Instagram Weekend.

Firstly: People recently told me that I look so tanned. Until I saw this picture I did not believe them. Considering the fact that it's January, that I did not change my make-up and that I spend my days at the office I seriously ask myself: Can you get a tan from LED tubes?

Secondly: The first time I stumbled upon the new packaging of Yves Saint Laurent....sorry, Saint Laurent Paris. Does someone agree that it putting "Paris" under a name and black packaging doesn't automatically make something chic? Luckily, as far as I can see, I'm not the only one who agrees on the fact that it just looks like someone's trying way to hard to change something that was so good before. But hey, at least now, we'll get a black box.

And on this note: I hope that you all had a good weekend!

  

Repossi Spring / Summer 2013

I felt the strong urge to share these incredible ads with you

 so that I can tell the whole world how in love I am with these pieces from Repossi. 

That's all.

Little escapades.

 

With new campaigns out everywhere and fashion week right on my doorstep (along with all this snow), I seriously had to think about photoshoots, yes. So you might think now that thats weird, but i would also think that you know me and my strange thoughts by now.So why think about photoshoots instead of just doing them?

First of all, I'm shy. Yes, I know that thats not an excuse so I might skip it.

I also have the uncommon talent among girls to look into the mirror, take a closer look at some serious models out there and come to the fully statisfying conclusion that my legs are (unfortunately) not 2/3 of my body, that my shoulders are maybe a bit too big and that I actually do have a little something called hips. About these last ones - I'm not going to give you a speech about how much I love having at least some curves, because in fact I never liked them in any way, and that does not mean either that I'm madly in love with bony creatures. How to tell you? It has always been like this, as long as I remember it has been part of my aesthetic.

So, as you might guess I'm sceptical towards people who are actually interested in taking my picture. I tell myself: Why? there are tons of models out there and they are surely better looking than I am, legs included. But then at one point, when i started the blog, I had to get over my promise to not do professional photoshoots, and I'm telling you: I don't regret it at all. And thats not because of the actual pictures, but of everything behind. I love it. And the pictures too, if everything goes right.
I always thought about the editors, the buyers, the designers and the stylists, but strangely enough i never thought about the models, and how it feels like to be one for a change, not just to look at one.

Turns out that the minidress was not shot in Paris in 20 degrees but -2, and that you're actually having a hard time standing up more than 5 seconds and try to look like some kind of magic swan. Specially when you more feel like a dolled up whale stranded on a lonely beach with just some photographer around, tons of makeup and unconfortable heels included. You try standing on a ladder for Vogue, everyone staring at you while thinking that if you fall down you'll scratch the amazing floor and might get killed by hitting your head against that huge Diptyque candle down there. I tell you I had a hard time being a swan. And theres a way to hold your chin and feet to make everything look better? Soon after the first real shootings I started seeing how I underestimated this job. Taking off the Prada, Louboutins and putting your old Cheap Monday jeans on never felt that good. At the same time one thing is always sure when you put these things on in the morning: its going to be a unique memory (and I might finally get a better posture.)

 

I'm always going to be happy to do shoots, you meet interesting people and point of views about fashion and get to know yourself so much more. It shows such a different side of fashion, I like looking behind the effortless, perfect facade. That's what makes it fun. It was the first real wake up call I ever got from the fashion world.

And then there are the other type of photoshoots, the outfit posts. Lots of people request them or ask me why I dont really like doing them. Well, with everything above already explaining how I feel about shootings in general, it felt natural for me to not do a blog only about them. I mean, how could i say this delicately? To be honest, these days I'm always happy to do shootings but I'm not at the point yet where I think that my daily outfits are such an interesting thing that i should share them with the rest of the world. I prefer dressing up, making a special effort for special situations. I'm not the kind of girl who dresses incredibly to sit at the office, I'm terribly comfortable and not afraid to look like that in my everyday situations. So doing outfit posts did never really feel honest to me, thats the easy answer why I never really did them.

After all this time in Paris, trying to find my own way, today I definitely know that I'm never going to be a model or a girl who loves being in pictures- but I knew that the day one. But at least today, I know how it feels like to be one for a short amount of time - before going back to my usual self. And, I have to admit, arent the pictures the best souvenirs you can possibly have from this little escapades? Right after the blisters - of course.

 

 

Shirt - Balenciaga / Shorts - The Kooples / Watch - Balenciaga / Rings - Dior & Corpus Christi.

 

pictures by Iris Brosch.

Valentino Pre-Fall 2013

There she is, the Valentino girl!

Sharp tailoring with a touch of romance, excactly what I'd like to wear after the long summer days.

I'd definitely be more than happy to have every single look in my closet, and yes, even the red ones.

I have to say that my ultimate favorite one is number 2...I guess that's not really surprising!

So, are you going to be a Valentino girl for pre-fall or not?

all pictures from style.com

The Fashion Telegraph asked me...

