We Wear: Tartan

These past weeks have been hectic and busy as I'm currently deadlining - if you've seen me recently, you know it is a word - for a grant project proposal as a post-doctoral researcher. Now that the end is almost near and I can virtually touch that moment of relief, I feel like I can finally breathe again. That being said, I'll keep it short today. Brains fried and all. 

One thing I would like to draw your attention to is, yet again, the magnificence that accompanies this jacket. I know I've said it before and I'll say it again a thousand times: It is divine. I think I finally found my true staple piece and the perfect replacement for my jeans jacket. If I can share some shopping advice with you: Go out into the world and search for the perfect black (bomber) jacket, that can just as easily be worn to attend fancier events as your average garage band concert. It is everything and everything in between. Additionally, it is a compliment magnet, which never hurt anybody. But be aware, your family members might go and rummage through your closet in a futile attempt to find this treasure. Now go, my children, and search!  

PS: Thanks again to Paplou Hasselt for introducing me to the outstanding brand Louche! 

PS2: And again a special thanks to my friend for snapping these photos!

Jacket: Louche (Paplou) - Dress: Primark - Boots: Anna Field (Zalando) - Beanie: unknown - Necklace: Claire's

 

   Currently listening to:

Groezrock 2015 playlist
Currently craving for (fashion wise or other):
A day off! 

   Pictures by Mary Doumen

We Wear: The painfull truth

It happened. I dug really deep into my wallet and I found some spare money to spend on the one and only Acne Pistol Boots. I have been eyeing them for a while as they are perfect, versatile and timeless. But one does not just spend that kind of money without doing some thorough research, not even me. So when I not so accidentally stumbled upon the Acne webshop, I read these shoes fit wide and it's best to choose a size down. A SIZE DOWN?! That would mean I'd have to click a size 36 home. I quickly read some other reviews whole all said the same. I was pretty hesitant but call it faith or call it luck, I was going to Antwerp that very weekend. I googled the address for the Acne flagshipstore in Antwerp and mentally made an appointment.

Meanwhile I was constantly thinking about these shoes. Patience is a virtue they say, but it has never been my strong suit. But then it finally became Saturday and together with two of my friends I cruised to Antwerp. Usually we immediately go for a bagel at Barnini, but my friends do know me so we headed to the Acne shop first. Which was still closed when we arrived. That's just my luck. The lady in the shop waved a hand at us which we interpreted as "five more minutes" but they ended up being half an hour. I don't know, they were cleaning up their Christmas decorations or something.

When the store finally opened, I spotted my beloved boots almost instantly. The winter collection, with a furry inside, came with a 40% discount and however the man in the shop told me "a lot of women wear these barefoot in summer", I opted for the regular ones. I really thought it was bullshit by the way, that whole barefoot in summer thing. Really, who does that? I tried on a size 37 but I wasn't sure. I had to try an actual size 36. Again the store manager wasn't very clever by saying they didn't have the 36 in black anymore, only in green. I had to ask if I could maybe try those on, just to know if the size was ok. Isn't that supposed to be his job? Anywho, the 36 fit like a glove and I made up my mind. The store manager proposed he could order them for me, but I thanked him and said I was going to buy them online.

A couple of stores later, when my friends were still browsing through Forever21 (and I almost went berserk) I clicked them home via the webshop. Thank god for internet everywhere and PayPal. I didn't choose the regular delivery but the one with a 3-4 business days delivery promise. I ordered on Saturday so I expected them to arrive on Thursday, maybe Friday. On Wednesday I checked my PayPal account and the payment was still "in progress". That already made me nervous because I figured they would only ship when the payment would have been approved. So I tweeted about it and I don't know if it had anything to do with it, but the next day the payment was approved and my UPS tracking number said they would get delivered on Monday. That really bummed me out, as that meant I had to wait more than a week in total, while I chose a 3-4 days delivery.

Monday finally arrived and my mom deliberately didn't text me to say the package had arrived, so I'd be even more thrilled when I got home. And thrilled I was! So thrilled that I was nervous to unpack my shoes. But they were everything I wanted them to be when I took them out of the pretty pale pink box. And then I tried them one. They were so stiff! You know that feeling when your heart suddenly drops to your stomach? Well I had it right there. When I tried them on in the shop they really fit like a glove, but since my ordered shoes are brand new, they still needed to be 'broken into'. I wore them the following days to work, and I could already feel them adjusting to my feet. The size really is a-ok as I can still wiggle my toes. That I actually slipped and fell twice last week, has nothing to do with these shoes, I swear. I have the balance of a new-born deer.

