DAINDY BY JAN GUILLOU (BOOK REVIEW + BALLOON SLEEVED OUTFIT)

 Hello, there! In this post, I'll show you my tips for styling statement balloon sleeves. I'll also add in a book review, because (to paraphrase) Oscar Wilde and Coco Chanel, a girl who should be four things: classy, fabulous, overdressed and overeducated.  

Wilde was known to be a dandy. The book I'm reviewing is titled Dandy, so there's a connection. Therefore, I'm combing these two quotes. Wilde famously said he makes up for being overdressed by being overeducated and Chanel said that a girl should be classy and fabulous. 

So, we shall combine outfit posts with book posts because being well read is basically the same as being well educated. Well, at least in my book. Mixing outfit posts with book posts,  it's kind of more fun that way. I hope it's entertaining for you as well, because you can always fast forward the part of the post that's less compelling to you at the moment. Dandy was actually my first novel by Jan Guillou so I'm looking forward to sharing this review. However, first a few words about my outfit!

 I promised to write about styling bell sleeves, so here we go. The pink bell sleeved item I'm wearing is actually a dress, even if it might not seem so because I layered a vintage white pencil dress over it. 

HOW TO STYLE A BALLOON SLEEVED DRESS?

- PAY ATTENTION TO PROPORTIONS

When it comes to oversized, bell and puffy anything, you need to pay attention to proportions. 

You don't want to drawn in your clothes. If it is bell sleeves you're wearing, keep the rest of the silhouette simple. 

- PAY ATTENTION TO MATERIALS

Another thing you need to consider are the materials. This is especially the case if you're combining your bell sleeves or balloon clothing items with other clothing items. The more attention you pay to the materials, the more polished your outfit is going to look. 

- MIX AND MATCH

WHY NOT LAYER IT?

Paying attention to the texture of your clothes should help with polishing your look, but you shouldn't be afraid to mix and match a little.  Play with styles. Balloon sleeves are not as hard to layer as they might see. You'll have a chance to see what I mean when I take you through my blogging archives in a few minutes. 

- OPT FOR A SUITABLE COLOUR

What is a suitable colour? Now, that depends entirely on you. Opt for a similar or complementing colour palette if you want that elongated and elegant look. However, don't be afraid to embrace the colour and patterns. If you normally like patterns and/or colours, don't forget to include them in your balloon styled outfits.

- EMPHASIZE THE WAIST

One of the benefits of bell sleeves is that they can actually make your waist look smaller. By creating an effect of big shoulders, bell sleeves will make your waist look snatched. If you emphasize the waist in some way, by adding a belt or wearing a high waist item, the effect will be even.

THE STORY OF MY OUTFIT- A CLASSY BUT FUN SPRING STYLING

SUSTAINABLE FASHION FILES

I'm always going on about sustainable fashion, but it's something I really believe in. I shop my closet 99.9% percent of times. I wear all my items over 30 times, often more. I don't shop much and when I do, I typically opt for vintage and second hand. I also try to support local brands when I can. Fashion industry is a known source of pollution and we must do what we can. 

HOW I WORE IT BEFORE

THE LEOPARD HEELS

Let's start from the shoes. I've had this part for a while and they're surprisingly comfortable. Last time I wore them was here with a blue dress and leopard heels.  Check out this post if you want to find more styling inspiration-  17 WAYS TO STYLE LEOPARD HEELS

PLUS THERE ARE MORE POSTS- I HAVE WORN THESE HEELS PLUS 30 TIMES!

MORE WAYS TO STYLE THIS PAIR OF LEOPARD HEELS: 

