Best on Instagram - May

Maybe 1 day too soon to post this but I have tons of work to do and another upcoming shoot this weekend !

If fashion was last April's main topic, blue sure was the headliner of May.

I got me some blue shoes at our newly opened &OtherStories (love that shop, can't pass without walking in, obsessed !) - blue Sailor Dior nail polish - blue highlights in my hair, topped up for extra prominent blue tones with some Stargazer hair dye.

Discovered a very nice coffeehouse/vintage shop called Sussies in Antwerp (need to add this to my Locals page ^ above) and my mini-me was very happy that mom got her this year's edition of the Dutch Vogue T-shirt ! (she missed that one in 2013)

Like what you see ? Discover more on my IG account here 

This May was filled with photoshoots of all kind ; very glad people start to notice me and ask me for small shooting sessions. It's a good exercise and this way, I can pretty much fill up and finish my portfolio just nicely ! 

Like many of you, I'll be studying, al fresco, if possible and start a countdown towards the end of June. 

#relax

wishing you all a sunny long weekend ! 

for all students, I'm #teamstudents and totally get what studying is all about {as I need to study myself and finish my portfolio, urgently !}

#giveaway

 Time for a give away !!

To celebrate our +100 Bloglovin' followers on the blog, we like you to share your best fashionista shot on Instagram ! 

Don't forget to add @pomeline_duchesse + #giveaway9  so I can pick to best of the best ! 
Entries start today till June 30th ! Winner will be announced in July !

#léoparis

Yesterday evening, I was invited to the preview of the Léo Paris FW14/15 collection in Antwerp.

Founders Leonneke Derksen and Matthias Medaer showed us some strong pieces, based on Dutch wintery landscapes and art, think Girl with the Pearl earring by Vermeer. 

Beautiful warm rusty tones combined with blush pink and icy blues are prominent in this collection as skirts and sweatshirts made out of embroidered gobelin fabric. 

My personal favourite was this rusty brown, slightly oversized coat {above left} ; I'm a sucker for a good coat and this particular model might just be the one I want to wear all Winter long !

You can find this collection at the end of the August in Step by Step in Antwerp. 

#StepbyStep

Just sharing this small collage I made from my shoot at Step by Step this morning.

So sweet of Chantal en Julie to think of me when it comes to images for their Facebook-page.

Makes me extremely happy to take pictures ; not only a perfect excercise for me but also a very nice opportunity because it's such a beautiful space.

And LOVE the clothes too, of course .. 

Saturday I'm invited to preview their exclusive label Léo AW 14/15 presentation. 

I'll promise you to post pictures of that pretty soon. Meanwhile, discover Léo's current collection here.

#WellHelloSailor ! 

No you silly ones, I did not make any sexual propositions towards a sailor nor am I expressing my ironical appreciation for something outlandish or corny. 

I just wanna draw the attention to this fabulous nail polish by Dior. Absolutely labelling this as my must-have for Summer ! 

Dior's Sailor #700 comes in a box plus transfers and a file.

Sounds like a perfect gift for any nail art lover. 

Not to keen about the royal blue color ? It also exists in red and natural beige.

Get it before it goes ! 

#&OtherStories

As expected, there was a queue outside our new local &OtherStories shop today !

The long awaited opening day finally arrived ; at noon the doors opened and at least 150 super excited ladies stormed in to get their hands on the items they lusted for ! 

Have to say I'm very proud ; the Antwerp store is absolutely stunningly amazing ..

Got myself 2 pairs of shoes (don't save me, I'm a lost case) and some beautiful geometric detailed golden rings. 

I must admit, COS is going to have a lot of competition from it's younger sister.

Not only do they sell extra stuff like make-up and magazines, but the prices are also just a tad friendlier .. 

check the store out (find maps via Locals in the bookmark above) or online. 

My rings are by Webster
It makes their heads twirl
They all say, "Darling, what did you do for those pearls?"
What! I am a good girl! 

photography #3

Remember the post I did on backlit photography ? 

The best way to get the face visible was to change your metering settings to spot instead of matrix.

Now, suppose you don't have your digital camera on you and let's say, just a smartphone, you can easily follow this trick to achieve the exact same effect.

Search for a piece of white paper, anything white will do and use it as a reflector !

Hold the white object under your face - be attentive the paper does not pop up in your picture {frame} - and take that shot !

The paper or reflector captures the rays of light and projects them towards you and your face. 

