Alexander Wang Spring 2010 Online Campaign

to all the lovely 17 readers ♥

Taugheedah and Anja at Seventeen were super sweet and offered to feature my blog in their magazine a couple of months ago. so today, while doing some grocery shopping in Woolies, i had a quick flip-through the new issue and yip... there i was. all v. exciting. sure my fellow sunday shoppers were wondering why two 20-something-year-olds were squawking at the pages of a Seventeen magazine. oh well.

so, a few weeks back, when Taugheedah sent me through some questions, she asked me to "please elaborate on the answers" and so i did - knowing full well that most of it probably wouldn't make it into the feature. so, for all you Seventeen readers who have popped by to check out the blog, here's the full q&a. it might also give you a good idea as to what that girl about town is really all about. enjoy!

Tell me a little about yourself… I’m a fashion enthusiast/magazine junkie, who spends too much time people watching. I have an inexcusable weakness for beautiful things and a lot of respect for the people who create them. I think a lot about fashion and I love writing, which is basically why I have a fashion blog. The fact that others find it informative and enjoyable only makes it that much more fun.

What is your blog about? It’s basically a place for me to put down my personal thoughts and musings on all things fashion-related. Fashion magazines and sites like Style.com track trends and break them down so well, that I feel fashion blogs should be doing something a little different. I mostly post about my own experiences, my likes, loves and dislikes, things that catch my eye, people I’ve met and places I’ve stumbled upon. I try to write about talented local designers, photographers, etc. - that deserve a little recognition - as often as I can. The fashion industry’s a tough place and young talents need our love and support.

Who are your fashion icons? Stella McCartney for her stand on eco-fashion and her always beautifully tailored clothes. Garance Doré for her minimalist style, elegance and French-ness. Notorious fashion blogger, Susanna Lau aka Susie Bubble for her daring dress-sense, eclectic wardrobe and for wearing the things I only wish I could. Alexa Chung for her I-want-to-steal-everything-you-are-wearing-street-style. Chloë Sevigny for her quirky coolness and always being a little offbeat in a very brilliant way.

What is your fashion style? I don’t think I have one specific style or am one particular thing. I own lots of basics and usually just team it with one or two key pieces – maybe a nice pair of shoes or a vintage blazer or some pretty gold jewelary. I do however, have a terrible weakness for t-shirt dresses, vintage bags and all things navy blue, which on most occasions tend to sum up my outfit.

What is your must-have item and why? Hmm. Definitely the most difficult question cause it’s impossible to choose just one thing! I’m going to be predictable and say… a simple well-fitted black dress. It’s easy to style when working with a blank canvas a.k.a. the little black dress.

How did you start your blog? When I was studying at the London College of Fashion, our lecturer advised us to start our own blog so we could put our thoughts into words and for her to track what was catching our attention and sample our writing style. When I graduated, I just naturally continued blogging cause I would still see things and think, “I need to blog about that…” Plus, I was traveling a lot at the time and doing a few internships and it was an easy way to share what I was seeing and experiencing in the fashion industry, with my friends and family.

How do you feel about the fashion industry? Well, where would we be without it? I think the fashion industry in South Africa is having a “moment”. There’s an overwhelming amount of creative talent floating around, I feel like we’re on the brink of something exciting. It’s definitely a good time to be in the fashion industry.

How do you decide on what to wear each day? I would say, “it depends on the weather” but as most will know, I always dress inappropriately for the weather. I guess it really has a lot to do with how I feel on the day… and what is clean and ironed.

What are your favourite stores? I do most of my shopping abroad when I'm visiting family in Hong Kong and London, but when I’m back in Cape Town I mostly buy second-hand and locally designed stuff. So my favourite stores would have to be Lulu’s little vintage stall on Church Street in Cape Town. Lulu is super sweet and she always has beautiful stuff. A visit to Lulu is usually followed by a quick look at Mungo & Jemima, which is just over the road. Otherwise, there are some great not-so-well-known second-hand shops in my neighbourhood, which I try to visit whenever I can.

