in symi

This editorial is so beautiful in its simplicity and romance that I had to share it with you. It makes me long to have another summer holiday; this time in a rocky, coastal sea village with walls whitewashed so white you can hardly stand the glare and a sky so blue you could drown in it like it was water. It also reminds me of a minimalist Lawrence Alma-Tadema painting crossed with Picnic at Hanging Rock, with a dash of Katherine Hepburn. Most of all, it makes me long for spring and heat. It has been a long time since we've talked fashion. This spring/summer I'm planning on getting down and dirty with mid-height sandals with stacked wooden heels, dropwaisted dresses in sorbet colours, long dainty necklaces, and shell pink nail polish.

♥ Shot by Cihan Alpgiray for Marie Claire Turkey July 2010 ♥

what am i supposed to say to you?

Comments disabled. Apologies for the rather lazy re-blogging but these are gorgeous in a way that makes me speechless. It makes me want to re-read John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil while drinking a cold glass of milk. Speak to you soon!

♥ Tao Okamoto, Vogue China, April 2010 ♥

shop stories

I bought this red cardigan from a vintage shop tucked down a quiet alley off a busy main street. The lady operates the shop from the living room of her house. You enter through her front door, up stairs bordered with geraniums and half-planted pots. While you rifle through the racks, she sits with her friends drinking cups of tea and calling out styling suggestions from across the room. Her husband wanders in and out, oblivious to your presence. Her mailbox is a battered French antique which reads "La Poste". In a corner, there's an overstuffed tweed armchair for your boyfriend to sit, along with a record player and a tin box full of broken bits of jewellery. It was like a slice of raspberry chocolate cake. Rich, fulfilling, and full of comfort.

♫ Cardigan is vintage ♫ Playsuit from Valley Girl ♫ Necklace is DIY'ed with gifted pendants ♫ Chain bracelet from Diva ♫

I bought this studded singlet from Glassons, New Zealand's version of H&M and Forever 21. All their stores look alike. They play the same mix cd. When I was there, Miley Cyrus was on the plasma tv. Though the girls were nice, the stock was everywhere and they took forever to find my size. It was like junk food. Easy and convenient.

♫ Singlet from Glassons ♫ Earrings from Equip ♫ Chain bracelet from Diva ♫

Times are tough for small businesses. I'm not telling you to buy things you don't really want from small stores based solely on pity and principle. As you see from the listings under my outfit pictures, the majority of my clothes are from chain stores established by national or multinational companies. What I do suggest is paying some smaller stores a visit, discovering what they have to offer, and being willing to trade the price of two singlets plus a dress from a chain store for one beautiful garment you'll treasure forever.

For North America, visit the 3/50 Project for more information
For Wellingtonians, S'Wonderful is the first place you can start!

several great things happened

Picture from Deborah Sweeney, Orange tree by Lolita

Picture from Deborah Sweeney, Illustration by Klas Fahlen

mash up

Botanical drawings and Madisyn in Jalouse. Made sense to me. So I made it happen.

when the sweet flower droop and die,

think that my hopes all withered lie

as she - all ignorant of the arts
that wiser maids are plying -
has crept into my heart of hearts,
past doubting or denying;

roses and butterflies snared on a fan,
all that is left of a summer gone by;

of swift, bright wings that flashed in the sun,
and loveliest blossoms that bloomed to die!

Jalouse scans from here
Botanical drawings from here

♥♥♥

grow up

Since I'm still ill, it's the 7 Things You May Not Know About Me Tag, passed on by curious rose. From her answers, I learnt she has the same travel bug as I do. But hopefully not malaria, which is what I got my blood tested for today! Yikes. Too much information. Sorry. While I was doing the tag, it morphed into a mini-litany on how age is about how you feel, rather than a number. I've entitled it "The 7 Things You May Not Know About Me/I'm 24 going on 25 and...Super Tag Hybrid". To keep you awake, I've peppered it with theme-appropriate editorial shot by Juergen Teller for W Magazine of some of the supermodels I grew up lookin at - unairbrushed, aged, in all their glory.

1 ♥ I'm 24 going on 25 and I have terrible anxiety about driving.


Shalom Harlow

2 ♥ I'm 24 going on 25 and I still laugh myself silly at fart jokes.


