Hey Red



If I had to pick only one color to wear every day for the rest of my life, it would probably be red. I love how versatile the color is: grown up but fun, classy but sexy, vibrant but not neon bright. And it looks good on me, so what else does a girl need? And it is totally right for our upcoming Valentine's day. Do you guys have anything special planned? My boyfriend hates Valentine's day, haha. I'll be a lucky girl if he even manages to return my happy Valentine's wishes! I don't really mind that much, I'm not the most romantic person myself. And it does seem a bit forced, doesn't it? But don't let me rain on your parade: if you want to enjoy the day with heart themed outfits, teddy bear gifts, jewelry, chocolates and hot, steamy sex: please do! I'm all for having fun, so I hope you do. I wrote a Valentine's day guide to romance for guys for Chictopia, and I thought I'd share it with you. Let me know what you think!





It’s the most nervewrecking time of the year (hum along, it might help): Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and your special someone is expecting a token of your luuuuuuv. Not very creative? Don’t fret: Chictopia is here to save your Valentine’s Day! Whether you’ve put off finding a present until the very last few days because you just can’t conjure anything up, or you just want something extra to make the day even more special, these tips will sure help you along the way to discover your inner romantic.


Tip 1: Gifts: Don’t Buy!

Unless your lover has been throwing hints at you for months about a certain something she is madly in love with, you probably have no clue as to what to buy her. People already have everything these days. This brings me to my first tip for you: try to let go of the idea you need to “buy something”, and consider the thought of MAKING something. No, she probably won’t be very happy with a macaroni pictureframe, so you’ll have to be a bit more creative than that. 

Vintage isn’t only a wardrobe trendword, it can also inspire you to do something else on the gift-giving field. Remember mixtapes? Making your partner an actual tape probably isn’t the best idea in the world, since tapes practically don’t even EXIST anymore (do they?), but you CAN however make him/her a CD, or sneakily steal their mp3 player and create a special Valentine’s day folder. 

What to put in? Hey dude, you’re not a baby, you can think for yourself. Try and remember special moments you shared together: do you have a certain very cheesy song you always sing along to in the car? How about the themesong of the very first movie you ever saw together? The song you danced your very first slow to? The ones your lover always sings in the shower? Try to make it mean something, and if necessary, explain to her why you chose these songs. Just talking about the effort and thought you put into it will probably have her declare you the best boyfriend EVER!

Another cool idea would be to record a spoken message for your beloved, and put it on their computer as the starting up sound. Anyway, you get the picture: be creative! Something unique from you for her will mean the world, and be way more memorable than a frigging box of chocolates.

Not that you can’t get the chocolates as a supplementary gift.


Tip 2: Activities: What Does Your Partner Like?

You know your girl better than I do. So tell me, what does she like to do? Does she love cooking? Go take a cooking lesson with her. Does she love movies? Plan a filmmarathon and rent all the movies she wants you to see, but you haven’t gotten around to seeing (read: don’t want to see because they look boring). Master tip: don’t ruin it for her, and try your best to ACTUALLY like these movies. If not: fake it til you make it. That’s romance for ya. 

Is she an active girl and not afraid of heights? Go wall climbing with her: having the other person’s back and cheering each other on is more romantic than you’d think. Has she been having a very stressful time at work? Plan a day/weekend at the spa for the two of you.

You’ve probably noticed that I’ve described these activities as something the two of you will do, rather than you giving her a gift to have fun with on her own. Valentine’s day is the day of lovers, and I have no idea why the festivities shouldn’t include the both of you! Sending her off to get a pedicure might be relaxing for her, but it isn’t exactly romantic. Now, getting a pedicure together will be both hilarious (since macho men always get very flustered in these sort of scenarios) AND romantic, because you’ll be having some extra time to spend together, having fun, talking, out of your everyday habits of “take the trash out” and “what should we get for dinner?”. Which brings me to my final point.


Tip 3: Effort: Quality T.I.M.E.