Always remember that the best backlit pictures are the ones taken during the golden hours !

Now, go out and try it yourself ! 

#magpie 

Although it's just a myth magpies love anything bling, I felt like one today.

I've never had the chance to see the Dries van Noten HQ in Antwerp until today.

Even Mr C wanted to see it and made me buy fabrics from the previous collections.

He knows I have a soft spot for scarfs so we choose some amazing fabrics to get creative at home.

They are so beautiful and precious I'm reluctant to cut these up so soon ; I'm just afraid I will make this huge pattern mistake and all fabrics will be lost !

So I'm looking at them, neatly folded till I'm confident enough to actually turn them into something nice.

On our way out we checked out the clothes and this absolutely amazing sleeveless jacket screamed out at me to try it on {for fun sakes}

It looked amazing ! So as an extra Mother's day gift, Mr C got me this stunning bling jacket !

Love it !

Hope you moms out there had a wonderful day too ! 

#fashionvictims

I'm pretty sure we all own a pair of (glam) (look-a-like) Birkenstock sandals by now.

I'm also undoubtedly sure we've all said at some point, we would never surrender to the ugly side.

…

until today. 

Have a great weekend ! 

photography #2

Aperture f5 - exposure 1/100 - ISO 200

Time for another great tip to share with you guys !

Many Pinterest addicts amongst us have at least 1 or 2 images somewhere on their boards containing the tag #backlight or backlit.

I'm pretty sure you have. Go on, admit it ! 

And deep down you're all a bit jealous about the beautiful effect backlight gives to any picture.

Gather around, for today is the day I will share how it's done !

Take your camera and browse your custom settings menu. Go to metering and you will notice 3 (quick) setting : matrix - center-weighted and spot.

Click spot. Spot ensures your model or subject will be correctly exposed even when your background is much brighter or darker, in this case, the sunlight right behind your model.

Another important thing you need to know is that backlight photography will give you the best results when the pics are taken during the golden hours. This is the period shortly after sunrise or before sunset during which daylight is softer compared to when the sun in higher in the sky.

Try to position the sun right behind the model, out of the frame or -this is the hardest to get it right- in the actual shot. Try using aperture settings between f2.8 and f5.6 max ; wide aperture settings will give a shallow dept of field. You will achieve the typical lens flare that makes the picture even more 

special. Shutter speed must be between 1/100 and 1/640 ; try some experimental shots at first with your AUTO settings to see where you're headed before switching to MANUAL.

The picture above shows my model of the day, Lobke. She did a pretty good job posing for me and we got some nice results. This one did not make it for my final portfolio but it's one of my favourites of her.

FYI : she's wearing a top from H&M 

don't make me blush !

Today was another good day ! Sun was out, had a lunch al fresco and found some awesome golden Birkenstock-alike flats at River Island. 

 My lunchdate outfit was pretty Springy ; white distressed jean, pale blue sweatshirt and my blush pink coat ; I pimped this casual look up with my Tiany Kiriloff for Essentiel clutch and my Flyknit neon/grey Nike sneakers.

Like this look ? Get these here before they go ! 

coat {similar)

clutch

jean

sweatshirt {was last year's - similar current 2014 collection}

Nike sneakers {similar}

Best on Instagram - April

Fashionwise, April was a very good month. I remember looking out for the H&M #conscience collection and it did not let me down. My aim was to get the silky chiffon blouse {if it turned out IRL like I imagined how it had to look} ; those blouses where gone in a snap so I'm very happy to be one of the proud owners of this precious piece of clothing. Too bad they didn't have more of those handbags (as seen in the picture) ; I would've loved one like that too.

On the other hand, I ordered Adidas sneakers at Zalando's (I'm not a big fan of Zalando ; their commercials on telly are annoying and excessively shown down here) but I really wanted to have those bright white Superstars. Again, I broke a pact towards myself and my conscience. 

So let's just say (for my own piece of mind) the #conscience blouse is the counterweight for me ordering at Zalando's .. 

Finally got the 1996 perfume by Byredo (hubby got me that one from Milan, of all places !) -

Belgian actors got a review in Dazed magazine - I finally CAN wear espadrilles without looking ridiculous - my son posed (without him knowing) for me on public transport and the picture is already my favourite Instagram pic of 2014 !

Hopefully, May will be as beautiful !

Got curious ? Wanna see more ? 

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