Dress like you belong in your city!
Dress like you belong in your city!
Here at Your Coffee Break, we like to think of ourselves as big city girls and we act accordingly. Life is simply better with a weekly manicure, blowout and it comes without saying that we like to take things up a notch. However, being both full time career women and a social butterflies who constantly run on coffee to keep up with our busy lifestyles can leave little time to shop for a new wardrobe, let alone time to be creative with fashioning new outfits from new purchases. That is why we turn to Carmen West, our new find for outfits that will take us through the working day and straight on in to post-work cocktails.
Carmen West is the creation of Eline Westerhof and Marijn Mostart, who state that their mission is to create appropriate but fashionable looks for hard working women to get the most out of their lives in both work and play. Whilst working for British designer Alexander McQueen, Eline noticed the hectic life women working in the fashion industry lead, and the lack of time they have for any side activities. Marijn, former PR professional and editor, noticed a similar trend in Amsterdam, discovering that women want to look good for their work but have a lack of time, courage and creativity to create an elegant look. Today, the two work together to grant city-dwelling women that time and help them find the courage and creativity to mix and match with fashion.
In today’s globalised world, it comes without saying that much of life happens online. Yes, there are numerous webshops that sell beautiful garments, however, as Eline and Marijn point out, Carmen West are all about understanding the lifestyle of the woman they are designing for. Where the ambitious and professional from all corners of the world come together to chase their dreams, the duo work to understand what the big city girl wants to wear, where she eats, how she spends her weekends, and her needs and desires towards fashion. And it is the attention paid to the lifestyle of their customers that makes Carmen West so unique.
Especially true of their target customer, the city professional doesn’t have the time to go on leisurely shopping trips, so shopping online is much more convenient for her. But there is still a chance to see and feel the collections as Eline and Marijn will soon be taking a van on tour, visiting big international companies so that women can shop for their work wear without even leaving the office!
So, what are the essentials for your 9-to-5? The duo behind the fashion label believe the basic rules every professional woman should follow are very simple; always wear good quality tights, have a genuine leather bag, good heels and to never show cleavage! ‘It’s a fact that women feel more powerful if they are wearing the right apparel’, the founders explain. ‘If you look good you will feel more confident which will reflect on your work’.
Ever since we first glimpsed at Carmen West, we have been spending way too much time browsing the collection and finally getting the chance to meet with the team behind the label, we had to ask the founders about their favourite picks; ‘We would say the sequin silk top of Alchemist; see through but very chic in combination with the Dao leather pants of Second Female’. And can you wear leather to work? ‘Absolutely, during work hours you can easily combine leather pants with a sweater or oversized shirt and during the night you change your flats for heels with a chic top’.
Come summer, Eline and Marijn see a big season for pastel colours, florals, ethnic prints and cropped tops; ‘we definitely have to mention the crop top; perfect for an office-appropriate look, combine the look with high-waisted pencil skirts. Fashionable but chic!’ And what about trends within Carmen West? Although there aren’t glaringly obvious style differences between the countries they sell to, Carmen West have noticed an interesting trend that sees women outside The Netherlands ordering more dresses and tops rather than trousers and jeans.
The idea of mixing and matching to generate new ensembles may well fill you with dread – between throwing on your heels and inhaling your morning coffee where are you going to find the time to be imaginative?! Heading back online to Carmen West in your own time will provide you with inspiration for new looks, every day. You’re welcome.
For more info and to view the entire collection, visit www.carmenwestfashion.com.