The most important thing for you to remember is to put in a bit of effort. Don’t go for run of the mill solutions like buying her lame ass jewelry, flowers or chocolates. How personal is that? About as personal as buying her a gift card. Gift cards are the devil. What you DO want to do is put in a bit of effort. The ultimate goal for Valentine’s day is to spend some quality time with your loved one, to celebrate the love you feel for each other and to give those feelings an extra boost. 

A cool idea for those who feel like their relationship has been in the dumps lately would be to try and relive your very first date. Pick her up after work/school and take her out on a surprise date to revisit the beginnings of your relationship. Try to even wear the same things you wore back then (can turn out to be very funny if you were still teenagers when you first hooked up: break out those shorts, band T-s and sneakers!), go to the same places, eat the same food, watch the same movie, dance to the same songs and fall in love all over again!

If that doesn’t ring your bell, you could try and show her the effort you’re willing to put in by doing something you usually wouldn’t do. Does she do all the cooking? Ask people for cooking advice or google an easy recipe, and surprise her with a romantic dinner at home! Again, it won’t matter if you turn out to be a crappy chef: she’ll be over the moon because you made the effort. My boyfriend once made me potato salad to come home to after a long day of work, and it was the best food I’d ever eaten. Even if he had put in about an entire bowl of mayonaise too much. And NO, don’t order in, that doesn’t require more effort than picking up the phone and dialing a number. Make something yourself, lazy bum!



If all of this doesn’t get you two in a romantic mood, you might have a heart the size of the Grinch’s. 


 top, tights, boots: H&M
skirt: vintage (T2)
nailpolish: Catrice
belt: Pimkie

32 comments

  1. While I'm also not much of a romantic, the child in me loves Valentine's Day cards, dressing in red, hearts and chocolate. My boyfriend and I suck at romance but we enjoy doing fun stuff when we have an excuse for it! I am loving you in red, it is such a striking outfit on you!

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  2. niiice tights!!! love red loks so wonder on you!

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  3. I'm romantic as hell, but I hate St Valentine's Day, it's not traditional in our country and moreover, on 14th February (and actually some weeks before that), the world turns all red, pink, chocolate-y, fluffy, furry and kitschy and I can't stand that. So me and Mr Darcy are going to politely ignore it :)
    By the way, great outfit! Red is your colour!

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  4. Oh my gravy. This outfit is so cute. I die. I love the lace mixed with the pleats, and don't even get me started on the polka dots. Swoon!

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  5. This outfit is so wonderful! I love the sheer-ness of the lace top and diamond-y tights! You pull of red-on-red so well :D
    M xo

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  6. Fabulous post - and I adore the red on you! I love all your V day tips...I usually ignore it but sometimes it's fun to celebrate.

    xoxo ~ Courtney
    http://sartorialsidelines.blogspot.com

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  7. Red is a great color! Sadly enough I don't own any red, and only one pink shirt. I'm also single...whoa there's some correlation there...maybe If I wear more red I'll pick up a date for V-day! Love the tips :) http://thearcenciel.blogspot.com/

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  8. red is such an amazing color on you! and like the person above i don't have red in my wardrobe either. you really make it look amazing!

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  9. Love this!! I want the shoes :D
    And I love that guide! YAYY :D I have no plans for Valentine's day...just work...haha
    http://aclosetfashionista.blogspot.com/

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  10. aww yes, i love red! its such a sexy colour :)
    my boy and i never do gifts, we just do a nice dinner :)

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  11. Not a fan of V-day, but I do adore your skirt! It's a bit Chloé SS11, but with more sass :)

    Just discovered your blog by the way, and loving it.

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  12. You know what I think ^^
    But this outfit... Hell YEAH! So good! I saw another blogger wearing two different shades yesterday, and thought: Yes this is really great! Some years ago I wouldn't have thought about it, 'cause everyone said two different shades of one color bite each other. No way! They look gorgeous!! (If also tried it out myself ^^, will post it today)

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  13. Love the outfit! Especially the pleads with the lace... Gorge!

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  14. I'm not a Valentines Day fan because every year I spent it with normal things like school or working because everytime it comes I am single. ^^

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  15. yes red is an amazing colour indeed!!! I didnt used to do anything for valentines, my partner and i believed to be forced, and that we didnt need an excuse to be romantic. But with life playing a bit rough on us for the past years, while it has almost broken us, it has made us feel more determined to be together, and st valentines it's just a silly excuse to be, silly.

