real girls

garance dore

Things I like - for inexplicable, unknown even to me reasons - on the internets - the way that garance's photos always have french text on them. I think it's just super cute that even on the english translation of the site she still maintains a little bit of that so frenchy, so chic-ness that she has really made her own.

One of the best things about Garance Dore is that you get the feeling that she is just like you. She loves to wear track pants, she does DIYs, she still gets giddy when she sits front row at celine (who wouldn't!), she sits her new purchases up on a table and just stares at them for hours (wait, I'm not the only person who does this!)... She's super successful but she seems to put it all down to good luck, which I think is a measure of exterme good grace and faith. We all fawn over her beautiful photos and effortless illustrations, and she's happy to just sit back and enjoy the ride. I love reading her posts because they are suffused with her ebullient energy and you can just see her bright smile as she types away. She loves to share stories and tell jokes and poke fun at the industry, all while secretly keeping her personal shopper at Bon Marche on speed dial.

I think she has the right idea about wearing haute jewellery. This beautiful emerald bracelet from chopard is just casually worn strung across the wrist with a pair of grey pants and a plain white tee shirt. Leave the glitz and glamour to Giovanna Battaglia and the theatrics and drama to Anna Dello Russo, real style for real girls is for Garance. I love how she dresses down her hero pieces - her sofia coppola for LV duffel bag, her Micahel Kors sleeveless coat, her crazy prada heels - and pairs them with simple favourites like mannish blazers, brogues and Isabel Marant sneakers. Her lovely posts on events - like the Vogue Paris masked ball - seem to show that she's most comfortable when she's being herself, which means no ball gowns, no crazy masks, no outland-ish couture, just a trench dress, a sexy bra and a big mega-watt smile. I'm the same. Not the trench dress and bra thing, not really anyway. But whenever there's a super glamorous 21st or party I want to run in the other direction. My friends kit up in all manner of amazing party frocks but I'm happiest in my tried-and-true men's tuxedo. Sometimes I don't even wear heels. Now that's a real girl.

X

You have read this article garance dore / jewelry / street style / street-style / style with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/real-girls.html. Thanks!

pale ryder

A couple of months ago the lovely Brenda of Benah asked me to contribute to lookbook magazine for her new collection, entitled "Pale Ryder". Exploring ideas of fate, destiny and time, the collection is an evolution of the previous one, using the shapes of the Kodi bag, the brushed gold hardware and that beautiful bright red but throwing some pistachio greens, canvas stripes and new shapes (sandals! material tote bags! ipad covers!) into the mix. It's classic Benah but with the twist of the new, which is what every collection should be, ideally. I wrote a little letter to my future self, which was so much fun to write and got me thinking about the questions I would want to know if I ran into (fabulous) future me on the street - some silly, some, well, not so silly. Regular readers of my blog will know just how much I love Benah and so will understand what an honour it was to be asked. Thanks Brenda! To say thank you she sent me the gorgeous cashmere scarf that had me in rhapsodies. It really is the most perfect scarf in the world and I love to just bury my face in it when it's particularly cold, as it has been. I can definitely brave winter now!

X

You have read this article benah / clothes / clothing / me / winter / writing with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/pale-ryder.html. Thanks!

encore

beautiful, beautiful photos by miss little lime in her fantastic paris guide post. Isn't it funny how you can have such similar taste to people you've never met, we have almost the same picks and favourites in Paris.

I'm starting to get so excited for Paris again. I'm lucky to be going twice in one year (!!) and even though the trip in february bankrupted me and this trip will be far less exciting - I don't think trips to Celine will be on the agenda, that's for sure - I know that I'm still going to have the time of my life. Visiting my favourite places again, like the Rose Bakery, Cafe Charlot, Da Rosa and Alcazar, shopping in the Marais at APC, COS and Isabel Marant, nibbling on macarons or slurping away at berthillon salted butter caramel ice cream, whiling away hours at my favourite museum, the Orangerie, and after that at the Musee D'Orsay. Hopefully this trip I'll be able to finally, finally find some Paris things I've always searched for - Repetto, Saint James, the Shakespeare and Co bookstore, the Pierre Herme salon - and to get more than just a fleeting glimpse at Colette. I want to go to the Cluny, and see the YSL exhibit, and make it to Merci - no matter how hard I search or how much time I allow, I always get sidetracked and I never quite make it there. It's going to be summer and I can leave my coats and scarves behind in favour of beaten up, old faithful k.jacques and a raft of loose, breezy skirts and shirts. I can't tell you what it means to be travelling in summer after years and years of travelling in winter. It's like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Oh! It's holiday time. Almost. Almost!!

