Red and Ruffle

Ruffle Crochet Knit – Dries Van Noten, Skinny Jeans – J Brand, Bag – Hermes Birkin 30 en croc, Shoes – Givenchy, Ring – YSL , Earings – Floralpunk photos by my boy Quyen Mike! Two weeks ago, i went on a spontaneous trip to Paris with some of my best boys and it was just pure great fun. Gotta say this Dries sweater is one of my best buy so far this season. I attended his show only once last winter and the collection just blew my mind. Renowned for his use of digitally enhanced ethnic prints and original fabrics, he directed his visions of layers conflicting patterns with strong, streamlined tailoring and bespoke touches in such a way that he has firmly cemented his aesthetic and i think this crochet knit is the perfect example to illustrate this incredible perception . Pairing it with my fave red sac, Le Birkin 30 et voila, i am ready to roam the Parisian street. Have a fab weekend everyone!  Keep creating, keep loving! <3 N

All Black in Saigon

top – AnnaCoco / bag, shoes – Zara / pants – NOSBYN / necklace – on Floralpunk soon

Black is without doubt the most dominant color in my wardrobe, and that’s probably because I like clean and minimal designs with a little twist. And the pieces that fulfill this criteria are mostly being produced in black. When it comes to fashion, I don’t aim to stand out. I prefer to stay subtle and make little details work for me. I don’t think that the way I wear clothes is special, but it’s me and mine in every aspect. And if people say they like my style, of course it makes me happy. People do need confirmation, even though I dress for myself and not others. Who doesn’t need a little bit of appreciation in life, come on.
Black outfits are not something you might find en mass in Saigon as you do in Germany, that’s why I’m standing out with it here, unlike in Germany, even though that’s not my intention. But what can I do : )
I’m still trying to figure out Vietnamese fashion, but I still have no clue about it, seriously. It’s something between cute and colorful and thrown together. Which doesn’t mean that you can’t find great pieces here ! I will do a shopping guide at the end of my trip. Let’s see what I can find !

About being in love with a too small bag

coat – Mango / bag – Alexander Wang / shoes – Converse / shirt – H&M / pants – Zara (perfect skinny jeans for people with small calves !) / earrings – Floralpunk

Just some photos my bf took of me today, when he actually wanted to take photos of his car. And one of the rare days on which I can wear my Wang bag. I spend most days either at uni, library and the gym. Or going to the post office and then library then gym. Or doing lash extensions then gym. Or uni then library. Which always means that I have to take a bag with me that fits all my stuff. A lot of stuff. Which this Wang baby certainly doesn’t. It fits my purse, my phone, my iPad Mini and minor stuff like lip stick, but that’s about it. Plus the bag is kind of hard to open. Not your everyday bag if you always have to carry lots of stuff with you, but sometimes looks really is all that matters. I can never wear it, but I still love it.

Julia

My Perfect Uni Bag / What’s in my bag Part I

What’s in my bag ?

Gina Tricot Bag: I have to be honest. Actually I don’t like Gina Tricot. Because the quality of their products is not up to my quality standard. The fabrics they use simply aren’t fabrics that I want to wear. The prices aren’t justified either, considering the really very low quality, and the shit working conditions the people who produce these products probably have to go through. Ok but I still go inside all the time. Why ? Because it’s so close to my uni, and the clothes look cool. Mainstream girl at heart. Yes, i think they look cool, but then I touch them, and I always get disappointed. I used to love their jewelry, but since I sell jewelry now, I don’t buy it anymore, unless I really really want something so bad, that I can’t forget it for days. Anyway, last week I went into Gina Tricot after an afternoon at library. I just wanted to get my mind off Chinese characters a bit, and checked out some of the stores around my uni, one of them Gina Tricot. Went in, saw this bag, tried it on, bought it. Because it fulfills 80% of the criteria I was looking for in a bag for uni ! It’s a shoulder bag, big enough to fit my Chinese book, my Macbook Air, and a whole lot of other things, without being too big, you know. It’s just the perfect size, no unnecessary details, just a plain black shoulder bag, which is easy to open and close. It’s no real leather, but the hardware is solid, and I can’t complain at all. I would have paid 400€ for the same bag in real leather, if I had found it somewhere. But I didn’t, so I guess I made a bargain for my uni bag. You can buy it here.

