Giovanna

Source: Jakandjil

I will never ever look that chic because:
a) I'm not that tall
b) I can't tolerate anything on my neck except scarves - and only certain scarves at that
c) I am not Italian and do not work for French Vogue

Doesn't it look like a shot out of a magazine fashion editorial? ...Minus the people milling around of course.

- S

To bang or not to bang?

I have been seriously considering cutting my hair lately, in particular getting a fringe. But there's a hitch: I hate having hair on my face getting in my eyes. And summer is coming which means I'll want to keep my face as clear as possible as well. Sigh. Maybe for next autumn I'll get bangs then. I totally rocked the blunt fringe when I was little; the bowl cut was the little Chinese girl haircut de rigueur. (Dammit I was going to put a photo of me when I was little up but my scanner isn't working :()

hair inspiration

You know what else I've been doing with Jo gone? Facebook stalking. Basically I looked up everyone I went to primary school with. Let me say that it is HIGHLY entertaining looking at how my friends - with whom I completely lost contact with after leaving school - have grown up, what university they are going to, etc. It's amazing to see the gawky kids I went to school with transformed into young men and women. Of course, they'd be surprised at how much I'd changed as well.

I changed primary school in grade 5 because my family moved, and I still feel cheated over it. I had great friends at my first school, knew everybody, and the move made me go into my shell so much in a manner which I believe shaped my character in profound ways. It didn't help that whilst my first school was as multicultural as it could get (and didn't have a set uniform and didn't have religious education), the suburb to which we moved didn't have any Asians around in a 5km radius, I kid you not. It was awkward. Try being not only the new kid, but the new CHINESE kid in a school made up completely of Caucasians who probably had never met a real Chinese person (that sounds so racist but I suspect it is true). Regardless, the kids at my new school were very nice but suffice to say after a couple of feeble attempts at keeping contact once we'd graduated, when my family moved yet again for me to be closer to my high school, that contact petered out.

So, now I can reopen these channels of communication which facebook has so kindly facilitated - or I can do nothing. Incidentally it's interesting to note that while many from my first primary school have facebooks (or any other internet space), few from my second school do, unless they went to a private school (like I did). Take that how you will. I think I will contact some of those old lost friends - it will be interesting (or humiliating) to know whether they remember me, have thought of me over the years as I have of them, or outright reject me. Fun fun.

Lastly why do people insist on writing like this online? "tat looks sik, sexc on u" wtf is it that hard to write in full correctly spelt words? For crying out loud.

- S

Colour

The Sartorialist for style.com

I'm not one for a lot of colour, but these pictures from the shows may change my mind yet. Not a huge fan of Zoe but I love her outfit; the purple is jewel bright and the trousers... well we all know how much I love black trousers, hehe. And I definitely need a jewel coloured silk blouse like the gorgeous girl on the left. I love the combination of the darker shirt with the light skirt; usually it's the other way around. The girl in the middle is in the uniform de rigueur, i.e. black but I love the oversized clutch - it's the Marc by Marc Jacobs Airliner Magazine clutch in the turquoise Foam colour... yes perhaps it is sad that I can ID a bag.

- S

Meet my new friend(s)

My new shoes! They're from Tony Bianco and are a gorgeous dusky cobalt colour. And let me just say, they are seriously comfortable for heels. They're not stiletto heels for one, and also they're a very manageable height. I love how they're reminiscent of gladiator sandals but because of the thickness of the straps and the large brass buckles it's a very subtle rendering of the gladiator trend. Normally I go for "practical" colours of shoes, tan or black, but I couldn't resist the vividness of the blue. (They make this style in brown as well, but honestly if they made it in black I'd be very tempted to get them as well, heh.)


Mmm so good. I've actually just been wearing them around the house, that's how much I love them. The next part of my wishlist are shoes in fact, lol. Like bags are Jo's weakness, shoes are mine. We complement each other perfectly I think XD

- S

Wishlist Pt. 1

So 70% of my conscious thought is probably spent on shopping and clothes; what clothes can I get with the money I have, what would I really love to wear, how can Mimco charge so much for their ugly shoes, what would I not wear so much but still really like to have, what are the musthaves for the season, what new outfits could I create if I bought a particular item, I really shouldn't buy any more clothes in black or shades of blue, would Jo like it, we need to check out Witchery, the sales assistants at Fat are so intimidating etc etc. And due to my compulsion to list everything, I often create "wishlists" of things that I want. Due to my fickleness these wishlists often change, but there are constants.

