raiment

Love being back

2008-04-13T20:46:00.004+10:00

Hey there ladies and gentleman!

Yes, It's been a while, I've been on a blogging hiatus for a few months. The reasons are varied and include juggling working 30 hours a week in retail with full time uni (honours year), living out of home and being constantly distracted by beguiling housemates and in general life getting well and truly in the way, as often happens. But new exciting things have also happened, the first of which was me quitting my job in surf/street retail for a new job at Sportsgirl. The most exciting thing about this new position is thatSportsgirl is pretty much the Australian equivalent of Topshop and we all know how obsessed I am with Topshop! So a new passion for retail is great and has really lifted my spirits.

Well because it's been so long, I feel like I have everything to blog about and nothing to blog about, so I'm just going to start small and show you something amazing I found today at hoiming, this brand says that they try to create bags with reasons and surprises, they aim to challege the notion of useage (how it is carried). These bags amaze me, to me, this is true creative design, it is high-end design, but because of its humour or 'frank-ness' it remains accessible.

So next post, something for the men, I'm going to assemble some of my favourite looks for men, and dissect them for you, until then, farewell fair readers!

love irene

love erlend

2008-01-27T00:03:00.000+11:00

I have been a fan of Kings of Convenience for some time now, in fact the above is one of my favorite songs of all time, however I had never seen the film clip, until now, and I can happily say the man in the red tracksuit (erlend) is my future husband/muse, not that he knows it. Oh my i'm a sucker for a good pair of frames and some dulcet tones.

love poverty take 2

2008-01-24T22:07:00.000+11:00

what is sitting in my american apparel shopping cart, and probably will sit there for some time to come...

love boys

2008-01-24T21:12:00.000+11:00

HOLY SHIT!

I promise to loan my american apparel gold lame' leggings to whichever brave male friend of mine will wear them out a-la this gentleman above. Many, many photos will be taken. Long-lasting fame and respect will be your reward. The condition, you must wear them as if you are utterly serious about their fashion merit.

love poverty

2008-01-24T19:54:00.000+11:00

So turns out i'm moving out of home in less than a month and am madly trying to save the required dosh for rent and bond and other things like desks and chairs and a wardrobe, so of course I am lusting after luxurious, expensive things in my state of absolute poverty. Things like wundervoll luxury underwear

Oh my, I have many years of un-fashionable poverty ahead of me, gone are the days of my hedonistic youth! I'll have to console myself with independence and a roof over my head instead.

love 2008

2008-01-14T21:01:00.000+11:00

It's crazy how excited I am about fashion for 2008, CRAZY! I'm expecting a lot of designs to be dealing with the delicate balance between masculinity and femininity, with lots of uni-sex styles a-la american apparel. (Although I hate the whole skinny jeans on guys thing, not because I think it's ugly. but because I get jealous of them and their willowy legs and find myself checking them out far too much). I'm expecting a bit of old-english style tweedy affairs with waist-coats making a big comeback. (I own 6... so they'd better). I think the silhouette will be slender and lithe up the top with an emphasis on ballooned hips and pear-shapes.

Australian Fashion Trend Quarterly is fast becoming my favourite fashion bible, my go-to book for each season. It's quite pricey, coming in at $35 per issue, but it's well worth it for its pictorial wealth. This picture is from Valentino's Fall/Winter 2007/08 collection shown at paris. The length of the straps on the white dress particularly drew my attention as well as their take on the classic winter english tweedy look.

Fashion Trend Quarterly: Paris Givenchy Winter 2007/08 This is what I was talking about with the whole, balancing masculine and feminine thing. The pink collared shirt ensemble is my favourite,

This is my favourite look for the coming season, with a huge emphasis on tailoring and amazing silhouettes. The trousers are Kenzo by Antonio Marras, and the waistcoat is by Anna Rachele

I've lost my reference for this image, but check out the incredibly feminine silhouette and my god I would kill for that coat.

I'm just putting it out there, I collect as much imagery of mens fashion as I do womens, I just don't usually blog about it, should I more often? It often intrigues me even more than the womens fashion. This particular piece is by Zambesi. Have a closer look at his neck, is that leather? Or maybe even PVC? I'm intrigued. And his face, wow, what a charming individual (irene speak for "what a hottie!")

This one was stolen from facehunter This young lady has it just right! The insane amount of floral and lace is balance by her cheeky and quirky facial features, and check the scarf! A girl after my own heart.

This one was stolen from the sartorialist. Another mens ensemble. A perfect one, might I add. Check the amazing, striking and balanced combination of colours, the glasses, the perfect sleeve length, hold me back!

This was taken from the latest issue of RUSSH Australia, My goal for this year is to invest in a perfectly tailored suit. The length of this blazer against her short, high waisted skirt is stunning and the shoes are making me drool.