My inspiration comes from... many things. It could be the girl or boy whose just walked past me, the latest Alexander Wang collection, an editorial in i-D Magazine, an old French film, a Style Rookie blog post or maybe even a store's window display.

and that's all of it. big love to the fashion team at Seventeen and a big thank you to all of you for visiting!! ♥

P.S. if you have a fashion blog of your own and want to be added to my blog roll, send your name and your blog's url to thatgirlabouttown@gmail.com and i'll be happy to add you to my list of must reads. :))

a Maison Martin Margiela Book will do too.

since 2009 will probably forever be known at the year of the "big recession", i would totally understand if santa couldn't afford an US$850 (excl. shipping costs) bag. i'm a reasonable girl, really. so, to santa and all my dear loved ones living in greener pastures, here's what would make me as equally happy...

the recently released Maison Martin Margiela Book. now, i know it's become rather common, if not mandatory, for design houses to have a book or two to their name, but it's a completely different ball game with this specific design house.

Maison Martin Margiela prefers to be known as a collective, as opposed to being represented by a single face (i.e. Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, Christopher Bailey for Burberry or Stella McCartney for Stella McCartney, etc.). Martin Margiela refuses to be photographed, filmed or interviewed and till this day, their is still no record of Martin Margiela - the man himself, or his thoughts or opinions. he, or rather, they believe that the process of designing, say... a pair of shoes or even the button on a coat is a group initiative - someone comes up with the concept/design, someone translates that concept/design from an idea to a drawing, someone creates the prototype, someone makes the tweaks and then the final product is made - passing through a number of hands and machines before being styled on a model/packed neatly for transportation. the truth of the matter is, that with any high-end fashion product, the chances that the designer of that brand has physically touched the product are relatively small.

back when i was "slaving" at British ELLE, Rebecca (the fashion features editor) did a feature on MMM. she had to fax through her questions to "the collective". they answered the questions in a group and faxed it back to us. i had to simply type out the hand-written answers from the fax copy. deep down, i wondered why all design houses didn't do this. it would definitely have made my life easier. none of that play-stop-rewind -play-listen-pause-now-was-that-"creative genius"-or-"tiny penis" nonsense. the bigger picture is that Martin Margiela doesn't believe that what lands up on the MMM catwalk at the start of every season is due to the workmanship of one man and therefore the credit doesn't belong solely to him. why should he, alone, be doing shoots with ELLE or interviews with the New York Times?

the information that the world has on MMM and the man, Martin Margiela is extreeeeemely limited. aside from their seasonal collections, this book is no doubt the most public extension of themselves that the design house has ever offered to us... and wouldn't it just be plain rude of us not to accept?

unfortunately, the book is yet to reach our southern shores. the last major, international fashion book release was probably Scott Schuman's The Sartorialist Book, which isn't even (at the time of writing this) stocked by South Africa's largest book store chain. we only have A-Store to thank for jumping on that bandwagon. maybe, they would like to jump on this one too? especially, since the chances that Exclusive Books will clue-up on what they should be stocking on their fashion shelves is as slim as the slice of cake Carine Roitfeld eats at her birthday party.

all i want for christmas is...

this ALEXANDER WANG ROCCO DUFFEL BAG, pleeeease!! my ex-colleague from WGSN in hong kong recently tweeted a photo of a woman on the hong kong MTR (a.k.a the underground) with one of these of her lap. i almost forgot how i first fell in love with it when i was in hong kong. thanks for the reminder, Yilian! it's shameful that A.Wang doesn't go on sale. i feel you, girl!! you know you truly love something (and it's not just the hip and hype) when you still want it, even though it's technically "last season" and there's a whole new collection of bags taunting you. i will have none of that, thank you very much. just this "last season" rocco lover will do.

santa, can you hear meeee? ♥

LV - what i love to hate and hate to love.

advertising campaigns aren't what they used to be. nowadays, it's all about big lights, big faces, big photographers and big big hype. a marketing tool that is finally being used to its full potential, and leading by example is Louis Vuitton. people literally wait at their keyboards for the release of LV's new seasonal campaigns. now, i don't usually make a habit of posting about them. afterall, that's what vogue.com exists for, right? however, i am a MAJOR Marc Jacobs fan. he's a genius. full stop. what he's done for LV can't even be put into words and what he does in the sewing room and on the catwalk is insane. what i don't love however, is the way LV is shamelessly mass-produced, ruthlessly distributed and how it lands up on the arm of every girl in asia.

