what indie nights?

Neon pops.

2011-11-27T18:13:00.001+08:00

I've seen this satchel twice now out and about in the city, both times worn with a simple white dress. The effect is mesmerising and I'm completely hooked.

Turquoise Shoes

2011-10-26T16:02:00.000+08:00

Topshop silk shirt and sunglasses, Monki shorts, Wittner 'Sax' sandals, The Vamoose necklace.

The shoes at Wittner lately are killing it, aren't they? I'm forming designs on several pairs in that delightfully gorgeous and yet possibly wildly impractical turquoise that they've just got in - more imaginary outfits at my Polyvore, or Tumblr for that matter.

Serious lack of inspiration lately. End of semester assignments, exams, study and so on. Summer is not making as much of an appearance as it was implying earlier in the month, either. All in all, in case you hadn't heard, I'm not a fan of spring.

Penguin Costume.

2011-10-18T16:36:00.001+08:00

Dress Handmade
Shoes New Look
Lipstick Revlon 'Orange Flip'

I made this dress earlier this year to wear throughout the colder months (it's made out of thick jersey material, like a jumper, and looking at these pictures I've noticed the collar is wildly unsymmetrical), and only just a couple of weeks ago did I realise its colours perfectly reflect approximately half of our bookshelves' occupants: the ubiquitous classic Penguins. So In honour of my shabby sewing skills and our book addiction, I thought I'd do a compare-and-contrast look at just some of the little guys who live on our shelves.

Full disclosure: both Toby and I work in a secondhand bookshop, which is not conducive to keeping our flat uncluttered or book-minimal (although why you would want that situation is beyond me). In fact we only own one bookshelf, which might be enough for some people, but I would estimate we have at least twice as many books in piles all over the place (kitchen table, bedroom floor, under the bed, still in boxes from when we moved in June) as we do on that one bookshelf, and the addiction shows no signs of slowing. One day we will be able to build our own house out of books.

There are worse problems to have.

Fairy floss.

2011-10-12T10:46:00.001+08:00

Lately I have been pondering the months to come, summer and heat and the outdoor cinema, and the colour palette that has consistently come to mind for me is 'fairy floss'.
Insert the term you would usually use here, 'candy floss', 'cotton candy', 'spun sugar'.

The way it gets packed into buckets or bags, lines of pink and blue and yellow, all as light as air and almost iridescent.

There's a certain kind of colour that taps into the fairy floss aesthetic - it's almost pastel, but it doesn't have to be, and it's not only blue, pink and yellow. It has to have an otherworldly-quality, a sheen or a joyful lightness that sets it apart and emanates giggly joyousness and a deep breath of fresh air. The feeling you get when you see cherry blossoms outlined against a heartbreakingly pale-bright blue sky is what you're going for.

You should be able to inhale it the way you can inhale fairy floss, almost without knowing it's there but with a quick burst of sweetness that lingers on your tongue.

Here are some images that have a fairy floss aesthetic to me - I'd love to hear about any others you might find!

Various items from Dotti, Forever New, Minkpink and Monki. More on my polyvore.

Images: 1, 2/3, 4/5/6, 7,8/9, 10.

Sussan 'Miami' Collection 2011

2011-10-09T14:11:00.000+08:00

I hesitate as I write, loyal readers, because Sussan is not known for its fashion-forwardness. And yet, as I have written many times before, if blogging has taught me one thing, that thing has been not to judge, or to be ready to eat your words in due time.

And so I would like to present a few selections from the Sussan Miami Collection. Sussan has only ever been known to me as a 'mumsy' shop, so imagine my surprise when I walked past its Fremantle branch's windows one rainy spring morning not so long ago, only to be faced with BRILLIANT oranges and a thoroughly pared-down, simple summer lady look, promoted through its 'Miami Style' collection. I nearly fell off my clogs, let me tell you, and I've been struggling with conflicting feelings ever since.

'But self!' I said to myself, 'Sussan is a middle-aged lady shop! White pants and pyjamas dominate its windows! You can't really like things they sell, can you?'

'I don't know, other-self,' I replied. 'I just don't know anymore. Up is down, black is white, birds swim and fish fly and dogs are taking humans for walks. And I like Sussan's clothes.'

This may be a little melodramatic, but essentially that is what I've been suffering for the last few weeks. I've decided to face my demons and plunge in. My philosophy has always been not to care what others think, and to take inspiration from wherever it comes, so that's just what I'll do!

The clothes are nothing mindblowing, to be sure, but the colour combinations and the overall effortlessness of the looks catch my fancy. Orange breton! Tie-dye! Patterned shorts! Wide-legged navy trousers!
I'll admit I'm not a fan of the accessories or the model's giant grin or the general mumsy-ness of the lookbook, but I can see past it, can't you?
Please say yes, or I might start to fear for my sanity...

Breathe easier.

2011-10-07T14:04:00.001+08:00

Fresh garden herbs to make a weekly vegetable stock with.

Organic kale from the markets.

My utterly gorgeous new Goa Necklace from Dores.

...

It's been a heck of a couple of weeks, folks...

Tokyo Drifter

2011-09-25T22:10:00.000+08:00

I should stop writing posts last thing on a Sunday night. I'm not very eloquent at the moment. But I have got some beautiful screenshots to show!
Toby bought this movie, Tokyo Drifter, a while ago, and we got round to watching it the other night. I knew nothing about it, and I was massively impressed with its aesthetics and the impact it's clearly had on popular culture. Filmed in Japan in 1966, it's so understatedly 60s that it hurts sometimes - the houndstooth prints! the dancing teenagers! the powder blue suit! - in the best possible way. That is, in the pastel-bright, beautifully-framed, pseudo-comic gang-wars way. Obviously.

I don't think it would be unfair to say that without this movie Quentin Tarantino would never have made Kill Bill. He may not even exist as we know him. Its influence on him is blatantly obvious, almost painfully so, right down to the hopelessly-outnumbered comical Japanese gang fight (guns, not swords) in a big rectangular wooden building while it snows delicately outside. In Tokyo Drifter, however, these elements of the ridiculous serve only to keep the film grounded, make for some surprising laughs, and remind us not to take it all too seriously.

The design and stylistic elements were utterly superb - a large number of scenes take place in a nightclub whose walls and decor (all the furniture, including the piano and the bar) are pure white, and are lit with whatever colour suits the mood of the scene. A woman is accidentally shot, and the backlit walls behind her turn from red to white in a blink. The whole colour palette is a sort of comfortable, pastel neon, improbably bright colours on faded film with blank backgrounds. Chiharu's makeup glistens softly in a dewy, glowing manner. All of these things combined made it a truly gorgeous film to watch.
And of course, like all true gangster films, it's really a kind of noir, and a tragedy.

Silk, Leather, Navy, Boater.

2011-09-24T09:00:00.000+08:00

Silk trousers Tba, via asos
Breton-striped top Marcs
Cardigan, loafers Op shops
Boater hat Dotti

Spring is well and truly here, folks. It's been raining for days on end, although as I write it's beautifully sunny, skies as blue as you like, warm like the inside of a freshly-baked cookie. I can't keep up!

I bought these gorgeously luxurious silk trousers on sale from Asos recently, and I've been waiting for a chance to wear them outside - they're so delicate! And not to mention a little, ahem, see-through? Modesty dictates a longer-line top, although I'm thinking that when summer truly hits, a bright coral crop-top, some Swedish Hasbeens and a picnic on a nice sturdy blanket - modesty be damned!

I've also had a haircut - as usual my feral locks were wildly out of control. I go to Head Studio in King Street for my style (Matt did it this time round, and I'm really happy - I don't think a man has ever cut my hair!) and then I just rag curl the heck out of it every time it's wet. So there's lots of body, and it always sits nicely. I'm still finessing the art of ragging short hair, however, so it's looking a little uncertain at the moment. We'll get there!

The Appeal.

2011-09-22T11:37:00.002+08:00

Some things that have caught my eye across the internet this week.

Drop waists and a peachy colour palette in the Orla Kiely SS/12 collection, seen via Blooming Leopold (who's AW collection was, my goodness, to die for!)

Blackboard paint on bedroom walls! Perfect for people with kids, and who need darkness in a bedroom to sleep properly. Filed under 'future home ideas...'
Found via because i'm addicted.

Dorothy Perkins peacock midi pleated dress.

Hila's ballet film style post. How cool is it that she writes for the Australian Ballet blog?

Vanilla and Lace dresses. All her dresses and blouses are simple, dreamy and too, too cute. And they almost all have enviable collars...

The velvet bird's dangerously delicious-sounding cold-brewed coffee recipe - something I'm definitely going to try out for summer!

Pigeonhole's festival season post. I'm not at all interested in festivals, really (sunburn! fashion envy! boring bands!) although we are going to the Soundwave Counter Revolution which is, believe it or not, indoors, but I love these colours!

Tuesday Noir Nights: This Gun For Hire

2011-09-20T18:20:00.000+08:00

Tuesday Noir Nights had an unscheduled break last week due to Toby's hitting the wall, inspiration-wise, which happened to co-incide with a terrible noir example - The Glass Key, starring Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd, was a total washout and got unceremoniously scrapped from the list.
This week we're back with a vengeance reviewing the same actors in an infinitely better noir, This Gun For Hire, based on a Graham Greene novel. Click on over for the full review and more pictures.

It was an excellent film, extremely enjoyable, classic Graham Greene despite the fact that its setting and characters were changed drastically from the original material. From watching The Glass Key I would have told you that I didn't like Veronica Lake at all, but it turns out that was just how bad that film was: she's great in this one, funny, droll, right on target for the type of character she should be, although I imagine Greene's version of her was a lot less... spunky?
The shots on the bridge at the end were absolutely breathtaking, and really made the film memorable.

The only thing I still reserve the right to say about Veronica Lake is that the woman wore some damned silly hats...

Braids, Flowers.

2011-09-16T13:47:00.000+08:00

Work hair, for when it's too long and messy to leave out, and for when you have black ribbons that may or may not have previously been the handles on bags from Pigeonhole just hanging around on your mirror, waiting for a purpose. I'd like to tell you that this was inspired by the Addam's Family-slightly-spooky vibe that was going on at the Rachel Antonoff show, but that would be a lie.
Also, some fake flowers and cheap velvet ribbon from Spotlight that make my vanity mirror a little prettier. Or vainer?

Peach and Linen

2011-09-13T09:59:00.000+08:00

Crop top Target
Linen skirt Dorothy Perkins
Clogs Swedish Hasbeens
Belt, bracelet Op shops
Necklace Pigeonhole

A casual weekend breakfast, wearing a surprisingly pretty find from Target - crop tops, like clogs, were a trend I scorned when I first noticed them, only to become just another item on the long list of 'things I've had to admit are awesome if done properly' that I keep in my head. Honestly, I've had to make so many of these admissions that I no longer dismiss anything immediately, for fear of having to later eat my words.
So I suppose I can thank fashion blogging for opening my mind and making me step outside my own prejudices, in order to wax lyrical about the merits - or otherwise - of a fairly short t-shirt.
I mean, it's the small things, right?

Slippers

2011-09-11T09:00:00.000+08:00

via

This is nothing new, of course, but I have been entranced with balletic imagery lately. Something about the shapes and colours, left over from childhoods filled with ballet lessons and dreaming of being older and wearing the real clothes, and books kept long after they've been outgrown. And Angelina Ballerina, of course.

I've bought myself a pair of canvas ballet slippers from ebay, a jejeune indulgence I suppose, but then if we can't make ourselves happy with the money we earn, what's the point? In my book, aesthetics are everything, and so what if I can't wear them outdoors? They're a damn sight prettier than ugg boots to wear around the house!

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I had the misfortune of discovering, whilst searching pictures for this post, that there's a roaring trade done in pictures of elderly women wearing these flat ballet slippers, a sort of fetish-thing. Thanks, flickr, that is mentally filed under things I certainly didn't need to know.

Imaginary Monki Outfits

2011-09-10T09:00:00.000+08:00

I'm sure no one needs any more fodder to feed the Monki-fires burning all around the blogs, but nevertheless. When I first saw their website I went into mild paroxysms - the style! the price! - until I realised that it's not an online store, it's just put there to tease us mercilessly with its resemblance to one.

So I am once again resigned to bumming around on my Polyvore and playing around with the imaginary items.
It satisfies the cravings, actually, so that I almost don't mind that I can't own the things I'm playing with.

Rust, Grey and Natural

2011-09-09T12:39:00.000+08:00

Top Cotton On
Skirt, belt Op shops
Bag Elizabeth's Bookshops
Shoes Swedish Hasbeens Braided Sky-High in Natural from Glassboutique sale

I have a secret.
I hate spring!

It makes no sense in Perth, where the winters are so mild that there's nothing to recover from. One of my favourite things about living in England was the real sense of rebirth and freshness and starting anew that came with the melting of snow, the warming up of days, the daffodils bursting forth from hard earth.

Here it just heralds shifty, changeable weather that tricks you into thinking its warm enough to go out in short sleeves, and then surprises you with freezing, blustery winds and sudden rain showers. Give me proper summer any day! I'm tired of wondering whether or not I should take a cardigan, and tired of buying shorts only to have them sit unworn on my shelves, waiting for the sun to come out for good.

This skirt is something I bought a couple of months ago meaning to shorten it, and then of course life got in the way and it has hung uselessly in my wardrobe ever since. So I decided to be a little risqué and knot it up and wear it like this to uni. Sans Hasbeens, of course, since they're brand new (yay!) and I haven't broken them in yet.

