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Saturday, October 30, 2010

OMG UGG!


Why is everyone wearing ugg boots??

I'm overwhelmed by the amount of people trolloping around in their uggs.

Now, for a while this was ok when we were in high school. We also rarely washed our hair and drew on each others arms.

Then, they were the ironically cool item to wear to uni, especially when hungover or struggling through an all-nighter to get that essay done.

But (or so I like to think), as we grew up we realised that our boots should stay well within the confines of our home, and at the very most might accompany us to the doctors if we're really feeling that ill. After all they have no grip (terrible on rainy footpaths), no ankle/foot support, the sole moulds to the shape of your foot and erodes to the pavement, the soft exterior of the shoe collapses when worn in, and it doesn't take long for them to get rather whiffy...

In short, they are the perfect shoe for at home. After all, they are a slipper.

So why on earth is everyone* wearing them? I was gobsmacked when I saw half of London skipping around in a pair like it was 1985 and they lived in Salisbury (Salisbury, Adelaide that is). I wonder if they are deluded by the 'UGG Australia' brand (there was a queue out the front of the Oxford St store) and the whole Australiana stuff (ie beer, kangaroos, crocodiles, uluru and now uggs). That would be a shame because it is an American owned brand.

Oh well. I actually miss my uggs. But for $US160 a pair, I'm happy wearing a substitute for now.
By which I mean proper winter shoes.


*Yes an exaggeration, but it really feels that way.

Monday, October 11, 2010

The New McQueen

As many of you may know I felt a real affinity with the clothes Lee Alexander McQueen designed. He was one of those people I felt left the world too soon and left a hole no one would fill. Naturally this got me thinking what the new shows would be like and if the label would go under. I'm not sure which I feared more; someone blaspheming his designs or no one starting the next chapter.

This season Sarah Burton took on the task as the next creative director and what a marvelous job she did. Not only did she pay homage to the beautiful fabrics and silhouettes McQueen himself used but she also started to steer in the direction she sees the company going, no small feat. I did not expect to like this show. However, i did. I even feel as if the wound of his passing has been balmed. I have no idea how long Burton will last here but as long as she continues the way she started it will be a prosperous few years.





Thursday, October 7, 2010

Moore Bulgari

There's nothing I'd like more right now than to be reclining naked with exotic animals, dripping in luxury goods.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Bits and Bobs

Hello everyone!

This post is about nothing in particular, but is my chance to squish a pile of miscellaneous things into the blog and in general crap on in a way I normally wouldn't.

First up, I've been wasting some time recently watching old Full House episodes and it is just brilliant. I've brought along a little souvenir for you here....screen grabs of hair styles from season 4 (1990-1991). Its a pretty big sign that we're beginning to be swamped by 90s fashions if I think DJ Tanner's hair is the coolest. How did they do that fringe??? I had a Barbie doll that had a fringe like that. Yes, I would love to rock this look. But the reason I really had to give you a screen grab was because of this boy's hair:

Yes that's a mullet in a pony tail. Back view please!

The funniest thing is that this kid was giving DJ a hard time about giving Kimmy Gibbler the job as sports editor for the school paper (cos DJ is the editor of the school paper...but later on she gives Kimmy the job of gossip columnist and lets Little Boy Rat Tail here write about sport....aaaanyway....). I was all "Come on, Donna Jo! Give him some shit about his hair!!".

Also while I'm talking about Full House, I have two important words: JOHN STAMOS. Two more words: ON GLEE. Anyone who cares knows what I'm talking about.

I'm currently having a wardrobe crisis. I'm really enoying the brown leather thing at the moment, and all my accesories (ie boots and bags) for now are leather. So I need a new bag for my course next week, something I can fit books in, and I really thought I was going to be purchasing a brown leather satchel bag, but I've just realised that I love my black boots more than my brown boots (it's ok, the brown boots don't read this blog). So now I have to buy a black satchel??? Yuck! I'm on the verge of looking like Neo from The Matrix. I'd better make up my mind soon or else I'll be carrying my books in a shopping bag. Don't laugh, seems like they had a similar problem at Jil Sander in Milan this week:
So perhaps my shopping bag solution is just tres chic....

Finally I'll leave you all with a question: how low can you go?
I'm talking about necklines. How low is too low? When is it too much?
I get stares and whistles from men when I'm out walking because, of course, as I walk things jiggle and that seems to attract some attention. Now I have it on good authority that I "tend to wear very revealing stuff", and in my defence this is after trying to wear unrevealing clothing. So I put it to you, how low may I go?

Friday, September 24, 2010

Pale is the New Tan

So it looks like A-listers are finally coming around to the idea that the orange skinned look is pretty gross. Great news for those of us who are too lazy to fake tan and too scared of the sun to go outside. Here are a few who are embracing being a whiter shade of pale (or just a whiter shade of their former selves in the cases of Ms Moss and Mrs Beckham).







Ewww, Prada!

To be completely overly dramatic, I am going to say that I am personally offended by the following shoes at Prada's SS11 show.



And close up....

