Adieu Summer

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Insta-Friday

Left to right, etc: 

B is for Books
also for Boys 'n Bikes 

Fun Vintage Market (Noordermarkt)
 hurray for kids putting down mobiles and to be active

Balenciaga meetup: which one is cuter?

Anastasia tea? Guess the blend is earl Grey!

A Vintage touch

 

1. I Know the Queen Warrior Headpiece | 2. Alberta Ferreti dress | 3.Susan Caplan for ASOS star necklace | 4. Sylvia Toledana box clutch | 5. Megan Thorne black diamond ring

 6. Jimmy Choo Flick embellished shoes

This would be something I would like to wear to the premiere of "the Great Gatsby'

#Paris

vintage-ing

When talking to girlfriends there are a couple of opinions about vintage shopping: There's a team that really likes vintage, there are a couple who like it because it's quite the thing of the moment, and a part that really feels quite indifferent about it.

Let's talk about the cons:

No 1: Questionable pre-ownership

basketcase? Nope, just in a suitcase
(or, in Dutch..."toch maar de koffer ingedoken") 

Just like your last date, you really want to know why it has been disposed and where has it been? Items are being done away for various reasons: sometimes boredom, sometimes for having too many similars, sometimes because it reminds you of the ex or a lousy night out. Perhaps I'm a bit too native american-ideology (?) with the idea of pre-ownership sticking on my clothes, but that is often my personal reason why I prefer new over vintage.


part 2: vintage-itchiness...

 I'm often quick in vintage stores: I simply browse on type (dress/skirt/etc), then colour, and then I get my hands out and get touchy. I am no expert at all on fabrics but I wonder if the 1960s had a whole spectrum of fabrics that were really experimental, because....man...they itch!

 

No 3: One of the frequent complaints about vintage shopping is vintage-pong...

 "Can something be done about scent of this vintage ring"

It has discussed among my friends and I once read this blogger-article that pinpointed the scepticism I agreed upon.(article over here)

Really, the years that have seeped into the clothes: or just the moths and the mildew.

Whatever it is: you smell it, your friends do, and the people about an arm-lenght close to you too. It's brilliant when you are really beautiful and desirable and people are too touchy-close to you, however, most of us do not have this luxury and want to be attractive to people. Good scent works in this field! 

The thing is to check if the scent can be removed, or that you have a perminent cold, I'd prefer the first. So check the fabric or ask the salesperson if you can un-pong it.


 So, let's go to no 4: Faux vintage

The I♥Vintage shop in Amsterdam: all types of vintage/novintage/deadstock

 As discussed earlier, vintage has gotten quite some hype and plenty of shops jumped into this opportunity. There are also words being used as "novintage" & "deadstock".  And sometimes your plain old H&M is being sold as vintage, but that one doesn't count.

Novintage is basically new, only with a vintagy twist to it. Deadstock is like me: kinda old but not really used... Deadstock can be great, unless there has been a whole factory filled with similar items and you will not be the original you wanted to be. However, it's not too likely that it will be with the pong as they are often boxed and never opened. As for novintage, similar. It's still not a unique piece, however, there's no vintage-pong either.

I summed up some cons but vintage isn't just popular without a reason. It is fun with a bit of free time and creativity, and you can look like an original without spending too much cash and your peers will love to know how nifty you were for scoring that ultimate piece they cannot have. 

In Holland, I think we have good vintage that isn't as expensive as the UK, where the vintage hype has had its effect on the price. I have some options listed here. Also, a good one is the mondaymorning market in Amsterdam at Noordermarkt: however, be there early because the models and hipsters are really early too (I love battling models: they are often thinner than I so I have more strength when we grab an item simultaniously. But sometimes they are hungry so they fight harder because they cannot eat and need some kind of fix: it depends. As for the hipsters: they're often smaller than me but I kinda respect them if they get it earlier)

Also, look in the richer areas of your country/neighbourhood, where the rich get rid of their beauties much earlier and they're priced much cheaper in that area.

Hula Dancer ft the ♡ ♡ sandals

Hawaiian temperatures, Hawaiian prints and a girl who easily gets into character is a good combination for a Hula Dancer inspired outfit. 

Kimono-Top: Topshop, Skirt: NewLook, sandals: Topshop, Clutch - originally a laptop-sleeve-: Topshop, similar here, cuff: from 2007, Bracelet: etsy,  headband 1st ph :from Episode Utrecht

I picked my usual 'inDaHood' spot because I cannot always travel around for photoshoots: I might be a fashionschiz but I am not Tim Walker & Lily Cole wrapped up on one, nor am I or would I ever be commissioned by Vogue.
Talking about things that look good on models, but not so much on mortals: wetlook hair. Ph 1 & 3 has my hair wetlooked...ehm, skipping that trend. Also, for being work-appropriate I do a normal blouse and not the tied-belly blouse.

