We Wear: 90's vibe with velvet choker and silver pleated skirt

I'm wearing:

Vest: SuperTrash c/o SKM

Top: H&M (old)

Pleated skirt: Millenium via La Bottega (sold out)

Sneakers: Vans via La Bottega

Sunglasses: Komono via La Bottega

Velvet choker: Asos

Spider "hair" clip: Flying Tiger

I actually bought this choker for my Halloween outfit but I totally forgot to put it on that night. I actually forgot to wear all my accessories and the whole evening it made me feel "not complete". But I've been wearing this velvet beauty constantly now so that is totally made up for. I had no idea velvet chokers would look so good on me! I think I'm going to buy a gazillion more.

Because we were still in the aftermath of Halloween when shoothing this outfit, I put a black spider in my bun. I found it at Flying Tiger and it's not really a hair clip but well, it does the trick. Flying Tiger is like a dream come true to find some Halloween or - enter any other holiday / occassion - decorations. It's like Action only a bit more expensive - but still super cheap - and also a bit more fancy - but still not too fancy -, I mean, I found a fake hand for 2 euros to complete Sofie's Wednesday Adams costume... I rest my case.

You see me wearing an awfull lot of stuff from La Bottega recently and that can be explained really simple: I work there. And that is a dream come true and a real nightmare at the same time: if I could I'd buy everything. This pleated skirt was a real steal so I had to bring that home with me. The combination with the the long vest was a guess but I'm really happy how it turned out! Originally I used my big, green Zara scarf to complete this outfit (I wore this to work on Friday and I have to walk and it's cold in the morning) but spring was so polite to come pay us a visit (although that already seems very long ago right now), thus a scarf was not needed when shooting these pictures.

I felt like a nineties yet retro, vampy witch while wearing this outfit and I loved it. By the looks the people gave me on Friday evening though the world - or Hasselt - is not ready yet for vampy, witchy vibes. Well, their loss.

We Wear: Wannabe skater girl in Vans, leopard biker jacket and pom pom beanie

I'm wearing:

Beanie: H&M

Scarf: Zara (old)

Leopard biker jacket, olive sweater: Mango

Skinny jeans: Cheap Monday via Zalando

Sneakers: Vans via La Bottega

Duffel bag: New Look via Zalando

Japan was all about wearing shorts and lightweight gowns, while Belgium is slowly turning into a freezer which makes me turn to scarfs and beanies. All bundled up and I love it! I really am a fan of seasons so I love the changing colors during fall and the first opportunities to wear a scarf. And I really really hope we're going to have a decent winter this year with actual snow.

And well, I think I'm a better dresser during fall and winter than I am during summer. You have so many options and layers which triggers my imagination so much more than 30°C and too hot to wear anything at all. That makes sense, right? I mean, how cute does this pom pom beanie look with this leopard biker jacket? Combined with my Vans it really makes me feel like a legit skater girl but don't let that fool you: coming near a skateboard is enough to loose my balance.

I'm not the biggest beanie wearer ever but, and this is basically the story of my life, I never have an umbrella with me when I need one. I have to walk 2 km a day from my job to the parking lot and in the morning it was all sunny and bright you know and in the evening it was raining cats and dogs. So there I was, walking the streets and muttering I really should ALWAYS bring that damn thing with me. So I took shelter at the H&M (perks of working in the city) and brought this beanie home with me. Those following me on Instagram might have seen that Insta story where I already explained this. I could just buy an umbrella but that's stupid because I already have one and I don't want to own a million umbrellas but I don't mind owning a million beanies or hats. You feel me? Right.

By the way this biker jacket is a real bargain from Mango. It costs only €39,99, it's warm and it's drop dead gorgeous. You can find it here! And I'm not even sponsored, so you know it's the truth.

