FOREVER21 Antwerp preview

Forever21 has arrived on Antwerp ground and we couldn't be happier! Better yet, I got to see and shop the store before the big crowd was unleashed. And let me tell you, this store is a big addition to the Antwerp shopping experience!

I stepped foot in the –HUGE- store and was completely overwhelmed. I literally stood still for a few moments to catch my breath. This was shopping heaven! We received a shopping bag from one of the overfriendly staff members and in the blink of an eye the thing was full. Girly dresses, frilly skirts, preppy sweaters, … All the things you need to be on-trend this season, in plain sight and for really good prices.

The store is, as I told you many times before, H-U-G-E. 5000 m² of fast fashion makes my heart beat faster (and my feet feeling sore). The decoration is beautifully done, so I suggest you take a look at some photos.













This is why I like F21: they carry all the latest trends for really good prices, they have a lot of different items and new items coming in every day, and their accessories look like a million bucks.

Some of my favourite pieces:









My buys (wich you'll be seeing in an outfitpost real soon)


DON’T FORGET: The official grand opening of the Forever21 flagship store is this Saturday, 3/09. The first 500 visitors receive exclusive F21 goodies and there will be a lot of entertaining surprises going on that day. My advice? BE THERE!

I can already feel an F21 addiction coming up!

Birthday Giveaway

Summer’s slowly coming to an end and my favourite month of the year is already lurking around the corner. September! With London Fashion Week, Paris’ prêt-à-porter shows and the start of the new school year this month is always eventful and exciting. But my personal highpoint September has to offer? A birthday! My 22nd birthday to be exact. As usual I plan to celebrate this day with my closest friends and family. Yummy food, best friends, good laughs and tasty drinks: what more do you need?

Versuz, a well-known and high-quality club in Hasselt is this years place to be for the start of the second edition of Swapping. (Not quite sure what Swapping is? Read my previous articles here and here). It happens to be on the 5th of September, my birthday. So what better way to celebrate me turning 22 than in a room with the things I love the most: my best friends, pretty clothes, a beauty lounge and a great afterparty!

Lovely Elise, the founder of Swapping.be, is offering two of my readers a chance to come and party with me on this evening! We are giving away 2x2 tickets for this Swapping event in Hasselt. Are you free on Monday the 5th and interested in swapping and dancing the night away with me? All you have to do is like Swapping on facebook or follow Swapping on Twitter and send an email to elien@dogsanddresses.com with your most original birthday wish for me.

Hope to see you there!

Practical:
Date: Monday 5 September
Doors: 19.30
Location: Versuz, Slachthuiskaai 6, 3500 Hasselt
There will be two winners, who can each bring a friend.

Winners will be contacted by mail on 3/09

I Follow Rivers

Woohoo! Eventseason is upon us! Well actually, all year round fashionable parties are thrown and previews, store openings and fashion shows are held, but during the summer holiday things get a bit more quiet on the eventfront. Luckily, with the coming of the cold front (has it ever really left?) come partiessss! Lots of fun stuff on the agenda: Antwerp city is bustling and sizzling with fashion adventures! (exaggerating much?)

Anyway, let me take you along on some of my fashion adventures of the past week! The red line through pretty much this entire week? RIVER ISLAND! Just in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past year and have no idea what River Island stand for, let me fill you in real quick: River Island is one of Britain’s best known high street brands, the place to go for on-trend and right off of the runway trends. I fell in love with the shop five years ago on one of my first visits to London and was pretty excited to find out River Island was opening a shop on the Meir in Antwerp (Meir 56, to be exact). A year has passed, and I still drop by the store on each and every of my shopping sprees.

Though it’s technically still summer, I started my week with a preview of the River Island Christmas 2011 collection. Pretty models with even prettier shoes (yep, even the boys) showed off the XMAS collection on the catwalk. I saw some amazing things, and in my opinion you can always turn to RI for some statement jewellery and matching shoes. Those shoes! You can wear a pair of RI heels under your pyjamas and still look holiday season appropriate.

Because pictures speaks louder than words: picture-time!



Photographing models who pass by at the speed of light = not easy, so here are a few more ‘professional’ pics (courtesy of Oona).







And me sporting my funky pants while sitting front row:



Anyways, the fun didn’t stop there. Next stop: Glam*It’s Fashionably Late event. Every now and then the glossy mag hosts a late-night shopping eve for its readers, with (as usual at every fashion-related event) fashionable people, delish cocktails and cute candy, and 20% discounts! What better place to have such an evening than at the River Island store. I still had the gift voucher I won (in this contest) so I decided to spend it on my first official A/W11 buy: boots. Can’t go wrong with good old sturdy boots in wintertime. You will see them in an outfit post real soon, once I exchanged them that is. Word of advice: don’t drink when shopping. It makes you unvigilant and carefree, and you wind up with a pair of boots in two different colours (well not really, but the right shoe is much lighter and more faded than the left one..) so I have to go back and exchange them for a more matching pair. Starting and ending my week with River Island, the perfect circle.

Doggybag







Happy me heading home



Shout out to the lovely Oona's and Catherine*it: you guys know how to throw parties!

twenty-one eight

Still feeling the aftermath of the Pukkelpop tragedy. So many lives are destroyed, so many pleasant memories vanished. All we can do now is find comfort in each other and try to keep a positive mind.

