Just Smile

Magdalena Jasek in “Just Smile” by Camilla Akrans for Vogue Italia, August 2014

First I like to apologize for being such a moody cow on this blog. I have been in a blog-rut and my inner teenager has been rebelling against anything that's fashionable right now.

Ok, not everything because I've had an intense monochrome crave in everything fashion. There are periods when certain type of colours or clothes feel more fitting to your mood: I didn't feel like the bird in Paradise so I'd wear something more muted in black or white.

Right now I am adding more colour to my wardrobe again: like a coloured shoe or a zesty blouse. Natalie Jools says that she loves her bright clothes, but for dates she has a certain set of a black dress & black shoes: because men like simplicity and good forms.

Jools Non-date ensemble

I'd be in 'complicated' fashion too if I had her type of legs. 

Have a wonderfully monochrome, unicoloured or multicoloured weekend!

Vogue Fashion Night: Dutch Edition

Armed with a camera, more makeup than normal, a flexible Helmut Lang dress and some heels-I-could-run-away-with I visited VFN in Amsterdam...

Just a quick round (1 hr) to cure my curiosity of what models would look like in real life [really thin] and a whole bunch of fashion-addicts [really beautifully groomed]. It was more fun than I'd bargained for...

As for the Maje coat in Ph 7: want, especially the one with the leather sleeves (not available in Amsterdam yet)

Fashion Experimantalism vs Being (my boring) Self

 I think everybody has had some criticism in her/his life and one of the greatest myths that older people will tell you is "it will get better when you get older". Basically, it doesn't! but it will change into a more subtle form instead of your 4-year-old friend declaring bluntly to you "I don't like your lunchbox".

Being more mature (doesn't have to do with age, 'cause some oldies are still not mature at all)  will basically give you more grips into saying "I don't care about your opinion because I've tried the things you suggested 10 years ago and I didn't like it".

left: "is it a bird?..no, it's superman". Right: "hiya, I'm literally on the fence"

Clothes and Fashion-experimentalism:
I did left a lot for the blog...Wearing the most colourful stuff. But basically I prefer to dress up like right: still colourful but a bit more classic.

Hair and experimentation:
Left shows the wig I bought for the blog. Wonderfully red and a bob with heaps of volume. It looks cool, fashionable and fun, but I don't really think it suits me.
Right: 'boring' me with natural and longer hair. Yes, people have given me flack about my hair being too long (some people my age), not having highlights (I had blonde when twentysomething and disliked it at a certain moments), or not being cool-girl enough (cool girls-squad). But I just don't like chemicals in my hair and I don't think the bob on the left really suits me.

Being experimentational in fashion/hair is wonderful when being younger and also fab when being more mature and feeling like it. Finding your own style is something else and can bring out respect too.

At least, it should when the hair is taken care for and is clean and fresh.
As for fashion? It's clothes you can take on and off. But it has symbolism these days so we like to play with it, right?
As for bodies: I don't think an eating disorder is worth it when it's not your job (neither with models, btw, or actrices, but at least they get paid to work out in the gym and be totally obsessed with their looks).

Duh, I'm getting to floaty, guru-talk today....Must be the Yoga..."Namaste" :-D

How to blag € for the bag?

Disclaimer: this post should be taken with a pinch of salt...but we've all been there: really wanting something when you cannot afford it...

source: Jefferson Zip @ Coroflot

1. Friends are forever (and designer bags as well)

I think borrowing money as a slightly fashion-addict is difficult. Your not-into-fashion friend really don't get it why you need that upteenth bag, and your fashionistas-in-crime already spend their spare money (and probably some borrowed from yours) on their musthaves!

"meet my Friend, the walking creditcard"(via Ground-zer0)

But don't ask all the time. Few people (except for the girl above) want to be seen as a walking creditcard and your friends will get sick of you if you treat them that way. Don't jeopardize real friendships that matter for some material must-have.

2. Try the route of 'Love'

The boyfriend or husband can come in handy but only if he feels guilty enough loves you enough to set aside a bit for you. And sometimes he says he loves you and that's why *quote* "EXACTLY why he will not give you the cash/bag/item because you need to get serious with your life". Oh great! That's what we need, a serious life because the news is so funny and the economic situation hilarious.

