“Summer makes me drowsy. Autumn makes me sing. Winter's pretty lousy, but I hate Spring.” ~ Dorothy Parker.

Katie's Vintage Black Leather Jacket - Self-made Strapless Leaf-print dress - H&M Belt - Covet Vintage Co. Tan Envelope Clutch - Favourite Boots

Autumn is kicking in with a vengeance - it's that much harder to get up in the morning and harder again to figure a way of dressing so you aren't boiling in this unseasonal sun, but not freezing by the time you get home from chilling (I'm so puntastic) with beautiful people. I made this dress about a year ago with some vintage fabric of my Mother's. Should I be mixing black and tan leather? I don't really care. I don't suppose you really notice the black of the jacket - I'm too busy marveling at the sporty MJ-ness in the crazy button clip-here-there and suede panels. Might have to steal it from Katie more often :)

Thought I'd shake it up and try some different brick walls too.

A credit to Katie's photography :)

And here's another teaser for you... guess what's in the box:

There's a pretty giant clue in there :)

P.S. Thank you all so much for your gorgeous comments! You know I always reply, but my internet has been playing dead for a few days now, so please don't think I'm ignoring you if I don't get back to you straight away!!

(Psst - on Bloglovin' if you feel so inclined)

*love*

xx

**EDIT: Thanks all for letting me know that the photos weren't working! I just flicked them elsewhere and they now are :)

The Cheese.

Junk Lace dress - Market in China Brown leather boots - Boutique Ceci est un IT Bag - Yolo Om Leather Slouch Bag - DENTS Brown leather gloves

With exams finally done (economics was the absolute death of me) and a day off, my beautiful Katie and I decided to tear up Oxford Street as only those who've just finished their last set of highschool half-yearlies ever do. Ever since my inaugural wearing of this pretty dress, I cannot take it off - tried to mix it up a bit with brown leather. Must give credit to Katie's gorgeous sister Tori for picking out these amazing gloves for me! They will not leave my hands all winter.

We started by turning op-shops absolutely up. side. down. And it paid off - I got the most gorgeous taupe-y coloured blazer (not only is it not a size 500 million... it also fits perfectly) but I shall leave you in suspense until I actually wear it out. And Katie found a gorgeous black strapless dress with the teeniest pinstripes that she wants to alter.

Then came running down backstreets and finding cute little cafés, boutiques, and Frou Frou nail salons with giant Vogue covers in the window. Katie has some seriously awesome photography skills - we shared cameraman-ing, which was oh so fun on the lovely Kath's amazing Canon we borrowed for the day. I'll be sharing some gorgeous shots over the next couple days/weeks!



We also (somehow) wound up at a beach... where I went crazy photographing amazing summer sun and sparkly water. And this beautiful creature with gorgeous hair :)

Such an amazing day. Some other very exciting things took place as well - will be sharing those soon! :)

Just wanted to say thank you all for the gorgeous comments about Teen Vogue and my sketches and my bloggety blog in general - I love you all!

Happy Wednesday :)

*love*

xx

She eats out and gets back to nature. Part deux.

I know I haven't posted any of my sketches for a while, so I just wanted to share the sketches I did in procrastination over the weekend. I tend to get bored of economics, that's all. :) The one above is of Gisele Bündchen - see it at all? I've looked at it for too long to try and see it as an actual person! I can't find the editorial I based it on (from memory anyway), but hopefully some of you remember it.

Then there's this one of Masha Novoselova in this Maria Claire Italia editorial. Sorry about the shocking scan - in all my scan-sketch-scannety-scanning, I still haven't managed to find an A3 scanner, so things get cut off and proportions get distorted when trying to scan a giant sketch pad with some little A4 scanner.

Also, lots of love for Rena and Abbey for passing on the Sweet Blog Award to moi :) Means a lot! I'll be passing it on to: .Made in Germany., By DARRE, Mystery Bruises, RandomNotes, Susu Blog, The Style Grabber, Two Patent Pumps, neverland trinkets, High Heels and Hangovers, Have Spork, Will Travel.

