These jewels I’ve found

I don’t know what’s up with me. Going on an eight-hour shopping spree and finding nothing clothes-wise. And then going on another spree for 5 hours the week after that and still nothing. If my feet weren’t so sore, I would believe it was all a dream. Which it was not since my feet hurt like hell.

Nothing I saw in the stores really impressed me. Usually, I’m like: Ooh, so cute! Pretty, pretty. Gorgeous. Need to try this on. This is beautiful! But that time I just thought: Seen this, seen that. Ugh, ugly color. Who wears this? Boring, boring. Next store, please.

Whenever I can’t find any clothes I like I tend to go for jewelry. There’s always pretty jewelry to swoon over. You know those small stores where they sell nothing but cute fashion jewelry and accessories? Paradise. I’m partial to earrings because you can wear them with everything. Unlike necklaces where you always need to think about the neckline.

1) When I was in the UK I found those amazing brilliant red earrings at Topshop. They were absolutely breathtaking. I didn’t buy them and regretted it ever since. These red ones captivated me with their sleek lines and firy color. Simple but very eye-catching. Looks especially nice with black hair and red lipstick!

2) This necklace looks stunning around my neck but even better as headband. It has the perfect length for my head and all I need to do is securing it with bobby pins. Done! I just go and pretend to be an everyday princess.

3) Pure elegance. These rosy peachy earrings go with anything and add a touch shine to any look. Fun fact: The flowers can fully rotate.

4) We’ve seen a lot of ear cuffs and ear wraps hit the stores. This one took me some time to figure out how to wear it but it looks amazing. Just like a bejeweled earpiece!

Thinking about green

It’s pretty much impossible for me to pass a jewelry store without throwing a longing glance at the display window. More often than not, I end up not only looking at the pieces from outside but from the inside. Fortunately, it’s mostly fashion jewelry, and fortunately, in most cases that’s all I do. Just admiring and satisfying my hunger for beauty and bling. I’m happy to have seen it but I don’t have to buy and own it.

At the train station where I change trains, there’s a small store that sells fashion jewelry. I love this store. The jewelry is sorted by color and it’s a pleasure to browse through the assortment since I’m drawn to specific colors. I like blue and green and purple whereas red and black and white leave me cold. It was in that store where I found a pair of stunning earrings in light green. So pretty! I left the store but couldn’t stop thinking about the earrings. Nights were spend mulling over them and in the end I walked into the store (not the one where I discovered them) and bought them. They were irresistible! With my dark hair they really stand out. And green looks lovely paired with purples and blues and greens. (I’m thinking of the dresses I purchased during the after-Christmas sales but that’s another story.)

Mirror, mirror in my pocket

One of the things I dreaded most when I got into make up were panda eyes – smeared mascara and eyeliner. Quel horreur! Nowadays I’ve got my friends and family trained to tell me if that happens (trust me, that involved a lot of training!). And I got my trusty pocket mirror.

Well, three actually. One on my desk where I do my make up since I’m blind as bat without my glasses and need my mirror super close to my eyes. One in my bag, so that I can prevent panda eyes and touch up my lipstick. And one that stays in my make up pouch all the time so that I never forget bringing a mirror with me on travel. That happened once and it was really aggravating.

DIY: Make a choker, take a bracelet

Bracelets are impractical. On my right wrist they get in my way when I’m writing.On my left wrist they always bump against my watch. So, yes, I believe that I’m not made to wear bracelets.

But chokers, on the other hand, are lovely. I find it’s incredibly sensual and attractive when there is a necklace hugging the neck, sitting above the collarbone, emphasizing the long lines. But chokers are also incredibly hard to find in jewelry stores.

One day I was perusing bracelets in a store. They were so pretty! Much prettier than the necklaces sold there. Sadly, I can’t stand to wear bracelets. But I really wanted this one bracelet and I wanted to wear it. But not on my wrist. So we’re here, turning a bracelet into a choker.
You need:

• a bracelet
• a strong string like nylon

1. Twist the jump ring open so that the chain isn’t connected to the bracelet anymore.
2. Take the string and tie to the bracelet and to the chain.
3. Now put your new choker around your neck and admire your handiwork.

