I have been in love with Finland since my childhood, and I am also a fashion designer, so I want to tell you a little about the street fashion of its capital — Helsinki. And also kind of undermine the universal stereotype of the boring Finns, who do not know how to dress stylishly, preferring dull gray-black palette and practical sweaters with a deer ornament.

Perhaps this publication will inspire someone, entertain and amuse others, but in any case, I hope you will not remain indifferent to wonderful Finnish fashionistas, even if some of them look like they are on the verge of decency and sense of proportion.

There is a perception that the farther a nation to North is, the more muted and understated clothes it prefers. First, it blends with the natural color type (fair skin, natural blond hair and grey or blue eyes). Secondly, Finland can't boast of developed consumer industry (so as China) or of a warm climate for seasonal fashion (as, for example, Italy). Finland is a country of thousands of lakes, a warm sauna and good fishing. Well, what fashion could be for fishing after a sauna?

I'll be honest and admit that some part of this is true. In provinces and small towns like Rovaniemi people don't like to stand out too much, and they don't even have an opportunity...
They only heard about fashion here, a usual street look is something like this:

However, if we move to Helsinki, we will be surprised...or rather much surprised!

And the first surprise is that on the streets there are so many brightly dressed people, gaudy green, bright red, sunny yellow, orange, electric... It seems like I'm on some incredible masquerade. A riot of colors, and in a single outfit in spite of the common standards of taste there can be more than three colors!

Secondly, we will be surprised with how people combine things of different eras, styles, and purpose. In my opinion, there are quite good, very stylish looks...I am inspired by such looseness, boldness and there is some kind of freedom in this style... Some Russian women lack that.

By the way, the older generation is not far behind....

The stronger sex is also not far behind. Can you call this nation boringly dressed?

However, sometimes the internal free artist apparently is out of control, and you can meet such characters on the streets of Helsinki in the middle of the day:

You know, I don't believe that even these looks are wrong. In my opinion, that courage is better than conservatism of the gray crowd, but certainly a sense of proportion is very delicate thing... It's like ice on one of the thousands of Finnish lakes!

And at the end of our tour, here are a few interesting looks, in my opinion.

First of all in all this splendor with a hint of madness I like internal freedom and independence of people with which they create their looks. It's like hanging in the air: "You don't owe anyone anything!" Women don't have to wear a pencil skirt and high heels and always be "glamour" and "sexy", men don't think that a bright shirt and an incredible shade of pants are a sign of a homosexual. People here are not looking for elegant, expensive, trendy clothes from famous brands. And if you ask where a particular fashionista got that clothes, you will most likely hear: "I bought them at a flea market!" Or: "There was a sale in a second-hand store!" Or even: "I made them myself." We can safely say that the Finnish fashion really comes from the streets, not from expensive podiums, there is little gloss and a lot of cordiality in it, and that's probably why it has inspired designers around the world for many years...

Yes, it is possible that sometimes Finnish fashionistas go to far, as if hiding behind a screen of bright, shocking, even dream-like looks, but now I know for sure: the Finnish style is not only about monochrome, practicality and conservatism.

I hope you liked this publication and now you know that fashion in Helsinki is something more than a black coat and a sweater with that sacramental reindeer pattern! :-)

Thank you for your attention!