I Know There's an Answer

Semi recently I was been asked to answer a couple of little questionares. The first was a follow up to the article I wrote for Brighton Frocks on Brighton Fashion Weekend with the purpose of having them publish it on their website (I'll update this post with a link when it is) and the second lot of question and answers was part of my application for a month long internship at 2threads. It was all (until now) sitting unpublished on Bobby's laptop gathering cyber dust and generally being a waste of space so I thought I might post it here. If I've repeated myself (in fact, there's no 'if' in the matter), I invite you to skim or even skip this post.

2THREADS: WHAT IS YOUR ULTIMATE DESTINATION FOR A FASHION FIX? "Earlier this year, whilst in England, I covered the Brighton Fashion Weekend. I spent some time travelling around the back alleys of Europe and trawling through boxes of goodies in tiny vintage shops and totally fell head over boots for the place (on more than one occasion, almost in the literal sense of the phrase). Next time I make my way over I‘d love to cover Amsterdam or Berlin Fashion Week, if only for my own blog, Owl and the Grapes."

LIST YOUR TOP 5 SOURCES FOR FASHION & STYLE INSPIRATION.

1. "I’m constantly in awe of the structure, the peeling paint and the artworks that dress my building. Not to mention the beautiful and creative people it houses.


2. I could go on and on about the wonders of a slick of red lipstick but I fear I’d bore you. There are no downsides. And when it ends up smeared across your face the morning after? Who cares? Clowns are cool.


3. Films, books, comics, photographs and magazines are obvious but priceless sources of inspiration. I love Russh in particular.


4. When I have some internet time on my hands, there are loads of blogs I like to peruse. Photography blogs, writing blogs, fashion blogs and simply unclassifiable blogs.


5. I also often make my way over to a nearby pay-by-the-kilo warehouse, where I trawl through mountains of (mostly rubbish) clothes on the chance that I might come across a gem. Thankfully, I almost always come out with a couple of mind blowing ’80s pieces. I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t influenced my style."
   

IF YOU COULD INTERVIEW ANY DESIGNER OF YOUR CHOICE WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHAT'S THE FIRST QUESTION YOU WOULD ASK THEM?
Whilst I, like most ladies, love Alexander Wang, Preen and Balmain, I don’t think I could resist interviewing Karl Lagerfeld. If only to ask how he comes up with those Twitter gems. “Florals are for middle-aged women with weight problems.” Or, “Fur is not murder, but it is quite expensive.” Wow. Both statements are completely wrong. But still, wow. And you know what? The more he does wrong the more I love him. Once we’d covered the whole “Are you actually mad?” thing, I’d move onto more important issues: Colours, collections and in what year he was really born. I’d quite love to pry my way into his mind and have a swim around.

WHERE WOULD WE FIND YOU ON A SATURDAY NIGHT? Out and about on the bustling Sydney scene (often, wherever free alcohol can be found), ‘networking’ (it’s my new favourite word) and snapping photos. If I’m not out, it’s likely it’s because I’m frickin’ knackered after a hard day’s work running my monthly Vintage and Retro Market from my Surry Hills warehouse. In the case of the latter, I’ll spend my evening drinking smoked tea, reading, blogging, organising my next market and listening to a whole lot of very good music.


BRIGHTON FROCKS: WHY DID YOU ENTER THE BRIGHTON FROCKS COMPETITION? I entered the competition because I thought it would be a great opportunity to gain experience. I simply love fashion and love Brighton so what could be better than being part of the event that marks the combination of the two? As you'll know if you've read my article, I had also never interviewed anybody before, so, while I was super nervous, it was good to get out there and do it. Now, hopefully, next time I do it I'll be a little better and there'll be a little less pee in my pants.

WHY SHOULD PEOPLE CARE ABOUT FASHION? What do you think of when you think of Marilyn Monroe? I think of that white halter neck dress. And Audrey Hepburn? Why, Breakfast at Tiffany's of course, and that stunning black Givenchy dress. Fashion is a way of expressing yourself. 'Don't judge a book by it's cover' is a pretty piece of advice however, unfortunately, it's not at all human nature. Good personal grooming and a solid sense of style are more or less essentials. And anyway, who doesn't like playing dress ups?

WOULD YOU ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO ENTER NEXT YEAR? Yes, of course. It was a fantastic weekend. Everybody involved with Brighton Fashion Weekend is so friendly, and they were all only too keen to have a chat. It's a wonderful chance to make industry contacts and the article was great fun to write. Oh, and I came out with a few goodies too.

WHERE DO YOU HOPE TO FIND YOURSELF IN 10 YEARS TIME? In 10 years time, I intend to be a professional writer. I would love to write for Russh or Frankie; Australia (where I live for most of the year) has some really great publications. I've always wanted to write a book, but I think it's important to find my own voice first. Also, back in my Sydney warehouse, I run a monthly Vintage and Retro Market. I'd love to have the finances to be able to facilitate the entire floor as a store. A space where people could drop in and buy vintage, retro, some new and some old clothes and pretty things, drink coffee made by our (currently non-existent) in-house barista, have a beer and hang out on our (also non-existent) Astroturfed roof. I would also have a cinema room with super comfy little seats and a gigantic projector that screened cult hits and shit we like but no-one else does. Yes, I'd like one of those in Sydney, one in Brighton and one in Berlin please.

