Veronika
Heilbrunner
Veronika wears Navy Blue Striped Jersey Half-Zip Top by J.W. Anderson, Multi Colour Diamond Patterned Wool Skirt with Horizontal Blue and Yellow Stripe by Prada, Red Cloth Trainers with Black Stripes by Celine
Content curator, editor, Instagram legend…whatever you want to call Veronika Heilbrunner, we can all agree that she is a much-admired style icon. Renowned for her quirky take on the feminine, and thanks to her insightful documentation of what it is like to be on the frontline of fashion, the formal model has gained nearly 250,000 dedicated followers. Based in her home country of Germany, where she lives with the equally stylish Justin O’Shea, and their equally cute son, Walter, Veronika is currently pregnant with her second child, which has momentarily transformed not only her body, but also her style.
As she invites Reluxe into her countryside life, she talks us through her life in fashion from dressing up in her ugliest clothes, to now baring her beautiful belly.
My Personal Style
Usually, my style is quite romantic. I love florals, and quite girly dresses that are either midi or full length, plus a little, not a lot, of ruffles. I like every look to have a sporty touch, that breaks the rules a bit – not that I am going crazy – but I like to wear things that don’t necessarily go together. Though not in pregnancy, as with a big belly the oversized ‘skater cool’ pieces that I like look hilarious.
My Pregnancy Style
When I am pregnant my style completely changes. Right now (at five months) I feel super confident in tight stuff, or pieces that show skin and have cut outs, especially around the belly. Normally I am not a belly free person, at all, and I don’t really like to show much skin, but when I am already quite large it looks better when my clothing is really tight, as otherwise I turn into a tent.
The clothes I am selling on Reluxe sadly don’t fit me at the moment as I am gigantic [Note from Clare: she’s glorious and not gigantic at all!!], so Clare brought Celine pieces and Alaia for me to wear that fit perfectly. In fact I will be buying that Alaia dress from the site as soon as I can.
Childhood Obsessions
I was obsessed with fashion as a kid without even realising it. When I was about 7 years old, for Christmas I received this outfit that I really wanted by a brand called Oilily, which was huge in Germany. It was basically a bolero jacket and puffy trousers in a mustard yellow and fuchsia paisley print. It was quite out there, but I loved that brand and I wanted everything from them. It was colourful, bright and frilly, and even though I was never a girly girl ever, I was obsessed with anything that was quite loud.
When I was a child and I was at home, I would try to find the ugliest pieces I had in my closet and put them on. I always chose the pieces that I hated the most. Oddly, from memory I spent a lot of time at home, so I had a lot of memories of me wearing my ugliest clothes. It is so odd, I don’t know why I did that. Though maybe that is why I started liking Prada for the ‘ugly chic’! It all had to start somewhere.
How I Shop
I mainly shop vintage, and I always have. In my 20s I was so fashion obsessed, and there were so many collections that I remember, especially before style.com started. But then I didn’t have any money, so I couldn’t buy anything of course. So now my hobby is to try to find pieces from that time. I used to try to buy lots of old Prada, but now I am mainly looking for Chanel Metiers d’arts collections like Edinburgh, Salzburg and Texas which are my favourites. I have phases and currently I am in an extreme Chanel phase. I need to get Clare to source stuff for me!
When it comes to shopping for pre-loved pieces, it is easier for people who work in fashion, as they know what they want, or at least an idea of it. You need to spend a lot of time searching, and when you find it, it is unlikely to be your size, so it can be quite a frustrating experience. For me it is more of a hobby than a necessity, as I don’t need any clothes, but I enjoy it, as it gives me such satisfaction when I have found something so special that will never be produced again. When it is in a good condition and fits me, that is very special, and I know that I will have the piece forever.
Navy Trousers With Branded Elasticated Waist Band by Celine, Blue Dior Monogram Tank Top by Christian Dior
We all have too much stuff in our closets, and among that there are those pieces that you don’t wear. We are all guilty of that. Maybe you bought something in sale time, or you finally found something that you had wanted for years, but then a few months later you realise that actually you will never have the chance to wear it, it doesn’t fit you, or it just looks horrible on you, even though you love the idea of it. The tough part is letting it go and knowing that someone else could love it more than you do. You need to think that if you let it go, you will have space in your closet and cash, and you can invest in something new. I know it is very hard, and I still fight it sometimes, but it is worth it. Every time.
My family influence
My family don’t come from a fashion background, but my mum always loved fashion. She is a nurse and in the 80s she would wear leggings and gigantic coats or jackets. I remember she was obsessed with cowboy boots, she had so many, and that influenced me as I also have loads of cowboy boots.
Now that [Justin, Walter and I] live in Bavaria again, I love the traditional way of dressing like the dirndl and leather pants and traditional cardigans. But as a child we weren’t a very traditional family, and when I grew up in the 80s it was not cool to wear that kind of clothing, but it is funny how it changes, round Oktoberfest or local festivities, young people now always wear traditional clothing and they are happy and proud about it. I like that, it is kinda nice to see.
My Fashion Career
When someone asks me what I do, I think about who is asking and construct my answer accordingly. In the countryside I say I work as a model. Sometimes I say I’m an editor, but if they ask who I am writing for and I say I produce stuff for myself they don’t understand that. I find content creator sounds a bit hilarious. Occasionally I’ll say I am an ambassador for different brands, or that I am a businesswoman.
I carved out a new career, that at the time didn’t exist. I went with the flow and when there was a dead end I went in another direction. Whatever interested me I went for it. I have always been open to what the next step is, but I also enjoy having longer standing relationships with brands as that is more authentic to me, I don’t understand the changing of things all the time. As I get older I find that I am less and less crazy for trends and the new, I just want to surround myself with things that make me happy. I love to have a closet of things I love, that are easy to wear, fit my life and give me confidence. In the end it is all tools that you get to represent yourself and be person that you want to be. Clothes help you with that. I like that transformation.
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