Win a $20 Voucher for Some Sweet Vintage Goodness!

Surely you're all aware by now that my partner and I run a monthly Vintage and Retro Sale in the heart of Sydney. It is, after all, more or less all I talk, blog, write and bicker about. Unfortunately, herein lies the problem: Saying "Up at Six Oh One, the space in Hibernian House from which we run our monthly Vintage & Retro Sale" 196.5 times a day is getting rather tiresome so we've come to the conclusion that we need a new business name like Paris Hilton needs a foot reduction (a helluva lot). We've also come to the conclusion that coming up with business names isn't our forte (ideas thus far have included Embob and Moon Face) and desperately need some help from you. If we use your suggestion as our new business name, not only will you be deemed infinitely cool by your peers for having named the sweetest spot for second hand wares in Sydders, you'll also win a $20 voucher to use next time you drop by our sale. And, most importantly, you'll win our hearts (cue sickeningly sweet aww). The name can be as long or short as you wish and needn't have anything to do with clothes or warehouses (as we also host non-fashion related events) but if it does, that's fine too. Be creative. You can enter as many times as you wish by either commenting below or dropping us an email at owlandthegrapes@gmail.com.

Art Land

In a photographic tribute to Surry Hills (the Sydney suburb I, and most people I know, quite pathetically but very contentedly rarely venture from) my good friend, excellent popcorn maker and even better photographer Daniel - the same Daniel who took this series of shots of Bobby, Elle and I around this time last year - showcased a small portion of his work as part of an exhibition hosted by Time Out Sydney at the relatively new Urban Uprising on Crown Street. His photos are no longer on display (it was a one night only affair, unfortunately) but you can have a squizz at them on his website.

Included in the exhibition were photos of the late Hopetoun Hotel, burlesque performer Gypsy Wood and well, lots of other really good stuff. We wandered around the deservedly buzzing space, admired Daniel's skills (also pronounced skillz), drank a couple of beers, chomped on a veggie pie or two (which were curiously called vegie pies) and then, realising we were already running late, rapidly ran off to catch Jeffrey Lewis at Oxford Arts Factory where I had this totally epic conversation with Jeffrey himself (motioning to the comic books on the merch desk I was like, "Are these the only comic books you have left?" And he was all, "Yeah, sorry! We've sold out of all the others.") If you're currently furrowing your brow in confusion, check out his Myspace and perhaps you'll understand my excitement at meeting this particular balding young American man.

All photos courtesy of Daniel Boud (pictured above).

My black lace leotard, cropped denim jacket, faux-Glomesh bag, floral skirt and granny boots are all from various charity shops, markets and garage sales. Lace headband made from lace bought at C&H Fabrics in the U.K. and the stockings were originally from a department store if I remember correctly - the holes I inflicted on the poor things some time ago (inspired by Rodarte, of course).

Vintage & Retro THREE DAY SALE at Hibernian House: March Edition

The only excuse I'll accept for not making our sale this month is if you live lightyears away. Or kilometres - kilometres is also acceptable. Not only do we have oh-so-much retro goodness at ridiculously low prices, but we'll also be open an extra day this month for all you early birds and weekend workers. We'll be here with our mountains of sexy second hand on the 12th, 13th and 14th of March (that's this weekend!) I won't spell out all the finer deets lest it drive my overseas readers to insanity (presumably you know them off by heart by now anyway), I'll just direct you to the details which you can find on the Facebook event or, for you non Facebookers, via our mailout.

The lovely - and super talented - Aleesha Dibbs, who very excitedly picked up this amazing tutu at one of our recent sales.

Vintage & Retro Sale at Hibernian House: February Edition

SATURDAY 13TH FEB: 9AM - 6PM

SUNDAY 14TH FEB: 10AM - 4PM

Level 6, 342 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills
Nearest train station: Central
What to bring: Cash
Attire: Sexy and Second Hand
Facebook Event Page

You, angel darling, don't need a halo to look heavenly. All you need is a visit to our Vintage & Retro Sale this weekend; a retrotastic blazer/dress/pair of dazzling shoes later and you'll be a picture of perfection. Just what you need to snag the man/lady/lady-man of your dreams this Valentine's Day. Indeed, on the weekend of love, we’ll be here selling mountains of insanely cool hand picked vintage & retro clothes from Hibernian House's very own penthouse. Before you get too excited, I should mention that it is, as per usual, in Sydney and, unless you've invented a transportation device, probably won't be financially viable for you international folk. Though, once you got here, it would be bargains galore so, you know, it'd all probably even out in the end. Not much in store is over $20, with prices starting at a measly $1. Katrina and Dominque won't be selling quite as regularly after this weekend so they've slashed prices on almost all of their stock. If I didn't know better, I'd say that we *invented* the word bargain. Not only is it cheap, it's also good. Very good. We've spent the better part of the last month running around collecting amazing stock for our already bulging rails from Melbourne, Sydney and everywhere in between.