DIY: Earring holder

All my live I’ve had white walls in my bedroom. And I hated them with passion. White is so nondescript, boring. While my parents and my brother got lovely green and blue wall colors I got stuck with white because of Feng Shui. And even at my new place I’ve got white walls! It was exasperating! But who am I to let it get me down. So here is a tutorial for an earring holder, that adds color to terrible white walls.

You need:

• a frame
• nylon string
• adhesive tape

Instructions:

1. Take your frame and remove the back and front, you’ll only need the actual frame. Decide which side will hang horizontally.
2. Cut three pieces of nylon string which are about 10cm longer than the horizontal side. Braid them and knot the end. Tie each end to the frame so that you get a horizontal line. Secure with adhesive tape to prevent the braid to slip down.
3. Cut a piece of nylon string and knot one end around the top part of the frame. Use the other end to hang up the frame.

There you have it! Your earring holder is finished and ready to hold all your colorful earrings. Put them in by pushing the hook or stud through your braided strings. That ensures that your earrings won’t fall off that easily. I added bright ribbons to the frame as well as a long necklace. In addition, I have lots of flower barrettes which I stuck to the nylon string. Very pretty! This earring holder is perfect for storing your fashion jewelry, it’s useful and decorative. As for you genuine and expensive jewelry I wouldn’t recommend it.

The story behind the scarf

We love stories. Especially good ones. And we are curious. Where does that come from? Who made this? Where did you buy this? Ever read a perfume advertisement? They tell you amazing and colorful stories about the fragrance but you should take them with a grain of salt.

Then what’s the story behind the scarf? The boring and honest answer would be something like this: I found it in a thrift store. It was  only 2.50€ and I liked the print so I grabbed it and paid. At home I discovered a tear at one corner, which was quickly fixed with a bit of sewing.

Now with more imaginativeness and enthusiasm: I found this at a thrift store. I was about to pay when I discovered a box with items that were 2.50€ each. Why not? Maybe you’ll find something nice!, I thought. And there was this really long scarf with this lovely  and exotic print and it was only 2.50€! For this amount of money you can’t get something that pretty in an ordinary store. At home I wondered – whom did it belong to? I’ve never seen such a long scarf. Maybe it belonged to an Indian, which wore it as a sari? Or was it worn as a head cloth? And how did this beautiful scarf end up at that store? Did the previous owner sell it because she needed money? Or didn’t she want it anymore? Did she tear that corner and decided to part with it? I guess, those are question which will be left unanswered. As for me, I love wearing this scarf with my grey coat. It’s such a romantic look!

Print and boots, boots and print

The stores are having sales everywhere! Seriously, it’s impossible to walk down a street or even to read newspaper without seeing  ads announcing sales. I love this time of the year. You can buy new stuff for less money than usual. Besides, a lot stores offer additional discount when you reach a certain amount of articles.

My favorite places to shop during sales so far are Charles Vögele and Deichmann. Vögele does target more mature customers but there are three things older ladies do very well: Scarves, handbags and prints. I found this lovely dress there, marked down from 35€ to 10€! And since my brother got two tops there as well, we received additional 10% discount. Great! That makes 9€ for the dress and I saved 74%. Isn’t the print to die for? Such fine details.

The other place I make sure to visit during sale time is Deichmann. Buy two pair of shoes and save 50% on the lower priced one. Or get three pairs and the cheapest one is free! A brilliant deal when the family needs new shoes. I fell in love with a pair of black boots and even though they do not fit around the calves (but this does have a certain charm) I purchased them. Worn together with the dress, the boots add a harder touch to the look.

Poised for prom

In a couple of years I will open my photo album and I want to be able to say: “I looked good at prom!” Prom is one of the most exciting events when it comes to graduation and everyone wants to look their best. Girls discuss potential dancing partners, get an appointment with their hairdresser, obsess over dresses months before.

So how did I do? I’ve been interning for two months in a place where one could choke on the testosterone in the air. Furthermore, ugly, ill-fitting, boring working clothes didn’t help me to feel pretty, either. Well, when prom arrived I was ready to go all out and ooze femininity!

When putting together looks I always think of colors first, I love contrast. For prom I settled on three main colors:

 

Black. LBD, the little black dress. One can never go wrong with this. I bought mine years ago but fortunately, it still fits. Money saved! I dislike spending much on things that I can only wear once or twice. Tight at the top, which emphasizes a slim waist, the dress flares at the bottom. A flattering cut for slender women.

