Tuesday, July 23, 2013

a better high than buying.......

the kirby bee a better high than buying full bw
the kirby bee a better high than buying close up bw

the kirby bee a better high than buying side bw
the kirby bee a better high than buying back bw

Renew, rejuvenate, refresh. It’s often a better high than buying.

This past weekend in moment of madness, bought on by needing/wanting, (in my head anyway), a specific item that my wardrobe didn’t have and having no time to go find one, I chopped off the arms of jacket that had been sitting in my wardrobe for a little while. It was probably on the verge of being asked to leave, despite surviving the wardrobe cull of 2013, but suddenly it has a pass to hang around a little longer.

So of course I threw it on with some rad Zoe Karssen, a little tartan and some faux leather slouchy pants from Sportsgirl, cause that's how I roll. Check out those Balmain-esque eighties power shoulders, scary and sexy all at once.

Feeling inspired by this moment of DIY, I pulled a few pieces out of my wardrobe, (more survivors - did I actually get rid of anything?), that hadn’t seen the light of day in a while and did what I do, I dyed. Not literally, I mean I put the clothes in a big pot full of artificially coloured hot water. From red and coral to navy and black. Of course feeding my emerging obsession with a colour palette firmly stuck on black and white, grey and navy and khaki, with denim, of course.

In an age of fast and faster fashion, of thirty second trends, of it bags, brand blindness and keeping up with whoever the hell you so desire, taking something old and making it new again gives me a strange sense of satisfaction. Like I’m bucking the trend, like I’m making a stand against mass consumerism for the sake of consumerism. It's the same feeling of satisfaction I get from finding a killer piece while op-shopping, guess it's the thrifty gal in me.

Of course then I remembered the lines on my credit card statement reading Net-A-Porter and ASOS from only a few short weeks ago. Maybe I’m only making half a stand. A crouch maybe. Hey it's a start.

xx

Sunday, July 21, 2013

oh my shoes: zanotti cowgirl.......







Oh Mr Zanotti, you got me, you got me good.

Before we get into a debate about the pros and cons of cowgirl boots, pros are plentiful and cons are negligible just in case you were wondering, let's take a moment to just appreciate what we have before us.

I don't know if my admiration for this cowgirl-esque boot is due to the fact that I'm currently engrossed in studying the film genre of, and watching probably too many, Westerns. Is my repeated exposure to the likes of John Wayne, James Stewart and Clint Eastwood and their respective sartorial footwear choices now spilling into my own? Am I so focused on frontier life that I somehow think I actually need a pair of colourful nappa leather boots with a concealed heel and gold, yes gold, adornments? Boots that cost close to two thousand bucks, well do I?

Perhaps I just have an overarching respect and desire for the glorious work of Giuseppe Zanotti, aka shoe god. And look why wouldn't I, he creator of the avant garde heel-less heel. That's what I'm calling them, it's quite long winded but it works. If you've happened across any of his work for AW2014, you'll most likely understand. I'm talking fringe work, serious spikes, silver and gold foil boots, gold stars, khaki lace up peep toe booties and some killer white stiletto boots. If you don't know what I'm talking about I suggest a quick, (or long), visit here.

Or maybe I just like shoes, especially really really cool ones. Ones with red and green and black and white leather. Oh the things we could do together.

Shit I forgot the debate, feel free to have it in the comments. 
 
xx

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

converse and my maturing mind........



Converse again? Really?

Yes, really.

Torn up jeans again? Really?

Yes, really.

Since finally investing in some sweet white Converse a few weeks ago, I have to say they’ve taken centre stage round here. I’m finding myself reaching for them again and again, they’re simple, they go with everything and they’re comfortable.

Last week one of my new favourite bloggers, Gab from Look Sharp, Sconnie, (seriously if you haven’t already, check her out, girl can write!) posted about the possibility of our sartorial choices becoming more simplified as we get older. Hitting the, (mental), speed bump that was my twenty seventh birthday last month it struck me while reading Gab’s post that I was in fact closer to the end of the supposed experimental twenties than I was to the beginning.

I wondered as I approach that seemingly terrifying milestone, thirty(!!), would my supposed young and carefree nature melt away and be replaced with a mature mind that bought basics like candy and skimmed right over the torn up denim and mens tees that seem so prevalent in my life now. See above.

Or does the fact that I've finally purchased these go with everything Converse mean that this slow metamorphosis is already taking place? Next to go the torn up denim?

I’ve always though of myself as a little experimental. Perhaps not in the way of the inimitable ADR or Susie Bubble, but in my own way, tucked away in my own corner of the world. And I have a wardrobe full of ‘statement’ pieces that can attest to that. Sequined blazers, lace shorts, gold high waisted skirts, yes, tick and check. And while these little style experiments may not have always worked they have helped to hone what I guess is a sense of style that is all mine. 