And this canvas bag from work is what I actually take my schoolbooks around in, so the shoes are the only lie, really.

Who else harbours a secret ambivalence towards this most revered of seasons?

Tuesday Noir Nights: The Maltese Falcon

2011-09-06T17:40:00.000+08:00

If I'm not careful there won't be any gaps between Tuesday Noir Night posts - I've been so busy that the time to take outfit photos or curate other pictures just gets thrown by the wayside. I know, I know, it's a poor excuse. I managed to find time to review The Maltese Falcon over on Toby's blog, however, so jump on over there to read all about it.

We've reached the Classic Noir period now, so it's getting exciting over there! Well, you know. Blog-exciting.

Make sure you visit my flickr for more pictures from this film, and all the other noirs we review!

Ephemera

2011-09-03T10:40:00.001+08:00

Envelope customised by Toby

A small selection of things that are making me happy right now. Most of these are stuck to the sides of my dressing table mirror, because yes, apparently I am an 80s teenage girl.

The card that came with it, bought from Pigeonhole, made by Melbourne label Able and Game, who have a delightful etsy shop with all their cards.

This pretty postcard I picked up from Luna on SX, the independent cinema in Fremantle, of Mounts Bay in the Swan River here in Perth. Click through for more info.

When idle doodlings turn out kind of pretty. Nail-polished ticket, from my kitchen table.

Last year, Dad surprised Mum with VIP box tickets to the Hopman Cup tennis tournament here in Perth, so Toby and I dressed for the occasion. This photobooth was provided for free as part of the entertainment setup. I think Toby looks much better than me...

The adorable shorts I got from the fabulous Pigeonhole 30% off sale last Saturday.

What's making you happy right now?

Gorman SS/11 Lookbook

2011-09-01T20:58:00.000+08:00

I discovered Gorman not long after I got back from living in England, when Perth was in the throes of a massive overhaul and getting lots of exciting new shops and shopping areas - this sounds a bit shallow, but we were earning money again after being dirt poor and it was exciting to have places to spend it.
It's tucked away down a new mall/arcade on Hay Street in the city, and it has a sort of Scandinavian log-cabin feel to its interior - wood floors, animal skin rugs, driftwood displays, minimal railings. And clogs, lots and lots of clogs.

I tried on my first Swedish Hasbeens there, telling the girl as I did that I just wanted to know my size so I could buy them online. She took this more gracefully than I would have in her position.
I'm so happy they've finally opened an online version of the store here, and have some absolutely gorgeous dresses and tops in stock.
These pictures are from their latest collection. I love the pastel-bright aesthetic, the bold patterns, the skirt lengths, the transference of rust from a winter colour to a warm-months colour. This one is definitely a spring and summer inspiration for me, and I love being able to geniunely love an Australian label!

Tuesday Noir Nights - Shanghai Express

2011-08-30T11:36:00.002+08:00

This Tuesday, Toby and I featured Shanghai Express (1932) over at BlahBlahBlahGay. Click the link for our full reviews and more pictures and features and general fun and excitement.

While the film, as we discuss, is not in fact particularly good film noir, it certainly is a pretty damn fabulous Marlene Dietrich vehicle. Honestly, the woman just exudes glamour, style and class, all whilst managing to look like a nice person, which is probably the hardest part. I am a total Dietrich convert. Toby recently got me this book, about an infamous lesbian in the 20s and 30s who had an affair with Dietrich, quelle risqué!

As always, visit my flickr for more screenshots, and tune back in to Toby's blog later today for another Noir post - double feature Tuseday Noir Night?! Does it get any better?

This one is from my favourite scene in the whole film. Shanghai Lily and Captain Harvey are talking about the past, and she says 'There's only one thing I would change.'
'What's that?'
'I wouldn't have bobbed my hair!' with a jaunty flick at the brim of his army cap on her head. Joyous.

Lately.

2011-08-26T22:24:00.002+08:00

A few sets I've been putting together on Polyvore lately as wind-down from all the awful essay writing that's been going on around here. Some including the new TBA silk trousers and Swedish Hasbeens Braided Sky High that I've recently purchased on super sales. Some also with items that I found on brand-shiny new Australian online stores. It seems like that's all happened at once, doesn't it?
Marcs, Dotti, Cotton On, Forever New, Gorman. Suddenly they've all discovered the internet!

Jersey Dress

2011-08-25T18:57:00.003+08:00

Dress Dotti
Shoes Op shop
Collar Handmade
I suppose I don't post as often as I should here. I tumbl regularly, though, click the link in the sidebar to see a stream of images that catch my fancy on a daily basis.

This lovely dress came from Dotti, and although the zip broke (and I subsequently got a replacement whose zip is also less than perfect) I think it's one of the best dresses I own, for winter anyway. It's bordering on too warm to wear it much longer.

Flowers in a vase.

2011-08-21T12:17:00.002+08:00

I got home yesterday and decided that it was time to put some flowers in a vase and pretty our place up a bit (a very little bit)(and by vase, I really mean a crystal liquor bottle inherited from my Grandma).

Situated in a dark corner of our little flat, I can't get at enough natural light to take real photos of it, but Blackberry photos seem to do it some kind of strange, over-saturated justice.

In a way, this is another kind of bespoke photography, with effects that can't be duplicated by better digital cameras. Almost like another type of film photography.

Lavender and a tiny bit of Geraldton Wax.

Coat Check

2011-08-18T11:12:00.002+08:00

It might look sunny outside here, but the days and nights are still slightly too chilly for my liking. This has been one of the wintery-est Perth winters in my memory, all rain and biting cold air and grey skies.

I am more than ready for summer, beaches and picnics and outdoor cinema roll on, please!

However, if I must continue to live in the chill, at least I have this $5 coat I found at an op shop last week to keep me sartorially satisfied.

Clothes Temt
Coat Op shop
Boots Goldenponies
Jewellery Pigeonhole

Tuesday Noir Nights - Blue Angel

2011-08-16T09:00:00.001+08:00

Our first Tuesday Noir Night! Hop on over to Toby's blog to read the full story and our reviews.
The funniest thing about old movies is I always expect them to be inaccessible and different, but they're really not. The tale of woe is classically film noir, and Marlene Dietrich was utterly charming as Lola-Lola, using her big eyes in the silent movie style (lots of eyelash-batting and cheeky glances) and sashaying around in frilly knickers and suspenders, looking happy and comfortable in her skin. And she certainly mastered the 'looking jauntily over my right shoulder' school of acting!

My favourite thing was how normal she seemed - she spent a considerable amount of time wriggling around in her silly stage costumes to make them more comfortable, playing jokes on the Professor, and fixing her frilly knickers!

There's plenty more images from the film over on my flickr, so take a moment if you're interested.

Bits and pieces

2011-08-14T21:55:00.002+08:00

A few bits from my last week or so - overexposure ; self-made crochet collar and new lipstick ; cherry almond tart.

Trust - neons

2011-08-13T15:45:00.000+08:00

Recently Toby and I watched Trust, a wonderful, intimate and quirky film by Hal Hartley. Toby will review it over on his blog so I won't go into detail here, but what I really appreciated was the colour palette of the film.

As Anabela mentioned recently, the trend of muted tones brightened up by pops of bright colours is gloriously visually appealing. The film follows its protagonist from being a bratty 80s teen through her transformation into a mature young woman, and the palette reflects this transition beautifully. It was so well controlled that the neons never looked tacky, either.

I also have to mention her phenomenal glasses that made an appearance towards the end of the film - tres right now, no?

Tuesday Noir Nights

2011-08-10T15:09:00.003+08:00

Over on Toby's blog we've started an epic, monumental film noir-a-thon. The entire history of film noir as we figure it, viewed and reviewed to try and understand our long obsession with the genre.
I'm so excited to get started on this project, it's been in the planning stages for months now. Who knows what we'll learn along the way?

Click on the image above to read our manifesto, see the 125-strong list of noirs and generally marvel at the scope and magnitude of our insanity in trying to do this!

Tune in every Tuesday to read the review of the latest noir on the list, and please join in the discussion either here or on Toby's blog if you've seen or are planning on seeing the film. The more discussion the better!

Next Tuesday will be our first review, of The Blue Angel starring Marlene Dietrich.
I can't wait!

Saturday Pinks and Oranges

2011-08-06T15:06:00.003+08:00

A few things I have bought recently - the pink-coral-orange colour palette is appealing to me a lot as we slowly emerge from the dismal, rainy winter into finer weather and better light.
These photos came out a very strange colour that doesn't really reflect how the tops actually look, but I liked them anyway.

Sailor knots.

2011-08-04T22:50:00.002+08:00

Lately I seem to have developed an interest in nautical knots, especially in terms of jewellery and accessories in general. I was sitting in a particularly boring class this afternoon and found myself daydreaming about how I could design a canvas bag with rope handles that could be tied in fancy knots like these.

I like the imagery of the old knot charts and diagrams, the simple black and white illustrations. Some of these would make a cute print for framing. Or is that too twee?
It all makes me want to run away to sea, a little bit.

Sonatine.

2011-08-01T19:42:00.004+08:00

Last night we watched the film Sonatine for Toby's post about Yakuza movies. It was completely the opposite of what you'd expect from a Yakuza movie. Slow, calm, filled with long wide shots of landscapes, and long scenes of the Yakuza in question killing time on a deserted beach, with some surprising results.

Edits and such.

2011-08-01T14:07:00.002+08:00

Some things that are pretty to me lately.

Dores Goa necklace

The Vamoose Gemstone and Metal Bracelets

Fieldguided tote in fluoro pink

The abundance of lemons on trees around the city is getting ridiculous.

Rag Curls

2011-06-05T10:48:00.002+08:00

Been living in this jumper in our stupidly cold house.

Site/attitude/life under construction.
brb.

Cosby's Sweater Spotlight: Episode One - Benetton

2010-11-08T18:09:00.003+08:00

I thought, since I've let Cosby's Sweater Emporium fall by the wayside a little - Clever Nettle never said a truer word than that the days of the part-time online vintage store owner are over - that I would try and make a regular feature out of our sweaters. I will feature one sweater a week, and build an outfit around it that accentuates its awesomeness.

After all, we are purveyors of awesome sweaters...

Without further ado, I present to you Episode One of the Cosby's Sweater Spotlight Series - meet our rad 90s Bennetton Sweater!

This sweater is honestly one of my favourites in the shop - I would wear it to death if it wasn't getting dangerously hot outside these days! To me it screams 'painfully indie', and needs to be worn with painted-on skinny jeans, preferably with the bottoms turned up. Loafers are a new obsession of mine, and the other accessories are kind of no-brainers, I think.

Hence...

Et voilá!
What do you think? How would you style it?

Cutoffs, dinosaurs, and the debut of The Shoes!

2010-11-07T00:06:00.002+08:00

striped top - myer
high-waisted shorts - op shop, altered
belt, bag - op shop
clogs - Swedish Hasbeens!

The debut of The Shoes! I wore them out last weekend and wrecked my poor feet, blisters that took a week to heal! I finally braved them again today, making sure that we weren't walking far. They need breaking in, that's for sure.
But they make me happy just to look at, which is always a good start.

In some of these you can see our array of beach things. It's a collection we've been building for some time now, collecting old things (the yellow striped bag, the vintage esky), new things (the towels!) and even making some things (I made the navy striped beach pillows), and it makes us feel classy when we go to the beach just to laze around. And you thought I was exaggerating about the obsession with stripes?

We intended to go to our usual South Beach this afternoon, but we got there and there were about a million cars parked there, which was when I remembered there was a display of animatronic dinosaurs on the grass today. Which potentially sounds awesome, I agree, but you should've seen the cars!
So instead we got out the map and drove out of our little Fremantle bubble, and found the beach where we celebrated New Years together two years ago.
It was almost empty, with massive expanses of grass just open and waiting.
And we were surrounded by these guys all afternoon!

Informatively enough, they're known as Pink and Grey Galahs, and they're a common sight around these parts! Cute as pie.

Loafers, don't you know?

2010-11-06T23:46:00.002+08:00

navy tennis dress - cotton on
brown leather loafers - op shop
belt - op shop
floral tapestry bag - op shop

I would like to take a moment to thank the op shopping gods for putting these Italian leather loafers with a brand-new heel, in my size, in my path last weekend.

...

Those of you with, shall we say, bigger feet, will appreciate how lucky this is.
I think it speaks to the old adage of sticking to it - visit enough op shops often enough and the odds are in your favour.

An otherwise simple outfit, which the shoes really call for, I think. I'm looking forward to wearing them with cuffed skinny jeans on any of the few remaining days when it's not tending towards boiling!

I just realised that this dress is really, really short.

A long, long time ago...

2010-11-06T23:30:00.002+08:00

blouse - tempt, many years ago
polka dot skirt - op shop, shortened
belt - op shop
tennis-themed headscarf - op shop
sandals - city beach
brown satchel-bag - op shop!

I have recently come to the conclusion that shopping for new clothes holds veeeery little interest for me these days, as evidenced by my outfit lists where three-quarters of the items now come from op shops.
Is that bad?

These colours (from about a week ago now...) are exactly what I've been loving in my summer inspirations, browns and navies and whites, clean and crisp and simple.
I love this skirt, although it's the clingiest polyester that gives me electric shocks if I'm not careful around metal. It was ankle-length, which actually looked quite flattering as it clung nicely, but aforementioned static made that a not-feasible option. That, and I like this length in a skirt!
So it got the chop, along with a couple of other things I bought the same day.
I've been having excellent luck in opshops lately.

