Allo Love

I’ve been lusting after these ever since I saw them parading down the catwalk during Lisp‘s show at CTFW. They were sold out at Aldo, and, because they were over £50 on ASOS, would’ve been double the price with import tax.

Amen for travelling friends. They will be on my ruby-toed pods come October.

My first espadrille wedge. Who woulda thunk?

Fenton!

I think the piece of fluoro-spiked, skull-bedazzled, pop culture delight above deserves a ‘Hell yeah!’ At the very least, a meaningful gasp. Which is exactly what I did when I saw it for the first time.

These glorious chunky mashups are the product of Fenton, an American jewellery house started by designer Dana Lorenz in 2006. With two painting behind her, Dana entered the fashion industry, first working for Gucci and then Donna Karan. Her pieces were soon featured in American Vogue, and shortly after that, Fenton began to be stocked at major  high end retailers like Barneys, Colette and Liberty.

The Fenton website describes the collection as:

‘An elaborate mix of unexpected elements. The aesthetic inspires fantasy, and is always derived from a strong pop culture reference and point of view. The pieces are strong statements and each are little worlds all their own.’

I couldn’t have put it better myself. I am always a sucker for the mixing of pop culture with the classic. The idea of juxtaposing something quite lowbrow like a bubblegummy skull with something typically highbrow like a strand of pearls and some über yuppie gold chain is almos utopian to me. I delight in the weird mishmash of cultural references – Sloane rangers, punk girls and Tiffany’s princesses, all in one. Yeah!

It’s no wonder Dana has collaborated with the likes of Proenza Schouler and Thakoon on their runway collections, and worked with retailers like Opening Ceremony and J.Crew on capsule collections.

I adore every piece in her Summer 2011 collection. Skulls, gilded feathers, intermingled chains, fluoro spikes and tufts of lush fur make for a totemic mix that I find quite hypnotic. Which is, perhaps, the point. Each piece is like its own pagan pop culture charm.

Collar Kit

 

I spotted these retro collar tips in the latest ASOS magazine, and they led me on a little collarific journey past leather Peter Pans, lacy bow ties and embellished velvets. The collar tips are my favourite – they lend a real air of Dallas-style suaveness.

They’re the ideal size for postage, wouldn’t you say? Or for stashing in one’s luggage en route to Cape Town, for a blinding reveal upon arrival… London friends take note!

Peach Fuzz

Shoes have never really been my thing.

I used to say that they were peripheral to my outfit – that I would prefer if they simply blended in and did their subtle best to not call attention to themselves. This would mean that they would draw attention away from my prance of extraordinary accessories – hats, brooches, scarves, ascots, you name it. When my mom fawned over shoe shop displays I’d give them a cursory glance and head straight for the nearest accessories counter.

My, how things have changed. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that my job now entails a fair amount of desk work, making heel-wearing quite a wondrous and unpunishing reality. Best thing is that I get to admire then on my feet all day, in between cappuccinos, blog reading and emails. And then the mini strut to and from car, or to and from cappuccino haunt: just long enough to turn a few heads, just short enough to remain pleasant. I now spend a lot of time admiring shoes – online, in store windows, on the feet of others. I have a particular penchant for boots with Cuban heels, but anything with a slightly rock edge will also do.

This peachy parade of chunky-heeled beauties is tempting the hell outta me over at the ASOS clearance sale. They are all less than £40 a pair! With rumours of exorbitant customs taxes swirling sly-eyed around the office, I am on the hunt for someone en route to London with space in their luggage for just two little pairs… the tan T-bars and the piglet-pink pair, too.

Crown wishlist

I’m making rather a song and dance of my 25th birthday, because, as you may know, it falls on the 25th of this month. If I weren’t so bloody busy at present, I’d be making an entire week of it (daily Deluxe coffee dreaming, nightly Death by Chocolate Magnums, and perhaps a little confetti here and there)…

For, when else does one get to do self-indulgent things like decorate one’s desk, refer to entire weekends as ‘my weekend’ and entertain the idea of rooms filled with glossy pink helium balloons or surprise cupcakes studded with little marzipan skulls? Indeed.

Amidst all of the outlandish dreaminess (and work) I have found the time to assemble a mini wishlist of locals-only beauties that I feel are crown-birthday-worthy. Note that I’ve kept it local – none of my usual ‘OH look at that Carven collar’ or ‘I’d die for that vintage YSL frock’ nonsense.

Prudent, nê?