Taken from VOGUE AUS FEB 2008, Again with the tailored blazer, shirt and pants. Also this model is stunning, I would turn for her in a second, check out that facial structure, she could wear a potato sack and i'd probably blog about it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!! Well this thursday anyway. And to celebrate here's my horoscope as presented by RUSSH.

love veganism

2008-01-13T20:55:00.000+11:00

Hey all!
Happy new year and all the rest, I hope yours was a blinder. Mine certainly was, spent dancing like an idiot to kings of leon at the fabulous falls festival in lorne in victoria. It was not just a festival of music, but also a festival of people watching, with many amazing, if slightly unsuitable outfits on display. I tried to stick to mainly comfy plain tee's and shorts (41 degrees people! They were hosing us down!!!) but I did of course have a few outrageous outfits. My favourite of the lot was a cropped pale pink natalie wood design from her something range that left my belly exposed along with high waisted electric blue short-shorts which left my arse exposed (I'm classy that way) and were soon changed to high waisted floral shorts that were slightly more demure, here it is in pictorial form,

During Vodka

After Vodka, with added glow-stick advantage

Day 2 Gold mesh bag, highwaisted shorts, (I had to partially untuck my shirt to disguise the buckling buttons, the shorts are an australian size 6, so I squeeze into them and peel myself out of them, they did fit, a month ago, pre-christmas festivities) dutiful pout, what an ensemble!

Day 1, so freaken tired, comfy scarf, cardi and plain american apparel tee, comfort was the key here, also so freaken cold, the weather was bizarro

Post falls on the roof-top bar being battered by wind in my mid-waist cheap mondays, showing off my new scarf obsession

So this new year is a time for resolutions and one of mine was to have a go at being a vegan, that's right folks! No more wool or leather!! Fashion will have to bend to my needs, thank god this whole save-the-planet global-warming thingo is trendy and there's actually heaps of sustainable stuff on the market, it just means I will be paying a little bit more (less for shoes! Thank you pleather!) So I've been a vegan for 9 days so far, I've been a vegetarian since I was 13, then had to reintroduce fish into my diet at the age of 17 because I weighed 43kg, not so good for a girl who's 175cm tall, but I got my diet sorted, learnt that the skinny thing was partially genetics (thank you mum and dad) and thought about giving up fish, for about two years, and then kind of thought, fuck it, lets go the whole hog! (or not as the case may be hee hee, soy hog anyone?)
To be honest it hasn't been much of a change. I hate milk, butter and ice-cream and yoghurt anyway so that was okay, I enjoyed the occasional egg, but my main vices are chocolate and cheese. No luck with the cheese, I will have to suffer that (even most vegan 'cheese's' have milk products in them???) but thank god there are about 50billion chocolate substitutes, green and black organics are my saviour and most dark choccy is fine.

I've been eating heaps of fruit, veggies and nuts and I feel amazing. And anyone who thinks vegans don't eat well, think again, here's my meals for today:

Breakfast: A mango, fruit muesli with a grated apple, blueberries and soy-milk
Snack: Green and Blacks maya gold choccy bar, blueberry fruit cookies (x4, damn they're good) Soy Chai
Lunch: Avocado, hummus, tomato and spinach on rye-vita crisps
Snack: Soy hot chocolate (green blacks again!) Dried fruit and nuts, A whole punnet of blueberries
Dinner: Soy sausages sauteed with button mushrooms, onions, garlic and chilli, served with organic byron-bay salsa and leafy green salad
Desert: Soy hot chocolate, Haighs panetone

Yum Yum!

Next post my predictions for the coming year in fashion and what i'm excited about. Please comment and leave love!

Love Irene

love melbourne . . .again

2007-12-22T21:32:00.000+11:00

The last of the pictorial evidence that I did actually have a holiday for once in my life. Beautiful polaroids courtesy of george!

Love Melbourne

2007-12-19T16:02:00.001+11:00

A pictorial review

P.S
I am in love with melbourne, and despite the fact that I lampooned them whilst there, I am also in love with it's hipsters and them and their buddy holly glasses and skinny black ties are welcome in canberra whenever they want

love exhaustion

2007-11-10T20:19:00.000+11:00

So I'm all finished uni for the year. Somehow I managed to juggle 35hrs a week in my retail job, full time uni studying graphic design and the general malarky that it life, god knows how, especially with facebook providing many fruitless hours of timewasting. Now I'm just working full-time in my retail job, which is good cause it means I have evenings free to piss-fart around on the interwebs posting shit like this that no one reads for my own amusement.... that and drink, I plan on doing lots of that, and of being 70% tanqueray instead of 70% water like a normal human being. Stay tuned for more posts, hopefully composed whilst I'm inebriated. Here's today's pile of shit!

So did I mention i'm a red-head now? That's right folks a hotheaded siren. Although I kind of feel like I'm in costume everytime I look in the mirror, and I think I'll be back to a more natural colour within the month. It has been fun being a ginger ninja tho and I reccomend it for anyone thinking of trying it. I certainly feel like I stand out it a crowd.

So my wardobe is beyond ridiculous, I have no idea what to do with all my clothes now as my room is overflowing. I need one of those oprah style walk-in room wardrobes, and some restraint!

I recently purchased pink acid wash denim shorts and I can't stop wearing them. Their pure outrageousness is perfect and I think my life is very nearly complete since their discovery. Uh-may-zing

I am loving feathers right now, probably because they came out in force on all the facinators for melbourne cup day. I'd love to find some good quality ones to use as trimming on t-shirt cuffs for my latest t-shirt line (frock-you!) I recieved a High-Distinction for my corportate branding and designs for my new company and plan on expanding it and trying to get it into retailers soon, but more on that as it develops, I don't want anyone nicking my designs!

