Monthly Archive for July, 2011

Highs and Low(e)s.

Published on July 31, 2011 in Awesome Things, Me, New Zealand Fashion Week (NZFW) and Rant. 3 Comments

Teva exits the New Zealand Fashion Week model casting on Saturday morning.

Highs:

  1. Productivity levels were through the roof this week. I don’t know if it’s my huge workload at the moment or if it was due to the sample pack of Yellow Diamonds I’d been taking (-if it was the Yellow Diamonds, too bad for this week because I’ve run out), but it was amazing regardless.
  2. Productivity levels were super high this week, but hours of sleep were super low. We all know my body clock is kind of screwed up anyway and I’m a borderline insomniac, but this was ridiculous. Between three and six hours sleep every night. This is in the highs though, because while lying awake I got a whole heap of stuff done. Insomnia list making for the win!
  3. 300 Facebook page ‘likes’! 300! That’s like, more people than I actually know in real life which means there are people reading this blog that aren’t. obliged. to! Do you know how incredible that is?!!??!!! For those who have ‘liked’ it, thanks and I hope you are enjoying the ‘bonus content’ that I have been putting up on there.
  4. I spent Saturday morning at the New Zealand Fashion Week model casting. So basically I spent Saturday morning surrounded by hoards of tall, thin, beautiful people. It was self-esteem ruining, but it was fun. Photos to come later this week.
  5. These amazing Thom Browne photos. Sorry to those who follow me on twitter and have seen them already, I know I’ve said this like, three times, but the photos are so goooood. The Thom Browne stuff is so gooood.

Low(e)s:

Continue reading ‘Highs and Low(e)s.’

NZNTM: Episode 8 in review.

Published on July 31, 2011 in Awesome Things, Models, New Zealand Fashion Week (NZFW), New Zealand's Next Top Model and Rant. 4 Comments

Hillary nailed it this week. All Images/http://tv3.co.nz/Shows/NewZealandsNextTopModel.aspx

Well, well, well. Looky here. Friday night’s ep was the one we’ve all been waiting for. And when I say ‘we’, I mean Isaac and I and whoever else knew he’d filmed the show all those weeks ago. The episode opened with his segment – the “lesson” part of the show. The girls were made to walk down a catwalk while he ‘live-blogged’ his opinions of them.

Many thought he was catty but you know what? At least he was honest. Aroha is bigger than the other girls. She is a plus-sized model. (And as sad as it may be, plus-sized girls hardly ever walk the catwalk and they are often overlooked when it comes to high fashion jobs). You shouldn’t wear beanies during your castings, tights are not pants (he said it – but it was edited out), Hillary’s haircut does kind of make her look like a nineties lesbian, Brigette is kind of boring and AJ is kooky and weird. I can’t really give an unbiased opinion on Isaac’s segment because I know him too well but overall I thought he came across as pretty knowledgeable sounding and relatively normal. Maybe even too normal. I thought he was pretty toned down compared to his usual self.

But anyway, onto the rest of it!:

Continue reading ‘NZNTM: Episode 8 in review.’

This one time, at Fashion Week, I met Andrej Pejic.

Published on July 29, 2011 in Awesome Things, Me, Menswear and Models. 4 Comments

Earlier this year in Paris, I happened to find myself backstage at the Jean* Paul Gaultier Fall 2011-2012 show. When I say ‘find myself’, I mean I snuck back there with the help of a friend. While I milled around looking like I was supposed to be there (fyi – note to budding sneak-er-in-ers, never stand still. Always look like you’re going somewhere when you’re backstage), I noticed arguably Australia’s most famous (and most beautiful – see below) male model, Andrej Pejic, getting his hair done. He was alone and unoccupied (rare for him backstage) so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to say hi and ask him for a quick interview for Isaac’s blog.

I quickly sent Isaac a text to notify him of my situation (Isaac was out front in his seat) and he immediately responded, texting me a few questions to ask Andrej. I realised I didn’t have a pen on me so, instead, I recorded the thing on my camera to transcribe later. This above is the result.

The sound quality is actually pretty terrible – you can barely hear Andrej in parts of it so you may have to crank the volume! If you still can’t hear it, I’ve typed the gist of it below for your convenience. To be honest he doesn’t say too much, but it doesn’t really matter – when you look that good, you don’t really have to.

