Turbans

Colder weather often leaves me trying to shroud myself in any way that I can- in my younger years I experienced a great love of Sherpa beanies with their woolen fleece to retain all thermal heat. With my "discovery" of Etsy and a rejuvenated love of all things vintage, I love clothes labelled with Mad Men such as stylised turbans and chic office wear blouses and sun dresses. I don't imagine that I'd be as courageous enough to wear something as intricate as an origami wrapped turban to university but I do love the way it brightens up an outfit and offsets an entirely black outfit and matching Mac cosmetics goody bag. I love the dark shade of lipstick in contrast to the fair complexion of the girl pictured above as well.

My family has no affiliation with racing or the Spring Carnival of Melbourne, but it does give one a good opportunity to dress in a fanciful and imaginative way. I for one look forward to an Alice in Wonderland novel themed clutch to spy on as well as my own tea party filled with the scent of Turkish apple. When else will it be acceptable to wear feathers on one's head and bright coral lipstick too?

Although Summer has well and truly left the Southern Hemisphere I'm still keen to buy myself a replacement pair of sunglasses- I imagine that to obtain a pair of cat's eyes glasses covered in small plastic flowers would be quite the rarity. I wish I had a bit of a darker complexion to contrast such sweet pastel tones- I suppose the mark of a good fashion blogger is being able to make yourself shine and the clothes as well. I love the casual throw-away lance over the shoulder and the matching lipstick as well- wonderful for a full pair of pouting lips.

Perfume

This black tinged glass makes up the bottle of a rare and elusive edition of Flowerbomb from Viktor and Rolf that I didn't have the money to buy at the time- now this picture haunts my dreams and nightmares. For inside this vessel lay the elixir of dreams which I so heavily desired to douse myself with daily but it's not available anywhere on eBay.

While I may not be able to find Viktor and Rolf's Flowerbomb for cheap on eBay, there are many beautiful and empty bottles of perfume with atomizers available on Etsy and being sold as vintage pieces. I've even found some pretty cat shaped bottles that held perfume at once stage in their life and if I had room on my desk I would love to create a small row of them to watch over me as I study. There's something so sculptural, as well as feminine about a perfume bottle. I think it's that marriage of design which can be almost architectural as well as the feminine fabric pouch of the atomizer and tassel connected to what is often a glass bottle with intricate design.

Ballet High Heels

Before I found the ballet style flats with ankle straps from Chloe I also spotted these high heeled shoes with rounded toes and the same sort of ankle strapping mimicking a ballerina. Unfortunately they're much too small for my feet and are a size 6.5, so while they are more affordable than the Chloe slippers and unique one-of-a-kind vintage shoes they just won't do. It's a shame really, they have been growing on me and the heel seems to be such good for support- I don't wear heels often enough and need a little more extra support to wear them confidently.

I love this profile of the rounded too and sneakily hiding the heels at the back of the shoe- while I can't snap up these ill-fitting babies I can choose whatever size I like and out of three colours for Chloe ballet slippers without heel. I just wish they didn't cost nearly $300 though, having good taste and no job is a very painful combination.

Since I have no upcoming parties or functions to attend to I guess the shoes can wait but I do have coming parcels in the mail including a necklace from 'This is Make Believe' of ornamental red roses made of resin, a bow ring from Stolen Girlfriends Club made of silver and a Deadly Ponies Mr Lure in peacock. Once all my goodies arrive in the mail the urge to buy things should pass for a little bit but by that time I'll have refereed six games of basketball three games straight and celebrated Chinese new Year! This year we'll be ringing in the year of the Dragon and both my father and brother were born in that year so I suppose I should wear an outfit that seems fiery and fierce. I will be missing some scales though- I don't really have a fondness for animal skin including zebra, snakeskin and ostrich but I'm impartial to leopard and cheetah imitation print.

Today's the day the Teddy Bears have their Picnic

Wearing: White American Apparel Short-Sleeve Blouse and vintage straw hat with paisley scarf. 

