Spring Playlist

It's spring and we can finally have drinks outside on a terrace, hear the birds sing when we wake up, feel the warmth of the sun rays when sitting in the car. And, let's not deny, all these moments are even better with good tunes on the background. Beneath you can find a mix of both older and newer songs that reflect that spring happiness.

1. Kelvin Jones - Call You Home (MÖWE Bootleg)
2. The Beatles - Here Comes The Sun
3. Lilly Wood & The Prick - Prayer (Robin Schulz remix)
4. Route 94 ft. Jess Glynne - My Love
5. Buena Vista Social Club ft. Maroon 5 - She Will Be Loved
6. Ed Sheeran - I See Fire (Kygo remix)
7. Passenger - Let Her Go (Mike Stud remix)
8. De Hofnar - De Nacht
9. John Legend - All Of Me (De Hofnar Bootleg)
10. Milky Chance - Stolen Dance (FlicFlac Edit)

Essentiel X Tiany Kiriloff

Another match made in heaven: Belgian fashion brand Essentiel and fashion blogger Tiany Kiriloff. Belgium’s biggest fashion guru designed a colourful capsule collection for fashionistas and their mini-me’s. Tiany got help from none other than her proper mini-me's Eloise and Yelena. The end result breathes flower power, candy colors and playful prints. My Kirilove favourites are the green/purple bomber jacket, the #TeamBelgium t-shirt and the eye-catching printed dress.

I love the way Essentiel carefully chooses the names with whom they want to collaborate. So far, they have chosen to work with fashionable people with roots in Belgium but with an international reach/fan base. Tiany Kiriloff is the best known fashion blogger and journalist in Belgium, contributing to the platform Belmodo.be and several magazines and newspapers. She knows like no other what is hot. She’s one of the happy few invited to the biggest shows during fashion weeks. She often features in leading fashion magazines when they show the best streetstyle looks. The whole world is looking at her. Therefore, it’s pretty interesting for a brand like Essentiel to link their name to hers.

Some of the Kirilove accessories

Essentiel provided the coolest toys ever for the lucky kids that were invited to their Kiriland event: Barbies with Kirilove clothes.

The same goes for Sofie Valkiers, with whom Essentiel collaborated last season. Sofie Valkiers, aka Fashionata, has become an established name in the international blogosphere. Her blog is read by people from all over the world. She does not miss one fashion week and her looks are also snapped and shared by many streetstyle photographers. Next on the list of guest designers is model CésarCasier, so again they choose for somebody from Belgium with international reach.

Besides the collaborations for capsule collections, the fashion house also searches within Team Belgium in their searches for a face for each collection. For instance now, Hanne Gaby Odiele is the face of the Spring/Summer 2014 campaign. And earlier, Estée Rammant was the one showing the collection in catalogues and on billboards. Estée recently broke through as a model and was already asked by Chanel, Hermès, Armani, Givenchy, Topshop and many more.

By working with Belgian people who made a name for themselves in the international fashion scene, the Antwerp based label stays true to its Belgian roots and tries to connect with the rest of the world at the same time. I truly hope Essentiel gets noticed soon by the mass and that they can pursue their dream of expanding internationally. Because Essentiel  simply would make the world look brighter and happier!

Essentiel's leading lady Inge Onsea & guest designer Tiany Kiriloff

#loveisessentiel #kirilove

SXO.

* pictures: Essentiel

Hi! (Again)

Hi there!

I’m Stéphanie, 22 years old, traveling between Ghent , where I study, and Knokke-Heist, where I live with my parents. I’m currently finishing a Master in Marketing Management at the Vlerick Business School. Before, I studied in Leuven. I have a Bachelor in Literature and Linguistics (Dutch and Spanish), and a Master in Corporate Communications.

