July 30, 2017

SMOKE AND MIRRORS

Coco Chanel said “Everyday is a fashion show and the World is your runway”. Well sometimes I can’t function well enough to simply put one foot in front of the other, let alone dress well enough for a runway. BUT one lesson I’ve learnt along the way is that a boring outfit can be brought to life with some great accessories.

The other day, my alarm beeps, I roll over, hit snooze, hit snooze, hit snooze, hit snooze… You get where I’m going. All of a sudden I have 15 minutes to get ready and be in my car fighting the shitty Sydney peak hour traffic. With no time to think, I throw on my black leather leggings and a white button up shirt and look at my shabby self in the mirror. I mean, as you can see I don’t even have time to iron the shirt, if I’m being honest I actually didn’t even notice how badly crushed the shirt was until I looked at the photos. Whoops #blogging101.

I desperately need a quick fix to take this outfit from the “I have no clean clothes” look to “I clearly planned this” look. Just like delicious cream cheese icing hides a terrible, dry, vanilla cake. With 5 minutes and counting I grabbed the most patterned/busy shoes I could find (a lucky last minute purchase at the Senso warehouse sale), the biggest earrings I have and a crazy pair of gold, glitter, mirrored sunglasses. With one last look at myself, I run out the door.

To be fair I was still a couple of minutes late to work and when I sat down I noticed my shirt buttons were misaligned… Doh. Let’s just hope everyone was too busy looking at my earrings or my dirty hair to notice.

ANOTHER PERSON’S TRASH

Market haul – Gucci Vintage Bootleg Sweatshirt $60, Missoni Knit Top $20, Iro Jeans $10, OneTeaspoon Denim Skirt $10

Gucci Vintage Bootleg Sweatshirt – bought at Manly Markets from Queen Justine Vintage | OneTeaspoon Denim Skirt – bought from Kirribilli Markets | Guess Boots – bought from EbayAU | Hiking Shoe Laces – bought from EbayAU

There’s nothing like cracking open a freshly delivered Aus Post parcel and featuring your fresh new purchase on your Insta story. I’m using this analogy because I am 100% an online shopping person. Anything I can do from my bed in my jim jams is A OK with me and who doesn’t love being able to accomplish a task bra-less and in trackies.

So as I paint the dream in my head of a life spent online shopping, in reality, life just gets more expensive. Every month it’s bills bills bills and then all of a sudden I’m Destiny’s Child wishing someone would just pay my bills so maybe I could chill/shop…

So how do you get your fix while keeping most of your bank account intact? Second hand or vintage, my friends. The only down sides are wading through a bunch of crap at markets and Vinnies stores and feeling bad when you try to haggle prices down when they’re already pretty cheap. But hey, if I’m putting pants and a bra on to go to an actual shop, I better be bagging myself a bargain.

The other weekend I went to Kirribilli General Market on Saturday and the Manly Markets on Sunday, finishing up the weekend strong with a great haul of mostly designer digs for $100. The key is obviously finding the right stalls and digging for those golden gooses, and I’m not talking about the sneakers, or maybe the sneakers? You never know. Someone’s trash is another bargain hunters treasure.

Usually my strategy is to weave through the market stalls with an eye out for labels, the more well known or designer labels a stall has, the higher the probability of finding gold is. Who said maths wasn’t useful after high school. My other strategy is to keep an eye out for a rack of old Levi’s jeans, skirts or denim jackets. This is usually a slightly more expensive stall because it’s not just someone getting rid of their last seasons wardrobe. It’s a proper vintage shop where you’re more than likely to find a gold mine of old Harley Davidson Tees, Hilfiger, Guess, anything 80’s and 90’s really. It’s a sign of a seller that knows what the consumer wants; Vintage shit you could’ve saved money on if your mum had just KEPT ALL HER CLOTHES, but now you have cough up top dollar because this old shit is cool again. Yes mum, I’m talking to YOU.

Lastly, West Coast Customise your shit up. Cut the sleeves off to turn your top into a muscle tank, buy some new shoe laces to vamp up a pair of boots, fashion yourself a crop top out of an oversized men’s tee, chop a step hem in a pair of vintage jeans and chuck them in the wash for a frayed look.

You don’t have to spend a fortune to have the outfits you want, just a $100 in your pocket, a pair of scissors, the courage to hack into your new old clothes and the musty, second hand world of vintage fashion is your oyster.

Awesome online Vintage Stores

Queen Justine Vintage

Vintage Marketplace

Shop Exile on Etsy

This customise rule doesn’t just apply to second hand. Here’s a photo for your enjoyment of me wearing a pair of Kmart men’s jeans. I bought the smallest size I could find, yanked them up Steve Urkel style to sit around my waist and chopped off the hem at my ankles. 15 buckaroos for these bad boys.

Get your Urkel on here

June 25, 2017

HIATUS

It’s been awhile…

Exactly 570 days since my last post and let’s just say I’ve seen some shit.

I’ve started a new job, traveled a bunch to China, Paris, Hawaii twice, Byron, multiple trips to Melbourne and 90% my friends have had babies, while I’m sitting over here nursing a food baby.