on a happier and less critical note, i think Marc Jacobs' team can execute an advertising campaign as well as they can a Speedy tote. this season, Dutch model, Lara Stone replaces Madonna as the new face of Louis Vuitton's s/s 2010 ad campaign. couldn't think of any other model who could live up to Madonna. she's on par with Alice Dellal in terms of what she's doing to challenge the Kate Moss's and Lily Donaldson's of the fashion world. the full campaign hasn't been released online yet, but it's only a matter of time. i much prefer Lara to Madonna. it must be said. don't hate me.

and to the ONLY LV-loving girl i love - who owns one too many LV bags, but still knows that it's more than just a flashy monogram to throw around - please, pretty please make your next one a Chloé. i'm sending this one to In LVoe with Louis Vuitton just for you. and yes, to all you die-hard LV lovers, that little treasure in the middle is "The Kalahari". ♥

FACEHUNTER in Cape Town update //

just a quick update on my recent post, Yvan Rodic to FACE HUNT(ER) in Cape Town //. unfortunately, his schedule's been changed and he will no longer be gracing our beautiful shores.

here's what you he wrote: "It has been difficult to make the choice but I had to cancel my trip to Cape Town in order to go to New York, where an 'exciting opportunity' - that I'm not allowed to reveal at the moment - is offered to me. You will see the result early next year. I hope to make it in South Africa soon!"

don't get me wrong, i love this city to death, but i can kinda... maybe, see how a street photographer would choose New York over Cape Town. oh well. better luck next time, kids. ♥

TAVI sports waistgear as headgear.

i go through phases of being shamelessly addicted to certain blogs. i probably visit around... 20+ fashion blogs a day - not quite sure if this is something to be proud of or not. when i was in hong kong end of last year it was Tavi's Style Rookie, which if you kids were paying attention, i actually posted about last year October. >> click here if you weren't. who doesn't love Tavi, right? lately, i've been religiously following JAK & JIL, especially since Tommy Ton (how much do you love saying that name?) is posting more often than ever. when i discovered his blog, he was only logging on once every few weeks.

so, while browsing through new posts on the site today, i scrolled past this image. Ton has finally(!) got a shot of style prodigy, Tavi... and not even during Fashion Week. i'm actually desperate to know where this was taken. in what ideal world, outside the land of Fashion Week, would Ton accidently bump into Tavi?? and while she is wearing the most interesting little headpiece?!

so, check this girl. she's sporting a (most probably, DIY) head-piece made from an elastic turquoise belt and a (very) oversized gingham shirt. let's keep in mind that she's probably half the size of the models stomping down the ramps every season.

this is just a little friendly, monday reminder that fashion is for everyone (cliché, but true) and innovation can come at any age. she blows my mind, over and over again. ♥

Yvan Rodic to FACE HUNT(ER) in Cape Town //

are you with me? we're talking about Yvan Rodic of London-based street-style blog, facehunter. i happen to have history with Yvan. let me share.

back when i was broke and living in a box-sized room in East London and working on my post-graduate thesis on "Fashioning the Web", i was putting together a piece on street-style fashion bloggers, entitled these streets are made for walking and like a true fashion writer on a mission to complete an article with a creeping deadline, i think i might have, maybe... harassed poor Yvan, a little. yes. he probably remembers me as the annoying LCF girl who sent him email after email begging him to meet me for an interview before my deadline... and after countless replies from him, with empty promises of getting around to arranging something, just as soon as he returned from [insert city here], i never did hear from him. i thank my jimmy choos for the camera-clicking cool kids behind copenhagen street style and hel looks for putting some time aside to answer all my inquisitive questions. i made the deadline btw.

so back to the point of this post... one of my favourite blogging girls, Nicci Bruce from i scream tells me that Yvan a.k.a. Face Hunter will be visiting Cape Town this summer - check out his itinerary here. what i can gather from his tweets, he's currently in New Zealand (and no, i am not stalking him. this is all in the name of research, honestly.) which means Cape Town is next... 4 - 11 December. diarise it if you must.

keep your eyes open and your best shoes on, kids. :)) i look forward to seeing some of you on the site. yay. and remember, Yvan was wearing skinny jeans and vintage brogues way before you, so be nice. that's all. ♥

double-breasted cardigan, i think i love you.

