Nothing makes me feel more ordinary then to compare my life to those led by fashion bloggers attending prestigious events in fashion capitals such as Milan and Paris. I sourced these images from the Oyster Magazine website which is a wonderful place for photographic inspiration from the streets to runways. The photo set does make me question what sort of world I live in and what I want to become a part of- the surreal world of fashion and dress coordination. Compared to dull life on campus I would kill for a budget to create outfits and tickets to runway shows. The only comfort I find in observing these is that all the woman are a little older than I am and it's their dress sense that wins them tickets- not necessarily or purely based on their looks. The fashion world has become accessible to the ordinary citizen provided you have a wicked dress sense to capture attention and imagination.
The outfit I'm most keen to recreate myself is this odd combination of high-top sneakers, asymmetrical cut skirt and comfy sweater. My usual hunting grounds of eBay, Etsy and Asos Marketplace are devoid of wonderful and sweet satchels adorned in hardware but I know where I can get my filthy hands on a sweater and the skirt is easily fixed if you have a sharp pair of scissors and a wealth of vintage shops at your disposal. The pose of planted feet doesn't make the sports sneakers seem out of place and I love the stooping creative shot with camera in hand. Another thing that separates me and fashion bloggers- a good quality camera. Top of the line is about three thousand dollars and I have a few hundred in my bank account... you can only humanly sell so much on eBay to get you close to your goals.
I'd like to think that putting together an amazing outfit isn't necessarily dependent on having mountains of cash at your disposal and for that reason Tavi Gevinson of the Style Rookie is such a good inspiration. If you were resourceful enough a leather jacket with ethnic elements could be easily fixed but it seems that rather than crafty I'll need to be industrious and hard-working in order to get my gorgeous clothes from. As long as my degree pans out, I'm completely happy with that.
I'm at a loss of words to explain how neutral tones and what may be described as a 'safe' outfit looks so good. It must be the dyed red hair, striking matching eyebrows in theatrical arcs and the chic use of sunglasses worn as a headband. Curiously in one of my lectures this week I was annoyed at the amount of sunglasses worn in the theatre- it must be my notion of there's a time and a place for them. Even when worn with Wintry tones sunglasses seem more and more acceptable for those lucky few in fashion street style photographs. As for me, I can't even imagine what frames would look good for me and I'll be reserving my wallet for the next Karen Walker collection as far as protective eye wear is concerned.
Melbourne has once again treated it's citizen to a spat of unpredictable weather, with a change of 6 degrees centigrade within 15 minutes and the coldest weather in about 5 months. It will only be a matter of time till I'm rugging up and shrouding myself in layers of warm woolen clothing and thermal underwear. Although I have long folds of dark brown hair that I could easily fix to wear as a scarf, I long for the extra comfort of faux fur and soft textures to comfort my forehead. I'm really after a good duffel coat in navy, black or forest green to wear for university when it's cool at 6am in the morning and also a scarf but if something comes forth from Asos or Topshop I may be inclined to embrace my inner-Russian.
I find it difficult enough to find a decent vintage-styled cardigan, let alone two but I suppose when trawling the streets of some snow-bound country there is a greater need for that sort of thing. I think that a side-fringe looks a little more becoming when worn under a tight hat in this still and her ombre toned hair makes for an even sweeter addition. I love the folk nature of the outfit- must be the combination of leather suitcase, brogues and knitted cardigans culminated in the one place and with a wind-swept look of innocence on the woman's face.
You wouldn't believe the difficulty there is to find a decent tartan duffel coat on the Etsy market, but I am resilient and there will be a moment when I hold the piece like that of a hunter mounting a new taxidermy head on their mantle. On that note I would like to point out that any fur hats or products that I choose to wear will be explicitly fake. I find it abhorrent that someone could harm sweet animals such as rabbits for fashion. On a more gentle note I like the appeal of slightly chapped lips, light skin and strawberry blond hair in contrast to the slightly soberer tones of Winter.
Since the Prada 2011 Summer/ Spring I have had a hidden craving when it comes to fur trends and a striped effect, most notably those associated with raccoon tails in a Davy Crockett manner. While Bohemian chic isn't something I personally aspire towards with my own style, I like the way the scarf intermingles with paisley tones and is topped off with a little brimmed hat and soft curves of hair. Just goes to show that the finer details of accessories can really add a lot of style to an outfit when collaborated together in a similar manner.
Last but certainly not least, a stirring tribute to the Disney character Pocahontas but it seems her mammalian friend couldn't be with her... in the flesh as it were. I wish I looked as good with the wind pushing hair gently across my face but it seems there are many things I have yet to learn about the glorious arts of being photogenic. I'm still personally choosing between simplistic style and chic and all out visual bombardment as far as my personal style is concerned. Tavi inspires me, but photographs such as this and Alexa Chung make me long for a type of effortless cool auora.