Cindy Crawford

3 ♥ I'm 24 going on 25 and I never pay my bills on time.


Christy Turlington

4 ♥ I'm 24 going on 25 and today, contemplated whether I could wear underwear with robots on them.


Rachel Hunter

5 ♥ I'm 24 going on 25 and cannot sleep without hugging a cuddly toy.


Paulina Porizkova

6 ♥ I'm 24 going on 25 and one of my favourite movies' is The Princess Diaries.


Naomi Campbell

7 ♥ I'm 24 going on 25 and the dark scares me silly.


Christie Brinkley

Source here

Oh! And I tag the gorgeous Noelle Chantal

leaving on a jet plane

This is a scheduled post. I'm most probably miles above your head flying in a tin can, eating plastic plane food, flipping through the airline magazine filled with sterile journalism, and worrying about blood clots. While I do that, you can look at Georges Antoni's beautiful fashion photography. Comments disabled. Feel free to send me an email or comment in the post below OR visit Diana for a sneak peek at our photographic collaboration.

Don't forget to visit Diana to sneak a peek at our photographic collaboration:

stop. collaborate and listen.

Tag Time. Thank you, Luphia Loves... and Emily at Resplendent Tranquility. And while we're here, photos from my favourite fashion photographer, Camilla Akrans.

What is your current obsession?
Lunchtime curries and worrying about my terrible feet.

What are you wearing today?
Gold lacy boxer shorts, white cardigan, white singlet with curry stain on it.

[my reworked question] What important issue in the world today would you solve if you could?
Discrimination because it's linked to so many other important issues such as gender equity and neo-colonialism.

Why is today special?
Because I saw Claude Monet's works in person!

What would you like to learn to do?
Sew fantastic fashion creations. Teleport.

What's for dinner today?
Just had it - palak paneer, pulau rice, garlic naan and mango lassi

What's the last thing you bought?
Ticket to a Monet exhibition.

What are you listening to right now?
Travel show on tv. Youtube video being watched by PP next to me.

What is your favorite weather?
Sunshine. Around 22 degrees. Not a cloud in sight.

What is on your bedside table?
Jewellery tree with jewellery scattered everywhere but on the jewellery tree. Stack of random books. Water. Hairbands. Stuffed toys.

What's your style?
Classic feminine with a twist of a trend, a whimsy of colour, and a slight verge towards tack and bling.

What is your most challenging goal right now?
Saving for my trip to Hong Kong and the Philippines.

What are some of the things you like about where you live?
What's there not to like?! The city is incredibly compact, packed full of fantastic places to drink and eat, beautiful vistas everywhere, different types of beaches, cool urban sprawls. Wellington - holla!

Say something about the person who tagged you:
Luphia Loves... - packed full of pretty, colourful and impeccably-chosen pictures of clothes and interiors. I love Luphia loves.

Emily at Resplendent Tranquility - a sweet, gentle lady of the blogosphere, unashamedly true to herself and so beautiful!

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
Paris. Luang Prabang, Laos. Or beach-front Wellington.

Favorite vacation spot?
Paris. Luang Prabang, Laos. Or beach-front Wellington.

Name the things you cannot live without:
Sunshine, laughter, friends, cheesy 80s power ballads, the internet, and cake.

Name a memory from childhood that sticks out in your mind:
Playing "squash" in my front yard with a piece of wood and the back of our fence. The gate was open and a random stranger walked past, saw me, and said, "Nice racket."

What person would you like to have in your hands right now?
Robert Pattison. Clive Owen. Gerard Butler. All three?

What would you like to get rid of?
The need to exercise.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
H&M anywhere in the Netherlands. Early morning. With coffee in my hand and a limitless credit card.

Which language do you want to learn?
French.

Which countries have you visited?
Quite a few for which I'm very blessed - Hong Kong, Greece, Italy, France, UK, US, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan and Australia.

[My question] You have your pick of superpowers. What is it?
Reading people's minds. I wanted this WAY before Twilight and True Blood, by the way. I'm no bandwagon jumpber.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
I will keep Emily's answer: Happy ♥

And thank you to Janet at Janneteria for my award!



I pass the award and tag to:

♥ Blair at Le Monde Materiel
♥ Here Comes the Sun
♥ Rebecca at baby sloth
♥ Yvonne at Emy Augustus
♥ Diana at our.city.lights