Blazer Therapy

'What a strange power there is in clothing.'

Isaac Bashevis Singer

Don't you find harsh tailoring imbues all sorts of masculine powers? Whenever i wear my oxford shirt or brogues i feel suddenly a little bit more powerful, i stand up straighter, i'm even a little cocky. All stereotypes of course, but the point is, clothes can be transformative. That's hardly an original statement, granted, but it has to be said nonetheless. Just as heels confer not only height, but confidence, and a feathered couture cape is filled with fantasy and whimsical dreams, or the glitz and glamour seeming to drip off you as you port a paste jewellery confection. 

My search for the perfect black blazer is much publicised, and i am resigning myself to the fact that i'll have to get my designer friend to make one for me. I am too particular in what i want, and she is so talented. To not get her help would be a waste, wouldn't it? I want something slightly fitted, but still very loose, hitting at my hip bone or a tiny bit lower, with big gold buttons. Although the gold buttons are a value added extra. 

This blazer, once it ends its journey tucked into my wardrobe will be a transformative piece for me. I already know it. It is going to be the basis of Fabulous Future Me's closet, altering in the manner of a pair of really incredible heels that just wow and shock all onlookers. A blazer is simple, yes, and to some boring. But to me the blazer represents the height of french chic, but an attainable height, an accessible piece that can transform the wardrobe of all, be it a young girl who loves to write and dreams of chanel to a gorgeous parisienne it girl bedecked in rings and exuding that soft glow of coolness that is captured so well in cobrasnake photos. 

Anyway, just because dreaming is my middle name, here are a few little polyvore outfits for Fabulous Future Me, and of course, the places she would wear them to. 

Number 1

FFM feels incredibly french with her silk skirt, flowy cotton top, 2.55 and fitted blazer. It certainly helps that she's in Paris. What's she doing there? Oh you know, just a little thing they call fashion week. She's there for one glorious week, spending the days drifting around the shows, sitting front row at Nina Ricci cheering her good friend Olivier on (oh yes, FFM and Olivier will be BFFs of course) and the nights sipping away at champagne and chatting to karl lagerfeld. She manages to squeeze some shopping in, she always does, and fleeting visits to Versailles to see the mirrors, the Louvre to see Winged Victory (to this day her favourite statue) and long walks across bridges and along banks. She's almost sad to go home. But there's always next season. A bientot!

[mcQ blazer, vanessa bruno top, pierre hardy for gap shoes, roberto cavalli skirt, la garconne leather vest, chanel 2.55] 

Number 2

FFM is sitting at her desk in the offices of Vogue, tapping away at her computer. After all, this feature article on the power of haute couture won't write itself. Sturdy heels, a flippy skirt, fun bracelets and a big bag to carry all her notes in. Oh, and a chic blazer that makes her feel more powerful and gives her that little bit of extra confidence to strut into the vogue offices to hand in her copy. Usually she just cowers outside until she thinks all the stylists have gone out for their lunch and then she runs in, brandishing her copy like a burning torch. Today, wearing this fabulous blazer, she feels just that much more self-assured. And she couldn't believe it, when she was leaving the offices one of the assistant stylists sidled up to her with a meek smile on her face asking where she got that lovely blazer from.

[mcQ blazer, sonia rykiel shoes, vanessa bruno top, lanvin belt, burberry skirt, forever 21 bangles, la garconne bag]

Number 3

FFM feels positively fierce as she walks into the bar. And that's a new feeling for FFM, but then, who wouldn't feel like taking on the world in a micro mini, chunky ankle boots and a fitted blazer? She'd like to think that this fabulousness came about through sheer luck, but the fact of the matter is that she's there to meet someone... her ex. And when she sees him, unshaved and unkempt in that dirty old army jacket he insisted on wearing every time they went out she can't help but grin to herself. Margiela or Mash? there's no contest here.

[McQ blazer, givenchy muse, opening ceremony cardigan, maison martin margiela mini (try saying that 12 times fast), topshop beanie, rings eclectic ring, emma cook for topshop boots]

Number 4

When the boy asked FFM to accompany her to his latest film's premiere she was instantly thrilled, and then moments after that incredibly anxious. What would she wear?  She would have to look effortlessly chic, which of course meant spending hours in the confines of her closet searching for something perfect. After much searching she unearthed this lacy mini dress (very now she noted with some satisfaction to herself), cute red stilettos, and a clutch bag. She saw the black car pull up in front of her house, threw on some bangles and grabbed her trusty blazer. Would she embarrass the boy? Not in this out fit. Flashbulb ready? Yes. Chic? Yes. Effortless? Well, FFM pleads the fifth. 