18) WITH A PENCIL BLUE SKIRT, A GREY BLAZER AND A STRAW BAG

19)WITH A DRESS, A COLORFUL CARDI AND MAGENTA COAT

20) WITH A STRIPED SKIRT AND A WHITE SHIRT

21) WITH A GREY SUIT

22) WITH NAVY BLUE PANTS AND A MUSTARD SWEATER

23) WITH BURGUNDY TIGHTS AND AN A LINE LBD

24) WITH FLARE JEANS, AN INDIAN STYLE BAG AND A FLORAL SHIRT

25) WITH A WHITE FOLKLORE SHIRT AND A FLORAL SHIRT

26) WITH A BLUE SKIRT, BURGUNDY TIGHTS AND A FLORAL SHIRT

27) WITH STANKA ZOVKO LILAC DRESS, COLOURFUL CARDI AND A GREY BLAZER

28) WITH A WHITE CHERRY DRESS AND BURGUNDY TIGHTS

29) WITH A BLACK BLAZER AND MOCCASINS 

30) WITH A FLORAL SKIRT, OLIVE BLAZER AND A BEIGE COAT

31) WITH A BLUE HIPPIE DRESS WITH LACE DETAILS

32) WITH A TEA GREEN SET (MATCHING BLOUSE AND PANTS) FROM STANKA ZOVKO 

THE WHITE VINTAGE PENCIL SKIRT- WORN PREVIOUSLY  WITH A TURTLENECK, A COAT AND BOOTS

I've had this white skirt for ages. It is a super vintage piece by a local brand and it was a gift from my sister in law. It's actually a cord set with this white blazer. Surprisingly, I never wear them together. I think part of the reason was because this skirt was too big for me but now that I gained weight, it fits me better, especially if I layer it. If I wore it with a cropped top, it would probably still be too big for me but layering this pink bell dress underneath makes it more wearable. I wore the blazer all the time, though! I must combine the two one of these days. 

THE RED NECKLACE WITH A RED FLORAL PEDANT- another gift from Ely. I wore it last here.

THE MINI BEIGE BAG- no name, worn here. 

THE BELL SLEEVE PINK DRESS- Now it's time to show you different ways I have styled this dress in the past. Scroll down to see more  OUTFIT IDEAS AND STYLING SUGGESTIONS. 

IDEA #1 TRANSITIONAL STYLING WITH BOOTS AND STRAW ACCESSORIES

HOW TO STYLE A PUFFED SLEEVE DRESS? SPRING OUTFIT 2019

Back in 2019, I noticed how the puffy sleeves trend isn't going anywhere. Now, it's 2024 and the bell sleeve trend is trending. The balloon sleeves have certainly established themselves as one of major spring fashion trends.  I'm certainly happy about it. 

If you read fashion magazines, you'd notice the balloon sleeves trending

Why Statement Sleeves Are Everywhere? asks Elle magazine! 2024

Being the kind that loves statement sleeves, I'd be the first to say that puffed sleeves are definitely a fun variation on the theme. As far as I'm concerned, sign me up for any sleeve fashion drama: voluminous and flare sleeves are definitely my thing.  

Speaking of balloon, bell and puffed sleeves, this season we can see anything from subtle puffed sleeves to Disney princess sleeves/balloon sleeves.  I already showed you three ways to style this pink puffed sleeves dress (1/ 2/ 3) in the past!

In this post, you'll see more  outfit proposals. This particular look is perfect for every day wear, but at the same time it isn't entirely casual, it's a more dressed up version of an everyday look. If you want to know how to wear big Disney princess sleeves in a casual way, you can check out my older post where I styled this puffed sleeves dress with jeggings and/or  dad sneakers. I will share photographs later on, so you'll be able to see those outfits as well.

STRAW AND GOLD ACCESSORIES FOR SPRING STYLING

This look was appropriate for transitional styling. I styled this pink puffed sleeves dress with caramel boots and straw accessories.  I wrote about how straw accessories are a lovely way to make our outfits more spring appropriate even when it's not that warm. When I wore this outfit, it wasn't warm enough to go with short sleeves so to keep warm I layered up by wearing a top and a pair of leggings under the dress. 

I didn't need a jacket and that's a good thing because fitting these sleeves under a jacket would be a challenge. However, as I proved in one of my recent posts, you can actually wear statement sleeves under jackets, but you have to pick oversize models. For example, oversize eighties blazers are a great choice. When you think about that, it makes sense because that is when balloon sleeves were trendy.

 There is probably a solution for every fashion dilemma, and history can give us great answers. Vintage fashion is inspiring in so many ways. One of the reasons why I love vintage clothing is its uniqueness, but finding trendy vintage pieces isn't that hard either. Fashion moves in circles and you can definitely style relevant outfits with vintage clothing.

Seeing that gold accessories are trending, I looked for some in my closet. I opted for a few golden tone bracelets but I also styled a bracelet (I got as a gift from Ely)  as a pedant on one of my necklaces. I feel pretty comfortable with mixing different accessories, it might be because I used to make jewellery items myself. Besides gold accessories, another trend that I'm loving is the layered necklaces look. It was fun to finally try it with this outfit. It's been trending for a while and I think it's simply perfect for spring. I often wear necklaces that I made myself, and it will be interesting to see how to layer them. 

