Lacoste Love

(Lacoste L!ve striped dress and Zara lace-up wedges)

I already told you that I can't get enough of Lacoste right now. If you would've told me two years ago that I would ever own a dress, let alone two by Lacoste I would not have believed you. But there's something about their Lacoste L!ve line that really appeals to me and here I am, head over heels for all things Lacoste. This dress is one of the things I bought in London when we spent the day wandering around Shoreditch. I had seen it online and in real life before and I knew that I had to have it this time. If I'm being completely honest here, I have to admit that I purposefully went looking for it. Less wandering, more carefully planned turns and directions. Now why do I love it so much? It sort of reunites my old love for all things collars with the way I like to dress nowadays. I know peter pan collars are a common high street trope, especially this season but I don't think I'M entirely biased when I say that this particular collared dress feels a lot more current, like some sort of updated version of the trend. Maybe I really am biased. What are your thoughts?

Let's move on to my life feed then. Sadly enough I still don't own a smartphone and thus you'll have to take my word for it but at the moment I'm settling back into uni life. This pretty much involves stocking up on yellow markers, lots of coffee dates (imagine all those lattes I could have instagrammed) and the second best spaghetti bolognese in the world for the meagre sum of 3 euros. And the occasional classes too, of course. Life is good right now. - x

P.S. Thanks for all the London post love.

The Good Kind of Surprise

(Pictures courtesy of Ines over at The Purple Whale, Lacoste dress)

I went to the Provence last week with my family but now I'm back and hell-bent on keeping my promise of showing you all of last post's glorious pink purchases properly. As you know, the weather here in Belgium is absolutely shit - and I don't tend to swear on this blog - right now. That's why I haven't felt like traipsing around in this little number for outfit shots. All the while keeping my promise, I decided to act upon my opportunist side and used some pictures that were taken at a surprise birthday party/barbeque two days ago. Incidentally, I wore my new Lacoste dress a.k.a. the pink wonder. It might have also been a calculated move on my part but honestly, I just love wearing my new clothes and for the first week or so I tend to do so all the time.

 Anyways, the birthday boy in question is Nathan - that big dude in the second picture - who is the other half of my other half Chloé. I can't even begin to recount all of the hours we spent together in class, gossiping and having hysterical fits of laughter - we truly were one of those girls - during high school. She's one of my dearest friends and I love her. And even though we don't even necessarily get along, I've sort of come to love Nathan too. Moreover, I have to admit, without even the tiniest hint of sarcasm, that I had a blast at his surprise party.

May I just add as a conclusive statement that this dress is worthy of all sorts of praising adjectives that I'd have to look up in a thesaurus (think of awe-inspiring, stunning, exquisite, sublime, marvelous etc.). It is just grand. This dress is what greatness is made of. - x

Busy Being Make-believe

(Essentiel trousers, Zara shirt, vintage necklace, thrifted wedges and cardigan)

I'm too inert right now to attempt editing out my sister's shadow out of the pictures and this outfit consists of too much greatness to just leave them be, withering away in some folder. Really, so many of my favourite things are featured in this particular outfit. 

For starters, these are the trousers I was swooning over last time, but now you can actually see how beautiful they really are. Versatile too. And dare I say, tomboy? But there's more awesomeness. The cardigan has pencil sharpeners as buttons. Pencil sharpeners! It still boggles me every time I wear it. Here's something about these wedges. I don't have the slightest clue which brand they are. I got them about a month ago at a closet sale hosted by a friend of my mother's. And you know what? I only paid twenty euros for them. A string of exclamation points would be sort of appropriate right now. That smile on my face, it's genuine, y'all. Enjoy your weekends. I promise I won't ever rant about an 

outfit as I did just now again - x

My New Bestest Friend

Good morning! First off I'd like to thank you for the lovely comments on my last post. I have a slight knack for self-deprecation but nothing boosts your ego more than reading such kind words. Really, thanks a lot! As you can tell from the above picture, I've been doing some good shopping lately.  Instead of doing the whole 'What's in the bag...dramatic pause' thing I'm just going to go ahead and show some of it to you.

