Dainty

Slowly in just a few hours there will be the culmination of romantic tension as well as many advertisements bombarded to consumers in order to cheesy and floral trinkets, poesies and sonnets. My brain has been awash with all sorts of amorous ideas about architecture as well as structured clothing, bright and brilliant patterns and my favourite Yves Saint Laurent Art ring with pink stone. It's hard not to get wrapped up in the emotion of a holiday with gravity and retail appeal but I know I really shouldn't- I'm just lucky I've been collecting photographs of idyllic scenes and settings instead on my hard drive.

Being the most wonderful person I've met in my life, my beau has promised to deliver some roses to my tomorrow on St. Valentine's Day because it's to be expected and I asked in an indirect fashion. There's something softly spoken about the gesture of giving roses to a girl on this special day, February fourteenth as well as her birthday. I suppose I'm just rather lucky to have someone special in my life that cares about me and is willing to spend time with me.

As a passionate gesture for my boyfriend I wouldn't mind performing such a feat for my lovely beau in return- long have I been a fan of the photographic but never sought to bare all in such a manner. I may not have the delicate porcelain complexion but I have gorgeous dark brown hair that may lend it self well to the budding and white blossoms of Spring. Ah if only it were not for the improper use of such suggestive photographs of the Internet and the way they can destory a person's reputation...

One day I will have wonderful and dainty upholstered leather couches in the middle of magnificent sitting rooms dedicated to reading and the learned arts as well as creative endeavours. That is if I ever curve my love for shopping online and persuade myself to be frugal and make smarter financial decisions such as working more often and harder as well as selling the occasional lost treasure online for a bit of spare cash. I will lord over my spouse and choose the the furniture with little regard for what they have to say as well as create a studio space of at all available for fashion blogging complete with iPad and typing station... in my dreams.

I wish I could stop being such a dainty girl and get my hands dirty once more, scrape and bruise my knees in rough and tumble sports and once again explain my injuries with a mixture of pride and embarrassment. What could possibly look better than turning up to a fashion or runway even than having scabby or bruised knobbly knees? At the moment I'm also sporting a rather attractive band aid on my calf, acquired from a missing chunk of skin I assume to be hanging on to my razor blade. Even in my dull life of little activity I manage to do some serious harm to myself- I really shouldn't buy a plastic skateboard and try to take that up as well. It will only end in tears and more injuries but this time to my pretty face.

I already stare at my reflection enough as it is and it would be a horrible idea to acquire a vintage and silver framed wall mirror but one day I'll watch myself grow old in it's reflection and remember what it was like to be without the white hair, hair coming out of my ears as well as wrinkles. It's all about the gorgeous and ornamental baroque style frame even if I had to paint over it in a garish colour such as lilac or baby pink I think I would be content with it gracing my walls but still afraid of the whole thing collapsing on its own weight and acquiring another seven years of bad luck.

Dainty and yet modern with twenty-first century flair and grace comes matching shirts in wild and digital prints and matching but slightly garish blue lipstick. This look would be nothing without the soft wisps of fair hair and the pale complexion of the model dressed in such a manner, although styling is an important aspect of fashion once must also consider what you look like and how best to accentuate your own personal and individual personality.

Whenever my mother watches those period pieces based on old books such as 'Jane Eyre' and 'Pride and Prejudice' there are these fantastic buildings with well kept and groomed grounds surrounding them, lace dresses that reach the floor and tight bodices as well as spectacular interior decorating. I think I could be completely content and happy for an afternoon if I had a large pair of lace curtains to wrap myself in as well as small phonograph in the corner to dance around with and fantasise the entire day.

I've excepted that I don't need fair skin and blond hair to be dainty thanks to my hero and style icon Alexa Chung- she's one of the most graceful and skinniest things I've ever clapped eyes on but her Asian heritage reassures me too that you can be perfectly beautiful and reach your potential without having blue eyes and blond hair. Although with that said, a well groomed routine and vintage frill neck collars certainly don't go astray for maintaining a girls image in these areas though I can tell that much.

I hope one day to hold a kitty in my arms with the perfect little pink nose and masses of fur everywhere and have it follow me around- only then will I feel a sense of cosmic fulfillment and empowerment over refined and aristocratic creatures. Perhaps being dainty and empowered with chic flair isn't about the way you look but is rather a state of mind you can channel should you be ready mentally and with the right tools and knowledge.

Jewellery by Gala Curios

I feel a little bad about using such large format images for this post- but with the narrow size of the images I can adequately show you each detail of the gorgeous gold jewellery by Gala Curios which is full of dramatic conventions that for some reason remind me a bit of Italian opera. There's sharp lines of ruching of leather, fanning out as well as accordion type pleating effects in metal, resin pieces and tiny little golden hands used as clasps. It's all very dramatic and glamorous but the styling for the photo shoot of their pieces has taken a more romantic approach- I personally would have liked to see the use of glitter as well as masquerade masks but maybe that's something I'll have to demonstrate for myself and to you, dear reader.

