Summer may be at an end in the Southern Hemisphere, but for the online store at American Apparel things are just starting to heat up with many vintage and dead stock treasures now added to their store including sunglasses and eye wear I'm clamouring to get my hands on. I haven't had a good pair of sunglasses that I was comfortable wearing since that ill-fated day when my host family's dog gave my lovely pair a chew and I'm still a little sore about that. I would love to order from American Apparel online, but they only accept credit card, a policy that has been a thorn in my side for far too long.
Purple is my favourite colour and I wouldn't mind having a pair of glasses, frames and all in the colour to shade my deep brown eyes. I'm really excited about the amazing colours of the vintage eye wear range, the chameleon-like matching of plastic frames and lenses as well as the circular shapes of the lenses. On occasion there is a cat's eye shape frame as well as accentuated detail and quirk that are sculpturally admirable but it's hard to know whether a pair of sunglasses will look good on you without being able to try them on for yourself.
The pair of sunglasses I lost to the jaws of that ungrateful bulldog looked much like the pair above- perfectly round with thin plastic frames in brown striped pattern without the golden metal over the nose bridge. I never remember in my youth this stylised shape of sunglasses ever being popular but I love its rise to power including the glorious rebirth given to it by the dead stock collection available from the American Apparel online store.
There seems no limit to the wonderful wealth of sunglasses shades, colours and patterns. One of my favourite effect for glasses frames is tortoiseshell because of the variety of shades of brown used and the amount of darker coloured spots that become apparent in the design. I love these dark green frames though, they're very bold and just a little bit deviant. Not for the faint of heart and I'm sick of being the shy little nice girl everyone thinks very little of- I want to make a name for myself in university and from what I've seen there's already some colourful characters. Last year was all about study and hard work, this year is going to be my time to shine and show myself off to the world.
It's not too often you see such a thick nose bridge for circular framed glasses- in that respect their a bit like goggles but hot goggles leaking 1970s goodness all over the place. I love the way their made, the horizontal lines across the front of the glasses as well as the sunburnt tones of brown and orange all over the place. The muted coloured lenses in brown are a nice touch to it all and I wouldn't mind trying them on for size. I bet a gorgeous looking girl with a high fringe showing a bit of forehead with long nails and drapery clothes could pull off these bad boys with ease and grace.
As well as classic shapes and designs there's the occasional quirky teen pair of sunglasses including these sweeties covered in floral design and a purple tinted lens. There's three colour variations for this single design each with varying designs in plastic but the floral print in pink with hints of dark green and red seems so romantic. Their the perfect pair of sunglasses to get you in the mood for St. Valentine's Day, if you're willing to buy into the merchandise and dream-filled fantasy.
It's harder to find more similarities between a vintage piece and modern design, but these pointed and angular cat's eye frames remind me so much of the sunglasses from Alexander Wang. There's only the deep and dark wine colour left, but I prefer it to the dusty black colour and tinted lenses- they look absolutely gorgeous against this blond with pink lips and pale complexion but I wouldn't mind rocking a pair for myself. It almost makes me wish I had my front fringe again with signature streak down the front of my bangs- instead of blond I would be tempted to try white instead in a Cruella DeVille homage to really bring out the red colour of these sweet sunglasses.
The sunglasses and accessories divisions of the high-end department stores in Melbourne fail to excite me with boring and unimaginative lenses without plastic frames and Karen Walker jewellery and clothing is only available in Myer at the CBD. It appears that the vintage collection from American Apparel is more to my liking and in tune with youth culture than the slow to catch on national brand I have known since childhood. You know that there's too much of a good thing when you long to have more than one face/ hand/ more fingers etc. in order to wear glorious colours and variations of clothing and accessories at once.
The closest variation to my dear sweet, departed sunnies that bit the dust just over a year ago now- they didn't make my nose look too rounded and like a mushroom but they were still stylish and able to be worn with any outfit. I don't wear a lot of brown, I'm more of a fan of black when it comes to basics including jeans and shirts but I do rather like the allure of brown/ tortoiseshell sunglasses. Their just such a classic and iconic on some faces. That's not to say I'm not a fan of pink perspex frames from Karen Walker, but the range of shades here is just marginally cheaper.
The perfect companion to a pool party or any gathering by the beach would be these blue tinted sunglasses complete with plastic frames and lenses all in the soothing shade. The flecks of yellow remind me a lot of the 1980s and abstract patterned bomber jackets in silk as well as windbreakers and anoraks. After spending about thirteen years of my life attending schools in which uniform was compulsory and they were both blue, I'm over the shade and probably will never chose to incorporate it into my wardrobe entirely.