To stretch my posts to cover the period Jo is away, and also because the number of pictures I planned on using made the list way too long for one post, this "article" (hahahaha oh man) if you will will be in four parts.

1. Black trousers
I'm very picky, so when I say black trousers I mean ones that are loose and slouchy, have pleat detail near the waistband and slightly taper at the ankle. Preferably cotton, and preferably cropped.

Chloe pre-fall 08

Other styles: jodhpurs and drop crotch track pants. I am not particularly enamoured with the harem style pants - come on, they look like nappies in a lot of cases. But subtle drop crotches are love. I particularly love the ones from Bassike.

Bassike jodhpurs $270 and lightweight jersey track pants $130

Additionally, I also need to get a pair of skinny black jeans - preferably wax coated. I'll probably go with the ones from Cheap Monday because a) they're cheap at $90 and b) they appear to still be skinny enough around the calves which I always have trouble finding because I'M SO SHORT (5'1"). However if they don't look as nice as I hope then there's always the Nudie Tight Long Johns which are $220.

Cheap Monday black Tight skinny jeans $90

I realise that buying black trousers now isn't exactly practical seeing as we're moving into warmer weather, but I DON'T CARE. I particularly loved the Bassike track pants when I tried them on in Fat, and even Jo agreed that they looked cool and Jo hates track pants in principle. The only thing preventing me buying them right now is that I am totally broke at the moment, having just bought a pair of heels (pictures to come hopefully later today) and tickets to go see Wicked (STALLS 3RD ROW CENTRE OMGGG) with Jo which has effectively ended any further expenditure in the near future. However I just put in my resume at my local bakery where my friend works so hopefully I shall be employed soon, i.e. moolah please god.

- S

back to the past

So I am in New Zealand and alive even through the unbelievable turbulence on the plane. Seriously, never been motion sick before on a plane, there is a first time for everything.

This is my first internet encounter since arriving and it sucks balls. I'm at my mother's work and the computer has blocked facebook, ebay (GASP) and also seems incapable of loading image heavy pages (i.e. fashion blogs). I am catapulted back to ye olde days of dialup. *shudders*

Loved Sisi's report on my bag. It is beautiful. And I've taken it with me here and the leather is really starting to soften. Yay. Buffalo leather is hardcore shit.

Only interesting thing to mention is that yesterday whilst driving on the freeway in the right lane, a car travelling in the opposite direction ploughed into the concrete barrier between lanes and bits of car flew up onto my windshield which is FUBAR. On the way home I stayed in the left lane the WHOLE way even though there was a 4 metre tall gymnastics bus in front of me travelling at 50km/h. I use the freeway the least out of anybody I know who drives which makes it EPICALLY unlucky of me to have witnessed (like actually seen them happen) TWO accidents now.

Anyway, Sisi has been playing with her camera timer and apparently it works so HOPEFULLY she should be posting some pictures soon.

- J

All alone..

Because Jo has flown out of Melbourne to visit her family in New Zealand today and was busy all weekend, it has fallen to me to recount her EPIC journey to procure her Mimco bag.

On Wednesday of last week, myself and Jo met up after I had finished uni, and she had finished work for us to have a looksee at the Mimco bag. Jo had gone the day before as she recounted, but of course she needed my opinion first (lol). Strolling into David Jones, it immediately became apparent that DJ was having a random 30% off almost everything sale. Obstensibly I think, to entice people to begin spending for the spring season. In the Saba concession area of DJ we discovered a beautiful classic beige trench jacket (for Jo) and a black silk/cotton cardigan (for me). Alas, both of us being completely broke meant that we did not buy them but it was fun trying them on nonetheless. So leaving Saba, we headed up another level to where the Mimco concession area was. And lo and behold they were also having a 30% off sale of their bags. Jo's bag was down from $450 to $269. That's a discount of 40% off the RRP.

Hardly believing our eyes, Jo spent the best part of an hour agonising over how to purchase the bag. I should clarify that Jo does in fact work part time, so does have income consistently coming in, but her parents had taken all her savings and put it in a term deposit. This was compounded by the fact that Jo hadn't gotten paid that week due to her manager failing to put in her hours. So she really didn't have any money except about a $100 she needed for necessities like metcards, petrol and food. She asked if she could hold the bag for a day - no dice, no holds on sale items. Then she asked if any other DJ had the bag - the sales assistant wandered off and came back saying that the Bourke St DJ had the only black one left. (The other colour is called "elephant"..and is a horrible khaki muddy colour.) Getting desperate, she called a couple of her friends to see if they had a) $270 to lend her, and b) in the city. Unsurprisingly, neither were, and so reluctantly we left David Jones.

