A FLAMBOYANT RETROSPECTIVE

The New Year 2013 isn’t far from us. I have spent quite a lot of time lately looking back at what 2012 has brought me, what experiences I made and the route my life is taking these days. It was in fact more than I hoped for, little did I know what would be a few months down the road when I started this blog in February and I also never thought that it would become a ‘serious thing’ for me, a whole new chapter in my life and maybe even new career path.

I have put together a little retrospective to share with you – but before I start I need to say that whatever I have done in 2012 in regards to my blog, whatever I have ‘achieved’ – it is all thanks to  Y O U ! If you wouldn’t have signalised that you enjoy reading my online diary, that you like  looking at my sartorial adventures in photographs, if you didn’t respond in your comments, on facebook and even in private mails – if it wasn’t for all of that I would have already been discouraged and not sitting here late at night, thinking of how I could possibly thank you all!

Some of the highlights in 2012 were:

*Having my first co-operation with smaller labels like Sinfused and 100%Love from Bali in May.

*Attending my first Fashion Week in Copenhagen in August and co-operation with Leisure Wear fashion label Black Sheep. Attending Vienna Fashion Week.

* Attending London Fashion Week, writing an article about the London Fashion Week Exhibition and photographing The Unique TOPSHOP show in September.  Seeing some of the most popular personal style bloggers for the first time there.

*As a result of going to the above events: being featured on online fashion magazines such as Elle.com and the Stylecolumn   (right after Olivia Palermo;))

*Attending the British Fashion Awards in October – witnessing Stella McCartney taking home two awards and reporting about it in October.

*The numerous re- posts and kind mentions of my blog and an amazing DIY for one of my eye-catching flamboyant looks by the lovely Anje of Made in Pretoria.

I have made a collage with what I thought were the best outfits – but just one for each month. I have asked myself how to describe my style? It was not, that when I started out, that I had a clear idea of who or what the Flamboyante is- or where my niche would be – but I have grown into it, it has been a proper self discovery-trip :D. I can gladly say today I know where I am standing:

”The flamboyant girl or woman is a woman who is not afraid to show her colourful and brilliant side – yet she has her both feet on the ground, knowing what reality means and that it  is predominant even in the glamorous world of fashion. To me the flamboyant girl is somebody who wants to make the best out of everything whether this is her appearance or her house, but that alone wouldn’t be enough – she adds her signature hand writing to it as well. The flamboyant girl is beautiful with her edges and flaws and her best asset is character – the flamboyant girl is not an empty shell!”

I know there are so many amazing women out there – that work hard, do amazing things and look fabulous at the same time – and I hope to meet many more of you in the future!

If I can say anything about my personal style – then for shure that it is colourful with a big nod to elaborate prints and patterns. Very often I have styled more brilliant and fancy pieces with one-tone pieces to add calm to the outfit. Flamboyante was the first name that crossed my mind to describe my personal sense of style and I think I have served it well.

We all are the sum of our experience and of course – the past year has not just brought fun and success – sometimes things didn’t work out so well. As a flamboyant girl I know one thing:

(photo via Pinterest)

Having said all of that: I am wishing you a fantastic and healthy start into the New Year – may your New Years Eve be filled with joy and laughter – may you be light-heartedly looking back at the past year and say it was a good one and make the New Year 2013 an even better one – it’s all in your hands!

May all your dreams and wishes fulfill – but remember you will have to dream them first!

Big xox, the Flamboyante

HOW TO MAKE YOUR WARDROBE WORK FOR YOU

The results are in. In one of my last posts: No great expectations I gave vent to my displeasure about being rejected at a job interview. I also mentioned that being fashionable doesn’t necessarily have to be equivalent with having a big purse and lots of money to spend. When you make statements you get reactions, and I did get reactions to my post, very luckily I must say. My best girl Katy pointed out that she got valuable information now knowing that being fashionable doesn’t mean you have to wear the very latest and that there are ultra stylish outlets that allow you to wear designer labels at the fraction of the original retail price.

I still felt that I haven’t outlined enough my handling of fashion and my personal shopping preferences and that may in fact have been some useful and helpful advice. I hope that in my post I haven’t come across sharp or bitter but I really thought that rejection at a job interview is something that has happened to many of us already and I was hoping that the bottom line, that this isn’t something that should stop you from following your passion, had been clear and visible.

Well, it is never too late to do good or better and I decided to give you a true insight about how I am dealing with the subjects fashion, shopping, and spending habits.

The advantage of buying labels:

The problem that I am facing with the more short living fashion from big chains like Zara, Mango, H&M – you name it – is that this fashion very often is ‘disposable’. The quality in comparison to designer pieces is very often rather low and after you’ve washed an item of clothing it may not look the same at all like when you bought it. When you buy a designer you pay for the name as well without a doubt, but you also pay for quality and longevity. Many of us when shopping at a larger fashion chain will buy a couple of things that on their own are affordable but sum up. Why not skip the next shopping spree and buy one beautiful designer piece for the same amount of money. The key is to have some strong power pieces, that reflect your sense of fashion and creating the look of your dreams with the help of more affordable pieces from ‘mainstream labels’. These power pieces can over last years in your wardrobe.

