Coco Pastis

2012-01-25T09:55:00.001-08:00

In a previous life I'm sure I was a pipe smoking marine biologist

tipi tuesday

2012-01-24T10:12:00.000-08:00

One day I want one of these in my backyard, to camp outside in the summer of just to have coffee :)
More nice tipi-pics after the break..

pretty baby

2012-01-21T10:30:00.000-08:00

"I love you once, I love you twice, I love you more than beans and rice."

Friday night movie, finally got to watch Louis Malle's Pretty Baby starring Susan Sarandon and a 12-year-old Brooke Shields. The whole movie's got a Lolita vibe. I really enjoyed the esthetics: beautiful clothes, locations and people.

click here for the trailer

2012-01-20T12:07:00.000-08:00

R.I.P. Etta James

Me and the devil

2012-01-17T10:41:00.000-08:00

Oh, how I love this song and video. I'm currently obsessed with the music and writings of Gil Scott-Heron.
His words touch me right in the solar plexus.. I'm now reading his latest work 'The last holiday: a memoir", will tell you more about this book soon on this blog..

3 years of Coco love

2012-01-09T05:33:00.000-08:00

First of all I want to thank all of you who read my blog. I hope somehow I manage to inspire you. Keep a close watch on Coco, because 2012 will be full of surprises! love, Coco xxx

And for the occasion, my very first post, 3 years ago! A short story and picture by Beermilkshake

THE FIRST DAY OF MARCH.

The first day I lay eyes on you was the first day of march. I remember, because it was warm that day and I went for a walk in the park.
There you were, being you. Sitting on a bench, reading Norwegian Wood of Murakami. It was like the world around you didn't exist. Like everything happening around you was utterly vanished. The real world to you was in the pages you read. I stopped walking and went to sit on the bench next to yours. I lit a cigarette. Camel light. That's what I always smoke.
You didn't notice me, so I could watch you without a problem. Not really there, absorbed by your book. You got angry at a certain point. I could tell, because your face turned red, your eyes got bigger and you started to wiggle your feet very nervously. I never saw someone getting so upset over a book. In public that is.

2011-12-25T23:20:00.000-08:00

A MAGAZINE X RODARTE

2011-12-21T03:00:00.000-08:00

Kirsten Dunst shot by David Armstrong for Belgian A Magazine curated by Rodarte.
More on the Ü blog!

christmas is up!

2011-12-21T02:06:00.000-08:00

all I want for xmas #1

2011-12-14T05:52:00.000-08:00

From Chloe Sevigny's resort collection for Opening Ceremony

still white. still light.

2011-12-11T09:09:00.000-08:00

Honey Bunny sugarbum

2011-12-06T09:46:00.000-08:00

Le new GIRLS ! loooooove
+
nineties jeans jackets and palladiums, yez

2011-12-02T11:01:00.000-08:00

pretty lady Diana, ready for some hiking in style.
also have a look at this one

2011-12-01T04:17:00.000-08:00

>> confetti system @ work <<

sacred well of sacrifice

2011-11-30T11:01:00.000-08:00

sacred well of sacrifice

from the valley to the stars

le look: Michelle Phillips

2011-11-28T12:58:00.000-08:00

A style icon in disguise, she wears her clothes with a certain je-m'en-foutisme.
She pulls of a mix of clashing styles: combining her boho charms with solid rock attitude and a touch of Lolita. Her look translates everything she stands for.

doing the ombré hair long before we were doing it.

And she was married to Dennis Hopper for eight glorious days. sigh

But most important she was part of one of my favorite bands.

my week with Marilyn

2011-11-25T04:20:00.000-08:00

Can't wait to see Michelle Williams being Marilyn.

She's such an amazing actress and woman.

Have a look at the trailer and also at this month's British ELLE magazine

featuring a great interview with this lady.

haiku for you - Kirilove

2011-11-23T06:12:00.000-08:00

Not a drop of paint,
like a muse of Klimt she looks
bathing in flowers

Belgian stylist & fashion blogger Tiany Kiriloff for De Standaard magazine.

