Where to enjoy a book

We’re dedicating our article to book lovers. Besides libraries, there are wonderful places where you can enjoy the reading of a book. Those who know how to appreciate a good story don’t need much and anywhere is a good place to dive into another universe. A park, a simple terrace or even your room turns into the best spot to non-stop reading. But there are also unique spaces that contribute to create a magic atmosphere, which intensifies the moment that helps us to abstract from the reality.

The famous bookstore Shakespeare and Company is one of those places we were talking about. Though it has turned into a very touristy place, the environment is still awakening the emotions from many readers. Its origin dates back to 1919, when the owner, Sylvia Beach, decided to open a bookshop specialized in English literature. Authors as Hemingway went there looking for forbidden books in the US or England. In 1941 the shop had to close because, as Beach tells, she denied selling a single book to a German officer, but the North American, George Whitman, opened a new Shakespeare and Company with the same spirit. Shelves full of books and narrow spaces, guards that bohemian and romantic atmosphere that surrounds reading.

 

There’s another place in Wales, not a bookstore this time, but a whole village: Hay-on-Wye, known as ‘The Town of Books’. In 1961 the bookseller, Richard Booth, opened his first second hand bookshop. The success was unbelievable and many more joined this initiative, turning the village into a literary referent. Furthermore, Booth transformed a close castle and a fire station into outdoor bookstores. He proclaimed himself the kingdom of Hay-on-Wye, in which he would be the king Richard Cœur de Livre. He is responsible for the celebration of the Hay Festival, a literary event in which artists, scientists and intellectuals exchange ideas and new visions from the world.

Redu is similar to Hay. It is a town from Belgium known as ‘The Book Village’. It was inaugurated in 1984 and nowadays receives the annual visit of 200.000 curious looking for the 24 different bookstores they have. All restaurants, exhibitions and activities that take place are related to books and its world, so it’s the perfect destination for a very literary holiday. The most important event is in August, the ‘Book Night’, where all the bookstores are open and they offer jazz, rock and classic music live concerts or theatrical performances.

 

A bit further, in Buenos Aires, is located El Ateneo Gran Splendid, one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world, according to The Guardian. It is inside the old Grand Splendid theatre, preserving its original architecture. More than 120.000 books rest in the beauty of a reformed stage and theatre. However, the painted ceiling, the balconies and even the velvet curtain are untouched, propitiating a perfect decoration for a symbiosis of different arts.

Finally, Clementinum is the major architectonic complex from Prague and hosts the National Library and the Baroque Library, a space with 20.000 books dated before the XVI century. A tenuous light and a silence full of peace and spirituality become the perfect partners for the reading. It has a Mozart collection, texts from Tycho Brahe and Comenius, and historic copies from Czech literature.

 

 

What to visit in Copenhaguen

The end of the cold days is a good time to book the last trip of winter before the beach becomes the protagonist. These days the alarm clock comes together with the sun first beams of light, so having breakfast o having a coffee at the afternoons outside its the moment to choose it. Like we said, before talking about warm paradises, we want to propose you all the last destiny where enjoy the last cold days.

This time we talk about Copenhague, a wonderful city that has the most beautiful medieval buildings like the town hall and the Kongens Nytorv streets on the est side or Norreport Station on the north. The old part of the town moves us to the XI century, when only small fishermen based well-known as havn (port). The city had suffered lots of fires which destroyed the medieval architecture, but they still have the mercader spirit. Lovely food, amazing buildings and natural places are the definition of one of the most important north Europe cities. We suggest some places that will let enjoy Copenhague with the five senses.

1.  What to visit in Copenhaguen: NOMA Restaurant

Copenhague has some of the best restaurants in Europe and the World. In this case, the luxury restaurant Noma was recognized with the world best restaurant award for four consecutive years. It is obvious that is not a economic restaurant, but certainly one of the most exquisite experiences that will allows you to know the typical Denmark food. René Redzepi, the Chef, only uses Denmark products. Furthermore, it’s located on an old port warehouse giving an special ambient to the experience.

