Styleographer

Clashing Prints and Cougars

Sarah — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 11:12:59 +0000

And in this episode of “I am obsessed with things from Gorman” – may I present for your viewing pleasure, this amazing shirt dress. I’m kind of unclear about whether or not the print is actually of a cougar (leopard? cheetah? duck?) but because I am happily ignorant of what makes which big cat distinct from the others, I’m going to claim it’s cougar print. Because that is hilarious to me. Just to me? I also love the clashing print of the bodice versus the sleeves and button detailing – I would most likely wear this with ankle socks and brogues, and as I walked around there would be a fifty-fifty chance that I would be imagining being a character in a Hardy Boys novel or that I was in world war one and suffering through butter rationing (I’ve been reading up on food rationing in war time a lot lately – my interests are teasingly diverse).

Hit list

Sarah — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:47:35 +0000

I’m getting a little old to be writing christmas lists (although I’ve always thought surprises were severly overrated – what’s wrong with getting things for someone you know they definitely want?) But when I look at these items I get all tingly in excitement with the knowledge that in just a few paychecks, I’ll be able to start knocking off my hit list. Does anyone else get all warm and excited about the prospect of buying things? Or are my problems not just limited to my hugely inappropriate crush on Redfoo from LMFAO?

We’ve talked about how I’m 5’11 right? And that as such… what I really need in life is platform wooden clogs to make me even more of an amazon? These Gorman Tie Me Up wedges fit the bill so very well, I’m really regretting not buying them before I moved away from Melbourne.

Do you see what I am seeing? Not just a sweet, perfectly fitting t-shirt, but a sweet, perfectly fitting t-shit with DINOSAURS on it. And a quiz! Who doesn’t love a good quiz? This Tee and Cake shirt going to be my first purchase come payday, I’m anticipating wearing it every moment of summer – way past when it stops being funny and cute. I kid, I kid: it will never stop being funny and cute.

While I love just about everything that Calourette make, this ring very nearly sends me into conniptions. Calourette definitely have the market cornered on adorable, quirky and downright odd jewellary, that is my favourite thing about them. Want a ring with a snail on it? They’ve got you covered. Want to hang a lobster from your pretty little necklace? That dream too can come true. Want to pin ears to your ears? Well… you see where I’m going with this.

So often I think that one-piece swimsuits are boring and dull, but that is so not the case with this Gorman Hello Sailor one-piece. I am a sucker for anything nautical… add in the cute little cut out, and I’m completely sold.

These Unif hell-raisers are the end word in amazing smoking slippers. Loungewear is the new cool, and I couldn’t be more excited about all the quirky and crazy styles of smoking slippers currently on the market right now. It is not an understatement to say that I am obsessed with these, they are comfortable but also just a bit off (kind of like yours truely), and I’m imagining kicking some butt with those spike studs.

It might be almost summer, but that doesn’t stop me from craving this Illustrated People raglan sweater. It makes a change from all the vaguely rock chic black sweaters that you see all the time, the white equals out the (lets be honest here people) slightly demonic feel of it. I’m imagining short shorts, a tan, and a road trip while wearing this sweater.

Fuck Flattering.

Sarah — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 04:30:18 +0000

Yes, Nike isn’t doing anything groundbreaking – it’s jumping on board with advertising campaigns such as Dove’s campaign for real beauty and Nivea, and possibly many other fashion and beauty companies who are promoting real beauty, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t something commendable.

I love this Nike campaign, particularly the thunder thighs ad, because girl my thighs are a thing to be reckoned with. They are big, and they are muscular from years of playing sport, and they will never fit into a size 8 pair of pants, but that doesn’t make them bad. I’ve been reading a lot of body/gender/sex positive books and articles lately, and it’s been getting me all fired up about how all my insecurities are actually things that are okay. If any of you read The Rumpus you might be familiar with Sugar, one of my new favourite interweb writers and she’s basically summed up my feelings about myself perfectly;

“You don’t have to be young. You don’t have to be thin. You don’t have to be “hot” in a way that some dumbfuckedly narrow mindset has construed that word. You don’t have to have taut flesh or a tight ass or an eternally upright set of tits.”

When I read those words, I was so relieved. It felt like permission not to be perfect, and I’ve been trying to really focus on the idea of that ever since. There are many, many girls on the internet who can sum this idea up better than I can; try Feministe, I Am Offended Because, Cartoon Heart or Rookie Mag if you want to get all fired up with feministe bolshyness.

