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Showing posts with label isabel marant. Show all posts

happy birthday!




So, my blog is now five years old. An anniversary and a milestone that thrills me as well as shocks me, all in the same breath.  I can't quite believe that I made it this far and that I have, without question, felt the same unwavering love and devotion for this little thing every day for five years. This - and you, of course, of course - have seen me through my last year of school, four years of, at times, thankless and overwhelming university, through sickness and health, through trials and tribulations, through relationships and tragedy and success and triumph and the detritus of human life that falls somewhere in between. I had an inkling at the start that this would become an integral, irreplaceable part of my daily existence, but I could never have known just how much. Thank you for reading and thank you for finding this place where I talk (and talk and talk and talk) a source of - I hope! - equal parts excitement and inspiration, exasperation and amusement.

I always end up doing questionnaires to toast blog anniversaries. I'm addicted to them - I'm naturally curious (read: nosy) - and I love learning more about people. So here's a chance to learn more about me (although, to be honest, none of it will come as much of a shock, I fear). This one is lifted from Vanity Fair, as many good things are.

My Stuff - Hannah-Rose

Clothes


Underwear Bonds and Target, is that boring? I have a few nice lacy things lying around for special occasions though. Sneakers Superga or Springcourt. T-shirts Bassike x-wide in ice blue all the way. Favourite accessory I have a real soft spot for my Benah x My Chameleon Tara bag in darkest, inky navy. And I also love my Isabel Marant Dicker boots. Favourite boutiques In Sydney bloodorange and Incu, I love Catbird and Steven Alan in New York and online My Chameleon, Anaise and La Garconne. Favourite print Stripes. The only print that matters. Something seasonless Sandals. I wear them all through the year, excepting gale force winds and rain. Jewellery you never take off I have a necklace my parents gave me for my 21st birthday from Me & Ro that I have literally never taken off. It's normally joined by a host of Petitegrand trinkets; a gold anklet, a gold bar and cord bracelet and my beautiful custom i.d bracelet (adorned with the letters HR!). 



Inspirations 

Favourite discoveries Food haunts will never fail to inspire me. At the moment I love Cornersmith in Marrickville, where the produce is fresh and the food is delicious, and Bread & Circus had me from hello. The colours, the flavour combinations and the unfussy, uncomplicated approach to cooking inspires me in all aspects of life. Shopping Merci in Paris is an incredibly inspiring shop just to browse in. I also always get inspired in bookshops. I love Kinokuniya and Berkelouws in Paddington, but also for a smaller, more intimate experience, the beautiful Lesley McKays store on Queen St in Woollahra, where I bought my first Harry Potter novel! Necessary extravagance Travel. Favourite place in the world Paris, without hesitation. I particularly like Rue Debelleyme in the Marais, and, more recently the Rue Jean Nicot in the 7th. Favourite Charity Starlight Foundation at the Sydney Children's Hospital. Favourite movies Too many. Lost in Translation and Somewhere for those moments when only Sofia Coppola will do, I do and Notting Hill for sheer entertainment, Out of Africa because it is wonderful, countless adaptations of novels like Little Women with Winona Ryder and the Ang Lee Sense and Sensibility (so perfect! so perfect!), Action and thrills from James Bond, and who could forget favourites like Gosford Park and the Dreamers and An Education and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Brokeback Mountain (mostly I just love Ang Lee) and, oh, too many. Favourite Hotel I've had wonderful nights at the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong and the Lafayette House in New York but I think it would have to be the Park Hyatt in Tokyo. Who is an idol of yours Ashley Olsen for the clothes, Sophie Dahl for the words, Rose Carrarini for the food. Favourite flower shops Poho in Potts Point is lovely. 