The second interview on my blog! I usually don't post interviews, but I think sometimes it can be interesting for you, my dear readers, to get to know me a bit better. I get asked a lot of questions and I figured posting these little snippets could be interesting:)
I'm I hope you enjoy it!
...oh and since we're talking about me and how I am, I couldn't help myself but sharing what I found back recently. 

YES! Its me, and now you can probably see where my love for strange animals (I'm sure you noticed if you follow me on instagram;) shirts, shirts with flowers to be more precise, denim and white socks (including Michael Jackson) come from.
Okay so if you still want to get to know me a bit better, just read...yesss. 

You may recognise Anne-Catherine Frey from her haircut. Her pageboy style has seen her grace multiple Tommy Ton slideshows and street style blogs, and it's all thanks to her loyal hairdresser in Luxembourg: "Vito understands me. I go there, sit down and say: 'Do whatever you want'. I always end up with the perfect haircut. Every other hairdresser always said that short hair wouldn't suit me, not even a fringe. Vito just said: 'Short hair? Awesome. I'll make you look awesome.'"

The 22-year-old is not just street peeper catnip though; she's also a fashion designer for slick French brand The Kooples. Born in Luxembourg to creative parents (her father's an architect), she was an 'outsider' growing up. "I was always a quiet, shy child," she says. "I remember drawing for hours; I preferred being alone than being surrounded by many people." As a teenager she tried "all the usual things, like going out and having large groups of friends" but found it unfulfilling.

"There was no visible challenge for me to end up in some bar or club on a Saturday evening, weekend after weekend. My challenge quickly became school - I always wanted to get better and better grades, and it worked. Drawing was my hobby; I trained myself for hours to get better. I was always a loner, but I always had at least one person who was always there, one dear friend. I am still the same - and I could not be more happy."

Frey moved to Paris aged 18 to study fashion design at ESMOD, taking over a shoebox apartment in the 6th arrondissement in Saint-Germain. Her course had its frustrations, mainly that attendance at fashion week was actively discouraged. "I thought that we'd have classes or at least talks with our teachers about fashion week," she recalls, "but, nothing. We weren't even allowed to go. I was staying up until three in the morning to watch live streams from shows at NYFW, and I just decided it was absurd [not to attend Paris]. I just turned up, I had no idea what it would be like, but I think as a curious fashion student it should be normal to go to PFW, at least on the weekend."

Her curiosity was rewarded by the street style photographers, and she swiftly started a blog, "A Truly Intriguing Subject " . She's tight-lipped over how she secured a design job at The Kooples, but suffice to say they spotted her wearing their clothes, and a relationship with the brand developed: "It's a secret between me and my boss! But I'd say that wearing a lot of Kooples for public appearances caught certain people's eyes." We fired questions at the gamine Luxembourger in Paris. 

How would you describe your style?
 Comfortable. I never wear things that I don't feel good in, because that shows immediately. I also have basics that I use almost every day. Like shirts. They have to be buttoned and I have them in every colour and shape possible. I also love tailored jackets and flats; winkle-pickers are my favourite shoes. That's what makes my style kinda 'boyish', because I love classic men's pieces.

How do you get dressed in the morning? Very quickly, because I always wake up too late. Very quick, very easy, very comfortable, very basic, but I never forget my signature shirt collar.

Books on the bedside table? German model Mario Galla's book. His story and optimism are wonderful - I think it only exists in German though. It's about his career in the model business with a huge handicap: he only has one leg. Otherwise there's always my favourite, " Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka. I think I've read that book 1000 times.

Favourite weekend activity? Sleeping! Sleeping and cleaning up my apartment - there's nothing better than spending a bit of time at home since I'm running around the whole week. It's good to be bored sometimes.

Favourite places to hang in Paris? I love going to the café Ruc. It kind of became a tradition for friends, and my parents and me. It's calm there, comfortable, the service is always super nice and you can even find a cat there sometimes! As for bars and clubs, I'm not really a 'nightlife' person. I love staying in in the evening and watching movies, cleaning up my place or drawing. That might sound strange for a girl my age but it has just always been that way, I guess it's my calm side.

Favourite brands? My favourite brands are Alexander Wang, Proenza Schouler, Christopher Kane and Balenciaga. I also really, really like Carven lately, I love their silhouettes.

Top picks from the spring/summer 2013 catwalks? I'm just going to buy the whole Alexander Wang collection. And this awesome first look from the Proenza Schouler show. Seriously? My list is so long I don't even know where to start! This season really has been very, very strong.

Have you picked up any evidence to explain why French women stay so thin? I've never met a French woman saying: "Yes, I want to have McDonalds tonight!" I think that pretty much solves the mystery. 


interview: fashion telegraph uk // picture: citizencouture.

