"golden hour" inspirations

Not sure if anyone has noticed, but my boyfriend's photography for my photo shoots has shifted gears in the past month or so- no longer am I facing the sun but with my back to it instead, so there's no more harsh light on my face and the dreaded squinty eyes.

We're also taking the photos towards the end of the day at around 6pm, to try and catch the sunset and get some lovely sun flare. Apparently this is "golden hour"- the first and and last hour of sunlight during the day, according to the infallible Wikipedia.

This morning I found the most gorgeous photo shoot for Czech Republic's Marie Claire on one of my favourite fashion inspiration haunts (Fashion Gone Rogue), and I just thought it captured this so stunningly well, it warranted a blog post of its own :)

Vendela Johanssen by Dennison Bertram in Gucci for Marie Claire Czech Republic

source: Fashiongonerogue

burgundy and stone

Is it strange to be donned head-to-toe in an autumn palette when it's pushing past 30 degrees outside? I just can't seem to shake out of the season foregone just yet. This is where this burnt orange/stone-coloured little romper with a cut-out back comes in handy, as the earthy tones are perfect for autumn, yet provides enough breathing space for a hot day. I've been extremely appreciative of anything with open backs lately actually- very useful for catching that rare cool breeze that comes by every now and then.


Conversely however what are not fans (heh, unintended pun!) of any sort of wind, are hats, especially of the floppy and light kind. On one hand they're great because they protect you from the harsh sun and on the other you have to make sure you've always got one hand free to hold onto it. I almost wish I could go back to my primary school days where we had those floppy hats with the cord and toggle underneath, which you could adjust to keep your hat in place. See for reference:

Even she wishes to maintain some street cred by not pulling the toggle up all the way so that it rests snugly underneath her chin. But that's just plain silly as the wind's still going to blow your hat off  if it's not firmly secured to your head! If she wanted to be cool she should've simply not worn the hat at all. There's no point in doing a halfway house between cool and dork, because you've achieved neither. When I was in primary I pulled that damn toggle all the way up until I almost choked, and I proudly strutted around the schoolyard oozing of sensibleness and practicality. The fact that I never got a guy during those years, is irrelevant.

Romper: Koom

Belt: Temt

Burgundy floppy hat: Factorie

Shoes: Kagui

Sunnies: markets

Multi-jewelled cuff: Lovisa

Peacock ring: House of Harlow

Monochromatic Peter Pan

Blouse: Gmarket

Shorts: Imprint

Necklace: House of Harlow

Just an outfit post from a few days ago. As Sydney weather has been a little erratic this was one of parallel universe days where you find yourself wearing long sleeves and stockings and those days of wearing summer dresses and ridiculous tan lines seem like a distant dream (when it was only the day before).

As much as I adore this Peter Pan lace blouse, unfortunately I don't wear it out very often. I think the reason is that it's white and already lined with black cuffs and collar, so I feel like it can only look good with something at the bottom in black.


Then when I'm already head to toe (or thigh) in black and white I feel like the rest of the outfit needs to be black and white too, because I've already launched the bulk of my outfit into monochrome mode and adding any other colours will only look disruptive and strange. Like when you watch a black and white movie and randomly bring in a few bursts of colour the whole cinematic effect will be ruined (unless they're incorporated in a controlled and deliberate artsy sort of way a la Sin City). OR maybe it's just me... 

It sure was difficult in capturing the crochet detail of the shorts without making everything else washed out (damn you white blouse and walls!). I might be getting a new camera soon (still probably a point and shoot, sad to say!) so that might allow me to take some more HQ indoors outfit shots for next time! :)

Oh and I almost forgot- I just finished uploading my shop! I'm moving out sometime at the end of this year or the beginning of next, and I really need to clear out half of my wardrobe! I looked at my clothes to see if there was anything I hadn't worn in a long time or got very little wears over the past few seasons. Most items are in great condition with no visible flaws or defects, as I haven't worn them out much. If anyone's interested, please check it out here :)

it mustard been love

This day marked two years of my boyfriend and I's relationship (well technically it was the day after, but close enough). Since it was still during my study vacation and I had an exam in a few days, we didn't do anything big and exciting. Completely fine by me, as give me a good meal plus the thickest hot chocolate from Max Brenner and I'm happy as a lark =D We will probably organise something after my exams are over!