 The Rose Bakery cookbook
 

Beauty products 


Lipsticks I am addicted to the NARS Sheer lip treatment, more of a bit of a slick of colour than anything. They're the replacement for my OG, the NARS SPF balm in Sabrina. I like Bianca for hydration, Greta for a little touch of mauve and Lara for a bit of peachy pink. Mascara I don't really wear mascara but I just had a look in my beauty box and I've got a Maybelline one! Foundation Again, no foundation... I have a tinted moisturiser though! I don't really wear that thought either... Oh well. Shampoo Garnier fructis in the moisturising one is a favourite, but at the moment I've been using Muji Honey and Ginger picked up in Japan and it smells wonderful. Hair products When I had long, coloured hair I swore by the Aesop Rose Hair and Scalp Hydration Mask and the Bumble and Bumble Mending Mask (for the 'truly' damaged, which my hair definitely was back then). Now I don't need too many products because it's so healthy! But the odd touch of Aesop or B and B now and then doesn't go astray. Moisturiser I use the Grown Mandarin and Rosemary Leaf for my body and the Aesop Primrose moisturiser on my face. I've also started using Embryolisse Lait Creme Concentre here and there on super-dry areas and in winter, and I picked up Clarins Beauty Flash Balm in Paris for a little something extra. I love it! A little spray of something hydrating, like the Aesop one or Avene eau thermale is great in summer. I keep my Avene spray in the fridge! Fragrance For summer I love Diptyque Philosykos or Balenciaga's L'essence and in winter it has to be Serge Lutens Five Oclock. Soaps I have Aesop Geranium Leaf in my shower, but I've also got a little stick of this egg white swedish soap from Catbird in New York, which is just lovely. Where do you get your hair cut Lately I've been cutting it myself, which is what I love about this new shorter, low maintenance style I have. When I had colour in my hair I went to Renya Xydis or Salon X in the city. Never leave home without Lip balm. I apply it constantly. Also a good book because you never know when you might need to have something to pass the time. 



Home 

Where do you live Paddington, Sydney. Sheets I have beautiful sheets! My mum bought them from this Yves Delorme store when it was closing down on the corner of William Street. I also have a beautiful vintage french linen quilt (which she has stolen and has on her bed right now) from the markets. China I would love a collection of Limoges. Right now I have two tea cups and a little milk jug and sugar bowl. Favourite flowers Peonies when in season and roses always. Favourite gadget I really am obsessed with my iphone, but I also like my Canon s95 and my polaroid camera. Stationery I recently picked up plain recycled paper notecards, hemp string and coloruful masking tape from Muji in Tokyo. That, combined with the graphic thank you cards I got from Merci will make up my stationery routine for this year. Favourite neighbourhood restaurants I will never get tired of red wine and pizza on a rainy night at Love Supreme on Oxford street or salt and pepper squid at dusk at Sea Cow on Boundary street. I don't know what I'd do if Chu Bay, our local vietnamese restaurant, closed down. The ginger chicken with huge slices of real ginger has been my constant companion these twenty years at least. Favourite drink Apple, carrot and ginger juice. Favourite dessert Do I have to choose? Favourite snack A good soft cheese and crackers, like Fromage D'affinois. Top four TV shows Law and Order SVU, Downton Abbey, The Good Wife and Game of Thrones.



Here's to another five!

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all wrapped up



My favourite way to keep warm in this snap-chill Europe is having is layering on the scarves. I took two with me (delicious Benah cashmere travel wraps and snoods) and I've picked up a few more - insane I know! - but I've found it so fantastic to layer them all up together to stay extra toasty. What you want is a combination of textures, colours and thickness - one cashmere, one lighter wool, one thin cotton gauze one thicker knitted snood. I've taken to twisting mine together and then wrapping them around my neck once or twice so that the colours meld. Some of my favourite scarves for layering? This red zara one, the Isabel Marant striped fringed number, and the classic Benah cashmere wrap. Enough to keep you high and dry and warm and toasty and all of that while you run around beautiful European cities dusted lightly with snow.

