Fe + Male

Among all the paper goodies that I received or bought on my birthday there was a small, but very noteworthy one, Tata + Tata, a new Romanian zine. As Carola asked to let you know how the magazines are, and as I find this one particularly intriguing, I am going to start with it. I had my eye on this little zine from their first issue, Cook Book for the Modern Man, yet I only managed to get my hands the latest issue, All About Queer Living. And once I did, I was not able to put it down. Contrary to what you might think from the titles of these two issues, the zine is not only gay-oriented. Up till now they have had an issue on Other Sports for the Modern Woman and also one on Rokolectiv. It is a zine that debates the issue of gender separation, sexuality, and ultimately life. The well-written texts, which switch from Romanian to English, have such a natural flow that reading them is sheer pleasure. The design compensates for the provocative text, as the rather traditional layout is balanced and consistent through-out the magazine. A vertical two grid design is well-chosen for the small size of the publication and the space is used to it's maximum with the help of small margins. It is clear that the zine has a lot to say, as it should, since the space allocated for text is larger that the one for photos.

It can be read online, yet I always believe that the experience of actually holding a magazine and flipping through the pages always enhances the experience of reading it. So if you can I recommend you get a copy of it. And do it while you still can because as you know zine's are rather difficult to find, and especially good ones. I got mine at Omnivore's Dilemma.

It seems that the issue of gender separation is coming more into focus lately. For example, at the fair from this past weekend, I discovered a new brand whose name tag says: MADE BY FE[MALE]. I did buy a blouse and a dress from them, which I do really like and which you will see soon, yet what I found very interesting and inspiring was the branding, with its reference to the male and female fusion. I'm going to soon make the time to write down something regarding my views on gender and sexuality, and how it is perceived in and by society. But until then, I leave you with the results of a recent photo shoot done in one of the most beautiful parks in Bucharest, Herastrau.

As an illustration of the aformentioned fusion, I chose to mix the masculinity of leather, represented by the jacket, bag and shoes, with the femininity of an above the knee silk skirt.

So I paired the Rag & Bone skirt with a Stefanel blouse and a no-name fake-leather jacket. The shoes are also Stefanel, while the black leather bag is Marc by Marc Jacobs. Speaking of, I've recently re-became a lacto-ovo vegetarian, and I'm still debating the use of leather goods. Any thoughts? 

All photos by Helga Fodorean, whose fashionable style you can see bellow :)

P.S.

As some of you have asked me, I've just started a Page on Facebook on which you can find various visual inspiration for the posts,  fashion finds, and everything else that doesn't make the blog.