Wearing Leopard the Right Way

Leopard Print. I came to love this spotted (fake!) fur some time ago, when I started getting into Korean music, where I saw the artists wear it. My mom used to say: "Don't buy such a print! Or any animal print!", so I didn't. For anybody that admires it as much as I do, you must know this struggle as well: leopard quickly looks very tacky. Usually (over here) it's the loose girls wearing such prints, causing it to become a print that is frowned upon. That's such a shame, really. I listed some designer pieces of which I think display leopard in a non-tacky way. It's not that hard, because they know how to make it happen.

Maltese NORMCORE

"Extravagant, us? Forget about it! At least, for now."

The term normcore can be used to indicate 'apparently perfectly normal garments' such as boyfriendjeans, the man suit and Stan Smith-sneakers. I first heard this term last week, while reading the introduction by the, apparently, brand new chief editor of the Dutch ELLE Hilmar Mulder in the August 2014 issue. It might refer to all that is normal (obviously) and all that is usual and common.

Top: Bershka / Headband: B.A.P Live On Earth 2014 / Slippers: Rainbow

But what exactly is 'normal behaviour' anyways? I used to think that what we accept as acting 'normal' towards eachother didn't really exist anywhere in general. Oh, how wrong I was about that.

It was one of the first things I noticed after touching down on Malta International Airport.

The people of Malta are the most normal people I have ever had the pleasure to encounter. I mean this in a positive way. Among the things that is considered 'normal behaviour' are probably things such as being friendly to strangers, being friendly to customers when you are a member of staff in restaurants and shops, be helpful when somebody asks you something, not being pushy when you are trying to sell something and being tolerant and social in traffic. We all know this, don't we? But in reality, a lot of people aren't friendly when somebody comes up to them to ask a question, the shop assistants could use a smile or two, salesmen trying to stuff your nose with stuff for 'cheap price' and don't get me started on traffic. I have seen even the most tolerant people become agressive animals when they are driving a car. But not the people of Malta.

à l'improviste

Blouse: Style Nanda / Pants: Vero Moda / Boots: ZARA Trafaluc

I had to learn à l'improviste in my French class recently. It can be translated in English like 'unexpected'. This is the order from Style Nanda I talked about in my previous post. It took quite some time to arrive, about 4 weeks. I was sleeping on the bed with my cat when suddenly the bell rang. It was the post office man with a box for me! I also got a cute and pretty purple nail polish from the 3 Concept Eyes series as a gift. I am super satisfied with the blouse and I think it's really pretty.

Step In The Arena

Top: Y.A.S / Jeans: type 3301 by G-Star RAW / Shoes: ZARA Trafaluc

Last saturday, two of my friends and I attended the annual international graffiti festival "Step In The Arena". This year, it was part of a new urban-culture festival called "e-moves". Since e-moves came to our school and gave some dance demonstrations during lunchtime, we decided we wanted to see what it is all about. Another friend of mine (who previously helped me with the photoschoot that was held at the same location as the SITA festival) did a project about it, and said it was definetly worth visiting.

Street art is truly everywhere these days. Not only graffiti, but also the use of posters and stickers, live performers and decoration of trees etc. I have never really taken a close look to how graffiti artists work. Most of the time, it's illegal, so the artists have to perform at night. Because SITA is fully legal, we could see the artists at work. There are so many different styles: from comic, to galaxy, to realistic, to colorblocking and more. There is nothing better than watching artists creating the magic right in front of you. 

WebFind - Refinery29

Our Mission
To be the #1 new-media brand for smart, creative and stylish women everywhere.

That's a pretty solid goal right there. A little while ago I stumbled onto this adorable blog website called Refinery29. Back in the day (about half a year ago...) when I was collecting new blogs and news websites regarding life and style, I just blindly saved it in my favorites list because I thought it looked kind of cute. Lately, I have been paying a lot more attention to the websites I saved up back then and read the newest articles, if interesting, every morning or afternoon. I have now found out that I cannot live without this website anymore. It has basically everything I like: witty articles, fashion and style reports, DIYs, (for me) relevant information and tips/tricks and advice that I can actually use in my life.

source

Weekly Style Steal - Taeyang @ M!Countdown

After four years of solo silence, South-Korea's R&B king Dong Youngbae, better known as Big Bang's Taeyang, has made his return with a new album called RISE. As it is customary in SK's Kpop industry, he is currently performing on several music shows to promote this album and it's songs. And so he did on this weeks show called M!Countdown, where he performed his Intro, the song "Eyes, Nose, Lips" as well as "1AM".

