Australian Fashion Labels Are Taking Over

Junior year of college, my four best friends and I all went abroad the same semester. This was a strategic move in order to minimize the amount of fun we would have to have without each other, and it worked quite well. Only two of us even wound up on the same continent, so it was great to hear about the wide array of experiences, cultural and otherwise, that everyone was having. Moral of the story: yay for Facebook threads. It was also quite interesting to see the clothing treasures that everyone came back with. Yay for shared closets.

One of my friends went to Sydney, Australia and I fell in love with the selection of slinky crop-tops and beachy dresses she returned with. Australian fashion had never really crossed my mind before as being a thing, but as soon as she told me how crazy stylish the women there were, I began noticing a lot of really sick little Australian brands popping up (and/or I found out brands I had liked for a while, like MinkPink, were in fact from the land down under). 

You've probably seen a lot of these brands cropping up on your favorite e-tailers, or possibly even in your closet, and not even realized that they all share Aussie roots. The aforementioned MinkPink has been around for a minute and I love them because their designs are high-fashion and high-quality without the high price tag. They recently did a collab with Urban Outfitters, so I guess you know they're mainstream, but I for one am not complaining. They mostly specialize in funky, printed bodycon dresses and wear-them-with-everything chiffon tops. 

These MinkPink-clad mamas know how to party.

The next brand, Shakuhachi, is really fucking hard to spell, but I'll forgive them because of this dress:

I thought tie-died leather was a fantasy that only existed in dreams.

I briefly entertained the notion of ordering this dress for New Year's Eve after I saw that it was on sale at Urban. But then my boyfriend said something awful that I don't even want to repeat about how leather looks awful on all women, blah blah blah. Moral of the story: never EVER ask boys to help you pick out a NYE outfit. Trust me. Interestingly, this same tie-died leather was also used to make wedges, a bag, etc. so if dresses aren't your whole deal you've got options. Personally I think this dress would make my boobs look fantastic and that is obviously half the reason I'm interested.

Bless'ed Are The Meek has been featured all over Nasty Gal recently (if you don't know what Nasty Gal is please stop reading this post immediately and go there NOW) and even though they also have kind of a weird name, I'm into their shit. I don't know about you, but I can see a theme here with these Australian brands: reasonable prices, edgy details, and a fair amount of skin being shown.

Yowza. Love me some open back action (open back-tion?)

See? Clothing CAN be beautiful and kinda slutty at the same time! I've been saying this for years, people.

And now for brands you've heard of but did not know where Australian....drum roll please! Sass and Bide. Remember back when Mischa Barton actually looked like Mischa Barton and she was always seen wearing Sass and Bide skinnies with some fabulous flowy tank? Well they still exist, they're still fabulous and it turns out they are Australian. Their current offerings on Shopbop are very geometric and kinda tribal.

Oh hay Misch circa 2007.

Pants like this are cool as shit, but they always look like, well, shit on me.

     

Buns Buns Buns

I've got something to say. And it's about hair. 

Effing hair is so annoying. At least, mine is. If asked, I would describe the natural texture of my hair perhaps as "brittle", "damaged" or maybe just flat out "disgusting". It's certainly not silky and smooth, nor is it curly or even what could really be described as wavy. Instead, if left to it's own devices, it's frizzy, shapeless and dry, most resembling what I imagine a female scarecrow's hair would look like. This is probably because I have been dying the ever-living shit out of it since the age of about fourteen.

But alas, the desire to have luscious blonde locks is strong, and I have remained powerless to it for the past decade. Basically, all of that is to say that for my hair to actually look good down, it needs to be styled. With heat tools. That's just the end of the story. I've tried various techniques to have this not be the case, but it just is, okay? It just is. This was one thing in college when I had a seemingly endless amount of time to devote to such tasks, but in the working world? When I have to wake my ass up at 7:15 AM everyday? Hell no. Sure, there are some days where I'm inspired, but for the most part I've decided that it's all about buns buns buns. BUNS, people.

What kind of buns, you ask? WELL. Let me tell you! I first discovered the sock bun a few months ago, and I've really never looked back. Life before the sock bun was bleak and I'm honestly not sure how I survived on this earth for 23 years not knowing of its mysteries.

So the deal here is basically that you take an old sock, cut the toe off, roll it into a little donut-looking thing and install it into your hair (I'm not gonna pretend to be a good instructor of this sort of thing, if you wanna learn check out this video or this video, both are good, cut to the chase vids without a lot of extraneous talking, which is something I hate in beauty tutorials). Tricks of the trade: if you want a looser, messier look, forgo hairspray and just use a couple bobbypins to handle whispies. If you want a sleeker, more severe look, invest in some hairspray. But don't use TOO much, because ew.

