If the shoe fits... it does not make it comfortable. A hommage to my collection.

Obviously women loving shoes is a well-known stereotype. I wish I could say that I could run against that grain and stand strong and proud against such a presumption, but sadly I can't.
Shoes are my thing. Shoes are glorious. Shoes are fun and most importantly, the most justifiable category in ones wardrobe.

I never used to be this way, an advocate to all things shoe; I used to be a normal converse wearing teen who owned one pair of strappy silver shoes that were used for any occasion that converse unfortunately could not attend. This changed in my early twenties. I firstly, became interested in fashion and clothes. I liked what magazines presented to me, I finally understood what a trend was and how I could create a 'style' and how that would give the general public an idea of what kind of person I was through that 'style'.
Following this was the natural progression to footwear. Why would I have all this nice on-trend clothing when I had nothing to wear on the bottom except for my many pairs of converse that had been in Metallica and Slipknot mosh-pits (yes, those bands)? This is when I discovered Jeffrey Campbell.
The saviour and master of the middle ground interesting, fashionable, affordable shoe.
Examples of the type of shoe I purchased from Mr Campbell are below:

The Alameda Neoprene Wedge

The Kelly Brogue

The Lita Patchwork Boot

I realised that shoes are incredibly functional and disfunctional at the same time. This juxtaposition lead to an incredible ease in which to justify another purchase, but an amount of hate surmountable to my dislike of mushrooms after the pain of a 12cm heel. Two years ago after many pairs of stupidly high shoes that make my back hurt, feet ache and general level of fun decrease after 2 hours of wear by about 120 Gryffindor points, I figured I had to become more sensible. This also meant I could buy more expensive shoes, at least that is what I have told myself. I dreamt of: Marni, Wang, Mugler, Acne, Prada etcetera and finally have begun collating my ultimate shoe team for life. A full-time job in the fashion industry calls for serious work wear right? Yep, that's what I think. Here are some of these amazing sale shoes (as that's all I can afford):

Marni Two-Tone Leather Brogue

Opening Ceremony Oxford Clog

Shakuhachi Brocade Riding Boot

Alexander Wang Emily Brogue

As my love increases, so does my amount. A full wardrobe, full second cupboard and others spilling onto the floor... it is shoe madness. I am going start selling my old Jeffrey's, Sportsgirls, Country Roads, Nine Wests as I believe that time has moved on for me. I want to walk, not hobble, run, not crawl in sensible brogues, periwinkles, flatforms and sneaker wedges. This begins tonight. Hello eBay.

I'm bringing scrunchies back...

After Rommy Revson invented the Scrunchie in 1986 and named it after her Toy Poodle Scrunchy, hair history was made.

Come on, admit it, at one point in your life so far your mother enforced a scrunchie into your hair (or your sister's). Be it when you were 4, 10 or now me at 24. I bet it also matched one of your dresses or 5.

THE SCRUNCHIE IS BACK!

I'm telling you it is, high fashion and WGSN say so. 

I am in fact, wearing one now and it feels damn good.

Practical? Yes! Slightly attractive? Yes! Does it come in a range of fun colours? Why yes, yes it does!

Today mine is cream lace, tomorrow it will be black lace, next week black and white spots perhaps.

Why do I feel it is necessary to write about such a somewhat superfluous item? Well because hair is big at the moment. Donuts, french roll aids, clip-on fringes (yes no joke), wide headbands, jewelled alicebands, elastic pony covers etc... all are around and in a big way. People are experimenting and doing new things with old ideas. 

Take the scrunchies for example. You don't just pop it around a mere ponytail (you can, but it's not the 80s/early 90s), you take it and wind it around a messy bun. Instead of 'birds nesting' or top knotting your hair with a boring elastic, you use a thick scrunchie to add colour and interest. You can also layer your scrunchies. Smash them around a large bun on your head, put them around your donut. Anything is possible.

I am excited as this also hides my 'I really need to wash my hair, but going to the gym tomorrow so what's the point' hair. Yay!

Ashish SS 12/13 Birds Nesting

Layered Scrunchies

Also Ashish SS 12/13

Photo from:

http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk

collegefashionista.com

asosmarketplace

My Melbourne Future.

Two weekends ago I went on my annual trip to Melbourne.
Sometimes it is bi-annual, and when that happens, I feel lucky.
There are many reasons why Melbourne as an Australian city is my choice.
Here are a few of those reasons:

1) The grass is always greener and Melbourne is not Sydney.
2) Melbourne has trams, everyone likes a good tram.
3) I have not been to any other major Australian city except for Brisbane and well... yeah...
4) It is a continually growing cultural hub.
5) People are generally better dressed there.
6) Desgraves Lane looks like Diagon Alley.

As much as they are highly justifiable reasons for living in a city, I am also going to write about why Melbourne is great from a fashion focused point of view.
I work in fashion, I am an assistant buyer. Buying involves a lot of numbers and working mostly for larger fashion companies rather than small. Melbourne is the home to most large fashion companies in the country.