I also love socks at the moment, I bought some beautiful sheer, baby pink thigh-highs which tie at the thigh with a satin ribbon, and since the weather in canberra has been so fucked up it's been nice to wear summer fashions whilst keeping warm with the help of sockular insulation. I am also in love with headbands and turbans at the moment and have been buying up big, i'm thinking of investing in some silk scarves to use as headbands too, I just feel so old-skool glamurous in them, like I should be in bright red lippy and lingerie posing in some pin-ups calender or something, every girl should be able to feel like that. I've been exploring my uber-feminine side with lots of pink and lace and I must say I am really enjoying it!

I love the idea of a tiny girl in a large outfit, there's something so sweet about the baggy/oversized look, that despite its ridiculousness is also terribly endearing. Although I'm not tiny, I am fairly slim so look out for me dressed in way too big everything trying to emulate the look of this blonde parisienne goddess.

This is a perfect outfit. She looks like an illustration (in fact I drew her when I found this picture) The colours are stunning in their simplicity. The hat is divine. Her lips are to die for, the colour of those stockings makes me want gingerbread cookies and I can't decide if I want to be this woman or marry her.

love, um me?

2007-10-08T21:28:00.000+10:00

Ha ha, ignore the title to this post, but I thought it was about time I actually posted some recent pics of me rather than just saying I am going to like I always do, so this post is dedicated to um... well me.

Okay, so this first shot is one my mate eli took of me in the photo studio at uni. We were doing an assignment on the current trends in spectacles and I was there to illustrate "80's geek-chic" in my brand new canary yellow high-waisted skirt. The height of sophistication I must say.

Okay the next lot of shots are from my mate george's house warming, the theme was moustaches, fairies and frenchies. I just used it as an excuse to wear the craziest shit in my closet donning my silver lurex jersey dress, gold lame leggings and raw-denim stacked heel brogues. Clearly I am insane. But better than that is erika's dress which is actually lots of little love hearts so a round of applause for that!

Here is james and I having a finger moustache war, mine may be tiny but it has well groomed flicks at the end, and his just look like hitler, so i'm claiming victory on this one

Here is george and I comparing levels of gold. She clearly wins seeing as they're made out of sequins, AND she made them herself.

Did I mention I drank a whole bottle of tanqueray gin that night? Hmmm, fun for all!

2007-10-06T10:55:00.000+10:00

I don't care what they say about you Mr. Brody (insert witty quip about lounge singers here) I still love you!

& I can't wait for the Darjeeling to come out as it combines many of my favourite things, for example, Mr Brody (perve fest) Natalie Portman (perve fest again) and the stylings of wes anderson. Plus the soundtrack is mainly french... it's like they were INSIDE MY MIND!!!

love procrastination

2007-08-22T21:44:00.000+10:00

Well hello there again, I am back after a long hiatus. Uni is and has been insane so my posts will be few and far between until the workload eases off.

For those who were wondering the australian american apparel web site is now fully operational and I finally got my gold lame leggings! I'll post pictures as soon as I have time to. All my mates love them, but I got some very negative reactions from the mall rats in the plaza where I work, who happened to all be in supre' trackies so what the hell do they know anyway? Lame love!!! Can't wait to show you all photos.

I am in love with high-waisted jeans, but being particularly pear-shaped I am nervous to test them, i think I have come to the conclusion that I will just admire them on model-esque types like the lovely lady below

The imminent arrival of summer has me incredibly excited about wearing beautiful flowing dressing and having everyone envious of me not having to wear a bra but still pulling it off like the lady below, hooray for a-cups and summer!

I am eager to try out the look of the black skivvy tucked into black trousers, it's incredibly classy and edgy, although I'm going to try it with skinny leg trousers rather than man-style.

I love this gothic vintage beauty, I love the idea of balancing beauty and a bit of an edge, whether that be indie, alternative or whatever, beauty comes in many forms

love scarves

2007-07-28T21:04:00.000+10:00

I am lusting after a particular kind of scarf at the moment, and sportsgirl have some beautiful ones but I have no money and i'm hoping to god they don't sell out before pay-day. Here are a couple of examples below.

This one is much longer than the kind I like, but I am also drawn to her wonderful genie-style print pants too.

This one is pretty much spot on, and the clothes the girl is wearing could've come straight out of my wardobe, so is probably how i'd wear it.

This image popped up on topshop.com and I want that red blazer sooo much. The tailoring is really unusual and that colour is divine. Can't wait for topshop in australia.

The shirtdress has long been a favourite of mine, and I've had to stop myself from buying them lately as I already have so many. This one is beautiful and looks like it might be vintage from the 70's

I like the sillouette of this outfit and have decided to go in search of a long skirt to create a similar look

love American Apparel

2007-07-25T11:32:00.000+10:00

Amercian Apparel does fantastic basics, and they are due to open their australian online store any day now. There clothes are all ethically made free of sweatshops etc and they are also freaken' cool. I already have my wishlist. I just wish they'd hurry up and open it.

My Wish List

A peach dance style dress $20

Vintage specs in brown $28

gold lame leggings, of course! $30

A black body suit $48.... can't wait to see the looks I get if I decide to wear this one!

