MOVING / Hello New Love Aesthetics

It has been exactly 6 years since I wrote my first post on Love Aesthetics and my digital brainchild was born. It is the project I've been involved in for the longest amount of time in my life. My blog has lasted longer than high school. Though Love Aesthetics has slowly been growing into a thing on its own and has outgrown the format of just a blog.

Thank you all for reading and being with me all these years. The best thing about running this blog has been meeting so many of you talented readers and making a lot of new friends. There is a Dutch expression 'stok achter de deur' which literally translates into 'stick behind the door', which means a threat in the most positive sense of the word, an extra motivation for doing something. So thank you all for stopping by each time (and leaving all the lovely comments, I've read each single one of them), you have been my 'stick behind the door' to update Love Aesthetics, to keep the ideas coming and to push myself to deliver better quality each time. I can honestly say that I love you!

Please do come and take a look at our new digital place! There are a lot of new updates waiting!
I've been working hard on it the last month together with Fleur Glansbeek and can not be more excited to finally invite you over!








/ NEW WEBSITE !
http://LOVE-AESTHETICS.nl

L I F E / Notebooks That Keep Me Mentally Sane

The notebook and office supply obsession continues, stationery just radiates a feeling of productivity.
And on productive days, I am the most happy. I usually dedicate one notebook to one personal project. Every to do list and idea gets written or sketched in their proper place. Also to keep mentally sane when working on many things at a time, it is very nice to physically close one notebook, put it away and open a new one.

This week I reached a couple of personal epiphanies, there is a lot of newness in my head. So for this occasion, today I finally unpacked a very special, fresh, new notebook I had gotten as a gift from Maison Martin Margiela last year. I can't wait to fill it's pages, which are made out of fabric instead of paper.

from top to bottom:
set of rings: Asos
notes: Hema
mini Moleskine
fabric notebook: MMM
leather notebook: DIY
claustrophobic notebook MMM

L I F E / Three Step Thrift Guide

90s Calvin Klein sweatshirt, oversized blazer, both thrifted

Those rare, thrifted, treasure finds never come on a silver platter. The contrary, the stuff on most vintage markets smells like a moldy gym locker, half the staff in thrift stores is there because of community service (no friendly shop assistant to hand you your size) and you're lucky if the stock is hanging on an actual hanger. Yes you really have to dig and work for it.

I've talked about reasons why I love to shop guilt free and why I think everyone should do some secondhand shopping; no extra strain on the environment, finding unique pieces and because of the better cuts and quality that clothes had before mass production. Because I'm always asked how I manage to find the best pieces among the trash, here is a little 3-step thrift guide!


1/ Look for fabrics
Those tacky neon track jackets might grab your attention so much that you overlook the black blouse in fine silk hanging right beside it. Try to discard everything you are not looking for from your view. Now, thoroughly go through the racks or piles and look for nice prints, good quality denims, nice worn down leather, silk blouses or wool blazers. Ignore the fits and sizing. Start off by only looking (and feeling) at fabrics.

2/ Fits
Now that you have a pile of garments in the right colors and materials, it's time to further narrow down your selection: estimate the size by viewing it and keep ignoring those size labels. Size labels from other era's and regions can vary a lot, so it really doesn't say anything. A 'too small' little boy's blazer could be cropped and boxy on you. A huge 'too big' heavy wool grandpa blazer could be your next Yamamoto-style coat.

3/ Select
Look for the potential in these pieces, try to imagine how they would look belted, think about possibly cutting of length (or a frilled edge). Also inspect for stains or damages and keep in mind that these garments will look more polished after being washed and ironed.


Three Small Adjustments
/A dress can be cut at the waist to become a skirt or top. Something I used to do with my dresses when I was about 6 years old.
/Too big trousers can become fold over pants with one small adjustment like I did with these.
/Cut a slit under the arms of a jacket to get a French editor-over-the-shoulder-jacket look like I did with this DIY.

L I F E / Inspiration in Menswear

Lately menswear is becoming more like womenswear. Where changes per season are often seen in big ways; a drastic change of silhouette, color, print or theme. Whereas the changes in the menswear would often be more subtle, about what kind of stitching, tailoring, button placement, slight changes in proportions; a higher hem, an exposed ankle. Menswear has a certain delicacy to it.

