Kimono Cravings

God, it has been way too long since I posted something on my own blog. The last time was on my b'day, but let's be honest, who really still cares for the birthday wish I sent myself? Yes, indeed. No one. So time for some new inspiration! My tests are over (thought the moment would never arrive) and it's almost Ascension Day, so: a couple of days with no obligations! That means: doing the things I love again: reading, writing, watching films, drinking wine and buying records and buying clothes. In other words: things that bring inspiration. As for the wine: hell yes, I think this dreamy drink brings me more inspiration than all other things altogether. Really.

As for the buying clothes part, I'd love to share one of my new addictions with you. I have to say it feels pretty weird to write this, since my blog has become less and less fashion-oriented over the years. Maybe it's because I have been shopping strikingly less than the previous years or it's because I'm just not that materialistic anymore. There's more than money and clothes, as you must understand. Again, too much about me. What is this addicition I'm talking about? It's Kimonos. Authentic  Japanese Kimonos. Heaven in Holland.

It started with a pink Monki kimono to wear as a night gown, and it ended in buying 5 kimonos to wear in everyday life. They're easy to match, they're elegant and the fabric is extremely comfortable.

An additional thing I really love is the history that's related to this garment. The earliest kimonos - called gofuku - were influenced by Chinese clothing, strangely enough. In the 5th century AD, they were adopted by Japan and in the 8th century they really came into fashion. The sleeves began to grow and grow in length, resulting in the wide sleeves as we know 'em today. Back in the days, the kimono was a formal garment, but it became more and more everyday wear. During the past few centuries, Japanese people prefered wearing Western clothes and so, the kimono was pushed into the background. Besides, people who wore kimonos were easy victims of robbery, since they couldn't run very fast. 

Nowadays, kimonos are especially worn at special occassions, like weddings and tea ceremonies. Funny fact: all parts of a kimono (about 20) have a name and the range in styles of kimonos is outstanding. They have kimonos for unmarried women, for married women, kimonos with swinging sleeves, kimonos with dots patterns, mourning kimonos, dance kimonos and even men's kimonos. 

Well, that was my lesson to you about kimonos - didn't know half of it myself either - and so, I will continue the collection of kimonos. I wonder what you think of them and I wonder if this trend will develop and if yes, if that will be in Amsterdam, in New York or in Japan. So many questions. Time for relaxation. Time for a kimono. 

Twenty Baby!

I hate to admit that I'm beginning to understand my aunt in her fear of becoming old. Why, I don't know. But this was the first b'day that gave me the blues. I want to stay a teenager! 20 always sounded so serious to me, so responsible. But, age is what you do with it of course. And I'm not planning to become even more serious than I am already sometimes :) No, the best is yet to come.

Running

Only one week left until the half marathon. It's going to be tough, for sure, but thank god for Milky Chance, who'll lead me through those 21,5 kilometres.

Delight in the Ride

You can see it as a depressing thought; never being able to do, see, read, experience all the things you want, but it is also the greatest goal to have in life: walking the path of your passions, never to arrive at your destination but to take delight in the ride. A small hint as to my next tattoo. Keep you informed!

The Lion Man

Every now and then I don't feel like posting something culturally justified - you know, my regular Hitchcock reviews, sixties songs or bohemian inspiration sort of posts - but I just feel like giving you guys (sorry for the pun) a little pleasure. Cause that's what you all long for on a Saturday night, right? 

Anyway, chances are high you don't get me here, since this man has more hair than I have and looks a bit like a Neanderthaler. Or a lion, indeed. I finally found the reason why I loved The Lion King more than anything in the world as a child, and why I seriously had a thing for Simba. 

No, let's be serious now. This man is Ben Dahlhaus, and he must be a model. I couldn't find a thing about him on the internet - except for Tumblr posts by foolish girls like myself - so he remains a mystery. Exactly what I like in a man ;) But the guy who took these amazing photos is known and his Facebook is worth a visit. The guy in question is Esra Sam and you can find him here. Enjoy your Saturday night - or Sunday morning, cause that's a perfect time to look at these photos as well - and I keep you posted (with my culturally justified posts, don't worry!). 

Who's at driver's seat

What’s the reason, what’s the use

Who does it comfort, who will win

Will it cure you from sorrow and blues

Oh why do you transform your own skin

The doubt that is grounded deep within

Is not easily hidden from the world outside

The more you try, the harder to begin

Taking the steps of your search for pride

Stay true to who you are and what you believe

But what if thoughts and treasures blur as one

If you no longer know whose goals to achieve

And odd ardours are abandoned and long gone

What if the crowd’s opinion has gained control

Over who to love, where to go and what to do

You think to be true to your own sincere soul

But can you still identify what is really of value

For scandal and slander is the order of the day

Bringing another down to travel higher in the sky

Lessens the fear of being seen as ghostly grey

No difficulty faking a feeling or creating a lie

Where to look for authenticity, sincerity and truth

If the meaning of these words has long been lost

Maybe it's part of the insecurity that belongs to youth

But what’s it worth if being phoney is the price it has to cost?

 

Bedroom Stories

Photography: Lizet Sleutelberg

The Color of Congo

Last January, when I was in Morocco with my friend Yeji, something tragic - for us, western girls - happened. In the middle of a beautiful landscape in a nomad village, her analog camera broke. Goodbye to all of the magnificent photos that were already made, goodbye to all those photos to come. This made her realize the reason why she loved to photograph so much. Not because of the memories - after all, those are in our heads as well - but for the aesthetics. The beauty of nature, the pure prettiness of countries.