[McQ blazer, balenciaga clutch, stella mccartney dress, alexander mcqueen earrings, forever 21 bangles, alexander mcqueen shoes]

Number 5

Ah the horror of the drinks party. Sometimes they want you dressed down, sometimes up, sometimes in dresses, others in suits. FFM knows whatever she does her editor will find something wrong with what she's wearing, so she just throw on a skirt, ruffled blouse, cinch in the waist and add a pair of crazy sandals. And her blazer of course. FFM arrives a little late, but so does everyone else, and as she grasps her first martini of the night she sees her editor lock eyes on her. She takes a gulp and prepares her for the barrage. 'You look very nice tonight. Love your blazer.' FFM blinks. What? Had she misheard? Her editor is grinning at her an raising her glass. FFM smiles, run with it. Cheers!

[McQ blazer, chanlel 2.55, lanvin blouse, alexander wang skirt, alaia belt, forever 21 bangles, gucci sandals] 

Here is a special gift for the tea drinking english rose. Her blog is very sweet, and so what better to give her than a reclining marie antoinette surrounding by beautiful pastries and a maid to slip on her shoes. Frivolous frippery and much love to you, my dear! 

And of course lots of love to you all and thankyou for all your darling comments!

hope you have/had a marvelous halloween and a great weekend.

pinch and a punch for the first day of the month.

X

You have read this article dreams / fashion / future / inspiration / me / polyvore / style with the title October 2008. You can bookmark this page URL http://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2008/10/blazer-therapy.html. Thanks!

if you come to florence you simply must have a room with a view.

'at the side of the everlasting why, there is a yes, and a yes, and a yes!'

E.M Forster, A Room With A View

a room with a view by e.m forster is one of my favourite books of all time. for a man, and a homosexual man at that, e.m forster could really get inside the head of women and understand them so completely. In the manner of, say, how olivier theyskens really understands women. his most famous books, this one, howard's end and a passage to india, are all exceptionally well written moving between social satire, romance and social examination with ease. He writes without some of the heavy tones that dickens employed and with the wit and charm of an early austen. I like him immensely and wholeheartedly recommend him!

the merchant ivory production of a room with a view is an exceptionally good version of the novel, the casting is excellent, the setting authentic (oh how it makes me dream of florence, where the smells are stronger, the air richer, the colours brighter!), the costumes dreamy, the tone witty and true to the novel. It is a joy to watch the film unravel as it takes you gently by the hand on a light sojourn to an idyllic but blissfully lovely edwardian england via the humid passion of italy. Helena Bonham Carter, Daniel Day Lewis, Judi Dench all look so incredibly young. Especially Helena, who looks very fresh, and is enchanting as the naive ingenue heroine Lucy Honeychurch.

The costumes are very good, authentic and true, providing escapism into this historical world. I love all the silk blouses, the tightly waisted long skirts, and the messy buns that all these women wore. I loved all the lace too, as i was watching it with my sister she said, 'oh god, it's like an 80s revival flick'. And she's right, if you look at all the Adam and the Ants videos, or even some of Madonna's stuff, they all liked to wear these Edwardian-esque dresses, lots of lace, cotton gloves and messy buns and plaits. Odd, don't you think? But then, i suppose, people wear all sorts of things now that no-one thinks are odd. Also, and maybe this is weird, i LOVE LOVE LOVE what all the little children are wearing, lace up ankle boots, white pinafores, satin sashes and ribbons in their hair. Oh to be an edwardian child!

I think some of the elements, not all together obviously, but some of them would look very nice mixed and matched up with other things. Certainly lace is making a comeback, but the styles and sillhouettes themselves are not half bad. The cinched in waist with a satin sash would be nice with say, a plain black skirt and leather jacket. Or a parasol giving a darling edge to an otherwise grungy outfit. You get the picture.

I mean, isn't fashion all about absorption and re-invention? I know for a fact that Theyskens loves the edwardian era clothes, and his collections at Rochas were characterised by the high necklines, long sleeves and frilled skirts that were so indicative of edwardian dressing. Although you may be frowned upon as 'eccentric' and 'dramatic' nowadays for wearing something in the style of Lucy Honeychurch, inspired dressing can come in the form of assimilating aspects of edwardian outfits into your everyday style. Lace, gloves, satin, pretty blouses, high necklines, the cinched in waist, a long skirt, satin... And some of the items of clothing are bang on trend at the moment, think of the little girl's laced up ankle boots. Sound familiar? Stick a platform heel on them and they could be strutting down any of the runways at the moment. You don't have to dress head to toe in a sweeping gown and parasol... but it could be very chic incorporating some of the elements into your daily wardrobe. Personally, i'm going for the lace, the long skirts, the ribbons and the boots. Just some food for thought!

i know this is a bad picture of it, but on the left can you see the little girl? i love her calico skirt and black boots.

ribbons!