 

2.  What to visit in Copenhaguen: Papiroen

Really closet o the grey Den Plettede you will found the Papiroe market: one of these kinds of spaces where the native people enjoy the sunlight having a beer on the port edge and eating street food. It’s also situated on an industrial warehouse where they used to produce paper. The goal is get through the food the cohesion between business men, artists, musicians, and food or culture lovers. The place keeps the Nordic aesthetic, wood tables where you can see the city. Papiroen also does trades and clothes markets.

 

3.  What to visit in Copenhaguen: Illum Bolighus

To get to know the Nordic design, Illum Bolighus is the right plan. Almost like a museum, is a big space full of beautiful furniture pieces and decoration pieces from all the Scandinavian designers: Carl Hansen, Norman Copenhaguen, Ferm Living or Eva Solo. The window displays are master pieces of art. Danish design mix perfectly the great taste and the functionality. You will find the perfect example of it on this places; modern furniture with clean and pure lines made by high quality materials.

 

4.  What to visit in Copenhaguen: House 8, on the Orestad district

Denmark capital is also known on architecture. In 2011, for the second time on three years, was ranked as the best residence of the world. All of these were because Bjarke Ingels, a Danish architect, who won the World architecture festival for his proyect, “House 8”. The judges said: that it is a perfect project because combine the normal house uses of living with the market and office in a not traditional way, where his elevated streets allow a new social integration level. Almost 500 apartments, penthouses and houses share 1500m2 of common spaces where increase the life togheter.

 

 

Wom&Now Icons: Odile Gilbert

Her passion: travelling, cinema, art and photography

Profession: one of the best hairdressers of the world

Curiosities:

  • Smokes, drinks cappuccinos with no cinnamon and loves leggings.
  • New York is her second city.
  • She studied hairdressing three years in France.
  • She usually wears jeans and flat shoes because her job “consists about others style, for the ones that are in front of the camera”.
  • She created the famous “humar-hair” top hat for Jean Paul Gaultier in 1996.
  • Her hairstyles are exposed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
  • She has received the Order of Art and Letters by the Minister of Culture.

 

Quote: <<I believe in each woman’s personality and help her to comprehend this character, in order to reflect it in their hair>>.

Why it is a WOM&NOW woman:

Odile Gilbert is considered one of the best hairdressers in the world. Her creativity has been considered as an art and her work is exposed in museums. She has been working more than forty decades in the backstage from the best events, designers, photographers and editors. Kirsten Dunst’s hair for Marie Antoinette, a Sofia Coppola’s film, it is probably her masterpiece, but Gilbert has been behind big fashion shows from Karl Lagerfeld, Michel Klein and Giorgio Armani.

  

She decided to become a hairdresser because the idea of beautifying someone attracted her and considers that hair is something decisive. Odile thinks that someone can change its dressing style as often as they want, but the hair belongs to the body and that’s why it’s so important to take well care of it. Her passion for hair pushed her to start her career in London and later she moved to Paris, where she assisted the master Bruno Pittini during five years. She also had the chance to collaborate with the famous photographer, Helmut Newton.

But as many people during the 70s, and especially in the fashion world, Gilbert wanted to follow the American dream. She moved to New York in 1982 and rapidly fell in love with the city. The hairdresser wasn’t wrong: shortly she became the artist of Richard Avedon, Irving Penn or Steven Meisel. She confesses that was a slow process in which she had to learn a lot. But nowadays she is capable to run 11 shows per week and loves creating with new and young designers.

 

Far than what everyone could imagine, Odile doesn’t care about her hair at all. She recognized that years ago she used to experiment with it, wearing it in white, black, short, long… but “when you create bold things in other’s hair, you don’t want to do anything in yours”, explained in an interview.

Odile Gilbert is a Wom&Now woman because she has a creative view that, behind the lights and cameras, has contributed to imagine and conceive the best fashion shows and fashion photography. She is a professional that listens, studies everything and documents herself before beginning any project through texts, paintings and visual testimonies of the time or required styles to achieve the best final result. Above all, it is one of our icons for her care and love to her work and her capacity to work in group. Odile has very clear that beauty is something that emerges and is reached by collaborating with many people.

 

The best spas in Spain

There’s still left a few months till summer and we can’t wait that long to scape from the routine, relax and recharge the energies to come back with a better mood. But we certainly know that we couldn’t live without our job and constant activity. It’s proved that daily activities make us feel useful and more active and this contributes to keep a good mental health. However, the accelerated contemporaneous rhythm makes our body and our mind ask for a break. There are wonderful and magic spaces exclusively dedicated to body care and relaxation.

