HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

The revival of over sized coats and vintage styles is a gladsome sight as winter coats are normally made of higher quality fabric lasting you into a number of years. The only disadvantage being that I never had the strength of mind to see into the future when I was younger, and never considered keeping beautiful old style coats or storing them with care. One such piece was a Camel coloured coat with a fur collar that my late maternal grandmother wore with great elegance. After her demise, I wore it for a while, until moths manifested itself in my storage space, requiring the coat  to be discarded. With a lifetime of experience of making poor fashion decisions and purchases, I now think twice before I store things away for another season, and carefully pack woollen coats with the most environmentally friendly deterrent, being Sunlight soap, keeping the little creatures devouring your wool, at bay. I have selected a number of coats resembling a vintage style from my favourite on line store, Asos, all of them reminiscent of glory days when coats were over sized and made with fabric to last a lifetime. These few gems could become pieces that could last you a few seasons, making them worth their weight in Gold.

 

 

all coats by www.asos.com

 

POP UP STORES

If you haven't been invited, or if you haven't booked your tickets yet, you had better log in  and reserve your place for this exciting event on Saturday the 30th November 2013, hosted by Style Society. Cape Town is no stranger to the latest phenomenon of pop up stores, and the innovative stylist and blogger, Kumari Govender, the creative editor behind this blog of note, hosts the third event representing numerous  local designers and international beauty products including Estee Lauder. So slip into something spectacular, slap on some make up, and remember, in case of emergency, apply mascara to yourself before you help others, and come and join the stylish  crowd rubbing shoulders with local designers and stylists at the uber chic Victoria and Alfred Hotel on the waterfront, see you there fellow stylistas!

 

SALUTING THE SUN

Our beautiful province has been showered with innumerate amounts of water, to such  extent that our roads are flooded, requiring a detour of 260 km to get to the sought after resort town of Hermanus, the whale capital of the world.  Finally, the sun stuck it's neck out this morning and with the faintest hint of summer, I immediately turned to some colour. Considering the fact that temperatures are still on the rise, it continues to allow long sleeves, hence my almost luminous blazer today.

 

The best style advice for anybody travelling to this part of the world in the following month, it to suggest that you pack your walking shoes, a raincoat and umbrella, a parka for balmy evenings and of course, your swimsuit. On average, the temperature normally rises to  well into the 30's after such a flood of rain, and may we just as well start unpacking the spaghetti strap tops and thongs for the sweltering heat of the festive holiday! Don't  forget the sunblock and a huge hat!

 

 Blazer - Reserved Clothing

Pants  - H & M

Tunic - Zara

Shoes - Asos

Handbag - Louis Vuitton

Sunglasses - Prada Baroque

 

YANG LI, A FORCE TO RECKON WITH

Visiting Fashion Week in Milan wasn't all about Made in Italy, as some other designers were taking the opportunity to market themselves in pop up stores or galleries with displays of single ensembles representing some of their best.

One whose work was on display in a cubicle set up as a temporary showcase on the Red carpet running across the city during the event, was Yang Li, a man to reckon with in the fashion industry. His designs seem to be dominated with the maxi, with minimalistic trimmings and somewhat of a ethereal feel about his dreamy looking garments. The fabric had a feeling of luxury, draping heavily to the floor, worn by girls as beautiful as those seen on chocolate box covers. I took a few pictures of one such ensemble which I wouldn't have minded finding it's way to my closet...... and then I discovered his website with more of his regal looking designs.

I think this designer is a legend in the making.....
 