3. Sisterhood of the travelling pants bags:

If you have lots of fashionfriends (who have blogs): consider buying a it-bag together and alternate them on your posts.

4. Get yourself a sugardaddy (or mummy)...

Alas, not all older, rich men come in these packages

Uhm, I wouldn't (except for example above)...but if it works for you...

5. Poor Little rich girl:

 Hurray, it's father's day so let's get to the 'poor little rich girl' techniques

Shirley Temple in "Poor Little Rich Girl"(1934). source: doctormacro

Check out poorlittlerichgirl.com for some real info.

6. Be Bold in asking

I once got the boldest request of borrowing someone money for a bag. This guy (not gonna mention names) that I only know from twitter half-jokingly/half-seriously asked me to hand him some cash for a bag. OK, based on a twitter contact? Anyway, you gotta give him credits for trying and he always has quite expensive stuff carrying around so he must blag a lot to get money.

7. Work your b*tt off and don't ask other people for any favours!

Yeh, the hard way. At least you will know your bag is YOURS...worked for with honest money. or....

8. Get yourself into the circles of the rich/famous/succesful:

Source: Jefferson Zip @ Coroflot

I don't know if it scores any bags, but it can always get you some good pictures for a blog which can gain more popularity.

9. Creditcards are forever too:

 (especially the debts)

   

10. Be really gorgeous and don't settle for less...

former market girl Vodianova probably had lots of guys buying her fruits

Obvious one: I'm just average so the tips above will work better for me. But I've seen some really gorgeous girls doing the most average jobs whereas I would think: come on, get yer purty face into a (decent) but better paying job!

School Uniform(ity) & Fashion

Living in the Caribbean as a teenager has changed my idea of fashion. Perhaps similar as the British girls who have to wear uniforms, and most Caribbean teenagers as well, we are more inventive and perhaps less convential when the moment we actually have the choice of picking our outfit instead of wearing our mandatory school cozzie.

Also, this fashion season is totally my piece of cake, because I've learned to love and embrace bright colours in my (Caribbean) teens. Bright colours bring me back to that place in time & geography a bit.

That makes me wonder: how did your school & teenage period influence how you look upon dressing and fashion these days? Or didn't influence anything at all?

5 Things most fashionbloggers think are IT

Disclaimer: this post is slightly sarcastic with my lame idea of humour: ofcourse, irony stems from a feeling of rebellion agains the standard, but if you do those things I mention, don't feel offended I don't do them (or make slightly fun of it), It's just my lame ironic nature!

Not that it has been mentioned to me before, but I figured out I don't really look/behave/dress like the generic fashion-blogger. I have 5 reasons for that...I think I have more reasons, but I summed up the top 5 what lots of fashionbloggers do, but I don't...

1. Michael Kors watches

It's actually one of those things that I consider cute & a touch of tomboy on other girls, but I saw them in real life at the Dutch pseudo-elite department store (Bijenkorf) & I found them to be cast-offs of real luxury brands, such as Cartier, Rolex, or even similar priced Balmain. Brings me to Balmain that I really like his watches and the designer Rouseting is intensely attractive too. So I'll either go cheap and unknown, vintage, Balmain, or I'd really spend one day.

2. Excessive arm-parties

Too much dangling going on for me: I like a few, classic, thinner bracelets with a architectual element (so square instead of round, eg, this COS bracelet). I already get nervous of the *clinky*clanky* when wearing three at the same arm: two is ok, though.

3. Trichotillomania

Excessive hairtwirling: I really don't get it. I slightly do: it's flirting, right? But it seems like an obsessive compulsive disorder on some fashionbloggers that is not for the sake of flirting anymore but for the sake of spelling out "I'm a real fashion-blogger". As for flirting device: I find it nervous-looking and a bit of too fragile trying to be a little girl instead of a femme fatale: femme fatales apply lipstick; little girls twirl hairs. Did I mention it breaks of your hair like mad too?

source: here, but this is displayed on about 80% of female fashbloggers

4. 'The tilted Salad': 

I think Chiara coined that face and I find it difficult to read the body-language behind it. Is it "do you like me?"-face or the "don't mess with me or I'll hypnotise you with my gorgeous eyes"- face. I know it is 'fashionbloggers-standard' face right now but I don't get it...Similar as the hairtwirling.