Today we’re talking about spas. There’s no need to go far, because you can find beauty centres in the middle of the city with exclusive treatments that isolate you from the reality in an afternoon. We won’t deny that the best way to disconnect is doing a short and intense escape in an idyllic environment. The best spas are usually located in the middle of the nature, with wonderful sceneries and retired from the noisy civilization.

Las Caldas Villa Termal

Is one of the historical spas in our country, with architectonic elements from the XVII, XIX, XX and XXI centuries. It is situated in Asturias and opened its doors for the very first time in 1776 named “Casa de los Baños”, now known as “El Manantial”. The thermal center is famous for its mineral and medicinal waters, that have attracted during three centuries, doctors and travelers around the world. They have soothing, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and relaxing effects. You can also do different activities around the area, such as hiking, cycling routes or horse riding.

SHA Wellness Clinic

Located near the “Playa del Albir” in Villa de Altea (Alicante). Its position in front of the Mediterranean Sea and near the Sierra Helada Natural Park makes it have a soft and warm weather during the year. Stated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the best places with better climatology in the world. More than beauty, SHA Wellness is distinguished from other spas for the natural therapies focused in the  healthy food that offers. They propose a diet that boosts the restorating capacity from the body and respects what the nature offers each season. We’re talking about consuming seasonal products and adapt the meals to the necessities from  the users.

Finca Cortesín

Situated between Marbella and Sotogrande, in the centre of the Costa del Sol, it’s summoned this amazing sanctuary, in of the quietest areas from the Mediterranean. The Spa from the hotel counts with 2.200 m2 and it’s divided in three zones: face and body treatment area, thermal bath area and gym. The thermal area has a sauna, a Turkish bath and a 10 degrees water japanese pool. It also has an exclusive cave at -12 degrees, unique in Spain and perfect for a contrast treatment for the skin.

The Organic Spa

For those who don’t have time to get out of town or have the urge for a recovery massage, a thermal bath… THE ORGANIC SPA suggests a trip to Thailand in the middle of Madrid’s downtown. It’s the first urban spa turned into an organic luxury center that includes a suite for two. All the therapists are qualified professionals and trained in the best resorts from Thailand at least for ten years. In addition, all the cosmetics used for the treatments are 100% natural and organic.

 

 

The origins of denim trend

Denim clothes are not coming back for spring, because the they never left. Denim is a non-stop trend that is reinvented and adapted every season by the different designers and collections. We’ve seen it in different versions, pieces and accessories. From tweed jackets to ripped jeans, the denim texture is eternal, always versatile and very easy to combine.

The origins from denim date back to the 17th century Europe, when it was firstly used to make working clothes. Thanks to its resistant character, strong and comfortable, this material it was perfect for men who worked in hard jobs that required physical effort. The first ones in dressing this essential basic for us were miners, peasants and workers that could keep their tools and make effort without worrying about breaking them.

 

The word denim comes from a fabric existing in France during the XVII century called “serge de Nimes”. Back then, the clothes were named according to its geographic location, in this case, Nimes. That’s how after naming it “deNimes” for a long time it was finally established as denim.
In the 18th century this fabric landed in the american Old West and it turned into the favourite one for cowboys. The next step was done in the 50s, when after the Second World War, denim stopped being used for workers and became popular in America, Europe and Asia. It was slowly associated to a rebel and young attitude, and it switched the factories and mines for recreation spaces and free time from young people.

This behaviour was accentuated during the 60s, a decade mainly known for the hippie movement that dressed its renegade and liberating ideals with denim garments. The material was finally linked to a modern attitude and to an anxiety of renovation.

 

Many Fashion Weeks have taken place since then and, as we said, denim has been growing from mines to haute couture. But coming back to nowadays, this season, flare jeans will relieve the privileged place that skinny jeans have held for years.

Various kinds of jeans have crossed our way, such as boyfriend, cropped flared, culottes or mom jeans, but finally they’ve made us consider it. The 2016 spring/summer collection from Wom&Now is also in favor in leaving behind the trend from skinny jeans and suggests seventies jeans that brings back the search for liberty and simplicity from the hippie movement with a chic and contemporaneous touch.

