The Frost

Winter is coming. Despite the fact that we’ve had more sun here in the last week that we had all summer, winter is well and truly on it’s way. There’s a chill in the evenings and yesterday frost dusted our lawn. Every year everybody complains about winter’s arrival, but I think it might just be my favorite season. So, here is a post of pictures and little notes to get all of us in the Southern Hemisphere excited about the coming cold. A few of the things I look forward to…

Winter clothes! Big fur coats, snuggly knits (I’ve bought three already), leather boots and scarves. I always feel like it’s easier to be fashionable in winter, being able to layer up and accessorise with scarves and socks. Speaking of, socks are probably the number one item I’m most looking forward to wearing….

Lovely lovely socks and scarves 🙂

Another reason to be excited: indoor activities. When the rain and wind are beating at the windows, you get to curl up in a blanket beside the fireplace and while away the weekends in a haze of good books and movies. The only thing you have to get up for is to make another hot chocolate, or serve the soup.

All the better if you can do so somewhere like this:

If all else fails know that in winter the intensity of the cold, of the dark, of the wind, reminds the world to be gloriously alive.

Thank you to the following places for these pictures:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

For Tired Eyes

I have spent my entire Saturday inside, at Uni, writing about moths. I wish that was some kind of awful joke. It is not. Needless to say, arriving home to this view from our deck did wonders for my tired eyes. The quote, from one of my favourite books The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, is also a reassuring reminder.

I hope the sun has been shining this beautifully for all of you – have a wonderful weekend.

X

Top Four – Salasai AW12

I am very excited that Salasai’s AW ’12 collection is now in stores. It’s been hotly anticipated following their show at last years NZ Fashion Week, which for those who missed it was a powerful affair held in St Matthews church. Inspired by Anglo Saxon history, their models are resplendant in plaid, silks and sheer pieces and the whole collection maintains their strong androgenous bent. I love the mix of pretty and powerful all of the following outfits create.

 

 

 

 

 

To find out where to get your hot little hands on some Salasai, click through to their website here.

GEO

I’m having a brief infatuation with all things geometric. The shift into winter always pulls me in two directions: one, down the road of organic shapes, hobo knits, soft light and a sleepy atmosphere; the other, towards clean lines, edgy outfits, bright lips and high energy. I’m sure you’ll see more of the former as the mercury drops but for now, geometrics are having their moment in my mind.

This necklace is part of the stunning new range Thick as Thieves by New Zealand jewelry designer Kester Black. I have a feeling I might end up with one of these, and that it might end up wrapped around my wrist, bracelet style. The rest of the collection is pretty special too – check it out here.

This is from Australian label Gorman. I want the tights very badly. The exciting thing here is that Gorman have just opened their first ever New Zealand store, so all their wonderfully fun and colorful pieces are just a hop skip and paycheck away. See the rest here.

This bookshelf is fantastically simple, and works especially well with the striking bold ornaments. I have a slightly obsessive compulsive bent when it comes to symmetry so this is just ticking all the right boxes in my books. Have a look here.

These Celine shoes are a work of art. Art that belongs on my feet. That is all.

Top Four – April Mags

I am a complete magazine nut. I buy far more than my student budget can accommodate, and have stacks of them rapidly reducing my room size. In anticipation of a day or two’s freedom, I thought I’d share with you some recent editions I’m loving.

I was so excited to see Claudia Schiffer on the cover of the new Marie Claire. I may have embarrassed myself in the supermarket with a slightly over-zealous dance around the mag stand. In my last post I claimed that Miranda Kerr was the most beautiful women in the world. Well I lied, she’s tying it with Claudia in my books. Which got me thinking that Claudia should really have a post of her own – keep an eye out.

Another satisfying read has been Yen Magazine’s Issue 55. There is always something in Yen to impress me; this month it was a feature on mood boards, a gorgeous interview with Jane Birkin and their featured guest illustrator, Stacey Rozich.

