I always thought that the Netherlands was the cleanest and neatest country in Europe, but Switzerland has her beat. Zurich is pristine. It is also the most picturesque city I’ve ever seen: cobbled streets, steepled churches, fancy cafes, modern trams and a very pretty lake against the backdrop of snow capped Alpine mountains. Beautiful. And awfully civilized. The locals are very polite and things run like clockwork. And I mean like Swiss clockwork. Bells chime the time throughout the city every 15 minutes! It’s lovely, and there’s no excuse for not knowing the time.

We stayed with our dear friend Brian and his adorable black lab Meagan. Their lovely apartment is a ten minute tram ride from the main downtown area, so we were in the heart of the city daily, exploring its streets and soaking in all of its fabness.

It was wonderful to catch up with dashing Brian, who we even took shopping for a new Hugo Boss leather jacket. Very fun. And spending quality cuddle time with sweet Meagan healed my homesickness for our girls.

Believe it or not, we wore Crocs for quite a large portion of our time in Zurich. Yup. CROCS. Brian has a no-shoes-inside-the-house policy so he keeps spare Crocs for guests who forget to bring slippers. I adore Brian so I loyally sported the ugliest shoes on earth so that he can keep his stunning parquet floors in tip top condition. At least mine were a pretty modern white. If they’d been any other colour I may have needed to purchase emergency house shoes.

When I think of Switzerland, the first thing that comes to mind is the Alps and cute cows with ornate bells. But chocolate comes in as a close second and we had lots of that. One memorable chocolaty occasion was at Sprüngli, an up-market Swiss confiserie. It was a treat to watch one of their expert chocolatiers decorating big chocolate Easter eggs with detailed icing creations. We spent a good amount of time looking at all the beautifully made sweets, bon-bons, cakes and Easter-themed chocolates before purchasing some of their delights and enjoying them out in the beautiful Spring sunshine.

I didn’t sample all of the savoury local faire that the boys enjoyed, like bratwurst, cured cold cuts and wiener schnitzel, because when it comes to meat I only eat fish and chicken. But I did have a wonderful ostrich dish that reminded us of South Africa, where meat from the giant bird is quite common on restaurant menus.

Perhaps the biggest treat for me was the fashion on the streets. The people reflected their pristine, civilized surroundings. But I’ll save the details for a dedicated post this afternoon.

Antwerp, in the Dutch speaking part of Belgium, is utterly charming. We thoroughly enjoyed exploring the city with local resident, Inge. It was hands down the highlight of our visit — you just can’t beat the company of a stellar lass in her hometown! But my fashion stylist hat stayed on so I’ll finish off our coverage of Belgium with my perception of Antwerp street fashion.

The weather in Antwerp was beautifully mild so lightweight trenches and jackets were the order of the day. People do not commute on bicycles as much as they do in the Netherlands, so heels were a lot more common. Chestnut boots were by far the most common item of footwear on the streets. The boot styles were generally casual, with lowish heels, knee-high, and worn over leggings and jeans or under skirts.

Black clothing was quite popular but shades of grey and earth tones were just as abundant. Black outfits were often brought to life with a pop of bright colour. In true Euro style cross-body bags, cropped leather jackets and scarves are the uniform. Antwerp style is arty, definitely current and super practical. Very fab.

I saw quite a few people sport white jeans with boots and pumps, just like they did in the Netherlands. The stores were also full of white bottoms both for men and women. Inge is very much onboard with this look and has pair of white straight leg or bootcut jeans on her shopping list.

Next on the European tour: Zurich. We spent a few days in the Swiss city and have lots to show and tell.

As much as we enjoyed soaking up the ambiance of the streets, the best part of our visit to Belgium was meeting fabulous long-time YLF forum member and Antwerp local, Inge. The charm of Belgium, which to me seemed to combine so many of the great elements of French and Dutch culture with a uniquely Belgian twist, was wonderful. We had a magical time touring the cities, savouring local delights, fitting on the fashion and generally yakking about everything. There was lots of laughter from start to finish, which made it feel like we’d known each other for years. How lucky are we! Today’s blog post, written by Inge, describes our Belgian adventures.

I had been eagerly counting the days ever since I found out that Angie and Greg were coming to Belgium on their next European trip. Last week “le moment suprême” had arrived and from the minute I saw two exceptionally stylish people smiling at me warmly from their hotel balcony, I knew we would hit it off perfectly.

Over a wonderful tapas lunch we quickly devised a game plan: exploring the area around the Grand Place with its baroque guildhalls and majestic Town Hall, lively shopping streets, famous “chocolatiers” and ornate galleries. As I’m never one to turn down a treat, I was particularly pleased to hear they also wanted to seize the opportunity to taste some of the Belgian delicacies.

We certainly didn’t dilly-dally, and after saying hello to Manneken Pis, the tiny but renowned statue that is dressed in different costumes several times a week (he’s the proud owner of over 700 outfits), we shared a gaufre liègeois (waffle from Liège) with the typical small lumps of sugar in it.

We had decided to save the big shopping for Antwerp, but of course couldn’t resist popping in a few shops and malls on the way. Mexx in particular had some very impressive goodies. I hope to get their fantastic dark denim button-down tunic with a bit of sheen to it, and a gorgeous pin-striped blazer with red lining. Very playful and ideal for layering purposes.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent sightseeing, chatting, and walking, topped off with a delicious glass of homemade lemonade at Le Pain Quotidien and scrumptious food at a small Thai restaurant.

