My love for fashion is the big, everlasting, intense kind of love that has brought me great things, this blog being the greatest, but sometimes love can have a bad influence on us. Here’s the deal. I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR. Ok, that is not even close to true, but you know the feeling right? I haven’t been shopping that much lately and somehow my wardrobe is not satisfying at the moment, it needs freshness and newness. That I haven’t been able to find since I’m not even sure what it is that I’m looking for. So getting a bunch of new stuff is not even an option right now, I’d have no idea what to get. All I can do is stand in front of my closet, and feel unsatisfied and spoilt at the same time. Because there’s enough in it, but I think it needs a big cleanout. I already started that (to much of your enthusiasm, as I noticed in my little closet shop) but there’s more work to be done this week, so keep an eye out. And then there’s the question: what is it that I do want? I don’t even know, I feel like a spoilt little brat that has a handful of cookies and still wants more. The temporary solution is sticking to what I’m most comfortable with in outfits. Black and white, oversized, comfy. So there you go, yesterday’s look – chilling in a big hoodie with a tight skirt for some much needed contrast to my desire for comfort, and some simple black booties. So that was yesterday, but what on earth will I wear today?

Do you ever have these feelings? How do you solve them?

Reason Homies hoodie / Topshop skirt (in black here) / Acne Alma boots

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It took me a little longer than I hoped but here’s the answers to the rest of the questions you asked! They’re all pretty personal but from my experience I’ve seen that opening up to you guys only brings me support and sweet reactions (especially when I talked about health problems). Since you’re the sweetest readers ever I didn’t mind opening up a little. It’s not that I have strange dark secrets anyways ;) I hope you enjoy reading a bit more about me and my life!
By the way, you can find the HOMIES sweatshirt I’m wearing in the picture above here.

What beauty products do you use on a daily basis?
I will do a blogpost soon on what beauty products I use every day so I’ll show you then! :)

How tall are you?
I’m 1.75m tall.

Do you have a specific diet or pay attention to your intakes / work out?
I always feel a bit guilty saying this because I know my situation doesn’t work for most of the people, but I am blessed with good genes. I eat everything I like and hardly work out, but my body always stays the same (but talk to me again in 10 years, haha). I do make sure I eat my fruit and veggies every day and I eat quite a lot of high fiber foods because my belly seems to like that, but I don’t do anything special and eat whatever I like. I probably eat at least a little bit of chocolate every day. I guess a typical day for me would be to start with porridge with milk or soy milk with granola, eat some fruit, lunch with bread with whatever I like on it (peanut butter is my favorite food ;)) eat some fruit and some crisps or something salty in the afternoon, then have dinner and eat some chocolate or cookies in the evening.
I don’t really work out. I do walk everywhere, for instance when I go to Amsterdam for meetings I walk through half the city instead of using public transport, but a lot of walking is about it. I was thinking of starting a running routine because it’s just healthy to be at least a  little fit, but then all the health problems began (read below) so no work-out or running for me in the next few months.

You’ve mentioned your health and surgeries and I was wondering what exactly is wrong with your health?
You guys have all right to ask me, since I’ve been sharing bits and pieces of my health issues but only talked about what exactly was wrong in 2 instagram posts, which are easily missed. I was in doubt on whether I should share it or not but then again, you guys are always so nice to me, it’s not like it’s my fault I had this and I thought nothing bad could come out sharing it, so why not right? So I won’t give a medical analysis but I’ll just tell you the story in general. In January doctors discovered I had cervical cancer. I had 3 surgeries to my abdomen, in January, February and April and the last one removed all the cancer (yay!) but was a really big surgery which has a long recovery time and won’t be my old self for a while, physically. I still can’t wear most of my clothes because my belly is still bloated and painful and I still have to take it easy on my body. Above all that I had an inflammation last week that’s why I spent last weekend in the hospital again. It’s been a pretty rough time but I just tried to stay strong and positive and got a lot of energy from your support. I’m focusing on recovering right now (that’s why I’m a little less active online at the moment) and take my time to heal. But the future is bright, I got through it and after all the bad luck I’m just going to make sure the 2nd half of this year will be twice as fun to make up for these awful months I’ve had.

Do you have a bucket list of things you want to do in the future?
I don’t have an actual list but I definitely have one in my head, there’s a few things I’d like to do in my life – some more general, some more specific – and it’s not definitive. One of the things is to keep doing what I love for a living – the job that doesn’t feel like a job like I have now. That’s what makes me super happy in life. Also, I’d like to go to New York again this year (that was one of my New Year’s resolutions) but I’m already planning a trip so I’m super excited for that. When it comes to travel there’s quite a lot, such as go to the Maldives, Mexico and rent a big American camper/motorhome and travel through America and see LA. And have a dream wedding, but I’m not too worried about that since I already found the perfect man for that.

