Friends + Family + I Want This + Vanity + Wearables

Marimekko wants.

I keep wandering over to the Kiitos Marimekko website and obsessively adding things to my cart and then immediately removing them. Yes, I could just walk up to the actual store during lunch, but I suspect that repeatedly putting things on the counter and having them rung up and then putting them back on the rack right away might get me kicked out. Better to do these things online. In secret.

It’s hard for me to commit to the price tags, though. I am ridiculously cheap when it comes to buying clothing (I hate shopping for clothes, especially in thrift shops or big discount stores that require effort/”hunting”, so I tend to default to easy, boring, cheap places like H&M, Old Navy and Forever 21, which never winds up making me happy with myself in the long run. I basically have the opposite attitude about clothing as I do about décor…but I digress), but considering the last time I owned any Marimekko clothing was 30+ years ago*, I kind of feel like maybe I deserve it.

marimekko1.jpg

Reuna Dress, Palloraita Stockings // Riimu Sweater

Hoku Dress // Alina Dress

Onneli Kitte Top // Siila Tunic

I’m not really sure what the difference is between what they call a “dress”, “top”, “sweater” or “tunic”, because they all look like they offer roughly the same amount of coverage, but I’d wear them all the same way—with leggings and boots. This is exactly the kind of shape I love in clothing.

*Yes, that’s me on the left, sporting a brown-and-white Marimekko nightgown…and the same unevenly-cut bangs I have today. The photo on the right (I know it’s tiny and bad quality, but it’s all I have!) is my mother. In an email to me yesterday, she wrote: “That same year I also used to wear an orange and black striped knit dress. And horizontally striped tights. I’ve always liked stripes.” Don’t you want to wear that exact outfit right now?! I know I do!

Now you see, this is evidence that no matter how hard you try to fight it, you will eventually become your mother. (Have I mentioned that my mother is a graphic designer?) When Mommy came over to my house last weekend for coffee, we had on virtually identical outfits: chunky-knit charcoal gray cardigans from H&M, black shirts, black leggings/skinny pants, and Frye “Veronica Slouch” boots (mine brown, hers red).

Maybe she and I need to go on a Marimekko unshopping-spree together. Then we can hem and haw over the clothes as a pair, wish we could have everything, then put it all back and walk out empty-handed. Sigh.

Previous Post Next Post

Other Stuff You Might Be Into

24 Comments

  • Reply christina November 11, 2010 at 1:37 pm

    ooooh, coveting over that last black dress
    i wish

    • christina November 11, 2010 at 1:37 pm

      except not “over”…i’m sleepy

  • Reply tallin November 11, 2010 at 1:37 pm

    I bet the web analysts at Marimekko are trying to figure out why you keep dumping your cart! 🙂

    I’d definitely go with the Siila Tunic.

  • Reply Benita November 11, 2010 at 1:59 pm

    Ha! I had that same nightie but in red and white and a T-shirt and shorts set in green and white. Marimekko never does go out of style. Love the snowy Alina dress!

  • Reply Lori E. November 11, 2010 at 2:21 pm

    LOVE the shapes of the “tunics/dresses”. But I wouldn’t belt the last one. I have belt issues… I love loose and swingy. Which, just for the record, I am not… hee hee- couldn’t resist! And stripes. I have a stripe addiction and have since high school. I still own a pair of over the knee blk/wht striped tights which I pulled out to use with my Halloween outfit this year. 🙂 Now I must go and look up the Frye boots you mentioned.

  • Reply Megan November 11, 2010 at 2:32 pm

    I find that if I buy something I absolutely love – even if it’s a splurge – I wear it more and for many more years than if I bought something cheaper and “more sensible.” These clothes have tons of style and would great on you. Go for it! Start with one and see how often you use it, then add accordingly 🙂

  • Reply Kelly November 11, 2010 at 3:41 pm

    definitely splurge on some marimekko goodness. it’s so you! all this time i thought you already had a closet full of their stuff! 🙂

  • Reply Shilo November 11, 2010 at 3:52 pm

    Holy wow, I want the Alina dress BADLY.

