My Gram's house

Xhilaratilon skirt, Cherokee shirt, Mum's silk scarf, Henry bag, and cameo brooch purchased by my Gram in Europe in 1965.

This shoot was absolutely inspired by my Gram's house. She has an amazing, unique styling to her home that makes you feel luxurious. Velvet, gold, tassles, perfume, silk, lace. I have dreams about her house all the time, and I wake up missing the pine smell of her walls and the gold accents of her Ralph Lauren sheets, her Eiffel tower collection and her Spode plates and bowls.

I got this bag yesterday from an op shop for $12.50 and it reminded me of her, so I styled it up and made it Gramish. I Googled it, and apparently this bag does not exist on Google. Oh well, I will tell people "Henry" is an expensive brand that is situated in Paris and he only ever made one like mine. That's how I roll.

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hippie trail

 

Pimkie knit, my mum's necklace.

I have always wanted to do a shoot like this, but never gotten that look I wanted. My absolute favourite thing is the necklace, which is made up of things my Mum collected from her travels. The items on it include shrapnel from North Africa, beads she bought on her honeymoon in Mexico, a die from the floor of a bar in Germany, crystal given to her by a friend in Texas, a bit of copper she found in the Outback, beads from India, etc etc.  The jumper was given to her by her 'Maman'  while she was living with a French family about 25 years ago. 

I'm pretty sure you can't get any more "hippie traveler" than that. Though it would help if you had a worn-in fringed leather vest.

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for my most favourite peasant.

lace and silk

 curtain

Maria: Billabong trench coat, vintage silk scarf.
Izzy: Billabong lace top, Rodarte for Target skirt.

Fellow blogger Maria paid a visit to my humble rainforest abode and we did a photo shoot that was extremely successful. We couldn't exactly settle on one style, so we chose a sort of vintage thing with the clothes, hair and makeup. 

Maria and I have a interesting friendship with two distinctive sides. One minute, for instance, we are planning our high fashion photo shoot and career in the arts, the next we are rainforest walking in crocs and swinging from vines. Nicknames for each other include peasant, for Maria, and 'poppet, for me. Many variations included such as pheasant, pez-pez, fez-fez, droppet, shloppet, moppet, etc. We constantly have themed sleepovers such as "Spring" "Halloween", and "Christmas eve" (which occurs roughly on the 20th of December.) The mostly used phrase between us is "Peasant, we are gonna make it big."

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Check out the other photos at Maria's Blog.

goodness me

School has started up again and I'm pretty sure my teachers are out to get me by giving me stacks of homework and leaving me no time to blog. I missed a whole macro Monday! How rude. Even worse, for sport we are now doing synchronized swimming. And no, I do not go to an all girls school. At least I will have a good laugh.

 What to wear to a exhibition honoring a fashion genius: Bardot dress, Target tights, Miss shop boots, Coach bag.

 I wore a daisy ring. It was fun.

Um, just because.

 

 Sister and Valentino shopping bag,

 This makes me froth at the mouth.

On the last day of my savored holidays I went to the Valentino exhibit and it was a brilliant finish to the wonderful two weeks.  Obviously, it was amazing and left me wanting to cry because I am almost absolutely positive that I do not have $80, 000 to spend on an evening gown. It was an inspiration overload and I actually sketched some actual designs for the first time in months. Now I have to get to my sewing machine and make some Valentino-worthy garments.

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Hats- an anthology by Stephen Jones.

"Wash and go" hat, 1999.

Stephen Jones, the master himself.

Art galleries always have the best books. Those glossy, expensive books with mesmerizing illustrations on every page. I have two art gallery books. One, a Gothic addition of Alice, the other a book I picked up on hats. The kind of hats that you see couture models wearing. The kind of hats you look at and think, 'Who would ever wear that?'

Stephen Jones, I have found to discover, is the only person who can place a shoe atop someones' head, call it fashion and not be questioned.

Hats have always been a love of mine, though admired from afar, as I have never been brave enough to try anything that Stephen Jones would dream up. This book looks over his very interesting life as a milliner, complete with pictures and quotes for the various stages of his life.

The section about the types of people who actually buy these hats, (The Client- pg 94) was what I found the most interesting, The work that goes into making the right hat, for the right client, for the right occasion is exhausting. Yet the reward is sweet, according to the book, when the hat the client wears becomes his or her 'signature look'.

Hats- an anthology by Stephen Jones is an insightful edition to my duo of art gallery books.
Do you wear hats?

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