Fashion and cosmetics, or simply everything that makes us feel better about ourselves, are my passion. During my Master in Corporate Communications at the KU Leuven, I had the opportunity to do an internship at Essentiel Antwerp. That was an incredible experience. It made me realize more than ever that my dream is to build a career in the fashion or cosmetic sector. I got to know multiple inspiring people active on the fashion scene, such as Inge Onsea (Essentiel’s leading lady), Aline Vermeiren (my mentor at Essentiel and freelance contributor at Belmodo.tv), Tiany Kiriloff (fashion blogger, journalist and co-owner at Belmodo.tv), Sofie Valkiers aka Fashionata (one of Belgium’s biggest fashion bloggers), Charlotte Ghesquière (photo production manager at Initials LA), Zanita (lovely blogging Aussie who travels the world), Nanja Massy (MUA and blogger at Suriel, always smiling), Liene Meneve (MUA and blogger at Suriel) and many others… I hope that one day I can inspire people the way they inspired me.

Two years ago, I decided to start a blog but that watered down. Monique et Marie-Jeanne was named after my grannies. I wanted to dedicate the blog to them, since they are a major source of inspiration when it comes to fashion, beauty habits and façon de vivre. The blog is platform on which I will share tips, reflections on the fashion and cosmetic industry, things that have caught my eye, things that interest me, simply anything I want to share. After two years, I’m excited to pick up the thread again with Monique et Marie-Jeanne.

You’ll hear from me soon!

SXO.

Quote

A man's face is his autobiography.
A woman's face is her work of fiction. 

- Oscar Wilde

Flashy Fluo

I'm not breaking news when I tell you that neon yellow is one of THE colours this spring/summer. It's bright and bold, and I love it! Recentl, I bought a flashy yellow sweater at Zara and a pair of earrings (no, not the Shourouk earrings, unfortunately...), so I'm already prepared! ;-)

If you don't dare to wear a dress, a shirt or a skirt in this flashy colour, you can be safe(r) and just pick some neon accessories like jewelry, a belt or nail polish. This will already give a nice pop of colour to your outfit. 

You can easily combine your neon items with black. And as soon as the sun comes out and temperatures rise,  you can go for a lighter combination with lighter grey or off white.

1. sandals Rebecca Minkoff (+/- €125)
2. necklace Kurt Geiger (+/- €60)
3. earrings Shourouk (+/- €275)
4. skirt Topshop (+/- €73)
5. dress House of Fraser (+/- €54)
6. watch Casio (+/- €45)
7. nail polish O.P.I. "Did It On 'Em" (+/- €13,95)
8. bag Chloé (+/- €250)

Do or dare: neon yellow sneakers from Sasha!

Blogger Mireia MDS combines her yellow sweater with lighter tones, which makes it 'sweeter'.

Blogger Chiara Ferragni from 'The Blonde Salad' was spotted in two neon outfits! She really must be fond of this colour. I'm in love with her dress! (pictures: lookbook.nu)

And the boys too get away with it! (pictures: lookbook.nu)

Filles à papa SS 2012

Ziezo, een voorproefje van de nieuwe collectie van Filles à papa (SS 2012)! De zusjes Sarah en Carol Pinon lanceerden hun label Filles à papa in 2008, nadat ze een jaar in New York hadden gewoond om er inspiratie op te doen. En dat edgy snuifje NYC blijven ze doorzetten. Zelf zeggen ze glamour sportswear te maken voor jonge vrouwen die niet al te serieus genomen willen worden. Een beetje too much mag, maar het moet wel draagbaar blijven. Hun collecties worden gekenmerkt door strakke broeken of leggings, oversized bovenstukken, sequins en originele prints met een knipoog naar het vrijgevochten leven. De catwalk op Paris Fashion Week hebben ze al gehaald - de droom van menig ontwerper -, maar het ontwerpersduo heeft al een nieuw doel voor ogen: ze zouden heel graag Lady Gaga in een van hun outfits hijsen. Go girls, I think it's just a matter of time before you reach that goal too! ;)