As for what to wear- my boyfriend has been pretty agitated lately with my recent dive into sequins (finds them tacky), green (doesn't like the colour), and maxi dresses/skirts (too much body cover-up). As it was our anniversary I thought I might just appease him- surely a cute little short dress can do no wrong. Plus I know for certain that he likes the colour yellow (a colour I used to adamantly steer clear from until I discovered mustard yellow is not so bad on Asian skintones). He however was under a lot more stress as for what to wear- plagued and delayed in the morning by the challenging question, of what a male should wear for a formal occasion in blistering hot weather? I tried to help him in the morning by Google imaging the relevant keywords, and the closest thing I could find were button down shirts and three-quarter shorts. Hardly what you'd call inspiring.

In the end he opted for a polo shirt with jeans which looked totally fine to me, but I do feel sorry for the males who'd like to look a little less casual without frying in the harsh Australian sun. Times like these I really appreciate being female, as quite frankly we're spoilt for choice with all the clothing range available to us.

Onto the pictures now!

Lattice back dress: Paper Hearts

Chiffon cardigan(?): Supre

Heels: Bon Bon

(sorry for the stringy and messy hair- can't be helped on the evening of a hot day :( especially when it's windy too!)

Love this chiffon cardigan/drape (what on earth is it exactly?) thingamabob from Supre! It's only spring over here for us Aussie folks but we're already really feeling the scorch of the summer heat. This white thingy is one the most practical items in my wardrobe. It provides the perfect extra layer in this kind of weather, to spruce up outfits a little more rather than relying solely on jewellery. It's incredibly thin, so that you can scrunch it up in a little ball and shove it in even the smallest of handbags. Practical and Purposeful indeed!

Is it better to wear a bra or not with a dress like this? This was one of those dresses where the back of the bra would cut across the back in an ugly and intrusive manner ruining the dress' intricate lattice design, and even if I wore a bra extender you would still be able to see the bra through the holes. There is no point in showing off the cut-out detail if I'm going to ruin the design with my bra poking out!

In the end I decided to resort to my silicone gel pads, which I haven't worn since my formal days back in 2007 (don't worry, I washed them thoroughly with soap both then in 2007 and the day before I wore them again!) And JUST like back on the day of my formal, they still felt strange, unnatural and paranoia-inducing, especially considering the pads tend to lose their stickiness after time (I'm pretty sure 4 years is long enough lol). It would be a terrible thing if the adhesiveness wore off as I was walking down a busy street, so I brought a back-up bra in my bag.

Thank goodness I had no need for it, as the gel pads stuck on as firmly as they did in 2007! I'm relieved that they didn't fall off, but it will always feel weird going out without a bra on and putting the sake of your dignity in the hands of two sticky thingies?? Yet I didn't know how else to make the back of my dress look more aesthetically pleasant. I do think it looks quite unattractive to have your undergarments displayed brazenly to the public despite how much more practical and convenient that option might be. Boobs. Such pesky and troublesome things.

My accessories close-up.

Cuff: Lovisa

Necklace: Lovisa

Earrings: (my favourite! For obvious reasons) Tree of Life

(anyone a fan of Roxette? Super successful pop duo in the 80s and 90s. They released a song called "It Must Have Been Love" that was featured on the Pretty Woman soundtrack. The title is a play on words because it was our anniversary, and the colour of my dress was mustard...yes arrest me for my lameness. But does anyone even remember music from that era? Or am I simply too old. Well I wasn't born yet either when the song was first released...but come on, it's a classic!!)

Latest purchases

Paper Hearts mustard yellow lattice back dress- $40AUD

I wore this on the weekend for a shoot, which was also coincidentally my boyfriend and I's two-year anniversary. I'll be uploading the pictures soon!

Ebay rose jumper- $32AUD

There were so many pink loose threads dropping off as I took it out of its plastic packaging, creating a trail from my bedroom to the hallway outside where I took these photos. As these are a knock-off of the American Apparel rose jumpers, I wonder if the genuine thing actually leaves such a mess behind. I don't want to be like a cat or dog that leaves fur on furniture and people's bodies everywhere I go!