Continue reading ‘This one time, at Fashion Week, I met Andrej Pejic.’

Another reason to love Zoe Dunster (and Imogen Wilson).

Published on July 29, 2011 in Awesome Things, Models and Photography. 0 Comments

All Images/Imogen Wilson.

You may remember a few weeks back, a post I wrote about my favourite new, new girls in town. Zoe Dunster was one of them. The best thing about Zoe (in my humble opinion) is her face. Those eyes and that mouth. She’s got the Lara Stone/Georgia Jagger/Ashley Smith gap thing going on.

These photos of her (more below) were taken by uber talented (and uber young) stylist/ex-blogger/many-other-things, Imogen Wilson. I came across them earlier in the week and loved how Zoe looked so much that I immediately got on the interwebs and arranged to take my very own photos of her. It’s happening this weekend. (Which, coincidentally, is my last weekend of freedom for a little while – come Monday, I’m working every day (and some nights) for a couple of weeks!) I’m excited about it. Keep your eyes peeled for the results!

Continue reading ‘Another reason to love Zoe Dunster (and Imogen Wilson).’

What's in store at Arcade: the friends of Arcade edition.

Published on July 28, 2011 in Awesome Things, Menswear, Models and Photography. 2 Comments

I’d never been into Arcade before Monday afternoon. Sure, I knew it existed. I’d seen the facebook events and heard about the opening party, heard about the boys who owned it (two guys from the ARC crew – a music/creative collective of three), but I’d never actually set foot in store. It always seemed a bit irrelevant to me – skating? Not my jam. Super cool NY streetwear type brands that I’d never heard of? Intimidating! It wasn’t until actually setting foot into the store and meeting Joel and Mike – that I realised it was all in my head.

The store is set up firstly and foremost(ly) as a skate shop, focussed on decks and hardware, but for those who aren’t as adept on wheels, the store also stocks a tight range of men’s streetwear. Arcade stocks a whole host of great brands (Herschel, Moreporks, Vans, etc) and is the sole NZ distributor for aNYthing and ONLY NY.

That’s not all – the Cross Street location is also soon to be home to limited edition colab band tees, in-store performances and artwork showcases on rotation. So if you, like me, have been hesitant in visiting the Cross Street store – don’t be. It’s not just for skaters. The boys are all about community – there’s plenty for everyone and plenty more to come.

To celebrate everything that is Arcade, I snapped (and chatted to) a few of the boys’ supporters in some of the gear from the store. Check it out below:

Continue reading ‘What's in store at Arcade: the friends of Arcade edition.’

Jessica Clarke gets colour-blocking, pulls great facials, is shot by Tommy Ton (all for Vogue Japan).

Published on July 27, 2011 in Awesome Things, Models and Photography. 3 Comments

Jess Clarke for Vogue Japan, shot by Tommy Ton. (Click for larger.) All Images/via thefashionspot.com

It’d been a little while since I’d heard anything about Jessica Clarke – the 18 year old from Palmerston North and the only New Zealand model to ever score a Calvin Klein exclusive. She’d been a bit off my radar. I’m not gonna lie, all the hype around Emily Baker made me almost forget about her. Boy was I an idiot. The girl has done good. She’s just landed this amazing editorial for Vogue Japan’s September issue (and we all know how important the September issues are), and what’s more, it was shot by none other than one of the most successful streetstyle bloggers in the world, Tommy Ton.

In the spread, Jess dons a bunch of amazing colourful clothes (PS: how good is that top left outfit?!) and works her face in a way that I haven’t seen any New Zealand model do (and pull off) in a long time.

High fives for Jess!

Check out more of the spread, below:

Continue reading ‘Jessica Clarke gets colour-blocking, pulls great facials, is shot by Tommy Ton (all for Vogue Japan).’

Things I like to do when it's freezing cold.

Published on July 27, 2011 in Awesome Things, Me and Oh.. 10 Comments

Me, blogging on the bathroom floor last night.