 

 

From the website: www.yangli.eu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOARDROOM AND BEYOND

If deciding what to wear was my biggest stress, I'd be very cool, calm and collected. Compared to the effort required to perform my daily task at the office, the effort of dressing appropriately pales in comparison. However, deciding what to wear if you are required to attend a formal meeting at 8h00, a field inspection at 11h00 and a board meeting at 14h00, and then closing the day with another visit to rough terrain, you  have to do a little improvisation, especially having regard to the fact that you are required to move onto the next appointment virtually immediately after the other, leaving no time to slip into a change of clothes. I started off by slipping into a neat pair  of jeans with high heels, a crisp cotton shirt to balance the formality, jazzed up with a string of pearls, and a floral printed jacket which should give me enough confidence to assert myself during my first meeting where I am  required to address an audience. Wearing jeans and plain shoes with an informal top would not exactly have been appropriate, but considering the fact that the same group will be out and about doing a field inspection with me, it shouldn't take them by surprise that I am in jeans. As soon as we arrive at the location where we will be out in the open doing some navigation of rather rough terrain, I will remove the jacket, slap on a cotton hat with sunglasses, and put on a change of shoes where comfort takes preference. After that, I will put on a double breasted blazer in Navy Blue to match my heels turning the look into something  more formal for the next meeting which takes place indoors.

 

I will ruffle my tail feathers, put my hair up in a bun, all in a day's work.

 

How do you dress for a day requiring multi functional style?

 

 

 

 

 Jacket - Queenspark (Old)

Jeans - Belle Epoque

Shoes - Next

Sunglasses - Prada

Belt - Hermes

 

 

INTO THE BLUE

Finally, a glimpse of summer sun, and with temperatures slowly rising, I suppose the outfits will gradually become lighter, and perhaps a little brighter! I much prefer winter clothes, allowing you  to take shelter  in thick fabrics, with the royalty of capes and coats, snug scarves and gloves. However, the little hint of summer this morning spurred me on to find something more colourful and vibrant. Print is so versatile, and having  bought these pants a few months ago already, I welcomed the opportunity to finally slip into them, even if I still had to hold my breath doing so..... It was an instant love affair between the print and the colour block tunic which hasn't been worn yet since I never had inspiration to style it. Now, lets see if I can do something about my writer's block....... hence the short description.

 

Do ever you buy things that you forget about and then suddenly find something to pair it with?

 

 

 Pants - H & M

Tunic - Trenery

Sunglasses- Prada Baroque

Handag - Louis Vuitton

Shoes - Woolworths

Earrings and bracelet - Beijing Silver Market

WIND SWEPT

When the wind blows in Cape Town, it brings summer rain to Johannesburg, 16 hours away by car. It also means that you cannot wear flimsy skirts as the South Eastern wind has no discretion and could easily cause you to bare it all. So if you find yourself in skirts when the Cape Doctor as it is known locally, billows, make sure you wear  drop dead  gorgeous underwear, perhaps in French lace? I have however resorted to  take shelter against the wind with a light weight mid season coat in an over sized style to conceal the blubber of my weekend binge of sweet things,  limiting my risks of being exposed up to the belly button. I note that over sized coats are big in the Northern hemisphere where winter is eminent. I seem stuck in the comfort of monochrome lately, and since I can just slip on a formal white shirt and blazer to comply with court attire if I am suddenly required to venture there, my outfit is easily adjustable from playfully casual to office like. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coat- Asos

Pants- Studio W

Breton Top - Primark

Shoes - Asos

Handbag - Louis Vuitton

Sunglasses - Prada, Sunglass Hut

VINTAGE & BLUE SUEDE SHOES

My new found love for vintage doesn't stem from my inability to discard things that I love, but because it allows me to wear things from a bygone era with a certain charm. Although I haven't quite decided if this particular linen jacket, which has earned an honorary place in my closet, actually qualifies as vintage, it somehow has quite a vintage feel. It's a  jacket from the early 90's bought as part of a suit that has a particular quality to it, being of fine linen and good structure. I  revived it with a Navy and Yellow geometric print in the skirt and spruced it up with these gorgeous suede shoes. Navy Blue shoes has been on my shopping list for a while, and thanks to my well developed research ability, I finally found these online. Perhaps I should ad this talent to my resume..........

