A Pointless Education

A healthy body makes a healthy mind.
The more you read, the more you know.
And every girl needs a vintage Fendi belt stolen from her grandmother.
Because...all that glitters is gold.

So I don't really have empirical proof of the veracity of the first two well loved truisms but I do believe 100% in the truth of the my last made-up saying of wisdom. And if you don't have a grandmother who has vintage shiny belts - Steal someone else's grandmother.

But I did enjoy food-lusting over Daniel's overpriced Bircher muesli at my home away from home, Seven Seeds, which was far too pretty to eat. But if you have to eat, eat beautifully no? At least I'm pretty sure that's what they do in Paris anyway.

And educational reading? Issues of Jalouse are totally all I need for my education in life. When I used to go manual in class - it was all about sneak reading a magazine under the nose of the lecturer...all the time.
Law textbooks? Quoi? Why read when you can stare at quasi-porny, amazingly inspirational photo shoots all day?

You totally concur.

Love

xo

Bec

Aren't You A Pretty Rainbow Thing!

I wish I were cool enough to pull off rainbow colours (I'm sure I had some sad pitiful attempt during my regrettable high school years with knee high rainbow toe socks...I actually found them the other day...they have some merit as foot warmers as long as nobody sees them)

Point is - I wish I were awesome enough to wear several colours. At the same time. But I'm barely looking passably stylish with black (oh I do love black)

Anyway this handicap (yeah it totally is a disability) - makes me super jealous of uber-cool people like Steph who can effortlessly rock things which look like what my totally 'stuck in the Make Love Not War' era primary school art teacher would wear if she had the opportunity to blend all her favourite colours into a ridiculously fabulous sweater.

Get colourfully trippy.

And who knows...somewhere over the rainbow...dum dee dum...

xx

Bec

The Conservationist

'Reduce your carbon footprint by decking yourself out in vintage goodness'

If somebody had tried to promote environmental awareness/conservation to me like that in school, I probably wouldn't have been overcome by the fact that according to the CERES board survey - it would take a grand total of 5 planets to sustain me (I think that's kind of horribly funnyl though...in a terribly un-PC evil intergalactic ruler type way)

In any case - I am totally about going green now. I buy organic cotton tees (they really do feel better), recycle my paper, eat organic and to the greatest extent possible I do buy Fair Trade coffee. But it's always lovely to meet that person doing that little bit extra for the planet. Like Edward (I also made the faux pas of assuming his accent was American when he is in fact from Canada...and I really should remember that people in the US of A do in fact have a much cooler neighbour) who makes a rather dapper/dashing representative for the Australian Conservation Foundation.

The outfit is amazingly 100% vintage (I'm terribly obsessed with the blazer and the too-awesome-for-words feathered chapeau) and the boots (sadly unavailable unless you care to get them hand-made in Vietnam)

Sad boot envy or not - it's a great example of that cliched and much abused saying: 'Walking the talk'

And I like to think that my aim to improve my op-shopping eye is really part of me doing my part to save the planet (Captain Planet all the way!)...

Go Green & Much Love

xo

Bec

PS. My PLC compadres - You will be either most pleased or disgustingly shocked to discover that I did in fact do MY extra bit for the environment by joining up with the ACF

Unhealthy Obsession: Brogues Part II

Or perhaps I should have re-titled this: 'The Never-Ending Quest to Emulate Gainsbourg' (Either that or buy that kind of obscenely expensive Gainsbourg is God sweater from Net-A-Porter)

A rather hideous fellow who somehow oozed nonchalant sleazy sexiness, Left Bank artistic cool and is the very embodiment of the saying that French men achieve great things (and usually contract a venereal disease along the way). Words of the saying. Not mine. A twentieth century gentleman of leisure who married Jane Birkin (of the Birkin bag) and spawned Charlotte Gainsbourg (need I say more)

So inspired was I by my love affair with Serge & Jane (in honour of her...I do have a pair of much loved high waisted denim hotpants...if only I had her legs) that I inconveniently lugged around a box of Repetto Zizi richelieus all around L'Hexagone during my 'Oh you learned French in school...we should probably try going to the country now' trip. Being all patent, black and shiny and ridiculously comfy and soft (the genius of Gainsbourg is that the man knew how to rock a pair of girl's jazz shoes...although they are inspired by men's shoes...and now I'm just getting gender confused)...it was pure crazy l'amour at first sight. That's what Paris does to you.

