Warning: Skip if You're Not Interested in Shopping. A LOT Thereof.

Well, where to start. The week after I returned from Japan, I went into the new-ish ESPRIT store on Kärntner Str. for the first time. I actually found it rather strange that an H&M branch had been replaced by it and in general I'm not a super-big fan of this brand. Yes, the quality is good and prices are decent, but it is not terribly exciting, either. I have to thank them for introducing the perfect and most comfortable pair of slouchy chinos in my life. It was on sale as well:

Ever since buying that first pair in a coral tone, I was on a mission to find another pair in my size on sale somewhere and went into every ESPRIT store I happened to pass (and no: they didn't have that style online). Accidentally, I found it at Kastner&Öhler dept. store in Graz two Saturdays ago. It was not as reduced as the first pair was, but I would have bought it full price as well. So now I have it in a very nice shade of blue, too:

I actually made another purchase at the ESPRIT outlet in Parndorf, a nice skirt the same colour as the red chinos, but the more spectacular bargain was this cotton/silk summer dress from René Lezard, a brand I find too expensive to shop at normally. Well, this beauty was reduced to €99 from €499. Not bad, eh?

Very different in style are those two neon (btw: one year ago and I would have SWORN you'd never see me again in anything remotely resembling a neon hue: I had had my neon-phase in the 1980s. Or so I thought) pieces from H&M that I picked up en passant in a Friday after-work stroll with the Gazelle. They look cool with my tan/neon-yellow sandals that I got back in April:

These are the sandals in detail: I love them and have worn them a few times already now that the weather is definitely sandal-y:

Duty Free shops at airports are dangerous places, in particular when your flight is delayed. When my flight to VNO was delayed for 2 hours, I just *had* to buy something. I ended up picking my favourite Chanel eyeshadow duo ever. I actually swapped it for a Bobby Brown palette with the Empress when I visited in Paris and only realised how much I missed it after that. We are now reunited and I love these two shades ("misty-soft") more than ever:

 

Same airport, following Monday: I bought the Guerlain travel blush brush I had discovered the previous week. Limited Pucci edition with blue bristles and a nice case:

 

At Sofia airport I discovered the perfect Longchamp travel bag. Like the Le Pliage series, just not actually foldable, i.e. missing the requisite press button. Ever since using my purple Le Pliage bag for work in Sydney every day, I knew that it was great for travelling as my work Macbook fits in perfectly. As you (might) remember I also got an orange one, like the previous one with frequent flier miles. Well, as the purple one is rather wintery and the orange one clashes with many colours, I was looking for a nice light, summery one. I don't like beige and the white in the traditional fabric would be impossible to clean. Enter this bag from the "metallic" line which has a sleek surface that should not get as dirty. After circling it in the DF shop for 15 minutes or so, I decided I had to have it and whacked out my credit card:

 

Not only are DF shops dangerous, business travel as such is, too. I discovered a very nice shop in Bulgaria, Capasca, and decided it would be rude not to get something from their summer sale:

The trousers (super lightweight cotton with elastane, I wore them today in 36° heat) have really cool detailing:

 

Unlike the first time when I visited Sofia and shops were full of slutty high heels, plastic shoes seem to rule in summer. Just the type of plastic shoes I regretted not getting a pair of in Nice two summers ago. Well, they were much cheaper in Bulgaria anyway. I picked up this cool (but incredibly smelly) pair of shoes for about €10:

Today, I went to the Gabor outlet near Villach with my Mum. She now has a card that gives you an extra 20% off the outlet price. Again, it would be rude not to... I was reminded that I didn't yet have a two-toned pair of ballet flats. Ta-daaaah:

Well, this is about it, apart from some bits and pieces I bought in Vilnius. The picture was taken in my hotel rain the day I bought everything. The crips from Marks&Spencer are now long gone, as you can imagine, but the pretty linen scarves are still going strong. The other tidbits are from cheapo store Tiger (Danish, but has a branch in Vilnius). The plasticky smell there was almost as bad as my pink shoes.

So much for the highlights of the recent weeks' shopping exploits. Lets see whether I'll fall into some shopping traps in Warsaw...