Brown body suit, imagine it under skinny jeans with a cream cardi $20

love red-heads

2007-07-18T17:31:00.000+10:00

Well I have a lot to blog about since starting back at uni, but I think I'll get to that in my next post, this one's going to be a bit more frivolous and whatever. I often get asked what my type of guy is, god knows why, probably because I'm perpetually single and people want to set me up with their mates, or maybe because the guys most girls fawn over I find terribly unattractive. To be honest I am easily fooled. If a guy dresses well I'm usually smitten, and it takes me seeing them in trackies to realise that I never actually found them attractive in the first place and it was actually their waistcoat and brogues I was lusting after, not them. I watched 'The Wind that Shakes the Barley" the other day, about the Irish revolution (terrible moving, i ended up in tears) and found that cillian murphy (below) is pretty much my ideal guy as far as appearance is concerned. I like em skinny, pale, dark hair, rosy cheeks, glasses give bonus points.

Sufjan Stevens (indie musician extraordinaire) is another favourite of mine, and there is a waiter at my favourite cafe' that looks exactly like him. I feel sorry for whatever friend I'm with if he's working because I tend to stuff my face full of carrot cake, stare and him wistfully and say "mm hmmm' every few moments to assure my friend that I am indeed still listening.

I am also in love with the current doctor who, david tennant. People cannot understand this one, and look at me strangely when I tell them i'm in lust with him. I think he is the cat's meow, the clothes probably add to this.

I have recently discovered the musical stylings of fink, (and the fabulous album cover) and think that everyone should head immedieately to itunes and listen to his guitar stylings.

I think this dress is the perfect hot summer evening dress. I love the grecian look, and the gold and white work well with this lady's blonde locks. The panelling is particularly nice, and very flattering on a petite figure I think. oh and by the way, check out her shoes!!! How is she standing so comfortably?

This young lass has a very pear shaped figure and this dress works perfectly for her. My figure is quite pear-shaped too, and I usually look at my thighs and sigh in despair, but this dress makes me want to go and stuff my self full of carbs and rock out the bottocelli-woman with folds and folds of fabric. A good example of how to look amazing without being a stick, despite what the media tells us it is possible my friends!

In other news I have recently been considering becoming a red head for the summer, possibly dying my locks in september? I am curious to get people's opinions, imagine me with hair a little browner (not much tho!) than the shots below. I want to do something outrageous and I think I would be a good red-head. In fact I have often found myself jealously admired red-headed sirens, there is something very sexy about the idea. Just to give you an idea I have very pale, yellow toned skin, green/grey (more pale grey) eyes, dark brows. Can I make this work???

love russh magazine

2007-07-14T19:09:00.000+10:00

Russh Magazine is a fantastic Australian fashion mag showcasing a wide variety of Australian designers, trends etc. It's bi-monthly and has fantastic fashion shoots and a real scrap-bookish feel to it. It is one of my favourite magazines. And imagine my joy when the latest issue is released and I see this as the cover:

Brilliant! If I had the mooloah I'd be rushing out for a pair of frames like this tomorrow. I think I will have to scour the op-shops to see if I can find a pair of goofy 70's dad glasses. It's really kooky and on the right person looks fantastic. I love this as a cover and I think the model has a really interesting beauty with buck teeth and a thick fringe.

And judging by this spread the geek-glasses are the latest must have in underground aussie fashion. Not that i'll be throwing away my fabulous red moschino specks, with love-hearts on the side.

At the moment it is still too cold in canberra to get away with this look, with bitter morning frosts and sunshine that can turn to rain within minutes. However I'm excited about spring, and continuing with the goofy/cool theme by wearing socks with heels/'sandals' Socks are fabulous, especially the knitted, textural ones.

I love how effortlessly this girl makes a 70's jumpsuit work with minimal make-up and accessories, just letting the fabulousless of the garmet shine through. Simplicity is more often than not the key!

love free champagne

2007-07-13T15:34:00.000+10:00

okay, so on wednesday night I had the pleasure of going to my staff incentive night, with a bar tab, meaning free grog, meaning I got excited and drank WAAAAYYYYY too much and ended up spewing on my glorious new shoes, waking up with no money, no phone (it was left in the cab, i think it is lost to the world) and an empty stomach despite having eaten KFC chips, potato wedges, spring rolls, pizza etc, but I think the bottle and a half of chanpagne took care of that. But this isn't a blog about drunken debauchery so lets ignore that and concentrate on the positives, namely how good we all looked, as demostrated photographically below.

So here are my fabulous raw-denim shoes from mollini (pre-soiling), and Kish's fabulous shoes, Kish who ALWAYS has the most fabulous shoes.

Here's Mel rocking her new blonde locks, and her fabulous kylie-esque hoodie dress with gold zipper, what a stunner! And I think a new contender for greastest hoodie ever, watch out facehunter!

Josh is rocking out the horizontal stripes, and dave is bringing back the melbourne 'scarf-rock' look, or perhaps just introducting canberra to the concept, and Jax, who has the most fabulous hair whether she curls it or straightens it and is also the most photogenic person I have ever met.

