Links à la Mode

By the time you see this, I'll be off to Venice. See you in a couple of days!

Incite, Invigorate, Influence, Inspire

By Jessie Thorpe of Denimology

 

When selecting blogs to be featured in Links à La Mode, more often than not, I'm drawn in by an interesting image or a cleverly composed title. I'm a big fan of wit, whimsy and a little sarcasm. However, this week I handled things a bit different and made choices spurred on by inspiration, you know, that good ol' gut feeling!

 

Bloggers aplenty (this means you) emboldened me to do more than just write about style and fashion (denim in my case).  I wanted to bust out some serious sequin yardage. I pondered why everything looks better with glitter. I was impressed- no, I was in awe- with brilliant use of nail polish! I chose links that lured me far from my computer, taunting me to use my hands for anything but typing. Dear bloggers, you may have a small pedestal (you know.. your blog), but your voice can still be mighty... and inspirational! The future of fashion belongs to those of us willing to get our hands dirty!

 

After you've had a good read of this weeks links, step away from the computer and go stain up those hands. Make sure to document the process because, you know, your coming right back here to your computer anyway. You may as well be inspirational. Last thing, it's okay if all you do is make is a mess; at least you were inspired and that counts for something, right?

THE IFB WEEKLY ROUNDUP: LINKS À LA MODE: NOVEMBER 17TH

• 1972 Projects: Menswear's Madness, Monsters and Misshapes
• Absolutely Fuzzy: Inspired: Spikes and Studs
• Aspiring New Moms: 3 Ways to Wear Your Light Blue Oxford
• Blah Blah Becky: Style Blogging is Difficult in Winter & Tips to Ease the Pain
• Denimology: We Pick Our Favorite Animal Print Jeans!
• Fashion is Evolution: How To Make Punk Rock Shirts with Spray Paint & Stencils
• Fashion Tales: DIY Glitter Glam Pumps!
• Khola's Kloset: More is More is More with Iris Apfel
• Labels & Love: What Victoria's Secret Angels Do To Keep In Shape
• Marmalade: DIY Edgy, Strong Shoulder Cardigan
• Pretty Quirky Pants: DIY Neon Cut -Out Necklace
• Semi: DIY Miu Miu Gold Sequin Bird Dress Tutorial
• Sidewalk Chic: How To Take Photos in Winter
• Sprinkles in Springs: DIY: Tom Binns Inspired Necklace
• Style The Luxe: A Look at the Evil Eye Jewelry Trend
• The Fashionistyle: Behind the Scenes Tour of Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
• The Shophopper: 5 Basic Tips for Parisian Shopping
• Wardrobe of a Secret Millionaire: Ethical Fashion - Considering Your Impact
• We Lived Our Lives In Style: Temporary Chanel Tattoos
• Woodstock Wardrobe: Nail the Retro Style

 

 

PLEASE READ IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE

If you would like to submit your link for next week’s Links à la Mode, please register first, then post your links HERE. The HTML code for this week will be found in the Links a la Mode group will be published later today. ~Jennine

 

 

Labels vs. thrifting

My last post was about the scavenging possibilities at the flea market in Brussels. Our hunt that day made me ponder the (in)conveniences of thrifting. Thrifting might sometimes have its disadvantages (vintage smell being the most notorious one), but I want to talk about a huge benefit: the abscence of marketing influences.

Imagine you're in your favorite shopping street, mall, whatever. Do you enter every store? Or do some stores draw you in more than others? The mechanisms behind your choices are incredibly diverse and diffuse. Personal taste. Experience. Brand appeal. Price. Image. Target audience. Connotations. These are all things that determine whether you will or will not spend money (or even set foot) in a certain shop. I myself am very susceptible to branding and prejudice. It irritates me to no end, but I can't help it. Two years ago I spotted a black-and-white printed silk shirt Surface To Air in sale on ebay. I had seen the print on a dress before and absolutely adored it. Did I buy the shirt? Uhm, does Donatella Versace's hair colour regularly threaten to sweep out Italy's bleach supply? Duh.

Unless you thinks she gets this colour from using camomille extract?

I still paid about 100$, which I justified by telling myself the dollar was really low and the original price was way higher. Two weeks later I found myself in Zara holding a black-and-white printed silk shirt (I really do have a thing for black and white prints) with 50% off. I remember thinking 40 euros was still an awfully high price for what was, after all, 'just' a Zara shirt. Two shirts, two measures.

Can you guess which is which? And which got the most wears? (The creases aren't intentional. They're just me being lazy.)

