formal

For many, their school formal is one of the most exciting and anticipated events of their schooling life, while for others, they're a bit more of an inconvenience than anything else. However, despite your own views on them, it's guaranteed that as term four of school comes around, the main topic of conversation turns into something formal related. "What are you wearing?" "Who are you taking?" "Who's having pres?" "Who's having afters?" "Can you get your brother to get me some alcohol?" So much hype surrounds the event that when it arrives you realise that it was all a bit of an anti-climax and you're stuck with a dress (in some cases) that you spent lots of money on and that you'll never wear again.

Having been invited to seven formals in my lifetime, certain themes have started to occur in terms of people's approach to what they wear. There are a few key ways in which people go about their formal that once mentioned you'll begin to notice and pinpoint with everyone at your own. These are: The online shopper, the handmade dresser, the vintage lover, the extravagant and elaborate and the subdued spender. 

The online shopper: There's no denying that online shopping is possibly one of the greatest inventions since probably the invention of the wheel in the 4th millennium BC. But as wheels can lose air, online shopping too has its faults especially when shopping for a formal dress. Shops like ASOS, Princess Polly, Nasty Gal and thereformation are the go to shops for formal dresses, and while it's convenient and in some cases cheap. The chances of someone wearing the same dress as you is heightened drastically. The problem with online shopping is that the dresses and shoes are very 'in' at the moment, so your shoes and dress aren't necessarily going to be unique or make you stand out in the way that you'd like. At my year ten formal, someone bought her whole outfit online, off a pretty conventional website and someone wore the exact same dress and the same shoes in a different colour. For my formal this year, I looked for a dress for ages and couldn't find one. So eventually, I just asked my mum to find me a dress online. I've admittedly bought my whole outfit online this year which I'm a little bit concerned about as it was all from Topshop but I tried imagining anyone else in my year wearing the same dress and I can't picture it, so hopefully that's a good sign.

The handmade dresser: I have a lot of respect for the seamstresses amongst us who are talented and committed enough to make not only their own dress, but dresses for their friends as well. There's a few in every year who wear the most stand out dresses that are an absolute reflection on their personality and style. Some, who are unable to sew go to dressmakers to manifest their dream dress into reality, the best dresses I've seen at any formal I've been to have been handmade. But at the same time, often these handmade dresses are so to one's own personal taste that nobody else appreciates it. That's okay though, because in all honesty if you're dressing to fit in with other people's style, you'll end up in an unhappy and unmemorable dress and situation. 

The Vintage lover: There's no denying that vintage dresses are absolutely fantastic, I personally love wearing a vintage dress and knowing that someone else wore this to a similar event, it's like you're wearing a part of history which I find really cool. In fact, there's this vintage dress shop near my house and I went there to find a formal dress with my mum, as well as being whisked away into a dressing room with my own personal dresser whilst being served coffee and tea, I found the most beautiful dress ever and it fit perfectly but it also cost $1000 which nor my mother or I were willing to pay. The people who wear vintage dresses to formal are often the most gutsy and memorable, often going for total vintage vibes, they look elegant and timeless which I adore. For one of the formals I'm going to this year I'll be wearing a handmade dress designed and made for my grandmother which really excites me as I know that nobody else will be wearing the same thing, and that someone who I never got to meet but whom I've heard so much about had really lovely experiences wearing this dress. 

Extravagant and Elaborate: Without fail, this person graces every formal with their $90 makeup from mac, their $180 hair design from an elite hairdresser and their $400 dress with $200 shoes to match. These are the people who have counted down to their formal from when they were five years old and whose parents are living vicariously through them to make up for what they didn't have growing up. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this though, as many people have different priorities but one thing is for certain, money doesn't equate to style and while I've heard of someone wearing an $8000 Versace dress, I'm sure that someone who spent $100 on a dress will look equally as beautiful. The Extravagant and Elaborate formal go-er will be trying to make formal the night of their lives and remember spending what some would consider their life savings on a dress shouldn't be intimidating to those of us without that luxury as it's like when people ask how much you've studied just to brag about the ten hours of maths they did, your two hours was just as effective and got the job done. 

