November 2008

11 WRITING GEMS

Hints and tips for aspiring writers. These are my favourite little snippets from my notebook, collected over the years – while originally jotted down in the context of copy writing, they apply to bloggers, fiction writers and lyricists too. I thought I would share – hopefully they are of some use to you!

- Show people, seek opinions. If your “creative director” (editor or whatever, rename to suit your purpose) thinks it’s bad but 10 of your friends think its genuinely good, trust them. Who were you trying to talk to anyway?

- Connection is what tone of voice is about. You are the connection between the brand/people/story and the consumers/devourers.

- Look around before you write. What else is happening out there?

- Once you have looked around, write with your eyes – observe, ask what, ask why!

- Find a tone of voice anchored in a truth. You can handle the truth, so get to the core.

- Brands need to develop a consistent tone over time. If writing personally, in this day and age, you are a brand.

- Write about stuff that you know. Thankfully you can also learn about things.

- You don’t have to be Oscar Wilde to be a writer, you just have to articulate emotion. If you garner emotional involvement, you’re half way there. Try writing to a specific person, not a glob of demographic.

- If writing is hurting, write it down once, in full wrong. Then it’s down and you can edit, edit, edit.

- Utilise the gossip factor – what’s the one thing you’d tell people if you could only say one sentence?

- Are you executing your idea in a way that does it justice? Don’t let the execution let down the idea. Separating the average from the great is execution. Remember this, ALWAYS.

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Dress Code: A November Morning

Spring has sprung, or rather, erupted in blossoms. I can now safely venture outside in the mornings without a sweater, which is very, very heartening.

casual wednesday

- T-Shirt printed with Holga photograph of Japanese bicycles
- Chunky wooden bracelet
- Navy bangle + ivory look bangle
- Black jeans
- Pink chucks

I think this outfit could be improved if the shirt was more fitted. Since then I have refined my general appearance by layering a long charcoal cardigan over the tee – bringing it all in a bit more. Really, refinement is the point of daily outfit photos – if not on the day, make it the next time you reach for the same look). Remix and experiment – give yourself the opportunity to learn from your errors or capitalise on moments of genius.

That said, I love this new shirt and sometimes I just wear things because they look good to my eye, rather than look good on me. The print is very impressive in person – at 45 by 45 centimetres it is hard to ignore!

The print on my T-shirt - photo by Sam Montgomery.

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Most Delightful Miss Dior Cherie

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

2008 Miss Cherie Dior campaign, featuring Maryna Linchuk.

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5 Fantastic Fragrance Commercials

How do you animate a fragrance…? Perfume is simple enough to communicate by print, simply add a swatch. But on-screen you must let the imagination do all the work using sound and fantasy to conjure a scent. Hence, we are presented with wild worlds – the transcendence of gravity, time and space, usually smothered in jazz.

Here the top 5 perfume ads I’ve viewed recently (not familiar to me as they never screened on television in New Zealand); they are all rather moody, slick little clips, heavy with a fog of luxury.

Gucci by Gucci, directed by David Lynch.

Tokyo by Kenzo, directed by Patrick Guedj.

Harajuku Lovers by Gwen Stefani.

L by Gwen Stefani.

Champs Elysees by Guerlain (circa 1996).

Also set in Paris – and due to be unleashed on the internet shortly – is Sofia Coppola’s commerical for the Miss Dior Cherie. I am keeping a keen eye out for it, having madly adored the print campaign. ❤

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The Best Online Vintage Shopping

Last month I wrote a guide to Auckland’s best vintage stores – and enjoyed it so much I vowed to scour the virtual world for the best online vintage shopping!

This is in no way definitive but rather a few sparkly corners of the Internet to get your vintage fix. Especially good for those of us living in odd locales or don’t enjoy the hours of rummaging in teeny musty store (though I am horrified and offer you my full support in learning to love it). I’ve divided it into 3 easy sections – the dot com store fronts, the reliable eBay stores and the etsy shoppes.

.COMS

Judith Leiber aqua snakeskin belt.

Judith Leiber aqua snakeskin belt from Archive Vintage.