And can we talk about the adorable scarf? It's tennis-themed! Racquets and balls, navy and white and red! I actually chuckled in glee when I saw it hanging in the op shop for $2.

More posts soon, I have a couple of outfits from today (yes, I changed and got photos, twice), and the debut of two new pairs of shoes...

Summer Three.

2010-10-28T16:07:00.002+08:00

flared jeans, cream panama hat - Stella McCartney for Target
loose floral blouse - cotton on
clogs - Swedish Hasbeens Cognac Peeptoe Super High
tortoiseshell sunglasses - minkpink sophomores
belt - random, easily thrifted
insanely good Photoshop skills - priceless.

This concludes my mini-inspiration spree for now, mostly because I've kind of run out of inspiration, and also because even though polyvore looks like it should only take a few minutes, it actually takes up hours and hours of my time, and I feel lazy afterwards.
Anyway, this one is the most relevant, because it includes things from the new Stella McCartney for Target collection that I really want, and could feasibly see myself getting when they come out (which is tomorrow - woo!)

I plan on leaving work early, because my summer (early summer?) simply must include those high-waisted, flared, pale blue 70s-inspired jeans. The panama hat wouldn't hurt, either.

I realise it's stupid to be coveting jeans just as summer is upon us, but how is that my fault? I blame Target for not gently hinting to Stella that, whilst England may be miserable and jeans a feasible option all year round, Australia is somewhat different.

In (even) more exciting news, my Swedish Hasbeens arrived today! I got home and there they were, hiding behind a potplant at the front door! I got the email saying they'd been sent on Monday, and it's Thursday and here they are! All the way from Sweden. They haven't left my feet since I ripped the box open.

Good thing we're going out tonight, to see The Bicycle Thieves on the closing night of the Italian Film Festival, tickets for which include cocktails pre-film!
What a life, eh?

Summer Two.

2010-10-25T18:57:00.004+08:00

Another sort-of wishlist, combined with a lot of things I kind of already own, or could rustle up without too much difficulty.
The shoes are ones I've had my eye on at Wittner for a while now.
Maybe I should've made a more ladylike outfit with them? I seem to be gravitating towards shift dresses and more casual things when it's hot. I especially love this cute little peter-pan collar dress at Urban Outfitters

This one feels like something I would wear for our usual Sunday trek to the beach, complete with picnic and an old Penguin paperback to read.

Had a great, sunburny weekend just gone. Hopefully there will be some pictures soon. Right now I'm drinking beer and watching Visioneers, which is just weird enough to be fascinating.
Happy Monday!

Summer One.

2010-10-25T07:38:00.004+08:00

High waist denim shorts, my new Swedish Hasbeens, odd sunglasses and brown accessories - just some of the things I can't wait to be wearing this summer.

So frenchy, so 60s experimental artiste...

2010-10-24T19:24:00.003+08:00

striped skivvy - op shop
navy skirt - op shop, altered
navy gold-chained belt - op shop
white t-bar flats - topshop
gold watch necklace - family heirloom

I unreservedly love this top - I have no idea why it even appealed to me in the first place, but it did, and it's just so flattering! She says, so modestly...
My post title kind of refers to an annual 'mixtape' I guess you'd call it, called So Frenchy, So Chic, made up of French film music or just French music, I think to coincide with the French Film Festival every year, and the fact that this outfit reminds me of that part in Funny Face where Audrey Hepburn takes a massive detour for like half an hour to that experimental underground club and everyone in there is too too cool for Fred Astaire and can't hide their contempt for him.

If you're really observant you'll see that in some of these photos I'm wearing the necklace and in some I'm not. It's because after I took the first lot of photos I suddenly had a jewellery brainwave and put the necklace on, then thought 'Well now I have to take more photos.'

Le sigh.

1010 Project.

2010-10-24T09:11:00.000+08:00

I realise it's a bit late, being that the date is now 24/10, but I've only just sorted out a rather irritating and debilitating internet problem and I wanted to write about the photographers involved in the 10/10 project.
They were all just asked to document their days on the 10th of the 10th 2010, for no reason other than it was a memorable numerical date.
This kind of pointless sentimentality really appeals to me - I like making something seem really romantic or meaningful when really it's not, it's just another day or another road or something. But maybe that's the point, right? If there weren't artists and sentimental fools in the world, there'd be nothing beautiful or lovely or worth remembering at all...

I picked ten of my favourite pictures, to keep in the spirit of the thing.

All images from here.

Outfit post and spring summer inspirations soon, I hope.

Your bones are sore and weak.

2010-10-14T06:34:00.002+08:00

waffle-weave top - op shop
tan skirt - topshop
awesome cardigan - op shop
shoes - payless (!)

I found this top for $1 on the sale rack outside a Good Sammies in Fremantle last week, and now that I've finally got some new shoes that aren't white, I can wear it in an outfit without clashing horribly.

I need to be constantly reminded not to pin my fringe back like that - I think I just do it because it's easy and my hair's not behaving. Laziness is not the answer!

All I see...

2010-10-11T17:27:00.003+08:00

dress - cotton on
cropped navy-inspired blazer - ebay, from Carrie's wardrobe cleanout
belt and bag - op shop

This is a quick one, because I've had these pictures floating around my hard drive for a couple of weeks now and I have to get them out!
Just another (short-skirted?) day at the office for me.

I really love this little jacket, but it's so hard to style! Even for me, who lives almost exclusively in navy. I thought it would be a good buy for the end of winter/beginning of spring, partly because short-sleeved jackets actually seem like they might be purposeful in our changeable windy springtime, and partly because basically all I can think about wearing is nautical, navy, gold buttons and stripes stripes stripes lately!

I'd like to give a big shout out to Annie at Time Enough For Drums, who's blog my shop Cosby's sponsors, for doing her awesome interview with me last week.
I've been so lax in posting about it, but I really appreciate her taking the time to come up with such great questions for me to ramble on about!

Good Hair Day.

2010-09-30T19:07:00.002+08:00

black eyelet sleeveless blouse - H&M US
red & black check wool skirt - uniqlo UK
white t-bar shoes - topshop
nude stockings - schiapparelli, op shop
suspender belt (unseen) - la magia

I had the best hair day yesterday. Honestly. It makes everything else feel better. I should try and have one more often, I think.

I love this blouse. I got it because my roommate at Penn had one just like it and I thought she was super-stylish (a little psycho, though...), so I played the copycat and bought something similar at H&M. Now I love it for totally different reasons, being that it's lightweight for summer, kind of Victorian-mourning-undergarment in its gothic nature, and really, really pretty.
This outfit is far, far too warm for the weather, but I'm in a bit of an outfit rut and this just worked when nothing else would.

I was wearing stockings and a garter belt, for heavens' sake! It's bordering on summer! What was I thinking?! You can't see it, but that garter belt is awesome. I really love La Magia for its vintage style lingerie, I also have a bullet bra and two pairs of hold-up stockings with seams up the back from them, and I'm planning on getting a lot more. It's amazing quality, and all really comfortable! I barely noticed this belt, all day.
Lightweight silk knickers, here I come!

Cross stitch love.

2010-09-30T07:16:00.002+08:00

navy pique tennis dress - Lacoste
white mesh tennis shoes - Lacoste
brown satchel/purse - op shop
sunnies - cotton on

I wore this on Sunday, to go to our usual breakfast in Freo, where we met some new friends, ate in a leisurely manner, strolled around the town and ended up at the Roundhouse, which is the oldest standing building in Western Australia. We sat on its little lawn and waited for the daily cannon-shot, which apparently used to be used so ships in the area could synchronise their clocks, because it was fired at 1pm sharp every day. Now it's just for tourists, but none of us had ever heard it before.
When it happened, it scared the bejesus out of us - we were expecting some little 'pop' and it nearly burst our eardrums!

I really love this dress, I think I posted about it last year or early this year, wishing the Lacoste website shipped to Australia. I'm glad I waited though, because we found this one two weekends ago when we were browsing David Jones in the city, on sale at basically half price! Sometimes it's nice to splash out spontaneously on something so fabulous!
My favourite part is the neckline, and the fact that it feels just like the old polo dresses my grandma used to wear.

It's supposed to have a belt around the hips, but I saw in the ad campaign that one of the girls was wearing it around her head - I tried it because I also didn't quite like where the belt hit my waist, and I think it turned out rather nicely. But it was SUPER windy that day, especially in Freo, and my hair wasn't behaving very well in the end.

I've spent this morning buying organic facial products online and turning a picture into a cross stitch pattern to make for Toby's birthday in November...

Forgotten Birthday.

2010-09-27T12:26:00.003+08:00

cream/navy breton top - marcs
brown linen shorts - H&M US
sandals - city beach
blue gauze scarf (around head) - op shop

So two posts ago was my 200th! I didn't even notice until today, oops!

We had a terrible day on Saturday, full of searching for parking in the scorching sun and not having any change, missing out on breakfast because the place we were recommended didn't take cards and had no place to park, and the shops we went to not having the Wii games we wanted.
Oh my! We ended up hot and bothered and hungry and thinking the day was a complete waste.

But then we went to the beach and everything was ok again. We bought a big lunch of burgers and chips and strawberries and brought our own beer and soaked up the first vitamin B we've had for almost two years!

Summer's a-comin...

I was a History Major.

2010-09-24T20:13:00.002+08:00

navy and white striped top - Myer
tan gold-button skirt - Topshop
navy cable knit cardigan - op shop
nautical pattern scarf - charity shop in England
white t-strap flats - Topshop

I often find myself wondering if bloggers always wear what they post in their everyday life. I thought I'd take myself at my own word and do the thing properly.

Last night Toby and I stayed out after work for a casual dinner at Little Creatures in Fremantle, and the night was so balmy and the air smelled like the sea, and we just wandered. It was late night shopping, so we found ourselves wandering into Myer, where I stumbled upon this cute little top for $15. I love the darling, silly little ruffles, but I really need to stop buying navy things, I honestly have one colour scheme going on lately.

When I put this outfit together, I wrapped the scarf round my shoulders. But I've always wanted to try the turban look since calivintage posted about it months ago, and I feel like I've reached a point in my sartorial life where I'm confident enough to wear it out in the world.

It does give me a concern I've never had to think about before... turban hair!

Yellow Today.

2010-09-21T18:34:00.003+08:00

white forties blouse - charity shop in England
navy gold-button skirt - op shop, altered
bright yellow cardigan - op shop, identical to one I bought years ago that is wearing out
cornflower-blue sparrow print scarf - H&M UK

Lately I have been having trouble with my internet connection, to the point where I just gave up on uploading (and therefore taking) photos to photobucket, picnik and then blogger because the connection would drop out after ten minutes and then just be permanently sketchy after that.
I was getting so frustrated, then I just came to an acceptance of the fact, and now I'm having trouble being inspired in my outfits.
I feel like I just wear the same things over and over, in a not particularly interesting way.
I'm getting to the point where I actually don't feel confident in my looks and my style, and I'm afraid that I will get left behind.
Why do I feel like this? Why am I afraid to not be a part of this internet world? I so rarely feel like I am a part of it anyway, why would it be such a big deal to NOT be?

I don't know, internet.
Is anyone out there?

Delayed or advanced warnings for my really fed-up expressions in all these photos. It's mostly my contact lenses giving me trouble and making me tired-er than I am. I promise.

I love my new hair. I really do. But I also think I look about five years younger than what I actually am. Although not like ME five years ago, because that was not a pretty sight. Just like some kind of slightly cute 18-year-old.

Also, please say hello to Barry, the hardest-working skirt in town. He cost me $1 plus about two hours' sewing, and he goes with almost everything. He likes calm quiet days with no wind, gold accessories and mojitos. He is basically me, in skirt form...

Slip Slop Slap Plus, Two Other Things.

2010-09-19T19:54:00.002+08:00

Mustard tunic top - op shop
80s floral skirt - op shop, altered
super long brown tooled leather belt - op shop
peep-toe heels - op shop

I'm so sunburnt today, it was the first hot day we've had in ages, and Toby and my first taste of a summer we haven't seen for almost two years. We went to the beach unprepared for how hot it was going to be and are now paying the price. Never mind, a little aloe vera and some TLC and we're happy as bunnies just waiting for summer.

This top was made for this skirt, I swear. The skirt was a really unflattering mid-shin job, but I saw some kind of potential in it, and a simple measure, cut and hem later and I love it! It's the kind of floral you can pick a colour out of and make it look completely different - purple, mustard, grey, black. Funnily enough all colours that Northern Hemisphere bloggers are liking for autumn.

This was the outfit I wore to a training day for my new job, which is working out to be difficult but has the potential to be really good. I'm not sure right now.

The flowers in my Mum's garden look and smell so gorgeous this time of year, and suited my colour scheme so well, that I couldn't help but take some photos of them too. It's probably the best indication of spring I'll see anywhere around the city, since mostly we go straight from winter to the heat of pre-summer.
And my favourite part of my altered skirt? Pockets, of course!

Going on Safari.

2010-09-13T08:43:00.000+08:00

white utility shirt - Kmart, very old
pale green skirt, brown belt - op shop
tie - vintage Givenchy, Toby's (and tied by him to, god knows I couldn't do it!)
white t-bar flats - topshop

Quick little post tonight, just got home from my first day of work and phew!
Too much information, not enough organisation. It's a challenge, but a big one, and what I could really use right now is a big hug.
Failing that, I'm going to go cook dinner and possibly prepare some things for future dinners to forestall this feeling for the rest of the week!