[caps my own]

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i do... want a really nice dress!

'The wedding was very much like other weddings, where the parties have no taste for finery or parade, and Mrs. Elton, from the particulars detailed by her husband thought it all extremely shabby, and very inferior to her own. 'Very little white satin, very few lace veils; a most pitiful business.'

But, in spite of these deficiencies, the wishes, the hopes, the predictions, the confidences of the small band of true friends who witnessed the ceremony were fully answered in the perfect happiness of the union.' 

Jane Austen, Emma

Every girl dreams about her wedding, the flowers, the cake, the reception, the church, the guests, the husband... I dream about my wedding dress, and only my wedding dress. Cursory thoughts are given perfunctorily to the man of course, clever and funny and handsome (which, as austen taught me, a young man ought to be if he possibly can), but all my life the profound and overriding image has been the dress.

What would i wear? What colour? White, cream, off-white, off-cream (which sounds rather hazardous to your health if you think about it.) What would i have in my hair? a veil, flowers, garland, feathers? What about the shape? sleek, shift, pouff, meringue, tiered, empire line? Would there be a train? and if so, what adorable little girl would hold it up?  And on my feet? The shoes, oh the glorious shoes...

Because, at the heart of it, isn't your wedding really just an excuse to put on a marvellous dress and look fabulous and be the centre of attention for a little while? I mean, i'm not against the institution of marriage itself, but i think weddings have become so gloriously but unnecessarily extravagant over the years that the real purpose, that of committing yourself wholly to a person, has been lost. A wedding isn't so much about love anymore, but about labels. Which isn't a real issue in and of itself provided that people recognise that the purpose of a wedding has changed. Commitment can be honoured in a small and private way, but the bride and her loveliness, well that requires a big white dress and a cake with 7 tiers.

In a perfect world my wedding dress would have been hand made for me by one of my obliging designer friends, of which Fabulous Future Me will have many. I've always wanted a country wedding, and i can see a lovely marquee tent built with mis-match chairs lined up in rows and me in a glorious dress and sandals or gumboots, or something silly like that, walking up the aisle to the strains of laura marling or norah jones. Odd, but very cute. And there my future-husband would stand, proud and slightly offbeat, and me clutching a bunch of daisies. And afterwards everyone back to our cottage for tea and macaroons and cucumber sandwiches.

Just like all brides, i think, i change my mind daily about what the dress would look like. At the moment i am leaning slightly towards a Rochas-esque Olivier Theyskens confection out of whispy chiffons layers in icy blue. Wouldn't that look wonderful with a pair of ballet flats and a garland of flowers? But then other days i think, no, you should wear heels to your wedding, and so i imagine this amazing tulle skirted christian lacroix dress with a sky high pair of heels and a bunch of deepest red roses. And then other days i want a wedding dress like Audrey Hepburn in funny face, ballerina length tulle skirt, boatnecked bodice, typical hubert givenchy with long satin gloves and a veil. Or what about the pale pink lace and silk of a valentino couture dress? So many dresses, so little time.

I want something that reflects my own style, and i want it to be classic and wearable. I know, it's your wedding dress, you're not supposed to wear it again, but i wear my mother's wedding dress all the time. It was a gorgeous chiffon slip with a cropped ivory vintage lace overshirt left over from my grandmother's wedding dress. Mum wore it with this amazing hat, embellished with roses made out of soft gauze, and she looked fabulous. Sort of inspires me to wear a really big hat to my wedding. Oh the choices!

Rochas. Olivier Theyskens thou truly art a god among men. Can't you see this dress with a messy bun like lily and a bunch of wildflowers or gardenias? 

Jean Paul Gaultier. Okay, not your traditional dress, but bear with me for a moment. Forget the parasol and the wet hair. If you had your hair up but whispy and loose, and had a bunch of daisies, don't you think this dress could be very elegant? I love the colours and the shredded effect at the bottom of the dress.

Comme des Garcons. I mean, you wouldn't pair it with tennis shoes, obviously, but i think this could look kind of cute as a wedding dress? 

Christian Lacroix. The traditional, the pouffy meringue, the master that is Lacroix. A wedding with this dress would be fabulous. 

Valentino. With less severe hair i think this could look very elegant.

Anne Valerie Hash.

Sophie Kokosalaki. Not for the faint of heart (of the large of legs) but this dress is just gorgeous, and imagine it with long softly curled hair, a diamond necklace and a bunch of white gardenias. 