  1. Take my laptop into the bathroom, sit on the floor and blog. Or tweet. Or even work. The bathroom floor has underfloor heating, you see. Sometimes it’s nice to go in there, shut the door and just chill out. Sometimes it’s nice to put all your clothes on the floor (to heat them), have a shower, get dried off and clothed and all toasty, and sit there with your laptop. It sounds weird, but we have a nice bathroom, okay? It’s nice in there. And more importantly, it’s really warm.
  2. Wear tights. With everything. I’m talking everything. Even under pants if you can get away with it (which I often can). You feel frumpy as hell but it’s worth it. I have a couple of pairs of 200 denier tights and they seem to do the trick. Never underestimate the warmth of a pair of tights.
  3. Double everything. Two sweaters, for instance. I am not good with coats, but two sweaters solves that problem. Two Two pairs of socks. Or tights with socks. Or even double the tights to trap the heat between the layers (if there is such thing). Double everything.
  4. If you don’t have anyone else in your bed, it can be pretty cold and hard to warm up. What I do, is get a blanket, put it UNDER the bedcovers, like under the duvet and under the top sheet (okay – side note – only crazy people don’t have top sheets. I do not understand why some people don’t have them, what is that about? So weird!). What you’ve gotta do, is wrap the blanket around you completely, tuck it in the sides and the bottom so you’re in sort of a blanket cocoon. Once you’ve got your duvet etc on top, then you’re sweet as. Warm with in minutes. I guarantee it.
PS: Yes, I am back on that schoolgirl buzz incase you were wondering:

Tristan Blair: a photo essay.

Published on July 26, 2011 in Awesome Things, Menswear and Shoes. 1 Comment

Tristan Blair makes men’s shoes. He also makes women’s shoes but today we’re focussing on the men’s. Last week I was given the opportunity to have a sneak peek at the Australian footwear designer’s upcoming Spring/Summer 2011-2012 men’s collection (with one pair of women’s shoes thrown in for good measure). The shoes were beautiful. I’m hoping they get stocked somewhere in New Zealand soon (a couple of pairs from the Winter range are in The Department Store right now, but unsure about Summer) and I’m also hoping they come in a size small enough to fit me. Tristan Blair may just be the answer to my double monk dilemma!

See what I saw, below:

Continue reading ‘Tristan Blair: a photo essay.’

Highs and Low(e)s.

Published on July 25, 2011 in Awesome Things, Me and Rant. 5 Comments

Highs:

  1. The last Harry Potter film (apart from the ending). No words.
  2. That sense of knowing you’re going overseas. I don’t really get too excited about many things, but I am really excited about this trip. To the point of smugness. I have already started compiling lists of things to do, things to take, people to see (I love lists), and there’s still a good six and a half weeks to go. Did I mention I was excited?
  3. This article on how not to hit on girls. You know it’s going to be good when the opening paragraph starts with this:
    “Hey straight dudes, I know you. I know you better than your girlfriend or your best guy friend. Why? Because I’m gay. I have the benefit of knowing how you operate because I also have a penis. However, I also having a keen understanding of women. Yeah. Be scared. No, don’t be homophobic. Just be aware of our power.”
  4. NZ model Vinnie Woolsten, in the Hilfiger Denim Spring 2012 campaign. Two words: BABEFEST 5000.
  5. Being productive. Productivity levels through the roof this week. I’m talking working three jobs, blogging, meetings, dinners, invoicing, organising flights and insurance, everything. I smashed it this week.

Low(e)s:

  1. The ending of Harry Potter. I hated that whole ’19 years later’ thing in the book, and I hated it in the movie. So unnecessary!
  2. Not eating cakes. Did I tell you I’m on a lamington/cake ban until I go away? For one, I need to save the money. Consistently blowing $30.00 a week on cakes and cakes alone (seriously – not even including the obligatory accompanying tea) is detrimental to my bank balance. It’s also detrimental to my waistline.
  3. When people say they read your blog, then ask you questions or tell you things that would say otherwise. I don’t care if you don’t read it, just don’t say you do!
  4. Cold. Tonight is cold. And tomorrow is supposed to be hailing with a high of 10 degrees. Miserable. And freezing. And I’m supposed to be taking photos of people. Outside. Not positive guys, not positive.

