Fake London AW10.

Fake London's AW10 lookbook is one of the few things that currently have the ability to make me want Winter to go on for a little while longer than forecasted - the hemispheres should probably have a chat and sort it out :) I've always admired Fake London's consistent ability to form shapes and silhouettes from layer upon layer of texture and colour - so it was pretty fun to sit and observe how these particular textures fitted with each other, think about how I could appropriate this vibe with the contents of my wardrobe, and realising that this simply wouldn't be possible without buying the entirety of this collection.

I don't think I've ever been so excited to see denim jackets before.

Check out more of Fake London HERE (where the Summer lookbook does actually make me feel a bit better about life :D)

Have we all had a nice Saturday? I have some nice photos from a dear friend's 18th that will hopefully go up in the next couple of days.

*love*

xx

Overexpose |ˌōvərikˈspōz| v. expose (film or a part of an image) for too long a time.

Fashops.com Pockets Poly Shorts - AL&ALICIA Alexa Pocket Silk Blouse in Snow - Vintage Taupe Blazer - Tony Bianco Dodge Boots - Lime Crime Cosmopop Lipstick

Two in a row! What is this!? :)

This is what I wore out to dinner to celebrate the end of my exams. A couple of things are different today. Firstly, these incredible camel shorts thanks to the lovely Monika of Fashops.com, that have officially made me ridiculously excited for Spring - the days are already getting a lot longer and hopefully, in the next couple of weeks, I'll be able to wear these high waisted beauties without tights. I know I say this every time, but the pockets really do make these shorts - especially with the boxy pleated shape happening, making it a little bit military, but on floaty soft fabric and perfect with my favourite AL&ALICIA blouse. Fashops has some other gorgeous pieces that should definitely be wardrobe staples, so check them out HERE.

Secondly, my lipstick which actually stayed on surprisingly well over dinner - Lime Crime, I am suitably impressed. This is the Cosmopop shade which, like hosiery, some would deem a no-go simply because it's lighter than my skintone, but the slightly peachy colour is too pretty to pass up for higher mercury up ahead.

And third, my hair is up for once. Boring. Nobody needed that pointed out :)

Sorry about the overexposedness again. Sunlight always works in theory and not always in practice. I think there's some skill required in picking the exact time of day and direction of sunlight to take a perfect shot... which I clearly don't have. I'll work on it - promise. With a bit more time, I'll also make a bigger effort to scout some locations that aren't walls and shady lanes.

The shorts get me every time.

Happy Friday 13th!

*love*

xx

Waiting for the world to change.

Lucky13 Cosmic Contrast Tank - Nightcap Clothing Backless Maxi - None the Richer Double Chain Headband - Cristiana Bracelets - Market Rings

Slightly more image-heavy than usual because of lack of outfit posts this week! I decided to go all out hippie today - with a twist. Always. This incredible tank is the third of the beautiful pieces that the Lucky13 girls lent me for your happiness. I've layered it over my all time favourite backless maxi dress that never ceases to amaze me with its versatility (though I'm a bit sad that the tiny pleats didn't come out in the photos). This time, I did some crazy weaving in and out with the grosgrain ties through the cutout back of the tank. For those of you who actually understood that sentence, have a gold star :)

The print on the silk panel of this tank ticks all the boxes for a quality cosmic print - I've never seen one with so many bright colours like this one before, and at the same time, it doesn't scream "I'm ripping off Christopher Kane and Josh Goot" like so many out there. The cutout back is really a plus for me too. I already mentioned it... but you really can't say cutout enough times when you're within a 5km radius of me! Click HERE to take a look at it in their online store.

The Cristiana bracelets have not left my arm for the past day and a half. So much love.

I'm going to be wearing this headband all summer too. I swear I'd shown you guys before, but I was talking to a girl, (shoutout to Leanne!) who recognised me when I was buying chai tea (I still haven't gotten over how awesome that is - call me uncool/not-aloof... but how cool is that :D), about this headband I was wearing at the time, and she said she'd never seen it on the blog! So here it is :) proudly Australian designed too (HERE).

I can't believe it's Thursday already. And why is it August. Last time I woke up, it was New Year's Day. I swear.

P.S. sorry about the sleepy eyes and the uninteresting standing - post-exam face and unmastered maxi skills respectively.