(Sandro 'Safran' cotton sweater and tapered trousers by Essentiel and not so no new pair of ballet flats by Massimo Dutti)

On Saturday I went shopping in Antwerp with my mom (mommy's kid, I know). I don't know what happened but somehow we overspent a little (a lot) and I ended up with some of the most incredible things I've ever bought. I've already come up with at least 7 ways to wear these trousers and I bet they're the kind of gift that keeps on giving. And the sweater, don"t get me started on the sweater. These pictures don't do justice to its incredible detailing. Please remind me to never edit my pictures in Photobucket (really, Photobucket!) again. - x

Plaid + prep

(Plaid Zara coat and ankle boots, A.P.C. sweatshirt and vintage plaid shorts)

Channeling my inner Cher Horowitz yesterday. Finally an outfit with the single most awesome piece of clothing I have ever owned: this brilliant A.P.C. sweatshirt. I love how college prep it looks. A pair of shorts and some saddle shoes and you're good to go on summer days. But during this current pseudo-winter, double plaiding will do. Ironically, I managed to get turmeric stains on my sweater later on that day. Funny thing about turmeric stains: they don't go away. Life = bitch (at times)! One thing's fore sure, I'm never eating chicken again! - x

You are the space in my bed

(H&M trench coat and dress, Zara tights and wedges, A.P.C. tote bag)

This is an outfit from a few weeks ago that didn't look too good at all in hindsight (hence the very legit black and white effect). I'm wearing the Zara brogues that were on my wishlist somewhere in August. You might recognize something else off that list in a slightly different version. I did in fact buy the 'fruity sweater' from A.P.C. and I am still madly in love with it. It's brilliant and deserves a post of its own soon. The funny thing is, they also gave me the exact same bag to go with it. Of course, I don't wear them together at the same which requires careful planning as I daily use the bag for my school books. Okay, not exactly rocket science but still, it would be sort of off, wouldn't it? - x

P.S. I scored tickets for the Florence + The Machine gig in March so I'll probably be in a state of euphoria for another day or two. Let's celebrate with song titles!

Feelin' goooood

(Vintage Hermès scarf, my mom's denim jacket, thrifted Mango dress and Massimo Dutti ankle boots)

As you can tell from the title, I felt pretty damn good wearing this outfit yesterday. I wore my Hermès scarf for the first time. Despite all the Cartes à nouer I consulted, I'm not very good at knotting it yet but I quite liked it and I will definitely wear it again soon. I bought the Mango dress from a pretty Urban Outfitters salesgirl at a flea market here in Ghent. Best four euros every spent. I love the pleats all over and the way it flows when you wiggle around a bit. These boots are obviously the poor man's version of the Isabel Marants. They are my favourite pair of shoes as they are so comfortable and seem to go with everything, really.

Last night, my friend Celeste, Florence and I went to see 'Sous le sable' projected on a giant screen at DOKstrand, an artifical beach they created in the docks of Ghent. In September they are launching a drive-in cinema with a Grease sing-a-long programmed somewhere mid September. How cool is that?! Now, where do I find me a car by then?

xo

Red and leopard spots

(Thrifted red top, Zara denim shorts and leopard loafers)

The observant reader may be questioning my gender at this very moment. I really should have worn a belt there but aside from that one little mishap, I'm quite fond of this simple summer outfit. The weather is glorious right now after the dreariest July in history. I've got nothing planned for the day but Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami will keep me busy. Love, Lies

Sundays

(COS dress, Monki parka, Swedish Hasbeens sandals, ASOS sunglasses, vintage bag and ring from Zoot)

Here are some of my Stockholm purchases in live action. The pictures turned out kind of iffy. We have this plain, basic digital camera and I have no clue how to take proper pictures but still - something's a bit off, isn't it?