 

WE’RE SOON LAUNCHING OUR NEW WEBSITE AND ONLINE SHOP

We ended 2015 reviewing all the progress and projects we achieved and we are leaving the door open to a new 2016 to come with strength and good news. We’re already celebrating this week, because we can finally announce out loud that we’re opening soon our new online shop and website!

After months of hard work while attending “Who’s Next” fashion trade show in Paris and preparing the 080 Barcelona’s runway, we’ve also had time (and desire) to start our new platform, where you will find the whole Wom&Now universe. From our history and philosophy in relation to fashion and the design world, to an owned Magazine to check the new trends, lifestyle topics, culture…

  

And the most important thing: our new online shop. From now on you’ll be able to shop, through your different devices, our new Spring/Summer 2016 collection and own the clothes you’ve been seeing in our social networks. The designs for this season, travel to ‘la Côte d’Azur’, and get inspired by the sunny days, the sunsets and the wonderful blue light from the Mediterranean.

We are delighted to finally introduce our garments and offer them to you in the easiest and most comfortable way. In our Magazine you’ll discover articles so you can be inspired to create your best outfits with our suggestions.

To celebrate our opening, we’ll be rewarding your purchases with a detail during the first month; a limited edition handbag that will only be offered for this occasion!

 

Wom&Now was born with the spirit to express love for fashion, design and confection, that’s why we remain committed to traditional techniques and parameters that guarantee a unique tailoring. Every detail, texture and lining is tailored by the best hands and follows a rigorous and refined pattern design. Our purpose is to preserve the quality of traditional design and adapt their ways to the new metropolitan world.

The result shows deluxe urban pieces: perfect and sophisticated cuts but comfy and modern. It’s a collection that combines elegance and vanguard, the good taste and a casual and contemporaneous touch.

The website will be the site that will gather and join dynamic, cosmopolitan and strict women. They wear quotidian and functional outfits without abandoning the most exclusive fabrics, pure lines and exquisite cuts. Our new website and online shop is born to share fashion, to discover an audience that knows what they want and become an inspirational icon that helps you create more distinguished and original looks.

International Women’s Day

We can’t be more excited about this week, because we won’t stop talking about women! The International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8 every year. We should not forget that originally was called International Working Women’s Day. It has been over a century since the first time a woman raised her voice before spring. Fortunately, many countries have already progressed into equality between genres, but there’s still a long way to go. Even in the most advanced areas, women are discriminated at work and are subjected to images and social constructions that stop us from developing in an equal footing.

¿Cuándo y por qué surge el Día Internacional de la mujer?

On March 8, and every day is a good time to remind all those who have opened the way and reflect on new initiatives that will continue changing ideas and help create a fairer and free world for the concept of “gender “.

The International Women’s Day took place for the first time the 28th of February of 1909 in New York. It started as a Socialist political event in which was commemorated the strike from the textile workers of 1908. A group protested against exploitation and impunity after 146 workers died burned because of the harsh working conditions.

Photo from Reuters

In 1911 the fight has the participation from other countries such as Germany, Austria, Denmark or Switzerland. The leitmotiv from the celebration was and is still in many countries the request for the women rights, the universal suffrage for women, the access to a public position, the right to work and against job discrimination.

As the reasons haven’t changed or overcomed, it’s important to be conscious about all we’ll still have to work out and fight for equity conditions.

The United Nations participation this year will be under the theme “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”. The motto asks the governments to approach the difficulties that women are still facing in its educational, labour and personal development, in order to be able to reach and profit its capacities. They suggest to create programs that end with violence against women and stimulate the participation from women into decision-making. On the other hand, the UN states how important is to carry out educational campaigns in favour of equality.

Step it up for gender equality march.

Healthy recipes: winter salads

Today’s post is going to be easy to read, full of colors and very, very tasty! We want to inspire you and suggest you new combinations of delicious flavours, that are also really healthy! Rocío Graves, the author of ‘Let it Be Cosy’, has shared with Vogue some winter recipes and we’ve picked some of them for our blog. In less than a month will be spring (finally!), so the next weeks can be perfect to try new things before saying goodbye to some seasonal products.