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cinematic style - Charlotte Gainsbourg in Prête-moi ta main

screencaps by me

I saw this film at the first ever French Film Festival that I attended. I was dubious. Who cares about French movies? If I wanted to watch french movies why didn't I just watch Marie Antoinette (this was 2006, after all). All doubts were cast aside the minute Charlotte Gainsbourg appeared on-screen, wrapped in an ochre bathrobe, hair dripping wet and yet radiant as a teenager. She wore two delicate necklaces, layered over each other, and she was funny. Her french was lyrical - melifluous, like all foreign languages seem to the untrained ear - her hair perfectly messy, her face free of makeup. The movie itself was one of those ridiculous, over the top romantic comedies that the French do so well, silly with just the right amount of quirkiness. Since then I've always liked these kind of French films (of which, of course, Amelie is the famous example, but there are so many more, like this year's Delicacy or Paris Manhattan). So much more intelligent, so much more side-splitting than their American counterparts - the butchering of Sophie Marceau's LOL by Mylee Cyrus and Demi Moore is a prime example of this. And I've always loved how French romantic comedies never seem to have typically handsome male leads. It is somewhat refreshing, and far less overbearing when you watch a film. I've got nothing against Ryan Gosling, but sometimes it's all just too much.

How fantastic is Charlotte Gainsbourg's wardrobe? Like. It really does not get better than this. This is Parisienne style in the true sense - Isabel Marant pre the Becketts and the Bobbys, Maje before Alexa Chung, A.P.C and Petit Bateau and Vanessa Bruno on their best days. The skinny jeans, the peasant blouses, the oversized brassy belts; this is the kind of stuff that you see every day on the streets of Paris. Real style, not a Hollywood, Americanised version for the cinema. Real style. And, indeed, Charlotte Gainsbourg is that kind of real Parisienne with messy hair and no makeup and a perfectly contempo-casual wardrobe of military jackets and knee high boots. In this movie she's supposed to have real style. Carole, Luis' sister who owns a boutique, remarks as such when she first meets Emma in a delicately draped off-the-shoulder top and a knee-length skirt. Throughout this movie she wears mostly multiple variations on two outfits. That one, and the skinny jean plus v-neck oversized blouse with boots. It was a fantastic urban uniform that she carried off so well.

It's not totally real. Even French movies can fall victim to that "everyone has a perfect house/wardrobe/car/life/" thing that movies tend to have nowadays. The thing is, watching this movie - and the countless other French films that line my DVD case in the years since - I've come to wonder whether life in Paris wouldn't actually be, quite simply (tout simplement, tout simplement), that perfect. Silly relationships, silly situations, silly lives, perfect wardrobe. That's all that matters, right?

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the art of giving - Paris

Collage and typography by Talisa Sutton, words by me

This year Talisa and I will be spending our summers (their winters!) in two of our favourite cities, Paris and New York. To celebrate we thought we'd work together on a two-part themed gift guide perfect for lovers of those cities just like us. We had so much fun putting together our gift guide last year that it made sense to do it all over again. We hope you love it too. So, without any more chat, here is part one. Give the gift of Paris this Christmas.

one. Van Rycke 'Porte Bonheur' bracelet, $88 from My Chameleon

Christmas is always about the little things. Little mince pies, little sips of champagne, little children, running around in wrapping paper togas, and little jewels. Van Rycke is the King of the petite present, the definition of a tiny thing that means so much. Any of their string cord bracelets emblazoned with slogans will do - La Vie, Je T'aime, Best Friend (choose wisely according to your recipient) - but our favourite is Porte Bonheur. Let this be a lucky charm in name and in nature for the lucky person who gets this under the tree, and start their new year off with a charming little spark.

two. Isabel Marant 'Vadim' chunky knit, $480 from La Garconne

If she's a francophile - and if she isn't, this is the wrong guide for you! - then she'll love Isabel Marant. But she'll also love angora sweaters, the chunkier the better, for pairing with skinny jeans and suede ankle boots and insouciant, irreverent charm. If she's a francophile she'll love the colour cream; creme fraiche, vanilla macarons, the white-washed walls of a Hausmann-ised hotel particulier. If she's a francophile she'll love a loose, slightly baggy style, all the better for wearing under pea coats and chunky scarves. If she's a francophile - and if she isn't, then this is the wrong guide for you! - then she'll love this sweater with all her heart. 

three. Sans Ceuticals 'Beauty Essentials Kit', $36 from My Chameleon

Some people are lucky enough to be getting a jet-setting trip for Christmas, a European winter or a Japanese New Year. Understandably, budgets can be easily blown, which is why this Beauty Essentials Kit by New Zealand beauty brand Sans Ceuticals is the perfect stocking stuffer for someone with wanderlust eyes. Featuring plane-perfect samples of their cult-favourite range including hair wash and hydratant, body wash and body cream - all packed in a jute bag ready to go! - this essentials kit will be just that. 