Rochas. I know, two by Olivier theysens. But look at this dress! Look at how it moves! I just love it so so so so so so so much. I would kill to be married in this dress, with a soft bun and a big hat and pretty shoes. What a fabulous and romantic wedding dress!

Aren't these dresses just lovely? I can see some of them with great big hats, others with veils, and some with feathers in your hair like marie antoinette. Big bunches of flowers, wildflowers maybe, lavender, bluebells, cornflower... I can't wait to serve everyone turkish delight and glasses of champagne and lovely little petits fours at my wedding. (freudian slip of the tongue, when i wrote that sentence originally i wrote 'at my weddings'... maybe i shall have to have many in order to have all these different dresses!). Multiple weddings, multiple dresses, multiple presents... How lovely!

I was also awarded the 'Kreativ Blogger' award by the tea drinking english rose. 

she is such a darling, and her blog is filled with cute thoughts, lovely little pictures and snippets of her life. It is such a joy to read and brightens up any day. check it out, if you haven't already!

I pass the award onto Ane from FeedMeBerries... have a look at her splendiforous designs and you'll see she embodies creativity like no other!

Love to you all...

now i'm off to listen to 'going to the chapel' by the chiffons.

 'gee i really love you and we're gonna get married, going to the chapel of love.' 

X

You have read this article haute couture / me / style with the title October 2008. You can bookmark this page URL http://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2008/10/i-do-want-really-nice-dress.html. Thanks!

slipping through my fingers

[foto_decadent]

'the innocent and the beautiful have no enemy but time'

w.b yeats

I remember when this editorial came out in australia and new zealand there was controversy with a capital C, censorship boards, parents, teachers, even teenagers complaining that the spread was indecent because it showed 15 year old Zippora Seven and 16 year old male model (can't remember his name) naked in a bath and insinuated alcohol and drug use. People were calling for Russh to be remanded, fined, sued, banned...

I thought it was a gorgeous shoot though, and it was supposed to be an homage of sorts of the kate moss/johnny depp era, a relationship that i loved and wish still continued (kate moss was in far better shape with johnny than she is today with pete/jamie). The shoot was so evocative of young love, the thrills and perils of being in love for the first time, and the invincibility that is so synonymous with being young. I don't know, i'm probably reading too much into it (as usual) but what i got from the shoot, and it's clear and unveiled relation to the johnny/kate relationship is how there really is no boundaries when young. destructive behaviour, animosity, passion, wasting time, not doing anything by half measures... i mean, that's youth. nothing is as bright and exhilarating but at the same time despairing and never-ending  as being young. At least, that's my opinion of it anyway. :P

And of course Yeats goes all poetical on us, but it's true isn't it? the innocent and the beautiful have no enemy but time. Time robs us of our beauty and our innocence, among other things. With age comes new realisations, new understandings... nothing can ever be the same as it was before. You look at the world with different, tempered, eyes. After your first love, your first broken heart, your first disappointment, your first moment of pure ecstasy (and not the drug kind), you are changed irrevocably. The excitement and wonder that the world holds seems old hat, the despair and distress that it holds a daily reality. And as each day slips through your fingers it gets harder and harder to connect to the innocent, and it must be said, the beautiful, of yesterday.

And i think that's what the editorial, and yeats, is about. Time changes everything. For better or for worse. And nothing is ever the same again.

[zippora seven image; foto_decadent

johnny and kate image; flickr]

Thankyou once again for all your lovely and sweet comments.

X

for those looking for the whole editorial, it can be found here;

fashionising forums

the fashion spot here, and here

at tfs the whole ed is there, including the pics of the male model. at the fashionising forums the pics are just of zippora (although she is the majority of the ed). 

You have read this article editorial / yeats with the title October 2008. You can bookmark this page URL http://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2008/10/slipping-through-my-fingers.html. Thanks!

the long and the short of it

[tfs]

As vogue US tells me, long skirts need not only be for the night time... thankyou anna for that dazzling piece of insight. I have long been interested in the long skirt (haha). After having dabbled with it rather unsuccessfully in 2004 and 2005, trying in vain to recreate the boho-chic look of sienna miller, i swore off the long skirt throughout 2006 and 2007 in an attempt to recover. Now, at the end of 2008, i feel i am ready to take the plunge. Again.

It does take a measure of confidence to wear a long skirt. Why? Because it is by nature conservative, it covers your legs completely and offers only a hint of shape as you take a step, the outline of your leg straining briefly against the fabric. Especially in a society like ours, and even more so in Sydney, where the culture is less is more, and by less i mean micro mini crop tops and micro mini shorts. Wearing a long skirt is covering up, going against the grain, and not being overtly sexual, something that is definitely against society's mould.

