SEE YOU SOON 2014

Wow, it has been a while. Remember me? Of course spluttering out excuses is no way to make up for the past few days so all I will say is that I have taken these much needed days off to take some time for myself as well as to think about where I would like to see the blog go next year. I have some exciting changes coming up which have been in discussion for a few months now as well as some on-the-side projects, the first of which I will be able to announce quite soon so keep your eyes peeled. In the meantime I shall leave you with this outfit post. If you have been following my blog from the VERY beginning (and I mean second post ever beginning....), then you would know I have been pining after a Maje parka for so damn long. Every now and then I would pop into a Maje store just to try on one of their parkas but could never fully give in. But when my parents came to BXL to visit my Dad and I happened to be walking around the Rue Dansaert and came across the Maje store. I then fell in love with this black parka and my Dad may have passed on a secret little message to Santa haha. The bag was definitely a surprise though. I had spotted it whilst in Scotland back in the summer and this time my Mama may have secretly slipped a little note to Santa! I really am such a lover for monochrome. Also, this bag has three main compartments with many many many pockets which makes it all the more perfect!

THE FIELDS

I went back to Luxembourg for a very short visit to see Katie Melua. As I had taken the next day off, Christine and I decided to have a spontaneous shoot and I am so glad we did. It was so foggy that it gave an extra little something to the photos. You can check out some sneaky peeks on our Instagrams here and here. I of course had to fully benefit from spending the morning with Christine so I asked her to snap up a few outfits photos for me. I am still completely in love with this coat I found in a second hand store. I never thought I would buy a coat this long but I am starting to prefer this oversized and  long style for the colder months. I do still love my leather jacket but I much prefer to feel as if I am being cuddled in a blanket.

AX PARIS - THE SEQUIN DRESS

Oh I have been absolutely itching to show you these photos which Christine and I shot back in October. I was so lucky to be able to keep three of the dresses that I walked in at the #axparty and I thought it would be cool to take some extra special photos with Christine when she came to visit. You may remember the sneaky peeks I put up in my post here. These photos were definitely worth waiting for and I am beyond happy with how they came out! Of course we were incredibly lucky with the weather, and the beautiful sunshine makes it seem like I am relaxing on a balcony somewhere in the south of France. I also love how the light glistens over all the little sequins - it almost brings the dress to life and gives it its own personality. I will without a doubt be wearing this AX Paris dress on a ladies night out with my gals when I am back in Luxembourg. Bring on the holiday season!

LOUIZALAAN

I met up with Claude earlier this week on my lunch break to do a spot of shopping and grab some food. Of course, we ended up browsing so much that we kinda lost track of time and I ended up buying a sandwich to go and eating it at my desk haha - priorities. This is the kind of outfit I would wear to work on a good day. A good day being if I wake up early enough or if I have just done washing the night before and found some time to set aside an outfit. Along with the black fluffy jumper, I also got one in pink. I just could not resist it. I feel like a giant marshmallow! It certainly does keep me warm and I cannot wait to get more wear out of it. Pastel colours like this are such a great way to bring colour to an otherwise dull outfit so I am really loving all the pink items that are in store right now!

EYE SPY

I placed a large order on Topshop recently and bought this black cropped fluffy jumper. It is so insanely snug and cozy. The only down side is that it is very cropped so I feel a tad uncomfortable wearing it with trousers. It could work but I am not too keen on having my love handles on show. I wore this outfit when I went shopping with Mama in the recently renovated Belle Etoile. My dad was away that weekend so we could get up to some mischievous girly shopping. It is starting to get a bit too chilly to be wearing short skirts but the mall is a great place for all the skirt and shorts lovers out there as you do not have to worry about that bitterly cold wind when going from shop to shop.

PS, sorry if this is incredibly brief. My parents are here for the weekend and they have brought my little dog up too! Mama and I will definitely be watching Beauty and the Beast tonight - a little tradition of ours

DO THE HARLEQUIN SHAKE

You can never have too many monochrome pieces in your wardrobe and this Poppy Lux harlequin-print dress is a just another way to wear the trend. At first I thought the sleeves would be a bit of an odd length but I quite like it. It also makes the dress slightly more wearable for those winter nights out although you definitely cannot get away with bare legs - oh it is just too cold for that. Since the print is quite loud, a dainty piece of jewellery, like this hummingbird bracelet from Jana Reinhardt,  will probably be enough to complete the look. I have kept it quite casual in terms of accessories but you can certainly jazz it up with a statement necklace for a ladies night out.

