Monthly Archive for January, 2012

This is what I look like when I wear my brother's clothes.

Published on January 30, 2012 in Awesome Things, Me, Menswear and OMG. 13 Comments

All Images/James K. Lowe.

Very rarely a day goes by where I am not informed that I look like my brother, or that he looks like me. It’s true, James and I look alike – quite alike. We both have those dreaded Lowe-family chubby cheeks, the average eyesight, better-than-usual metabolism, long fingers and toes, tanned skin. I mean, we are related – what do you expect?

What James has that I haven’t seem to have inherited, though (aside from the height and skinny legs) is an innate sense of style. Sure, I like what I like and I can put together an outfit when under pressure, but James – James seems to have looking effortlessly cool, down. Maybe it’s the tattoos,  maybe it’s the fact that he’s the kind of person who spends $100 on (White Mountaineering) socks. Who knows? Regardless, the kid is fresh.

Over the weekend, partially out of boredom and partially because I find the whole concept hilarious, we took a couple of photos of me as James. Katherine Lowe, shot and styled (in outfits he actually wears) by James Lowe, if you will. The results are below (along with clothing credits, if you’re so inclined) and the rest (out-takes and the like) are up on my tumblr. Enjoy:

Continue reading ‘This is what I look like when I wear my brother's clothes.’

Highs and Low(e)s.

Published on January 29, 2012 in Awesome Things, Highs and Low(e)s, Me and Rant. 9 Comments

James K Lowe on the driveway.

Highs:

  1. Productivity levels quite high this week. Many meetings attended, hater comments at an all time low, blogging frequency up, came up with so many great ideas this week even. So many great ideas!
  2. Had a few impromptu photos taken yesterday, which I am going to try to post tomorrow. I want to tell you about them because I think they’re really hilarious, but at the same time I think it might only be me who finds them hilarious and I don’t want to spoil the surprise. Here’s a sneak peek.
  3. So many people wanna win those sunglasses I’m giving away!
  4. These two collections, but especially the Acne collection. The outfit second to the left in this photo is MY JAM. The blazer, the cut of the pants, the cream sweater. I swear to god if I find a boy who dresses like that I will marry him immediately.
  5. Whatsapp. I don’t know how many of you out there have a smart phone, but I’d say quite a few. If you don’t have whatsapp you need to download the app right now. So handy! I have had some really great whatsapp conversations this week.
  6. That limited edition run of ‘Thugged Out Since Cub Scouts’ tees is so close to being pushed over the line it’s not funny. Just a few kinks to iron out (read: $$$) and we’ll be good to go. Watch this space.

Low(e)s:

  1. It’s been over a week since I jammed my finger in that taxi door and I still don’t have proper feeling in it… I’m starting to worry.
  2. I went to 10 dairies on Saturday, trying to get my hands on one of those Ice Bar old fashioned lemonade iceblocks. 10. Pretty much every dairy/service station had the lemon lime bitter flavour, some had the ginger beer flavour but nine of them didn’t have the old fashioned lemonade flavour. We went all the way down Ponsonby Road, K Rd and back. It took forever. On the plus side, I do feel like maybe Tip Top should hook me up because I feel like I may be slightly responsible for the sold-out status of the old fashioned lemonade flavour with all my talking about it. You hear that Tip Top?!
  3. “Soz.” I’m guilty of saying it, and every time I do I hate myself for it. I’m desperately trying to phase the stupid phrase out. It’s like an apology that you don’t mean at all, in which case why are you apologising in the first place?! AAHHHHH!
  4. I’ve just been informed that in 5 days I am getting the new Facebook ‘timeline’. Without my permission. Damnit Facebook, why you gotta do this to me?!
  5. I’m back on that broken bodyclock buzz again. 2.30-4.30am sleep times, 8.30-9.30am wake up times. Tired all the times.

New Zealanders in Paris (and they goin' gorillas).

Published on January 27, 2012 in Awesome Things, Menswear and Models. 6 Comments

Michael Whittaker (right) backstage at Damir Doma. Image/Sonny Vandevelde.

