We Wear: Frozen in summer

I know, I know, I've been absent these past weeks. In my defense, I have pretty good reason as I was in the midst of finishing (really finishing) my PhD dissertation. As the final version has just been printed and everything is handled, I finally have a little more time on my hands! My doctoral defense will only be in September, so yay for summer! Also, I have been accepted to do a postdoc research year, so my groovin' researchin' days are far from over at this moment. 

Top, shorts, necklace: Primark - Plastic basket-bag: H&M - Sandals: Sister (Hasselt) - Sunglasses: Six

Now that you guys are updated on my life events and heard excuses for leaving you hanging dry, we can talk outfit. These pictures were obvious not taken this week (rain rain rain), but back when the weather was still gorgeous, hot and sultry. Let's be honest, on days like that, one does not need more than some denim cut-offs and an easy breezy top. And this top is especially breezy as it has this open back thing going on (forgot to capture that on photo though), which is also why I opted to wear a lace black bralette underneath. I actually bought the top and the shorts as a combination together in one and the same store; something I never do. But for a match made in heaven, I'm glad to make an exception. Secretly, I also bought the necklace at the very same instance. 

PS 1: The shorts are actually a whole lot more vibrant and neon, but the sun made it hard to capture it just right. 

PS 2: I recently saw the movie "Frozen" (I know, old news), and it is an absolute recommendation (I know, even older news). The soundtrack pretty much describes the feeling you get after finishing four years of work: 

 Currently listening to:

Let it go, let it go, here I'll stand and here I'll stay!
Currently craving for (fashion wise or other):

White, high-heeled sandals. I want to be real lady these days.

We Wear: Monochrocoralburgundy

Apparently dressing up in the same hues is something I have done my whole life (read: since I was fourteen). Because some things never change, I decided to give it another try. It's not completely monochromatic, but I like the outcome anyway. Reds and pinks clearly are my favorites (some things really never change).

I remember wearing these Vans exactly a year ago while walking in the snow. We still haven't had any winter yet here in Belgium and that saddens me. I like a good walk in the snow! On the other hand: I am completely ready for spring, pastel hues and punkrock festivals (GROEZROCK!). But in my opinion, you can only really appreciate spring and the first warm rays of sunshine, when you have survived (dramatic much) a good winter with snow and freezing cold wind. And like, I'm not even wearing a coat in this outfit.

Cardigan, coral sweatshirt: H&M - Skinnies: New Look - Socks: Cos - Sneakers: Vans - Necklace: Market in Porto - Sunglasses: Carrera (Scherpesteen) - Scarf: Zara

Yes, there's a hole in my shoe.

What We Wear Wednesday: I caved.

 Jacket: Zara - Jumper, skinnies: H&M - Shoes: Nike Air Max - Earrings: Forever 21

I caved. Do you know that feeling of trying your best not to give in to temptation, succeeding in it and you finally manage to stop thinking about it? It's hard, it haunts your thoughts and whenever you're confronted with the bitter reality it punches you in the face. But eventually you feel relieved and excited that you actually had the strength to pull through after all. And that's the moment when you get weak and vulnerable. Because it's then, at the most unguarded of moments, that foul temptation shows its ugly head around the corner, makes you gasp for breath and fall head over heels again.

But that doesn't necessarily need to be a bad thing. It happened to me last Saturday when I went shopping with my dear friend Eline. I always make lists in my head of what I want and what I must really try and find. I really don't know why I even bother doing so, because I rarely come home with the things I had in mind. Shopping for me goes best when I have no expectations. Those are the times I usually come home with items I tend to love for a long period of time without growing tired of them. Whenever I try to manically find an item on top of my wishlist I or fail or find something you could call "the next best thing", and you should NEVER go for "the next best thing", because it isn't THE best thing. Forcing the natural way of shopping will never get you satisfied, it will only make you frustrated.