The way men dress changes less or slower per season, compared to women. If the cliché of men rarely shopping is true (that they know what they are missing in their wardrobe, buy it and get out) you could say that my shopping behavior is quite manly. I never dedicate an entire day to shop. When I need something, I order it online or go straight to the store and rack where I can find it. You won’t catch me in a store trying on piles of clothes for fun. The men’s department always looks more ‘boring’ than the women’s department, because it is filled with mostly basics in basic colors.

I still find it immensely inspiring to look for these subtle whispering details on the classic pieces in the menswear shows, my boyfriend's closet or in stores as opposed to flicking through the often loud and ever changing womenswear collections. Menswear is still kind of a safe haven and a place to enjoy fashion in a less hysterical and fast way.

Also the practicality of menswear inspires me immensely. You should see the depth of the pockets in my oversized wool mens coat; they fit my wallet, my glasses including their case, some cosmetics and even my camera. MY. CAMERA. No need to even bring a bag. Isn’t it kind of anti-feminist that often form comes before function in womenswear?

shirt: Raf Simons via Tres Bien
jacket: Muji

L I F E / GET SHIT DONE Calendar

To continue last year's tradition, I'm sharing my home made calendar again for all of you to download. I'm not a graphic designer, merely a lover of graphic shapes and typography, especially a fan of the slash as you can see. The calendar is timeless and universal, you can apply it to every month and year, just write the number of the month behind the large slash and the number of the day behind the small slashes corresponding with the days of the week.

I'm wishing you all have an overflow of creativity and productivity with the three magical words 'get shit done'. Let's own 2014!

Click
to download the calendar

L I F E / Lots of love

New year's is my favourite celebration ( for the same reasons as Monday is my favourite day of the week) : a clean slate, new beginnings, dreams, enthusiasm and big plans.

Though this year I'm planning for less. Instead of aiming to do more of this or that I'm going to simplify and minimise more. Reduce my stuff, reduce the amount of obligations and focus on fewer things.

Goodbye 2013, you were fantastic. A year filled with a lot of exciting project and a lot of lovely people and I got into a mosh pit for the first time and survived. Leaving you with some images from my tumblr curation for SHOWstudio from earlier this year. Wishing you all lots of love and inspiration for 2014 Cheers!

SHOWstudio

L I F E / Minimalistic, Vegan, Coconut, Vanilla Cubes

I love this recipe for how minimalistic and uncomplicated it is; only four ingredients, very few steps, very little time and it is vegan (meat/dairy production wastes natural resources). Usually I like my food as colorful as possible, but these creamy vanilla coconut cubes just screamed Love Aesthetics. So here it is; my first ever food related blog post! I am not a very good cook so don't expect more recipes, but these are so easy to make and the result is so beautifully that I could not not share this with you guys.

Ingredients explained/
Agar Agar is an Malaysian/Inonesian desert, very similar to jelly pudding with a sightly more bitable texture, if made with water it is incredibly thirst quenching. Though unlike gelatin jelly which is an animal product (made out of animal bones and pig skin), Agar Agar is plant based made out of seaweed. It comes in a variety of colors and flavors but for this recipe you'll need the flavorless, colorless kind (avoiding all the artificial ingredients). You can find it at almost every Asian supermarket, it is also known as Kanten in Japan. Instead of sugar I used agave nectar, but you can use whatever sweetener you want.

1/ Prepare the Agar Agar as instructed on the package. But instead of using water, use coconut milk. Bring the coconut milk to a boil, add the powder, the agave nectar and the seeds of the vanilla bean. Stirr well and take your pan off the heat.
2/ Pour the mixture into a container. Let it cool off outside the fridge for a while to give the vanilla seeds a chance to sink to the bottom before the pudding sets.
3/ After about an hour in the fridge, cut the agar agar into cubes. If you insert your knife a little diagonally like I did, you'll get slightly inclined cubes with visually more 3D effect.
4/ Take them out, flip them over to expose the black vanilla speckles and eat!

need
/agar agar powder
/coconut milk
/a vanilla bean
/agave nectar (or sugar)

L I F E / Visting &Other Stories

This specific mood and aesthetics of theirs is not set up by some stylist in an empty studio. The &Other Stories headquarters look exactly like their campaigns, shops and online store; the concrete floors throughout are recognizable from the uniform way they photograph their products and there are traces (in the form of silver balloons clinging to the ceiling) of photoshoots that took place in the office space. The headquarters consist of two large floors with desks and computers on the sides and all kinds of experimenting tables down the middle; on which tests with paint are being done, moodboards are arranged, new beauty products are being tested, and developing products are being displayed. There is literally creativity everywhere you look.