Archive Vintage – has a focus on classic designer pieces, in particular Chanel. Archive also sells a range of highly collectible fashion books which is worth keeping an eye on.

1918 Vintage – has great accessories; like their neat scarf deal called ‘scarfpalooza’, 6 vintage scarves at once! I like Meg’s blog too – she appreciates Man Man too!

iheartcheekychops – is based in the U.K. and has recently had a site refresh. It’s cheap, cheerful and there is a real cute 80’s flavour to their choices.

Nasty Gal – a very popular store with both vintage and new pieces. They seem to have the niche of more structurally extreme vintage covered! Think wacky cocktail dresses and suspenders. Expect to pay more but it saves you the hassle of bidding.

EBAY

Lullie Vintage – lush vintage pretties direct from Hollywood, California. Expect loads of fresh items every week and possibly a few bargains! Design That Kills has a great interview with Shae Acopian Detar, the lovely lady behind Lullie.

Lullie Vintage dress

Lullie Vintage dress

Trashy Vintage – they also have a web store but I really like their ebay presence – they have a lot of items! And most seem to start at US$9.99 so you’re bound to find something sweet for cheap.

ETSY

Greasy Waitress Vintage describes itself as “vintage finds to discerning scenesters”, stocking a lot of brightly hued eighties gear for both gals and guys. I love the sequined butterfly cape – imagine it teamed with incredibly stacked stilettos and sprayed on black jeans.

Dancing Queen Cape from Greasy Waitress Vintage.

Dancing Queen Cape from Greasy Waitress Vintage.

FreeStyleVintageCo wins my heart on sheer quantity alone – 200+ items and all relatively cheap! I like the pairs of wooden stacked heels very much.

Dewberry Vintage – a thoughtful wee collection and such a cute name! Who could help being charmed? You’ll find lots of woolen items here – natty sweaters and snuggly coats.

Santoki Vintage – is a trove of sexy boots and vintage delights. If you’re a size seven, don’t delay -please run and buy these boots and let me live vicariously through your joyous dancing in the streets. Urgggh.

Santoki Vintage Boots

Santoki Vintage Boots

TIPS

Sometimes it can be a mixed bag/varied experience when you buy something online but you can make it so much easier for yourself!

  • I keep a giant list of vintage stores in a bookmark folder and look at them regularly for the best pieces. Open the entire folder in “all tabs” for maximum efficiency!
  • It’s also handy to keep a text file where you can record every single measurement you may ever want. If I need to know my waist size, it’s right there – in both inches and centimetres. Simple.
  • Always know that you can ask the purveyor for extra information – how wide are those sleeves, what material is it made of, what does the care label say? Nothing is too much to ask, honestly! If it makes your shopping experience better and with less worries – do it.
  • On that note – don’t be afraid to let vintage sellers know what you are looking for if there is something in particular you’re after. They see a lot of stock and could keep an eye out or could have just what you need out the back… it does happen!
  • Need new sources? Read online zines like N.E.E.T. for hot tips or browse flickr groups focused on vintage.

If you’ve got any fantastic online vintage resources, please share them in the comments. Sharing is wildly encouraged here!

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BOOKA SHADE

Berlin based electronic duo Booka Shade are coming to AKL on the 21st of November 2008. Squee! Their myspace says ‘Get Booka Shade’ and yeah, we got ‘em!

Oft’ described as “the best live electronic act in the world today” you will most probably be familiar with their songs ‘Body Language’ and ‘In White Rooms’. I well recommend a listen if you haven’t heard them already. If you’re in AKL you can get tickets here.

Aussies: you can also catch them on their “The Sun & the Neon Light” world tour. On the 22 November they will play Brisbane Stereosonic in the afternoon, then again that evening in Sydney. On November 29th Canberra kids can see them at Transit in the afternoon, then at the Melbourne Stereosonic that night. Finally they are playing at the Perth Stereosonic on the 30th. Holy smokes, what a schedule! I’m glad to be seeing them while they are fresh.

Ahhhh can you tell I’m excited? It’s going to be a banger!