 

Today I had a small catch up with some of my friends from high school and got to enjoy their company in the sun and have a small picnic involving lots of chip bags, partial shade and several naughty magpies. I donned a straw hat since I left the house. not caring about the effect of hat hair and planting it firmly on my head as a fashion piece as well as something to keep away the sun. I can feel the distant heat on the back of my neck and I have a bold mark from where I wore my watch but other than that the signs of the sun aren't clearly visible. 

I hope that during this Summer everyone remembers that there's nothing healthy about bathing in the sun to get a tan when you can get it out of a bottle and be healthy. Skin Cancer is rampant in Australia and I wish people would realise that it is a slow and silent killer, be sun smart in a chic and vintage way and wear a hat.

Sweetheart

This is my first outfit post so everyone please be kind! I really didn't bother with covering up the blemishes on my face properly but I like the shape of my eyebrows as well as the soft waves in my hair from an overnight braid. Yesterday my American Apparel blouse came in the mail and I was excited to show it to you and with a short summery skirt as well. I've had the skirt for about a year now, bought from America and I usually wear it with tights because its so short. I'd love to wear this on Friday to my university information session but it will be too hot for tights and I'll probably just find a different skirt or shorts to cope with the heat.

Wearing: American Apparel Short-Sleeve Blouse, Forever 21 Skirt and Vintage gingham scrunchie.

Fortunately for an XS/S blouse this fits me perfectly and I just love the shape of the Peter Pan collar and since I bought it in white I can easily wear any bottoms with it and necklaces as well. I'm looking forward to wearing this top as a staple part of my wardrobe. I always wear this necklace of an 'A' made in crystals- I got it over a year ago for Christmas from my boyfriend and I never take it off unless I'm going to work. It's sort of my good luck charm.

This is the best I can manage when usinga tripod and darting in front of the camera lens before it snaps the photograph. The outfit's plain and sweet, just like me. In retrospect I could have dressed it up by hanging one of my Diana F+ cameras from my neck but I like the messy bun, gingham scrunchy and my newest blouse. I've still got to figure out strategies as to how to show off the entire outfit properly as well as showing off shoes when I wear some actually. I don't know whether to enlist in the help of someone or try more with taking self-portraits. This would be so much easier if I had a sister who wouldn't mind if I twisted her arm into helping me...

I'm getting my ends trimmed this Sunday and maybe my layers redone as well but I am a little wary of the hairdresser, she's a family friend so I have to be polite and tell her I like her work even if I'm crying on the inside. It doesn't look like I'll be dip-dyeing my hair before my cut but it has been more than half a year since I last got my hair cut let alone trimmed. I like it long, means I can pull off some interesting photographs.

No. 5

Etched into history and folklore comes the golden elixir and most famous perfume world wide, No. 5 by Coco Chanel. I had the opportunity to work as a spritzer girl last Summer promoting Chanel perfume and had to learn the ingredients of a lot of their perfumes as well as No. 5. It taught me that being in a job that's not stimulating and standing up the entire time will make my ribs feel like their being pried from my chest cavity, spraying perfume too much ruins nail polish and that you eventually get used to the smells in your environment and prevents you from no longer enjoying them.

Mademoiselle Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel was a women who was very superstitious and believed in lucky numbers and took inspiration from her French apartment into her perfume. For example, I was told that the stopper of the classic glass bottle for No. 5 took inspiration from the rectangular shape of the court yard outside her window but the glass bottle also took inspiration from toiletry bottles/ whiskey bottles from her lover. For added class and style, each bottle neck is tied off with a white ribbon and wax seal.

This lovely photo shoot contrasts the blue stripes on the straw with the yellow of the jumper, which both match respectively the blue wall and the yellow perfume No. 5- while I don't think it will kill you to try drinking perfume it's not something I would personally recommend. I haven't tried it myself but never have a known anyone to try it, the ingredients are May Rose as well as Jasmine, both originating from a place called Grasse in France. Of course it's only expected to use the finest ingredients and while both those flowers aren't poisonous I'm sure the mixture of alcohol with their absolute and distilled bodies can't taste as nice as it smells.