Last month Romeo and I were invited into the Stockholm ateliers to participate in their co-creatives project. Along with a group of other creatives from all different fields(DJ's, editors, artists, models, film makers), we were asked to dress ourselves with their clothes and document it with a polaroid camera. The end product is a bunch of raw images; unedited, hard to plan, hard to do over; just reflections of reality with all its imperfections.

Though the company is part of the gigantic H&M group, what impressed me most was their autonomous way of working, how they created their own little world and that there is a group of genuinely cool people behind it all. Thank you &Other Stories for having us, you know we had a lot of fun shooting these polaroids.

Complete collection of polaroids on the &Other Stories Tumblr

L I F E / Eastpak Artist Studio - Ivania Carpio

Last week the international launch of all the Eastpak Artist studio bags took place in Antwerp; a project in which selected artists from 14 countries projected their vision and creativity on the classic Eastpak Pak'r Backpack. All proceeds of the sales will go to charity organization Designers Against Aids. It was an honor to be asked to participate and a lot of fun to come up with a concept and make my backpack.

'Customizing' the bag by adding decorations without a clear function or a purpose did not make sense to me. When I got the classic Eastpak Pak'r backpack to do whatever way I wanted to it; my first thought was that this was actually already a great design; the ultimate, basic, archetypical backpack.

So I chose to make a few small yet radical changes to the bag; I changed the solid back of the bag for clear perspex and moved the outside pocket to the inside. This way only the wearer can see what's inside and the outside is left completely bare. I wanted it to be about exposure and concealment, with the disease of aids in mind which is often an invisible problem.

/ Update:
About when it will be restocked and where it will be available; bad news, there is only one of them. This concept-version that I made myself. Every artist was given one bag to 'customize'. The fact that you guys see it as a product available for purchase is such a huge compliment to me and means that I've achieved the goal I had in mind for it; making a functional and wearable bag while at the same time communicating a message.

Eastpak Artist Studio 2013

L I F E / To Give And Take

It's hard to believe that there is only one month left of 2013. And this last month can be quite a stressful and crazy period, where the city always seems to be crowded with people who are trying to buy their way into a nice Christmas; the perfect outfit, the perfect gift, the perfect wish list.

Usually I specifically ask for nothing but risk getting something I do not want by those gritty Christmas givers. So here is some -relatively- useful stuff, in slightly more luxe versions than usual, to either give or take. Some of these things I already own like the lovely Claustrophobic notebooks, which are used to write very special memos and love letters. Take notes Santa.

/Comme des Garçons scent
/Maison Martin Margiela notebook
/Marbled board
/Jil Sander pouch
/Comme des Garçons sport socks

L I F E / Factory - [+ small Maison Martin Margiela giveaway]

Last month, my workspace looked like a little factory with rolls of felt, piles of cut fabric all over and a sewing machine instead of a computer on the desk. I was making the bags in which the new Maison Martin Margiela Replica scents would be presented to the press, kind of like a packaging for a packaging. The fragrances division of Maison Martin Margiela saw the DIY I made a while ago and commissioned me to make it for the entire fashion press of The Netherlands and Belgium. You can imagine my excitement.

About the fragrances_
Romeo appropriated the 'Jazz club' and my personal favorite is the musky 'Lazy Sunday Morning'. Right now, the beautiful bottle of 'Promenade in the gardens' sits unused on the shelf. So if you like flowery scents with a slight hint of fresh leaves, leave your email in the comments below. At the end of the week I will pick someone who can put it to good use and send it over inside a little felt bag.

L I F E / 'Beach Walk'

A ‘Beach Walk’ along the concrete docks of the Amsterdam harbor. We find the docklands most enchanting during the gloomy autumn and winter months, when the sea looks almost black and the skies are grey. The air here is salty, fresh, clean and cold, yet sometimes there is a vague industrial smell of gasoline and iron that passes you by.

Our friends at Margiela asked Romeo and me to send in an image of our favorite memories corresponding to one of the fragrances in the Replica line. These scents instantly evoke images and impressions and force lingering memories of touch, taste and smell, taking you back to a certain time and place. With contributions of artists from all over the world they will be creating a database of memories, a collective work art that is now on display at Galerie Philppe Jousse in Paris and the Replica tumblr.

