style snaps

Source: Sportsgirl and theloupe.org

While browsing through the Sportsgirl website I found these style snapshots.... I was actually really surprised to find so many great looks! Not really the place I would expect to find some great street style. It also lead me to theloupe.org which is a rad source of inspiration. 

These outfits make me want to:

1. Pair a leather skirt with neutral basics
2. Add leopard accents to my outfits (duuhhh isn't everybody? well I have never particularly taken to this trend as much as other girls have - other than in this post - but sometimes a great outfit changes my mind)
3. Wear a ditsy print romper with a contrasting jacket
4. Wear a floppy hat for the hot Aussie summer ahead
5. Add a fun and colourful scarf to any outfit... the more unexpected and random the better
6. Buy some crochet pieces
7. Wear bright blues with camel
8. Hitch up a maxi

VIENNA: Berggasse 19 & the surrounding

After driving through Spain we were disappointed to leave, but excited to arrive in Vienna. Vienna is a city full of history, beauty and of course tourists. My number one must see was the Freud Museum and it lived up to my very high expectations. After he was forced to flee Vienna his belongings were transported to his London residence, so this museum was more about his life. Letters, books, photos and some belongings (e.g. his hat and cane) were on display. I did feel quite sad when reading through the documentation, he faced many aversions through out his life.

Being a big old dag we also visited the Cafe Landtmann coffee house, as this was supposed to be Freud's favourite cafe(the second photo). I would not be going back to this place in a hurry but it is sometimes nice to be sentimental.  On this day we also visited the vienna markets (I found some glass buttons from the 50's so I can't wait to create a garment from those beauties) and the many colourful gardens.

I recently decided that I might want to jump on the polaroid band wagon, so we hired a polaroid camera from the impossible shop. I am so very glad that we hired it first as we were really disappointed with the results. The film is very expensive and the colours were very flat. But it was fun to use it and good on the guys responsible for the impossible project. These are the passionate people who are trying to keep the world of instant photography alive. 

THE OUTFIT: 

The top: I made this pattern years ago and it was my first, so I thought that I would revisit it in Berlin. I bought the fabric when I first came here. This was when I didn't know where to find reasonably priced fabric (so many of the shops are very expensive). I like the collar of the garment and the open back. Though it was SSSSOOOOOOOOOOOO cold. So perhaps this was not my favourite photo taking session. Jacket on, jacket off, jacket on, jacket off...... and lots of strange looks from the other tourists. I have only recently discovered shorts with tights. I can wear all of my colourful tights! Yes I am a little obsessed with tights. I made these shorts a while back for my red kimono top. Previously blogged here.

Photos: Michael Dooney

back to basics

(Silk shirt: Topshop. Jeans: Sportsgirl DIY ripped. Shoes: Asos. Bag: Guess)

I wore this when Robert and I went out for coffee together. These shoes make the weirdest "clopping" sound when I walk... I think it makes them kind of special. These jeans suffered the same fate as the jeans I posted here. They got the cheese-grater treatment. I think it stops them looking so.... clean.

SPAIN: In and around Toledo

Aaahhhh, Toledo....... the land of knives, swords, Damascene jewellery, mass produced paella's, extremely narrow streets and tourists.....so many tourists. The historic centre entertains thousands each year and you can understand why. We spent the entire day walking through the tiny winding streets marvelling the ancient architecture.... it was a bloody awesome day! Highly recommended visit.

THE OUTFIT: I am in LOVE with circle skirts. I remember sitting in my Grandma's living room and she told me... 'it is very simple to make a circle skirt. All you need to do is calculate your waist, this is the circumference of the circle.  Use Πr²to find out the radius. Then measure the length of the skirt and wahlah. A circle skirt.' My first skirt was made with a tartan fabric, (which I previously posted here). The fabric for the skirt is from the Turkish markets and I was eyeing it off for weeks. I love the colours and the patterns in the fabric. The jacket is from a vintage vogue pattern. I really like the jacket, though I do apologise for it's presentation in the photos. It was a wrinkled mess. Travelling + no iron = a very creased garment. 

Photography: Michael Dooney 

Maurie & Eve or Princess Polly

Maurie & Eve 

La Dolce Vita dress

SOLD OUT on MyCatwalk for $169.00

or.............