four. Tickets to So Frenchy So Chic in the Park festival, from $56 from Ticketmaster

Experiences can sometimes be the best gifts, as a champagne-hued memory lasts forever. This one may require planning; hunting down a tranche of Fromage D'Affinois with the blue vein running through it, finding a good baguette and a good bottle of red, rushing to the boulangerie to snag those last few financiers of the afternoon. But it'll be worth it. Once you and your lover, or your best friend, or your francophile mother, or whoever, really, stretch out along a picnic rug in the grass at Weribee Park, or in the courtyard of Town Hall in Sydney, you'll be treated to hours of French music and the kind of perfect, Parisian afternoon that makes it all worthwhile. Even if you're not in Paris, not yet.

five. A box of Lanvin x Laduree macarons, approximately $35 from Laduree

Sure, if you give this they won't last the day. And it does seem like a lot of money for a cardboard box and 8 little circles of sugary pastry and sweet cream. But oh, what sugary pastry and sweet cream! And what a cardboard box! Designed by Lanvin creative director Alber Elbaz and featuring his trademark whimsical figurines (grand dames and bright young things and even Elbaz himself in his square glasses), the box is a thing of beauty, perfect for storing jewels and trinkets long after the macarons have been devoured. And, well... There are macarons and there are macarons and these are of the latter. Flown in direct from switzerland in such mouth-watering flavours as Cherry Blossom and Violet Marshmallow (if you see the flavours that you want, get them when you can, because not all flavours are available all the time unfortunately! Besides, it can be an early present before the Christmas rush), these macarons may not be as critically acclaimed as others in Sydney, but you're not really giving taste, or smell or sight here. You're giving a dream.

six. Delicacy, approximately $14 from Amazon UK

You could make an event of it - throw in some retro popcorn and a block of the best Mazet salted caramel chocolate ($16 from Simon Johnson, but who's counting) - promise an evening of laughter and tears and Audrey Tautou's beautiful, delicate wardrobe. Or you could just give her the film, wrapped up in tissue paper and placed in a stocking, knowing that if she loved Amelie - and who didn't? - and if she loves Carven - and who doesn't? - then she'll love this movie about love and loss and finding happiness in the most surprising of places.

seven. Little Birds by Anais Nin, approximately $14 from Powells

Why do French books always seem so naughty? Maupassant's George Duroy, smart and beautiful and a friend to all, Sagan's Cecile, languid as a duchess on that beach in the South of France, Colette's Gigi, not the first ingenue to fall in love with her benefactor, but surely the loveliest. But for proper naughtiness you can't go past Anais Nin. The queen of erotica, Anais Nin's Little Birds is probably her most well-known cahier of naughty scribbles. This one is definitely for the lovers.

See part two, New York, here

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to pack and wear



In just over a month I'll be heading overseas for a European winter and I can't wait! After this year of ups and downs, hard work and sweat and tears, I've definitely earnt a holiday. But, also, this is an end of era of sorts. When I first started planning it it was to be my end of university last hurrah before entering the real world. Back then I wasn't sure that I would be doing honours or that my time at university was not yet to be completely over. But, in a way, it is still the end. Next year is going to be so different - more work, more expectation, more results - and it might be a little while before I get a holiday again. So this trip to Europe, seeing things I've never seen before and visiting places that have only previously existed in my imagination, or on the pages of books, is more exciting than I can say. Just over a month and I'll be driving across those twisty Alps roads and drinking cocoa every chance that I can get and trying to stay very warm.

