Scando-Style by the Fabulous Sarah Von [of 'Yes and Yes']

This post is by the gorgeous & delightful Sarah Von over at Yes and Yes– which is a must read if you’re not already reading it! It’s chockful of great tips for living an adventurous life, for giving back to the world & exploring it to the fullest, and most importantly–giving back to yourself.

We can all natter on ad infinitum about Parisian fashion (So sophisticated! All those stripes and scarves!) and Italian style (So much Sexy! Such high heels!) but we’re not here to add our voices to the choir that sings the praises of these much lauded styles. Let’s talk Scando-style.

Via Copenhagen Street Style and Stockholm Street Style

I’m not sure that the ladies of Norway/Sweden/Denmark/The Netherlands get the style kudos they so rightly deserve. They contend with some of the worst weather in the world while somehow managing to stay warm annnnd look sexy and hip. Let’s take a look at what they do to rock this warm, edgy look so successfully.

Via Feber and The Conveyor Belt

• Dark Colors
  I was going to attempt an argument here about black attracting heat and therefore keeping Scandinavian women warm. But that’s ridiculous. Just like the rest of the world, I suspect that these ladies have figured out that black is slimming, hip and doesn’t show dirt. And it also keeps you warmer than white! Win/win/win!

• Layers (Upon Layers)
  I love the way these ladies rock the ‘tights with the skirts and a tank top under a sweater with a jacket and a scarf’ look. They somehow manage to accomplish this without looking like bag ladies – something I struggle with when I wear more than two things at once. I think the trick here lies in layering similar colors, in thin layers and at varying lengths. That, and being a really hot, thin Swedish 19 year old.

• Sexily Scuffed
  The ladies of Scandinavia seem to have cornered the market on that hard to replicate sexy/messy look. Deliciously scuffed boots, stretched out t-shirts that slip off tanned shoulders, sweaters wearing just a little bit thin. Again, when I do this I look like I’ve been shopping out of a dumpster, but it looks hobo haute on these ladies.

• The Scarf
  Okay, so French women rock the scarf pretty successfully, too. But the girls of the northern regions can pile their scarfs atop outfits of grey wool and artfully torn jeans and look like a million dollars. Gorgeous!

• Natural Beauty
  When paddling my way though pages of French fashion, I can’t help but suspect that these lovely ladies? They lead lives of champagne and cigarettes and carefully applied red lipstick. There are many, many appointments with many, many people who color and pluck and paint them into perfection. But I have like to engage in the fantasy that our Scandinavian ladies get that complexion from yogurt and muesli breakfasts and that sexily mussed hair is *actual* real, live bed head. And if these things aren’t true, well damn if those girls can’t fake it!

If I were to attempt Scandinavian style, it’d look something like this:

Scando-Style by hovercraft

Maren has lived the entirety of her young life in Bodo, helping her grandparents run a BnB that caters to the midnight-sun seeking tourists. She spends her Sundays rowing through the Fjords with her boyfriend Hans and picking cloud berries in the mountains. When winter blows in, she saunas with her schoolmates. She loves throwing open the door of the sweat lodge and seeing the northern lights reflected in the snow.

Do you love the style of Scandinavian sisters? Which country’s style do you covet?

Thanks, Miss Von, for the amazing post on Scandinavian stylings!