Category Archives: Lifestyle

Exploring fashion and design in Antwerp

September 19, 2013Inspiration, Lifestyle, Shopping, Style, TravelAnn Demeulemeester, Antwerp, Antwerp shopping, Antwerp Six, Anwerp fashion, Belgium, Dries Van Noten, Travelloveyourstyleblog

For a small historic European city with medieval architecture Antwerp is surprisingly cool and avant-garde. Belgium’s second largest city and Europe’s second largest port, Antwerp is rightfully referred to as the fashion capital ever since the 1980s when it was put on the international fashion map by the “Antwerp Six”, six Belgian fashion designers – Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Marina Yee, Dirk Bikkembergs, Walter Van Beirendonck and Dirk Van Saene – who graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and shook the fashion world with their avant-garde designs. Today, the Royal Academy in Antwerp is one of the best in the world. And this, in my opinion, has a major impact on this small city and its eclectic style.

I discovered Antwerp in 2000 when I moved to Belgium. One thing I immediately noticed was Antwerp’s very distinct character and attitude that makes it stand out among all other Belgian cities in term of atmosphere and style. Antwerp’s style is bolder, brighter, edgier. For years, I have been visiting Antwerp like a local. First, when I lived in Brussels, I went there for shopping or clubbing, two things Antwerp is known for in Belgium. Then, after I moved to London, I came back regularly to visit friends. But during these visits I rarely took the time to explore the city, as it often happens with cities we know, preferring house parties and dinners to discovering new places. So this year I decided to see this beautiful and vibrant city as a first time visitor.

There are many reasons to visit Antwerp: classical Flemish art, beautiful architecture – from medieval to baroque to art deco and modern – vibrant café culture and nightlife, delicious food, chocolate and, for some, hundreds of varieties of Belgian beer.

I went to Antwerp several weeks ago intending to explore its unique fashion and design scene and get fresh style ideas. By “fashion scene” I don’t mean high street shopping; Belgian fashion often resembles creations of art and shopping is similar to walking into art galleries.

My Antwerp shopping experience definitely felt more like a gallery crawl. Most of the fashion scene is clustered in and around Nationalestraat, where Dries Van Noten’s Het Modepaleis (Nationalestraat 16) is located. His beautifully designed hand finished pieces decorated with feathers and embroidery gave me an impression I was in a Belle Époque period shop.

Dries Van Noten's embellished pieces — Dries Van Noten’s embellished pieces

Ann Demeulemeester’s shop is a dramatic space in monochrome colours with an occasional splash of colour breaking into the black and while palette from one of the clothes rails – a completely different feel to van Noten’s boutique.

Ann Demeulemeester's creations — Ann Demeulemeester’s creations

Anwerp has several very interesting concept stores. I came across one of them – Seven Rooms – completely by accident. Bright and spacious, this is the space where I could easily spend an afternoon looking through carefully selected pieces by international fashion designers, beautiful furniture, and even food and wine.

Another beautiful concept store worth a visit is 13 GraanMarkt. It also has a lovely restaurant inside.

If you are planning to visit Antwerp I highly recommend going to these shops, if only to look at design and fashion as creation of art. If your budget does not allow you to buy avant-garde creations of the famous Belgian designers, but you are keen to add a bit of Antwerp style to your wardrobe, try these shops.

Essentiel, Antwerp fashion brand that for me really reflects the city’s bold, colourful, sometimes edgy style.

Jutka and Riska, a boutique in trendy South part of Antwerp selling a mix of vintage, own design by the shop owners and creations by young designers along with accessories and occasional interior design pieces.

On Lombardenvest (one of the streets off Nationalestraat) you will find a good selection of European labels, such as A.P.C., Les petites…, Fillipa K, Acne, Maison Sctoch.

Taking a break from shopping (or visiting design spaces as I call it) is easy with a vast choice of cafes in nearly every street.

At night, head to Marnixplaats, a square in trendy Anwerp Zuid (South) area. It has a very lively restaurant and bar scene where stylish locals meet for a bite to eat and drinks.

Sunday, when most shops are closed, is a good day to visit Antwerp’s museum. Recently opened MAS museum in the port area with its own Michelin-starred restaurant is definitely a must-see. Not only is it the largest contemporary art space in the city, but also it has a unique and striking architectural style.

And if you are still in need of fashion and design inspiration, then MoMu, the fashion museum, is the place for you.

Last but not least, I recommend staying at South Side Suite. This tastefully decorated spacious apartment that sleeps up to three people is located in the trendy Zuid area. The location is ideal: it is central enough to explore the city by foot, but far enough from the main tourist attractions to experience a local vibe and enjoy a vibrant food and nightlife scene together with the locals. The hosts, a young Belgian-Brazilian/Angolan couple will pamper you and make you feel at home. I speak from experience, I have stayed with them many times! Book early as it usually gets booked quickly.

Enjoying afternoon sun in the trendy Zuid area

Antwerp style - not afraid to stand out with bright colours — Antwerp style – not afraid to stand out with bright colours

Bright accessories... — … and bright accessories

Stylish mini-break in London

August 17, 2013LifestyleLondon, rooftop pool London, the Berkeley hotelloveyourstyleblog

Earlier this week I decided to do something crazy by my standards: take a day off from work and spend this day pampering myself at the Berkeley, a luxurious London hotel. As I really needed a break but was unable go on holiday, I wanted to spend a day enjoying the sun on a rooftop by a pool and the Berkeley hotel pool was the only one I could find in London that would make me feel like I am on holiday. It turns out, there aren’t many rooftop pools in London.