Narelle

2011-11-20T23:43:00.000-08:00

Narelle.

from: Australia, lives in Antwerp

fact: designs beautiful clothes.

good to know: she has an inspiring blog

last project: Touch the rock, moonlandscape-like artwork that inspired her for an amazing collection of macramé dresses. love.

what is she doing?:

That's exactly what I was thinking when seeing her like this :) She's not planning to sell flowers on the market or transporting a family with 12 kids.. she's just transporting these boxes she bought to re-organize fabrics, clothes, etc.

2011-11-18T12:52:00.000-08:00

Winterpicnic II was so nice! see you next year?

more pics go to Coco Green

touch the rock

2011-11-11T10:58:00.000-08:00

Narelle Doré made this amazing rock. We could all come and touch it at RA last night, fragile and ready to be destroyed by our sweet caresses. :)

Read the full story on Diane Pernet 's blog

words by David Flamée and more pics by yours truly! ;)

catwalk cats

2011-11-06T03:18:00.000-08:00

Sundaaay, oh how I love you. On the menu for today: some reading and later watch this movie. But first a big cup of coffee and going trough this book I finally bought for meself: Catwalk Cats. The book tells the story of 20 years in the life of American Vogue's creative director Grace Coddington: the fashion industry, living with hair stylist Didier Malige and a bunch of cats. (I have one of my cats on my lap as I'm writing this)
more after the break

all illustrations by Grace Coddington

pictures by Didier Malige

The British redhead started her career as a Vogue model when winning a modeling competition for the magazine at age 17.

Grace during her modeling years

Growing up in a small village she only got to read Vogue magazines that were outdated for three months, she fell in love with the fashion industry. Unfortunately a car accident left her face disfigured and she had to go trough plastic surgery to have it reconstructed. Two years later she became the Junior Editor for British Vogue. After nineteen years she moved to New York to work for Calvin Klein.
Later on she joined Anna Wintour to work for American Vogue. The rest is history. Gotta love this lady..

Here we have the lovely Karen Elson portraiting Grace for Vogue magazine

+ song of the day +

2011-11-04T07:36:00.000-07:00

As a kid I used to sing "cola light to you baby, cola light to you"

trick or treat

2011-10-31T06:10:00.000-07:00

Ellen

2011-10-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

Ellen.

best: dry, very dry jokes
morning temper on occasions
good to know: kick awesome rock'n'roll make up artist in the making
music: heavy and metal and dinosaur jr.
food: sandwich with hummus
pet: cats

Lula for coffee

2011-10-28T08:35:00.000-07:00

Lula magazine, grapes, coffee, music and sun hits the window. Friday afternoon perfection.

mourir auprès de toi (to die by your side)

2011-10-17T05:52:00.000-07:00

Finally got to watch "Mourir auprès de toi"! This movie, by Spike Jonze and Simon Cahn, was made in collaboration with Olympia le-Tan: a Parisian artist who makes handmade filted handbags and minaudières. Most of her work is inspired by the books she found in her dad's library. In this movie the filted characters come to life.. It's a little masterpiece, pretty, sometimes a bit dirty, but mostly very poetic.
Watch it online right here!

a good day for a sunday

2011-10-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

Had a lovely sunday, with sun, breakfast, coffee, friends and a birthday..

Narelle with Dille &Kamille

Richard

Otark magic for breakfast

for yana

2011-10-16T03:01:00.000-07:00

"Mister Floyd Burnie, in search of a song, is about to enter the age old question of whether a man can be in two places at the same time"

+ song of the day +

2011-10-16T01:25:00.001-07:00

2011-10-14T00:29:00.000-07:00

+ Anita Ekberg in Fellini's 'La Dolce Vita' +

Beyoncé, Beyoncé toch

2011-10-13T00:34:00.000-07:00

R&B singer Beyoncé declares she was inspired by Belgian choreographer Ann Teresa de Keersmaeker for the choreography of her last video Countdown. Ofcourse we are all inspired by others and there is nothing wrong with that. In the end everything is stardust and we are all drawn to the same cosmic consciousness. But still.. copying the exact same moves, with the exact same clothes, in an almost exact same location can hardly be called 'inspiration'. Too bad we little Belgians noticed..
With all due respect B and her team turned something beautiful, a real artwork into.. well a cheesy R&B video.. They don't really catch the subtle emotions needed. One thing must be said: Beyoncé, or at least her choreographer, has some good taste. Always better to get your moves from a master than from let's say a cheerleader team.