Macbook Air “11: The Macbook I’m using is the lightest and smallest Macbook in the Apple family. It weighs about the same as a normal iPad, and I love it so much, I don’t know how I would get my work done without it. I got it from my boyfriend on my twenty-first birthday, and I had never worked with OS X before at that point, and thought I’d never get used to it, and kept reminiscing about my Windows computer, but now it’s Apple or nothing. There is a reason why so many people use Apple Macbook’s these days, believe me. I didn’t want to believe it at first, but once you get used to it, you won’t wanna go back. At least I don’t. And the best thing about my Macbook model, it is so light, you can take it with you anywhere ! It’s lighter than some of my books, I never have to think ‘oh shit it’s so heavy, I’m too lazy to take my Macbook with me’. Never.

iPad Mini: The first iPad Mini model, without 3G, which I use in uni or at home, since I can only use it with wifi. I used to use it a lot for Instagram and my Floralpunk Facebook page, because I had a Blackberry before. But now that I have my iPhone, it has become a much less important product in my life. I still appreciate it when it comes to browsing though.

iPhone 5: OH-EM-GEE. I used to be sooo anti-iPhone, because everyone uses it. Yes I can. I hate because I want to haha. But now I’m addicted ! Seriously I use it all the time. All the time ! It makes me being able to work on the go, non-stop. While eating, on my way to the underground station, while shopping, all the time, anywhere. Anywhere, where I have 3G signal. I even stocked up my data allowance from 1GB internet to 3GB. (Oh Apple, you are so evil. Why are your products so easily to get addicted to?)

Floralpunk Daisy case: In case you still don’t know, I have an online shop called Floralpunk. And I sell this case. No I didn’t make it myself. If I did, it wouldn’t be that cheap. But that doesn’t make it less beautiful : ) You can buy it here.

Chargers: Iam always on the go, from dawn till dusk. Everyone who uses iPhone, knows that it runs out of battery extremely fast, especially if you are on Facenook, Instagram, Tumblr or Pinterest a lot. I never leave the house without a charger ! 

 & other stories purse: My coins always get lost below the paper money, business cards, bank cards and ID in this purse, but I love the sleek design and the feel of the leather. It looks and feels expensive, but it’s very affordable ! Get it here.

 Leuchtturm planner: What’s the big difference between Moleskine and Leuchtturm ? The size. Moleskine planners are a little smaller in width, that’s why I picked Leuchtturm. But except for the size, they are pretty similar. I don’t think the brand is important, but having one is ! It changed my life ! Buy here.

Eyeko mascara: I got this one from Nga : ) ! The reason I carry it around with me is that I usually leave the house in the morning, and don’t come home till late at night. I never go home to change or anything, but sometimes I want to add more emphasis to my eyes in the evening, so all I do is add more layers of mascara. Some girls have to carry around their whole make-up bag, I’m glad that all I need is mascara and eyeliner. Because I hate carrying heavy bags.

Pens & uni documents in a clear envelope: I usually only have one subject a day, so I never need to take more than one note book and different sheets of paper with me.

Ok, now you know what’s in my bag most of the time, and also what my perfect uni bag looks like : ) Part I in the title, because I will add more posts to this series. Of course I don’t want to wear the same bag all day everyday ! I’m definitely looking for more bags to add to my “perfect uni bag”-collection !

Cheers,

Julia

New In: Stylenanda Jacket

jacket – Stylenanda / earrings – Floralpunnk / shoes – Nike Roshe Run

Just a quick little update today, since Iam kinda super busy. I bought this jacket from the Korean Online Shop Stylenanda ages ago, because it looked fluffy and warm. And that’s exactly what it is like: fluffy and warm ! The quality is good beyond expectations, and there are so many little details, which make the jacket look less boring. Iam very picky when it comes to outerwear, because you tend to wear the same piece everyday, so I want it to look basic, but special as well. This jacket is exactly what I look for in a piece of outerwear. It’s cool, casual and comfi.

Cheers,

Julia

NEW IN: REN x Nos by N x Alexander Wang

top – REN / pants – NOSBYN / heels – Zara / bag – Alexander Wang / bracelet – & other stories photos by Phan Nhat Minh

Yes, it is winter in Germany, and yes it was cold without a jacket outdoors, but when I received the clothes my friends sent me from Vietnam, I couldn’t resist wanting to show them off immediately ! One of my best mates in Saigon, the person who helped me the most during my internship at Elle two years ago, started her own brand, designing and producing clothes by herself. Her brand/shop is called REN, and she gives her clothes funny names. This top iam wearing is called “Sheery the top”. If you check out their Facebook or Instagram, you will realize, all of her clothes have names haha. I love that ! Of course I want to do my best to help her gaining more recognition, that’s why I impossibly could have waited until spring/summer to take photos with this gorgeous top : ) 

The pants Iam wearing are from a Vietnamese brand/shop as well, called Nos by N. N stands for Nancy I guess, the founder of the brand, and she sent me a different variety of clothes, including a gorgeous simple white crop top, which I definitely have to wear for one of my style challenges ! I was surprised to find the pants fitting me perfectly and ended up having worn them three days in a row. You should definitely check them out, they make beautiful clothing, and the quality is really good as well.

All in all this is an outfit I could wear on probably ever summer evening. It’s laid-back, yet chic. Thanks a lot girls for the clothes, they are great enrichments for my wardrobe ! No kidding, the pieces they sent me just go perfectly with my other clothes ! 