My favourite outlet source on the Internet is the Outnet, which is the online outlet of Net-A-Porter. For more affordable styles I love browsing and shopping at Asos and Topshop.

I think it is not wrong to say that when you buy designer, that you are buying something that has resale value – which leads to my next point:

Buy and sell on E-bay:

I love the idea of fashion being something that is exchangeable and kind of ‘mobile’. Some things you may literally want to treasure forever, but be honest, a lot of things that are already gathering dust in the corner of your closet, are doing it because you lost interest. I don’t blame you because as time passes, your sense of fashion changes. I am always surprised how some things I tried to sell unsuccessfully plenty of times before would suddenly sell at a way higher price than I expected. It means  someone has found something he liked or needed, and that selling the item has only been a question of time. Maybe someone else has something that you like and always wanted to have – maybe you will find the designer handbag you’ve always dreamed of on E-bay – for a fraction of the original price. I’ve seen Chanel bags selling on E-bay for ‘as little’ as five hundred Euros – that is a lot of money, yes, but if you ever had laid your eyes on a Chanel bag and know what they cost, then five hundred is little. Don’t be afraid to make a fashion investment. Maybe you think that spending a monstrous amount of money will leave you ‘bankrupt’ for a long time. If a certain designer bag for example is making your heart beat faster and what will make you happy in the end of the day, go for it. If times really get tough you can always sell it, because remember: designer wear and accessories have resale value!

Create wish lists when shopping online:

I think shopping online gives many advantages and one being is that many online shops let you create wish lists.

Yesterday, when shopping for groceries at the local supermarket, I was amazed how much time I spent in front of the shelf with noodles. I mean there is all sorts of pasta: whole grain and white, spiral shaped, elbow pasta, spaghetti, tricolor, spinach, black,… the choice is eclectic and overwhelming.

The same is with fashion – there are so many trends, styles, colours and choices one can get easily confused. When you create wish lists with items you love and consider buying, it lets you compare your style choices across the variety of sites and gives you longer time to evaluate if you really want to have the items. It is also a good idea to wait until the times of sale and see which of your preferred items still are available and if the price has dropped. Ofcourse, sometimes we have some special occasion coming up where we need a fresh and stylish dress urgently. The beauty of shopping online is that you have all the time you need to make your decisions and to contemplate how you will combine with what you already have.

Swap with your bestie:

It seems that when I was a teenager  I used to do that way more often, but isn’t that a magnificent thing to do? When you lack of new ideas of combining and stylings or are exhausted of what your wardrobe offers you, why not look at your best female friend’s one? Maybe you have something that she would love to have and vice versa. And since you already are so lucky to have a fashion savvy best friend – why not go to flea markets or vintage stores together? Another option of staying fashionably fabulous without breaking the bank.

With all that – hopefully – helpful advice I’m sure that we are looking into a bright fashion future together. If my post: ‘No great expectations’ came across as ‘annoyed’ than I truly am sorry – we all are humans, we all make mistakes and sometimes fail. Isn’t fashion made for humans?

xox, the Flamboyante

Who is the boss? You are!

Not so long ago a model, in the fashion industry, would have been nothing without an agency, a designer perhaps too, without having a slot to display his collection on a major fashion week. Parents would tell their children off, if they made it visible that fashion plays an important role in their life. ‘Learn something decent’, they would say.

Thanks to the Internet a lot has changed. I think creative talents shouldn’t be dependent on agencies, publishing houses or their parents. I don’t mean you should work against these ‘forces’, what I in fact mean is that the world wide web can be a platform for your vision, creative outlet and to demonstrate your expertise in your field. When you get feed back, than this will serve as a motivator to pursue what you are doing and to learn and grow and improve your skills.

Guest writer Rachel Brooks has given me some good input by summing up what the opportunities are these days and how you could possibly make an approach to your desired career. Rosy days  ahead!  –  I hope you can take something with you, maybe some encouragement or inspiration.

Captivating Careers in the Fashion Industry:

There are many jobs within the fashion industry, there are some that involve writing and some that involve customer service. There are so many opportunities to become successful within the fashion industry, for example there are specific fashion courses at University and there are loads of apprenticeships now being offered. However, anyone can say they want to be part of the fashion industry, but it is a competitive industry and you will only make it if you make the effort and show you are interested. Here are the top five jobs within the fashion industry.