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! And YAY for 450 followers!

Much love and appreciation :)

P.S. I'm over at Teen Vogue! Check it out HERE.

*love*

xx

Elena Gallen.

In my hunt for basics and staples, I find gorgeous pieces for just that reason. But being me, I don't want just a white t-shirt for money I could have spent on statement pieces... that would have defeated my hunt for basics and staples. Solution: Elena Gallen - fun-loving, based in Barcelona, with a head and store full of amazing ideas... not to mention t-shirts to make you smile :)



Hey hey, how’s it going?
Hello! It's going great. It's sunday evening and I'm drinking a cup of tea while I answer your Q&A. After I'm done with it i'm going to watch a horror movie.

How did you start out with design?
It was a matter of fate, really. I have cinema studies but as soon as I was ready to look out for a job I put up my creative portfolio and started getting interesting fashion and design comissions so I started freelancing.

What would you say is the Elena Gallen vibe?

Postmodern, a bit rare, dark, ethereal and minimalistic.

What kind of work goes into releasing one piece?

Well, I start with the concept and then I do research, I have this sort of visual bulimia. I try to ingest as many visual information as I can to finally vomit a really concentrated piece of work. Then I work on it, I usually combine traditional methods with computer postproduction and many others everything is computerized. The hardest part of releasing a piece is knowing when it is ready. I am a perfectionist and I find it troubling to finish a piece.

I’ve been loving your t-shirt and jewellery designs as of late – are you thinking of expanding to anything else?

Wow I am honestly too versatile at this point. I would like to find a way to concentrate in one or two disciplines but I really can't. When I am creating something I always think of creation in a whole. In S/S 2010 I art directed the teaser film, the collection photoshoot, I designed the whole line of t-shirts, the FRACTAL necklace and worked on the graphism. I even shot the product photography at my studio. I guess I'm an expanding black hole.

So you’ve also been doing some fun things with Fuego Fanzine – can you tell us a bit about that?

Yeah. Fuego is a really fun project I started with Coke about a year ago. We're been working our butts off on the first two issues. Now we're about to publish the second one. One of the best things we've done for this issue is road tripping 300km to interview this peculiar cowboy at his place in the middle of nowhere.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

At the transiberian.

Who’s your favourite style icon of the moment?

Regardless to sound vacuous I'd choose Lady Gaga. I also like Dita Von Teese.

What do you think of the new wave of bloggers coming through?

I'm not a really fan of blogs anymore. I used to have my own about 10 years ago when I was a teen and it wasn't really popular. I think some people have interesting thoughts to share and it is really becoming a huge thing right now. To be honest I only read once in a while: Kate Loves Me, AMLUL.com, or Hermanas Miranda, because they're real people I know who speak their minds. They're not trying to show off so that's why I have a fun time reading some of their posts. No bullshit to be found.

Sue-Ann, designer at Stylestalker, would like to know: McDonalds or KFC?

McDonalds. But I loooove Taco Bell.

And last of all, what’s a random question would you like to ask the next interviewee?

What's your favorite movie character and why?

Thanks Elena!!

Check out more of her work HERE.

How much do you want to just be her best friend?

*love*

xx

Claw [klaw] v. to scratch, tear, or dig with or as if with claws.

Sweet Acacia Batwing top - myPetsQuare skirt

Hair up not out? What is this? :) And I'm slightly weirded out by how symmetrical my arms are.

It was super overcast today, so sadly my hurried photos didn't turn out well at all. Just wanted to share how I wore one of the beautiful pieces courtesy of Vicki at myPetsQuare. I love the claw marks (technical term? perforations? planned awesomeness?) on this skirt - they make it so easy just to throw it on with something that isn't bodycon (for daytime anyway).

This would have been so perfect with Docs, but I don't own any - do you guys think it's worth saving for some?

Hope you're all having a great weekend so far!

P.S. on Bloglovin' if it takes your fancy at all :p

*love*

xx

Me FINSK.

