What rules you?

Often, when reading interviews about 'fashion people' the inevitable question arises: what are your style rules? Sometimes they are wise words, sometimes they are not. The problem with me and rules, is that I will decide, 'oh, yes what excellent rules to live by' and then promptly, accidentally, forget about them. But there are a few rules (found on Details magazine 'Rules of Style') that are worthy of remembering, scrawling on a scrap of paper, repeating to oneself, even if they aren't explicitly followed. The ones that I like the most are less style rules and more suggestions for living a life well led or ones that simply make me laugh.

I love the back. A beautiful back makes a beautiful front. When you slouch, think about what happens to your front. You have to keep your back in the right position. This is where your spirit lies. Yohji Yamamoto

Classic simplicity always works. Tom Ford

Cheesy music makes a party. Donna Summer or Madonna—that stuff gets people on the dance floor. Then you have to have junk food, done well, because that’s what everyone really wants. Micheal Kors

I’m a big fan of old Shetland sweaters. Anything with a hole or two in it, I feel that it’s worn and loved. Marc Jacobs

The biggest mistake a person can make when dressing is following other people’s advice. It’s up to them. Even if they end up badly dressed, if they're happy, it’s okay. Kean Etro

Style is a question of charm, not nationality. Veronique Nichanian

It’s sad that the cell phone is replacing the watch as a time-telling device. Thom Browne

Cigarettes are a vile, dirty habit. Joints, on the other hand, are perfectly acceptable. Scott Sternberg

Trying to talk with your clothes is passive-aggressive. Rick Owens

And after listing 9 rather good rules, Rick Owens ends with the only rule never to be forgotten:

It's funny—whenever someone talks about rules, I just want to break them. I recoil from the whole idea of rules.

there are no words

My god, refinery29 has just led me to a website that may be the death of me, Ming Makes Cupcakes. It is a website with, yep, a wild variety of cupcake recipes. 31 to be exact. Good thing I lack the time, the baking skill and a cupcake tin ... otherwise, things could get very messy. A few of the ones I would bake if I could...






Oh, and there's also the beginnings of a cookie list. My oh my, this is a dangerous site.

How Tao, Brown Cow

"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like." ~ Lao-Tzu

Feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything at the moment. End of school malaise, gray sky weather and all that. Bah humbug.

And on a slightly less dour note, I quite like this editorial from the new Russh (which I won't see for another two months, knowing my local mag shop). Got that whole feral beauty thing going on, wilderness, eyebrows run amok and all that. It makes me smile.

It's Wednesday: Here's a tune by Twin Sister

Currently, I am sitting in a well-lit, rather overheated library, supposedly typing about legal and ethical intricacies of a morbid nature. And I am doing that... sort of...I swear. But as I sit, and I type, I also listen. I get distracted by the tiniest sounds in libraries: of a chair shifting, paper crinkling, someone's interminable cough. So headphones are a must, because for some reason, music never distracts. Anyway, currently on repeat is Twin Sister, another New York band with some dreaminess and shimmery-ness to them. I'm quite enjoying this song in particular and thought I'd share it... Course, I've never posted audio to blogger before, so if it doesn't work, there is also a link below.

Just press play!


Or if all else fails, click click click:
Ginger by Twin Sister

ps. The band also is a fan of sharing, and has their whole EP from last year available to download for free (!)And another EP is in the works for 'official' release very soon, so yay for that too.

Wanted.

I'm currently on a spending embargo after having a particularly frightening discussion with my mother about post-graduation realities. But that doesn't mean I can't covet, right? So it's a little unhealthy to be constantly eyeing and wanting, and yes, I am perfectly happy with all I have. As mumsy always says,"Want what you have, and you will always have what you want."

Bah. I say sometimes it's fun to want what you can't have...

Something like these:Or those...
If you too have the want or the need but unlike me can procure, then please do so right here at one of my favorite independent online boutiques.

Sophie Conti

I'm sure most of you are aware of that wonderful haven of inspiration, Style Like U...but I couldn't help but repost this recent video of Sophie Conti, merely because she is so hilarious and has the funniest anecdotes, including a Larry David-esque incident involving knock-off Balmain heels. I love her approach to fashion. Quality over quantity and pro- outfit repeats, as she says, "I'll wear the same pants four days in a row, but it looks good, you know." It's fun and funny, nothing too serious, cause in the end, it's just clothes.

Sophie Conti from Stylelikeu.com from Stylelikeu on Vimeo.

the wild unknown

I quite like buying gifts for Christmas. I think part of the reason for that, apart from the simple joy of (hopefully) making others joyous, is I do most of my shopping online. That way I avoid the scary shoppers and can find so many interesting little things by just stumbling upon them. That is how I came across these calendars and prisms from The Wild Unknown. Each object is handcrafted in Brooklyn, but inspired by the Catskills and Great Lakes, where the glass is blown for the prisms. That's the other thing about buying online, I can support the artisans and small businesses, and that's kinda nice too.

Now I just have to find someone to gift them to, otherwise, they may end up in my own home. And that's not what Christmas is about...er, is it?

Oh Boy, Oi Polloi

For me, one of the joys of being a lass is comfortably wandering into the men's section of a store and being able to purchase something in sizes ranging from xxs to l with no qualms. I think it is a bit of a luxury to be able to wear men's clothing so freely... not that men cannot wear women's clothing, but I imagine the fit must be harder, at the very least. I quite like men's clothing, especially in terms of basics, sweaters, cardigans and the like, which is why I squealed in delight when I stumbled across Oi Polloi, an online boutique "for men" -- which just translates to online boutique of "oversized wonderfulness for me." I feel a bit bad stealing from the boys, when it's hard for them to do the same, but with goods like these, it's hard not to.

#31

I had given up all hope of being able to get the newest issue of Russh in any reasonable amount of time, but now their new site is not only selling back issues, but also the current issue AND ships worldwide. It's a bit pricey, (15 AUD plus a whopping $21 shipping to the UK), so I have to remain content trawling my local convenience store to find the previous, two-month old issue. I've been successful with the last three issues, and since Australia is in a different season anyway, by the time I get the issue, it practically corresponds to the Northern Hemisphere ... or so I tell myself.

But for those you, desperate for the newest and latest from Down Under, it is now only a click away.

play

I just dropped by to say, that if you must be on the internet rather than outside squeezing every last bit out of summer, then I suggest spending some time at a self-declared 'website for play' - thisissand.com - it's a digital sandbox (and art project that began in 2008), where anything is possible.

Some pretty awesome things can result from a little play in the sand: