A navy vintage lace gown, found on Saturday afternoon at Peachy Keen on Karangahape Road, Auckland. Total bang for my twenty bucks. I’m thinking of altering it to fall just above the knee. On the other hand, it looks gorgeous simply hanging on my wall. Decisions, decisions.
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My mini laptop has finally given up the ghost. Fair enough though, they weren’t designed to stand the rigours of so much travel and abuse from a full time writer. Good news however – I get to welcome a shiny new computer into my life – an HP Envy. And the perfect accompaniment to a new piece of technology (that must be protected from coffee & knock at all costs), is one of Saben’s designer laptop bags.
Saben’s designer Roanne Jacobson also offers this bag in in black, or if you have a mini machine, you could case it in canary yellow. Personally, I adore the candy coloured geometric shapes. Sweet as.
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These water-coloured/water-stained tee shirts by Daphne and Vera Correll are beautiful.
Almost enough to make me buy a white t-shirt, which would be a very rare event.
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Handsome silk Polaroid Scarves by Philippe Roucou. I haven’t been this excited about an accessory for a very long time. Wishlist, now.
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María Félix (1914 – 2002) was a Mexican actress, one of the icons of Mexico’s golden age of movies. Known as La Doña after her 1943 role in Doña Bárbara, Félix was ultra-flamboyant, elegant and universally loved in her home country. She loved serpents, collecting art and jewellery, and in her later years became a racehorse owner. Here’s 5 fancy facts about “the most beautiful face in the history of Mexican cinema”:
1. She made 18 films during the 1940s, and continued working in the Mexican film industry until 1970. By then she had completed 47 movies – including She also worked in Spain, Italy and France – but not the States as she wasn’t interested in learning English.
2. A fantastic example of Félix’s flamboyancy and love of reptilian style:
One day in 1975 she walked it to Cartier unannounced with a live ‘gator on a leash (or two babies in a bowl, depending on the source you believe) – for the jewellers to copy from. The necklace that resulted was in the shape of two crocodiles. Each body made from 524.9 grams of gold, one covered with 1,023 fancy yellow diamonds, while the other was adorned with 1,060 circular cut emeralds.
3. Out of her 4 marriages, she was made a window twice. She had one son, Enrique, with her first husband. Upon their divorce, Enrique was kidnapped by his father – and then rescued by a feisty Félix and her second husband.
4. In 1949, María’s one time lover Diego Rivera painted a portrait of her, which she hated. She did kept it for years, until selling it to the Mexican singer Juan Gabriel. Note the serpent bracelet – just like the one in the picture above.
5. She hobnobbed in wealthy and influential circles her entire life, and enjoyed the finer points of fashion. In1984 she was nominated in France and Italy as one of the world’s best-dressed women; and was wooed by men all over the world, including King Farouk of Egypt. My kingdom for an evening?
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A couple of shots from a video shoot I worked on (styling and assisting) with this gorgeous girl! Can’t wait to see everything minus the green screen of death, and share the finished product.
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Vogue’s More Dash Than Cash by Kate Hogg was first published in 1982. Despite a vintage of almost 30 years, it’s an incredibly relevant and straightforward guide to looking good on a budget.
After a chipper and suitably stirring introduction, the book covers the following areas:
Here’s some of my favourite spreads:
Intriguingly, a lot of the looks feel like they could have been shot yesterday – think bloggers in high waisted denim cut offs and Doc Martins; or the latest Stolen Girlfriends-esque Prairie girl look. And oh! Are those some moccasins I spy? (Above in the last shot). New York was going mad for those when I was there last month. Ah, isn’t it funny how the wheels of fashion turn.
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CFS Loves Number 40. That’s 40 weeks of linktacular goodness. Because I am a nerdy cave dweller and y’all say you love what CFS loves, today’s one is extra beefy. Om nom nom.
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A shiny lip smacking playlist – 5 songs (mostly) about the gloss:
Garbage – Cherry Lips, Go Baby Go! (2002)
Katy Perry – I Kissed A Girl (2008)
Buzzcocks – Lipstick (1979)
Pulp – Lipgloss (1994)
Lil Mama – Lip Gloss (2007)
❤
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Recently I read an article on Lifehacker describing the Top 10 Easy Ways to Look Sharp – and promptly noticed a few protests that it was mostly male orientated!