Trying to look sexy after a bottle of champers just isn't working for me, However Kish in a fabulous canary yellow shirt dress, and caitlin in her wonderful black and white ensemble are doing a much better job

Pippy looked stunning in a fabulous black silk shift dress and obviously I am deeply upset upon learning that instead of going home with her she had to hold my hair back while I spewed. What a darling!

Obviously I will never drink again etc etc....

love birds

2007-07-10T21:12:00.000+10:00

I'm not a huge pet fan in general. I pretty much hate cats and think they are the scum of the earth, i'm allergic to hamsters and gerbils etc, I find dogs quite appealing, but not those annoying shitzus and miniature poodles which are just glorified cats as far as I'm concerned, but I love birds. I used to have pet chickens, they were beautiful, and I have a feeling that if I end up some old spinster I won't be a crazy cat lady, but rather a crazy bird lady with some insane avery filled with exotic birds. I'm finding flamingos and peacocks particularly inspiring at the moment and I'm sure they will heavily influence my design work and fashion choices in the months to come, so I thought I'd share my favourite images with you (thank you google images!)

PEACOCKS

FLAMINGOS

AND... what's inspiring me this week in fashion? I just got a new moleskin which means i've been sketching like mad and have already almost filled it with fashion clippings, but as always, some of the best finds are online on street style blogs.

First up we hit the shores of Britain which are just begining to recieve autumn stock heralding the end of their summer. The sillhouette is very unusual, quite prim with an emphasis on high waisted skirts and pants with a tulip shaped hip/but area, (quite flattering for pear-shaped lass') very streamlined and long and willowy. This picture below taken from the most recent british vogue illustrates the concept beautifully.

Prada had their showing of their summer range recently and the satorialist was there to snap the whole shebang. I was very impressed with the following image, bringing florals back for men, although the model is quite androgyness I think this look would work well on any slim figured young gent and If I were a lad i'd certainly be trying to find something similar. I think the fabrics and the colouration are particularly beautiful.

And what would a raiment post be without a facehunter reference? I think that the hoodie this lady is wearing is the most perfect hoodie I have ever seen and teaming it with the sparkly jacket and high-waisted jeans is brilliant. I love looking classy but unusual and I think this lady has a definite knack for that.

love john currin

2007-07-05T20:26:00.001+10:00

I stumbled across this picture

in the latest issue of British Vogue and was reminded of my love of modern painter John Currin. Controversial, and often accused of being sexist, I can't help but be inspired by and drawn in by his exaggerated features and figures.

Currin wants viewers to feel uncomfortable and enjoy it.

He fuses this very modern approach to his subjects with a kind of classical style which combines the strange, jagged poses and extended bellies of the 16th-century German painter Lucas Cranach, or the hand gestures of Da Vinci, with WASP-ish empty faces. You hate the people he depicts, but you just can't help but love the way they’re depicted.

I think his illustrative paintings very much reflect the figures and expressions in vogue on the catwalks and glossy high-fashion magazines which make them all the more relevent.

Love him or hate him he certainly generates disscussion in the art world and isn't that what art should really be about?

And now what's inspiring me photographically, Mainly from facehunter

Harry Potter is due for release shorty (both the film and the seventh book) I'm not a huge fan of the films but as a huge fan of the books I always go and see the films. I know people are going to think i'm crazy but i'm actually a huge fan of the outfit of the blonde disheveled girl to the left, yes she looks a little homeless but hey, she also looks a hell of a lot more interesting than any of the other actors, (except maybe rupert red head grint), although I do admit I love the purple stockings on the scottish girl, but then again that's probably just because I have a hoisery fetish. ha ha!

This is what I would ideally love to look like, she is stunning.

Check out the legs, not sure if it's genes or she just doesn't eat, but hell, if i had legs like that i'd get them out too.

I want an old skool bicycle so badly, i'm sure its just a fad and in a months time this will be forgotten, but look at this! I'm drooling on the key-pad

vanilla love

2007-06-24T15:18:00.000+10:00

I have drunk so much vanilla tea I swear it is coming out of my pores. I was walking around work today and all I could smell was vanilla bean tea, i asked all my workmates, "Who's drinking vanilla tea?! Where is that smell coming from??" Then I realised it was probably coming from my pores seeing as the only thing people were drinking/eating at work was strong coffee and cheese sandwiches. So of course as soon as I got home, (now) I put on a pot of vanilla bean tea and all is right with the world again.

I've been trying to read The True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey and although it's superbly written and terribly interesting I just cant get motivated and instead have been watching british comedies ad-nauseum. I watched big train, ricky gervaise, the mighty boosh and green wing, i feel so unintelligent!

Curtesy of facehunter who i recently discovered is very cute and very french with large green glasses and pasty skin with rosy cheeks *sigh* I love trendy nerds, comes this lovely young lady, having just purchased a white shirt and wanting very much to rock out my $200 skinny trousers i've only worn once, I'm excited about trying something similar to this, but can this look be worn in canberra in the middle of the day? If I were in sydney maybe, who's up for cocktails and skinny trousers next week?

I am in love with this woman, anyone who rocks the 80's glam revival look this hard deserves an award.