Incase you hadn’t noticed, there have been a couple of Kiwis repping our country at the shows in Paris this month – first up, freshly off his catwalk-modelling hiatus – Michael Whittaker. The guy managed to nab himself a total of 5 shows: Julius, Damir Doma, Thom Browne, Balenciaga and Comme des Garcons (the latter in which he closed). Not too bad, not too bad at all.

Next up, new face on the scene Anmari Botha has shown up at three Couture events so far – Christophe Jose, Giambattista Valli and the Givenchy presentation. Pretty good for a girl who popped up in New Zealand mere months ago.

Other notable – Caitlin Lomax (who is Australian but who lists local Red Eleven as her mother agency, so it semi counts…) – has had a pretty stellar run over this last year, and this time she booked Chanel again.

Well done to all the New Zealanders (and pseudo-New Zealanders) reppin’ us overseas. Bring on womenswear!

Continue reading ‘New Zealanders in Paris (and they goin' gorillas).’

Thanks for reading, would you like a present?

Published on January 26, 2012 in Awesome Things, Me and OMG. 23 Comments

L: Persol, R: Ralph Lauren

Ages ago I said if I ever won the fashion category of the Concrete Playground Bloggers Award, that I would be giving back to you readers to say thanks. Well, I did win (insert smiley face here) and as well as the glory, I also got to pick up some pairs of sunnies (thanks to Sunglass Hut) as my prize. Now we’re up to the fun part – where I get to say thanks.

I’ve teamed up with Tim and Joe of The Shutter Pirates (the winners of the overall award) and we’ve decided to conjointly give away two pairs of sunnies and two Shutter Pirates photographs.

How do you win? It’s pretty easy – all you have to do is like The Shutter Pirates and Katherine Is Awesome on Facebook then leave a comment either on this post here, or let me know which pair of sunnies you’d like (more pics below) in the comments on this photo here (not on this post), and you’re in the draw.

We’ll pull two names out of a hat in a fortnight’s time and if it’s yours then we’ll send you an A3 print of your choice as well as a pair of the sunnies that were gifted to me.

Happy Thursday night folks.

Continue reading ‘Thanks for reading, would you like a present?’

Models I met and liked: Ella Verberne.

Published on January 25, 2012 in Awesome Things, Models and Models I met and liked. 7 Comments

Ella Verberne @ Clyne.

For a while now I’ve been wanting to do mini-profiles on a few of the model girls (and boys) around town. Firstly, I’m pretty fascinated by the industry as a whole, and secondly, I figured it would be a nice new segment for the blog, being a new year and all. I intend for this to be a weekly (fingers crossed) installment on New Zealand models I love, models I have my eye on, up and comers and just plain favourites, so who better to start off with than one of New Zealand’s most successful new faces and one of the nicest girls around – Ella Verberne:

Continue reading ‘Models I met and liked: Ella Verberne.’

This is my favourite shot from the Stolen Girlfriends Club Autumn/Winter 2012 campaign.

Published on January 23, 2012 in Advertisements, Awesome Things and Models. 10 Comments

All Images/Derek Henderson for Stolen Girlfriends Club.

About 20 minutes ago the new Stolen Girlfriends Club Autumn/Winter 2012 campaign imagery was presented to me, I came across this shot and had to share it with you. It’s my favourite of the lot. There are several reasons for this:

  • Firstly, I really like cornflakes. Well, I don’t really eat cereal that often (read: at all) but if I were to choose any cereal in the world as my favourite, it would probably be cornflakes. They might be boring, but with a bit of sugar sprinkled on top they can really be quite delightful. But I digress. I like that they’ve used cornflakes.
  • Secondly, the cornflakes are Homebrand. Extra points for this.
  • Thirdly, we all know I think Georgia Fowler is a fecking good model, and  it was shot by Derek Henderson and we all know Derek Henderson is my favourite New Zealand photographer.
  • Fourthly, there’s just so much going on in this photo. It’s just so damn interesting, there’s a tonne of things to look at and it’s just kind of refreshing to see a campaign image that isn’t super clean and minimalist.
  • Fifthly, there’s something nice about how Stolen Girlfriends Club has their brand guidelines down. They have amazing marketing skills and there’s no doubt these photos fit in perfectly with their target audience. They know the kind of image to present and they stick with it and that’s what makes them incredibly successful. High fives for that.