Non-outfit related: meet Oliver. This cat decided to show up at our place, roam around for some time, managed to enter our veranda through the cat flap and eat our cat's food but would run away as soon as he saw us. Until one day Lorenz and I were sitting outside, he passed by, I called him and he saw that as an opportunity to show us he's actually really sweet and before we knew it he was on our lap purring his ass off. So yeah, I claimed that cat. We went to the vet and she told us he was a healthy, castrated male and around three years old. Some vaccinations and a chip later and Oliver is a legit part of our family. And he gets along quite well with Mylo who is tripple his age but only half his size so we were kind off worried if that would work out. But Oliver really is the sweetest cat ever and he follows us everywhere. I was not fond of him crossing the street though to accompany us with our outfit shoot so we continued in the garden.

When your cat matches your coat <3 

We Wear: Jeans shorts, pineapple gown and a headband at Fushimi Inari Shrine

Pineapple gown: H&M

T-shirt: H&M (old) 

Jeans shorts: My mum made it 

Sneakers: Vans via La Bottega

Leopard belt: Veritas

Headband: Zara

Duffle bag: New Look via Zalando

I'm afraid this will already be my last outfit post from Japan *insert sad face*. I have to admit my outfits mostly consisted of shorts or a skirt and other breezy garments. The weather did put a limit to my options. I mean, I  challenge you to climb a million stairs to the top of a mountain wearing something other than breezy garments. I'm telling you it's impossible so breezy garments it was when we decided to visit the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. This place was magical and I loved everything about it. The walk up the mountain through the thousands of vermillion tori gates was breathtakingly stunning and breathtakingly exhausting at the same time. It was really hot and humid and it was raining and we were sweating all over the place. But the views you get and the mini shrines you pass while walking up are all worth it. And we caught a Dragonite so that made it even more worth it ;-) 

On our way down we took a different route, not entirely on purpose, and we passed this little coffee shop called "Vermillion", which was named like that after the colour of the tori gates I guess. It was a really cozy place and the perfect spot to catch our breath and try a matcha latté. Matcha is Japanese green tea that is ground into powder and you can literally buy anything in Japan in matcha flavour. It has a very specific and not so subtle taste, so it needs some getting used to before you start to like it. I for example really liked it in this latté but I also tried it in soft ice and I did not really like that. And please never try a matcha latté at Starbucks because they add so much sugar you won't taste a thing. 

On a completely different note: it's October and for the first time ever I'm really excited for Halloween. It's not like I disliked Halloween before, not at all, but this year I WANNA GO ALL THE WAY YO. 

We Wear: Pineapple gown and shorts at the Odaiba rainbow bridge

Pineapple gown: H&M

Top: Mango

Shorts: Even&Odd via Zalando

Leopard belt: Veritas

Duffle bag: New Look via Zalando

Sneakers: Vans via La Bottega

My title might insinuate I only wore this outfit in Odaiba, but truth be told: this lightweight pineapple gown has been glued to my body throughout Japan. And you can take that quite literally as Tokio and Kyoto were pretty moist. I was mentally prepared for temperatures reaching 30°C but one cannot simply prepare for an increased amount of humidity in the air. Nor can my hair which I ineffectively tried to battle with my straightening iron. It looks okay here, but don't let lo(o)(c)ks deceive you.

I'm not completely ready yet to be reminiscing about Japan because it makes me...homesick? Japan sick? Everything I saw was either cute, colorful, pretty, Lorenz or Hello Kitty. Japan stole my heart right away.

We went to Odaiba because Lorenz wanted to spot the life size Gundam statue. If this doesn't already tickle your fancy, I don't know what else will. So we hopped on the train towards Tokyo Teleport Station, saw the statue, ate a soft ice, bought some shoes and hung out at the bay while catching Pokémon. We didn't know at the moment but Odaiba seems to be quite the hotspot for Pokémon and legends say the rare Lapras has been spotted there.

It was the perfect lazy getaway and we ended the day with sushi back at Shibuya at a place called Genki Sushi. Genki Sushi is sort of a "sushi-go-round" place except the sushi doesn't go all around the restaurant, it stops right in front of you via a conveyer belt after you order it on the computer in front of you. Genius! Here's a picture of me sipping miso soup with bags under my eyes:

Over and out now! Expect a lot more Japan updates in the following weeks!