1. These silver heart earrings by Ida Elsje are both brash and bashful and I love them.

2. Okay, so this is homeware, but this red Deco-style cabinet from Vamp Furniture is perfection.

3. This look combines two of my favourite things: a well-tailored blouse with sartorial quirk, and one of The Summit’s leather bowties, which I mooned over here and here. The blouse is called the Neptune, and it’s from Selfi.

4. I’ve been gazing longingly at the teardrop mirrors from Dokter & Misses for some time now.

5. These glorious penis print (yes, penis print) linen veldskoene are the result of a collaboration between rebel artiste Beezy Bailey and local cobbler Ninon Louw. I love the colour palette and the irreverent print. I’ve no idea if they’re for sale in real life, but one can dream.

6. The Missibaba Lovely Rita clutch in buttery yellow with tan accents and loop detailing is Indiana Jane perfect.

 

Snapper Dapper, Dapper Snapper

This is a virtual shoutout to The Summit’s handsome range of leather bow ties:

I haven’t forgotten about you. I’m a’comin’ for ya.

My longstanding lust for The Summit was previously documented here

Blonde

Last week was an exciting, lucky, crazy week for me. I resigned from my job, made it through a pretty intense interview and rounded up the week with an amazing offer to take up a contract as an online fashion editor at one of the country’s most well known media houses. I also hosted a dinner party, renewed my driver’s licence, went on a date, made it through my first Bikram yoga class and… won a watch! A strange series of events, culminating in this stylish little blonde.

I won her through a competition on 10&5 in collaboration with WeWood, a new watch label that has just been brought to South Africa by two young guys with a penchant for great timepieces. Now, I haven’t worn a watch since about 1998, when, aged 12, I became inseparable from a metallic silver Storm watch with a blue bubble for a face. Oh so 90’s, oh so Space Station (for those that also fell prey to its glass counter crammed with bubblegummy wares and Hello Kitty mania). For years I’ve relied on my cellphone and patient friends to tell me the time, a direct result of which is my trademark lateness, which I choose to think of as endearing. My new blonde is thus both an upgrade and a welcome respite from the constant rooting around in the depths of my handbag for my phone.

On Saturday I trundled on down to the brand new WeWood store in Woodstock to make my selection. The bright, breezy premises are adjacent to the old Albert Hall (now a treasure trove of collectibles and curiosities – go check it out!) and just a skip away from Superette and its luscious brownies. Owner Michael Rowlinson helped me select my blonde from the artfully displayed mix of digital and analog WeWoods draped all over the show. I was briefly tempted by the darker varietals, for practical reasons, but lust prevailed and I walked away this – a bleach blonde eco warrior of a watch!

Crafted almost entirely from wood, WeWoods are light, durable and a serious talking point. Since I put it on on Saturday I’ve had a number of people comment on its novel appearance. And I must admit that it makes me feel instantly more practical, with its reassuringly chunky links and notched dial. For every WeWood bought, a tree is planted.

Cool, huh?

The Back Pack

Ever since I pilfered this glorious, perfectly weathered leather backpack from my mom, my life has been better. She bought it at Green Market Square in the early 90’s, no doubt with me trailing behind her in Kacha leggings and a matching swing top, mini Docs firmly on my six year old feet.

It’s been a permanent presence in my life since then, whether slung over my mom’s shoulder, or gathering dust in the dress up cupboard with all the other 90’s has-beens. When she resurrected it last year (just in time for the double-strapped, tapestry-lined rise of the backpack) I was immediately jealous. A few months down the line I somehow convinced her to let me borrow it. That was about three months ago, and I’m still clinging to it with desperate eyes and lily-white knuckles.

When I wear it, I see eyes alight upon it in jealousy – girls and guys alike. Twice, people have plucked it from the back of a chair at my Rah-Rah Room sales, and purred ‘how much?!’ delighted that it is in their paws rather than their friends’. Sorry dear, she’s alllll mine.

Such is the self-indulgent delight of fortuitously finding yourself in possession of something that is unassumingly on-trend and, well, perfect. More perfect than any high street version, I’m afraid (revel with me).

Here are some other members of the back pack that have caught my eye along the way:

[All Alexander Wang – the tweed bow-baby is my favourite]

[Timo Weiland]

[Toscanella]

[ASOS]

VraiFaux

I am totally in love with these ‘ExoGems’ by VraiFaux…

The name VraiFaux means True/False in French, which I just love. I’m a sucker for a clever name, but I’m an even bigger sucker for playful statement jools, and, well, jools. When I say that, I literally mean gigantic, classic cut diamond shapes like these. Ghetto bling. 3d, 3kg stones that make day-to-day tasks like cheque-signing, typing and nail filing a pain in the ass.

