Circus inspiration

Finally, the circus is in town again. So this morning I was all exited and went to see a show. The best part was definitely when awesome looking women in bright-coloured clothes danced around and made a huge pyramid. This may sound plain to others, but I live in a country where there are no chearleaders, so I don't see human pyramids every day. And I don't like acts with animals in it because I'm against animals in a circus.
But I think circuses always have something magical. A group of people travelling and performing together. The anticipation of the audience when it's almost starting. And their creativity. I mean, look at the sparkling clothes and the amazing performences. 
My little sister used to be so scared of the circus when she was younger, that during the first act she cried, then she fell asleep. She slept through all the noise and the entire orchestra that was playing, until the tigres and lions came in. She liked that part. And when the tigre and lion act was over, she fell asleep again. 


I also like it when fashion reminds me of the circus. That colourfull, playfull creativity of the circus is sometimes showed on the catwalk. 

Again I write about the Blonds, because in their show I could not only see China, but also the woman that rides and does tricks on a galopping horse in the circus. So shiny and sparkly, a little bit of Brazilian carnival. Then there's the amazing hairy skirt by Frankie Morello, a lovely pink hairdo at Paul Costelloe, and a superweird but totally awesome outfit that represents the crazyness of the circus by Jeremy Scott. Then there's a very extravagant dress by Yohji Yamamoto and a glamourous sparkling eskimo-look by Oscar de la Renta (all fall 2011).

I think each of these looks individually represent a part of the circus, and the open-minded crazy thinking. Which leads me to the next subject I want to tell about: an open-minded, little bit crazy thinking woman called Katie Sokoler. She owns the blog Color me Katie which is the best. About a week ago I spent an entire morning reading as many posts as I could, laughing out loud while I was all alone (little bit autistic right?). But I couldn't help it, the little clips about 'No pants subway ride' and 'the worst ice skater ever?' are just hilarious. Also her photo's are beautiful and funny and her street art really original. Check it out if you like!


Love, F

Memories of China

Exactly one year ago, I was in China. The beautiful colours, the different smells (with different I mean different. Can be negative and positive), the delicious food, the cheap clothes (yay!) and the cute fluffy panda's. I think I kind of miss it. But fortunately we made a beautiful photo album with all the pictures in it, and every time I open the book I can almost feel the warm spring breeze.

But there's another way to remember our two weeks of China, and that's when I surf to style.com. Because Asia stormed the catwalk the past seasons. Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu, Alberta Ferretti (spring 2011), Ralph Lauren, Derek Lam, Manish Arora... You can find a hint of Asia in many collections. 

From top left to bottom right: Derek Lam, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, Alberta Ferretti and the Blonds. Look at those wigs! Aren't they amazing?
I particulary like the coat by Derek Lam, because it also shows the pureness and simplicity that all Chinese people seem to radiate. Did you know elderly Chinese often go to parks in the morning to practise Tai Chi? I think it looked really calming. Maybe I should try it sometime... (ok I'm not going to do it anyway. Get up earlier before school to practise Tai Chi? I think I prefer sleeping, also very calming).


During our stay in China, we visited the cities Chengdu, Wuhan, Guilin, Yangshuo and Hong Kong. To me, China is the country of differences. Tropical rainforests, deserts, mountains and plains. The Chinese are so into rituals, but at the same time they destroy their beatiful original houses to build giant flats. Also great wealth (I've never seen a Chanel store that big, and a Louis Vuitton shop in a giant Louis suitcase) and extreme poverty. People living in flats with 'cages' in front of the windows, trash everywhere, and children playing around in dirty clothes right opposite my hotel made me really think about how lucky I am.
But this is not a time for preaching, and I like to remember the happy sides of China (I'm such a hypocrite).

Above you can see a picture that I've taken while I was in China. The inhabitants of the village called Longsheng have worn these beautiful pink-and-black clothes for ages. And even more striking is their hair. The women in Longsheng don't cut their hair. Never, except one time when they're 18 years old. The strand of hair they've cut of, together with the hairs that fall out every time they comb their hair are tied around their heads like a hat (see the woman in the middle of the picture). 
I think the hair is so pretty, I wish I had hair like that! Every time I tell myself my hair should grow longer, but after a certain amount of time I think it looks dull and I cut it off...


The other picture is a man in the streets of Yangshuo, who's selling flutes. His hat looks (almost) exactly like the hat from Alberta Ferreti!


There's another funny thing about the fashion & beauty culture in China. We keep trying to make our skin tanned, but sadly the result is always yellow or orange. Or tanned in an army-camouflage way. 
In China it's the other way around. Instead of tanning lotion, the shops sell creams that make your skin whiter! In China being tanned means that you've worked on the land, and that means you're poor. Also, the models in adverts in China are mostly Western-looking. So women see this and want to be white too. I wish this was popular over here as well, because then I wouldn't have to be ashamed to walk around with my toothpaste-coloured legs. Or try to find a glimpse of sun to sit in.


Please leave a comment!
Love, F