Fashion Writer
:

Aspiring fashion journalists usually picture themselves working for the big fashion magazines, such as Vogue. Not everyone can get to this point, so you have to be the best of the best to make it to the top of the fashion writing industry. To set yourself apart from the rest of the aspiring fashion writers, you need to have experience, whether that is apprenticeship experience or just work experience at a newspaper or a fashion magazine. You need to show how interested you are in the topic. You should begin your own fashion blog to show to any future employers. Employers like their staff to be dedicated, so make sure you show them that you are; this is what makes you different from all of those other writers.

Model
:

This is experiencing fashion first hand. You have the opportunity to try the new fashion range and show it off before anyone has a chance to buy it themselves. Again, experience will help you here. Try a photo shoot and create a portfolio of all of your modelling pictures. If you are dedicated enough and your parent’s see this, then they might pay for modelling classes to teach you the in’s and out’s; this is something great to put on your CV and it will be noticed by future employers. You can still create a blog, even if you are not a fan of writing; you can just post pictures instead. This will be like your online portfolio.

Fashion Designer:

If you are young enough to still be at school, then you will probably know whether your school offers a textiles class. If it does, then you should take that as a subject if you are passionate about becoming a fashion designer. Having this on your CV, will help you; also, work experience will give you a head start. You should be able to find somewhere that offers work experience for fashion. Even if the work experience is not specifically fashion designing, anything fashion related will show that you are interested in that topic.

Retail – sales assistant/consultant
:

You can begin with retail once you turn 16. Many teenagers find retail and sales assistant jobs in their nearest town centre as soon as they are old enough to work. Even if you decide one day that fashion and retail is not what you want to do with your life, then at least you will have experience and have something to add to your CV. If you do manage to start working at a popular fashion company when you are young, then you might be able to move up within that company the longer you work there. Also, there are many University courses and apprenticeships that teach you about visual merchandising and retail within the fashion industry.

Fashion Photographer:


Some fashion photographers have the opportunity to take pictures of celebrities and submit these pictures to magazines that want to write about them. You do not have to be able to write, you can just be a photographer. You may be sent out on jobs to find pictures for articles. Once you have reached the highest level, you might be able to travel to different countries to attend fashion events and take pictures to submit. This is another work experience opportunity; there are many photography places around; they do not have to be huge photography companies in the UK, they can be little companies. Any experience helps. A blog would also be a good idea for photography, add your images to your blog to create your online portfolio.

Nowadays, industries are competitive because there are so many people and not enough jobs to go around; this is why you need to make yourself stand out from the rest of the aspiring fashion writers, designers or photographers. If you make the effort, then your hard work will pay off eventually. The key to being successful in whatever you want to do is not to give up and make the effort, even when it becomes difficult.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Rachel enjoys photography, especially for fashion purposes. She also loves to write about anything related to fashion. A company that she often refers to is Plum Soles.  (Have a look at their site, they also have Julian Hakes of who’s award winning ‘mojito shoe’ I already took pictures at the London Fashion Week 13 exhibition)

I was wearing:

Burberry packaway trench

pink H&M beret

Spanx tight end control tights

Gerard Darel wedge boots (from Nice)

Tillie bag by Mulberry

Louis Vuitton iPad case

Alongside this helpful information, I thought I’d give you a little preview for my next fabulous fall fashion post. (In the product links you will find similar styles.)

I’m wishing you a splendid week ahead, most awesome fashionistas!

xox, the Flamboyante

Tanning like a model…

This time I am back with some real insider tanning advice. Ever wondered why models never seem to age (think  Kate Moss) ? Of course there are many secrets to it, and all put together will make the impact. One thing every model or celebrity knows, is that wearing sun screen in summer is v i t a l for youthful looking skin. The damage of exaggerated sun tanning is irreversible and certainly not something you will want to deal with later. It’s better preparing and protecting your skin each time before you go tanning, than regretting it later.

Celebrities also know that even in Winter UV can affect your skin in a bad way. It is advisable to use a facial care that already has SPF throughout the year!

Before tanning I get a good body scrub. Turkey – where I spent my holiday – has turkish steam baths on every corner, that offer whole body scrubs – a true bliss!

This year I discovered Supergoop! – which is an award-winning sunscreen lotion, and a true insider tip amongst beauty worshippers and celebrities. It soaks in in nil time, without leaving those greasy white marks, you’d usually get from sun lotion. It has a nice smell of citrus and it is even eco-friendly. I bought a big family bottle to make sure my skin stays moisturized and protected throughout the whole summer. I also brought Supergoop! SPF 30 sunscreen swipes with me. They are fabulous to ‘touch up’ on the go, or you could just pop them into your city bag, to be assured the most important part- your face – is always protected.The swipes just work like those facial swipes you’d use to take off your make-up.

So the key to a healthy tan is peel, protect and be beach babe fabulous! I was wearing a ‘Brangelina’ bikini by Pistol Panties.

I hope you’re finding this helpful – from my side, I’m sure,that after reading this – you’re good to hit the beach and tan like a star!

xox, the Flamboyante