So what can I conclude here? I am still very much in love with these shoes. I know exactly why I bought them and they are even prettier than I could have ever dreamed. But I have always read they were the most comfortable shoe in the history of mankind, and I cannot agree with that yet. They don't hurt me anymore as I walk down stairs but that has been different let me tell you. But my advise: don't give up. These shoes are made out of real leather and leather does soften up when wearing often, so that's what I'll be doing. The heel-height is pretty much perfect to walk around in. I'm no expert at all in walking on heels but I manage fine in these, although cobblestones always are a hassle.

I'm sorry for the ridiculous amount of text! But I wanted to be thorough and describe how it felt for me to be spending this amount of money on shoes. This is not something I do every month :D

I'm wearing:

Hat: H&M

Coat: Zara (old)

Sweater: H&M (sales find!)

Skinnies: Asos

Shoes: Acne Pistol Boots

(Camera) Bag: Etsy

We Wear: In the woods

It was a rainy day a few weeks ago when my awesome friend Mary and I headed for the woods to shoot some pictures. It rained and I was freezing, but boy oh boy was the end result worth it. I consider myself extremely lucky to have a friend willing to do a mini photo shoot with me. In fact, we photographed two outfits, so brace yourselves for another one in the upcoming weeks.

As in winter my dark broody side seems to re-emerge - at least on an outfit level - I wanted to capture this facet and let's be honest here, what better suited location is there than a forest in winter time. And what better outfit is there than one that incorporates knee high boots and a long, black duster coat to cross over to the dark side. I love absolutely everything about these pictures, especially the fact while they do elicit a dark atmosphere, they are not in your face dark (I guess I specifically have my hair to thank for that). 

To make a long story short, nothing but love at the start of 2015: for my friend, for the coat (!), for the boots (not an easy item to find: knee high boots that still possess a little bit of class), even the rainy freezing weather as of lately.

   Currently listening to:

Enter Shikari
Currently craving for (fashion wise or other):

To feel healthy again - damn you stupid cold!

Coat: Sheinside - Knee boots: Anna Field - Jumper dress: Boohoo - Necklace: Claire's

 

 

Pictures by Mary Doumen

We Wear: The Cloud

Cloud: Topshop via Zalando - Top: Paplou - Skinnies: Asos - Shoes: Paplou - Vintage Camera Bag: Etsy - 

Necklace: birthday present

First of all: these pictures were taken on the last day of the holidays, in other words: I had to go back to work the next day. You may not know this yet, but I suffer from the holidayblues quit a bit. So that's why I'm not wearing my happy face (it's dusty, in the back of my closet somewhere). This can only mean I am in need of spring or that I need to eat more mushrooms. Shrooms do consist a lot of vitamin D, but they don't make you tan.

The cloud I'm wearing (I refer to my coat as "the cloud", I have been called a sheep, but I prefer cloud) does cheer me up though. It's so damn soft. I spotted this cloudy gem at the Topshop section of Zalando and I could almost feel the softness through my computer. I have to admit that I clicked it home while thinking that if it would not live up to my expectations, I could always send it back for free. That's the beauty of Zalando! Or is it the poison? Well, beauty is treacherous I suppose.

Another new, handy and much needed addition in my life is this bag I'm carrying. It's not just a retro satchel, it is a padded camera bag with enough room to hold my DSLR, extra lens and other necessities but not too big to be carrying too much stuff with you. When you want to use the satchel as just a satchel, you can remove the padded area as a whole and there you go. I found this beauty on Etsy and I can assure you it is the best purchase if you want a nice looking camera bag that isn't too bulky.

We Wear: Sparkles

NOTE: I (Lies) was supposed to publish this post on Wednesday because Karolien was boarding the hills of Val Thorens. As per usual, I totally forgot. So a big sorry from me and here's Karolien's post! Enjoy the sparkles. xoxo

You already saw a preview from this outfit in the previous blog post, but with New Year's Eve in the very near future, I figured a complete display couldn't hurt. Most definitely because of all the sparkles, which in my mind is indispensable for New Year's Eve. As I will be spending my New Year's Eve in the mountains (snow! mountains! snowboarding!) however, I won't be going completely full on sparkly, so naturally I had to wear this dress on Christmas, which is the next best occasion to submerge yourself in sequins. 

 Sequin dress: New Look - Necklace: H&M - Brogues: Van Dalen

How will you be spending New Year's Eve? And how are those New Year's resolutions coming? Although I think resolutions are significantly overrated, especially if you have no intention of keeping them, I still feel the start of the new year provides the perfect occasion to try and do better. I can proudly say that I kept my resolutions for 2014: I learned to run (I'm at 10k now, while last year I couldn't even run one kilometer) and I'm still improving my cooking skills. Yay for me! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!