I Can See Clearly Now

The sun is OUT again! Well, yes, there is the whole gail force winds thing but unless you're on a ferry/anywhere unsheltered, who the fuck cares? It's blue outside!

In other news, I had my hair cut and dyed on Tuesday. This is far more thrilling news than it might seem. Actually, no, it's not really.


Our Vintage & Retro Sale is THIS WEEKEND! I know I haven't been able to shut up about it but I'm even more excited than usual. Maybe I'm just in an excitable mood this week. Or maybe it's because our stock this month is unbelievably good. Like, mind blowingly good. Sydneysiders, you simply must come along. If you're lucky, and flatter my website/writing/incredible good looks enough, I might even give you a bloggy discount. AND, we'll be open an hour longer either end on Saturday and an hour earlier on Sunday morning so you'll have even more time than usual to check out our racks (not in a dirty kind of way). Here are some more photos of me wearing some of said unbelievably good stock. I'll also be selling some super cool cassette tape necklaces like the one in the below photos for a miniscule four dollars. Click for more detail.

The glasses are a present from my lovely housemate Dom, the awesome red jacket and top are both from Anglicare (pay-by-the-kilo op shop), leggings from god knows where, the cassette necklace I made myself, the watch from Paddys market (actually my birthday present from Bobby) and the shoes you should all know by now. Man, I need some new boots.

Heavy Weather

Ol' Sydney town has been incredibly unpredictable on the whole weather front recently. First, we had that bizarre apocalyptic red sand storm, then it was absolutely swelteringly hot and now it just won't stop raining. And I've heard rumours that it isn't going to clear up for another month. Which would kind of be okay, you know, cozy and relaxing; inside, by the non-existent fire (I can be a home-body when required), did we not have to go via the exposed, roof-free balcony to get to our bedroom. It's a strange house and, what's normally a cool feature - stepping out of my room onto the amazing astroturfed balcony every morning is something I very much treasure - becomes the most annoying thing in the world, ever.

"Err, Bobby, why is your hair all wet?"

"I had to go wee."

"So... You pissed in your hair? Wow. This is awkward. You know what, I'm pretty down with most things but that's totally not cool. Like, that's not even kinky-cool."

"What? No. It's raining. And to go to the bathroom one has to go via the balcony. Remember?"

Despite all this doom and gloom, we fought the elements on Saturday in order to do one big Anglicare buy up. We spent four hours in that hell hole and purchased a whole TWELVE kilos of awesome. One party of said awesomeness is this amazing acid wash parka (see below photos). I also picked up the floral top and leopard print leggings which will be washed and hung up by the weekend. So exciting. You wouldn't believe how good our rack of new shit for our market is looking. Like, I think I might actually wet my pants. Oh, wait, I totally already have. Or is it rain? Darn, I have got to stop getting so easily confused.

Anyway, here are some photos of me goofing around in various series of undress. Despite the connotations of that, none of them are sexy, I'm afraid. The up-side of the whole weather debacle however, is the amount of layering I can get away with. Yesterday I wore a jumper ontop of a cardigan. I know, right? That's some fucked up shit.

Parka, floral top and leopard print leggings are all from that second hand pay-by-the-kilo warehouse in Summer Hill that I always bang on about. The little white cardigan and belt were purchased for a couple of dollars courtesy of Vinnies' half price sale last week (it's a charity store, for all you non-Australians). The black leather bumbag, chunky watch and glasses are all from Paddy's Markets. The shoes were from a vintage store in Sydney and the skirt from a vintage store in Paris.

P.S. I'm never taking off this bumbag/watch/glasses/parka. Ever.


P.P.S If you're in Sydney, Vinnies is having yet another half price sale today. Get down there!

Addicted

Mmm... Clothes by the kilo. My favourite kind of clothes. I found Garage, on Ahornstraße, to be the best for Berliner vintage. The clothes were relatively inexpensive (if you stuck to the by-the-kilo bit) and if you spent enough time in there, you could be sure to find a few bits and bobs to delight and satisfy your craving. Because everyone has clothes cravings, right? Or is it just me? Like, don't tell my therapist or anything but when I don't go charity shopping for more than two or three days I start to go a bit mad. Okay, not a bit mad, kind of totally crazy, agitated, bored. Go on Tuesdays when it's happy hour (for two hours from 11am) when you only pay €10 per kilo.


I contentedly bounced around the city the next day, dressed up in a well loved fraction of my finds.

Shirt and leggings, both paid by the kilo from Garage.
Patent shoes: From Mauerpark Flohmarkt, a bustling market in Prenzlauer Berg.
Sunnies and bag, both from Eastbourne Charity shops. The sunnies only set me back 50p. Good thing too, considering how many times I have dropped them in the past month.