Marloes de Jong

"No day is a typical day" in the life of Marloes de Jong – fashion and beauty editor of one of the biggest Dutch editorials, JAN Magazine. This season, we sit down with her and get a glimpse of how she keeps that sought-after work / life balance with motherhood and everything else in between.

Follow Marloes | @marloesdejong & JAN Magazine

 

Tell us a bit about how a typical day at JAN Magazine might go.

No day is a typical day, to say the least! Besides fashion editor, I’m also JAN‘s beauty editor, so most of the time my day starts with un-boxing a lot of packages so that I can reach my desk. We spend our days brainstorming, writing articles, preparing fashion shoots, visiting press events, and creating shopping pages. Essential: laughing, drinking loads of coffee and doing everything with passion. In the evening when I get home, have dinner and take the kids to bed, I often try to do a yoga class in a studio nearby my house.

Your twins are VERY cute, do you have a certain routine that you adhere to in order to keep the life and work balance harmonious?

Ahh, thank you! I really like my job, so I think it is important to show the kids that I do something with passion and fun. When I make a long journey for work, I often know that in advance and I can find the right solution for the girls. Everything is in consultation with dad. Not too often and not too long - balance is key. I do not work full time, so the days that I’m not in the office, I’m fully dedicated to the twins and spend my days on the playground. I have a lot of friends with kids around the same age and we share the same day off - that is so cosy. Those days sometimes end up with a house filled with friends, their children and a table filled with pasta.

Apart from JAN (obviously!), if you had to read one magazine for the rest of your life – what would it be?

I love the weekend supplements that come with the Saturday newspapers. Especially the travel section. I tear out and keep the pages with dreamy destinations and inspiring hotels. We’ve both travelled a lot, together and before we met. I can’t wait to take the twins around the world with us.

Best book you’ve read in the last year?

That would definitely be ‘Lion: a long way home’ by Saroo Brierley. My love gave it to me before our holiday to Italy. He always buys me a book just before we leave, as a reminder to switch my phone off and ignore magazines for a while. He always finds exactly the right read for me. I’d heard about this book and since I visited India for JAN magazine recently, I figured it was a must-read. He had the same feeling and was right – I cried my eyes out.

Where’s home right now, and why do you love it?

Less than a year ago we left Amsterdam for a big family house in Utrecht. We renovated almost every corner of it and still spending most of our Saturdays with a paintbrush. Every time we finish something or hang another photo or painting it feels more and more us. I love the fact that the kids can run around in the house and have their own little corners to play.

Your house is beautifully decorated! What are your favourite pieces/finds?

Merci! There’s a framed picture of Kate Moss and Johnny Depp by celebrity photographer Richard Corkery I got as a birthday present. It is hanging above a vintage aircraft trolley we found on a flea market. We hide toys in the trolley. I like that mix of functional but aesthetic stuff.

How would you describe your personal style? Do you have an ultimate style icon?

I never had a sister but I wish Leandra Cohen and Caroline de Maigret were mine. I like the fact that they don’t seem to take themselves too seriously. Both in style and in communication. That is how I am. Leopard skirts, striped shirts, jeans, high heels, sneakers. Everything they wear looks great. We could easily share closets. Leandra is a twin mum too. Perhaps if she reads this we could meet for a coffee!

And lastly a question we ask everyone… what do you wear to bed?

I used to wear nothing in bed until the twins were born. Now that I sometimes have to comfort them in the middle of the night, I wear a pyjama shirt.

 

Thank you, Marloes!