But then there can be something sexy about a long skirt. It is the hint of the body underneath really, like sheer tops, allowing a glimpse every now and then of the shape of the leg, but not the whole thing itself. Like sheer, you are invited to look and guess, but never to actually know. At least, not until the skirt comes off. ;) Long skirts are also blissfully glamorous in a nonchalant kind of way. It's to the floor, and therefore flippy and elegant in the manner of an evening gown. But then it's made of jersey or cotton and is comfortable. A long skirt is the best of both worlds!

The Olsen twins are undoubtedly the two greatest ambassadors for this garment. With their petite frames it is easy to make anything look good, but this is not an outfit just for the small. The Olsens provide great pointers as to what to wear with a long skirt, Mary-Kate often teams hers with gladiator sandals and monochrome separates, a loose tee-shirt, blazer and a thick belt. Ashley wears hers with big combat boots and knitwear, embellished vests and a colourful bag.

So, the long and the short of it is, why not take the plunge and try a long skirt? Some will say it's a trend better left buried in the midst of the 1990s, but then those are the same people who abhor tartan and overalls, and i really don't mind them on the right person and when worn with style... With a little confidence and a lot of attitude the long skirt can work.

[a little polyvore set of some ways to wear a long skirt, on the left we have dorothy perkins cardian, burberry bag, lanvin flats, stella mccartney top and junya watanabe skirt.

on the right we have the mary-kate inspired outfit of the row tee shirt, junya watanabe skirt, mcQ blazer, givenchy bag and asos sandals.]

thoughts? what say you?

and thankyou all for your lovely comments and for reading the blog, i'm glad you like it so far. reading what you have to say really does put a smile on my face.!

Edit; ah what the hell. i'm so self conscious, but i'm wearing a long skirt today and i took photos of me wearing it, and since it applies to this post... be kind! sorry for the terrible blurry photos, i'm new to the whole self timer thing. if any of you ever come back to this blog i will be very surprised. my bad hair day will have scared you all off!!

long skirt; tree of life, sandals; target, striped top; APC, flower overshirt; vintage.

I really like the effect the stripes have under the flower shirt which is semi-sheer. You can see it better in this picture;

No longer anonymous! it's strangely... liberating.

love to you all!

X

You have read this article ashley olsen / inspiation / mary-kate olsen / style with the title October 2008. You can bookmark this page URL http://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2008/10/the-long-and-short-of-it.html. Thanks!

the girl can't help it

Love her or loathe her, and believe me there is a vogue us september 08 sized tome of reasons why i don't love her, you gotta admit agyness deyn sure can model. 

[w magazine january 2007, tfs]

just to vent, i think she's a little arrogant, that her style is pretentious, that she loves being a celebrity more than she does a model, i hate her contrived moniker for herself, and that she makes a fool of herself rather too often publicly. 

But aside from that, she works it on the runway and in print transmits this overriding sense of energy. Some of her editorials are annoying and (like kate moss before her) she needs to learn the power of the Closed Mouth. But at the same time, i have seen editorials of hers that stop me in my tracks. After dismissing her for so long as just the buzz model with the latest hair, i actually gasped out loud when i saw her light and shade editorial in vogue uk october 2007. She makes such interesting and daring shapes for a model, much more interesting than old caroline trentini jumping in vogue us or racquel zimmerman strutting down a street for vogue paris. 

If you can sort of look past her private life and her often horrendous personal style you see a model willing to take risks and full of energy. Anyone that has ever shot her has said the same thing, that she is a pleasure to photograph and a right laugh. And that face! It's probably some ironic hipster thing that she dresses so ugly, a sort of counterpoint to that beautiful face of hers. 

This W editorial is one of my favourites of hers. the stylist did such an excellent job of contrasting the harsh masculine tailoring and the elegance of the dresses. That's aggy's allure, isn't it? She is at once the adrogynous beauty and the glamorous siren. The black and white shots are just stunning, and she looks amazing, and more importantly, so do the clothes. Agyness is clear, dynamic, strong... sometimes rather too strong for my tastes, but strong nonetheless. I think Agyness is a supreme example that you should not judge a book by its cover, or that the sum of the whole is greater than the parts... or, well, i can't think of another witty and intelligent-sounding idiom, so we'll just end it with;

The girl can't help it if she was born to pose. 

You have read this article alexander wang / editorial / models with the title October 2008. You can bookmark this page URL http://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2008/10/the-girl-can-help-it.html. Thanks!

the write stuff

one of the major deterrents from actively pursuing my dream job of features writer at vogue is the fact that the pressure to dress well is enormous. i love clothes, evidently, and i love writing, so such a job should be a match made in heaven, right? well, shy little me lives in fear of this job where the staff consists of ex-models, or at least people of model size, strutting around in the latest season clothes and looking fan-bloody-tastic every day of the week. you can't have an off day at vogue... and you can't have a fat day either.