 

Wish I could own these lovely singlets- I would literally wear them every where I go and team them up with thin pants for comfort as well as flirty skirts and shorts. Too bad these types of designs seem to only live about in alternative markets and hide from the main stream likes of retailers and can't be found anywhere on the Internet.

The iconic bottle has been subjected to many new interpretations among the community on Tumblr such as this cosmic background edited into within the contents of the glass bottle. I've seen a few palmed off and I do like the new take on the bottle, one gets a little sick and bored with seeing the same amber coloured liquid in the bottle. That doesn't necessarily mean I prefer the counter part perfume No. 19 which was Mademoiselle's personal favourite. It has a 'fresh' smell which roughly translates to 'if you like grass and being reminded of hay fever try this one'.

Reinvented and renewed countless times, since the bottle's launch in 1921 it continues to be a firm source of revenue for the fashion house with sales exceeding $100 million a year and a bottle of this perfume, No. 5 is sold once every thirty seconds around the globe. It's success will never really be hampered by economic trends and as perfume is a popular gift at Christmas time I am sure 2011 was no exception to seeing bumper sales records.

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.

Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb

Christmas is the time where perfume sales are through the roof being gifted to loved ones as presents, and the top of my Christmas list this season is Viktor & Rolf's Flowerbomb. I did some promotional work for Chanel last year spraying perfume and selling the prestigious brand but as a young woman I'm more drawn to the sweet smell of aromatic flowers and fruit. Even before that and for a year or two I was fascinated by the body of the perfume bottle which is more like an emerald cut gemstone rather than a bottle and the wax seal carrying the Viktor & Rolf logo was also cute and eye-catching. It reminds me of Harry Potter when Harry first received word of his magical heritage so for me wax seals are seemingly life-changing and bear good news. 

As well as being the geniuses behind the flowerbomb fragrances, Viktor & Rolf is an Amsterdam based fashion house founded in 1993 (my year of birth) and their first fragrance, flowerbomb was launched in 2005 in collaboration with L’Oreal. There's been a few variations on the bottle and presentation of the perfume, ranging from various shades of pink and black for their Eau de Parfum and Eau de Toilette variation on each of the fragrances. In an old edition of Vogue I spotted a rare variation that had a black and speckled body, the flowerbomb fragrance was limited edition and I've seen neither hair nor hide of it anywhere! I love the continuous change to the look of the bottle but it'd be nice to know exactly what is out there for this floral and feminine fragrance.

 

Their campaign photograph was what also caught my eye, the ribboning effect to save grace for the model was well as the material wrapping her head like a tornado and flaring outwards beautifully captures and emulates the feminine nature of a flower. It was so minimalist but also breath-taking. There are some fantastic campaigns for perfume but in terms of one that has no clothing and just a plain white background, Flowerbomb by Viktor and Rolf takes the cake. It's a shame that I can't really write about the fragrance too much without owning it myself... I had a card somewhere from my last trip to Myer in Melbourne spritzed in the fragrance which smelt sweet in all of it's three tones. Hard to say what flowers were actually used in the production of the liquid perfume though.

 

This tulle wrapped edition of Flowerbomb by Viktor and Rolf matches the outfit worn by Allison Goldfrapp for the launch of the fragrance- you've got to love those strong ruffles over a tight fitting black dress which frames her golden curls. I love the sort of pink champagne colour as well as the inscribed shield on the front of this edition of the fragrance. It's so hard to know what strength what bottle is, what with all the different editions and it's also hard to know whether someone's just added an extra little something to re-launch an already existing fragrance.

 

The inner princess within my that I continually starve and suppress deep down within the pit of my stomach adores this sparkly body of Flowerbomb as well as the thick black ribbon rosette next to the atomizer of the bottle. One of my favourite things about fragrance as well as liquor are the different packagings of small glass bottles that they come in left to collect once the remnants of the bottle is gone. Snuff bottles have a similar effect but at least this way I can smell alluring for my boyfriend when doused in perfume and it's not often you see a pink snuff bottle covered in a pink and sparkly sheen. I can only imagine that the smell of the fragrance is equally as feminine and as sweet smell as this exterior packaging.