P.P.S. Don't hate me for the image-intensive post! :)

P.P.P.S. tomorrow is the last day to use codeword SHINE for 15% off at Lulus.com!

*love*

xx

Neuw Denim.

Sorry about the two day hiatus, lovelies! I had a few things due that got really close to being last minute, and then my music performance exam didn't go 100% as planned this morning, so I've been sitting around all afternoon trying to hypothesise my marks (does anyone else do that?) and ended up falling asleep in an armchair downstairs until a deranged pigeon attacked the fly screen.

I've been meaning to post this gorgeous Neuw Denim lookbook for a while now, but never quite got around to it. When Sara sent these through, I had a good admiring session of how good Zippora Seven looks in skinnies (I will never get bored of her name - Zippora Seven Zippora Seven Zippora Seven), then took another admiring session at the impressive quality and cut of the jeans. With Spring coming up, I definitely have an leaning towards the slouchy boyfriend cut (last).

After browsing the website a few times over, I have to say that I'm loving the denim, the vibe and the tops! I'm a stupid amount in love with this one for its detail and recontextualisation of the corset - that's the way we roll and that's the way we like it.

Hope you all love these as much as I do :D Check out more HERE.

Outfit post tomorrow to make up for my brief inactivity!

P.S. only a few days left to use the codeword SHINE at Lulus.com checkout for 15% off!

*love*

xx

"I love kids. I was a kid myself, once." ~ Tom Cruise.

Lucky13 Queen of Hearts Dress - Avocado Oversized Jersey Cardigan - Boutique Braided Belt - Generic Opaque Tights - Wanted Shoes Co. Patent Croc Platform Heels - DENTS Leather Gloves - Covet Vintage Co. Tan Leather Envelope Clutch

This dress is another of the pieces Lucky13 lent me, and it does a pretty good job at bringingback some 4-year-old memories of scribbling all over a giant sheet of paper in wax crayon, slopping dye all over it, and marveling that the crayon stayed the same colour. Those were the days. So, needless to say, this dress made me pretty happy with its bright scribble print.

And look! I'm being seasonally practical - getting some wear out of my leather gloves, and my favourite Covet Vintage Co. clutch (Covet is having a massive Winter clearance HERE by the way - so many awesome vintage pieces to be snapped up at great prices)

Sorry about my odd posture - I had netball and a girl ran into my back with her elbow by accident so it's a bit sore to stand up straight! These shots are also a bit overexposed - it was pretty hard to gauge when the sun was going to make up its mind, so in the end I just gave up.

When I have a bit more time, I'm going to stop taking photos in these boring alleyways without having to retreat back to my beloved brick walls. I should also find something new to do with my hair - any ideas?

And what did you all get up to this weekend?

*love*

xx

MOK THEOREM.

I just wanted to share my absolute favourites from the lookbook that Grace and Gloria of Mok Theorem sent through. You all know how much I love it when an Australian label starts the journey to the top, and Mok Theorem is one of those - this combined with the Mok sisters' amazing eye for texture versus colour makes for a newly groundbreaking collection (with some absolutely amazing lookbook photography, might I add!).

Personally, I find all the textural mixups in this collection amazing - I wouldn't be looking quite as serene as the model if I were wearing that leather bustiered dress (picture Margaret swirling and falling over in layers and layers of amazing chiffon), and those white twist trousers are pretty exciting :)

Check out more of the collection HERE!

Hope you're all as glad as I am that it's the weekend!

*love*

xx

Lovebirds, sir?

Lucky 13 Mimi "Birds" Shredded Tee - La Dama Knit Rosary - Junk Clothing Biker Jean - Tony Bianco Dodge Boots - La Dama Silver Gun Show Shoulder Piece

It's still a mystery to me how I don't look absolutely beaten up, complete with shreds, sleepy eyes, rosary, chains, bed hair, stitched knees, and a back alley. Maybe I'm just incapable. Nonetheless, I think the whole jeans-and-a-t-shirt thing is a debacle of the past if you're looking at a tee like this (scroll down and you'll see why), one of the samples my favourite girls at Lucky13 lent me to show you guys. Bringing in the Spring, Aussies - only one short month to go!

I think I saw Birds for the first time two years ago and I wouldn't go outside afterwards. Alfred Hitchcock, your special effects may suck and your green screen may be really obvious (no disrespect :D), but you, good sir, can make a film. And I will never look a crow in the eye ever again. This tee is safe though :)

These two La Dama pieces are making me very happy as of late too - I wore the chain to a cocktail party last week with chiffon, which worked a treat, so there's something to think about with hardware.

