YouTube Vid of the Day

2008-11-08T16:07:00.001+01:00

Audio proof of the Beatles' drug use. Hilarious.

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Quote of the Day

2008-11-01T16:21:00.001+01:00

I should have drunk more Champagne.

- John Maynard Keynes

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How to wear 'designer' without buying designer

2008-10-27T16:31:00.005+01:00

We all love to talk about the season's new collections. We discuss fabrics, patterns and silhouettes. We gaze upon Vogue photo shoots, we check out the celebrities wearing designer clothing on the red carpet and we discuss some more. But let's be honest: how many of us can really afford designer clothing? (And with being able to afford something I don't mean spending a month's worth of income on a pair of Chanel boots.) I don't want to discuss the fact that we spend more than we can afford on these particular fashion items. I do want to sum up some alternative ways of dealing with style. Because, after all, however much we all love fashion, we have to admit: there might just be some more important things in life worth spending money on. Therefore, I give you my list of hints on how to wear designer without having to buy it, or without actually wearing real designer clothing (and without the huge price tag):

1. Mix high street with vintage.

Do you mainly shop on the high street? Try some smaller shops or vintage shops to find unique pieces that will amaze everybody. Designers themselves are constantly trying to produce unique and special items. So by wearing things nobody has ever seen before - but that are of good quality and original - your look will turn out more exquisite and stylish. Please be sure, though, to really check out the quality of the item you're buying. This is something you should always do, but be more careful when you're buying at small stores. Don't get too carried away when trying on something nice, and be sure to notice every single detail: are the buttons loose? Are the seams well-stitched?
But have fun, you might just find something that looks quite a lot like a more expensive design.

2. Be a trend setter, not a follower.

In my opinion, people interested in fashion can be divided into two groups:
Group 1: Consists of people who buy anything well-priced and not-too-ugly from H&M and Topshop. They basically just go to the well-known stores, because they know they'll definitely succeed in buying something nice there anyway. (The fact that I know H&M's entire collection by heart while I hardly ever shop there, shows how often people buy and wear clothes from mainstream stores like H&M)
Group 2: Consists of people with their own style. They get their clothes either from their favourite carefully-selected stores or just any store they set their eyes on. This group cannot be defined with more detail, because it consists of so many different people and styles.

Now, you want to be in group 2. I'm not saying one should lay off H&M and Topshop. In my opinion, it's just good to experiment and to look around more. If you're doing this right, you'll discover a different world of shopping in which you take a closer look at fashion than you did before. This results in (#1) a gorgeous wardrobe, (#2) a great personal style (or multiple, be whoever you want to be!) and (#3) a smile on your face. No designer clothing required.

3. Rent a bag.

Here you're actually wearing designer, but you're just not buying it. As seen in Sex and the City, we all know about it by now. You rent a bag on the internet, you keep it however long you like and when you send it back, they send you the bill. In my opinion, this is a great way of adding something extra to your outfit. Besides, this way you can enjoy many different bags, instead of just one when buying it.
Rent a bag:
US: Bag Borrow or Steal (the website from Sex and the City)
Kiss My Bag
UK (it will be expanding to Europe very soon now): Fashion Hire
Bag My Bag
Benelux: Sacdeluxe
Be careful!! Not all the websites have the same rules and regulations, so read them through carefully before you become a member!

4. EBay.

Catwalk Queen is a UK site I really enjoy that often has some nice posts on shopping on eBay. (HERE for example) If you look around well, you'll always find something nice. Be sure, though, to never buy anything without having seen a photo of it. So never respond to something like 'cute Marc Jacobs dress from F/W collection bladibla' when it's not accompanied by a picture. A photo is there to prove you the dress is actually as nice as the owner claims it to be and to show you it's still in good shape. If the seller didn't even bother to take a photo of what he's selling, the item probably is just a piece of crap.

5. Don't pretend to be rich.

Do me a favour: don't buy designer stuff if you don't have the money for it. Really, just don't. You'll have money for just a few items: you'll wear those endlessly. You and people around you will grow sick and tired of them really quickly. Of course, jewelry or a pair of shoes of good quality can be a good investment. But clothing is something you'll get bored of much sooner. And please, don't be the person that wears his/her Dior sunglasses all the way through winter just because they're Dior. Fashion is not about money, contrary to what many people believe.

I hope this was useful. Please let me know what you think and whether you agree with the points raised or not. I'm always curious to know!
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(photos from Vogue Paris November 2008, scans from Mixologies)

Six quirks

2008-10-25T13:24:00.005+02:00

Dapperkid (love his blog!) tagged me for the Six Quirks Tag. Here I go!

1. I collect beautiful vintage-ish sweet wrappers. All countries have brands of sweets that make sweets with wrappers saying things like: Cappuccino Éclair, Le Bonbon Café, Feletti Chocolate, Mini Pelon Pelo Rico... things like that. But Spongebob Squarepants surprise eggs from Greece make my day as well.

2. Sarah Jessica Parker's perfumes are love love love!!! 'Lovely' was gorgeous, then 'Covet' was even better and 'Covet Pure Bloom': wow. I hardly use any other perfumes, because I like hers so much.

3. I like quoting things from films, series and songs without people noticing it. Especially from 'Absolutely Fabulous': occassionally adding 'sweetie, darling' or 'cheers, thanks a lot' to a sentence and then seeing a confused face in front of you: PRICELESS

4. I absolutely love contests on the internet. I win something quite often, because I've found out the secret to winning: on websites with very few visitors you have a much bigger chance of winning. It's obvious, but effective, lol.

5. Simon Doonan is my hero.

6. I'm not a crazy cat lady, but this site always knows how to cheer me up: CLICK HERE

And yes, I'm tagging everybody reading this.

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Very First Post

2008-10-20T18:23:00.003+02:00

This picture was given to me by my granddad. He wanted to give it to me because he thought it was 'a very strange way to dance'. I think it's from the ABC, a Spanish newspaper. Cute, isn't it?

This is also the first post on my brand new blog: It's just me inside your computer screen. Hope you will enjoy!

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