These delightful, Deco-hued pretenders are crafted from powder-coated bronze, each one handmade, so your rock is guaranteed to never be the same as anyone else’s.

Frosting

I really bought a lot of things while I was overseas. So much so that I started to feel like a bit of a greedy guts. My whole life I’ve maintained that ‘one can never have too many dresses’, but I was most unaccustomed to buying so many things at once, and it lead to guilt. Which led to retail therapy. Which led to guilt. Which led to an empty purse. But at least I have some pretty things to show for my efforts… I have chosen to start with the accessories.

First things first – this psychedelic Istanbul-inspired bag, which I found amidst fake Chanel t-shirts, cellphone accessories and piles of artichokes at an open air bazaar. I had just told Laura that the market was full of ‘crap’, when my eyes alit on its perfectly kitsch form. It was the only one and it cost me 10 Lira (about R40). The salesman thought it amusing that I wanted it and then proceeded to try sell me soap and a jacket. Love at first sight!

These black suede platforms from Topshop are my piece de resistance. Sky high, über clunky and dangerous as all hell, I had to have them. I broke one during their debut in London, and this is the gleaming pair that Topshop kindly replaced their predecessors with. I forced myself to wear them to Black Ram on Friday night, for fear that if I didn’t just bite the bullet I might never wear them again. I’m not sure which would be more painful – a broken ankle, or the fact that the shoes themselves would be broken. My brother has already professed his hatred for them, and says they remind him of the Spice Girls. Fond memories.

I also came home with three pairs of sunglasses. The epic Jackie O’s and the tortoiseshell John Lennons were found at a vintage grotto inIstanbul. I seized them immediately upon entering the shop, and clutched them ever tighter when my travel companion, Laura, told me that she’d take them if I didn’t. Sorry dear, but they are all mine! The nude chunklets are from Topshop and I love their gleaming caramilk vibe. They are accompanied by two little Mexican La Muerta madams that my BFF Katy bought for me on her South American travels. I love them – perfectly macabre ladies to add to my skull collection.

I bought this sweet little bag at Spitalfields in London. It looks like a miniaturised doctor’s bag, is super well made, chunky and only cost £10.

This leather bow cuff/bracelet is a Topshop buy that I just love. I’ve never owned or worn a cuff, and this is a nice feminine version.

I spotted these moss green vintage Harrods brothel creepers in the window of Absolute Vintage and I had to have them. Truth be told, they’re ever so slightly too small and they make my toes ache, but the shade of green is Winter-perfect, and I love the suede laces. Absolute Vintage is a law unto itself when it comes to vintage, and I was so overwhelmed that I actually bought next to nothing. I needed a good three hours in there.

Another new favourite – decadent tasselled earrings courtesy of Topshop. I love the tortoiseshell and the black together – they belong on a sultry 60’s chanteuse. Or on me.

Red and gold leather bag – another Istanbul vintage find – the perfect size for an evening out, and a nice injection of colour into any outfit.

This dramatic navy necklace was another South American gift from Katy. I wear a lot of navy and gold, and I love the contrast between the soft, stacked fabric and the glossy beads.

My new favourite thing – a ring unearthed at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. The Grand Bazaar is basically tourist paradise, and it is subsequently filled with a lot of fake stuff, including jewellery that is new masquerading as old. I looked at just about every ring in the joint before I fell in love with this. It looks like an old resin letter seal, and I love theRomanesque cameo motif.

Just in case you forgot what I look like, here I am, in my new wooden Topshop necklace, which I love. I love chunky statement pieces with a playfulness to them – something childlike, homefangled or really humorous.

I’d like to think a three week holiday has left me glowing and rejuvenated, but I can’t be sure. At the very least, I found being surrounded by new things to see, hear and feel extremely inspiring. And it was nice to think simply about what we might eat that day, or where our feet might take us, or whether we should order the largest draught of Efes beer on the menu, or be moderate and go for the 750ml baby.

Clothes to follow soon!

Eyesore

Please don’t wear these. Please.

You may be on my side and think to yourself ‘Who in the name of Jeff Goldblum would wear that?’ And I wouldn’t blame you…

But I see these things.

These noxious curios are snappily named ‘African Butterflies’, surely by someone that resides in America and who conveniently slaps on some beads, a symphony of beige and brown and some scary masks and declares it ethnic.

And I see them all over the show…

In the checkout queue at Clicks, accompanied by a polyester polo neck, a plastic vice on a prim chignon that makes me want to pry it apart with my bare hands and shout ‘What the fark are you thinking?!’ Or on wandering, innocent tourists who know no better… who have been duped into a curio – something authentic and earthy-hued to hold their blonde curls in place while they stride Kloof St in sensible shoes and stripes, sure to shake them loose at Carnival Court later that night, and hope against hope, lose the offending torture device somewhere on the dancefloor.

