Full Bloom

by Dora Bora//

Florals in spring may sound like the most obvious fashion cliché, but let’s face it… florals seem to be on steroids this year, dragging you inevitably in tempting and all-fun print-on-print combinations. And the psychedelic results, may convert even those who feel that floral prints only belong with the helpless romantics.
This spring serves as the ideal opportunity to dig out of the depths of our closet that floral vintage dress, play with the shape, saturate the colours, top it up with another layer of floral print, add some “bling” and hit the streets with flair.
Of course, the most talented designers could not stay impartial to this flourishing explosion. From Erdem, to Stella McCartney, to Peter Pilloto and to the most loyal print advocate Mary Katrantzou, hi-fashion boutiques all over the world seem to be more colourful and cheerful than ever. And things start to get really intriguing when florals hit the “extremes” (yes, I am talking about shoes, AGAIN). The “street catwalks” during the most renowned Fashion Weeks also did set floral prints as the ultimate trend for this season.

Even if you are not a print person, you have to admit that this colour explosion puts a smile on your face. Dare you, or dare you not?

Street Fashion from style.com

Mary Katrantzou for Topshop (photo credits http://www.topshop.com)

Stella McCartney sets the floral mood with the SS 2012 Campaign with Natalia Vodianova (photo credits http://www.stellamccartney.com)

Peter Pilotto SS 2012 (photo credits: peterpilotto.com)

Shoe-porn by Nicholas Kirkwood (top and middle) and Tabitha Simmons (bottom)

Liberty collaborates with retrosuperfuture for some floral sunnies (photo credits: http://www.liberty.co.uk)

Liberty has also collaborated with Zara Home creating a baby series that will bring that extra touch of bloom in your baby boom (photo credits: http://www.zarahome.com)

Folli Follie brings some floral in your accessories (photo credits: Folli Follie)

Digging out my closet seeking those floral prints

Some breathtaking Vogue fashion editorials “blast from the past” – proving that florals is a recurring trend – no reason to love them less though. (photo credits: vogue.com) From 1997…

…to 2006

…to 2011

…to today

CREDITS: Text: Dora// Photography (in order of appearance): style.com, topshop.com, stellamccartney.com, peterpilotto.com, Nicholas Kirkwood and Tabitha Simmons, liberty.co.uk, zarahome.com, follifollie.com, Dora, vogue.com

Dum Dum Girls

By Dimitria Ioannidou//

On one hand you have sweet. Pretty girls, shorts dresses, quirky stockings and mellow voices.  On the other hand you have sour. Loss, suffer, separation, distance, detachment.  There you are, that’s what music is made of.  No wonder it wasn’t until the ‘sour’ hand was full that the Dum Dum Girls made a great leap forward and released what’s for the rest of us both unique and full of emotional impact.

What is so distinctive about Dum Dum girls is their blend of girl gang, garage-pop, eyeliner punk, moody atmospheric music that forms the substance of their signature. It’s their way of letting you in a world of Edie Sedgwicks and Jane Birkins, in a world of days that evolve from polished to lonely to torn.

Listen up…

 

 

 

CREDITS: Text: Dimitria// Source: wearedumdumgirls.com//Video: via YouTube//

Smurf Attack

by Dimitria Ioannidou//

This blog is becoming more and more art friendly, no? Its comics turn today, the most literary of the plastic arts, the outcome of the ever closer collusion between the desire to tell stories and the art of drawing. Plus, the comic festival is about to open its doors in Athens, plus Milo Manara will be there (and so are we), plus there is the Comic Strips museum in Brussels that I visited just for you. So especially dedicated to all us children out there…

Gaston Lagaffe & his cat, Marsupilami – characters created by André Franquin of Brussels. They welcome you to the Belgian Comic Strip Center

In Christian monasteries of the Middle Ages, copyist monks reproduced the sacred texts of their religion while others embellished theme with illustrations. Without realising it, they invented most of the principles used by present-day artists to create a comic strip

Belgium boasts more than 700 comic strip authors

The famous Tintin Citroen 2CV in the museum’s entrance

Georges Remi, creator of Tintin

Playtime

Raymond Reding, 1978

My “friend” <3 <3

Tintin of course has a wall of homage, but so do other strips like the Smurfs and Asterix. Here is the Smurfs “List”

Recreation of a Smurf’s house

The famous “Smurf Cage”. Under that you can spot “the poison”

La La La, Bye Bye Comics Museum

Speechless?

Concluding in the museum’s own wors: Comic strip is not the result of a discovery. From the oldest known accounts of cave art to the dawn of the 20th century, the various elements of this exhibition confirm the popular adage that “nothing is invented, everything just changes”.

CREDITS: Text: Dimitria// Photography: Dimitria//Belgian Comic Strip Centre

Emmanuella & Maria_The End

by Dimitria Ioannidou//

Last day in Brussels.  That was one full week.  Photo-narrative following…

The atomium

Don’t try this at home

Endorsing public urination by the atomium…

The Astridmobile (personal note: Astridakiiiii mouuu)

Who doesn’t?

