the break-up

illustration by Martin O'Neill

I'm sorry for the quietness lately, but I've had a rather hard few days which ended in me being single again - for the first time in two years. (I'm sorry, I'm normally not really a big fan of the personal-stories-blogs, but I think you ought to know.) In short, I'm not quite in the mood for outfit posts and such. But to keep your fashion-hungry minds satiated, here's a list of my newly-discovered favourite blogs:

Garance Doré, a friend of The Satorialist, is a French illustrator and fashionista - and a quite funny one at that.

Hannah Kristina Metz doesn't really have a blog, but her photostream is exceptionally inspiring and I have a major girl crush on her - she's so darn pretty! She's like a brunette Scarlett Johansson with better style.

Boubouteatime is mainly very good at making collages. She has a way of saying things that lets you know she actually wrote it in French and then translated it, which is cute - "a petite story that gently began with a glass of cinnamon and mint tea... in a sweetly shiny morning and has never been finished... never ever..." See? It's like speaking French with English words.

Wishwishwish is, as I gather, quite a well-known blog, but I thought I'd put her here anyway. A very stylish girl who does lots of DIYs and outfit posts. I especially like her recurring "Things That Make Me Smile", for they always do make me smile.

LeFashion is pretty hardcore-runway-fashion, really high-end and not very copyable, but if you see something on LeFashion, you can be certain it will be a trend in the next few months. It's not so much a style blog in itself; it's more a collection of snapshots, magazine editorials and such.

Liebemarlene Vintage really is mouth-watering. It's a secondhandshop-owner's blog, and I want every single item she puts on sale - and everything she owns as well. This blog is to be avoided if you're on a shopping ban. (But if you have a lot of cash on your hands, it really triggers the lust for shopping!)

Daddy Likey's main perk is that she is incredibly funny. She gives some kind of a cute twist to all the serious fashion blogs. Highlights are the Five Men's First Impressions in which she asks her brothers, father and boyfriend's opinion on fashion items, the High Fashion Haiku and the Don't Show-cha Your Chocha, where readers send in photos of girls - mostly modelling for fashion brands - who are given a shirt to wear as a dress and take on the most awkward poses in an effort to stay decent.

things i've loved, i'm allowed to keep

epic girl crush

I've had a girl crush on Irina Lazareanu since forever. I love her looks, her high cheekbones, her 60s haircut, the fact that she once was the drummer of The Libertines, her sense of style. Just Google her images, and drool.

sometimes i wish i were bad

Sometimes I wish I were rock 'n roll.

I would go out all night. I would drink vodka and not spit it out immediately. I would kiss many boys but never call them back. I would wear any old thing and still look good in it. I would carefully rip my tights so that they look carelessly ripped. I would do drugs and I would do the DJ. I would sing in a rock band that does many gigs in smelly pubs and get paid but never get famous. I would become very skinny because food just isn't rock and roll, and be asked to model in a sleazy campaign for emo clothes. I would travel the world. I would always cause a scene.

And then I remember my lovely boyfriend and my very cute friends who like to hang out but not to party wild. And I remember I could never wear bow-ties if I were a rocker. And I gladly put on a flowered dress again.

CLOTHES

1, 2 AND 3: DRESS,H&M; VINTAGE BLOUSE; BRACELETS I STOLE FROM MY SISTER (SORRY ESKE!).

4: SLIP DRESS FROM SUPERSTAR; SAFARI DRESS FROM H&M; TIGHTS FROM I DON'T KNOW WHERE

5: ROLLING STONES TEE, FRENCH STORE; METALLIC TIGHTS

6: DRESS, MY MOTHER'S; PINK RIBBON; FISHNET TIGHTS

7 AND 8: SWEATER, TAKE TWO (STOLE IT FROM MY BOYFRIEND); BRA, HUNKEMÖLLER

9: SEE 4

10: MY SISTER'S BRACELETS AND THE LOWLANDS BRACELET

MAKE UP

BLACK EYE SHADOW (ESSENCE)

GLITTER EYE LINER, BLACK (H&M)

CONCEALER, COLOR 'SAND' (RIMMEL)

KOHL PENCIL No1 (GOSH)

BLACK WATERPROOF MASCARA (ETOS)

spotted

Me, Thessa, Vera and Inge (in that order on the pictures) were photographed at Lowlands for a streetstyle article at the Dutch ELLE website!

first day of school

Lowlands was absolutely brilliant and now I´ve just had my first day at school. It feels like I haven't had vacation at all. I think I need another one. But I did wear my new black bodycon-dress, which did make me a little happier.

a campingflight to LOWLANDS paradise.