Lord help us.

Tsumori Chisato

My weekly Style Bubble read was lit up from within by one particular image, taken backstage at Japanese designer Tsumori Chisato’s SS 2011 show:

Kaleidoscope hues seen through a sugary haze of pop culture influence – manga and cherry blossoms, Cartoon Network, bohemia, and Cher Horowitz Clueless cuteness. Scalloped hemlines, ruffles, thigh highs and an irreverent profusion of prints danced down the runway.

Some research produced my conclusion that the most consistent thing about Chisato’s style is the boundless imagination she applies to each and every thing – from garments, to campaigns, accessories and shows. Stockings aglow with the man-in-the-moon; feet dipped in indigo; girls reclining against celestial star bursts as if in outerspace; bags shaped like purring cats and prints to pore over all day.

Chisato began work with Issey Miyake in 1977 and launched her eponymous line in 1990. Since then she has worked in Paris and has built a substantial following in the States.

Fashion can be so serious sometimes, as the glorious Anna Dello Russo often points out.

I think Chisato’s playful, imaginative aesthetic is just the remedy.

The Summit

I concluded my Christmas shopping today after realising that mall-bought gifts would just not do. Three hours into my stint at the Waterfront yesterday I was wandering aimlessly and had lost sight of the task at hand – to choose meaningful, enduring gifts that will surprise and  delight my family (as Jan Brady as that may sound). I was also dangerously close to buying a monotone polka dot romper, which goes to show that you should never shop alone for extended periods of time; lack of hydration and an overwhelming influx of stimuli do nothing but cloud one’s judgement.

And so this morning I resurrectedy my search for gifts for my brother and mom – one, I found at the Biscuit Mill, courtesy of Chloe Essery’s Blackbird label and the other, I found at Haas in the Bo Kaap. They are obviously a secret, but I will post pictures of them in situ as soon as the mistletoe is down and the mincepies are in the belly.

The Biscuit Mill was a warm seething tide of bodies cruising from one stall to the next, but we did manage to secure Alibaba lamb schwarmas and Espresso Lab lattes, and then slipped into the cool shade of the design tent. Olivia fell for an interestingly cut pinny from Take Care, and then we moved on to what I consider to be the real show stopper of the design tent, Cindy Poole’s The Summit luxury gentlemen’s wear.

In the back left corner of the tent you’ll find her artfully, thoughtfully displayed leather goods – briefcases, pocketbooks, belts and ties, all too dapper for words and with an interesting, sartorial twist to each. With such a weakness for tailored men’s clothing myself, particularly anything tuxedo-esque, I had to be gingerly pried from the bow tie section, where a tan leather bow tie on a suspender strap (R700) had captured my heart. If I still have a reasonable sum of money post-holidays, then I am going to be calling it my own in January. Otherwise, we’re looking at a lean month.

But at least I’ll be the owner of a leather bowtie on a suspender strap.

Finders Keepers

It’s always nice to find new sources of inspiration without having to trawl for them. With the proliferation of amazing images available on sites like ffffound and just online in general, it’s nice to have friends pass on links that, when you open them, make you go ‘Oh!’ immediately.

This morning in my inbox, courtesy of Miss Katy Mills:

Litter

Tobacco & Leather

Oracle Fox

These are the images that I grabbed with immediate effect:

Girl Friday: Taylor Tomasi!

My first Girl Friday for December is Taylor Tomasi Hill, style and accessories director for Marie Claire US and international street style maven.

Photographed by everyone from The Sartorialist, to Garance Dore and Street Peeper, Taylor is a lithe-legged, flame-haired style muse, from the tips of her bondage-inspired YSL heels, to the tortoise shell of her trademark Norma Kamali cat’s eyes.

Taylor is in natural possession of two of any fashionista’s most useful allies – a great pair of legs and undeniably distinctive tresses. Add to these her edgy, chameleon-like sense of style and her ever-present kick-ass heels and you’ve got yourself an icon in the making. Taylor lists Proenza Schouler, Rick Owens, Burberry and YSL among her favourite designers.

Her style veers swiftly from urban to ladylike to rock ‘n rowl, always with a touch of grit, street, and a zip of sartorial wit. The best thing about her style, though, is that it is utterly effortless and adult in a way that maintains a youthful attitude.

Everything she wears is an inspiration. This a woman who wears something remarkable each and every day. And it’s so nice to see!