Aztec is the new black.

On Tuesday night I attended the launch of photographer Andrew Brauteseth‘s Liberty Art exhibition at Dear Me – a well-wined affair filled with well-shod folk. Andrew’s premiere piece, an adaptation of Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People, was a dramatic backdrop for the stylish Capetonians in attendance.

For some reason I had been thinking about this new t-shirt of my brother’s all day – a dusty looking black round neck RVCA tee with a subtle Aztec print all down the front. Now, my brother is as pathetic as I am when it comes to clothes. Our mother raised us to be little clothes horses, meaning we are hard-pressed to lend things out, much less to each other. We are both collectors, both covetous as all hell, and both, because of our shared living arrangement, sartorially devious. While he was at gym I slipped into the tee, threw on my puff sleeved velvet bolero, indigo skinnies, a statement neckpiece and my Topshop platforms, and clunked out of the homestead at high speed. Success!

I neglected to remember that he would have to pick me up later that night. Needless to say, you should have seen his face, and then, again, when he smugly reassured me that he had bought the last one in the store (he doesn’t know that I have another trick up my non-RVCA sleeve…)

Since then I have decided, and I’m going to say it out loud:

Aztec is the new black. Actually, I originally said that Aztec is the new Breton, but I think we’ll all agree that that was premature, plus it was on Twitter, so it doesn’t really count in any case. Aztec is sure to be a fad, but it’s one of the few that has really won me over.

I spent some time browsing for Aztec-inspired things online, and it only served to fuel my underhanded plan to nab my own RVCA tee. Sorry, brother, but this clothing business is a cutthroat affair.

All Saints sequinned Aztec minis (yes please)

Etro scarf

Printed ASOS frock

Theodora & Callum necklace

Preen blouse

House of Harlow earrings, which I blogged about recently here.

Dress by ASOS

Accessorize bag

Topman scarf

Etro dress

A heart makes a bad hula hoop.

Today is an inspiration kind of a day. Necessarily so.

Yesterday I had a really, really bad day. First, I woke up (late), to find that the geyser that hangs portentously from my bathroom wall had exploded, resulting in an indoor monsoon and four inches of water. The ceiling was actually raining. The apartment smells like soil and minerals as a result. While I was scurrying around trying to phone someone to help, I fell really hard, on my knees, in the water that by then had begun to creep into the lounge.

By the time I finally sorted the mess out and headed to work I had decided the day could only get better. I was wrong. Back-to-back meetings, neck pain from the weekend’s shenanigans and an ever expanding to-do list meant that by 5pm I had developed an eye twitch. I raced to the bank, remembering, fondly, FNB’s extra-length opening hours for us working folk. The security guard informed me that these hours were recently curtailed. Mooi. I took a deep breath, made myself a coffee, re-cleaned the bathroom to try get rid of the earthy scent, and then headed out to go view some vintage for my next Rah-Rah Room sale.

On the way out, rushing, I scraped the hell out of my car on the electronic gate, adding to the existing collection of city bumps my little silver Bling has sustained over the last few years. Arriving at the vintage viewing, I did a series of sunrise salutations in the corridor while I waited, reasoning that multi-tasking of an all new level was in order. The vintage was indeed beauteous, and my spirits were lifted, in particular, by a suede scalloped mini skirt and a Warhol print silk blouse. When I got home, I shelved my to-do list in the name of relaxation, and promptly burnt my dinner (a first) whilst watching Gordon Ramsay lecture other bad cooks on their lack of skills. Touche.

Bed was the only answer.

Today, for the sake of my mental health, I am taking a break. And these witty, tender pieces of coolness by Canadian artist Ben Skinner are just the ticket – sweetly sardonic salve for my karmic malfunction.

Via The Jealous Curator

This is Ben’s personal statement, an alternative to an ‘About Me’ on his website:

• As a person interested in many things, I have difficulty focusing
• I love the blurry and banal
• Folk signage: KEYS CUT HERE
• The invisible systems of the everyday
• Old traditions of fine craftsmanship
• And the spontaneity of a child’s scribble
• I believe in the phonetics of materials and the grammar of space
• Twisting a joke out of the mundane
• Simplistic ideas
• Loops
• Ridiculous restraints
• Collecting, archiving, processing, filtering, editing
• Lining things up and counting them
• Finding patterns
• The rich history embodied in an old rusty tool, or threadbare quilt
• I like very much to point at things, directing the viewer’s attention to something they may normally miss.
• Grouping like things together
• (Or unlike things)
• Bouncing things against each other
• Recognizing social and urban phenomena
• Shifting focus and contexts to widen art’s lens
• The peculiarities of human behavior
• Absurdity. Nonsense.
• The drive to relate to things
• The Hokey-Pokey

(I like him alot)

Sweetheart

This trippily whimsical candyfloss landscape makes me smile. An installation by collaborative Perth-based artists Pip and Pop, it’s like an intergalactic playground for My Little Pony and the Harajuku Girls!

I found it on The Jealous Curator, one of my favourite blogs. If you are interested in contemporary art or are looking for inspiration, I would recommend taking a leisurely browse through the archives.