X

You have read this article france / holiday / me / paris / photos / pictures / summer / travel with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/encore.html. Thanks!

mercury

celebutopia

Was this the face that launched a thousand ships,
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss:
Her lips suck forth my soul, see where it flies!
Come Helen, come, give me my soul again.
Here will I dwell, for heaven be in these lips,
And all is dross that is not Helena!

Christopher Marlowe, Dr Faustus

X

You have read this article cannes / diane kruger / photos / pictures / poetry with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/mercury.html. Thanks!

last

my two favourite shots - white on white and that celine bag, as well as a gorgeous rust coloured arnsdorf coat, on sale at the moment in the corner shop strand

The end is always sad, no matter what. That bittersweet feeling when you've reached the end of a box of macarons (in less than 15 minutes), the end of the hot water shocking your senses, the end of a book, the best book, your favourite book, and that sad feeling when you know that there is just no more. But I think endings can be good too, the sweet part of bittersweet, when they inspire you and intrigue you and leave you wanting more. It is then that you manically google search that author's back catalogue and read all his other works, it is then that you find yourself forever searching for something to top that last experience - a better creme brulee, a better pair of comely ballet flats. Even if they could never top that first experience - and often, here's the rub, they just can't, as rosy glasses reflect such a bright view - they are an extension of the journey. An avoidance of the inevitable.

Today I picked up the last issue of RUSSH with Stevie Dance as the Editor, and the last of Vogue Paris with Carine Roitfeld in the same role. Carine Roitfeld has split ties with Vogue completely, as you all well know, and amidst much Twitter speculation, it seems that Stevie is going to be working on other projects whilst still contributing to RUSSH - one imagines it is not easy to put a magazine together whilst living in New York. So it is an end for RUSSH with Stevie in control, though not a goodbye to her legacy of indie photographers, worn in leather and pretty girls not wearing bras. Likewise, how could Vogue Paris be anything other than what it is today without Carine's challenging, sensual and totally on trend touch. Carine managed to make a magazine that was at once wholly "Paris", wholly "Fashion" and wholly "Sex", three things that all women really want, right? It is fitting that these last issues are also some of the best in memory. I'm not a regular buyer of RUSSH, but when I am it is always become something attracts me to it, this month it was for the natural and raw features, including a fantastic column by Lesley Arfin on work and a lovely piece by Sophie Ward on sleep and waking. The still lifes and little analogue camera shots are great as usual. Vogue Paris is bigger than ever, not physically maybe (The October issue wins the cake there, surely), but in spirit definitely. It was all about outrageous looks and going out with a bang. Gone, but most certainly not forgotten.

X

You have read this article carine roitfeld / magazines / russh / stevie dance / vogue paris with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/last.html. Thanks!

mood

main photo: prism blog

dree hemingway in vogue uk june 2011, I was reminded of how great this was by rachel kara at sweet bird of youth // violaine shot by vanessa jackman in a glorious loose sweater // Alexa Chung works frou frou girliness at Chanel Resort // mint green in the Benah magazine, more on that later, from the mychameleon blog // prism perspex frames 

listening to this 

Another mood? So soon? Well I'm sick, so I'm allowed to. It might be to do with all that Turkish Apple tea I've been drinking, or because my mum has been baking feather light apple cakes to try and make me feel better (what is it with apples and keeping the doctor away, hmm?) but I feel airy. The mood is still simple and easy - when is it not - but at the moment it's also carefree and feeling like you could blow away. It's all in the mint green and the pale pinks of this world, in Dree Hemingway being cinematic and lovely in Vogue Uk's summer celebration, in perspex frames (still) and super girly midi-length chanel dresses (that's new). I guess it's a reaction to winter in the way that it's not about rugging up and wearing layers and clomping around in big boots and heavy coats. It's dainty. It's delicate. It's feeling like you can't do anything other than light a cigarette or wave a cartier-bracelet-wearing hand or you might rip your dress. And that's not me at all, but I kind of like it.

