I Tuck It In

Nowadays everybody visits the thrift store once in a while. Well, especially since Macklemore's extremely catchy song "Thrift Shop", which in my opinion is completely misunderstood. Don't be afraid. I'm not gonna diss on his song or secondhand shops where you can buy overpriced used clothing (everybody likes that, right?). I'm gonna save that little opinion of mine in my head, where it belongs, until somebody really wants me to speak my mind about this. But let's just forget about this because I'm getting of topic here (thanks to myself).

I must admit that I'm really fond of visiting thrift shops, second hand markets, yard sales etc. Mainly because I love giving items, especially clothing, a new home (my home that is). But from all places I like my dad's closet best. He has this drawer where he puts his old, according to him, worn-out and old fashioned polo shirts and jumpers. Most pieces in this drawer are approximately twenty years old, but they still look good, as in completely undamaged. Sure, the colors may have faded a little, but that's no problem.

I know I promised you guys something else, but yet again the weather didn't really suit my outfit (yes, it's not the other way around). Luckily the weather is improving each day, which means that I'll be showing you the outfit I've been dying to wear next week (I promise!). So, for this week I've put together this dadcore-ish, extremely normal look. Of course I'm also playing with a little irony in my outfit as I usually try to do. According to me the most funny part, which has nothing to do with that irony, is that I'm sporting pink nail polish which I'd like to call Pink Power Ranger pink. I added little silver dots on my thumb and ringer finger's nail to make it extra Power Ranger-like, but I'm not gonna show you a close up of my nails. Let's just say they aren't on fleek anymore.

In this photo I'm wearing a polo shirt by Lacoste from my dad's special drawer. I added the Polo Ralph Lauren cap, because it matches my coat so well. Also because my dad also wears a similar one and for this outfit I wanted to go completely dadcore. That's also why I decided to tuck my shirt in my pants like a real thug. I really think I'm one of the most unphotogenic persons on earth. Ah well, it's hard taking full body mirror selfies.

Thank you, and take care.

Coat / Zara
Polo Shirt / Lacoste (dad's closet)
Jeans / Light Before Dark (Urban Outfitters)
Sneakers / Nike Air Force 1
Backpack / Zara
Nails / Essence - Rimmel London
Cap / Polo Ralph Lauren

Vegeta Vs. Versace

It's March which means we've hit the beginning of the end of the first quarter of 2015 (some sentence, right?). If I look outside I can see that the amount of joggers has decreased dramatically. I'm guessing this means that lots of people have given up on their New Years resolutions for this year (or they've all started hitting the gym?). Oh well, good luck obtaining that dream figure, which you're wishing for every year, next year. Whether I'm one of those people? Of course I'm not.

Mainly because I'm not the person who lives from year to year. Besides that I see my birthday as my own little New Year, which makes it okay for you to say "Happy New Year" on my birthday (does this make me egocentric?). So yeah, I don't live from year to year but I do have some kind of to-do list or bucket list. I actually don't know what's exactly on it since it's a mental list, like a list in my mind. It's hard to say what's on it, but at times I think of stuff I really want to do. One thing I've been thinking about for weeks now is the World Expo in 2020 which will be held in Dubai. What I'm most excited about and also convinced me to go is that Dubai is planning on making an artificial rain forest under the slogan: "Green is the new black." And I couldn't agree more on that one!

The past year I've noticed the growing influence and adoration of plants in subcultures such as Vaporwave and Webpunk, sometimes also called Netpunk. Up until now I didn't really have  Vaporware-ish fashion items, besides my Nike gear (white rain jacket and Air Force 1's). About a month ago I bought this cool Versace/Vegeta t-shirt online. When I bought it my sister asked me why I wanted it so badly. I explained that I want it because I thought it was a satirical piece of clothing. I mean, I love putting some humor in my outfits. Usually I do this by adding something childish like a Hello Kitty bracelet or a bracelet with colorful beads. Like allot of people my sister doesn't get it at all. She sees, like many, fashion as something that can only be used to make yourself look good. Of course it's okay to do so, but I guess that you won't get why I dress like I sometimes do.

Next week I'm planning on doing an outfit post with my new little gem. The reason why I didn't do it this week is because it's still in it's package. On the other side because the weather wasn't really t-shirtproof (yes, that does exist!). And I also didn't feel like doing that because I've started playing Neopets again; my Neopets are starving and I really have to take care of them.

Thank you, and take care.

About Marilyn, Madonna and Miley

A couple of days ago I was reading a newspaper which has its own "fashion section". They had this article about shoe trends saying that gladiator sandals, UGGs, shoes with pointy toes, knee high boots and ballerina flats are back in style. Well, according to me these shoes were never out of style because there are always people who like wearing them (mind there's a difference between style and fashion). It's just that these shoes are typical for the 00s and lots of people are still stuck in that period seeing this as their comfort zone; they're afraid to move on or they just think "these new things" aren't something for them. It's a pretty common thing and definitely not a bad thing to do. People who are in their thirties will still be sporting some fashion items that really hyped when they were younger for example.

This is actually why I started thinking that a lot of people of around my age still like wearing fashions from about a decade ago. I'm talking about the main styles that were in fashion back then: American baseball (as they call it), army and punk. I've chosen to show you this by sharing this video of a tv-show, which you can view by clicking here, I used to watch when I was about nine years old. It's called "100% Bakvis", a kids' lifestyle show broadcasted by Ketnet. Some Dutchies out there might have vague memories of this show. In this episode - the only episode you can find online - they're showing us what styles are in fashion (as I said earlier). Of course the clothing looks pretty weird because of the "old cuts" (I don't know how to say this in English). When I saw this I was like: "Oh no! Fake UGGs!" 

