March 8 is International
Women's Day! This gives TopVintage the ultimate opportunity to pay tribute to a
number of power women throughout the month. This week it's Janine’s turn: a
wonderful woman who has experienced a lot of setbacks in her life, but who doesn’t
let herself be discouraged and tries to remain positive no matter what. Want to
know how she does that and what her story is? Let yourself be inspired, gorgeous!
Meet Janine!
I’m honoured to be sharing
the story of Janine, a woman who has gone through a lot in her life but has
managed to overcome everything. She is happy to introduce herself: “I’m Janine 33
going on 34 but I feel a lot younger than that. In my spare time I enjoy
watching Hollywood films and vintage-inspired series like Las Chicas del cable. Those looks are stunning and weren’t those
chicas just beautiful?! I once flew down to Madrid dressed in a TopVintage
outfit to visit a friend. We then went to some of the locations where the
series was filmed and took some pictures there. So cool! I’ve also always had a
passion for languages and I’m currently taking a self-study course in French (I
absolutely adore France) and I regularly write letters to famous actors. I also
enjoy being creative, I draw and I play the piano for example and I’m crazy about
vintage fashion. So doing a photoshoot dressed in this gorgeous look is an
absolute dream come true for me!”
You were ill for a long
time, would you like to tell us a bit more about that?
‘’When I was 16 I choked on
some food. That was a very traumatic experience and resulted in me developing
phagophobia (a fear of swallowing). This means that my brain links eating with
dying, which made it super hard for me to swallow or keep food down because I
was so aware of the food that was in my mouth. This made it very difficult for
me to eat and I ended up losing 16 kg in 4 months’ time. I never really
recovered from that. For years I received supplementary feeding while also
having periods when I managed to actually eat a little more. But as soon as
something stressful happened, it would cause an instant relapse. I did,
however, still manage to take up a study in International Business in France
and in Maastricht. I really enjoyed that time and also did a lot of travelling
then. Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep this up for long, because at one point I
only weighed 45 kg. Eventually I had to quit my studies and I was declared
unfit for work. I struggled with this for years, because you get to a point
where you can’t do anything and your body just isn’t cooperating. It also had a
massive psychological impact, I changed so much that I just wasn’t myself
anymore. At some point I was in a relationship which did a lot for me in terms
of recovery. Unfortunately, this relationship ended 3 years ago. I then got
into a new relationship and that has really taught me to make the best of the
situation you’re in. To stop longing for the way my life used to be, like
travelling, or having a busy job but to focus on what is the right match for me
NOW. This has really helped me a lot! Unfortunately, I did end up having a kind
of ‘mental breakdown’ probably due to all the strain I was under. At some point
I couldn’t see properly anymore, I couldn’t walk or go outside and I had an
increased heart rate. According to the doctor, if I had had any additional
stress, I most likely wouldn’t have made it. I was then prescribed
antidepressants and taking these has really improved my wellbeing. I also met
someone who is now a very dear friend of mine and with him I got my darling dog
Polly. This also gave me the idea of making Polly my service dog. Because when
I’m looking after Polly, I don’t suffer so much from external stimuli or the
chaos in my head. And thanks to Polly I also get to go outside again, which has
done me a world of good. So we are now working hard to make that happen! 
Because there was a time
when I didn’t leave the house anymore and I felt despondent. So I started
looking for ‘little moments of light’ that could help me feel better. My
boyfriend and I then bought some things to entertain me at home, like a piano,
drawing supplies and an online language course. That’s how I started doing
things to get myself into a positive flow. I also made daily telephone calls to
the ‘listening line’, a phone service where you can share whatever it is that
you want to share. So every day before going to sleep, I would share how my day
had been by summing up all the positive things. All these things put together
helped me become more and more cheerful and people started noticing a change in
me. I also started going into town again and really have been feeling better ever
since. Nowadays I also go to a care farm once a week where we take care of
animals and play games. I’ve now reached a point where I can say that the
horrible time I’ve had over these past 3 years is almost over. It makes me
really happy that I have persevered. For the coming years I’ve come up with a
lot of plans for myself, like continuing to train Polly, learning how to braid
my hair and I also dream about travelling to Scotland or France. Those goals and
dreams give me a lot of positive energy and a sense of direction. Unfortunately,
I will never be completely rid of the phagophobia, but I do have a much more
positive outlook now.”
What have you learned from
this period and would you like to pass on to other women?
‘’Don’t be too hard on
yourself and don’t set the bar too high. I feel like everyone always wants more
and more and that social media only reinforces that. That’s how you end up
comparing your life to the lives of other people even though that’s very
unrealistic. Nowadays I might just be much happier than someone who for example
needs to work very hard in order to pay off a high mortgage. So my advice would
be to be happier and to be more content with less! Simple things like taking
nice walk or a friend who makes time for me can bring me so much joy. Another thing
that helped me when I was really ill, was to break everything up into small
pieces. For example, doing the dishes really drained my energy, but by making
an agreement with myself ‘to wash dishes for 5 minutes’ I could still get that feeling
of accomplishment. An approach that really helped me personally. Making
everything smaller will still get you there in the end!”
How have clothes helped you
empower yourself?
"For the past 2 years I
have been shopping at the TopVintage Store on a regular basis, I really save up
for those visits and I can spend hours at the store. I love both the service
and the attention! I always feel like a princess and wearing those clothes makes
me really happy. I also take a lot of pictures of all the outfits and those are
the moments that I can actually forget how poorly I sometimes feel. Simply
looking at my wardrobe and seeing all those pretty dresses brings me such
happiness. It’s great to get all dressed up and to get a lot of compliments
when I go into town, for example.”
Who do you consider a power
woman and why?
''I think of Sarah Michelle
Gellar as a real power woman! Back in the day I instantly fell in love with her
character in the TV-series Buffy the
Vampire Slayer, because Buffy was so brave and strong and had great
fighting skills. Then came a time when I was also inspired by her looks and
bought the same items she wore and used, like make-up and clothes. I even have
the prom dress that Buffy wore in the season 3 prom episode. And from the
interviews that she has given over the years, you can also tell that she is a
genuine role model. She is just such a real and normal person, with a long and
happy marriage free from scandal and who raised her kids with great values.''