On to a lighter note: here's an outfit from earlier this week when my photographer (aka daddy) was still in town. After shooting these pictures, he hopped on a plane to the sun - and took my camera with him. He’s almost back though, so my beloved Olympus and I can be reunited again.

In other news: question! I’m still undecided on whether or not I should go for the Master in cultural management or keep it a bit simpler and enroll in communication management and public relations. Basically its two years of hard work but a higher degree versus two years of lighter courses but the same level of degree I already have. It looks very clear to me what I should do (push myself and try to go for the master), but it’s scary at the same time. So anyone who has good advice or wants to share their experiences, please do!

Wearing |
Blazer - H&M
Dress - H&M
Necklace - H&M
Shoes - ASOS

Praying for Pukkelpop

Last night tragedy struck Pukkelpop. Devastation, heartbreak and pain. My thoughts go out to all lost and injured people and their friends and families, the organisation and volunteers. No words.

Details

Some detail shots of three of my August outfits. In the first set I'm wearing this skirt I got at T2 in Antwerp for 1 shiny euro. I wear it as a dress and I love the floral pattern. The second look features my bronze high-heelded sandals I bought in Zara sales back in July (still going strong on my shopping detox, I promise). The pants in the last set are a Primark bargain. Love the print, cut and colour.

The next five days i'll be in full-on festival mode! You can find me at Pukkelpop in Hasselt from Wednesday till Sunday. Next to the partying (Eminem! Foo Fighters! The Kills!), i'll be working as a make-up artist and hair stylist on the festival terrain. Don't hesitate to stop by Petit Bazaar and get a full 80's style make-over from yours truly. We exclusively use MAC products, pretty faces guaranteed!

Expect a crazy 80's inspired post about the festivities next week!

Take a bow

As I’m sure by now you all know how I feel about dresses, right? I love them! Picked up this cat-printed number at Primark earlier this week. Decided to wear it to a dinner date with my adorable grandparents. I love seeing how, after 60 years of marriage, they’re still so happy together.

Guess I went in bowverdive a bit, since I paired the dress with my bow-shoes, bow-clutch and bow-hair clip. Oh well. Bowlicious!

Wearing |
dress - Primark
clutch - Zara
hair clip - H&M

Blue skies

Sushi, sun, friends and chilling in the park. Life can be good.

wearing |
top and pants - H&M
wedges - Surface to Air

If you are in the Antwerp area this Monday (15/8), come and join me at the Converse Block Party. Street art, workshops, live music, an urban street market, ... What's not to like? So if you are in the neighbourhood, don't hesitate to drop by between 12 AM and 6 PM. For more info about this event visit the eventpage on facebook. Hope to see you all there. And maybe we can even change the name to Blog Party? ;)

The Prep Pop-up House

What? The opening of the Tommy Hilfiger Prep Pop-Up House
When? 5th of August
Where? Knokke, Belgium




Pretty people, all dressed in their own preppy way and yet all so different. It showed me ‘prep’ is not a ready-made packet you can just buy, throw on and get going. It’s much more a state of mind in which you can incorporate all kinds of different items and accessories. This was illustrated by the fact that items of the Tommy Hilfiger Prep collection were accompanied by one-of-the-kind vintage pieces, just to show it doesn’t all have to be new and shiny. Your preppy outfit can contain items with a history and a soul. I think it’s a great idea to pair your new Tommy shirt with a skirt you found at a second hand shop for 2 euros. Adding vintage to your wardrobe is always a good way to get to know your true style, rather than copying everything you see in shop windows.






Really a way of living instead of just a passing trend that happens to be hot right now. Tommy Hilfiger showed me a whole other side of its collection, with fun, playful and not too serious items that can be easily combined and integrated in different outfits.








Each and every time I meet my fellow bloggers it’s always happy times and good vibes! Really, put some fashion minded bloggers in the same room and you have guaranteed fun. It is great to just being able to talk about shared interests, drool over pretty shoes and hear new thoughts, ideas and perspectives. Throw in some delicious prosecco and cocktails and yummy bites to eat and we are good to go! What was supposed to be a short afternoon visit to Knokke actually turned in to an overnight stay. Spontaneous decisions are okay in the Summer!





Preparatory schools or boarding schools are the ideal backdrop for your preppy outfit. They are the place the preppy life arose. But believe me when I say all invited guests looked great in their outfits, even with the Belgian coast in the background. I could have gone for a more weather-appropriate look since the sun was really working it that day, but I felt kind of fun in my red and blue outfit (colours that happen to be the billboard of Tommy Hilfiger. Ingenious, right?). We even went toe-dipping in the sea and I had an amazing day at the beach.







Muchos gracias to Unlimited PR for the invite, Tommy Hilfiger for the prett/ppy house and all my fellow fashion friends for the great day!

Want to know more about the origin and concept of the preppy style? Read my previous article on the subject here or check out the book 'True Prep' by Lisa Birnbach (available in the TH pop-up store or on Amazon)

For a more visual report of this preppy day, check out this movie Nathalie from the Merrymakers made. While you're at it, vote for her in the Nokia and Elle Style correspondent Competition!

Want to check out the pop-up house for yourself? It's open for business untill the 15th of august and is located at the Albertplein in Knokke. Have fun!