So the story would have ended, if Jo had not, on a whim, decided to go to the Glen Waverley David Jones on her way home the next day. Her friend Mark had said that if she really liked the bag he could lend her the money, and since they both practically live in the Glen (the shopping mall in Glen Waverley) they met up and had a quick look to see if their Mimco section had the bag. It did. Calling me, she excitedly related that they had the bag, that the sales assistant had lied when she said they had the only black one (grrr), and that it was $269 as I remembered and not $296 as she had remembered. No hesitation. This was fate. And it is truly beautiful, and all the sweeter it is having it considering all she went through to get it.

And so journeying from one side of the city to the other, braving lying sales assistants and agonising money woes, Jo has emerged triumphant. And let me just say, it is damn fine looking when I saw it the next day. Especially after bashing it around a bit. Buffalo leather is very stiff.

An amusing exchange when we met up on Friday:

S: You do know that that's the third black bag you have bought this year.
J: ... ye-eeees. But hey, come on, how many pairs of shoes have you bought this year?
S: One!
J: Winklepickers Sisi.
S: Fine, five.

- S

Quick update

My partner in crime, Jo, has an EPIC story to tell you of her procurement of the aforementioned Mimco bag (!!!) and hopefully outfit pictures will soon be in the having. Thankfully our mid-semester break starts today so we'll have lots of time to post! Except I'll be doing all the blogging because Jo will be in New Zealand for 2 weeks from Monday. Sadface.

Unfortunately I've been bogged down all week with a god-forsaken essay which is due in...7 hours and that I HAVEN'T COMPLETED YET. Gah. So once that's done (2000 words + footnotes + bibliography) and all, myself and Jo will be meeting up in the city, going to DFO in search of cheap goods and then heading over to Dish's for a Gael Garcia Bernal movie. Good times, good times.

And Jerome, if you're even reading this, R.I.P. Rick Wright. There, I mentioned Pink Floyd.

- S

a day trip to feel up the day tripper day bag

(Mimco Day Tripper Day Bag in Black)

Okay, when I last said "I wish there was something similar to the YSL bag around the $500 mark" I did not actually expect to find anything around said mark. But amazingly I have, which could be good/bad.

Having discovered the Day Tripper Day Bag on the Mimco website, I was determined to check it out in real life, therefore I made my first stop of the day the Mimco store in GPO. The good thing about shopping in the middle of the day is that there aren't many people around. The bad thing about shopping in the middle of the day is that there aren't many people around and therefore you generally find yourself outnumbered by sales assistants which is not a fun place to be; frankly I am not THAT much of an attention whore. So with a hovering chatty girl lurking at my shoulder, I lasted all of 80 seconds in the store; long enough to briefly pick the bag up, answer a few mindless questions and before making a quick break for the exit.

Luckily I then ambled off to David Jones where (SUCCESS) there was not a sales assistant in sight! Not even around all the expensive-chained-down-bag section. That allowed me a good 15-20 minutes to appreciate the dimensions, adjust the straps, empty out all the stuffing and fall in love.

So alas, the challenge for the next....indefinite period of time, is to see whether I can keep my erratic spending in check long enough to perhaps finance the bag. Peanut butter sandwiches here I come.

- J

Whyred

So Australia is moving into spring/summer and lately the weather here has been beautiful. Lovely 23 degree weather means it's warm enough to wear just a sweater with a pair of shorts pretty comfortably. And so my desire to buy boots such as the ones from Whyred (one of my favourite labels and still relatively little known, but the achingly cool Melbourne boutique Swensk stock them) is completely illogical as soon the only shoes comfortable enough to be worn on warm days will be sandals (and thongs on super lazy days).


Gorgeoussssssss. Although I'd prefer them in black.

And just so this post isn't just a "omg I waaaaaant" one, here are some pretty pictures of Whyred designs from their SS08 collection. So leather shorts are somewhat suspect I love everything else. <33

Source: Refinery29

- S

I made a friend while you were gone

Yves Saint Laurent Large Rive Gauche

Isn't he just beautiful? Unfortunately at $1,795.00 USD he is also totally out of reach. Maybe if I pawned my car I'd get close...not that I would ever pawn the car....it not being wholly mine and all....can imagine the parents would have a few things to say about that.