However, what remains the same are my life goals: All black everything, travel where possible, eat burgers, dumplings, ramen, any kind of smoked and BBQ’d meats, cheese, any and all the carbs, mac and cheese (my biggest weakness), any type of pasta really, especially gnocchi and I can’t forget hot wings… You name it, I’ll eat it, after a quick check online for reviews, obviously.

I originally had a thought to compile a recap post with photos from the last year and a half. BUT then I thought, why the hell would I do that when currently, at my pretty lazy finger tips, I have a whole lot of content for future blog posts. This, in turn, requires less of me being photographed awkwardly in obscure locations and backdrops, while still being able to provide exciting and relevant content. SO instead of a recap, you get a photo of me enjoying the start of a feast and a bottle of Rosé at Restaurant Hubert and the possibility of semi regular posts on fashion, food, travel and life in general.

I’M BACK … for now 🙂

In the meantime go and check out Hubert’s menu. All the dishes are amazing but you HAVE to try the Steak Tartare and the Malakoff (it’s pretty much a deep fried gruyere bomb) and see why they opened up last year to 2 chefs hats.

December 6, 2015

GHOST

Witchery Crop Top – Similar | Cos Culottes – Similar | Club Monaco Bag – Similar | Lipstick Shoes

So I’ve been a bit of a ghost for the last 3 months in the land of blogging. I’ve had a super busy last few months, leaving my old job, starting a new one and to be honest, blogging was at the bottom of the priority list.

I started this blog almost 2 years ago as a creative outlet. Something to do to relax and unwind, so pretty much an alternative to couch, pizza and Netflix. However, when your brain is burnt out from long weeks at work, your words usually don’t make it to the page outside of the office.

The last year has been hectic busy and I’ve been more career focused than I ever thought I could be. But as the end of the year draws closer, looking back I’ve focused way more of my life this year on work than, well, actual life.

There’s nothing like a bit of self realization to really kick you up the ass so you remember what’s important in life.

On that note, I’m taking off to Hawaii for Christmas and New Year to relax, unwind and chill to begin the new year the way every year should. On a beach, in the sun, with a drink in my hand.

Mahalo motherfuckers.

September 7, 2015

TRAVEL

HONG KONG

LONDON

Recently I was lucky enough to travel to HK and the UK for work. Typically even though it was a work trip, I couldn’t help but document it all.

Much to the dismay and embarrassment of my work colleagues, who really should be used to it by now, I took to the streets like a full blown tourist, camera strapped to my neck and throwing out peace signs where ever I could.

It’s amazing how awkward people get when you pull a camera out. It’s like the biggest taboo and screams TOURIST. But news flash, HELLO, I am a tourist. I’m in a country that’s not my home and I want to document it. Crazy notion right?

Also being in a relationship with a photographer you kind of have to get used to having a camera out a lot and spending WAY longer in one place than a normal person. Hours are spent timelapsing on a rooftop in Manhattan’s Lower East Side capturing the sunset or sitting on the concrete when it’s 5 degrees looking at San Fran’s Golden Gate Bridge for way longer than you really need to, you’re cold, tired, you’ve just driven all day up the Highway 1 and you just want a god damn PHO…

Freezing cold evenings or uncomfortably hot days aside, after all is said and done, it will be helpful when the Alzheimers sets in.

THAT ONE TIME IN SAN FRAN

August 20, 2015

10 589

All Saints Leather Jacket / One Teaspoon Fox Black Awesome Baggies

Flashback to 1 year, 1 month and 1 day at 2:24pm : Girl starts blog about fashion and food and spends some time writing posts that no one will ever read.

Flash forward to present day : Girl has blog about fashion and food with over 10,000 followers and wants to pull a Sally Fields Oscar moment and yell ” You like me, you really like me!!!!”

When I started my blog a little over a year ago I didn’t think anyone would be even remotely interested in reading my random, ramblings apart from my friends and family who it would be repeatedly forced upon through annoying Facebook updates.

Instead I’ve somehow ended up with willing followers, who I can harass with my thoughts as much as I want. Rookie mistake people.

But for reals, blogging has become an amazing outlet for me and knowing you guys are actually reading what I’m writing and responding to it, makes it super rewarding and fulfilling.

In other words…

cheesefries

August 3, 2015

SHORT SKIRT & A LONG JACKET

Maison Margiela black tshirt dress / STELLA McCARTNEY coat / Yves Saint Laurent black high top shoes / 3 1 Phillip Lim black shoulder bag / Marni necklace / Michael Kors stainless steel watch / Marni bracelets bangle / Smoke & Mirrors mirrored glasses

My favourite time of year is coming up.

It’s the last month of Winter and as the days start getting warmer, the need to layer fades. Soon the amazing feeling of throwing a coat on over a short t-shirt dress and kicks will be all you need to step outside into the great outdoors. Gone will be the days of trying fruitlessly to grab on to the ends of cardigan or sweater sleeves so that they don’t bunch up under your coat sleeves. Which by the way are way too tight to fit anything under comfortably anyway.

As a minimal dresser, layering items in Winter is just not my forte. I end up just being either way too cold, or way too hot. Also anyone who wears a lot of black will know the pain of putting on a entire black outfit, consisting of many layers, only to find that some of the blacks you’re wearing are blue/black, some are red/black and some are green/black…

The struggle is real.

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