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THE JOY OF MAKING SOMETHING BY HAND

click click for a bigger view

click click for a bigger view

Pretend photoshop – the desktop for the ultimate ‘made by hand’ afficiando! It’s interesting to think that for so long we have been re-interpreting life in a digital format; and now we’re moving back to tangibly translating the digital. This set on flickr shows the making of the poster. I love it!

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A Perfect Style

Sometimes emotion just wells, triggered from some residual memory or dream. This photo sparked such feelings – it makes me so incredibly happy. Why? I’m not sure – but I see an entire movie in it, a life breathing through.

As a side note; once upon a time I bought a working photo-booth but had to give it away. Oh! You have no idea how much I regret this. One day I’ll start a photo-booth manufacturing workshop, creating elegant beasts with carved wooden interiors and plush royal blue velvet curtains. All analog, of course.

[via {this is glamourous}]

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OUI

This APC belt is perfect. Creamy pressed leather and the right sized buckle. Petite, functional buckles always win my heart. Much to my despair – I cannot find it anywhere, or even what season it is from. A serious, total fashion calamity, non?

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CFS LOVES 03

These are your codes to unlocking all sorts of awesome! Be warned, there is a lot of love and exclamation going on in this post. This time, I have arranged it by application…

for the FACE…

Nude Skincare is all natural and based on organics philosophy. The range lovingly works with your body’s biology to help nurture your skin to perfect health. I love their dusky-space-nutrient packaging too – it’s very modern!

for the MIND…

Read two of the best (both written and designed) magazines in the world:

- The marvelous Monocle by Tyler Brûlé. With Monocle, I am a Fukuoka sushi expert, I am a Finnish diplomat, I am a hotel pillow tester, I am a pencil maker in Argentina. Every issue is gold! (And always reminds me of William Gibson’s novel Pattern Recognition, hmmm)

- Delightful, darling and daringly ground breaking Dumbofeather. I was lucky enough to hear editor Kate Bezar speak earlier this year about her lovingly published, quarterly tome. Each issue they interview 5 people, simply basing it on “who would I want to interview?”. The results are stunning insightful peeks into the minds of designers, bakers, philanthropists and more! Ooh and did I mention the weighty GSM?

for the BODY…

- You love the earth and the earth hearts you. This Heavy Rotation t-shirt looks very fetching – I envision it would look great teamed with limoncello coloured denim shorts this summer. That said, would some sort of sustainable material be too much to ask for?

- I have been watching a lot of youtube exercise videos recently. So this recommendation is literally for the body; my pick of the bunch is (Ford fitness model) Kim Strother! She’s hot, inspirational and informative – an excellent combination. Here’s her post holiday workout, a treadmill routine and a swiss ball session. Oh and if you like puppies, don’t miss the episodes with Moose.

for the FEET…

FINSK – Julia Lundsten’s wondrous sculptural shoes make me sigh with delight. She has been christened the Eames of footwear.

(((I think I’m in love!)))

for the TASTE BUDS…

This leek pasta dish is incredibly yummy and easy to make – I have tested it well! I must add that I find leeks really pretty with their flat layers of green and spindly white roots. They look so good on a wooden chopping board it makes me want to be a food photographer.

for the EARS…

Voodoo Funk! Frank has spent years tracking down rare vinyl pressings in Africa. Over time, he graciously mixed and shared his precious booty with the world. Amazing noise – well worth hours of investigation.

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TO MARKET, TO MARKET

The Parnell French Market is amazing. A perfect way to spend an early Sunday morning. The almond croissants baked there are unbelievable. Layers of sticky flaky pastry, filled with almond whip, rolled into a crescent and scattered with fine icing sugar. I swear, there is nothing better than that first drop of hot almond cream on the tip of your tongue.

almond croissant

Epicurious has a mighty good recipe if you’d like to try make them yourself, but I would get thee to your nearest European bakehouse!

While at the market I also bought some astonishingly strong scented French Earl Erey tea for my sister’s birthday tomorrow. Rose petals, Chinese black tea and other mysteriously luscious flora. I hope she likes it. ❤

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