Dream Girl

December 2, 20144 Comments

Ashley Ording of Fancy Fine has been a styling inspiration to me for a long while now. So when I saw some sneak peaks of a shoot she had brought to fruition – styling pieces from her personal vintage collection on the strikingly beautiful Emily Theobald – I got real excited! The images are – just like the title states – dreamy (I mean, look at those pastel backgrounds!) And the styling is so perfectly 70s, it makes me wish I could wear each one of these outfits (yes! even the pants!) Ashley has a seriously to die for personal vintage collection, and with a keen eye for such decadent pieces that fill her closet, it’s any vintage loving gals dream. What I love most about her styling is how she pairs prints and textures in both autumnal shades and pastel spring feels, with such romantic and cozy layering, it feels both functional and glamorous at the same time. She is without a doubt at the top of my list for gals I am wholly inspired by.

Photography: Johan Santos
Styling & Art Direction: Ashley Ording
H&M: Katherine Sterrett
Model: Emily Theobald

Into It, Intimates / SJ Lingerie

November 28, 2014Leave a comment

I absolutely love bodysuits, which I know is sort of a weird statement – they aren’t the most practical of garments (although when have I ever been known to care about practicality?!). But for whatever reason, a really beautiful, well-made bodysuit just gets me every time. Maybe it’s because I’m a dancer and was forced to wear a bodysuit every ballet class, so my eye has always wandered towards interesting and unique bodysuits to spice things up, because wearing a plain bodysuit every class gets really boring, believe me. These pieces by Australian brand SJ Lingerie are obviously not mean’t to be worn to dance class, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to own them all just so I can lounge around and feel pretty. They make a lot of other intimates aside from bodysuits, which are all gorgeous (and which you can see with your own eyes below), but it was originally seeing the Pearl Bodysuit that got me to look into the brand. Romance comes to mind when I look at these pieces – a pretty good adjective to be associated with an intimates brand I think. SJ Lingerie has all things I love about intimates… lace, bodysuits, silk, nighties, high waisted panties…the list could go on and on. If you haven’t heard of this brand I urge you to check them out. It’s truly a pleasure for the lingerie loving eyes.

My favourite: Pearl Bodysuit, Pearl Soft Bra, Vixen Padded Bra, Vixen Crop Top, Vixen Boy Shorts, Vixen High Waisted Brief, Pearl Lace Nightdress, Classic Nightdress,

Ernest J. Bellocq

November 26, 2014Leave a comment

Some of my favourite present day photographers have lead me to truly inspiring and interesting photographers from the past. Ernest J. Bellocq, being one of them. Bellocq was a working photographer during the early 20th century. After his death in 1949, most of his negatives and prints were destroyed (how dare!!!), but the work that he is best known for – probably because they were the only negatives found – were the prostitutes of Storyville, New Orleans. Few at the time knew of the personal photographs he was taking. He was making a living by mostly taking photographic records of landmarks, ships and machinery for local companies, which I can only imagine was a rather stifling job for a creative, and thus had to fill his creative desires as a photographer during his personal time.

What I love so much about these photographs, aside from the subjects (I’m highly intrigued by prostitutes from the past), is that Bellocq made this work for seemingly no one but himself. Which arguably today, a lot of photographers begin by making work to fill a personal desire, but there is also a desire for it to be seen and there are so many platforms in which it can be viewed by almost anyone – it’s almost unfathomable to me now that a photographer wouldn’t have a website (or instagram etc etc). I love the idea of a creative who made art just for himself, because he needed to. He needed no encouragement or reassurance, it’s just what he did. It makes me imagine all the other photographers and artists out there, in the past and present day, whose work will never be seen, and that is/was okay with them. Obviously that is not the case with Bellocq, his work eventually came to light, but I do have to wonder if he ever thought to himself that his work would become so highly regarded over 100 years after they had been taken. I have a feeling that was never the intention.

Into It, Intimates / Blood and Roses by Hopeless Lingerie

November 14, 2014Leave a comment

While I have already written a post in this series about Hopeless Lingerie and there are so many more brands I want to share with you, I couldn’t help myself when they released their “Blood and Roses” lookbook recently, so I’ve put those other brands on hold for another week and am sharing this gorgeous lookbook today. Inspired by “the romance of old vampire movies and the insolence of John Waters”, it’s a hauntingly sexy and possessive series of photographs (and the model, right? Can I be her?!). I’ll be the first to admit that while I’m a fan of old films, I don’t really know much about old vampire movies. So, I can’t really say much about their inspiration, but since my brain immediately tries to find reference for everything in it’s own way it went to the place I learned the most about vampires, Buffy. I was/am a huge fan of Buffy, and while their inspiration was not Buffy related – and maybe they would even be insulted that I’m using Buffy references – there is one universal thing about vampires that Buffy did bring to our late 90s world from old vampire films (and that a lot of new vamp films left out), and that was the sexuality and sensuality of vampires and their victims. I mean, any time Buffy and Angel did it (sex… teehee), Angel became crazy (or becomes Angelus, his sadistic, soul-less vampire counterpart), and it was this passionate, unrelenting desire for each other that could and would never be because Angel became a piece of shit. It also brings me to Drusilla and Spike’s relationship, that shit was super sexy in a way that only vampires could make you feel. And that’s what this lookbook feels like to me, like Buffy and Angel’s passionate love for eachother, Drusilla and Spike’s outrageously sexy (and funny) relationship and maybe a little bit of the temptress Darla’s entire being, cause lets be honest, when you think of a sexy vampire, you think of Darla. Hopeless Lingerie always pulls inspiration from truly interesting places, it’s one of the things I love most about them – lingerie and vampires, an absolutely perfect union.

Photography: Steph Cammarano
Model: Marian Wolfe
MUA: Emma Craddock
Assistant: Dominique Adamidis

THE WHITEPEPPER Winter 14

November 11, 2014November 11, 20142 Comments

I think it’s pretty clear by now that I have a thing for THE WHITEPEPPER. But really, what’s not to love?! Their pieces are endearingly feminine with distinct men’s wear details which is a style I have always been drawn to. To me, THE WHITEPEPPER is about having fun getting dressed and blurring the lines between girly and tomboy. The Winter ’14 collection lookbook is decidedly vintage-inspired which, predictably, I am a fan of. And how about those head scarves!? It’s making me think I probably need to start wearing one immediately, because dammit, they make it look like the perfect and most darling accessory! Oh, but this accessory is not just your average, often times, useless accessory, this accessory can also prove to be quite handy when those god-awful winter winds start destroying your beautiful hairs. Head scarves, guys.