I've moved

I have lacked inspiration big time since I moved to Sydney, so I've started up a new blog.... have a squiz here.

Au revior for now - until I win the green card lottery in July and move back to New York, anyway

xx

Denim on denim on denim

The Sartorialist

My friend Greta

Chloe s/s 09/10

I love girls who wear man-style denim shirts with jeans. Whether the denim matches or not doesn't matter, the girls that can pull it off have that certain je ne sais quois feeling to them; like they couldn't give a shit but still look effotlessly put together.

Polking fun

Emporio Armani s/s 09/10

Marni s/s 09/10

Karen Walker s/s 09/10

Luella s/s 09/10

Josh Goot s/s 09/10

When I was little, my mum had this old Country Road mousy brown chiffon blouse with big cream polka dots all over it, and she used to wear it everywhere. Out shopping with jeans, with a pencil skirt for a day at the law firm, with high waisted shorts in the summer. Ever since that blouse, I've had a soft spot for polka dots - in a way, a bit of a subconscious affection.

Polka dots have been showing up in force all over the spring 09/10 runways - and I'm left simply wanting.

what's in a name

I have just arrived home from covering New Zealand Fashion Week; exhausted in a if-I-have-to-look-at-one-more-stick-thin-model, wintery-garment-or-runway-show-I-think-I'll-strangle-myself kind of way, and all I was looking forward to was coming home to our amazingly awesome (foster) dog, Ziggy Stardust.

But, being a foster parent to a dog (other than saving them from the terrible fate of being put-down at the pound and feeling extremely good about yourself for doing so) means having to give them up to a loving adoptive family at some point or another. You can probably see where this story is going...

I'm happy to say (but deep-down utterly and crushingly disappointed) Ziggy is now off having fun with his new family, who will hopefully love him as much as I did - well, do. And so, I arrived home to a message from Denise, who runs the charity Paws, informing me we have a new dog to save next weekend; which brings me to our very problematic naming conundrum.



Coming up with a suitable name for Ziggy took a gruelling three days. Rocket was thrown around, as was Frankie, Rupert, Alfalfa (Alfie for short) and Crumpet, but none of them seemed to fit quite right.

Sure, there are the obvious rules for how not to choose a name - don't let you're 11-year-old child name it, don't use anything you find on the Top Ten Names list, don't name it something you'll be embarrassed to use when at the dog park and definitely do not name it something with more than two syllables or the dog will just ignore you - I met a pug running rings around its owner the other day; its name was Babychino.

So how do you come up with a cool, interesting and unique, but at the same time suitable name? More importantly, how do you go about giving an identity to a dog that has more often than not already had a life, and a name, before you?

Here comes the sun

The spring issue of New Zealand's Fashion Quarterly has finally hit the shelves, with the gorgeous Olivia Henderson and Catilin Lomax both landing the cover. On an extremely crisp (read: bloody freezing) spring morning, the whole team drove two hours out of Sydney to an amazing Edward Scissorhands-worthy manicured garden for the cover shoot. Here are some behind-the-scenes snapshots.








Photography: Steven Chee. Styling: Marina Didovich

Butterfly kisses

A bamboo plant arrived on my desk this morning. While I thought that was weird, I think the Bamboo Eyelash Enhancing Serum that came with it is ever weirder.

The press release claims that some sort of natural biofermentaion, whatever that means, will let me achieve remarkable results with my eyelash growth minus the irritation. I don't have particularly short eyelashes, but they're not remarkable in length either, and this serum claims that in six weeks 'the results will be truly amazing!' I doubt it, but curiosity and a desire to look as good as Catherine McNeil (see above) has won out so I'm going to test it anyway. Results in six weeks, and counting.

Rub a dub dub

Our flatmates have recently moved out which means it's overhaul time for our apartment. I've never had my own home to do exactly what I want with (without having to worry about the clashing tastes, or lack-there-of, of all parties) so I've become a little bit obsessed with decor magazines. I'm now an avid reader of Good Housekeeping and instead of flicking straight to the fashion pages of the international mags that arrive on my desk once a week, I turn straight to the home section and pour over the beautiful bathrooms, the romantic living rooms, the amazing furniture.

But one thing that I can't have, no matter how much I wish for it, is a claw foot bath. One of my best friends back home has a beautiful one in her little rental cottage in Ponsonby and I'm insanely jealous. For now I just have to deal with our reasonably ugly, cemented-in bath. Oh well.

Knit twit

Missoni 1968

After 50 long years, Missoni is still creating their timeless and beautiful zig-zaged, striped, patterned, colourful and cosy knits. Dresses, coats, and sweaters; pullovers, chemises, trousers, and skirts - plus all those way-too-expensive but beautiful towels, rugs and blankets. I would trade my heater in any day to be able to wrap myself up in nothing but Missoni for winter.

Harzia?

As is the ACP rumour mill, it seems Australia's Harper's Bazaar and Grazia will be merging.

I'm not sure what it means for either magazine, but it appears Jamie Huckbody is out of job and so are a few other people. Bit of a shock to the system really.

Yves St. Laurent’s Spring 2010 Men’s Presentation

Very few of these advertising films capture my attention long enough for me to actually pay attention (with the exception the Chanel No.5 short films, and maybe Sofia Coppola's romantic Miss Dior Cherie commercial). But this YSL narrative starring Jules, the 11-year-old son of its director and writer Samuel Benchetrit, is as funny as it is beautiful and sweet; and despite the très fabuleux satchel the kid sports, the film is less about the clothes and more about YSL's ever-so-cool factor. It's worth a watch, I promise.

Oil slick

These oxidized Gucci accessories have started to arrive in the Harper's fashion cupboard. I'm not sure how I feel about them. I hate the bag, but the shoes...cheap hooker or absolutely fabulous? I'm torn.

Indeed

How to assassinate the bible of fashion

Picture this: Anna Wintour has resigned. The sheer effort of keeping an immaculate bob and an unfeasibly large pair of sunglasses in place 24 hours a day has finally taken its toll. In a move that has shocked the fashion industry, American Vogue has appointed as her successor graphic-designer-turned-artist Scott King. For his first issue in charge, King decides that Vogue should have an anti-war theme. Oh, and it should also be free…





How I’d Sink American Vogue was a project that Scott King created in 2007, but I only came across these fake Vogue covers for the first time yesterday. As much as I love Vogue, poking fun of everything it stands for is rather entertaining on a raining Saturday afternoon.