I have been a VIP (official fan-name for the group Big Bang) for some time now, and I have always adored Taeyang's style. On top of that, we share the love for black and Chanel. I imagine he reaches for his black (meaning unlimited in Korea) creditcard quite often, since he is basically made out of Chanel or Saint Laurent a lot of times. For those of us that can't afford it, but still want the captivating-cool-charismatic-idgaf-dancer look; let's steal his style.

The Road Home

Who doesn't dream of living in the big city once in their life? Residents of highly populated and popular areas such as New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Seoul... Do they even think about it from time to time? How lucky they are, that they have all of my favorite shops and that they can attend the best events without having to pay a €35 train fee and travel for 2,5 hours or more?

I know for a fact that I will be living in one of these cities one day, regardless of what I decide to take on as my profession. Something about urban culture is so extremely fascinating that I keep getting drawn to it, no matter where I go. I don't need hiking through mountains or endless afternoons by the pool on a distant camping; I'd rather have a city to discover. But, you know, let's not lie about it: it is not happening anytime soon. I must finish highschool first, find a decent place to get my bachelor in whatever and collect the money and courage to move. This will be in about 2 to 3 years (if everything goes as planned).
Now, that's not even that long, but in the meantime, I'm still stuck here. Don't mistake me for living in some countryside village or residing in the middle of no where; I do live near an acceptible city, but it's still too small for me.

Sunshine On A Cloudy Day

SNS: Shameless Narcissistic Self-advertising & How to Selca-Right

A term I came across in several songs and TV-shows: S.N.S meaning Social Networking Sites. Of course, when you're a little creative, a little frustrated and a tad agitated, you can make this abbreviation into something completely different. This doesn't mean the abbrev I created is all lies of course. I daren't do it, but just tap on that Instagram app (go on, it even rhymes) and search for the hashtag selfie. I'm pretty sure you'll find millions, if not billions, of pictures people took of themselves. Even though Ellen Degeneres takes the cake when it comes to selfies; I mean, who hasn't seen the Oscars selfie, all of us Busy Social Bees update our profiles everyday with more of ourselves.

WebFind - StyleNanda.com

Quirky cotton candy-land mixed with the South-Korean custom style and a pinch of tomboy: the recipe behind the ultra-hip webstore StyleNanda.com. As a fan of South-Korean pop culture, it was by accident I came accross this website. I had seen it's name here and there, but it was during watching Running Man, a Korean variety show, in the west probably known as a game-show with celebrities, that my eye was drawn to a bright pink-banana combi advertisement that tempted me to click on it.

I'm always on the lookout for cool new stores to shop at. If they have good deals and I have some pocket money, I'll be your girl. StyleNanda apparently recently opened what they call their flagship store in Hongdae, a district in South-Korea's capital Seoul, and appear to have several in-store boutiques accross Korea. 

Weekly Style Steal - Joan Smalls @ CFDA Awards

On a side note: “I know it has been done before!”
Occasionally, I speak to myself in prose, even when there are others around that might call me slightly mentally ill. But I know it. It has been done many times before, this entire style-steal thing. So, how to keep it interesting? Simply by converting the latest show-styles into daily wear and introducing the fashionistas you hoped you were born as, but have never heard of.

It was that time of the year again. Well, maybe not for me, a rookie that just came gazing around the corner when it comes to high-fashion and designer-frenzy, but definetly for the rest of the fashion-friendly world that knows all about it: the big deal that is called The Council of Fashion Designers of America awards. At this funny annual get-together, a lot of fashion’s greatest all-stars we’re there.
But I probably don’t have to tell you that, now, do I?