My computer informs me that these were taken on the 18th of August! I could've sworn it wasn't so long ago! My life suddenly got hectic and time has just been flying away from me. I can't believe it's September already.

I got this idea partly from my own wearing of scarves as ties, but partly from Calivintage's recent (or not-so-recent, as I've discovered...) expression of interest in wearing ties tucked into jeans or skirts. I also think it ties (oh snap in well with my love of anything safari-inspired, in a 1920s, Poirot kind of a way. Masculine dressing in the most feminine of styles.
Dear darling Toby, bless him, always seems to capture my strangest faces, or maybe it's more that I just feel silly posing for photos.

And looking at these makes me even gladder I just got all my hair cut off - the over-long fringe! the end-of-my-tether bun!

Etsy Update.

2010-09-12T22:01:00.002+08:00

A whole heap of thick, cosy cable knits just perfect for all your transitional seasonal needs just added (or are about to be added...) to the shop.

broken biscuits.

2010-09-12T10:30:00.002+08:00

striped rollneck top - opshop
tan gold-button skirt, white t-bar flats - topshop

What a funny week we're having. Last Sunday was so perfect we dropped what we were doing and went to the beach, the whole week was so rainy and miserable that I almost piked a couple of times and just wore black pants, and Friday (my supposed last day at work which I actually called in sick for!) was again utterly lovely.

And even through all this, I still maintain that Perth doesn't really get a spring, per se, because it's either rainy and chilly or HOT. There's none of the daffodil, cherry-blossom, fresh air, newly-green fields rebirth feeling you get with spring in a place that gets a real winter.
I always said the one thing I wasn't sorry about getting stuck in England longer than expected was that I'd get to see another spring there.

I can't even begin to describe the face I'm pulling in that photo, but Toby was 'not in a photo-taking mood' so I have to do what I can with what I've got, so to speak.

I had my hair cut on Thursday, and wow. DIFFERENT!
I'm actually enamoured, because I get to try out totally different outfits that would never have worked with my longer, boring hair.
Like this late-50s/early-60s mod type of look, complete with a rollneck (?!) top I got at an opshop the other day. I feel a little Audrey Hepburn, which is quite alright with me!
I do, however, think that the person who told me the new cut makes me look younger wasn't far off the mark...

Holy Moly.

2010-09-08T20:18:00.002+08:00

dress - JayJays sale
belt, bag - op shops
hat - dotti
sandals - city beach

Greetings fellow bloggettes!

I am absent! I know! Always, mon ami, I am absent from this insignificant little corner of the internet!
(Also, I have clearly been reading/watching too much Poirot of late...)

Work has been getting me down recently, and although I have some good friends there it is more than time to move on. In happier news, I have landed a sweet new job with a friend who has her own anthropology business and needs a personal/research assistant to start immediately!
Sometimes the fates just align, you know?

But enough about me! Let's talk about my new favourite dress!

Toby and I had a shopping whim on Sunday last, and went into the city to satisfy our desire for new clothes for the warmer weather fast approaching (or so we thought - today we are welcoming back our old friends, sporadic rain and freezing wind!).
Toby had remarkably more luck than me, coming away with two pairs of AMAZING nautical-style shorts and a t-shirt. I'd post pictures but with my laptop's current dislike of its perfectly good internet connection, I'm flabbergasted I even got this far.

I found this adorable little lace shift dress on the sale rack at (gasp!) JayJays, the shop du jour (and every other jour) of tweens and their ilk, filled with basically the same thing every year. Certainly since I've been shopping there, anyway.

I wore this to a picnic we invented when we saw what a delicious, delectable day it was turning out to be, in which we did a quick supermarket run, made delicious rolls, packed up the (real and ginger) beer and chocolates and raced to the beach, only to realise upon arrival that we had forgotten the rolls!
Woe is we who rush the fine art of picnicking!

Do you remember the first time?

2010-08-31T18:28:00.002+08:00

silk top - op shop
wool skirt - op shop
peep toe heels - op shop

Yes, it's official, I actually like second-hand clothes more than new ones...

I found this amazing skirt at an op shop in the city that I never normally walk past, but since we're housesitting and I take a different train home, I thought, why not stop in?
Two skirts, a cardigan and a silk Lanvin tie (for Toby, naturally) later, I got out.

I'm actually planning to shorten the skirt, as I know I'll never wear it out as it is - even if I thought I would, it's still a tad too long to be a flattering calf-length skirt. I think it will be just right as a just-above-the-knee skirt, and here's hoping I can muster the strength to pin it first, rather than just cutting, like I did with my navy op-shop $1 bargain.

I mentally patted myself on the back when I found the silk top - I've been enviously eyeing other bloggers' thrift shop finds all (Northern) summer, wondering how it is some people just strike so lucky in their finds, and then BLAM! I struck lucky too! Also, the neckline is wonderful. Now if only I could be bothered to iron it, I'd wear it out of the house...
I am aware that wearing it with a black lace bra is not the demurest of ideas, yes.

The shoes I found at the same time as the top, and I almost didn't get them. I thought they were a teensy bit too big (and apparently $7 was too much to take the risk on).
Am I crazy?! Do I learn NO lessons? The number-one-cardinal-golden-rule of thrifting is, buy it even if you're not sure, because odds are you'll massively regret it later, when you're planning outfits with the item in mind and sadly wondering if it would still be there when you managed to get back (it never, ever is).
And I'm so glad I got them, because turns out they're not too big! I had some weird, reverse-shoe-shopping phenomenon where spending the day in heels and walking around in them made my feet shrink? It is officially the rarest thing in the world to find nice and reasonable shoes in my size in an Australian op shop. They're by a cute little label which is actually a good brand, and they're barely worn. Triple bargain!

This week brought some exciting developments with the shop, namely that we'll have some sponsorships going up in the next few days, and then theoretically they will lead to some tasty shop giveaways!
Keep your eyes peeled, sweater enthusiasts!

Granny Green

2010-08-24T19:17:00.003+08:00

I'm bodily restraining myself from confirming an order from Swedish Hasbeens. There's a sale on. I went and tried some on today in a shop that sells them here and found my size and the style and they looked amazing.
TELL ME WHAT TO DO, INTERNETS?!

dress - cotton on
cardigan, belt, bag - thrifted
shoes - lacoste
socks - topshop

Another outfit from last (no, the one before last...) weekend, I am running out of stockpiled images of myself and must endeavour to take some more.
We're housesitting for three weeks, so I don't have all my clothes (ALL! HA! Toby once asked me what I wrote about and I said 'What I wear, what I'd like to wear, you know... [yes, people, if you ever want to feel shallow and ridiculous, try quantifying your blog to an outsider] and he said 'But you haven't got many clothes!'). Today I was drooling over Sushi's spring wishlist, and I started drawing an outfit inspired by the colours and images in her collage. Then I remembered I don't even have my shorts with me, and then I was sad.
And that was literally the most exciting thing that happened to me at work today.

Parenthetically, I am refreshed and happy to see a Southern Hemisphere upcoming-season wishlist. Whilst reading all the UK and US bloggers' ideas and dreams of cooler weather and knits and tights and coats is sort of charming in it's own odd way (I've never dreamed of cold weather, just dreaded it!), it has been giving me seasonal confusion of the highest order. Yesterday I found myself thinking 'Oh, that would be good for once the cooler weather starts arriving.'
GAH! It's cool now! I'm wearing what they're wishing they were wearing, and I don't want it to last!
So bring on the Aussie and NZ bloggers' ideas for spring and summer, and here's to my first year of noticing seasons in Perth.

I am getting desperate, I wasn't even going to post these, because I didn't like my face or the way I was holding my head, or the harsh light behind me or the patio furniture. But I do like the outfit, and I'm thinking I'll work on that colour palette a lot this coming spring - green, pink, brown, navy.
Which is OBVIOUSLY why I should buy the Swedish Hasbeens in Nature, because they will go with ALL of that.

I hope this hasn't been too verbose and full of asides and brackets for you.
Happy Tuesday evening!

Workwear August 10th and other things.

2010-08-21T23:38:00.002+08:00

I'm having a lazy weekend, a good weekend, meaning lots of blog reading but balancing that with lots of spending time with Toby doing fun things, like voting (me, not him) and going to watch Perth Glory play with the threat of rain hanging over our heads like unpaid debts and unreturned phone calls.

I may write some more about voting later, not being particularly politically inclined, but right now I simply must clear out my backlog of workwear photos. This was from last Tuesday, the second of two outfits I deemed worth photographing last week. By Wednesday, it had gotten cold and wet enough to stop bothering with attempting to look unique for an uncaring office and just pair nice tops and shirts with black pants and my black belt. I still looked good and felt good, I just didn't think the outfits were interesting or inventive enough to bother posting.

I know there's been a lot of debate about this topic in the last week, about feeling pressured to always buy new things and post new outfits even though you've barely explored the potential of the last new thing you bought. I can particularly identify with this because most of my blogging life has been working with little or no funding, and trying to keep my outfits fresh and inspired with nothing new to work into the mix. So when we have some money, I feel this desire and want for new things, when I know I don't really need them. I don't think I'll ever lose my frugal nature; a lifetime of my parents being somewhat unneccessarily tight with money has left a large mark on my psyche, but maybe I'll slowly learn to find the balance?

Anyway, sorry for the ramble, but I completely understand and feel affinity with this latest blogger mood, so I thought I'd add my two cents.
In other news, I'm making some moves on our etsy shop in terms of buying sponsorships and posting some more updates, so expect to see us around the internets quite a bit in the forthcoming months!

shirt, belt - thrifted
sweater - thrifted, going in the shop soon
jeans - topshop

I love this blouse, I got it for $1 on the clearance rack in one of the op shops. It drapes incredibly, and the colours work so well with the palette I seem to be working with lately, namely navy and brown and green and some brighter pops of red and yellow.

Things planned for Sunday - breakfast out in Freo, moving into our friend's central-Fremantle house to housesit for three weeks, some major food shopping, and general awesome Sunday-ness.
Did I mention we bought a new car? I don't think so. We did - he's called Ian Wright (google it for a clear indication of our football allegiance) and he's the zippiest little navy blue Ford, I'm in heaven after a couple of months of driving my Mum's hefty old automatic Holden Commodore around.

I also pledged to Hannah and Landon's kickstarter project. It's something I've been super excited about since I saw their gorgeous post with sumptuous teaser photos of the lingerie line, so I thought with the promise of unique goodies from the loved ones themselves, why not get behind a project I'd love to see come to fruition? Follow the links to see and help for yourselves.

Spotlight on Toby.

2010-08-18T19:38:00.002+08:00

So I thought I'd take a break from posting my own outfits tonight, and treat you all to the visual feast that is my 'Toby' archives.
Almost every time he takes photos of me, he asks me if he should be photographed too, and most of the time he's better dressed than me, so I oblige! I swear, he should have his own style blog...

Most of these are weekend-wear, a couple are workwear. He really excels at workwear, and he loves it because it's a daily challenge (much like with me!), and although most people in his office don't dress up as much as he does, it makes him feel better and happier with himself to make that extra effort every morning.

I guess I don't really talk about him that much on here, apart from to say that we went somewhere together or he took my picture. I'm not really one for public displays of affection, but I love him to death. He's the best thing about my day, no matter what, and I couldn't sleep without him next to me. He makes me a better person constantly, and I like who I am when I'm with him.
It's just a bonus he's so stylish!

Something I DIDN'T wear to work!

2010-08-16T18:58:00.002+08:00

So I'm sorry all the posts lately have been 'WWWW'-themed, but it seems like work, and continually keeping outfits fresh for work, has been consuming my mind and blog lately (although thanks for all your lovely comments, I'm so happy you like my crazy outfits!)
Obviously it's because full time work encompasses most of your life, however much you'd like to pretend otherwise.
Even so, the last week or two has been getting me down outfit-wise, and body-image-wise. I'm feeling less inspired, less attractive, less comfortable in my own skin and clothes. I've been feeling unhealthy and out of shape, which just turns everything upside down in my head.

So... we bought ourselves a Wii yesterday! With Wii Fit! Finally, I can get back to my everyday exercises the way I had them in England!
We couldn't bring Toby's wii with us from England, so we've been wii-less for months now. It's somehow the only thing that actually spurs us on to exercise, and I hope that with time, it will get us back into running or other forms of working out. I just finished my first round and I already feel a thousand times better!

Anyway, that's all off my chest now, and I'm happy to post some pictures from last weekend - you'll be able to tell because of the less demure length of my skirts. I still have some work outfits to share, but I just thought I'd break the cycle a little bit. Also, I'm very bad at doing them on time - they always end up being 'What I Wore to Work LAST Week!'

We went to meet a friend for breakfast, who's just had baby, so we got to hang out with little Elijah too! And his mum needed me to fix a little jumper she knitted for him, because she doesn't know how it was stitched together. I feel so needed!

shirt - uniqlo
skirt & socks - topshop
shoes - lacoste
bag & scarf - thrifted
sunnies - cotton on

I was pretty proud of this outfit, it's so super preppy, I felt like I was about to go horseriding or something equally nonsensical! When we met up with our friend she said 'You look like a MODEL!', and I was all 'Aww shucks!'
It's nice to be appreciated, sometimes.