Here you go: a foretaste of the new 'Filles à papa'-collection for spring/summer 2012! The sisters Sarah and Carol Pinon launched their brand 'Filles à papa' in 2008, after having lived a year in New York to be inspired by the city and its way of life. And they carry that edgy dash of NYC through. Sarah and Carol themselves say they create 'glamour sportswear' for young women who don't want to be taken too seriously. A little 'too much' is allowed, but it still has te be wearable. Their collections are characterized by tight pants or leggings, oversized tops, sequins and original prints that refer to the free and unconventional life. They already reached the runways at Paris Fashion Week - many a designer's dream -, but the designerduo already has another end in view: they would really love to get Lady Gaga in one of their outfits. I'd say: Go girls! Because I think it's just a matter of time before you reach that goal too! ;)

Chanel Airways

A few of my favourite pieces.

Backstage Chanel Couture Paris Fashion Week 

Backstage Chanel Couture Paris Fashion Week 

Backstage Chanel Couture Paris Fashion Week 

Thank you for flying Chanel Airways. Please enjoy your flight.’ Het is algemeen geweten dat Karl Lagerfeld graag verrassend uit de hoek komt met de decors van zijn modeshows. Voor de Spring/Summer 2012-couturecollectie was dat niet anders: hij nodigde zijn gasten uit op, jawel, een jumbo jet!

Het vliegtuig is nooit echt van de grond gegaan, maar Herr Karl zorgde wel voor enkele special effects die zijn 'passagiers' het gevoel gaven dat ze echt in de lucht waren. Zo wou hij geen normale stoelen, maar echte 'vliegtuigzetels' en zorgde hij ervoor dat er wolken langs de raampjes passeerden. Op een gegeven moment kwam er zelfs iemand rond met een drankkarretje. Klinkt dat niet als een van de coolste modeshows ever? :)

De eerste keer dat ik de foto's van de modeshow zag, dacht ik: "Wat heeft Karl in godsnaam bezield?!". Na het zien van de backstage-foto's moest ik mijn mening toch lichtjes herzien. Op de foto's waren meer details te zien, die toch wel duidelijk blijk geven van echt vakmanschap. Toch waren er heel wat stukken die me absoluut niet konden bekoren; de lijnen van heel wat stukken is echt niet flatterend voor het vrouwelijke figuur. En euh... Die "heruitvinding" van de iconische camelia had de ontwerper voor mijn part ook achterwege mogen laten. Ik vond de bloem niet bepaald in het thema van de collectie passen... Maar hé, wie ben ik om daarover te oordelen? ;)

(De backstagefoto's komen van een andere blog: http://elise-mary-yasmin-pellican.blogspot.com/2012/01/backstage-chanel-couture-s12.html) 

Thank you for flying Chanel Airways. Please enjoy your flight.’ We already know that Karl Lagerfeld loves to surprise us with amazing settings for his fashion shows. And for his Spring/Summer Couture 2012-collection he did it again! He invited his guests to a jumbo jet!

The airpline didn’t take off, but there were some special effects that gave the guests the feeling they were in the sky: Karl didn’t want ordinary chairs, no, his guests could take place in real “airplaine seats”, there were clouds passing by the windows and there were even carts with drinks that came by. Doesn’t this sound like one of the coolest fashion shows ever? :)

The first time I saw the pictures of this fashion show, I thought “What the hell was Karl thinking?!”. After seeing some backstage pictures, I changed my mind. I saw pictures that showed some details of the clothing - uhu, real craftmanship. Anyhow, some of the dresses really couldn’t enchant me, because of their linings. And oh, I had preferred not to see that re-invention of the iconical camelia flower. As for me it doesn’t fit in the theme of the collection… But hey, who am I? :)

(I took the back stage pictures from another blog:  http://elise-mary-yasmin-pellican.blogspot.com/2012/01/backstage-chanel-couture-s12.html)