I agreed and decided to create a fresh new list of ferociously sharp tips for ladies to look stylish. These are hacks as well as a few great tips that will let you sail through every day. Every time I’m faced with 5 minutes extra time to snooze I’ll take it, so you can trust these ideas have been carefully tested. Let’s get started with the first 5!
Get a pair of sunglasses that suit your face and wear them religiously. The reason for this is twofold. First, glasses give you the aura of being a suave, cool person who can accessorize. The second function of sunnies is to protect your eyes. More glasses wearing means less Shar-Pei-esque wrinkles in the future = and less squinting now. Squinting is never sexy.
Chloe Myrte acrylic sunglasses
Your sunglasses can be either classic (think faux tortoise-shell, over sized frames) or cheeky (think lolly coloured wayfarers). Bigger will protect the skin around your eyes more but cheeky, is well, fun! Some eye protection is better than none so you’re okay, whatever your choice. If you need advice or inspiration, wander over to Eye Heart Glasses and look at Jo’s expert picks.
Ray Ban pink wayfarers
Vaseline is the wonder balm, seriously – first up, use it on lips for shine if you have no time for lipstick. I always seem to wake up with scraggly askew eyebrows after a night’s sleep; use it to tame your wayward eyebrows before you dash out the door!
In a pinch, a tiny slick of Vaseline applied to your eyelashes will give them a shiny waterproofed, lengthened look. You can also use it to micromanage out-of-control hair when styling; a tiny dab works well to tame fly-aways!
I will say straight up that headbands don’t have to make you look like a little girl. They come in a wide variety – skinny brushed silver, wide black patent leather or sweet fabric ones – as seen here on Brigitte Bardot.
Alice bands in particular are your saving grace for days when your hair just isn’t behaving and you need to look swish in seconds.
Alice Bands
I simply brush my hair back and up towards my crown, give it a once over with hairspray and sweep the headband on. After that, another spritz of hairspray will keep it all in place. Perfecto, for the rest of the day! You can also use this as an up-do, putting your hair in a high pony before putting on the band.
An over-sized bag is an essential wardrobe foundation for those who favour laissez-faire personal style but still want to look sharp. This may come in a) leather – or a damn good fake for those of you not on board the leather train, but be aware pleather does not age well. Or b) canvas. Your bag should be one of the following colours – navy, ivory, brown (preferably chestnut) or black. If you are rocking the canvas you can venture towards brighter colour palettes like eggplant or cherry.
Serena tote and Kiah bag - both from Country Road
The bigger the better! Why? Because you can obviously fit more guff in: your DSLR, the book you’re reading, tissues and your 570 plastic cards. This doesn’t have to be an everyday tote but it’s brilliant to have something that will do in a pinch that you can just dump stuff into. It also does the double duty of making you look tiny in comparison – the big bag theory. This is an illusion that really works – hurrah!
Scarves are your saving grace on a day with not enough time to get ready. You probably have a large fashion imagination but just not that much time – so chuck on that boring black tee you’ve already worn this week, wear your usual denim if you have to, and put on a scarf… voila! French blogger Betty, from Le Blog De Betty, is an inspiration when it comes to rocking a variety of pretty scarves.
Indeed, I have an extensive collection of scarves (am currently wearing black linen shorts, a black t-shirt and an eye-popping coral scarf) that save me time and time again. They give you an instant splash of colour, added textural interest and a practical disguise for that occasional coffee stain. Easy.
Right, there you have it lovelies, the first five tips to streamline your style! Let me know how these go and if you have any life-saving tips please share them in the comments. It’s the goal for all girls really, maximum sharpness in style, minimum effort – more time for fun.
Please step this way for Ten Easy Ways For Women To Look Sharp – Part 2 – the next 5 brilliant tips.
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Hello! My name is Amber Parkin. I'm a New Zealander living in London. I'm a writer obsessed with fondue, chesterfield sofas, vintage dresses, foxes, and 35mm.
Here I like to talk about fashion, design, food, travel, writing & books, and culture. Everything else (including my photography) goes into my digital notebook.
If you'd like to email me the address is amber@codeforsomething.com
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