Seriously girl, how many socks you got in there?

Since discovering the sock bun, I've been gingerly venturing into some other bun forays such as topknots. Topknots are a slippery slope, because done well they can be rather effortless looking. Done wrong, they basically shout "I'M REALLY FASHIONABLE!!!!!" in everyone's face, and let's be honest, how annoying is that? Kind of like the Lita boot of hairstyles, they've become a streetstyle favorite, so I think it's important to approach them in a way that isn't so obvious.

Yes

No

Yes!

No!

 Do you see? Pulled up high is good - it's sleek, attractive and accentuates facial features. A large ball of hair in the middle of your head? No, thanks. That just looks weird and alien-like. You can do smooth like Kate Bosworth or messy like that other chick but please, for the love of god, do not put it directly in the middle of your cranium. It's like the bun addition of those valley girl ponytails everyone was about in like 1998.

There are many other buns out there that I'm far too unskilled to learn how to do, so for now, I'm stickin' with these guys. Now, if anyone wants to come to my apartment and show me how to do a fishtail braid (I've watched sooooo many videos and still cannot figure it out), I will be eternally grateful.

Hello again! Style evolution + NYC Chic

So, it's been a while. I don't want to say I gave up (although I am notorious for starting blogs, posting once and then completely peacing out on the whole endeavor), but I guess as days and then weeks without writing go by, it gets harder to just remedy the situation and write. Guilt builds up and for some reason it becomes easier to shove it all under the bed than to face the situation head on. At least that's how it is for me, pretty much with everything.

But! New year, new me. Writing. Reading. Doing. Makin' shit happen.

Anyhoo, I was thinking today about how my personal style has evolved since I moved to New York. Finally having an income, however meager, does help as I have been able to make some fun additions to my wardrobe. But I think it's also just the NYC attitude that has affected my habits. There is a sense of sartorial freedom that certainly didn't exist at the University of Rochester (where fashion goes to die), but I'm not quite as inspired to be kooky and random as I was when I studied abroad in Amsterdam (where fashion goes to smoke a bunch of grass and assemble the weirdest mish-mash of clothing ever). Instead, I find that I strive for glamorous and bohemian just as I always have, but with a much more muted aesthetic than I have ever been drawn to before. I've found that most of the women here who look the best usually look effortless and unstudied. The best example of this: I've finally stopped wearing a bajillion bracelets all the time and have now pared my arm bling down to a few small red strings with evil-eye beads on one wrist and a delicate but unusual looking gold cuff on the other. Of course, less bracelets equals more rings, but that's a different story.

I work in an office building that houses mostly creative and fashion-type offices and this makes for great outfit-watching during my coffee runs. From what I've seen, I would say low-heeled booties, cuffed jeans and a silky button down is the uniform of the young girl in a creative profession. This looks spectacular on its own and is highly conducive to looking hip, professional and comfortable all at once (a difficult feat!), but it's never fun to look like every single other girl waiting in line for the elevator, so I try to find ways to change that shit up a little. As follows:

NYC working girl uniform

Interestingly, as my bracelet wearing has decreased, necklace wearing has increased exponentially. For my birthday this summer, I got a little gold necklace with a circle on it and I've been pairing that with a longer gold horn pendant from Urban Outfitters and sometimes a longer rosary-type necklace. I think it looks very rocker-chic without completely overpowering an outfit. It also goes with like anything, provided there isn't a whole bunch of detailing on the shirt.

This is the exact necklace I have from UO.  It's uncomplicated but packs a big punch style-wise.

I love these astrology pendants from Free People. So versatile.

The second thing I've been into since moving is mixing patterns. This is, in my mind, the hallmark of the true fashion girl, but it actually isn't ALL THAT hard to do. You just have to develop an eye for it. The way I see it, some patterns basically function as neutrals. These patterns, a good example being a subtle leopard print, work well when paired with something more detailed or colorful. Textures also fall into this mix, so you could do a grey python clutch as the neutral against a more complex plaid button down and be set. Throw in some black coated skinnies and a colorful shoe and now I want that outfit! Ahh inspiration.

Get these clothes on my body, ASAP.