Now I've heard from allot of people that they dislike fashion going back in time. To be honest I was one of those people too until I realized that sometimes it's essential to do so. In the 80s Marilyn Monroe was, and actually still is, an inspiration for Madonna. And that's according to me the main reason why Madonna still prefers sporting blond hair, Marilyn Monroe inspired hairstyle and red lipstick, which now is her signature style. I'm actually still waiting for that one artist to do the same an become as iconic as Madonna, but I'm guessing that won't be happening (Miley Cyrus perhaps?). And for the ones interested in the comparison of Madonna and Marilyn Monroe I've found this website called "Madonna blows chunks", which actually is "anti-Madonna", with great photos of the two icons.

Thank you, and take care.

Note: I had zero inspiration for the title. So I just went for this quirky alliteration. 

My Top 21 Tracks of 2014

Since there are only three days of 2014 left I've decided to share my top 21 tracks of 2014 before it's too late. Now why 21? Well, I'll be honest with you. At first it was a regular top 20, but then I realized I totally forgot about a song and I'm not telling which one. There were some songs I really had to add to the playlist, even though some - lots of - people aren't really fan of it (already guessing which song I might be talking about?). But I definitely love it and I think it has really deserved its place in this list.

Some of you might think that it's filled with songs from Lana Del Rey's new album "Ultraviolence", but unfortunately I'm gonna have to disappoint you guys. I've chosen to put only one song of Lana in this playlist because otherwise it wouldn't be fair. And besides, it's not like you only eat sweets. You just eat them from time to time, and it's the same with Lana and me. That doesn't mean I don't like other music or artists. It means that they're all different and have other moments to listen to.

Enjoy my 21 favorite tracks of 2014!

Thank you, hope you enjoyed them and take care.

Cheer Me Up

Sometimes we've gotta go back in time and listen some of those songs that always get stuck in your head. I pretty much did that the other day, but I didn't go back that much, just like seven years or something. - Whether I'm feeling old? Not at all! (Oh, I sure feel old at the moment) - I'm talking about Sean Kingston's hit "Beautiful Girls". Well, at first my sister and I were listening to some Justin Bieber songs (it's okay to listen to Justin Bieber) and stumbled upon this song right after listening - actually viewing - the Justin Bieber and Sean Kingston collaboration "Eenie Meenie".

So, the video shows us teenagers from the 50s until now (okay, 2007 is not now, but you get it) at the - what I'd like to call - milkshake bar (why don't we have those in Belgium?). Surprisingly this music video inspired me which I didn't expect because it's just a "silly" music video. Actually it's not the complete video that did the trick; it just took a couple of cheerleaders. Well, to be more specific I'm kinda intrigued by the 50s cheerleader's uniforms, and especially their sweaters.

Don't you just adore them? I'll share a little secret with you: those sweaters are 70s Varsity sweaters. Oh well, they look good too, especially the "Tigers" one. Anyhow they'd stil give me the 50s feeling if I'd wear one of them, which will probably never happen. I don't know why, but I'll always have this kinda love and admiration for the American 50s and especially the youth culture of that time.

Thank you, and take care.

Normcore - Dressing Down Instead Of Up

Last post I told you that I kinda wasn't inspired by today's fashion anymore (by fashion I mean today's contemporary fashion). Well, that's pretty much what norm core is all about according to me. It's sorta what a modernistic fashion style, almost to be called a movement. People just trying to put a clean and neat outfit together. Accessorizing is excessive. That's actually what norm core is all about, I guess. Few people say it's a new hipster movement but I hope it isn't. Not because I don't like hipsters, but rather because that means it would reach its height and then just become tacky. 

The "hipster beard" is a great example, even tough it hasn't that much to do with clothing, but it's style. At this very moment almost every man is walking around wearing a beard while most "hipster guys" are already shaving their beards off. According to some it's because it has reach its height and I'm actually one of those "some". And it's not that I don't like beards or something. It's just that most guys who've started sporting a beard are kinda "wannabe-hipsters" (they just go with the flow). 

Trying to stand out by looking as normal as possible. Pretty ironic, isn't it? Doesn't matter, almost everything carries a bit of irony in it (did I already mention that I'm a huge fan of irony?). I also like to compare this movement in fashion with a literary movement: Avant-garde and Dada. People, in this case fashionista's and fashionisto's, who think fashion has reached it's height so they start wearing ant-fashionable clothing such as Dr. Martens. The same happened in Avant-garde in the 20th Century. (Perhaps I'm thinking to far or just far enough. It's up to you to decide)

So what I basically like about norm core is its simplicity and minimalism. It's mostly about monochrome and I'm (really, really) found of black and white outfits. Besides it's easy to wear because you don't have to wear lots of layers to look refined. Logo-shirts are also back in the game because they make you look sophisticated. And last but not least, sport socks. Not only in sandals but with every shoe. In short, all the wrong things to wear are more than okay.

Oh, and it's not like I'm gonna be a hardcore norm core girl. It's just some style I'll wear whenever I feel like it. So it's not like I'm gonna make it my signature style or something. 

Thank you, and take care

Photography by Craig McDean

Styled by Edward Enninful

Source: W Magazine