NZNTM: Episode 7 in review.

Published on July 24, 2011 in Models, New Zealand's Next Top Model and Rant. 4 Comments

AJ. All Images/tv3.co.nz/Shows/NewZealandsNextTopModel.aspx

Another week, another Friday night on the Top Model grind. This week we found ourselves witnessing a little bit of drama (Did they accuse Tyne of being bulimic?, didn’t they?, who cares?) and a whole lot of tears while the girls faced their fears. (THAT RHYMES.) Personally, I’ve become a bit disinterested in the show. I think I’m waiting for someone to pull out the big guns, and until then, I’m yet to be impressed, here’s hoping for next week.

And here’s some things we learned this episode:

  • Colin can pull out the big guns when he wants to: “Your’e an anaemic bore” (on Hillary). The show needs a bit of this. I’m claiming it as the highlight.
  • Spookers came across as the tamest sh*t ever. I, personally, have been wanting to visit Spookers for years. Literally years. I have badly been wanting someone to scare the crap out of me in an ex-mental institute. After Friday night, not so much.
  • Sara still out-beauties most of the contestants. I’m watching the show in HD and it’s incredible, you can literally see the girls’ teenage skin being, well, teenage… Sara, on the other hand – flawless.
  • Um okay, what is with the styling and creative direction behind all the photographs this season? (Bar the ones they shot with Vinnie Woolsten in Episode 4). Don’t we want the girls to look good? Don’t we want them to look like faces and bodies to aspire to? This week’s photographs kind of look like brand ads for an eco-friendly, New Zealand company. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I think we can do better than this. We can do better! We can go more fashion. Let’s go more high end! Let’s take it to a whole ‘nutha level guys!
And now onto the judging of the photographs:
  • AJ (above). I’m still vouching for her. She’s kind of an oversharer, kind of a weirdo and kind of annoying, but I’m still predicting her to make top 5, based on that face of hers and that intense look she can somehow pull out of the bag. I also think she has good lips. I do think she looks kind of fricken ridiculous in that get-up of hers, but I’m telling you now – top 5 baby.
    Continue reading ‘NZNTM: Episode 7 in review.’

Deadly Ponies S/S 11-12: a photo essay.

Published on July 23, 2011 in Awesome Things, Me and Photography. 2 Comments

I have a Deadly Ponies bag. It’s the ‘Mr Bone Mailman’ from not this season, but the season before. I remember buying it as a treat for myself for being made redundant. Not that being made redundant is necessarily a thing you need to treat yourself for – but I did get my holiday pay paid out…

I’m glad I splashed out, because that point in time was kind a turning point in my life. It’s when I really started to blog, for real. And when I really started to believe (with the help of friends) that I could actually do this whole freelance/work for yourself thing on my own. Anyway, before I get too sentimental, the point of the speech is that it took me ages to track down the bag because it had sold out everywhere, and now I take it everywhere because it means a lot to me (and is also a very convenient and beautiful thing to carry).

So with all that in mind, you can imagine how excited I was earlier this week when I was given the opportunity to have a little look-see at the soon-to-be available Deadly Ponies Spring/Summer 2011-2012 collection. I took my camera along for the ride – here’s some of what I saw (including the cutest, cutest coin wallet!):

Continue reading ‘Deadly Ponies S/S 11-12: a photo essay.’

Dempsey Stewart was interviewed by The Cut, I am way too tired and busy to do anything but repost it.

Published on July 22, 2011 in Models, New York Fashion Week (NYFW) and Oh.. 0 Comments

Dempsey Stewart, backstage at Karen Walker's NYFW show earlier this year.

My favourite Australian model to photograph and all round cool girl, Dempsey Stewart, was interviewed by The Cut recently. It turns out the Perth native was model scouted shopping with friends, her favourite food is her grandmother’s bread and butter pudding, and her favourite feature is the newly acquired scar on her foot she got from an unfortunate incident with glass (it doesn’t say that, but I know that’s what it was – bonus feature!)

That’s not all. She said a lot more, but I worked a long day and now have to do more work so instead of writing about the interview, I’ve just re-blogged the whole thing below. Here’s what she had to say for herself:

Continue reading ‘Dempsey Stewart was interviewed by The Cut, I am way too tired and busy to do anything but repost it.’