The Sartorialist Book has been floating around the office for a few days now and i finally got my hands on it. there's definitely something different about holding the weight of a book in your hands and feeling the pages brush over your fingers. it's some what different to the online experience of clicking and scrolling. yes, i admit i luuurve The Sartorialist and all... but in all honestly i'm hugely over the higher-than-high-high-heels, Balmain shoulders and high-fashion trenches. it's all a little too high maintenance for me, really. maybe i'm just saying that cause summer is in the air... anyways the only thing i wanted to pull off the pages were the (modest-in-comparison) double-breasted cardigans... is that too much to ask? tell me you don't love them and i promise to never say these 3 words again... double. breasted. cardigan. ♥

blog love ♥

in case any of you have been hiding under a rock or spending all day on the beach, the newStiaan Louw x A Store Collection is on the rails and causing hype and havoc. i'm going to skip all the details and take the opportunity to give a shout out to my fellow bloggers instead, who have already covered all the nitty gritty of the campaign and collection. what can i say? i'm slacking. i know. from what i've seen so far, Stiaan Louw and Brett Rubin have delivered, as usual. the campaign is a killer and if that's anything to go by, there's no doubt the collection is a work of art.

Marco from Man of the Cloth ♡

Robyn from Style Guide Cape Town ♡

The kids from We-Are-Awesome ♡

You&Me&EveryoneWeKnow Market II

You&Me&EveryoneWeKnow Market II is officially happening on Saturday, 28th November. i was blown far far away by the first one. it was a warm spring day, a small venue in town with a beautiful balcony overlooking all of Bo-Kaap's rainbow-coloured houses. there was delicious food, pretty things and lots of creative people doing what they do best. we looked, we bought, we ate, we chatted and did all we could do, but were still tempted to hang out a little longer to soak up the vibey hustle bustle... so all i can say is go expecting, girls and boys! it's going to be fun, fun, fun! see you (&me&everyoneweknow) there. ♥

Sunday Best.

Margot Molyneux - fashion graduate turned young designer with two collections to her name - has been sort of making a name for her self around town and i've been eager to see some of her work since her name first popped up in a conversation a few months ago.

she's not stocking in any of the stores around Cape Town as of yet, but we were able to arrange a little show and touch with Margot at Vida to view the collection, but alas, the flu caught me sometime between saturday night and sunday morning and i missed it. D, however, got to ooh and aah over the collection and bought the prettiest of dresses, which naturally became her Sunday attire of choice. the peter pan collar and pretty pleating is bound to bring out the good girl in anyone.

the collection is modestly stylish - all clean cuts and cool colours. it has a number of really strong pieces which holds it together well. think last season's and this season's key tailored pieces - boyfriend jacket, harem trousers, etc. - pieces that ultimately take technique and skill to make. you can't fake tailoring and there's no doubt that this girl can tailor. unlike, a large number of people these days who claim to "make clothes for a living" or be "designers", Margot can actually put a garment together. a girl worth watching.

diamond in "the lot"

i'm generally not a big fan of the clothes at "the lot" on Kloof. don't get me wrong, i'm not hating. i hate to hate. it's just that DIY-looking dresses (i don't believe in buying clothes that i could make myself) and plaid fleece shirts just don't prompt me to scream out, "i want!" on the other hand, they do source some great accessories and vintage stuff.

so i popped in a (good) few weeks ago (yes, this post is late late.) looking for a pretty bag. been seeing some girls around town clasping clutches that hailed from said store and thought i should make a stop... and so glad i did. i found this beautiful vintage Salvatore Ferragamo envelope clutch - navy blue (i'm developing a fetish for navy blue things...) made of genuine leather and suede. love love happy surprises.

after handing over my money (it was priced the same as all the other bags), these were the words exchanged between myself and the shop girl...

me - do you know it's a Ferragamo?

shop girl - umm, sorry?

me - Salvatore Ferragamo...