I've been a fan of Ann Teresa de Keersmaeker's work for a long time now. It hits me right in the solar plexus, every time.. Have a look at the real deal, it's truly amazing:

strange moosic: Herman Düne X blue flamingo

2011-10-12T00:48:00.000-07:00

picture from the Herman Dune blog
Last night my friend Sophie had some free tickets and took me for the Herman Düne concert here in Antwerp, lucky me! Support act was Alamo Race Track, you probably know them of the song 'Black Cat John Brown'. Loved their gig! Afterwards we went to get some drink as the band had to clear the stage and Herman Düne had to do their soundcheck. In the hallway we spotted three lost Parisian boys: the Herman Dune crew.

After a while I was thinking: "hey I have a blog, I should take a picture of him" Yes I do have these AHA - erlebnissen sometimes.. I usually just don't want to be disturbing..
The two other boys had disappeared.. SO I went to say hi to Yaya Herman and asked him if I could take a picture. Here it is, he's a natural:

I didn't feel like distracting him in his pre-concert-mojo. So we just talked about football and David Berman. Seems like we both love this last one: the singer song-writer of Silver Jews, who happens to be one of the greatest modern poets. We both have his book Actual Air.
He also showed me his book: the Strange Moosic CD + book version. Strange Moosic is their last album and the special edition comes with a book of Yaya's illustrations and the lyrics to the songs. (You can buy the book here.) I always love to have the lyrics of songs, I think good lyrics can be read like poems. Also the illustrations are amazing. Here are some pics I took:

Then it was time for the concert, really enjoyed it a lot. Mean drumming skills from Cosmic!
Another pic of that night:

Yaya Herman told the audience he liked Antwerp and the stylish women he always sees when walking down the streets (fashion city for something?) of course he's never been here longer then 24h..
The last gig of Herman Dune was in Petrol
"I remember it very well, I lost my tweet jacket that night.. It was brown, it was a beautiful jacket.. but I also wrote a song that night, so it was a good night after all"
The song he wrote in Antwerp is this one (he was probably missing someone special that night):

Also check this great video where one of Yaya's illustration come to life: a young runaway Yeti and starring actor John Hamm from Mad Men!

After the concert their was a small after party with DJ Blue Flamingo. Bringing back the rhythms from old days, Congo Jazz.

Also have a look at this amazing video to catch the vibe:

Paris fashion week S-S 2012

2011-10-08T04:54:00.000-07:00

Coco getting some work done for the Ü blog in Hotel Regina, Paris 3ième, PFW S-S 2012.
Follow the stories on uhier.com (long live Google translate)

picture (c) KNOTORYUS

Hotel Particulier

2011-09-26T04:09:00.001-07:00

Open eyes, open heart. More info soon.....

2011-09-25T01:44:00.000-07:00

picture taken by a friend who found this beautiful owl after returning to his holiday house. Poor thing got locked in.. sad & beautiful at the same time, R.I.P. owlie

music mood: La Boum

2011-09-22T09:39:00.000-07:00

good times

2011-09-12T00:24:00.000-07:00

9/11

2011-09-11T02:58:00.000-07:00

New york skyline before 9/11

9/11 happened 10 years ago today: I was 17 and in school at the time. Like a lot of people I thought World War III had started.. This one is for New York and all it's heroes

deerlove

2011-09-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

let love rule

2011-09-05T02:50:00.000-07:00

Waves of love and happiness to newly weds Sofia Coppola and Thomas Mars (Phoenix) !

This lovely pic was taken at their wedding in Italy: proud daddy Coppola, beautiful Sofia who's wearing Azzedine Alaïa and Thomas, crying a little?

Color Field

2011-09-04T08:31:00.000-07:00

Kenneth Noland

Morris Louis

2011-08-24T10:46:00.001-07:00

volcano love synopsis

2011-08-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

Volcano love, Coco by OUNI

Volcano report: drawings by Laura Geurten for Coco Pastis

2011-08-18T12:49:00.000-07:00

happy to finally share these beautiful sketches Laura Geurten made for me.. Volcano love!