How does your family/boyfriend feel about your blogging and love for fashion?
They are really supportive and helping me in achieving the goals I want to achieve and doing what I love. I guess I’ve learnt that from setbacks, life is too short to spend too much time doing thinks that don’t make you happy. Of course, bills have to be paid and work has to be done, but I worked really hard to be able to do what I love as a full time job now. My dad and boyfriend take the pictures for my blog as well and my boyfriend probably loves fashion as much as I do, so he’s only excited for me and proud of me. And we do a lot of shopping together!

What music do you like?
I have a really strange taste in music. I actually don’t listen to music that much but I can like anything from Hiphop to Daft Punk to Techno/Minimal when I go out to rock bands. I don’t really have a favorite artist, nor do I buy cd’s or download music. I just listen to the radio or watch MTV Brand New at the background when I’m working sometimes.

What is your hair color? Is it from a salon or at home kit?
Sometimes I go to the hairdresser to get my hair colored, but most of the time I color it myself. I always use an ashy dark brown – I hate red tones in my hair because when you want to get rid of them you can hardly get them out. The last few times I used Syoss Mixing Colors Cool Mocca Mix which is the exact color I like.

You’re from Arnhem, have you always lived there or are you originally from somewhere else?
The first 18 years of my life I grew up in a little city called Doesburg, not that far from Arnhem. After that I lived in Utrecht for almost 2 years and then I met my boyfriend and moved in with him in Arnhem. We’re having plans to move to Amsterdam though because of both our jobs!

Job and study related questions are also part of my personal life of course, but I already answered them in the first part, which you can find here
I really hope you’ve enjoyed reading a bit more about me and if you ever have a burning questions, you can always email me or place a comment with your question!

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Having a bad case of the Mondays! Normally I don’t mind them that much but I’m not sure what it is today. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it was all hot and summer last week, and the skies are grey today? Anyways, this is an outfit from last week, on a really hot day when I quickly went out to snap what I was wearing because I just had to show you this top. Loving the caged sleeves! I wore it with some cow print and easy slip-ons, as always black and white does it for me, especially when I have some details like prints and finger bling going on. Can’t talk much today, sorry, so much work to do! Stay tuned for tomorrows post – the answers to your Q&A part 2 where I answer personal questions!
Happy Monday!

Top: Pieces via New Look / Shorts: Zara / Slip-ons: Zara / Bag: Alexander Wang / Necklace: Fashionology / Rings: ASOS

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I’m in a good mood this weekend! The weather is great, hanging out with friends and good food was just what I needed. My outfits reflect my mood more often than not, so here’s what I wore. Decided to go all matchy with my bright Vans and sweater with the same fun and cool leopard pattern. Wait, recognise that sweater (from here maybe)? Yes, those who follow me on instagram have already seen it, but I did what for some is the unthinkable. I customized something ‘designer’. I was less scared then you were I guess (in the end, clothing is clothing and no matter the price, it’s always better when you actually wear it), but here’s the story. Being absolutely obsessed with Kenzo SS13 clouded leopard print, I got this special edition sweater, which was more or less unisex but pretty much a men’s fit. Sometimes, I like myself a men’s fit, but in this case I didn’t. It was just not very flattering. So I had 2 options: leave it hanging in my closet and hardly ever wear it, even though I love the print, or customize it so that it becomes one of my favorite tops. Sounds better when I put it like that right? I love how it’s more feminine, slightly cropped and – for me – very wearable right now. Sorry Kenzo, but I’m not so sorry!
Would you ever customize designer clothing? How do you think this little project turned out?
Happy Sunday!

Sweater: Kenzo (customized by moi) / Mesh top: unknown / Skirt: ASOS / Sneakers: Vans x Kenzo / Rings: Fashionology (get 30% off on everything atm!)

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So you may have noticed my slight obsession with 3.1 Phillip Lim’s SS13 collection, and I guess this wasn’t the end of it. Mr Lim deserves all the attention though, not only almost setting a new grunge trend by himself but also getting my heart racing over florals, that is one accomplishment. I’m not the flower print type of girl. However, when you put a lot of black, grainy leather, zippers and dark silver hardware into the equation, in the form of this cute-but-not-at-all-cute-bag, my blood pressure rises. Add to that the fact that this is a mini-version, read: perfect small cross-body bag, the only bag I want to wear this summer. The final blame of my pounding heart: it was on sale. At ANSH46 in Rotterdam, whose sale is starting today and has all items that are on sale for 3=1. That is 3 items, only having to pay for 1, on brands like Alexander Wang, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Helmut Lang and more. If that doesn’t get your heart racing..

