Mamma Roma! The best thing about Mamma Roma is that you get to choose the size of your pizza portions, which are cut into pretty rectangles by the person at the counter. (By the way, all the people serving at Mamma Roma are incredibly stylish, so hey, another thing we like!) Prices are reasonable, and the pizza is delicious and filling :)

Yumm, Mamma Roma!

2)  PAUL

Oh Paul, I want to marry you! Paul is THE bakery shop in Brussels (and in Paris too, for all that matter). There are literally Paul shops everywhere around the city, and hey, no one is complaining about that. I think it's physically impossible to visit Paul and not buy any of the lush baked goodies on sale. My personal favorite: MACAROONS! A box of 12 assorted macaroons costs under 10 euro. This makes it an ideal present for your families and friends. Or for yourself. Haha :)

At Paul :)

3) SABLON

This was definitely one of the highlights of my Brussels trip. The Sablon area is very pretty indeed, with churches, little shops and cosy cafes all around. But most of all, there's a VINTAGE MARKET! Items are slightly pricey, but they were a couple of items that were worth their price. I definitely recommend this market to all of the vintage lovers out there, even if you don't get to buy anything. It is still worth a visit. By the way, the market is only set up during weekends, so try and plan your excursion to the Sablon for a Saturday or a Sunday :) 

at the vintage market!

4) PIERRE MARCOLINI

Well, in reality, you have to visit a chocolatier in Brussels. But, in my very humble opinion, NO ONE excels at making our hearts drool over chocolate as Pierre Marcolini. Oh my God, the Marcolini boutiques are so exclusive that you can't even take a photo of anything displayed there. A box of chocolates is so artistically designed that you might initially think it's a dainty make-up box. And for all those worrying about prices, there's really no reason to do so! Obviously, unless you intend to buy the entire shop!

iDrool.

5) GRAND PLACE

Well, the Grand Place is definitely one of the most majestic sights in Brussels. I personally think it looks at its best when it's a sunny day. All the golden details of the buildings start shining and it all looks so gorgeous :D I was lucky enough to visit the Grand Place on a sunny day, and it was lovely. There are also many cool bars and cafes around the square.

Grand Place!

6) WAFFLES STAND

Really, you just can't visit Brussels and not eat a waffle. I admit I had been dreaming about waffles ever since I got to know I was going to Brussels. This was like, last November? Argh, the taste. I love. I love. I planned to take a photo of myself eating a waffle, but alas, I ate it so quickly I didn't have time to do it haha. Tasty :D

 

Oh My God :D

7) THE PISSING GUY

Yes, I know he's the Mannequin Pis, but I like calling him 'the pissing guy'. Why should you visit him? Because everyone does! And you have to watch the people's faces as they look at him pissing his life away. Sometimes the pissing guy is actually clothed with different costumes. I saw him naked, though. 

Piss, piss.

8) RUE NEUVE

Rue Neuve is to Brussels as Oxford Street is to London. All you shopping freaks, or anyone looking for a good buy, must visit Rue Neuve. I had been told that it's very difficult to explore the entire street in one go, but me and my champion friends Ariana and Valerie managed to overcome this impossible feat. Kudos to us :D

One of the malls in Rue Neuve

9) CHAUSEE D'IXELLES

Yet another street full of high-street shops and department stores. Personally, I preferred this area rather than Rue Neuve, for one simple reason. Rue Neuve is more crowded and some of the stores are much less equipped with goodies. That was, at least, the impression that I got. A shop I highly recommend is a shoe-store called 'I Love Shoes'. Trust me, you will love their shoes and their prices! Seriously, this shop had all kinds of shoes, sold at around €8-€15! I found a pair of very edgy brogues that I can't wait to wear :D

I love shoes =D

10) Exki

This is the food outlet for those who don't want to stuff their faces with calorie bombs or incredibly expensive meals. Exki offers a very good variety of salads, pasta, soups, yoghurt and other organic food at very affordable prices. I ate here during most of my lunch breaks :) I also bought my breakfast at Exki on a daily basis: a croissant and espresso for just two euro!

I miss this every morning :(

11) Avenue Louise

 This is the avenue with high-end stores. I was lucky enough to live in Avenue Louise for a couple of days, and the people around the area are very poshy, prim and proper. Prices are quite high in Avenue Louise, but there are more affordable shops like Zara and Pull and Bear as well.

Avenue Louise

Honestly, I can't wait till July to go back to this wonderful city :)

-B

This Is The Woman (Pun intended)

*sip sip*

Hi. My name is Lara Boffa. My friends call me 'B'. My name might not ring a bell for many of you, yet. But I intend to change that. I finally found the motivation to start my own personal fashion blog (obviously, this newfound sense of enthusiasm has nothing to do with the pile of papers I have to read which I've been trying to avoid for the past fifteen days, duh!).

 My very first post will contain a few disclaimers and some details about the young woman behind this laptop. Yes, as you might have well noticed already I am quite self-centred and vain. But all greatest people are. Or that is what I like to believe. There you go, you already figured out something about me :)

Who I Am

I'm a 22 year-old student at the University of Malta. I'm an English graduate and I'm currently trying to get a Masters Degree in Interpreting. Hopefully I will get to work within the European Institutions and make plenty of money. My parents also hope I do so because I keep spending their money and I believe they don't enjoy this much.

Why I love fashion.

I think I should tell you 'why I love fashion'. Thing is, I really don't know how to explain this. I've been obsessed with clothes ever since I can remember. I was kind of born into it. My mother is a seamstress who was also a fashion-addict back in the day. Instead of going to the swings, my family took me shopping. I spent hours shopping (or rather, watching and pretending to shop) with my cousin Donna, also a fashionista, when I was only ten years old. So I guess it was inevitable.  Fashion is everything for me.  I spend at least an hour a day deciding what to wear the day after. I go around the shops every other day, even if I'm broke. I look at people's clothes before looking at their faces. Dressing up in the morning is THE most important part of the day.

Why I set up a blog.

• I've been reading fashion blogs ever since I got an internet connection and got bored of playing stupid games on MiniClip. It's about time I decided to start my own. I really believe that the future of fashion lies in fashion blogs. Bloggers are becoming increasingly influential and respected. 
• I love to write and express my opinion (too much, heh).
• I also think that the Maltese fashion scene lags behind BIG TIME: there are only a handful of people who write about the subject. Therefore I have to save the country by addressing this shortage! 
• It gives my obsession a purpose. I will feel less bad about splurging money.

Shopping Time!

Why Boffism

This is the first important disclaimer. I chose Boffism because I intend to convey MY ideas, MY judgments, MY criticisms. It's like my fashion ideology. Boffism is to Lara Boffa as 'The Little Red Book' is to Mao or as

'The Communist Manifesto' is to Karl Marx.

Style vs. Fashion

I make a clear-cut distinction between style and fashion. Fashion is dictated by the runways. Style is all about self-expression and individuality. It's someone's personal interpretation of the clothes paraded on the catwalk.  I think everyone should express their personality through fashion. Just as a painter conveys his thoughts and expresses himself through a painting. Therefore I play on the team of 'style' rather than on the team of 'fashion'.

That's all for now. I promise not to neglect this blog :)

-B

(P.S. the blog title's pun is a veiled test. If you get the pun, then we're on the same wavelength. If you didn't *sigh*, you will really need to start reading this blog!)