I really need to cut back on my intense shoe obsessions that pop up more often than I would like. But this needed to be posted :)

The lovely Danell of FINSK showed me their amazing AW10 lookbook that I (of course) immediately went gaga all over. Sure, they aren't your stereotypical pretty shoe - more and more, I find I steer clear of predictable/ordinary/just-pleasing shoes. My logic is that if you have one amazing pair of shoes, they make up most of your outfit and you spend less money (yeah... who am I kidding :D)

Having said that - predictable/ordinary/just-pleasing shoes is everything that FINSK isn't. They've been known for their awesome almost-architectural shapes and geometric combinations of cuts and colours... and of course, the famous cut-out heel. So if you don't want to go all out with Nina Ricci's, I guess FINSK is the way to go :) - understatement to say that I'm in love with the weird-coolness of this amazing eye-catcher.

Check out more HERE.

But I'm not finishing there! I feel like I'm just swamping you guys with all these pretty things I like, so I'm going to end this post with a good old fashioned feel-good happy photo of me and three of my favourite people in the world, taken with Jesse's awesome 'Diana'.

How amazing is it!! Sadly I look slightly terrible :) But hey. It's the photo that's cool.

And here's a shoutout to Imogen who passed on a lovely blog award :) So here's 5 random facts about myself:

1. I love almonds and shoes (no surprises there)
2. I cannot stand people touching zits - I gag
3. I have a Japanese doll that's been sitting on my desk for 3 years and I still don't know where it came from
4. My friends laugh the minute I start telling a story
5. I want to do/be to many things next year (after school)

And more passings on: The KATmosphere, Oh dear it's Liana, Magpie Girl, Salad of my Life.

Have an amazing weekend, beautiful people!

*love*

xx

Camilla Wellton.

Soon-to-be big designer name, Camilla Wellton, has a lot to answer for. Because of her, I want blue hair, a mist machine and to make my hip pocket suffer just that much more. And way to read my mind about high-waisted trousers, suede ankle boots, and intense staring.

I'm a bit in love with the way the fabric falls and creases to compliment the main feature of the piece (I wonder what kind the second dress is made of). And Balmain and Viktor & Rolf go top-heavy on the shoulders? Well Camilla goes top-heavy on your head - that much more fabulous.

And just for my lovely readers, Camilla is giving a sneaky sneaky preview into her up and coming AW10 collection:

:O

Keep your eyes peeled! Check out more of Camilla's work HERE.

And get lusting-after.

*love*

xx

LABB Magazine.

The lovely people at LABB Magazine sent me a preview to a very intriguing editorial in their latest issue that I wanted to share:

The whole spread/story is 15 pages long, shot by the talented Bob Packert, and editor George Eko describes it as a "mix of black magic, high fashion and rock & roll". Couldn't agree more - I don't know what it is about it that is so fascinating in a slightly eerie, but definitely beautiful way. (I also want to steal that rosary - what is up with all these weird coincidences nowadays - it's weirding me out :D)

Check out more of LABB Magazine HERE (their fashion page is very impressive).

I am hereby inspired to play around a bit more (Victorianly) with this dress that the lovely Vicki from myPetsQuare sent along:

But more on that later :)

*love*

xx

"Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film." ~ Stephen Wright

Junk Lace Dress - Yolo Om Leather Slouch Bag - Favourite Boots Of All Time

I must start by saying that today's outfit for a trip to the library (my printer decided to do a dance and die) was nothing short of an epic fail. I bought this dress about a month ago and said I wouldn't wear it until I found biker gloves to wear with it, because it's simply too pretty and I feel like I'm 5. Today, I pulled it out, fully intending to completely punk/edge/rock it out with too many rings and intense ankle boots... until I realised that none of that is actually existent in my wardrobe as of yet - don't you hate it when that happens? :)

I wore it all the same with my favourite boots and bag as a lame attempt of making it work in my head - so please excuse the over-prettiness. I think it would have gone so nicely with a rosary or some intense crucifix. What do you guys think?

Having said that, I think I need to give credit to this amazing Aussie sun that is making my photography and playing with light so fun. It was doing so many crazy things, bouncing of the relative white-creaminess of the dress (in some of the photos, I looked slightly ghostly).

