the 90s called and said "you go, girl!"

I don't think I could ever imagine the 90s becoming my favourite era of inspiration. 
In my mind everyone's fashion choices back then were a bit 'meh', but I guess good things come from the 90s as well (not me, I'm a child of the 80s ;)). 
Maybe it's because I'm getting a bit older and I'm trying to take back things from my youth. Literally. 
Crop tops, beanies, Spice Girl platforms, Dr. Martens... Been there, done that. 
Right now I'm introducing you to another star of the 90s: denim dungarees. 
I wore a black pair a few posts back, but I don't think anything says 90s as much as this. Fear not, I won't be wearing scrunchies or kitten heels anytime soon. 
When I think of it, I only had plaid dungarees circa 1998. I'm happy I went for a denim one this time, as it's much easier to combine. 
Also, this kind of solves my craving for boyfriend jeans. I'm hoping to wear these a bit more once it gets warmer, right now it's actually way too cold for bare ankles. 
It's the coldest Easter on record, can you believe that? I'm staying in with my baby and we're doing a bit of spring cleaning. 
We went on an easter egg hunt as well, turns out they have sold out completely :(. Are you doing anything special? Hope you are having a nice Easter!

c.r.e.a.m.

So I guess I like my money where I can see it: hanging around my neck. 

I found this scarf at Weekday last week and I just had to have it.

 I don't really wear scarfs that often and if I do it's usually the obligatory black knitted kind to protect against cold and windy weather. 

After the Thug Life pants I purchased at Weekday last month it's rapidly growing to be my favourite brand of choice. 

Their simple yet edgy designs remind me of Monki, so it comes as no surprise that both brands originate from Scandinavia. 

And of course the exclusivity of the brand (up until now their stores are only based in a few Scandinavian cities, Amsterdam, Berlin and Tokyo) appeals to me.

 Most of the time going to an obvious store like H&M or Zara for my fashion fixes is inevitable. But from time to time you find a little gem like Weekday. 

Don't forget to enter my give-away: it ends today!

Nope, this is not a sponsored post. I just really like the brand.

working on it

Remember I told you that I was working on a magazine project a while ago? 

Well, it's finally finished and here it is. 

It's always nice to get to see the final result, not on my screen but in my hands. 

I'm really happy with the way it turned out and thought it would be fun to show you what I do for a living. 

You can view a full digital version of the magazine here. More pics after the jump. 

On another note, I had the opportunity to write a column for this really cool website called Blog and The City. 

The website focuses on how international style bloggers are influenced by the city they live in. 

I wrote a little something about the cities I've lived in and my infinite love for shoes. 

You can read it here. 

Tell me what you think in the comment section. 

I love reading each and every one of your comments, you guys are my inspiration!

minimal look maximum fun

Today I went to an exhibition on the wonderful world of Jean Paul Gaultier.

I must say I am really impressed by mr. Gaultier's creativity. 

He definitely puts a lot of fun into fashion and makes sure everything he designs matches with his personality and personal experiences. 

I loved the Paris collection the most, you can tell how much he loves his city and he's put a lot of thought into all of the details. 

For instance pumps with Eiffel towers as heels, a Moulin Rouge dress with cancan legs printed on the inside or a gown with hand-beaded city night lights on it. 

He examines every source of inspiration to the tiniest detail and then shows the viewer how much this particular subject, whether it's sports, a trip to New York or punk music, has inspired him. 

He loves anything that's different and not particularly known for being beautiful and then shows its beauty through his eyes. I think this guy is a true genius. 

The exhibition was really fun and well executed. It's in the Kunsthal in Rotterdam, if you have the chance I highly recommend you to go see it. 

It's not every day that you get to see Jean Paul Gaultiers stunning garments in person! 

I added a few pictures of the exhibition after the jump.

taste the rainbow

As a follower of my blog you know I love a pop of colour from time to time. 

I try to be unpredictable but sometimes I can't help but go for the girliest of colours.

 I guess it's just stronger than me. I think I'm so grown-up but deep down inside I'm still a little girl, drawn to anything pink. 

Ah well, as long as I'm having fun right? Also, don't you just love it how I keep on teasing you with my slogan shirts you can't read because they're partially covered by my jacket?