I do like the original, Chiara, though: she made a trademark of herself by being one of the first and the most marketable in the field: that attracts copycats, ofcourse.

5. The "John Wayne"

'Clazzy' pose from Elena @ Denimology

I see these a lot on jeans-review blogs specifically...I think it is handy to show you how it looks from the backside, but some poses are just a bit too hardcore for me: I mean, legs spread? when would I stand around in the supermarket or in a shop like that (or work, not the kind of work I have). Or do these women have a horse-riding past, or such? So that one is for the men browsing around and not really for fashion-sake. I don't mind but why disguise it as fashion??? I think Elena from Denimology (above)  is the most caricature of all (here) but I honestly don't browse the jeanssites enough to really compare: I prefer jeans on a classier model.

Ok, not entirely a blogger (or she is these days) but she does 3 (ring party, 'tilted salad' & the twirly hair:

Ok, I actually did the 'tilted salad' in the Forest (G) post but I was thinking: "I hope this is standard enough?" or, "do I pass the convential fashionblogger test?". Not really spontanious to me and I feel it doesn't reach real fashion anymore that shouldn't be about rules.

That is why most women (& some men) I follow have a original edge that strike the fashion-cord without being too eager to belong to the 'fashionblogger'-tribe. I hope I can become as good as them :D

the Zara Silky Blouse

I have been quite infatuated with Crème de la Crème brand of silky blouses: Equipment.

I have already managed to get a reasonable collection thanks to the discounts on Shopbob and TheOutnet. Nevertheless, like anything that borders to obsessiveness I found myself to be buying too many of them under the pretext that they are the kind of basics that will last for years to come. They actually are, but I should go a bit easier on spending too much on things a bit too expensive.

I thought it was unwise to go cold-turkey on my silky blouse habit so I went for a Zara blouse instead last week. Initially I lusted over a similar colour of a Equipment one (link), hence seeing something similar on Zara with a funkier collar made me try that one for 100 euros cheaper.

I have to say I have been really happy receiving it: it is a beautiful pink that borders on the cooler side. Although the silk texture is slightly inferior compared to Equipment's quality, it is still a good silk. And, unlike some Zara items, it has been finished quite well (no loose threads, etc)

Coincidentally, I saw it on an amazingly stunning fashionblogger this weekend. However, she was not really happy with it's newer sizing, complaining that it was quite narrow on her chest. In contrast to her, I do not have a lot happening down there but I have to agree it is relatively bigger around the waist while being normal/loose on the chest. I have an M size but I could have picked a small.

I am never confident putting up my own picture online, even thought just 3 people will see it. Anyway, it's good therapy for me.

And perhaps it helps other women with different bodyshapes to go for a particular blouse, or not.

Can I have another Dress?

I think I've been too much on the jeans-blouse side lately.  I like them to bits, but I really want to fill my closet with dresses again.

All Saints dress

Actually, I'm miss Chaos. My closet is a crowded gathering of everything crammed together but I lack some good dresses. I used to have tons of them 2 years ago but they became too young (think ditsy dresses) for me.

I love dresses as it's the one thing boys/men cannot copy from us girls. Even the skirt gets some male action among some Scots. But dresses, not counting Kaftans among them, are girl-territory.

Conclusion: I am gonna shop more for them, not my previous ditsy kind but the ones that are a bit DvF-esque.

AdR interview V&A

If you have some time left, check out the 1hr video of Anna Della Russo being interviewed by Peroni.

Shoes? She has 4000 but it has been a while since she counted.

I really love her voice and Italian gestures and energy: after hearing her talk it makes me like her even more. You gotta love her earlier decadence in life: she demanded not only the Fendi bag from her dad, she needed the umbrella and the rest as well.