It’s true that in the cold winter days we prefer hot dishes, but salads are as fashionable as a white t-shirt, it’s always a good choice! They’re perfect to add healthy and nutritive ingredients and also very handy for work.

We’ll let you have a look at our favourite ones, in order to fascinate your next guests with something so simple as a salad, that can pair any dish or be a main course. You can check the ingredients, quantities and the process at the Vogue’s article. We explain you why these recipes are the perfect (and healthy) alternative.

Red quinoa salad with artichokes with lemon and sweet mustard dressing

Quinoa. We’re done hearing its name everywhere, but it hasn’t been established in our kitchens till the last two years. The red version is tastier and its benefits has given the name of “superfood” in the foodie world. Despite being a seed, it can be eaten as a cereal and thanks to its nutritional composition it’s one of the healthiest foods. It has a lot of fiber and is rich in amino acids and Omega 6, also possess a high protein levels and compounded of minerals and vitamins.

  
Foto: © Rocío Graves / Let It Be Cosy (Vogue.es) 

Brown rice salad with lemon and avocado, kale and nutritional yeast

Kale has turned into one of the greatest vegetables from the market. You probably won’t believe it, but it has more iron than beef and even more calcium than cow’s milk. You can have kale leaves as a snack, in salads, in stews, cooked in the oven, in sandwiches or even in juices. It has anti-cancer and antioxidant properties and help the immune system function.

  
Foto: © Rocío Graves / Let It Be Cosy (Vogue.es)

Cauliflower salad with tahini and curcuma dressing, cooked in the oven, with beluga lentils and dried blueberries

We present you a very well-known vegetable for the ones who hate them, the cauliflower. We guess that the key to finally like it is mixing the proper spices or dressings to give it a sweet or spicy taste, depending our preferences. In this case, Rocío suggests to serve it with a curcuma dressing, a centenary mustard colored spice that acts in our body as a stomach tonic, helping our digestion. Curcuma increases our defences and protect the heart and liver. In the other hand, tahini is a thick paste made from ground sesame seeds, used mostly in arabic cuisine that stands out for its vitamin and protein value.  

  
Foto: © Rocío Graves / Let It Be Cosy (Vogue.es)

Caramelized pumpkin cooked in the oven with pine nuts, white beans and chicory salad

We can find pumpkins during the year in the market, but it’s actually an autumn and winter vegetable, very rich in vitamins and minerals. It can be cooked in creams, desserts, stews… giving your dishes a beautiful colour and a sweet touch. They say that its origins is in Meridional Asia and know that Egiptians and Hebrews cultivated the vegetable back then.

Pine nuts have been eaten for centuries, representing the most famous nut from the Mediterranean and the favourite one for the Romans. The benefits from the nuts are infinite. Pine nuts are rich in proteins, being a source of fiber served in many dishes. Furthermore, it’s used in the Valencian and Catalan cooking in sweets such as “coca de pinyons” or “panellets”.

 
Foto: © Rocío Graves / Let It Be Cosy (Vogue.es)

 

A century of fashion photography

distincion u siglo de fotografia en exposición 

The Design Museum of Barcelona has hosted a very special spot for fashion lovers during the last months. From last November till April, 2016, you can enjoy the exposition “Distinction. A century of fashion photography”. A total of 38 authors and 464 photographs from 1903 to 2013, manifest the power of the image as the main advertising medium for the fashion industry from the 20th Century.

You can find editorial photography for the best fashion headings, advertising campaigns from brands, designers or companies… Following a chronological itinerary of a hundred years that Juan Naranjo, the art curator from the exhibition, has synthesized as “Distinction”. This term tries to gather the intrinsic elegance from fashion and the difference or innovation typical from artistic vanguards. “The selected photographs escape, aesthetically and conceptually, from patterns established at that time and from its function to publicize a trend from a season. They’re not perishable; they connect us with the debates, the theories occurred throughout the 20th Century” explained Juan Naranjo to Itfashion.com. The art curator refers to discussions, like the ones that generated the modernism, Pop Art or the pacific movements from the 60s and 70s.

expo fotografia de moda 3 foto-moda-expo-bcn Foto 12_alta

The exhibition starts with the first pictures shot to models and dresses and soon appear the first changes that the irruption from the digital culture has marked the past century. The museum suggests a route that shows the continuous evolution of photography in this field. However, it’s also focused in the new devices that have influenced the production and diffusion from images.