Subdued Spender: The subdued spender is often envied by many, they're the person who managed to pick up a killer dress for a steal. They're the person who watched youtube tutorials for their hair and makeup and it looks professionally done. Some of the best formal looks I've seen have been found for under $200, even cheaper than that for some cases. I'm personally a big fan of this person in the formal situation as rather than spending their savings on a dress they'll wear once, they buy something a bit more versatile and can wear it again and again, which I've not been able to do and regret immensely. I'm trying to be as cheap as possible this year with formals as I'm currently not in the best financial situation so will be doing everything myself, which I'm looking forward to.

Now the above list is a drastic generalisation, I'm not going to say that everyone who attends formals will fit into five handy categories but I like to think that everyone identifies loosely to some of the categories. But most importantly, enjoy your formal, dance lots, laugh lots and be comfortable and confident in what you're wearing. Confidence shines brighter than any outfit would.

Liv xo

Obsession

Over the past few months an overwhelming obsession has built up over all things iridescent, holographic, perspex, white, minimalist and flatform. It's sort of like I've turned into a magpie and suddenly flock to everything shiny, this hasn't been an occurrence necessarily of my own accord either as I have a group of extremely fashionista friends who were tuned into this obsession long before I was. But it has developed and I'm embracing it, blogs like love-aesthetics inspired perspex clutches or cool cut-out perspex panels in jumpers (not my creation but fashionista friend Niamh is right onto that bandwagon). And obviously holographic stuff isn't necessarily a new thing but it's kind of sea-punk and futuristic and has so many good vibes like really, when you look at holographic stuff all you can think of is the future and flying cars but also wearing a pair of holographic flatfoms can spice up ANY outfit.

This brings me to my next point: flatforms. As a pretty tall person I've always struggled with wearing heels as I've always towered over my friends and for a long time, boys. Then for a while I became really self conscious of my height and so slouched and ruined my posture and then missed the vital training years of how to walk in stilettos and it was just a disaster. Thankfully now I love being tall and don't really care of how much taller heels will make me because if you can't work what you've got then whats the point in having it. But you know, obviously not every day is an occasion to wear heels so I've heavily invested in the clog, chunky sandal and flatform bandwagon. Flatforms particularly are so versatile and give you added height without the inconvenience of heels and can be worn casually or to go out, which is why I think everyone should invest in at least two pairs because you need one for summer and probably a chunkier ankle strapped one for winter. Sportsgirl has been the source of my last two pairs and they're insanely comfortable and are the cause of many compliments on a very regular basis. There are so many varying heights on flatforms now too which I really like so you can go for a very statement, almost artistic option or a more subtle option that gives you some nice extra height, and they're so insanely comfortable. Honestly, if you're going to invest in one shoe this summer make sure it's a flatform, seriously.

I was procrastinating so did a funky lil photoshoot

Big Clutch: Target! $20.00

Holographic phone case: Target $15.00

White Chunky Sandal: Jeffrey Campbell, $125.00 (bought from the markets for $70.00)

Perspex clutch: Made by me out of a bag carrying a quilt cover

Holographic Stilettos: Topshop $124.00 (worth every cent)

Other phone case: Sportsgirl $5.00

up close, they're so so beautiful

Someone was wearing these at a Tavi Gevinson talk I went to, so so cool in real life.

Stella McCartney, just look at the perspex.

Liv xo 

the best thing ever: childhood nostalgia

So lately lots of things have been changing around me; I've graduated school and have just turned eighteen, amongst the most stand out of events. But I hate this idea that once you turn eighteen you have to make adult choices and whatever because really I don't want to be an adult, or make adult choices and the only reason I was even looking forward to turning eighteen was at how easy it'd be for me to buy alcohol.

So while in the eyes in the law I'm an adult, in my eyes I'm still quite firmly a child. And, the other day whilst cleaning my room I found a selection of some fantastic accessories from when I was about 7 and it brought back so many childhood memories that I'd forgotten entirely about. Now, my childhood wasn't really stand out in the sense that I never really went overseas or did really cool camps and whatever, but I did have two older brothers. So even though I was born halfway through the 90s I still had very much a 90s childhood, and as a result of that had some very 90s/early 00s outfits and accessories...some of these accessories I found the other day. But also, since the 90s are 'back', I've been able to buy so many things that just take me back to my prime; 1999.