X

You have read this article me / photos / pictures with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/mood.html. Thanks!

old school

the sartorialist

So while searching for pictures in the Sartorialist's archives for yesterdays post I stumbled across this one. This photo is from, essentially, almost 3 years ago, and yet it is a look that you would not be surprised to see on the street now, and certainly wouldn't be surprised to see, with the addition of al longer skirt and some smaller heels, on me. So, for all you nay-sayers out there who think fashion a fickle, fickle business, for all you Oscar Wilde fans who spout forth such gems as "fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable we have to alter it every six months", here is a shot for you. True fashion, actually I should probably say here true style, does not change every six months. When you find a good thing, you stick to it. 

X

You have read this article photos / pictures / street style / street-style / style / the sartorialist with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/old-school.html. Thanks!

of the now

russh at large

A couple of backstage shots of a shoot in the new RUSSH magazine, out in stores on May 26. I may be the least denim-oriented person around, but I kind of like this whole denim poncho, black shearling and raw edges look. It's a little bit aztec/navajo, a little bit turned out double denim cool girl, a lot of the now. It's funny how you can find things that just fit so well with your now. When I first spied these pictures yesterday I was listening to my New York History lecture, the topic of which was graffiti and hip hop subcultures in New York during the 1980s. Fascinating stuff about Taki, Run DMC and the South Bronx - a side of New York that is so different from the one I remember. This seemed to fit in so well. Right now, it's all about challenging ideas, trying new things and living in the present.

X

You have read this article denim / fashion / history / New York / photos / pictures / russh / shearling with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/of-now.html. Thanks!

Be Italian

the sartorialist

Out of nowhere today rain clouds stormed in and ruined what had, this morning, been quite a nice autumn day. Tomorrow is set to be, in the sad tones of the weather announcer, "a bone-chiller of a day" and although it is exciting to get out coats and scarves and boots and all my old winter-weather friends, it's not so exciting when, dressed in my favourite sandals and flippy skirt, I was caught outside in the wet and wind today. Now it's only 5 O'clock and the sun has set, it's dark outside and I've had to close all the windows, turn up the heater, and put on some extra layers. And I'm sick. In short, I'm feeling pretty sorry for myself as I sip on Turkish Apple tea and make best friends with the tissue box. 

This photo is pretty marvelous. I have to say I've gone off the Sartorialist lately, through no fault of his own, but rather a combination of factors - I thought the subjects of his photos had become predictable, I read a couple of very bad articles about him, and then he did a couple of posts where he said some pretty questionable things. But that's all by the by. Especially when he shoots something like this. Eva Fontanelli is one of his old school subjects - you know the ones, from way back when he wasn't with garance and caught Yasmin Sewell laughing in the Tuileries in what would become his standard, renowned street style pose. This may very well be the best photo he has ever taken (although this one comes close, and so does this one, funnily posted one after the other way back in September 2008). When I went to go get my book signed and meet him back in, oh, it must have been 2009 now, I remember he asked me what my favourite photo of his was, and I said it was this one, incidentally enough of Eva in her jeans and fur coat, who I have always loved. He said that she had an Audrey Hepburn character about her, and wrote in the book that she wears some crazy things, but it's all part of her appeal. You sit back and watch the show. I love that because it reminds me of one of my best friends. You can never quite put your finger on her style or why it's so lovely, but it is, and you do. 

This photo is amazing. It has that cinematic quality that people love about Italy, the colour, the effervescence, the exuberance, the light. It has a pretty girl with a beautiful smile and the classic, brash clashing of patterns that has become so synonymous with Italian fashion. Yet, there is not a skerrick of leopard print or a hint of va-va-voom Monica Belluci Italian fashion in this picture. I think this is what I love so much about this photo, it's Italy, but old school Italy, all Bellini's at the original Harry's Bar, yachting down the amalfi coast and rooms with a view. It's that glamour, untapped and unbridled and totally, wildly uncontrollable, that wafts from every circle skirt and every bright print and every thin belt buckled easily around the (real, not high) waist. The fashion crowd love Italy. They love setting editorials there so they can dress the models in what they call "classic sexiness" and the male models in "suave threads", so they can devise scenes where a couple can shoot across pigeon-strewn piazzas on little vespas, share a heaving bowl of spaghetti with green-as-envy basil leaves and recline gracefully against the walls of old forts.