shop girl - oh... (opening bag to peep at the label) omg, it is... i don't think anyone's even noticed.

me - (confused look. thinking how could no one have noticed?)

happy surprises can happen in the strangest of places.

happy sunday ♥

double denim danger.

a certain friend and i have some major issues with "double denim" or what some call "denim on denim" - basically teaming jeans with a denim shirt/jacket/waistcoat. no matter how much we try to control ourselves we always break at the seams and end up staring rudely, shaking our heads in disapproval and then turning to give one other a knowing look that can only be described as "wtf was he thinking when he woke up this morning?"/"someone needs to tell the poor thing what he's doing is wrong".

okay, so i get it, denim has made a little bit of a comeback - not that it really ever left - but it's catapulted back onto the catwalk - think Balmain, Gucci, Alexander Wang. now, i'm not sure if there's any connection here, but since the trend has been identified by the big guns and "double denim" has been given the red flag (in the form of a Hermes scarf of course. this is fashion not racing, after all.) my friend and i have been doing the double-denim-disapproval-stare a lot more frequently. i'm afraid that said friend and i are fast-becoming the minority.

then again, i get how some people have the urge to double it up. i mean, when they're marketing it with images like the one above, even i'm tempted to ditch my dirty stares for nods of approval. might also have something to do with the fact that there's something v. Edward Cullen about those models. anywhooo... getting back on track now... although the greater fashion power is telling you double denim is okay, i'm just reminding you little fashion trend sponges to think before dressing. i think less is definitely more in this case. few people can pull it off and if you're feeling confidently daring then i say, "umm, go for it?" but otherwise let's try leave it to the Lee Cooper models, yes? can we at least agree to disagree?

excuse me, is that a rhino on your head?

i know there was a bit of a craze over in London awhile back when wearing headpieces adorned with life-sized birds was considered "trendy" or whatever else you choose to call it. don't ask. i'm not quite sure either. might have had something to do with achieving that wierd and whimsical look. here in Africa we have chosen to move rapidly up the food chain. if there's anywhere in the world where a designer can place a hairpiece styled to resemble an antelope on a catwalk model, it's Africa right? Nigerian-born, British-based designer Eyola Adede who recently showed at Arise African Fashion Week has upped the crazy-headgear game by sending her models stampeding down the catwalk sporting animal hairpieces. wierd yet strangely wonderful.

could the inspiration have come from Martin Martin Margiela SS09's much-talked about wig? forget heel focus. keep your eyes on the hair. v. interesting (and bizarre) things are happening. i eagerly await Angie over at iFashion to reveal the designer responsible for the brave hairpieces. roarr.

images from iFashion

on second thoughts, think one of the pieces were featured in a mag i read not too long ago. >> off to rummage through my ridiculous heap of magazines. will be back shortly.

okay scrap that. i stand corrected. still don't have a name. drop me an email, if you know.

update: finally... the hairpieces were designed by Japanese pop artist, Nagi Noda for an exhibition that took place May of last year in Tokyo.

Androgyny.

putting on a fashion show to raise money reminds me a little too much of high school, but i guess if it works you got to work it hard. students at Design Academy of Fashion in Cape Town have put together a fundraising event/party at The Assemby and will be exhibiting their designs to raise money for their final year fashion show. 

design institutes like DAF is where local fashion talent is being nurtured and where the future of local fashion begins so if you don't have any prior arrangements and have R30 to spare, show your support and be there in your boy clothes. the theme is "boys will be boys and girls will be boys" - something i'm sure i saw on the cover of a Dazed magazine a couple of months ago, yes? dressing like a boy hasn't been this fun since i was tomboy in my pre-teens, so it really won't be hard to stick to the theme. also girls, it's the perfect opportunity to ravish the boyfriend's closest - i'm thinking Diane Keaton in Annie Hall and maybe a little 80's power dressing.

not much has changed since 1992.

so, this is how i was kicking it back in 1992. okay, that might be slightly misleading. this is one of the better outfits, but quite a charming little outfit at that. no doubt the workings of my mother. completely fell in love with the straw boater hat - v. Marc Jacobs SS09, non? am now wondering which box of old clothes it's hiding in cause it would be a nice addition to the summer wardrobe. as for the Peter Pan collared floral dress and black Wayfarers - too cool for school, right? perhaps should have re-thought the shoes though. criiinge.

independent fashion bloggers.