Make your way to Level 6, 342 Elizabeth Street (click for map) for sick tunes, a comfy couch, change rooms, shoes (ranging from sizes 6 to 11), super stylish accessories, some bric-a-brac (including books, CDs and a collection of old records) and rails of amazing clothes from loads of cool cats including Katrina Noorbergen (Cassette Kids), stylist Grace Atkinson (NO magazine), Marissa Ziesing (fashion label FTW), Annabel Wurth and Emma Daniels (OwlandtheGrapes.com). It certainly won’t just be for the ladies though; we’ll have loads of mantastic pieces too, courtesy of Bobby Townsend (Drum Media), David Abram (Jingle Jangle) and Dominique Legrand (Awesometown).

Whether you're after something sexy and second hand for your loved one, or something sexy and second hand in which to woo a loved one, we're here to help. We're pretty ace at deciphering people's styles and helping to choose something they'll love. Check out the facebook event for directions and further details, invite your friends, bring your housemates and grab a massive bargain! Looking forward to seeing you there.

Saturday 13th February: 9am - 6pm

Sunday 14th February: 10am - 4pm

Turn It Around

The wonderful, equally talented and beautiful, singer/songwriter Erin Marshall recently inquired as to whether I would be interested in bathing her in some vintage goodness and taking some press shots for her. My instinctive reaction was, admittedly, to simply stand dead still and gawk, rather like a bit of a buffoon. Style and photograph? There are very few things I'd rather do (the only one I can think of is writing with a purpose which, if you take all my blabbing into consideration, rarely happens.) Once my brain kicked back in however, I quickly and enthusiastically accepted. I invited Erin over to my space in Hibernian House (from which I also run my Vintage & Retro Sales on the second weekend of every month) and she jumped, played guitar and swung on swings with incredible enthusiasm whilst I followed her around adjusting bows and belts and shooting shots. As would be expected I suppose, she's similarly excitable on stage, dancing and grinning the whole way through her sets. Indeed, you won't find any shoe gazing at her shows. Keep an eye on her Myspace for info about upcoming gigs and such. Anyway, here's the finished product of the shoot. More photos can be seen on my flickr.

This was part of a very small series of shots taken downstairs in my dear friend Olly's space on Level 3. He was in the midst of a project himself, which involved a video camera (you can see the tripod in the background) and very limited time, so we had all of about one minute to hoist Erin onto the swing and take some photos.

These were taken on the Level 4 courtyard, getting onto which involves quite the struggle, particularly when one's wearing a dress/skirt. Luckily, there were no little rats with spray cans and/or junkies hanging around on this occasion (as there so often are).

The blue '50s suitcase on the very bottom of the pile played a significant part in ensuring no vintage pieces I had picked up got left behind in Europe on my return to the great land of Oz.

For these, we used my housemate Grace's mini piano and a vintage jacket my bestest friend Elle lent me. They were taken on the roof of Hibernian House, a roof which must be tip toed upon, lest one fall through.

The bow in Erin's hair is actually a bowtie I found in England. It required quite the significant amount of positioning just so, so as to prevent it from falling off. The belt belonged to my Mother when she was my age.

Erin's wearing her own dress here, a vintage number she picked up from the markets.




As the sun was setting, we had a play around with the light in our hallway, taking photos with no real expected outcome, the perfect conclusion to what was a lovely day.

Vintage & Retro Sale at Hibernian House, No. 8

If you're not a Sydney-sider, you're probably better off skipping this post - I wouldn't want to be responsible for any largely expensive long-haul flights purchased in answer to the call of temptation. However, if you do reside in this lovely Australian city, you should be excited to hear this little piece of wonderful news (which I did mention briefly all the way back in November, but I figure it's about time for a reminder): Next weekend the bell will ring for us to open shop again. We'll be here selling our goods (and boy, are they good) on Saturday and Sunday, the 12th and 13th of December. Drop by for a new wardrobe, a browse, or just to hang out and say hi. It'll take an iron will not to spend a cent though, as there'll be mountains of insanely cool hand picked vintage and retro clothes and, here's the clincher, almost everything is a tenner or less either side of the $20 mark. If I didn't know better, I'd say that we *invented* the word bargain. Of course, you must realise what this means; it means that you will no longer have an excuse to lie around in your underwear (as in the above portrait). Not only will you be too proud of your new threads to ever spend another moment trapped indoors again, but when you have a beautiful retro dress for every day of the week, who needs underwear?