The best thing about the dips and crevices within this accordion pleated style ring in gold is the way the metal shows off different characteristics as well as colours. While each sheet of the metal seems to have been melded together, as you can see the joins of each metal panel are very smooth and all this is attached to a thick banded gold ring. It's quite the statement ring, and not for those who fiddle and wear dresses with fringing or anything else that can get caught on the edges of the ring. It would look very showy in a photograph in which you raise a toast for someone- and bathed in a semi-dark light it would take on a more moody and gorgeous character.

The black oxidised metal cuff with sharper corners, more shallow triangular pieces and around a wide opened bangle reminds me a lot of a cookie cutter- and I say that with the kindest most endearing means possible. I've never seen anything like this in design, though it's not that often you see a metal cuff. Most of the cuff designs that spring to my mind are of resin but I quite like the dark and edgy effect of this cuff as well as the different tints and hue on the metal. For more class and a little more elegance this cuff comes in white, silver and gold. I love the gold items from Gala Curios.

As well as spectacular designs in jewellery the designs have also been christened with names involving puns? What more could a girl ask for? I love the contrasting colour combinations of mismatching leather swatches for the ruffles against the cuffs it's very chic. My favourite cuff from this quartet would have to be the cuff on the far right with a stone coloured leather and a brassy coloured cuff. I like the cute little bolt through the pinched leather- it gives a sense of symmetry to the piece.

If you're not a fan of thin cuffs but love the design of the accordion folding cuff you could wear all four at once for extra glamour and maybe colour. If you're not loving all the four colours maybe you could get two of your favourite colour and wear them together? In my opinion, you can't go wrong with black and gold together.

The Accordion Bangle has been cleverly developed using state-of-the-art rapid-prototyping, in an effort to emulate exacting pleated forms in solid metal. This tough cuff will add an edge of polish to any outfit, for guys & girls alike.

Solid brass with black nickel 'oilslick' plating.
Inner diameter 5cm, cuff height 1.5cm.

Packaged in a custom, velvet-lined GALA gift box.

I discovered this particular brand by searching the online world for things to buy, specifically The Grand Social and their sale section- I found these lovely bracelet in gold featuring two hands being held together as claps and a centre piece for the golden chains. The fancy 'G' tag written in cursive script is a nice touch and it seems to have particular importance to me since both my parent's first initial is 'G' as well. The hand holding motif reminds me of the lovely and romantic feeling I get when walking around with my boyfriend and the comfort it brings. Also the hands remind me a bit of Asian jewellery and Buddhas hand but the detail of the fingers, dual gold chain and cuffs seems to take on more of an Italian design. It's something on my hit list when I can get some more suitable work- looking forward to the Australia day basketball tournament coming up.

An eye-patch made of pastel coloured flowers? Now that is something U definitely want to try! I love the soft look of this photograph, the criss-crossing chains in gold and silver and the way they aimlessly drape across her entire body. I wonder if the spiked headband is a part of the Gala Curios collection too- it's rather edgy and you could easily wear it with a punk edge. The tiny spike platelets remind me of the hat worn by the Statue of Liberty.

I watched 'Jaws' last night or the good bits of it anyway, as in the last half an hour or so with the climatic confrontation with the shark as well as the drunken three men; Brody, Quinn and Hooper singing drunken songs together and comparing battle scars. The sharp and angular pyramid cuff in gold-stone features a brass cuff coated in gold and what I assume to be a white piece of resin. All of the pieces within the Gala Curios range would do well when combined with a thick and showy clutch- I'm thinking sequins and studs on leather.

Leaning more towards the impractical side of design but certainly the modern comes this tasseled ring featuring a metal shackle bolt keeping the threads of chain together. A word of advice: if wearing a skirt which features tulle in anyway or any means avoid such a piece because there is sure to be friction between the two pieces. Something bold like this would go well with the sleek lines of a satin looking dress in simple design. The flowing tassels in metal remind me a bit of sexual fetishes and bondage but it's still very glamorous. There's even a tiny inscribed monogram 'G' on the inside band of the ring- how sweet.

Resin Rose Jewellery by This is Make Believe

The label This is Make Believe specialise in making resin roses for necklaces as well as large eye-catching brooches; I have an inkling that they are a New Zealand brand. During the repair efforts of many after the Auckland Earthquakes in 2010, I spotted some aid in the form of a charity auction of New Zealand jewellery as well as festival and ticket concerts and even dates with celebrities. One such brand was little known Make Believe which donated more than one necklace to the cause including the now Sold Out pink rose necklace that I was itching to get my hands on. It's difficult to be able to trace their origins for sure- while they do have a website so to speak there's not a lot going on that's helpful in tracking down some of their pieces.

