Lille

Last weekend was so busy.

Aside from working on my thesis and catching up with our families, my boyfriend, my sister and I went to see Alice in Wonderland. Maybe I expected too much out of it, but I didn't like it at all. The 3D-effects had no added value, and the story was quite boring. Plus, I missed that whole Tim Burton-vibe. So sad, 'cause I had high hopes for this one.

The following day my boyfriend's band had to play near the Flemish/French border, which gave us the opportunity to head to Lille for a shopping afternoon. We'd been there a few times and we've always loved this little town. It has many of the great luxury brands, a Printemps and the Galleries Lafayette. But the brand that surprised us the most was The Kooples. Belmodo.tv had mentioned their love for the brand, and when I saw the real deal, I couldn't agree more. Great basics with a rock and roll edge for him and her. And the brand's mission statement to dress trendy couples, seduced both my boyfriend and me. We each left the store with our new favorite fashion items. The following day, I already wore my new tulip-skirt to his dad's birthday party, and I think it would look great with my Alexander McQueen skull-shirt as well.

And planning a trip back in a few months, I really need those Marc Jacobs and Repetto-flats I spotted at the Printemps!

Shopping Spree

Thursday I received some very nice feedback regarding my exam results. And thus, I decided to go and celebrate. Celebrating to me almost equals to shopping. And so we headed off to Belgium's greatest shopping city Antwerp on Friday, and as always, it was totally worth it.

First, I spotted this Alexander McQueen skull shirt for men. I could not believe they hadn't all sold out immediately when the news got out. Now, as I mentioned before, I do wear men shirts, when it comes to McQueen -in size XS that is. But then I realized that I already have quite a few signature pieces by the designer. My boyfriend on the other hand, always bought his low-key designs, and now was risking to be left without an original skull shirt. So I decided to get him one, as a present.

After a delicious hot chocolate at Verso Café, my sister bought a new bag. I'm still so jealous, I can not get over it. Afterwards, I spotted some 'bling', at the Pinko-store. No way that I'm going to wear the logo-shirt that comes with it, but when it comes to brooches, I just have to have them. And this white 'Saint-Tropez' special edition version came with 3 pieces.

Oh and my sister saw the most amazing Nicolas Kirkwood-shoes, the ones she blogged about in October. True masterpiece indeed, too bad it comes with a matching price tag (€ 1100).

Since my boyfriend promised me a long time ago, saturday we went shopping in Brussels. I didn't see anything cool, so 'all I got' were the Chanel ballet flats I longed for, for a while now. Black leather, with a black patent point, easy to mix with my all-black wardrobe. I'm happy. We finished up with a great dinner at Cook & Book and his band's gig at the Belgian seaside.

Dior

Maison Chaplin posted a message the other day that Dior recently opened their first watches/jewelry store in Geneva. And if you check their latest collections on the Dior Fine Jewelry-website, you'll probably be dying to see the store's windows and what's inside them.

The blog post by Maison Chaplin, inspired me to pull out an old Dior necklace of ours and hopefully wear it more often. I got it a couple of years ago at Loja Das Meias, a very nice multi-brand store in Lisbon. I think such a fun and floral accessory will give any serious, all-black outfit an extra touch. No idea what kind of material or series this particular necklace is, but if I remember properly, it didn't cost that much. So, if you spot any -online e.g.-, please get back to me.

Edit: Yes, Sis', I do am jealous of your new Burberry trench!

Maastricht

About once a month I find an e-mail in my inbox by Kiki Niesten, a luxurious multi-brand shop. This is for me the cue that some very interesting sales are coming up in this Maastricht-based store, which is near the Belgian/Dutch border and thus, near my hometown.

The messages on the other hand, also remind me to check the news section on the website. I'm always anxious for Kiki's video's. Every time the owner visits the most renowned fashion capitols to buy the latest high end collections, she uploads a animated review. It offers a look into the whole buying process at the world's biggest fashion houses. At the end of each trip she shares her favorite addresses through a little shopping guide-pdf. And if that's not enough: Kiki's Fashion Shoot, a fashion first-person shooter game, offers the visitors of the website the chance to win a designer must have.

(screen shot: KikiNiesten.nl)