See some of my other favourites from the campaign and credits, below.

Continue reading ‘This is my favourite shot from the Stolen Girlfriends Club Autumn/Winter 2012 campaign.’

Highs and Low(e)s.

Published on January 22, 2012 in Awesome Things, Highs and Low(e)s, Me and Rant. 12 Comments

Image/onofield.com

Highs:

  1. The Australian Open, duh.
  2. I tried The Ice Bar Co.’s ‘Old Fashioned Lemonade’ Ice-block (twice) this week. I can honestly say it’s one of the best frozen treats I have ever had in my life.
  3. Two projects got underway this week and, fingers crossed that everything goes according to plan, there’ll be some exciting things to come towards the end of next month. I know it’s pretty dumb to say this and not explain further, but I’m of the opinion that nothing’s set in stone until it’s set in stone, you know? I don’t want to jinx everything by sharing.
  4. This week I acquired my very own Ari Gold! From now on – don’t talk to me, talk to my agent/consultant/internet-advice-giver, Nivin.
  5. This is a little off-brand, but if you’re not already reading Slutever, you really need to. It’s kind of really NSFW though – for those who are in the office right now – do not click that link! Aside from being bloody entertaining and well written, the blog is actually kind of liberating.
  6. This awesome piece of fan-mail that L.A.S of How To Talk To Girls At Parties received from an 81 year old in New Mexico, in defence of bow ties.

Continue reading ‘Highs and Low(e)s.’

Remember when I used to be a good blogger?

Published on January 21, 2012 in Awesome Things, Me, Menswear and Rant. 2 Comments

Two looks from Valentino. Images/showstudio.com

Yeah, neither.

I must sound like a broken record, always telling you that I’m going to blog more and then not following through. If I’m being completely honest, I’m sort of avoiding the internet a bit. Well, as much as one can. Sometimes there’s just too much information. But, in saying that, I do realise that in order for one to actually be a ‘blogger’, one must actually ‘blog’, so in order to make up for the lack of KIA updates (I haven’t updated HERE, but I have updated the Tumblr and put up some things on my Facebook page) the past couple of days, I have compiled a list of things to entertain you until I get my highs and low(e)s on tomorrow:

  • Firstly, if you aren’t keeping up with Texts from Bennett you need to now. If only to make you feel comforted by the fact that someone like that exists in the world.
  • Secondly, this is supposed to be a fashion blog, right? Keep up with the collections, people! And if you can’t be bothered? At least check out the Valentino collection from Pitti Uomo. If that doesn’t blow your menswear minds, it’s time to get your head checked.
  • Tavi may not be your cup of tea, but there’s no denying she’s a full on teenage genius. The girl is incredibly well rounded and smart and basically everything a parent wants in a daughter. You don’t have to read her blog but you do have to watch this. “They were talking about how inappropriate it was for someone of my age to go to Fashion Week, she remembers, but this was coming from an industry that fetishes youth” – Tavi Gevinson. INCREDIBLE.
  • Oh my cake this looks fricken good.
  • My brother did a big photoshoot a few days ago – one that involved 11 models, guns, fire and a long ass drive to Taupo. He’s now got something like a week to get negative processed, retouching done and the whole thing printed and ready to exhibit. He won’t be getting any sleep, you can follow his progress on his blog and see some cool behind the scenes photos from his trip, here.
  • Two words: Gossip Girl.
  • One word: Californication.

The debut range of Thom Browne Eyewear is fulfilling my clip-on fantasies.