Given the lack of pictures on this blog, I thought we'd make the first one a special one. I wish there was something similar out there at around the $500 mark so that maybe I'd have the vaguely realistic (but knowing my petty food habits not quite realistic) option of SAVING UP over the period of....a long time.

Worryingly http://www.lovemeandleaveme.com.au only has the bag in leopard print which seems like a perverse violation of its natural beauty. Why designers continue to rape items with animal print is beyond me. I think we should stop encouraging them.

- J

On the Australian retail scene

There is a distinct curse that comes from living in Australia, and that is that our stores and labels are stupendously slow when it comes to picking up on trends for the current season. While for the Northern hemisphere the fashion shows forecast trends for the next season, Australia is less lucky. For us, it's a year - or more - before the good stuff gets translated to us. So here is a little review of the retail scene down under.

What further exacerbates our problem is that our high-street chain stores like Sportsgirl, Bardot and Witchery have distinct flaws. Sportsgirl like to rehash boho gypsy crap way too often (like... right now), Bardot are just.. Bardot i.e. suffering from ombre overload (seriously guys... that trend is OVER) and Witchery are somewhat overpriced, especially for students like us. Then we also have stores like Supré, yes with the wanky accent on the e, which suffers from lycra disease, pantsless sales assistants syndrome and suffering from the ridiculously black interiors and blaring music that afflicts all teen el cheapo shops. Your intrepid bloggers, brave in most things, are somewhat intimidated by the sheer bad quality of it all. This applies also to: Dotti (though admittedly a step above), Temt, Barkins and Valleygirl. Yeah, we've never set foot in most of these places but we don't need to; their displays are terrifying enough.

Of course we do have some good ones. Forever New is a fairly recent addition to the Australian retail scene but have proven themselves to be quite impressive. There are the usual suspects of FCUK and Country Road which along with Witchery are more upmarket so can be counted on to deliver, but once again some of the pieces are a little out of our price range. Cotton On is good but only for basic tees.

But for affordable, on-trend clothes with a little bit of an edge, a personal favourite of ours to shop is General Pants Co. I recently picked up a pair of Something black track pants (pictures to come) there that are absolutely one of my favourite pieces. Our department stores Myer and David Jones are always good sources of clothes as well. And like any other in the blogosphere, American Apparel basics are big obsessions. Finally, eBay is god. There are so many fantastic items on there, most at relatively bargainous prices, including my pair of Levis' faded cutoff shorts I recently bought off there which will undoubtedbly be my favourites come the warmer weather.

Despite the somewhat negative tone of this post on the Australian retail scene, it's not that bad. I've merely outlined some of our pet hates, but the Melbourne retail scene is undoubtedbly fantastic with so many great high-end boutiques, some quality chain stores and edgy contemporary labels popping up everywhere. More posts to come on that!

-S

AND SO IT WAS BORN

A momentous event in the lives of every adolescent girl with an internet connection. The creation of one’s very own blog.

“You’re So Vain” is the combination of the egos of JoJo and Sisi and we are getting off to a flying start by dedicating an entire post to us.

Jo likes albino animals, blazers, musicals, rubix cubes, calligraphy, films films films, working at a cinema, facebook-stalking, her fake Hermes orange wallet, plays and minesweeper. She dislikes commerce and law and the finite nature of money.

Sisi likes AFL (Australian rules football), St Kilda FC, slouchy trousers and sheer white tees, Melbourne laneways, absurd heels, German soaps, trashy fantasy, going to the theatre and Vietnamese pork rolls. She dislikes conservatism, leggings worn as pants and animal print.

Sisi and Jo LOVE Edward Norton, New York City, Gossip Girl, Angels in America, the History Boys, cheeseburgers, English country houses, Margaret Cho, Sweet Valley High recaps, So You Think You Can Dance, cake, men in uniform, Hairspray, Matthew Mitcham, Team America World Police, kittens and eBay.

Sisi looks forward to taking outfit posts of each other which may prove difficult because of their locations. Jo looks forward to spending more time on Sisi’s roof pretending to roll joints. Sisi has been practising artistic photography by taking pictures of Jo on said roof looking melancholy. Jo has been practising wandering listlessing around abandoned fields and deserted roads while looking vulnerable and confused. Sisi hopes that Jo will not completely put her foot in her mouth and alienate all fellow bloggers in internetland. Jo can’t wait to think of wanky things to say about her clothes but for Sisi’s sake won’t publish them. Jo has also realised from writing this that she is a lot more self-absorbed than she first thought.

And so begins their journey.