so i have a confession to make. i used to really love shopping for clothes – like, really, really, really love it. i spent days just browsing stores in my favorite cities all over the world. trying things on, comparing qualities, searching for the right fits, shapes, sizes and colors. you know how some people say ‘shopping is my cardio’? yup. used to be me. but then life happened, and gradually i started feeling like i could think of a million things i’d rather be doing than going from shop to boutique to concept store, trying to find what i had in my mind would be perfect.

as i got out of the magazine business, and with it out of the fashion industry, i also stopped caring about trends. i think it also has something to do with how i started reading blogs instead of magazines. suddenly, it was all about personal style, not following the dictates of the catwalk. surprisingly, that made shopping more difficult. i found myself asking tougher questions in the fitting rooms – is this really me? does it make me feel good? does this belong in my life? a lot harder to answer those instead of the one ‘is this in style right now?’ i became much pickier in terms of quality, too. and honestly, shopping for new clothes every season – because i do still love to add some new things to my wardrobe every now and then – became an insurmountable task.

last year i started a project on this blog that i wasn’t able to continue because of my pregnancy. i wanted to create the perfect capsule wardrobe, choosing only items in colors, styles and qualities that would perfectly fit into my life. admittedly, my pregnancy was only one reason why it became difficult to focus on the project. in reality, it was again such. hard. work. it shouldn’t be so difficult to find the right things, if you have such a clear idea in your head of what they should be, right? so this year, i decided i needed help. i thought about a personal shopper for a bit (and i still kinda like that idea – emma, we need to get in touch!) but i also figured it was all about finding the right shop.

if there existed a boutique that carried a selection of your favorite brands, and many more you hadn’t heard from before, that was perfectly catered to your needs, wouldn’t that make life easier? you’d just go there once at the beginning of every season, with a list of things in your head that you might need, and you’d know you could trust the friendly people in the store to help you find the right items, shapes, colors and sizes. i think i’ve found that place for me, and as you might have guessed by now, it’s called KELLY and is located in one of the prettiest neighborhoods in brussels.

when i first walked by the shop a few months ago, i was triggered by the beautiful shopping window. curious, i went on INSTAGRAM to find out more, and discovered a feed that dreams are made of. every single post was a picture of something that i could imagine myself wearing and loving for years on end. a few weeks later i finally had the time to return to the shop on a bright and sunny saturday morning. i asked the friendly ladies in the boutique to help me pick out a couple of outfits that they thought i might like – based on a short conversation about my style and preferences. they immediately went to work putting together outfits that i loved, and when i tried them on they were honest about what suited me and what didn’t, and then helped me find alternatives to the things that didn’t work.

i spent an entire morning in the boutique, basically trying on virtually everything they had in my size, and falling in love with more than a few items. i found some basics that i really, really needed, and a coup de foudre that i just couldn’t leave behind (hello, borsalino!) but the important part is that went home after maybe a three-hour shopping spree, and my wardrobe suddenly felt complete. i could wear the things i had in new and different ways thanks to the new additions that make everything feel fresh and updated. and that is just the. best. feeling.

i want to tell you more about this magical place soon – we took some pictures of the different outfits we put together out in the streets and at my favorite places close to the store. so stay tuned for more! in the meantime, if you recognise the feelings i’ve described here and you’re still looking for your boutique-soulmate, take a look at THE WEBSITE and INSTAGRAM of kelly to see if it might be the place for you, too.

i am wearing mostly vince in the pictures above – one of my all-time favorite brands, and very well-represented at kelly // photos by matthias rabaey and stephanie duval