White. Black and white is a classic and so chic. Besides, going all black with my hair and dress can be a bit too much. White flowers pinned onto the dress and into the hair create focus and soften the look in a romantic way. Pearls add an elegant finish.

Red. When I first began to envision my prom look I instantly knew that I wanted to go for red lips. I even bought the lipstick in January although the prom was in July! And I think that it looks great with black and white.

Black, white, red: Seeing a theme? No? How about black as ebony, white as snow and red as blood? Ringing any bells? This color scheme is such a classic and looks so well put together.

In the end, it’s all about who you want to be that one night.The pretty, sweet princess with the nude make up? Or is the elegant queen with the dramatic make up more to your liking? Don’t be afraid to try something new! It is your night, after all.

Fuchsia, let’s become friends!

This pair of ear studs are a find at the dollar store. I was looking at the jewelry section – rather out of habit than because of hoping to find anything – when I saw it next to other jewelry looking as cheap as their price. These ear studs don’t. The big fuchsia stone reminds me of Yves Saint Laurent Arty Ring. The subtle glitter was an instant love but I wasn’t sure about the color since I’ve never had such bright-colored ear studs. At home I pulled out some clothes that I could possibly with my new purchase.

Turquoise and mint sprung immediately into my mind since they are perfect for a summer look with bright fuchsia. Rich and calm blue is also a color that pairs beautifully with this color.  And kiwi green and fuchsia are a fruit salad to wear.

The bottom row shows nothing new: bright color looks always good with neutrals like grey, greyish brown and of course, black. No surprise here. Fuchsia isn’t that difficult to wear!

Welcoming the warmth of summer’s welcome

Last week I went out to buy some ingredients for my blueberry Swiss roll. Since I haven’t left the house for quite some time (busy with preparing for the oral examination or better – pretended to be) I just couldn’t figure out what to wear. Was it already warm enough to ditch my light jacket for summer, warm enough for short sleeves?  I was never good at matching clothes to the weather and the temperature. In the end I went for a thin long-sleeved purple shirt. And after just a couple of meters I already began to sweat. It was so hot! In addition to my incapability of judging the weather my house is very good at keeping away the coldness of winter and the summer heat so can’t really tell the temparature from inside.

Getting back from the supermarket I knew it was time to pull out my favorite clothing pieces for summer.

Left: Bright bright red! I love to joke that whenever I might get lost somewhere I’m going to wear this dress. There’s no way anyone could overlook this color. A photo of me wearing it can be found here. It’s a bit big around the waist therefore I like to pair it with a floral  belt, which takes back some harshness.

Middle: This dress is the opposite of the prior. It’s good and safe for whenever I need to look put together and nice. Fits lots of styles. I bought it on my trip to England.

Right: My mother handed me down this green dress with lots of tiny white dots. It looks lovely paired with an exotic pink flower brooch. When I wear it I feel like I’m on a permanent vacation on some nice island, with orchids in my hair, pineapples and coconuts everywhere.

Left: The first skirt I bought myself. Since black looks good with nearly every color a black skirt is easy to wear. Love the floral print on the front but I expected better quality from Zero. A stitching went loose and I had to sew it back.

Right: My favorite skirt when I don’t have the time and the nerves to worry about wrinkles. The fabric is very soft thus wrinkles aren’t an issue. The skirt looks good with a tight top. I like to wear it with a teal blue t-shirt and add white and red flower brooches on the waistband.

Left: Whenever I want something more formal, more chic or when I want to pretend to be some classy lady playing golf I choose this one. The print with its dots makes me think of flowers painted in the impressionism style.

Middle: I’m very easy when it comes to bottoms. Blue jeans, blue jeans and occasionally a skirt or shorts. I admit, quite boring. The fact that I freeze easily and that I hate freezing may be the reason why I don’t own more that two pairs of shorts.  This one here makes my legs look longer than they are (with some high heels) and I think together with the top at the left it makes a lovely look.

Right: I rely on this shirt when it’s unbearably hot but I don’t want to show too much skin. Or when I want to put an emphasis on  my Asian heritage and looks. Again I like it in combination with a pair of shorts.