C'est pas trop?

By Neslihan

I like how Scandinavian minimalism in fashion is always represented by sharp lines and plain fabrics. As if you can't be as tight in a floral or cubistic print. I get it, the look screams 'no nonsense' and a sort of Parisian 'je m'en fou'. It was never about ruffles, frills or femininity anyway. It's about clean lines, sleek cuts, perfect finish and modest fabrics. That truly is 'minimalism' summed up in a couple words. But we need optimism and bright colours. Let's bring in the chaos in our outfits and let us not fear dazzling prints. Let's embrace complexity and vertical lines. Don't be afraid to sport wavy cuts and push minimalism in totally different direction this season.


SIMPLICITY AT ITS FINEST:

Left: Osman Resort 2015

      Right: Chalayan Resort 2015

I feel like during summer it's way too hawt to accessorize. I sweat buckets so I can't deal with big ass chains, life size earrings and/or arm candy. I like it when my clothing speaks for itself. When you're all about simplicity and dressing down, you have to keep a number of things in mind. First is the quality of your clothes. Since you're not investing in jewelery, you might aswell pay a little more for your basics because we're talking about daily wear, so it's really important that the garment keeps its colour and shape after like you've worn it for a dozen of times. The second most important thing is subtlety. I know it's really hard not to be 'm'as tu vu' when you're about to mix your brightest shoes with your hot pink skirt but suck it in, will ya. You don't want #triedtoohard next to your instagram OOTD picture. You have to look like you haven't given two shits that day. So it's really important to keep the prints, colours and even shoes (we're talking icy metalics) down with this simple look. 

DRESSING DOWN WITH PRINTS:

Left: Stella McCartney Resort 2015

Right: 3.1 Phillip Lim Resort 2015

I know it's really hard to find simple prints for daily wear. prints are all about daring to be insanely out of your mind. When it comes to prints you shouldn't feel limited, you should feel as though polkadots and stripes do mix well together if you stay in the same colour palette. You should feel as though vertically striped clown pants really can be the chiquest thing ever if you take it down a notch and combine them with quirky shoes. While you're actually leveling down it is crucial that you do this with simple cuts, pure uni colour garments and this one's really important: NO ACCESSORIES. The only things that are allowed are a nice pair of shoes and a great minimalistic bag. No stitches, no visible pockets and no joyful details. Sacrifice your carnivalesque soul in order to become the sleek, icy queen you've always wanted to be.

HOW THINGS ESCALATE:

Left: Erdem Resort 2015

                  Right: Mary Katrantzou Resort 2015

You can tell this style report on minimalism is going the wrong way once florals pop in. The thing with florals is that it reminds be of this pure childish naïvité and it's time to get rid of that vibe. I'm not talking about wavy flower power and daisies in your hair. I'm talking business, sharp lines, clean cuts and stiff fabrics. I don't want the garment to be draped on my body, I want the garment to give me a different shape. I want the clothes to define my posture, movement and body language. I want to follow the direction it chooses for me, a kind of mechanic way of moving. I don't want to tuck in or accentuate my waist. I wanna be me without feeling like I have to be elegant and feminine. I want to wear florals and feel like a million bucks. That's why I'd totally get rid of that belt on the left picture because this look is all about a never ending couple of lines flowing into each other without breaking them by accentuating things.

The only way is up

By Neslihan

When I decided to blog today I thought I'd write something profound, something that keeps me busy. Something that frustrates me perhaps. I was determined to plunge into the deepest corners of my narcissistic soul but when I finally logged in I felt no urge to be connected to my negativity. I live in my mind and the activity never stops. It feels like I always have to move forward and when I don't it feels like a day not lived. But today I decided to keep myself busy with shallowness. I just wanna think something is pretty without having to justify it. Because not everyting in life is rocket science.

Renewed basics

Chique T-shirt: it's the easiest match with your pair of leather leggings or high-waist skirt. You can tuck it in or create boxy minimalistic silhouettes. It is completely up to you. But whatever you do, go for soft materials and dreamy digital prints.

Sophisticated sweater: why make things complicated if you can have it the easy way? Sweaters are for lazy days full of selfdoubt. It's okay to have coffee stains on it because although this says 'sophisticated', sophistication is the last thing on your mind.

Shop: http://fr.sandro-paris.com/

Shimmery cropped top: sport your unflat belly as much as you need to. It's not about shaming you, it's about shaming them who say you can't. That being said, I think this is the most perfect piece of garment I've seen over the past months. It's chique, it's quirky, it's girly. It has all the elments for the perfect babylicious outfit.

