Lets remember the 90s....

oKAy...an era I thought I'd never find myself moving to repeat is the styles of the 90s. I think it's only natural, the time of your younger years becomes a period to look back on in embarrassment, frowning on your past self. But here I am looking over pictures of 90s grunge and thinking perhaps it's not so bad afterall. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if there's one thing the 90s got right, it was their position on leggings, and if I think about it in that respect I have been channeling the era quite strongly for the last year or so. But now the 90s are making their comeback more than ever. For the duration of 09 winter the shops have been decked out with ill fitting seemingly misshapen swing tops in various tie-died elements of utter grunge- and this is something I vowed never to succumb to. But in some ways grunge style has a lot going for it. Take this picture (stolen by me from the latest sartorialist post, it displays grunge in a somewhat classy form. You can't deny it, she's got style. The jeans have that ever-popular oversized boyfriend style to them, and the oversized and understated white tee has the misshapen 90s style without the dowdy 90s curse of making her appear as though she should be begging for your pocket change. But overall the statement of the outfit which you absolutely can't get past is the rip factor. The jeans have been fabulously dun over, and display that 90s ripped jean grunge that outfits like this one make me absolutely love. So, this spring I'm open to it. Last year I ventured outside of my vacuum tight skinny jean phase to by a pair of boyfrienders and this time around I vow to dabble in the ripped effect. As seen here it can really work when complemented in a classy enough way, and like this fabulous italian woman, I will endeavor to get it just right.

Leggings are Pants

WeLl....In my opinion leggings, or legumes as I like to call them, are and will always be pants. This seems to be an all take sides debate worthy of Team Jolie-Team Aniston, the paper's meant to hang OVER, no it's meant to hang UNDER- or maybe even Edward vs. Jacob. Are they or are they not to be considered pants? Should we be outraged if a girl wears her black leggings out with a regular sized t-shirt, should they remain an under garment to wear beneath a casual dress or baggy top 80s style? Well, I think we get the best of both worlds, more option and choice of style, if we just get over it and classify them as pants. Why CREATE a wardrobe restriction?? Consider them pants and we get to wear them under long tops OR short ones. Let's all make like Edie, feel free to go out in your plan black legumes- because contrary to popular belief, you're not doing anything wrong. I mean, you're hardly walking around with just you're knick-knacks on are you? Its not like everything isn't sufficiently covered. And we can draw the line between leggings and stockings because, come on, they're not the same thing- consider it this way, you wouldn't wear a sheer nylon t-shirt, but you'd wear a stretch cotton one, See?? Pants. Just a few tips though, as it probably goes without saying, dress to suit your body type, make the judgement of whether or not this is a look that's flattering for you, also, if you're wearing leggings on their own, be sure to check what you look like from the back- VPL (visible panty line) is so deeply unattractive... Have fun with it...xx

My next buy...

i ADorE handbags. They're just generally gorgeous to look at (the good ones of course). I already know that in my first year as a career person, I'll probably make the fatal, unwise mistake of forking out eleven hundred dollars for a timeless chanel or balenciaga. But my future fiscal mistakes aside, for now, we have to fake it. Within the kind of stores I frequent, those generally accessible to a NZ teenager, there's rarely anything truly amazing. But I've set my sights on buying a black quilted purse sometime in one of my next shopping ventures. Obviously, coco did it first. The black chanel quilted bag is an absolute classic which I covet. It's the perfect length, size and goes with almost any ensemble. Their recent surge in popularity has meant some of the chains have been stocking a little of something similar. Wildpair, I noticed, have an assortment of sizes and styles, but I need to pick the perfect one. I think I just need to suck it up, and let go of the ultimate chanel fantasy (at least for a few years anyway) and just pick one. Because, really I'm sure there's something there that will achieve the desired look.  

Head bands

...sO, how could I mention hair accessories, much less, headbands, without bringing in the girls from gossip girl to demonstrate the trend. There's no doubt about it, the hit show (which is one of my personal faves, returning early september-yay!) has made headbands the ultimate fashion accessory. I think they're adorable. (I sound so cheesy right about now) But seriously, they really cant be described without such cutesy adjectives, they're a cutesy item. 

So, I think recently there's two statements headbands have been making which are equally cool looking, and can be an ultimate acces

sory to any outfit. 

1) BAND style headbands

So these are the kind we usually see Blair (Leighton Meester) and her gang wearing around NYC. Like the cute red one she's wearing here, these headbands are the band with some kind of accent in one place along the band-I think on the side, like here, looks best. This can be a really cool look. Doing some research, in true GG style, most of the accessories on the show are high class designers and so, naturally are quite ridiculously expensive. So, for a more affordable option, you may be turned off this idea but the mainstream accessory chainstores (bling, diva and equip in NZ) actually have a pretty decent selection. The thing is the need to look past the fact that you're looking at a massive stand of fifty assorted colours of the same thing, and consider what ONE will look like alone, with your own carefully planned outfit. Or, alternatively, channeling your inner Gok Wan, you could make like me in this sitch, and try create something of your own. I found some really cute fabric patch brooches (I'll post a pic sometime) and just bought some really cheap elastic headbands from a chainstore. Pretty simple, but turned out really effective. They looked a lot like the sort of thing you'd see on the show, and what's more, I'm never gonna see someone else with the same headband as me. 