But, outside the crazy twenties, would I actually get fed up with the world that I spend so much time engrossed in?

Would I really do away with those neon pink peep toes booties?

Would my beloved and decadent family jewels suddenly be irrelevant amongst a wardrobe full of black and white?

For me style is an evolutionary concept, not a static one. So the chances of me hitting thirty and locking in a set of sartorial preferences and holding solid from that point on are probably comparable to the chances of me going to space. That would be slim to none. Which means the answers to all my own rhetorical questions are no, maybe when I'm ninety five and never.

That said I’m certainly not about to try and predict the future, I’m short a crystal ball for one thing. And there is always the possibility that I'll decide to become an avant garde hippy and wear Comme des Garcons and Isabel Marant exclusively. Either way, I do hope that mens threads and torn up denim never stop being a part of my life regardless of which side of thirty, or forty, or fifty I fall.

Thoughts??

xx

Thursday, July 11, 2013

cleaning out my closet........

"I got some skeletons in my closet;
And I don't know if no one knows it"

Whoa there, what!?! This ain't no Eminem show. I'm literally cleaning out my closet, and I'm also using literally the way is should be. Big ups for the English language.

After my sort of mini crisis regarding my own mortality, things got a little crazy round these parts. Not sure if it was a manifestation of all that pondering of my own mortality or some sort of fight back against those feelings of being overwhelmed. But over the past few weeks I’ve been progressively cleaning out my closet and have basically removed half of it. Ok maybe a third.

I was stricter and tougher then I’ve ever been on a wardrobe cull before. A sign of my emerging real adulthood perhaps? We will reserve judgement on that.

Regardless I now have a pile of clothes and shoes, (yes I’m even getting rid of shoes, I shocked myself too), and accessories waiting patiently to be sorted, and either donated or sold off to better homes.

The wardrobe cull is surely the single most important, sartorial related anyway, task you should complete at least once a year. The era of fast fashion we live in means most of us, and I count me there too, tend to accumulate a lot of stuff that often adds no real meaning to our fash-un life.

Cleaning out the crap leaves room for great things to make their way in, that’s pretty deep right there folks. It’s also a cathartic experience. I pulled out a few pieces that held a certain amount of historical value and it was a great feeling to drop them into the pile to go. Like I’m clearing out this top, therefore clearing out all the bad shit that went along with you, oops, I meant it! No, not really I meant you.

The end result of all this, is that I now have a gaping hole in my wardrobe. And a pile of empty hangers too, see above. The thing is I’m not actually rushing to fill it either. Another sign I’ve entered real adulthood?

Thoughts??

xx

Tuesday, July 09, 2013

breaking up is hard to do........

the kirby bee cocnut oil close up hair beauty
Yes, the rumours are correct. Everything you've read and heard and whispered about. It’s all true.

Coconut oil and I......we've broken up.

I’d like to say it wasn’t acrimonious but I’d be lying.

Things started out well. I even drafted a blog post proclaiming my love, thank whoever the hell you want for that not being posted. After a really nasty fling with another oil that shall remained unnamed, I turned to coconut oil. Ok I rebounded to coconut oil.

But coconut oil was to be my salvation. It had been lauded as a miracle skin whisperer. As a miracle hair whisperer. As just a miracle in general. All of this I got from the exhaustive research I of course undertook, as one should when deciding to try something new on their face. Naturally this research took place on twitter, as all good research does. Right?

Hashtag coconut oil. Hashtag fail.

Now I did my damnedest to give old coconut oil a fair go. I really did. Despite my inability to commit to real life relationships I’m pretty good with persevering when all signs point to stop that shit with things like makeup and skin care. On reflection that’s actually a really bad thing. Though I did take that face mask off straight away when it started burning. Burning is never a good thing.

But alas, despite my desire for things to work out, they’re just not going too. And there is really only one reason why.

My fringe does not like coconut oil.

Why?

Because coconut oil makes my fringe an oily mess that consistently needs to be pinned back, thing is she doesn’t look real pretty when she’s not shiny and soft. My fellow fringe wearers will attest that the best fringe is a freshly washed one, or even better; day two fringe. But a fringe with a fine sheen of oil ain’t pretty, even when accompanied by a sweet coco-nutty scent.

Now me and my fringe have been together for a long while now. We've been through a lot, bad haircuts and good haircuts, bad colours, an acceptance and embracing of our natural colour, and that old nemesis: windy days. We’re firm friends, ain’t nothing coming between us.

So it’s over. I’ve returned to my old faithful moisturiser. Dermatologist approved and scent free. And my fringe and me are talking* again.

the kirby bee coocnut oil hair beauty australia


As for the coconut oil. I’m not sure. It’s still here and I haven’t the heart to throw it out when it has nowhere else to go. I’ve considered using it to cook up something tasty, but it feels really wrong to throw something in the pan after I’ve been slathering it on my face.