So besides the bit of belly you might think this outfit is totally manrepeller. Not so much: this maxiskirt is on the sheer side, which means that a woman should have some bootyconfidence or good underwear. Ok, always wear fab underwear with sheer clothes or backside peepers or the sensual effect is blast away.(yeh, straight men don't bother if the woman is really hot if she's wearing dodgy lingerie but fashionpeople will think "why the heck did she wear such a blah bra under that sheer tshirt?"

The clutch is actually a laptop-sleeve, but I made it a multi-tasker! I am never limited by names that give out labels so if I can make it a clutch, so there it is: a clutch that carries things.

I forgot to do the 'other-side-of-the-outfit'-photo, but this cute doll did:

She's available at Etsy over here.

1950s Housewife ft. the Carven Top

Top: Carven, Skirt: Zara, Shoes: Topshop, Bracelet: belt by Primark; Cos & House of Harlow. Leather Cuff (alos in 1st pic: Marni), Sunglasses: Spitfire Weekend , Bag: vintage

Same as before

I wanted to take my new Carven top to the max by combining it with almost every SS12 trend there is, resulting to a slightly caricature image of the 1950s housewife.

I found it fitting to leave the curlers in for the idea of the housewife in her holiday cabin getting ready to socialize. To upp the 50s kitch factor I picked plastic Ikea cups in a bright colour for the Tupperware factor.

Sharp eyes will see I am missing one shoe, ;D, resulting into a weird cinderella-effect. Well, if my character 'the 50s housewife' has been on her cocktails, she must be slightly drunk, hence missing her shoe. In real life I have a pair: who needs a prince to bring back her shoes anyway?

Oh, I bought this skirt this winter and I was totally worried I wouldn't fit it anymore: I gained some weight because I had been on the verge of depression. Good thing the skirt still fits!

(PS: no real alcohol was used during this shoot: only a virgin mango/orange blend for vitamine C)

PS 2: I'm on a sale-announcing roll. If you like to try the Carven brand (or another fave of mine, Vanesso Bruno) you could head to mywardrobe.com as they have a secret-insiders sale going on right now of 40% all this season with MYSALEPREVIEW122  which makes this top below just €51.57 instead of the normal €130:

Micro-trend: Tiroler Chic

source:2 girls: bigeyd, back/white:Motto, Harajuku:Tokyofashion, Animation: K Wilmink, bodice: squidsquad

Reflected in:

Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony SS 12 resort

Sevigny herself

leather & cotton skirt: thecorner

Broderie top (also thecorner)

Also, Carven Mountainscape prints

the totally unobjective guide to vintage Utrecht

It's no secret that I consider Utrecht to be my fave city of the Netherlands. I like the others but the compactness & cosiness of Utrecht makes it perfect for exploring it in one day and get your complete shopping/cultural boost.

Because of the percentually high amount of students it means that, beside of having a large amount of beautiful/young people (yes you people wanting to see Holland for that!), a lot of vintage shops! So I will be as subjective as I can to show you the four that I find quite good:

1. Sussies

It's like going into a timewarp being thrown back in the sixties! The entry has a plethora of dresses & playsuits and the other rooms have a variety of jeans, jackets & the likes. The shoes are well selected & I've been buying lots of those 70s style boots in 2008 when they were totally happening.

It's quite girly and frilly but that makes it good. The standard price for a dress is about 20 euros but they have a 10 euro rack outside too.

My last purchase from them is this playsuit: suited for floral play when the weather warms up.

Find them at the Voorstraat 48-50 in Utrecht or online.

2. Giensch

Across the street is Giensch with a mixture of vintage & novintage. Somewhat less vintagy as Sussies and the prices are higher. Still worthy to check it out for it's bags.

3. Episode

People knowing Amsterdam will recognize it's name. It's the same store but I believe Utrecht is better organized than the two Amsterdam stores (although I like the one at the 9 Straatjes).

I think it's more of an eighties vintage store. They have lot's of jeans and quite a good selection of leather. I bought this leather/pleather maxi skirt over there for 35 euros. Not bad.

 Find them @ Oudegracht 206 or online.

4. Kringloopwinkel

It's not exactly vintage, which will strike a bell with the connoisseurs, who know the difference between vintage & just really old clothes. Anyway, there are some gems to be found here between the 'just old clothes' and often under 10 euros. That makes it somewhat more satifying than browsing in the carefully selected vintage shop! They also have some fun boots for reasonable prices.

Find them @ Oudegracht 270 and read about their ideology online (only in Dutch)

New Vintage

Something I bought a while ago at Sussies.

It's a playsuit, it's vintage and it's happy Hawaiian florals. It is not too short for my leggos and I love the sleeves.

Now, where's that 20°C or warmer weather so I can wear this happy number?

The vintage score: Alice in Wonderland Suede

Episode Utrecht had a timely jacket for me:

Real Suede, a good scent (not too vintagy) and with 80s shoulders...

Mighty brightly!