Diana: Her Fashion Story

About a week ago, I could enjoy a couple of days off... And what better place to be at than in London?!

Just before I headed there, a new exhibition about Lady Di got opened. Princess Diana is known because of the tragic car accident that ended her life very abruptly, but also for her amazing fashion sense. It was said that the exhibition exposed the evolution of the Princess's style, from the demure, romantic outfits of her first public appearances, to the glamour, elegance and confidence of her later life. This was definitely worth a visit! 

Rumour had it that there was a huge interest in the event, which was rapidly confirmed on the website: tickets could no longer be purchased. What a pity! Still, I decided to actually go to Kensington Palace and try to get my hands on some tickets there. If not, a wonderful walk through the Kensington Gardens & Hyde Park would be on the program that afternoon. But luckily I managed to get in!

If you want to go and visit the exhibition yourself, you still have a lot of time left. I can only say the clothes were very nice and well-exposed: you can really see the change Lady Di made from a shy little girl to an overtly glamorous woman. Below you can see a sneak peek of the exhibition, but I would recommend to go yourself when you're visiting London in the near future. 

Sunnier days #WCD

Since I've been back from holiday, each day I am craving for sunshine. That's why today I am taking you guys back to last summer, to the time where I did a little shoot with a sweater from the dance festival WECANDANCE. Because the last few months have been so busy, I totally forgot about it but still want to share some footage with you. As you can see, the weather was not bad at all, just like the sweater ;) It has the coolest design: it is super playful, funny and a little crazy… Just what I like! The festival wanted to have some fashionable goodies to sell at the event  - because next to the dance music, the other main focus of the festival is fashion - and therefor they did some collaborations with all sorts of brands, such as Tutti Frutti for this sweater. This year, the festival will again take place in August and I'm already looking forward to the new collabs! 

The first summer combo

Finally the good weather has arrived in little Belgium! Yay! Time to get the skirts out! I just love that first day where I can reopen up the part of my closet that contains my summer clothes and start thinking about possible new combinations to make. The pictures below show the first combination of the upcoming summer season ;) I hope you guys like it! 

Outfit: skirt Essentiel - top local shop St. Tropez - shoes Exit - bracelet Anne Zellien - handbag Delvaux 

Acne meets Sandro

Yay, I finally found the light grey Acne scarf that I wanted for such a long time!!! And I was so lucky: it was the last one left in the Acne shop in London. Their 100 percent wool scarfs are maybe a bit expensive, but they are to die for and worth every penny ;) On the pictures you see that I combined three colors in my outfit: black, grey and burgundy/red, all colors to be found back in my Sandro sweater. Never forget: sometimes you can just make an outfit work by pure simplicity. 

Outfit: coat Sandro - sweater Sandro - scarf Acne - shoes Attilio Giusti Leombruni - pants Zara

Jacket up

After my two - excuse me - very long posts I just want to give you an image that was taken in Oxford. This coat is just perfect for the mid-season kind of weather. When the sun is shining a lot of people go out without putting a coat on and are then freezing the moment the glowing stops (sounds familiar right?!). That's why this kind of jacket is just so awesome. And what I like the most about it, is that this is thé most British coat you can think of. Hurray! 

South Bank/Bankside (part 2)

Oh yes, today again some London based pictures! After making the blogpost last week, some friends said that they didn't understand the 'feeling' that I was talking about in the article. They say the first thing you do when visiting London is going to the Big Ben. Well… I don't agree ;) ! As already said, it is fun to see mister BB from time to time, but I think London has much more to offer! So my advise to you guys, for your next trip to London: go visit the places where you've never been before. Just take the tube to somewhere and discover the area by yourself. 

Here you have some nice tips:

1/ Hampstead: If you like architecture (for example the Hampstead theatre), then this area is definitely worth your visit! There are some nice interior shops as well, but quite pricy… (tube station Hampstead)

2/ Islington: Upper street is full of nice and fun shops/lunch places, whilst Camden Passage is full of cheeky antique shops -> fun fact: Tony Blair used to live in this area (tube station Angel or Highbury & Islington) 

3/ Shoreditch: For the moment this is one of my fav's! There are a lot of cool independent shops and it seems like all the hip and trendy people are gathering here. Still a lot to discover, so again on my list for the next trip! -> delicious: Pizza East: part of the Soho House group and presenting so much more than just a regular pizza (tube station: Liverpool street) 

<Pictures below taken in and around Tate Modern>

Nothing Hill

Hi guys! Today I want to treat you with an outfit post and what is a better place to do some outfit shooting than L to the ONDEN?!?!?!? Next to being my favorite city in the whole wide world, I also think it is one of the few cities that really breathes fashion on a day to day basis. London just always knows what is hot and happening. It was such a long time ago that I walked through the cosy streets of Nothing Hill (and no, not looking after Hugh Grant ;)), so taking the tube had a double purpose that day: shooting some pics and doing some house hunting (you'll never now right?!). And oh yeah, I'm very proud of my new white coat! I know, again an oversized one, but I'm just such a cold kiddo that I love to wrap myself up with a big coat, a beanie and a warm scarf. And that was really necessary that day with the cold wind finding its way through London town. Hope you like the pics and especially the setting! 