Sk8 Room – Always loved art on skates and surf boards, no?

Mort Subite in Les Halles (St Gerry). It’s where people play chess in the dark, while men play the piano among blue water fountains

L’archiduc. The night begins here

Eleni

Kaliope and Stavroula

whiteDlight limited tee bar-hopping around Brussels

Stavroula in action

Dimitria in action. Or before action

Radio Panik in action

Newsville.be in action

Sani in action

I spread the word: Go try Ethiopian Cuisine. Now!

And a big list of thank you’s to all:

Poetess Stavroula Gatsou, Artkane gallery for the hospitality, the news portal Newsville.be, “La voix de la Grèce” weekly radio show on radiopanik.org 105,4 FM, sweet Sani and all friends helping in every way.

CREDITS: Text: Dimitria// Photography: Eleni, Dimitria, Stavroula//

Emanuella & Maria

by Dimitria Ioannidou//

Here is a first taste from our ‘Emanuella & Maria’ event in “hot” Brussels, no seriously it’s so hot it feels like home! You’ll see poetry all around, perfectly merging with fashion. Poetess Stavroula Gatsou has filled the space with words and poems inspired by the dual nature of every woman.

So voila for now, and for those of you who live in Belgium, we’ll be here until Sunday looking forward to seeing you too.

CREDITS: Text: Dimitria// Photography: Dimitria// Collection: whiteDlight// Poetry: Stavroula Gatsou

Giveaway Season

Its Giveaway time.  We’re approaching destination, i.e. the new Frock n’ Roll showroom and eshop are very close to finish, so we need you all around for the Big Day.  What better way to do that than by giving something nice while we’re at it?

Here is how it works.  We have four different whiteDlight dresses, all one size, all fabulous, to give to four of you.  One winner will be picked by our facebook page fans, one will be picked by our twitter followers, one by our Bloglovin followers and one by the comments on this post.  You don’t need to do all four (just implying we’re not asking for your souls here…) but of course the more you do the more chances you have to win, let alone the more the merrier for us too.

Have a look at the four different gifts and click click click

Jordan Dress// Loose viscose dress with open back and leather strap detail

Roxy Dres// Long sleeve knee length dress, with a tie up front detail

Roxy Dres// Long sleeve knee length dress, with a tie up front detail

Alfie Dress// Draped one sleeve silk jersey dress with open back

The giveaway is open internationally and ends Wednesday, March 21.

Good luck Everyone

Contest closed. Congratulations Maya, Sophia, Xrysa & Vassia

See you in Brussels

by Dimitria Ioannidou//

Say you had that coffee in Antwerp. Why don’t you now drop by Brussels and meet us? Save at least one day, from Thursday 22nd to Sunday 25th, and join us in a cross-art event filled with poetry and fashion.  A special whiteDlight dress collection will be presented to the Belgian audience along with the captivating poetry of poetess Stavroula Gatsou.  To make it even more tempting, we have some limited edition pieces you’ll love and a special discount to please all.  And if you can’t make it, stay tuned with us on twitter and follow us around Belgium one picture at a time.

WHAT: www.emmanuella-maria.blogspot.com

WHEN: 22 March at 19:00 until 25 March at 19:00

WHERE: Rue de L’Aqueduc 104 Place châtelain, 1050 Bruxelles

INFO: tel. 0494668071 & 0485893747

THANK YOU: www.newsville.be the greek website in Brussels & “The voice of Greece” /”La voix de la Grèce” weekly radio show on radiopanik.org 105,4 FM in Brussels

Coffee Time…in Antwerp

by Marjan Schrooten//

It’s not exactly something you would immediately associate with Antwerp (even though more than 7 million bags of green coffee beans are handled in the Port of Antwerp each year, which makes it largest coffee hub in the world) but I am convinced that it will soon be on the ‘things to do in Antwerp’: have a nice cup of coffee!

And while you’re at it, you might as well go for the best coffee place in town: ’Normo Coffee’. The quaint vintage-style coffee bar is situated in the cosy neighborhood between the historic city centre and the up-and-coming northern part of town, home of the recently opened MAS museum and the restored marina. Even during your shopping till your dropping it’s worth taking a caffeine break here:  in Antwerp, everything is really just a few blocks (well ok, pebbled medieval streets) away.

At Normo Coffee, the coffee is homemade: freshly ground in an eye-catching coffee grinder, the coffee tastes even better than it smells.  Owner Jens Oris is proud of his micro-grinder with cleverly tweaked settings to ensure a perfect grinding and brewing of his product. For him, it’s all about controlling the entire creative process of that perfect cup of coffee.

Having your favourite cup of cappu-, frappu- or moccacino in this trendy, low-budget and laid-back interior is really more like coming home on a Saturday morning after a lazy stroll around town in your favourite tracksuit and sneakers; but at Normo, the quality and choice of coffees is really so much better than just another George Clooney-branded capsule.

Everybody should believe in something.  I believe I’ll have another coffee.  ~Author Unknown

CREDITS: Text: Marjan// Photography: Marjan// Normo Coffee: http://www.normocoffee.com