This is what I love about fashion, you can try on a skirt that you wore on your first date and all of the butterflies and awkwardness come flooding back. You can buy a pair of sparkly socks and you're taken back to the school disco in 2001. This has been happening to me more and more recently and I was taken back to my Avril Lavigne punk stage of 2002, my Baby Spice phase of the late 90s and even my Lizzie McGuire phrase of 2004. That's also what I love about the recycling of fashion, at the moment we're in a mix of pretty much every decade before ours and I absolutely love it, I love how I can wear my mum's jeans that she fondly bought in the 70s and she can recount the last time she wore them and what was going on in her life at that time.

There is a problem with this though, I've turned into the worlds biggest clothes hoarder because I keep seeing my mum wearing things in the 70s and getting angry at her because she didn't keep them. Or even seeing photos of me from like 2005 and doing the same??? But even so, just looking back at photos of old outfits are one of my newly found favourite past times, how nice is it looking back at a dress you wore and being flooded with memories? I think it's probably just my way of coping with the impending 'adult choices' that have to be made.

(the fake hair was part of my punk stage)

and here's me in 1999 wearing a cool jumper that is actually radiating!?

5 stars for mum

Liv xo

the saddest people in the world club

This post is going to have a bit of a sadder undertone because I've been thinking about this a lot recently and just really want to express my thoughts on this new 'fashion' of being sad.

Sometimes I find myself thinking about all that's going on in the world and my position within it all. I mean this in the sense that my emotions are sometimes so disconnected to what's going on in other countries and vice versa. It's when I'm thinking about this that I tend to completely disregard my own feelings about boys or school or money as being stupid because there are people all over the world who don't have the luxury of going to school or are forced into marriage with someone abusive and while I'm complaining about having no money to pay for my clothing addiction, millions around the world don't have enough money for food. But this complete disregard of my feelings as being stupid can be just as toxic as disregarding the reality of the world because you're so trapped in your own world. I mean this in terms of, if your melodramatic problems are problem enough to make you sad then you should work to make yourself happy and not downplaying your emotions as stupid. 

At the same time though, my dad died in 2010 and I spent a solid year disregarding everyone around me's 'issues' because they hadn't suffered the heartbreak of losing a parent to the point where they didn't deserve to be sad. This supposed right to be sad is this stupid thing manifested by angsty people to further exile themselves from the world they're physically part of. It's almost turned into this elitist club of the saddest people in the world, and for a while I actually craved acceptance into this club. It seems so romantic to be sitting in a cafe with your sad friends, drinking coffee and smoking non stop whilst listening to 70's punk and dwelling on how sad you are and how the regular society really just don't 'get you.'

It's this idea that sadness pervades mystery and boys love mysterious girls who need rescuing. But in reality the only one who can do the rescuing is the victim themselves. Once we establish what our feelings actually are it's a lot easier to accept who we are and what we're worth. The problem is once people lose their self worth they're on a path leading to loss of oneself entirely, which is the point in which in your own eyes at least, you can become president of the saddest people in the world club.

It's a this point where I need to make a particular comment, nobody can be the judge of how someone feels or reacts to a particular event or situation. Even when, in your own eyes you've felt all the sadness in the world and know what it's like you still don't have the right to comment on how petty it is for someone to be crying over a boy who doesn't like them. I've been in both situations and I can tell you they both suck and so if they want to cry over boys or girls for that matter they are allowed to.  

I'll conclude with the following points

• You don't have the right to judge ANYONE on their emotions
• Being sad and losing all self worth is not fun and it needs to stop being romanticised
• Smoking causes lung cancer: not romantic when you're dead.
• Coffee is delightful but to excess can cause many issues
• Feel sad if you want, feel happy if you want, but feel how you really feel, don't do anything because it's cool.

So after this very serious post I'll be writing a post on fashion very shortly.

Liv xo 

School is cool (?)