We Wear: Heisenberg in water sandals

T-shirt: Asos // Denim button-up skirt: H&M // Water sandals: New Look (old) // Sunnies: Quay via La Bottega

Another quick outfit! We actually had some sun last Sunday (pun intended) which was the perfect opportunity to wear this denim button-up skirt bare-legged. I threw in a white t-shirt, my new Quay sunnies and my beloved water sandals and I was good to go.  

I bought this t-shirt while I was binge-watching Breaking Bad last year and it has finally made its way to the blog. The weird print makes the simple combination of denim and white t-shirt less boring and obvious. The water sandals were an impulse buy gone terribly good two years ago. I bought them for Rock Herk because they forecasted a million degrees and I didn't have any proper shoes to deal with that. I actually feared these water sandals would ruin my feet but they turned out to be the most easy breezy footwear in my possession. This is the third summer I'm wearing them and they did break in two places (where the shoe bends while walking) but I'm not planning on getting rid of them yet! I have no idea why they didn't make it to the blog any sooner. 

Speaking of Rock Herk: it's almost that time of the year again! This weekend the centre of Herk-de-Stad will be filled with good music, cold beer and fun people and yours truly has been promoted to in-house photographer this year! #happydance So come say hi and I'll snap your picture! If I'm not too busy catching Pokémon. 

We Wear: Kiss the boys and make them cry

Sweater: Zoe Karssen via La Bottega - Skinnies: Cheap Monday - Sneakers: Tango via La Bottega - 

Duffle bag: New Look via Zalando

Karolien isn't alone anymore as a proud owner of a Zoe Karssen sweatshirt. I jumped on that bandwagon as soon as it got discounted at La Bottega. The perks of working in a shoe / clothing store. The downside of working in a shoe / clothing store? I..want..it...ALL! I photograph all of the new pieces for our webshop so I have a unique preview of what will be in store. And how much it may hurt my wallet. 

Anyway, I wore this outfit to attend a secret warm up GOOSE show at Café Café in Hasselt. Yeah, GOOSE! They played mainstage Werchter last Saturday and did a sort of try out in our local café and however I'm probably not the biggest fan around - and not even a fan of the genre in particular - it was one of the best things I have seen lately. The room literally EXPLODED with their very first tunes. I was blown away and in awe and I couldn't stop thinking we all were writing a little piece of Belpop history. 

We Wear: Sweatpants

I'm wearing:

T-shirt: H&M (old)

Skinny jeans: H&M (old)

Sneakers: Tango via La Bottega

Duffle bag: New Look via Zalando

Sunglasses: Komono

No, I'm not writing a blog post about actual sweat pants. But as it was a million degrees when shooting this outfit, this title is appropriate. Belgian weather really is a challenge and it makes it really hard to dress accordingly. We've had an abundance of rain the past weeks, with flooded villages and closed down streets, with temperatures more applicable for fall. Followed by a sunny Sunday where we had to seek shelter in the shade and eat some icecream to actually cool down. We decided to grab some wine at the Wijnfeesten near the the beautiful castle of Duras. I chose a rather casual outfit but these skinny jeans really were to hot and my white sneakers got all muddy because the territory around the castle was still pretty soggy from all the rain. I saw women in dresses and heels fighting the mud and others in rain boots fighting the heat. I'm not sure which was the best option. It's this Belgian weather that just keeps you guessing.

I also cut my hair short and dyed it sort of purple. I'm over the high maintenance that goes along with blonde / platinum hair and all that bleach hasn't been really nice for my long locks. I can't wait to have a long pony tail again though... 

The issue with the not so crisp pictures has not yet been resolved as you may have noticed... I bought a new lens (Sigma Art 35mm 1.4) and everytime I export these pictures in Lightroom like I do my others, the quality and sharpness disappears. When I don't resize them they are ok but when I upload them and let blogger resize them via picture size the same thing happens. Anyone any idea?