2009 is feeling blue

I don't know if it's something in the air or the water. But this particular hue of blue is apparently going to rock our worlds this year. It all started with Boudicca's Wode fragrance, which I probably don't have to introduce to you anymore. The spray can is a mixture of perfume/blue paint, the color of which does or doesn't disappear once you spray it - depending on how brave you were choosing a version.

The campaign was fantastic, featuring an ecstatic woman in a white shirt, covered with the blue substance. So imagine my surprise when I came across these pictures (to the left) of Belgian lingerie designer Murielle Scherre's latest campaign. She is known for het at-home photography and for posing in the images herself. I absolutely ADORE the look and feel of her most recent visuals: the blue wig, the hand covered in blue paint, and the blue brush strokes all over.

So my question is: will this be a trend? Covering body parts in (blue) paint? Is this the revival (or actually, was it ever really hip) of bodypainting? Is this the new tattoo?

shoot

Contact sheet preview of the first shoot I've ever produced. Am dying to know what you think.

outfit mania

I came across this picture of Zooey Deschanel on Jayne's blog, and have been obsessed by her outfit ever since. I've already got the perfect navy top, navy tights and black ballerina's to recreate it, but obviously the skirt is more difficult to find. It has to be the perfect bright yellow to go with the navy...

things to create in

Lately I've noticed I need more ways to channel my creativity and ideas than this blog. I'm a superorganised person (or at least I only function properly when I am), so I need solutions for interviews, article ideas and moodboards. The latter should be big, the others should be in the form of some kind of notebook.

Flipping through the latest Monocle issue, I came across Archie Grand Notebooks. They seem like a fun and colorful alternative to Moleskine. If I'd decide to use them, I think I might order the designers and writers copies. But I don't like the idea of some pages already being filled with information, even if it is about interesting personalities.

I know most of you out there are enthralled by Moleskine, but I'm not so sure. I've filled a couple of them, but I don't like the quality of their paper (too heavy) and their covers (too stiff). I do like their medium sized format though, and the elastic band to keep it closed. I thought I might cave, because I came across a website that personalizes your Moleskine by laser engraving. A Moleskine with quote by Roald Dahl sounds perfect, but $39 for a notebook I'll use up in under three months?

So I'm desperate for other options... What notebooks do you use? Or what other kind of medium do you have lying around to pour your inspiration into? Do you have corkboards against the wall? Do you pin pictures to the wall? Let me know!

♥ le blog de betty

Isn't she lovely? I admire this girl not just for her amazing looks, but also for her elegance, her creativity, her upbeat attitude, her beautiful photography and her crazysexycool outfits. She's a major source of inspiration to me, and I'm always sad if she hasn't updated her blog yet when I check.

valley of the dolls

Stumbled across a blog that used the words "red pills and blue pills" in the title of a post, and couldn't stop thinking about Valley of the Dolls today. I've only read the book, so now I'm wondering if the movie's just as good.

zooey

I can't say it was love at first sight, with Zooey and me. Sure, I saw her quirky pictures and name appear in every blog and basically all of the magazines that matter. But I never made an effort to understand what the fuss was about. So when I watched Yes, Man tonight, I was very pleasantly surprised, and now I'm finally on board. I can even officially say I have a third girl crush. Katy Perry, Lily Allen, Zooey Deschanel... Do you see the resemblance, too?

color code

All these bright flats fit my mood right now. Wish. Want. Need.

sales

So I figured it'd be a crime not to take advantage of the low £. I've been windowshopping a couple of sites for a while, but it wasn't until I stumbled on Urban Outfitters.co.uk that I found a legitimate reason to spend. I think I managed to find a couple of items that will be great for summer: frilly cardigans for layering and the full skirt which I'm hoping won't be as mini as I fear it'll be.

so proud

I don't normally check DazedDigital all that often, but I know now that I should. Look who I found on the frontpage... Why, it's Jean-Paul Lespagnard, only one of the most promising and imaginative Belgian designers at the moment. He won the 1,2,3 prize at the Hyeres festival, which means his capsule collection for 1,2,3 will be in stores February.

Sandrina Fasoli at Mango, Jean-Paul Lespagnard at 1,2,3. I think I'm gonna be spicing up my wardrobe with some designerstuff this spring, without breaking the bank!

london calling

I would love to go to London for a weekend sometime in January. There's two exhibitions I'm dying to see: Hussein Chalayan at the Design Museum and Mark Rothko at the Tate Modern. Though Chalayan is not one of my favourite designers, I do admire him for his vision and experimentalism. Besides, as The Telegraph states: "Also on show will be 'Airborne', which comprises a dress of Swarovski crystals and more than 15,000 flickering LED lights, and 'Readings', which features a dress with over 200 moving lasers, creating a brilliant spectacle of light and colour." And who wouldn't want to see that?

As for Rothko, him and I go back three years, when I first visited New York and the MoMa. It was the first time I saw one of his works in real life. Before, I didn't understand what the fuss was about, but after, I developed something of an unhealthy obsession with him. To be in a room with only Rothko, ah the bliss it must be.

The pound is really cheap today as well, so that shouldn't keep me. But I have so many trips ahead already, I figure it'd be safer to save the money... Sacrifices!

diy lanvin

In an effort to make up for my spending urges (on shoes - which are incredibly hard to thrift, see), I'm going to try and make this Lanvin top myself. It doesn't look like it should be hard, but tips and recommendations are welcome!

♥ lanvin

Okay... So I changed my mind. Maybe now is not the time to spend less. At least not on shoes. We have to support the economy, to get rid of the recession, isn't that right?