Sorry about the slightly incoherent post :) Crunch time for Chemistry.

P.S. don't forget that by using the codeword SHINE you get 15% off any purchase at Lulus.com!

*love*

xx

Wonder why the fight is on.

AL&ALICIA Rayon Twill Blazer - AL&ALICIA Alexa Pocket Silk Blouse - Vintage Highwaisted Check Trousers - Zoe Wittner Ursula Wedges - ShopRuche Sawyer's Havana Necklace

Taking a break between Chemistry practice papers. Nobody do Chemistry. It makes you permanently angry :) Kidding. But do pardon my scowl, tired eyes and fuzzy hair.

This blazer and blouse arrived at the end of last week, just in time to feed my jittery excitement for spring. Al&ALICIA's latest 'In love with a girl' collection is such a phenomenal mix of basics and sophistication and, always, quality - these two pieces are so ridiculously soft that I sat stroking them for a good 10 minutes before I put them on. I'll have to show you details on the blouse some time - it's made up of all these amazing panels and pleats and it has pockets. Bonus points, Alicia! Click HERE to see more of the collection!

The gorgeous ShopRuche necklace was a nice subtle bit of colour too, I thought - the charms are the cutest. I ended up making the little bird fly back and forth in front of my face while I waited in line to buy my excessive hit of vitamin C (massive bag of oranges... om nom nom), and was suitably embarrassed when the people behind me wanted to know why I wasn't walking up to the counter.

So there we go :) the outfit post as promised!

I've lost all track of time and date.

Back to the books.

*love*

xx

Violet & I.

With this amazing collection under her belt, designer Anna Linklater is certainly forming a following with appreciation for all things "influenced by English Rose meets bustling streets and vibrance of India". I'm loving the slightly vintage vibe in all of Violet & I's pieces, especially with Anna's unexpected, but other-wordly beauty in her fabric and colour combinations and the necklines, the necklines, the necklines. I never thought I'd be so in love with a neckline - or many!

Anna is having her runway debut at Melbourne Spring Fashion Week on September 1, in the Fashion 101 event, so if you're in the area, make sure you get some tickets at Stickystickets (here) - I'd be there in a tick if it weren't for me being in Sydney :( Anna's gorgeous pieces are too much so to miss! Also, on the 7th of September, Violet & I will be kickstarting its relationship with The Butterfly Foundation with the 'Body of Art Exhibition' where the Panacheya Camisole (below) will be for sale - 20% is donated back to The Butterfly foundation to help people living with eating disorders, which I think is definitely a valuable cause.

Check out more of Anna's work HERE!

P.S. I totally just finished four exams in two days - I'm a melted mess on the floor, but I'm alive! And now two days before Chemistry, the weekend before more Chemistry, and a day before Music performance... I can see the light :)

P.P.S. Outfit post tomorrow, I promise!

*love*

xx

For Love and Lemons: Laura Hall and Gillian Mahin.

For Love and Lemons caught my eye with their latest collection of pure awesome in the form of skillfully crafted leggings, options for layering, and flowing blacks that (you all know) I love so much. The youthful sophistications in all the pieces in this collection are definitely an upside for me, as was the chance to ask designers Laura and Gillian about how the achieve this kind of eye-pop:

Hey hey, how’s it going?

Things are great! Just got back from northern California, wine tasting, long scenic drives and good friends. Can't really ask for much more!

How did you both start out with design?

Laura: I got into the fashion industry in Australia, I worked for a label and just fell in love.

Gillian: I wanted to create clothes that I couldn't find in stores, so I was always sketching up new ideas, and piecing together trims on old garments. It wasn't until I also worked in Sydney (for Bec&Bridge) that I discovered fashion was my future and ultimate passion. Laura and I combined our creative forces and made "For Love & Lemons".

What would you say is the For Love and Lemons vibe?

The vibe is casual, cool, rebellious, uninhibited, and free spirited. We want our audience to be able to relate to the lifestyle of "For Love & Lemons", that it's not just a dress or a pair of pants, but a form of expression, of individualism. Every girl that wears "For Love & Lemons" is like a Jennifer Love Hewitt moment in Can't Hardly Wait, where she steals the scene, but in a cooler, not so cheesy-hair-blowing in-the-wind type of way. The message is to stand out, be yourself, feel beautiful, and comfortable at the same time.