VOLCANO report: Laura Geurten

2011-08-18T12:25:00.000-07:00

Laura's lines and shadows create the mystical, foggy world I want to live in.

intro volcano report: Pele, mother

2011-08-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

Ho! mountain of vapor-puffs,
Now groans the mountain-apple tree.
Alas! I burn in this deathless flame,
That is fed by the woman who snores
On a lava plate, now hot, now cold;
Now ’tis a canoe full-rigged for sea:
There are seats at the bow, amidships, abaft;
Baggage and men--all is aboard.

Alas, there's no stay to the smoke:
I must die mid the quenchless flame--
Deed of the hag who snores in her sleep,
Bedded on lava plate oven-hot.
Now it takes the shape of canoe;

Seats at the bow and amidships,
And the steersman sitting astern;
Their stroke stirs the ocean to foam--
The myth-craft, Kau-meli-eli!
Now look, the white gleam of an eye--
It is Nihéu, the turbulent one--
An eye like the white sandy shore.
Amen, possess me!

intro volcano report: Stromboli (eruption)

2011-08-14T08:59:00.000-07:00

From the movie "Stromboli" with Ingrid Bergman: director Rossellini filmed a real volcano eruption for this scene. A man died during the session..

addendum prestudy II

2011-08-14T01:53:00.001-07:00

prestudy II - Pompeii

2011-08-13T13:04:00.000-07:00

prestudy I - smoking mountains

2011-08-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

LONDON IS BURNING

2011-08-09T02:53:00.000-07:00

London is burning, this surreal images of 12-14 year old kids who started a riot in London city. Burning the city down, ruining everything on their way and snatching everything they can lay their hands on.. It's heartbreaking actually.

Are these today's kids? lost and numb? What is it saying about society in general? Are they the product of general frustrations? Time for some much needed change.. Negativity, bad politics, prejudices, religious extremism, the rat race, disrespect, mass consumption, hate,.. all of this is poisoning this world... It's a sad thing, let's hope people will start a positive revolution instead of this..

midnight at the oasis

2011-08-06T14:22:00.000-07:00

original by folk-blues singer Maria Muldaur

cover by 70's experimental rock band Sun City Girls

to paint is to love again

2011-08-01T21:38:00.000-07:00

And no one knows and understands love, in every context, like Henry Miller does..

that's all they wanna

2011-07-31T02:54:00.001-07:00

my so called life

2011-07-26T05:12:00.000-07:00

some clover lovin'

2011-07-26T00:54:00.000-07:00

goodbye Amy

2011-07-24T13:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, on the exact same day I turned 27..

Amy Winehouse became part of the 27 club...

May your lost soul now rest in peace Amy..

2011-07-22T00:42:00.000-07:00

R.I.P Lucian Freud

GLIMPSES OF BEAUTY

2011-07-20T07:14:00.000-07:00

Jonas Mekas is called the Godfather of avant-garde cinema. His movies are like Haiku's: in a natural perfection of symmetry and rhythm he creates mysterious reality, clever allusions and poetic beauty.
In his films you'll often spot The Velvet Underground, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, John Lennon and other artists he was creatively involved with. And if you think Werner Herzog had the coolest accent, think again :)

Could it be Harmony Korine got inspired by Mekas when making this?..

JIMMY MIST EEN BEEN

2011-07-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

'Jimmy mist een been'
by yours truly
published in HARMONIE magazine,
Nudes edition, july 2011.

TRUE LOVE WILL FIND YOU IN THE END

2011-07-19T10:27:00.000-07:00

Les Big Girls Don't Cry for the Belgian fashion brand FILLES A PAPA

beats of love

2011-07-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

Delfine Bafort and Titus De Voogdt in Steve + Sky (2004) by Belgian director Felix Van Groeningen.

Beats of Love.. beats everything

featured on the soundtrack: Belgian 80's band Nacht und Nebel with 'Beats of Love'.

feels like dancing with your eyes closed,

in the middle of the dancefloor, everything just is.