What I Wore to Work This Week: August 9th

2010-08-14T21:14:00.003+08:00

chambray dress & cardigan - cotton on
60s blouse - etsy
tights - you'll love coles(!)
shoes - wittner

I actually felt kind of uncomfortable all day in this, the dress is pretty badly made and rides up my legs when I walk; a combined syndrome of poor manufacturing and my huge thighs!
But I love the colours together, the light denim-y blue of the dress with the cream of the blouse and the pattern with the plain. It all works together, I just need a better dress I think.

It's been properly cold this week, either that or properly rainy. It's really weird seeing all the US bloggers moaning about the heat and wearing nothing but shorts or sundresses, when I'm actually facing up to the challenge of dressing for the (mildly) cold all the time.
Obviously you can tell from my outfits that Perth winters are somewhat mild compared to what most of the world is used to, which I'm huuuugely thankful for - one English winter was enough for me!

What I Wore to Work This Week pt. 3

2010-08-10T17:38:00.002+08:00

Jersey cardigan thing - cotton on, $2. Seriously!
Cream 60's blouse - vintage, from etsy
belt - thrifted, and on its last legs I think
skirt - thrifted

Crazy print mixing! AAAHHH!

So I admit, this one is a little out there. But I think somewhere in the deep, dark, shower-inspired recesses of my mind, I was thinking of Miu Miu's prints, and how we're always told to go a bit crazy with the mixing anyway, and that I'd never really done that, even though I hate doing what I'm told...

I can't remember if I've ever posted this blouse on here before. I got it last year from etsy, and I've always loved it and done that thing you do in the mornings where you try it on with an outfit and it doesn't work, so you give up and say to yourself 'I'll try it another time' before reaching for the top and jeans. But I finally worked it into an (albeit crazy) outfit! Yay!
The collar just kills me.

So I walked into the room that morning and Toby was like 'Wow.'
And I said 'I know! I know it looks crazy, but I like it. So what do you think?'
He said 'You look crazy, but it doesn't matter.'
All you need is a little confidence, ladies, and you can work anything!

The Retro Knitting Company.

2010-08-09T18:31:00.002+08:00

I was browsing the internets for a knitting pattern for a men's 1920s vest with a really low v-neck (because we saw one in the episode of poirot we were watching!) and stumbled upon this fantastic website selling vintage knitting patterns.
In amongst all the knit ties and sportswear (sportswear!) patterns, I found the underwear page.
WELL. I'm such a sucker for the everyday clothes of the 20s and 30s, so this just killed me.

At first, I was just enchanted by the style, the pictures and the idea that people used to wear woolen underwear.
Then I looked closer, and I realised that some of the things are actually gorgeous (like the bras!) and also, some of them would quite easily and gorgeously translate to little tops or shorts now. Especially tops.
I'm seriously thinking of buying a couple of these via PDF, but I've heard that vintage knitting patterns are particularly hard to follow.
Thoughts?

All pictures from The Retro Knitting Company.

What I Wore to Work This Week pt. 2

2010-08-09T17:41:00.002+08:00

top - marcs
skirt - thrifted, altered
shoes - topshop
scarf - H&M

Actually this is a 'Last Week' version of WWWW (like my new acronym post series?) because I didn't even think about blogging or read a blog over the whole weekend. My parents went away, and Toby and I had lots of time to ourselves, to leisurely make menus and shop for food, have lazy late breakfasts, catch up with friends and cook delicious foods!
Our menu went something like this...
Friday night - potato and rosemary pizza from this recipe, with the thinnest crispiest base possible.
Saturday morning - poached eggs on toast with homemade hollandaise, something I just learned to do and am very proud of!
Saturday night - black bean and aubergine chili from a recipe by Simon Rimmer, vegetarian god.
Sunday morning - Breakfast out at Wild Poppy in Fremantle
Sunday night - Smoked aubergine pudding, also Simon Rimmer.

Sigh... such a lovely weekend.

Anyway, I digress, these photos are from Wednesday, if I remember correctly.
I came up with it as I was staring at my wardrobe door blankly, wishing I was still in bed. Not bad, in that context.

There literally isn't a place of pretty vegetation around my backyard that isn't occupied with some form of handyman equipment, since my dad is constantly updating something round the house, so sorry for the background!

What I wore to Work This Week pt. 1

2010-08-06T20:49:00.002+08:00

shirt, skirt, scarf (as tie) & belt - all thrifted!
tights - you'll love coles brand ($5 for 4 pairs!)

I decided to try out this way of posting my working week's outfits - take photos every afternoon and then save them all up til the end of the week, to overload you with workwear!

I won't post every day's outfits, simply because sometimes they either don't photograph as well as I know they could have, or they look pretty average to begin with. Sometimes things just don't work out, you know?

Also, I think it's only fair to mention that I come up with the majority of my most inspired outfits while I'm in the shower at 6am, facing the prospect of a long boring day of file-checking, with nothing but style and the sense of wellbeing that comes from knowing you did your best with what you had that morning to keep me going throughout the day.

Sunday things pt. 2

2010-08-05T18:36:00.002+08:00

As mentioned, we went to the beach on Sunday afternoon.
Now this is really nothing special, just something I threw on when we decided on a whim to go to the beach, but Toby took photos and I'm never one to turn down a photo session!

Whenever I head to the beach, the outfits that spring to mind are nautical, obviously, but also fairly classic. Things that you'd have seen in the fifties, maybe the sixties, and probably all the decades before that in which women showed some skin.
The navy stripes were pretty much a given, and the shorts are actually the only ones I own, but also happen to be linen and pretty classic and clean in colour and styling.

My pièce de resistance is always my beach bag, something I got out of a showbag at the Perth Royal Show a few years back, which I absolutely love! No matter what we're packing I always take this with me, even if it just holds another bag full of things like ipods, phones, wallets, etc!

sunday things.

2010-08-04T17:43:00.002+08:00

sweater - cosby's
skirt - thrifted, altered, $1!
blouse, scarf & bag - thrifted
shoes - topshop

I have to stop leaving so long between when the photos are taken and when I post them, or I forget where I was and what we did and how I felt at the time, and all the little things that make the outfits more interesting and more of a memento for me later.

This was the first part of our Sunday, in which I wore this schoolkid-like outit to have breakfast at Wild Poppy with friends. I actually had the whole thing planned underneath it too, with a belt and a cute blouse, but thankfully I grabbed the sweater (which is up in cosby's, promise it'll be washed!) at the last minute, because it never really got warm enough to be comfortable without it. Freo is a port city, so it gets really breezy, and in the shade the weather was not so lovely as it has been since.

I've got some more pics from later in the day, when we went to the beach, but I'm saving them for a later post.
I like to squirrel away my outfits, you see, so I have something to post during the busy working week!

i used to work at a golf club.

2010-07-31T18:06:00.004+08:00

top - H&M America
pants - Lacoste, thrifted
shoes - Lacoste
belt and bag - thrifted

A spontaneous trip to Fremantle this morning, and knowing that although the forecast was fine, the wind at the port and the weather in general lately meant that we should probably dress a little cautiously.
I've never worn these amazing Lacoste trousers before, I found them in an opshop for $3! And they reminded me so much of the lonely hearts look I posted about back in May, which I love.

I've had this plain top for ages, it was one of the first things I ever bought at H&M, while I was living in Philadelphia. In case you can't tell, I'm a bit of a fan of navy clothing, so even though it's too tight under the arms and makes me sweat too much (overshare?), I can't seem to make myself get rid of it.
And today I was exceptionally glad I haven't, because it's the perfect match for these pants!

It really was an uneventful morning! No plans, just wanted to get out of the house and into the winter sun, so we wandered around Freo for a bit then walked down to the beach, bought gourmet burgers and ate them on the grass.
The bag was a somewhat sneaky find, we sometimes see bags of things dumped at the doors of op-shops on Sundays when they're not open, and since as far as we know that's considered illegal dumping and has to be thrown out, we don't feel so bad about going through it ourselves. We found this bag outside one last week sometime, and although it's inkstained probably beyond repair, it's still really good quality and looks pretty good!

My big announcement!

2010-07-27T17:24:00.002+08:00

For the past few weeks Toby and I have been scouring op shops up and down the city for every variation of awesome sweater.
Toby noticed when we were both shopping for cheap work clothes that op shops here were simply full of these old grandpa sweaters, lovingly referred to via a High Fidelity quote as 'Cosby Sweaters', an occurrence he thought most incredible, since in England, so he said, they would all be snapped up immediately by indie scenesters such as himself as soon as they left the backs of their original owners.

He conceived the idea of selling them to vintage shops in the UK, but it soon became pretty obvious that wouldn't be feasible, so he suggested selling them online. Which is of course where I came in, with my knowledge of blogs and etsy and sponsorships and promotion.

So we've been constantly on the look out for stock for the shop, which also means that we're pretty much addicted to op shopping now (my work outfit today was entirely thrifted, I realised!), and our shelves in the bedroom are overflowing with fabulous, garish, fluffy, colourful sweaters!

I know it's unlikely to appeal to those of you in the northern hemisphere right now, but we're in it for the long term, so keep your eyes peeled for things you may want come cold dark winter.

We'll be doing plenty of promos and discounts, starting with those of you lucky enough to be at the On the Bright Side festival on Sunday, when we were out there handing out fliers with promo codes on them!

we'll swim to the moon.

2010-07-26T21:01:00.002+08:00

cardigan - thrifted
top - marcs
skirt & socks - topshop
shoes - lacoste
necklace - fmaily heirloom.

A short one tonight, as I'm still feeling under the weather and we've just come home from a full day's work plus a movie and dinner out.

Freo on Sunday as per usual, breakfast and food shopping, with a little unintended book shopping thrown in.
We spent the sunniest part of the morning trawling high dark bookshelves for cheap treasures, and ended up spending almost $100! Combined with the haul we picked up a couple of weeks ago in a little second-hand bookshop in Mandurah where we know we can find a thousand bargains, and we've got enough to fill a second bookshelf.

Doesn't Toby look fabulous! His sweater is also thrifted.
I love that we can do that together, just get lost in a big old book warehouse and just be so in tune than spending so much on a pile of old paper and ink can seem like the most logical thing in the world.

topshop aw10

2010-07-23T17:27:00.002+08:00

The Topshop A/W10 lookbook was a funny mixture of things I would never consider wearing, and things I'm really really into right now.
All the ragged, lacey, 90s grungey gothy doc marten looks I could totally give or take, but all these fantastic forties aviation travelling looks, with the earmuffs and the cable knits and the camel-with-grey colouring and the capes and the classiness, I could absolutely see myself embracing in the future.

If only my future didn't involve a long hot Perth summer...

I've come down with something really draining today, and therefore I stayed home from work, went shopping with Toby (don't look at me like that! I felt rubbish the whole time, even though it was SO warm and sunny) and found a cute blouse at a grungey boutique in the city. We did take a couple of outfit shots but I've yet to look them over, and I'm not sure they turned out as nice as I knew they should've, so I don't know yet if they'll be making an appearance.

This came at the wrong time, since we're madly working on something exciting to debut tomorrow.
Details in full tomorrow, promise!

a day's filing.

2010-07-21T19:43:00.002+08:00

shirt - thrifted, UK.
trousers - uniqlo
scarf and belt - thrifted, Australia
shoes - wittner

At work today I was told to spend all day in the filing rooms putting away endless medical files, because it was more important than my regular job.
Tells you a lot about my job, right?

New scarf from our wonderful op-shopping weekend last week, everything else is pretty standard workwear. And this is basically a re-imagning of this outfit, but with pants instead of a skirt, and better shoes.

Can you tell, the circus is in town? Every day for the last couple of weeks (as long as it hasn't been raining) we've been having lunch right next door to cows, llamas, tiny tiny ponies and camels! Sometimes you can hear them rehearsing or playing a matineé, it's all rather charming.

We just recently got a new camera, sort of a bridging camera between a straight point-and-shoot and an SLR.
All of a sudden we're challenged daily with white balance, f-stops and ISO settings, and we get a heap of shots where one or the other of us isn't paying attention, hence the funny faces and odd angles of some. I couldn't resist sharing these ones!

And our weather, oh my goodness. Perth winters generally last about three weeks (!), give or take, and we seem to have come out the other side of ours and into the nice spring-y weather again. It was just perfect lying out on the Esplanade today, and walking home I got too hot! Oh for a real summer again.

(I had to put this in, unedited in any way. Just look at the colour of that sky!)

weeknights again.

2010-07-19T18:28:00.002+08:00

My absences tend to go in weeks on, weeks off lately, because sometimes Toby and I work the same hours and sometimes he doesn't start til 3pm, so I've got all evening to myself.
You'll be hearing more from me this week, several outfits as well as an exciting announcement...!

We had breakfast on Sunday in one of our favourite little cafés in Fremantle, it was warm and sunny when I was getting ready, and thank goodness Toby suggested a sweater because by the time we got there it was breezy and sprinkling rain!
You can't really see it, but underneath the sweater is the most awesome floppy floral blouse i found in an opshop for $1! It'll show up sooner or later, I'm sure.

a collar.

2010-07-15T19:57:00.002+08:00

My most recent project, made from some delicate pale rose-coloured crochet cotton I bought on an op-shopping trip a few weeks ago.

I've never actually finished one of these off, just got to the end of my invented pattern then unravelled and started again, so here's hoping this one will end as well as it's started.

and it's almost the weekend again.

