Antwerp · Entertainment · Fashion · General · Lifestyle · Music

Where have you been?

As you might have noticed, these past few weeks i haven’t really been active on our little blog. Main reason? Swamped with work. Anyway, instead of boring you with stories about what i’ve been doing, I’ll just show you:

Contemporary Fashion Days, Antwerp – organized by F.F.I.

N8N‘s birthday party, dancing with the stars (or at least the stars-scarf of Merrymaker Ruth)

Shooting the new Philadelphia cream cheese commercial

PR agency OONA‘s Housewarming

Above and Under: Vascobelo‘s baristabar @ Contemporary Fashion Days Antwerp: great coffee, amazing taste. This pop-up coffee bar was the perfect getaway from my busy life.  Thanks to Jaime for taking me there!

Above and Under: N8N‘s performance in Amsterdam. Play that funky music white boy!

A LA PROXIMA!

Sien Josephine

Art · beauty · History · Lifestyle · Tel Aviv · Uncategorized

Random aesthetics in Tel Aviv

Renovated building & old water tower (Nahmani Street)

Renovated apartment building (Ahad Ha’am Street)

Habima Theater (Rothschild Boulevard)

Bauhaus Center (Dizengoff Street)

View from “Bet Ha’ir” – former city hall (Bialik Street circle)

Special event hosted by TLV mayor at the former city hall (Bialik Street circle)

“Bet Ha’ir” – former city hall (Bialik Street circle)

the Felicia Blumenthal Music Center (Bialik Street circle)

Nachum Gutman Fountain (Bialik Street circle)

Gruzenberg Street

beauty · Lifestyle · Tel Aviv

Foxy Ladies

Isn’t “girlyness” a crucial part of being a girl? From the little girl playing with Barbie dolls and wearing your mom’s make-up and high heels until the woman you become. Society has a full range of girly duties for us: shopping, manicure, pedicure, facials, waxing, make up, creams, what else? I always thought this “girlyness” wasn’t questionable for a girl. If you are a girl, you have to like it all. Until I started wondering, what if I’m not like that? Am I the only one? Is it ok? Does it make me less of a girl? No way! It took me a long time to find out I even had the right to question all these given facts, until it became too obvious: I do not like this. After following my girlfriends for so many times, while feeling bored and empty, I realized this is just not for me, this is not who I am. I have no patience and no money for any of the above activities. So I’m a natural woman. Make up and colored nail polish just don’t fit me. Waxing hurts. Shopping is boring. I’d rather improvize, find my own solutions, DIY, use old stuff, buy quickly or create with my old clothes. As long as it’s faster, cheaper and doesn’t hurt. So I finally accepted my “girlyness” could be defined in many other ways. Hence, my new slogan: “Define who you are by who you want to be and not by society and conventionality”. But for all the girly girls, there are beauty salons. Foxy is a super cool beauty salon in Tel Aviv and it recently launched its own gift store with a super cool Friday afternoon party with free drinks and music. The shop sells the top brands in beauty products for face and hands, self-designed shirts and many more gifts for the ladies.

Foxy Salon, 85 Yehuda Halevi St. 03-5662050 or visit Foxy’s Facebook page

Art · Fashion · History · Lifestyle · Uncategorized

In with the Old – Living Fashion

Have you ever seen a historical movie, like Marie Antoinette or Titanic or even Gone with the Wind , and drooled all over the dresses the women in it were wearing? If so, you have to visit the exhibition “Living Fashion. Women’s daily wear 1750-1950”, on display in the Antwerp Museum of Fashion (MOMU) till April 12.

“Living Fashion” presents over 100 silhouettes from the Dutch collector Jacoba de Jonge and gives an overview of the clothing worn by middle-class women between 1750 and 1950. In the 19th century, the growing social importance of the middle classes brought with it a new group of wealthy citizens who wanted to show off their status through their clothing and behavior. To illustrate this relationship between living in that time period and fashion, the exhibition shows specific sets of dresses: from domestic apparel to traveling outfits to maternity dresses, or dresses for sports and shopping. Every activity required specific apparel. In addition to the clothes these early fashionistas wore, daily organization also followed fashion trends. Mornings were for indoor activities, the afternoons for visits and ‘outdoor activities’, and each moment of the day had its own particular dress code.

Seeing all those dresses and keeping in mind how many times women changed clothes in one day, I returned home with the comforting thought that my (very full) closet is actually not that big in comparison. Time to go shopping?

A big thank you to Merrymaker Ruth for joining me in my fashionable time travel.

