Doris & Duke – Vintage and Modern.

One of my most passionate dreams for the longest time has been to visit Doris & Duke – Vintage and Modern shop in Old Town Porvoo.

Unfortunately for me, I have always either been too busy to visit the location or the shop has simply been closed at the time.

This time though, I was determined and opportunist enough to check the opening hours in advance. Hooray internet and social media!

The shop is divided into two parts according to the origins of the pieces: if they are modern reproductions or actual vintage items (not that there’s anything bad in either of them – they’re all lovely as seen from the pics).

I would definitely recommend visiting Doris & Duke for those who are especially interested in pin up fashion. Just look at those fluffy petticoats hanging out of the fitting room ceiling!

Gorgeous fitting room table!

Of course I couldn’t get away without finding something to try on. I actually ended up buying this vintage dress (above) from the 1970’s. The price, 20 euros, wasn’t bad for a student budget, either.

The vintage side is behind the counter.

You know I had to.

Doris & Duke isn’t just about clothing since there is literally heaps of accessories and jewellery from which to choose.

The prices of the vintage items may vary a bit but overall I’d say that none of the stuff is at least badly over-priced.

This side of the shop is dedicated for the colourful retro items.

For some reason I just found the black sing to be highly amusing to me. Though I should probably get the silver one for the university seminar…

Even though I personally feel that the vintage side of Doris & Duke is meant more for me, I still know a couple of friends who would absolute love all of the reproductions.

Urho K. Kekkonen (replica above) is still one of the most well-known presidents of Finland.

Without starting an unnecessary political rant, I just want to point out that it is really funny to print a black-and-white picture of a respected old male figure with his own words ‘saatanan tunarit’ (something like ‘fucking morons’) into the parking indicator we use in Finland to tell when we have parked our vehicle. And yes, people move around the meters if the allowed parking time is running out. I think it must be a pretty very universal phenomenon to try to avoid a ticket. With this indicator I don’t think it would even be a proper chore.

Yours,

Miah

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What I Love about England.

Verdant evergreen plant growing wild (or half wild) literally everywhere.

Old darkened gates and porches – more often than not leading to private yards of the lucky upper-class people.

Funny street signs. Do you think that me laughing at this could even be categorized as the ‘famous British humour’?

Amazing old churches everywhere. So romantic, almost Gothic vibes that make you want to read ghost stories under the blanket with a warm cup of tea…

Another, really similar-looking church to the one above.

British song-making tactics and vibrant lyrics. Referring to a quite well-known case of Eleanor Rigby with the actual place which the song got its name pictured above.

Especially in Liverpool these places just exist all around. Am I the only millennial fangirl gasping when realizing that I’m actually walking on that Penny Lane!

The plant above, Lamprocapnos spectabilis, is called ‘broken heart’ (särkynytsydän) in Finnish. It’s probably one of the first cultured ones that I learned to know when I first became interested in botany as a child. I can still quite vividly remember looking up the plant from a huge gardening edition while visiting the local library as a 6-year-old or something.

Old railroads and stations almost straight out of Harry Potter! (Yes, you get all the clichés here…)

Yours,

Miah

Vintage on Bold Street.

Cow

I was actually heading to another vintage place on Bold Steer, Pop Boutique, when I randomly (out of curiosity for the quirky beautiful display window) popped my head into Cow.

And what an oasis of good-quality vintage shopping did it turn out to be!

Even though I happened to find the best stuff from upstairs…

…the downstairs was also filled with racks full of cool-looking clothing.

The fitting rooms are also located downstairs so you kinda can’t avoid digging into the collection. Which is a bad thing only if you’re in a rush!

I absolutely love the design of the whole store though I have to admit that the fitting room doors may be a little bit confusing. On the positive side, the lighting is good and there is definitely enough room to place everything until you’re ready.

Pop Boutique Liverpool

The second shop in this post is my absolute favourite vintage place called Pop Boutique.