2010-07-09T20:29:00.002+08:00

dress - topshop
hat - dotti
cardigan and sunnies - cotton on
tights - target
shoes - office
watch - thrifted
necklace - family heirloom, i think.

the rest of my workwear week has been deadly dull, but i can lay the blame on the weather. it's been miserable, raining and cold. i mean perth-cold, which is like some summer days in england (ha, ha, ha...).
i always feel silly complaining about the cold in our little city, since most of the time we have such lovely weather it seems petty to complain that little bit of the time when you're not out in tshirts and shorts.
but it has been chilly here these last few mornings, and dragging myself out of bed has been the major effort of the day. i'm still getting used to my workwear ethic, and some days i feel very awkward and silly-looking.

so i am posting these pictures of my second day of boater-wearing in a row, last sunday.

we went down to freo to have breakfast with friends in a delightful little cafe called wild poppy, where the couches are all plentiful and patchworked, the lights are all shaded with crocheted doilies (since i learned to crochet i seem to see it everywhere!) and the food is yummy.

the weather up till this week had been chilly in the mornings but warm enough to be bare legged for the rest of the day. however, perth is notorious for it's windy nature, and that's the killer as often as not. so i opted for the last pair of tights i have that haven't laddered yet.
have i ever mentioned australian tights are awful?

here's to a better weekend than week, although somehow i doubt it.

neckerchief.

2010-07-07T23:12:00.003+08:00

top - dotti
trousers and belt - thrifted
neckerchief(!) - H&M UK

and on with the workwear inspirations! i got some stares on the street with this glorious scarf, i can tell you! most were positive, though, i think.

i wore my glasses today because i've been a bad blind-bat and not gone to an optometrist since we got home, so my contacts are desperately dried out and old and pretty well dead. so to complement the eyewear, i tried something that i've never done before, and wore the scarf like a neckerchief, or somesuch.

on a down note, my beloved topshop bag's long strap broke this afternoon, and while i went on a bag hunt after work (and found a shop that sells swedish hasbeens!) i couldn't find anything that i just loved, and you know how important a decision buying a new bag is...

boater-day.

2010-07-06T20:07:00.005+08:00

top - marcs
skirt - uniqlo
cardigan - cotton on
hat - dotti
belt - thrifted
necklace - family heirloom?
hair - newly curled!

oh i was so excited by this hat! i first saw it while i was walking past dotti in the city after work one day last week, which was apparently the first day they got them in. i thought to myself, oh i'll try that on next week when i've got some time (toby's on nights now), no worries!
two days later, toby and i were in the city for something after work and popped into dotti on a jeans-hunt (nightmarish, my least favourite kind of clothes shopping!) and i saw there were only four left, so i tried one on and loved it, and bought it on the spot. the girl said they'd been really popular, so i hope i don't all of a sudden look like just one of many vintage-inspired blog girls out in stylish perth...
yeah, right.

having said all that, i realise it's not actually that visible in any of these shots. never fear, the next day included some actual angles of the hat.

anyway, i wore this for a day out in fremantle on saturday. i think. i've been hoarding this lot of photos (and another lot!) for my boring mid-week lull, and now i can't for the life of me remember what we did on saturday.
some op-shopping... OH! we went to a vintage fair in mount lawley, right across the road from the radio station i used to work in.
it could have been awesome, but the venue was tiny. we supposed they got the hire of it for cheap or free, but the sheer numbers of people there meant it was impossible to turn around, let alone get a decent look at the tons and tons of clothes, shoes and accessories that were on display.
still, it was fun to get dressed up for something during the day!

we were in freo when these photos were taken, however, because we were on a mattress-finding mission. we'd found a bed frame in ikea, and remembered a mattress seen in one of the op shops, so we went back. instead, we walked out with a whole bed, mattress and all, for under $200! WOOHOO no more sofa bed! the guy threw in two vintage sewing patterns and a pair of schiaparelli tights i wanted for free, which was mighty nice of him.

when i got my hair cut, the girl told me i should get into 'tonging' rather than straightening (for 'straightening' read 'barely drying then giving up'), and did such a good job of convincing me with her finishing that i went out and bought a curling iron. i'm still learning, but watching tutorials like strawberry koi's and trial-and-erroring, i'm getting better. it helps when you have time, and i found that a little of toby's soft wax on the ends really held the curls in all day, and most of the next too!
definitely my new look, i think. although i just previewed this post, and i realised you can't see them that well at all...
EDIT: i just realised that i TOOK photos of my hair closeup for just this purpose...

way to go, memory.

also, apologies for the radically different qualities in photo, but toby will insist on using his beloved blackberry when i have my camera ready and waiting. GAH!

the new workwear.

2010-07-05T21:22:00.004+08:00

i have a ton of photos from outfits on the weekend to post, including my new and exceptionally awesome boater!
but i thought i should start off the working week with a working outfit.

top - minkpink, thrifted
skirt - new look
tights - target
shoes - office
belt, scarf - thrifted
coat - given to me by a lovely girl at work who would otherwise have left if behind her on her way to travelling the world.

the outfit last week, where i wore something more casual than normal, made me think a lot about what i wear and why. when i started this job, we went op-shopping for work clothes. so obviously i stocked up on black and grey trousers and skirts, simple shirts and tops, and thought i was done.
it was only when i started trying to capture these outfits for the blog that i realised i was dressed frumpy and plain, even though when i'd gotten dressed in the morning (granted it was 5am most of the time!) i'd thought the outfit was smart and well-put-together.
wearing something i'd put on after work the night before, to work the next morning, made me realise something - i should stop trying to conform to the idea of a city worker in my head and in the shops, and make workwear my own.
with that in mind, my outfit this morning made me feel a hundred times better about myself, and the scarf, which was something i'd never done before, pulled the whole thing together nicely.

so the moral of this story is, just because you're working in a place that has a dress code, whatever it is, just adapt your own style to the code. don't just adopt it blindly and without adjustment!

we are in sepia.

2010-07-03T23:28:00.003+08:00

top - marcs
jeans and bag - topshop
blazer - H&M UK
shoes - city beach

this happened about a week ago, i think.
toby got it into his head that he wanted new jeans, and got recommended a place and a specific brand by someone who worked in shop, so off to the city we went.
he didn't end up buying them, but we still had a lovely afternoon!

i also found a lot more beautiful deco (and some pre-deco!) buildings. enjoy!

this last lot i've already posted, but i just can't resist this building. it's SO beautiful! i wish there wasn't a dominos defacing it, but i can at least be thankful the facade has been kept up so well.

more outfits to come.
in case anyone was interested, i did get a haircut recently. i also bought a curling iron, and the combination is quite something to behold!

casual friday.

2010-07-03T08:52:00.002+08:00

shirt - uniqlo
jeans - topshop
belt - thrifted
beanie - ... it was a present, years ago.

so i lied, a little, in the title of this post. we don't have casual fridays at work (although what an awesome name for a blog?), because there isn't really a dress code, and a lot of the women, especially the younger ones (under 30) come in leggings or jeans, which i find makes the whole idea of workwear totally pointless.
i always try to dress nice, and i've taken some photos here before, but either it's too early in the morning or i just suck at workwear, because they all look awful. i'm either tired or dowdy or i don't look as good as i thought i did when i got dressed that morning.
so, i decided to assign my own casual friday this week, and the result (which is actually the same outfit i wore to ikea the night before to go bed shopping!) was far superior to any of my workwear attempts thus far.
this may lead to a new direction in what i wear to work. although i'm still not totally happy wearing jeans...

my jewellery is the lone hopper bracelet from anirtak, and a watch we found in an op shop last weekend for $6. toby got extremely excited about this, he dragged me all the way up the front of this giant barn of a shop and pointed to the watch in the cabinet. i was like 'it's ok...' and he pulled me aside, out of earshot of the girl at the counter, and whispered 'it's an ebel. ebel encrust their watches with diamonds!'
so we bought it, and it's growing on me rapidly. it needs another hole (damn my tiny wrists!) but i quite like the looseness of it for now.
we're not 100% sure it's real, but it's still nice...

promises!

2010-07-02T17:48:00.002+08:00

so i'm getting into this having a job lark, and i think i'll be able to balance the life of a full-time worker with the life of a style blogger. HOPEFULLY.

anyway, i've got a million photos stored up waiting to be posted, but i'll start with this one that i wore the day after our unsuccessful trip to the casino, a mild variation on the theme, and with this scarf i found that weekend for $2.50 in an op-shop.

dress - cotton on
tights - H&M america
shoes - office
bag and burberry scarf - thrifted.

it's just a quick one so i've done no editing or anything on these, apologies for the differing sizes etc.
we've been on a mission this past week, rearranging furniture and moving into a second room (my brother's old bedroom!) so we have a bedroom and a living room, so we don't have to be in bed all the time. i love having more room, even though we're completely welcome to hang out with mum and dad in the actual living room, it's really nice to have our own space tha doesn't mean we have to watch tv in bed!

so i'm planning to make at least some kind of schedule for the blog, because i really, really love blogging! since i do a lot of crocheting and knitting, and i'm planning on selling my creations soon, i'll do a regular update on what i'm working on.
speaking of work, since most of my life is spent in work clothes, i'll be writing about my struggle to stay stylish even when surrounded by the plainness and frumpiness of city workwear.
and then there's obviously the weekends, where we go on regular op-shopping trips and spend a lot of time in fremantle just hanging and enjoying each other and the surroundings, so there'll be updates on what we find, and what we're wearing (i mean, mostly me, obviously, but toby looks awesome as much or more than me, so sometimes i like to take photos of him too!)
you have to hold me to this one, ok?
i notice there's a couple of new and totally unprovoked followers, which i LOVE!
thanks, people!

i'm leaving you with ANOTHER outfit featuring this dress, combined with a huge cozy sweater that toby found in an op-shop, for a project we're working on together. more on that soon...

safari.

2010-06-23T22:10:00.002+08:00

i first saw these shoes when tieka wrote about shopruche. i don't even remember how i found them, but i remember that my initial impression was of mild amusement.
but, on closer inspection, it turns out that they're awesome. can't you tell? they're so weirdly granny-ish, almost orthopaedic in their look, and yet something about them is incredibly appealing. more than anything, they made me think of safari style. not the safari style that comes up every year on the catwalks under various guises (utilitarian, military, camping chic etc), but the style of glamorous well-to-do english tourists in africa in the 1920s and 30s.

they're just begging to be worn with cream linen and wide-brimmed hats. and some dry, dusty desert sand, and warm breezes and palm trees and oases, and tents and gin-and-tonics and picnics.

three of those pictures are of idina sackville, an english socialite who lived in kenya for years with various husbands, and who got up to some pretty racy stuff, by all accounts.
so perhaps the shoes would need to look just as good off, as on...?

working girl.

2010-06-22T22:13:00.002+08:00

shirt - thrifted, ben sherman
skirt, belt - thrifted
stockings - la magia

all i wear to work is second hand stuff i find at op shops on the weekends.

like this ben sherman shirt, for $3.50, and the skirt.

since toby started nights, i've had to walk to the bus/train/work alone, which is why my skullcandies are keeping me company instead. they're not quite as much fun, but they keep me mildly entertained.

it's supposed to be winter now, but we don't see it, somehow.
there was a whole outfit shot, but i took it when i got home from work, and frankly i looked rubbish.

wheew!

2010-06-21T19:52:00.003+08:00

well. life, once again, happened. but this time, hopefully, because it's a job with set hours, i won't just disappear for months at a time, like last year.

i have so many photos of workwear, some of which may actually be interesting, but i thought i'd share this with you because it was the first really thought-out ensemble in a week.

dress - cotton on
cardigan - H&M america
tights & shoes - target
belt - thrifted
necklace - my grandmother's (i think!)

the dress is the third one of the same style i have bought. it seems like every time we go into cotton on there's another cute pattern or colour, and they're always $10 and it just seems silly not to.
i really, really like this one. the pattern seems like quite a 40s one, especially when it's on and not broken up with a belt.

found this belt on one of our now-weekly op shopping trips. toby's gotten so into it he has found a website with a reliable list of all the perth op shops, addresses and opening hours and all. he's got a pile of shirts and ties a mile high from all over, he's set for life now! i bought the belt before the dress, and imagine my delight when they went so well together! and i don't even wear brown, at all.

and when i say i don't wear brown, i lie. but i bought these shoes a million years ago because they were pretty and i could never wear them with anything in my wardrobe because they never went with anything. they're awful quality, i now realise, but still pretty. and i was worried about the 'mixing two browns' faux pas, but toby said it was ok because it would be dark out! he's normally the one to be scathing about people who think that just because something is brown, it goes with anything else brown.

this necklace has been in my old jewellery box for years now and i honestly don't remember where it's from. i'm pretty sure it's my grandmother's. i meant to get a photo of the other side, there's a gorgeous enamelled floral pattern in different coloured metals on the back. it's a working watch, of the old school, which means it winds up and ticks away until it needs winding again. i LOVE it, and i think i thought to pull it out because i'd been looking at corvus noir's beautiful reworked vintage jewellery lately. and as i've mentioned before, i have literally two necklaces that i wear, so remembering this one was a coup for me!

i wore this to go out to the casino and watch the australia-ghana game on the giant screen in the sports bar. unfortunately, three MILLION other people had the same idea, and it was so crowded they'd set up official queues for the bar. we took one look around and decided to leave, because it really wasn't important enough to spend another three hours being squashed and deafened when it's on freeview anyway and we'd got beers at home.
so i looked great for about twenty minutes, which was totally wasted on the casino crowds anyway. they let you in wearing anything these days. whatever happened to black tie only? bring back the days of james bond, i say.

oh society what have you done?