....and side view (grab a bucket):

When I see things like this coming from high-fashion designers I get really worried about the resultant trends. Oh dear, I need fresh air...

Friday, September 17, 2010

She's So Heavy...

Heavy winter fabrics for full or semi circle skirts are here! Obviously Mad Men-inspired (I'm so sick of hearing everyone go on about it), but it is so nice to see something so feminine and still sensible for winter*. I love wool. I love knowing that one layer will keep me warm. (And apparently scientists have tried to replicate wool's amazing natural properties with a synthetic fibre, with the verdict being nothing beats wool).

So most of my discoveries were made in Zara the other day, and the skirt I am most excited about is this one.


The fabric and buttons are straight out of my childhood memories of my mum's wardrobe.
Although the buttons on the skirt in the shop were more like this....


....these ones are still gorgeous.


I just got a real thrill out of the old school-ness of this piece, and can't wait to start styling it with more modern pieces.


*Apologies to everyone down under who couldn't give a rat's about warm thick winter clothing right now. You'll thank me later. xx

Leather and Shearling

The trend started a few years back when boots were trendy again, and then the return of the oversized leather tote and then the biker jacket, and more recently over-the-knee boots (hmm thigh-high leather), so really the logical next step is clothing. Winter clothing in leather looks like it will be huge here for winter, thanks mainly to this gorgeous skirt from Louis Vuitton.

We're seeing pants, shorts, skirts, and even tees, mostly in neutral tones, lots of caramel, camel, beige (which is really just the same as camel), black, brown, greys etc. I would like to see more of it in a green, like a military or olive green, which really comes into play a little more in the accessories (oo I saw a great navy blue leather tote this week.).




For summer leather, shorts, soft jackets for nightfall, and skirts would all work really well, especially teamed with softer floaty summery fabrics or casual denim.


For any season A-line leather skirts are a big thumbs up (although any A-line skirt is appearing back in stores which is a huge relief for me as they are very flattering). Leather A-line skirts tend to be plain, no extras, where as other fabrics tend to have an embellishment of some kind.

And if you're not bold enough (or cashed up enough) to sport the leather clothing look, you can rock out the accessories. Belts and watches are my pick at the moment, sticking to skinny bands and skinny belts. The narrower the better.
And then sort of in this field, there's a huge trend for the "shearling" (aka sheepskin) look, which was kicked off by Burberry, if you didn't know already, and has been picked up by every one.

Although the sheepskin trend is finding its way into everything, the key look is the bomber/aviator style jacket, and I think this is one trend we're going to cringe about in hindsight because it does not suit everyone and everyone is going to wear it. It gives the wearer such boxy look and cuts you off at the waist, and hides everything you have underneath. So if you have curves that need to be shown off, or disproportionately huge shoulders or a massive bum then this will probably make you look WEIRD. Having said that (and as I fall into all 3 categories) I will be looking for a jacket that satisfies the trend but is cut in a different way so is still flattering to my shape.

How to wear Leather in spring?


Q: Can I still wear leather into spring and summer? How would I continue a relaxed Military look with it?

A: Military is not only about the button down blazer. It can be as simple as wearing Utility colors such as black, khaki, creme, grey and red. This look has a leather look cropped jacket from Cotton On as the feature.

Shorts are going to be huge this season so why not try a high waisted pair in Khaki or creme.

Add a scarf to link the colour scheme and to tie up your hair should you get caught in a gentle Springtime breeze

Wardrobe makeover!!! Blazer style


The blazer is the perfect jacket to be wearing come spring and cooler nights out in summer.

The key is to keep the blazer casual by rolling up the sleeves and leaving it open. To make it a signature spring must have, team it with a patterned skirt (stripes and paisley are so hot right now) and a plain camisole. Add either lace up wedges or some sandles and a flower brooch to finish!



Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Snap, Ani!

In response to Ani's earlier post, I am delighted that she and I seem to be so sartorially in sync.
I walked past a shop window last night and saw caramel high waisted pants and screamed out "80s! 80s pants!", but what really had me thrilled was that they were leather (as seen at MANGO):

So yes, yes and yes to everything you mentioned Ani. Yes to caramel coloured pants, yes to high waisted pants, yes to wide leg and yes to cuffs. Although I'll admit that I'm seeing cuffs more on cropped tapered trousers, which really is only an autumn trend as you really can't carry that over to winter unless you tuck them into boots (lightbulb! hahah I'm going to add cropped pants to my wardrobe now!). Also please note that there are some fantastic waistbands, a great detail if you have a nice waist and it encourages the trend of tucking in your shirt, the thought of which would have made me vomit a little bit 10 years ago.



And oh yes, leather is in, in a big way, but I haven't seen it so much on real people - but enough, I think this warrants a separate post.

As to Mash's comment on big hips, I think it's all about proportion. If you have big hips with a big bum and are carrying extra weight, then all of this is a no for you. But if you have big hips with a generally svelte figure (read: not overweight) than I think you can do this with the right accessories. Just be careful of big pockets and gathering at the waist.