In this perfect moment. open heart. beats of love.

dear photograph

2011-07-12T01:49:00.000-07:00

more memories: dearphotograph.com

pure new pleasure seeker

2011-07-04T15:18:00.000-07:00

douce france

2011-06-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a nice week with my mom driving around the South of France: Provence and Camargue. From Lavender fields to gipsy queens, from wild horses and bulls to lazy, sunbathing cats.
Love taking dips in the Mediterranean sea and driving around in beautiful landscapes, while listening to some nice road music. I'm missing it already..

forever dolphin love

2011-05-28T01:39:00.001-07:00

Narelle Dore's RED dinner at RA

2011-05-28T00:40:00.000-07:00

Every month designer Narelle Dore dedicates her blog to another colour. This month's colour is red: passion, love and my favorite winegums. For this occassion Narelle organised a RED dinner at RA together with lovely Hadas of Otark. On the menu: red rice from Camargue, pancakes with sundried tomatos, rubarbchutney with cake, ..

2011-05-27T07:28:00.000-07:00

after waiting for a tram for two hours, only to realise there are no trams because of a huge traffic jam, walking through the rain for 5 hours to the nearest subway station (result: I look like a bichon frizé..) I find myself in the subway station listening to this and everything makes sense again :) happy weekend y'all!

MUJI X IDEE

2011-05-27T02:34:00.000-07:00

More perfection on the Ü blog

so kemp

2011-05-11T04:23:00.000-07:00

to do: bluekimonolipsticklook a la Charlotte Kemp, love it

2011-05-06T01:01:00.000-07:00

seen on Mieke Willems, Pineapple pants! yes!

foxcity

2011-04-26T00:24:00.000-07:00

pictures from my trip to london. Spend most of my time in East London around Hackney and London fields, was so nice.. Already miss all the beautiful places and friends there...

coachella stripes

2011-04-21T07:57:00.000-07:00

Love, love this double striped look as seen at Coachella.

looks so maxi relaxi and gorgeous at the same time.

More Coa niceness on ze Ü blog hunnies!

let the golden age begin

2011-04-19T01:05:00.001-07:00

let the window down, feel the moonlight on your skin,
let the desert wind cool your aching head,
let the weight of the world drift away instead

snapshotsurprises

2011-04-08T10:53:00.000-07:00

Go Gretchen!

2011-04-08T05:51:00.000-07:00

Yes we're a few months late in Belgium.. Project Runway is on and although I usually don't really follow the show, I fell in love with the lovely Gretchen Jones. In my opinion she should win every challenge. Not only am I big fan of her designs, but also her look and beautiful personality. She moves from the heart and it shows.

The Loreal challenge, how could she not win this one?

Ever since Project Runway Gretchen moved from Portland to New York
(what's up with Portland? it pops up a lot lately.. is it a sign??)
Livng the dream, all by staying true to her instincts and her own heart, she gives a bit of herself in every collection..

Here is a preview of her A/W 2011 collection..

Sigh
LOVE the first look: the long skirt with the cropped top..
Gretchen, do you ship to Belgium? (that's Europe)

'"My heart was there to connect with women like you, not win over the world." - Gretchen

Well that's what it's all about: connection, beauty and love,
thank you Gretchen!

2011-04-07T02:45:00.000-07:00

Yes! my closet is full of long dresses like this for next spring,

hoping to find a nice long, mohair jacket like this one..

Maybe this weekend when I'm in Londooon :)

picture Facehunter

2011-04-05T06:03:00.000-07:00

Really into this lately. on repeat, lots. perfect tune to ease the storms in my head and ignore the rain outside.

run away from me (like a deer)

2011-04-05T02:52:00.000-07:00

Beautiful pictures of the Gonzalo Lebrija exposition "The distance between you and me" I saw a while ago, here in Antwerp. Love how he runs further away from his camera, in the void of dreamy landscapes. very suitable for me at this moment..

(music) crush: Kurt Vile

2011-03-31T00:59:00.000-07:00

I think I'm in love. Mix Ariel Pink and Daniel Johnston together and you get my last (music) crush: Kurt Vile.

I've been playing his album "Smoke ring for my halo" a lot these last few days. Not to say constantly.

Listen to two of my fave songs and get hooked:

Jesus Fever

Baby's arms

hey Ü

2011-03-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend I saw my Ü family back..