2010-06-13T22:09:00.005+08:00

i wore nothing interesting this weekend, just the navy tennis dress from cotton on i've been wearing to death this month.
i got some temp admin work, starting tomorrow, so we went op shopping for me on saturday.
i may possibly post some work outfits, do you think it would be interesting? i got some real bargains, things i think will be interesting while still being appropriate for work in the city. and i do hate the idea of city dressing, as if the only thing allowed was black and grey.
my favourite, however, was nothing to do with work. i wrote about the lonely hearts a/w10 (at least i think that's what it is. can't ... be bothered... to google...) here, and how much i loved those checked pants.
well, i found some. they're freakishly awesome, a perfect fit, and look like golf pants. they're vintage lacoste, softest cotton, and everything about them is perfect.
someday soon you'll see them, but i suck at taking photos of my scores, and that would take all the fun out of it anyway.

today i just took a lot of photos of deco buildings around my city. we went all over, discovered the asian-town (it's not really chinatown, there's more vietnamese, thai and indian restaurants and grocers there than anything), stuck to our schedule, and enjoyed what has probably been our most perfect day, weather-wise, since we got back. it was too hot, really. i love winter!

(yep, it's a dominos...)

every time i see these things it makes me smile a bit inside.
i'm going to make it my mission to learn more about this weird, isolated, beautiful place.

old dress, new inspiration.

2010-06-10T17:42:00.004+08:00

dress - dotti, or so i thought...
cardigan and tights - H&M UK
shoes - office
bag - thrifted

so this morning, after toby had gone off to work and i was left wide awake at 6.30, sitting in bed wondering what to do, i had this sudden flash of brilliance - ARCHIVES!
liebemarlene is probably my favourite blog right now, and i was curious to see how she started off.
so i went way back to her first year, 2007, and started snooping. she hasn't really changed her blog style that much actually, she's been very consistent!
the point of all this, though, is that one of her posts in particular caught my eye. it had this picture in it:

while they're all pretty dresses, the bottom left one particularly caught my eye, since i own it, and i bought it from dotti in early 2008. she, however, has it on fairly good authority that it's a kate moss x topshop piece. this mildly blows my mind, and it's something i've seen a LOT of in australia. people might complain about us not having any of the british high street shops here, but what they don't know is that we're actually getting a good chunk of the pieces from those shops sent here, relabelled, and sold in OUR high street shops.
i've seen american H&M pieces in cotton on, topshop pieces in sportsgirl, and now in dotti as well. i don't quite know how to feel about this. i think i'm against it. it feels a bit underhanded, as if they're treating us like the slightly simple cousins of the english and americans who wouldn't understand northern hemisphere high street fashion if it was marketed to us as-is, so it has to be secreted in and labelled with a name we understand. the internet has made this totally pointless, and a little insulting, i think.

the left is a jumper i particularly noted in topshop, because i had one just like it from a charity shop.
the right is the same jumper (it came in both colours), but in the australian shop sportsgirl, which i suppose markets itself a bit like topshop here. i saw that one last week.

ANYWAY, i am getting vastly off topic here, which was that I HAVE THAT DRESS.
and rhiannon was talking about how it was a seventies-knock off, which themselves had been forties knock-offs, so we're getting into inspiration overload territory here now. and in the spirit of getting the most out of my wardrobe, rather than despairing when i looked in the wardrobe, i decided to make the most of what i've got and use something old in a new way.

this is one of the bags i got on that most fruitful of thrifts, and i just love it. compact but big enough for everything i needed, cute and simple and a little quirky, it looks so great just being held like a briefcase, and i think it even elicited a couple of subversive smiles today. they may have been laughing at me, rather than smiling happily, or they may have been reacting to the tights, but i don't really care. i think i looked great, and certainly made a nice change from the dull greys and ugg boots that are all around at this time of the year.

the family dog sasha decided to get in on the action. it was unavoidable.

i forgot to actually say what i did while wearing this today. mum and i went to our local big crafty-sewing shop, spotlight, to spend some money. she had a voucher to get money off if we spent over a certain amount, so we basically went crazy and filled a basket. i got some crocheting cotton (so look out for some collar projects coming up!), two simple sewing patterns (a dress and some shorts), and two pieces of fabric for the dress pattern. i'm leaving the shorts pattern until i'm a bit more experienced.
i'm massively happy about it all, can't wait to get started.
after that, i went to fremantle to meet toby after his half training day, and we had coffee and sushi on the esplanade.

i'm in a really chatty mood right now, but this has gone on far too long already, so i'll leave you with this picture i took of myself this morning with the self-timer. it was appallingly lit, badly framed and focused and i look like a blues brother, so much so that i actually found it charming and retro.
so i added a retro filter to it, and voilà!

ciao bellas!

another library job?

2010-06-08T15:53:00.004+08:00

blouse and belt - thrifted in different countries
skirt - new look
scarf - H&M UK
shoes - kmart
sunnies - cotton on
hair and skin - at wits' end.

toby started his new job today, he basically gets to sit around and background check people who are applying for explosives and firearms licenses. he says it's fascinating, or it will be once the training is over. at the moment they don't even have computers, which you'll see is something of a problem...

and i, little old me, trundled down to fremantle to interview at the library for a library assistant position. i think (think!) it went quite well, they seemed suitably impressed with my previous experience, and awed at my descriptions of the library i used to work at going self-service. i managed to chat, act natural, and only froze up once.
always at the same question, though - give an example of how you have dealt with an unhappy or irate customer.
i don't know why my mind always freezes up at that one, i get it all the time, and i have answers too. i worked on the customer service desk at kmart for three frickin' years. i know irate customers better than they know themselves. i think it's just the mind-numbing stupidity of the interview-question routine. i go blank from lack of interest. hope it doesn't show.

the belt is the one i found at the last op shop we went to, for the mighty sum of $1. i use that white one so much, and sometimes - on some very rare occasions - the outfit i put together doesn't naturally lend itself to a white belt, so i thought a black one was probably called for. it seems fairly sturdy, and i don't think it's been used in a long time, since the first time i pulled it through the buckle, all the oxidised green stuff crackled off the metal onto my dress. THANKS NEW BELT.
i tried searching the name on the buckle, but as far as i can tell it says 'giani kplon', and surprisingly google hasn't got an awful lot to say about that.

it's holding up my £10 new-look-sale skirt, that's a size too big but otherwise wonderful. it comes off a little paper-bag skirt when i do this, though, but i don't know what else to do. it's a really nice skirt, great for office-wear but not too corporate, a little 40s looking, and just the thing i need. i wonder if it would be expensive to have altered? i'm notoriously difficult to find skirts for, it they fit my waist they won't fit my thighs and vice versa. so i tend to stick with a good thing when i find it.
even if it is a size too big...

tonight is our pizza and beer fest, with the last of our 50c weeklies, edison. there's not much i love more than settling down in front of a good action movie with a cheese and tomato pizza from eagle boys, some import beer and my lovely fiancé by my side.

ps. thanks for the comments about my sparrow necklace, it's seriously the cheapest thing ever. i got it at kmart while i was working there, for something like $4. its silver is wearing off and the copper colour is coming through, but i find it goes with most everything and is kind of classically stylish.
someone stopped me in a shop once and complimented it, then when i told them where it was from they turned their nose up! the hypocrisy!

coralised!

2010-06-08T15:23:00.002+08:00

some things that have caught my attention recently, after deciding i have a decided lack of colour in my collection of blouses and tops. it's mostly cream, white, grey, black, navy, and while all these are excellent colours and thoroughly suited to my palette, i find myself sometimes wanting something a little more eye-catching, a little more colourful, a little more... je ne sais quoi. something that would bring out the colour in my pasty-ass english-winter skin, and draw attention away from the fact that my hair is wildly out of control, far too long and faded so badly i think it may actually be my natural colour. quelle horreur!

from gothicpreppy, ooh fancy that, dear golden and ursa only, all on etsy.

oh baby, you are not the sun.

2010-06-06T10:16:00.005+08:00

dress - cotton on
blazer - H&M uk
tights - kayser, my grandma's that mum found.
shoes - new look
necklace - equip

wow i overexposed that one... also, i have an alexa-chung-deer-in-headlights look on my face, i don't know how that happened. sorry.

we went out with friends to celebrate a birthday in fremantle, to an amazing burger bar in the centre of town. i had a veggie burger with a whole huge mushroom in addition to the bean patty and homemade coleslaw, toby had a bean patty with swiss cheese and roasted capsicum, beau whose birthday it was had a chilli beef burger, and esther had a barramundi burger.
the menu had an entire section just for veggie burgers, which never happens. definitely going back there again.

comedy night was fun, although it seems to be shaping up that the MC is the funniest part of the night. last night, ours looked like a cross between bill hader and michael c. hall, and was cheek-achingly funny. there was also a group of people right at the front who thought it was ok to conduct their own conversation during one of the sets, and then get aggressively and derogatorily argumentative when called out by the comedian. it was extremely irritating, and the whole crowd was fully behind the guy onstage when he insulted them pretty viciously.

yes, i changed necklaces before we went out. this belt is going to get a trooper award, for pulling together every outfit i wear lately.

i had a complete girly hour last night, where i wasn't happy with anything i was wearing, and changed into and out of things like they were going out of style. hence the different necklace, although now i look at it i'm not sure i made the right decision... the tights mum found in some of my grandma's old things, unopened. they kind of do the dancer-look, where your legs just end up looking paler than usual and abnormally shiny. i kind of like it in a stylised way. unfortunately, lying around unopened for years on end apparently makes tights really delicate. WHO KNEW? i laddered them last night, so they're in the bin now, and i REALLY need some new ones!

today we're going to my cousin's 16th birthday family gathering. toby is vehemently not looking forward to it, partly because he has to be stuck in a car with my dad and brother for the 40-minute drive there (and we have no way of leaving until dad wants to) and partly because he doesn't like family things in general, having never had much family to gather with, and he finds some of mine a bit grating.
i don't know how to feel about this. on one hand, i see what he means about some of my family - they can be a bit much, and they tend to only address the surface of things.
on the other hand, i have always enjoyed going to family gatherings. i can't tell anymore if this is just my inherited insistence on pretending everything is enjoyable, like my dad, or if i actually do enjoy it regardless. being with toby has showed me that i used to live like that, quite a lot. so am i just being discriminatory if i don't like this aspect of becoming a more discerning person, if it shows me that my family is not all what i thought?
drama, drama, drama.

i'll leave you with these dresses from the topshop sale. i'm loving the floaty pinkness of them, even though i don't know if it suits me or not. they're both on sale, i especially like the first one for its flapperiness. which is totally a word.

one last thrift.

2010-06-05T17:02:00.003+08:00

tshirt - tellison support show, cambridge
jeans - topshop
sandals - city beach

one more trip to fremantle yesterday, to visit an op shop we'd only found after closing time the day before. lucky we did, because toby got two more shirts, and i found two amazing bags and a belt, for $1 each! if things keep going like this, i may try opening an etsy shop again!
my tshirt was (finally) customised right before we went out, i always hate the high constricting necklines on band shirts, so i usually cut them out and give myself some breathing room. i meant to do this for months, but in england i never had sewing scissors. every time i walked past the little sewing section in tesco i would weigh up the pros and cons of buying a pair, and always came down on the negative. so it got done, eventually.

toby found this shirt the day before in another op shop. he wasn't even looking for casual shirts, but they found him anyway. he was wearing it unbuttoned at the neck, and i jokingly told him he should do it all the way up. we liked it better! i really love the little shoulder panels, i told him he looks like a cowboy.

tonight, we're going out with friends to a comedy night and dinner in freo. the weather's awful, so i'm going to be sartorially challenged for warmth....

tennis whites

2010-06-05T16:56:00.000+08:00

i was bored a while ago while toby was on my laptop playing football manager, and i started flickring for photos of tennis players in the 20s.

i think this entire aesthetic is so gorgeous, just the right balance of elegance and playfulness. think jordan, rather than daisy.

i love that the girl in this picture is wearing a bangle, the idea that one should dress up for playing sport as in any other endeavour is wonderful. the knitting pattern for the jumper i posted about yesterday is just what i want when i think about this ideal.

no idea where any of the pictures came from.

all kitted out.

2010-06-04T10:24:00.002+08:00

shirt - topshop
shorts - H&M america
belt - thrifted
sunnies - cotton on

i feel like this is the first time the actual tortoiseshelliness of these sunglasses can be seen. i like it. also worn, but unseen, old white converse low-rise.
i apologise for the funny pose, i'm not thrusting my bosom out at you on purpose. i was in the process of taking the heavy shopping bag off my shoulder when toby took the picture, and since it actually looks ok, i didn't request a retake. the bag is full of library books regarding crochet.

yesterday was a day absolutely full of op shopping win. we got another three ties, two business shirts and one casual shirt for toby, old cookbooks from the seventies and nineties and a FANTASTIC knitting pattern for me. we walked all over, though, so we feel like we earned it all.
i forgot to mention (i think...?) that yesterday i found two balls of mercerised knitting/crocheting cotton for $1 each, which i'm super excited about starting a new collar project with.

l - r: pierre cardin x3, givenchy, australian designer, ysl, japanese department store tie, and liberty of london x2.

wow we were excited about some of these. the liberty ones particularly turned my head. initially i thought i could sell the purple floral one, but it grew on toby and now he's keeping it.
after discovering pierre cardin ties in literally every op shop we went to, the excitement started to wear off. it got to a point where the tie selection in a shop was vastly lacking if there wasn't a pierre cardin tie there! toby says he's never found a decent tie in english charity shops. apparently australian men have expensive and disposable taste in ties?
we had to leave another givenchy tie behind because we didn't have the change for it, too. we were so blasé about them at that point it was no big deal. we might go back for it, we might not. no big deal.

this is absolutely going to be my next knitting project. i saw a lacoste jumper just like this in david jones a few weeks ago, for something like $220. roll on bespoke knitwear! toby wants one without sleeves, to be a tennis vest.

i'm just killing time now until the newspaper man decides to deliver our 307 papers to be folded and delivered...

op shopping!

