Wall Street Wonders

I expected this movie to be full of bankers and brokers in three piece suites, frantically panting into their blackberry's and throwing up their fists at a computer screen. On the contrary, this movie proved to be more than a good story, it encapsulated the kind of style that I would associate with New York. This is the chic, classy simplicity that I adore, hardcore style - effortless and powerful.
Carey Mulligan, so classic.

Micheal Douglous looking ever so sophisticated along side Shia LaBeouf.

I love Shia's biker jacket.

Finally Carey's blazer is so well tailored that it does much more than a six or seven piece outfit. It is timeless.

There were a lot more outstanding outfits, thats why I would advise those who have not seen the movie to go and see it!

It’s all about shape, not size!

A woman’s bum is quite a complexity. It has to strike that balance between firm and soft, voluptuous and slight. Each of us have been blessed with a unique pair of cheeks, hence the battle to find a perfect fit. Now Levi has finally woken up to the needs of South African woman and launched the new Curve ID range.

I always find myself in the ‘size 10 bum, size 8 legs and size 6 length’ predicament; not to mention the fact that my bottom is rather African in shape for a person of European decent. But we love our curves and need tools with which to complement our figures.

The Curve ID range looks hot and promising. The four categories, bound to cater for each shape, are: slight curve, demi curve, bold curve and the super special Eva Jeans, designed specially for our gorgeous African sisters. What a revolution! I can’t wait to try out a pair and see if they are as fantastic as they look.

The slight, demi and bold curves...

And the special Eva Jeans...

To continue with the complexities of a woman’s bottom, last week I found myself desperately hunting around for ‘over the knee’ skirt or dress for a formal occasion. Most of these respectable skirts look so bland and maxi dresses don’t do it for short people, so finding something fresh and pretty in the right length is a nightmare. Despite the fact that everything in YDE is short and outrageous, I persisted in flicking thorough the racks, waiting for some heaven sent creation to jump out at me…and it did. A pleated sheer cotton skirt in cream with lace detail on the hem. I grabbed a medium and bought it straight away because it was one of those things you just buy no matter what.

Once again, my bum got in the way of a huge success. The medium refused to sit on my hips and only when I hitched it up a bit, the penny dropped. This was actually one of those high waited numbers that I am usually wary of. But it did all the right things, it made my bum look attractive and the creamy color did not break the line of my legs that I generally prefer to cover up. No doubt this number teamed up with a white vest and metallic brogues are going to be one of my most worn outfits this season!

Please..Keep the Timber Beetle Crushers to Yourself.

I have a bone to pick with the ‘fashion panel’. Why is it that atrocities like wooden clogs and wooden platforms are been leaked onto the pages of fashion magazines and blogs? I don’t care who wares them, who makes them or how much they cost. Wooden footwear is a No-No!

It is distressing to see a pair of Carmen Steffen heels that appear to be made of scraps form a kitchen company. These ‘things’ are called ‘cork platforms’. Cork my foot, it's plywood and plywood is not pretty...or cool. Nor are Luella’s ‘cone’ heels and the wooden platforms from Guess.

This season is looking exquisite – fresh florals, prints, demin shirts, sneakers and 70’s shades – Lets not sabotage one of the hottest summers with such horrible shoes.

I suggest we be adorning our feet with the following this season:

Floral sneakers, brogues and heels; overdose on flora, its uber fresh.

Nude platforms with straps and mesh – this look is classic and will stick around for quite some time. As an extra bonus, nude heels give the illusion of having longer legs, a must have for shorties like me.

Gladiator sandals are still our summer staple – just without the studs. Think leather, beaded detail and tribal patterns.

Sneakers are like Liquorish All-Sorts at the moment, they come in every color, shape and design. Up your swag with something new from the latest Le Coq Sportif, Zoom and Lacoste ranges. All Stars are still legend.

For those of you who are into this wooden shoe thing – shame. Your summer is ruined. And please don’t spoil ours by wearing your timber beetle crushers, keep them to yourselves!

Deutsch Fashion – on the Flipside

I have found some more stunning pictures, straight off Germany’s hottest style blogs. Compared to the pumping and playful South African street culture, Germans are defiantly more slick and eccentric, quite having it in for texture and graphic prints, two basic features of the fashion palette.

The skinnies:

I love how guys’ pair chilled skinnies with more sophisticated attire on top, like a cardigan or well tailored jacket.

The prints:

This is a professional ‘clash of the prints’ sticking with neutral tones in bold patterns, contrasted with splashes of red. The shoes and hat really do it for me.

The flow:

How beautifully outrageous is this! It’s not just the print that matters; it’s the flow of the fabric and the way it is worn that captivates. The body art stretches the line of the print and makes the person look part of the clothes.

This really throws a new dimension onto street culture – it’s all so fresh and preppy!!!

