Scandinavian Street Style #1

[Louche]

men.style.com

This is what I mean by plain jeans. Havent seen much of that in Norway.

It's everywhere. But let's agree to disagree.

 

[Dohertysgirl]

A couple of things...

I think a main reason for Scandinavians wearing a lot of jeans has to do with the colder climate. This last spring/summer season denim sales fell dramatically in Scandinavia, as pretty much all girls ran around in tights and/or summer dresses - but now the denim market has exploded because of the cold temperatures of lately.

You seem to draw a connection between a creative and colourful sense of style, and being fashionable. I don't necessarily agree with that. Take Copenhagen; you barely see anyone over the age of 14 dressing up in strong colours or superslim jeans anylonger. Is this because the older generations don't dare to wear colourful outfits, or does it merely have to do with trying to move past a new rave inspired way of style, and moving on to the next thing? I find it much more creative to be able to make a strong expression with more low-key fashion and hidden luxury, rather than screaming out at everybody with an outfit that is overdone in terms of colour and fit. That being said, I'm not claiming that Scandinavians are the most creative and fashionable people around, but your statements seem a bit over the top.

As my wardrobe mostly contains black, grey & white clothes I am not the most colourful person myself, & I am certainly not a huge fan of the new rave wave which rode London recently. I guess by using the term 'colourful' I refer to creativity more than actual colour, although I do find it very refreshing when people around me wear bright clothes.

I completely agree in that you don't necessarily have to wear colours to be fashionable, actually in my Nylon Street Style book Paris is one of my fav because of the quite plain but extremely elegant outfits. Also, I don't think Scandinavians are afraid of wearing colours, as a matter of fact I find that most of my friends are better with colours than me. That is not where my criticism falls however; I am criticising the lack of style, engagement & creativity in Scandinavian Street Style. One can be super stylish in jeans & a t shirt, although I am not sure most Scandinavians know how to.

 

[Malin.A]

(On the last point I could've started this long speech about how being in a Social Democracy for the last 50 years by no means encourages creativity - but don't wanna go too off topic )

I was just going to say the exact same thing! Actually, I think this is one of the main reason for the lack of creativity, if not the reason.

 

[susanna]

Don't forget to mention jantelagen!

I think there's something in the wake though in many parts of scandinavia, I believe the younger generation will continue to be trendy fashionable and stylish fashionable (difference) when they get older. In recent years when fashion has become more mainstream has made a solid ground for that.
Before the late 90's availability of different types of clothing was limited and there wasn't an internet market. There was no real buying power in terms of capital or people for clothing businesses to invest in, even smaller independent shops depends on supply and demand.
This year the number of people in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway reached 25 million together. Small, cold, traditionally working class socities where clothes first and foremost has to be practical doesn't lay a good ground for over all natural stylishnes. Of course there has always been creative people that dress stylish and fun, but the natural stylish ease that people say that they can find in for example France or Italy is harder to find here.


I'm also a bit confused by the term scandinavia in this thread, for me Skandinavien consists of Sweden, Norway where the chain of mountains Skanderna ranges and Denmark which is just below somewhere. Norden (Direct translation The North) is Sweden, Norway, Denmark with the Faroe islands, Finland, Iceland and Greenland.

 

[Dohertysgirl]

Oh yes, Janteloven.

I agree with you completely Susanna, & it's also nice to see that you agree with my point Malin. I think that the fact that for example England has been influenced by individualism in all these years is a direct reason for their fashion experimenting & creativity. I also think foreign influences are very important, which (some will def disagree) haven't been as great in Scandinavia (meaning Norway & Sweden mainly) as in other parts of the world; I think other Nordic countries like Finland & Denmark have had much more of this from respectively Russia & Germany.

 

[tòth]

Personally I think Norway is still far away from having people dressing up in an individual way.

I'm gonna translate "janteloven" tomorrow. It's a pure example of norwegian mentality =\ sad indeed.

 

[Malin.A]

Toth: Haha, I agree that many Norwegians dresses, not bad, but boring, but it's really not that bad. And I live in a small city! Maybe the regional differences are huge, but everyone I know would say that janteloven is outdated!! Young people don't care about the unwritten law at all!!

I also find Norway boring at times, but please, try to have a more positive look at things, it might open your eyes!

B)

 

[Louche]

I find it just a little bit ironic that a lot of those that criticise Scandinavian street style are actually from Scandinavia... Is not that pretty much the essence of Jante's Law? That you're not supposed to think that you are something special, and thus the Law of Jante acts as an instrument to keep ones self confidence down? I have friends spread all over the world, and one of the most common conceptions regarding Scandinavia and Iceland is that people have a strong sense for design and fashion. So why the negative attitude towards your own people? The rest of the world seems to think you're pretty amazing. Yes, if you walk around for an hour in New York, Paris or London - you're going to stumble upon some pretty amazing looking people, but more than 99% of the people you meet have no sense of style at all. It's just that in a metropolitan area you're always going to find the more original individuals as these kind of large cities attract a lot of artsy people. Is it creative? Yes. Is it inspiring? Yes. Does it look good? Definitely not always.

As for foreign influence, I don't necessarily think that this is a prerequisite for creativity. Actually, sometimes true creativity comes from not drawing on influences from others, but rather exploring the creativity that arrives through isolation. At times this is when you can make a truly new expression, instead of just washing out and mixing trends that one has seen before. Not that this applies to the entire Scandinavian region, but to a certain sense I could be willing to claim that this applied for Stockholm a few years ago.

 

[punky._.]