Here's some love for the gorgeous back - not too low, but low enough:

And one in colour so you can see the pretty pink-beige laciness (no photoshop - just some amazing natural light):

Have a gorgeous afternoon, lovelies!

*love*

xx

Gail Sorronda.

With the 15th Rosemount Australian Fashion Week doing a countdown with 13 days to do, event managers with clipboards, Blackberries and coffee are going as crazy as the designers are in the quest to get everything to that oh so perfect level we see on the runways every year (and this year promises to be a big one!).

One of my favourite designers, Gail Sorronda, is (of course) part of this big hubbub, and I was so excited that she took some time out of her busy RAFW preparations to tell us a about her work:

Hi there, how’s it going?
Fully sick well.

How did you start out as a designer?
I completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts Fashion Design at QUT. In my final year a won a competition which allowed me to show at RAFW and from there I secured a few stockists.

Can you give us a brief summary of what a day at the Gail Sorronda studio is like?

I tend to surface at midday and work well into the morning. I work with my fiancé and it can be a stressful environment, but generally we’re having fun being creative.

What would you say is the Gail Sorronda vibe?

Feminine and romantic with a dark undercurrent. Bi-Polar.

Your collection showing at RAFW is highly anticipated – what should we expect?

A unique spatial concept. Black and white clothes for something different. We can’t give much away sorry!

Who’s your favourite style icon of the moment?

Carine Roitfeld

What do you think of the new wave of bloggers coming through?

Online media is extremely important and we’ve embraced it ourselves with our own blog which is proving quite popular. The label has been featured on Style Bubble, Fashion Toast etc which has increased brand awareness dramatically.

Our last interviewee, Tallulah ( Editor of Glossy Magazine) would like to know: Who’s your favourite comic book character and why?

Olive Oyl from Popeye. She was originally in a comic strip called Thimble Theatre. She’s such a lovable character and I love her awkwardness and comical proportions.

And last of all, what’s a random question would you guys like to ask the next interviewee?

What’s your favourite conspiracy theory and why?

Thanks so much for your time, Gail! And also, a special thanks to Atlas for facilitating this.

I'm very much in love with the way she runs a theme through each collection, but with amazing cuts and extremes. Keep your eyes peeled for her AW10 collection :)

Check out more of Gail's work HERE.

*love*

xx

P.S. Outfit post soon, I promise :)

Wide eyes.

I just wanted to share what I think is the most beautiful photo of that golden film era - Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn remain style icons, and the simplicity of this backstage shot highlights that (taken at the 28th Annual Academy Awards).

How incredible would it be to own a dress like that... maybe I won't skip the gown section next time I'm thrifting?

Also wanted to thank the lovely Katy of midnightintern for passing on more Happy 101 blog love to me. So now, I get to add another 10 things to my previous list of things that make me happy:

1. Shooting stars
2. Op-shopping
3. Amazing up-and-coming everythings
4. Sitting in non-awkward silence
5. Feeling healthy (usually after swimming)
6. Seafood
7. Tea on rainy days
8. Reminiscing
9. Motivational speakers
10. Finishing something I started

And here's more passing-ons: STOCKHOLM AND SOUTH, Coco & Zaahb, 10.17, Where the Wild Things Might Be, v i v i aa n, WASHINGMACHINE, To the Glamour Born, The Flowerchild Dwelling, Not So Naked, IDYLLE.

Monday tomorrow - sigh. How was everyone's weekend?

*love*

xx

Jack·et [jak-it] n. the skin of a potato, especially when it has been cooked.

I sketched these on a bus home earlier this week after a friend told me about a competition DOTTI was having for the ultimate transeasonal jacket design, where the winner's design will actually be designed and released into DOTTI stores - how cool is that? I flicked these onto the DOTTI server, but they went up blank so I just sent them through and hopefully they'll still be in the running.

Thought you'd all enjoy them. Sorry about the shocking sketches: the bus was ridiculously stop-start-bounce.