This week in my life: my brother is awesome, and I'm leaving on a jet plane (in 6-ish weeks).

Published on July 22, 2011 in Awesome Things and Me. 3 Comments

Images/nomagazine.co.nz

It was my brother’s birthday yesterday so I think maybe it’s good timing to mention some things that are going on in his life (and therefore mine). He’s got some exciting things coming up – a trip to Korea in a week and a half (where he’ll fixie his way around the place and basically chill out for a month) and then two days after he gets back to Auckland, he’ll be travelling to France where he’s been chosen to represent New Zealand at Paris Photoquai – a huge bi-annual photography exhibition held at the Musée du Quai Branley. While he’s there, he’s also been chosen to have some of his works exhibited in the Eiffel tower. I have no idea how that works, but doesn’t it sound amazing?

Snaps for James, everybody!

One benefit of having a very talented brother (and very generous parents), is that when things like this happen you can disguise what is essentially a fun late summer trip to Paris as ‘being a supportive sister’, which is exactly what I’m doing. (Not that I’m not supportive, but you know what I mean.) So in about a month and a half, I’ll be jetting off to the city of love to meet up with my kid brother and hang out at the Eiffel tower and you know, blog and be all French and such.

I’m also taking advantage of the fact that I will be all the way on the other side of the world by extending my stay in Paris to be about 10 nights (as opposed to 5), and as of yesterday I decided to do a bit of a New York stopover on the way back. (Except I’m travelling the long way around to get there so it’s not really a stopover at all…) It is going to be amazing. Expensive, but amazing.

The saving starts now.

More on this as it comes up.

Happy Friday everyone.

The winter shoe mission: first up, Monks.

Published on July 21, 2011 in Awesome Things, Menswear, Oh., Rant and Shoes. 19 Comments

Image/thethreef.com

I need winter shoes. This crazy, rainy weather does not support canvas sneakers. It does not support sandals even when combined with socks, it does not support any styles of shoes I own except for two pairs. This is not positive. This current predicament has lead me on a bit of a winter shoe mission, which has lead me to ask the following questions:

1. Can I wear monks?

I know they’re very, very, next-level menswear-ish, but I’m kind of into it. I feel like I could wear them all winter with cuffed pants and tights and everything, and with socks and dresses in summer too. Or maybe even without socks, you know? Am I deluded? The thing is, I think only very special men can actually pull off the monk-strap, and going by that theory, it’s probably even harder for a girl to do so. I’ve thought about this a lot. It’s difficult, because on the one hand, you could look awesome:

Continue reading ‘The winter shoe mission: first up, Monks.’

New things in store in Newmarket*.

Published on July 20, 2011 in Awesome Things and Shoes. 1 Comment

Images/supplied.

Has anyone else noticed that Area 51 has really upped their game lately when it comes to what they stock? Not only are they stocking Marc by Marc Jacobs accessories, exclusive Converse collaborations – ie. the Missoni Chuck Taylors, and let’s not forget those Isaac Likes sweaters, from the first week of August, the retailer will also be stocking the uber-sought-after Opening Ceremony shoes! Three styles will be in over the next few weeks – the low cut buckle Sinead 1 (in ashphault suede, below), and the uber high platform Bernadette 1 (in black leather, also below) and my favourite of the lot: the Brenda 2 in olive (which is more like tan) and black. Holla. This is like, the perfect boot. It’s got that whole riding/chelsea boot thing going on and the heel is just high enough to walk around all day without getting sore feet. I have been on a mission for winter shoes and it looks like I’ve found my answer!

And while we’re at it, Playpark by Karen Walker is also bringing in a new brand: 3.1 Phillip Lim. They’re starting off by stocking the Resort 2012 collection and it’ll be coming in November – a little way off yet but you know it’s going to be popular so keep an eye out so you can get in quick!

Little & Friday is also new in Newmarket but I already blogged about that yesterday.

*Area 51 also has stores in Wellington and in High Street in Auckland, but ‘Newmarket’ went better with ‘New things’ in my title so just roll with it okay?

Continue reading ‘New things in store in Newmarket*.’