As I'm nearing graduation the prospect of going into the 'real world' and getting a 'real job' is becoming a very real and scary thing. Yet what's got me most concerned is what I'm going to wear every day without the school uniform. You see, from the ages of about 5 to 14 I absolutely hated the concept of a school uniform, I hated how you couldn't express yourself, I hated how it fit, I hated everything. But then I had a realisation; school uniform enables one to express themselves in a far safer environment then anywhere else I'll go. I mean this in the sense that, you can experiment with makeup at school in readiness for a party on the weekend, you can break in black shoes that you want to wear out but don't have time to break in, you can experiment with different variations of the uniform. And really, you're surrounded by people you've known for ages so who's going to care. I know most schools probably aren't as lenient as mine when it comes to uniform, but school has really allowed me to test out how I want to be perceived. 

One day I can be Blair Waldorf and wear my hair and uniform in a more sophisticated manner.

The next day I can be more of a Serena Van Der Woodsen and be casual and relaxed.

Or if I'm feeling really adventurous I can go for a Jenny Humphrey inspired look, but I'm still yet to try that.

And I think now, 13 years after starting school I've really become aware of the convenience of school uniform and all the possibilities it holds. The other day I went to my friend's really glamourous 18th birthday breakfast at the Glass Brasserie (definitely go there, I would thoroughly recommend) and was the only one in uniform as I had an exam. I dressed for the occasion and wore a ribbon tied around my hair, a high necked jumper and the rest of my uniform as is. It probably didn't seem like much but I didn't even feel as though I was wearing uniform and people told me I looked like I was just wearing a cute outfit.

Cute outfit and school uniform??? I never thought I'd see the day.

But that's the thing, people are so confined in their belief that school uniforms are stupid and boring that they wait for the weekend to express themselves through fashion. They make use of only 2/7 of the days (or 28.47% of the time) to really reveal who they are, and to me that's a waste of the remaining 5 days or 72.63% of the time. I know to some they don't have a choice when it comes to uniform, but even just wearing funky socks, different school shoes or even in stationary or school bags - one can really make a name for themselves in how they wear the uniform. Of course that's not to say I make a special effort in my uniform every day because let's be real here there are days where I put my hair up and wear no makeup whatsoever and don't really give a remote interest in my uniform (which are becoming more frequent as school becomes less fun.) But I like having the freedom to manipulate the uniform in a way that suits me and it scares me that next year I'm 100% going to run out of clothes to wear and so my aimed image for uni (it's the hot indie fashionista if anyone's wondering) might not come into fruition. Despite all the negatives of uniform, the convenience and ease is something I'll honestly miss.

So when you're sitting at home in January of 2014 and crying about having to wear a uniform for the next 4 terms, just think of all the possibilities and start saving so that you can have enough clothes to fulfil your uni image dreams of hot indie fashionista. 

Liv xo

Feast for your eyes

A couple of months ago I discovered the world of instagram fitspos/cleaneating/raw vegan advocates. Now to me, this whole concept seemed ridiculous (I mean why would you dehydrate food when you can steam it and it'll be a lot nicer?) Until I discovered the response that these photos get.

Clean eating has become the latest fad, or rather instagramming your clean eating or the view from your run or a cup of tea and a book or even, the juice/smoothie in a jar. By no means am I disputing this because I'm a serial instagram clean eater and I honestly hopped on the clean eating bandwagon purely as a result of instagram.

This however, is not a bad thing. A couple of months ago when I initially discovered this crazy world, I started running every day at sunset. I'd get to this point on my route and honestly think "Oh goodness this would look so nice on instagram" as a result of this, I became so confident in my body and felt so good all the time and finally after way too long, I got into the next round of my school cross country carnival. This, by no means was the problem, because as well as improving my health and fitness, I became more motivated in every aspect of my life and studied exceptionally hard for my exams and in so doing, got the marks I've always wanted. Weirdly enough, this was mostly because of instagram.

The problem however, is that now I've slipped into old habits as the stress of my final year of school builds up and the time to run everyday is scarce...yet I still eat cleanly enough so that on occasion I can instagram my fabulous food or the view from my run and still fool my followers into thinking I'm a health advocate but really I'm only fooling myself. If the photos are there, I become a part of the instagram community. This however, guarantees that I haul in the likes for my photos because if someone is eating healthily and doing healthy things then in liking their photos, you're encouraging them and live through them and even become motivated by them. (Well this is my theory anyway) Which again, I don't think necessarily is a bad thing. It becomes bad however when you become inspired to make something really clean but it just tastes appalling and you never want to eat clean again. 