Hope everyone's had a great weekend so far!

*love*

xx

Glossy Magazine: Tallulah.

So with this blogging whirlwind tearing up the fashion industry, Editors-in-chief are jumping on the bandwagon and featuring/interviewing bloggers in their oh so glossy pages. But I guess someone has to shake it up a bit and turn it around.

The lovely Tallulah, Editor of (next big thing) Glossy Magazine, took some time out of a crazy schedule to tell you guys a bit about her end of the line:

Hey there, how’s it going?
Hey Margaret, it's going great!

So you’ve been insanely busy with New York and London Fashion Week – how were they?
Really busy, but so much fun. As well as taking in amazing shows in New York such as Carolina Herrara, Custo Barcelona, and Diesel Black Gold I also attended the Independent Fashion Bloggers Conference where inspirational bloggers Bryan Boy, Phil Oh from Streetpeeper, Susie Bubble and Tavi talked about how they got their start and the future of fashion blogging which as a fashion/technology fan I found this really fascinating. London is my home city so it's always great to be able to see the work of amazingly talented designers here such as Ashish, Emilio de la Morena and Osman. But my favourite show in London by far was definitely Mulberry.

What were your favourite collections for Fall/Winter 2010?
Mulberry, Twenty8Twelve, Diesel Black Gold, Sass & Bide and I'm loving Mawi jewellery at the moment.

Tell us a little about Glossy and how it came about.
I had the idea for an online magazine back at the start of 2009. Let me preface this by saying I've been a magazine junkie all my life. I actually used to hide copies of teen titles like Sugar and Just 17 under my bed as a teenager as my mother had become increasingly fed up with tripping over piles of discarded mags around our house. Anyhow, so back to early 2009 I knew I wanted to create a digital magazine that was fashion focused but also shone a spotlight on all the talented writers, bloggers, designers, photographers and illustrators who weren't necessarily being profiled in the mainstream print magazines. I got a small team together and just over a year on Glossy has been featured on blogs such as Fashionista.com and Girl With A Satchel and is thriving.

I can’t even begin to imagine how much work goes into getting one issue – can you give us a quick rundown?
Sure, what basically happens is the Glossy team come together and pitch ideas for what we think would work in the issue. Once we've decided on the bloggers, photographers, designers, illustrators and stylists we would like to feature each bit of work get allocated. Then we get busy setting up interviews, filming, writing and re-writing. When all the elements have been submitted I then work with our art director Edgar on deciding how each layout should look. When we're both happy with it it gets released onto the web!

Who would you most like to have as your cover model right now?
A beautiful South African model called Carmen Solomons she's not hugely famous (yet!) but she just has this amazingly striking face.

Who would you say is your biggest style icon of the moment?
Kate Bosworth. She just never seems to get it wrong. And always looks effortlessly stunning.

And what’s the biggest style trend you see coming through this year?
Everywhere I go I see girls rocking the denim on denim trend pairing light with dark and ripped denim with bleached denim. I love it! Beauty trend wise nail art is also taking off in a massive way. Leopard, striped, 3D and slogan nail art is so now.

What do you think if the new wave of fashion bloggers and street stylists coming through?
It's fantastic. I love the way fashion offers a creative outlet for everyone. Especially with the advent of the internet whoever you are wherever you live you can set up a blog or grab a camera and start developing your creative eye and sharing your love of style with the world. That's why I think sites like Lookbook.nu have been so successful there's a great element of community there.

Where do you see Glossy being in the next 5 years?
Wow! That a toughie :) I would like the magazine to keep growing, evolving and picking up more readers. We really love what we do and we hope that it inspires others to pursue their passions.

A random question from a previous interviewee, Lacadia of ShopCuffs.com: Have you checked out ShopCuffs.com yet?
Not yet, but I will now :)

And finally, what’s a random question you’d like to ask our next interviewee?
Who's your favourite comic book character and why?

Thanks Tallulah!

Glossy Magazine is so much fun to read :) Check out more HERE.

Happy Friday all!

*love*

xx