But my main point is just to give everyone a gentle reminder that fashion is fun – it shouldn’t make you feel like shit. Don’t let wearing a size 10/12/14/16/18/20/22/24/26 make you feel bad just because it wasn’t the size you were once upon a time. There’s no shame in needing to go up or down a size from store to store (because guess what? There’s no regulation about sizing and they’re really just doing whatever they want with those labels). You are not the wrong size for the pants, the pants are the wrong size for you. You are perfect.

It’s perfectly fine to wear short shorts if you have thick thighs, just like it’s okay to wear a sheer shirt if you are a size 18 or a size 8. If you feel good in what you’re wearing – that is the only thing that matters. So don’t let other people’s opinion of you, or fashion’s opinion of what is ‘flattering’ get you down. Fuck Flattering.

Witching Hour

Sarah — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 04:51:51 +0000

In what is probably a direct rebellion against the bright colourpolsion that is popping up in every store I see, I’ve gone all gothy. That’s right, I’m 23 and all I have left to rebel against is pop colours. I could end this right here and just hashtag my life #whitegirlproblems.

My latest purchase is a matte lipstick by Mac called Potent Fig, and I love how grumpy it makes me look as I’m stomping through the streets, but I am not the only one who is feeling like getting a little dark and stormy, my girls from Rookie (the latest project by wunderkind and all around fierce lady Tavi) are also getting in on the gloom. They’ve been making their own cat shoes, wearing black lipstick and designing detachable collars. Did you hear that? They’ve been MAKING THEIR OWN CAT SHOES. I am the anti-craft girl so I will just be lusting from afar and instead I’ll be vibing on slashed up shorts, floating maxi skirts, anything with crosses on it, dark plum lipstick and as my love for sheer continues, buttoned up blouses with fabulous collar detailing.

These are some of my favourites, all from ASOS (apparently the only place I bother shopping these days) and I love the gothy witch girl feeling they give me. They’re still all quite light and floating (because summer is afterall, inching ever closer upon us), but they’re volumnious and dark enough to get the best out of your mysterious-witch-girl feeling. Maybe it’s leftover from my days of teenage hormone angst or maybe it’s because Halloween is fast approaching but every time I look at these clothes I imagine sitting in a spooky graveyard at night surrounded by Barbie dolls wrapped in twine and conducting a séance. Wherever you wear it, it’s definitely time to let your petulant, black lipped inner self shine. Or sit in a dark corner and glare at passer-bys. You know; whatever.

Weeeekend

Zo Zhou — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:16:26 +0000

Itching to dust off some spring dresses! For now I’ll just have to settle for admiring Laura’s awesome pink dress. Lookin forward to floating through the market tomorrow after some posh porridge, and let loose a little. Have a carefree weekend

Ooh la la vintage

Zo Zhou — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 04:21:03 +0000

Vintage items can often cost just as much as new, and for those of us dedicated to easing our clothing-to-landfill conscience, this can be a pain. Aside from spending hours at a local op-shop sifting through junk, what’s a girl to do? Check out Ooh la la vintage from Wellington, who have a good eye for picking out the jewels from the rubble and have priced things super reasonably.

I can’t believe that red dress is $35. I’d even manage to find room in my bursting-to-the-brim wardrobe if I could squeeze into that dress (sadly, I do not have a 63cm waist…close, but ya know…I’d like to breathe).

There are also some black high waisted velvet shorts (reminding me of Lonely Hearts) and big snuggly cardis that I like. Laurel also has a blog, so you can keep inspired with vintage imagery.

PS. In other vintagery news: much-loved Christchurch store Two Squirrels is open again, at 63 ashley street rangiora. Trading 3 days a week, Friday/Saturday/Sunday 10am-5pm. Great news

Bittersweet bargains

Zo Zhou — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 04:50:42 +0000

My favourite shoe store Shoezies celebrated its last day open in Christchurch yesterday. They’ll be reopening in Wellington, and I can’t wait to some day visit again, but for now, I’m a little melancholic. I headed in on Monday to say goodbye and to thank owners Susi and Ted for staying true to their dedication to only selling quality European made footwear. I also wanted to thank them for being such a gracious example of excellent and friendly customer service. It didn’t matter when my Mum and I dropped into the store on a whim not wearing super swanky clothes, or that we were mostly looking at sale items. We were well cared for, and it was the first time I’ve positively remembered an experience on High Street. They are such genuine people – something which cannot always be easily said about upmarket fashion retail people these days! The shoppers are nice people too – it felt easy to chat to everyone, bound by a love of beautiful design and craftsmanship.

