lust and steal

In other parts of the world, girls are looking at Net-A-Porter and My Wardrobe for their designer goods, and H&M and Zara for their high street steals. In Aus I lust over items from MyCatwalk, and I get my affordable pieces from Sportsgirl.

From MyCatwalk I'm loving ice-skater-ish dresses, asymmetrical hems, sheer fabrics, colour blocked prints, bad-ass accessories, backless bodysuits and all things crochet.

From Sportsgirl, I'm loving turbans, florals, the new "it" bag shape, and great knock-off shoes..... FINALLY something other than the Jeffrey Campbell Mariel wedges to get that Dolce and Gabbana look I love so much.... I can actually try these on instead of ordering over the internet with fingers crossed that they fit.

Lust after MyCatwalk  ...........................

______________ DRESSES ______________

__________________ SHEER________________

_____________ ACCESSORIES ____________

_______________CROCHET _______________

Steal from Sportsgirl ...............................

_______________ FLORALS ______________

______________ TURBANS______________

_____________SATCHELS____________

__ MIU MIU AND DOLCE AND GABBANA __

Sportsgirl and MyCatwalk

sheer details

(Top: Asos. Bralet: Topshop. Pants: Sportsgirl. Shoes: Siren)

Please excuse the scabby elbow... I fell over playing football on Grand Final weekend.

This top is one of those purchases made to "make up for the postage cost". When I find something on Asos that I like, I say to myself  "pffffft... Im not paying 10.50 pounds postage for just one pair of shoes!!" and I usually end up buying a bunch of stuff I really don't need (Mr. Asos's evil flat postage rate works). This beaded crop top however, has actually been the answer to a few of my wardrobe problems. Love it when that happens.

my coloured checquered skirt

I made this skirt a while back, when I lived in the town, Geraldton (aka G town). In Geraldton there are a few little sewing shops.... which believe it or not are still in business. In Aus I think the little sewing shops struggle because of massive super stores like Spotlight. I went into this little fabric store and found this very colourful fabric. It kind of reminds me of my mum because she used to wear chequered skirts when she was younger. I decided that it would look good as a pencil skirt. The only problem is that I have to take very little steps in it and there is NO WAY that I can ride my bike in it. 

The photographs were taken in and around Berlin. There are a lot of construction sites around here as well as nice parks, so there is quite a mix. I like the cobble stone roads around here (except when you have to ride your bike over them) so I thought we would take some photos sitting on the stones. 

Photos: Michael Dooney

DIY Dion Lee

(Top: DIY. Blazer: Sussans. Shorts: Supre DIY bleached and ripped. Shoes: Spendless)

Blazers are my answer to everything.... including the beach. This is my summer blazer (stolen from mum's closet). I just throw it in all my bags and I like to keep it wrinkled. I think it stops the look from being too structured.

I couldn't stop obsessing over the Dion Lee tank dress that I posted in one of my wish lists. There's something so nostalgic about the print. It reminds me of when I was in primary school and we did those butterfly paintings in art class. When I say "butterfly paintings", I mean splodging paint on a piece of paper, folding it in half and smearing it everywhere. The best part is peeling the paper away and unveiling the beautiful smear of colours that took two seconds to create. Simple and effective... just the way I like it. Here is the original:

So I dug around my wardrobe and pulled out an old Supre dress. The dress was disgustingly short, so I cut the bottom off and turned it into a top. It's made of a cheap sateen material, which I figured was perfect because it would mean more spread-ability (I thought a jersey or cotton might just soak up the fabric paint, and not give me the opportunity to smear the paint around).

I went with a similar colour palette as the Dion lee... I already had a dark blue, so I just chose another two shades of blue and a pink.



I then put some paper inside the top to stop the paint bleeding onto the back. Then I just randomly dabbed some paint onto the top.



Then I just folded the top in half and smeared the paint outwards, towards the seams.

I was hoping the result would look a little more intricate.... so in other words, more like the Dion Lee. I think next time ill apply smaller blotches of paint and vary the colours a little more. And when I say next time, I mean that nothing in my wardrobe is safe at the moment... I'm thinking my next victim will be a dress and even the pockets of some jeans................

random

I love just taking snaps of random things around me. I end up with a collection of photos that for some reason, stay close to my heart. These are not necessarily fashion related, but I just wanted to share some random moments in time with you.

Something as simple as discovering a random abundance of elastic bands, or the time my favourite radio announcer bounced up on stage during the Darren Hanlon gig and started playing  hand clap games, or hanging out around my dad's old Jaguar.

New fabric store in Berlin: Stoffe Meyer

We regularly attend exhibition openings and generally this will involve photographs, drawings, paintings, light instillations etc.... multiple mediums of art. Attending an opening with the main theme being fabric was a first.  The other week we attended the opening for Stoffe Meyer the new fabric store in Berlin. This is a very nice store and perhaps that is evident when you have one roll of fabric for one piece of shelf. Generally fabrics ranged from 10 euros, up to 50 euros and beyond. I did spend my time drooling over the fantastic quality and designs. I think that this is a great store, but it is very expensive. So if you have a particular garment in mind which requires a certain level of quality (e.g. a corset) then this is the place to shop. Most of the fabrics seemed to be 100% cotton and some were organic cotton. 
They also had an interactive component to the opening where people received one of their fabric bags and then decorated them by using stencils and paint. It was my first time using a roller to print images....I wasn't converted. I think that I will stick with screen printing.

photographer: Michael Dooney

a red oldie

This red dress is an oldie but a goodie. I made it a few years ago to wear at my friends wedding. I followed a basic bodice pattern for the bodice and then shaped the skirt on my dressmaking doll. It was one of my first boned bodices. Now that I have made a corset with metal boning, I won't go back to plastic boning. I remember when I was a bridesmaids and we had the dresses made... by the end of the night the crappy cheap boning had curled up and the dress is pretty much ruined and can't be worn again. And the dressmaker called herself a professional... anyway 

These photos were taken at the Kino International. When stepping inside the building you can't help but feel that you have stepped back in time to the 60's. The foyer is lit with many light bulbs on the ceiling. Walking up the stairs you are welcomed by a number of chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling. The cinema is like an old theatre. You can just imagine the acts which would have performed there to the many locals and tourists of Berlin. On this day we saw a film called London nights. When it started I had a 'Oh, this is just great, I thought the film was in english' feeling. The guy spoke Spanish and there were German subtitles. There is no way that my German language is strong enough to read the subtitles... but luckily, it was just the beginning. The rest was in English. Phew! It was a nice film, and now I want a polaroid camera.

photography: Michael Dooney