I scored the parka at Monki at a major discount and I'm sure it will be my favourite coat coming Fall. The dress was a gift from my Mum. I love the stitches on top of the buttons and the neat little collar on it. It's the perfect sweet, little outfit to spend the day with my grandmother and all the aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews, I hope. xoxo

Forever Young

My friends and I dreamt of organizing our school prom for a good year before reality finally started kicking in. I could talk on and on about this eventful year, all the craziness surrounding the prom committee, all the deadlines, all the frustration. But in the end none of it matters anymore. We had our prom and it was amazing. It's not magical. There isn't anything remotely magical about a high school prom held at an overcrowded, dirty nightclub. But there was something magical about the night anyway. We accomplished something. It didn't hurt that I had a blast but still, we did it. Dutch readers might notice that Tony Star was our headliner. Very classy, I know. But he was actually pretty brilliant and very nice. Although, I now remember he promised to take a picture with me and never did grmbl.

So, now you may be wondering what my part in all of this was. My friends and I sort of were the creative team, if you could call it that. We came up with the concept of 'forever young'. Presenting our idea to the committee was one of the most nerve-wrecking things I ever had to do. We talked on and on about the design until we came up with the idea to make everything Polaroid-themed. The entrance ticket looked like an actual Polaroid. We looked for the ideal faces to cast for the 'shoot' and woke up on a Saturday at 6 am to get the pictures taken. We designed customized buttons for every senior at our school. We cut out a life-sized Polaroid for our photo booth. There's a lot of 'we did' in this paragraph and I'm so proud of that. 

Here are some pictures of the actual night. Don't mind the pouty faces, they annoy me as well.

And that was that. I hope you all have a great day! Harry Potter, aaaah! Cannot. Compute.

Off you go, young Padawans! Wait, wasn't that another series? I kid, I kid...

Back to the future

So apparently it's 2011 already? Why not kick it off by posting the first outfit since October or something. I got this glorious velvet Etoile Isabel Marant dress at half price in November. My choice of shoes was rather unfortunate in hindsight so that's why there's no sign of the bottom half today.

I wish you a happy new year and many lovely things (and dresses) to come. Or is it too late for that?

Tenuousness

(Vintage Scapa coat, COS dress, Modcloth ring and Deena & Ozzy ankle boots)

Whenever I get tired of my own closet (which happens on average about three times a week), I can resort to my mom's closet. In this case, both the dress and the coat are hers. We scored the Scapa coat in Antwerp a couple of weeks back. It has this small houndstooth pattern on it and it's just too pretty. Sadly, I have to keep telling myself it ain't mine.

 It's mid October and even my prettiest winter coats aren't keeping me warm, good heavens! What's up with that? I'm going to Normandy with school next week. Will I have to pack moonboots by that time? Let's hope not! Now I'm going to listen to some pretty music and write a dissertation on in-vitro fertilisation. Don't you just love school!

Yesterday

...I looked like this.

(COS clownesque shirt, Zara striped blazer, BDG cigarette jeans and Deena & Ozzy ankle boots)

Here you go, photographic evidence of me wearing lipstick, for those who were wondering, it's called Retro Matte Ruby Woo. Quite fancy, right? My stepdad remarked I sort of looked like a pierrot, with the clown collar and the lipstick. No hard feelings. A little boy made the exact same remark but I guess that's just men, right?

I'm wearing a pair of suede ankle boots I got at Urban Outfitters at the end of August. I love them but I definitely wouldn't recommend them to anyone, as the tassels loosen and unwind pretty easily.

And I'm off again, it's True Blood Marathon Tuesday. Kidding, I just made that up. See you soon! 

I'd rather be a forest than a street. Yes, I would. If I could, I surely would.