Here are a few:
Myer
Kmart
Cotton On Group
The Just Group
Billabong/Roxy/Ripcurl
The Country Road Group

People in Melbourne are effortlessly cool. They dress to impress, not to go to the beach. This is the key difference. I enjoy the constant opening of new eateries, boutiques and art galleries. I like the hipster vibe. I like me in Melbourne, I feel more at home.

When I go to Melbourne I always stop by a few favourite stores. This trip with limited time I only went to my favourite 5. These were:
Acne GPO
Alpha 60 GPO
Zomp
Green with Envy
Kinki Gerlinki

Green with Envy provided me with upstanding service and two amazing items. I am no longer an Alexander Wang virgin and now own an amazing pair of shoes. I also purchased a cute cropped top from their own brand Nicholas.

Melbourne people are more apt to change. They enjoy trying new places, having unique items and clothing, going to new cafes, they like astro turf in their bars, Mexican fusion and cocktails in jars. I also like all of these things. People from Melbourne also think that Melbourne is the best place to be and it is important to stand behind your beliefs. I wish I could say the same for my own home town, Sydney. Sydney isn't terrible, it is just the most expensive city in the world, for real.

Living in Melbourne is approximately a third less expensive rent and travel wise.

I also want to eternally pretend I am in a Harry Potter movie and capes are in!

The best kind of Wang

Desgraves Lane

TRAM!

Photos: 

www.lyst.com

http://freedomcyclist.blogspot.com.au

http://thenauka.blogspot.com.au

But exercise frightens my lungs...

In a processed food world, office environments and easy access to public transport/cars - it is very easy to not exercise.

I am not exactly addicted to moving. In fact, over the years I have become very good at multi-tasking and collaborating different tasks into one so that I may move the least amount of times possible. When I was 14 I was what the Wii Fitness calculator would have deemed morbidly obese. Had my mother and I not burned these photos and buried the rest deep in a hell fire pit (hard to get access to, but managed) I would have posted one for you to see, but alas...

You see, I metabolise my food at a 42 year old age approximately. This makes it very hard for me to eat crap. If I eat enough late night crap in a week, I am guaranteed despite my 2 gym sessions a week to put on weight. It is a constant battle of the mind more than anything, but exercise really helps to boost it and keep my mood high. Before a session I try and think of a million excuses as to why I shouldn't go, especially if Criminal Minds is on, but in the end I always go. Why? Well because of the following...

Today nearly 10 years on as I did my trainer's 31 days post xmas 'Work off Your Xmas Ham Workout' or as I fondly called it the 'Rape Me with a Ham Workout', I thought about how much I hated the feeling and yet found it a necessity. 

During the 120 squats of death I thought about how I needed to put these 3 hours per week aside and fill it with burning pain because in the end it would give me the glutes of J-Lo and reduce my risk of diabetes.

During the 62 pushups I thought about how without this workout I'd be at home stuffing my face with Tim Tams and weighing about 6kg's more wishing I could get off my lazy ass and do something about it.

During the 100 sit-ups I thought about how much my posture had improved from a stronger core and lower back, that it was helping me whilst sitting at my desk all day staring at Excel spreadsheets.

During the 150 star jumps (that make me look like a frittata) I remembered how much better I felt this year when I put on a swimming cossie at the beach knowing that I had worked really hard to not be ALL cellulite (only partly) and less wobbly.

During the 22 Burpees... well I couldn't think. Burpees don't let you do anything except die from a lack of ability to breathe, but also the one Tim Tam I was allowed to have because I did the burprees.

Point is - exercise has helped me over the years become a better and happier person who values and understands food, health and how important it is to look after oneself. It also helps me look better in clothes which lets face it, is probably my prerogative. 

Me tomorrow.

How I thought I looked at the beach (reality not pictured)

My Buy of the week. Karen Walker Whale Dress Win!

What will 2013 bring forth for the fashion world?

Happy belated New Year!

Sadly, I had no time off during the Xmas/New Year break and was hard at work and have not been able to keep a consistent timeline here.

2013 will hopefully become a promising and fulfilling year for the fashion industry and all it encompasses.

Firstly, and one can only hope, that tights as pants will finally fade into oblivion. This I think will only be a dream owing to the amount of people still parading them about my neighbourhood, but one can wish, hard.

Secondly, Balenciaga may swing to the forefront of everyone's attention due to its head designer change. Alexander Wang, the one, the only, the best. What will he bring to the Balenciaga name? At first I thought this was an interesting and perhaps an uncomfortable choice, however, now that I have seen the latest studio made collection, almost making way as it were for his debut, I am truly excited. His masterful tailoring and beautiful luxe fabrics should bring a breath of fresh air to the catwalk for SS 13/14. I just hope he keeps on making amazing clothing, bags and shoes for his own lines as T by Alexander is my new obsession!

Thirdly, H&M are coming. What will this once again mean for our Sportsgirls, Portmans and local brands? H&M are perhaps the most affordable,bang on trend and accessible brand in the entire world and this is a scary thing to envision for our already collapsing industry. Topshop and Zara's impacts seem to have fitted into a small niche that perhaps we weren't addressing completely here. Their businesses have not killed Australian equivalents, maybe taken away from them, but melded in nicely as another option. H&M are cheaper and bigger competition. They are also coveted around the world for being the brand that offer affordable copies of every designer name under the sun. I.am.scared.