3.1 Phillip Lim Mini Pashli Satchel

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Wearing a blouse underneath a sweater always gives me a sort of office-feel, it’s when I think back of the time I spent at important law-events when I studied law, that is what I wore often to look neat and at the same time avoid wearing a blazer. It’s been a few years since I wore that combo, but I decided to play around with it a little. I’m in work mode today anyways, so much work to do! This skort is obviously too short for any office look and I added some sneakers as well to get to a professional-but-not-professional look. I love my contrasts. Also: I love my Céline sunnies. Even though they cover half my face. Sometimes I just need that. Happy Thursday!

Sweater with zip back: ASOS / White blouse: H&M Trend / Skort: Zara / Sneakers: New Balance / Watch: Michael Kors / Rings: ASOS / Sunglasses: Céline via STYLEBOP.com

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Thanks for all the responses and kind words in my Q&A post! You guys gave me some really good feedback and I will try to smile more in pictures, show more of my nails again, and do another ‘How to wear’ series. As for my personal life, I’m really happy to hear that you guys like the personal part of my blog so I’ll definitely keep that in mind. By the way, I share most personal stuff on instagram, may you be interested :) As for video’s, those really scare me but it’s definitely something I’m considering for the future. Who knows!
Since there were so many questions I decided to answer them in 2 posts. Beneath it’s all about fashion and blogging, and later this week I will publish the part in which I will answer more personal questions.

My relationship with fashion
How it all started? Well, not that glamorous really. I’m not the girl that was born fashionable, nor did I always have a great sense of style or sew my own dresses in kindergarten. Somehow my interest for fashion appeared when I was about 19 and then my boyfriend had a big share in it as well since he works in fashion and triggered something in me. It slowly grew on me and I started to develop my own sense of style, and then I started the blog and it got out of control, haha. I never did any kind of fashion school so I’m not a pro and learnt everything I know about fashion myself. I can’t really explain it though, my love for fashion came quite late and quite sneaky grew into a huge love!

Before blogging
So as I said I never did any kind of fashion-related eductions. I studied Law for 1,5 years but decided that wasn’t for me, and last year I got my Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences. I wasn’t sure which Master to do but then my blog happened and I made it my business and decided not to get a Master’s degree but get to where I want to be by working hard and trying new things. University was a bit too theoretical for my taste, especially after 4,5 years, and I figured experience would be more important in the work field I want to be in than to burry my head in books for another year. Don’t get me wrong, education is super important, but once I realized exactly what I wanted to do and knew how to get there and knew I wouldn’t need a Master’s degree, I decided to not do it at that moment. But maybe in the future I’ll get it anyway, you never know.

Job
Right now blogging is my fulltime job. I am really thankful to be able to do what I love 7 days of the week. Some of you asked me if I had a side job or how I made money to spend on all these clothes. Ideally, I would love to do some freelance work as a fashion writer on the site, just because I love creating content and most of the time it doesn’t even feel like work, and I would have a more stable income. Since I’ve had health problems since January though (you’ll read more of that later this week when I’ll answer personal questions) I haven’t been able to look for anything like that. I’m happy that I can still do what I love even when having health problems, you guys are so supportive and that gives me a boost every time. When it comes to money, all I can say is that I don’t have a huge amount of it to spend, I just think about where I spend it. I love fashion and clothing and choose to spend (after the bills are paid of course) my money on it, and not on other things. For instance I hardly spend money on going out or expensive beauty products or other hobbies. You can’t do it all, so I’d rather get some new shoes than go out to dinner when I have to choose. You can’t have it all, right?

My favorite piece
My favorite piece of clothing, one that I will still wear when I’m 40/60/80, that’s a tough one! Right now my favorite piece in my closet is my Givenchy Obsedia bag, just because it’s the perfect little black bag that goes with everything I own and feels really timeless. I’ll probably hold onto that bag forever since I worked really hard for it and it was the first big thing I got from blogging, so that means a lot to me. Then there’s of course a few pieces I will always wear but probably in different versions, like the white tee, the leather jacket, any type of sneakers (my oldest ones are black Converse all Stars). I’m really curious though of how I will dress in 20 or 40 years!

Taking Photos
My main photographer is my boyfriend. We both didn’t know much about photography but I did a lot of research on which camera and lens to get and how to get my settings right, and we kind of just figured it out together and I’m really happy with the pictures he makes. He has a fulltime job though so we mostly take pictures in the weekends, and on weekdays sometimes I have my dad take my pictures (I just make sure the camera settings are right and he’s actually doing a great job as my second photographer!). I do find it really important though to show you at least 3 outfits a week so I do plan shoots a little, just to make sure I always have enough to show you. Some of you can be surprised post outfits that regular but it’s my job and I guess when you’re working for a paper, you have to make sure there’s something in it every day as well right?  The pictures always show you what I wore that day, I don’t really dress up for a shoot. Only sometimes when I’m wearing high heels I change them into flats later on the day when my feet start to hurt :). What camera I have? A Nikon D3100 with a 50mm 1.8f lens.