I recently bought this one-teaspoon jumpsuit and even though it is ridiculously short I feel amazing in it, I think I will live in this in the summer, but for the meantime I've been wearing it out at night with leggings underneath, i also love that oneteaspoon is one of the few brands that I'm a size 6 in. Thanks for the confidence booster one-teaspoon, oh and no signs of their new sunglasses range in canberra yet, but i'll keep you posted.

And finally an image I wanted to share with you of my favourite model, Mancurian Agness Deynes. I have a bit of a lady crush on her and I love how different she looks compared to the bug-eyed alien face models that seem to plaster vogue and other fashion bibles.

Next week I'll have photos of another hair-show I'm doing. I get a free cut and colour for my trouble, yay!

gym love

2007-06-11T18:34:00.000+10:00

Hey everyone!

Well I went to the gym today for the first time in four months, and damn I am out of shape, but it felt so good when I was done & I bet I sleep well tonight, lets hope I can keep going regularly and not let my lazyness get the better of me.

This lady from facehunter has some styles, I love the oversized jersey cardigan and her shoes perfectly match the colour of her dress that's poking out the bottom, this kind of subtle matching is much prefferable to wearing block colours or coordinating every little thing.

Cutest thing ever. The colour of her pea-coat is divine!

One of my favourite Australian brands oneteaspoon has just released a fantastic and daring range of sunnies inspired by the 70's and 80's, they retail at $89.95. As someone who never wears sunnies and owns one pair I got for $7, i'm wondering if a pair of these would be a pointless folley and if the reason I want them so badly is only because of the brand association. Check out the range at their website there are some fantastic colours and the stripey pastel ones are my favourites.

love holidays!

2007-06-04T20:44:00.001+10:00

Hey all!
I'm officially on six weeks of holidays, so expect lots more posts because of my sheer boredom. I was looking at my stats the other day and it seems that quite a few people actually read this blog, not that you'd know from the comment section as it seems to just be witty bon-mot and clever repartee between me and my face-book chum clancy but hey, at least i know i'm not just posting for myself and there are a few interested peeps out there. Below are a few of the inter-web images that have been inspiring me of late that I didn't have time to post about in my crazy time of uni-dom, I hope you get as much out of them as I do. Now I think lots of cheap wine, cheap dancing and cheap tricks are on order for the next six weeks! I celebrated today by lay-bying a $300 dress that i'll post a photo of when it is fully purchased and buying a cheapo $30 knit from felt. The credit debt has already begun and its only day one, bring on my tax return so I can pay the bugger off!!

topshop love

2007-05-24T17:06:00.000+10:00

my topshop wishlist, if you're rich and have a spare 500 pounds you were otherwise going to throwaway just let me know so i can spend it on the above instead. My god I wish we had a topshop here.

lame' love

2007-05-22T21:29:00.000+10:00

I want these so much it hurts.... would you disown me if i ran around in an oversized white shirt, gold lame' leggings, white converse sneakers and ziggy stardust-esque make-up? of course no, you would only love me more. Now lets make the dream come true... where can I buy a pair of these in australia?

euro-love

2007-05-15T20:45:00.000+10:00

Ahh eurovision, If I wasn't so bogged down with endless assignments, (or should I say endless procrastination) I would throw a massive party so that everyone could gawk at the delicious theatrical, colorful, cross-dressing antics happening via sbs. Why, this year alone, the semi-finals featured sword-wielding backup dancers, male nudity, a rock opera called "Vampires are Alive," and a man who started chucking his own underpants around the stage. And while many of us simply call that "Tuesday," there are still loads of people for whom this is a glorious, intriguing novelty, myself included.

Moral Dilemma

2007-05-07T19:10:00.000+10:00

Hmm, here's a tricky one. I'm a vegetarian, my main reason is because I believe that if I can live happily and heathily without eating meat, why should I contribute to its consumption and the needless death of animals, cruel farming practices and the destruction of land that could be used for crop growth. I still eat fish (i know.. i know) because if I didn't i'd probably keel over and die, or i'd been some insane victoria beckham kind of skinny. I don't buy leather products, shoes included. I have however accepted gifts made from various animals skins and leathers, the most recent of which is a beautiful red queen coin purse made from eel skin, which is stunning and I am aware that it is worth about $120, and the lining is croc skin.

Should I feel comfortable accepting these gifts? My stance is a little more relaxed than most hardened vegetarian/vegan types, but I still feel pangs of guilt whenever I look at it. Just posting to create some kind of discussion, interested to know other people's opinions on the matter.

leggings

2007-05-06T16:53:00.000+10:00

I know there has been much debate as to whether or not leggings are a good thing. The gofug yourself girls certainly enjoy a good legging bashing. I was all for them until I started seeing girls around canberra wearing them just as pants... but themselves... like they were naked.. with shiny nylon skin... and it disturbed me. I asked a few male friends and they certainly seem to enjoy the phenonmenon, for obvious reasons. This was my opinion... until I found some magnificent Bauhaus Clothing leggings in Parliament (the canberra equiv. of general pants). What sets these apart from the rest is that they are full length (going from the belly-button all the way down to the ankles), oversized (allowing for scrunching and a prada sock-esque result), and they have buttons on the ankles, (like your grandpa's pj's) they are in short the most amazing leggings I have ever found. So I put a few looks together that involve, SHOCK HORROR! leggings as pants. I tried the blue & pink volcom hoodie version at work with devestating results. All I could see was my ass, I felt naked and I ended up buying an oversized cardigan half-way through my shift and changing into that in order to cover my heiny... If I weren't so modest I'm sure I would have keept it going as it was actually quite flattering and my lovely 2IC mel constantly reassured me that I could pull it off. The stripey ones however I love and I plan on wearing this outfit the next time I go out on the town. I think it simultaneously looks funky, has my signature "grandma" feel to it, exudes sexiness and classyness. Yay for finding a prefect outfit, however the only drawback is that the horizontal lines seem to draw attention to my nether-regions saying, "see this curve of the lines here? guess what's under there! hello ladies!" maybe i'll just pull the turtle-neck down further. ;)

