From Belgium with love

Earrings, ASOS. Blouse, Zara (as seen here). Shorts, River Island (as seen here). Bag, from Camden market. Shoes, Melissa for Vivienne Westwood.

I realise that it must seem like I travel a lot – Manchester, Brighton, and now Belgium?! – and yes, I am very lucky to have been getting around lately! But the last time I actually left the UK was in July 2010, and even if I’ve managed to have a few really nice mini breaks within the island, it’s nice to have finally had a ‘proper’ holiday again. 

I got to visit the Diamond city of Antwerp just over a week ago. Essentially, it was a long weekend away that went by quickly – so hopefully I will get the chance to go back again and explore it in depth.

Choosing my outfits for this trip was a bit of a challenge (my aim was to avoid the tourist look as much as possible) but I relied mainly on my current favourite pair of shorts. And when in doubt, go for leopard, I say…

It’s probably quite clear from the above picture that I’m thrilled about my new earrings. I spotted them on ASOS and couldn’t resist because I’ve wanted a pair exactly like these ever since Moschino brought out that style in their Spring/Summer ’10 collection – which had an amazing ad campaign starring Isabeli Fontana…

Moschino Spring/Summer ’10 ad campaign.

Image from Dolce&Gabbana’s Spring/Summer ’11 runway show.

Dolce&Gabbana served as a reminder of these earrings that I fell in love with instantly, since they used a super similar pair for their current Spring/Summer collection. I know I’ve shown a bit of a schizophrenic attitude towards high street copying high end – I’ve bitched about it here but then completely contradicted myself here. It’s OK though, I’m finally taking sides – I have pretty much decided that I am happy to just look for my high street replicas. But still, I can’t help but wonder, how did Christopher Bailey feel when the high-street was inundated with aviator jackets? And what does Miuccia Prada think about all those stripey pieces that are currently seen everywhere? Guess being a super famous, super popular designer does have its drawbacks after all…

But back to my Moschino/Dolce&Gabbana-esque earrings, they’re a dream come true. Plus, they’re actually quite comfortable and not as heavy as they look. But these earrings are anything but humble, and I think they deserve a hot haircut to match. At least I’ve got leopard print, which is always a good start for that extra oomph factor.