Fascinated by Couture

31 Jan 2014

Mon Dieu,

Unbelievable it has taken me up til now to check out the Spring 2014 Couture shows! Well at least I got round to doing it after all, et maintenant I'll share with you my personal faves.

Couture

(Clockwise) Christian Dior, évidemment, was totes brillopads if you ask me. Raf Simons' layering of perforated and slightly transparent fabrics lead to the most captivating and moving silhouettes.
Another one of my faves was Schiaparelli. Ever since discovering Elsa's briliant oeuvre a few years ago, I've been a huge fan of her's, and I do believe Marco Zanini has done a blimey well job at trying to fill her footsteps - but than again, he had me at fluttering tule and cookoo headpieces.
Ulyana Sergeenko, lastly, stated that skirts of pants are back and I deffo agree with her (isn't this pic proof enough that the combo of these two pieces make for an intersting look?).

What were your favourite couture shows? And do you agree with me on the pants+skirt=fabulousness-thing? I can't wait to hear you thoughts ;)

xxx


On workmanship and price

27 Jan 2014

Esprit

When a very high level of addiction to fashionable pieces of fabric has to be satisfied with a fairly modest wage, choices must be made - alas! You see, when working a parttime job in retail while trying to become a fashion journalist, one can not simply buy T by Alexander Wang basics or Rag & Bone blazers. On the other hand, I've also had the displeasure to discover that buying your gear all too cheap isn't always the best way to succes either. Exhibit number one being a Zara cashmere cardigan - it costed about € 100 - that was covered in fluff after wearing it only a few times. Très sad and above all a très large waste of money.

Always on the lookout to find a solution for the gravest of my sartorial issues, I found myself wandering is the streets of Ghent last week, looking for some great yet affordable basics that would last. Much to my own surprise I found the answer at Esprit. This '68 born San Francisco brand is deffo not the most fashion foreward high street retailer on the planet, but I discovered they had quite a lot stuff to my liking, and - more importantly - their level of workmanship is very nice in proportion to their prices. No slanting seams, loose threads or blazers without lining to be found here. Cheers to that!

Esprit

Much rejoiced with my newfound dicoveries I renturned home with a striped 3/4-sleeve top, a T-shirt with leather shoulder patches and a gorgeous black velvet blazer.

xxx


Blue Tuesday

21 Jan 2014

Whoopsie-diddly-daisy, my head seems to to be turned all upside down! Wasn't yesterday supposed to be the bluest day of the year? That is correct, meine freunde. I however don't always like to do things the way they're supposed to, and so today I bring you - on a silver platter, o'course - Blue Tuesday!

Now, that don't mean I'm gonna be all depressed 'n sobby 'n stuff, no-no-no. it simply means I'll show you my latest blue obsessions (yes, I seem to have acquired quite a lot of those, see here, here and here).

Blue
Numero uno is my cheap-ass liquid eyeliner from 2B. You see, I can easily spend some cash on a classic red lipstick or the perfect black mascara, but when it comes to shades I'll probably get bored of soon, I like to keep it low-budget. Plus, the less I spend on make-up, the more I can spend on clothes.

Blue
Number two is my super lacy bra from Etam, très cute, non? And the third is my - again cheapo - cobalt blue nail polish from Hema.

To be quite fair, my pining for all things blue actually kicked off after I spotted the most perfect fluffy electric blue sweater at Cos. I didn't try it on at the time, because the sensible item that I needed to buy was this black chunky-knit cardigan. Since then, I'd be quite shocked if more than one day had gone by without me thinking of that gorgeous jumper...

And won't you just look at that: I ended up sobbing and lamenting after all! Time to get a hold of myself and stop dramatizing my first world problems, I'd say. So on that note, I bid you adieu!

xxx

Friday Fascinations: Midi Skirts

17 Jan 2014

midi
As we all know very well, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. And so it is that this Friday I've come to talk to you about my adoration of midi skirts.

I've never tried to denie that I'm always up for a good midi, but lately this certain shape of skirt has been wandering my mind quite often. Elegant with an ankle boot or some great heels, great when full and poofy, even better when printed or - as image above illustrates marvellously - worn with a nice pair of blue jeans underneath. En bref, this one is always fabulous!

I have just purchased this exemplaire from Asos. You like?

xxx

PS: Images 1, 2 and 3.

On pink

15 Jan 2014

pink on pink

I've said it before and I will say it again, but pink is absolutely the best colour in the universe. I know, I know, it's way too girly-girlish to say stuff like that out loud, but come on, be honest: don't you agree? Pink can be elegant and refined, but also full of humour and self-mockery. Heck! It can even be fierce.

So feel free to mock me all you like, I stand my ground - and I'll even proove that with a pink on pink mani.

pink on pink

Hot pink nail polish (NYC) and soft pink (Hema)

xxx

Feeling Vancy

13 Jan 2014

Vancy

Bonjour my duarlinks,

I trust you had a fabby-di-fab weekend? Mine sure was very relaxing, filled with... well nothing besides being a couch potatoe, really! But sometimes that's exactement what a gal needs, n'est-ce pas?