Published on January 18, 2012 in Awesome Things. 0 Comments

All Images/via the Thom Browne Facebook Page

When I was 9 years old I had clip-ons that attached to my glasses. They were wire frames with tortoise-shell inserts and had a koala bear motif on each of the arms. I remember feeling pretty cool about my clip-ons. That was then. Times changed – clip-ons were no longer cool (neither were frames with koala bear motifs) and basically that was the last time I ever thought about those funny wire contraptions that attached over your lenses, until today.

It’s over a decade later but I think it’s time those clip-ons made a comeback – and what better person to bring them back than Thom Browne? Images from the American designer’s debut range of eyewear surfaced on the brand’s Facebook page about a week ago, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about them since.

It’s a simple range – from circular John Lennon-ish wire frames and aviators to Browne’s take on the Ray Ban Clubmaster, the emphasis seems to be on ‘classic with a twist’ (cliché saying, I know), but the best part? At least half of the styles have clip-ons to go with them.

(No sign of koala bear motifs though.)

See my favourites below, and the rest here.

Continue reading ‘The debut range of Thom Browne Eyewear is fulfilling my clip-on fantasies.’

Shameless Self Promotion.

Published on January 17, 2012 in Me. 8 Comments

Things I've worn.

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but bear with me here – some of you may be new readers and some of you may not be aware, but I do a little thing where I document what I wear every day. Well, most days. I started doing it, partially out of curiosity (I want to know what the results will look like after a year) and partially because DOESN’T IT FEEL GREAT TO LOOK AT PHOTOS OF YOURSELF ALL THE TIME? *cough* Narcissist *cough*

I’ve been doing my ‘What I Wore Today’ posts for a couple of months now and, whilst the results aren’t too exciting, they do at least give people the opportunity to see my extensive range of model poses or  laugh at my lack of style or passively aggressively anonymously comment on how I wear the same things all the time. So, if you want to get in on the action (and of course you do, doesn’t that sound like fun?!) you can: Follow me on Instagram (thedownlowe), Twitter, or see the pictures on Facebook.

Happy Tuesday, folks.

New week, new thing: On and On's Fisherman's Beanie.

Published on January 16, 2012 in Awesome Things and Menswear. 5 Comments

All Images/onandon.co.nz

There are a lot of things I could talk about from On and On‘s range of product – between the leather laptop cases Isaac blogged about all those months ago and the eighties style board shorts that remind me of the kind of thing american trust fund babies wear on their yachts (in a good way), the red and white striped cap and it’s leather strap and the unexpected stone-coloured melange shirt – there’s a myriad of covetable menswear within the collection. But I’m not here to rave about any of those things, I’m here to introduce to you one of the simplest products they have on offer: the fisherman’s beanie.

Continue reading ‘New week, new thing: On and On's Fisherman's Beanie.’

Highs and Low(e)s.

Published on January 15, 2012 in Awesome Things, Highs and Low(e)s, Me and Rant. 7 Comments

The Auckland sky at 8.56pm tonight.


Highs:

  1. Granted, the weather has been a bit up and down lately (mostly down) here in Auckland, but did you see the sky tonight??!
  2. The other week I won $20 on a $3 Instant Kiwi. I claimed my $20 and purchased another two tickets for $6 and won $5 off one of those tickets. If my 7th form statistics (not brainy enough for calculus) serves me correctly, that’s a total of $16 profit! I know, right? And people say gambling is bad!
  3. I know this will sound really lame and nerdy, but man have my tumblr follower numbers gone up this week! And inexplicably. It’s like a bomb went off on Monday and everyone just suddenly realised how great my photos and answers to questions are. Too bad I can’t say the same about Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, but I’ll take what I can get thank you very much.
  4. I went to this quite delicious Japanese restaurant the other night – quite delicious and pretty well priced. I’m talking $10 for a decent sized salmon sashimi and avocado salad and $9.90 for a prawn dish I will definitely go back for. I’m pretty sure nothing was over $15. Everything was presented much more nicely than you would expect from a tiny, off-the-road-in-a-block-of-not-so-attractive-eateries place and I am glad to have found it. You will be too – Banzai on Dominion Road. Look it up.
  5. Blogged more than once this week! (This is my 1100th post, by the way.) Went to several meetings! Sent several emails! YES! Does that mean the blogger’s block/apathy is gone?! Does that mean I’m back?! YES! (I hope.)