In just a few hours I'll be going to Lowlands! As I promised, I drew what I'd be wearing, but I didn't think it'd take so much time (ever tried drawing lace? It's a LOT of work) so I only managed to do day 1 and 2. I'll show you day three when I'm back! Day two consists of a black tube-top, a lace tank top, a short-sleeved wool vest, high-waisted polkadot shorts and
white tights. Oh, and the 'Day 01' letters I copied from one of my favourite books (Hand Job, a
catalog of type, here), as shown in the last picture. Now, goodbye my lovelies, I'll be screaming at the Arctic Monkeys, eating overexpensive saté sandwiches and living the festival life for the next few days!

how interesting

[image source: lefashionimage]
I quite hate having to carry a bag around when I want to go out dancing and I never have pockets (a logical result of having no trousers) so this should be the perfect solution: a bag disguised as a bow on the front of your dress! Too bad your boobs will probably look very weird if you want to bring your mobile phone, lipstick, wallet, mirror and house keys.

tough cookie

How 'bout some real tough boots for the winter, no? I have cold feet ALL OF THE TIME (I have cold feet right now and it's 23 degrees according to the thermometer) so I marvel at the thought of having some really warm boots to carry me throughout the winter. And these are so attainable as they're from Invito, so I need a pair of those. I do need them. I'll combine them with floaty dresses and white tights to undo the 'hello, I stole these off a carpenter'-effect or just go all the way with a lumberjack shirt and tight tight skinnies.

voorpret

I've already thought out my outfits for Lowlands. And I was thinking of photographing each item individually, but I really can't be bothered. Maybe I'll draw everything, that should be cool.

i wanna see you work

I've been thinking a lot lately about getting a job. It's obvious that I need one, seeing as my monthly income (which is a stunning €20) just isn't sufficient for a clothes lover such as myself. But it seems that the only jobs for a 17-year-old available are the following:

The Supermarket
The most dreaded job of all. True, some of my friends seem to love working there, but it's just not for me - all the heavy lifting! The crazy work hours! The hideous uniform!

A Lunchroom
I've done that. It went well for the first three months, but somehow I seemed to do something wrong all of a sudden - I believe the boss thought I was working too slowly - and the endless stream of critisism made me very insecure, which resulted in me dropping cutlery and forgetting things. It was a shame, because the other boss seemed to like me well enough and always tipped me at the end of the day because of all my 'hard work'. Still, I'm traumatized and probably won't attempt another job in a restaurant before my confidence has recovered.


A Clothes Shop
This does seem like the perfect job for me, wouldn't it? Being around clothes all day long. But I always find sales assistents slightly intimidating, especially when they're a little too keen on trying to sell something you're trying on. The girls in clothing stores also always seem a bit older than 17, more in the 20-25 range, or is that just me?

The Burger King
Eww.



Okay, now that I've covered the jobs I believe seventeen-year-olds are supposed to do, let's talk about my dream jobs:


A Bookstore
This really would be fantastic. I'd be able to wear whatever I want - because being able to look fab really would be a big pro in any job - and most of the time bookstores are really quiet places, so no stressful workdays! And I love books. I really do love them.

A Band
Or maybe not a band, but just, you know, singing. You can easily make 40 euros for a performance if you're completely unknown, and for me 40 bucks is a lot! And think of all the advantages: free drinks, getting famous, all that jazz... But I'm afraid I'll have to come up with more than one guitar and a few songs if I want to keep people entertained for an hour. Still, I could try and find some pubs who host local bands' performances. Or, you know, pretend to be some well-known British artist who's doing a pub tour.

A Vintage Shop
Having the first pick on all the vintage stuff that arrives. Selling clothes but not in an industrial, loveless way. Unfortunately, we only have one halfway decent vintage store (and two crappy ones) in the place where I live, and that job is occupied by a fantastic-looking vintage-loving girl so I'm afraid I'm no match!

Designing
When I look at the designs that are made for posters and such, I always think that I could do that too. I really could. I'm just too scared to put myself out there because there already is such a big world of creative youths (though most of the time they're not seventeen) and I'm not good at selling myself!



Seeing everything put in a list, I know I'm just not the enterprising type who gets all the dream jobs. I'm a big wimp. But this certainly gives me a boost to try and do something about my current jobless situation!

Do you have any good tips on jobs?

and... action!

Every once in a while (mostly when the monthly interior magazine arrives), my mum gets all fussy and wants something changed in the house. With pretty gorgeous results:

Also, the Action really is a great store, once you get past the fugly towels, the crappy 'handy' stuff and the tasteless clothes - and the lack of airconditioning while it's 30 degrees Celcius outside. I found some lovely hardcover notebooks and a folder, and a box covered in a Chinese newspaper with colored pencils in it. I also found cute white socks and some decent black and dark blue wool tights, but I didn't think there was any use in photographing those.