Jennine Tamm of Independent Fashion Bloggers has been networking and updating on fb and sending out emails so often that i haven't really found it necessary to visit the site in recent months. popped by for a visit just moments ago to find the site has been made-over. v. delayed on this, i know. it's a whole lot of prettiness and there's a spanky new section dedicated to techy blog stuff that some of us (yes, me included!) are rather clueless about. 

i'm so impressed with how the community has grown since i interviewed Jennine last summer! check out the new site and join the community if you're an independent fashion blogger. also, congrats Jennine & Rocky on the wedding! wishing you much love and happiness. ♥

Tomorrow's Society.

conversations about eco-fashion and sustainable apparel usually bore me. not because i'm not for it, because i am. it's just all the talk has become painfully boring. however, i find myself rather looking forward to an event i rsvped to on fb - been pondering over the concept of recycled clothes and the creative possibilities involved.

TOMORROW'S SOCIETY - thought up and headed by the creative thinkers over at Capsule Creative - is a project/event that aims to promote sustainable fashion. it's an innovative and inspiring concept involving your unwanted clothes and the skills of some local designers and photographers. clickity click here to check out the event page.

we're on to phase 2 already - the recycling/creation process. only a few weeks until the designs and images are revealed. here are the deets:

When: 25th June 2009 @ 6pm

Where: Vida Wembley Square

The Designers: Christopher Strong. Cameron Foden. Timothy Wang. Natasha Liebenberg of LiebenCut. Juliane Visnjic of Unknown at Mungo & Jemima.

The Photographers: Brett Rubin. Natasja Fourie. Justin Badenhorst. Leah Walker. Jesse Leigh Elford.

see you kids there.

damn synthetic stitching.

while on a mission to find a winter coat last week, i stumbled upon these insanely on-trend harem pants - 100% viscose, drop crotch and perfectly tailored - at Promod. have you heard of them? no? neither have i. anyways, the sales assistant tells me they were marked down from R490 to a measily R80. my only guess is that the "the drop-crotch" is not yet a favourite with the ladies, hence the steep price cuts? similar pieces have appeared in a number of local collections - Christopher Strong by Elaine du Plessis (Elle SA June 09) and Stiaan Louw (Design Indaba Magazine 1st Quarter 09) - and they're going at about R750-R1200 a pop. so, yeah, can you say "bar-gain"?

one minor problem though. they're purple. not feeling the purple so much. the idea was to dye them navy, cause i'm really feeling the navy this winter, but a trip to the local tailors this afternoon didn't quite go as planned. unless i didn't mind sporting a pair of navy trousers with v. visible plum purple stitching, no dyeing would be taking place. damn synthetic stitching! i hate you. 

i'm gonna have to force myself to feel the purple. i'll let you know how it goes.

A Collaboration Made in Heaven: Stiaan Louw "The Next Generation" Campaign shot by Brett Rubin

i know that these images have already been well, if not over-circulated. i also know that you've done the jaw-drop. i know you did, because i did too. Stiaan Louw seems to be the go-to words on the fashion scene atm and i hate to be predictable but when i mentioned being blown away by some menswear lines in my recent "menswear on exhibit" post i was no doubt refering to Stiaan Louw's new collection... but i guess you knew that already.

so we know the clothes - besides being pure perfection - has got everyone who cares about fashion talking local and talking menswear, which is more than enough reason to be loving Louw. i will rant no more. but if we take focus away from the clothes for just a second what we have here basically is a killer advertising campaign! Brett Rubin, who recently did a fantastical (v. Liebovitz in terms of it's majestic-ness) fashion editorial for the latest issue of the Design Indaba magazine, has made this the most inspiring local collaboration i've seen for a longtime. it's interesting that we're slowly picking up on the international advertising trend of designer/photographer collaborations. i recently saw something similar with local streetwear label 2bop and South African photographer, Xander Ferreira.

to put it simply - Rubin has done for Louw what Juergen Teller has done for Marc Jacobs and i love him for it.

the hedonist in me.