I know this is probably a stereotype, and having never set foot in a vogue office, (well, not strictly true, i did enter vogue girl's australian offices once, and it was much how i imagined vogue to be except a little brighter) i'm sure people who work at vogue are actually really nice and welcoming and it's not all about clothes and weight and make up and hair. But then i get a look at some of the girls and i reconsider this magnanimous statement of mine. I mean, have you seen the vogue paris girls! it's like physical perfection rained down on one office in the world, and then zeus came and proclaimed them all goddesses on earth. vogue US is filled with youthful style-savvy assistants bedecked in studded belts and alexander wang. Kate Lanphear, fashion director at Elle, is reed thin and almost painfully cool with her shock of platinum hair and monochrome outfits that are intriguing, rather than dowdy.

None of the people i have mentioned write features, so maybe it is an irrational fear of mine, but at the same time,  how would it feel to be a lowly features writer upstaged every day at work by the stylists and fashion directors? And i'm actually not exaggerating here, all of the stylists are THIN THIN THIN! what kind of work environment is that creating? Obviously they don't do it deliberately, it's not their fault they're thin, but still... incidental comparisons are just one of the occupational hazards of working in the fashion industry. Really, the only normal sized one is katie grand from pop. maybe i should work at pop, it's a bit too much bare breast for my liking, but i do respect and admire katie grand's vision and style. 

Ultimately however, this was not meant to be a post moaning about how sartorially demeaning a job at vogue would be. The rational part of my brain, i mean, the one that doesn't spend all of its time complaining about people prettier/cooler/richer/thinner (delete where necessary) than me, states that working at vogue (or equivalent therein) would actually be a real challenge and hurdle. The rational part of me is intrigued by how it would be like ensuring that you were dressed, and dressed well in the morning for a day of work at the vogue office. We all succumb to the leggings and ugg boots when it's cold, but i have oft wanted to spend a month trying to take care with my outfits and see my personal reaction and that of others. 

So, without further ado and further waffle on my behalf, here are a few stylish stylists and fashionable fashion editors from the various big house magazines out there. They are fearless and thin, have impeccable taste and faultless choices in shoes, interesting hair and long long long legs.... *sigh*. welcome to the office!

[L-R 1.unknown but i read on sart that she worked for italian vogue... she is incredible though, 2. taylor tomasi, accessories director at teen vogue with killer hair

3. kate lanphear, fashion director at elle US who needs no further introduction

4. melanie huynh junior fashion editor at vogue paris, half vietnamese and all class] 

[L-R 5. anna dello russo, fashion director at large vogue nippon who dresses like carrie bradshaw except more extravagant

6. giovanna  battaglia fashion editor l'uomo vogue and owner of the best coats in the business

7. julia von boehm fashion editor at large vogue paris, gallic charm

8. geraldine saglio assistant stylist vogue paris and owner of legs that offend biology and reason.]

[pics sart, tfs, garance dore]

I was also tagged by AusAnna from An Australian Wintour

4 Things I Did Today (i'll do yesterday, it's only the morning here):

1. did 2 hours of study and crammed pompeii and herculaneum
2. ran down to the supermarket for vogue uk, grapes, milk and almonds
3. had lunch with an old friend
4. watched SVU. (go stabler, go!)

4 Things On My To-Do List:

1. buy a lightweight and loose blazer in a nice, long-lasting material
2. get my ticket back from europe in march, otherwise i'm not coming back!! ah!!!
3. study for my religion exam... this is important. but i don't want to do it.
4. clean my room. 

4 Guilty Pleasures:

1. vogue. any vogue. the pictures, the articles, the ads... i agree that most of them are becoming too mainstream and commercial, but at the end of the day it represents a lifestyle and aspiration that i have wanted/had since i was young, and i can't let go. 
2. Law and Order... every single variation. i love SVU, it always makes me cry, but also criminal intent and the normal cases. i get really into it too, like yelling out 'guilty' whenever the judge goes 'and has the jury reached its verdict?' 

3. fudge. ah its so gooey and rich and dense. i love it!
4. making my room artfully disheveled. people think i live in this bohemian den of iniquity, but really it's me purposefully creating the look of creative nonchalance by messing it up before they come round. 