 

I love the arrangement of three large roses coated in black resin as well as the small dangling gold chain underneath- it's the perfect statement piece to dress up a plain sweatshirt such as the one shown above and with the light complexion and mousey brown hair of the model this brooch stands out even more. It's the only brooch within their current selection and while I do hope to see more pieces made by Make Believe, without a website or more pieces coming the odds don't look so good. Even then, I may not be so keen as to buy their pieces, theirs quite a weighty price tag attached for the cost of this brooch being $205 AUD and the necklaces ranging from $312-$342 AUD.

 

The smaller, more petite rose arrangement necklace dipped in feminine candy pink strung on a double sterling silver chain for added security as well as glamor. I love the folded effect of the petals as well as the resin coating giving them a dripped in wet-paint look. It would look amazing underneath a plain blouse and add feminine flair to any outfit as well as whimsy and playfulness.

Make Believe mixes a touch of sweet romance with the hard core rock of Guns and Roses!! This large necklace is a phenomenal piece made of resin dipped fabric flowers in beautiful high gloss colours. All on blingin' gold plated chain!

Chain Length 23.5cm.

Girl about Town

While stalking one of my favourite eBay sellers and spotting a whole glorious bunch of vintage clothing I've gotten into a bit of a sweet and girly mood. My favourite dresses I spotted were full length and in black, but when I dressed this morning to receive and exchange gifts with my boyfriend for Christmas I dressed in a 1960s inspired dress in purple and paisley- if that's at all an indication of my current mood. I'd really love to collect all my socks from school and sew on to them my own strips of lace or raid American Apparel but right now it's staying at home and enjoying the company of my family and waiting around for Christmas.

 

At least I've been given time to recuperate and recover from working close to fourteen hours for the last two days and bask in the air-conditioned lounge room- also it's nice to catch up on all the goings on of blogs and post some stuff up. I'm also considering what places to hit up in preparation for the Boxing Day sales- there's plenty of gorgeous vintage clothing I now have my eye on but I want to check out Alice Euphemia if I'm not working or going to the movies. There's lots of great online pieces of clothing I'm dying to buy- makes me wish I had sorted out the pieces of clothing and books I had to sell weeks ago to come up with some extra money in preparation for the biggest sale of the year on the Australian calender.

 

I love this photograph because I'm dying to have a girly piece of furniture like a couch or an armchair when I move out and my style sits somewhere in between the sweet schoolgirl style of the little girl and the dark grunge of the teenager. It represents how I feel sometimes with my own personal sense of style- stuck in a purgatory world in which I can't decide to wear clothes that are light-hearted and flirty or dark vintage. Some days all I want to do is wear my old socks from school with my leather Vans and a nice skirt of dress and others all I can think of is wearing my Ashish for Topshop jumper with spiked epaulets and all black. I'm sure next year I'll manage to be more distinct in my style of clothing but for now I'm all over the place admiring both the sweet vintage style as well as the witchery style of magic and gaudy pieces of jewellery and candle burning.

 

I was very excited when I spotted one of my favourite New Zealand labels, the Stolen Girlfriends Club bow ring in gold featured in Vogue. I've only ever seen one of these rings, the silver edition hit eBay and the bidding was rather fierce so I think I may treat myself to buying one of the rings from the Superette online store, perhaps the silver body bow ring which is gold plated. I get all the glamor and sweetness of a gold ring without the extra expensive price tag to it.

 

Blogger Nicole Warne adding a touch of confetti to a field on what looks to be a promising and flawless Summer's day. I love the fringed and lace sleeves of her shirt as well as the bright red lipstick and matching nail polish. It's photographs such as this that make me want to abandon the black clothes within my wardrobe and absorb the sun but Summer in Australia can be at times, unforgiving and feel terrible and sticky despite looking lovely and bright. I may stick somewhere in between the two styles and wear long black dresses in a bohemian and airy fashion leaving versatility between the two looks depending on the shoes and jewellery I wear as a reflection of my mood at the time.

I was very impressed with seeing three of my favourite brands all on the same page for an extract of Harper's Bazaar magazine featuring golden high heels with a cut-out heart motif on the side by Marc Jacobs, a golden bow necklace by New Zealander Karen Walker as well as a silk skirt sporting a water colour print by Karla Spetic. I'm not a big fan of the Lolita seen and most often I think heart shaped sunglasses look cheap but I do love the inclusion of bright gold accessories as well as a skirt I've been chasing up for months. Just out of interest there is an amazing matching blazer to go with the Karla Spetic skirt too.

I love full length dresses when they're made out of a light-weight material and this sheer dress covered in white daisies looks so great when teamed up with scuffed and dirty combat boots. This is the style I would love to embody in my own personal life- that gentle balance and combination of a hippy dress as well as tough and grunge accessories. As I've said before I have my eye on two necklaces; one is a cow skull and the other a small cameo. Both could be worn with this dress it's just a matter of your mood at the time an the way you choose to style it.