Fall Schoolgirl

Yeah, whenever the weather gives me autumn, I turn to some schoolgirl chic yo. I'm pretty sure I'll be dressing underage right up until I pop me some babies out. 

TALKING about age: it was my guy's bday today and we had a very fun but very tiring day so I'm not gonna try and be smart tonight, just pics and nothing more.

I stuck to a brownish color palette and added some white to keep it fresh. Still really hope August will be better than July though :(

skirt, shoes: T2 vintage

tshirt, trenchcoat: Pimkie

cardi, socks: H&M

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Serious Saturday: Permanent Shoppers

First my outfit, then some talk.

Even if I'm slightly freezing my butt off, I REFUSE to give in to the weather and be succumbed by fall fashion. I have too many beautiful summer frocks that need their moment in the limelight.

Now onto the talk. I have spent the largest part of my Saturday semi-aimlessly prowling ASOS, etsy and the likes, filling my virtual shopping basket to the brim. I say semi-aimlessly because of course, I'm telling myself I am driven by a clear goal. Take your personal pick: 

- It's the last days of the sales and you HAVE to save some money by spending it (huh?)

- The bad weather has made you realize that you need more cute sweaters

- You've just received a 20% off voucher from ASOS 

- You want more color in your life

- You haven't shopped in quite some time and you feel like you've earned some self indulgence

- Maybe the bad weather just has you bored out of your mind. 

Truth is, there will always be some reason to shop.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't frown on some controlled shopping. We work a lot and we might as well DO something with our hard earned cash, right? I'm taking on this subject because as of late, I have felt increasingly fed up with shopping and "stuff" in general. It's like everything is a dime a dozen, how can I take the plunge and invest my hard earned cash in something just like that when I know there are hundreds of other, possibly cuter or cheaper versions out there? That's where my virtual shopping basket comes in.

Trying to make sure I'd invest in the right option, I have favorited hundreds of things on etsy and my ASOS saved items bag is never empty. I am always contemplating buying something, my mind is permanently wanting. On one hand, I like how e-shopping has taught me not to give into impulse buys since my virtual basket allows me to wait for a few days and see if I still desperately want my saved shiz. On the other hand, I strongly dislike how internet has basically brought the market (to use some Marx terminology) into my personal livingspace.

Considering how much time I spend on my laptop, it has almost become a part of me fysically, an extension of my reach and my view. This makes the penetration of buying and wanting in my daily life incredibly intimate. Using my laptop and the internet as my medium I am able to shop 24/7, prowling my options non stop. It's almost impossible not to give in to it: you see someone, possibly a blogger, wearing something cute online, you check the deets and you tag along to the e-store she got it at or enter some search words on etsy to find something similar.  But then you notice another piece, another look, another possibility.

To go for a total Carrie Bradshaw moment: does our virtual shopping turn us into virtual people? If we never fully commit, how do we even form an identity? If you ask me, this obsession with finding the better, cheaper, perfect option is turning us into permanent shoppers. Might we see this as another side of the modern tendency people have not to get married, not to settle down, not to stay at one job, not to buy but to rent?

Me thinking about possibly maybe getting bangs and ending up settling for clip in bangs has set off this thought in my head. By having all the options in the world, it gets harder and harder to know for sure that you're making the right decision. This in-between identity is incredibly relevant in the strange twilight where fashion and internet meet: the styleblog. Because what else is a blog than a place where young girls try out identities, where fully committing to a look basically means saying goodbye to relevancy and hip-ness?

Has internet changed us into permanent shoppers and if so, is that a good thing, a bad thing or something in between? Please chime in!

PS: I know this post is vague as hell, just another stream of consciousness! :-)

dress: Etsy (calicovintage)

clogs: H&M

straw bag: Pimkie

belt: River Island

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F21 Brussels: Exclusive Shop Preview!

I was lucky enough to attend the pre-opening of F21 in Brussels thanks to Stéphanie's connections and I can't wait to share my pictures with you guys, so without further ado: my little report of an evening at Forever 21!

 First, the venue.

Lemme tell you straight away: the store is HUGE. About as wide as two normal "big" shops and deep enough to lose you're breath if for some reason you had to run through it, even if your not in terrible shape (unlike yours truly). The bouncers were friendlier than they look and I'm sure they won't be there when the stores open :-D

Just to give you an idea of how deep the store actually is: you can't even see the back here. This allows the store to carry a very broad selection and still present everything in a spacious, neat fashion. I hate it when you have to scuffle between racks of clothes trying to find what you're looking for, so this is a big plus for me. The clothes might be "cheap", but the presentation surely isn't.

Props like this lovely chandelier gave the store an allure that made the shopping experience so much more enjoyable. The sales assistants were superfriendly and stylish too.

Another feature I LOVED were these little style/inspiration booths. The store had lots of these, like one every 5 metres or something, and they were the perfect proof of F21's main selling point: the cute styling. The items are seldom extraordinary but the styling really inspires you to try out something new and hip. This particular corner of romantic stuff really reminded me of Bonnie! Straight up my alley of course :-)

The far end of the store was the accessories/shoes/bags corner. I loved the way these bracelets were presented like candy in bowls, so pretty! I did expect the store to have a bigger selection of shoes, but the shoes that were there didn't disappoint: cute, cheap, trend-friendly.

