Scandinavian fashion usually has a loose, relaxed feeling to it that contrasts directly with the tight silhouette of Italian style. It is interesting to compare women's fashion from the two regions because they really impress upon you a difference in culture between Northern and Southern Europe.

I want to draw a direct comparison between Massimo Dutti, which is owned by a larger Spanish company and Pudel which is Swedish. Ignoring the practicalities of the websites (sorry, Dutti has a flash website) there's a clear difference in the clothing. Pudel creates looser, less buttoned up garments while Massimo Dutti provides very tight, quite tailored clothes and it's characteristic of what can be broadly expected from the two regions. Why is there such a gap? It's so unexpected in fashion, which is essentially a global industry. You expect differences between designers but not necessarily ranges in accordance with their location. However there are definitely tiny details that continue to characterise regional clothing and they are are only obvious when you really look at clothing coming out of companies that provide slightly higher price high street fashion. Is it weather, politics? This would be my PhD subject if I chose to do one.