IDEA #2 DRESS IT DOWN WITH JEGGINGS

How to wear big puffed sleeves without looking like a Disney princess? Not that there is anything wrong with looking like a Disney princess, but maybe you have been wondering how to wear dramatically puffed sleeves on everyday basis. Actually, I've been asking myself the same question. I'm very keen on this trend of oversize sleeves, but figuring out how to wear them in a casual way proved to be something of a challenge. When I bought this dress ( I'm not very keen of shopping, but when I saw this one I just had to have it), the answer presented itself. Denim. Yes, denim. That magical ingredient that instantly makes every outfit look more casual. Nothing helps dress down a look than a piece of denim, be it a pair of jeans (or jeggings in this case) or a denim vest. 

I knew that this dress won't be long enough for my liking when I bought it, but I figured that I can wear it with jeans or leggings...and what you know, it looks great worn with jeggings. It looks like I found my puffed sleeves item for this Spring. Now, that I think of it, I also have one vintage blouse with puffed sleeves. You can see how I styled it with jeans here. What do you think about this Spring/ Summer trend? Do you fancy dramatic sleeves? Will this trend find its way to you closet? Do you like this trend of voluminous and statement sleeves?  

IDEA #3 STYLING IT WITH BIKER BOOTS, A HANDMADE HEADCROWN AND LAYERING A TURTLENECK UNDERNEATH

I wore this outfit for a visit to Rujište mountain, also known as Herzegovina's Himalaya. This princess sleeve pink dress is old (you can see how I styled it with dad sneakers here, with biker boots here, with heeled boots here and with heels here). This time I paired it with (leggings a logical choice for winter) and a pair of biker boots (logical again). I layered it by wearing a turtleneck underneath and I was quite cozy. That's an easy way to turn a summer dress into a winter one. Just wear a turtleneck under it! For more layering, I wore a white faux leather jacket that I got from my sister in law, so it is a second hand item (new to me, but not all new). I finished this look with my DIY headband to add some femininity to this outfit. All in all, it was a great cozy styling.

IDEA #4 CASUAL STYLING WITH BIKER BOOTS AND HANDMADE NECKLACE

IDEA #5

STYLING IT WITH PINK STILETTOES FOR PINK OCTOBER

This was an outfit I wore when I reviewed Dostoevsky's Demons. 

IDEA #6

STYLING IT WITH SNEAKERS FOR A SPORTY LOOK

Here comes an outfit proposal with dad's sneakers. Girl appropriate version that is. If you want to style dad's sneakers in a girly way, you can always try styling them with a girly dress. Makes sense, right? You can make any outfit more feminine by putting on a nice dress. If you want to add additional interest to your street outfit, why not wear a princess sleeve dress? A bit of statement sleeve goes a long way, don't you agree? A few days ago I shared an outfit proposal with this kind of sneakers and I'm already back with another.  Not the most prettiest of sneakers, but big and chunky so called dad's sneakers are not going anywhere. 

INTERESTING HOW DIFFERENT DICTIONARIES DEFINE THE WORD 'DANDY' DIFFERENTLY

Time to do the book talking now. What is this book titled Dandy about? First, let's have a look at a definition of the word 'dandy'. Some dictionaries define dandy as a man unduly obsessed with his physical appearance which is oversimplification that says nothing about the political context. Being a dandy was a sort of social protest! It was not just about clothes. Being a dandy often went hand in hand with cultivating manners, a refined vocabulary and so called high value hobbies. Dandies aspired to be cultured and educated. Whether they were all truly educated, is  up for debate but calling them -men with undue interest in fashion is a gross mistake. I cannot believe that any self-respecting English dictionary actually prints that.  Wikipedia actually has a decent definition!