What kind of work goes into releasing one piece?

Gillian: Restless nights of sleep and contemplation to start. I usually think of a design in my dreams right before I go to sleep, so I have to get up and sketch it out so I won't forget in the morning. Next, we execute the idea by finding the fabrics, trims, measurements, sew up a sample(several times) until it has the perfect fit, and voila!

I’ve been loving your latest pieces – are you thinking of expanding to anything else?

Thanks! We want to concentrate now on our most craved pieces (leggings and party dresses), perfect those, and make them more amazing in each collection. You can expect to see the continue of details and trims, that's our favorite part of designing.

Where do you see yourselves in 5 years time?

Oh jeez, that's a tough question, I don't know where I see myself tonight! Ha, I think it's safe to say we will be expanding our collections to even more amazing pieces, selling over seas, and we eventually want to create accessories!

Who are your favourite style icons of the moment?

Abbey Lee Kershaw, Charlotte Kemp Muhl, Isabelle Lucas, Freja Beha, Erin Wasson, Jessica Hart, MK Olsen, Kate Moss, Alexa Chung, I know there a bunch missing on the list, but we also like to go back in time to the Brigitte Bardot and Sophia Loren days, timeless, classic, bombshells!

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

Loves it! It's a great creative outlet for people to share their inspiration and creativity. It's perfect for us because it's an uncontrolled environment for people to express themselves, show what they like, what they are really wearing, and what trends are not happening. It's like our personal trend forecaster, we get so much inspiration from these blogs! I feel frazzled if I don't start my day off with a coffee and a couple good blog reads.

One of our previous interviewees, designer Phoenix Keating, would like to know: Who is your favourite screen goddess?

Hmmmm, I don't want to sound repetitive, but Marilyn Monroe, she is the ultimate, she started it all, she will never go out of style.

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

What blogs are you following now?

Thanks girls!

You can check out more of their work HERE.

P.S. Thank you all for the sweet emails and comments on yesterday's post!

P.P.S. Shout out to my Music 2 class, the redhead and my stressbuddy Ricola :) who sat through a bit of flustered exam this afternoon. Get excited for English and economics tomorrow, people.

*love*

xx

Untitled.

Floral Longline Bralet - Vintage Silk Bralet - Meadow Lace Longline Bralet - Caged Corset Top - Gathered Ribbon Slot Bralet - Caged Corset Top

I think I may have died when I logged on after a solid day of intense Economics and English... and saw that Shine By Three just hit:

1000 followers!

If I could/knew how to make the font a thousand times bigger, I would because I'm so insanely happy - a little pick-up to get me through my exams that start tomorrow! I want to say the hugest thank you all, and I didn't really know how - the post title speaks volumes for that, I think. I can give you all the giveaways and love declarations you can handle, but at the end of the day the fact of the matter is that you guys are awesome. And you make me keep up my blogging, that has grown to be so much bigger than I ever imagined it to be.

And now, sappiness aside, more smiles all round to announce the winner of the fredflare.com giveaway, whom I just drew. And the winner is...

kelly ann from The Flowerchild Dwelling

Yay! Announcing giveaway winners makes me happy.

And now to the apparently pointless collection of bustiers floating around the top of these post. Looks are deceiving - they actually aren't pointless :O I feel bad that I'm bringing in 1000 followers so unceremoniously (i.e. without an outfit post) so I thought I'd try and describe a concept of one that has been flicking on and off my desktop for at least 2 months - but it's been too cold till now to think about it!

All these bustiers, longline bras, corset tops, bralets, whatever you want to call them, are from TOPSHOP (of course), are out of stock in my size (of course), or are sold out altogether (of course). But that's ok, because they've doubly fueled my need to start my long overdue experiment with the whole underwear-as-outerwear concept - namely with these such bustiers over semi-sheer maxi dresses, half-hearted sweaters, and really anything that'll fit. I'm currently obsessed with the idea of a backless black maxi of mine under one of these - makes for fun layering, don't you think?

As soon as these ridiculous exams are over, my mission in life is to hunt several of these down for Spring/Summer - one month to go, Southern Hemispherers!! Any ideas?

Sorry about the intense text post :)

What did you all get up to this weekend?

*love*

xx