Anyway, I caved. I thought I was completely over Nike Air Max, but I was wrong. I pinned them on my "Into my wardrobe please"-board on Pinterest 22 weeks ago. But I only wanted them if I could find them in that particular washed out color, it adds to the vintage feel you know. I was disappointed when I didn't find them at Urban Outfitters and the price also held me back a little. During our holiday in Porto I spotted them in a little shop. But the color wasn't what I was looking for and the price again held me back. At that moment I started to let go. I also kept noticing people wearing my beloved ones with a disgraceful taste of fashion (I'm sorry if I sound superficial). And do you know that feeling that you see someone wearing something you want so badly, but then because of that person you don't want it anymore? It happens to me a lot. And so my love for the "Air Maxkes" faded and I thought I couldn't care less. 

I have to admit, when I went to Antwerp on Saturday I even was on the lookout for an other pair of Nike sneakers: the all white Nike Dunk Sky High, because I thought I was ready for a new chapter. I spotted them on Elien from Dogs and Dresses and it's no secret that all white makes my heart beat faster. Except when we're talking about "Zwarte Piet", he should stay all black, folks! So when we walked by Footlocker, my friend Eline reminded me about my search for the white Nikes (lists in my head are useless) and so we entered. And that's where it all went wrong. I spotted the Air Maxkes again, in a pale pink washed out color on the top shelve. There were people standing in front of the shelves on eye level and I don't have X-ray vision. I made my way through the crowd and when I came closer they immediately drew my attention: all white Nike Air Max. I checked the size and just grabbed the shoe with no intention of letting go ever again. 

We all know how this story ends: I took them home and I will live happily ever after with my white Air Maxkes who, as a bonus, also glow in the dark! 

I'm sorry for this mega long story, I sometimes get caught up in things too much. Let me know if you kept reading 'till the end! And otherwise I hope you'll at least enjoy the pictures (don't mind my silly and tired face):

What We Wear Wednesday: Optimus Primavera Sound²

After Lies' post with her outfit for the Optimus Primavera Sound festival in Porto a month ago, I of course cannot stay behind. Although I do suffer from a little delay and feel like it is already ages ago. My recent vacation to Taghazout, Morocco (surfing!) might have something to do with that though (pictures will follow). My two holidays happened in such short succession that I think I'm only feeling the aftermath ("I wanna go back") now. Which sucks, especially considering the not so very bright weather here. It's true what they say, everything's better when the sun is out. 

What I wore was something quite simple in my opinion. Because a) I was on a holiday which means only a limited set of clothes and accessories to choose from (we all know that issue), b) it was hot and c) it was a festival, people! I do like the dress a lot, picked it up at H&M in LA for only 8 bucks. SCORE! 

It was so nice to get to go to (togettogoto togettogoto, hihi) a festival somewhere else than Belgium (which is in fact a true festival king). Quite different too, we were shocked about how many clothes everybody wore (although later in the night that all made sense), how clean the festival grounds seemed all day long and especially how calm and peaceful everybody was. I swear to God, nobody screaming, throwing beer and no drunk half naked guys. All in all, I enjoyed it very much! Oh, and I absolutely adored the (real) flower crowns they were handing out for free. 

What We Wear Wednesday: Summer skirt

Coat, scarf, skirt: H&M - Jumper: Romwe - Ballerinas, bag: Zara - Bracelet: Mango - Earrings: ModCloth - Ring: Carrefour - Nailpolish: Catrice Pimp my Shrimp

I'm fully aware that this title may raise some eyebrows. It's midst winter, on the news they're constantly talking 'bout the snow and the heavy traffic thereby, and I'm frolicking about in my summer skin skirt. I have to be honest that I took these pictures on Sunday and no snow was to be seen (yet). It was freezing cold though, that's why I paired my breezy skirt with my less breezy Romwe jumper and H&M leopard coat. Okay, the ballerinas are way too optimistic for this time of year BUT it has been autumn weather up until last week, so I didn't want to give up on them just yet. They've been my partners in crime for three years now, picked them up at Zara and I still love them.

 The jumper is one of my first online buys and I simply ADORE it. The color, the fit, the spikes...ALL is good! I also bought the cat jumper as seen here, but it's a tad too baggy for me. It's perfect to just hang around on a Sunday afternoon but it's too shapeless for me to wear on a regular basis, for instance for work. BUT when I see this outfit by The Mad Twins, I feel like I should give this jumper another try. Try to style it unthought-of maybe. I'll let you know how that works out. 