Italy doesn't disappoint. Sure, there's less of the vespa-zooming and graceful reclining to be found in the tourist traps of Venice, Rome and Florence, but it's still achingly, overwhelmingly beautiful. At times there is too much to take in and too much to admire that you have to close your eyes for a second. And that is true beauty. This is what this photo by the Sart captures. He captures that over stimulated, awesome feeling of being in Italy. Awesome in the sense that you are faced with something so much more, well, incredible than you. Eva is beautiful and her smile is captivating and it looks like she's wearing a great little outfit with cute shoes. But it's not really about that, is it? There's so much going on in this shot that it becomes more than Eva, more than the framing - although if it had been a different girl, how would the photo have looked? - it's all about Italy.

X

You have read this article italy / milan fashion week / photos / pictures / street style / the sartorialist with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/be-italian.html. Thanks!

dance

jak and jil

“Some people, rather than being of-the-moment are in fact of-the-always. Be it the way they dress, how they shake their hips or the manner by which they sing their story. Indeed it happens in life, once in a while, that some people’s ways are completely unforgettable. They are the ones who revolutionize aesthetics, movements and sensibilities often unbeknown to themselves at the time.”

Stevie Dance actually wrote that, which I think is pretty cool considering it's how we all think of her. Some people are "of the always". They inspire us is as they inhabit a world so cool, so fascinating, so inherently "of the now" that they become, by that token, "of the always". Stevie Dance is one of those people. It's pretty sad that she's leaving RUSSH, if only because her work enlivens the Australian market and gives it such a good name, but it's also something that's really exciting for her - and for us - as we watch what she does next. It won't be anything short of fantastic, as it always is.

X

You have read this article fashion style / photos / pictures / russh / stevie dance / tommy ton with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/dance.html. Thanks!

manning cartell sale

Sales are in the air at the moment. If you've still got cash left over from the undergroup sale and others, pop around to the Manning Cartell studio this Friday and Saturday. Their special brand of what I think is super Australian threads - everything is dressed down, casual and super sexy - marked down to prices like $40! Is this madness? I'm pining so hard for their oversized knits at the moment. Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm a knitwear addict. :)

X

You have read this article sale with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/manning-cartell-sale.html. Thanks!

bits and pieces

Sorry for being a bit absent. My computer is on the fritz and I'm a bit lazy when it comes to finding a different computer to use to blog. So here's a little cell phone diary, to use Abby's term. I know this post is a little bit of nothing, but I've been having a lovely couple of days, having glorious lunches at Sydney institution Kawa (chicken ball salad mmmm), salted butter caramel macarons at Baroque, doing some uni work which I've actually been finding quite interesting and still loving my knitwear. Oh, and some new repetto shoes that are so comfy and were an amazing buy from Pretty Dog in Newtown - all about the lace up ballet flats. Yeah. These past couple of days have been real nice.

X

You have read this article food / knitwear / me / shoes / sydney with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/bits-and-pieces.html. Thanks!

undergroup

If you're in Sydney next week make sure you check out the Undergroup sample sale. They've got Opening Ceremony, Sara Philips, Sophomore and more - in short, all that cool girl stuff you desperately want and need in your wardrobe. They're known for doing killer sample sales, so don't miss out!

X

You have read this article sale / sydney with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/undergroup.html. Thanks!

multiple of three

streetpeeper

OH GOD. These photos aren't helping much, are they? I think this might be the case of minty wang part two, although thankfully these are not to be found at any australian stores preventing the trying of them on, which would only clinch the deal I think. Maybe I'll be able to find them when I'm overseas? I can't believe how effortless they look, despite the fact that in theory and on paper they sound a little bit trashy. White jeans? No thanks. But dip them in indigo dye and give them a wide leg and I might pair them with a plain tee shirt and a mannish blazer. I mean, how good does the first girl look? There is class and there is class, and she is of the latter. 

It begs the question, is it clothes or the person that engenders style? I used to think it was the clothes, but more and more recently I've come to realise that you can try as hard as you want to look the part but if you're not comfortable then it won't work. It has to be 100% you. These girls in their bleached jeans make them look so incredible, but I think it's them, and not the jeans, that does this. Maybe these are best admired from afar, no?

X

You have read this article clothes / clothing / dries van noten / fashion week / jealous / pants / shopping / street style / street-style / want with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/multiple-of-three.html. Thanks!

autumn mood

Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms. 