On the weekend, we’ll be offering up refreshments, sick tunes, a comfy couch, shoes (including a large selection of ladies size 9 to 10, so if you're sick of all those pretty vintage shoes being too small, you might just find the answer here), super stylish accessories, some bric-a-brac (including books and CDs) and rails of amazing clothes from loads of cool cats including Katrina Noorbergen (lead singer of local band Cassette Kids - check out their new clip, Lying Around, directed by renowned fashion photographer Pierre Toussan below), stylist Grace Atkinson (NO magazine), Marissa Ziesing (fashion label FTW), Brooke T (Re:new Vintage) and ME! It certainly won’t just be for the ladies though; we’ll have loads of mantastic pieces too, courtesy of Bobby Townsend (Drum Media), Dave Abram (Jingle Jangle) and Dominique Legrand (Awesometown).

Whilst the Christian Dior blazer has long gone (for $50, mind you), we still have those Karen Walker shorts and some amazing vintage floral dresses just begging for a new home. Last week we picked up THE most fantastic tutu ever, a bunch more animal T-shirts, a few nautical pieces and thirty new kilos of hand picked brilliance. Apart from the regulars (for the most part listed above), our big guest seller for the weekend is Re:new Vintage, a local bunch whose stock I'm drooling over. Get here early before I buy out their stall. With all my non-existant money. Yeah, that's not going to happen, is it? Still a good idea to get here early though. There's a high likelihood that there will be other droolers, with existant money.

If all that isn’t enough to have you lining up at 9am, I should also mention that we've been featured all over the joint. Not least of all in Elle Korea, Side Street Sydney, This Way In, FBi Radio and Two Thousand.

Lastly, we'll be selling a super small selection of clothes downstairs on Level One of Hibernian House at Doldrums (previously Yvonne Ruve), in a collaboration with FTW and some of Sydney's finest lo-fi punk rock bands (including Kirin J. Callinan), this Saturday from 1pm till 5pm. If you're in the area, pop along and say a mighty hello.

Looking forward to seeing you at our Vintage & Retro sale next weekend. Check out the facebook event for directions and further details, invite your friends, bring your housemates and grab a MASSIVE FRICKIN' BARGAIN!

SATURDAY 12th DECEMBER: 9am - 6pm
SUNDAY 13th DECEMBER: 10am - 4pm

Image courtesy of the wonderfully talented Annette Pehrsson.

Monkey and the BrownMan

Last week, 2threads sent me behind the scenes on a fashion shoot in the heart of Newtown with Sydney label Monkey and The BrownMan. I took way too many photos of the photographer taking photos, assisted where possible and then wrote an article about it afterward for the 2threads site. Now, I'm reposting it here, because I'm not feeling very creative today. Summary enough? Yes, I think so. Article follows:

What does Monkey and the BrownMan mean? A fair enquiry, one might think, given the obscurity of the brand name. “Well, that is a good question” agreed Stacey Brown, Creative Director of the label, illusively. Entertainingly, this was, more or less, the end of the conversation. Further investigation was met with similarly ambiguous replies. So, whilst the meaning of it all remains a secret for now, shared between Stacey and her partner in life and business Chris Brown, I can tell you what they do. Monkey and the BrownMan design simple, comfortable and attractive T-shirts using high quality, certified organic cotton. Even better, it’s all ethically sourced and locally manufactured. An avid surfer, and often disposed to wearing his own designs, it seems Chris begun the business designing with himself in mind. Luckily for us, he’s a man with taste and his T-shirts echo the desires of many. In fact, there's a whole jungle of surfing, stylish ladies and gentlemen out there vying for Monkey and the Brownman’s limited edition wares.



However, Monkey and the BrownMan is much more than just another T-shirt brand. Chris and Stacey are personable, lively creatures whose inspirations and interests are as varied as there are colours in the spectrum. Stacey enthusiastically recounts to us a recent venture to Paris, where she completed a month long design course. Meanwhile, when Chris starts raving about the ‘amazing’ film he recently watched called Death Race 2000, I would be lying if I said there weren’t a few giggles in the room. The film is set in the year 2000, which, by ‘70s standards, roughly translates to lots of people (one of which is none other than Sylvester Stallone) in fantastical black leather jumpsuits and some very low fi graphics. The title is pretty self explanatory; the plot revolves around a transcontinental race in which contestants kill people for points. Frankenstein (David Carradine) apparently exclaims at one point: "You want to make love to me because I drive the Monster and wear this costume". Sounds pretty unbelievable, right? This being typical of the kind of entertainment Chris and Stacey enjoy in their downtime, it’s clear that they’re not the types to be swept up by the latest trends or blockbusters. This may serve as an analogy for their work; Monkey and the BrownMan is a label content to do it’s own thing, regardless of what’s in Vogue.