These Chie Mihara purple suede heels are officially now my comfiest heels, and I cannot wait to wear them out. Really. I don’t go to the supermarket often, but I’m already plotting the next chance to put these on.

My favourite bit is the slightly thicker heel and the slight curve at the bottom…it has this classic feel without being boring, and the colour will be a welcome feature in my wardrobe. The round toe gives my feet a bit of room to relax too! If I ever get a job in an office, I will probably wear these every freakin day. Weirdly I don’t find myself wishing they were a tad higher either – they are just right.

These immediately caught my eye, and while I hadn’t planned on splashing out, they were too cute for me to resist:

…I am a sucker for ribbon laces. These hand crafted beauties were from a brand called Alex, who feature a lot of cut-out leather in their collections.

Bring on summer and dinner dates!

Summery sale finds

Zo Zhou — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 06:10:35 +0000

It’s not getting much warmer down in Christchurch, but summer sales have well and truly kicked off in the Northern hemisphere. Here are some of my favourite finds (which I’m dreaming of wearing on my brief excursion across the ditch):

Emerson Made scalloped edge mini (also in black) – xs

Edun silk wrap dress - L

Built By Wendy backless denim dress - L

Seventh Wonderland bikini – 2

Aennis Eunis peeptoe

Happy Happy Birthday

Sarah — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 03:23:15 +0000

In addition to all the exciting events going on in our busy, busy lives – in just a few short weeks I’m going to be celebrating my 23 birthday. Writing that statement, all that was going through my head was ‘woaaah Sarah you are getting old.’

But I digress.

To celebrate this event (seeing as last birthday I was just getting out of hospital and not yet able to eat solid food), I’m taking a weekend trip to Sydney with my family … and buying things. Now I’m definitely not buying ALL of this things (or not yet at least), but you know… if any of you wish to send birthday gifts my way, now you have a list to work off of… I kid (I’m not kidding).

Coats? Yes Please. Until it is socially acceptable to start walking around outside my house in faux fur blankets, these gorgeous printed jackets from ASOS and Zara will have to do. Look! Detailing! Prints! Buttons! My favourite thing about every single one of these jackets is that they are all statement pieces, but all in completely different ways. That means that you can just throw any of them on with jeans and some heels, and suddenly it’s an outfit.

Zara has just opened its doors to Melbourne (there were girls camped out for days apparently) and I absolutely love the clothes. I haven’t trekked into the physical shop yet, but I have done some pretty serious online browsing, picking out my favourites and getting all excited to go and try things on. I’m the most excited about trying on the ox-blood chinos, because my goodness I want some ox-blood coloured pants. But I’ve also been looking for a lady like way to wear leopard print and leather, so the printed tunic and pleated leather skirt are also going to be major contenders for the big buy.

(Since I wrote this post the Zara Printed Tunic seems to have been taken off the website… leaving me to wonder if I only dreamt of its existence?)

And finally the big ticket items… The Meadowlark bone bracelet and skull wreath necklace can only be described as beautiful… le sigh (Hey look! We’re featured on Meadowlark’s website!) I love quirky jewellery that at demands a second glance. I’m also usually super picky about shoes, but these scalloped leopard print boots just drew my eye to them. They’re so over the top in every way… but… want… must have… The same goes for the neon Zara Sandals. I wasn’t completely sold when I saw them on the website, but then I saw the lovely lady from Cupcakes and Cashmere (her blog is sublime, you must check it out) wearing them and they’re so the opposite of something I would wear but again… want… need… drool.

Pleety pleease

Zo Zhou — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 04:27:50 +0000

Come spring, I reeaally want to be wearing Samantha Pleet’s pretty dresses. Like this one, which has the added bonus of being able to be worn multiple ways: the skirt has belt loops at the top so you can hide your belly after a picnic in the sun, hehe. You can tie the front or leave it buttoned, and the dress gives off quite a different look with the collar buttoned all the way up. There’s also a cute polka dot version.

Pics are from Bona Drag, a fantastical online store which has plenty more goodies up its sleeve, so go have a peek. Shipping is around $30, but depends on weight.

According to Pleet’s site, all her pieces are made in Brooklyn, NY, and as much organic fabric is used as possible. Bonus.