 Boo you, cold weather! This one reads 'groupie'. I guess that's because I am a groupie. Of pink. No, I don't mean P!NK. Don't really like her that much. 

Well this day wasn't really about me, it was much more about my lovely boyfriend. 

He recently got his Bachelor's degree, so we went to see a movie (again) and after that I took him to dinner. 

We went to a place in Amsterdam called Nomads. They serve foods from the Middle East and the atmosphere is really laidback and loungy.

On another note, I got interviewed by Air Magazine, an online magazine about hay fever and other allergies. It's in Dutch, but if you're interested, try using Google translate!

You can find my interview here.

PS. Don't forget to enter my giveaway below!

hurray, it's a give-away

It seems as though this shitty weather isn't going anywhere yet, even though my calendar tells me it's almost springtime. 

To soften the pain and of course to keep your brain warm, I'm giving away this awesome beanie! 

Yeah, you read that right. This is my first ever give-away! 

This beanie is totally unique, the only other way to get a hold of it is to go to a Lovebirds party and buy one there. 

If you've ever visited my professional portfolio, these two birdies will probably seem familiar to you. It's a logo I designed! 

And I'm working on a new flyer design AS. WE. SPEAK.  

So here's what you gotta do:

1. Like my Facebook page here

2. Leave a comment on this post including your name and email address (don't worry, I won't sell it, it's just that I want to be able to reach you if you win!)

3. To have an extra chance at winning share the give-away post on my Facebook page!

This give-away is open worldwide and ends on the 27th of March. The winner will be picked randomly and contacted by email.

***This give-away is now closed. The winner will be contacted shortly.***

cinema sunday

This Sunday I went to the cinema and saw a shitload of movies again. 

Pathé, a national chain of movie theatres, organizes a film festival twice a year. At this festival you'll see 5 arthouse movies in a row. 

The movie selection is spot on, I always go home with a good feeling and a few movie titles I can recommend to my friends.

I don't really have the time right now to give all the movies I saw a review like I did after the film festival in Rotterdam, but I'll give you the titles and a IMDB synopsis and the advice to go and see them all if you can (especially The Sapphires or Stoker)! 

Oh yeah, I tried out a new colour for my dipdye. This one's called Midnight Blue, again by La Riche Directions. This brand has such beautiful colours!

sugar + spice

When I was posing in my street for these pictures a little girl stared at me and walked away with a big smile pasted on her face. Of course my inner little girl totally understood why: cotton-candy-pink combined with a silver skirt?! That's the shit dreams are made of.
Not only am I channelling my inner little girl, I'm also channelling my inner Spice Girl. A friend of mine once referred to these Jeffrey Campbell babies as badass Spice Girl platforms and now I'm totally giving in to another trend made famous by the Spice Girls: the crop top. I love the effect of a bare midriff: showing skin in an unexpected place. Also kind of hoping to do this trend right this time around, as I don't recall it looking particularly good on me in the late 90s/early 00s. I guess that is because back then the look included a belly button?! Whoever came up with that idea needs to be punished. Belly buttons are never pretty, but I guess that's why people adorned them with belly button rings. Luckily I never caved in for a gaping black hole in my stomach. The only thing I'm left with now is a pierced clutch. Also, I feel very old taking this trip down memory lane.

 

 

sunny side up

It's funny how both the Dutch national railroad company ánd our national meteorological institute are warning us about heavy snowfall and train delays due to bad weather conditions when all I'm seeing is sunshine! Of course it's colder than it looks, but I have no reason to complain as long as the sun is finally doing what it's supposed to do.  
When I walked past this wall I fell in love with the shadows and I really wanted to take my pictures there. I kind of forgot that I would be having shadows on my face too. Ah well. Like I said. IT. IS. SUNNY. 
On another note, I am loving my new, shapeless, sweatpants-y, pleather, well yeah, sweatpants. Gives me a feeling of being chique and comfortable at the same time. I am and will definitely continue to be wearing those a lot. I'm still looking for a perfect pair of pumps to pair them with. Also searching for a nice pair of boyfriend jeans, but for now these boyfriend sweatpants (make no mistake, my boyfriend does not approve of them) will create that silhouette I'm looking for. To be continued....