You've Got Mail

main photo: here

texas, alone from the RUSSH blog // vintage jil sander campaign // jess blanch's stella mac suit and perspex frames shot by candice lake for vogue uk // phoebe philo at work from so much to tell you // still loving this photo from miss little lime, all white shirts and freckles and wood tables // pumpernickel bread and tea from simply breakfast

It's all about simplicity at the moment. I like the idea of empty skylines punctured by cacti - even if it's cold here I can still dream of hot weather, right? Pale pink suits and perspex frames, plain button downs and delicate watches. Warm drinks. Wooden tables. I'm inspired by all things that are without fuss - no wonder my favourite outfit of the moment revolves around a fuzzy jumper and big scarf. There's nothing difficult about the look, and it's warm warm warm. And after spending ages in the library surrounded by musty books researching for an essay on Cormac McCarthy I can safely say that "fall", such as it is, does remind me of school supplies. I've always loved You've Got Mail. I used to think that one day I would live in an apartment like Kathleen's in New York, all open spaces and towering bookshelves. And her favourite flowers are daisies too.

X

You have read this article autumn / cold / food / inspiration / jil sander / phoebe philo / photos / pictures / street style with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/autumn-mood.html. Thanks!

winter woolies

Benah cashmere scarf in brownie, Nathan Smith Angora and Wool mix sweater in burnt orange, Celine Bag, Isabel Marant Ben Coat, Vintage Belt

These are the staples of my autumn/winter wardrobe. Breaking them out again - or for the first time after they are newly acquired - is like reconnecting with an old friend. They are so snuggly and make me want to do things like bury my face into  the wool of my scarf - something that I did whilst watching a gripping SVU episode with my brother. So far, this Autumn has been about nesquik and new pens and listening to lectures online. Nothing too exciting, but hey - it's early days yet.

X 

You have read this article celine / clothes / clothing / isabel marant / knitwear / me / outfit / outfits / shopping / want / winter with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/winter-woolies.html. Thanks!

buttercup

purple diary



Yellow was the biggest player on the scene at RAFW and was the first look past the post at the recent Chaenl Cruise show. Not just any yellow, mind, this isn't a fluoro nu-wave offering of an egg-yolk rich kind of shade. For this coming season the yellow is going to be bright but not bold, sweet but not saccharine, rich but not extravagant. In short, this is a canary, buttercup, daffodil kind of yellow. Cheery and welcoming you with open arms. I don't actually own any yellow clothing at all - I'm more of an orange girl at heart - but a fter the raft of yellow looks that paraded down RAFW catwalks and now seeing it at Chanel my little mind is ticking over. Imagine a little yellow suit with flat sandals, the perfect wayt to tackle office dressing in a fashion-y way? Or a weekend casual look consisting of your usual neutral-brilliance with a milky lemon yellow scarf? And, as Talisa point out, it goes so well with navy.

I think the material point about yellow is that it embodies the word spectacular. It is easy to align a colour with a word - red is sexy, pink is girly, black is soulful, white is pure. There are shades of grey (geddit?) on either side of these alignments of course - pure can easily run into soul-less as it can dilute down to sinful. But mostly your knee jerk reaction to a colour is the one that it truly represents. I saw Water for Elephants tonight (oh Rpattz, you will forever be Edward Cullen, unfortunately), and there was a lot of yellow in that movie. There is a lot of yellow in everything that hopes to make an impact - from the Wizard of Oz to the Olympics - and that is because it is a show-stopper of a colour. Spectacular, spectacular. Why not make an impact?

X

You have read this article chanel / clothes / clothing / colour / fashion / photos / pictures / RAFW with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/buttercup.html. Thanks!

girl next door

vanessa jackman for grazia it

I've always wanted to be a girl next door. The way people use that term, I think it means something quite marvelous. It conjures up these ideas of brightness, of light, of friendliness and open-ness and all the good qualities you hope and want and need in a neighbour. I think that's one of the reasons why I love my friend Vanessa Jackman's raft of amazing, amazing photos for Grazia IT entitled "it-girls, girls next door". It's clever on two levels. Obviously, it's Grazia IT, therefore having IT-girls is a little bit of a fashion-y in joke. But it's clever also because Vanessa has chosen girls next door of the internet generation. These are the bloggers, the models, the photographers, the stylists who you want to comment on your blog and take your picture and hang out with. Not just because they're super stylish and genetically blessed. But because they're good fun, too. That's the thing about girls next door. It's not enough for them to just look good. They have to act the part as well. Vanessa captures this side of the it-girl, effortlessly pretty and yet wholly engaging. I defy you not to really, really, really love these photos.