L I F E / Garment Care: Leather

For a little while it was a little dilemma for me when choosing between real or faux leather, considering the environment. Cows being the biggest producers of CO2 versus the chemical process it takes to make faux, plastic leather. Though no fake alternative comes close to having all the beautiful properties and qualities that real leather has. Keeping this in mind, I think it's important to take care of your leather goods and make them last as long as possible. Here's a super quick treatment that my most used bags get every couple of months.


/ cleaning
_ First off; determine what type of leather you are dealing with. Delicate leathers like nappa or calfskin should be handled by professionals. But if you've got a protected kind on hand (most bags and purses are), which doesn't absorb water, you can clean it yourself.
_ (For a quick clean without damaging the surface of your leather you can use (ph neutral) face wipes.)
_ Spray some of your leather cleaner or soapy water (ph neutral hand soap diluted with water) over the entire surface and very gently, without too much pressure brush it into the leather with a soft brush. Wipe it off with a dry cloth.
_ Repeat on stained areas, use the brush to get the dirt out or the pores and grains of the leather.
_ Lastly, rub a leather conditioner (I'm using this one from Tangent GC) onto the clean surface with a clean cloth. This will protect the leather and keep it supple.



Previous Garment Care post / Keeping white clothes white

/ leather cleaner -or-
/ soapy water
/ clean cloth
/ soft brush
/ face wipes

L I F E / Sparking My Interest

currently sparking my interest
/ What is still one of the most interesting things to me about the nineties is the fact that for the first time in history, underdressing became a thing. Sportswear, undone hair, deliberately looking casual and effortless. The phobia of being underdressed was finally completely displaced by the fear of overdressing.
/ A graduation collection from Tom Nijhuis inspired by the mid/late 90s Dutch hardcore house scene. A sub culture where 'gabbers' dressed in exclusively sportswear and girls danced around in sportsbra's and high ponytails.

Sportsbra: Nike
Image: Meinke Klein for Tom Nijhuis

L I F E / Confidential

here's a special story
My dear friend Suzanne went to New York for fashion week and rented a room via air-bnb, coincidentally it was in Lyndsy Welgos appartment, who was just working on her online magazine Topical Cream and was looking for people to feature. Suzanne introduced us to each other and ended up doing an interview with me. This was super special because not only is Suzanne a brilliant magazine editor and conceptual thinker, she is also a very good friend. The cliche questions like 'who is your style icon' were not asked, instead Suzanne turned it into an in depth conversation. On top of that, Romeo was commissioned to shoot the portraits, who besides being my boyfriend is also my best friend. I came up with the idea to take pictures in which my face wouldn't be visible. The end result turned out being such an intimate collaboration, I don't think interviews can get any more personal than this.

/ Sharing the meaning of my tattoo feels very strange because it is so very personal and important to me. It is about staying focussed, staying on your path that aims to your goals and dreams. The line is almost never 100% straight because my arm is always in movement, and so is life. There are curves and bends but the line is always there and can always go back to its original straight form.

L I F E / Colorless Depth

I think colors can divert attention away to much more interesting details. Like the fit, fabric and texture. Rearranged my closet a bit and brought the pile of white sweatshirts more forward to get a bit mentally prepared for autumn. When I saw all these textures on top of each other in slightly different shades of white I thought it was worth a photo shoot picture. I love adding more depth to monochromatic outfits without adding any accessories or colors, but just purely playing with textures and materials.

quilted: thrifted (similar)
fluffy: thrifted
knit: COS ( similar )
basic: American Apparel

L I F E / Productivity Playlist

While working or reading, listening to something that makes you want to sing or dance along doesn't do any good for productivity. At least for me it works like that, for such moment I rather like more monotone music that doesn't invade and disturb other thoughts.

Ever since Philips gave me their new CitiScape earphones to test out, they haven't left my work area. Usually I don't wear earphones when listening to music, but while working from home it has been really nice to isolate myself completely by putting them on and being able to focus without any sound distractions. It definitely helps that the ear pieces are super soft an comfy, after a while you barely even notice they're there.