This shirt was a $10 purchase from Felt and has a wonderful 80's feel to it, and an elasticated bottom with a large v-neck so you can wear it off the sholder

This top is a metallic 3/4 sleeve one I bought from portmans when I was in yr 7 with babysitting money. I can't believe it still fits i was an australian size 2 then!

This is the volcom hoodie combo i wore to work. This would have to be my fave winter jumper, with polar fleece lining, its the warmest comfy-est thing ever.

rocking out the sexy grandpa (long-johns) look with a string of pearls for elegance.

a close up of the buttons and my classy new wedges

2007-05-02T21:11:00.000+10:00

Well I tried out that look from my previous post

And I was actually really happy with my own interpretation of it (and I got many compliments, three from complete strangers!) so i think i'll be rocking this one out more often.

stay tuned this weekend for my take on australian fashion week and this month in magazines!

aarhhh!!!

2007-05-01T21:05:00.000+10:00

AUSTRALIAN FASHION WEEK!!! WOOOO!!!!

so much to tell!!!

2007-05-01T19:12:00.000+10:00

Hey there ladies and gents!
Well this week has been choccas. I've been busy doing illustrations for my children's book, getting my hair done and walking down carpeted catwalks, working, drinking too much chai and subsequently having caffine induced heart attacks and being incredibly inspired by the myriad of stylish peeps I'm surrounded by.

So to get the ball rolling here's a piccy I nicked from facehunter a favourite style blog of mine. I'm loving how this look seems like it would be very easy to put together but still looks cool, I'll give it a whirl in the next week and get back to you. (loving the pose too)

And the next few images are outfits/pieces from my favourite online store ozdesigner.com that I am currently lusting after but obviously cannot afford. Below I'm not so much loving the skirt (Ginger & Smart fortune skirt) but the outfit concept. I'm going to try to find a similar skirt, maybe in a more flattering colour (i'm not really a pink person).

I was actually going to buy this little number by Hussy (preppy knit) but they had sold out of my size. It just looks incredibly comfortable and that colour is uh-may-zing! Maybe i'll have to lurk around ebay waiting for a second hand one.

I love Karen Walker. I was lucky enough to recieve a beautiful Karen Walker garnet cocktail ring for my 21st from my parentals which I always feel a million bucks wearing. All her collections make me want to max out my credit card or move to new zealand and beg her to take me on as some kind of intern, even if it means making tea and coffee for her staff. Below is her Dust Coat Dress and it is one of the most perfect peices of clothing I have ever seen. When I have money this will be mine!

In exciting news I did a hair show for my lovely hairdresser Marina of Form and the talented lady won! It was inspired by Marie Antionette and she put hours of work in to it, I just hope I didn't cock-up the catwalk too much for her. She also did two more cuts and colours on some very funky peeps with great styles, I just wish I had my camera with me on the floor so I could have taken more piccies, never mind, next time! So yeah, big congrats to the team at Form in kingston! Woo!

So happy this morning when I managed to squeeze back into my favourite pair of white skinny jeans! I've been trying to shift my x-mas love handles for months, looks like the work has finally paid off. And in true raiment style I celebrated with bags of chips and chocolate! Wonder if they'll still fit tomorrow? ;)

In further fashion news the Kate-Moss for Topshop line was released in the UK on the first. I headed straight to the website to nab myself a waistcoat and a vintage inspired floral dress and shock horror they had all sold out already!!! Here's hoping they open the fabulous chain on our shores soon!

Right now

2007-04-26T19:21:00.000+10:00

I just bought the latest LP from UK boys Field Music and it is spectacular, even better than their last two albums, (if that's even possible!) I'm thinking it would be crazy if these guys don't make it big in australia any day now, hopefully a bit more airplay from the j's and they'll be the next big thing.

I've also been introduced to a swedish songstress who goes by the name of Frida Hyvonen and her new album "Until Death Comes". Some more feminine piano styles in what sounds like a cross between cat power and emilanna torrini.

So i've been feeling very twiggy lately (wish I had the figure to match!) and i've been dressing very british mod, (must be the influence of the mod wolves from the mighty boosh which I just aquired on dvd, uh-may-zing!)

So I wore the above outfit to uni today and mate said to me, "Aww how cute! You look like a space cadet!" Not quite the look I was going for, but hey, you win some you lose some! I think it's the off white scrunch boots that gave it the whole moon-landing effect.