New white shirt: it's immortal, it's iconic and it's everything you want it to be. Sexy in 'Basic Instinct' but ridiculosly tomboyish in 'Pulp Fiction'. It's the most flexible clothing piece ever. You can't be underdressed, nor overdressed. It's a statement on its own. And from now on it's a polo, all buttoned up and see-through at the top.

Shop: http://www.zara.com/

Colour-blocking in 2014: it's not about screamy fluorescents anymore. It's about modesty and class. It's about playfulness but with the needed limits. And although it seems chaotic, there is a certain structure in its fit, design and lines. Sir Paul Smith always knows how to win my heart.

Classic black top: there is nothing as liberating as a basic black top. It seriously goes with everything. I like to pair it up with a pair of faded black jeans to get those minimalistic 90's vibes (favourite fashion decade ever). But this one doesn't only have the perfect fit but it's also the most flattering cropped top ever. Not to mention the perfect neck line.

Shops: 
http://www.paulsmith.co.uk/ (on the left)
http://www.net-a-porter.com/Shop/Designers/Stella_McCartney/Clothing?level3Filter=&pn=1&npp=60&image_view=product&dScroll=0 (on the right)

bck 2 skool

By Neslihan
It's actually crazy to realize how things can alter this quickly. I'm going through some huge changes in my life right now. Firstly summer is officially O-V-E-R. This means no bare legs (but fuck it), not shaving your legs (god bless) and the end of that sweet feeling of eternity (cry). Another thing is actually about me moving into another student flat due to some problems with my previous owner. And the last change is probably the biggest one: I'M STARTING UNIVERSITY, U GUYZ! I decided to study History since I'm really into it and since I aspire to become a real life encyclopedia. I'm looking forward to start my studies and I truly want to be fully drawn to it. Some friends who already go to uni have warned me that I will regret this very, very soon but what do they know, GOSH. (Arrogance should be seen as a virtue by the way.)
But let's talk about the end of summer. I mean it is my favourite season. I just love the "let's put on a sheer fabric and some pink clogs" kind of vibe. Of course I don't wear clogs, wish I had a pair of clogs and/or guts to pull that look off. But hey, I will get there. Aren't you the cutest thing everrr? I love the sun burning in my neck, not very fond of the incessant sweating and pasta pesto kind of smell when I do so but I love to eat strawberries in the local park and feel like I'm some kind of new wave hippie. And I know how self-centered this all sounds but that really is the purpose of my blog. Sorry, you don't feel it. What does cheer me up about this horrifying change of seasons is actually the fact that I can shop for a new, cosy coat. I guess everything has a 'bright' side except for killing your cat. (I'm sorry for this sadistic joke. I totally love cats) Here are a couple unaffordable models. Cry with me please.

It's 10 PM and I'm expected at the office. I run a huge fashion magazine and this Dior beauty is a gift since Raf and I aren't only fellow citizens but also BFs. I enter the building, get into the elevator and slam my coat on my assistant's desk. Very Miranda Priestly and a crazy fantasy of mine.

I feel like fake fur is the ultimate garment to wear to an haute couture fashion show and I do attend a lot of fashion shows since I'm the editor in chief. I wear this one to Van Noten's haute couture show because what's better than wearing his furry to his show? I love this one because it has the needed elegance but it also has this urban feel to it. Perfect for a stroll through Central Parc.

I wear Marni's dégradé coat to a rendez-vous at a Parisian café. My toyboy, who's also a model, and I are having a café latté and we talk about how crazy Marc (Jacobs DU-UH) actually is. My scarlet red lipstick stains on the coffee cup and we light up a cigarette. And Edith Piaf's 'La Foule' plays as we're about to kiss. Oh, all them clichés.

My girlfriends and I have decided to eat out at a super chique restaurant. You know, the one where you can personally order you 50$-burger (shamelessly decadent, I know). It's snowing outside and my toes are actually freezing in my bare toe Chanel pumps but my wool Prada coat is all I need to keep me warm.

This is my not-so-daily-daily coat. I wear it to gallery openings and movie premieres but also when I buy a bouqet of peonies at the local bio market. It's also the one, which appeals the most to me because of its manly fit and outstanding cut. Stella McCartney has actually designed this specially for me.

