NYLON - April 2009 - (Page 90) fashion road trip: looks from the mango spring collection la vida loca barcelona, we love your style. by erika yorio ik AS AN UNDERGRAD backpacking around Europe for the first time, I arrived in Barcelona in a floor-length caftan picked up during an excursion to Morocco. I had one change of clothes: my father’s Irish sweater, Lee jeans, and a pair of Birkenstock clogs—not very fashionable. So when the opportunity to revisit the metropolis with an eye toward style came my way, I didn’t hesitate. Determined to make up for my last sartorial mishap, I over-packed my roomiest duffel and set out to locate the pulse of the city. First stop: the spring fashion show from Spanish mega brand Mango, where YSL-esque jumpsuits and bold florals were shown alongside delicately rendered eveningwear. In a city distinguished by Gaudi architecture and a proliferation of street art, locals layer with Continental ease, infused with colorful and mosiac accents. In the service of acquainting myself with Barcelona’s flamboyant elements, I let friends at Le Cool—a guidebook that imagines how James Dean would tour Barcelona—create my itinerary. The skaters implementing the sloping surfaces in front of the Richard Meier-designed Museum of Contemporary Art to graceful effect are not to be missed, nor is the neighborhood of Born, which is filled with trendy boutiques. With the endurance of a true Basque, I barhopped from La Rambla to El Raval and back again, admiring a carefully distressed mullet here, a pair of royal blue patent leather booties there. In the end, my threeday tour of Barcelona was perhaps just as bleary-eyed as the first go-round, just more fashionably so. places to eat, shop, and see Organic Boqueria Hidden among the fruit stands and tapas counters of La Boqueria, this vegetarian stall provides options for those who can’t stomach the catch of the day, no matter how fresh it is. PLAÇA DE LA BOQUERIA, JUST OFF LAS RAMBLAS. 93.301.09.02 Cal Pep Line up at this no-reservations Barcelona institution for traditional tapas with a side of fanfare. The festive eatery’s exquisitely flavorful offerings are worth the wait. PLACA DE LES OLLES 8, CALPEP.COM. 93.310.79.61 FROM TOP: a gaudi structure at park güell; the exterior of miriam ponsa; fresh food at organic boqueria. Miriam Ponsa For the artfully disheveled girl about town, the Catalan designer peddles her gently deconstructed wares in the heart of Barcelona’s trendy Born neighborhood. CAREER DE LA PRINCESA 14, MIRIAMPONSA.COM. 93.295.55.62 l’Antic Teatre Ground zero for works by avantgarde musicians, circus performers, auteurs, and their ilk. Bonus: backyard drinking. VERDAGUER I CALLIS 12, LANTICTEATRE.COM. 93.295.55.62 El Mariachi Manu Chao’s neighborhood watering hole. Pull up a chair (which is an overturned keg)— sometimes the global superstar will pull out his acoustic guitar. CALLE CODOLS 14. Coquette The discerning boutique houses indie-girl labels including Isabel Marant, Vanessa Bruno, and A.P.C. CALLE REC 65, COQUETTEBCN.COM. 93.295.42.85 090 photographed by erika yorio. mango pictures courtesy of mango. http://www.CALPEP.COM http://www.LANTICTEATRE.COM http://www.MIRIAMPONSA.COM http://www.COQUETTEBCN.COM
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