i've got it covered
By On In Style179 Comments

Now that the weather is changing rapidly, there is at least one thing I don’t have to worry about; my outerwear. As I mentioned in my previous post, I recently rediscovered my Isabel Marant Atea peacoat. The fit was a little snug last year so I decided to wear my other coats instead. But right now, I am completely smitten with this coat again. I bought it on sale online in 2011 and was surprised by the fit and overall quality in real life. Unlike many other Isabel Marant coats, this classic menswear inspired coat is fully lined and tailored to precision in a woven wool blend. It has been holding up extremely well and it’s warm enough to withstand a typical Dutch winter. When it gets really cold, I’ll pair it with my Acne Canada scarf (review here). It’s nice to know that I’ve got this part of my wardrobe covered with pieces that have been with me for several years.

 

SHOP THE LOOK

Vince peacoat / H&M wool scarf / Embryolisse cream 

current affairs
By On In Personal331 Comments

Welcome to the weekend everyone! I’m going to skip the apologies for being away and tell you what’s up at the moment. I’m currently working another job at the museum due to my boss’s maternity leave. Because this job entails also working the occasional weekend, that leaves me with little time to blog or to take pictures. We are also in the process of buying a lovely house from the 1930’s with original stained glass windows, wooden floors, original tiling in the hallway and kitchen etc, we have been looking for it for the longest time, who would have know that finding your dream property is this hard. We still have a few anxious weeks ahead of us though because our mortgage needs to be approved. So fingers crossed!

But, back to my job for a second… Each year I organise a trip for our volunteers to thank them and this year we visited Museum Voorlinden which opened last month and its Ellsworth Kelly exhibition. Honestly, one of the prettiest museums I ever had the pleasure of visiting. I’m going to sound like a Tumblr cliche but I really loved Ellsworth Kelly’s simple line drawings. And speaking of line drawings, I’m very much intrigued by the blouse in the picture. Although I’m personally not into prints, this particular piece of clothing really drew my attention. It reminds me of those delicate Matisse and Picasso portraits.

And now that we’re on the subject of clothing, I acquired several new things and renewed my love for some older pieces such as my Isabel Marant pea coat from 2011. Sometimes I wonder if I need to get rid of things that I haven’t worn in a while, like the aforementioned coat. But when it comes to my more expensive purchases, they always prove to be smart investments which I only need rediscover from time to time. I’ll try and show you the purchases and coat soon!

Any pieces of clothing or accessories that you recently rediscovered?

what-i-would-like-to-wear
By On In Style2,428 Comments

Can you tell what’s wrong with this collage? All of a sudden I feel the desperate need to buy a skirt. And I don’t wear skirts. Ever. It might have something to do with the fact that I lost 11kg the past six months. In March I had a health scare that led to a more active lifestyle (I’m okay by the way, nothing life threatening). Instead of sitting at home worrying about what was to come, I decided to start walking a lot. That, and some adjustments to my diet led to the aforementioned weight loss which I did with the help of a Nutrisystem monthly price plan that I found online. Which is fine as I was a little overweight to begin with and I currently feel a lot more energetic. So that’s one of the reasons why I feel like experimenting a little. Getting older is another reason but I might do a post on age appropriate clothing another time.

Last month, when I was in London (Jane, your London posts were super helpful. So many good places to eat) I tried this skirt, which looks much nicer in real life by the way, at H&M aka the fast fashion devil. It’s definitely not a timeless, classic design but still, I was pleasantly surprised once I tried it on. Since then I’ve been making mental collages on how to combine it with things I already own to justify the purchase.

The Isabel Marant Bobby sneakers are making their first ever appearance on this blog. I haven’t worn them in a very long time because they’re quite the eye-catchers and I didn’t feel like drawing attention to myself. But I still like them and now feels like the right time to start wearing them again. The coat and turtleneck will be my favourite go-to items once more this fall and winter. I wish I could say the same about the bracelet which I sadly lost a while ago. But to stay on topic, this outfit would be a nice change from my usual uniform that I can see myself wearing all through winter when combined with a pair of tights. So maybe I should… [to be continued]

From left to right, top to bottom: H&M denim skirt (€40), Uniqlo cashmere turtleneck (€90), Ace & Tate Baker glasses (€98), Isabel Marant Bobby sneakers (€395), Isabel Marant for H&M coat (old)

jo-malone-wood-sage-seasalt-cologne
By On In Small Luxuries158 Comments

The idea of the signature scent has a long history. In Renaissance Italy, Catharine de Medici’s apartment was connected to the laboratory of her personal perfumer Réne de Florentin to prevent the formulas for her fragrances from being stolen. When she left for France to marry the duke who would later become King Henry II, she even brought De Florentin with her. Fast forward, in the late eighteenth century royal perfumer Jean-Louis Fargeon created a unique scent for Marie Antoinette as an ode to her beloved Trianon gardens at Versailles. It is said that she even kept it with her during her imprisonment in the Temple Tower of Paris.

While during the time of the aforementioned examples perfumes were considered an exclusive luxury product for the wealthy (to hide the odours of unwashed bodies to be exact), nowadays they are sold in almost every price category and accessible to anyone. Which doesn’t make it easy to choose as the number of options seems never-ending. That said, finding your signature scent is almost like the process of searching for a uniform; it may be a long journey but it will definitely be worth your while.

The whole idea of signature scents appealed to me for a variety of reasons. First off, it’s one less concern in the morning. I don’t have to consider my mood to be able to choose from different options. What I own, is just right. For all occassions. Another reason is that I like more exclusive perfumes and money doesn’t grow on trees. Without wanting to sound like a snob, I simply don’t like the fact that I may come across ten other women that are wearing same scent as was the case when I wore Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue, DKNY Be Delicious and so on (can you tell I was easily impressed with salespeople: “This is our most popular scent.”)?

To a lot of people around me Escentric Molecules’ Molecule 01 has become something they recognize me by. In fact, it’s a scent they associate me with even when I’m not around. To be honest, I indirectly stole it from Vogue Japan’s fashion editor and street style star Giovanna Battaglia after reading one of her interviews years ago. They way she described the perfume sounded very intriguing to me. I have been wearing it religiously ever since even though I did need a short break this summer and switched to Jo Malone’s Wood Sage & Seasalt which, like the name suggests, reminds you of the sea and long beachwalks. But I’m back to Molecule 01 once again. It’s definitely an ongoing love affair.

Enough about me, tell me something about your personal perfume history and if you own a signature scent.

MY FAVOURITE SCENTS:

Molecule 01 by Eccentric Molecules / Black Saffron by Byredo / Wood Sage & Seasalt by Jo Malone