Princess Polly 

Lattice dress

$70.00

Sure one is 100% silk and the other is made of Rayon, but the idea is there. Get the copy here.

purple and grey

(Dress: Young Fabulous and Broke. Shoes: Jessica Simpson)

I wore this to a 21st birthday party over the weekend. One guy informed me that my shoes "have a large base", while there were a few girls that asked "how the f*&@ do you walk in those?!" For those of you interested in the infamous Dany platform, these shoes are insanely comfortable. I put them on at 6:30pm and didn't take them off until I realised the sun was up and I was still dressed like this.....

SPAIN: I feel like a superhero!

These are the second set of photos that we took whilst touring through Spain. Having a car meant that we could visit some more 'off the beaten track' locations. On this occasion we stopped off at Consuegra. This town has restored several windmills which now  surround the castle. It also has a link to Don Quixote as the famous novel makes reference to these windmills. Two thumbs up to the little lady sitting alone in the dungeon like castle collecting the 2 euro entry fee. I enjoy seeing people who are proud of their heritage and love to show it off. 

It was a beautiful sunny day and we were excited to be walking through the castle taking photos. I think we got a little too excited. Hence the double exposed frame. Lack of concentration + manual film medium format camera = a possibility of forgetting to wind the film on. Oops! Oh well you win some and you lose others.... like 2 good photos.

The outfit: For some reason this outfit just popped into my head a few days before leaving for Spain. I had a vision of what the Spain country side would look like and I wanted to make an outfit to match. I screen printed a large white circle onto one of my black t-shirts then I made a little skirt with two prominent colours. I really like how it worked out, I think all of the shapes compliment each other....even if I did sit up late the night before flying to Spain sewing away trying to finish it in time.  

Photography: Michael Dooney

Check IT!

YAY! We were chosen as the Member Project of the Week on Burdastyle!  Very exciting stuff. I have been a member of Burdastyle for a few years now and I have continued to post my sewing conquests including this Alexander McQueen jacket! Here you can find my Burdastyle studio

SPAIN! mountains: Picos De Europa

Early in October we travelled to Spain for a whirl wind tour, driving from the top (starting in Bilbao) to the bottom (ending in Jerez de la Frontera) in 7 days. I carted around a number of outfits in my suitcase and took photos of them on our travels. 

The first set of photos were taken in the mountains: Picos De Europa. This was our favourite location on the trip. The mountains were beautiful and the people were warm and kind. The language barrier was not such an issue in these towns as people were very understanding. We fumbled through situations with our limited Spanish and they fumbled about with their English. So most of the time the conversations ended with everyone laughing. Numerous experiences included: finding abandoned villages; we were on high alert ready to drop to the ground when we saw hunters very close to us hunting wild pigs; hiking through the mountains; visiting tiny villages and larger ones (Potes); we found one quirky English man with a pub in a tiny town.... you got to love the quirky one's: and just taking in the scenery. 

OK so to the dress. I made this dress last year when I was living in Hamburg. I had just bought my Europe sewing machine and some material off an American girl on Campus Hamburg. I made the dress to wear at Michael's sisters wedding, but decided that I didn't like it enough to wear to such an important event. I decided to cut up a doily and sew pieces of it onto the dress. It turned out OK, but it is definitely not one of my favourite dresses. This pattern is from vogue.      

Photography: Michael Dooney

wine

(Leather pants: Selected Femme. Top: Topshop. Lips: Topshop lips in Vamp. Shoes: Topshop. Necklaces: vintage and Fashionology)

These leather pants are buttery soft and so comfortable. I always thought that leather pants would be sweaty and horrible put these just feel like a pair of jeans...... I'm probably not game to wear them above 18 degrees Celsius though.

These were taken at The Loft in Fremantle (a pub I posted about here). Robert and I went for a couple of glasses of red wine and cheese. Definitely one of the places I'm looking forward to revisiting when mahaila comes back to Australia in a month's time.

tribute to Alexander McQueen

(Jacket: Alexander McQueen pattern made by mahaila. Jeans: Supre. Shoes: Topshop.)

This jacket was my 21st birthday present from mahaila. She made it from an Alexander McQueen pattern that you can find here. My 21st was in June 2009, so she had made it only months before his death (11th of February 2010). 

Need I say that this piece is very close to my heart. Not only because McQueen was such an inspirational designer that died so tragically, but because my sister had spent months perfecting such a difficult and beautiful jacket just for me. I'm no sewer, but I'm quite sure that executing all of the different sewing techniques would have been quite a feat for a self-taught sewer. I love the cut-outs under the arms (can't really see them in these photos), the longer pieces down the front, the wide sleeves, and the different lengths at the back. Not to mention the pretty plaid fabric.... OK so I love the whole thing.