Your thoughts on coconut oil? Tried it? Loved it? Disliked it? Some fabulous alternative? Tell me everything.....please?

xx

*I’m not really talking to my fringe, it’s just a figure of speech guys. Maybe.

Sunday, July 07, 2013

editorial love: el dorado.......




I have a serious crush on Stella Tennant. From my very first Vogue moments she's been a favourite. There is something about her androgynous look that draws me in every time. And this US Vogue shoot by Mario Testino from 2012 is no exception.

I imagine she's a European heiress on an adventure, running far from a life that has been planned for her from the moment she entered the world. An arranged marriage, a life inside castles and attending glittering parties, surrounded by people she doesn't love and people that don't love her. Her adventure finds her in a small town in Peru sometime in the early part of the twentieth century. Faced with a world so outside her normal reality she must survive or perish. Of course she does all this in some serious threads, Dries, Oscar, Givenchy, Prada and Chanel to name but a few.

No doubt those treads are rad but, predictably so, I'm much more enamoured with the traditional Peruvian Quechua hats. I'm quite sure I could conquer anything with one of those perched on my skull.

xx

Friday, July 05, 2013

currently crushing: beanie style........


Remember that old wives tale about losing most of your body heat through your head? It’s total crap, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t rock a beanie when the wind chill drops ridiculously low. Like it did today in Melbourne. Because beanies rock, it’s that simple.

Wearing a beanie fits in with my theory about the warmth of certain items being all upstairs, remember scarves? We think we’re warmer, therefore we are. Right? It’s not a theory I’ve spend a great deal of time extrapolating but being that it is a theory I can probably continue to have absolutely no facts to back it up.

What I do have is some killer streetstyle to reinforce my assertion that beanies rock. In all sorts of colours and shapes, some even sporting pom poms, now that is rad.

Of course being a currently crushing post I simply couldn’t leave you with a simple mash up of streetstyle shots, I must also show you some fabulous beanies you could have in your hot little hands or on your cold head in no time. So here they are!


Let's kick if off with the Topshop Fairisle Beanie, orange Homies goodness from Reasons, boyfriend stripes from ASOS, killer cat ears from Sportsgirl, slouchy knits from Market HQ, Topshop colour block, brilliant blue from Evan-Evina, emerald green by Glassons and some studded grey from ASOS.

Feel free to go ahead and snap up any of the bargains above and there are some great ones there, but if you're looking for something a little more extravagant, you could try this embellished wool and cashmere blend from Lanvin, just slightly pricier but oh so pretty. Or even this tiara-esque beanie from Markus Lupfer.

Frankly it doesn't matter where you're getting your beanie action from as long as you're getting it. Now that's a tale that ain't crap.

Thoughts??

xx

Tuesday, July 02, 2013

crop it like it's not.......

the kirby bee crop it like its not crop top
In the words of the the one and only Snoop Dogg, ok I may have fiddled with his original words, but regardless it’s time to crop it like it’s not! Yes, the crop top has cropped up again. While some might say it should have stayed buried in the nineties, the current grunge revival means that it's back baby.

Eeek! Yes I know, the thought of baring my own white and not exactly toned tummy is just slightly scary to say the least. To say the most would be terrifying and absolutely not happening. Sure I may be a strong woman who knows my own mind but that doesn’t mean I’m in love with everything I got going on here folks.

Plus there’s that living in the southern hemisphere thing I have going on too. Which means I’m just kicking off what should be a nice and chilly winter. Not exactly prime stomach baring time, if there ever is such a time.

But don’t let the whiteness of my belly and the impending cold pressure systems discourage you from wading into the murky waters of the crop top phenomena. And murky they are, don’t let those non smiling models fool you.

Murky because there are so many fine lines in the world of crop tops. Veer too far one way and you’ll look like you’ve just left the gym and forgot to, you know, put on a top. Too far the other and you might resemble a pre-teen testing out her first non-underwire bra. Fine if you are a pre teen, not so if your teen days are nearly a decade behind you.

So what’s my magical link, the most important element, the key!

It’s to layer, yes layer. Like onions yeah, layers. That’s take your crop top and throw it on over something else, any variation of a tee is perfect. Now you’re on trend, warm, and not scaring folks young and old with the almost translucent skin stretching across your abdomen. That last one might just be me.

Everyones a winner!

If, like me, you're just too excited to get this happening to wait to and do something sensible like buy a crop top, just take to any old singlet you have lying around with a pair of scissors! Snip, snip, done and wear. DIY at it's finest.

the kirby bee crop it like its not crop top diy crop top

the kirby bee crop it like its not crop top diy crop top two


Thoughts??

xx