  • Reply Jessica Grace November 11, 2010 at 4:59 pm

    hahaha! pretend shopping online- I do that all the time too!

  • Reply A. Tee November 11, 2010 at 5:10 pm

    Love Love Love the Hoku Dress.

    And I 100% agree – you do eventually become your mother- my outfit today {everyday} proves it – blazer, blouse, scarf and chunky jewllery borrowed {stolen} from my mom.

    a.tee.

    PS: what a stylish baby you were 🙂

  • Reply steve at urbaneer November 11, 2010 at 5:37 pm

    you would look amazing in any of your picks! s

  • Reply cvjn November 11, 2010 at 7:26 pm

    you know what? they’re not that expensive at all. you should totally buy one. i’ll give you permission if it helps! buy it now and wear it to holiday dinners and parties. there you go: a rationalization all wrapped up and ready to go home with you and the dress.

  • Reply raina November 11, 2010 at 7:37 pm

    I finally caves to my Marimekko cravings last spring and it was so worth it.

  • Reply PhillyLass November 11, 2010 at 8:55 pm

    How about this solution: You and your mom could each buy the other a Marimekko outfit for the holidays. You can’t feel guilty about a splurge for someone else!

  • Reply Sue November 11, 2010 at 9:08 pm

    I love it that your mom’s so hip. Go for it with the Marimekko, it is sooo you. I bought the Veronica Slouch boots about a month ago in brown and black because I couldn’t decide on a color! I think the black might go back…..

  • Reply Jessica (Goodbye, Small Heart) November 11, 2010 at 10:05 pm

    This post really makes me hope I have a daughter someday. Your mom sounds so cool and it seems like you have a great relationship with her–and your obvious appreciation of her is heartwarming!

  • Reply Melanie November 12, 2010 at 2:20 am

    That Silla tunic is really cute! The nomenclature does seem pretty ambiguous; I’m sure it’s something about the cut that only fashion mongols would be able to identify.

    So cute that you and your mother are so similar! I notice myself doing the same thing—turning into my mother—and I’m totally ok with that.

  • Reply Gali November 12, 2010 at 4:38 am

    Marimekko will be the death of many people! I own way too many Marimekko bags for my own good, it’s like I can’t possibly resist a sale there… it’s horrible when you go into the city center and there are what seems to be a dozen Marimekko stores with ALE/REA signs!

  • Reply Becky November 12, 2010 at 9:55 am

    You should definitely get one. As a person who has never ever invested in clothes or shoes before, I was AMAZED when I actually bought some clothes that fit and I loved and shoes that were nice and not cheap. Such a difference in how I felt and it was totally worth the extra money I put into it.

  • Reply Simone November 12, 2010 at 11:42 am

    Funny I do exactly the same thing on the Marimekko site and I had exactly the same Shirt as a child.

  • Reply minna November 12, 2010 at 12:25 pm

    Hahaa, I´w had the same nightie when I was a kid. Marimekko is classic !
    Greetings from Finland

  • Reply karen November 12, 2010 at 2:51 pm

    Hi from a fellow marimekko obsessive. I think nothing of paying huge amounts of money for their fabrics and homewares yet can somehow never bring myself to pay for their socks!!

  • Reply danielle November 12, 2010 at 3:25 pm

    EVERY time I get back to the city I stand in Kiitos Marimekko drooling.
    What you need to do is find cheap airfare to Finland. Right outside Helsinki is a Marimekko “outlet” type store. I filled my suitcase! While it was not H&M prices…. it was reduced and they had many years worth of stuff….

  • Reply Barb F (Australia) November 12, 2010 at 4:20 pm

    Your mother is gorgeous Anna, and such an inspiration. Whilst I adore my Mum, a fashion icon she is not!

    I love that I am not the only one who repeatedly non-shops over the internet. How many times have I filled up the basket only to immediately feel guilty and empty it all again. Sigh.

  • Leave a Comment

    Door Sixteen is a hate-free, drama-free, spam-free zone. Open dialogue is welcome, but comments designed to harm or deceive will be removed.

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Get D16 in your mailbox

    Sign up to receive weekly digests and (occasional) other updates from Door Sixteen! I promise to not bombard your inbox.