Why am I telling you this anecdote? Because aesthetics are a very important aspect of photography, even when photographing or filming a country as troubled as Congo, where conflict after conflict happens and where babies are born in pain, awaiting a life filled with pain, misery and war. 

In his installation The Enclave, now exhibited in Amsterdam based photography museum FOAM, the artist Richard Mosse (1980) combines the dark world of suffering in Congo with aesthetic aspects such as color and music. The way he describes his project: ''an attempt to let two contradictory worlds collide: the potential of art to represent stories that are so painful that they exceed the limits of the language, and the ability of photography to document tragedies and communicate to the world''. 

How he succeeds in doing this? Richard Mosse went to Goma, the capital of mineral-rich North Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where wholesale slaughters and sexual violence are the order of the day. He was accompanied by filmmaker Trevor Tweeten and Ben Foster, who recorded the sounds. Together with several rebellian groups, they travelled through Congo and documented the conflicts, the nature and the everyday life. 

The project resulted in various films and photos which have an overdosis of colours, especially pink and blue. The way Mosse created these effects, was by infrared film. According to Mosse, this was the ''approriate medium'' to film, since it is originally made for military purposes. Foliage reflects the infrared light and it is absorbed by camouflage. That's why camouflage troops and buildings can be shown, but also the pink tints in the photos. 

The exhibition is overwhelming, in a positive way. We arrived in a room filled with six gigantic screens, that all showed a different film, but they did correspond in what they showed. The images we saw variated from a singing child near the water, to a military group in a car or in the forest searching for victims. Since there were six different screens to look at, the story remains captivating the entire time. That's the reason why we stayed in the room for more than half an hour, I guess.

The power of the combination of outstandingly beautiful and colourful shots with the hardness of the situation (the African tragedy has costed more than 5,4 million lives already), is undescribable. It works, let's keep it that way. I can't imagine someone not being moved by the films, but also by the photos, which we saw in the second and third room in FOAM. There's this scene where you see an extremely painful pregnancy, and it silences you. Not just during the scene, but several minutes afterwards as well. 

If you find these photos mindblowing already, what awaits you, is a breathtaking experience. If you have the chance, you should definitely have a look in FOAM, since they way they created the room with the six screens, is to me the perfect way to experience what Mosse intended. Prepare yourselves by watching these photos, and then have a look before the 1st of July. 

Sweet Sun

Great song, their entire album is full of great songs actually.
But this one is perfect, for the fabulous line:
'We were 1969. We were Jimi and Janis'. Made me smile instantly. If I meet someone like Jimi who makes me feel like Janis, I'd never let him go. Yes, really.

Back to London Baby part 2

Alrighty, where were we? Sunday mornings in London, I guess. Our main goal for this day was shopping in Camden Town. This town is most famous for its huge market, with foods stalls from all over the world (we bought falafel of course) and vintage clothing stalls. But this isn't all that Camden has to offer, it is also the place where Amy Winehouse used to live. Not that you really notice anything about that fact - except for all of the paintings of her on walls - but the idea is awesome, isn't it?

Anyway, since we got up really early (don't know why that happened?), we decided it was still a bit too early to go to Camden already. Thank god for all the other great areas in London, so we didn't need a lot of time to think about another place. Let's get back to Notting Hill! We didn't go to the famous bookshop where Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts met. Not only because I hate Julia Roberts - I know, everyone loves her... Well, I don't. - but also because we simply wanted to do other things.

Like, drinking coffee. We ran into a cute little French coffee place, which already seemed heavenly because all of the sweet & sugary stuff, but which turned out even better because of the men working there! One in particular, a French guy with beard and hair bun. He liked us too, I assume, cause when we were sitting on the tiny terrace with our faces towards the sun, he made a picture of us. Wild story, right?

After the shots of caffeine, we headed towards Portobello Road, the street with all the coloured houses. There's a daily market over there, but we already figured the Camden market would be better and cheaper, so we didn't buy anything. Made some photos though and continued the trip to Camden. Which was fabulous as expected. We bought a few books at the book store, sniffled the smell of all the food (seriously, they had everything: chicken, fish, falafel, you name it, they got it) and bought some vintage bargains. 

We were pretty lucky this weekend, since the weather in London was better than in Amsterdam. Quite surprisingly, since London is known as the foggy town. But no, 18 degrees and a warm sun, so we found ourselves a spot on the grass in Hyde Park, where we read our books and listened to music. After a while we - mostly I, as always - felt restless again and so we walked a bit more and started looking for a nice place to eat. We thought Camden would do well, but that wasn't such a good idea. Everything was closed or sold only burgers, but finally we found an Italian restaurant, where we ate delicious pasta and - more importantly - drank glorious cocktails.

In the evening we had promised to meet our hosts at Covent Garden. They wanted to go to a bartender contest in a club somewhere, and we figured it would be nice to join them. The contest was kind of lousy, if you ask me, since there were only girls participating and it was obvious from the beginning who was going to win. Fortunately, the music was fun and drinks were free, so we had a great time anyway. I get told I look like Cara (Delevingne, the super model) a lot, but this time it got really annoying. One guy, who was probably obsessed with her, kept asking me if I did extra effort to look like her and if I was a lesbian as well (yes, of course, cause you always are actually like the person who happens to have the same eyebrows!). In the end, he understood I was a different person and we continued our amusing night.

That night ended in a bumpy bus ride for free, a short taxi ride and lentil soup on the couch. The next day we had to catch our flight back to Holland, so we said goodbye to our hosts - after giving them stroopwafels and chocolate sprinkles - and that's how our first experience of couchsurfing ended. I recommend it to everyone!