4 Random Facts About Me:

1. I'm petrified of snakes, and my uncle is a snake-handler for the zoo in melbourne. 
2. i love joining facebook groups with funny names when i'm bored.
3. i have 1 sister and 2 brothers
4. i own a first edition austen... well i don't, but my mother does, but i've held it. and i'm getting it in the will! it's actually the cutest story, when my mum was in uni she went out with the son of an english lord, quite fancy, and he gifted her this first edition of austen's northanger abbey on their 3 year anniversary. the relationship couldn't survive the gulf of geography and socio-political divide, but they've stayed friends, and she kept the austen (at his request). there's the cutest little inscription in the front too which dad gets up his nostrils about. it's like 'Austen wrote about it, you read it, i feel it... love X' 

adorable, right? 

4 Bloggers that I'm Tagging:

Ane from FeedMeBerries

Emily from .AllThingsBritish

Jess from Valentinse*

AlexHannah from SomeGirlLikes

X

You have read this article dreams / future / style / vogue / writing with the title October 2008. You can bookmark this page URL http://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2008/10/the-write-stuff.html. Thanks!

i've gone a bit country since i met you, i used to be so rock and roll.

Inspiration, that wily temptress who strikes with a red hot iron one day and leaves you wishing for more the next. Inspiration can strike at the most impossible of times, on a bus home, while contemplating the mangoes in the fruit and vegetable department of woolworths, as the quiet night lulls you into slumber. I have learnt the hard way not to ignore inspiration. Now, whenever i think of something i write it down quickly to ensure that the next morning, or whenever i chance to look at the notebook, i will recall the thought that made me sit bolt upright in my bed. 

here are some of the things that are making me reach for the notebook time and time again... I think my style may be maturing slightly, although i still feel it is the very classic old-time look i am leaning towards looks like blazers, cardigans, my loafers, high-waisted full skirts, ankle boots, gladiator sandals, stripes, loose tee-shirts, military style coats... am i growing up! I still read alice in wonderland, but then... the clothes never lie. I don't mind it though. I still feel little old eclectic me, but more refined. Sometimes when i get stuck in a clothes rut i feel impotent and powerless, but right now i'm feeling oddly liberated. I don't know what it is. the baggage of school just flying out the window (literally and metaphorically)? 

At the moment i am inspired by studs and harsh jewellery, loose blazers, military detailing, rich colours like plum (vanessa bruno please send me that skirt, please!) and teal, oversized cardigans, linen, long skirts in jersey, corsages, ankle boots, and all around class and elegance 

[jak & jil, tfs, sartorialist, flickr]

So, what inspires you at the moment? 

You have read this article inspiration / me / style with the title October 2008. You can bookmark this page URL http://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2008/10/i-gone-bit-country-since-i-met-you-i.html. Thanks!

You say you love

You say you love; but with a voice 

Chaster than a nun's, who singeth 

The soft Vespers to herself 

While the chime-bell ringeth - 

O love me truly! 

You say you love; but with a smile 

Cold as sunrise in September, 

As you were Saint Cupid's nun, 

And kept his weeks of Ember. 

O love me truly! 

You say you love - but then your lips 

Coral tinted teach no blisses. 

More than coral in the sea - 

They never pout for kisses - 

O love me truly! 

You say you love; but then your hand 

No soft squeeze for squeeze returneth, 

It is like a statue's dead - 

While mine to passion burneth - 

O love me truly! 

O breathe a word or two of fire! 

Smile, as if those words should burn be, 

Squeeze as lovers should - O kiss 

And in thy heart inurn me! 

O love me truly!

Keats, You Say You Love...

Such a passionate poem. Full of feeling, and everytime i read it makes my heart beat a little faster. I'm a hopeless romantic, and i'm sure everyone disagrees with me, but this is how love should be. It should be a 'a word or two of fire', and 'in thy heart inurn me'. It should leave you warm with the promise of more, you should feel like you are melting and freezing all at the same time. Ah love... 

[lara stone and randy johnston RIP, i-D nov 2008 from foto_decadent]

 

You have read this article keats / poetry with the title October 2008. You can bookmark this page URL http://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2008/10/you-say-you-love.html. Thanks!

baby steps

i have been making baby steps towards my fabulous future french wardrobe, and already i am feeling more chic, more effortless, and dare i say it, more thin... In the manner of some fabulous parisienne of course. 

today i bought the wardrobe staple that i was most excited about for summer, the sandal. As i have been moaning about, i wanted a pair of studded gladiator sandals in the manner of, well, everyone, for the summer. I couldn't decide whether or not i wanted black or brown. Well, i got black because my inner french person overruled the trendy brown, black goes with everything, black is slimming (i'm wearing these shoes on my feet, not as a top, silly inner french person), black is classic... 

After i bought them i was looking in an expensive store just for fun, i'm always interested to see what stock they get from overseas, what the buyers thought would apply to the market in australia. It's always glittery, blingy, fun... That's the kind of customer they're looking to ensnare among the trophy wives of the eastern suburbs. Enough of a rant about where i live though, i saw a pair of sandals shoved into the corner, buttery tan leather and embellished with gold hardware on the straps, long strips of metal lined up next to each other. I stopped in my tracks... and then rushed forward to grab them to touch the leather... ooh! is there any felicity in the world as lovely as this!