Less is more? tah...More is less with Anna, Most is Best!

Gotta love the cheekiness of the boy in the end asking her to try one of his designs.

Unexpected hit & miss of FF 11

You never know what you're really going to like at the beginning of a new fashion-season.

In general I had one real unexpected hit, and one real unexpected miss.

The Hit: Isabel Marant Corduroy pants

 

Last time I wore corduroy was when I was a child. It hasn't been featured anywhere clear in fashion since because it is just not the most flattering fabric. Right, Marant's cord-stripe is quite thin so it doesn't qualify as your standard cords. It actually has a sort of velvet hue that looks really warm in some lightning. The odd feeling on the skin when wearing heavy corduroy fabric is not present with these pants; they actually feel quite soft on.

It was my real winter hit: the burgundy was easy to pull of with other colours and the cords made the pants more original than your standard jeans. I bought it on sale during the Bijenkorf sale for 40% off so it wasn't that extremely pricy (being a Marant Etoile), and still early enough to get me through winter.

The Miss: Chunky Sweaters

COS chunky sweater

Chunky sweaters are not made for my shape: I prefer to have a defined waist with everything because I depend on the hourglass-figure and not on thin legs. These sweaters are made for the skinny-legs-crowd that get cold during the winter, because a boxy sweater can keep them cosy. Not that I don't get cold, I get awefully cold, but I layer 5 types of bodycon sweaters over each-other and still have the defined waist.

In general, how cute some of my boxy sweaters looked, I felt big in them. I skipped them, and they didn't get a lot of love during the FF 11 season. Perhaps I should give one of these to my skinny-legs friends afterall.

How AdR does Neutrals

A neutral or somewhat standard looking Anna Della Russo is as rare as an Edelweiss on the top of a Austrian mountain. However, she's dressed as white as an Edelweiss, and it is a rare opportunity to see dear Anna going white and neutral to attend the Givenchy show.

I still think she stands out from the rest of the fashioncrowd at Givenchy, but somehow I am a bit underwhelmed by Anna's standards...The skinny jeans/pants make her legs really skinny-looking (and all women know white never slims) and she reminds me a bit of the large amount of fashionbloggers wearing skinny jeans...it's a great look, but not the standout Anna I'm used too.

On the other hand, she is flirting with a slightly masculine look and I always welcome an experiment from your standard style: Anna often opts for high-femme Couture Italia-feminity and this is an unusual change for her. I adore that tuxedo-esque jacket and it has the right amount of largeness to keep it slightly masculine with a feminine twist. Her blouse is also so strickt and crisp as in the perfect off-white colour.

Still, if she wanted to press the flirtation with a masculine look a bit more I think she should have gone for more directional shoes...a strict white glossy ankle boot with a slightly S&M appeal to it. I like her clutch...but also I would press the sleek-factor a bit more by making it larger, perhaps a graphical shape and in a patent black or white (or both).

Isabel Marant FF 2012

the highly acclaimed designer herself on the right

  

The Isabel Marant collection is the one I really looked out for of the Paris Fashion Week session. Marant's aesthetic is the kind that feels easiest and most natural to me: I know some women who have to fake the slouchy 'je ne sais quoi' look (by intentionally messing up their hair or clothes, some really immaculate women who try to be messy, it looks so cute but somewhat unnatural to them) but for me being slightly messy is something natural to me.  Marant's cool Parisian left-bank chic is almost like something I would have designed myself, if I could...

These 12 looks are my favourite of the 40...I notice that my only leather pants and my 5 leather skirts can still stay in my closet, good thing. Also, the combination of old pinkish hue and a brick red will be seen a lot...I will try this one soon with my burgundy Equipment blouse and old rose jeans soon (you can never be too trendsetting).

I also prefer the shoe section over the ones issued for SS 12: I like the ubertrendy wedged sneaker but not on me...I like a pump a lot better and the cowboy boot aesthetics feels like I have to save my cash for the real thing when the boots and shoes will be for sale. And I really fancy the black coat with the blue stitched patterns too.

(all pictures were borrowed from style.com)