But it can't be a bad thing to have a community of people who in just by living their life and posting about it, inspire those who follow them to follow the same lifestyle. At the end of the day, this kind of thing "Isn't a diet; it's a lifestyle"

To conclude, here are some of the photos I've taken and edited on some app in my phone to show people how cool and trendy I am.

My first homemade juice (it was awful, pretended it was nice)

Recent creation; raw cocoa and coconut balls

Caption: Run to paradise 

(spent whole time running actually taking photos)

The view from my normal running route (note the vsco effect)

Fog on my run this morning! (Didn't instagram this one though)

View from my run 2.0

Whole foods market in Perth that I didn't buy anything from because it was too expensive. 

Again

First jar juice!

One of the more recent; edamame (so cultured)

Liv xo

my god I'm awful, I haven't written anything in two months and I'm possibly the worst!!

(sorry to my two fans who read this blog)

But I've got so many things to write about so this weekend after my assessments have cooled down I'll make a long post!

Sorry guyz


Liv xo

Style

As I'm writing this, the distant sound of 12 year olds getting drunk for the first time and the more comforting sound of rain on my tin roof fills my ears. This past week has been filled with some beautiful chilly, sunny days and the wet wintery mornings that Sydney's grown accustomed to from the past couple of years. This can only mean one thing, Winter is looming and I cannot tell you how thrilled I am for it.

Thus far the wintery trends I'm seeing are the punk-rocker seemingly androgynous staples coupled with chic black dresses and lush capes and coats. (On the topic of lush capes I bought this beautiful black cape the other week, I'll post a photo when I wear it out. Its $200 of bliss.) But regardless, so far the wintery trends have failed to disappoint. There's studs, gothic romance, bright colours, florals and luxe prints. There's something (in Australia at least) for everyone. But I'm not into the 'Westfield style shopper' pamphlet on how to look trendy this season because I found this quote by Edna Woolman Chase - "Fashion can be bought. Style one must process." I love this quote, because while I'm not necessarily the most fashionable or even stylish person I know, but the people who are most admired in the fashion field are the ones who aren't afraid to wear their own personal style. If you look at Sydney, Copenhagen, Melbourne, Paris, London or wherever's street style websites you'll see a collaboration of quirky people wearing quirky clothes that look beautiful because you know, it's their style. The fashions in shopping centre's are just fashions and at the end of the day people who just wear what's in season will end up wasting looooads of money because fashions go in and out but style is eternal.

That's not to say wear like jeggings if that's your style because that's not stylish, I'm talking grab a whole mix of items and see what you can come up with. Draw inspiration from people, places, photos, songs, movies...whatever floats your boat. I'm slightly in the process of figuring out my style now, at the moment it's darkish lipstick and boots but that's mainly because I just got my braces off so am revelling in the freedom of lipstick. But I have this friend, who as well as being a superstar fashionista has such a unique style, that while I wouldn't necessarily wear everything that she wears (and I'm sure that the same can be said from her to me), but I can still appreciate that that's her and that she looks a lot better than me when I'm wearing some weird dress my nanna bought me with some heaps buckled boots because I'm trying to be a grunge queen. She's got her style and she's not changing it for anyone, and there's a certain admiration that goes along with that because while I can rant on on a blog about the importance of having a unique style I myself don't put these words into practice, which is my mission for winter.

I can do 90's because that's an era that appeals to me, but at the same time I can do 2013 fashions too because that's also kind of a year that is somewhat appealing, I don't know I feel like this is a lot wankier than I intended it to be. But I'm talking, don't not wear heels because you're already tall, seriously only in the past like month I've discovered this...people would love to be 5'10" just embrace it.
You never know, some of your best outfits can come out of you being creative.

Liv xo

Cafe crawling

Quite a few months ago someone I know told my friend that she didn't know what to do when hanging around with us because all we do is go to cafes and markets and all we talk about are cafes and markets. I'd never even realised this before but actually my ideal weekend would be going to some form of market with my friends, buying some fab clothes then going to a trendy cafe and basking in how alternative and indie we are. If not with my friends, my mum's new years resolution was to try a new cafe or restaurant every month so often my response on Monday morning when someone asks about my weekend is "Oh my god I went to the nicest cafe on Saturday..."