I turned them over to get a look at the price, expecting something extreme...... $130. 

Wait, what? Miu Miu Sandals, were $600, now $130. I started hyperventilating, and my mum came over. 'They're nice darling'. I was choking, pointing to the sandals, trying to get out the words, they are only $130, omg omg omg omg omg! anyway, after i regained the powers of speech my mum agreed to buy the shoes for my birthday as a present. They are just beautiful! and i'm so happy because they are an investment piece that i know will last forever and that i will always love. I now have two lovely pairs of sandals for summer. Bring on the sunshine!

[gladiator sandals target, miu miu sandals at right, bad pictures are my own!]

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Drama Queen

[daphne guinness, tfs]

Eccentric dressing is something that people can either do, or they can't. There is no grey area about dressing eccentrically. Some people get it so right, think Isabella Blow, Anna Piaggi, and Dita Von Teese. Others look fussed and crowded as if they went through their closet in the dark, with their hands tied behind their back trying to get dressed. One of the major culprits of this kind of dressing is Aggy, who does get it right sometimes, but most of the time is wearing the sartorial version of creme brulee after spaghetti carbonara; just too much.

However the undoubtable Queen of Drama is (the hon.) Daphne Guinness. As an aside, how awesome is it to have 'the hon.' before your name! *sigh*. Back on track; Daphne Guiness is the grand-daughter of Diana Mitford, a blueblood English aristocrat (heir to the Guinness fortune) and a fabulous dresser. She is notorious for her love of couture, and thanks to her teensy tiny model size figure she wears it with much pizazz and grace. Daphne is unique and one of a kind, the kind of girl with enough class and chic to pull off Balenciaga and McQueen without looking unbelievably try-hard. Karl Lagerfeld is a friend, she has Olivier Theyskens on speed dial... And she does it all with bleach blonde hair with a black streak.

I could post a whole lot of her outfits here like i do for some of the other stylish folk i admire, but i think with Daphne that would be a bit of overkill. The thrill of her outfits is in their drama, and, like creme brulee after spaghetti carbonara, when you put them all together it gets a bit too much. Her allure and mystery is in the fact that she manages to leave the house every time she goes to a function in something as much, if not more, dramatic than the last outfit she was seen wearing. Headwear, armour, chainmail, super high high heels, severe silhouettes (shoulders), lots of diamonds darling, HUGE earrings, and every embellishment known to man (think feathers, sequins, fur, beads...). 

And the best thing about her is that she builds this eccentric palette around a decidedly classic and chic base. The black pencil skirt, the blazer, the white shirt, the chanel 2.55, the high waisted trousers... Her success as a dramatic dresser is that she never over does it. It is a combination of her eye for accessories, her confidence and her overruling innate class that makes every outfit a success, and not excess. 

So, expect to see much more of the hon. Daphne Guinness (i just love writing the hon.!) in the future, for now here is her most recent outfit from the Boucheron party in London.  

[tfs]

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we'll always have paris

i came across this beautiful flickr photostream; april in paris, filled with lovely photos of their april spent in paris today whilst trying to avoid buckling down and learning about cleopatra. these photos are mesmerising and enthralling, they are so calm and filled with such mundane beauty. Who was it, one of the romantics, who said that in everyday activities one can see beautiful things. That's the feeling i get from these photos. Some of them are of icons in paris, like the eiffel tower and the arc de triomphe, but most of them are just of everyday, ordinary things, flowers, cheese, pastries... but they are beautiful in their ordinariness i think. 

those who like fashion and art and history are often spoiled for beauty, with whimsical and fantastical couture dresses tempting the eyes, antique furniture and old buildings, statues, paintings, watercolours, all dominating of our attention. Sometimes it's easy to forget the ordinary when we think about beauty. But these photos reminded me that in the everyday things there is an undeniable and radiating beauty that is humble, but no less present.  What ordinary things do you see beauty in? I see beauty in white flowers, the crumbs of a cake left over after it has been devoured, bookshelves, silk scarves... 

So, enough of me rambling about beauty, and more of the pictures! Here are some of them, but really check out the photostream, it is lovely. they are a quiet poem to Paris, and how they make me long to be there right now! These photos are probably not the best thing to be looking at when you're trying to focus on study... If only i had a time machine that could take me straight to january 2009. Until then, pictures it is. Feast your eyes! (because paris is an immoveable feast, right hemmingway?) 

 

[flickr april in paris]

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