[my god - they misspelled the French word for chocolate, making it a 'choco-latte', which sounds like coffee]

gratis GOSH mascara

Ik lees net iets geweldigs: als je een oude mascara inlevert bij de Kruidvat, krijg je in ruil daarvoor een nieuwe Gosh mascara naar keuze terug! De actie loopt van 25 augustus tot 6 september, maar ik ga er meteen die eerste dag erheen want anders zijn ze vast alweer op. Je hoeft alleen maar deze coupon uit te printen en een oude mascara mee te nemen!

daily shot of music: the ultimate drinking song

't denken lukt nu toch niet meer en we leven meer één keer

Over het algemeen houd ik absoluut niet van Nederlandstalige muziek. Ik vind het Nederlands een platte, lelijke taal waar maar weinig eer aan te behalen valt in een songtekst, en alles klinkt nu eenmaal beter in het Engels (en nog beter in het Frans, trouwens). Maar heel af en toe maak ik een uitzondering: als het Nederlands heel poëtisch is geschreven. Dat is zo bij Spinvis en Roosbeef, maar ook bijvoorbeeld bij Doe Maar. En hierbij:

Dit is 'Meer Bij' van Fratsen en ik vind het echt heel leuk gedaan: dat folk-element en het feit dat het een dranklied is, inclusief redelijk bezopen klinkende zanger. Ik moet helaas dus wéer een uitzondering maken in mijn afkeer tegen Nederlandstalige muziek...

yellow lemonade

Yeah. This is what I'm doing all day long. All - day - long. Did you know your neck really starts hurting if you're on the computer for four hours straight?

I've just made ten bucks by babystitting two adorable eight-year-olds, so I'll be able to go out on Saturday. And I found this bra for only 5 euros at the Hunkemöller sale! Tee hee.

ik heb de lekkerste appelflap van mijn leven gegeten

Somehow Blogger uploaded all my photos backwards, but well. I went shopping today for my aunt's wedding, and I didn't just come home with a dress for the wedding but also with some things I really, really needed (ahem).

First: a pair of stockings (above) for only 1,50! And they came in this adorable bag (below).
I found a compromise between jeans (which I hate) and leggings (which I wear constantly), which is of course a jeans legging. According to about everyone who's anyone, you cannot live without a jeans legging. I'll wear it with a men's blouse, or...
...my new dress! It's the ultimate party dress, I think: quite short and covered in sequins.
You know how you sometimes find a dress, and you just know it's the perfect dress for you? That's what I found. This dress makes me feel the same way a chocolate cake does. And that's a very good thing.


And, last: my dress for the wedding. It's just a very... wedding-y dress, not something I'd normally buy, but it's kind of Sex And The City-like and ideal for sitting in a church while people are getting married, I suppose.

De nieuwe As The World Spunks

[note: this is only an interesting article for people who are a) dutch and b) have been addicted to a dutch v-log that died more than a year ago. If you are neither of these, please just watch the video.]

Sinds As The World Spunks ermee ophield, is het leven een stukje leger geworden. Wat moet nu onze dagen vullen, zonder Gwen en Wieger die volkomen nutteloze maar hilarische filmpjes maken?
Ik heb het antwoord:

Natalie Tran.

Ik ben bezig ál haar youtubefilmpjes achter elkaar te bekijken - en geloof me, dat zijn er veel - en zij is zó de nieuwe Gwen. Maar dan Australisch.

a total wtf situation

**UPDATE** : I just found out that one of my favourite bloggers has put on a piece about site statistics as well. That is so... awesome. It's like we have a connection. [insert crazy laugh]

So, I've mentioned before that I have this thing called Statcounter on my blog which keeps track of how many people visit your site and where they come from and how long they visit your site and what they Googled to end up on your site - just not who they are (yes. They're that cruel). So that's a great thing to do when you're bored, which I am. And two things were utterly strange:

1. Someone visited my site 45 times. ON ONE DAY. How do you even manage that? I'm so scared. Also, there was a person who was on my site for three and a half hours. What do you do on my blog for three and a half hours? Do you read every single entry from the past four months? Do you gaze at pictures for an hour? What were you doing? It's flattering, really, but it's also pretty weird.*

2. A certain friend of mine is being Googled like, several times a month. After which they end up on my blog, because he was in one of my entries - and no, I'm not gonna say who, I'll let you smartasses figure it out - and so they end up here. I'm quite (but not entirely) certain he just Googles himself several times a month, though.**

