Jane Birkin: the best of both worlds

Put a bit of English freshness and a whole lot of French 'je ne sais quoi' and mix it. What is it you get? Jane Birkin. An English actress and singer, living in France and the owner of an iconic face: a gap between her teeth that holds place for the eternal cigarette sticking in there. Jane Birkin was huge in the sixties and had a magnificent style: bohemian yet simple and chic. No wonder Hermès named a bag after her.

Jane Birkin was born in London in 1946 as the daughter of an actress and a Royal Navy lieutenant-commander and World War II spy. After the introduction of her career as a model and actress in London, she moved to France quite early in her life. In 1968 she had a casting for the French film 'Slogan'. Though she didn't even speak French, she got the part. This is where she met Serge Gainsbourg, who she would date for many, many years. A year later they released the world famous song 'Je t'aime... moi non plus', which was quite scandalous for its explicite sensuality.

Jane Birkin made many more songs, which are both French and English. My favourites are 'Yesterday, Yes a Day', 'Di Doo Dah' and 'Ex-Fan des Sixties', in which she names a lot of my heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Otis Redding, among other. Jane Birkin made a lot of films as well, though they aren't as well-known as many of her songs. Films she made are for example 'Don Juan, or if Don Juan were a Woman', in which she plays Brigitte Bardot's lover, 'Evil under the Sun' and 'La Belle Noiseuse'.

She was very famous for her easygoing and laid-back style, which looked really bohemian and hippy. A simple shirt and a pair of blue flares, or just a white wide dress, made her look sophisticated in a second. Mini skirts, turtle necks and golden jewelry were often seen on her as well. But what she's most famous for, is definitely the Birkin bag.

The story of the Birkin bag is a very remarkable one. In the early eighties, Jane Birkin was sitting next to the C.E. of Hermès on an international flight. She always had a straw basket with her and that was also the case this time. She tried to put the basket in the overhead compartment, but because it was too full, things fell out. This made her complain about finding a proper leather bag. The C.E. of Hermès responded in 1984 by  creating a black leather bag for her: the Birkin bag.

Later in her career Jane Birkin was very active for Amnesty International, she especially did a lot of work on immegrant welfare and AIDS issues.
Her children are all beautiful and succesful, as was to be expected. They come from different men, cause Jane Birkin dated among others John Barry (and they have a daughter Kate Barry, who is photographer), Serge Gainsbourg (with whom she had singer and actress Charlotte Gainsbourg) and Jacques Doillon (which is the father of Lou Doillon, a model, singer and actress, a true it-girl at the moment).

There's no denying that Jane Birkin is an icon. Still alive for a change, and still inspiring many people, I'm sure. She was nonchalant, had this typical 'je ne sais quoi'-thing, but was hard-working and a tough woman at the same time. Jane Birkin definitely is the best of both worlds.

Happy (White) Easter!

The Coldest Winter

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley looks splendid for Animale's Winter 2013 Campaign.

The next Ryan Gosling

They say bad news travels fast. This definitely applies for the news that Ryan Gosling is going to stop acting. He needs some time to think about his future and he's going to try directing as well. As Hollywood's biggest love is going to disappear from the screen for a while, a successor has to be found.

In my opinion, Garrett Hedlund will be the best choice for this role. Garrett Hedlund could already be seen in the adapting of 'On the Road'. The film wasn't such a success but Garret Hedlund, who played Dean Moriarty (hero, hero), is definitely one to watch. He was born in Minnesota in 1984, which makes him 28 right now. Growing up as a farm boy, he decided to take the step and join a talent convention when he was 14.

As you could except, this turned out to be the right thing to do and very soon, he had moved to L.A. to start an acting career. His first one was immediately a major one: Patroclus in 'Troy', next to Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom. Other films he made are among others: Four Brothers, Georgia Rule and Country Strong, where he sang some songs along with Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl's Blair). That must have been a feast for the eye!

Unfortunately, Garrett is dating Kirsten Dunst (why?) but that's no excuse to stop looking at the guy. He has this elusive and intangible thing, which I has adore. One thing's for sure, he has a lot of potential and I'm hoping to see him in many more films (hopefully art house) in the future!

INSPIRATION PT. 208423

Everytime when I buy a few things, I get totally back into it and I start buying more and more.
This weekend I ordered a few things at Asos.com again, due to the fact I had to work again (I haven't worked for quite a long time) and so I could spend a bit of money again!
I bought a little black dress (a loose-fit), a printed legging and a crop top with cut-outs.
Yesterday I also visited a flea market with my dad, just one in my old neighbourhood. We always go there, since I am always looking for cheap records and my dad is always looking for books, prints or other stuff for his exhibitions. I came across a gorgeous black suede blazer, which was only 4 euros! Those buys make me extremely happy. It is striking though, that I have only bought black clothes. I'm also looking for black H&M boots, which are constantly out of stock. Anyway, all black everything ;)
Here's some inspiration for the next weeks. Let's hope spring will finally show up. 

I've made my choice

A dedication to Amsterdam

I've decided to make this post a bit more personal, by dedicating it to my city: Amsterdam.