Talk soon,

Sien Josephine

Art · Design · Fashion · Lifestyle · Music · Tel Aviv · Uncategorized

F . A . D . T . L . V .

Israel’s second city and cultural and commercial capital, Tel Aviv was named “The Mediterranean Capital of Cool” by the New York Times. It’s a city that makes you feel alive. It’s constantly changing, moving, developing itself. Only a 100 years old (which is young for a city) and still, so much to be done. Luckily we have a lot of entrepreneurs here bringing in the things a city needs to sustain its adjective “hip”. The hippest thing in Tel Aviv lately is called F.A.D. It is a 30-day curated pop-up shop of limited edition fashion, art and design.FAD2 fadd15 fadd14 fadd13 fadd8 fadd9

Created by Design Space* and Shoplifters**, this creative space is a multidisciplinary art project featuring all sorts of creative fields. A refined 1000 sqm space dedicated to Design / Contemporary Art / Fashion / Books / Music / Technology / Lectures and much more. From clothing to Art and Design, from flower shop to coffee shop, looking for products from israeli creatives, while browsing the library of magazine and art books. All aesthetic grounds are covered, from classics, to creations by young israeli designers, these girls are are precise collection fed by emotions and creativity. The space is hosting 40 industrial designers, and  18 contemporary artists – from Israel and abroad.

There will be special events including an exclusive private Wallpaper evening. In short: if you’re hip and you’re in Tel Aviv, you’ll visit F.A.D. Whether you shop till you drop, get inspired, do your nails, read a book, drink, eat, “mingle” or just be amazed and look around. Thank you girls – Nitsan, Anat, Gilat, Salome and Emmy.

Come visit: F.A.D. –  Elfassy street 15 – Everyday: 11h-21h, Friday: 10h-18h

Photography Solal Fakiel. High production.

*about Design Space: Design Space was established in 2010 to encourage artistic innovation and provide a platform for progressive art of all media, featuring both emerging and established artists’ work. The Gallery is presenting various fields of design, ranging from furniture and industrial products to diverse art exhibitions of newcomer artists and designers. Through collaborations with various creative sectors, Design Space produces projects and initiatives, extending its vision internationally.
As a gallery, design space organizes solo, collective, and group exhibitions, alongside presenting special projects and events conceived by outside curators.

**about Shoplifters: Unique conceptual Fashion Events – Aesthetic chaos

my photos:

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Antwerp · Lifestyle · Shopping

The Story of Pola & Charles

It reads like a fairytale. Pola, a loving grandmother who lived in Antwerp, met Charles, who moved to New York after World War II. They fell madly in love with each other, and Pola followed her heart all the way to the Big Apple. Now, almost 20 years later, their granddaughter (and pride) Laurence Lapa runs a multibrand boutique, named after her two biggest inspirations in life.

Almost 1 year ago Laurence opened the Pola&Charles-store in the Nationalestraat in Antwerp. The interior is based on the city she came to love: that of a typical New York boutique. It’s probably best described as cosy with a raw edge.

“This place used to be a little dark shoe-shop, ran by a very old lady. By opening up the whole first and second floor and by using elements of a more industrial nature (for example the metal stair), we created a more lofty-feel to the place.” It’s true, despite the fact that the shop is quite small, you have a feeling of openness and light. The mixture of raw elements and soft clothes give the store a special attitude.

The cosiness isn’t limited to the interior of the store. It can also be found in the philosophy behind Pola&Charles. It’s all about individuality and personality. This reflects in the clothes, handpicked by Laurence herself, based on her personal choice. Laurence travels back and forth between New York and Paris to find those special brands that stand out. My personal favorite? Gat Rimon!

Gat Rimon was founded by three friends who went to Israel, sat themselves down in a street called Gat Rimon in Tel Aviv and decided to leave their jobs and dedicate their life to fashion. It’s safe to say that Stéphanie Mardokh, Yaël Benhini en Cynthia Pariente have succeeded as well as Laurence Lapa to make their dream come true.

Perfect fits and soft materials make this little store the reference for “basic chic”. New addition is the home collection, expected to arrive mid-february!

Visit Pola & Charles – Nationalestraat 21 – 2000 Antwerp 

Mon – Sat: 10.30 am- 6.00pm

Brands: Vince – James Perse – Band of Outsiders – Gat Rimon – 7d – Swildens – Wren – Resin – Fine Collection – Current/Elliott – Brooklyn We Go Hard – My Pant’s – Sundek – Le Fabuleux Marcel – Jane Carr – Ela Stone – LnA – Veja – A Peace Treaty – Petite Mendigote – Officine Creative