Vintage Value...

I surprised myself yesterday. Anything to do with the purchase of clothing automatically entails sizable sums of money, financial desolation and ‘get rich quick schemes’ so as to sustain the next binge. My sister advocates joining the Mafia as a way to cope with economic distress of this nature...

I am not a reckless shopaholic, but I have no problem spending a lot on clothes. My theory states that quality is far superior to quantity. Other factors that enter the equation are style, label, texture and most importantly, that unique wow - factor.

That’s why I skipped out the Park Town Organic Market, tickled pink by my R360 worth of purchases. I initially planned to spend about R 600 on perhaps one or two items from Milli’s Pulchritude sale. She had some very dainty pieces; I particularly liked the slouchy cardigan by Silverspoon and the bamboo jackets. However two racks of second hand vintage clothing hogged all my attention – oh-so-amazing stuff that can’t be found anywhere else, like exquisite floral blazers and quirky high waist trousers.

It took just two minuets of rack flicking to locate the three items that had my name written on them. In this post I am featuring the first two- a classically tailored white blouse with vertical ribs running down the centre. The collar is stiff and starchy which gives the blouse nice angular definition.

My second little treasure is an ostrich skin postman style bag, in tan, with the long shoulder strap. It goes beautifully with everything I own and can be jazzed up with a scarf, a broach or a string of pearls drooping down the side.

I spent hours in front of the mirror, trying out every possible combination, pulling up, tucking in, shoes on, shoes of……

The blouse looked best teamed with a copper pencil skirt, stilettos and a watch that used to be my Dad’s. It is very elegant, the type of accessory that depicts the ‘gender bender’ trend because it looks feminine on a man but masculine on a woman…perfect!

My next post will feature treasure number three, the show stopper! At the moment is it having a nip and tuck at the tailors…..

In come the Germans....

A couple of weeks ago, a picture in the newspaper of porcelain models strutting down the isle of a subway train, caught my attention. The words ‘German’ and ‘fashion’ are scarcely associated with one another yet here was an article about the recent Berlin Fashion Week. This aroused a lot of curiosity, especially since my mother is a fully fledged German - What is the fashion industry actually like in Germany?

I had never considered Germans as being awfully fashionable, judging by photos of uncles clad in safari suits, sandals with socks and RayBandz, marveling at the bushvelt. Travel gear aside however, their day-to-day style appears to be very continental with their preference leaning toward simple, yet well-tailored basics with a classical touch.

As it turns out, the youth of Germany have merged together and created a fascinating street culture. Style bloggers patrol the cobble stone streets of Germany’s high end fashion districts in search of outstanding outfits that are fresh and exceptional in cut. Styleclicker, one of Germany’s most popular fashion blogs, records over 2000 visitors a day. Run by Gunnar Hammerle and his brother, they capture true individualism by posting a wide variety of uniquely dressed individuals. Gunnar says that those featured are ‘not accountable to anyone but their own taste…therefore stlyeclicker has its own style.’

On the other side of German fashion lies internationally acclaimed designers who have a sharp eye for elegance and detail, often characterized by a classic-chic air. A personal favorite, Kaviar Gauche, renounced for their exquisite bags, shoes and woman’s clothes, are ranked as one of the ten most important German designers. Kaviar Gauche have also won the 2006 ‘New Generation Fashion Award’ at Berlin Fashion Week plus the ‘ON OFF Visionary Award’ at London Fashion Week, not to mention a string of opulent nominations. Their collections are stocked in elite stores such as LE66 in Paris, Question Air, London, Wut in Tokyo and Loverslane in Zurich. To top it all off, Kaviar Gauche have also adorned the likes of style icon Lady Gaga and Florence Welch. This is just one of the 48 top German designers I counted!

So, enthralled by bits and pieces of German fashion as seen on the internet, I have decided to locate my own fashion correspondent in Germany; someone from whom I can stream exclusive fashion information, interesting news and lots of pictures, snapped straight off the streets. The opportunity in Europe for young South Africans is immense, especially since we home such rich talent in the fashion industry…So let’s see what we can do!

Ohhh...Preppy!

Ohhh…Preppy.

Caity loves brogues! For the last half year, they have been prowling all fashion districts and finally I have bought a pair for myself.

For some reason, these shoes remind me of smarties- perhaps because they come in such a wide variety of shapes, colors and designs. There is a pair for every outfit and every occasion.

Budgeting on a shoe string (excuse the pun), I had to select the most elegant and versatile pair. Seen as gold metallics feature prominently on my lists of favorites, I went for this pair from Luella. (R599)

Brogues put that extra bounce into ones swagger; they are streamlined sneakers that can be worn where sneakers can’t be. Now, I am hunting for the perfect pair of socks to team these with….