So, naturally, my mind turns immediately to packing. This trip is a road trip, train trip, bike trip kind of trip and I'm determined to go light. I say that every time I go overseas but this time - this time - I really mean it. This isn't going to be a fashion parade, this is a chance to see so much of the world, and I don't want to be weighed down by stuff when I could be unburdened by everything. This trip, more than ever before, is not one for big bags. For inspiration I've turned to Joan Didion's packing list, in turn the inspiration for the latest Dress Up collection, from The White Album, which taught me so much about writing, and reporting, and living. The list could not be more perfect for what I am trying to achieve. The bare essentials - plus cigarettes and bourbon, of course - just enough to get things done in comfort and in peace, without having to spend all night washing your clothes in the bathroom sink. At the moment my list is leaning heavily towards knitwear - I'll be taking one coat (for those who know me, narrowing them down has proven a really difficult task), two pairs of pants, two pairs of shoes, two tee shirts and two scarves. But, for some reason, I'm finding it hard to cull the sweaters. I'm at four and counting. Still, it could be worse. And, besides, having space in my suitcase will give me a bit of room to squeeze some COS and Armor-Lux and Porselli bits and pieces in on the way back.

CAPSULE WARDROBE




 






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smile like you mean it


A good designer should always inspire you - or at the very least, comfort you - even when you have not even the smallest desire to buy their clothes. It's like that with Dries Van Noten and sometimes even Celine, but I find that for me the designer that operates most in this sphere is Isabel Marant. I adore Isabel Marant. I worship her. I love her older collections and cherish the pieces of hers that I own. I've found that her items are always the ones that I pack first for a trip overseas; I just can't live without them. Tweedy overcoats. Suede ankle boots. Oatmeal sweaters. Her stuff has that inimitable quality that renders them instantly classic, instantly signature, instantly indispensable. Even - or perhaps because - of the hype, it's like you've discovered an old friend. Isabel Marant clothes are designed to be loved.

All this, and her past couple of collections have left me completely cold. Of course, Isabel is often best off the runway: the Etoile chunky sweaters that pop up in stores, the repeat styles that never make it onto the catwalk, the silky shirt that looked so, well, plain on Arizona Muse becomes wonderful on the hanger at a local boutique. It takes a couple of views to warm up to it, and sometime you never warm up to it at all. But a good designer should always inspire you - or at the very least, comfort you - even when you have not even the smallest desire to buy their clothes. Partly because I have all the good memories of Isabel past and partly because, even though I have no wish - no wish at all - to run around town in ruched lurex mini dresses and chandelier earrings, I always love looking at her collections. Partly because - and this makes her a good designer, despite what anyone says - you can find something great in every corner; some beautiful embellishment, some combination of colours, some beautifully rendered print. But also because she designs for a world that everyone wants to be a part of. A world of glamorous travel and champagne breakfasts and girls who aren't afraid to wear jeans to a party. These pictures show it best. The Isabel girl has great hair and clear skin and, more than anything, she's radiantly, glowingly happy. That's truly inspiring.

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ps. don't forget to enter my Shopbop giveaway!
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furry friend

Alexandra Golovanoff by The Streethearts // Camille Rowe by Models Rock // Valerie Boster by Vogue

I've always had a thing for this Isabel Marant fur coat. It's crazy! It couldn't be further from, well me than anything in the whole world, but I've always, always, always loved it. Completely inexplicably, wholly and uncontrollably without question. Which I guess is kind of the point of love, isn't it? I think there's something about how great it looks at night - remember when Kate used to wear hers on the reg, and there were blurry paparrazzi shots of her running in and out of town cars in front of Scotts, or Nobu or wherever it is she gets her sushi these days, and it just looked so fabulous, an extravagant blur of coloured wool and matted hair - and it really does cast a lasting impression. If I had one I'd wear it, bulky silhouette and all, with midnight blue jeans and an oatmeal sweater and little ballet flats. I don't think I'm ever going to get my hands on it myself, but I'll keep an eye out for a similar vintage one. But it's gotta have the same bulk, the same swagger, the same wacky colours. So wrong it's right, you know?

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normal casual



Brown Isabel Marant coat - I'm so glad I still own you. Nubby grey sweatshirt with the holes in the sleeve - I'm so glad you're so oversized and comfy. New denim jeans from k-mart - I'm so glad you're the perfect shade of blue. Emmanuelle Alt - I'm so glad you're keep doing your casual thing at the shows, even when everyone else around you is, quite frankly, losing their shit.

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