PS, you can get £20 off any full-priced item from Jana Reinhardt with the code blogger20 - if you still have a Christmas present to by you should check out the jewellery. It is so pretty and delicate!

STAND GUARD

I came back to Luxembourg this weekend and one of the things I did was pull out all my old winter clothes which I had packed away earlier this year. With Lux/Bxl temperatures ranging between 5 and 7°C, an extra jumper or cardigan is simply not enough anymore. Sometimes going through old clothes is as if you are going shopping (again) - you rediscover so many things! Although, this may be a sign that I need to sell on or donate a few bits... One of the things I pulled out was this red coat which I bought in New Look about 5 or 6 years ago. The red coats in the online New Look store seem to be heavily dominated by bordeaux/oxblood coloured coats but I did spot this one on ASOS in good ol' primary red. 

PS, don't forget to check out my looks on Stylight! xoxo

MAISY LEOPARD

Earlier today, mama and I set off to check out the annual International Bazaar and I decided to take this beautiful Paul's Boutique Maisy bag along with me. When the PB team got in touch for the first time a few months ago I was so impressed with all the work they put into rebranding their image and they still continue to impress me! They recently launched their new website so go and have a peek. As for the bag itself, it is the perfect AW handbag to be carrying around. I am so guilty of taking full advantage of the monochrome trend that the leopard print on this bag is a great way to work in a bit of pizzazz to an otherwise very black and white outfit. I actually had the chance to see a sneaky peek of their SS14 pieces and oh my, Paul's Boutique is definitely a "to-watch" UK brand for 2014.

GRAND DAY OUT

One week ago, I had one of my gals from England over for the weekend. We had not seen each other since we moved out of our 2nd year uni house in June so it was great to finally have a good catch-up sesh! We had a good walk-about on our first day and we of course had to do spot (more like a splash) of shopping. One of the things I picked up was this beautiful oversized coat from the same second-hand store where I found this coat. This one was only fairly decently priced as well - only 17 EUR! I did "um" and "ah" over it for a bit in the store but I am so happy I got it in the end. It is one of the longest coats I own but it keeps me so warm. I feel like I am wearing a blanket haha. I absolutely love winter but I hate feeling the bitterly cold wind riding up from the bottom of my coats or jackets. This beaut here definitely keeps me snuggled up.

PS, if you happen to have a Stylight account I would appreciate it if you could like the look here.

THAT MOTEL PRINT

I think that picking out this Motel Rocks playsuit at this time of year is perhaps quite a silly decision to make but I could not resist this print! I had seen it on a couple of other bloggers here and there in different pieces (like Lulutrixabelle and X) and I knew I had to have the piece to style it my own way. I probably would wear this with a black pair of tights though. Bare legs were definitely a bad decision! The print itself is quite loud so you could definitely pull off this outfit without a necklace but to be extra glamorous on a night out I think I would wear my Choies lionhead necklace (worn here) or a simple gold chain. I would definitely also wear this during the day but in this case pair it with a pair of tights (or leggings if it is frightfully freezing) and a pair of black flats or ankle boots. I could also imagine myself in a burgundy fedora but I have yet to find the perfect one, although I have heard/seen that Primark have quite a lovely one. I may need to take a day trip up to Antwerp soon!

Grace Kelly x Glō Minerals

Not long ago, I was contacted by the same people who ran the Filofax Blogger competition (check my entry here) and I was asked whether I would like to participate in yet another competition, but this time in collaboration with Glō Minerals – a mineral make up brand. I had so much fun creating the look and the mini story behind my entry last time that I said yes. Like last time, the blogger entries had to pay tribute to a certain decade and I picked the 50s, which I thought would be a nice follow-up from the last competition. I wanted to do something a little different this time around and I finally decided to re-create this Grace Kelly photo. I thought doing a studio beauty shoot it would be a great way to show the make-up as well as pay tribute to one of the most beautiful women of the 50s.

I would really appreciate it if you could like this photo here on the Glō Minerals Facebook page. The winner of this competition will have the chance to give away a make up bag to one of their readers. Thank you in advance!

Photo by Christine Xuan

SHIMMY SHIMMY

When I went back to Luxembourg this weekend I took the opportunity to shoot a couple of outfit photos with the lovely Christine. I received this awesome shirt from Sheinside a while back but because I had not been home in a while it was not until now I was able to open up the parcel. I think I have found the shirt of all shirts! I love that the collar is jewelled so you do not have to worry about coordinating a necklace with the outfit and the cut is amazing. There is a double layer at the front of the top and do I even have to mention the pleated detail at the back of the shirt? It is so absolutely beautiful that I cannot wait to wear this shirt out more on dinner dates and girly nights out, when I am feeling too chilly to don an LBD but still want to look dressed up. A friend of mine from university is visiting me this weekend so I will definitely be whipping this shirt out again!

Trousers - Zara
Shoes - Primark
Top - Sheinside
Bag - H&M

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BURGUNDY BEANIE

I  posted a preview of this look on Instagram a while back but I never got round to actually posting the entire look – oops. I have been so into beanies lately because, even though I tend to prefer the winter season, I absolutely hate feeling cold. One of the things I love the most about winter is stepping out into a cold, crisp day and being able to wrap up warm in a snug outfit. I bought this burgundy beanie from New Look for a fairly decent price and I spotted another really cool one with stud details when I was out and about the other day with my dad. To everyone who lives in Luxembourg: Have you been to the Belle Etoile lately? OH MY GOSH, I knew they were extending it by they have done an absolutely amazing job! I think it is now my absolute favourite place shop! They now have a Zara, Vero Moda and a huge H&M along with a few other new stores. It is such a great place to go Christmas shopping with the family as there are so many stores under one roof so you can shelter away from the cold winds which you would encounter whilst walking along the Grand Rue in Luxembourg City.

NATIVE GIRL

When I was in Köln last weekend visiting the Manfriend the temperature across Western Europe seemed to drop quite significantly. Whenever I checked the weather forecast single-digit figures were appearing across the table. I of course had to wrap up warm, so over my Sentinel City T-shirt I threw on my blue hand-me-down cardigan, Choies jacket and Zara scarf – one of the best purchases I have made this year. As I was wearing this look during the day I decided to go with nude heeled boots. I do love the chilly winter months and I absolutely love the amount of Christmas spirit which the Germans exude with their decorations, markets and window displays. No one does Christmas like the Germans! One of the things I am most looking forward to is the Christmas market in Trier (a town just over the border in Germany, from Luxembourg, and the birth place of Karl Marx – fun fact of the day). It is small and probably does not quite compare to the market in Nuremburg but it is still lovely! My Japanese grandmother will be joining us for the holiday period for the first time this year so it will be fun to get her into the Christmas spirit and celebrate a holiday which is not traditional celebrated in Japan.

ALL BLACK ALL THAT

Well as I was putting in the details of this look I slowly began to realise that there was not much variation in terms of where these clothes are from. I just loving Zara's AW stuff so much! I shot this look for the Stylight blogger competition which is currently running. It is a 3-phase competition and every 2 weeks a new look (and then a winner) is chosen, but the most exciting part of all is that in 3 weeks time the competition will close and a grand winner will be announced. This winner will actually be able to go to Berlin Fashion Week! It would be such an amazing opportunity and a great way to discover the fashion in an area of Europe where I have never been to before! I would really appreciate it if you could like/heart my look on Stylight here. Even if you do not have an account you can use Facebook to sign it - it is super easy. Thank you in advance ❤

A RAINY DAY ON THE GRAND SABLON

On Tuesday earlier this week, I met up with Claude during my lunch break to eat sushi and to pick up a very exciting package. A good few weeks ago when I was around at her place lounging on her sofa like I totally live there already, she told me about this new brand from Luxembourg which I should check out. Naturally, I was very intrigued as it is not often that something exciting emerges in our little country of Luxembourg. After months and months of planning, Sentinel City was officially registered in March of this year and their first collection was released just a month after. They have now released the A/W winter collection which is quickly selling out. You have no idea how excited I am to be able to introduce you guys to a young Luxembourg-based brand! Now down to the knitty-gritty (knit-ty get it? I deserve my own spot on the Fringe Festival), this beanie is perhaps the most snug little thing I own. Even though my fluffy mittens were a tough competitor, this thick beanie definitely makes it to the top. I also love that it is tight enough around my head that I do not have worry about it flying off in a strong icy gust of wind.