I've lived here for half a year now and the city has never let me down. It is a bit risky though, since there's so much to do and I am really bad at saying 'no' since I love doing a lot and, how cliché this sounds, you only live once ;) So I've been to too many expensive concerts, have eaten outdoors too often and have shopped a bit too often in 'The Negen Straatjes' as well. They say everything that follows on 'too' isn't good, but I don't agree: Amsterdam gives me so much energy.

 

As you may know, I live in a place you could call a suburb of Amsterdam. It's next to a hospital and it's south-west of the centre. I cycle to the university every day and that's a pretty long way. But I can't say I really care, since I am lucky enough to cycle through the 'Vondelpark' (our most famous park, comparable with Central Park in NY or Hyde Park in London) and through the vintage area, which is a two minutes' walk from the university.

So I'm in the centre almost every day and, though I think this post is going to be way too happy, which definitely isn't me, I am so extremely blessed by this! Furthermore, I go out often in the centre, where you meet the weirdest and coolest people. Lots of tourists, especially in the weekends, which can be really nice cause you meet people from all over the world. I've met a few Canadian fellows last night, that was pretty great. Tourists can be damn annoying as well, since they have no idea how the traffic works in Amsterdam. I know, it is quite chaotic every now and then. I've fallen between tram lines too many times already (and this time 'too' is definitely not a good thing!) and I'm a real asocial cyclist. I think I'm the centre of the traffic and both walking people and cars have to make place for me. Which they obviously never do.

Anyway, you can definitely say I have never had any regret about moving to Amsterdam. Of course, I've always known I was going to study in Amsterdam but you sometimes hear the step is very big or people can't get used to the crowded city, where you can feel a bit anonymous from time to time. That was never a problem for me (and I hope that will stay this way!) but that's also due to the fact I have fifteen amazing roommates (yeah, this is really turning out to be too positive, of course I like one better than the other) and I've made a lot of new friends, so it's never dull or depressing here. Amsterdam, I love you.

Queen Delevingne

Just a touch

Just a touch

Of your finger on my neck

The opening of my eye

And that’s all for now

Just a sound

From the wind blowing hard

Through the changing trees

Opposite our wide window

Just a smell

Of the flowers forming

In seductive sizes and crazy colours

And the garden remains

Just a taste

Of springtime was all I wanted

It is almost here now

A bittersweet spit in my mouth

Just a look

At reality is more than enough

To understand that this is all

I dreamed for in my life

But then that’s all for now

Since you’re fading and I stay solid

Spring time has finally came

And there’s nothing left to remain

Kanye West in concert: distant but damn attractive

I know, the spontaneous things are getting a bit out of hand. Last week me and two roommates decided to go to the concert of Kanye West, which was announced very secretly. That was just two days before the concert would took place. Yes, it had a big impact on my bank account but it was definitely worth it. What a man, and the songs he sang: they were all so brilliant.















The concert was held in the Heineken Music Hall, which is a big event hall but not that huge. Which I really liked, because we stood pretty close to the audience. We were present more than two hours before the concert would begin, which was very long, since there wasn't even a supporting act. But the thrill of seeing Kanye West, thé Kanye West, in a few hours, was enough to keep us exciting even while waiting that long.




































When he came up, he already made a huge impression. He was dressed completely in white, which was extra cool since he's very black, as you will know most definitely ;) The stage was grand, but there wasn't anyone one it but Kanye West. No background singers, drummers, dancers, etc. The background was impressing though, we kept seeing nature elements. Huge mountains, snow, the ocean, it was all very overpowering! At one time there even fell snow from the sky, on the audience, on us!

The songs he performed were chosen very well. A few songs I didn't really know, but the rest was a good mixture between songs from his newest album 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' and older songs like 'Heartless' and 'Homecoming'. I can honestly say that I danced my ass off, the vibe in the audience was amazing. His voice and the sound weren't perfect, which was a shame, but the adrenalin made up for everything. He barely had any interaction with the public, except for a small speech about the impact of brands on today's society, but that didn't really matter. It only made him more unattainable and distant, which I actually really liked. His attitude is so big, it's indescribable but that's what makes him Kanye West. Isn't it?

MOAM: photography meets fashion

A few days ago my roommate Karlijn and I visited a fashion exhibition in Moam, which is a combination of Foam photography and fashion. The exhibition featured three iconic pictures made by Dutch photographers. These pictures were sort of imitated by fifteen Dutch fashion photographers, linked to fashion designers.

 

I loved the concept, it was really innovative. Furthermore, the three chosen pictures were definitely iconic, so a good inspiration. Unfortunately, the exhibition was quite small and therefore was a bit disappointing. They hardly gave any information about the photos, except for the names of the photographers, designers and models.

Thank god there were also a few photos that didn't belong to the exhibition. They were very inspiring, for example this photo from Amsterdam,  and the first photo from a blonde lady smoking a cigarette. That one really blew me away. Though the exhibition wasn't what we'd expected it to be, the photos that were made were very good, since you could closely see the link to the iconic photo, but most of them were still refreshing. Just a bit more information would've made it really inspiring, I guess.