 

 

 

 

Jacket - Queenspark, very old

Skirt - Belle Epoque

Shoes - Next

Handbag - Zara

Sunglasses - Rayban

 

MONOCHROME FRIDAY

If colour brought balance to ones style, monochrome would certainly be it for me. The concept of Yin and Yang symbolises the attraction and balancing between two completely opposite colours, being Black & White. White is often worn when we move onto another level in our lives, or undergoing changes. Our choice of colour may unconsciously symbolise completion or new direction, or perhaps when experiencing pureness and perfection. White hardly has any negative connotations, and is often worn when moving towards a new direction. If there is truth in the philosophy of Yin and Yang, I may have found the perfect balance, as Black & White is my favourite combination. The philosophy also symbolises interconnectedness, and looking at the multitude of monochrome outfits during my street style hunting safaris at Fashion Weeks across the world, it makes perfect sense to most of us. The print in the full skirt is what caught on to me.

 

 

 

 

 

Shirt - Jenni  Button

Skirt -Belle  Epoque

Mary Jane Shoes - Asos

Handbag - Chanel 2.55

 

  

SMASHBOX EVENT

When the famous author, Aldous Huxley wrote that all people were equal, but some are more equal  than others, he had no idea how revolutionary make up would become, rendering some make up much more equal than others. One such product is Smashbox.

 

Attending a Smashbox make up event, or even better, wearing the product, is liking having a face lift without the pain and suffering.  Leaving the studio yesterday all radiant like an expecting mother, I felt reluctant to remove my make up before bed time. The event was attended by Make Up Artists and Beauty bloggers who were all treated to a mini make over with on site artists and stylists attending to our hair and make up. We were then sent to the next station with the pros doing the photography. I just about abandoned my attempt to find a product wich controls redness when I received the invitation to attend the  workshop. Being a women of a certain age, most of us fall prey to the onset of sudden facial redness. Smashbox produces no less than 14 different foundations and numerous primers for  different skin types,  also including a product for redness control. Naturally, the redness control contains a green undertone, acting as a neutraliser for Red. This is definitely a product that we should all  at least try once before surrendering to the sudden attack of hormonal driven rosy cheeks.  

 

Smashbox products were born out of a photographic studio in 1990 and launched their signature foundation in 2000. From there on it seems, the  product manifested itself into the market as a product of note. Apart from the rest of the world, they now have 15 outlets selling their products, in South Africa,  including some Woolworth's stores. They provide a product that leaves your skin looking ultra radiant, even, energetic and plumped up, containing not only blemish control allowing for even skin tone, but rendering you completely photo ready, with not a trace of make up surfacing into facial lines shown to the camera. It also contains an SPF15 factor protection against the harsh rays of African sun, allowing us to stay outdoors all day without  to much concern about solar  damage or your make up having a melt down. It leaves an absolute perfect photo finish, and if you don't believe me, the proof is in the pudding.

 

As the beautiful presenter mentioned, your foundation should not enter the room before you do, and with Smashbox, you'll certainly enter with a lasting impression. I could'nt think of a name being more appropriate than "Liquid Halo" for their foundations, and the make up is intended to last all day, whether you're exposed to the demanding effects of studio lights or warm sun light. I had to look twice when the photographer showed me my own picture, no editing, no air brushing, just Smashbox and his excellent ability to  capture the essence with his lens.

 

And no, this is not a sponsored post, but  worth trying if you are in the market for new beauty products and make up. The beauty is in the lasting effect it has, I admire it for it's staying power.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Smashbox.com

THE COLOUR OF MY MOOD

I am overjoyed to share in Ms P's subject of Orange today, for those of you who read my last post on the subject of colour, the psychology of Orange will be old news. It is so much in line with the hint of spring in the air, yet not completely warm enough to welcome the new season in bright prints. If you need a lift, warm up the mood with this electrifying and energetic tone! There is an expression in Latin used by lawyers that says the facts speak for itself. I won't however bore you with legal jargon, but rest my case on the subject and efficacy of Orange.

 

 

 

 

 

Jacket - Daniel Hechter

Pants -  H & M

Top - Zara

Handbag - Mango

Shoes - Woolworths

Sunglasses - Prada