If you wanna keep up-to-date with their journey, go check out their Instagram or Facebook page!

SUNDAY MORNING

Around two weeks ago, Christine came to visit me for the first time in Brussels. We had such a wonderful weekend together and on the morning she was supposed to leave, we spontaneously decided to do a mini shoot in the morning sunlight. I slipped into my loose Topshop vest, New Look skirt and pearl/gold chain (also from Topshop - surprise!). If only every Sunday morning was like this in Brussels. Winter is truly on its way and it has been drizzling non-stop. I know I really should not complain about the rain so much as it is not that much of a shock considering it is Brussels, but I wish it did not rain so much because I am still loving my maxi skirts. They are the comfiest things to travel in when I take the train to back to lux but they soak up any rain water like a sponge - not the most fantastic look!

THE REVERSIBLE COAT

I am sucker for alliteration so "Winter Wishlist" sounds a lot better to me than "Gift ideas" but here we are with a collage of a couple of things which have recently caught my eye. Christmas is on its way so if you are struggling to find something for your sister, best friend, girlfriend, cousin... etc then perhaps this little wishlist post can give you a bit of inspiration. When an email popped up in my inbox about this Ingenue coat the simple phrase "day to night" immediately appealed to me. I am currently on my work placement and once I make it back to my apartment after a long day I am usually not that motivated to pull together an outfit for an evening dinner or a cocktail meet up. Not that I am fluttering social butterfly or anything but I do have a couple of friends. No, really though, I only have two friends here at the moment haha. I purchased my own pair of Urbanears over two years ago and I am still in love with them. With such a simple design it can easily be incorporated to any outfit that you are wearing. I purchased the boring old black ones but I have been thinking of getting coloured ones if anything should happen to the others.

Gogo Philip have recently launched two new collections, one of them being this handbag lock design. Nothing beats a chunky gold chain necklace and it makes a decent Christmas present when you are slightly lost for ideas. I do love my gold chain necklaces and I could never have enough variations of them. Being in Brussels means that I have to spend my time drooling over the different pieces online but if you are in and around the London area you can find their store at 68A Cheshire Street. If you know you want to splurge this Christmas you have to check out the Wilbur & Gussie clutches. I had the chance to check a few of them out at a press day and no photo will ever do any of them justice. They are such statement pieces and are perfect for a special or formal occasion. Graduation may seem a while away for me but this emerald green clutch is the kind of thing I could imagine myself wearing with a white or beige dress. However, if you are on the hunt for a more practical and everyday bag, then this Pippa bag in Shark from Modalu is the perfect item to lighten up a dark, fall look. I really should control my daily handbag browse - I am probably feeding my inner Imelda Marcos.

ABOUT TOWN

I have been itching to show you guys this coat for so long. There is this store on the Rue Haute, close to where I work, where you can buy clothes by weight (15 EUR/kg) which is where I found this beauty for only 16 EUR - it was such a find! It is the perfect coat to wear over a simple monochrome outfit on a cold and windy day. I am visiting the Manfriend in Köln on Thursday so I will most likely be taking this with me. I cannot for the life of me remember where I bought my bracelet but I have a feeling that it is either from Accessorize or from some store in Japan. I wore this outfit for a grand day out of shopping on Saturday and towards the end of the day, I stumbled across the Kenzo store near Namespoort metro station - I will most certainly be trekking back there again to have an extra long browse!