Technically I should have bought them in white. But the practical penny pinching Asian in me figured I'd get more wear out of anything black and shiny. Then...the not-so-practical magpie in me then went and bought an even shinier pair a couple of years later...But they have gold! And they have a cut-out detail...which makes them different right? Right?

You can blame Gainsbourg for all this. And the unhealthy obsession while we're at it.

No seriously.

Love

xo

Bec

Unhealthy Obsession: Brogues Part I

I should probably be sent to some mental institution for my unhealthy obsession with brogues.

The fact that I go absolutely postal for anything and everything that vaguely resembles a dandy man shoe.
But there's something about the humble winkle-popper (yeah apparently that's actually a real term for it) that I just can't get out of my head. Something that evokes the air of the well-heeled dandy gentleman of leisure (I am a bit in love with the idea of the failing 19th century European aristocrat who was good at nothing and yet brilliant at everything, and were I a man, I'm sure I would have come up with the idea for the classic nothingness novel: 'The Life & Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman' and its French counterpart)

I could go brogue stalking forever. I should probably branch out and have more of a love affair with other types of shoes (I am a bit of a boot stalker as well) but it probably isn't going to happen anytime this week (or the next...but no guarantees about the week after next...I could have found a completely new thing to go mental for...)

With so much to love from classic, impeccably made Ballys (I'd pretty much just met the man but I'd decided we were going to be firm friends after sighting his babies) to rain-splattered slightly whorey cut-out pair (I did feel terribly sorry for my friend as they probably weren't the proper foot attire for a downpour) or Steph's adorable (similarly rain splattered) vintage and much loved-and-abused richelieus (yes they sound so much classier en francais)...

How could you not love a good brogue?

Get your dandy factor on this week.

And send much love to your mamas today!

Love

xo

Bec

Jail La La

Being delinquent never looked or sounded so so good...

Love

xo

Bec

The Yo Ring

Some things were just accidentally meant to be.
Like a Facebook marriage to epic girl crush after an impromptu class hijacking led to a legendary eight hour girl-date on the grass.
Like landing a date with a cute boy after technological fail leads to one being pathetically stranded at a bar (I nearly spelled that as bra...spell fail).
Like photos that look all edgy and artistic when really it was just a case of 'What the hell is happening with this camera'

And some things are just accidents. Like falling into a pool. That's never graceful. And definitely a story for another time.

To add to the list of beautiful mishaps: 'Like pointlessly buying something else awesome when the aim of the game was to purchase a much lusted for item instead'

And thus began the recent love affair with the magic Yo ring - which technically should have been my vintage button knuckleduster (which okay...arguably are pretty damn awesome as well...I mean they are buttons...and it was a huge ring and I made a pact with myself that 2010 was going to be my Year of the Knuckleduster because it makes me feel all powerful editrix or just plain cool honestly)

It should have been a simple, uncomplicated mission. But one look at the selection of kind of novelty but fully awesome perspex typewriter rings kind-of-maybe-possibly made me do a complete 360. So I ended up with the Yo ring. And not the knuckleduster. Gold plated, kind of weird/crazy/kooky awesomeness. I like to think it kind of has a subversively humorous editor look to it (I did wear it with my editor outfit the other day and it got much love)

Plus it saves me having to say 'Hi' verbally to people anymore. Or rather...should I say 'Yo'. And I could deal with less effort.

Lots of love
(And in true ghetto style...Peace out)
xo

Bec