Naranjo has stated that “Distinction” looks for the surprise, showing unknown photographs for the big public and turning into on of the first exhibitions that illustrates the progress of fashion photography in Spain.

Foto-13_alta Foto 10_alta

It’s divided in 7 areas:

  1. Photography before fashion photography.
  2. New vision.
  3. Interiors and exteriors.
  4. Movements.
  5. Staging and fantasies.
  6. Identity and difference.
  7. Landscapes.

Moreover, the Museum has also organized some activities related to the exhibition. For example, the 8th of March at 19pm there will be a film session to present the documental ‘Helmut by June’ and after will take place a symposium with some of the photographers represented in “Distinction”.

Foto 02_alta Foto 07_alta  Foto 15_alta

Haute Couture Hotels

A couple of weeks ago we read an article in Elle Decor during one of those cold evenings when you want a hot coffee and a good magazine that inspires us and then fly new ideas. And this time, our mind flew too high … because chronic going on “Haute Couture Hotels”. As if we had enough with the fashion weeks, the magazine suggested some of the most spectacular, luxury hotels and art that can be found today “lost world”.

Architects, decorators and designers have agreed to certain hotels are true works of art and as explained Elle, are worthy places of “get on the catwalk and trendsetter”. They are hotels to enjoy and live an aesthetic, relaxing and stimulating experience.

We couldn’t avoid to investigate some of them and we explain some of the details and secrets … if you still don’t have plans for this summer!

Alava is the “Marqués de Riscal Elciego Hotel”, signed by Canadian architect Frank O. Gehry. He won the Pritzker Prize in 1989 thanks to the innovative and unique forms of their buildings and the Marqués Hotel is an example of them. With a totally avant-garde facade (who can remember the design of the Guggenheim Bilbao), Gehry wanted to capture the colors of the Marqués Riscal wines -pink, gold and silver-, and combine them with a futuristic air of titanium. The interior is dressed with sloping walls, zigzag windows and high ceilings that make the space unique. It surprised that despite an innovative design, the hotel is a warm place integrated into the environment.

   

The “Finca de los Arandinos” in Logroño not far behind. This is the first wine tourism project in La Rioja that integrates winery, hotel, restaurant and spa. It has 14 rooms and 9 of them have been designed and decorated by David Delfín. Each room has a terrace with wonderful views to vineyards that surround you a pure natural air. The restaurant offers the essence of local cuisine, with products of proximity and environmentally friendly and their menus pick the best lamb, vegetables, sweet… with a gourmet style that also feeds the eye.

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Another we don’t lose another is the Lopesan Baobab Resort Gran Canaria. Its architect is Thomas Alía, who envisioned a building that transmit sounds, textures and own feelings on the African continent. To do this, he asked the help of professional landscapers and among all agreed that the wood would be the absolute star of the interior spaces. Senior Suite, the best room has a spacious dressing up. As for the cuisine, in addition to a buffet with Mediterranean menu, Baobab Resort has the only African cuisine restaurant in Canary Islands: “Akara”. Meat of wildebeest, zebra and antelope, coconut, palm oil and peanuts … awaken new impressions among customers.

  

And something more urban is found in at The Westin in Valencia. It is located in one of the most important buildings of the city and the designer Francis Montesinos was responsible for the decoration of the Royal Suite and staff uniforms. The Westin dresses of Art Deco with delicate marble hallways hanging in contemporary works by Spanish artists. In addition to its central location, one of the best things about the Westin is its Jardi Bar. A restaurant with indoor and outdoor space that offers all kinds of specialties when you want: a glass of wine, healthy food, sushi, cocktail mid afternoon …

Nada más entrar ya percibirá que entró en un hotel Westin, rodeado de sensaciones de bienestar. El olor, la música, la atmósfera... Bienvenido al universo Westin en Valencia. Proporcione a su estancia el más renovador de los descansos en una Westin Heavenly Bed, una cama celestial que encontrará en todas nuestras habitaciones y suites, para que se despierte relajado, energético y completamente renovado.