This is one of the coolest things about thrifting: there's no double standards. You're not pestered with assumptions and considerations on the brands surrounding you. You're just looking at clothes in their own right. You have to wonder if the garment really does fit your style and if it's worth it's (puny) price. You can't rely on the source of the clothes to tell you whether it's cool or stylish. I'm ashamed to admit that, when it comes to clothing, I find the process pretty exhausting. It takes training and good styling skills to figure out what you do or do not want without the background and directions labels can provide. (More on that in this interesting post from Fashion Pearls on Wisdom.)

For jewelry, however, I find it liberating. For instance, the bracelet I bought two weeks ago. If I had spotted it at H&M, it's not entirely impossible I would have considered it tacky. Or maybe I would have liked it, but not bought it, because it's H&M and everyone will wear it so even if it is special, it won't be that special. If I would have seen it in an expensive jewelry store (which is very unlikely, because I don't think I ever even entered one of those), I might have thought it was a bit pretentious and not worth its money. Jewelry thrifting somehow makes it easier for me to spot the special pieces and like them for what they are, regardless of price. So while I'll rarely go thrifting for clothes because it wears me out, I'm definitely sold on thrifting jewelry. How about you?

Guilt free splurging: the flea market in Brussels

Sunday in Belgium (otherwise a most godless country) is still a day of rest, much to my frustration. Basically, the choice is between hiking, visiting family or brushing up on your art knowledge in an overcrowded museum. Or you can go to the Marolles/Marollen in Brussels! It's a pretty poor but colourful and fascinating neighbourhood that has one big attraction: the flea market at the Vossenplein/Place du Jeu de balle. (It's surrounded by cool cafés, by the way.)

If you can't take a bit of chaos, this might not be the place for you. Some of the vendors carefully display their goodies, others just throw them on a blanket and some just sell straight out of cardboard boxes.

Stylish, right? You'll see this kind of installations every weekday (Saturdays and Sundays can get quite busy, especially when the weather is nice) from 7 am to 2 pm. When closing time is near, one of the cardboard vendors will usually give a signal that everything he displays can be taken away for free. It'll be mostly old cutlery and fake porcelaine, but it's always fun to watch the frantic searching and grabbing.

There's few things you won't find at the Vossenplein. Some of the clothing (especially the ones with labels - we spotted a beautiful Max Mara coat, too bad it was made for a woman the size of an elephant) is lucky enough to come with hangers and racks, but most if it form soft piles of thrifting discipline on the unforgiving ground. This kind of piles of clothing scares me at Zara during the sales as well as here:

I mean, for all you know there could be a small Bulgarian family living underneath those layers. Or a rabies infested dog looking for a nice nest. I'm all for budget buys, but I ain't risking my hands for them.

This looks safer, too bad most of the shoes are pretty fugly:

Diagnosed with bad eyesight or desperate for a bit of geek chique? These glasses are probably as cheap as they come!

If you buy perfumes just because of the pretty bottle, you can save yourself some money right here:

There's also quite the collection of old suitcases and leather purses:

Fur coats to imagine you stem from Russian nobility:

That white coat! Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Look at this:

Now tell me there isn't a resemblance! Me thinks Leandra Medine could do a really great styling with this.

If you're not really the vulture type, common magpies will love the array of trinkets:

Last week I found this bracelet on the blanket in the middle:

I'm not usually into gold and swirly whatevers, but I kinda liked this one. It got me some compliments too, mostly from men. One of them told me it looked like something straight out of Lord of the Rings, so I styled it on a gollum-like creature:

He was thrilled, obviously.

Anyway, back to the market. Just some random scarves:

There's a booth with some really nice hats, too. There's a little mirror and people trying every hat they can find. I bought the one in the middle of the picture, black with a small leather bow. (If I get lice out of this, I'm killing the friend who talked me into buying it.) Don't try to haggle, the guy selling them will yell at you because you're crazy and he's already selling these handmade hats way under their price, I mean, you couldn't even pay for the material for that kind of money let alone the working hours! But other than that, he's nice.

And finally, I found a kick-ass crystal cocktail shaker.

Again, I'm not the gold-and-crystal kind of gal, but I liked this. Got it for a bargain too, my mom (ever the budget conscious woman) was real proud. It wasn't until I got home that I realised it looked a little like the bottle of one of my favorite perfumes:

Maybe from now on I'll drink Petite Chérie and spray myself with a zesty cosmopolitan. Hope you had a great weekend as well!