Christopher Kane Pre-Fall 2013

Velvet, leopard, denim and flowers - a perfect combination. 

all pictures from style.com

My favorite fashion moment of 2012: The Dior Show.

So I waited until new years to do this little post about probably my favorite event of 2012, and as you probably know it’s been the Dior show during Paris Fashion Week. 

So where to start, what to tell you? Honestly, I have no idea. It was only 1 hour but I’m definitely never going to forget it! Should I give you a review? You can probably find 1000 of them online…should I just tell you the story? Boring!

One year ago I would have laughed if somebody told me that I’m going to get invited to a Dior show. And now I’m sitting here laughing that it honestly, really happened.

As you might now, I never ask for invitations. I wait until I get them. Why? Because I feel like an intrudor if I beg to get an invitation. I prefer knowing that the people who asked me really want me to be there. My terrritory is mostly outside the shows, and I adore it… but then one evening I checked my mails and got a message saying that I’ve been invited to the next Dior show. 

Wait…what? After reading the message 100 times, 100 text messages and 50 calls, I decided that it was probably not a joke. And indeed it wasn’t – one Friday afternoon I was at the office and got ready to go. I remember that I was worried that I wouldn’t find the location. Do you know what the location looked like? When I got there I honestly had to laugh – it was difficult NOT to notice that huge white building on this even bigger square in the middle of Paris.

A red carpet? Mama, I wanna go home. So I stayed outside for the longest time even possible and just stared at Kanye West getting in. I felt much better after that. So after 10 hystery calls my boyfriend convinced me that I should go in (what a good decision – I don’t wanna look back and say that I didn’t attend the Dior show because I was scared of a red carpet!!) and I waited for an “empty” moment on the carpet to RUN in. Today I know for sure that I feel lost on red carpets– especially if I know that Anna Wintour and Kanye West stood on them before. I guess at the same time I’d have a problem if I felt good on them. Inside the magic continued(yes, It started already when I saw the location!! It felt so surreal.) This huge huge white space with window openings and pastel coloured silky courtains blowing in the wind (where did the wind come from?!)…wow. I stopped for a second, stared and tried to calmly enjoy this wonderful location – but then I needed to find my seat. Usually that’s feasable, but when you have to deal with different rooms it gets more complicated. So I just decided to find a well-dressed young man in a suit (they usually help!) to bring me to my seat. Luxury. I tried to convince him that there was something wrong with it too – it was Front Row. But no, he then convinced me to just sit down – there was no mistake with the seat. Strange. The strangest feeling was indeed that I didn’t stand, first of all, and that I had space for my legs. After figuring out for 10 minutes where to put my bag and what to do with my legs – and I already have short legs. I texted the whole world how happy I was. Done. I mean I could have left after that, even just this bit of the event was enough to make me the happiest person. But then the show started. It was wonderful. I’m not going to give you a review on how amazing it was now, but on how it felt for me. Usually I sit in the very private front row of my computer at the office or at home staring at these wonderful pieces – and let me tell you they already look breathtaking on a screen. But when I saw them “in real life”? It changes everything. It changes the whole way you look at a collection. For the first time I saw clearly, without people in front of me, not too far away, from every side, all the volumes, the details, the shoes, the makeup. A dress can seem simple on a picture, but when you see the back of it it becomes a piece of art. The sleek hair combined with the glamourous-over-the-top eyemakeup, it just worked with the simplicity but yet constructed, opulent clothing. It was amazing to see how in every piece, there was a new story told: Raf Simons brought his own, minimalistic but yet feminine signature and combined them perfectly with the classic Dior signature. The suits with the perfect tayloring and subtle details were just perfect and my personal favorites were the wonderful long skirts combined with a simple black turtleneck. I already looked at these silhuettes when Raf Simons showed his first Haute Couture collection and remembered how wonderful chic they were. Opulent but yet modern, classic without being boring. People always ask me what kind of dress I’d wear for a big occasion – well I wouldn’t wear a dress but I’d wear this. 

During one short moment I stared at a model walking out and thought: there I am, I came to Paris 4 years ago with the dream of seing a fashion show properly once, get to know fashion a bit better, and now I’m sitting here. The first picture I ever cut out from a magazine was a photo from a Dior show. Time passed, a lot of hard work and now I finally got the reward for it.

After the show I sat there and waited for a bit, until I got out of the tent and took the metro back to the office. For the rest of that day and probably week – I walked around with the biggest smile on my face.

I’m always going to appreciate situations like that one. They are always going to scare me too, in a good way – because it just feels surreal what happens to me, and I’m never going to forget how lucky I am. To see that people appreciate my style, me my work and support me, is the best feeling in the world. Fashion has been around since I was a child, and now, for the first time in my life, it feels so much closer than just a picture in a magazine.

As a conclusion I can say that I hope that 2013 is going to be a year in fashion, with lots of new experiences and breathtaking moments…I came to paris 4 years ago, and I’m not done here yet!