 I really love how this outfit turned out. I feel like this is a real Lies-outfit (pink and green combined, what a surprise) in which I feel perfectly comfortable. So I was eager to go out on Sunday! Grab a coffee or something, but all of my friends were busy or car-less. What a loss for the world. Also, once the holidays are over I'm totally ready for spring. When sitting behind glass and looking at the sun, I can almost SMELL spring is around the corner. I always get this nostalgic spring vibe around this time of year, so I added a mini moodboard at the end of the post to express my vibe. Wasn't easy to find the right pictures though, just retro and vintage isn't enough! Also listen to the song, it's a great song.

What We Wear New Year's: Neon coral

With a tiny delay, here's my New Year's Eve outfit! As you can see, I'm not wearing one of the dresses nor the outfit I blogged the other day. But I did find this blouse at Cos when I went shopping Saturday. I fell in love with it and I took it home with me. That's how I roll.

Because the blouse is quite the eyecatcher, I left the rest of my accessories rather simple: some earrings and a haircuff. I love wearing my hair in a high ponytail, and this haircuff makes the whole thing a bit more interesting. I found the earrings at ModCloth. I'm not the biggest fan of their dresses, but the jewelry is to die for! I love big, chunky earrings, so these minty ones had to be mine. Simple, yet not boring.

I'm very sorry for the poor quality of the photos. It has been quite hectic the past few days and I didn't have time to take outfit pictures outside, so I was forced to take pictures after work (when it's already pitchblack outside). But I tried to make something out of it. Forgive me? Also the color of the blouse is neon coral, quite hard to capture in a picture. Excuses, excuses.

New Year's Eve itself has been wonderful. We ate sushi at Eline's place, drank cava, played a quiz and went to a party afterwards at the Pax in Rummen. It's that kind of notorious place where your parents probably have met and still talk about all "everything used to be better" -ish. We had a good laugh and a good dance 'till 6 in the morning. I'm dead tired now. 

Blouse: Cos - Pants, haircuff: H&M - Shoes: Vans - Earrings: ModCloth - Bag: Zara

Some partypictures, thanks to Eline:

What We Wear Wednesday: Coral Collar

The title of this post may have deceived you. You were all probably thinking that I was wearing one of these mega-fashionable collars in a coral shade. But instead the total blouse is coral and it happens to have a collar. What can I say: I love alliterations. I could've also said "Coral Chemise" but let's not fool ourselves: collar sounds so much better!

This intro has been totally useless because I just want to show you guys what I was wearing to the presentation of the F/W collection of TTGK last friday. I knew there would be a lot of ultra-fashionable people hanging around there that night and that I wouldn't be able to top them. And it's not a matter of 'topping' anyone, I just felt intimidated before I even got there, so I chose a more basic outfit: black skinny jeans, coral chemise (there you have it) and my black polka dot shoes combined with a thrifted bag that could fit my camera. I left my jacket in the car, it was like a 100 degrees inside the Muziekodroom.

These aren't my Zara skinnies as seen HERE, I bought these at Urban Outfitters about two years ago. And however Urban Outfitters isn't the cheapest store in town, these pants weren't too expensive at all! The black isn't really black anymore though, it seems more like a dark blue now. But they fit so damn perfectly that I can't seem to get rid of them. My shoes are also from UO and I bought them this spring. They were actually overpriced (50 euros YOW), but they were having sales for some reason so I bought them for only 20 euros, SCOOORE!  And only moments later I spotted the most perfect glitter boots at H&M, the same ones as Annebeth is rocking HERE and HERE, but my wallet forbid me to buy them. I listened, but oh hell it will have been the last time! I learned one thing: when it concerns GLITTER, just go for it. In fact, let it be a lesson for all of you!

Parka: ZARA - Blouse: H&M - Skinnies, shoes: Urban Outfitters, Belt: Pimkie - Bag: thrifted - Necklace: my mom's

P.S.: I really don't know why I suddenly look like a badass mofo when I put on my jacket. 

"Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise you" stuck in my head thanks to this photo.