So what’s so crazy about that, you may ask. Here’s what it is. Firstly, I do not ‘waste’ my precious holiday days (those working in the corporate world will know what I mean) on spending time off in London when I can use this time to travel. But having realised that having a day off was a need rather than luxury, I accepted that spending a day by the pool at the Berkeley would be a worthy mini break. Then I faced my second problem: how can I justify spending in one day in London what I would pay for a flight to a European beach destination? I don’t do that. Surely that is not a sensible way to spend my hard-earned money. And what if it rains? This is London after all, nobody can guarantee a full day of sunshine. Will this mean my money is wasted?

I suspect a lot of us have similar thoughts when we think about pampering themselves. We find excuses and reasons not to do it. I know many women who can come up with a list of at least 10 reasons in under 5 minutes, myself included. Why is it so difficult to really give ourselves what we deserve? Is it because it is not sensible to spend so much money on something we don’t really need? But who defines ‘sensible’ and who says we don’t need it?

Hoping to find answers to these question I committed to having my day off at the Berkeley. And here is what I discovered.

A day of luxury away from work and domestic issues was exactly what I needed. I now feel more in control of my life, I am not blaming others or the world for challenges I encounter and I feel capable of dealing with them.
By prioritizing myself, I send a clear message to others: “I matter”. I have noticed how differently I am treated at work and by loved ones
Money, as I am discovering is like energy: it comes and goes. One needs to spend it to get more. On the morning of my day off when I committed to treating myself irregardless of the weather (that would make my spending more worthwhile to my logical mind), I received money unexpectedly.
Allowing my body to rest and giving it what it needed – a day of relaxation – helped me to avoid a burnout and improved my physical state.
Slowing down and reconnecting with myself does amazing things not only to my body but to mental and emotional state too. I feel calm, creative, joyful and grateful for all the wonderful people in my life, for my work and environment.
Spending a day in beautiful stylish environment in the calmness of lavender-scented roof terrace gave me a lot of style inspiration.

Having enjoyed this luxurious experience I no longer consider it extravagant. Giving myself a luxurious treat when I needed it is one of the most sensible things I have done in a long time.

Weekend inspiration

August 9, 2013Inspiration, LifestyleProvenceloveyourstyleblog

As the weather in the UK returning to its normal “mild but not very warm” state, I need to remind myself that the summer is not over yet.

Maybe it is time for an unplanned weekend trip to a sunny beach destination to help me feel the summer vibe again…

Sometimes all it takes is several days in the sun away from the city to slow down and recharge.

To get inspiration for my next mini break I am looking at the photos I took in Provence last month.

Weekend inspiration

August 3, 2013Inspiration, Lifestylecafe, enjoying coffee, London summer, Purple, weekendloveyourstyleblog

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Ever since my holiday break among lavender-covered landscapes of Provence in South of France, I have been fascinated with purple and its rich shades. It turns out purple is quite popular in London at the moment too.

This weekend I am inspired by shades of purple: drinking antioxidant-rich juices, made from purple fruit, enjoying Italian coffee in a beautiful cafe next to a purple and violet bouquet, wearing my new purple trousers, seeing beautiful purples in shopwindows, streets and gardens.

Style matters

August 1, 2013Lifestyle, StyleCoco Chanel, Diana Vreeland, Fashion, Non-verbal communication, Personal style, Sense of style, Styleloveyourstyleblog

“You gotta have style. It helps you get down the stairs. It helps you get up in the morning. It’s a way of life. Without it, you’re nobody. I’m not talking about lots of clothes.”
Diana Vreeland

In my first post I decided to explain what my thoughts on style are, given this blog is about style. In my opinion style is often a misunderstood concept. These are the things I often hear when I talk to people about style:

“A sense of style is what one is born with.”
“Style is something certain people have and others do not have.”
“Style is not what serious people should worry about.”
“I do not have time for style.”

Many people seem to confuse style with fashion and following latest trends. But style has little to do with following fashion trends. As Coco Chanel said: “Fashion passes, style remains”.

To me personal style is above all my creative self-expression. It gives me freedom to be who I want to be. It helps me to be noticed and understood.

Style has always been important in my life. Ever since I was a little girl, I have chosen my clothes with care. My mum claims I refused to leave the house when I was four years old if my clothes did not work well together or colours did not match.

Over the years, my personal style evolved as I changed and developed. Thinking about my past “signature looks”, I can see that their “language” is quite different to how I express myself today . There were times when my style was saying: “I want to fit in”. At other times its message was: “I like to stand out and I am not afraid of my individuality”. And sometimes my style was clearly saying: “I want to be seen, noticed”. Even though I would definitely not repeat some of these looks, I am reluctant to call them mistakes because they reflected who I was and how I wanted to be known at the time.

Style talks before we say anything and it helps us to connect with others. Several important relationships in my life started with style. It was the reason conversations were initiated on many occasions, some leading to friendships. I remember the first time I saw my now good friend Susana at work. I was so impressed with her style that I immediately decided I wanted to be her friend, but not because I only care about appearances and fashion. No, it was because her style was saying that she was a very interesting individual, comfortable with herself, open-minded, well-travelled and creative. And these are the qualities I find attractive.

People often say what is on the inside matters more than what is on the outside. I completely agree. So why care about style then?

Personal style is simply a way of communicating what is on the inside. It is a form of self-expression, what we choose to reveal to the world about ourselves: our mood, our state of mind, the way we feel about ourselves. Appearance is a form of non-verbal communication as much as body language or tone of voice is. This is not a trivial subject, contrary to what some suggest, when about 90% of our communication is non-verbal, according to various estimates.

But just because appearance is a serious matter does not mean we will get it “right” by being serious. Firstly, I do not think there is such thing as the right personal style. Style is individual. Secondly, style is to be enjoyed. And this is how I am going to approach this subject on my blog. I hope my style adventures, experiments and inspiration will encourage you to pay more attention to your personal style and have more fun with it.