CITED FROM WIKIPEDIA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandy

A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance and personal grooming, refined language and leisurely hobbies. A dandy could be a self-made man both in person and persona, who emulated the aristocratic style of life regardless of his middle-class origin, birth, and background, especially during the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Britain.^[1][2][3]

Early manifestations of dandyism were Le petit-maître (the Little Master) and the musk-wearing Muscadin ruffians of the middle-class Thermidorean reaction (1794–1795). Modern dandyism, however, emerged in stratified societies of Europe during the 1790s revolution periods, especially in London and Paris.^[4] Within social settings, the dandy cultivated a persona characterized by extreme posed cynicism, or "intellectual dandyism" as defined by Victorian novelist George Meredith; whereas Thomas Carlyle, in his novel Sartor Resartus (1831), dismissed the dandy as "a clothes-wearing man"; Honoré de Balzac's La fille aux yeux d'or (1835) chronicled the idle life of Henri de Marsay, a model French dandy whose downfall stemmed from his obsessive Romanticism in the pursuit of love, which led him to yield to sexual passion and murderous jealousy.

In the metaphysical phase of dandyism, the poet Charles Baudelaire portrayed the dandy as an existential reproach to the conformity of contemporary middle-class men, cultivating the idea of beauty and aesthetics akin to a living religion. The dandy lifestyle, in certain respects, "comes close to spirituality and to stoicism" as an approach to living daily life,^[5] while its followers "these beings, have no other status, but that of cultivating the idea of beauty in their own persons, of satisfying their passions, of feeling and thinking . . . [because] Dandyism is a form of Romanticism. Contrary to what many thoughtless people seem to believe, dandyism is not even an excessive delight in clothes and material elegance. For the perfect dandy, these [material] things are no more than the symbol of the aristocratic superiority of mind."^[6]

The linkage of clothing and political protest was a particularly English characteristic in 18th-century Britain;^[7] the sociologic connotation was that dandyism embodied a reactionary form of protest against social equality and the leveling effects of egalitarian principles. Thus, the dandy represented a nostalgic yearning for feudal values and the ideals of the perfect gentleman as well as the autonomous aristocrat — referring to men of self-made person and persona. The social existence of the dandy, paradoxically, required the gaze of spectators, an audience, and readers who consumed their "successfully marketed lives" in the public sphere. Figures such as playwright Oscar Wilde and poet Lord Byron personified the dual social roles of the dandy: the dandy-as-writer, and the dandy-as-persona; each role a source of gossip and scandal, confining each man to the realm of entertaining high society.^[8] 

NOW IT'S TIME TO SHARE MY BOOK REVIEW FOR THE NOVEL DANDY 

In this post, I'll be reviewing a book I have mixed feelings about! However, I'm conflicted about it in a way that makes reviewing even more fun.   I liked it, but it also confused me in some ways. 

At times, it is good to feel torn about something, to keep beating one's head over some questions. I like to believe that the purpose of books is, among other things, to make us think. 

In that sense, Dandy is a successful novel, for it sure made me think! That's something I admire about any books. It's actually entertaining when I cannot figure out should I like a book or not.

 Whenever I found a book I like, but there are some some things I dislike about it,  I start to question my criticism. Is it valid or not? It's can be entertaining little mental exercises.

Nevertheless, back to the reviewing. The point of book reviews is to present our opinion of the book and that's what I'll do today. 

So, what kind of a novel is Dandy? It is a family saga of sorts, a historical novel that is also a second book in the series.

Published in 2012, Dandy is a novel that starts with the imprisonment of Oscar Wilde, an event that marked an end of an era. 

As I already mentioned, Dandy was my first novel by Jan Guillou. I previously haven't even heard of this French- Swedish author, so I didn't have any expectations when it came to this book.

 I wasn't even aware that Dandy was a second novel in Guillou series. Not until I have finished reading this book and looked it up, that is. Once I had read, I obviously knew there must be a sequel. From what I gathered, there are more sequels to follow (five I think?). 

Jan Guillou has written a whole series devoted to The Great Century (20th century) and Dandy is the second book in the row.

I'm not sure is there an English translation available or not. Obviously, I hadn't read it in the original since I don't speak the language (Swedish or any other Scandinavian language). I opted for a Croatian translation that seemed fine (not that there is any way I could know for sure). 

At any rate, the language was quite beautiful (whether this is credit to the translator or the author, I can't say). As soon as I started reading Dandy, I found myself immersed into the story.

 The plot opened with three Swedish brothers who are at crossroads of their life, sort of speak. One of the brothers, Sverre a young engineer that has fallen in love with an English lord Albert while they were studying engineering in Germany, has left his family to come live with the mentioned lord.

The first novel in the series seems to deal with the childhood of the three brothers, but it was not hard to follow this book as it explains their background pretty well and I had a feeling I knew them. Anyway, the youngest Swedish brother finds himself in a noble gentleman's house, where he had expected a simple village home. 