Low(e)s:

  1. I’m going to offend a few people here, I have to say it: What is with this ‘le’ phenomenon?! ‘Le Sigh’. ‘Le Angry’. ‘Le Oops’. ‘Le Poor.’ I don’t like it! I don’t get it and whenever I hear it or see it I die a little inside. LE LAME.
  2. This performance by Lana Del Rey. I quite like the song, it’s the performance that I really question. Thoughts?
  3. No one ever gets my tumblr caption jokes. No one. Either that or no one thinks they’re funny, in which case I’d rather just assume nobody understands them.
  4. This week was particularly emotionally draining. (As opposed to all those other weeks when it’s only a little bit emotionally draining.)
  5. I need a job. Or I need to win lotto. Or to marry someone who will keep me in the lifestyle in which I am accustomed. Obviously the second one is preferable but let’s be realistic here.

Things I have learnt this year thus far.

Published on January 14, 2012 in Awesome Things, Me, Oh. and Rant. 5 Comments

Photo: Tristan Lewis.

  • There are few things more terrifying than driving around Auckland City with a flashing petrol light. Particularly scary streets to drive down in this situation? High Street, Queen Street and that super steep street that runs parallel to Queen Street behind the Langham hotel.
  • There are no guarantees in life (except that you’re going to die). Things can change in a second.
  • It doesn’t matter how many chicken bagels or half-scrambled-eggs-on-toast-with-extra-toast-and-a-side-of-avocado’s I order at Dizengoff, I will never get sick of eating either.
    Continue reading ‘Things I have learnt this year thus far.’

The New Zealand Fashion Festival 2012 kicks off in 6 weeks from today.

Published on January 13, 2012 in Awesome Things, Models and New Zealand Fashion Festival (NZFF). 2 Comments

New Zealand’s first fashion event of the year – the New Zealand Fashion Festival – will be kicking off in exactly 6 weeks from today. For those who aren’t aware, the NZFF is a 10 day long New Zealand fashion celebration in Auckland, that anyone and everyone can attend. There’ll be several events to go to, including shows (tickets go on sale on Monday) and things I’m probably not allowed to talk about yet. Basically it’s a great way for the public to get involved with fashion.

But more on all of that closer to the time. For now, just to get you a little bit excited and to pump up your Friday, I have this short behind-the-scenes video from the campaign shoot for you. Amongst others, it features the ever incredible Penny Pickard (N Model Management) and one of my top five new faces, Seon Hwang (Clyne).

Check it izzzouttt!

Continue reading ‘The New Zealand Fashion Festival 2012 kicks off in 6 weeks from today.’

I can get down with Patrik Ervell's womenswear.

Published on January 11, 2012 in Awesome Things and Rant. 1 Comment

Screenshot/patrikervell.com

It’s not every day that I can look through a designer’s collection and love every piece. It’s a very rare occurrence (if it even occurs at all). But very rare is not never, and last week when I stumbled upon this Patrik Ervell‘s womenswear collection (more images below) I had one of those moments where I thought I’d found the one.

Maybe I’m being slightly overdramatic, but I can honestly say that if I had the means (and by means I mean cash-monnayyyy) I would definitely be purchasing 70% of this collection – from the perfect tailored grey pants with a high rise and cropped at the ankle, to the the narrow white and blue button down shirts (those club collars!), the formal shirt (far left) with that amazing blue print and the tuxedo jacket (for all those formal occasions whereby I would need one…), from the patterned jeans, to the beanie (!!!), the ‘Norwegian Sweater‘ and every single other piece of knitwear to the navy bomber jacket, and last but not least – we can’t forget the black leather daypack.

Honestly, when does it ever get much better than this?!

Someone needs to bring Patrik Ervell to New Zealand immediately! (And not just the womenswear, because I quite like the menswear too.)

Continue reading ‘I can get down with Patrik Ervell's womenswear.’