I've also been obsessing about chai tea lately and the T2 chai is the best I've tasted yet (with byron chai coming a close second) I've been through enough for 20 people in the space of four days, I wish they sold it in "I'm a greedy tea guzzler" size so I don't have to buy it so often! I think a trip to melbourne in my next holidays is in order so I can go to T2 (instead of David Jones) and stock up on jumbo packs. Who's with me tea lovers?!

Well tomorrow I'm getting my hair done as a practice run for a hair show on monday, so I'll be sure to post pictures. Just an up-do, nothing drastic, although I am terrified of tripping down the catwalk and making a fool of myself. Plenty of calming chai before that adventure methinks.

smitten

2007-04-23T22:21:00.000+10:00

just a quick plug for an amazingly talented young lady i went to school with, who is now a fabulous artiste' extraordinaire! Click on the title to view her website.

I went to highschool with this young lass and we shared a few art classes together. I remember our teacher at the time seemed to have it in for poor steph, what sweet justice her sucess is now! I can just imagine Mrs. X asking Steph what she's up to now and Steph saying, "Well I'm designing my own tee-shirt line, I've done some work for one-teaspoon, I'm doing live art around the world at various functions and conferences and i'm pretty much amazing, but that's it really. Are you still teaching?" Ha! I love it.

my own piccies - finally! (although poor quality)

2007-04-20T21:31:00.000+10:00

finally a post with my own images, albiet not the best ones but we struggle through! Below you can see me channelling twiggy in the latest edition to my wardobe my british pea-coat and some fabulous red hoisery. Also featured is my magical friend george in her fancy tights and figure flattering grey number. Hooray!

The pea-coat was a little number we just got into the jet. I'm loving the idea of being a bit daring (for canberra anyway) and wearing it as a dress, (as long as I don't bend over too much! Hello ladies!) It was a toss up between buying that and a houndstooth swing coat, which no doubt will end up in my wardobe by the end of next week.

During last high summer I purchased a pair of army-style cargo short shorts done by insight (when I was 7 kilos lighter too, no way i'm wearing short shorts again any time soon) and insight have jsut sent us an amazing oversized jacket in the same style as the shorts. So look forward to many coat-inspired posts this winter folks 'cause i'm buying them faster than they can send us them!

inspiring outfits

2007-04-19T17:53:00.000+10:00

here's a bunch of photos of outfits that are inspiring me at the moment. I found my camera again the other day so stay tuned for some photos of my own styles!

I want blue boots so bad it hurts, I think a trip to FSW is in order, fingers crossed they still have the $30 ones there.

If only I had legs like these, and check out the bow-tie, this girl manages to be classy and funky all at once. Standing ovation for you love!

As soon as I loose a few more of those christmas kilos i'd love to squeeze into a pair of highwaisted jeans. The unfortunate thing is that they are incredibly unflattering on anyone above a size 8

We have these fantastic twiggy inspired short-sleeved coats in at Jetty Surf and I'm inspired by this woman to buy a grey one and rock it out as a dress! (Maybe with some red stockings underneath?)

Why can't I find new-rave leggings in canberra?! I've wanted some for six months now, so much fun. Where are you leggings?!! The only reason I want them because I think somehow they also excuse acting like a complete trashbag. I want to party with these ladies tonight!

I'll see you all soon with some photos of my own styles!

imagined nostalgia

2007-04-06T21:49:00.001+10:00

How mad is this? I love it.

Sydney Love

2007-04-04T21:49:00.000+10:00

I had to work today and decided to wear some old summer stock but jazz it up for the winter. I found this image from the Autumn Karen Walker parade and used it as inspiration. I swapped it around and wore a black 3/4 sleeve skivvy, black leggings and flats and wore my fluro pink insight51 dress over the top, I was looking very new-wave with a parisienne twist.

Well I just got back from a weekend of design love at sydney's semi-permanent. Fashion galore! Most unexpectedly as well. It would seem that graphic designers are a very trendy and good looking bunch. I spent most of the time getting to the auditorium early so that I could watch everyone as they spilled in in dribs and drabs, it was like a mini fashion parade! I love sydney style, there are no rules, its anything goes, no one obeys trends but everyone looks so trendy. When I have more time i'll upload photos.
I spent a lot of money that weekend, next post i'll show you my many purchases, including a watch, two pairs of jeans and couple of cardi's and a couple of belts, yes I am now ridiculously poor! More to come next post

Ben Sherman Love

2007-03-15T19:42:00.000+11:00

I've been desperate to rock out this fantastic Ben Sherman pin-stripe shirt I bought at the summer sales but I haven't had a decent opportunity. I can't wear it to work because we don't stock Ben Sherman and I can't wear everyday because it's way to dressy for canberra and I can't wear it out because it's too subtle.
Then I saw this

What a perfect way to wear a dressy shirt casually! I'm thinking i'll team it with my golf punk spray on skinny jeans. Yay!

In other news I'm so excited about my little adventure to sydney with my design ladies, I've already started writing a wishlist for when I go to general pants, and I'm also planning a big spree at the glebe markets on sunday.

I'm trying to start compiling street style images from canberra for a magazine i'm working on, but I can't find ANY inspirational and unusual outfits. What is wrong with canberra? Where are all the stylish people hiding? Here's hoping I come across some soon.

Irene