ABOUT

Dear readers and fashionistas,

welcome to our fashion & lifestyle blog!

We are Desirée and Jennifer, fashion conscious twin sisters born in Vienna and raised between Austria and Croatia. We chose to name our blog des & jen because of the short form of our names, but also because it sounds smooth, suave and memorable.

We are passionated about fashion, beauty, traveling, music and many other things. We are always keen on discovering new parts of the world and love adventures. Sun, sea and sand bring to our mind peace, relaxation and fun. When it comes to traveling, comfort is very important for us. Besides, we enjoy reading, learning about new cultures as well as building up genuine relationships.

Vienna is our home town and actually a great city to live, that’s why we would like to shortly introduce our city.

Vienna has been proclaimed to be the best city to live in for the last three years by the Mercer quality of living standard. The city has become more attractive in terms of fashion and luxury business over the last years. Vienna is  linked to the horse-drawn carriage, the waltz, the classical music, beautiful exhibitions, the Sacher cake, its excellent coffee etc. As the famous American writer Mark Twain once said: “The best coffee in Europe is Vienna coffee, compared to which all other coffee is fluid poverty.“

Names such as Romy Schneider, Mozart, Johann Strauss, Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Dietrich Mateschitz, Felix Baumgartner and many others are well known worldwide. The biggest two International events are the Vienna Opera Ball and the Life Ball – the biggest AIDS charity event in Europe. Both attract a lot of people from all over the world each year. The Life Ball has gained a lot of popularity over the past years. In 2013 celebrities such as Roberto Cavalli, Karolina Kurkova, Carmen Electra, Bill Clinton, Sir Elton John and others came to support the charity event.

Since September 2009, Vienna has hosted its own Fashion Week and was presented for the fifth time in a row this year. The goal is to build up an International fashion event to establish a central place for designers, fashion shows and exhibitions. We believe that there is still a lot of potential to develop. The next years will show the effort and it would be nice to see a meeting point of International people. High-end fashion brands have recently opened their flagship stores in the “Goldenes Quartier“ in the first district. These include Vivienne Westwood, Miu Miu, Armani and Roberto Cavalli. Many others are sure to come by 2014. Luxury hotel chains have opened one’s doors: The Ritz-Carlton, Kempinsky and Hyatt is scheduled to open in 2014.

photo right: MQ VIENNA FASHION WEEK.13 campaign

photo right: MQ VIENNA FASHION WEEK.13 campaign

Why fashion?

Fashion has always been a passion for us. We revel and relish the discovery and the pursuit of figure-hugging aesthetics, in whatever shape and form. The right chosen colour, material or shape can change the appearance of a person a lot, although obvious to some yet not evident to others.

Fashion makes life more beautiful and the way it makes people feel about it creates a unique aura that you notice straight away. As Ralph Lauren once stated: “I don’t design clothes. I design dreams.“ Wearing something you think it was just made for you, gives you a special sentiment. The feeling of confidence and class. Fashion is a way out of reality, where creativity has free reins and the individual gets to celebrate him or herself.

When a new collection arrives, it’s always a new experience. It’s like waiting for a gift and finally opening it. In this way, fashion creates and reinvents itself again and again. We are always curious where designers get their inspiration from. We are always looking for cutting-edge and upcoming brands.

Fashion is a way to express ourselves, it defines our personality. It can be an exquisite form of non-verbal communication.

DesJenIllustrationBig

How would we define our style?

We have a developed and refined taste and we both like to mix and match. We always try to keep our eyes open for new stuff.

DES:  My style can be defined in three simple words: elegant, casual and hippie. 

I set importance to chic & qualitative shoes. The form and the color have to fit to my total look.  Shoes can also say lot about your personality. I would describe most of my shoes as stylish and comfy at the same time. I like to emphasize my style with the right choice of bags and shoes. They are a must because they complete my look and add some spice especially to a simple look.

Regarding designers, there are many amazing talents out there. But most of the high-end brands I follow are: Alexander McQueen, Chanel, Dior, and many upcoming brands such as Sandra Mansour.

I think we all are familiar with the sentence: ‘I actually have nothing to wear.’ Fact is, we don’t have to dress up always new only to look different just that people won’t notice it. There are these small things that can have a huge effect on our style. When I change my hair style, my bag,  my sun glasses or put another lipstick colour and still wear the same clothes, it totally changes my appearance, and at the same time, I didn’t put a lot of effort.

JEN: I like to look very feminine. For special occasions I love to be classy, chic and glamorous at the same time.

I think that a woman should wear high-heels when wearing a dress, because it makes her look very graceful.

During my time at university, I wore a lot of casual style and boots primarily to focus on my studies.

Over the last years my style has changed and evolved due to my fashion studies and the experiences of  living abroad. I am personally a big fan of the Italian and French fashion. One of my favourite brands are Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino, Saint Laurent, Balmain and Alexander McQueen.

I think that accessories are very important, since they can give this extra touch to your outfit. I never leave the house without a pair of sunglasses and my watch.

DES & JEN

We consider ourselves open-minded and international, therefore we enjoy travelling extensively to meet different kind of people from all around the world and explore as much as possible. Traveling expands your horizont, inspires and educates people. We love the quote “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” by St. Augustine.

The idea to start our own blog came up last year as we wanted to share our personal style and story with all of you that have the same passion as we have.

ENJOY OUR NEW EXPERIENCE.

LOTS OF LOVE,

DES & JEN