Innocense Lost

By Neslihan

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I feel like Lana Del Rey always captures this suburban melancholia, a place between hopelessness and forgotten ambition. A place between dreaming and surviving. A place where the future doesn't excist, it's about the now and here and tomorrow's another story. It's the moment, it's an instance of youthful recklessness. It's about falling and messing up inexcusably because we're young. Because we know we can go wrong at 18 knowing we'll be conformist adults at 33. And that somehow is a sad yet comforting (?) thought.
It's like the 60's generation. They all did drugs and alcohol. They were rebellious and were almost against everything but at 40 they had a job, a house, kids, two dogs and a car. They turned into conformists and forgot about capitalism, feminism, the Vietnam war. And I think that's what Lana Del Rey tried to show us because no one's gonna take her soul away, she's living like Jim Morrison.

And I have created a couple of outfits to accompany that vibe. I tried to incorporate black in every outfit because that's just the chiquest colour to wear and because I hardly wear anything else. I also wanted gold, roses and underwear with screamy logos. I felt like staying close to the 90's vibe, hence Calvin Klein and that ying yang necklace. And deep burgundies were also absolutely necessary to create that extra dimension of drama.

Neon Oasis

By Neslihan

Once upon a lifetime you see a picture that makes life worth living. That inspires you and challenges you to look at things differently. But sometimes you see a whole photoshoot that controls every angle of your brain. It's the colours, the setting, the model and how graceful she poses. When all of those things are in balance you get one hell of a photoshoot. A tableau vivant, with an amazing amount of energy that could become alive any instant. You just have to believe in it. Believe in the bright blue sky, believe it when she stares in the unlimited distance. 

 I had never heard of Kinee Diouf's name before I saw this photoshoot but how beautiful does she look? She looks like a pilar of strength. And her grace just turns this picture in a majestic painting. Also note how strongly she looks like Grace Jones on this picture. And she's rocking the abundance of colours, materials, lengths and light.

She looks like an elegant giant on the picture above but here you see how tiny she is when sitting on the camel. Also loving the floaty pink and orange fabrics. How delightful do they look with the sky?

 

Love how she poses, she really uses her body to bring the message across.

What a royal dress. The queen wears purple. Please do note her gorgeous lipstisck!

(© Issey Miyake)

I've created two little outfits in order to accompany this neon mood:

Outfit 1: Brunch with Charles

 Outfit 2: Cocktail with Barry

Collages: made it myself on polyvore

Pictures: 'Neon Oase' Vogue NL July 2013 -styling: Marije Goekoop

                                               -photograhy: Ishi

Let there be a game without rules

By Neslihan
I feel like I'm becoming more consistent on this blog. As if I've reached my temporary destination. Notice how I consciously said 'temporary' as I don't believe a person can have ONE eternal style, unless your name is Anna Piaggi, Karl Lagerfeld or Rei Kawakubo. Unless you've become a cult figure. But I do believe one has a thing in his/her outfit that keeps on appearing. My thing for example is this sort of uncoordinated childishness, that laid-backness and tamed quirkiness. Lately I've been obsessing over a pair of sporty trainers (see previous post) and I discovered they really are versatile. You just have to think out of the box and experiment because the new casualness demands a dash of sportiness. And you choose how to fill that up; whether it's a pair of trainers or a T-shirt, anything goes. It creates this amazing clash between the chic and the sportiness. As if you're saying: "Hey, lighten up, it's only fashion." Just the way I like it.

And that easy laid-backness is exactly what I found in Ashish Gupta's S/S '13 collection. He translated lazy quirkiness into grey sweaters, sweat pants, white trainers, oversized withe shirts and lots of denim. But he also added some tule and glitters to make the totality look a little feminine. Maybe 'feminine' isn't the right word though, maybe I should've said 'girly' because the models remined me of rebellious school girls, you know the kind that leads a whole army of girls and smokes in front of the school gate . Her hair looks messy but she works it anyway. She's effortless, as the unbuttoned shirts are telling us, she's playful but above all she's a ruler.

Moschino Cheap and Chic's collection on the other hand had this childish naiveté with a sparkle of classiness. There were pineapple prints, bright pinks, shiny embellishment and sky high platforms but there was this kind of sporty balance, hence the trainers, the see-through tracksuit and the fishnet shirts. I love how the trainers break the elegance in the last outfit but also how they contribute to this classy, nerdy style. Can we also take a minute to admire that pineapple-shaped bag? This collection is very 'Lolita meets tomboy' but the emphasis lies on 'Lolita' of course. 

The concrete jungle wakes up its own soul

By Neslihan
Summer hour has been set, which ends our winter blues partly. More sun equals a better mood. Don't you just love that feeling of having a lot of time to do the stuff you really like? It feels like an unlimitied sea of possibilities. Even though spring has arrived a short time ago, we weren't getting anything but snow and harsh temperatures. I don't know what the weather forecast is giving us for the next days but I'm hoping for the best because I'm just that optimistic. Winter definitely isn't my season, nor clothing wise, nor complexion wise. I just love the impression of having a sparkling skin when the sun appears. I might be in a springy mood mentally, I can't go all the way though because this is Belgium. And you know how Belgian weather is. Or you don't, well, let me explain. I'm talking about an amazing day filled with sun, that ends abruptly because of the angry rain gods. You have to be prepared for everything, so sandals are out of the question, you don't want them to be soaking wet. That's why I've created three looks that are based on three amazing pairs of trainers, showing you they really are varsatile.

This look was inspired by Paul Smith's spring/summer campaign. I just loved the red and the soft pink together. Since you can't wear skirts or dresses without stockings I just thought why not wear splashy red suit pants to cheer ourself up? I wanted to break the polished and classy vibe by adding up New Balance trainers and cool shades.
WEARING:
Shirt: Paul Smith
Pants: Zara
Sunglasses:  sarahaghili.com
Trainers: New Balance
Watch: Michael Kors

This look is for the casual sporty girls who don't care whether their hair's looking all neat. This dress is ideal for a walk in the concrete jungle. It's an extremely simple cut but the print adds up to this dress' amazingness. I've been dying to own a pair of Air Maxes and I've found the perfect pair yesterday, might buy that one! Since you can't leave your house without a coat these days, I've chosen for a jean jacket. The leather sleeves make the totality look edgier.
WEARING
Dress: Topshop
Jacket: Rag & Bone
Trainers: Air Max Nike
Nail polish: Nars

I'm in awe with this one because isn't it amazing how well those classic and urban pieces go together? We're talking about a 50's Dior dress and Adidas trainers, you guys! Gold and burgundy are a great duo and I like how chunky it looks with the elegant dress. Oh Polyvore, I love you.
WEARING
Dress: Dior
Necklace: Ben Amun
Gloves: Haider Ackerman
Trainers: Adidas