Back to basics

Back in the days as a kid I always wished I went to a school that had mandatory school uniforms. I thought it was super cool that everyone looked the same, showing some kind of togetherness and unity. A common bond expressed by clothes. Despite the fact that I’ve always had a thing for plaid skirts and shirts (way before Blair and Serena made them look hot on Gossip Girl), I always thought: How amazing is it if you do not have to think a second about your outfit in the morning – because there simply is no other option? All of my friends who’ve had school uniforms hated it, and always said they’d love to wear “their own things” to school. I guess it’s a classic case of one always wants what one can’t have.

I’ve never really had a job that required a certain dress code, so I don’t really know what it feels like to be restricted when it comes to choosing my outfits.  However, now that I’m working in a field where fashion has become part of my daily job, I’m sometimes quite overwhelmed by it. Fashion has always been a passion of mine – if you can actually call it a passion? Whether it was going through my mom’s closet as a little girl, playing dress up with all her stuff, or later on browsing shops with my girlfriends… I’m not ashamed to say I’ve always had a thing for fashion. When it was all just a lot of fun to come up with new outfits, and combine my things in different ways to create new looks, it now sometimes feels like a to-do rather than a fun activity.

Being a small part of this fashion industry means I’m constantly exposed to lots of inspiration. Amazing inspiration that is, by fellow bloggers who do an incredible job and who I admire a lot. But it also means that sometimes there’s this slightly unpleasant feeling of pressure coming up. The pressure of creating new outfits, of combining things in a way no one else has done before, of being en vogue. I recently had the feeling outfits that look like they’ve been composed by just throwing together several things are seen as “the coolest”. Mix and match; the more contrasts, the better.

As much as I love looks like these, I’m also a big fan of practical outfits. In this wild fashion world all I’m craving sometimes is simplicity. Because let’s face it: Running some errands in the city, looking like you’ve come straight from fashion week sometimes just feels wrong. So every time I’m a bit overwhelmed by this whole fashion world, standing in front of my closet not too sure what to wear, I tend to go back to basics. In this case: A black leather skirt with a simple white linen shirt. Paired with slides for hot days, or paired with sneakers if you have to run some errands, or even paired with heels for an event at night – this combo is always a safe option and a winner in any situation. I guess you could say it’s my turn on a modern “school uniform”.

Museum clothing leather skirt (similar here)  // Zara linen shirt (similar here – on sale!) // Zara slides (similar here) // Valentino here // Céline sunglasses (similar here)