You're not buying this but neither am I. I'll stick to H&M or Zara due to my financial status 
:((()))

Pictures: style.com

Before buying any september issue; read this blogpost

By Neslihan
'September', that glorious month during which everything revolutionarily changes in 'the industry'. September in fashion world is like january amongst muggles. It's the time in a year during which you can start with a fresh conscience and it seems as if everything is possible. It's time to create new dreams and fantasies over which we bloggers, teenage girls and other well-dressed weirdoes obsess knowing we'll never own a Valentino dress or a pair of Chanel pumps. And 'the industry' feeds that fantasy. 'The industry' containing designers, PR, editors and their holy magazines --------> THE SEPTEMBER ISSUES. It's the kind of issue every fashion geek is waiting for after she has dumped her last sheer summer dress. She/he is delighted by the raw materials, big silhouettes and modest colours designers are showing her/him. And editors hype it like it's hot. Collection reviews, interviews, shoots, trend specials and a shit load of advertorials. All in all a heavy bible containig what's hot and what's not during the cold winter days. Since I'm a loyal buyer of those issues I thought it might be time to reveal 'the truth' behind the so-called 'September issue'.

DISCLAIMER: I am not actually revealing anything. So please skip if you were waiting for some groundbreaking, mind-shaking facts.

The first item that keeps on coming back in every editorial and/or trend special since Raf Simons' last collection for Jil Sander  is the statement coat. It's the kind of coat that will keep you warm during the harsh winter temperatures while adding a tat 'je ne sais quoi'. It's nonchalant yet classy but above all; it must be in cotton candy colours. And Elle Holland (SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2013, what did you expect?) shows us how varsatile it is. They style it in three different ways, showing you can be sweet or rather spicy in soft baby pinks. Don't be afraid and try to mix this piece with edgy prints, dusty browns and even with velvet. That's how -and I hate to use the word because it truly lacks glamour- functional this coat is. 

Those two models belong to the Carven RTW FW collection.

What I truly like about winter fashion is less colours and more greys, blacks and browns but that's not what this Hermès slash Alexander Wang collage is about. This one contains two and even three 'old' (read: past season) trends. The first trend is A-line skirting, the more volume underneath, the better. And the materials just don't matter: pleats, leather, velvet, silk. Movement is important though! Another thing that caught my eye in those two looks is the layering. I'm not talking about the blizzard kind of layering but about combining different items with each other while they first seem pretty unconventional. A classy skirt for example is an excellent match with a sporty sweater and trainers. Dress it up with heels at night and you got yourself a varsatile (yes, I'm going to over-use that one in this post) outfit.

 Another Item that keeps on re-appearing in every trend special is the biker jacket. It is edgy, boyish and very punky. It might look unflattering on first sight but you have to wear sheer and floaty fabrics underneath to create that feminine silhouette. Junya Watanabe (on the left) styles it with spicy red butcher pants and messy cake hair, while they create mystery at Givenchy (on the right) by pairing it up with black tones. Either way it looks sexy as hell and it is a timeless piece, you gotta trust me on that one.

You know the drill since the sixties. "WE ARE WOMEN. WE CAN WEAR PANTSUITS WHENEVER WE WANT AND WHEREVER WE WANT TO." But I guess we have past that stage so we have to keep on searching for our male side. In 2013 we do this by wearing oversized coats, pants and jumpers and if possible: all together. Stella McCartney (on the left) keeps it neutral by matching the royal coat with a pair of slim leg trousers in the same colour. That's how you keep the silhouette subtle, yet very powerful. Haider Ackermann chooses a more artsy aproach by pairing up the amazing blazer with flares.

Miranda Priestly would probably not agree on this one but florals are a classic. The season is irrelevant and they have my undying love. It's the only print that creates this instant summer vibe. And excess is the only answer for this one. Combine it with other florals or graphic prints, it creates this unseen dimension. It's an utterly girly print though so how do you keep it grown-up? Simple, you get your own bombastic floral coat and you style it up with a printed pair of trousers and a pair of classy brogues (Dries Van Noten on the left). You're good to go. For the Lolita vibe: enter Erdem FW RTW 2013-2014 (on the right)

'NEW' TRENDS new-new-new-new-new-new-new

There actually are new trends on the catwalks and therefore also in magazines. Grunge is that big thing this season. I've read countless articles about the 'REVIVAL OF GRUNGE' and 'GRUNGE IS NOT DEAD' and 'OMGEE KURT COMBAIN IS A STYLE ICON'. They're overdoing it (as usual) and they'll forget about it asap. But at this moment the next cool thing is grunge: that means florals and tartans mixed all together and ripped stockings with biker boots. Very predictable and teenagy but hey, a trend slut like you embraces everything.

Givenchy on the left and Yves Saint Laurent on the right. Eventhough I think this is too ordinary and too high street to be Saint Laurent.It captures the idea though.