Completely unprepared for meeting the family of his partner, the young Swede has to navigate complex social structure of English society. All of this happening soon after Oscar Wilde was imprisoned, hence the title dandy. 

At start, I literally couldn't put the novel down. I was very much interested in their love story. That fascination lasted until page 200 or so, with a few ups and downs, but it went downhill from there. The author seemed to worry more about pushing his own political agenda and his own interpretation of historical events then he cared about the characters and the plot, which is a shame because it started as a great novel.

I won't get into too much detail, because there is no way I can open certain topics without writing about them in length, but basically I think that Jan Guillou got a little carried away with his interpretation of history and hence the novel wasn't as successful as it could have been. 

He seems to idolize Germany a bit too much, and at the same he is overly critical of England. I understand that German people were often victims of German politics, but he could have approached the theme a bit differently.  Moreover, I don't think Jan understands what is was like to be homosexual at that point at time. For this and some others reasons, Dandy has failed to be a truly worthy part of a family saga (maybe other sequels will prove better), but it was still a very enjoyable read. 

My impressions of this novel could easily be divided into three parts. The first part of the novel is outstanding, the second is pretty good and the third is pretty bad. By that I mean that the ending is quite unrealistic. Nevertheless, the novel is mostly well written.


Towards the end, I found it really hard to emphasize with the characters. The so-called pacifist and quasi artists living the life in the villa while the other English people were starving, while at times it seems like they're almost cheering for Germany and idolizing it. You can see how I didn't see them as heroes, right? 

I do understand that some of these characters were sincerely against the war as such and also unhappy about certain unjust things that were happening in England, but at least you could have helped your country in some way- work the fields if nothing else. 

Sverre was an attractive and memorable character, much more likable that the other 'artists' but even he lacked character development. I could understand his love for art, but not much else. His relationship with Maggie in particular puzzled me greatly. It made no sense whatsoever. I felt that we as readers were really fully introduced with Sverre. On the other hand, at least we got to see his development as an artist.

Indeed, that was the one thing I did like a lot, and that was the development of the young Swede as an artist/painter. The passages about his painting and his development as a painter were so sincere and well written they were a joy to read! I could literally see the paintings he created before my eyes. 

It is such a shame that both he and his beloved lord palled away before history reflections and politics. I wanted to know more about their love life and their personal stories, but after a great start, the author just left it there and moved onto other subjects.

To conclude, this was a well written novel but I felt like the author was pushing his personal opinions too much. In addition, I had a feeling that Jan Guillou was trying hard to be original in his interpretation of the political events. I'm sure there are always injustices when it comes to war, but perhaps he could have balanced the views of his characters a little more to make them more sympathetic. The characters lacked some development. On overall, this a good historical novel but it has some flaws. 

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR (CITED FROM WIKI)

Jan Oskar Sverre Lucien Henri Guillou (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈjɑːn ɡɪˈjuː], French: [ɡiju]; born 17 January 1944) is a French-Swedish author and journalist. Guillou's fame in Sweden was established during his time as an investigative journalist, most notably in 1973 when he and co-reporter Peter Bratt exposed a secret and illegal intelligence organization in Sweden, Informationsbyrån (IB). He is still active within journalism as a column writer for the Swedish evening tabloid Aftonbladet. Among his books are a series of spy fiction novels about a spy named Carl Hamilton, and a trilogy(+) of historical fiction novels about a Knight Templar, Arn Magnusson. He is the owner of one of the largest publishing companies in Sweden, Piratförlaget (Pirate Publishing), together with his wife, publisher Ann-Marie Skarp, and Liza Marklund.

That's all for today. A pink and white outfit completed with leopard heels and a book review for a historical novel Dandy by Jan Guillous. In case, anyone is interested, I wore this outfit on Sunday a few weeks ago. The weather has been very changeable, as one might expect in spring time. I alternate between wearing jackets and short sleeves. This outfit turned out so much better than I expected. I decided to layer this skirt last minute, because this dress is really too short to be worn without leggings and I was honestly surprised by how good this combination works. The beige bag and leopard heels complement  well. The hot pink and the white skirt also work very well together. Light colours just scream spring, don't they? What are you wearing this Spring? What are you reading?

Thank you for reading and visiting. Take care!