Lastly, Pantone Colour of the year is Emerald. Amazing! I am truly looking forward to a year of beautiful peacock hues and jewel tones. This also may have something to do with the fact that emerald is one of my colours, but it does make a nice change to Tangelo Tango, as that orangey red does nothing for a pink based complexion. Bring on another year of developing more sustainable fabrics, new silhouettes, prints, textures and trends. Excitement!

I purchased this from Outnet last week, love!

Refreshing Change.

Future Pitt Street Mall.

The Year I Chose to Lose.

I completed a Bachelor of Fashion Design last year. People who have studied other design disciplines or completed very similar courses understand what undertaking that final year really means. It takes a toll not just physically, but also emotionally. 2011 was probably the most draining, stressful, sleep deprived and challenging year of my life. It was also the year, however, that taught me patience, time management and most of all, taught me exactly what I was able to achieve if I really tried. It has taken me a year to be able to talk about it without feeling sick. I picked up my garments this week from college and as I stood there looking at the results of my hard work, I smiled and I knew progress had been made.

I am finally able to think of it as a 'learning process', whereas a year ago I would have said it was probably the worst life choice I had ever made. It is so hard to explain, but it is like making a horcrux (for those Harry Potter fans out there). Taking a piece of your soul and placing it into 9 garments and 5 bodies that will become your Magnum Opus. It is not just 9 garments. It is 9 garments defining exactly what you are about as a designer, what you want the world to see, and you only have this one chance.

I had never received amazing marks in my design subjects. I was more interested in theory and design history subjects. So when we were presented with this winter brief I was more than just nervous. The first week we were to present 5 looks for 10 garments. That is 50 drawings, which take time and a lot of thought. Churning out that many ideas in one 7 day period is incredibly taxing. I had been thinking about this collection for two and a half years at this point and yet, when it came the moment when I was to put these thoughts to paper and express them to my teacher, I couldn't.

I began searching for more inspiration. Stylesight became my bible. Who were my style, designer icons? Who weren't? Should I utilise alternate design disciplines like architecture?

I fell in love with Frank Gehry, the amazing Guggenheim Bilbao architect. This led to me looking at designers who also drew influences from architecture such as Gareth Pugh, Felder Felder and, of course, Alexander McQueen.

After 6 months I had done some pretty incredible things. I had put back together a rusted stud machine after visiting a stud maker in Marrickville, I learnt how to sew leather, how to cut out silk without it slipping, I had fused together silk and neoprene with quilting glue. I dreamt designs, I dreamt solutions, and would wake up writing them down furiously. I sat up night after night with my wonderful friends sewing, typing, drawing, painting and in the end I made something I was really proud of.

Here it is below:

The Chevron Coat

Bondage Pant, Triangle Shirt

The Fly Away Dress

The 1000 Pieces Dress

Goldfrapp Jacket

Armourdillo Dress

The Carnival Dress

The Biggest Week of Online Shopping Ever.

This week began with Cyber Monday. Arguably the biggest day of online shopping in the entire year. The interesting thing about this year in particular is that it was officially the biggest day of online sales ever. IBM tracked 500 online retailers across the day and the world showing a 30% increase in sales from 2011. 
Why is Cyber Monday the biggest online day of the year? Well, it follows Black Friday. Black Friday is the massive Thanksgiving sale that happens each year in lieu of the American public holiday. It boosts sales pre-Christmas and allows people to justify a lot more readily why they should be buying (Christmas Presents, Clothes are pretty etc...). 
So what is this information saying about the fashion industry and people in general?
They are becoming more and more comfortable with the online world and less interested in poking around Westfields. 

Who Did it the Best?

Opening Ceremony (my love, my all) offered a killer sale mostly on clothing, however, once again let their international customers down with their $40 shipping (it does arrive in 48hours though).

Barney's were offering a great broad range of designer gear for 30-60%. They also gave their international customers free shipping over $200. (I may have partaken in this wonderful opportunity *cough leather pocket shirt cough*).

Urban Outfitters offered 2 for 1 deals, $5 stocking fillers etc... as well free shipping over $50.

Then the UK retailers jumped on board with The Outnet giving an extra 40% off certain categories within their ranges.

Solestruck (the best shoe site in the world ever) have the best Cyber Monday sale of all. 50% extra off all their sale product in which there are over 2000 styles. It is huge. Last year the server crashed on my friend and I and we had 4 computers on hitting refresh, panic faced and crying... yes shoes are that amazing especially when they're $70. Fortunately, all worked in our favour and I was seen to be wearing my lovely Cheap Monday boots to work today, all thanks to Solestruck's amazing sale.

So What Next?

The fashion industry is as I said before at a crossroads where they are needing to spend equal money and time getting their websites looking amazing and incredibly stylistic, offering unique deals that their own stores aren't offering etc..., however, also needing to keep their shops trendy and fashion forward as well as differentiating themselves from their competitors.

Where this leads in the near future will be incredibly interesting especially with this exponential growth in online sales. Exciting times ahead!

Barney's Co op Steal

TBA James Boot - It's Love!