(Dress bought at Topshop, Rules by Mary jacket, Zara brogues, Arctic Monkeys tote, assorted rings and necklace on loan)

So what do you now, today I happened to be wearing the same dress as in the pictures I posted earlier. A little boring, I reckon. I bought it at Topshop in London almost two years ago now. It's not by Topshop though, I remember that it was fashion week and they featured a lot of smaller London labels and designers on the ground floor. This one's Ci Ci or something, I believe.  Look at the details of my necklace below, all these precious little charms, pretty amazing right? I borrowed it from a friend of my mom who has the most jaw-dropping closet you have ever seen. It's not entirely filled with designer items. She's one of those people who just has an eye for details and quirky things, who spots the real gems at dingy fleamarkets from miles away. For instance, she also leant me a navy cardigan with pencil sharpener buttons! Yes, pencil sharpeners! My life is complete.

P.S. Vote for me here and I will love you forever. Just fill in 'Lies Verboven'. Thanks a lot!

Sailor at heart

( Topshop wool coat, Zara dress and loafers, ASOS tights, vintage belt and ring)

As many of you probably are, I've been in love with all things nautical for a couple of years now. It began with a vintage wool sailor top thingie, followed by some others, many striped tees, bows and necklaces with anchors and even one of those typical yellow raincoats, of course with an anchor emblem. This coat easily surpasses all the aforementioned things, it truly is the cherry on the cake. Or pile of items. You get what I'm saying.

Fun fact: my brother is actually studying nautical sciences, in hope of becoming a captain one day. He gets to wear a uniform every day and this magnificent Number One uniform and navy cap to oral exams. What a lucky bastard. When he graduates, I'll wear a fully nautical themed outfit, that's for sure. He'll just have to stand the embarassment :)

Now I'm off. Revision for my French test tomorrow. The weather has been quite dreary here today so let's hope tomorrow will contain a lot of sunshine and lollipops. Skip that last one and eat an apple instead. Lots of love, as usual.

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My mom is in France for the week and she took the camera with her so I had to resort to other ways to show you my outfits. Enjoy this clip of me being all clumsy and making a fool of myself. I think it's rather funny.

The upside of her absence is the fact that I get a chance to try on some of her shoes. When the cat's away, the mice will play and all that. Like these slightly massively whorish boots. They look fine on her but on me, they again look very inappopriate. Might have something to do with those knee highs, huh? Don't worry, I only wore them to take my dog out for a walk in a nearby park so no creepy pedo stares this time.

And Cody Simpson playing in the background? I just can't help it, I'm sorry. Future voice of a generation. Move over, Biebs.

And mommm, if you would read this, don't worry, I didn't wear them for long. I promise I usually  never wear your shoes behind your back. jk jk 

Look up if you like me

(Camilla Norback dress, thrifted belt, my mom's necklace and Zara shoes)

So this is what I wore today, more or less. I changed into something a bit more comfortable for work.  I'm rather tired and I really don't have anything cute or interesting to say other than that my dress looks rather odd in that last picture. And I need a haircut! Posing like Quasimodo isn't flattering! And so the list goes on...self-conscious rambling with exclamation marks of outrage.

Tomorrow my brother returns from India so I have to get up at six to go get him at the airport. Eating chocolate in front of the tv and then straight to bed sounds like a great plan! xo

Alas I cannot swim

(Turnover blazer, COS tank top and skirt and Essentiel strappy heels)

Before I decided to wear this tank top for the umptieth time, I tried on two other combinations. Both were greeted with a definite 'no' from my mom and sister. The rejects were the black silk Dries Van Noten blouse that I scored in June ("Too winter-y") and a denim shirt ("Just plain ugly!") from Zara. I really liked how both looked but I guess I'm too scared to take some more risks when it comes to dressing up. Hence, skirt and tank top for today. Yawn.

Interesting fact of the day: when you look at my knees in the third picture, they sort of look like little faces. My friend Sofie and I used to hold knee conversations during gym class. I'm not kidding. Doesn't that sound like an awesome GIF in the making?

Those Opening Ceremony boots in the sidebar? A girl can dream.