I’d be hard-pressed if I were forced to pick a favourite moment, but have to admit one of the highlights of the day was when I got to hold Angie’s famed red Valentino bag for a bit;-) It’s a beauty, oh yes!!

The next morning we met up again at the recently renovated Central Station in Antwerp that, very conveniently, opens out on to the High Street with all the well-known mainstream clothing brands. First part of the day was spent looking for comfortable and fab shoes suitable for work and play. We both loved a pair of blue-green, low-heeled pumps by the Italian brand MJUS. Their shoes were all over town, and from what we saw of them, they come highly recommended.

I also had the privilege to experience Angie working her magic firsthand, yes, I’m a lucky lass!  I still can’t quite wrap my head around how she does it! You find yourself in the fitting room trying things on, Angie just readjusts the garment, grabs some accessories, starts putting together outfits and all of a sudden you look like a million bucks.

With her guidance I finally learnt how to make even skinny belts work for me. A cute cream studded number and a heavier belt with small metal rings are high on my wish list now and I’m champing on the bit to try them at home, so stay tuned. Other winners were a beautiful black and white wrap dress and a sleeveless Summer top at WE, a bright green cascading cardigan at Zara, and a fun casual dress at Esprit.

Real Belgian fries were next on the menu. We had them at what’s probably the most stylish looking and unconventional “frituur” (chip shop) in Belgium (artwork on the walls, environmentally friendly cutlery, transparent chairs and B&W print tables…). After all that savoury deliciousness, we needed something sweet for dessert, so we stopped at a small bakery for a frangipane pastry (a small puff pastry cake with almond paste filling) and a mini dark chocolate Easter bunny. Later on I introduced Angie and Greg to “Australian Ice Cream”. Believe it or not, a Belgian brand.

We found ourselves smack in the middle of the trendy neighbourhood Het Zuid (The South), where the shops of famous Belgian designers such as Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester and Walter Van Beirendonck happily coexist with independently owned boutiques. The perfect place for people watching and snapping up one of a kind items. We admired the industrial and arty vibe of a shop-window in the Volkstraat, where old hospital beds and army blankets had been used to showcase the wares. Such amazing eye for detail! We swooned over a jaw-droppingly beautiful red leather jacket by Essentiel, a designer dress with a boldly striped skirt and literally had to drag ourselves away from a small handbag boutique where we could have done some serious damage.

The shops close at 6pm here, which meant we had a little time to spare before our delicious pasta supper. So I gave Angie and Greg a tour of my new flat, followed by happy hour at an outdoor café with a view of the 14th century Gothic cathedral. We had a bit of a chuckle when the resident giant white poodle, up to a lot of mischief, was carried inside by its owner. Such a comical sight.

One last quick drink after dinner, and then it was time to say goodbye. I was sad to see it end, but I’m still super chuffed that we got to spend two whole days together and I think Greg will confirm Angie and I never stopped talking. About YLF and all the lovely forum members, of course, family and friends, the difference between American and European cookies (chewy vs crunchy), our favourite cities, how spoken Flemish and Afrikaans sound quite similar, memorable concerts, how to make your own curry paste… We could have gone on and on…

Thank you Angie and Greg, I thoroughly enjoyed every second of our “city trip”, you are both absolutely delightful and I’m so glad we finally met in person. Let’s do this again soon!

Sometimes we have an allergic reaction to a new trend. The negative reaction might be to a particular colour, silhouette, design detail, pattern or fabrication on a garment, the heel on a shoe, or the way an outfit is put together. These reactions are inevitable because we can’t possibly like all trends.

But more often than not, we get used to the picture after seeing other people wear the look – after all, fashion is but an adaptation of the eye. What looked awful before suddenly doesn’t look so bad. We warm up to the idea and, lo and behold, even try the trend ourselves. And before we know it we’re actually sporting the look, despite our initial allergic reaction.

Even though I’m an early adopter for most trends, this has happened to me many, many times in my fashion life. It’s gotten to the point where I seldom say “never” because I often end up eating my words later. At the very least, I do own up each time I have a change of heart.

These are most memorable times I’ve had to eat my words:

• Skinny jeans. I vowed I would never wear them again when they first started resurfacing. Too many bad ‘80’s flashbacks. But six months down the line we were inseparable and still are.
• Leggings. I filed them under “for teeny boppers only” for half a season. Then I saw my style icon Vera Wang, who is 20 years my senior, rock the look in her usual urban and sophisticated way. The penny dropped and I’m still all over the trend.
• Harem pants. I laughed at this silhouette thinking it was just all wrong. Then I went to Israel and saw how the stylish Tel Aviv ladies pulled off the look and was totally swayed. I’m still not into the knitted versions with sagging crotches, but I’ve been trying to get a woven pair with a normal length crotch for almost a year. Hope to find a pair soon.
• Gold accessories. I couldn’t appreciate the resurgence of the metal in the ‘00’s in any shape or form. But somehow, this forum challenge turned that around and now I happily wear both silver and gold jewelry and hardware.
• Denim on denim. Well, you just read all about that.

I’m absolutely sure that you’re wearing trends, colours and clothing styles today that you initially disliked when they started appearing in magazines and in stores. Now it’s your turn to own up.