Basically all of these are on my list. Bows, brogues, retro: love! There was a pair of insanely high floral wedges that were utterly adorable too but I'd only get those on sale because they were really literally insanely high :-D

The cash registers were at the back of the store, and here you see Kim buying loads of cute stuff! :-D

This is me getting in an impromptu outfit shot in the SUPER spacious F21 dressing rooms. I know students who have smaller living spaces. Seriously the best dressing rooms I have seen in a highstreet store, except for the sad lack of a stool or something to put my kit on. Otherwise: perfect! My outfit was just a cute little vintage get up. Details at the end of the post.

Me goofing around in the shoe section.

I'm not gonna lie: the BEST thing about the press events I get invited to now and then is, without a doubt, the food. We got a lovely risotto, the BEST FRACKING CHOCOLATE MOELLEUX ON A STICK EVER and some gorgeously juicy chocolate dipped strawberries. SO yummy! Also, the waiter was supercute, likable and funny (just like all the staff), so kudos to Oona for another great event!

Now, let's get on to some of the pieces that grabbed my attention.

Adorable retro underwear

This dress is SO on my to get list.

A beautiful textured dress + casual denim jacket = perfect simple styling. Just add a pair of rugged boots and you're good to go!

Novelty prints are always a plus for me.

Yessssssss I need this so bad!

Guess I'm really into denim! :-D

LOVE this missoni-esque midi skirt, fall must-have.

This dress obviously caught my eye: soft hue, peter pan collar, lace and baby doll silhouette? YSPLZ

My rainbow nails and a cute little F21 flower ring.

How cute is this little necklace Stéphanie is fondling?

I'm ending with this obligatory artsy lights shot (I love my fancy camera)! Hope you enjoyed my F21 report as much as I loved this pretty new shop, it is a total recommendation and I suggest all of you Belgian people go check it out when it opens officially tomorrow, Saturday 31st of July! First 500 or so will get a giftbag so be fast :-) 

The Antwerp store will open at the end of August and I can't wait to have one in my close proximity as Brussels is still quite a trip to make for me.

I'm leaving you with these detail shots of my outfit I promised you.

dress: T2 vintage

shoes: New Look

belt: H&M

headband: don't remember

bag: Pimkie

nails(left to right): hema, model's own, H&M, model's own, catrice

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Faux Bangs from China

GUYS my faux bangs arrived and I am basically in love! When I got it out of its (cute pink japanese) box (sorry didn't take pics, stupid me!) I was a bit worried at first because it appeared to be a tiny bit darker than my own haircolor, but when I fixed it in my hair it blended in. Still slightly darker, but not in a noticable or fake way. I absolutely love how this will allow me to change things up without committing to a hairstyle. I quite like how it looks on me, but now I know that I don't want bangs. Bangs really pull my look into the goody two shoe territory, too sweet and too girl next door. Also, bangs always make my nose look bigger :-D

But I LOVE being able to experiment with my hairstyle like this. 

Cute, right? I got these in a dark brown. These are really cute too! The hair feels really "real", not gross or too shiny at all, and for a price that low (and free shipping!) this is a great buy. Go get them!

Real outfit post tomorrow, sorry! I was just at a pre-opening event for F21 in Brussels and I'm showing you the pictures tomorra. Prepare yourself for cuteness overload!

PS: for my belgian girls: if you don't have any plans for tomorrow night: you can attend the Belgian pre-screening of Bridesmaids (superfun movie!) at Knokke by going here! Just register there and you should get email confirmation of your invite :)

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French Toast

Ola lovers! Thanks for all your feedback on my last post with the hairdo-conundrum. I STILL haven't decided, I'm horrible. I do feel like a change, but I so love my hair the way it is right now so I don't have that NEED to shake things up. Thanks to all the people commenting I looked like Zooey Deschanel with the bangs! I guess that's kinda obvious since I get compared to Katy Perry now and the two are basically lookalikes, but I think both are really pretty so I ain't complainin'! I can't wait for my faux bangs to arrive from China (yes I am completely insane) so  I can experiment a little :-D 

ANYWAY on to today's outfit! My lovely beige polkadotted dress, my espadrilles and a girly look. Again, these pics were taken during a random 5 minutes of somewhat sunny weather, yeay SUMMER YO

We spent the largest part of our day playing Monopoly: the perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon. I love boardgames! People hate playing with me because they always have this idea stuck in their head that I'm ridiculously lucky even though I'm totally not. I just have this image of being all happy go lucky about everything, not sulking around when something goes wrong, so people just forget the bad things that happen to me. Don't get me wrong, I like winning, but I hate people who can't lose. As long as the game itself is still exciting and you it's not obvious who's gonna win, I'm still happy! 

dress, bag: T2

headband: don't remember

espadrilles: River Island

sunglasses: H&M

belt: ASOS

ring: Alex Monroe

PS: another bit of foodporn! We made french toast :) never had done so before in my life, but it tastes like waffles and waffles are like heaven on a plate so I wuz happy. Too bad we didn't have any strawberries to go with it, would've been soooo goooooood.

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