I heart Valentine’s

January 31, 2018January 31, 2018 catoinamsterdamLeave a comment

To be honest, Valentine’s Day isn’t that big a deal in the Netherlands. Or maybe it is for single young people. You know, the opposite of me. If you’ve been together with your significant other for more than 15 years, it’s a day like any other. Except with a lot more hearts everywhere. And of course my dear mother’s V-Day card!

One thing I do like about Valentine’s Day is that I can go all out on my Instagram page. I love kitschy pictures and V-Day is the perfect excuse to look for love-themed accessories and clothes and to splatter my pictures with hearts. For at least 4 weeks…..

V-Day 2017: still in love with this outfit and this colour combination (shop similar items here, here and here).

I am so in love with this blue and red combination. The skirt is from Sheinside.com (here). The shoes were a DIY-project (you can buy pompoms and shoeclips here and here). Shop the beret and a similar bag here and here).

This dress is called Cupid’s Heart Dress. How very Valentine’s! It’s from Chicwish (shop here). The shoes can be found here.

I bought this skirt last year and never wore it. And now I have! It’s sold out, sorry. Cat bag (set of 2) can be found here.

Last year’s V-Day card from mum ;-). This gorgeous set is from Emily Lovelock (old).

I had this t-shirt printed at a website (here). I do this quite a lot if I can’t find a t-shirt with the print I’m looking for! Skirt is from Sheinside.com (shop here)

Whether you celebrate Valentine’s Day or not, I hope 14 February will be a wonderful day for you!

Fashion

Trousers??

January 23, 2018January 23, 2018 catoinamsterdamLeave a comment

If you follow me on Instagram, you might know I don’t wear pants (or trousers) that often. I feel more comfortable in a skirt or dress. And more feminine. But sometimes you just have to wear trousers to avoid embarrassing or uncomfortable situations. Think stormy weather or temperatures below freezing point. Although I am known for wearing skirts when everyone else is covered in multiple layers of thermal underwear underneath their clothes.

I own a few trousers and I have posted some outfits on Instagram in the past years. Here’s an overview. This is going to be my shortest post until now!

The latest edition to my trouser family: these Joanie Clothing cropped polkadot trousers (shop here). I have bought them with spring in mind.

Another pair of dotted trousers. These are at least 10 years old but since I hardly ever wear them they are still in mint condition.

These tartan pants are my favourites at the moment (I have featured them before on this website). They sold out so quickly at H&M and I totally understand why!

Winter 2016. High waisted black skinny jeans. With stretch. Always a good idea!

Jeans! I own just 3 pairs of jeans. These skinny jeans, a boyfriend fit and a pair with flaired legs. That’s it. No need for more 🙂

Finally one of the first pictures I ever posted on Instagram. Yes, I own combat trousers. Bet you didn’t expect that!

Now back to skirts and dresses! Thanks for reading,

Fashion

Dots and stripes

December 21, 2017December 21, 2017 catoinamsterdamLeave a comment

My two favourite prints deserve a separate post.

For me, skirts and dresses with stripes or polka dots are hard to resist. I also happen to be the proud owner of a ridiculous large collection of striped tops and sweaters. You would think that if you’ve seen one striped dress, skirt or top you’ve seen them all. But no: you have stripes in every form, shape and colour. Same goes for dots.

I have dug deep into my photo archive to prove my point, so here it goes:

Vertical vs. horizontal vs. diagonal in black and white

Vertical stripes on one of my favourite dresses of the moment from Shopbluebelle.com (here), horizontal stripes on a Mint & Berry dress (still available here) and diagonal on my beautiful Ted Baker cocktail dress (on sale here)

I couldn’t pick a favourite stripe if I had to. Vertical is slimming, horizontal is cute and very French, diagonal is so unexpected.

Coloured stripes

I could insert dozens of pictures here, but I tried to restrain myself. Let’s just say I like coloured stripes. A lot…..

This dress has vertical and horizontal stripes in orange, black and silver. What more can you ask for? Dress is from Traffic People (shop here).

Red stripes! Or are they white?? Dress is from Dolly and Dotty (this colour is sold out but in burgundy/black shop here).

This gorgeous blue and yellow striped top is from Emily Lovelock (sold out).

Baby pink and black. I bought this dress on sale at Joanie Clothing and was so happy they still had my size. I mean, baby pink and black….. (sorry, it’s sold out now).

Dots!

Polka dots are so girly but yet so stylish. And more versatile than you’d think. Of course the classic black and white (or white and black) dots are a style staple but why not try a different colour?

Blue dots from Emily Lovelock (shop here)

Multi-coloured dots (old but similar here)

Yellow on white by Emily Lovelock (can you tell I love this brand?). It’s still available at Wolf and Badger (here) and also as a skirt (here)

Dots combined with stripes

The best of both worlds….

First two are sold out, but similar dots skirt here. The green co-ord from Asos.com is one of my favourite purchases of last spring. And it has diagonal stripes, vertical stripes and dots! It’s still available and on major sale (here and here).

Even in my home, these prints are represented:

Enjoy the holidays!

Accessories · Fashion

All I want (to wear) for Christmas

December 7, 2017December 7, 2017 catoinamsterdam4 Comments

Ah, Christmas. Time to spend quality time with our friends and family. To relax and eat. And to dress up! Well, for some……

Every year, I spend Christmas Day (we Dutchies call it first Christmas Day, since we have two) with my family. We play shuffle board and eat Raclette. Not really an occasion to dress up in your finest frock since eating Raclette involves frying small pieces of meat, vegetables or fish on a hotplate set the middle of the dining table. Playing shuffle board in a ball gown or super tight little black dress isn’t a very good idea either, if you want to keep up with my super competitive family members.

So each year I try to find a festive yet comfortable outfit to wear. And maybe, just maybe, I will wear pants this year. I found these cute tartan pants at H&M. I think they just scream Christmas, don’t you think?

The cute present bag is from Joanie Clothing (shop here). The H&M pants are sold out online everywhere (you could try in store). Some alternatives can be bought here or here.

This outfit is definitely a contestant for this year too. The gorgeous top (with birdcage print!) is not too warm (hotplate!) and is wide enough to shuffle those disks. The bag from Mint&Berry via Zalando (here) and skirt (old, similar here) add a touch of chic. The top is from the Emily Lovelock AW 2017 collection (shop here).

This beautiful Emily Lovelock dress leaves enough room for food and games. I can always loosen the belt, if needed (or rather: when needed). The dress is not in stores yet, I will update this post when it is. The bag is from Furla (shop similar here) and the heels are from New Look (shop here).

Last year I wore this gorgeous skirt. I did cover it up during dinner (couldn’t find a similar flock print tulle skirt, but here’s one with hearts from J.Crew)!

Two years ago (sorry for the quality, I was even less skilled in photography back then). Yes, I love Christmas kitsch! Both outfits are old, obviously.

I’ll let you know which outfit made the cut for Christmas. It’s still too early to wish you a merry Christmas, so I’ll just wish you a happy rest of the week!