2010-06-03T09:46:00.000+08:00

short-sleeved cardigan - H&M UK
top - dotti
jeans - topshop

in the US it's generally thrift shopping, the UK knows it as charity shopping.
here in sunny oz we call it op shopping. i'm fairly certain their full names are 'opportunity shops', but in true aussie fashion their name gets shortened, a nickname, if you will.
toby loves to make fun of this, giving everything an 'o' on the end of its name. it's a bit of a joke here that australians will lengthen a name in order to give someone a nickname - like 'smith' turns into 'smithy', 'dave' turns into 'dave-o' etc.

toby starts a new job next week, and we realised he only had three shirts and two ties, so we went on an op shop mission.
we went all over the place, into the city, to fremantle and finally to the big local shopping centre, garden city.
long story short (and pictures to come), we ended up with six amazing vintage ties, some of them designer, and not a shirt to be seen! we gave up on the op shops and went new-shirt shopping, and still nothing! overpriced, too patterned, too dull, didn't fit.
men have it HARD!

while we were in the city, we passed this fantastic old building on Hay St, the Criterion Hotel.

i'll certainly be posting photos of the ties today, right now we're continuing our mission to some more out-of-the-way op shops.

jeunet double, mais oui!

2010-06-01T15:30:00.001+08:00

top - topshop
skirt - H&M UK
stockings - la magia
shoes (pic 1) - hot topic
shoes (pic 2) - kmart

so i know i'm just a walking contradictory cliche, but the only thing i could think when we decided to go to the jeunet double (his new one, micmacs followed by amelie) was to dress in that terribly generic 'french' image that non-french people have.
hence, breton-striped top, slinky pencil skirt, sexy stockings and heels.
i tried to get some red in there, but to be perfectly honest, those hot topic shoes, while great as a blog header, are absolutely impossible to walk in and look elegant.
in fact, just before toby took that photo, i fell over getting from the bedroom to the bathroom.
so i changed out of them and into some more sensible heels, but still with a slinky pretty look, although you can't really tell... toby's been warned against blackberry photos at night after these.

in a fairly unrelated matter, i'm really trying to think more about my jewellery lately.
since i own exactly nothing (or, more to the point, two necklaces and some bangles i bought last year at new look), i'm looking at lots of things that suit my style more now.
interestingly, i'm leaning a lot more towards gold than silver. i've always considered myself more a silver person, but lately everything i've been picking up has been gold.
i'm sure most people are the same as me when it comes to earrings, namely that i can't wear any that aren't sterling silver or real silver or gold, at least plated. anything less just infects my ears and isn't worth the bother. in this regard, most chain shop jewellery is out of the question, even if it were nice enough to want.
that's why i love little online boutiques, for their attention to simple detail and the fact that as a small enterprise they take much better care when choosing materials, simply because profit making is not their only goal.

i've been following renee longer than i've been blogging, hers was one of the first fashion blogs i started reading.
she has a small jewellery operation that she's been running for a while now, and when she posted these earrings in her store ruby tuesday, i knew i had to have them.

it was one of those things i let sit in my mind and stew around, but they're still there weeks later, so as soon as i get some cashflow, i'm going to treat myself!

i'm hoping to showcase a couple of local perth boutiques soon, as i'm really excited by the independent clothing labels and shops that are on offer for the discerning shopper. these will include jewellery!

bougainvilleas and bedshed.

2010-06-01T12:12:00.001+08:00

top - H&M america
skirt - new look
belt - thrifted
scarf (around head) - H&M UK
sunnies - cotton on
sandals - city beach

went for a walk to our local bedshed because our non-sleeping is getting in the way of life.
turns out the expensive part is going to be the mattress. but it will definitely be worth it in the long run.
toby starts a new semi-permanent job next tuesday, and i have the interview with the library in fremantle, which is exciting!

these flowers are so beautiful, i've been wanting to take a photo with them ever since we've been home, just because they so perfectly illustrate my experience growing up in perth.
my grandma always had them growing around her pool, and they're a really common sight in the suburbs. they're thorny though, so it's a 'look but don't touch' policy!

quick one today, we've got our financial advisory meeting soon and we still have to have lunch.

later i'll post the photos of me from last night, when we went out to see the jeunet double - micmacs and amelie, it was wonderful to be able to go to an arthouse cinema again!

some things.

2010-05-31T15:43:00.000+08:00

keiko posted recently about her desire to put more of her (everyday, flawed but wonderful) self on her blog.
her lists of things were inspiring and lovely, cute, funny and sad.

i don't know about you, but whenever i go to write something like that, i have a complete mental blank and end up forgetting about it, simply because when i think about myself i don't see me as a mashup of little quirks, but just as a big, bland, me.
not in a self-deprecating way. just in a 'i don't see myself from the outside' way.

but i thought i'd try my best here, just for funsies.

i really don't get the obsession with owls...
it's like all of a sudden everyone picked up my nanna's collecting habit. they don't appeal to me at all, and i think they're overused by clothing designers and interior designers and artists.

i HATE zooey deschanel...
or her movie personas, her weird blank eyes and everyone else's hero-worship of her intentionally cutesy character in 500 days of summer. which was an AWFUL movie, in case you were wondering.

i have developed a passion for old china...
and have become something of the afficionado on searching the patterns and styles out on the internet.

i do not, not even slightly, get on with my father...
and as i get older, i'm seeing that it's not just teenage rebellion or childish angst, it's an actual incompatibility in character and outlook on life.

i am generally anti- everything that mass culture is 'for'...
or, i hate to like something that everyone else likes, just because they like it. it might be childish, it might be discerning. who's to say?

i got teased at school for being too smart, and reading too fast...
but now they're all settled in their boring average lives. and i'm gloating.

i love anything i can lay my hands on that has anything to do with the so-called 'roaring twenties'...
but i continually remind myself that it was just another time, with people of all characters and styles and tastes, and that idolising an era is silly and simplistic. i'm too academic for my own good sometimes.

i am still the only one of my old school friends who really uses the internet...
they're all luddites, and i don't really have anything in common with any of them!

i actually don't like the way i come off so angry and angsty about everything...
this post included. sorry!

so. that's over with. i had a blank about two points in. HA!

here's something pretty to take your mind off all my vitriol. toby's at a temp job today (kitchenhand, washing dishes) so i'm bored and wasting time. isn't it funny how you can wish and wish for some time to yourself to indulge your guilty pleasures, and then when you get it, you don't know what to do and you're lonely?

i don't remember where i got this from.

jeunet double-bill at the luna cinema tonight!

auckland street style.

2010-05-30T19:12:00.000+08:00

i don't know what's in the water in new zealand, but they're really having a thing right now.

pics from here, via here, via sally jane.

to market to market.

2010-05-30T16:54:00.001+08:00

shirt - tempt
shorts and cardigan - H&M america
sunnies - cotton on

caught up with one of toby's friends today, she drove us to fremantle where we had danishes from the market, coffee from gloria jean's (tastes a thousand times better over ice!) and sat on the grass in the late afternoon sun, chatting and warming our blood.

i said earlier that i already wore one outfit from that madame hawk lookbook, and here it is! that was definitely in my mind when i put this on.

new sunnies! i tried these on in cotton on a couple of weeks ago and loved them. then when our local shopping centre had a 'jeans for a cause' week, where you brought in old pairs of jeans and they gave you a $15 gift voucher for the centre, i saw the perfect opportunity to get them for nothing!
i actually couldn't believe they did that. $15 for giving your jeans to charity? count me in!

these are pretty average as actual sun-protectors, but i'm used to my expensive italian-made polarised sunnies. i'm spoilt, what can i say?
i don't think i can go back to $13 sunglasses now, even if they look this awesome.
they're alright for winter sun, though. and i love them already.

after we had coffee and chats, we went back to the markets to buy fruits and vegies, for dinner and just because they were cheap and tasty. that's the giant bag i'm holding in that picture. full of sustenance.

tonght's dinner - sesame and spinach udon and my dad's beer!

not tonight, no not tonight.

2010-05-29T18:20:00.001+08:00

top - H&M america
skirt - cotton on
tights - schiaparelli, some old packet of my grandma's that mum found
shoes - office

to fremantle to run some errands, and to have sushi for lunch from our favourite place, star sushi, where the most delicious big sushi rolls are $2.60 each, with great vegetarian choices like avocado, sundried tomato, egg and seaweed.
we really missed that place in england, it was so difficult to find good sushi!
much like juice bars, actually. perhaps they're more hot-weather provenance...

in keeping with my new-found interest in my city's heritage, i was fascinated by this tree and sign, that i must have walked and driven past a thousand times, but never even noticed before.

fremantle is my favourite place in perth, anyway. it's so beautiful and full of character, an amazing buzzing port town with white limestone buildings, big old fig trees (like that one!) and huge pines, and endless sea breeze and sunshine.
knowing there are things like this around makes me want to go on a discovery tour of fremantle.
which is quite timely, actually, since the fremantle heritage festival began yesterday!

madame hawk and a day in the sun.

2010-05-28T18:59:00.002+08:00

dress - cotton on
belt - thrifted
sandals - city beach
entire outfit - done to death?
(the quality of the photo is because toby took it [without even being asked/looked at meaningfully while a camera was brandished!] on his blackberry. he is in love with sending me pictures via BBM and email, and he uses it at every opportunity)

took a spur-of-the-moment trip today to my old uni to enquire about starting back next year in my honours course - for those of you reading from overseas, honours is an extra year you can take on the end of your bachelor's degree that includes a 15,000 word dissertation and more advanced coursework.
i'm really excited about it, actually.

so after yesterday's rain and overall uncertainty, today was lovely, consistently sunny and warm and pretty awesome.
we've taken up a paper round to spend some time outside and earn some (very little) money, and today was the perfect first day for it!

rhiannon just wrote about this new zealand label madame hawk, and oh boy!

i'm realising as i slaver over these pictures that they're probably old season stuff that i'll never get to see, but i don't really think that's the point, is it? i already wear things in the colours of that blue jacket-brown shorts combo, and all the other things are inspiration as much as anything.

so very very tired tonight, all the sun today plus less and less sleep of a night, equals not a very awake leah.
mum's pizza for dinner, followed by popcorn, iced green tea and berry-white choc/passionfruit-white choc scones from the local bakery.
nom.

you only get to see the lights, just one time in your life.

2010-05-27T17:45:00.000+08:00

tshirt - cotton on
skirt - primark
belt - thrifted
shoes - office
bangles - new look
tights (#1) - la magia
tights and blazer (#2) - H&M

it's been extremely changeable today, fairly nice and sunny one minute, then pouring with torrential rain the next. this has been happening fairly regularly every half hour or so.
we went into fremantle to have coffee at gloria jean's, a very average coffee chain that is probably part of the no-starbucks problem we have here, and discuss our financial situation to prepare for our 'financial planning' meeting at the bank on tuesday. i kind of love that we're so ready for life after the limbo of last year, it feels exciting and challenging and like we're real people instead of just invisible adults with nothing to our names.

the first picture is what i wore for that, in a rare sunny spell at the bus stop.
the second is what i wore about half an hour ago to walk down to the local shopping centre for toby to photocopy and post something. we got SOAKED.

top - dotti
skirt - H&M
stockings - la magia
shoes - new look

last night my parents took toby, my brother and i out to dinner at a truly awful, cheap italian restaurant in fremantle, because they had a voucher for a discounted dinner.
this is what my dad is like, no matter that he earns a good wage and we've always lived well, no matter that he wants it to be a nice night and, apparently, 'propose' something. he will swear blind that the place was nice, that he had an enjoyable time, that the food was good and the service up to standard.
if i hadn't met toby i'd still be the same, so willing to see the good in everything that i intentionally didn't see the bad.

i'd better get off this laptop now and go help toby with the dinner he's preparing - eggplant and black bean chilli, an absolutely INCREDIBLE dish.

oh yes, though, i updated my blogroll links. if anyone would like to be added, all you have to do is ask (and add me too!)

what have i been doing?

2010-05-26T08:58:00.002+08:00

so crocheting...
it's actually stupid easy. i always thought it would be really difficult, but it's not. it just looks like it. which is never a bad thing, if you think about it - impress people without much effort at all!

here are the main things i've been teaching myself since i learned, about three weeks' worth of work, minus a lot of the early stuff which i just undid as soon as i finished.

the two collars in the last one are the same thing, the blue one was a practice version, the brown one is my more accomplished production.
they're from this pattern.
i'm considering coming up with my own designs and selling them on etsy, because i know there's a lot of people out there who love lacy collars to attach to dresses and tops.
obviously i would make it in thinner material, cotton rather than wool, and better colours, with buttons or ribbons to close.
more to come...

this is me crocheting:

dress - cotton on
blazer and tights - h&m
belt - thrifted
badges - various from shows last year
wool and crochet hook - grandma's

please ignore my unladylike position and focus on my extraordinarily talented hands...