And now to the newest and most expensive addition to my wardrobe: YES ! The Alexander Wang trifold bag ! I’ve seen it around so many times, and always wanted to have it. More than the PS1 ! It looked like the perfect small-sized shoulder bag to me, and when I had enough money to spare, and saw it on fashionette, my boyfriend made me buy it. Actually it’s not like I couldn’t have resisted, because it’s a whole lot of  money for a bag, but he knew how much I wanted the bag and somehow made me buy it, and I don’t regret it at all, because this bag is so beautiful and beautiful and beautiful ! Iam sure it is not worth the money, because I saw a white one on sale at 300$ once, but whatever. It’s mine now, and I will treasure it with my body :))

I might have to explain this set of photos. There was an explosion and fire close to where we were going to shoot, so my boyfriend seized the opportunity and took these shots of me and those impressive giant clouds of smoke ! Incredible how a few small white clouds could turn into something so massive and aggressive looking. The fire was put out by the firefighters and noone was harmed for your information. It was a a car workshop that caught fire, and four cars couldn’t be saved. They burnt down and caused severe explosions one after each other. An action movie from close up. 

Adios Two Thousand Thirteeeen

wearing Chanel coat/ Boy Bag, Zara Jeans, Monki Shirt and Acne Shoes Photos by my best boy Quyen Mike This is my last chance to squeeze in a post ( i know thank god finally) before 2013 comes to an end. These were taken couple weeks ago in London when fall was still pitching perfect. I have just only realised that there is quite a backlog of “outfit post” photos on my laptop that never make it onto the blog. And there are reasons. Reason one is not having enough hours in the day . Reason two is I get bored. After a few days have passed, I find the content already feels old. Bloggers, do any of you feel the same?  Maybe the best solution to cure this mentality is to not overthink about it and just POST! Definitely one of my resolution for 2014. Lastly, I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year whenever you are !  Keep creating, keep loving With love ❤ N

Current Fall Wishlist

coat // skirt

When I spotted this coat and high waist skirt from The Row, it was instant love. A great mix of fabrics, looking cool, yet elegant. I love that ! Do you know that feeling when you really want something, but you know you can’t have it, so you try to find a replacement to fill the whole in your heart ? In terms of love it is food to me, in terms of shopping, it is Zara. I know Zara is so evil, and bad, but boy, have you seen that Studio collection ? Because I can’t have that coat and beautiful satin-trimmed jacquard skirt, I decided to treat myself with that skirt with lace and that bucket bag from Zara instead. I will get them right after my trip to London, if they are not sold out until then.

skirt // bag

Floralpunk Shooting: At Home with Yung

I visited Nhung for a Floralpunk shooting today. I asked her to be in my video for Floralpunk, because I simply love the way she looks. Do you know that feeling, when sometimes you simply like a person’s appearance without being able to say whether that person is pretty or not ? That’s what I had with Nhung. The first time I saw her, I already knew I was going to do something with her.
So I planned a little image filming at hers, and took the chance to take photos of her super cool room as well. All greyscales, I know a lot of you girls out there love that. A wardrobe with basically just black and white ! Everyone who is envious of her cool room now, I’d advise you to change yours ! It really doesn’t take that much, to just throw out your old shit, and get some new stuff at Ikea. It’s all up to you ! If you are unhappy with your room, do something about it. Because you spend so much time in it, you are supposed to love it. Little changes can make a very great impact !

As for Nhung, she usually doesn’t even wear earrings. Her hair cover her ears most of the time, so she didn’t even accept the earrings as payment for doing the shoot with me. Check out her instagram, if you want to follow her, and find her as pretty as me: Yungicorn. As for the Floralpunk video, I will try to get it done by next week, so stay tuned !

casually black

blazer, pants, loafers – Zara // scarf – AA // earrings – Marni for H&M // T-shirt – Primark // watch – Rado

Do you happen to have a mom, whose style is so not yours at all ? Do you secretly envy your friends who can borrow beautiful clothes from their mother’s closet all the time, and say that it’s vintage from the 80’s ? Welcome to the club then. My mom cares about her appearance a lot, and she loves shopping and is quite interested in “fashion”, but what she likes is simply never what I like. She is more of a girly girl, digging colours like purple and shades of brown, while iam more of a black and white person. She likes glittery and cute clothes, while i prefer minimalistic cuts. It’s simply not meant to be. I rarely ever find something in her closet that I would wear, so i never really look.

So when I was looking for accessories for my Dirndl the other day, I knew I wouldn’t find what I was looking for among my stuff, so I checked out her accessories and saw this gorgeous Rado watch. I had seen her wearing the watch before, but somehow I never found it pretty on her wrist haha. I took it, wore it, my mom saw it on me, and told me to keep it, because it suits me. And that’s how I got a new old watch. Which has an even greater value, because I got it from my mom. I wish she had more things I would wear.

How about you ? Can you share your parents closet, or are you one of the poor souls like me, who simply doesn’t share your parents taste ?