Style Icon: Kelly & Lindsay from Freaks and Geeks

If you've spoken to me in the past few days (and possibly even if you haven't) you'll know that my latest TV obsession is Freaks and Geeks. While loafing around my apartment in my standard post-drunken stupor on Sunday, I stumbled upon it on Netflix and decided to check it out. While I consider myself to be a decently avid Judd Apatow fan, I had never seen the show before and all I can say is wow! I am so in love...and not just with how sexy young James Franco is. I can be something of a TV (okay, culture) snob, but I would easily place this show in my top ten. And I haven't even finished it yet. Why is it that all the best shows get cancelled after like two seasons? 

Anyway, I love Kim Kelly and Lindsay Weir's casual, borrowed-from-the-boys style aesthetic. Even though I sometimes feel I get along easier with guys, I have certainly never been able to mimic the cool, casual ease of tomboy style. I'm much more of a full makeup/pretty dress kinda girl, but that doesn't stop me from totally digging the way Kim and Lindsay pull off their oversized flannel shirts and relaxed-fit jeans. 

The other thing I've noticed is that fashion-wise they are both totally defined by their outerwear, which, like most girls, they rock everyday. A friend and I were recently having a conversation about the importance of coats. During the colder months, you will likely be wearing the same one or two coats everyday, to everything, all of the time. There's simply no escaping it. Coats are expensive and bulky, so unless they're like, your "thing" it's unlikely you own a ton of them. So it's important to have a coat (or two) that you like and that fit easily with your personality, lifestyle and wardrobe. 

Lindsay's oversized military jacket, a trend which has been going strong over the past few years, is a defining feature of her newfound rebelliousness - in one of the first episodes her little brother Sam asks her why she has suddenly started wearing her father's old jacket and hanging out with the "freaks", indicating that these two things happened simultaneously. Military jackets are like the equally badass cousin of the leather jacket, but unlike the leather jacket, which kicks everything up a notch, a military jacket adds a casual touch to an ensemble. They are versatile - they can be tomboyish like Lindsay's, badass when worn with black combat boots and leather skinnies, or even preppy when paired with a button down, ballet flats and white jeans. 

Casual chillin' in plaid shirt and military coat.

Kim's jacket, on the other hand, is a little more sporty. The slightly puffy bomber-style jacket screams late 70's in the best way possible. It's one of the nicer looking things she owns (she confesses to having switched the price tag on it with one for a much cheaper item) and provides a nice contrast to her baggy band tee's. Confession time: Kim Kelly is by far and away my favorite character. Maybe it's a blonde thing or maybe it's the fact that she reminds me a little bit of me in high school in that she's a bitch on the outside with a gushy candy center waiting not far below her chilly exterior. I think I'm also just a sucker for any female character that manages to be bold, brash and badass while still remaining hot. Fuck yeah Kim Kelly.

If Kim and My So Called Life's Rayanne Graff are to be trusted, apparently it was imperative to have funky hair braids in order to be a cool, tough girl in the 80's and 90's.

Amen, sistah!

A modern take on Lindsay's style. Combine all these elements and you'll have a look thats casually sexy, in a bit of a Free People catalogue kind of way.

Inspired by Kim's clothing. This look is edgy and carefree - perfect for hanging out in a basement watching your boyfriend's band butcher  Zeppelin.

Chris Benz & Affordable Fashion

It's weird how sometimes you hear something about a designer that makes you want to have them in your closet, even if you aren't completely familiar with their clothes beforehand. Whether we like it or not, labels influence our purchases - whether it's Urban Outfitters or Chanel, every brand has an aesthetic and an ideology built around it and when we purchase a piece of clothing, we are buying into that and taking it on as our own.

Anyway, this morning I read this article about Chris Benz and I shit you not, it made me want to go out and buy a piece by him immediately. Maybe it's his description of the kind of girl he imagines wearing his label: “She’s a carefree, artsy girl who likes to have fun and forgets to pay her cellphone bill,” or perhaps it is his multiple references to Margot Tenenbaum (mention any Wes Anderson flick and I'm with you). But I think what really sold me on Benz is his commitment to making a label that is actually affordable to us bohemian goddesses who just so happen to not have huge trust funds lying around waiting to be squandered on designer wares. As the article outlines, he is basically taking his label from high-end "designer" status to the relatively more affordable "upper contemporary" level - meaning instead of pieces that retail in the $3,000 range, clothing will top out at around $1,200. And go as low as $120! Sure, that price is probably for like, a cotton T-shirt, but still. Progress, people. 

Margot, with cigarette

Tub chillin'. Even gorgeous, suicidal rich chicks do it.

