HOLIDAZE

Happy end-of-year holidays from all of us over at Style For Guys! From me, I mean me. It's just me. Light a Diptyque candle then immediately blow it out because you're literally burning money like what's the idea here Marie Antoinette, study for finals, despise every waking moment have some family quality time, drink too much, donate to the less fortunate, make love, patch up old ties, scribble down resolutions, plan a New Year's Eve outfit, spill wine on said outfit and contemplate autodefenestration.

2014 will be big, one way or another. 

THE HOMESTEAD

"OMG, that's so me", chirped the millenial. Could be the first sentence of the Book of Our Generation, right? It's true that we love seeing our idiosyncrasies echoed by others online. But why does it make us feel better to read that someone else in the world also likes scratching off the 'gold' from the edges of a Nutella jar? If we pick up some heinous detail happening on our favourite TV show, do we not scour the Twitter search feed to find out if someone else has noticed? Or is that just so me? Recently I've found that the hours of navel-gazing I've been racking up lately have become quite a pain in the neck. (It's almost as if constantly worrying about where you're headed in life and who you really are, isn't worth it at all)! I remember feeling reinvigorated and good about myself after I did that outfitpost on a snowy rooftop. So, almost a year later, I teamed up with my dearest photographer "Da Qwen" once again. I styled an outfit with a bit of Yeezy , a touch of JPP and took it all the way back to the homestead.

MA-1 bomber (Alpha Industries) & t-shirt (Fly53) courtesy of BANK Fashion

Jumper & knit hat (Marshall Artist) courtesy of Scotts

Trainers (Nike) courtesy of JD Sports

Jeans: Levi's

Backpack: Raf Simons for Eastpak

Rings: H&M

Soundtrack: Volcano Choir
Photography: "Da Qwen" aka Janne Degryse

WINWINWIN! DISCOUNT VOUCHERS LES HOMMES STOCK SALES!

Yay! This week the Les Hommes stock sales take place in Antwerp and I'm giving away vouchers with a 10% discount for this, because I love you guys and want you to look sickening every day!

All you have to do is answer this simple question:

At what fashion school did the two designers behind Les Hommes meet?

(The answer can be found on the Les Hommes facebook page)

E-mail your answer to styleforguys@outlook.com with your full name in order to win that extra discount! See you at the stock sales (if you nab the pieces I wanted, I will cut you though).

Practical info:

WHEN
Wednesday 6th of November: 2pm  - 8pm 

Thursday 7th of November: 2pm - 8pm

Friday 8th of November: 2pm - 9pm (Cocktails @ 7pm!)

Saturday 9th of November: 10 am - 6pm

WHERE
Bourlastraat 19, 2000 Antwerp (parking Nationale Bank)

ANTWERP FASHION GOT ME LIKE

I just realised that I had shown a peek of my Dries Van Noten clutch on instagram a while back, but then never actually showed you the full package. Its mossy glossy leather has got me like:

Chloë knows the worth of a good clutch. So here it is, lying atop one of its cousins:

Now we're on the subject of Antwerp and fashion: I went to see Diane Pernet's A Shaded View on Fashion Film Festival last week and it was a total treat. Hours of short films by the most talented visionaries; I've been in dire need of inspiration of late so it was just what the doctor ordered! 

The cherry on top was attending (thanks to KNOTORYUS) the very first Fashion Talks conference. Guest speakers like Walter Van Beirendonck, Tim Blanks and Imran Amed talked about the importance of pairing business sense with fashion creativity, the changes in runway culture, the significance of conglomerate fashion takeovers, developing markets and much more. It's safe to say Antwerp was where the fashion buzz was at, last week. And thus, I live once again!

 (Check out the KNOTORYUS Twitter account for some great quotes of that day)

My hero, Tim Blanks, was so self-deprecating and whimsical. LOVE THAT MAN.

PACK YOUR BAG AND CARRY ON (AND DO A BIT OF MODELLING WHILE YOU'RE AT IT)

As you may have gleaned from the elated instagrams and tweets I posted last week(end), I had the honour of modelling in EASTPAK's Fall-Winter 2014 'Pack Your Bag And Carry On' campaign. Over the course of two days I got to work with some of Belgium's finest creatives as well as international heavy hitters like New York photographer Charlie Engman (so talented, I can't even) and the divine Jean-Paul Paula (whose style and presence I've loved for years). Spain's very own Pelayo Diaz of Kate Loves Me (I once made a wonky collage of his outfits for school, so it's surreal to even be in the same campaign today), Swedish muse Ebba Zingmark and the Zwillingsnaht twins from Germany completed this fabulous cast. I was so proud to represent Belgium and my blog amongst this kind of positive creative energy. I live!

The actual campaign images won't be released until late next year (FW '14, y'all!), but today I'll share some behind the scenes shots to give you an idea of what it was like on set!

First things first: A SELFIE (l.t.r. Deborah, Charlotte, me and Gina!)

You see, I'm not a professional model (giant collective gasp of bewilderment) so I didn't really know what I was stepping into. I just fashioned my model behaviour after what I've gathered from hours spent as a teen watching backstage reports on Fashion TV. I only trickled a handful of berries and oatmeal flakes into my mouth when people where looking (and scarved down Twixes when alone), gave my best Blue Steel smoulder when Charlie asked for it and tried my best not to grin like an idiot when the lovely Gina powdered my face with Chanel make-up (because OMG can someone powder my face every second of every day it is so relaxing). 

Eastpak had asked us to bring along our own clothes for the shoot, which involved me dragging around my entire closet in a giant suitcase and twisting several ankles (some of which my own). But to bring the final touches, they had called in the help of stylist Deborah who is a founder of art direction studio Uber & Kosher (their work is on another level, it'd be a mortal sin if you haven't checked it out yet). She even edited on-set photos in mere minutes, take a look at these:

Fabulous.

It was such a dream come true meeting Jean-Paul Paula. His street style images have become so iconic, so it was wonderful to find out that the person behind the online images is super kind and funny.

Tim! Looking so gleeful after I dropped him off on set in my sweet-ass ride:

Here Pelayo is seen wearing my scarf and Charlotte is just being all sorts of casual.

I just had a blast, to be honest. Much love for the entire cast and crew and big thanks to Eastpak for making me a part of it all!

(Images courtesy of Marian Venceslá, the campaign's Tumblr and my iPhone)

MOVIN' ON UP/OUT/ON

This week is going to be quite a challenging one: I'm juggling moving into my new apartment with a very exciting project. When the veil of mystery is lifted, you'll understand! Just writing about it is sending a wave of frisson through my body, to be honest.

So definitely stay tuned, I'll try to share as much as I can on here and on my instagram. Meanwhile, I'll be schlepping all my shit across the pavement and keeping it together for your sake.

This Givenchy 'moving box' makes it all a bit more fun, doesn't it?

WHAT I'M REMEMBERING AALIYAH IN

I can't believe it's been twelve years since I screeched the bejeezus out of everyone in the car as I heard the news of Aaliyah's passing on the radio. I was ten, she was as old as I am now. Still not over it, actually. She taught me the meaning of the word 'resolution' and under what circumstances a diamanté choker works with leather pants and a silver bikini top. Her music remains as brilliant as ever, so today I honour her with a special outfit for remembering/mourning/being dramatic for her in. Love you, Baby Girl!

 

 

Cap / Surface To Air

Sunglasses / Acne

Bomber / Comme des Garçons SHIRT

Jumper / Matthew Miller

Trousers / Comme des Garçons

Trainers / Raf Simons x Adidas