This one is personally my favourite. It's unerwear meets pajamas. Soft silks and lacy bras that caress your skin during dark winter days. That's how being a woman feels like but this trend is more than that. It's about showing what you got underneath by wearing your sexy bra as top, which is quite scary because the amount of nudity is huge. So this trend is only for the Rachel Zoes and Nicole Richies amongst us. The picture on the left though shows us something completely different. It's about wearing your pajamas outdours and creating this relaxed vibe. It looks elegant yet laid back. Even though this looks as a simple concept, it asks for a shit load of guts to pull this one off because you don't wanna look like Bridget Jones.

Both looks are from the Louis Vuitton FW RTW 2013-2014 collection.

PS I'M NOT SORRY FOR THE AMOUNT OF LINKS IN THIS BLOGPOST

PPS I KNOW YOU HAVEN'T READ THE FULL ARTICLE WHICH IS A SHAME ON YOU

"Oh em gee, she's fooling around with paint!" part two

By Neslihan

The other day I got bored and played with paint again. It's this childish joy that makes me wanna play with it. And since I had stored fuckloads of pictures on my hard drive, I thought, why not? That's how I ended up writing things like 'pastel tears',  'you make my heart go boom, boom, boom' and something about pompons. Free time is dangerous and those pictures are the ultimate proof of that. Please do not mind my ugly hand writing. Just enjoy the pics and share your thoughts.

 I think Vogue Japan has the most amazing photoshoots. They just don't set boundaries but it never gets irrelevant, ugly, or stupid. This is the fashionable version of a goofy cat lady.

I am so in love with this transparency trend. You've seen Simone Rocha do it but a little more recent on this blog were MMM's transparent shoes. I don't know who these shorts belong to but they're freakin' awesome.

 When I first saw Azealia Banks in a magazine, I didn't know who she was. Was she a singer? Or was she a model? I still don't know who she is but I've heard that she's a singer. What I do know is that the dress on the picture is a total delight, the colour, the collar, the glitters, the pompons and the SHOES are amazing! Adoring this look.

 I hope you're listening (or reading in your case) attentively right now. I'd like to intoduce you an upcomming talent: Loza Maléombho. A NY based fashion designer who has created the most ethnic F/W 2013 collection of the year. The fabrics are rich and colourful. It's African culture splashed on dresses, skirts, tops and pants. And it's 100 % wearable.

 I've got a thing for masculine shoes and I cannot help it. This blue'ish pair, belonging to Marc Jacobs (F/W 2013) is just perfect but it's an impossible love story since this is is a part of the men's collection and they won't have a size 38 and even if they had, it probably costs hundreds upon hundreds of Euros.

 In the other post I had mentioned a pastel puke jumper, well this is it. Any one who hasn't done charity this year? You can invest in me by giving me this fabulous Stella McCartney jumper.

For once and for all: Riccardo Tisci is the whizzkid of fashion (along with some other favourites of mine). It doesn't matter what he does (haute couture/ prêt à porter) or when he does it (fall/winter, spring/summer, cruise), he nails it every friggin' time. And that counts for both the men's and women's line. Givenchy cruise 2013.

The new formality is slightly informal

By Neslihan

I've totally lost count of the fashion shows: cruise, resort, haute couture, prêt à porter and all the others inbetween. That's why I'm not even going to bother to write an extensive 'report' about all those shows, I'm only going to focus on a few of them. And today I'm focusing on Roberto Cavalli's cruise 2013 collection. It's funny actually because Roberto is kind of a tacky designer but he's gaining my love with every collection he creates. (Remember this post?)
I can't tell you enough how much in love I am with printed pants. They have to be bright, outstanding and comfortable to make me wear 'em. Those pants cheer me up in an instant and that's why it's such a joy to wear those. Mister Cavalli however has taken things to the next level. He has created pantsuits in the most divine colours and ab fab (-couldn't help myself-) prints. Instead of wearing white or black pantsuits, why don't you try a printed version for once? I promise you'll love it.
Roberto's pantsuits are inbetween formality and casualness. The cut is sleek and polished but the prints are playful and all over the place. Or you can create a balance by wearing a plain white or one-coloured shirt in the blazer or you can go nuts by combining the pants with other prints. So, the next time you're invited to a wedding or chique get together don't go for a dress but get yourself a crazy pantsuit. You'll be noticed, that's for sure.

 Your pajamas revised

 A girl has to get her daily flower boost

 Not your average black suit

 Feeling all blue

You've got the flare

No blazer involved

 That collar is absolutely amazing

Pleated pants are the next thing

(also spotted at Céline)

P.S. I'm so in love with Stella McCartney's cruise collection. You've got to see the pastel jumpers.

Pictures: vogue.fr