ACNE SS09 has me aching with envy. the dresses are crazy beautiful this season - it's a pleasure just to look (and drool). i'm always so impressed with their stuff and really surprised at how they're not more well-known around town. maybe, more so since their collaboration with Lanvin on a capsule collection. i have a tingling feeling that these elastic strap sandals were made for me, though. hmm. yes, i'm aware that it's almost full-blown winter in the Cape Town and a pair of elasticated sandals really shouldn't be the apple of my eye, but i've always been guilty of wearing inappropriate shoes for the weather so that's really not an issue here. the angle of the photo doesn't do the shoe much justice, but please trust me when i say, they are beeeautiful. i'm impartial, perhaps. i've been gaga over shoes with thick elastic straps since Marni did some a few seasons ago. gosh, these "shoe envy posts" are becoming rather frequent, aren't they? but i guess when you want but can't have, the only thing left to do is wish... and blog.

menswear on exhibit.

so doing some morning reading and mr berry over at we-are-awesome touched on a subject that got me thinking. last week, South African menswear designer, Cameron Foden chose to showcase his collection as an exhibition as opposed to a catwalk show. it got me wondering whether that has anything to do with how Foden wants his collection to be received? or how any designer who chooses to "exhibit" their collection wants to be received?

there is certainly a trend of designers choosing to "exhibit" their collections in an open space where the pieces can be taken in, carefully viewed and discussed. i like the process of viewing and being given the time to process what you see, which as most know is just not case with catwalk shows. model no.1 enters, struts her stuff and before you know it model no. 2 is out and your eyes don't really know where to go. it's all too quick and the whole scene sort of reminds me of those flashy MTV ads. this debate really echoes the fashion vs. art debate. traditionally, fashion belongs to the catwalk and art/design belongs to the gallery, but the lines are clearly blurring here.

i haven't yet seen the entire collection, but i'm really impressed with what i've seen so far. the collection reminds me a lot of British womenswear designer, Louise Goldin's SS09 collection, which i expressed my love for not too long ago on the blog. i think it's the structuralism and geometrical padding that has my brain jogging.

i've felt a little out of touch with local fashion since i've returned. i think i'm slowly getting back on track though. so far, however, i've been blown away with the cuts and shapes seen in a number of menswear lines, which is great for the guys. i don't think i can hear another male complain about how women have "soo much" to choose from and work with and they have "nothing". you boys are slowly running out of excuses.

Ponystep chats to Susie Bubble.

check out this interview with Susie Bubble on Ponystep! i have a lot of love for both fashion pages. i had the honour of interviewing both Richard Mortimer, the man behind Ponystep and Susie Lau of Style Bubble not too long ago. on the eve of the launch of Ponystep, Richard shared with me his hopes and dreams for his online magazine. now, almost a year down the line, Ponystep is doing exclusive interviews with some of the most high-profile individuals on the music/film/fashion/art scene. the guy, no doubt, has connections. Miss Bubble has long been considered blogging royalty and the media has interviewed, scrutinised and questioned the hell out of her, but there's been little coverage of her since she landed herself an editorial position with Dazed Digital. Ponystep's Pippa Brooks gets down and dirty in this interview and Susie is more than obliging - as always. get clickity clicking on this kids!

something to talk about: grey gardens

is winter here already? hopefully, we'll get a few more sunny days before we're hit with full-blown wind and rain. perfect day for blogging though. it's only the 19th of the month and i'm so close to hitting my cap, i'm almost scared to blog. i've gotten so use to the luxury of capless internet. wouldn't capless internet make everyone's winter more comforting?

anyhoo down to the nitty gritty. as you know, i love my film as much as i do my fashion and i always try to sneak a post in about it, especially if it has any relation to fashion. if you've been anywhere near fashion sites/blogs in the past few days you'll know the buzz words have been "Grey Gardens" - not so much the 1975 documentary directed by the Maysles Brothers (which i'm dying to get my hands on!) but more the bio film featuring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lang which aired on HBO in the US just a few hours ago.