* Okay, so it's not weird at all. I get it. I am a marvelous creature you just can't stop staring at. And I love you for it. Kisses.
** Sorry sorry sorry to that person. I really didn't mean that you're a self-absorbed person.***

*** GHA. I totally did.

remotely pretty

I was going to write something extremely smart and funny to show I don´t care everyone´s away and I´m still here, but somehow it didn´t work out, so I wrote up my thoughts for the last 15 minutes instead:

19.45
God, I miss everyone. What are they up to right now? Probably looking interesting on foreign train stations.
19.46
They should totally turn my life into a musical. With songs like ‘They Prefer The East Block Over Me’ and ‘My Sims Are My Only Friends’, and a lovely uptemo dance number called ‘I’m Totally Dancing To Britney Spears Right Now’. Yeah, that should become a classic.
19.48
My Britney Spears dance is pretty good. Maybe I should record it with my webcam and put it on YouTube and get hundreds of comments and LOADS of admirers and then I wouldn’t need my friends any more. Who needs friends who go to Eastern Europe anyway. Phah.
19.51
My Britney moves looked way better in the mirror than they do on camera. Do just have a very, very confused sense of sight which turns everything I see in the mirror in reverse, like when I see something ugly in the mirror I see it as pretty, and when I see something completely cool, I think it’s just crap? Yeah, that’d explain a lot. Like why people never seem to think that I’m pretty, while I see a darrrrn pretty face in that mirror, yo.
19. 52
I didn’t mean that. I’m remotely pretty, but not darrrrn-like.
19.54
I wish I weighed more, so I could eat more chocolate.
19.55
You know what pisses me off? Not having had enough money to go on exchange to Czech, so that now my entire social life is ruined because everyone is like, banging Czech boys out there and I’m sitting alone behind a laptop (ONE THAT’S NOT EVEN MINE. SEE? I’M THAT POOR.) and eating my weight in chocolate. That’s 55 kilos of bloody chocolate I’m talking about. And at the same time, I don’t have enough money to go to ANOTHER Eastblock country to keep an eye on my boyfriend while he’s at a bloody great festival in bloody Hungary, with bloody model-like Hungarian girls and pints of beer for bloody two euros. And I would totally bloody say ‘bloody’ that many times if I actually spoke English in real life. Which I don’t. I’m that bloody uncool.
20.00
Obviously I’m joking. I’m very cool. I am one cool person.
20.03
I might as well put the Britney video up. I don't care if I look like an idiot. Honestly, I'm starting to get used to looking like an idiot. 'Snot as bad as you think.
20.05
I was lying, it is as bad as you think. The word Hungary has made me hungry (word joke! Ahahaha! Ha!). I'm going to get some more chocolate.

times of luxury

So, somehow everyone's away this week except for me and a few other pitiful creatures, but the good thing is that I've borrowed my boyfriend's laptop (he's away to the Sziget festival) for the week, and it's like, the fastest laptop I've ever come across, which combined with our superspeed-internet promises a lot of time going to be spent on the Internet the coming week. Which is a good thing for this blog, of course.

So, I found out this laptop even has a pretty good webcam:

Yeah, that's how surprised I was when I found out. And I immediately started doing what every sane person in this situation would do: started making goofy photos of myself.

Which is exactly what you'd do in this situation, right? Anyhoodle, I decided this'd be the perfect opportunity to show you guys my new necklace-invention without doing tricky stuff with cameras and so:

It's like, a retro car! But on a necklace! Isn't that brilliant? No? Whatever. It made me laugh. Have a nice day.

back and back again

I'm back again! And I've become very tan in just a few days, long live the beach!

I've just found this YouTube vid of Regina Spektor, and I'm a complete fan in just a few minutes. Halfway the performance, she stops because someone in the audience is sick, how utterly cute is that? And the song is, of course, gorgeous.

goodbye again

I'm going away for a week with my boyfriend and his family, and I'm quite sure we don't have Internet there, so I'm going to have to say goodbye again. I'll report back on Friday!

Going clubbing is always a good excuse to try over-the-top makeup that you'd normally never wear. So yesterday, I tried to copy Shelley's eye makeup (here) and found out that when wearing thick layers of mascara, I in fact have HUGE lower eyelashes:

Needless to say, the night was a huge succes.

p.s. if you're interested: I wore my new high-waisted polka dot shorts with bare legs and a tube top - for I knew the club I'd be going to would be very warm - combined with my super-high heels and a black headband. Someone commented that I looked like a 50s whore. I told her that was exactly what I was going for.