May 21, 2013

Question of the week: What are your rules for combining clothes?

"Wrong Combos" collage by Vera van het Hof
This year, fashion seems to be clashing everywhere: statement stripes are one of the biggest trends on the display windows and it doesn't look like bright colours on sneakers, jeans or hair are going anywhere either. However, combining clothes creatively and coming up with exciting yet chic outfits is not always as easy as it may sound, especially for the shyer dressers, who want to have a bit of fashion fun but prefer mild seasoning in their looks without too many quirks. Last month, Vera from Fashion Reset wrote about her thoughts on combining dresses, jackets and their hem lengths and shared her own "rule": short over long, long(er) over short or long over long. That leads us to the question of the week, which is:

 

What kind of rules do you have for combining your clothes? 


Do you rely on a certain colour palette, follow suggestions from style guides, never wear black with brown or clash your clothes fearlessly? We are curious, so share your personal rules and combination philosophies with us below in comments or on Facebook!

May 7, 2013

Interview: Two fashionistas, one blog and 365 days without new clothes

Meet Jeanine and Vera, two fashion professionals who decided to reset their fashion behaviour and stop shopping for a year. They write letters to each other on a blog called Fashion Reset, where they share their struggles, thoughts and successes. These girls get creative with fashion in an alternative way, and after a lot of digital penpalling, we finally managed to meet over coffee to talk about fashion, style and some “deep stuff”.
Let’s do it: 525.948 minutes without new shoes! Collage by Vera Van het Hof
 Please tell us something about yourself; who are Jeanine and Vera?

J: I’m Jeanine, a 34-year-old designer who graduated from the Amsterdam Fashion Institute. I design accessories for private label collections and work on my own label that is to be launched this year.

V: I’m Vera, a 35-year-old freelance copywriter and stylist. I give branding advice for companies, but have also recently done styling for a music video, so my work is really diverse. Me and Jeanine met each other at a clothes swapping event called Ellie’sKledingkast, where we worked in the same team as stylists.

You started a one-year shopping sabbatical together in January 2013. Why? What were the main reasons for you to stop shopping?
 

J: A few people I met were doing the Free Fashion Challenge and they told me that not shopping hadn’t been that much of a struggle for them. It made me wonder how it would be for myself. I wrote on my facebook that I was thinking about taking the challenge and not shopping for a year, and Vera reacted with panic. (laughs)

V:  I was like “what are you thinking?!”

J: Yes, and I then told you to join me.

V: It made me really curious. First I thought “no way”, but then I started thinking that if I could buy second hand, maybe I could actually do it. The thought became more serious, and I got an idea that if we did it together, we could also write about it to each other.

J: So, two weeks before the New Year we got together and set rules for our non-shopping challenge. We also made a list of must-have items for last minute shopping spree.


What were the items on that list? 

J: For me it was mainly the basics: socks, underwear and a few tops...I was actually so focussed on finding good quality socks that in the end I completely forgot to buy any bras. (laugh)

V: I bought socks and underwear, too, but I also had a last minute panic and made a 200€ order to Topshop. I got myself leggings with a super trendy space print that you can probably wear only once and a stupid pair of shoes which I didn’t really even like. I basically made all the worst shopping mistakes the night before the challenge started.

Have you also worn those clothes? 

V: Some of them, yes. Despite the panic, I was still thinking practically and also ordered cardigans and things like that, but the silly impulse buys that I threw in – like the leggings – I haven’t worn once.

J: One of my friends gave me a good tip to put some of the things you buy before the challenge aside until the time you need them. I still have some things in store that I haven’t worn, and when you need them it will feel like you really have something new.

That’s a smart tip. How did you come up with the idea to write each other letters on a blog?
 

J: We wanted to get something extra out of the challenge. We both also wanted to do something with our talents, so the Fashion Reset-blog became a channel for us to do those creative things that we have dreamed of doing. 

V: The non-shopping challenge also makes you wonder about things about yourself. Why do you feel the need to have something new? It’s nice to record your thoughts somewhere, especially since fashion is everywhere and it means a lot more than just…fabric.