Artistic and with thick frames in a marble effect swirling orange, red and purple these frames remind me a lot of rare vintage Chanel pieces as well as sunglasses worn by British television personality and DJ Alexa Chung. They're very mod inspired as well and have a sophisticated 1960s vibe evoked about them. I don't even think I would mind if they didn't suit my face, pair them up with a toggle duffel coat as well as skinny jeans and I would happily run about the place pretending to be my favourite celebrity personality.
Plastic red and the most expensive of all the sunglasses shown in this post, I think they cost close to $400 or something ridiculous, they're Vintage Red Walter Van Beirendonck Sunglasses but they remind me so much of the quirky view master slide show viewer I'd love to own a pair just for their aesthetic nature and the fun of wearing them in a red outfit. There's nothing soft, romantic that flows about them but I love the bright plastic and the bombastic nature of the frames surrounding those little purple lenses.
This past week has been one of the most uneventful and dreadfully dreary to endear in my limited eleven weeks of university experience. Some young women are blossoming and thriving in the real world in which they feature and open runway shows across prestigious, fashion-forward countries. I am stuck handing in boring assignment after assignment and cramming in as much horrible content about evolution, tectonic movement and inorganic chemistry. I have always firmly believed that I have picked the right course and hedged my way in to a high-paying career- this week has brought me a loss of appetite for food as well as complete exhaustion. I am stuck studying the basic condensation theory of the formation of the universe while others are displaying it in a beautiful manner in dresses. The humdrum life of a science degree has never brought me so much displeasure in my life- and unfortunately it's only just begun.
For some strange reason I really admire this type of scrawly illustrations where the facial expression and details are finely drawn and the nose doesn't look like my pudgy abominations. I know in the bottom pits of my heart that I will never be able to draw a person's face well without them being offended so it's just easier to draw something that looks like a cartoon anyway. It's my small compromise between skill and not letting my self-esteem and childhood dream of becoming an illustrator or cartoonist die out. The regime of drawing once a day in my flip-through desk calender has been abysmal and I only pick up a pen to write notes or busily write down a new shift for work. I can afford lots of new things this year but, as always, I have no time to be creative and artistic. 
I love flipping through the online pages of Tavi Gevinson's blog, Style Rookie to see her collection of curious tidbits such as plastic hair pieces and jewellery, cosmic memorabilia as well as mementos in the vain of the Virgin Suicides. I've read plenty about it from her perspective and have seen how the story has profoundly changed her as an individual. It would be nice to dip into that novel and experience it for myself and see just how much I'm really missing. Instead of crawling around second hand shops and taking trips to the library I've had my head down in my books or have been lounging about at work. In just one month I'll take a scenic tour of CBD Melbourne as part as an extra credit assignment for Geoscience as well as plan my end of year holiday at my boyfriend's house. There's a lot to look forward to but even more to slog through in the coming weeks.
It's been suggested that smokers are more unproductive than their cleaner-lunged counterparts; what with all the breaks for a smoke and whatnot. But can be taking a step back and stepping outside in the fresh air for a few minutes to indulge in nicotine and look at the bigger picture be all that bad? I for one, feel to wrapped up in all my activities and have always been studious and attentive towards the finer details in life. I don't plan on picking up smoking and am very proud of my boyfriend for being a non-smoker in a family of smokers but I think there's some value in standing outside for 10-15 minutes a day, once or twice a day and seeing what happens outside whatever building your stuck in for most of the day. While I do love the creature comforts of indoors and worn out couches during Winter, I can't help but feel unsettled when I realise it's been days since I've lest the house and walked further than the mail box each day.
I revel in the tales of one of my high school girlfriends and her exploits as a student studying arts and sculptures; belonging to a group of creative people and making a daily pilgrimage across the road for Chai Lattes. I imagine their dress and daily garb to be fantastic and exotic and I hung on every word as she described a girl with a wolf tattooed on her arm. There are people contributing to the indulgent creative side of our society and feeding the soul and nourishing the spirit and I feel isolated from them and on the opposite boundary of tertiary education learning about science. Being called a nerd and smart cookie has never bothered me particularly but it feels like such a rigid and horrible structure to education now that I've settled into my routine. It seems that the culture I'm most likely to experience is trying a different store from around campus to buy lunch from. 
In two weeks I may experiment with sparklers, birthday candles and Freddo Frog Ice-cream cake for my boyfriend's twentieth birthday. He's not very fashion-minded: he wears flannels and shirts from Jay Jays and wipes his grubby hands on his clothes but he's still rather adorable and like my best friend. I have to try and make the day really special and magical since he's always been my strength, love and support but I have to compete with the mad cooking skills of his grandmother. I have been known to burn water in a saucepan before so I have a feeling I'll come out second best in that bout, but she has a wonderful Irish accent and I plan on getting her to teach me to knit. All is well and all will be well as long as the cake doesn't turn into liquid before the candles get blown out and all digitally enhanced images involving space are left to the true hipsters.