Grey Gardens is the name of the mansion home that Jackie Onassis's eccentric aunt and first cousin - Edith "Big Edie" Bouvier Beale and Edie "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale, respectively - lived in, in the 70's. the ladies wardrobe in the 1975 documentary was an huge inspiration to design houses at the turn of the century and the remake is already having a similar affect on the fashion world. everyone is waiting on hands and knees to see the re-visioned wardrobe of Jackie O's infamous relatives in the remake more than 3 decades later. for some the wait is already over.

the lives of this mother-daughter duo is so intriguing. they have no money, no income, live in a crumbling, flea-infested-mansion, yet following the Maysles Brother's doccie of them, became instant fashion icons. another reminder that style has nothing to do with money. it's innate. i have a feeling it's gonna be a hefty wait before this film hits our shores. not dissimilar to capless internet. happy sunday.

Church Street LULU has new vintage stock.

girls, go check it out. that's LULU's vintage stall on Church Street. just got word that she has new stock. "Winter winter new stock has arrived, leather jackets, cowbot boots, 80's boots, horse rider boots, 70's denim, checked skirts and denim." her words not mine. happy shopping!

all good things come in three.

phew. so i'm back in the beautiful Cape Town and finally in sync with my new time zone. the 15 hour flight threw me and the public displays of affection shown by the elderly couple sitting next to me just didn't make the flight any easier either.

nearly all my conversations since getting back in town have begun with, "So how amazing was Asia?" for most i've gone into great detail about my experiences, my observations, my loves and my hates. however, there is one observation i haven't really shared. 

i honestly don't mean to be the stereotype and go into a shallow OTT story about my ups and downs of shoe shopping but this has some depth, i promise. as most will know, Hongkies is considered Asia's shopping haven. they have more brands than China, are cheaper than Japan and happily welcome the consumerist culture. there's a generous choice when it comes to high end shoes. Hong Kongers are more than familiar with Jimmy Choos and Manolo Blahniks - they are available in nearly every main shopping precinct and of course there's always Lane Crawford & On Pedder. on the other extreme, the city's saturated with stores selling dirt cheap shoes imported from China, going at around R70/£5 a pop. these stores can usually be identified by the nasty smell rising from the footwear which is made completely of synthetic material. what they don't have is something for the middle market. mid-price range shoes are difficult to come by. it's either Christian Louboutins or Marv Jacods.

it's not really the type of observation that people are interested in hearing about when they ask about my time abroad. unless, i guess, if you work in the shoe industry... but i found it rather fascinating. especially since everyone in Hong Kong was downplaying the shopping experience in Singapore.

however, when i got to Singapore it was just a whole different ball game. there was so much choice in terms of middle market i might have gone a little wild... and got a little obsessive with the "black is back" trend. i usually have a sister or a friend standing behind me, whispering firmly, "But, don't you already have something like that?" this time however i was a lone ranger. the consequence is above.

Hong Kong - Singapore - Cape Town

another change in location and another heavy dose of jet lag. i will be back with you shortly.

Forever21 in Singapore

who can guess how high i jumped when i stumbled upon a Forever21 at Wisma Atrium on Orchard Road?

he styles it good.

Marc by Marc is probably one of the cheapest and most affordable diffusion lines on the market, but it never fails to looks like a million dollars on the runway. why you ask? because the man can undoubtably style!! i don't think any of the models in the AW09 show were wearing less than 5 items of clothing. it's not about one key piece summing up the season's look. it's about mixing it up a little - colours, textures and shapes. let's take a few pointers, shall we?

window shopping.

window shopping. that's what i do these days. no real, satisfying shopping, just plain old window shopping. for two reasons. let me share. one - lack of luggage space. i'm a frequent traveller... but i can never keep the weight down. a skill that still needs to be perfected. two - my working holiday is coming to an end and depressingly, so is my cash flow. so my last few days in Hongkies will not only involve around the clock goodbye lunches/dinners but also a good lashing of window-peering and bag envy. i spotted the Chloe 'Sally' Flap Bag - undeniably the most covetable bag this season (okay, maybe coming a close 2nd to the YSL 'Easy') - in the On Pedder window today and fell hopelessly in love... Hannah MacGibbon, new creative director at Chloe is working worldly wonders! just wanted to share with you the adventures of window shopping.