After visiting the place they have in Manchester, I realized how much better (and affordable) the vintage scene in UK really is. Compared to Helsinki, I mean.

Okay, I understand that sometimes you just have to get new sports bra or tights from Primark or H&M – and that’s completely fine as long as you understand the effect ‘fast fashion’ has on nature and the workers. But honestly, when there’s places like Pop Boutique where you can find a unique piece of clothing made to last with the same amount of money that you’d spend on a normal shop, why still choose to support the nasty industry?

Resurrection Liverpool

My friend told me that he used to basically live in this shop about 10 years ago when he was a student. Unlike most of the other second-hand/vintage boutiques, Resurrection still had a student discount available.

The downstairs is full of ‘menswear’ (but you can still go there and try on some of those gorgeous grungy flannel shirts…) and the upstairs is for the ladies’ second-hand, vintage and retro reproduction clothing.

Yours,

Miah

Tripping to Liverpool.

And so it is that, once again, this restless soul is soon going to be packing and leaving to see the world again.

Proper introverted traveller hobbies!

This time the travel destination will be Liverpool (via Manchester).

Although Manchester is particularly known for its brick buildings, this old brewery (above) is actually found from Liverpool.

The last time I had a morning walk in Sefton Park, it was kinda freezing… Though I honestly don’t know if I prefer it to this weather! At least it provides me with the possibility to go out camping in the Lake District that I’ve heard reminds the landscape we all Twin Peaks fans adore…

I also have some unfinished business on Lark Lane since the combined bakery-cafe AND vintage store ‘Freida Mo’s‘ opened the next weekend after I had already left. I can’t wait to get my paws on their collection and vegan treats!

This time I won’t miss it (or any other of the second-hand/vintage shops nearby). Another must is Pop Boutique located in both Manchester and Liverpool. I see only some serious shopping possibilities here!

So far away – but so close…

When this post reaches all of you guys, I hope to be already working on the new material gathered from UK!

Yours,

Miah

Shopping in Kos.

Unsurprisingly, but nevertheless quite charmingly, the whole island of Kos was filled with products made from olive tree and its fruits; soaps, flavoured oils, cups, cutlery, honey dippers, candle holders etc.

The first shop that caught my eye in Tigaki was The Olive Market that offers a wide selection of ‘traditional and natural products’ made in Greece. The beautiful and authentic feeling with the friendly service kept me coming back to this shop until the very last day! The family who runs this shop is clearly not in the business just for the money: the additional gifts and off-the-counter toasts indicate that they are providing customer service in its truest, whole-hearted meaning. I would highly recommend this place – even if you only have one day to visit Tigaki.

Many of the small touristic shops as well as the mini markets had their fair share of the more generic souvenirs; such as the phallic-shaped bottle openers and key rings.

And before anyone asks, yes, I also got a couple of those. What can I say, I have a lot of gay friends in Finland…

Tigaki had also some smaller boutiques with the kind of witchy hippie vibe that I personally am really into. All kinds of small jewellery and wind chimes were really popular products in this shop!

The main touristic beach boulevard in the centre of Kos town was filled with vendors offering a wide selection of bohemian beach-appropriate jewellery.

You could also easily get a realistic or caricature portrait of yourself, your dog or a family member drawn from a picture or live model.

One of the most inspiring and unique shops I stumbled upon was The Imaginarium. I have to admit first going in to pet the cute dog that accompanied the artist, Ioannis Kamateros, but soon realized how amazing all the arts and crafts there were. I must have looked like another tourist nutter who just randomly bumped in to say hello to his dog!

You can easily find the place located in the alley behind the Tree of Hippocrates which is in the Platía Platanou (‘Square of the Platane’). The place is pretty easily recognizable by the beautiful snail sculpture on the outside wall. And if you get thirsty in the heat of Greece, there is a small restaurant located right next to The Imaginarium.

Yours,

Miah