The new Donna Hay magazine’s main feature is caramel, but as usual it’s full up with edible joy. Like spiced ginger, cardamom and pomegranate syrup cake; fig, honey and vanilla tarte tat in; buttermilk crumpets with scrambled egg, pine mushrooms and crispy oregano. The picture on the cover is Rum and Date Cake with Caramel Sauce. In case you haven’t got the message yet:

And finally, Smith Journal. This is Frankie Magazine’s man-version, so of course I bought it for my boyfriend. I now wish I’d bought it for myself. Unfortunately as it’s at his house I’m struggling to remember names and places but there are beautiful bush-huts, old fashioned butchers diagrams, knitted sweaters galore, and lots of other things that shouldn’t just be for the boys. The aesthetic is masculine and refined, and like it’s sister it is very well written.

I read a lot of magazines so I’d love to hear your favorites too!

Miranda Kerr for Harpers Bazaar

I know I’m a bit behind posting this, but I couldn’t resist. Miranda is too gorgeous not to be excited about, and Harpers never fails to induce awe with their stunning editorials. This shoot is from the US April edition, where Terry Richardson worked his magic once more. When it comes to fashion eras I must say I’m usually more of a 70’s fan, but this editorial is well on the way to converting me. Big thank you to Dream.Delight.Inspire for being the first to put me onto this beauty!

 

 

 

 

 

Phenomenal no? I’m going to go now and dream of looking that good with a mouthful of pasta…

In defense of scribbling

The other day I was reading and a phrase struck me as being particularly felicitous. It leapt out at my tired eyes and prompted me to do something I’ve never done before – grab a pencil and draw a big box around the paragraph. It felt sacriligous. Never in my life have I imposed my own scribblings on a book, let alone a book of immense quality, hardback, of beautiful prose. Then I wondered why I felt so guilty.

How many times have I taken to a phrase, admired it, maybe written it down somewhere, and then forgotten it? I’m converted. The book is now full of circled words, boxed paragraphs and notes in the margin. Next time I pick it up it won’t just be an exceptionally written book, it will also reflect me, it’s owner, reader, admirer. The book ceases to be a passive item and becomes a personal artifact. It contains small fragments of my mind and my existence.

The passage, if you are interested, was from Janet Frame’s The Carpathians, a pretty exceptional book on all accounts. It goes like this:

“How far away you have been, and now your death is near; I hold in my hand the most distant star. The dead of yesterday dine with me at my table.”

Do you understand now? Do you write in your books?

The note below, from thxthxthx, pretty much sums it up. The site is definitely worth a visit if you aren’t already aware of it.

Link List

Take a look at Garance’s blog – another fabulous installment of her ‘Pardon My French’ short video series is up. Check it out to see glimpses behind the scenes at NYFW and to hear Diane Von Furstenberg’s recipe for ginger and lemon tea. I love how she comes across as so genuine on camera. Scott, over at The Sartorialist says “she’s just as charming in real life as she is in her writing”. I couldn’t agree more.

Oracle Fox has a round up of fantastic street style pics from London Fashion Week here. Don’t you love it when someone else filters out all the rubbish for you?

It had been a while since I’d checked in on one of my favourite sites, The Selby. I’m glad I did because the pictures of Otto and Monika’s Berlin apartment are great. I adore the riot of pots on their kitchen wall, and of course the iconic interview at the end. Most of their survey isn’t even in English, yet I still find more personality in this than I could get from a thousand photos.

Top Four – Jason Wu Spring

I’ve been a bit slack keeping up to date with the recently finished New York Fashion Week. Online coverage seems to be patchy, however one collection which stood out to me was Jason Wu. His collection was beautifully feminine with bows, feathers and peplum, with a discernible touch of glamour. I’d love to play around with some of his pieces and toss them into a really grungy outfit.

Images of the rest of his Spring collection can be found here, but I suggest you freeze your credit card first…

Top Four – Deadly Ponies A/W ’12

So pictures of Deadly Ponies Autumn/Winter collection are finally emerging. I had a hard time narrowing it down to four favorites but I think the following bags are a fine selection. The images here are from Showroom 22,  where you can view the full collection, but be sure to keep an eye out over on the Deadly Ponies website because they’re sure to pop up there soon enough.

 

 

 

 

The leather literally feels like butter in your hands. Another few things to add to the winter wishlist I suppose… Which is your favourite?