Look at these beauties. All the elegance of a ballet slipper, all the quality and details of Lanvin. It's a match made in heaven. I need them.

miu ♥ miu

I want these SO bad, they almost make me forget about my promise to spend less. Almost. I spend way too much time on net-a-porter.

2009

Just read an interesting article in the weekend newspaper, trying to predict what 2009 will bring. A couple of things weren't all that surprising. I mean, unless you've lived on Mars for the past year, you know ecology is going to be playing an ever bigger part in our lives. And I've interviewed several designers during the past months, who've predicted the focus in luxury fashion will be on authenticity and unique craftsmanship instead of on logos and big names.

So I wasn't surprised when I read the quote by Alain Remarq, of the jewelry and perfume conglomerate Mauboussin. It stated that after years of extravagant luxury and expensive eyecatching status symbols, the time of good sense, discreetness and decency has returned.

I love how he put that. When I think of discreet, decent and reasonable, I also think of elegant, ladylike and gracious. I would love to see more modest Audrey Hepburn look-alikes around, instead of the Paris Hiltons of this world. Death to bling-bling, vive l'élégance...

On the other hand, Remarq's quote also conjures up images of innocence, of going back to our childhood, when the name of the designer didn't matter that much - as long as the fashion was colorful, bright and pretty. So where do these two meet for me personally?

Somewhere around Lily Allen and Katy Perry, for example. Their style is discreet because they're not showing off cleavage like mad (at least not all the time) or flashing logos in our faces. Yet they look bubbly and optimistic, while also elegant and ladylike. I think I might go for a version of that in 2009... Nostalgia meets bubble gum meets desperate housewife meets converse sneakers meets discreet jewelry.

the dream dress

I know it's probably a fashion sin to say this, but I'll never feel comfortable wearing a dress that costs more than my monthly wage. And of course I'll admire them, on others, for the craftmanship that went into them, for the vision the designer expresses, and just plainly because it does look *so* amazingly beautiful. But to tell me I have to go to a party in that, instead of my regular priced, less extravagant looking wardrobe, ensures me that I will not have a good time. It's just not worth it, forsaking the memories of impromptu champagne showers, ridiculous dances on the dancefloor and carelessly stuffing myself with hors d'oevres, just so I can look more fashionable.

Mind you, I do enjoy looking pretty, and I love nothing better than dressing up. But please don't make me actually wear the designers I admire from afar, because it'll ruin the dream for me. In many ways, I still feel like the kid who liked to dress up in a pink tutu in her room, but would only leave the house to go out and play in jeans.

american wife

Curtis Sittenfeld is the new Tom Wolfe. Only better. If there is any author out there, better able to describe the social mechanisms of American society and the innermost thoughts of its inhabitants, I'm not aware of him or her. Please introduce me to them, though, if they exist.

I read American Wife a while ago, and I honestly didn't expect I'd like it as much as I did. But if you've read Prep and loved that book, you will not be disappointed. The setting and protagonist are different, but the crystal-clear observations and brutally honest emotions are still there. It's nothing short of amazing. Besides, it'll give you an entirely different view on both the current (soon to be former) president and his wife. True, it's fiction, but it opens up new perspectives.

If you were looking for something new (and substantial) to read, here you go.

loving the blogs

Just discovered an easy tool to keep track of all the blogs I love, thanks Emma! The site's called bloglovin´, and you can register your own blog, as well as follow the blogs you love. Way easier than the following device on blogspot, because obviously not all interesting websites are on blogspot. See you there!

cuteness

I ♥ Emma Nygren

I can't actually read her blog except when I let Google translate it from Swedish into a language I can understand. And I don't know whether it's the translation or the original message, but this girl is too cute. She has an amazing sense of style, and she seems to lead a pretty cool life filled with cookies, drinks with girlfriends, coffee, cupcakes and bright colors. Even just looking at the pictures is inspiring to me.

quest for vintage

Note to self: look up great vintage shops in Amsterdam, Paris and New York for upcoming vintage quests.

recessionista

In my research for a column on recession chic, I got inspired to make an extra promise to myself for 2009. I think the basis of the term recessionista comes down to improvising, being creative, finding beauty where you least expect it, and surprising yourself and others with inventive solutions. I'd like to try not to get carried away by new fashion fads this year, but to further define my style by pushing my creative limits instead of those of my credit card. I've never made a decent effort to go vintage shopping, and I've certainly never tried to turn my existing wardrobe into something new. So I'm planning to change that from now on. When I see all of those inspiring style blogs online, I see what an imaginative mind can - and what wads of cash can't - create. So in honor of all of those ladies online, I give you a little top three of inspiration for my new recessionista style.

take a look back

La Couturier inspired me to make my very own list of things I will always remember from 2008, and I'm throwing in a second one, reflecting on what I want from 2009.

2008
∞ the internship at a great magazine
∞ the amazing job that was offered to me twice and the fact that I accepted, the second time
∞ writing a second master's thesis and graduating a second time
∞ the different magazines and weeklies that decided to take me on
∞ trading in innocence for responsabilities
∞ rekindling old friendships
∞ making new friends
∞ my travels

2009
∞ living up to expectations
∞ moving
∞ traveling
∞ taking the next step
∞ balancing my life
∞ finally taking yoga seriously, or at least trying to do some sports on a semi-regular basis
∞ learning how to cook
∞ keeping promises
∞ start thrifting
∞ stop procrastinating endlessly (and then ending up working through the night to get things done)

Hmm, I think I might have to update this post later on, but this is all I can think of right now.