And then I got a job in a cafe so really, I'm spending like 70% of my weekend in a cafe or foodery of some description. Spending money that I earn't in pretty much the same place? Sounds crazy but it's shamefully true. Now don't get me wrong, it's not like I spend literally all my time at cafes but I can now safely say that I know all the 'trade secrets' of cafes and how important cafe etiquette can be. I don't even just mean cafe etiquette in the manners aspect but in the what one should wear aspect as well.  

Generally the people who hang around cafes are there to be seen. It may not seem like it, but it's true. Cafes are the nightclubs for the under 18's who rate themselves as cultured. Including me. In order to make a lasting impression at a cafe, because who knows who you might bump into, one needs to dress the part.

I plan my outfits around which suburb the cafe is in, most people don't do this but if I was going to a trendy grungy cafe in Surry Hills I'd be dressing far differently than if I was going to Starbucks. It's a fact of my life. One time my friend who lives a 10 minute bike ride away and I went to the other side of Sydney for breakfast because she'd heard of a really nice cafe over there. 

Family Friendly cafes are a no go zone. Dog friendly cafes are a no go zone. Cafes with play equipment are a no go zone.  Cafes where you're likely to see someone who was on Australia's Next Top Model are where you want to be. I think this is why you have to dress the part because at the end of the day, you need to look like you belong to the elite crowd. It's like Sydney's equivalent to the Upper East Side, except you're from Brooklyn. 

Now once you're all dolled up in the season's latest trends, ready to be snapped up by Sydney Street Style you can finally venture the 45 minutes it takes you to get your morning coffee. Then once you're there, you have to order something off the menu that will photograph well on Instagram. It's a constant struggle, the days of going to a cafe simply for a coffee are long gone. But not after you've scoured the internet for markets in the area or warehouse sales or looked out for signs of a garage sale. It'll look desperate when the Barista asks you what you're doing today if you don't answer with "oh just going shopping you know, then I'll probably go to this gig or art opening I don't know, whatever happens."

Even if you just go to cafes to pick up a bacon and egg roll to nurse your hangover on a Sunday morning, just keep a lookout for those of us who are living the cafe lifestyle. Normally they're 17 year old girls using their iphones to update their instagrams. I'm allowed to say this because I'm one of them, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Liv xo

PS Proper fashion post coming soon!!! (this time it's about winter 2013) x 

f@$h10nis+a

Okay so I'm not a particularly 'fashion aware' person, like I read vogue and have a tumblr and take an interest in models and whatnot but I don't claim to have an extended knowledge on this topic. But there's something that's really not working for me of late and that is the 'fashionistas' of today who have watched the Victorias Secret show in 2012 and now think they have a huge knowledge on models. Now, I myself watched the show but it was more so I could get motivation to get a body like Candice's but there are so many people who upon watching the show now have a feigned interest in fashion and an obsession with Cara Delevigne. The only thing I can compare this to is when the Notebook came out and everyone suddenly loved Ryan Gosling.

Don't get me wrong, I love Cara because she's crazy and isn't so serious in photos but I cannot even put into words how much it shits me when people (mostly 14 year olds who went through the hipster phase but are now moving into the vs phase) talk to me about how much they adore fashion and how Adriana Lima is so revolutionary and how the new Versace line is oh so chic. Especially when they start talking in French to seem high fashion when they don't realise that 'Oh la la' actually means oh dear.

I feel really pretentious and stupid writing these because by no means am I a fashion extraordinaire but I do know the difference between a high fashion model and a commercial model and I can appreciate that the two have a pretty vast difference and while I can appreciate both, I'm not going to pretend that a Victoria's Secret show is the same as a Stella McCartney or Romance Was Born.

I'm going to end this here because I feel like an absolute wanker writing this but I'll end with a few photos.

Karlie Kloss

Stella McCartney Resort 2013

Daphne Groeneveld

K back to unpretentious posts for now.

Liv xo

Overall appreciation society

me

spring 2010

alexa

kate

n'sync

destiny's child

alexa

overalls rock

proper post coming soon x