(Ü is the Belgian trendblog I write for. Part of a team of 5 bloggers under the loving care of Knotoryus)

Had such a good time seeing everyone again! And we had a surprise guest: new teammember Marie. Good times :)

on my way to Brussels, bringing tulips for D and Fromage

the Knotoryus house is filled with the best books

THE Knotoryus book, was sold at Colette a few years ago

our new team member: Marie! Hooray!

Immi of Style4Guys

Immi was all ears for my crazy stories..

As I said before.. Good books.

Somehow it must always end like this...

I go walking in your landscape

2011-03-24T06:12:00.000-07:00

Finally spring is here. Away with the old, in comes the new. Bumblebees are singing sweet songs in my ear.. This week I enjoyed the sun sitting at the waterside, reading a book on the steps of the Museum of Fine Arts and even did some spring cleaning at home.. Really feel like going for an exile, somewhere perfect like this and just let spring happen: eat,read,write,dance

part 1/the night was kind

2011-03-22T06:02:00.000-07:00

stalking Dennis hihi

last saturday was the 1st part of the 14 years Ültra Eczema celebration at Schelda'pen.

Party time! Ültra Eczema or the audiolabel, drawings and work of Antwerp wonderboy Dennis Tyfus.

I really love his work and bought one of his records last week.

Ültra Eczema record with music of Cassis Cornuta

hooray Ültra Eczema and many more years!

Japan

2011-03-14T00:47:00.000-07:00

Japan, 2011

Scary things happening to beautiful places. I hope Japan will recover from this tragedy.

Such a special places culture, nature,.. We should all learn from this.

cat's eye

2011-02-24T01:09:00.000-08:00

rainy days call for old movies. This classic from 1985 with Drew Barrymore and an angry felin friend based on Stephen King's novel "Cat's eye". So full of weirdness, just how I like it.

zoom out, zoom in

2011-01-24T05:12:00.000-08:00

Di's style

2011-01-21T05:45:00.000-08:00

I love Lady Di's style here: from the soft pink dress to her necklace, the pink ring and the fact that she's wearing 3 watches! The only thing that says royalty is the big engagement rock.

LUXURIOUS xoxo

2011-01-14T04:29:00.001-08:00

It's friday, now we get to lay back !

2011-01-12T10:27:00.000-08:00

with my mum, just love her style, just love her :)

trois rois

2011-01-07T10:56:00.000-08:00

Celebrated the Three Kings from the East yesterday with some friends,

we had the traditional galette and indoor fireworks. Julie won the crown :)

Julie won the crown!

cute

2011-01-07T05:13:00.000-08:00

I'm not a cat person, I just happen to have two cats. Coco and Pastis.
And my blog is NOT too cute, only on rare occasions, like this one. This one is over the top.

and that will be the last time I will post something cute about cats. maybe.

Dear Jan Terri

2011-01-07T02:47:00.000-08:00

Dear Jan Terri,
I'm not sure if you're a guy or a girl, have no idea why I'm watching your video's,
maybe because it's friday and raining, but you rock.
Love the outfits in your Journey to Mars video, I wish I could be one of the girls in that clip.
Hope you will perform in Belgium soon, it will be a night to remember.

2011-01-05T11:09:00.000-08:00

ice queens

2011-01-05T08:38:00.000-08:00

valerie and her week of wonders

2011-01-04T04:23:00.000-08:00

Valerie a tyden diva or a movie on the mystery of a girl becoming a woman. A disoriented dreamworld created by Czech new wave movie maker Jaromil Jires, based on the novel by Vitezslav Nezval.
Perfect images, intense scenaries, priests and vampires..

your bratwurst and muscles?

2011-01-03T09:56:00.000-08:00

Friends with all Simpsons seasons on dvd are good friends.
Honestly can't get enough of this..

Abba New Year!

2011-01-03T07:00:00.001-08:00

champagne and refills

2010-12-31T05:32:00.000-08:00

give me champagne when I'm thirsty,
give me a refill cause I wanna get high

New Year's wishes from Delvaux

2010-12-31T04:27:00.000-08:00

Merci Delvaux xxx