Here are five of my favorite songs that I put on when shit really has to get done:

Glasser / Apply
SBTRKT / Atomic peace
Massive Attack / Paradise circus
Gazelle twin / I turn my arm (Alixander III mix)
Sigur Ros / Glosoli

advertorial (read ethics)

L I F E / Daily Necessities

In the handbag, on the desk or on the bedside, these things are always within reach. A selection of basics that does not vary. I love putting more attention towards finding the perfect versions of these functional objects that have to be used every single day and partly determine the aesthetics of our life.

Having the perfect basics takes away the need to purchase the unnecessary. Knowing that you work best on thick unlined paper for example, could stop you from buying a lined notebook even though the leather luxe cover is beautiful and it is on sale. But no one asks us questions about the way we use stuff and often we forget to ask these questions to ourselves to determine what we need (or really want even). This sounds like a very minimalistic thought, but I think it goes much further; all the amount of products that are thrown at people makes them lose themselves, their own opinion and their own style. People just blindly buy like mindless zombies without even being aware of their own likings, needs and taste.

Enough rant! Also took these pictures because arranging white notebooks with white pencils in a neat way and photographing is my joy in life.

wallet: Comme des Garçons
notebook: Moleskine
wire case: DIY
iphone case: Pantone
bottle: used to contain exotic asian drink

L I F E / Festival Packing

Let's be honest. There was just no way that I was going to make the actual content of what I'm taking to Melt festival look good enough for a blog post. My bag is packed with chargers, wires, wipes, band-aids, disinfecting gel, bug spray, extra socks, towels and more random stuff that you need to go out camping. The actual clothes that I'm taking are only a fraction of my luggage. Though I am very proud that I managed to fit everything inside one single backpack. Getting to chose these clothes was a bit of a hassle, picking footwear was the most problematic. See, I just don't want to put any of my babies shoes through the mud, sand, trash, stomping, dancing this weekend. Instead I got a pair of vintage platform trainers for the heavy duty. What I'll be wearing will be very simple as always, no fuss, just some monochromatic basics. Havn't even figured out my outfits exactly; but because it is all black and white it surely will work out. Off to Melt!

top: I made it
backpack : Eastpak
small backpack:
Love Aesthetics x Blackblessed
trainers: vintage

L I F E / Capsule Collection By Love Aesthetics

This has been one of the most exciting projects I've ever done in my life.
Designing a small capsule collection for BlackBlessed and getting complete freedom was just ...-and I deleted everything that I just wrote, because there is no way to describe how incredible it felt-.

I decided to make basic pieces that are all about functionality. They are very simplistic but if you look closely, you'll see that they all secretly have more than one function. Here's three individual explanations about the multi purpose pieces I designed:


/The Pant-Skirt
I came up with this about a year ago. After I made a leather wrap skirt but found out how it often didn't fit into my daily life. Riding my bike, running after my kid, was impossible in such a short stiff skirt. The back seam that it had sparked the idea of splitting the skirt into two legs, creating shorts with an overlapping skirt-front.

/The Jacket
Still obsessed with an anti-shape, unfeminine silhouette the jacket in this collection had to be a boxy one. I stripped it from as much as possible; no collar, no visible seams, some seams edges left unsewn, no pockets. Even got rid of some seams altogether on the front and merged the pattern into one big panel, creating a nice fold instead of a seam under the arm. And though it might look like you're not carrying anything, the inside of this jacket is packed with secret compartments; a zipped pouch, a place to put your phone and some slits to hold your cards.

/The Bag
Backpacks I love because of their practicality, clutch bags I love because of their lightness, to tuck them under your arm when you're carrying little. But sometimes you can't plan your day, your luggage might get bigger or smaller and you're stuck with the wrong bag. Packing for trips I also only like to take one bag that will be suitable for all situations. So I came up with this simplistic rectangular bag (can you see the paper lunch bag influence?) with detachable straps. You can wear it as a backpack, reposition the straps and use it as a shoulder bag, or take off the straps and fold it (or roll it like that lunch bag) into a clutch.


It was incredible to meet Floriana Serani, who singlehandedly created blackblessed.com; designes her own products, does the production and updates the blog. Working with someone like her, who makes things happen and makes her dreams a reality like putting up an independent, affordable online boutique, was super inspiring. The collection is available as of today! (hurraaay!) on Blackblessed.com, take a look if you have time!

/Blackblessed is giving away one of the jackets!
Follow them on instagram and leave your name/ size / email under this image.
Next friday someone is getting that jacket!