Glassons floral dress $60AUD

Honestly, is there any scope at all for describing this dress as "red"? I tried this on in one store and fell in love with it but they didn't have my size, so I trekked over to another location, and tried to confirm in the morning with them. It took a while for the girl to find it since I had insisted it was a "red floral dress" but after giving her a variety of other descriptors including the item code, she said "ohh you mean the pink one in the window." I was adamant it was red! The first store's lighting may have been a bit dark, but surely you can't go wrong calling it a deep pink/red. She however said "no, there is no pink at all." Oh well, I got what I wanted in a size very few stores had left, and it's a gorgeous little dress regardless of what colour anyone says it is! :3

Ebay crochet shorts- $30

Without being stretched out a little by my hanger, the waist is tiny. When there is zero stretch to it, it looks like a little kid's pair of shorts. I can manage to squeeze into them, but mind you that's only when the elastic's being stretched to its absolute maximum. Pack on a little Christmas weight (which I'm anticipating) and I'd be worried that these will burst.

from Adambeauty.com- Kate My Colour pencil in brown (Br-2)- $5 each

Adambeauty.com is great for making small purchases because the shipping rate is already included in the product (which is already at a very competitive price anyway), and only an extra $2 for EMS or registered post. Total price was therefore $12.

What I actually purchased was a refill, where I had already bought a holder and a refill separately back in April. The holder is  $7HKD, which is only less than $1 USD or AUD so it's no biggie. When that refill was up, I bought two more and it was too easy to plug it in the holder to use again.

I only use a pencil liner for the bottom of my eyes so it is actually pretty quick that I've used one up in only 3 months. The eye pencil already looks tiny in its holder- but the product is not even half of it! It only makes up the clear plastic part at the top. The size is just so cute though >_< Damn Asian beauty manufacturers always know how to get me with their adorable packaging.

Lovisa spiked necklace, $9 (reduced from $20)

Impulse buy, I think. A fleeting desire to incorporate edgier styles into my wardrobe!

Markets, $15

I'm not an avid sunglasses brands guru so I've no idea what label this style has knocked off, but all I was looking for were sunglasses that didn't slide off my nose and weren't so oversized as to eat up my face. I had such a difficult time choosing between this in the purple tint and the honey tint- but in the end I settled for purple as it matches my skin tone and hair colour more!

from Mexy Shop, I got both items for ~$20

I did a review for this Taiwan-based Asian fashion online store here!

Urban Outfitters, coral/red jeans $51.65 incl shipping

I actually wanted to return these, but that would result in me wasting more than $27- a little over $17 for shipping from Aus to the US, + the $10 I spent on shipping from UO to me in the first place. I just don't think it's a very versatile piece, but on the bright side:

• these are extremely comfortable! The material is very soft, like jeggings but thicker.
• the price isn't too bad- a lot of jeans around the $50 mark are pretty shoddy quality- I find that often the material is really hard and uncomfortable.
• everyone else likes them even if I don't. I've always had the tendency to find it hard to accept positive feedback, but perhaps over time I'll be swayed.

Due to the excessive spending (by my standards) lately I think I'll give it a break for a while, and focus on selling my stuff again. I will be moving out at the end of this year/early next year to an apartment, so I'd probably be leaving a lot of clothes behind anyway. For my older/outdated clothes I'll probably just shove them all in a huge bag and donate them to one of those charity bins. Super uber keen to get rid of everything! 

Renkoh Sasaki editorial

Not sure if anyone else gets the same vibe- but there's something about some of the photos that is just so perfectly imperfect. In the third, the angle is slightly tilted and the man on the bike on the right is clearly in the way, but his intrusive presence and bright yellow shirt somehow go so well with the photo. The composition and posing of the model in the second is also a little odd, with her face buried in the umbrella and her arm hanging out in that manner, but once again it seems perfectly offbeat.

The light, frizzy hair and the model's poses combined with the bold colours create a quirky sort of mix of whimsical + retro. I absolutely love it! It would be incredible to achieve fraction of this amount of genius in one of my photoshoots.

source: fashiongonerogue