Blogging and tips
A lot of you asked me tips on how to become a successful blogger, get more readers and how I got to wear I am now. There isn’t really a secret I can reveal to you though. When I started blogging I knew absolutely nothing about it and I got to wear I am today by doing lots of research (try this website), working hard and constantly thinking of ways to improve my blog. It’s really all about trying things, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t, but you learn from it. If your blog is worth reading, people will find it (and social media and Lookbook.nu helped me a lot) and then the collaborations and expanding your network will happen automatically. Of course, you need to take some initiative here and there, be bold but not annoying, and take your blog seriously and most of all: work hard. I think a combination of passion, initiative, hard work and taking things serious (but not too serious, have some fun too!) is a great recipe for success. I hope that answers your questions. A few of you asked me quite specific questions and I know my answers not very specific but I pretty much got to wear I am like that, I didn’t do anything specific that lead to success. I didn’t do one or a few specific things that made my blog grow, I didn’t go somewhere and instantly had a network, it takes time and trying things out and you get experience from that which you can use in your next moves. There’s not one secret I can give you. Getting there yourself is the best way there is, because then you know what you’re doing and you learn from it. Please don’t always focus too much on success though, have a little fun along the ride!

Inspiration
I get my inspiration from everywhere. I read a lot of inspiring other blogs (find a list of my favorites here), but I also get inspiration from street style, both from pictures and from the streets itself. Then there’s magazines, editorials, Pinterest. Most of the inspiration I’m looking for is just for my daily outfits or maybe pieces I’m missing in my closet, and browsing the web every day looking for what’s in stores and online can give me instant inspiration. A lot of the times it comes from myself as well. I’m not always inspired but sometimes I can just see a nice black leather short and immediately think of 100 ways to wear it. I guess you can’t really be working in fashion when all the inspiration comes from others right? So often I just do what is ‘me’ and what feels right and that’s how I create most of my outfits.

Other questions
A few questions were quite specific so I’ll answer them here.

- Do I think a bodycon dress can be worn with sneakers?
Of course! That’s probably the only way I’d wear a bodycon dress and I’m convinced you can wear sneakers with anything (ok maybe not Oscar dresses). I love how throwing a pair of sneakers under a dress makes your look still feminine but more relaxed and dressed-down. Try a cool jacket like a biker or denim jacket over it as well in combination with sneakers!
- What is on top of my wishlist right now?
A stunning pair of leopard shoes (or sneakers) or maybe even bag. I love leopard!
- Could you do a post on active or sportswear?
I could, but I haven’t so far because I just don’t wear it myself and don’t know much about it. I know my outfits can be
sporty sometimes, but I’m actually not always that sporty ;) More about that later this week in the personal questions.
- Can you do a post about home decor?
Yes, I will do that soon!
- Do you have any styling suggestions for a shorter person?
I don’t have much experience in that area, not at all actually but I guess heels make anyone look taller and wearing all black as well, and I also found some tips in articles here and here
-Do you like denim shirts?
Yes, but I haven’t found the perfect one yet. I can be really picky when it comes to buttons and different washes and fabrics.
- Do you ever wear bandeaus?
Not really, because I hardly have any boobs and bandeaus squeeze them into none-existence :)
- Do you often send back stuff that you buy online because it doesn’t fit?
Not that often since I just do my research when I shop online, check measurements and I’m usually the size the model’s wearing so that’s convenient. I do return a lot from Zara but luckily it’s free to return that to the store.
- Do you have a lot of bad buys that remain unworn in your closet?
Not as much as I used to since I’ve gotten to know my style and closet much better since I started blogging, but there’s the occasional pair of heels that are too pretty to return but too uncomfortable to really wear, or the color that looked great on me in the store but not so much in daylight. I keep a rule for myself though: when I get something I have to think of at least 3 ways to wear it with items already in my closet, and then I can buy it. That really works!
- How would you style a pair of skinny jeans with one black and one white leg? In a way that it doesn’t look too punky.
I guess a peplum top takes all the punk out of it, or a blazer and a pair of pointy no-platform pumps. Maybe even a big bright sweater and bright sneakers or sandals, or a simple white/black strappy top and sandals.
- When will you update your SHOP MY CLOSET?
Very soon, as soon as I have time to take pictures of all the clothing but I will try to do it either this or next week!

That’s it for now, I hope you’ll find the answers useful! Stay tuned for the rest of the answers later this week. :)

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