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.

Botanique Baby

Don't you ever have that feeling like you've gotta go somewhere and preferably all by yourself? Well, I do get that a lot to be honest. Sometimes I just have to escape, but I don't know what I'm escaping from. Usually I do this after my exams because I remember the first time I did this or had the urge to do so. It was my last year of high school and also my last exam. Instead of joining my friends for lunch I took the bus to the country side (or what you can call country side) and just went for a walk. I spent the whole afternoon walking and listening to music. Unfortunately I can't remember what I was thinking about, but it had something to do with a dream I once had.

A while ago I had the exact same feeling, but this time I got this feeling because a friend told me about another friend of ours. She told me about how he visits cities all by him self for several days so he could enjoy it to the fullest. That's where I got my idea from to visit the Belgian capital Brussels (and no, according to me it's not "just Brussels"). I decided to go the day right after she told me. Oddly I didn't feel like getting there as quickly as possible. So that's why I went for an hour during bus ride instead of a 20 minute train ride. I didn't feel in a hurry.

Since I was all by myself I was the one making the decisions and the first decision I made, besides taking the bus, was getting off at the Botanical Garden instead of the North Station as I'd usually do. The main reason why I decided to do so was because I'm pretty fond of 19th Century buildings, mainly because of the large windows which means a lot of natural incidence of light.

First I went for a little stroll through the garden which didn't have lots to offer in the winter besides the many statues. After taking a few pictures my iPhone began to struggle with some issues; the battery died. I usually carry its charger everywhere with me because this regularly happens, so I had to go look for a plug. Luckily I found one in something you could compare with a lobby. There I realized that there was more to do besides observing exotic plants. I did know it's the cultural centre of the French Community of Belgium, but I didn't expect something interesting to happen today.

To my surprise the complete building was filled with artists and other creative people, all of them were participating in this event called "ProPulse". All of these people were standing there aching to introduce themselves to you, and talk about what they love to do. To be honest I wasn't quite interested in talking to them, I was more interested in the appealing music I could hear but couldn't see who was making it. Following the sound which made me curious I ended up standing on front of a black door. Even though I was afraid I might be interrupting them, I opened the door and nobody even bothered (the more the merrier, right?).

When I entered the dark room I noticed this girl sitting in the stage, I guess she was about nine years old. It was like she was part of the orchestra because she was singing along. After some research I found out that she isn't part of the orchestra. Yet it felt like she was their lead singer, I can't explain it quite right. Neither can I explain what seeing Bernard Orchestar's (exactly that's what they're called) performance. I can only say that if I'd ever get the chance to direct a movie I'd use their music in it.



Thank you, enjoy these other pictures of Brussels 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.

My Merry Christmas Eve

This evening it's Christmas Eve! For allot of people this means being together and having a nice and sometimes extravagant Christmas dinner. Well, at our home we actually don't, but no matter what you believe, you (and we too) just can't deny that there is a little bit of extra something (I don't know how to call it) in the air. Just like everybody in the world we love watching Christmas movies and singing those cheeky Christmas songs. Since we like watching Christmas movies more than singing I've chosen to share with you are most beloved films of this wonderful season.

Dr. Seuss's How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

Edward Scissor Hands (1990)

Home Alone 1 (1990) & Home Alone 2 (1992)

Die Hard (1988)

Gremlins (1984)

Thank you, have a nice Christmas Eve and take care.


Note: Wish I could call it a Pippin Christmas because of reasons.

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.

Is It Really Worth It?

Those who have been following the blog from the start - I'm talking about 3 years ago - might already know I'm not a huge fan of Primark. Reasons? Well, I'm just not a huge fan of poor quality clothing. Besides that, those clothes are only made to sell. It's not like they've got some spirit, philosophy or feeling - you know what I mean? - in them like it actually should be. And it's not like they'll last a lifetime... Okay, nothing lasts a lifetime but I've got two sweaters from my dad and they're about twenty years old (no kidding!) and they still look like they're brand new(ish). I've heard from Primark shoppers that they throw out all their clothes once a year to go buy new ones at Primark. So, I'm guessing that their sweaters won't last twenty years like my dad's.

Now please don't get me wrong, I'm not a hater. I'm just a disliker (there's a huge difference). I can, and I certainly already did, appreciate some pieces I've found there. And yes, I've already bought some things in Primark (now don't you call me a hypocrite). The stuff I've bought are pretty basic, such as this white oversized (see-through) shirt and this black fedora. For both I only paid 18 euros (11 euros for the shirt and 7 euros for the hat), which is really really cheap. And this is exactly why my relationship with Primark is so difficult. Finding these essentials for such a tiny price makes me love it, but that their clothing is made in sweatshops makes me hate it.

But my question is, why do people love it so much, and sometimes even refuse to buy their clothes elsewhere? I only started questioning myself this since yesterday, because they've opened a new store in Brussels. And I have to be honest, I did not expect that many people waiting for it to open. Like why should you wait in front of a store, that's gonna stay at the same place for about five more years, to be the "first one" to buy its low quality products? If it was a sample sale, I'd probably be one of the first ten people to stand in line, but Primark for... I just don't get it. It's ridiculous.

For the Dutchies over there I've got a nice article on shops like Primark and Action you must read; just click here.

Thank you, and take care.