Vanessa has featured some of my favourite bloggers, like Claire from Young Shields, Peony from Peony Lim, Candice from Style Magnolia and Cara who has a cute as a button tumblr. Vanessa shot them with a film camera and you can tell - these dreamy, ethereal photos have that vintage quality to them that makes them hard to place, temporally and spatially. The only thing I know is that I want my every day to look like this, lolling about with red apples and cupcakes, fresh flowers and beautiful clothes.

X

You have read this article clothes / clothing / fashion / outfits / photos / pictures / street style / street-style with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/girl-next-door.html. Thanks!

brief

Blogger outage (everything in my feed starts with such a sentence, but hey, we're all slaves the machine, right?) has led to a lack of posts, general hair-tearing-out and the loss of my entire links list. I've been slowly and surely trying to build them back up, but I can't for the life of me remember everything that was on there, so now is your chance. If you'd like to be on my links list and you don't see yourself there, shoot my a comment, email, tweet, whatever you like with the URL of your blog and I'll add it. In other news, I was excited to hear about this article in String Magazine by fellow blogger Alexandra of To Vogue or Bust. She rounds up the "cream of the crop" of Australian bloggers and I'm on it (wow!). It was so heart-warming to read her lovely words, especially after a particularly trying day at work, and to see some of my blogging mates on that list (Zanita, Nicole, Sara, Mandy and of course, Vanessa I'm looking at you!). I love that she singled me out for my writing. When you really love something, and you want to spend the rest of your life doing it, it does make you very, very happy when someone praises you for it. So thank you to you all for enjoying my writing, it means the world, really! 

studded hearts - excuse my chipped nail polish! just goes to show i'm a student and not a vogue girl, right?

For now - until I sort out the post I was going to do yesterday but am a bit behind on, think warm and fuzzy thoughts until then - here's a shot of my favourite YSL ring that Yenny got during RAFW. This ring reminds me of everything I love about New York, it was purchased on my trip there in 2010 when I surprised my best friend for her 18th birthday, went to Fashion Week, saw my first snow, drank some amazing warm apple and ginger cocktails and was introduced to the wonderful world of the Standard Bar and Grill. One of, if not the best holidays of my life. My friend and me, we just mucked around the whole time, went out for dessert at 11 PM, saw movies at the Paris theatre, went ice skating, wandered the streets of Cobble Hill. It's the trip that made me fall in love with New York all over again, after convincing myself that I liked it, but didn't love it. How wrong I was, and the ring is daily proof of it.

X

You have read this article blogging / holiday / jewelry / me / New York / photos / pictures / RAFW / rings / YSL with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/brief.html. Thanks!

chanel outfit snippets

chanel news

It is a truth universally acknowledged that chanel outfit snippets are much more chic than your average normal outfit snippets. The perfect wide-leg jeans, a blast of sequined heels, a couple of perfumed goodie bags. I love how these shots are just as - if not more exciting - than the show itself. They give a perfect, zoomed in view of how fabulous it must be to go to a Chanel cruise show. It's a little bit Jane Birkin, a little bit of a party, and all fabulous (oh! the gilded quilted bag, the tiffany lock necklace!). I guess I'm just in a bit of a Chanel mood. I've painted my nails in a khaki shade that kind of resembles the infamous Khaki Vert. I've been wearing my chanel ballet flats again. Oh, and one day, one day, I'll be going to a Chanel cruise show. Just you wait. 

X

You have read this article with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/chanel-outfit-snippets.html. Thanks!

behind the scenes

the coveteur

How great is the coveteur's behind the scenes blog? Isn't it enough that they have a fantastic website filled with hi-res pictures of everyone from sylvana ward to leandra medine's fabulous clothes? Isn't it enough that they take those clothes and pose them in slightly tongue-in-chic ways that make you grin a little at the silliness of fashion (oh look, it's a roksanda ilincic gown hanging from a fridge!)? Now they have a tumblr with heaps of diary-style pics that give a taste of what's to come - louise roe and khloe kardashian - as well as showing us the faces of the coveteur girls themselves. But enough about that. How great is Erin's knit with leather pockets? It looks fuzzy, kind of like shearling. I love everything with leather accents at the moment. I tried on this cute little boucle jacket at Zara the other day with leather pockets - but the fit was a bit funny. Still. I'm on my search for Celine-esque separates with leather accents. Just like this fuzzy cardigan. 