Happy international women's day!

I did not know it was international women's day until every webshop out there started stalking me with discounts. It's actually funny, this time I get discounted for being a woman?! That's awesome!
I have a little something for you too and it's from my favourite webshop evarrrr:

Using International10 at ASOS will get you a whopping 10% discount! 

Sorry to the male readers out there, I don't think there's an international men's day, so maybe you can get your girlfriend (or a friend that is a girl) to order!

Here's a few items on my wishlisht: 

ASOS Round Sunglasses With Pearl Highbrow - Motel Penny Smock Dress With Bold Stripe - ASOS Mono Belted Mac - ASOS 'E' Beanie - ASOS Trousers in Colour Block -  ASOS Denim Skirt in Ripped Vintage Wash - ASOS Clutch Bag With Removable Front Pocket - ASOS PIVOTAL Wedges - ASOS Gem Stud Earrings - Casio F-91WC-3AEF Digital Green Watch - Antipodium for ASOS Gradient Pointed High Heels - Lazy Oaf Third Eye Bobble Hat

Happy shopping and enjoy international women's day! Do womenly things! Yay!

xoxo Iris

comfortable in my skin

Sometimes people ask me whether l feel uncomfortable being photographed on the streets. I tell them there's always tourists where I take my pictures, so I might as well be another (really fashion savvy or extremely dressed up) tourist. I don't really know any tourists who go about wearing trompe l'oeil body suits with bras stitched on them while sightseeing, so yeah, that's my excuse out of the window. Can you imagine the look on the face of your average passerby? I know this body suit may shock some people (hi, mom :)), but that's not the reason I bought it. I just love the quirky yet very minimalistic aesthetics from Maison Martin Margiela and since this is the closest I can get to owning their pieces without going completely bankrupt, I think I might have bought the entire MMM x H&M collection. This was just one of the many items I thought would be fun to wear. Especially when paired with dungarees. 

february on instagram

So here's my recap of February on Instagram! I mixed everything, so it's not really in chronological order. This is what you see:

my new purple dip dye turned blue
a flyer design I did for Lovebirds, a party in Rotterdam, I do all their designs 
a lovely organic cheesecake
love those bike rides in the sun
sunny morning as seen from a dirty train window
christmas decorations someone left in my side garden (?!)
close up on my new thug life pants from Weekday
me doing my new dipdye and making a face :)
this is taken in a pub i regularly visit on mondays, when they organize a pub quiz
the Erasmus bridge, a famous landmark in Rotterdam
the Rotterdam film festival logo

If you like what you see and want to see more, you can follow my instagram, it's @izzibizkit. Have a nice evening!

f is for fashion

Who'd have thought that this übercheap H&M bomber jacket would be my new best friend? It only cost me about 8 euros in the sale and I'm finding it real easy to combine with things. I mean hey, it's black and it's sporty: two of my favourite characteristics for any piece of clothing. Hence the three posts in a row of wearing this jacket. The jacket did come off, because it was finally warm enough to do that! It was even warm enough to enjoy my first ice coffee of the year in the sun, yay! As you can see I traded in my beanie for a cap for a change. I have enough beanies to show you and since I'm hearing it's gonna get colder again, I will definitely take my chance to wear each and every one of them before spring really commences. 

Speaking of bargains, I'm a sucker for great trainers from time to time and when I found these babies on a flea market last weekend I softly squeaked, because they had been on my wish list for ages. I made them mine for only 10 euros, how awesome is that? 

 

of africa, tigers & cold weather

Don't you just love my new skirt? It's from the beautiful ASOS Africa range. This is an exclusive range and every item is handmade in Africa. The material of the skirt is really thick and felt-like and I absolutely love the colour. Yes, yes, in one of the pictures I am actually pulling my own hair. I guess a quirky skirt calls for quirky pictures. And because somehow we got the weather report mixed up and it turned out to be around 0 degrees instead of around 10, me and my friend were freezing our asses of at one point. So, quick recap: Africa, tigers and 0 degree weather. That's an unexpected combination! We took a few quick snapshots and decided to leave the cold weather and continue to our little luncheon.