Love Cophenague style is chic, I'm from Spain and here everybody look the same it's boring . Thank you for the photos

 

[Dohertysgirl]

I find it just a little bit ironic that a lot of those that criticise Scandinavian street style are actually from Scandinavia... Is not that pretty much the essence of Jante's Law? That you're not supposed to think that you are something special, and thus the Law of Jante acts as an instrument to keep ones self confidence down?

Well, I am not saying anything about my own style.

 

[buddleja]

Pictures I took in Iceland.
source:http://justglitterlust.blogspot.com/ <- details can be seen better there

 

[tòth]

Young people don't care about the unwritten law at all!!

B)

Sadly, Janteloven is a fact of life in Norway.

I go to school in a small city currently, and I can pretty much declare myself as the best dressed man in that school! There is about 250 guys there and nearly everyone wears the same kind of clothes. Hoodie+jeans, tee+jeans, or sportswear. Day in and day out, with the exception of a few metalheads and band members.

1. Don't think that you are special.
2. Don't think that you are of the same standing as us.
3. Don't think that you are smarter than us.
4. Don't fancy yourself as being better than us.
5. Don't think that you know more than us.
6. Don't think that you are more important than us.
7. Don't think that you are good at anything.
8. Don't laugh at us.
9. Don't think that anyone cares about you.
10. Don't think that you can teach us anything.

Nobody remembers the full law, or think about it. But you notice it in the Norwegian mentality where VERY few people stand out. A good example of this is the dropout from the Norwegian school system.

A very high percentage of dropouts in Norway have well above normal IQ. They drop out because they do not ever get help or attention in school because they learn fast and easely by themselves. Uintill the third year in high school they dont need to put up more then 20% of their capabilities.

I could write a 20 page essay on this sad subject but in Norway, intelectuals get destroyed in a brutal manner by the wish to get even the weakest students thru school. The ones ending up with the best grades are the ones with average and a tiny bit above average IQ.

 

[tòth]

I would have to add in that though the girls arent that much better they are a bit better at dressing up then the boys. Not in general, but there is more examples of girls dressing well then men dressing well. I guess that counts for the entire planet.

 

[Malin.A]

Sadly, Janteloven is a fact of life in Norway.

I go to school in a small city currently, and I can pretty much declare myself as the best dressed man in that school! There is about 250 guys there and nearly everyone wears the same kind of clothes. Hoodie+jeans, tee+jeans, or sportswear. Day in and day out, with the exception of a few metalheads and band members.

Well then I think there are great variations from place to place; I live in a small town too(approx. 8000 inhbt), and actually, I'd say people(young ones) dress really well! And if someone tries something really creative, it's applauded, not looked down upon. However, I think they're more about dressing well and having class, than being a fashionslave. Which I think is a good thing. Genreally speaking as well, you can't expect everyone to care about fashion and follow trends, just as you can't expect everyone to care about football or basketball, but as long as people dress nicely and looks clean and fresh, that's beyond ok for me!

I could write a 20 page essay on this sad subject but in Norway, intelectuals get destroyed in a brutal manner by the wish to get even the weakest students thru school. The ones ending up with the best grades are the ones with average and a tiny bit above average IQ.

When it comes to this though, I couldn't agree with you more!! The school system is tragic! But that's completely off subject, so I won't comment any more on the matter..

 

[Louche]

Sadly, Janteloven is a fact of life in Norway.

I go to school in a small city currently, and I can pretty much declare myself as the best dressed man in that school! There is about 250 guys there and nearly everyone wears the same kind of clothes. Hoodie+jeans, tee+jeans, or sportswear. Day in and day out, with the exception of a few metalheads and band members.

I might be wrong, but I feel you're making rather explicit generalisations based on very personal experiences. After getting to know the Nordic region more thoroughly, frequently visiting cities like Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Copenhagen, Reykjavik, Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger and Trondheim, it is clear to me that you can tell distinct differences between the different cities, the different parts of these cities, and of course even different trends within these city districts. At times it is necessary to generalise as you can't go in depth in all matters, but one should be careful with making broad statements.

 

[miss6o]

Hmm interesting conversation you got here but Im pretty sure moderators wont tolerate it too far.

I would like to shortly add my point of view to this discussion. I am from Finland and live near by one of the bigger cities in here. I consider myself fashion oriented and having a good individual style. I still get looks and stares from the "normal" jogging oufit people, some kids yelled "freak" at me and my bf not too long time ago. Us Scandinavians have not been exposed to the international fashion for too long time, you have to remember that. We are just now getting bigger brands here and they are really hard to get here. In the States almost every 16 year old already has a LV bag (not that Im a fan of LV, I hate it) which is very very rare here. Personally I only know one woman with one..
I think the isolation and cold climate has created great fashion here in Scandinavia..We definately have our own minimalist style and Im damn proud of it!

Unfortunately, the nurave has also crashed our coast..Im not saying colors are bad, but the whole new rave scene is so passé already and those kids try too hard to be different. Lets face it, the music isn't that great either!

But to stay in the real topic, I found a new Finnish site with street style. Here you go:
(http://tyylitaivas.fi/)

 

[Njalle]

As to the LV-bag: In Copenhagen it is standard equipment of your regular logomania new money (or perhaps more ofte: people trying to flash money) brat. Take a walk in Copenhagen for 5 minutes and you will definitely see the LV-pattern. If not the on a bag, then on a key chain. I hate it.

 

[e-v-elina]

haha we have those here in stockholm too. wannabe-brats is what we call them! they usually have blonde (white) hair and white/pink lips and they buy the cheapest things from exepensive brands (like LV or Gucci).

 

[susanna]

hahahha the tiny tiny lv bags they have just for the logo. so much fun!
love wannabe-brats they're fading though and moving on to fashion blog

 

[Dohertysgirl]

And just wait until the fashion brats of Oslo, Stockholm & Copenhagen discovers New Rave!