Outfit: coat Topshop - beanie Retrogue - scarf Zara - sneakers New Balance - bag Essentiel - gloves Scapa 

#MODEinOOSTENDE @ Belmodo

People who follow my wordsfromthewest account on instagram have definitely noticed that I spend a lot of my time in Ostend, also called 'the queen of the Belgian seaside'. So I was absolutely over the moon when I saw that Belmodo had launched a hotspot tour here. What does it entail (for the fashionistas who don't know about it yet) -> Belmodo did a search for the most hip and trendy stores, hotels, restaurants... in Ostend and made a little magazine about it, that you can find in all the participating places 2 be. For every address you can find a little description accompanied with a map that you can find in the hart of the magazine - here all the places are indicated. I'm very happy that Belmodo chose Ostend as the fashioncity of the summer, because I think Ostend is really underestimated. Most of the time, it seems that Knokke is always running away with the fashion prize (don't get me wrong: I love Knokke as it is my hometown and I always love coming back!). But this summer the time to turn the tide has come. Everybody should pay a visit to Ostend because you can find everything over here. I already knew a lot of addresses pictured by Belmodo, but now the list got much bigger! Ostend is still growing but has already developed a lot in the past few years when it comes to fashion. A lot new shops made their appearance, so now I can find my all time favorite brands also over here (so special visits to Brussels and Antwerp aren't needed anymore... although?!:p) -> definitely worth a visit is Pied de Poule where you can find Paul and Joe Sister, Filles à Papa, Equipment, Ba&sh, See by Chloé, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Iro, Vanessa Bruno, Le Mont St.-Michel... Also Brutus + Femme is still one of my favorites (read my earlier post) with brands like Essentiel, M Missoni, Tods... For more addresses, come to Ostend - get the Belmodo magazine - and enjoy!!! 

Pied de Poule, Rogierlaan 62 (will be moving to Van Iseghemlaan 88 in January)
Brutus + Femme, Leopold II-laan 25 

TIGER

First of all, I want to say sorry for not making a new post in 10 days. It's just that the past few weeks a lot has happened... So please forgive me! I will make up for it by bringing you new - fresh of the runway - fashion news & outfit posts! 

As you all have read my previous post - I'm sure you have ;) - you know that I went to Sofie Valkiers ladies night. And besides the book launch there was also another advantage about this evening: shopping at Princess with a 10 percent reduction! This was my chance to finally purchase the beautiful Kenzo tiger ring that I have been craving over the past year. From the moment it came out, I loved it, but I wasn't sure that the love would last. So I waited, and waited, and waited... And I just didn't get it out of my mind! 

What do you guys think of this statement piece? 

Mosaert madness

Big news in tinsel fashion town last Wednesday: Stromae had created his own line of polos and socks, only available at the Brussels concept store Hunting & Collection (one of my favorite addresses in Brussels, with brands like Kenzo, Carven, Alexander Wang...). The collection was named Mosaert, an acronym from Stromae, which is again an acronym from Maestro (funfact!). And as expected from this Rwandan-Belgian singer and creative centipede, it was a BOM. When the news came out, I was in the library 'working' on my master thesis, and strolling down the internet. And coincidence or not, I had just planned a trip to Brussels that Saturday... for the show of Stromae at Vorst Nationaal! Ok, not just, because I ordered the ticket months before, as it was sold out so rapidly. Another piece of evidence of how popular Stromae is at the moment. 

But Friday, I've read that almost all the polos were sold out at the shop (and on the online-shop of the store that was already the case!). So I can definitely say that I walked around like a stress bomblet at home, counting down the hours until the moment that I would enter the shop. So the next day, at about 4 o'clock, I stormed in the shop, looking at the only 7 polos that were left: 1 L, 1 S, and the others were size XS. I took the L and S, just on time as a few seconds later a dozen of people were gathering around the peg. Pfieeeeeuw! 

So conclusion of the day: I was very lucky. Afterwards I thought about this Stromae/Mosaert-madness... I let myself go a little, just for a simple polo... It's true that I love fashion, but sometimes you have to be able to look at it from another perspective. Just check the news that came out a few hours ago about the Alexander Wang and H&M collaboration for next autumn. Everybody is already making a big fuss of it... and I have to be honest: it is again working -> highlights in my agenda: DONE. If I have a free day, then I will definitely go and stand in line. But it's not that I will be going gaga if I don't get a piece of that collection (although in my case it is the awesomest collab that H&M has ever done). 

But isn't this always the case when it comes to fashion? Trends come and go. And that's why it stays fun to follow. That doesn't mean that you always have to follow them with your wallet: your eyes can also do the job. But let us be honest: how awesome is the feeling when you get your hands on such an exclusive piece of clothing, after making all kinds of efforts for it ;).

Have you guys already gone crazy over a special line or new collaboration? What were your experiences?

(picture 1 and 3 source Elle.be) 

Brussels Fashion Days X Belmodo

This weekend the Brussels Fashion Days took place at The Egg! Thanks to Belmodo, I got a chance to go and Barbara accompanied me. She's one of my fashionable twin nieces (check out the pics for some proof). So, this Sunday was busier then usual...

First we had an overwhelming - überdelicious - fantastic brunch and we refilled our plate like 3 times: totally ready for an afternoon full of fashion! There was a beautiful exhibition, perfectly presented. That was truly impressive. We could also participate a workshop where we could make our own bow ties. Our first time sewing went well --> not so easy but we did it! And I'm really glad with the result. 

Outfit Barbara: skirt Cos - sweater Cos - feathers Sandro - hat SuperTrash - shoes Maje 

Outfit Astrid: skirt H&M - cardigan Massimo Dutti - necklace Hugo Boss - shoes Attilio Giusti Leombruni - glasses Chanel - watch Rodania 

Pictures by me and there are a lot ;) Hope you'll like them!