 

                                                     2) The SCARF style head band

These are very reminiscent of 80s madonna, or maybe 195os washerwoman, but don't have to go to either extremto work, obviously. I love wearing these, I have about four. Just simple thin scarves or strips of fabric will do, and you just tie them around your hair how you please. 

                                                                        

Here comes Spring...

oKAy, so there's only about two weeks left of winter down in here in the Southie Hemi. 

V. sad in many ways, as I honestly think the wet season is possibly the best. Yes, it may be a pain, grey cold, and often drizzly, but essentially, winter fashion is great. There's so much option in Winter. When it gets hot, there's minimal incentive to care about what clothes you want to wear, because all you want to wear is minimal clothes. At least in Winter you've more incentive to think about things, I think it's just more of a fashion-friendly season. But that being said, all seasons offer us their own characteristics of style. And as spring is nearing, it's time to get used to the warm sun and cool breezes, a weather report that warrants an outfit similar to this one above. This photograph was taken and posted by the Sartorialist (see links bar-must follow blog) a few months ago. My guess is that it was an early northern summer day. I think she's stunning. She seems so comfortable and effortlessly glamorous. It's the kind of outfit that you know just came together quite simply, and worked better than she could have anticipated. I'll admit, I shamelessly imitated this the other day, but let's face it, it works, so who cares?. Anyway, I just bought some similar darkwash high waisted shorts from Kilt (again, links bar, they've got some great stuff). they're beautifully tailored, a little longer in the leg than these ones though. But anyway, teaming it with this simple pinstriped business shirt seems to dabble in the "man style" or "boyfriend" look I myself have been quite subscribed to for the last 6 months, as well as the nice tailoring and chic accessories which make it look casual and classy at the same time. I've worn the shorts again since, this time I wore them at night with a simple white tee, preppy grey cardi (open) and sheer black stockings. It was quite cute, but somewhat sophisticated as well. They're definitely a fave new garment, and I see myself putting them to good use as spring arrives.  

Edie

Edie Sedgwick.

You'll hear me talk about her a lot. LOve hER!

Andy Warhol's muse, her story's pretty tradge. Typical, too much sex drugs and- factory living. 

Well miss Edie embodies what I love about the 60s. It's hands down the decade I'd live in, ya know, if you could chose. Well, Edie was the ultimate live free die hard, fashion icon. She'd walk the streets in black stockings, a cropped tee and heels, add some statement earrings, not to mention HEAVY eye make up and thats that. The crazy, free spirited way she dressed echoed how she lived. I love going out when you know you're making a bit of a statement, and Edie did this every time- effortlessly too. (For extra Edie watch Factory Girl. I own it. It's a biopic about her life, stars Sienna Miller-one of my modern fashion faves. It's a bit of a dramatization, but you get the idea, and the wardrobe's great.) I love playing with Edie's style, not to the extreme, obviously, I do think it's a bit costume and tacky when people completely emulate someone's style, but still, in the realm of leggings, which I do consider to be pants (see various points in the 60s 80s and 90s if you disagree- we've done it before, we'll do it again) and cute mod style tops look awesome. Also her way of doing make up was extremely gorge. Striking- she'd go nuts on the eyeliner, but she'd pull it off during the day. I confess I'm not game enough for that, but still, one day perhaps. 

Hi! Fashion

hey,

so here's the thing: what do we think about clothing? Some people actually hand-to-bible follow the mindset they're just for comfort, put on anything, who cares what it looks like. Now, honestly, I mean no disrespect to these practical minded individuals. If that's the way the way you view, go for it, knock yourself out. But me, I reckon as humans we're naturally conditioned to care about what we look like. Actually, if there's people out there (and I don't doubt that there are) who can sincerely say they DO NOT CARE about what others think of them, I would like to publicly broadcast to them now. Hey you, yeah you. You are officially absolutely and 100% among the luckiest people on this revolving beach ball we call earth. I salute you and am hear-by jealous of you. Because, essentially, most of us do care what other people think. And it is this inherent CARE, that generally drives us to spend an embarrassing number of hours in front of the mirror in pre-venturing out. Now, we know life would be easier, far less stressful, and far more peaceful if we were among the lucky few who are apathetic to the opinion of others, but the fact is, we care, and that's why we wouldn't go to a restaurant in a tracksuit, or shopping in pyjamas.  So then, what do we do about it? For me, looking good isn't always the goal (probably a good thing because I may not always venture outwards in flattering getups). No, the goal is simply to look "cool". I know, I know "define cool". Well there may not be an actual definition of cool, but to me it definitely involves being fashion forward, not generic, chain-store dummy style, but more, a bit of old a bit of new a bit of 'hasn't quite got here yet', building up to that essential moment when you look in the full-length and you're satisfied. Because see, I do care what others think, but then, my view is, if I think I look cool, others will too, and if they don't, basically, screw it. Not to be cocky, but I think enough about it to keep up with the fashion, and I think I've got to the point where I'm generally fashionable. And if the mainstream don't like it, I'm confident that the smallstream, those who know fashion, would. And so you, my lovlies, you are who I target, care about what others think (cause, let's face it we will anyway), but only trust the opinions of those you think are worthy. If a neon-tank wearing teenager thinks you look weird, is that a judgement you'd trust? I don't think so. If you look like you'd fit in in NY, you've got it, and if you look great, you'll feel great, and if you feel great, I'm sure you look great. So let's look great, feel great and love dressing, always. xx