JUBELPARK

The Manfriend is here for this weekend and after yesterday's wild night of minion painting (seen here) we had a really lazy start to our day. We headed on up to a restaurant to sit outside as they have heaters above as well as below the tables - so cosy! We then took a very autumnal stroll around the park which resulted in a cheeky gauffre purchase. We of course had to stop for a couple of outfit photos. I am pretty sure that you guys are sick of seeing this jacket making a recurring appearance in my posts but I really am wearing it daily. It is simply too cold to only be wearing blazers and the standard leather jacket is the perfect solution for that! I thought the leather-look skirt would be a bit too much with the jacket but I think the denim shirt tones it down nicely. I do frequently check out the blog links which are occasionally left in the comments so do leave links to your latest fall looks here - I would love to see them.

FALL BACK

My oldest and one of my best friends, Christine, came to visit me this past weekend and it was so nice to finally spend a good, long weekend together. Check out my Instagram to see what we got up to! We of course had to take some photos in the park where a lot of the leaves had fallen already allowing for a beautiful outfit photo backdrop. decided to wear my black Zara trousers with a simple H&M top and my pearl necklace from Topshop. I then put on my striped blazer from Primark to complete my monochrome look. I must have made somewhat of a good choice because when we were having lunch at the Grand Place, two sweet, elderly and fabulous-looking American ladies complimented my outfit! It totally made my day.

#AXParty @ PROUD CABARET

After the circus-themed AX Paris party earlier this year I thought it would be pretty hard to top but the Etail PR and AX ladies definitely pulled off one hell of night. Perhaps one of the things that made it all quite fabulous was that I was asked, along with Kristiana and Amy, to walk in their fashion show to showcase a few of their new pieces. We had a run-through of the walk and then we had our make-up done by the lovely Jilly. By the time all three of us were done, bloggers were starting to pile in and my nerves started to kick in.

I am the kind of person who hates having all eyes on me so why I ever chirped and said I would do this is beyond me... But I am so happy I did, I have never experienced anything quite like it. Once one look was done, we had to rush and quickly zip out of the dress and into another. There was not enough time to zip up one dress the entire way so I ended up going out with my hair covering it. The adrenaline rush was intense.

The venue was absolutely amazing. It was my first ever Burlesque experience so I was thrilled that we got to enjoy a night of performances by burlesque dancers and a hilarious presenter - the dancers were absolutely gorgeous! They had butts to die for. I vowed to hit the gym and do my squats whilst I was hovering over the pick-n-mix stand that was set up.

It was also a great opportunity to mingle and to chat with a few people who I only knew through their blogs. I finally had the chance to meet Kavita – I love how much of a chatterbox she is. She is absolutely lovely! Jade, who won cycle 7 of BNTM was also there which was insane. I felt the fangirl inside of me leap to a whole new level.

One of my best friends, Christine, came to visit me this past weekend. Our days together pretty much consisted of eating yummy food, shopping and taking silly photos in the Cinquantenaire park. We did, however, get up relatively early on the Sunday to shoot on my balcony in the morning sunlight. It was quite spontaneous but we got some great shots! After a couple of looks a I slipped into the Sequin Kickout dress which I wore in the show – the sequins picked up the light beautifully and I am beyond excited to see the final result. Until then, I have added a sneaky preview at the end of this post.

PS, check out the #AXParty tag to see even more photos

PRESS DAY @ THE WESTBURY MAYFAIR

Warning, a hot cup of tea or something of that sort may be needed to get through this post. It is quite image as well as text heavy! Kristiana and I got to feast our eyes on a multitude of upcoming collections the other day and my oh my are you guys in for a treat. The above dress was one that stood out for me from Suzannah's collection. I had first heard the brand through Wish Want Wear (an online designer dress hire company) so I was ecstatic to be able to see the collection in front of me. 

LONDON TOWN

During my last couple of hours in London, my friend and I had a bit of a walkabout in her neighbourhood. I wish I did not have to hurry off to catch my Eurostar as there were so many awesome second hand stores to browse. I very recently purchased this simple Cheap Monday top when I finally had the chance to meet up with Toni. I completed the outfit with my leather Zara jacket, Zara trousers and black H&M boots. It is quite a dark look but the Cheap Monday adds a touch of brightness. I also slipped on my lionhead necklace from Choies and my new H&M skull ring.

Necklace - Choies
Top - Cheap Monday
Jacket & trousers - Zara
Bag - Primark
Boots - H&M

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