    So we don't go out to an fancy resto (we can do that at another, as if we need an excuse to go out for food hehe) I get him a silly card, and some heart shaped chocolates, or as u recommend make something ;) He got a card from me last year, and he gave me the warmest of smiles, and the cutest thing was see him pinning the card next to his bed-side table, where it has stayed since then, a whole year!!!

    This year, he has pledged to get me something amazing (!!!!) even though I told him is not about gift buying. Anyway, he told me yesterday and I still cannot believe it. But, as he still hasnt got it, I'm not telling you till he does :P

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  16. Ik ben ook niet echt een fan van valentijn, zie er het nut niet echt van in om net op die dag extra lief tegen elkaar te doen :)
    Leuke outfit!
    brunetteblogging.com

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  17. Lovely post, I'm going to be making something for the boy for this Valentines :)

    Love the outfit, red does really suit you and I'm not sure if I've mentioned before, but I'm really loving the ombre in your hair at the moment xxx

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  18. hahahaha! Man, I should show my BF this post :P he is pretty good at the handmade stuff though.

    Loving the red! You look great :)

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  19. I love your valentine-sy outfit! That lace top beautiful :) My bf needs to read this, he stresses out hardcore about what to do!


    La Petite Marmoset

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  20. This outfit is the perfect example of wearing one color! You do look really good in red!
    I definitely think spending quality time together on Valentines day is pretty much the best thing to do and gift cards are evil!

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  21. God, I think I'd probably die if my boyfriend got me a gift card for Valentine's Day. HAHA. That's gotta be the worst ever.

    Lovely outfit, of course. Although I'm not a totally romantic person, either, I've gotta say all this red and pink stuff everywhere is gettin' me in the mood for love!

    P.S. Glad to know you consider yourself a feminist, too. Thanks for clearing the woman in a man's world remark up! I can see the humor now (and I like you a lot better for being a feminist, too, hehe). Take care!

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  22. oh, i love your outfits and pics.
    red is power, baby! love your look. the tights and shoes are so cool.

    green fingernails with total red work very well... remind me amelie poulain :)

    kiss

    itupgirl.blogspot.com

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  23. Love the tights and shoes! GREAT DRESS! What a look!!!

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  24. Prachtige outfit! Super hoe die twee verschillende items toch bijna dezelfde kleur rood zijn. De laatste foto vind ik trouwens heel mooi!

    Ja, Valentijn Valentijn.. Helaas heb ik behalve een uur stevige work-out op de fitness & een job daarna verder nog niks gepland. Gelukkig gaan we later in de week wel gezellig ergens ontbijten! Misschien moet ik deze link even naar de bf doormailen.. ;-)

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  25. i am so in love with your red outfit! the skirt and top are so fab and as well as the tights! i'm spending my v-day at work. i'm a sucker like that.

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  26. i am so in love with your red outfit! the skirt and top are so fab and as well as the tights! i'm spending my v-day at work. i'm a sucker like that.

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  27. Love the tights and shoes! GREAT DRESS! What a look!!!

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  28. God, I think I'd probably die if my boyfriend got me a gift card for Valentine's Day. HAHA. That's gotta be the worst ever.

    Lovely outfit, of course. Although I'm not a totally romantic person, either, I've gotta say all this red and pink stuff everywhere is gettin' me in the mood for love!

    P.S. Glad to know you consider yourself a feminist, too. Thanks for clearing the woman in a man's world remark up! I can see the humor now (and I like you a lot better for being a feminist, too, hehe). Take care!

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  29. I love your valentine-sy outfit! That lace top beautiful :) My bf needs to read this, he stresses out hardcore about what to do!


    La Petite Marmoset

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  30. Lovely post, I'm going to be making something for the boy for this Valentines :)

    Love the outfit, red does really suit you and I'm not sure if I've mentioned before, but I'm really loving the ombre in your hair at the moment xxx

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