Palladium Breakfast

After doing a photoshoot for Palladium wearing their leather booties, I was invited to the press breakfast at the attic of the brandstore of Amsterdam. The place was completely ravished, not on purpose though, but fitting the brand like the perfect pair of Palladiums. The raw and urban feel dominated with concrete walls and rusty handles. An exploration indeed...

Check out all the photos here.

And also check out the new video with Odette Annable wearing Palladiums summer boot on an exploration for hidden gems in LA

the Dam Runway

As living in the heart of town may seem like the perfect hotspot, it also has its disadvantages. Especially when you have an absolute urge to wear heels. Every single freaking day.

Ever been to Amsterdam? If yes, you must have visited Dam Square. Dam Square – often just called the Dam – and its lovely national monument dedicated to the fallen soldiers in World War II; its majestic buildings housing hotels, museums and stores; the royal palace that has been covered in scaffolds for as long as I can remember; the many, many tourists wandering around looking rather lost, and the troops of pigeons that hysterically hop around.

All of the above set the mood for the Dam, making it one of Amsterdam's most visited places. However, another very defining feature of this Dutch square are the – very lovely looking, but sometimes rather annoying – cobblestones. Obviously they add to the historical feeling of the square, which doesn't necessarily mean I couldn't live without them. These round, uneven stones make your supposedly very elegant float look as if you're suffering from a chronic unbalance disease. No, I'm not drunk at 08.30 in the morning, when upon catching the tram to my job, I stumble and hobble along and finally reach the other side of the Dam. Tiptoeing is not an option when wearing 15 cm platform wedges, as I would then undoubtedly crash and fall, and have those stones marked in my face for at least two weeks.

"And just like Mozes had a moment of divine interference when he thought of splitting the Red Sea in two, our ever thoughtful mayor came up with a – I must admit – rather luminous idea too."

But thank-the-freaking-lord; for one of the most prestige and eldest department stores is located at the head of Dam Square. With the endless stream of gloved and glittered ladies in desperate need of some old-fashioned high end goodies and the limited access to LV leather totes and Chloé clutches offered in an allure setting in Amsterdam, it seemed there was only one solution that would stop this house from facing a dramatic drop in sales. And just like Mozes had a moment of divine interference when he thought of splitting the Red Sea in two, our ever thoughtful mayor came up with a – I must admit – rather luminous idea too.

He created our very own Dutch runway: dividing the Dam into two halves, with one super long, sleek, stretched, marble runway in the middle. This way the Gucci gloved, the Marc Jacobs maniacs and the Fendi freaks can all make it safely to the other side and satisfy their fashion cravings and undying needs of buying the new collections. And, also quite important, I can now safely slide over the Dam Runway and reach my job without cobblestones printed all over my cheeks.

P.S. Dear God, please keep the snow away from Holland, as our Dam Runway gets just a tiny bit slippery when it's all white outside. (Don't even ask; I am so not telling you that story.)

Reminiscing

Me, Chiara (The Blonde Salad) and Sabrina (AfterDRK) for Fashiolista after a delicious breakfast at my new fav place Vin et Fleurs in NYC. 

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Fashion Week Madness

I just arrived from NYC, where I had the pleasure of going to amazing parties and dinners with Fashiolista's blogger friends. Right after our Amsterdam Fashion Week adventure, to which Fashiolista had invited five special guests (Denni - The Chic Muse, Alix - The Cherry Blossom Girl, Louise - Miss Pandora, Andy - Style Scrapbook and Carolina - Fashion Squad), it was now time for the Big Apple...

A couple highlights of the past few weeks:

- Attending the opening soiree of Jan Taminiau's surreal Haute Couture show

- Getting to do some vintage shopping with these five huge fashiolista's

- Enjoying a wonderful meal at Lionnoir

- Showing all the amazing highlights Amsterdam has to offer by boating through the canals with the G-star boat and enjoying the coziness of being amongst so many inspiring girls

- Flying out to NYC for fashion week and being able to hit the runways

- Attending the Evolving Influence Conference hosted by Independent Fashion Bloggers

- Exploring NYC's cosy restaurants such as Antique Garage and Vin et Fleurs (a little bit in love with the French owner)

- Catching up with old friends

- Doing some proper shopping with Afterdrk's Sabrina at Bloomingdales (bought these sunnies from Super), Scoop (where Sabrina bought this amazing Helmut Lang top) and Roundabout, where they have super reduced designer pieces. 

- Getting to meet lots of cool people

- Going to the bloglovin' Awards and having Chiara of the Blonde Salad win the award for newcomer of the year!

Check out all the pics of these past few weeks in the coming days at the official Fashiolista blog and start loving right away!

Photos stolen from Afterdrk

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Talking to the moon

Although it's already February, it's still a new year and a new day, and thus time for a change. Over the past month I've put some thought into my new year's resolutions, but struggled coming up with good ones. And as I heard the Maya's made a miscalculation, I feel pretty relieved I don't have to worry anymore about accomplishing every life goal in one year. I still have until 2220 to let all my dreams come true.

That's why I have made the decision of letting things come as they are, taking them one by one. Letting go has never been harder, but also feels so much nicer. 

"Thank God the Maya's made a miscalculation: now I have at least until 2220 to let all my dreams come true."