It was glaringly obvious, whilst assisting on their most recent shoot, why Monkey and the BrownMan are so quickly gaining popularity; not only down under, but on the overseas market as well. Unusually for a fashion shoot, there was no chaos, no skeletons sipping on Diet Coke and no sleazy photographer (in fact, it was suggested by talented photographer Brad Mawby that I was the sleazy one, due to my apparently overzealous adjusting of the model’s clothing). Rather, the rail of T-shirts was wheeled by Stacey and I through the backstreets of Newtown to an old church where the model, Khan Porter, unzipped his bag to reveal a collection of his jeans from home. Whilst the direction of the shoot was crystal, all input was invited, and even Khan steered the shoot on several occasions. Stacey and I took turns holding the reflector whilst Brad snapped away. Afterwards, large lunches were consumed in a cafe downstairs from Monkey and the BrownMan's base and Khan revealed his unhealthy appetite and penchant for real Coke - whilst I sipped on my Diet Coke.



The team at Monkey and the BrownMan have their client base very clearly in mind: A client base that Khan embodied perfectly. They’re also intent on staying true to that client base who, likewise, seem devoted to the brand (and who wouldn’t be?), because, whilst there might be some obscurity when it comes to their brand name, there’s no uncertainty as to what Monkey and the BrownMan do and there are certainly no skeletons in their closet when it comes to sourcing and manufacturing. Though, speaking of skeletons, a little birdy on site told me that there might be a horror film of their own, with models clad in Monkey and the BrownMan apparel, in the works.



For more behind the scenes shots, check out the album here.
You can purchase and browse Monkey and the BrownMan's awesomeness here.
You can see Brad's work here and to book Khan, find him here.

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!

Fight For Your Right To Party

I've been back in Sydney for almost a week now. You wanna know what I've spent this past week doing? Sleeping. And blowing my nose. Yep, both Bobby and I have been ill. AND jet lagged. Whilst Bobby has tried more than once to convince me it's Swine Flu that's been plaguing us, I can safely reassure the few friends I have hugged/seen since arriving back in the land of Oz that it is not Swine Flu, merely a harmless, mildly annoying cold. I reckon he just thinks it's the cool thing to have right now. Which, let's be honest, it kind of is. I heard that my friend Jess had swine flu and how she was quarantined for two weeks and all her housemates had to wear swine flu MASKS. Can you imagine? All her housemates in piggy masks? Feeding her soup? I have to admit, it sounds pretty incredible. Alas, this whole lethargy thing has meant that I haven't spent more than five minutes on the computer (total), bar the time spent filling out online forms and doing the most utterly boring and monotonous yet essential administrative work imaginable. So, no blog posts for you, my friends.

One good thing to come out of this little sickness of ours however, is that it's given both Bobs and I a little time to become acquainted with our new housemates. Indeed, the shell of our home has changed little but when I say 'new' housemates, I really do mean brand spanking new. Like, all of them. We stumbled into the living room on Tuesday night to be greeted by four strangers sitting in our living room. Since that experience, I'm quite certain that Bobby and I are entirely qualified to be professional Big Brother intruders. Hello Grace, hello Dave, hello Dom and hello Katrina. Thankfully, they're super duper awesome. Actually, the whole situation is pretty frickin' awesome. I've spent more time hanging out in the living room in the past week than I think I ever have because it's just that good. Seriously, like, if I weren't me, I'd be totally jealous. Actually, even being me I'm still kinda jealous because imagine if I could live with all these incredible folks PLUS myself. Wow. I reckon we'd get along ace. Me and me. Although, I'd have to clean up after myself, which would kind of suck. But then I would still be just as lazy so I totally wouldn't but then I'd probably get annoyed at myself cause there'd be DOUBLE the mess. Double trouble? Cool. Double junk? Not so much. Unless it's the other kind of junk. Before I blow my own mind, I'd better change the subject:

Yes, Sydney is amazing and I missed it terribly and man, my cat? Totally missed her to bits. Though, luckily, she was returned to me not literally in bits, because that would have been really sad. However, I didn't really expect (well I might've a little bit. But not as much as I do) to miss England. The fact that those Eastbourners (and Brightoners) made our leaving do the best leaving do to ever happen to anyone ever didn't exactly help. I thought Eastbourners didn't 'do' dress up parties. How wrong I was. It was frickin' amazing. A M A Z I N G. The theme was the eighties and the nineties and everyone took it as far as they could. You might think that the amount of photos that I've posted here is a lot, but spare a thought to those that were subjected to the entirety of the night's photos. Three hundred? Nope. Try five hundred and something. I'm pretty sure I crashed the Internet trying to put them all on Facebook. And they're ALL brilliant. To be honest though, it's really difficult to take a non-brilliant photo when everybody's dressed so fantastically. Everybody should definitely dress like this all the time.

Looking COOL.

As, hopefully, you might have guessed, I was Madonna from Desperately Seeking Susan.

Patent bow, I made myself. Earrings and necklances from various charity stores.
Glittery top from a pay by the kilo store in Berlin.
Belt, shoes and scarf were both thrifted in Eastbourne.
And the pants are my stay-at-home pants, from Primark.