X

You have read this article with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/behind-scenes.html. Thanks!

in living colour

mike huynh via the corner shop blog

Unexpected colour combinations are my current obsession du jour. This particular shot comes from the Gary Bigeni show during RAFW (who else?). I love it when you pair shades with another that are sometimes non-harmonious - like peachy pink and fire engine red for example. What impact, what entrance! They don't have to be neon brights - although extra points for fluoro colour blocking - they just have to be a little disparate. Think rusty orange and cerulean blue, or hot pink and oatmeal bran. One colour feeds off the other - how that red does pop beside the washed out peach, how a bright pink is transformed by a neutral - and suddenly you have an outfit that is so much more than the sum of its parts. Sure, you could have worn a grey tee shirt with those red pants, but aren't you glad you didn't? 

X

You have read this article with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/in-living-colour.html. Thanks!

c-c-c-chameleon

Today on twitter I was surprised to know that Lucinda had not heard of My Chameleon before. But how? It's so fantastic! One of the best online stores out there, My Chameleon gathers everything that is good about fashion under the one roof/site, and their buyers have impeccable taste. Think - Gary Bigeni drapey dresses, Arnsdorf sheer shirts and of course, my favourite Benah bags - as well as a smattering of well-chosen international labels (Bodkin, Sophomore, Opening Ceremony yes please!). It reminds me somewhat of bloodorange, my favourite boutique, in terms of aesthetic. The girl is effortlessly cool, and though she may know about fashion she isn't a slave to it. I always feel like the My Chameleon girl is interested in more things than just fashion, and she's not afraid to say it loud with that perfectly simple Therese Rawsthorne Ensemble cotton shirt. 

So, in the interest of online window shopping, procrastination and all things internet-fun, here's five days worth of looks with clothes, shoes, bags and accessories taken entirely from the My Chameleon website. I've used some pieces twice, in the spirit of capsule wardrobes and all that. I wouldn't be too upset if I owned all those things, but for now I think I might settle for that gorgeous Arnsdorf wrap coat, on sale on their website. It is stunning, and such a beautiful camel colour. Love!

Monday - work

Arnsdorf crystal canvas coat dress, T.R Ensemble blueberry pocket shirt, Gary Bigeni danko sweater, Camilla Skovgaard Astrakan bootie, Benah kodi belt, Gary Bigeni stam skirt, Van Rycke Onde Positive cord wrap bracelet, Van Rycke silver bead cord bracelet, Arnsdorf suede envelope clutch

Tuesday - Play

 Therese Rawsthorne Shearling Zip Jacket, Therese Rawsthorne Oatmeal Gathered Sweater, Costalots Diego sunglasses, Arnsdorf light wash slim jeans, Lauren Manoogian Hombre hand-knitted sweater, Camila Skovgaard Astrakan bootie, Van Rycke Onde Positive wrap cord bracelet, Van Rycke Silver bead cord bracelet, Benah mini Kodi bag in olive leather

Wednesday - night out

 Arnsdorf crystal canvas coat dress, Gary Bigeni Boy dress, Costalots Translucent rose sunglasses, Van Rycke Gold disc necklace, Benah kodi cuff in tan, Dieppo Restrepo penny loafers, Benah mini Kodi bag in red suede 

Thursday - brunch

 Bodkin perennial military jacket, Arnsdorf neoprene edged tank, Van Rycke gold disc necklace, Le Mont Saint Michel boxy marl sweater, Arnsdorf Quartz canvas skirt, Benah kodi belt, Benah cashmere basket weave snood, Opening Ceremony Astrakan pump, Costalots translucenet rose sunglasses, Arnsdorf suede envelope clutch

Friday - casual

 Therese Rawsthorne shearling zip jacket, Le Mont Saint Michel boxy marl sweater, Costalots diego sunglasses, Lauren Manoogian hombre hand loomed sweater, Tigerlily chameleon leather shorts, Opening Ceremony Astrakan pumps, Van Rycke onde positive wrap cord bracelet, Van Rycke silver bead cord bracelet, Benah cashmere basket weave snood, Benah mini kodi bag in olive

I would wear every single one of these outfits, except maybe the leather shorts in the last one. Not quite a shorts gal, unfortunately. But boxy midi skirts and wrap coats? Sign me up, please.

X

You have read this article arnsdorf / benah / clothes / clothing / fashion style / online / shopping with the title May 2011. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2011/05/c-c-c-chameleon.html. Thanks!