Oh, god, that song. Nico + Margot = too amazing

The bottom line is that it's nice to see a designer who gets it that there are girls out there - a lot of girls, in fact - who want the designer look and name but simply cannot in their wildest dreams even imagine spending four figures on a blouse. At least, not today. It's a tricky balance between making art and making something that is wearable. I think a lot of designers don't want every girl walking down the street to be able to afford their pieces, because then it isn't special. But of course, we are living in an ever-evolving age of democratized everything, including fashion. I have to say I am a little tired of the endless H&M/Target collabs, because honestly, they feel overpriced for the quality, but a designer who genuinely wants to market his primary line to the women out there who are dying to wear it? Seems like a no-brainer to me. 

The sequins! Also this model totally reminds me of  Helena Bonham Carter in her Fight Club days.

Look one reminds me of a Scottish Christmas gone wrong. But looks 2 and 3 - count me in! From F/W '12

                                                 

I'm on the ebay hunt for a pair of gloves exactly like these.

                                               

Introduction

Introductions are awkward. Especially written ones. On the train over the past hour I was trying to play out in my head creative ways to open this blog - to give a sense of context, tone and background. But everything I thought of just sounded cheesy and forced. Which I guess introductions usually are, and that's probably why I hate them. I have something of an unfounded phobia of cheesiness. More on this later.

It's funny how when you meet someone in person, you get a feel for so many things about them before they even have a chance to open their mouths. It's the weird, little things - the way they tilt their head, how they hold their hands and arms, and of course, what they are wearing. I try not to think of clothes as something for someone else, but of course they are. We may dress for ourselves but it's everyone else who looks at us throughout the day.

A lot of people claim they like clothes because it allows them to express their inner selves to the outer world. We don't have a ton of control over what our physical shells look like - yeah, there's makeup, tattoos, hair dye and I guess plastic surgery, but for the most part, you kind of get what you get. Clothes provide a sense of control over our bodies, and thus, ourselves.

The reason I personally like clothes is the same reason I like music. It gives me a sense of control over time, which I often feel is my greatest enemy. Clothes give me something to build my memories around. I went to my first NYC sample sale a few weeks ago and bought a pair of outrageously beautiful Alexander Wang booties. They were a little more than I wanted to spend, but I convinced myself to buy them because I knew that five years from now I would look at them and remember my first few months in New York - along with having my first job, being fresh out of college and finally having my own money (albeit not very much).

So I guess that brings me to me. For some reason I'm very much in the habit of talking about school and being a recent grad whenever someone asks me about myself, which is weird, because it's basically me just fixating on something that happened in the past. I graduated last May with a double major in Art History and Media Studies. Somehow, miraculously, after a long summer of beating myself up for choosing such "impractical" majors, I landed a job as a social media assistant for an NYC-based arts publication. But I guess even though I've physically moved on, I'm still not like, "over" college, in the way that one might say they are over an ex. It's still just so fucking surreal to me that my childhood is gone once and for all and now I exist in this big bad world, along with everyone else.

I grew up in the DC area, so it's not like I had a sheltered upbringing or anything. In fact, if I think about it, it feels like the past seven or eight years of my life have been one long, drawn out rebellious phase. I guess what really gets me about life in the "real world" (barf) is that there is no foreseeable end. There's no graduation date. There's no schedule around which to plan my life that pretty much everyone else around me is also a part of. It's all me, from here on out.

And I think I want to be a fashion writer. I guess I always thought that but never really had the balls to admit it because come on - how many people make it doing that? But at my age, if you don't  at least give your wildest dreams a fair shot then you're cheating yourself. I never imagined anyone would actually pay me to do anything, and that happened, so you never know, right?

Anyway, part of my job is to promote the fashion content that the site I work for produces, so I spend a lot of time looking around at other fashion blogs and websites, not that I wouldn't anyway. And honestly? I'm really annoyed by a lot of what is out there. All these women with their perfect highlights and manicured nails and ridiculous handbags - yeah, they're beautiful and their outfits are fun to look at, but with that kind of money there would have to be something seriously wrong for you to not look good. But that isn't most people and it certainly isn't me. Don't get me wrong, I love fashion and I like looking good, but if it comes between staying home and fixing my stupid chipped nails and going out and raging with my friends, guess which one I would pick?

I'm hoping this blog will end up being a nice little mashup of personal style pictures, fashion articles and probably a lot of brain vom. Hopefully it will be juicy brain vom, though. And now that I've thoroughly disgusted you, keep on reading, please!