I must say, life in 2011 has been really kind to me so far. I've made a couple amazing new friendships, met some really cool people, attended fabulous parties and shows and now Fashiolista is even letting me go to NYC... 

Right now I couldn't be happier and more grateful for all this goodness that is coming my way. However, it does scare me a little, as the saying 'all good things come to an end' keeps whispering its way in my mind. All good things may come to an end, but let's hope that will only happen somewhere at the end of December, when a new year will mean a new start again. I promise to catch all the glistening confetti with my tongue. 

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New York...

It's a fact. I'm going to NYC for fashion week for Fashiolista... Too excited to breathe.
What to wear?!

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You know your life

is taken over by fashion week and all its preparations, when...

... you find yourself discussing the pro's and con's of different photographers with your colleague on the phone, while running like a maniac on the cross-trainer, all sweaty and out of breath. 

... in the middle of the night, you suddenly sit up straight, wide awake with one name on the tip of your tongue: "Yves... Saint... Laurent..." you whisper slowly, and the corners of your mouth start to curl. That's one outfit decided upon, you think pleased with this sudden brainwave. Completely relaxed you lie down again, to fall asleep with a huge grin on your face. Only to realise the next morning your name is not miss Roitfeld and you're actually a student with corresponding budget.

... making a doctors appointment you hear yourself saying: I'm very sorry, but there's no way I can come by next week as it's freakin' fashion week! 

... you start seeing the sheep you pass while on a train ride dressed in little red dresses and mint green cardigans. 

... there are a couple dozens of little coloured stars in your bed, due to the creative minds of a certain fashion label who decided upon sending an invite that made your house look like an explosion of the universe. Even months later you'll still find those little stars under your couch/in your bathroom/in your wallet. 

... you catch yourself thinking: what will the goodie bag look like? Instead of: what will the collection look like?

Amsterdam International Fashion Week: I'm ready for you.

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Marc Jacobs intern

I was wandering around a large bookstore, looking for the fashion books department, when I stumbled upon two cute little girls. The eldest one was walking her younger sister in a bugaboo stroller, and was motherly blabbing to her. They seemed alone, and I decided to have a little chat with the girls. As they looked up to me, I stared into two pairs of radiant blue eyes and angel like faces, framed by bouncy brown curls. We sat down on some little steps in the store, with the stroller parked next to us. Upon turning my head to the left, I noticed their mother: she was absorbed in the book she was holding, apparently forgetting all about the world around her. I recognized this feeling of being completely engrossed by a piece of paper and words - and so I turned back to the little girls and smiled. Let's give her a couple more minutes. 

We were in the middle of an interesting discussion about the tea-party they just had at one of their mum's friends and how it resembled the mad tea-party that Alice came across in Wonderland, when the mum suddenly came rushing towards us. "I'm so very sorry that you were burdened with my girls!", she cried. "I completely lost track of time and space," she apologetically said, continuing in a softer, more whispering voice: "and to be quite frank - also of my girls... I cannot believe that just happened!"

I reassured her it was no problem at all and they were very chatty and entertaining. On top of that, they provided inspiration: in what way does normal society resemble Alice in Wonderland's intriguing world of craziness? Obviously, I did not share this thought with her, as calling her friends crazy might leave a slight mark of repulsion.

"Then she said something that made my heart pound twice as fast as when unwrapping my Christmas presents, and that made my blood rush faster than a river bursting out of its dams"

She asked me if she could be of any help in the bookstore, as this was her favourite place to recover her breath after the superficiality of the world she found herself surrounded by daily. She quickly assured me that she would normally "go to the store alone. This honestly was the first time I ever lost sight of my girls". After I informed her on my hunt for the fashion books department, we started talking about my life as a fashion student, and my aspirations to be a writer for a big magazine. She was all ears. Then she said something that made my heart pound twice as fast as when unwrapping my Christmas presents (excluding a gift that holds the name of a particular French fashion house). It made my blood rush faster than a river bursting out of its dams. I felt like how champaign must feel when it's still in its bottle: impatiently waiting to explode, without holding back one single bubble - just dying to be out there in the real world. This lady explained she works for a company that publishes several magazines, such as some rather big shots that you all know. "We just launched Marc Jacobs' own magazine, and we're still looking for people. A good intern would be very useful at the moment. Perhaps you can send me some of your writings?" She looked at me with a big grin, probably laughing at the sight of this silly girl that had her jaw dropped to her chest. 

But instead of hearing a divine hallelujah reverberate from high above me, I was rudely disturbed by some heavy hammer drill outside the bookstore. I could see the woman's mouth move, but could not hear a thing of the rest she was saying. And as I slowly found myself getting dizzy, she faded away to the background, and it got dark before my eyes. Damn it. That disturbing noise was no hammer drill - it was my freaking alarm clock.  

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Fashion obsession: leather pads

Perhaps this reminds me of my time as a child, when my mum would repair the holes in my clothes with endless love and patience. I suppose it has more to do with horse riding than with my childhood memories, but I love them anyways. My latest fashion obsession are (elbow) pads, preferably leather ones, but fake will do just fine too!

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Guess what...

...I have some SUPER exciting news!

As I've mentioned before, the Dutch celebrate a sort of Christmas Eve on the 5th of December. And... I got my long desired Marc Jacobs watch!!! Yay!

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