I did however leave my sofa just long enough to do some Sunday morning shoe hunting (I'm sad to say it was to no avail) ànd snap some pics of my outfit - whereafter I quickly replaced my new Zara jeans (scored on sale) with these comfy pants extraordinaire and jumped back in.

As for the outfit, I tried to fancy up my Vans sneakers  with some lipstick and chandelier earrings. Hence the cheesy pun in my title - gosh, ain't I just too hilarious? Oh, and I decided it was time to show you the other side of my multi-flexible Marni clutch.

Vancy
Grey T-shirt (Marie Sixtine). Black knitted cardigan (Cos). Leather jacket (Warehouse). Jeans (Zara). Beanie (Knitted by my beau's granny ages ago). Earring (Forever 21). Sunglasses (H&M). Bag (Marni). Gloves (H&M). Socks (Forever 21). Shoes (Vans).

Vancy

Vancy

xxx

Friday Fascinations

10 Jan 2014

tumblr_my2632G0Ee1qazha9o1_1280

And so another week has come to an end, ça alors! But fear not, before bidding you adieu, I'll grant ya some luuurvly links that will fill your weekend with food for thought, laughter and awe. That's right, mateys!

Up first on my list of fascinating stuff is fur. As you will see over at The Man Repeller, this utterly gorgeous, but also highly disputed material is always a great conversation-starter!

After tackling some moral problems, I think we're up for something a tad more light-hearted.

Next, if you haven't OD'ed on chocolate yet, you might try this little glamour overdose.

And lastly, there's nothing a nice desktop wallpaper to give you some good vibes. I'm enjoying those pink half circles as we speak!

Have a happy one m'dears!

xxx

PS: click on the image for the source!
PPS: how do you like my new header?
PPPS: I changed my URL! Not sure if it such a smart plan, but I was just really sick of the "e" missing in my old "lavienmode.blogspot.com".

For the love/hate of Olson

8 Jan 2014

Okay, I'm just gonna come out and tell you guys fair and square:

I never really liked the Olson Twins. I already considered them highly annoying in Full House, and their seemingly oh-so casual and boho façade quite gives me the jitters.

Oops! Are y'all gonna stake me now for bashing your idols?

I hope not. For despite my personal aversion of world's most famous twins, I am not too petty to admit that these girls have got talent. To be honest, I've always appreciated their collections for The Row and Elisabeth and James more than I'd like to admit.

And now their The Row pre-fall 2014 lookbook really caught my eye.

The_Row

The_Row

The_Row

The_Row

You can probably see why. Not only are the clothes spectacular (That croco bag! That fur coat! That chunky cropped knit!), I also love their pick of models. Linda Rodin and Esther de Jong, are not only two gorgeous ladies, they also validate one of my favourite statements: Style has no age.

Images via Style.com

So ladies and gents, what says you about my love-hate relationship with Mary-Kate and Ashley?

xxx


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Winter Whites

6 Jan 2014

Hi honeys!

So, big news. It turns out Wikipedia was right after all: New Year's resolutions are doomed to fail. For despite all my efforts, I did not blog last Friday. I do however have a golly good excuse for that error in my ways. You see, besides being adorable, my beau sometimes likes to put viruses on laptop... Accidentally, that is, but therefore not less infuriating. Anyhow, I'm all virus-free now and good to go.

This jolly nice Monday, I'd like to talk to you about my favourite (non-)colour: White it is! No colour as calming, clean, crisp as white, is there? Which is exactly why every single wall in our house is painted in a gorgeous (and contrary to what many people may think, very cosy) cream white. But a white canvas for my decor alone is certainly not enough to satisfie my cravings for le blanc.

I also adore these lamp shades from Ikea, perfecting my kitchen...
Whites

...I'm touched by the beauty of old-fashioned black letters on a white card (and of course I also love the words they're saying - my dear Aurélie, be prepared for the most fabulous bachelorette party ever). I'm still obsessed with Essie Marshmallow ànd I love my white with brown florals pj's...
Whites

...And I'm totally smittin' for the &Other Stories hand cream I got together with the card above, the white with green and yellow Marimekko plate my beau gave me and the all white postcard by design company Soki saying 'Whish you all the best".
Whites

Dis-le-moi, do you share this white obsession?

xxx

P.S.: Today is La Vie en Mode's fourth birthday, that calls for a toast ànd a very own - I know, finally - Facebook page!

A New Year

1 Jan 2014

2014

Firstly I'd love to wish you a très, très happy 2014 - may it be a totes swingin' year for y'all.

Secondly I'd like to take the opportunity to make some serious New Year's resolutions. According to a study from the University of Bristol no less than 88% - and I'm quoting Wikipedia here - of the people who make New Year's resolutions fail. But I'd like to give it a shot anyway, so here it goes.

In 2014 I want to:

1. Travel, preferably to Paris, London, Amsterdam and Italy.
2. Practice yoga 2 times a week (yes, this was one of last year's resolutions as well, and yes, I failed miserably).
3. Start writing a book.
4. Blog 3 times a week (If - contrary to what Wikipedia predicts - I don't fail at all this stuff, you will see me here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday).
5. Procrastinate less.
6. Do things that make me happy, instead of things that I think I ought to do for some reason or other.

Et voilà!

Pray tell, do you do New Year's rezzies? If so, what are yours?

xxx